Friday, May 29, 2009

World Soccer Picture Quiz






I'm not sure why, but some of the pictures became kind of small when embedding the quiz. They should still be recognizable, I'll see what I can do to fix the issue, if anything.

Thursday, May 28, 2009

MLS Players on Twitter

I caved in. I wasn't going to use Twitter. Just like I was never going to have a blog, or never get a cell phone, or never switch from records to tapes to cd's to mp3 players. Eventually I cave, usually about a year after everyone else. Anyways, if you do the Twitter thing, here is the Best Eleven's new Twitter feed.

On that subject, I've been following the twitter feeds of a few MLS players and have been entertained (of course, especially by Jimmy Conrad and Bobby Boswell), so I went on a mission to find all the MLS players currently 'tweeting'. Here is the list I came up with, including a few former MLS players as well. If there are more let me know and I'll add them to the list.




CHIVAS USA
Dan Kennedy
Sacha Kljestan

COLOMBUS CREW
Robbie Rogers

DC UNITED
Brian Namoff

HOUSTON DYNAMO
Bobby Boswell
Michael Chabala
Brian Ching
Danny Cruz
Stuart Holden
Kei Kamara

KANSAS CITY WIZARDS
Jimmy Conrad

LA GALAXY
Edson Buddle
Bryan Jordan

NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION
Chris Tierney

NEW YORK RED BULLS
Mike Petke

SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES
Joe Cannon
Kelly Gray

TORONTO FC
Jim Brennan
Dwayne DeRosario
Danny Dichio
Rohan Ricketts


FORMER MLS PLAYERS
Freddy Adu
Jozy Altidore
Hunter Freeman
Brad Guzan
Joseph Ngwenya
Bobby Rhine





Danny Cruz added after visiting Twitter-Athletes. Visit that site for more athletes who twitter in many different sports.

Bobby Rhine added thanks to commenter DJ Walker from the excellent FC Dallas site, "3rd Degree"

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

2009 Champions League Final: Tale of the Tape



Here are some statistical comparisons between FC Barcelona and Manchester United from the entire 08/09 Champion's League competition.

Top Scorers (3 minimum)
8 - Lionel Messi (837 minutes)
5 - Thierry Henry (630 minutes)
3 - Bojan Krkic (317 minutes)
3 - Samuel Eto'o (691 minutes)

4 - Dimitar Berbatov (489 minutes)
4 - Wayne Rooney (864 minutes)
4 - Cristiano Ronaldo (920 minutes)

Assist Leaders
6 - Xavi Hernandez (881 minutes)
5 - Lionel Messi (837 minutes)
3 - Thierry Henry (630 minutes)

3 - Ryan Giggs (570 minutes)
3 - Wayne Rooney (864 minutes)

Club Statistics

Goals Scored
30 - Barcelona (2.5 per game)
18 - Manchester United (1.5 per game)

Goals Conceded
6 - Manchester United (0.5 per game)
13 - Barcelona (1.08 per game)

Posession Match Average
62% - Barcelona
54% - Manchester United

Corners
82 - Barcelona (6.83 per game)
80 - Manchester United (6.67 per game)

Shots on Target
87 - Manchester United (7.25 per game)
83 - Barcelona (6.92 per game)

Barcelona

Semi-Finals
Chelsea (H) 0-0
Chelsea (A) 1-1

Quarter-Finals
Bayern Munich (H) 4-0
Bayern Munich (A) 1-1

First Knockout Round
Lyon (A) 1-1
Lyon (H) 5-2

Group Stage (4-1-1)
3-1 - Sporting (H)
2-1 - Shakhtar (A)
5-0 - Basel (A)
1-1 - Basel (H)
5-2 - Sporting (A)
2-3 - Shakhtar (H)

Manchester United

Semi-Finals
Arsenal (H) 1-0
Arsenal (A) 3-1

Quarter-Finals
Porto (H) 2-2
Porto (A) 1-0

First Knockout Round
Inter (A) 0-0
Inter (H) 2-0

Group Stage (2-4-0)
0-0 - Villarreal (H)
3-0 - AaB (A)
3-0 - Celtic (H)
1-1 - Celtic (A)
0-0 - Villarreal (A)
2-2 - AaB (H)


Players 6'4" or more
Gerard Pique (B)
Edwin van der Sar (M)

Players 5'7" or less
Xavi (B)
Andres Iniesta (B)
Lionel Messi (B)
Bojan Krkic (B)
Dani Alves (B)
Carlos Tevez (M)

Oldest Player
38 - Edwin van der Sar (M)
35 - Sylvinho (B)

Youngest Player
18 - Bojan Krkic (B)
18 - Rafael (M)


All-Time Champions
3 - Manchester United (1968, 1999, 2008)
2 - Barcelona (1992, 2006) (3-time runner up)

All-Time Semi-Final Appearances
11 - Manchester United
11 - Barcelona


Random Notes

2005-2006 Barcelona and 2007-2008 Manchester United share the all-time record of winning the Champions League unbeaten with 9 wins and 4 draws.

