CONCACAF Player Rankings in the Top Five European Leagues

The most recent overall Castrol Index rankings (May 2010) of CONCACAF players who played in the top leagues in England, France, Italy, Germany, and Spain last season.

Canada
1456 - Kevin McKenna (Köln)
1489 - Rob Friend (Hertha BSC)
1544 - David Hoilett (Blackburn Rovers)
2122 - Paul Stalteri (Borrusia Moenchengladbach)

Grenada
1139 - Jason Roberts (Blackburn Rovers)

Honduras
514 - Edgar Alvarez (Bari)
565 - Wilson Palacios (Tottenham)
1001 - Hendry Thomas (Wigan)
1042 - Maynor Figueroa (Wigan)
1686 - David Suazo (Genoa)

Jamaica
755 - Ricardo Fuller (Stoke City)
1506 - Ricardo Gardner (Bolton)

Mexico
451 - Andres Guardado (Deportivo la Coruna)
1059 - Rafa Marquez (Barcelona)
1248 - Guillermo Franco (Free)
1792 - Ricardo Osorio (Monterrey)
1988 - Carlos Vela (Arsenal)
2196 - Jonathan Dos Santos (Barcelona)
2302 - Miguel Arturo Layún (Atalanta)

Trinidad and Tobago
796 - Kenwyne Jones (Sunderland)
1343 - Jason Scotland (Wigan)

USA
18 - Marcus Hahnemann (Wolverhampton Wanderers)
86 - Clint Dempsey (Fulham)
143 - Brad Friedel (Aston Villa)
277 - Tim Howard (Everton)
587 - Carlos Bocanegra (St Etienne)
629 - Michael Bradley (Borussia Moenchengladbach)
725 - Steve Cherundolo (Hannover)
1085 - Jonathan Spector (West Ham United)
1431 - Jozy Altidore (Villarreal)
1777 - Charlie Davies (Sochaux)
2005 - Ricardo Clark (Eintracht Frankfurt)
2011 - Daniel Williams (SC Freiburg)
2093 - Stuart Holden (Bolton Wanderers)
2196 - Oguchi Onyewu (AC Milan)
2338 - Sal Zizzo (Chivas USA)


TOP 10 CONCACAF PLAYERS
18 - Marcus Hahnemann (Wolverhampton Wanderers)
86 - Clint Dempsey (Fulham)
143 - Brad Friedel (Aston Villa)
277 - Tim Howard (Everton)
451 - Andres Guardado (Deportivo La Coruna)
514 - Edgar Alvarez (Bari)
565 - Wilson Palacios (Tottenham)
587 - Carlos Bocanegra (St. Etienne)
629 - Michael Bradley (Borussia Moenchengladbach)
725 - Steve Cherundolo (Hannover)

Videos: Sombrero Goals

MLS African-Born Player Birthplace Map

The birthplaces of all the African-born players on MLS rosters as of July 27, 2010.


View MLS African-Born Player Birthplace Map in a larger map

MLS European-Born Player Birthplace Map

A google map showing the birthplaces of all the European-Born players on Major League Soccer rosters as of July 26, 2010.


View MLS European Born Players - Birthplace Map in a larger map

2010 World Cup: Top Players by Game

This is a list of players who had a Castrol Index rating of 9.00 or higher in a single game at the 2010 World Cup.


Group Stages


Korea Republic v Greece
9.15 - Jung Sung Ryong (Korea Republic: GK)
9.12 - Lee Jung Soo (Korea Republic: DF)
9.06 - Park Ji Sung (Korea Republic: MF)

Argentina v Nigeria
9.51 - Gabriel Heinze (Argentina: DF)
9.06 - Martin Demichelis (Argentina: DF)

Germany v Australia
9.22 - Manuel Neuer (Germany: GK)

Netherlands v Denmark
9.20 - Gregory Van der Wiel (Netherlands: DF)

Italy v Paraguay
9.20 - Antolin Alcaraz (Paraguay: DF)

Honduras v Chile
9.33 - Waldo Ponce (Chile: DF)
9.20 - Gary Medel (Chile: DF)

Argentina v Korea Republic
9.55 - Gonzalo Higuain (Argentina: FW)

Greece v Nigeria
9.19 - Vasileios Torosidis (Greece: DF)

Ghana v Australia
9.20 - John Pantsil (Ghana: DF)

Italy v New Zealand
9.01 - Giorgio Chiellini (Italy: DF)

Portugal v Korea DPR
9.12 - Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal: FW)

Chile v Switzerland
9.43 - Gary Medel (Chile: DF)
9.20 - Gonzalo Jara (Chile: DF)
9.04 - Carlos Carmona (Chile: MF)

Mexico v Uruguay
9.05 - Diego Lugano (Uruguay: DF)

