Monday, April 30, 2012

Asian Goals in Top European Leagues - 2011-2012


Players from Asian Football Confederation nations that scored in the top 15 European Leagues (according to UEFA coefficient) in the 2011-2012 season.


23 - Sanharib Malki (Syria: Roda JC)
13 - Shinji Kagawa (Japan: Borussia Dortmund)
11 - Reza Ghoochannejhad (Iran: Sint-Truiden)
10 - James Troisi (Australia: Kayserispor)

7 - Shinji Okazaki (Japan: Stuttgart)
7 - Keisuke Honda (Japan: CSKA Moscow)
6 - Zhang Chengdong (China: Beira-Mar)
5 - Heung-Min Son (South Korea: Hamburger SV)
5 - Jevad Nekounam (Iran: Osasuna)
5 - Mike Havenaar (Japan: Vitesse)
5 - Brett Holman (Australia: AZ)
5 - Hyun-Jun Suk (South Korea: Groningen)
5 - Maya Yoshida (Japan: VVV)

4 - Ja-Cheol Koo (South Korea: Augsburg)
4 - Takayuki Morimoto (Japan: Novara)
3 - Hajime Hosogai (Japan: Augsburg)
3 - Ashkan Dejagah (Iran: Wolfsburg)
3 - Robert Cullen (Japan: VVV)
3 - Maksim Shatskikh (Uzbekistan: Arsenal Kiev)

2 - Tim Cahill (Australia: Everton)
2 - Dong-Won Ji (South Korea: Sunderland)
2 - Ji-Sung Park (South Korea: Manchester United)
2 - Yuto Nagatomo (Japan: Inter Milan)
2 - Jo-Gook Jung (South Korea: Nancy)
2 - Sanzhar Tursunov (Uzbekistan: Volga)
2 - Tommy Oar (Australia: Utrecht)

1 - Chris Herd (Australia: Aston Villa)
1 - Makoto Hasebe (Japan: Wolfsburg)
1 - Nikita Rukavytsya (Australia: Hertha BSC)
1 - Stefano Lilipaly (Indonesia: Utrecht)
1 - Brent McGrath (Australia: Brøndby)
1 - Kwang-Ryong Pak (North Korea: Basel)

Friday, April 27, 2012

CONCACAF Players with 10+ Goals in Europe - 2011-2012

CONCACAF players that have scored 10+ league goals in Europe this season.

Goals Player Nationality Team Division League
17 Terrence Boyd USA Borussia Dortmund II 4 Germany Regionalliga West
17 Olivier Occean Canada Greuther Fürth 2 Germany 2.Bundesliga
16 Clint Dempsey USA Fulham 1 England Premier League
16 Marlon King Jamaica Birmingham City 2 England Championship
15 Louie Soares Barbados Hayes & Yeading/Grimsby Town 5 England Conference National
15 Jozy Altidore USA AZ 1 Netherlands Eredivisie
11 Carlos Vela Mexico Real Sociedad 1 Spain La Liga
11 Lester Peltier Trinidad & Tobago Trenčín 1 Slovakia Super Liga
11 Raily Ignacio Curaçao Spakenburg 3 Netherlands Topklasse
10 Javier Hernández Mexico Manchester United 1 England Premier League
10 Bradley Bubb Grenada Eastleigh 6 England Conference North
10 Orin de Waard Curaçao Lienden 3 Netherlands Topklasse
10 Benjamin Martha Curaçao Katwijk 3 Netherlands Topklasse

Players currently on 9 goals:
Iain Hume (Canada: Preston North End)
Nahki Wells (Bermuda: Bradford City)


Stats as of April 27, 2012.