Manchester United have never lost in a Champions League final appearance.

In 2002-2003 Barcelona was one of only four teams all-time to win all 6 games in their group stage, going 6-0-0

In 2002-2003 FC Barcelona set the record of 11 consecutive wins (including third qualifying round) in the Champions League.

Thierry Henry is the third top-scorer of all-time in the Champions League.

Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Gary Neville, and Thierry Henry are in a select group of only 11 players that have made more than 100 Champions League appearances all-time.

Pep Guardiola has the chance of becoming only the third coach in history to win the Champions League with the same club as a player and a coach. (Miguel Muñoz, Real Madrid; Carlo Ancelotti, AC Milan)

Ryan Giggs is the only player to score in 13 different Champions League seasons.

Barcelona's Bojan Krkic is the second youngest player to ever score a goal in the Champions League when he was 17. (Peter Ofori-Quaye)

The current Manchester United team holds the all-time record for longest undefeated run, currently at 25 games.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Worldwide Double Digit Goal Games in 2008/2009

This is a worldwide list of all of the 10 goal games by a single team in 2008/2009.

Andorra
Ranger's FC -- 0-12 -- FC Santa Coloma
UE Sant Julia -- 18-0 -- UE Engordany

Antigua
All Saints United -- 10-1 -- Old Road
Old Road -- 11-5 -- Freemansville

Botswana
Mochudi Centre Chiefs -- 12-2 -- Boteti Young Fighters

El Salvador
Águila -- 10-0 -- Juventud Independiente

Estonia
JK Vaprus Pärnu -- 3-10 -- TVMK Tallinn

Fiji
Ba -- 10-1 -- Nadi

Guam
No Ka Oi -- 0-11 -- Paintco Strykers
Paintco Strykers -- 18-1 -- Wild Bill's

Macao
Hong Lok -- 0-10 -- Lam Pak

Mongolia
Kharaatsai -- 3-10 -- Ulaanbaatar University
Erchim -- 10-1 -- Kharaatsai
Khangarid -- 10-3 -- Ulaanbaatar University

New Caledonia
JS Baco -- 0-11 - AS Lossi
AS Temala -- 1-12 - AS Magenta
JS Baco -- 1-12 - AS Magenta
AS Lossi -- 11-0 -- AS Temala
AS Magenta -- 10-0 -- AS Temala

Nicaragua
Walter Ferreti -- 10-0 -- Bluefields
Real Esteli -- 10-0 -- Masatepe

Palestine
Wadi Al-Neiss -- 12-1 -- Ittihad Nablus
Jabal Mukabar -- 13-1 -- Ittihad Nablus
Al-Bireh -- 10-0 -- Ittihad Nablus

Trinidad and Tobago
Tobago United -- 0-10 -- Defence Force

Uganda
Sharing -- 1-10 -- Bunamwaya



Last Double Digit Goal League Game in Top Division of...

England
1963/64 - Fulham -- 10-1 -- Ipswich Town

Spain
1959/60 - Real Madrid -- 11-2 -- Elche

Italy
1947/48 - Torino -- 10-0 -- Alessandria

Germany
1984/85 - Borussia Mönchengladbach -- 10-0 -- Eintracht Braunschweig

France
1965/66 - Girondins de Bordeaux -- 10-0 -- Stade Francais

Netherlands
1997/98 - PSV -- 10-0 -- Volendam

Portugal
1964/65 - SL Benfica -- 11-3 -- Seixal

Scotland
1967/68 - Rangers -- 10-2 -- Raith Rovers

USA
Never in MLS, USL/A-League, NASL play (I think?)
The Atlanta Silverbacks defeated Azzurri 10-0 in the 2007 US Open Cup.




Stats compiled from RSSSF

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Friday, May 22, 2009

Promotion and Relegation Rules

Promotion and Relegation is widely used around the world, but many nations have different systems in place to determine who is Promoted/Relegated. Here, I've listed the differing systems in place for movement between the Top Flight and the Second Division of many nations around the world.


England
Premier League: The three bottom teams are relegated

Championship: The top two are automatically promoted. Teams placed 3 through 6 enter a four team playoff with the winner gaining promotion.

Spain
La Liga: The three bottom teams are relegated.

Segunda Division: The top three teams are automatically promoted

Italy
Serie A: The three bottom teams are relegated

Serie B: The top two teams gain automatic promotion. If the 3rd place team is 10 or more points ahead of the 4th place team, they are also automatically promoted. If not, the 3rd through 6th place teams compete in a playoff to determine the promotion.