Greece v Argentina
9.35 - Martin Demichelis (Argnetina: DF)

USA v Algeria
9.15 - Rais M Bolhi (Algeria: GK)
9.14 - Landon Donovan (USA: MF)

Ghana v Germany
9.72 - Philipp Lahm (Germany: DF)

Paraguay v New Zealand
9.17 - Mark Paston (New Zealand: GK)

Korea DPR v Cote d'Ivoire
9.21 - Boubacar Barry (Cote d'Ivoire: GK)


Knockout Stages

USA v Ghana
9.16 - Kwadwo Asamoah (Ghana: MF)
9.13 - Steve Cherundolo (USA: DF)
9.02 - Asamoah Gyan (Ghana: FW)

Germany v England
9.40 - Miroslav Klose (Germany: FW)
9.15 - Steven Gerrard (England: MF)

Netherlands v Slovakia
9.45 - Wesley Sneijder (Netherlands: MF)

Brazil v Chile
9.36 - Juan (Brazil: DF)

Paraguay v Japan
9.52 - Paulo Da Silva (Paraguay: DF)
9.45 - Eiji Kawashima (Japan: GK)
9.39 - Claudio Morel (Paraguay: DF)
9.32 - Antolin Alcaraz (Paraguay: DF)

Spain v Portugal
9.45 - Sergio Ramos (Spain: DF)
9.44 - David Villa (Spain: FW)
9.15 - Joan Capdevila (Spain: DF)

Netherlands v Brazil
9.50 - Wesley Sneijder (Netherlands: MF)
9.28 - Robinho (Brazil: FW)

Uruguay v Ghana
9.65 - Luis Suarez (Uruguay: FW)
9.19 - John Pantsil (Ghana: DF)
9.13 - Kwadwo Asamoah (Ghana: MF)

Argentina v Germany
9.64 - Miroslav Klose (Germany: FW)
9.54 - Arne Friedrich (Germany: DF)
9.11 - Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany: MF)
9.07 - Thomas Mueller (Germany: MF)

Paraguay v Spain
9.51 - Iker Casilla (Spain: GK)
9.08 - David Villa (Spain: FW)

Uruguay v Netherlands
9.19 - Joris Mathijsen (Netherlands: DF)
9.13 - Maximiliano Pereira (Uruguay: DF)
9.09 - Dirk Kuyt (Netherlands: FW)

Germany v Spain
9.70 - Carlos Puyol (Spain: DF)
9.03 - Iker Casillas (Spain: GK)

Uruguay v Germany
9.10 - Sami Khedira (Germany: MF)

Netherlands v Spain
9.65 - Sergio Ramos (Spain: DF)
9.60 - Joan Capdevila (Spain: DF)
9.36 - Iker Casillas (Spain: GK)
9.30 - Andres Iniesta (Spain: MF)
9.24 - Wesley Sneijder (Netherlands: MF)



How the Castrol Rankings Work (Link)

Videos:1996 Major League Soccer Clips

I'm was feeling a bit nostalgic for the early days of MLS this morning so I thought I'd find some clips from the Inaugural Season in 1996. It turns out that most of the clips on youtube from that season involve the NY/NJ Metrostars so many of the clips involve NY/NJ.

For those that haven't followed MLS since the start, here are a few of the quirky rules that were in place for that season (from wikipedia)

...the use of a countdown clock, rather than a standard progressive clock, with time paused for dead ball situations at a referee's discretion. Halves ended when the clock reached 0:00, rather than at the whistle of the referee as was customary elsewhere.

Also implemented was the use of shootouts to resolve tie games. These best-of-five contests placed a player 35 yards from goal with five seconds to put the ball past the opposing goalkeeper; if needed the shootout progressed into extra frames. A winning team received one standings point (as opposed to three for the regulation win).

While IFAB rules allow teams to substitute three players during games, MLS allowed a fourth, goalkeeper-only substitute.

Bizarre....although I must say I did enjoy that format of shootout (just not to decide regular season games)

Top 10 Goals 1996

Tab Ramos

MLS Inaugaral Game

DC United v New York Playoff Highlights

Roberto Donadoni

Eric Wynalda - First ever MLS Goal

Giovanni Savarese

Nicola Caricola Own Goal with 15 seconds left

World Cup 2010: Defensive Player Statistics

Here are a few defensive stats from the 2010 World Cup by players who played a minimum of 270 minutes. Rather than listing the leaders for each stat (many of the players from teams who progressed further and played more games were the leaders), I broke them down per minutes played. (example: Minutes Played divided by Tackles). The top five, with ties counting as one place, were listed for each stat.

Tackle every _____ Minutes Played

33.75 - Madjid Bougherra (Algeria)

33.75 - Stephane Grichting (Switzerland)

38.42 - Jorge Fucile (Uruguay)

40.91 - Juan (Brazil)

45.00 - Gerardo Torrado (Mexico)

45.00 - Gary Medel (Chile)

48.75 - Michael Bradley (USA)

Tackles made Gaining Possession every _____ Minutes Played

54.00 - Madjid Bougherra (Algeria)

54.00 - Stephane Grichting (Switzerland)

67.50 - Gary Medel (Chile)

72.00 - Javier Mascherano (Argentina)

76.83 - Jorge Fucile (Uruguay)

Save Made every ____ Minutes Played

12.86 - Ri Myong Guk (North Korea)

13.50 - Vincent Enyeama (Nigeria)

15.88 - Thomas Sorensen (Denmark)

15.88 - Alexandros Tzorvas (Greece)

18.95 - Eduardo (Portugal)

Clearance every ____ Minutes Played (No GK's)

22.50 - Rafik Halliche (Algeria)

24.54 - Bojan Jokic (Slovenia)

24.54 - Stephane Grichting (Switzerland)

24.54 - Danny Shittu (Nigeria)

27.00 - Marko Suler (Slovenia)

27.00 - Stephane Lichtsteiner (Switzerland)

27.69 - Cho Yong Hyung (South Korea)

30.00 - Martin Skrtel (Slovakia)

30.00 - William Gallas (France)

30.00 - Madjid Bougherra (Algeria)

Recovered Balls every ____ Minutes Played

27.00 - Madjid Bougherra (Algeria)

33.75 - Stephane Grichting (Switzerland)

38.57 - Osman Chavez (Honduras)

45.00 - Danny Shittu (Nigeria)

51.43 - Cho Yong Hyung (South Korea)

Clearances Completed every ____ Minutes Played (No GK's)

51.43 - Cho Young Hyung (South Korea)

54.00 - Madjid Bougherra (Algeria)

67.50 - Danny Shittu (Nigeria)

72.00 - Lee Young Pyo (South Korea)

90.00 - William Gallas (France)

90.00 - Stephane Grichting (Switzerland)

90.00 - Ri Kwang Chon (North Korea)

90.00 - Medhi Lacen (Algeria)

90.00 - Osman Chavez (Honduras)

90.00 - Bostjan Cesar (Slovenia)

Gone Fishing...

I'm on vacation with the family in Northern Michigan right now. I thought I might have time to make a post or two while up here but it doesn't look like that's going to happen. No internet tomorrow on Mackinac Island and I'll be driving all day the next day. I'll try to resume regular posting on Thursday or Friday. Time to relax....

UPDATE: I'm back.. Here's a few pictures I snapped on the trip.

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore


Lake Huron Sunrise from Mackinaw City


Old Mission Peninsula (near Traverse City)


Mackinac Bridge Sunset


My 4 year old Daughter Throwing Rocks in the Lake - Mackinac Island

FIFA Rankings: Biggest Movers July 2010

Top 100 FIFA nations that have moved +/- 10 places in the July 2010 FIFA Rankings.

+24 - New Zealand (54) (D: SVK, ITA, PAR W: SRB)

+23 - Botswana (93) (W: CHAD, TUN)

+19 - Trinidad and Tobago (76) (No Matches)

+17 - South Africa (66) (D: MEX W: DEN, FRA)

+15 - Paraguay (16) (D: ITA, NZL W: JPN, SVK, GRE)

+15 - Peru (38) (No Matches)

+13 - Japan (32) (W: DEN, CMR)

+13 - UAE (88) (W: MDA)

+11 - Belgium (48) (No Matches)

+12 - Bolivia (53) (No Matches)

+12 - Kuwait (85) (No Matches)

+12 - Malawi (74) (D: Togo)

+11 - Iceland (79) (W: AND)

+10 - Oman (81) (No Matches)

+10 - Uruguay (6) (D: FRA W: RSA, MEX, KOR, GHA)

-37 - Canada (100) (L: ARG)

-21 - Cameroon (40) (L: POR, SRB, JPN, DEN, NED)

-20 - Panama (94) (No Matches)

-18 - El Salvador (90) (No Matches)

-16 - Senegal (91) (L: DEN)

-14 - Ecuador (58) (No Matches)

-14 - Romania (42) (L: UKR, MKD)

-12 - France (20) (L: RSA, MEX, CHN)

-12 - Morocco (82) (No Matches)

-11 - Israel (37) (L: CHI, URU)

-10 - Tunisia (65) (L: BOT)

Top 100 Nations Currently at their Highest Ever FIFA Ranking

1 - Spain

2 - Netherlands

6 - Uruguay

9 - Egypt

13 - Serbia

19 - Slovenia

45 - Burkina Faso

Pictures: Iceland Soccer Stadiums

Pictures of the soccer venues in Iceland with a minimum capacity of 1,000.

