Friday, February 27, 2009

Video Flashback: Zico


Here is a flashback video of one of the best players of all-time, Zico.




Zico Links:
Wikipedia (Link)
Zico Conquers the World
Zico's Official Website
Interview with FIFA.com "I'm Living out my Passion"
Zico's Video Game

Thursday, February 26, 2009

'09 Champions League Round of 16 Clubs: Managers since 2000

I was thinking the other day when Manchester United took on Inter Milan, "I wonder how many managers Inter has had since Fergie took the helm at Old Trafford?" That question led to this post, which lists all the managers at this season's Champions League Round of 16 clubs since 2000.

Perhaps it's just a different mindset, but the difference between management continuity at the English clubs and many clubs on the Continent is amazing. To me, it seems like a new manager practically every season isn't the best way to succeed, but what do I know..

Arsenal
1996-Current - Arsene Wenger

Manchester United
1986-Current - Alex Ferguson

Liverpool
1998-2004 - Gerard Houllier
2004-Current - Rafael Benitez

Bayern Munich
1998-2004 - Ottmar Hitzfeld
2004-2007 - Felix Magath
2007-2008 - Ottmar Hitzfeld
2008-Current - Jürgen Klinsmann

Villareal
1999-2000 - Joaquín Caparrós
2000-2002 - Víctor Muñoz
2002-2004 - Benito Floro
2004-Current - Manuel Pellegrini

Juventus
1999-2001 - Carlo Ancelotti
2001-2004 - Marcello Lippi
2004-2006 - Fabio Capello
2006-2007 - Didier Deschamps
2007-Current - Claudio Ranieri

Sporting CP
1999-2001 - Augusto Inácio
2001-2003 - László Bölöni
2003-2004 - Fernando Santos
2004-2005 - José Peseiro
2005-Current - Paulo Bento

AS Roma
1999-2004 - Fabio Capello
2004-2004 - Cesare Prandelli
2004-2004 - Rudi Völler
2004-2005 - Luigi Del Neri
2005-2005 - Bruno Conti
2005-Current - Luciano Spalletti

Chelsea
1998-2000 - Gianluca Vialli
2000-2004 - Claudio Ranieri
2004-2007 - Jose Mourinho
2007-2008 - Avram Grant
2008-2009 - Luiz Felipe Scolari
2009-Current - Guus Hiddink

Olympique Lyonnais
1996-2000 - Bernard Lacombe
2000-2002 - Jacques Santini
2002-2005 - Paul Le Guen
2005-2007 - Gérard Houllier
2007-2008 - Alain Perrin
2008-Current - Claude Puel

FC Barcelona
1997-2000 - Louis Van Gaal
2000-2001- Llorenç Serra Ferrer
2001-2002 - Carles Rexach
2002-2003 - Louis Van Gaal
2003-2003 - Radomir Antic
2003-2008 - Frank Rijkaard
2008-Current - Josep Guardiola

Inter Milan
1999-2000 - Marcello Lippi
2000-2001 - Marco Tardelli
2001-2003 - Hector Raul Cuper
2003-2003 - Corrado Verdelli
2003-2004 - Alberto Zaccheroni
2004-2008 - Roberto Mancini
2008-Current - Jose Mourinho

FC Porto
1998-2001 - Fernando Santos
2001-2002 - Octávio Machado
2002-2004 - Jose Mourinho
2004-2004 - Luigi Del Neri
2004-2005 - Víctor Fernández
2005-2005 - José Couceiro
2005-2006 - Co Adriaanse
2006-Current - Jesualdo Ferreira

Real Madrid
1999-2003 - Vincente Del Bosque
2003-2004 - Carlos Queiroz
2004-2004 - Jose Antonia Camacho
2004-2004 - Mariano Garcia Remon
2004-2005 - Vanderlie Luxemburgo
2005-2006 - Juan Ramon Lopez Caro
2006-2007 - Fabio Capello
2007-2008 - Bernd Schuster
2008-Current - Juande Ramos

Atletico Madrid
1999,2000 - Radomir Antić
1999-2000 - Claudio Ranieri
2000-2001 - Marcos Alonso Peña
2001-2003 - Luis Aragones
2003-2004 - Gergorio Manzano
2004-2005 - Cesar Ferrando
2005-2005 - Carlos Bianchi
2006-2006 - Jose Murcia
2006-2009 - Javier Aguirre
2009-Current - Abel Resino

Panthinaikos
1999-2000 - Ioannis Kyrastas
2000-2001 - Angelos Anastasiadis
2001-2003 - Sergio Markarian
2002-2002 - Fernando Santos
2003-2004 - Itzhak Shum
2004-2005 - Zdeněk Ščasný
2005-2006 - Alberto Malesani
2006-2006 - Hans Backe
2006-2006 - Jasminko Velic
2006-2007 - Víctor Muñoz
2007-2008 - Jose Peseiro
2008-Current - Henk Ten Cate