Thursday, April 26, 2012

La Liga: Top Scorer Player Birthplace Map

The birthplaces of players from Spain's La Liga that have scored 10+ league goals as of April 3, 2012.  [UPDATED: April 26, 2012]


View Spain La Liga Top Scorer Player Birthplace Map in a larger map

42 - Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
Funchal, Madeira, Portugal

41 - Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Rosario, Argentina

22 - Radamel Falcao (Atlético Madrid)
Santa Marta, Colombia

21 - Gonzalo Higuaín (Real Madrid)
Brest, France

18 - Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)
Lyon, France

17 - Roberto Soldado (Valencia)
Valencia, Spain

16 - Fernando Llorente (Athletic Bilbao)
Pamplona, Spain

15 - Michu (Rayo Vallecano)
Oviedo, Spain

14 - Rubén Castro (Real Betis)
Las Palmas, Spain

14 - Arouna Koné (Levante)
Anyama, Côte d'Ivoire

12 - Álvaro Negredo (Sevilla)
Madrid, Spain

11 - Miku (Getafe)
Caracas, Venezuela

11 - Alexis Sánchez (Barcelona)
Tocopilla, Chile

11 - Carlos Vela (Real Sociedad)
Cancún, Quintana Roo, Mexico

10 - Manu (Sevilla)
Jaén, Spain

Monday, April 23, 2012

Top 20 MLS SuperDraft Picks to Europe - 2000-2007

MLS SuperDraft picks selected in the top 20 that have gone on to play for a first or second division European team.  2000-2007

2000
3 - Adin Brown (Aalesund)
4 - Carlos Bocanegra (Fulham, Rennes, Saint-Etienne, Rangers)
6 - Danny Califf (AaB, Midtjylland)
12 - Bobby Convey (Reading)

2001
4 - Ryan Nelsen (Blackburn Rovers, Tottenham Hotspur)
18 - Ali Gerba (GIF Sundsvall, IFK Gothenburg, Odd Grenland, AC Horsens, FC Ingolstadt 04, Milton Keynes Dons)
19 - Eddie Johnson (Fulham, Cardiff City, Aris, PNE)

2002
1 - Chris Gbandi (Haugesund)
6 - Luchi Gonzalez (Bodens BK)

2003
2 - Ricardo Clark (Eintracht Frankfurt, Stabæk)
3 - Nate Jaqua (SC Rheindorf Altach)
9 - Pat Noonan (Aalesund)
13 - Arturo Alvarez (Paços de Ferreira)
18 - Damani Ralph (FC Rubin Kazan)

2004
1 - Freddy Adu (Benfica, AS Monaco, Belenenses, Aris, Çaykur Rizespor)
3 - Joseph Ngwenya (Austria Kärnten, Antalyaspor)
4 - Matt Taylor (TuS Koblenz, FSV Frankfurt, Rot Weiss Ahlen, SC Paderborn 07)
5 - Ramón Núñez (Leeds United, Scunthorpe United)
6 - Clarence Goodson (IK Start, Brøndby)
7 - Clint Dempsey (Fulham)
16 - Adrian Cann (Esbjerg fB)
19 - Matt Pickens (QPR)

2005
2 - Brad Guzan (Aston Villa, Hull City)
7 - Hunter Freeman (IK Start)
9 - Michael Parkhurst (FC Nordsjælland)
11 - Scott Sealy (Maccabi Tel Aviv, Bnei Sakhnin)
18 - Will John (Randers FC, FK Čukarički Stankom, MŠK Žilina, NK Vinogradar)

2006
4 - Yura Movsisyan (Randers FC, Krasnodar)
5 - Sacha Kljestan (Anderlecht)
17 - Jozy Altidore (Villarreal, Xerez, Hull City, Bursaspor, AZ)

2007
1 - Maurice Edu (Rangers)
2 - Bakary Soumaré (US Boulogne, Karlsruher SC)
11 - Bryan Arguez (Hertha BSC)
16 - Robbie Findley (Nottingham Forest)

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Central American National Team Logos

Belize

Costa Rica

El Salvador

Guatemala

Honduras

Nicaragua

Panama

Monday, April 16, 2012

Top 25 European Teams outside the Top 5 Leagues - Apr 2012

The top 25 European clubs not including the top leagues in England, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain - according to the April 15, 2012 Euro Club Index


7 - FC Porto (Portugal)
12 - Benfica (Portugal)
13 - Zenit St. Petersburg (Russia)
14 - Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine)
17 - Ajax (Netherlands)