Germany
Bundesliga: The two bottom teams are relegated. The third team from the bottom plays a two-legged playoff with the third-place team in 2.Bundesliga with the winner playing in the top division.*

*This system is also used in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Japan

2.Bundesliga: The top two teams are automatically promoted. The third place team plays the 3rd from bottom in the top division to determine who is promoted and who is relegated.

France
Ligue 1: The three bottom teams are relegated

Ligue 2: The top three teams are automatically promoted.

Netherlands
Eredivisie: The bottom team is automatically relegated. The next two lowest Eredivisie teams enter a playoff system with the 8 best teams from the second division. Here is how the "best" teams from the second division is determined.

* The club with the best record in the "first period" of the season (after 6 rounds).
* The club with the best record in the "second period" of the season (rounds 7-12).
* The club with the best record in the "third period" of the season (rounds 13-18).
* The club with the best record in the "fourth period" of the season (rounds 19-24).
* The club with the best record in the "fifth period" of the season (rounds 25-30).
* The club with the best record in the "sixth period" of the season (rounds 31-36).
* The two remaining spots are filled by the highest-placed clubs that have not already earned automatic promotion or qualified for the Playoff.

Generally it turns out to be the 2nd through 9th placed clubs in the Eerste Divisie (2nd division) and the 16th and 17th place club in the Eredivisie in the playoff to determine two places in the Eredevisie.

Eerste Divisie: The top team is automatically promoted. The next 8 "best" teams enter a playoff. (see above)

Scotland
Premier League: The bottom (12th placed) club is automatically relegated.

First Division: The top club, whose stadium must meet the SPL criteria of 6,000 capacity for entry, gains automatic promotion.

Turkey
Super League: The bottom three teams are relegated:

1. Lig: The top two teams are promoted, while teams 3 through 6 compete in a playoff for the third promotion spot.

Romania
Liga I: The bottom four teams are relegated

Liga II: The second division in Romania is divided into two divisions of 18 teams (east-west). The top two teams from each division gain automatic promotion.

Portugal

Liga: The bottom two teams are relegated

Liga de Honra: The top two teams are promoted

Denmark
Superligaen: The bottom two teams are relegated

1st Division: The top two teams are promoted


Brazil
Serie A: The bottom four teams are relegated

Serie B: The top four teams are promoted

Mexico
Primera Divison: At the end of the apertura and clausura (split-season) tournaments, one team is relegated to Primera Division A. The relegated club is determined by the points per game played ratio in the previous three seasons (six total tournaments). Only two or four tournaments are considered for teams that have been recently promoted.

Primera Divison A: The winner of a two-leg match between the apertura and clausura champions from the season is automatically promoted. If a team wins both the apertura and clausura, they gain automatic promotion.

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Non-European UEFA Cup Winning Players since 1998

I was intrigued by the 5 Brazilian starters for Shakhtar Donetsk in the UEFA cup final yesterday and became curious about non-European Cup winning players over the last few years. Here are all of the non-Euro players that were on the gameday roster for the final game since the UEFA Cup final went to a single leg in 1998.


2009
Shakhtar Donetsk
5 - Brazil (Fernandinho, Ilsinho, Willian, Jadson, Luiz Adriano)
1 - Bolivia (Marcelo Moreno*)

2008
Zenit St. Petersburg
1 - South Korea (Kim Dong-Jin)
1 - Argentina (Alejandro Domínguez*)

2007
Sevilla
4 - Brazil (Dani Alves, Adriano, Luis Fabiano, Renato)
1 - Mali (Frederic Kanoute)
1 - Uruguay (Javier Chevanton*)

2006
Sevilla
4 - Brazil (Dani Alves, Adriano, Luis Fabiano, Renato)
1 - Mali (Frederic Kanoute)
1 - Argentina (Javier Saviola)

2005
CSKA Moscow
2 - Brazil (Daniel Carvalho, Vagner Lover)
1 - Nigeria (Chidi Odiah)
1 - Argentina (Osmar Ferreyra*)

2004
Valencia
3 - Argentina (Roberto Ayala, Mauricio Pellegrino, Pablo Aimar)
1 - Mali (Mohamed Sissoko)

2003
FC Porto
2 - Brazil (Derlei, Clayton*)

2002
Feyenoord
1 - Ghana (Christian Gyan)
1 - Ivory Coast (Bonaventure Kalou)
1 - Japan (Shinji Ono)
1 - Chile (Mauricio Aros*)
1 - Brazil (Leonardo)

2001
Liverpool
NONE

2000
Galatasaray
3 - Brazil (Taffarel, Capone, Marcio*)

1999
Parma
4 - Argentina (Roberto Nestor Sensini, Juan Sebastian Veron, Hernan Crespo, Abel Balbo)

1998
Inter Milan
2 - Brazil (Ze Elias, Ronaldo)
2 - Nigeria (Taribo West, Nwankwo Kanu*)
2 - Argentina (Javier Zanetti, Diego Simeone)
1 - Chile (Ivan Zamorano)
1 - Uruguay (Alvaro Recoba*)


