Monday, February 20, 2012

England: Classic Programs from the 70's and 80's

A random selection of English Club programs (programmes) from the 1970's and 80's.
















Saturday, February 18, 2012

Announcement

thebesteleven.com domain name may be down for a couple of days (or more, hopefully not) starting tomorrow.   I've been corresponding with eNom and Google to find a solution to a technical issue involving domain renewal and have yet to come to a resolution.  They have assured me they are "hard at work" trying to resolve the issue.

Those of you that have been regular visitors at TB11 may remember the site going down last year for a couple of weeks.  Yep, same issue this year but hopefully I've caught it far enough ahead and the site won't go offline at all.

I've never had such a hard time giving someone money..

Thanks for reading The Best Eleven.  Hopefully I'll be able to return to regular posting next week.

Steve

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

African Players in MLS 2012

African-born players with MLS teams for the 2012 season.

CAMEROON
Tony Tchani (CLB)
Joseph Nane (COL)

DR CONGO
Steve Zakuani (SEA)
Danny Mwanga (PHI)

GAMBIA
Kenny Mansally (NE)
Sainey Nyassi (NE)
Sanna Nyassi (MTL)
Amadou Sanyang (SEA)
Mamadou Danso (POR)

GHANA
Patrick Nyarko (CHI)
Dominic Oduro (CHI)
Evans Frimpong (CHI)
Eddie Ababio (COL)
Michael Tetteh (SEA)
Kalif Alhassan (POR)
Gershon Koffie (VAN)
Darren Amoo (CLB)
Robbie Russell (DC)
Freddy Adu (PHI)

KENYA
Laurence Olum (SKC)

LIBERIA
Darlington Nagbe (POR)

MOROCCO
Mehdi Ballouchy (NY)

NIGERIA
Ugo Ihemelu (DAL)

SENEGAL
Birahim Diop (SKC)
Macoumba Kandji (HOU)

SIERRA LEONE
Kei Kamara (SKC)
Michael Lahoud (CHV)

SOUTH AFRICA
John Thorrington (VAN)

TANZANIA
Nizar Khalfan (PHI)

ZAMBIA
Charles Renken (POR)

ZIMBABWE
Kheli Dube (CHI)
Lucky Mkosana (CHI)

Monday, February 13, 2012

FIFA Rankings: African Cup of Nations 2000-2012

The African FIFA rankings* of the nations involved in the African Cup of Nations since 2000.

** Winner
* Finalist

2012 - Gabon/Equatorial Guinea
1 - Cote d'Ivoire*
2 - Ghana
5 - Senegal
10 - Tunisia
12 - Morocco
13 - Libya
14 - Burkina Faso
15 - Mali
16 - Zambia**
17 - Guinea
19 - Angola
20 - Gabon
21 - Botswana
22 - Niger
30 - Sudan
41 - Equatorial Guinea

2010 - Angola
1 - Egypt**
2 - Nigeria
3 - Cameroon
4 - Cote d'Ivoire
5 - Ghana*
6 - Algeria
7 - Gabon
8 - Burkina Faso
9 - Mali
10 - Tunisia
12 - Benin
13 - Togo
14 - Zambia
17 - Malawi
18 - Mozambique
19 - Angola

2008 - Ghana
1 - Nigeria
2 - Cameroon*
3 - Guinea
4 - Egypt**
5 - Cote d'Ivoire
6 - Morocco
7 - Senegal
8 - Ghana
9 - Tunisia
10 - Mali
11 - Zambia
13 - Angola
17 - South Africa
23 - Sudan
24 - Benin
34 - Namibia

2006 - Egypt
1 - Cameroon
2 - Nigeria
3 - Tunisia
4 - Senegal
5 - Egypt**
6 - Morocco
7 - Cote d'Ivoire*
8 - South Africa
9 - Ghana
10 - Zimbabwe
11 - Togo
12 - Zambia
14 - Angola
15 - Guinea
16 - Congo DR
18 - Libya

2004 - Tunisia
1 - Cameroon
2 - Egypt
3 - Senegal
4 - Nigeria
5 - South Africa
6 - Morocco*
7 - Tunisia**
8 - Zimbabwe
9 - Mali
10 - Congo DR
11 - Algeria
14 - Burkina Faso
15 - Kenya
21 - Guinea
25 - Rwanda
33 - Benin

2002 - Mali
1 - Tunisia
2 - South Africa
3 - Morocco
4 - Cameroon**
5 - Nigeria
6 - Egypt
7 - Cote d'Ivoire
9 - Ghana
10 - Zambia
12 - Senegal*
13 - Togo
14 - Liberia
15 - Algeria
16 - Congo DR
17 - Burkina Faso
22 - Mali

2000 - Ghana/Nigeria
1 - Morocco
2 - Tunisia
3 - South Africa
4 - Zambia
5 - Egypt
6 - Cote d'Ivoire
7 - Ghana
9 - Cameroon**
10 - Congo DR
13 - Gabon
14 - Burkina Faso
15 - Nigeria*
16 - Senegal
18 - Algeria
19 - Togo
21 - Congo


Overall FIFA Ranking of Winners
2012 - Zambia (71)
2010 - Egypt (10)
2008 - Egypt (35)
2006 - Egypt (32)
2004 - Tunisia (45)
2002 - Cameroon (37)
2000 - Cameroon (57)



* Rankings are from January of each AFCON year and are based only on the 52 teams in Africa

Thursday, February 9, 2012

European Players in MLS (2012)

Players from Europe currently with MLS teams.