22 - # of Managers at Inter Milan since Alex Ferguson took over at Manchester United

Managers who've been in charge of more than one of this season's Round of 16 clubs since 2000:
Jose Mourinho, Claudio Ranieri, Fabio Capello, Luigi Del Neri, Gerrard Houllier, Marcello Lippi, Radomir Antic, Fernando Santos, Jose Peseiro

There have been 10 combined managers (not including 1 game caretakers) at England's "Big Four" clubs since 2000. Compare that to 10 at Atletico Madrid and 12 at Panathinaikos in the same time period. In fact the only manager to last more than a year at Panathinaikos in the past decade was Sergio Markarian, who only lasted 2 seasons.

Managers that have Lasted 4 years or Longer at These Clubs since 2000:
23 years - Alex Ferguson (Manchester United)
13 years - Arsene Wenger (Arsenal)
6 years - Gerard Houllier (Liverpool)
6 years - Ottmar Hitzfeld (Bayern Munich)
5 years - Frank Rijkaard (FC Barcelona)
5 years - Rafa Benitez (Liverpool)
5 years - Manuel Pellegrini (Villarreal)
4 years - Luciano Spalletti (AS Roma)
4 years - Claudio Ranieri (Chelsea)
4 years - Roberto Mancini (Inter)
4 years - Bernard Lacombe (Lyon)
4 years - Vincente Del Bosque (Real Madrid)
4 years - Paulo Bento (Sporting CP)

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

MLS All-Access Video Links

I really enjoy the "inside/behind-the-scenes" looks that you can get from all of the MLS teams on their all-access video pages. The problem is, the MLS team sites are all different (and some poorly designed), making it hard to find the new videos. This post links to the video pages of every team and the location of the all-access videos. I hope every team follows the lead of Toronto FC in this category, TFC TV is by far the best setup in the league for behind-the-scenes video and page navigation. Seattle also has a nice video setup. (Somewhat surprisingly, the worst IMO: LA Galaxy)





Chicago Fire (Link)
Under CHICAGO FIRE POSTGAME & FEATURES

Chivas USA (Link)
Under CHIVAS USA GAME RECAPS & FEATURES

Colorado Rapids (Link)

Columbus Crew (Link)
Under COLUMBUS' CREW CORNER

DC United (Link)
Under ACCESS UNITED

FC Dallas (Link)
Under EXCLUSIVE FCD VIDEO (FCD TV)

Houston Dynamo (Link)
Under TOTAL DYNAMO and DYNAMO ON DEMAND

Kansas City Wizards (Link)
Under KANSAS CITY WIZARDS GET CLOSE

Los Angeles Galaxy (Link)
Under 2008 GALAXY INSIDER VIDEO

New England Revolution (Link)

New York Red Bulls (Link)
Under RED BULLS INSIDER

Real Salt Lake (Link)
Under 2008 RSL INSIDER VIDEO

San Jose Earthquakes (Link)
Under 2008 QUAKE SHAKE ONLINE and EARTHQUAKES EXCLUSIVE (Coach's Corner)

Seattle Sounders (Link)

Toronto FC (Link)

Philadelphia 2010 (Link)

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

08/09 Youngest and Oldest League Goal Scorers

These are the youngest (18 or younger) and oldest (35 or older) goal scorers in various leagues throughout Europe for the current 2008/2009 season. I've also included the MLS stats from last season.

My first reaction was, "Wow, there's a bunch of old guys scoring goals in Italy". And that's not even counting the many Serie A goal scorers that are 34 (like Volpi, Fini, Frick, Lopez, Amoruso, Del Piero, and Cruz).

It's also interesting to see that American Jozy Altidore is the only player 18 or younger (barely) to score in La Liga so far this season.


Format:
Years/Days - Player (Club) Date of Season First Goal

Barclay's Premier League

Youngest
17 / 355 - Danny Wellbeck (Manchester United) 11/15/2008
18 / 122 - Rafael Da Silva (Manchester United) 11/08/2008
18 / 330 - Dan Gosling (Everton) 12/28/2008
18 / 358 - Daniel Sturridge (Manchester City) 08/24/2008

Oldest
38 / 98 - Tugay (Blackburn Rovers) 11/30/2008
35 / 82 - Sami Hyypia (Liverpool) 12/28/2008
35 / 71 - Ryan Giggs (Manchester United) 02/08/2009


Scottish Premier League

Youngest
17 / 160 - John Fleck (Glasgow Rangers) 01/31/2009
17 / 306 - James McCarthy (Hamilton) 09/13/2008
18 / 209 - Paul Hanlon (Hibernian) 08/16/2008