* On the bench, but did not play in the final


By Region
41 - South America
8 - Africa
2 - Asia

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Videos: Best J-League Goals of 2008 and 2009

I've mentioned before that I'm a big fan of the J-League in Japan. The crowd support is great and the attacking "Brazilian/Japanese" style of play is fun to watch. Having attended a couple of Japanese league games in person, I can say that the atmosphere is outstanding as well. These videos show some truly world class goals and attacking play (and some poor defending and goalkeeping errors, but these are goal highlights after all).

Here are the goals of the season from 2008 and the best goals so far in the 2009 season from Youtube channel/user Siohoko.





Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Ex-Foreign MLS Players: Where Are They Now?

This is a list of former foreign Major League Soccer players (minimum 15 MLS appearances) that have left the league and are currently playing for clubs outside of the USA and Canada.

Argentina
Sergio Galván Rey - Atlético Nacional (Colombia) (NY)
Nico Hernandez - Liga Deportiva Alajuelense (Costa Rica) (COL, CLB)
Carlos Marinelli - Millonarios (Colombia) (KC)
Eloy Colombano - Club Atlético Atlanta (Argentina) (KC)
Marcelo Gallardo - River Plate (Argentina) (DC)
Gonzalo Peralta - Unión Santa Fe (Argentina; loan) (DC)

Bolivia
Joselito Vaca - Oriente Petrolero (Bolivia) (DAL, NY)

Botswana
Dipsy Selolwane - Ajax Cape Town (South Africa) (CHI, RSL)

Brazil
Thiago Martins - FK Bodø/Glimt (Norway) (DC, CHV, NY, COL)
Diego Walsh - Wellington Phoenix (Australia, NZ) (CLB, KC, RSL)
Álvaro Pires - Fortaleza Esporte Clube (Brazil; Loan from Spartak Nalchik) (LA)

Bulgaria
Galin Ivanov - PFC Slavia Sofia (Bulgaria) (DC)

Cameroon
Alain N'Kong - US Boulogne (France) (COL)

Canada
Chris Pozniak - Dundee (Scotland) (TOR)

Chile
Marcos González - Universidad Catolica (Chile) (CLB)

Colombia
Juan Toja - Steaua Bucureşti (Romania) (DAL)
Ivan Trujillo - Deportes Quindío (Colombia) (KC)

Costa Rica
Alejandro Sequeira - Brujas FC (Costa Rica) (TB, SJ)
Douglas Sequeira - Tromsø I.L. (Norway) (CHV, RSL)
Mauricio Solís - CS Herediano (Costa Rica) (SJ)
Pablo Chinchilla - LASK Linz (Austria) (LA)
William Sunsing - Sunsing (Costa Rica) (NE)
Michael Umaña - Liberia Mia (Costa Rica) (LA)

Ecuador
Ariel Graziani - Atlético Empalme (Argentina Amateur) (DAL, SJ)
Eduardo Hurtado - Deportivo Pereira (Colombia) (LA, NY, NE)
Roberto Mina - Belgrano de Cordoba (Argentina) (DAL)

El Salvador
Eliseo Quintanilla - CD Aguila (El Salvador) (DC)

England
Andy Dorman - St Mirren (Scotland) (NE)
Andy Welsh - Yeovil Town (England) (TOR)
Mark Wilson - Doncaster Rovers (England) (DAL)

Finland
Simo Valakari - TPS Turku (Finland) (DAL)

France
Laurent Merlin - SO Cassis Carnoux (France) (CHV)
Laurent Robert - Larissa (Greece) (TOR)

Ghana
Junior Agogo - El Zamalek (Egypt) (CHI, COL, SJ)

Guatemala
Freddy García - CSD Municipal (Guatemala) (CLB)
Carlos Ruiz - Olimpia Asuncion (Paraguay) (LA, DAL, TOR)

Honduras
Ramón Núñez - Puebla FC (Mexico) (DAL, CHV)
Samuel Caballero - Changchun Yatai (China) (CHI)
Saul Martínez - Marathon (Honduras) (MIA)
Carlos Pavón - Club Necaxa (Mexico) (LA)

Ireland
Richie Baker - Shelbourne (Ireland) (NE)

Israel
Dedi Ben Dayan - Maccabi Netanya (Israel) (COL)

Jamaica
Fabian Taylor - Notodden FK (Norway) (NY)
Winston Griffiths - Sporting Central (Jamaica) (LA, NY, NE)

Liberia
Chris Gbandi - FK Haugesund (Norway) (DAL)