Albania
Hamdi Salihi (DC)

Austria
Michael Gspurning (SEA)

Bosnia-Herzegovina
Siniša Ubiparipović (MTL)

Croatia
Dejan Jaković (DC)

Denmark
Jimmy Nielsen (SKC)
Brian Nielsen (NY)
Christian Sivebæk (SEA)

England
David Beckham (LA)
Korede Aiyegbusi (SKC)
Eddie Johnson (POR)
Luke Rodgers (NY)
Richard Eckersley (TOR)
Ian Westlake (MTL)
Matt Watson (VAN)
Dom Dwyer (SKC)
Jason Banton (SEA)
Ryan Smith (CHV)

Estonia
Joel Lindpere (NY)

Finland
Teemu Tainio (NY)

France
Thierry Henry (NY)
Eric Hassli (VAN)
Sébastien Le Toux (VAN)
Aurélien Collin (SKC)
Laurent Courtois (CHV)
Hassoun Camara (MTL)

Germany
Torsten Frings (TOR)
Fabian Kling (CHV)

Greece
Pari Pantazopoulos (CHI)

Iceland
Guðlaugur Victor Pálsson (NY)

Republic of Ireland
Robbie Keane (LA)

Israel
Orr Barouch (CHI)

Malta
Etienne Barbara (VAN)

Montenegro
Branko Bošković (DC)

Netherlands
Danny Koevermans (TOR)
Nick Soolsma (TOR)
Elbekay Bouchiba (TOR)

Norway
Jan Gunnar Solli (NY)

Poland
Konrad Warzycha (SKC)

Scotland
Kris Boyd (POR)
Adam Moffat (HOU)
Jamie Smith (COL)
Calum Mallace (MTL)

Serbia
Miloš Kocić (TOR)

Sweden
Adam Johansson (SEA)
Markus Holgersson (NY)

Switzerland
Stefan Frei (TOR)
Davide Chiumiento (VAN)

Turkey
Sercan Güvenisik (SJ)

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

South American Players in MLS (2012)

South American players currently with MLS teams for the 2012 season.

Argentina
Mauro Rosales (SEA)
Fabián Espíndola (RSL)
Javier Morales (RSL)
Sebastián Grazzini (CHI)
Martin Bonjour (VAN)
Emiliano Dudar (DC)

Brazil
Juninho (LA)
Bruno Guarda (DAL)
André Luiz (SJ)
Paulo Nagamura (SKC)
Marcelo Saragosa (DAL)
Leonardo (LA)
Maicon Santos (DC)
Paulo Jr. (RSL)
Júlio César (SKC)
Camilo Sanvezzo (VAN)
Ricardo Villar (DAL)
Luiz Camargo (HOU)
David Júnior Lopes (CHV)
Marcelo Sarvas (LA)
Felipe Martine (MTL)
Diogo de Almeida (RSL)
Yuri Gorentzvaig (LA)

Chile
Sebastián Miranda (CLB)
Milovan Mirošević (CLB)
Miguel Aceval (TOR)

Colombia
Juan Pablo Ángel (CHV)
Jair Benitez (DAL)
Wilman Conde (NY)
Yamith Cuesta (CHI)
David Ferreira (DAL)
Jhon Kennedy Hurtado (SEA)
Fredy Montero (SEA)
Jámison Olave (RSL)
Roger Torres (PHI)
Carlos Valdes (PHI)
Jorge Perlaza (POR)
Fabian Castillo (DAL)
Diego Chara (POR)
Daniel Cruz (DAL)
Miguel Montaño (MTL)
Nelson Rivas (MTL)
José Adolfo Valencia (POR)
Hernán Pertúz (DAL)
Rafael Robayo (CHI)
John Lozano (NE)
Fernando Cárdenas (NE)
Sebastian Velasquez (RSL)
Hanyer Mosquera (POR)
John Valencia (CHV)
Jaime Castrillón (COL)
José Moreno (NE)
Tressor Moreno (SJ)

Ecuador
Joao Plata (TOR)
Oswaldo Minda (CHV)
Geovanny Caicedo (TOR)

Uruguay
Álvaro Fernández (SEA)
Paolo Cardoza (LA)
Diego Fagundez (NE)
Federico Puppo (CHI)
Enzo Martinez (RSL)

Venezuela
Alejandro Moreno (CHV)
Amilio Renteria (CLB)
Bernardo Anor (CLB)

Monday, February 6, 2012

AFCON 2012: Goal Scorers Club Team Map

A map showing the club teams of every player that scored a goal in the group stages of the 2012 African Cup of Nations.


