Friday, February 18, 2011

Castrol Index: Top 5 EPL Players by FIFA Confederation (Feb 2011)

The Top 5 Premier League players from each world region according to the February Castrol Index rankings.


Europe
4 - Rafael van der Vaart (Netherlands)
5 - Dimitar Berbatov (Bulgaria)
8 - Florent Malouda (France)
22 - Andrei Arshavin (Russia)
25 - Samir Nasri (France)

England
7 - Frank Lampard
12 - Wayne Rooney
47 - Joe Hart
50 - Theo Walcott
56 - Ben Foster

Africa
20 - Didier Drogba (Cote d'Ivoire)
79 - Michael Essien (Ghana)
91 - Salomon Kalou (Cote d'Ivoire)
98 - Alex Song (Cameroon)
102 - Marouane Chamakh (Morocco)

Asia
49 - Tim Cahill (Australia)
107 - Mark Schwarzer (Australia)
161 - Ji-Sung Park (South Korea)
431 - Chung-Yong Lee (South Korea)
460 - Ali Al-Habsi (Oman)

CONCACAF
117 - Marcus Hahnemann (USA)
144 - Clint Dempsey (USA)
290 - Kenwyne Jones (Trinidad and Tobago)
321 - Stuart Holden (USA)
475 - Brad Friedel (USA)

South America
17 - Carlos Tevez (Argentina)
55 - Alex (Brazil)
87 - Heurelho Gomes (Brazil)
110 - Maxi Rodriguez (Argentina)
217 - Rafael (Brazil)

Oceania
653 - Ryan Nelsen (New Zealand)
2122 - Winston Reid (New Zealand)


EDIT: There are a couple of forums linking to this post, here is a brief explanation.

These numbers are from the Castrol Index Rankings located here:
Link: Castrol Rankings

On these types of posts, I always break up "European" and UK players (it was labeled as England this time around because only English players were in the Top 5.)

Castrol Rankings use the ratings from the previous 12 months of games played. That is why you see players like Hahnemann and Lampard at the top of their 'region' when they haven't been playing very much this season.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Google Earth Videos: English Crosstown Rivals

Google Earth flyovers between nearby stadiums located in Birmingham, West London, and Manchester, England.


Villa Park (Aston Villa) to St. Andrew's (Birmingham City)


Old Trafford (Manchester United) to City of Manchester Stadium (Manchester City)


Craven Cottage (Fulham FC) to Stamford Bridge (Chelsea FC)

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

FIFA Rankings by Similar Population - 1-10 million

FIFA rankings of nations with similar populations. (Feb 2011)

8 to 10 Million
23 - Serbia
29 - Sweden
36 - Belarus
45 - Austria
83 - Benin
99 - Bolivia
99 - Azerbaijan
135 - Rwanda
144 - Burundi
185 - Somalia

6 to 8 Million
22 - Switzerland
24 - Paraguay
39 - Honduras
51 - Bulgaria
52 - Israel
70 - Libya
84 - Jordan
98 - El Salvador
103 - Togo
141 - Tajikistan
143 - Hong Kong
169 - Laos
203 - Papua New Guinea

5 to 6 Million
20 - Slovakia
28 - Denmark
53 - Scotland
78 - Finland
121 - Sierra Leone
133 - Turkmenistan
161 - Nicaragua
175 - Krygyzstan
178 - Eritrea

4 to 5 Million
9 - Croatia
11 - Norway
35 - Republic of Ireland
48 - Costa Rica
64 - New Zealand
71 - Georgia
111 - UAE
114 - Central African Republic
142 - Singapore
172 - Lebanon

3 to 4 Million
7 - Uruguay
42 - Bosnia and Herzegovina
55 - Lithuania
60 - Panama
62 - Armenia
66 - Albania
81 - Moldova
116 - Wales
119 - Republic of the Congo
130 - Puerto Rico
158 - Liberia
176 - Mauritania
178 - Palestine

2 to 3 Million
16 - Slovenia
59 - Jamaica
76 - Latvia
79 - Macedonia
101 - Kuwait
110 - Oman
138 - Namibia
171 - Lesotho
182 - Mongolia