Akranesvöllur - Club: ÍA City: Akranes Capacity: 6,000




Akureyrarvöllur - Club: Þór Akureyri, KA City: Akureyri Capacity: 2,000




Fjölnisvöllur - Club: Fjölnir City: Reykjavík Capacity: 1,000




Fylkisvöllur - Club: Fylkir City: Reykjavík Capacity: 4,000




Grindavíkurvöllur - Club: Grindavík City: Grindavík Capacity: 1,500




Hásteinsvöllur - Club: ÍBV City: Vestmannaeyjar Capacity: 1,500





Kaplakriki - Club: FH City: Hafnarfjörður Capacity: 2,200




Keflavíkurvöllur - Club: Keflavík City: Keflavík Capacity: 5,200




Kópavogsvöllur - Club: Breiðablik, HK City: Kópavogur Capacity: 3,500




KR-völlur - Club: KR City: Keflavík Capacity: 6,000




Laugardalsvöllur - Club: Fram City: Reykjavík Capacity: 10,000




Stjörnuvöllur - Club: Stjarnan City: Garðabær Capacity: 1,000




Valbjarnarvöllur - Club: Knattspyrnufélagið Þróttur City: Reykjavík
Capacity: 2,500




Víkin - Club: Víkingur City: Reykjavík Capacity: 1,100

Vodafonevöllurinn - Club: Valur, Haukar City: Reykjavík Capacity: 3,000

Pictures From:
panoramio.com (giovanilupi)
flickr.com
grindavik.is
fot.ka.stefna.is
www.rvk.is
www.soccerway.com
www.fussballtempel.net

MLS Matchday Live Question????

HELP!!!

I've tried going through customer support for months now and have not been able to fix the stuttering video on MLS Matchday Live. I can run Netflix, Hulu, ESPN3, revision3 HD, Vimeo HD, etc. perfectly clear with no stuttering, all on the highest quality. My computer has more than enough power to handle streaming video and I supposedly have 20Mbps broadband although it's usually closer to 6-10Mbps when I test it.

My question is this.

Has anybody else had this stuttering video problem with MLS Matchday Live and have you been able to find a fix for it?

The picture quality is good but the motion stutters on every setting, from 400 to 2200 to adaptive. It has become very frustrating trying to watch games for more than half a season now with very little response from customer support outside of the canned 'update your software' response I've received a half dozen times now.

I've reinstalled all the required software, everything is up to date, all other streaming sites are working perfectly, I've tried every major browser, so what's the deal? Is it my ISP ? Is it clashing with other software I have installed on my computer? A silverlight problem? Is there some kind of voodoo trick I can do to get MDL working?

If there are any computer experts or people who've solved a similar problem out there, I'd be more than grateful for a fix.

Please leave a comment or email me at thebesteleven [@] ymail [dot] com if you have any ideas

Thank You

Videos: New Foreign Imports to the English Premier League

Highlight videos of some of the new players coming to the Premier League this season from foreign leagues.

Laurent Koscielny - Lorient to Arsenal


Marouane Chamakh - Bordeaux to Arsenal


Milan Jovanovic - Standard Liege to Liverpool


Javier Hernandez - Guadalajara to Manchester United


Ahmed Al-Muhammadi - ENPPI to Sunderland


Sandro - Internacional to Tottenham Hotspur


Mauro Boselli - Estudiantes to Wigan

2010 World Cup Shooting Statistics

Shots on Target (10+)
17 - David Villa (Spain)
15 - Asamoah Gyan (Ghana)
15 - Diego Forlan (Uruguay)
15 - Lionel Messi (Argentina)
15 - Luis Suarez (Uruguay)
11 - Wesley Sneijder (Netherlands)
11 - Gonzalo Higuain (Argentina)

Shot on Target every _______ minutes (minimum 250 minutes played)

30.00 - Lionel Messi (Argentina)
31.00 - Gonzalo Higuain (Argentina)
32.63 - Valter Birsa (Slovenia)
33.40 - Asamoah Gyan (Ghana)
36.86 - Luis Suarez (Uruguay)
37.35 - David Villa (Spain)
38.57 - Katlego Mphela (South Africa)
40.00 - Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)
43.60 - Diego Forlan (Uruguay)
44.63 - Miroslav Klose (Germany)
45.00 - Frank Lampard (England)
45.00 - Jong Tae Se (North Korea)

Multiple Shots hit the Post or Crossbar
3 - Asamoah Gyan (Ghana)
2 - Katlego Mphela (South Africa)
2 - Lionel Messi (Argentina)
2 - Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)