View AFCON 2012 Goal Scorers Club Teams in a larger map


GROUP A

Senegal
Dame N'Doye - Copenhagen (Denmark)
Moussa Sow - Fenerbahçe (Turkey)
Deme N'Diaye - Arles-Avignon (France.2)

Equatorial Guinea
Javier Balboa - Beira-Mar (Portugal)
Randy - UD Las Palmas (Spain.2)
Kily - Langreo (Spain.4)

Libya
Ahmed Saad (2) - Club Africain (Tunisia)
Ihaab Boussefi (2) - Nasr (Libya)

Zambia
Emmanuel Mayuka (2) - BSC Young Boys (Switzerland)
Rainford Kalaba - TP Mazembe (DR Congo)
Christopher Katongo (2) - Henan Construction (China)

GROUP B

Angola
Mateus - CD Nacional (Portugal)
Manucho (3) - Real Valladolid (Spain.2)

Burkina Faso
Alain Traoré - AJ Auxerre (France)
Issiaka Ouédraogo - Admira Wacker (Austria)

Cote d'Ivoire
Didier Drogba - Chelsea (England)
Salomon Kalou - Chelsea (England)
Bakary Koné - Lyon (France)
Emmanuel Eboué - Galatasaray (Turkey)
Wilfried Bony - Vitesse (Netherlands)

Sudan
Mohammed Ahmed Bashir - Al-Hilal (Sudan)
Mudather El Tahir - Al-Hilal (Sudan)


GROUP C

Gabon
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (3) - Saint-Étienne (France)
Stéphane N'Guéma - US Bitam (Gabon)
Daniel Cousin - Sapins FC (Gabon)
Bruno Zita Mbanangoyé - Dinamo Minsk (Belarus)

Morocco
Houssine Kharja (3) - Fiorentina (Italy)
Younès Belhanda - Montpellier (France)

Niger
William N'Gounou - IF Limhamn Bunkeflo (Sweden.3)

Tunisia
Khaled Korbi - Espérance (Tunisia)
Youssef Msakni (2) - Espérance (Tunisia)
Issam Jemâa - AJ Auxerre (France)


GROUP D

Botswana
Dipsy Selolwane - Supersport United (South Africa)
Mogakolodi Ngele - Township Rollers (Botswana)

Ghana
John Mensah - Lyon (France)
Asamoah Gyan - Al Ain FC (UAE)
André Ayew - Marseille (France)
Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu - Udinese (Italy)

Guinea
Sadio Diallo (2) - SC Bastia (France.2)
Abdoul Camara (2) - Sochaux (France)
Ibrahima Traoré - VfB Stuttgart (Germany)
Mamadou Bah - VfB Stuttgart (Germany)
Naby Soumah - Sfaxien (Tunisia)

Mali
Bakaye Traoré - AS Nancy (France)
Garra Dembélé - SC Freiburg (Germany)
Seydou Keita - Barcelona (Spain)

Friday, February 3, 2012

FIFA Rankings: Top 5 by Language Spoken (Feb 2012)

ARABIC
32 - Algeria
36 - Egypt
37 - Israel
59 - Tunisia
61 - Morocco

DUTCH
2 - Netherlands
40 - Belgium
125 - Suriname
152 - Curaçao
164 - Aruba

ENGLISH
5 - England
21 - Australia
23 - Republic of Ireland
26 - Ghana
33 - USA

FRENCH
15 - France
16 - Switzerland
18 - Cote d'Ivoire
40 - Belgium
43 - Senegal

GERMAN
3 - Germany
16 - Switzerland
40 - Belgium
71 - Austria
122 - Namibia

PORTUGUESE
6 - Brazil
7 - Portugal
58 - Cape Verde Islands
85 - Angola
105 - Mozambique

RUSSIAN
13 - Russia
65 - Belarus
139 - Kazakhstan
140 - Tajikistan
191 - Kyrgyzstan

SPANISH
1 - Spain
4 - Uruguay
10 - Argentina
12 - Chile
21 - Mexico


Notes:

Official and Co-Official Languages

Some nations have multiple Official languages (eg Switzerland, Belgium) and appear in the list more than once.

List made using the January 18, 2012 FIFA Rankings

Some of the most widely spoken languages (eg Mandarin, Hindustani, Bengali, Punjabi, Javanese, Japanese, Korean, etc) were not in the list because they would include less than 5 FIFA nations.