Oldest
38 / 183 - David Weir (Glasgow Rangers) 11/09/2008
38 / 125 - Chris Swailes (Hamilton) 02/21/2009


German Bundesliga

Youngest
18 / 243 - Tony Jantschke (Borussia Monchengladbach) 12/06/2008

Oldest
37 / 186 - Mark van Bommel (Bayern Munich) 10/25/2008 Oops..
35 / 296 - Oliver Neuville (Borussia Monchengladbach) 02/21/2009
35 / 161 - Tomasz Zdebel (VfL Bochum) 11/02/2008


Spain La Liga

Youngest
18 / 361 - Jozy Altidore (Villarreal) 11/01/2008

Oldest
35 / 312 - Robert Pires (Villarreal) 12/06/2008


Italy Serie A

Youngest
18 / 193 - Mario Balotelli (Inter) 02/21/2009
18 / 195 - Levan McHedlidze (Palermo) 10/05/2008

Oldest
36 / 154 - Pavel Nedved (Juventus) 01/31/2009
36 / 95 - Luis Figo (Inter) 02/07/2009
35 / 322 - Sebastiano Siviglia (Lazio) 02/14/2009
35 / 320 - Cristiano Doni (Atalanta) 02/15/2009
35 / 169 - Christian Panucci (Roma) 09/28/2008
35 / 162 - Christian Vieri (Atalanta) 12/21/2008
35 / 81 - Filippo Inzaghi (AC Milan) 10/29/2008
35 / 13 - Francesco Cozza (Reggina) 02/01/2009


France Ligue 1

Youngest
17 / 257 - Eden Hazard (Lille OSC) 09/20/2008
18 / 285 - Andre Ayew (Lorient) 09/27/2008

Oldest
36 / 84 - Olivier Echouafni (Nice) 12/06/2008
35 / 254 - Claude Makelele (PSG) 10/29/2008
35 / 234 - Mamadou Bagayoko (FC Nantes) 01/10/2009
35 / 84 - Mickael Pagis (Stade Rennais) 11/09/2008



2008 Major League Soccer

Youngest
16 / 332 - Abdus Ibrahim (Toronto FC) 07/12/2008
18 / 165 - Jozy Altidore (NY Red Bulls) 04/19/2008
18 / 244 - Jorge Flores (Chivas USA) 05/17/2008

Oldest
35 / 129 - Cuauhtemoc Blanco (Chicago Fire) 05/25/2008
35 / 125 - Guillermo Barros Schelotto (Colombus Crew) 09/06/2008


Stats compiled from Statbunker

Monday, February 23, 2009

WPS (Women's Professional Soccer)


I was over at the WPS (Women's Professional Soccer) site this morning and realized that the inaugural season begins in a little over a month on March 29th. I have a young daughter and obviously a love for the game, so I'm really pulling for the new league to be successful.

I think if the WPS remains fiscally responsible and can market the league correctly it will do well, especially with players like Marta, Cristiane, Abby Wambach, Kelly Smith, Christine Sinclair, the USWNT and many others signing on. These ladies can play.

Here's a couple of varied video examples of why I believe the women's game can succeed in the USA.


The Skills of Marta


Heather Mitts - Boston Breakers and USWNT Defender



The league's kit unveiling will be tomorrow (Feb 24).

Teams for 2009
Boston Breakers - Harvard Stadium - Boston, MA
Chicago Red Stars - Toyota Park - Bridgeview, IL (Chicago area)
FC Gold Pride - Buck Shaw Stadium - Santa Clara, CA (Bay area)
Los Angeles Sol - Home Depot Center - Carson, CA (LA area)
St. Louis Athletica - Ralph Korte Stadium - Edwardsville, IL (St. Louis Area)
Sky Blue FC - Yurcak Field - Piscataway, NJ (New York Area)
Washington Freedom - Maryland SoccerPlex - Boyds, Maryland (Wasington Area)

Friday, February 20, 2009

Childhood Pictures of Famous Soccer Players

Here are a few childhood pictures of famous soccer players past and present. Some of them are quite obvious, but a couple are pretty tough. Guess as you go, I put the answers at the end of the post.





























1. Cristiano Ronaldo
2. Zinedine Zidane
3. Thierry Henry
4. Paul Scholes
5. Ronaldinho
6. Ronaldinho Again
7. Pele
8. Michael Owen
9. Lionel Messi
10. Diego Maradona
11. Iker Casillas
12. Fabio Cannavaro
13. David Beckham
14. Nikolas Anelka


I'd like to add a few MLS childhood player pics, but I didn't have much luck finding any. If anyone can point me in the right direction I'd be grateful.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

World Record Goalkeeper Shutout Streaks

Here are the top 10 best GK shutout streaks ever, according to the IFFHS website. Manchester United's Edwin Van der Sar has moved up to 6th all time after yesterday's shutout of Fulham. If VDS is to overtake the all-time world record, he'll have to shutout Blackburn (H), Newcastle (A), Liverpool (H), Fulham (A), Aston Villa (H), Sunderland (A).