Total Shots (20+)
33 - Asamoah Gyan (Ghana)
32 - David Villa (Spain)
32 - Diego Forlan (Uruguay)
30 - Lionel Messi (Argentina)
27 - Wesley Sneijder (Netherlands)
25 - Luis Suarez (Uruguay)
21 - Lukas Podolski (Germany)
21 - Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)
20 - Park Chu Young (South Korea)
20 - Clint Dempsey (USA)

25%+ Goal/Shot Rate for Players with 10 or more Total Shots
38% - Thomas Mueller (Germany)
36% - Robert Vittek (Slovakia)
33% - Miroslav Klose (Germany)
27% - Gonzalo Higuain (Argentina)
27% - Luis Fabiano (Brazil)

Shots Blocked (5+)
8 - Wesley Sneijder (Netherlands)
8 - Diego Forlan (Uruguay)
7 - Lionel Messi (Argentina)
6 - Alexis Sanchez (Chile)
5 - Daniel Agger (Denmark)
5 - Clint Dempsey (USA)
5 - Carlos Tevez (Argentina)
5 - Lukas Podolski (Germany)
5 - Kevin Prince Boateng (Ghana)

Shots On Goal From Outside Penalty Area (5+)
11 - Lionel Messi (Argentina)
9 - Diego Forlan (Uruguay)
8 - Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)
8 - David Villa (Spain)
8 - Valter Birsa (Slovenia)
7 - Asamoah Gyan (Ghana)
6 - Wesley Sneijder (Netherlands)
6 - Riccardo Montolivo (Italy)
6 - Luis Suarez (Uruguay)
5 - Clint Dempsey (USA)
5 - Frank Lampard (England)
5 - Arjen Robben (Netherlands)

World Cup Goals by League Nations and Club Teams

All the goals from the 2010 World Cup organized by the nation and club teams that the goal scorers last made an appearance with.


Argentina (1)
1 - Martin Palermo - Boca Juniors

Australia (1)
1 - Shane Smeltz - Gold Coast United

Belgium (3)
1 - Zlatan Ljubijankič - KAA Gent
1 - Milan Jovanović - Standard Liege
1 - Antolín Alcaraz - Club Brugge

Brazil (2)
2 - Robinho - Santos

Chile (1)
1 - Rodrigo Millar - Colo-Colo

Denmark (1)
1 - Winston Reid - Midtjylland

Ecuador (1)
1 - Enrique Vera - LDU Quito

England (19)
2 - Carlos Tevez - Manchester City
2 - Lee Chung-Yong - Bolton Wanderers
1 - Dirk Kuyt - Liverpool
1 - Robin van Persie - Arsenal
1 - Nicklas Bendtner - Arsenal
1 - Steven Gerrard - Liverpool
1 - Tim Cahill - Everton
1 - Florent Malouda - Chelsea
1 - Salomon Kalou - Chelsea
1 - Jermain Defoe - Tottenham Hotspur
1 - Matthew Upson - West Ham United
1 - Didier Drogba - Chelsea
1 - Yakubu - Everton
1 - Robert Koren - West Bromwich Albion
1 - Park Ji-Sung - Manchester United
1 - Clint Dempsey - Fulham
1 - Kevin-Prince Boateng - Portsmouth

France (7)
3 - Asamoah Gyan - Rennes
1 - Valter Birsa - Auxerre
1 - Gelson Fernandes - Saint-Etienne
1 - Park Chu-Young - AS Monaco
1 - Gabriel Heinze - Marseille

Germany (21)
5 - Thomas Mueller - Bayern Munich
4 - Miroslav Klose - Bayern Munich
2 - Lukas Podolski - Köln
2 - Arjen Robben - Bayern Munich
1 - Mesut Özil - Werder Bremen
1 - Hugo Almeida - Werder Bremen
1 - Marcell Jansen - Hamburg
1 - Cacau - VfB Stuttgart
1 - Michael Bradley - Borussia Moenchengladbach
1 - Martín Demichelis - Bayern Munich
1 - Sami Khedira - VfB Stuttgart
1 - Arne Friedrich - Hertha BSC

Greece (2)
1 - Dimitris Salpigidis - Panathinaikos
1 - Vasilis Torosidis - Olympiacos

Italy (16)
5 - Wesley Sneijder - Inter Milan
2 - Samuel Eto'o - Inter Milan
1 - Daniele De Rossi - Roma
1 - Maicon - Inter Milan
1 - Edinson Cavani - Palermo
1 - Fabio Quagliarella - Napoli
1 - Klaas-Jan Huntelaar - AC Milan
1 - Sulley Muntari - Inter Milan
1 - Antonio Di Natale - Udinese
1 - Vincenzo Iaquinta - Juventus
1 - Juan - Roma

Japan (4)
2 - Lee Jung-Soo - Kashima Antlers
1 - Shinji Okazaki - Shimizu S-Pulse
1 - Yasuhito Endō - Gamba Osaka

Mexico (5)
2 - Javier Hernández - Chivas Guadalajara
1 - Cuauhtémoc Blanco - Veracruz
1 - Jean Beausejour - Club America
1 - Cristian Riveros - Cruz Azul

Netherlands (9)
3 - Luis Suarez - Ajax
2 - Brett Holman - AZ Alkmaar
1 - Dennis Rommedahl - Ajax
1 - Marko Pantelić - Ajax
1 - Jon Dahl Tomasson - Feyenoord
1 - Giovanni van Bronckhorst - Feyenoord

North Korea (1)
1 - Ji Yun-Nam - April 25

Portugal (4)
1 - Liédson - Sporting CP
1 - Raúl Meireles - FC Porto
1 - Álvaro Pereira - FC Porto
1 - Maxi Pereira - Benfica

Russia (3)
2 - Keisuke Honda - CSKA Moscow
1 - Mark González - CSKA Moscow

Slovakia (1)
1 - Kamil Kopúnek - Spartak Trnava

South Africa (3)
1 - Siphiwe Tshabalala - Kaizer Chiefs
1 - Bongani Khumalo - Supersport United
1 - Katlego Mphela - Mamelodi Sundowns

Spain (29)
5 - David Villa - Valencia
5 - Diego Forlan - Atletico Madrid
4 - Gonzalo Higuain - Real Madrid
3 - Luis Fabiano - Sevilla
2 - Tiago - Atletico Madrid
2 - Kalu Uche - Almería
2 - Andres Iniesta - Barcelona
1 - Yaya Touré - Barcelona
1 - Cristiano Ronaldo - Real Madrid
1 - Rafael Marquez - Barcelona
1 - Romaric - Sevilla
1 - Simão - Atletico Madrid
1 - Carlos Puyol - Barcelona

Turkey (6)
4 - Robert Vittek - Ankaragücü
2 - Elano - Galatasaray

USA (3)
3 - Landon Donovan - LA Galaxy

World Cup 2010 Speed and Distance Stats

Slowest Field Player Top Speed (minimum of 90 minutes)

12.03mph - 19.36km/h - Carlos Vela (Mexico)
12.35mph - 19.87km/h - Mario Bolatti (Argentina)
12.60mph - 20.28km/h - Vangelis Moras (Greece)
12.83mph - 20.65km/h - Ján Kozák (Slovakia)
12.83mph - 20.65km/h - Víctor Bernárdez (Honduras)
12.86mph - 20.69km/h - Neven Subotic (Serbia)
12.89mph - 20.75km/h - Fabio Cannavaro (Italy)
12.92mph - 20.79km/h - Michael Beauchamp (Australia)
12.94mph - 20.83km/h - Aurélien Chedjou (Cameroon)
12.96mph - 20.86km/h - Ismael Fuentes (Chile)

Least Distance Covered by a Field Player with 90 minutes

5.00mi - 8.04km - Víctor Bernárdez (Honduras)
5.33mi - 8.58km - Vangelis Moras (Greece)
5.41mi - 8.71km - Andre Ooijer (Netherlands)
5.46mi - 8.78km - Ismael Fuentes (Chile)
5.50mi - 8.85km - Julio César Cáceres (Paraguay)
5.58mi - 8.98km - Mauricio Sabillón (Honduras)
5.67mi - 9.13km - Miguel (Portugal)
5.92mi - 9.53km - Alexandre Song (Cameroon)
6.06mi - 9.76km - Arthur Boka (Cote d'Ivoire)
6.09mi - 9.80km - Sebastien Squillaci (France)


Fastest Top Speed

19.98mph - 32.15km/h - Javier Hernandez (Mexico)
19.62mph - 31.57km/h - Avraam Papadopoulos (Greece)
19.57mph - 31.50km/h - Lukas Podolski (Germany)
19.57mph - 31.50km/h - Konstantinos Katsouranis (Greece)
19.32mph - 31.10km/h - Victor Obinna (Nigeria)
19.22mph - 30.93km/h - Gonzalo Higuain (Argentina)
19.11mph - 30.75km/h - Felipe Melo (Brazil)
18.83mph - 30.31km/h - Landon Donovan (USA)
18.80mph - 30.26km/h - Dimitrios Salpingidis (Greece)
18.72mph - 30.13km/h - Asamoah Gyan (Ghana)
18.72mph - 30.13km/h - Eric Choupo Moting (Cameroon)
18.72mph - 30.13km/h - Robbie Findley (USA)
18.72mph - 30.13km/h - Yuto Nagatomo (Japan)


Matches with Most Distance Covered

179.30mi - 288.55km - USA v Ghana
166.28mi - 267.60km - Paraguay v Japan
165.85mi - 266.91km - Uruguay v Ghana
148.25mi - 238.58km - Australia v Serbia
146.05mi - 235.04km - South Africa v Mexico

Matches with Least Distance Covered

113.46mi - 182.59km - Greece v Nigeria
116.37mi - 187.28km - Honduras v Chile
117.28mi - 188.75km - Argentina v Nigeria
119.20mi - 191.84km - Serbia v Ghana
120.19mi - 193.42km - Brazil v Cote d'Ivoire


Matches with Highest Top Speed

19.98mph - 32.15km/h - Mexico v Uruguay
19.62mph - 31.57km/h - Greece v Nigeria
19.57mph - 31.50km/h - Germany v England
19.32mph - 31.10km/h - Argentina v Nigeria
19.11mph - 30.75km/h - Brazil v Cote d'Ivoire


Matches with Lowest Top Speed
14.81mph - 23.84km/h - South Africa v Uruguay
16.07mph - 25.87km/h - North Korea v Cote d'Ivoire
16.07mph - 25.87km/h - Algeria v Slovenia
16.12mph - 25.94km/h - Cameroon v Netherlands
16.13mph - 25.96km/h - Chile v Spain

If there was an Arabian Peninsula National Team...

This post is kind of random, but every once in a while I wonder what kind of National Teams could be put together if you combined nations with similar cultures and geographic locations. I've done a combined USSR and a combined Yugoslavia in the past.

This is my attempt at putting together an Arabian Peninsula National Team. I'm not an expert on the region, so feel free to help me out if I missed any deserving players. I think this team would be a strong contender for one of the Asian World Cup Finals spots along with Japan, Australia, and South Korea.



Arabian Peninsula Includes:
Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Yemen

STARTING LINEUP

GK - Ali Al-Habsi (Oman; Bolton Wanderers, England)

LB - Salman Isa (Bahrain; Al-Arabi, Bahrain)

CB - Osama Hawsawi (Saudi Arabia; Al-Hilal, Saudi Arabia)

CB - Redha Tukar (Saudi Arabia; Al-Ittihad, Saudi Arabia)

RB - Hamad Al-Montashari (Saudi Arabia; Al-Ittihad, Saudi Arabia)

LM - Talal Al-Bloushi (Qatar; Al Sadd, Qatar)

CM - Mohammed Noor (Saudi Arabia; Al-Ittihad, Saudi Arabia)

CM - Fábio César (Qatar; Al-Rayyan, Qatar)

RM - Ahmed Hadid Al Mukhaini (Oman; Al-Ittihad, Saudi Arabia)

ST - Yasser Al-Qahtani (Saudi Arabia; Al-Hilal, Saudi Arabia)

ST - Sebastián Soria (Qatar; Qatar SC, Qatar)


BENCH

GK - Sayed Jaffer (Bahrain; Muharraq, Bahrain)

DF - Meshal Mubarak (Qatar; Al-Rayyan, Qatar)
DF - Majed Al Marshadi (Saudi Arabia; Al-Hilal, Saudi Arabia)

MF - Mohamed Salmeen (Bahrain; Dhafra, UAE)
MF - Mahmood Abdulrahaman (Bahrain; Al-Shamal SC, Qatar)

ST - Ismail Matar Al-Junaibi (UAE; Al-Wahda, UAE)
ST - Jaycee John Okwunwanne (Bahrain; Eskişehirspor, Turkey)

If You Ain't Dutch, You Ain't Much - Dutch Goal Videos

Sorry, my wife grew up in Holland and 'If you ain't Dutch, You ain't much' is her favorite saying these days with the Netherlands making the 2010 World Cup Final.

In honor of the Dutch Final appearance, here are some of the best/most impressive goals by the Netherlands from past European Championships, World Cups, and World Cup Qualifiers.


Johan Neeskens - 1974 WC vs Brazil


Johan Cruyff - 1976 Euro vs Belgium


Arie Haan - 1978 WC vs Italy


Marco van Basten - 1988 Euro vs USSR


Dennis Bergkamp - 1993 WC Qualifier vs England (goal at 2:30)


Dennis Bergkamp - 1998 WC vs Argentina



Frank de Boer - 2000 Euro vs France (goal at 7:25)



Giovanni van Bronckhorst - 2002 WC Qualifier vs Ireland (goal at 5:20)


Wesley Sneijder - 2008 Euro vs Italy

World Cup 2010 Nations - FIFA Affiliation Years

The years that the World Cup 2010 Nations became affiliated with FIFA.


1904 - Denmark
1904 - France
1904 - Germany
1904 - Netherlands
1904 - Spain
1904 - Switzerland

1905 - England
1905 - Italy

1912 - Argentina

1913 - Chile

1914 - USA

1923 - Brazil
1923 - Portugal
1923 - Uruguay

1925 - Paraguay

1927 - Greece

1929 - Japan
1929 - Mexico

1946 - Honduras

1948 - New Zealand
1948 - South Korea

1958 - Ghana
1958 - North Korea

1960 - Nigeria

1963 - Australia

1964 - Algeria
1964 - Cameroon
1964 - Cote d'Ivoire

1992 - South Africa
1992 - Slovenia (Yugoslavia 1923)

1993 - Slovakia (Czechoslovakia 1907)

2006 - Serbia (Yugoslavia 1923; Serbia and Montenegro 2003)


Here is a good article about the early history of the FIFA organization [It all began 95 years ago - FIFA.com]

The Worst World Cup Players

The 5 worst ranked players by position according to the Castrol Index with a minimum of 270 minutes played.

Goalkeepers (36)

30 - Ri Myoung Guk - North Korea
29 - Hamidou Souleymanou - Cameroon
28 - Hugo Lloris - France
27 - Alexandros Tzorvas - Greece
26 - Jan Mucha - Slovakia


Defenders (190)

147 - Ji Yun Nam - North Korea
142 - Danny Shittu - Nigeria
141 - Daniel Agger - Denmark
139 - Simon Poulsen - Denmark
135 - Ri Jun Il - North Korea


Midfielders (208)

104 - An Yong Hak - North Korea
97 - Christian Poulsen - Denmark
92 - Dickson Etuhu - Nigeria
83 - Jason Culina - Australia
76 - Siphiwe Tshabalala - South Africa

Forwards (158)

41 - Jong Tae Se - North Korea
40 - Milivoje Novakovic - Slovenia
38 - Franck Ribery - France
36 - Nelson Valdez - Paraguay
35 - Park Chu Young - South Korea

*63 - Fernando Torres - Spain (268 minutes)

The Best Old World Cup Field Players - 33-37 Years

The top 10 World Cup 2010 field players (No Goalkeepers) between the age of 33 and 37 according to the Castrol Index (through the Round of 16).

TOP TEN 33+ FIELD PLAYERS

1. Gilberto Silva - Brazil
2. Mark van Bommel - Netherlands
3. Giovanni van Bronckhorst - Netherlands
4. Gianluca Zambrotta - Italy
5. Hans Sarpei - Ghana
6. Fabio Cannavaro - Italy
7. Ivan Vicelich - New Zealand
8. Lee Young-Pyo - South Korea
9. Jon Dahl Tomasson - Denmark
10. Zdenko Štrba - Slovakia


Rating - Rank - Player - Country

37
5.29 - 440 - Cuauhtemoc Blanco - Mexico

36
8.20 - 101 - Fabio Cannavaro - Italy
7.23 - 207 - Simon Elliott - New Zealand
5.07 - 464 - Carlos Pavón - Honduras
5.06 - 465 - Martín Palermo - Argentina

35
9.03 - 033 - Giovanni van Bronckhorst - Netherlands
6.85 - 253 - Juan Sebastián Verón - Argentina
6.24 - 328 - Denis Caniza - Paraguay
5.49 - 418 - Blaise Nkufo - Switzerland
4.83 - 488 - Andrés Scotti - Uruguay
0.00 - 000 - André Ooijer - Netherlands

34
7.57 - 168 - Zdenko Štrba - Slovakia
6.17 - 337 - Amado Guevara - Honduras
5.75 - 387 - Martin Jørgensen - Denmark
5.59 - 406 - Craig Moore - Australia
4.79 - 492 - Scott Chipperfield - Australia
4.53 - 516 - Gilberto - Brazil
0.00 - 000 - Ahn Jung-Hwan - South Korea

33
9.28 - 019 - Gilberto Silva - Brazil
9.06 - 031 - Mark van Bommel - Netherlands
8.72 - 055 - Gianluca Zambrotta - Italy
8.23 - 098 - Hans Sarpei - Ghana
7.90 - 131 - Ivan Vicelich - New Zealand
7.86 - 135 - Lee Young-Pyo - South Korea
7.63 - 161 - Jon Dahl Tomasson - Denmark
6.72 - 269 - Guillermo Franco - Mexico
6.09 - 346 - Giorgos Karagounis - Greece
5.63 - 402 - Ji Yun-Nam - North Korea
5.44 - 423 - Hakan Yakin - Switzerland
5.33 - 436 - Mauro Camoranesi - Italy
5.20 - 450 - Nwankwo Kanu - Nigeria
5.11 - 460 - Rigobert Song - Cameroon
5.09 - 462 - Kim Nam-Il - South Korea
4.51 - 518 - Sebastián Abreu - Uruguay
0.00 - 000 - Matthew Booth - South Africa