Mexico
Duilio Davino - Puebla FC (Mexico) (DAL)
Juan Pablo García - Tigres UANL (Mexico) (CHV)
Francisco Mendoza - CD Guadalajara (Mexico) (CHV)
Francisco Palencia - UNAM Pumas (Mexico) (CHV)
Isaac Romo - Querétaro FC (Mexico) (CHV)

New Zealand
Ryan Nelsen - Blackburn Rovers (England) (DC)
Tony Lochhead - Wellington Phoenix (Australia, NZ) (NE)

Poland
Tomasz Frankowski - Jagiellonia Białystok (Poland) (CHI)

Scotland
Kenny Deuchar - Hamilton Academical (Scotland) (RSL)
Tam McManus - Derry City (Scotland) (COL)

Senegal
Mamadou Diallo - Djoliba AC Bamako (Mali) (TB, NE, NY)

Trinidad and Tobago
Gary Glasgow - Joe Public (T&T) (KC)
Stern John - Southampton (England) (CLB)
Scott Sealy - Maccabi Tel Aviv (Israel) (KC, SJ)
Ansil Elcock - Tobago United (T&T) (CLB)

Uruguay
José Cancela - Liberia Mia (Costa Rica) (NE, COL)

Zimbabwe
Joseph Ngwenya - Antalyaspor (Turkey) (LA, CLB, HOU)

Monday, May 18, 2009

Premiership: Top-Scorers by Confederation since 2004

These are the English Premier League's top goal scorers from each World Confederation since the 2004/2005 season. Kudos to former DC United defender Ryan Nelsen for scoring the only Oceania goal.


2008/2009*
  • Africa - Benny McCarthy, Emmanuel Adebayor, Amr Zaki (10)
  • Asia - Tim Cahill (8)
  • CONCACAF - Kenwyne Jones (8)
  • CONMEBOL - Robinho (14)
  • Europe - Nicolas Anelka and Cristiano Ronaldo (18)
  • Oceania - Ryan Nelsen (1)

2007/2008
  • Africa - Emmanuel Adebayor (24)
  • Asia - Tim Cahill, Mark Viduka (7)
  • CONCACAF - Kenwyne Jones (7)
  • CONMEBOL - Roque Santa Cruz (19)
  • Europe - Cristiano Ronaldo (31)
  • Oceania - NONE

2006/2007
  • Africa - Didier Drogba (20)
  • Asia - Mark Viduka (14)
  • CONCACAF - Brian McBride (9)
  • CONMEBOL - Gilberto Silva (10)
  • Europe - Cristiano Ronaldo (17)
  • Oceania - NONE

2005/2006
  • Africa - Yakubu (13)
  • Asia - Mark Viduka (7)
  • CONCACAF - Brian McBride (9)
  • CONMEBOL - Hernan Crespo (10)
  • Europe - Thierry Henry (27)
  • Oceania - NONE

2004/2005
  • Africa - Yakubu (13)
  • Asia - Tim Cahill (11)
  • CONCACAF - Brian McBride, Tomasz Radzinski (6)
  • CONMEBOL - Nolberto Solano (8)
  • Europe - Thierry Henry (27)
  • Oceania - NONE




*In Progress, One Fixture Week Left in 08/09

Saturday, May 16, 2009

The Best Eleven Marketplace

Here are this week's hand-picked, rare and vintage shirts for auction on ebay.

Friday, May 15, 2009

European One-Time League Champions since 1950

This list shows all of the one-time champions from each of the top 20 European Leagues (UEFA Coefficients) starting in 1950.

England

1961-62 - Ipswich Town
1977-78 - Nottingham Forest

Spain

1999-00 - Deportivo La Coruña

Italy

1969-70 - Cagliari
1984-85 - Hellas Verona
1990-91 - Sampdoria

Germany

1955 - Rot-Weiss Essen
1959 - Eintracht Frankfurt
1965-66 - 1860 Munich

France

1979 - RC Strasbourg
1996 - AJ Auxerre
1998 - RC Lens

Russia

1995 - Spartak-Alania Vladikavkaz
2007 - Zenit Saint Petersburg
2008 - Rubin Kazan

Ukraine

1992 - Tavriya Simferopol

Netherlands

1958 - FC Utrecht (as DOS)
1964 - AFC Door Wilskracht Sterk

Romania

2007-08 - CFR 1907 Cluj-Napoca

Portugal

2001 - Boavista

Turkey

NONE - Sivasspor has a decent shot for their first Turkish Süper Lig title this season. They are currently in second place, trailing Besiktas JK by two points in the table with three games to play.