1 to 2 Million
38 - Northern Ireland
61 - Gabon
67 - Botswana
87 - Estonia
90 - Qatar
94 - Trinidad and Tobago
108 - Gambia
146 - Guinea-Bissau
158 - Swaziland
191 - Mauritius
201 - Timor-Leste



Top 10 Ranked Nations with a Population of 10 million or less
7 - Uruguay
9 - Croatia
11 - Norway
16 - Slovenia
20 - Slovakia
22 - Switzerland
23 - Serbia
24 - Paraguay
28 - Denmark
29 - Sweden

Monday, February 14, 2011

European Footballer of the Year - Same Nationality in Top 3

European Footballer of the Year (1956-2010) - Players of the same nationality who finished in the top 3 of the Ballon d'Or vote in the same year.  Underlined players = Ballon d'Or winners

1957 - Billy Wright and Duncan Edwards (England)
1958 - Raymond Kopa and Just Fontaine (France)
1964 - Luis Suarez and Amancio (Spain)
1969 - Gianni Rivera and Luigi Riva (Italy)
1972 - Franz Beckenbauer, Gerd Müller, and Günter Netzer (West Germany)
1980 - Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Bernd Schuster (West Germany)
1981 - Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Paul Breitner, and Bernd Schuster (West Germany)
1984 - Michel Platini and Jean Tigana (France)
1988 - Marco van Basten, Ruud Gullit, and Frank Rijkaard (Netherlands)
1989 - Marco van Basten and Frank Rijkaard (Netherlands)
1990 - Lothar Matthäus and Andreas Brehme (Germany)
1991 - Dejan Savićević and Darko Pančev (Yugoslavia)
1992 - Marco van Basten and Dennis Bergkamp (Netherlands)
1994 - Roberto Baggio and Paolo Maldini (Italy)
2002 - Ronaldo and Roberto Carlos (Brazil)
2005 - Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard (England)
2006 - Fabio Cannavaro and Gianluigi Buffon (Italy)
2010 - Andres Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez (Spain)

Friday, February 11, 2011

Top Scoring UEFA Clubs - 2010/2011

Teams in the top 25 European leagues (according to UEFA coefficient) that have averaged at least 2 goals per game so far this season. Stats as of Feb 10, 2011.

Avg. Goals per Game Club League
3.18 Barcelona Spain
2.64 PSV Eindhoven Netherlands
2.63 FC København Denmark
2.53 Viktoria Plzeň Czech Republic
2.36 Real Madrid Spain
2.36 KRC Genk Belgium
2.32 FC Porto Portugal
2.30 Fenerbahçe Turkey
2.29 Hapoel Tel Aviv Israel
2.23 FC Groningen Netherlands
2.22 Dinamo Bucureşti Romania
2.22 Dinamo Zagreb Croatia
2.21 Celtic Scotland
2.21 FC Luzern Switzerland
2.20 Manchester United England
2.19 Borussia Dortmund Germany
2.17 Hajduk Split Croatia
2.16 Arsenal England
2.15 APOEL FC Cyprus
2.14 Rangers Scotland
2.13 Levski Sofia Bulgaria
2.11 FC Basel Switzerland
2.11 MSK Žilina Slovakia
2.08 RSC Anderlecht Belgium
2.07 Lokomotiv Sofia Bulgaria
2.06 Benfica Portugal
2.05 FC Twente Netherlands
2.05 Trabzonspor Turkey
2.00 Bayern Munich Germany
2.00 Ajax Netherlands
2.00 Shakhtar Donetsk Ukraine
2.00 Metalist Kharkiv Ukraine
2.00 Club Brugge Belgium
2.00 Sigma Olomouc Czech Republic

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Videos: Welsh Speaking Players

About 20% of the population in Wales speak the Welsh language. I was curious if any well-known Welsh players were fluent in the language. There's not a lot of info on the subject but I managed to dig up a few clips and players that speak the language.

Aaron Ramsey (Cardiff City, on loan from Arsenal)


John Hartson (Former Arsenal, West Ham, Celtic, and others)


David Vaughan (Blackpool)


Rhys Griffiths (Llanelli - Welsh Premier League)


Nathan Craig (Everton)


Joe Allen (Swansea City)
(link)

Other players who are allegedly Welsh speakers (but I couldn't find any video evidence):
Gabriel Heinze, Wayne Hennessey, Owain Tudur Jones, Gabriel Batistuta, Malcolm Allen

If you're an expert on the subject feel free to help out on this one, I'm sure there are a few more Welsh speaking players out there that I missed.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Stadiums of Romania

Stadionul Dan Păltinişanu - FC Timişoara

Stadionul Steaua - FC Steaua Bucureşti

Stadionul Ion Oblemenco - FC Universitatea Craiova

Stadionul Viorel Mateianu - FC Baia Mare

Stadionul Municipal (Drobeta-Turnu Severin) - FC Drobeta-Turnu Severin

Stadionul Iuliu Bodola - FC Bihor Oradea

Stadionul Giuleşti-Valentin Stănescu - FC Rapid Bucureşti

Stadionul Dunărea - FCM Dunărea Galaţi

Stadionul Municipal (Drobeta-Turnu Severin) - FC Drobeta-Turnu Severin

Stadionul Dr. Constantin Rădulescu - FC CFR 1907 Cluj-Napoca

Stadionul Dinamo - FC Dinamo Bucureşti

Stadionul Victoria-Cetate - FC Unirea Alba Iulia

Stadionul Ceahlăul - FC Ceahlăul Piatra Neamţ

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Foreign Soccer Commercials

A random collection of non-English language soccer commercials from around the world.









Monday, February 7, 2011

Bolivia, Peru, and Venezuela Players Abroad

Players from the 3 lowest ranked nations in CONMEBOL currently playing with top division clubs outside of South America.

Bolivia

Israel
Carlos Arias - Maccabi Netanya

Mexico
Jose Castillo - Estudiantes Tecos

Turkey
Ricardo Pedriel - Sivasspor

Ukraine
Marcelo Moreno - Shakhtar Donetsk


Peru

Belgium
Daniel Chávez - KVC Westerlo

Cyprus
Hernán Rengifo - Omonia Nikosia

Italy
Juan Manuel Vargas - Fiorentina

Finland
Josef Chavez - FC Haka

Germany
Jefferson Farfán - Schalke 04
Claudio Pizarro - Werder Bremen
Paolo Guerrero - Hambuger SV
Carlos Zambrano - St. Pauli

Mexico
Reimond Manco - Atlante

Poland
Júnior Ross - Arka Gdynia

Portugal
Alberto Rodríguez - Sporting Braga

Romania
Édson Uribe - FCM Târgu Mureş

Spain
Santiago Acasiete - UD Almeria

Switzerland
Rivera - AC Bellinzona

USA
Andres Mendoza - Columbus Crew


Venezuela

Belgium
Ronald Vargas - Club Brugge

Cyprus
Hector Gonzalez - Alki Larnaca
Raúl González - Apollon Limassol

Egypt
Jesús Gómez - Wadi Degla FC

Germany
Juan Arango - Borussia Moenchengladbach
Tomás Rincón - Hamburger SV
Yohandry Orozco - VfL Wolfsburg

Greece
César Castro - Panserraikos

Luxembourg
Johan Sampaio - Swift Hesperange

Mexico
Giancarlo Maldonado - CF Atlante

Netherlands
Roberto Rosales - FC Twente

Portugal
Mario Rondón - Paços de Ferreira

Serbia
Alejandro Pol Hurtado - FK Srem

Spain
Salomón Rondón - Málaga
Miku - Getafe

USA
Alejandro Moreno - Chivas USA
Emilio Renteria - Columbus Crew
Bernardo Anor - Columbus Crew

Friday, February 4, 2011

Best Strike Rates in Top European Leagues (2010/11)

Players in the top leagues of England, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain that have a strike rate of one goal in every two league appearances or better. (minimum of 10 league appearances)


Goals per Game Player
Team
AP
Goals
1.17
Lionel Messi
Barcelona
18
21
1.05
Cristiano Ronaldo
Real Madrid
21
22
0.90
Dimitar Berbatov
Manchester United
21
19
0.83
Mario Gomez
Bayern Munich
18
15
0.83
Papiss Cisse
Freiburg
18
15
0.75
Hugo Almeida
Werder Bremen
12
9
0.74
Edinson Cavani
Napoli
23
17
0.72
Samuel Eto'o
Inter Milan
18
13
0.71
Moussa Sow
Lille
21
15
0.70
David Villa
Barcelona
20
14
0.70
Theofanis Gekas
Eintracht Frankfurt
20
14
0.68
Carlos Tevez
Manchester City
22
15
0.68
Antonio Di Natale
Udinese
22
15
0.65
Nenê
PSG
20
13
0.63
Nilmar
Villarreal
16
10
0.62
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
AC Milan
21
13
0.62
Alexandre Pato
AC Milan
13
8
0.61
Marco Di Vaio
Bologna
23
14
0.61
Srdjan Lakić
Kaiserslautern
18
11
0.60
Giuseppe Rossi
Villarreal
20
12
0.58
Gonzalo Higuain
Real Madrid
12
7
0.58
Andy Carroll
Newcastle United/Liverpool
19
11
0.57
Pedro
Barcelona
21
12
0.57
Fernando Llorente
Athetic Bilbao
21
12
0.57
Lisandro Lopez
Olympique Lyonnais
14
8
0.56
Didier Ya Konan
Hannover 96
18
10
0.53
Kevin Gameiro
Lorient
19
10
0.53
Fabio Quagliarella
Juventus
17
9
0.53
Luis Fabiano
Sevilla
15
8
0.53
Felipe Caicedo
Levante
15
8
0.52
Youssef El-Arabi
Caen
21
11
0.50
Raul
Schalke 04
20
10
0.50
Gervinho
Lille
20
10
0.50
Kevin Nolan
Newcastle United
20
10
0.50
Pablo Osvaldo
Espanyol
14
7

Thursday, February 3, 2011

FIFA Confederation Ranking Comparison (Feb 2011)

Comparing FIFA Confederations using the average ranking of the top 5 teams from each region.

Avg. Rank - Region - (Last month)

4.0 - EUROPE (4.0)
1 - Spain
2 - Netherlands
3 - Germany
6 - England
8 - Portugal

10.8 - CONMEBOL (11.0)
4 - Brazil
5 - Argentina
7 - Uruguay
14 - Chile
24 - Paraguay

31.0 - AFRICA (23.0)
15 - Ghana
26 - Cote d'Ivoire
33 - Egypt
40 - Nigeria
41 - Burkina Faso

37.8 - ASIA (47.4)
17 - Japan
21 - Australia
32 - South Korea
44 - Iran
75 - China

38.2 - CONCACAF (44.4)
18 - USA
27 - Mexico
39 - Honduras
48 - Costa Rica
59 - Jamaica

141.8 - OCEANIA (142.6)
64 - New Zealand
151 - Fiji
153 - New Caledonia
163 - Vanuatu
178 - Solomon Islands

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

England Champion Overview - Last Championship

All of the clubs that have won a top division championship in England organized by the last year they ended at the top of the league.

2009/10 - Chelsea
2008/09 - Manchester United
2003/04 - Arsenal
1994/95 - Blackburn Rovers
1991/92 - Leeds United
1989/90 - Liverpool
1986/87 - Everton
1980/81 - Aston Villa
1977/78 - Nottingham Forest
1974/75 - Derby County
1967/68 - Manchester City
1961/62 - Ipswich Town
1960/61 - Tottenham Hotspur
1959/60 - Burnley
1958/59 - Wolverhampton Wanderers
1949/50 - Portsmouth
1935/36 - Sunderland
1929/30 - Sheffield Wednesday
1926/27 - Newcastle United
1925/26 - Huddersfield Town
1919/20 - West Bromwich Albion
1897/98 - Sheffield United
1889/90 - Preston North End