21 - PSV (Netherlands)
26 - Dynamo Kyiv (Ukraine)
27 - FC Twente (Netherlands)
30 - Olympiacos (Greece)
31 - FC Basel (Switzerland)

34 - CSKA Moscow (Russia)
35 - Sporting Braga (Portugal)
37 - Sporting CP (Portugal)
39 - Spartak Moscow (Russia)
40 - Rubin Kazan (Russia)

43 - Metalist Kharkiv (Ukraine)
45 - Fenerbahçe (Turkey)
46 - AZ (Netherlands)
47 - Anderlecht (Belgium)
50 - Sparta Praha (Czech Republic)

57 - Lokomotiv Moscow (Russia)
58 - Panathinaikos (Greece)
63 - Dinamo Moscow (Russia)
65 - Viktoria Plzen (Czech Republic)
67 - Celtic (Scotland)

Thursday, April 12, 2012

2012 Seattle Sounders Personal Bios

Excerpts from the personal player bios in the official Seattle Sounders 2012 Media Guide.

Sigi Schmid - Born in Teubingin, Germany. Sigi is a Certified Public Accountant.

Osvaldo Alonso - His favorite sport other than soccer is baseball and his favorite player is retired Cuban third baseman Omar Linares.

Marc Burch - Grew up in Cincinnati and was a Bengals, University of Cincinnati and Ohio State
Buckeyes fan. Has a dog, Cody, and wrote a blog for Men’s Journal about Cody.

Servando Carrasco - Has dual-citizenship in USA and Mexico. Enjoys surfing, first learned to surf as an 8 year old in Baja, California

David Estrada - History major with a minor in Chicano Studies. Moved from Morelia, Mexico to Salinas, California at the age of four months. David's uncle nicknamed him Samuraie.

Brad Evans - Appeared in three cooking shows on the Columbus local news and held a cooking session with Seattle fans in 2011. An accomplished outdoorsman, enjoys fishing and hiking.

Alvaro Fernandez - Nickname "El Flaco" (the skinny) by his teammates in Uruguay. His favorite drink is Mate, a tea dring full of vitamins and minerals that he drinks before and after every game and training session.

Leo Gonzalez - As a child in Costa Rica, Leo used to collect little critters. His favorites were lizards and crickets.

Michael Gspurning - Speaks three languages, German, English and Greek. Was nicknamed "Cerberus" by the Greek media. Cerberus is the three-headed hound in Greek mythology.

Jhon Kennedy Hurtado - Named after John F. Kennedy and goes by the nickname "El Presidente"

Patrick Ianni - While at UCLA, Patrick was part of a backline that included curent MLS players Marvell Wynne, Jonathan Bornstein and Jordan Harvey.

Adam Johansson - Born and raised in Gothenburg, Sweden. Never lived outside the city.

Eddie Johnson - Played American football his freshman year of high school, making the team as a wide receiver.

Roger Levesque - Won three state basketball and two baseball titles in high school. Enjoys yoga.

Fredy Montero - Father was a policeman in Colombia and used to work local soccer matches where Fredy would help shag balls.

Jeff Parke - An avid golfer and would like to be on the PGA Tour if not for soccer. Favorite music includes Pearl Jam and Dave Matthews Band.

Mauro Rosales - Learned English while at Ajax where he was required to take English classes.

Andy Rose - Played tennis and table tennis throughout childhood. Has lived in Australia, England, Dubai, Chicago, and Los Angeles.

Amadou Sanyang - His older brother Bakary blays for Bakau United in Africa.

Zach Scott - Teammate of Houston Dynamo forward Brian Ching for two seasons at Gonzaga. Graduated from Maui High School in Kahului, Hawaii.

Michael Seamon - His sister Katie previously participated in The Amazing Race.

Christian Sivabaek - His father, John, played for Manchester United and scored the first goal under Sir Alex Ferguson. Christian lived in France and Italy before settling in Denmark.

Babayele Sodade - Played basketball for 10 years and was a power forward.

Michael Tetteh - When not playing soccer, he can be found at the gym or reading.

Andrew Weber - His first concert was seeing A Perfect Circle. Andrew and his twin brother, Elliot, participated in the 2012 edition of The Amazing Race.