Greece

1988 - Larissa

Scotland

1961-62 - Dundee
1964-65 - Kilmarnock
1982-83 - Dundee United

Belgium

1974-75 - R.W.D. Molenbeek

Switzerland

1988-89 - FC Luzern

Bulgaria

1963 - Spartak Plovdiv
1986 - Beroe Stara Zagora
1991 - Etar Veliko Tarnovo
2004 - Lokomotiv Plovdiv

Czech Republic

2003-04 - Baník Ostrava

Norway

1966 - Skeid
1970 - Strømsgodset
1987 - Moss
2008 - Stabæk

Austria

1974 - VÖEST Linz
2004 - Grazer AK (GAK)

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Videos: Soccer Signature Moves and Skills

These videos show some of the amazing skills that many of the world's all time greats became known for. In many cases the players involved used the moves so frequently that it became their signature and the skill was named after them. In the modern game, many players can pull off a majority of these moves, but these videos show the players that put these exceptional skills on the map.


Zinedine Zidane 'Roulette' 'Pirouette' 'Marseille Roulette' '360'


Johann Cruyff 'Cruyff Turn'


Rivelino 'Elasticos'


Diego Maradona 'Rabona'


Cuauhtemoc Blanco 'Blanco Hop' 'Cuauhteminha' 'Bunny Hop'


Kerlon 'Seal Dribble'


Rene Higuita 'Scorpion Kick'


Pele 'Sombrero'


Hugo Sanchez 'Bicycle Kick' 'Chilena'


Ferenc Puskás 'V-Move' at the 18 second mark


The 'Stanley Matthews' -Matthews does his winger 'cut' move a couple of times in this video-

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Australian Soccer Players in Europe - Interactive Map

This map shows the Australian players currently playing in Europe.

Click on the Flag icons for Player names and Clubs and Zoom in to see the stadiums.


View Australian Soccer Players in Europe in a larger map with more navigation options




Originally Posted 5/18/08
Update: 5/13/09

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Asian Soccer Quiz

I realise that Asian soccer is not as heavily followed by The Best Eleven's readers as other regions, so this quiz, while definitely not "easy", is more basic than the previous difficult quizzes about Europe and MLS. Give it a shot, 7 out of 10 is a 'passing grade'.

Monday, May 11, 2009

2009 MLS Tallest Players

This is a list of all the 2009 Major League Soccer Players that are 6 feet 3 inches or taller.

CHICAGO FIRE
6 ft 4 in - Bakary Soumare
6 ft 4 in - Nick Noble

COLUMBUS CREW
6 ft 5 in - Andy Iro
6 ft 4 in - Eric Brunner
6 ft 3 in - Chad Marshall

DC UNITED
6 ft 4 in - Miloš Kočić
6 ft 4 in - Anthony Peters
6 ft 3 in - Josh Wicks
6 ft 3 in - Greg Janicki

KANSAS CITY WIZARDS
6 ft 5 in - Eric Kronberg
6 ft 5 in - Boris Pardo

NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION
6 ft 3 in - Shalrie Joseph

NEW YORK RED BULLS
6 ft 6 in - Jon Conway
6 ft 3 in - Andrew Boyens
6 ft 3 in - Macoumba Kandji
6 ft 3 in - Khano Smith
6 ft 3 in - Terry Boss

TORONTO FC
6 ft 6 in - Greg Sutton
6 ft 3 in - Danny Dichio
6 ft 3 in - Brian Edwards
6 ft 3 in - Stefan Frei
6 ft 3 in - Emmanuel Gomez

CHIVAS USA
6 ft 5 in - Bobby Burling
6 ft 4 in - Jim Curtin
6 ft 4 in - Lance Parker
6 ft 3 in - Justin Braun
6 ft 3 in - Zach Thornton
6 ft 3 in - Atiba Harris

COLORADO RAPIDS
6 ft 3 in - Preston Burpo
6 ft 3 in - Matt Pickens
6 ft 3 in - Rob Valentino

FC DALLAS
6 ft 4 in - Steve Purdy
6 ft 4 in - Dario Sala
6 ft 3 in - Dave van den Bergh
6 ft 3 in - George John
6 ft 3 in - Kenny Cooper
6 ft 3 in - Brek Shea

HOUSTON DYNAMO
6 ft 4 in - Tally Hall
6 ft 4 in - Pat Onstad
6 ft 3 in - Geoff Cameron
6 ft 3 in - Tyler Deric

LOS ANGELES GALAXY
6 ft 5 in - Omar Gonzalez
6 ft 4 in - Josh Saunders
6 ft 3 in - Alan Gordon
6 ft 3 in - Donovan Ricketts

REAL SALT LAKE
6 ft 4 in - Chris Seitz
6 ft 4 in - David Horst
6 ft 3 in - Jámison Olave
6 ft 3 in - Kyle Reynish

SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES
6 ft 4 in - Cam Weaver
6 ft 3 in - Pablo Campos

SEATTLE SOUNDERS
6 ft 5 in - Taylor Graham
6 ft 3 in - Nate Jaqua

Friday, May 8, 2009

TB11: Vintage Soccer Shirt Marketplace

Didier Drogba.....