However, Mazaropi's streak is somewhat questionable as he had the 1,816 minute clean sheet streak in Brazil's regional league, not the Campeonato A. Some consider Thabet El-Batal the true record holder, of which VDS could overtake with shutouts in Manchester United's next two games.

Minutes - Player - Club - Country - Dates

1,816 - Mazaropi (Vasco da Gama, Brazil) -- 5/77-9/78
1,442 - Thabet El-Batal (National SC Cairo, Egypt) -- 4/75-12/76
1,390 - Dany Verlinden (Club Brugge KV, Belgium) -- 3/90-9/90
1,352 - José María Buljubasich (CD Universidad Catolica Santiago, Argentina) 6/05-10/05
1,325 - Thabet El-Batal (National, Egypt) 3/78-2/79
1,302 - Edwin Van der Sar (Manchester United, England) 11/08-Current
1,288 - Essam El-Hadari (National, Egypt) 2/06-8/06
1,275 - Abel Resino (Atlético Madrid, Spain) 11/90-3/91
1,266 - Gaëtan Huard (Bordeaux, France) 12/92-4/93
1,242 - Zetti (Palmeiras, Brazil) 4/87-5/87

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

2009 Pan-Pacific Championship Key Player Profiles


This season's PPC tournament begins tonight in Los Angeles. Here is a quick profile of the key players on the Asian rosters for the tournament. (Thank you wikipedia!) Here is an MLS press release about the rosters from a couple of days ago.






Suwon Bluewings F.C.
수원 블루윙즈F.C.

South Korea

Lee Woon-Jae
The 35 year old goalkeeper has made over 100 appearances for South Korea and was the starting keeper in the 2006 world cup.

Song Chong-Gug
Song has been on two South Korean World Cup squads and played in the Dutch league with Feyenoord between 02-05. He has recently been linked with a move to Fulham in the Premiership.

Li Weifeng
Li has represented the Chinese national team over 100 times and had a very brief trail with Everton. He is known for rather poor sportsmanship and he was thrown off the Chinese national team for hitting a player.



Shandong Luneng Taishan
山东鲁能泰山

China

Li Jinyu
Li is considered one of the best strikers in China, although his goal scoring form has dropped off considerably in the last two seasons. He spent one season in France with AS Nancy and has been a regular starter for the Chinese National Team.

Aleksandar Živković
The 31 year old Serbian Midfielder previously played in the J-League with Jubilo Iwata before moving to China. He represented the Serbia and Montenegro national team 2 times in 2001.


Oita Trinita
大分トリニータ

Japan

Ueslei
The 36 year old Brazilian was J-League Top Scorer in 2003 with Nagoya Grampus Eight, where he scored 81 goals in 114 overall games. He has since bounced around clubs in Brazil and Japan, scoring 4 goals for Atlético Mineiro, 33 goals for Sanfrecce Hiroshima in 06 and 07, and 7 goals last season for Oita.

Daiki Takamatsu
The 27 year old Japanese forward has made over 200 appearances for Oita Trinita scoring over 50 goals. He was the J-League Cup MVP last season and is one of he few Oita players with International experience.

Akihiro Ienaga
The 22 year old midfielder joined Plymouth Argyle in England on trial, but last month was denied a work permit so was forced to return to the J-League.

Mu Kanazaki
The 20 year old midfielder made his full international debut for Japan last month against Yemen. He was the J-League Cup New Hero award winner, the prize giving to the U23 player that made the biggest contribution to their team in the competition.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

NASL: 1977 Tampa Bay Rowdies v NY Cosmos Pregame Video


Time for a bit of Nostalgia. This clip is a pregame tv opening for a 1977 NASL game between the Tampa Bay Rowdie's (welcome back) and Pele's New York Cosmos. I think that modern ESPN soccer broadcasts should think about bringing the TVS music and graphics into their weekly games. What better way to get pumped up for "not a football game, but America's fastest growing sport. Professional soccer."

If you ever watch or listen to baseball you might recognize the announcer as ESPN's Jon Miller (with hair). Oh, and give it up for the analyst, Walt Chyzowych, who was an influential person in US soccer and happened to be the coach of the US national team when I was born. (His announcing skills could have used some work though, he was no Bruce "Kip from Napolean Dynamite" Arena).

Enjoy!