Steve Zakuani - Older brother Gabriel plays for Peterborough United FC in League One. Enjoys reading, watching comedies, and writing and making music.

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

FIFA Confederation Ranking Comparison - April 2012

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

Top 5 Avg. - Confederation (+/- March)

3.8 - Europe (+/- 0.0)
1 - Spain
2 - Germany
4 - Netherlands
5 - Portugal
7 - England

11.0 - South America (+0.2)
3 - Uruguay
6 - Brazil
10 - Argentina
13 - Chile
23 - Colombia

30.8 - Africa (+0.4)
15 - Côte d'Ivoire
22 - Ghana
38 - Algeria
39 - Mali
40 - Zambia

39.8 - Asia (+0.4)
21 - Australia
30 - Japan
31 - South Korea
51 - Iran
66 - China PR

41.2 - CONCACAF (+1.0)
20 - Mexico
29 - USA
49 - El Salvador
52 - Panama
56 - Jamaica

154.2 - Oceania (-2.2)
130 - New Zealand
154 - New Caledonia
155 - Samoa
160 - Fiji
172 - Vanuatu

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Video: Myanmar Match Day Experience

A few minutes of the match day experience at a Myanmar National League game between Kanbawza Football Club (KBZ FC) v Yangon United in 2010.



Bonus: Amazing Chinlone Skills (a traditional soccer related sport in Myanmar)

Monday, April 9, 2012

Philippines Club Logos

Logos from the first division of the United Football League in the Philippines.


Philippine Army FC

Global FC

Kaya FC

Loyola Meralco Sparks FC

Manila Nomads

Pasargad FC

Philippine Air Force FC

Philippine Navy FC

Green Archers United FC

Stallion FC

Friday, April 6, 2012

Europa League Quarterfinalists by Nation - 2002-2012

Quarterfinalists from the last 10 Europa League tournaments sorted by Nation. (formerly the UEFA Cup)

2011-2012
3 - Spain (Athletic Bilbao, Atlético Madrid, Valencia)
2 - Germany (Hannover 96, Schalke 04)
1 - Netherlands (AZ)
1 - Portugal (Sporting CP)
1 - Ukraine (Metalist Kharkiv)

2010-2011
3 - Portugal (Benfica, Braga, Porto)
2 - Netherlands (PSV, Twente)
1 - Russia (Spartak Moscow)
1 - Spain (Villarreal)
1 - Ukraine (Dynamo Kyiv)

2009-2010
2 - England (Fulham, Liverpool)
2 - Germany (Hamburg, Wolsfburg)
2 - Spain (Atlético Madrid, Valencia)
1 - Belgium (Standard Liège)
1 - Portugal (Benfica)

2008-2009
2 - France (Marseille, PSG)
2 - Germany (Hamburg, Werder Bremen)
2 - Ukraine (Dynamo Kyiv, Shakhtar Donetsk)
1 - England (Manchester City)
1 - Italy (Udinese)

2007-2008
2 - Germany (Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern Munich)
1 - Italy (Fiorentina)
1 - Netherlands (PSV)
1 - Portugal (Sporting CP)
1 - Russia (Zenit St. Petersburg)
1 - Scotland (Rangers)
1 - Spain (Getafe)

2006-2007
3 - Spain (Espanyol, Osasuna, Sevilla)
2 - Germany (Bayer Leverkusen, Werder Bremen)
1 - England (Tottenham Hotspur)
1 - Netherlands (AZ)
1 - Portugal (Benfica)

2005-2006
2 - Romania (Rapid Bucureşti, Steaua Bucureşti)
1 - Bulgaria (Levski Sofia)
1 - England (Middlesbrough)
1 - Germany (Schalke 04)
1 - Russia (Zenit St. Petersburg)
1 - Spain (Sevilla)
1 - Switzerland (Basel)

2004-2005
1 - Austria (Austria Wien)
1 - England (Newcastle United)
1 - France (Auxerre)
1 - Italy (Parma)
1 - Netherlands (AZ)
1 - Portugal (Sporting CP)
1 - Russia (CSKA Moscow)
1 - Spain (Villarreal)