Why does a guy who can do this....





Feel the need to consistently do stuff like this......













funny animated gif




Unfortunate.....



Unprofessional Foul put together a list of quality links about the controversial Semi Final Chelsea-Barca game if you've been living under a rock or missed it for some unknown reason. (Link)

Thursday, May 7, 2009

All-Time UK and Ireland Players in Spain

Historically, it's been a rare occurrence when a British/Irish soccer player makes the move to play in Spain. To put it into perspective, there are currently 12 Spanish players at Liverpool alone (counting reserves and loaned players), compared to only 9 UK/Ireland players in all of the Spanish top flight in the last 10 years.

The only current Spanish-based player is Republic of Ireland International Steve Finnan at RCD Espanyol and it's been since the 80's since a NI, Scottish, or Welsh player has gone to the Spanish top division.

Last Player From:
England - David Beckham (Real Madrid: 2007)
Rep of Ireland - Steve Finnan (currently at RCD Espanyol)
Northern Ireland - James Hagan (Celta da Vigo: 1989)
Scotland - Ted McMinn (Sevilla: 1988)
Wales - Mark Hughes (Barcelona: 1987)


This is the All-time list of UK/Ireland players who've made at least one first division appearance in Spain.

ENGLAND -- (17)
Dalian Atkinson – Real Sociedad – 1990-91
Peter Barnes – Real Betis – 1982-83
David Beckham – Real Madrid – 2003-07
Stan Collymore – Real Oviedo – 2000-01
Laurie Cunningham – Real Madrid, Sporting de Gijón – 1979-82, 1983-84
Mark Draper – Rayo Vallecano – 1999-00
Georges Green – RCD Espanyol – 1935-36
Adrian Heath – RCD Espanyol – 1988-89
Sammy Lee – CA Osasuna – 1987-89
Gary Lineker – FC Barcelona – 1986-89
Harris Lowe – Real Sociedad – 1934-35
Steve McManaman – Real Madrid – 1999-03
Raphael Meade – Real Betis – 1987-88
Michael Owen – Real Madrid – 2004-05
Kevin Richardson – Real Sociedad – 1990-91
Vinny Samways – UD Las Palmas, Sevilla FC – 2000-03
Jonathan Woodgate – Real Madrid – 2005-06

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND -- (8)
John Aldridge – Real Sociedad – 1989-91
Liam Buckley – Racing – 1986-87
Alan Campbell – Racing – 1984-86
Steve Finnan – RCD Espanyol – 2008-Current
Ashley Grimes – CA Osasuna – 1989-90
Ian Harte – Levante UD – 2004-05, 2006-07
Kevin Moran – Sporting de Gijón – 1988-90
Michael Robinson – CA Osasuna – 1986-89

NORTHERN IRELAND -- (2)
Gerry Armstrong – RCD Mallorca – 1983-84
James Hagan – Celta de Vigo – 1987-89

SCOTLAND -- (3)
Steve Archibald – FC Barcelona – 1984-87
Ted McMinn – Sevilla FC – 1986-88
Jack Watson – Real Madrid – 1948-49

WALES -- (1)
Mark Hughes – FC Barcelona – 1986-87



Pics from DailyMail

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Soccer Family Ties

You could go on for days with interesting family ties in soccer. Here, I've put together a few soccer family tidbits that I thought were interesting, some well-known and others somewhat obscure.




Tim Cahill's (Everton) brother Chris Cahill plays internationally for Samoa.

Sergio Aguero is the father of Diego Maradona's grandchild.

Giovani dos Santos' Brazilian father played with America and Monterrey in Mexico. His brother Jonathan plays with FC Barcelona's youth team and his other brother Eder is currently on Club America's 1st Division team.

Canadian-born brothers Julian and Jonathan de Guzman have taken different paths with Julian playing for Canada and Jonathan making himself available for selection with the Netherlands.

Samuel Eto'o has two lesser-known brothers playing professionally. David is currently with CF Reus Deportiu in the Fourth Division in Spain and his younger brother Etienne is with Real Mallorca in Spain.

Short-lived 2008 Toronto FC player Olivier Tebily is a cousin of Didier Drogba.

There are three Toure brothers. Kolo (Arsenal), Yaya (Barcelona), and the as of now, lesser-known Ibrahim who is now with Al-Ittihad in Syria after spending last season with ASEC Mimosas, the famous Ivorian, African club.

The Laudrup family in Denmark has quite the soccer pedigree. Finn represented Denmark 20 times, his sons Brian and Michael were staples for Denmark in the 90's and now two of his grandchildren (Michael's sons) are in the Danish youth national team system.

This is fairly well known to many, but Frank Lampard is related to Harry and Jamie Redknapp.

Luka Modrić is Mark Viduka's cousin.

France's Steve Mandanda has a brother, Parfait, who plays internationally for Congo DR.

Arnór and Eidur Guðjohnsen of Iceland are the only father and son to play for their country during the same game. Arnór was 34 and Eidur was 17 when it happened.

Alecko Eskandarian's (Chivas USA) father Andranik played internationally for Iran in the mid 70's.

Another brother divide, Christian Vieri chose to play for Italy while Max played with Australia.

Johan Cruyff's niece married Ruud Gullit.

Hamburger SV manager Martin Jol's brother Dick is a referee who has been assigned to Euro and Champions League games.

Portsmouth's Kanu has a younger brother, Christopher, who spent some time with Ajax but is now in Nigeria with Eagle Cement. Their stepbrother, Anderson "Anders" Gabolalmo Kanu, plays with Oghab FC in Tehran, Iran.

Miroslav Klose's father Josef played with Poland's National Team.

Vasili Frolov, a recent goalkeeper for FC Dynamo Moscow and 2nd division FC Zelenograd, is the grandson of the legendary Lev Yashin.

Gerard Piqué is the grandson of former FC Barcelona vice-president, Amador Bernabeu, not to be confused with Santiago Bernabeu whom the Real Madrid stadium is named after.

Taylor Twellman's (New England Revolution) father Tim was capped by the US national team one time in 1982.

Former US national team player Roy Wegerle has a brother Steve who was capped by South Africa and was named player of the year in South Africa in 74.

Guillermo Barros Schelotto (Columbus Crew) has a twin brother, Gustavo, who spent time with Boca Juniors, Villarreal, and the Puerto Rico Islanders.

Aleksandr Hleb's (Barcelona) brother Vyacheslav played with Hamburg, Grasshopper Zurich, and FC MTZ-RIPO in Belarus which is owned by the same person as Scottish Premier League side Hearts.

Former Liverpool and West Ham player, Rigobert Song, who is currently with Trabzonspor in Turkey, is the uncle of Arsenal's Alexandre Song.

Gabriel (DF, Barcelona) and David (FW, Genoa) Milito are brothers who, when in Argentina early in their career, directly played against each other for main rivals, Independiente and Racing Club.


{Originally posted 9/08, updated and added to on 5/5/09}

Friday, May 1, 2009

Best Defensive Seasons in Europe since 1990

These are all of the European clubs since 1990 that have impressively given up less than one goal every two games over the course of an entire league season.

Avg.
Club
Season
Games Played
Goals Allowed
0.324
FC Porto
1991/199234
11
0.346
Dynamo Kiev*
2001/200226
9
0.346
Shakhtar Donetsk
2001/200226
9
0.367
SK Slovan Bratislava
1998/199930
11
0.367
FC Levski Sofia
1998/199930
11
0.395
Chelsea2004/200538
15
0.412
Olympiakos1996/199734
14
0.433
FK Crvena Zvezda*
2003/200430
13
0.433
Levski Sofia
2006/200730
13
0.433
CSKA Sofia*
2006/200730
13
0.433
FC Porto
2007/200830
13
0.441
AC Milan
1993/199434
15
0.441
FC Porto*
1993/199434
15
0.441
FC Porto
1994/199534
15
0.447
Arsenal*1998/199938
17
0.467
Dynamo Kiev
1992/199330
14
0.467
Slavia Sofia
1995/199630
14
0.467
Dynamo Kiev
2004/200530
14
0.467
Shakhtar Donetsk
2005/200630
14
0.474
Arsenal1990/199138
18
0.474
Deportivo La Coruña*1993/199438
18
0.474
Celtic FC
2001/200238
18
0.474
SL Benfica
1990/19913818
0.475
FK Crvena Zvezda
1999/200040
19


* These clubs finished the season as Runner-up in the league
Every other club listed was the league champion for that season


Best Defensive Seasons by Nation since 1945
Avg. - Club - Season - (GP/GA)


Italy
0.367 - Cagliari - 1969/70 (30/11)

England
0.381 - Liverpool - 1978/79 (42/16)

Spain
0.474 - RC Deportivo - 1993/94 (38/18)

Germany
0.553 - Bayern Munich - 2006/07 (38/21)

France
0.552 - Olympique Marseille - 1991/92 (38/21)

Turkey
0.200 - Fenerbahçe SK - 1969/70 (30/6)

Netherlands
0.382 - FC Twente - 1971/72 (34/13)

Greece
0.382 - Olympiakos - 1972/73 (34/13)

Portugal
0.300 - FC Porto - 1979/80 (30/9)

Russia
0.467 - Spartak Moscow - 1969 (44/20)

Scotland
0.474 - Celtic FC - 2001/02 (38/18)


Source for Statistics: RSSSF with credit to Sondre Zachiarassen