Monday, February 16, 2009

Premier League Players from the Top Five UEFA League Nations

These are current Premiership players from the nations where the top 5 UEFA coefficient leagues in Europe are located. (besides England of course). I've included the foreign clubs that the players were signed from when they initially joined the Premier League. Paris Saint-Germain is the most "signed-from" club, followed by Auxerre, Lyon, and Real Sociedad.

Mostly, the trends in this case tend to follow the foreign managers. Frenchmen at Arsenal with Wenger, Spaniards at Liverpool with Benitez, in the late 90's/early 2000's, Italians at Chelsea with Vialli and Ranieri. There hasn't really been a "German" club, although Manchester City has had more Germans than any other club with 7.



France

  • Jérémie Aliadière - Arsenal, West Ham, Middlesbrough - 2001-
  • Nicolas Anelka - (Paris Saint-Germain) Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City, (Fenerbahçe) Bolton, Chelsea - 1996-99, 2001-05, 2006-
  • Sébastien Bassong - (FC Metz) Newcastle United - 2008-
  • Pascal Chimbonda - (Bastia) Wigan, Tottenham, Sunderland - 2005-
  • Djibril Cissé - (Auxerre) Liverpool (Marseille) Sunderland (loan) - 2004-07, 2008-
  • Gaël Clichy - (Cannes) Arsenal - 2003-
  • Abou Diaby - (Auxerre) Arsenal - 2006-
  • Didier Digard - (Paris Saint-Germain) Middlesbrough - 2008-
  • Sylvain Distin - (Paris Saint-Germain) Newcastle, Manchester City, Portsmouth - 2001-
  • Patrice Evra - (AS Monaco) Manchester United - 2006-
  • William Gallas - (Marseille) Chelsea, Arsenal - 2001-
  • Younes Kaboul - (Auxerre) Tottenham, Portsmouth - 2007-
  • Olivier Kapo - (Juventus) Birmingham City, Wigan Athletic - 2007-
  • Steed Malbranque - (Lyon) Fulham, Tottenham, Sunderland - 2001-
  • Florent Malouda - (Lyon) Chelsea - 2007-
  • Bernard Mendy - (Paris Saint-Germain) Bolton, Hull City - 2002-03, 2008-
  • Arnold Mvuemba - (Rennes) Portsmouth - 2007-
  • Samir Nasri - (Marseille) Arsenal - 2008-
  • David N'Gog - (Paris Saint-Germain) Liverpool - 2008-
  • Charles N'Zogbia - (Le Havre Youth) Newcastle, Wigan - 2004-
  • Damien Plessis - (Lyon) Liverpool - 2007-
  • Sébastien Puygrenier - (Zenit St. Petersburg) Bolton (loan) 2009-
  • Bacary Sagna - (Auxerre) Arsenal - 2007-
  • Louis Saha - (Metz) Newcastle, Fulham, Manchester United, Everton - 1999-
  • Antoine Sibierski - (Lens) Manchester City, Newcastle, Wigan - 2003-
  • Mikaël Silvestre - (Inter Milan) Manchester United, Arsenal - 1999-
  • Armand Traoré - (AS Monaco Youth) Arsenal, Portsmouth (loan) - 2006-

Germany
  • Michael Ballack - (Bayern Munich) Chelsea FC - 2006-
  • Dietmar Hamann - (Bayern Munich) Newcastle United, Liverpool, Manchester City 1998-
  • Robert Huth - (Union Berlin Youth) Chelsea, Middlesbrough - 2001-

Italy
  • David Di Michele - (Torino) West Ham United (loan) - 2008-
  • Andrea Dossena - (Udinese) Liverpool FC - 2008-

Spain
  • Manuel Almunia - (Celta Vigo) Arsenal - 2004-05, 2006-
  • Xabi Alonso - (Real Sociedad) Liverpool - 2004-
  • Álvaro Arbeloa - (Deportivo de La Coruña) Liverpool - 2006-
  • Mikel Arteta - (Real Sociedad) Everton - 2004-
  • Carlos Cuéllar - (Rangers) Aston Villa - 2008-
  • Cesc Fàbregas - (FC Barcelona Youth) Arsenal - 2004-
  • Javier Garrido - (Real Sociedad) Manchester City - 2007-
  • Pepe Reina - (Villarreal) Liverpool - 2005
  • Albert Riera - (RCD Espanyol) Manchester City, Liverpool 2005-06, 2008-
  • Fernando Torres - (Atlético Madrid) Liverpool - 2007-
  • Diego Tristán - (Livorno) West Ham United - 2008-
  • Borja Valero - (Real Mallorca) West Bromwich Albion - 2008-
  • Xisco - (Deportivo La Coruña) Newcastle United - 2008-





All-Time EPL Players from...
136 - France
46 - Italy
40 - Spain
29 - Germany

Friday, February 13, 2009

Pictures: When MLS Coaches were Players

Here are some pics of the current MLS head coaches when they were running around the pitch themselves. Nice hair Dom...


Robert Warzycha (Columbus Crew)

Pic from WideOpenWest


Dominic Kinnear (Houston Dynamo)

Pic from Getty Images


Denis Hamlett (Chicago Fire)

Pic from Getty Images


Jason Kreis (Real Salt Lake)

Pic from MLS


Steve Nicol (New England Revolution)

Pic from Getty Images


Curt Onalfo (KC Wizards)

Pic from MLS


Preki (Chivas USA)

Pic from USA Today


Tom Soehn (DC United)

Pic from Getty Images


Frank Yallop (San Jose Earthquakes)

Pic from Getty Images


Bruce Arena (Los Angeles Galaxy)

Pic from Cornell.edu


I couldn't find any good player pics of Carver, Hyndman, Smith, Schmid, or Osorio. I was hoping to find a Schmid UCLA player picture. If anyone feels bored and wants to go on a scavenger hunt for player pics of these remaining coaches, I'll add them to the post. (Although, outside of Sigi and Gary Smith, I'm not positive if the others even played or not)

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Non-European Premier League Hat Tricks

These are all the Premiership hat-tricks scored by players from outside of Europe since 1992.

Peter Ndlovu (Zimbabwe) - Coventry City v Liverpool (March 14, 1995)
Tony Yeboah (Ghana) - Leeds United v Ipswich Town (April 5, 1995)
Tony Yeboah (Ghana) - Leeds United v Wimbledon (September 23, 1995)
Dwight Yorke (T&T) - Aston Villa v Newcastle United (September 30, 1996)
Dwight Yorke (T&T) - Manchester United v Leicester City (January 16, 1999)
Nwankwo Kanu (Nigeria) - Arsenal v Chelsea (October 23, 1999)
Dwight Yorke (T&T) - Manchester United v Derby County (March 11, 2000)
Mark Viduka (Australia) - Leeds United v Liverpool (November 3, 2000)
Mark Viduka (Australia) - Leeds United v Charlton Athletic (April 5, 2003)
Yakubu Aiyegbeni (Nigeria) - Portsmouth v Middlexbrough (May 15, 2004)
Yakubu Aiyegbeni (Nigeria) - Portsmouth v Fulham (August 30, 2004)
Henri Camara (Guinea) - Wigan Athletic v Charlton Athletic (December 16, 2005)
Didier Drogba (Cote d'Ivoire) - Chelsea v Watford (November 11, 2006)
Emmanuel Adebayor (Togo) - Arsenal v Derby County (September 22, 2007)
Yakubu Aiyegbeni (Nigeria) - Everton v Fulham (December 8, 2007)
Roque Santa Cruz (Paraguay) - Blackburn Rovers v Wigan Athletic (December 15, 2007)
Benjani Mwaruwari (Zimbabwe) - Portsmouth v Derby County (January 19, 2008)
Emmanuel Adebayor (Togo) - Arsenal v Derby County (April 28, 2008)
Afonso Alves (Brazil) - Middlesbrough v Manchester CIty (May 11, 2008)
Emmanuel Adebayor (Togo) - Arsenal v Blackburn Rovers (Septermber 13, 2008)
Robinho (Brazil) - Manchester City v Stoke City (October 26, 2008)


"Foreign" Hat Tricks by Regions
13 - Africa
3 - CONCACAF
3 - CONMEBOL
2 - OCEANIA*
0 - Asia

*Australian, Mark Viduka's two Hat Tricks came when the Socceroos were still a member of Oceania.

Monday, February 9, 2009

Foreign Players in the Primera División de México


These are all of the Non-Mexican players currently in Mexico's Premier Division.

Club América
Fernando Ortiz - Argentina
Robert - Brazil
Jean Beausejour - Chile
Andrés Chitiva - Colombia
Enrique Vera - Paraguay
Salvador Cabañas - Paraguay

Atlante FC
Miguel Ángel Martínez - Argentina
Federico Vilar - Argentina
Gabriel Pereyra - Argentina
Luis Gabriel Rey - Colombia
Giancarlo Maldonado - Venezuela

Atlas AC
Bruno Marioni - Argentina
Dario Bottinelli - Argentina
Ismael Fuentes - Chile
Jorge Achucarro - Paraguay
Gonzalo Vargas - Uruguay

Cruz Azul
Marcelo Carrusca - Argentina
Cristian Riveros - Paraguay
Carlos Bonet - Paraguay
Pablo Zeballos - Paraguay
Roberto Ovelar - Paraguay

Chiapas
Javier Gandolfi - Argentina
Neri Cardozo - Argentina
André Luiz - Brazil
Danilinho - Brazil
Itamar - Brazil

Chivas Guadalajara
NONE

Indios de Ciudad Juárez
Javier Malagueño - Argentina
Ezequiel Maggiolo - Argentina
Héctor Giménez - Uruguay
Juan Pablo Conde - Uruguay
Juan Ramón Curbelo - Uruguay

Club de Futbol Monterrey
José María Basanta - Argentina
Humberto Suazo - Chile
Walter Ayovi - Ecuador
Felipe Baloy - Panama
Osvaldo Martinez - Paraguay

Monarcas Morelia
Mauricio Martin Romero - Argentina
Wilson Tiago - Brazil
Hugo Droguett - Chile
Oscar Rojas - Costa Rica
Andrés Mendoza - Peru

Necaxa
Pablo Quatrocchi - Argentina
Eduardo Coudet - Argentina
Alfredo Moreno - Argentina
Federico Insúa - Argentina
Victor Piriz - Uruguay

Pachuca
Damián Álvarez - Argentina
Christian Giménez - Argentina
Javier Muñoz Mustafá - Argentina
Miguel Calero - Colombia
Blas Pérez - Panama
Edgar Bentiez - Paraguay
José Francisco Torres - USA

Puebla
Everaldo Ferreira - Brazil
Isidro Sánchez - Canada
John Restrepo - Colombia
Ramón Núñez - Honduras
Alejandro Acosta - Uruguay
Álvaro González - Uruguay
Walter Vilchez - Peru

Pumas de la UNAM
Martin Bravo - Argentina
Darío Verón - Paraguay
Dante Lopez - Paraguay

San Luis F.C.
Jairo Patiño - Colombia
Diego Álvarez - Colombia
Tressor Moreno - Colombia
Nestor Bareiro - Paraguay
Egidio Arévalo - Uruguay
Michael Orozco - USA

Santos Laguna
Walter Jiménez - Argentina
Daniel Ludueña - Argentina
Carlos Darwin Quintero - Colombia
Pedro Quiñónez - Ecuador
Christian Benitez - Ecuador

Tecos
Jorge Zamogilny - Argentina
Claudio Graf - Argentina
Nelson Pinto - Chile
Rodrigo Ruiz - Chile
Fredy Bareiro - Paraguay
Marcelo Sosa - Uruguay

Tigres
Lucas Lobos - Argentina
Guillermo Marino - Argentina
Pedro Benítez - Paraguay
Julio Aguilar - Paraguay
Areil Bogado - Paraguay

Deportivo Toluca
Martin Romagnoli - Argentina
Daniel Ríos - Argentina
Hernán Cristante - Argentina
Héctor Mancilla - Chile
Paulo da Silva - Paraguay


Players from..
30 - Argentina
17 - Paraguay
9 - Uruguay
8 - Colombia
7 - Chile
6 - Brazil
3 - Ecuador
2 - Panama, Peru, USA
1 - Canada, Costa Rica, Honduras, Venezuela

Friday, February 6, 2009

Law and Order Russian Soccer Mob

The Russian mob members in this Law and Order clip have some names that world soccer fans should recognize...

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Jan. 09 - Premiership Transfers and Loans from Foreign Leagues

This list shows players that have joined the English Premier League, by transfer or loan, from a club outside of England during the January 2009 transfer window.

Feb 2
Andrei Arshavin - Zenit St. Petersburg to Arsenal
Angelos Basinas - AEK Athens to Portsmouth
Juan Carlos Menseguez - San Lorenzo to West Bromwich Albion (Loan)
Olivier Dacourt - Inter Milan to Fulham (Loan)
Ricardo Quaresma - Inter Milan to Chelsea (Loan)
Youssuf Mulumbu - Paris Saint-Germain to West Bromwich Albion (Loan)

Feb 1
Theofanis Gekas - Bayer Leverkusen to Portsmouth (Loan)

Jan 30
Gokhan Tore - Bayer Leverkusen to Chelsea
Radoslav Kovac - Spartak Moscow to West Ham United (Loan)

Jan 27
Savio Nsereko - Brescia to West Ham United

Jan 26
Hugo Rodallega - Necaxa to Wigan Athletic
Pelé - FC Porto to Portsmouth (Loan)

Jan 23
Kamil Zayatte - Young Boys to Hull City

Jan 21
Nigel De Jong - Hamburg SV to Manchester City

Jan 16
Ariza Makukula - Benfica to Bolton Wanderers (Loan)

Jan 15
Gael Givet - Marseille to Blackburn Rovers (Loan)
Marc-Antoine Fortune - AS Nancy Lorraine to West Bromwich Albion (Loan)

Jan 9
Sebastien Puygrenier - Zenit St. Petersburg to Bolton Wanderers (Loan)

Jan 7
Arsenio Halfuid - Excelsior to Aston Villa

Jan 2
Adem Ljajic - Partizan Belgrade to Manchester United
Zoran Tosic - Partizan Belgrade to Manchester United

Jan 1
Nadir Belhadj - Lens to Portsmouth

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Top Premiership Scorers in All Competitions

These are the top Premiership goal scorers in all competitions, including the league, league cup, fa cup, world club championship, uefa cup, and champion's league.

17 - Nikolas Anelka (14Lg; 1fa; 2eu)
15 - Steven Gerrard (9Lg; 1fa; 5eu)
14 - Frank Lampard (9Lg; 2fa; 2lc; 1eu)
13 - Peter Crouch (8Lg; 1fa; 4eu)
13 - Cristiano Ronaldo (10Lg; 2Lc; 1wcc)
13 - Robin van Persie (9Lg; 2fa; 2eu)
12 - Emmanuel Adebayor (8Lg; 4eu)
12 - Darren Bent (7Lg; 1Lc; 4eu)
12 - Roman Pavlyuchenko (3Lg; 3fa; 6Lc)
12 - Robinho (11Lg; 1eu)
12 - Wayne Rooney (6Lg; 1fa; 4eu; 3wcc)
11 - Dimitar Berbatov (6Lg; 1fa; 4eu)
11 - Amr Zaki (10Lg; 1Lc)
10 - Gabriel Agbonlahor (9Lg; 1eu)
10 - Djibril Cisse (9Lg; 1fa)
10 - Carlton Cole (8Lg; 1fa; 1Lc)
10 - Michael Owen (8Lg; 2Lc)
10 - Carlos Tevez (3Lg; 6Lc; 1eu)



stats as of February 2

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Yanks Abroad Interactive Map Update

Here is the update to the Yanks Abroad (Europe) google map for February. Click View Larger Map for better navigation options. Click the icons for Player/Club names and zoom in for a view of the home stadiums.


View Larger Map

Monday, February 2, 2009

Jozy Altidore: Xerez CD Profile


Pic from Official Xerez Website

Club Director Rondan says....
”ha sido difícil y complicado, hemos tratado de convencer al entrenador y al propio jugador de que el Xerez es una buena opción. Estamos satisfechos de que Altidore milite en el Xerez y nos ayude a conseguir nuestros objetivos”

Google Translation..
"it has been difficult and complicated, we have tried to convince the coach and the player himself that Xerez is a good option. We are pleased that Altidore Milite Xerez in and help us to achieve our objectives "

Jozy says....
"it is a good option for me because I will have more options to add minutes on the field that will serve me to adapt in this country, so I hope to keep growing in my career "

08/09 Xerez Players listed at forward
Antoñito - age 31; 5ft10in (10 goals in 19 games)
Antonio Calle - age 30; 6ft1in (2 goals in 17 games)
Mario Bermejo - age 30; 5ft10in (4 goals in 16 games)
Míchel - age 31; 6ft3in (0 goals)
Jozy Altidore - age 19; 6ft1in


I don't really know anything from personal experience about the club, but, from what I've read in forums, Jeronimo Cabrera Momo, who plays as a winger, is likely the top player currently at the club. He's notched 10 goals and 2 assists so far this season. I believe they play a two forward system. One, Antoñito, is a player who made 90 appearances for La Liga's Sevilla. He was Xerez's second leading scorer last year and is leading the forward line this season.

The other main forward options, Calle and Bermejo are each veterans who've spent most of their careers in the Segunda Division.

Do any fans of the club have an opinion on where Jozy will slot in with the team? I don't know the injury situation, but will Jozy play ahead of these veterans with La Liga experience?


Spain Segunda Division Finishing Positions
02-03 - 6th place
03-04 - 9th place
04-05 - 8th place
05-06 - 7th place
06-07 - 8th place
07-08 - 15th place
08-09 - currently 1st

Former Xerez Players with US/Canada Connections
Walter Otta - played with Calgary Mustangs in 2004
Gino Padula - part of Columbus Crew's championship team in 2008

I'm no expert in the Spanish language, but I believe Xerez is pronounced "Sherez"

Xerez currently leads the Segunda Division in goals scored with 39 in 22 games played.

Xerez is located in Jerez, Andalucia in the South of Spain. It is adjacent to Cadiz and about 50 miles south of Sevilla.

An interesting story of Shang Yi, a Chinese International player who had a "personal sponsor" that payed Xerez to let him play. (link)

When I started this post, I hoped to find out more, but fell short due to my lack of Spanish skills and a lack of time. If anybody would like to add more info (formations? injuries? etc.) on the club, please do. Enquiring minds want to know....