2003-2004
2 - France (Bordeaux, Marseille)
2 - Spain (Valencia, Villarreal)
1 - England (Newcastle United)
1 - Italy (Inter Milan)
1 - Netherlands (PSV)
1 - Scotland (Celtic)

2002-2003
2 - Portugal (Boavista, Porto)
1 - England (Liverpool)
1 - Greece (Panathinaikos)
1 - Italy (Lazio)
1 - Scotland (Celtic)
1 - Spain (Málaga)
1 - Turkey (Beşiktaş)

QF Appearances by Nation
15 - Spain
11 - Germany
10 - Portugal
8 - England
7 - Netherlands
5 - France
5 - Italy
4 - Russia
4 - Ukraine
3 - Scotland
2 - Romania
1 - Austria
1 - Belgium
1 - Bulgaria
1 - Greece
1 - Switzerland
1 - Turkey

Teams with the most QF Appearances
3 - AZ
3 - Benfica
3 - PSV
3 - Sporting CP
3 - Valencia
3 - Villarreal

Monday, April 2, 2012

Top Scoring Teams in Europe - 2011/2012

Top Division European teams that have scored 2+ goals per game in the 2011/2012 Regular Season.

GPG - CLUB (COUNTRY)

3.86 - UE Santa Coloma (Andorra)
3.64 - FC Santa Coloma (Andorra)
3.36 - Sant Julià (Andorra)
3.33 - Real Madrid (Spain)
2.87 - Barcelona (Spain)

2.86 - Lusitanos (Andorra)
2.71 - Ajax (Netherlands)
2.70 - F91 Dudelange (Luxembourg)
2.60 - Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine)
2.54 - Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia)

2.54 - FC Twente (Netherlands)
2.50 - Hibernians (Malta)
2.50 - PSV (Netherlands)
2.47 - Manchester United (England)
2.42 - Manchester City (England)

2.41 - Budućnost (Montenegro)
2.41 - Bangor City (Wales)
2.39 - Bayern Munich (Germany)
2.37 - Olympiakos (Greece)
2.36 - Viktoria Plzeň (Czech Republic)

2.36 - Valletta (Malta)
2.36 - The New Saints (Wales)
2.35 - Slovan Liberec (Czech Republic)
2.33 - Partizan (Serbia)
2.30 - Differdange 03 (Luxembourg)

2.30 - Sheriff (Moldova)
2.30 - Cliftonville (Northern Ireland)
2.29 - Ludogorets (Bulgaria)
2.29 - Heerenveen (Netherlands)
2.26 - Maribor (Slovenia)

2.25 - Borussia Dortmund (Germany)
2.24 - Linfield (Northern Ireland)
2.24 - Porto (Portugal)
2.24 - Benfica (Portugal)
2.19 - Tre Fiori (San Marino)

2.18 - Schalke 04 (Germany)
2.16 - Sporting Braga (Portugal)
2.16 - Basel (Switzerland)
2.14 - Debrecen (Hungary)
2.14 - Llanelli (Wales)

2.11 - Željezničar (Bosnia-Herzegovina)
2.10 - Gent (Belgium)
2.10 - Crvena Zvezda (Serbia)
2.09 - CSKA Sofia (Bulgaria)
2.06 - La Fiorita (San Marino)

2.06 - Celtic (Scotland)
2.05 - Neftçi (Azerbaijan)
2.05 - Zestafoni (Georgia)
2.04 - Feyenoord (Netherlands)
2.04 - Dynamo Kyiv (Ukraine)

2.03 - Anderlecht (Belgium)
2.00 - Genk (Belgium)
2.00 - Jablonec (Czech Republic)
2.00 - Arsenal (England)
2.00 - Dinamo Tbilisi (Georgia)

2.00 - AC Milan (Italy)
2.00 - Jeunesse d'Esch (Luxembourg)
2.00 - Grevenmacher (Luxembourg)
2.00 - Dacia (Moldova)
2.00 - AZ Alkmaar (Netherlands)
2.00 - Portadown (Northern Ireland)


As of April 1, 2012

Not including:
Armenia, Belarus, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Finland, Iceland, Ireland Republic, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden