Non-European Premier League Medal Winners

Non-European Players who have received an English Premier League winner's medal.

Criteria From the 2012-2013 FA Premier League Handbook:
The League Champions shall further receive 30 commemorative medals to be presented by the Club to its Manager and to such of its Players and Officials as it thinks fit provided, in the case of a Player, that he has that Season played in a minimum of 10 of its League Matches. Additional medals may be presented with the consent of the Board..

Africa

Cameroon
2 - Lauren, 01-02, 03-04 (Arsenal)
2 - Geremi, 04-05, 05-06 (Chelsea)

Ghana
1 - Michael Essien, 05-06 (Chelsea)

Ivory Coast
3 - Didier Drogba, 04-05, 05-06, 09-10 (Chelsea)
2 - Kolo Toure, 03-04, 11-12 (Arsenal, Manchester City)
1 - Salomon Kalou, 09-10, (Chelsea)
1 - Yaya Toure, 11-12 (Manchester City)

Liberia
1 - Christopher Wreh, 97-98 (Arsenal)

Nigeria
2 - Nwankwo Kanu, 01-02, 03-04 (Arsenal)
1 - John Obi Mikel, 09-10 (Chelsea)

South Africa
1 - Quinton Fortune, 02-03 (Manchester United)



Asia

Australia
1 - Robbie Slater, 94-95 (Blackburn Rovers)
1 - Mark Bosnich, 99-00 (Manchester United)

Japan
1 - Shinji Kagawa, 12-13 (Manchester United)

South Korea
4 - Park Ji-Sung, 06-07, 07-08, 08-09, 10-11 (Manchester United)



CONCACAF

Mexico
2 - Javier Hernandez, 10-11, 12-13 (Manchester United)

Trinidad and Tobago
3 - Dwight Yorke, 98-99, 99-00, 00-01 (Manchester United)



CONMEBOL

Argentina
3 - Carlos Tevez, 07-08, 08-09, 11-12 (Manchester United, Manchester City)
1 - Hernan Crespo, 05-06 (Chelsea)
1 - Juan Sebastian Veron, 02-03 (Manchester United)
1 - Gabriel Heinze, 06-07 (Manchester United)
1 - Pablo Zabaleta, 11-12 (Manchester City)
1 - Sergio Agüero, 11-12 (Manchester City)

Brazil
4 - Anderson, 07-08, 08-09, 10-11, 12-13 (Manchester United)
3 - Rafael, 08-09, 10-11, 12-13 (Manchester United)
2 - Edu, 01-02, 03-04 (Arsenal)
1 - Gilberto Silva, 03-04 (Arsenal)
1 - Juliano Belletti, 09-10 (Chelsea)
1 - Alex, 09-10 (Chelsea)
1 - Fabio, 10-11 (Manchester United)

Ecuador
2 - Antonio Valencia, 10-11, 12-13 (Manchester United)

Uruguay
1 - Diego Forlan, 02-03 (Manchester United)



Original Post 12/31/08
Updated 09/12/13

Unusual Soccer Match Cancellations

This is a list of soccer matches that have been cancelled over the past few years due to unusual circumstances. There have been a wide range of reasons for cancellation including government intervention, war and terrorism, deadly disease outbreaks, wild boars, burning toilet paper, David Beckham issues, and more. For this list, I chose to avoid weather issues, player deaths, hooligans, riots and other similar issues. Feel free to add any memorable match cancellations in the comments.




Israel Matches Cancelled over Gaza offensive (Link)

Wales Matches cancelled in ref 'crisis' (Link)

Serie A matches Suspended for the Ailing Pope (Link)

Indian league Matches Cancelled due to Mumbai Terrorist Attacks (Link)

Match cancelled in Gloucestershire as Wild Boar Invades Football Pitch (Link1)(Link2)

PSV v Ajax postponed due to police strike (Link)

Zimbabwe Police cancel Football (Link)

SARS plays havoc with Asia's soccer schedule (Link)

Greek Cypriots pressure English team to call off Friendly with Turkish Cypriot Side (Link)

Major League Soccer postponed games in wake of September 11 attacks (Link)

Armenia-Azerbaijan matches cancelled due to dispute over match venues (Link)

Nepal League matches cancelled when Sports Council office padlocked by Maoist-affiliated group (Link)

Israeli league matches cancelled after three players admit taking bribes (Link)

Wuhan Guanggu ejected from Chinese soccer league causing the CFA to cancel all remaining fixtures (Link)

UC Irvine v UC Riverside match in California postponed due to poor air quality (Link)

Kidnapping Postpones 2001 Copa America in Colombia (Link)

British Government forces Charlton to cancel game with Iran National Team (Link)

1999: Irish ban match with the Serbs on account of events in Kosovo (Link)

FIFA cancels Fiji-New Zealand WC qualifier over Visa disagreement (Link)

Liverpool-Newcastle game Postponed due to death of Princess Diana (Link)

Man United cancel Malaysian match to avoid detracting from the Asian Cup (Link)

Adelaide-Changchun match cancelled because of Chinese mourning period for Earthquake victims (Link)

FC Groningen fans light toilet paper on fire, causing cancellation of match (Link)

Queensland Roar-LA Galaxy match cancelled due to concerns of David Beckham's availability (Link)

Burmese Military team become bad sports against a University team causing a walk-out (Link)

Ghanaian Premier League match called off due to the June Four fun games (Link)

Iran cancels Woman's football match in Berlin due to "technical problems" (Link)



Originally Posted on 11/9/09

Castrol Index: Top 5 EPL Players from Each Confederation (Nov 2010)

The top 5 Premier League players from each FIFA confederation using the newly released Nov 2010 Castrol Index rankings.


Africa
9 - Didier Drogba (Cote d'Ivoire)
74 - Alexandre Song (Cameroon)
75 - Marouane Chamakh (Morocco)
115 - Yaya Toure (Cote d'Ivoire)
170 - Steven Pienaar (South Africa)

Asia
64 - Tim Cahill (Australia)
77 - Mark Schwarzer (Australia)
392 - Chung-Yong Lee (South Korea)
697 - Ji-Sung Park (South Korea)
1006 - Brett Emerton (Australia)

CONCACAF
28 - Marcus Hahnemann (USA)
86 - Clint Dempsey (USA)
113 - Brad Friedel (USA)
398 - Tim Howard (USA)
458 - Kenwyne Jones (Trinidad & Tobago)

South America
15 - Alex (Brazil)
18 - Carlos Tevez (Argentina)
32 - Heurelho Gomes (Brazil)
54 - Antonio Valencia (Ecuador)
165 - Maxi Rodriguez (Argentina)

Oceania
294 - Ryan Nelsen (New Zealand)
2087 - Winston Reid (New Zealand)

UK
4 - Wayne Rooney (England)
6 - Frank Lampard (England)
24 - Jermain Defoe (England)
60 - John Terry (England)
63 - Paul Robinson (England)

Europe (non-UK)
7 - Rafael van der Vaart (Netherlands)
9 - Florent Malouda (France)
18 - Nani (Portugal)
21 - Andrei Arshavin (Russia)
25 - Nicolas Anelka (France)

Non World Cup Nations Represented at WC2010

A map and list of World Cup 2010 players who were born in nations that did not make it to South Africa but still made the trip with their adopted national teams. If you include these 'foreign' players, there are 48 different nations represented at this year's World Cup (50 if you count Greenland and French Guiana, which are technically considered parts of Denmark and France respectively).


View Non-World Cup Nations Represented at WC2010 in a larger map

Albania
Sotiris Ninis (Greece)

Bosnia and Herzegovina
Marko Marin (Germany)
Neven Subotić (Serbia)
Elvedin Džinič (Slovenia)
Zlatko Dedič (Slovenia)

Canada
Daniel Fernandes (Portugal)

Cape Verde
Gelson Fernandes (Switzerland)

Croatia
Dario Vidošić (Australia)

Czech Republic
Loukas Vyntra (Greece)

DR Congo
Blaise Nkufo (Switzerland)
Steve Mandanda (France)

French Guiana
Florent Malouda (France)

Greenland
Jesper Grønkjær (Denmark)

Kosovo
Valon Behrami (Switzerland)
Albert Bunjaku (Switzerland)
Xherdan Shaqiri (Switzerland)

Poland
Piotr Trochowski (Germany)
Miroslav Klose (Germany)
Lukas Podolski (Germany)

Scotland
Stuart Holden (USA)

Senegal
Patrice Evra (France)

Suriname
Edson Braafheid (Netherlands)

Swaziland
Bongani Khumalo (South Africa)

Ukraine
Nikita Rukavytsya (Australia)

Uzbekistan
Peter Odemwingie (Nigeria)

Venezuela
Danny (Portugal)
Jorge Valdivia (Chile)

Number 9's and 10's at World Cup 2010

Many of the most important players in World Cup history wore the #9 or #10 shirts which are generally reserved for important goal scorers and playmakers. Here is the list of impressive players who will wear #9 and #10 shirts at the 2010 World Cup.

#9's

Katlego Mphela (South Africa; Mamelodi Sundowns)
Guillermo Franco (Mexico; West Ham United)
Luis Suárez (Uruguay; Ajax)
Djibril Cissé (France; Panathinaikos)

Gonzalo Higuaín (Argentina; Real Madrid)
Obafemi Martins (Nigeria; Wolfsburg)
Ahn Jung-Hwan (South Korea; Dalian Shide)
Angelos Charisteas (Greece; Nuremburg)

Peter Crouch (England; Tottenham Hotspur)
Herculez Gomez (USA; Pachuca)
Abdelkader Ghezzal (Algeria; Siena)
Zlatan Ljubijankič (Slovenia; Gent)

Stefan Kießling (Germany; Bayer Leverkusen)
Joshua Kennedy (Australia; Nagoya Grampus)
Marko Pantelić (Serbia; Ajax)
Derek Boateng (Ghana; Getafe)

Robin van Persie (Netherlands; Arsenal)
Jon Dahl Tomasson (Denmark; Feyenoord)
Shinji Okazaki (Japan; Shimizu S-Pulse)
Samuel Eto'o (Cameroon; Inter Milan)

Vincenzo Iaquinta (Italy; Juventus)
Roque Santa Cruz (Paraguay; Manchester City)
Shane Smeltz (New Zealand; Gold Coast United)
Stanislav Šesták (Slovakia; Bochum)

Luís Fabiano (Brazil; Sevilla)
Ri Chol-Myong (North Korea; Pyongyang City)
Cheick Tioté (Cote d'Ivoire; Twente)
Liédson (Portugal; Sporting CP)

Fernando Torres (Spain; Liverpool)
Alexander Frei (Switzerland; Basel)
Carlos Pavón (Honduras; Real España)
Humberto Suazo (Chile; Real Zaragoza)

#10's

Steven Pienaar (South Africa; Everton)
Cuauhtémoc Blanco (Mexico; Veracruz)
Diego Forlán (Uruguay; Atletico Madrid)
Sidney Govou (France; Lyon)

Lionel Messi (Argentina; Barcelona)
John Obi Mikel (Nigeria; Chelsea)
Park Chu-Young (South Korea; Monaco)
Giorgos Karagounis (Greece; Panathinaikos)

Wayne Rooney (England; Manchester United)
Landon Donovan (USA; LA Galaxy)
Rafik Saïfi (Algeria; Istres)
Valter Birsa (Slovenia; Auxerre)

Lukas Podolski (Germany; Köln)
Harry Kewell (Australia; Galatasaray)
Dejan Stanković (Serbia; Inter Milan)
Stephen Appiah (Ghana; Bologna)

Wesley Sneijder (Netherlands; Inter Milan)
Martin Jørgensen (Denmark; AGF)
Shunsuke Nakamura (Japan; Yokohama F. Marinos)
Achille Emana (Cameroon; Real Betis)

Antonio Di Natale (Italy; Udinese)
Édgar Benítez (Paraguay; Pachuca)
Chris Killen (New Zealand; Middlesbrough)
Marek Sapara (Slovakia; Ankaragücü

Kaká (Brazil; Real Madrid)
Hong Yong-Jo (Korea DPR; Rostov)
Gervinho (Cote d'Ivoire; Lille)
Danny (Portugal; Zenit St. Petersburg)

Cesc Fàbregas (Spain; Arsenal)
Blaise Nkufo (Switzerland; Twente)
Julio César de León (Honduras; Torino)
Jorge Valdivia (Chile; Al-Ain)

Home Based Players on World Cup 2010 Squads

A list of the number of players on each World Cup 2010 squad that play for teams in their home country (English players on English teams, German players on German teams, etc..)

23 - England
23 - Germany
23 - Italy
20 - Korea DPR
20 - Spain
19 - Japan
16 - South Africa
14 - Mexico
14 - Greece
14 - Honduras
13 - South Korea
11 - France
9 - Netherlands
9 - New Zealand*
9 - Portugal
7 - Chile
7 - Denmark
7 - Switzerland
6 - Argentina
4 - Paraguay
4 - USA
3 - Algeria
3 - Brazil
3 - Ghana
2 - Serbia
2 - Slovakia
2 - Slovenia
2 - Uruguay
1 - Australia
1 - Cameroon
1 - Cote d'Ivoire
0 - Nigeria


*including Wellington Phoenix players, which is in New Zealand but officially a part of the Australian A-League



Home Based Players by Group
43 - Group A
33 - Group B
32 - Group C
29 - Group D
36 - Group E
34 - Group F
33 - Group G
48 - Group H

Second Division Players on Preliminary World Cup Squads

A list of World Cup 2010 preliminary squad players that did not play in a top division league during the 2009/2010 season.

GROUP A

SOUTH AFRICA
Rowen Fernández (Arminia Bielefeld; Germany)

MEXICO
Cuauhtémoc Blanco (Veracruz; Mexico)

URUGUAY
NONE

FRANCE
NONE

GROUP B

ARGENTINA
Fabricio Coloccini (Newcastle United; England)
Jonás Gutiérrez (Newcastle United; England)

NIGERIA
NONE

SOUTH KOREA
Kim Bo-Kyung (Oita Trinita; Japan)

GREECE
NONE

GROUP C

ENGLAND
NONE

UNITED STATES
Jay DeMerit (Watford; England)

ALGERIA
Carl Medjani (Ajaccio; France)
Rafik Saïfi (Istres; France)
Djamel Mesbah (Lecce; Italy)

SLOVENIA
Jasmin Handanovič (Mantova; Italy)
Matej Mavrič (TuS Koblenz; Germany)
Robert Koren (West Bromwich Albion; England)

GROUP D

GERMANY
NONE

AUSTRALIA
Brad Jones (Middlesbrough; England)
Rhys Williams (Middlesbrough; England)
Scott McDonald (Middlesbrough; England)
Adam Federici (Reading; England)
Nick Carle (Crystal Palace; England)
Dario Vidošić (MSV Duisburg; Germany)
Mark Milligan (JEF United; Japan)
Carl Valeri (Sassuolo; Italy)

SERBIA
Antonio Rukavina (1860 Munich; Germany)

GHANA
André Ayew (AC Arles-Avignon; France)

GROUP E

NETHERLANDS
NONE

DENMARK
Søren Larsen (MSV Duisburg; Germany)

JAPAN
NONE

CAMEROON
Marcel Ndjeng (FC Augsburg; Germany)
Geroges Mandjeck (Kaiserslautern; Germany)

GROUP F

ITALY
NONE

PARAGUAY
Denis Caniza (León; Mexico)

NEW ZEALAND
Tommy Smith (Ipswich Town; England)
Chris Killen (Middlesbrough; England)
Chris Wood (West Bromwich Albion; England)
Rory Fallon (Plymouth Argyle; England)
Jeremy Christie (Tampa Bay Rowdies; USA)

SLOVAKIA
Ľuboš Kamenár (Nantes; France)
Marek Čech (West Bromwich Albion; England)
Ľubomír Michalík (Leeds United; England.3)
Martin Petráš (Cesena; Italy)
Erik Jendrišek (Kaiserslautern; Germany)

GROUP G

BRAZIL
NONE

KOREA DPR
NONE

COTE D'IVOIRE
Abdoulaye Méïté (West Bromwich Albion; England)

PORTUGAL
NONE

GROUP H

SPAIN
NONE

SWITZERLAND
NONE

HONDURAS
Julio César de León (Torino; Italy)

CHILE
Claudio Bravo (Real Sociedad; Spain)
Gonzalo Jara (West Bromwich Albion; England)
Carlos Carmona (Reggina; Italy)



Players that are on recently relegated teams are not included in this list. Only players who were on 2nd division sides during this past season are included.

England Based Players on Preliminary World Cup Squads

100+ players that are with clubs based in England have been called up to their World Cup preliminary squads and that's not including the 30 players from the England squad itself. Here is the preliminary list of England based players as it stands before the squads are cut down to 23 on June 1st.

Australia (11)

Shane Lowry (Aston Villa)
Brett Emerton (Blackburn Rovers)
Vince Grella (Blackburn Rovers)
Nick Carle (Crystal Palace)
Tim Cahill (Everton)
Mark Schwarzer (Fulham)
Richard Garcia (Hull City)
Brad Jones (Middlesbrough)
Rhys Williams (Middlesbrough)
Scott McDonald (Middlesbrough)
Adam Federici (Reading)

Nigeria (8)

Danny Shittu (Bolton Wanderers)
John Obi Mikel (Chelsea)
Joseph Yobo (Everton)
Yakubu Aiyegbeni (Everton)
Victor Anichebe (Everton)
Dickson Etuhu (Fulham)
John Utaka (Portsmouth)
Nwankwo Kanu (Portsmouth)

France (7)

Gaël Clichy (Arsenal)
William Gallas (Arsenal)
Bacary Sagna (Arsenal)
Abou Diaby (Arsenal)
Florent Malouda (Chelsea)
Nicolas Anelka (Chelsea)
Patrice Evra (Manchester United)

United States (7)

Brad Guzan (Aston Villa)
Stuart Holden (Bolton Wanderers)
Tim Howard (Everton)
Clint Dempsey (Fulham)
Jay DeMerit (Watford)
Jonathan Spector (West Ham United)
Marcus Hahnemann (Wolverhampton Wanderers)

Côte d'Ivoire (6)

Emmanuel Eboué (Arsenal)
Didier Drogba (Chelsea)
Salomon Kalou (Chelsea)
Kolo Touré (Manchester City)
Abdoulaye Méïté (West Bromwich Albion)
Steve Gohouri (Wigan Athletic)

Serbia (6)

Branislav Ivanović (Chelsea)
Nemanja Matić (Chelsea)
Nemanja Vidić (Manchester United)
Zoran Tošić (Manchester United)
Vladimir Stojković (Wigan Athletic)
Nenad Milijaš (Wolverhampton Wanderers)

Argentina (5)

Javier Mascherano (Liverpool)
Maxi Rodriguez (Liverpool)
Carlos Tévez (Manchester City)
Fabricio Coloccini (Newcastle United)
Jonás Gutiérrez (Newcastle United)

Ghana (5)

Michael Essien (Chelsea)
John Paintsil (Fulham)
Kevin-Prince Boateng (Portsmouth)
John Mensah (Sunderland)
Richard Kingson (Wigan Athletic)

Netherlands (5)

Robin van Persie (Arsenal)
John Heitinga (Everton)
Dirk Kuyt (Liverpool)
Ryan Babel (Liverpool)
Nigel de Jong (Manchester City)

New Zealand (5)

Ryan Nelsen (Blackburn Rovers)
Tommy Smith (Ipswich Town)
Chris Killen (Middlesbrough)
Rory Fallon (Plymouth Argyle)
Chris Wood (West Bromwich Albion)

Slovakia (5)

Miroslav Stoch (Chelsea)
Ľubomír Michalík (Leeds United)
Martin Škrtel (Liverpool)
Vladimir Weiss (Manchester City)
Marek Čech (West Bromwich Albion)

Denmark (4)

Nicklas Bendtner (Arsenal)
Lar Jacobsen (Blackburn Rovers)
Daniel Agger (Liverpool)
Thomas Sørensen (Stoke City)

Portugal (4)

Ricardo Carvalho (Chelsea)
Paulo Ferreira (Chelsea)
Deco (Chelsea)
Nani (Manchester United)

South Africa (4)

Steven Pienaar (Everton)
Kagisho Dikgacoi (Fulham)
Aaron Mokoena (Portsmouth)
Benni McCarthy (West Ham United)

Algeria (3)

Nadir Belhadj (Portsmouth)
Hassan Yebda (Portsmouth)
Adlène Guedioura (Wolverhampton Wanderers)

Cameroon (3)

Alexandre Song (Arsenal)
Benoît Assou-Ekotto (Tottenham Hotspur)
Sébastien Bassong (Tottenham Hotspur)

Honduras (3)

Wilson Palacios (Tottenham Hotspur)
Maynor Figueroa (Wigan Athletic)
Hendry Thomas (Wigan Athletic)

Mexico (3)

Carlos Vela (Arsenal)
Javier Hernandez (Manchester United)
Guillermo Franco (West Ham United)

Spain (3)

Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal)
Pepe Reina (Liverpool)
Fernando Torres (Liverpool)

Brazil (2)

Alex (Chelsea)
Heurelho Gomes (Tottenham Hotspur)

Paraguay (2)

Roque Santa Cruz (Manchester City)
Paulo da Silva (Sunderland)

South Korea (2)

Lee Chung-Yong (Bolton Wanderers)
Park Ji-Sung (Manchester United)

Switzerland (2)

Philippe Senderos (Everton)
Valon Behrami (West Ham United)

Chile (1)

Gonzalo Jara (West Bromwich Albion)

Germany (1)

Michael Ballack (Chelsea)

Greece (1)

Sotirios Kyrgiakos (Liverpool)

Slovenia (1)

Robert Koren (West Bromwich Albion)

No England based Players:
Japan
Uruguay
Italy
North Korea

Videos: World Cup 2010 Qualification Celebrations

A few videos of the celebrations from around the world after qualification to the World Cup in South Africa.

Algeria


Honduras


Chile


New Zealand


Korea DPR

Foreign-Born World Cup Winners

A list of Foreign-Born Players from World Cup winning nations since the first WC in 1930.

2006
Italy

Mauro Camoranesi
Tandil, Argentina

Simone Perrotta
Ashton-under-Lyne, England

1998
France

Patrick Vieira
Dakar, Senegal

Marcel Desailly
Accra, Ghana

Lilian Thuram
Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe (technically considered an overseas region of France)

Christian Karembeu
Lifou, New Caledonia (overseas territory of France)

1982
Italy

Claudio Gentile
Tripoli, Libya

1974
West Germany

Herbert Wimmer
Eupen, Belgium

1954
West Germany

Josef Posipal
Lugoj, Romania

Richard Herrmann
Katowice, Poland

1950
Uruguay

Ernesto Vidal
Buie d'Istria, Italy


1938
Italy

Michele Andreolo
Montevideo, Uruguay


1934
Italy

Attilio Demaria
Buenos Aires, Argentina

Enrique Guaita
Lucas González, Argentina

Anfilogino Guarisi
São Paulo, Brazil

Luis Monti
Buenos Aires, Argentina

Raimundo Orsi
Avellaneda, Argentina

Mario Varglien
Fiume, Austria-Hungary (modern day Rijeka, Croatia)


1930
Uruguay

Lorenzo Fernández
Redondela, Spain

If There was a Yugoslavia National Team...

I was thinking the other day about how many high quality players there are are from the former Yugoslavia (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, FYR Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia) I wonder how good they'd be if there was still a combined Yugoslavia national team? (Hint: good)



These are just a few of the top players that could be called upon. I do see one problem though. Who on earth would you play/sit in the midfield and forward positions? A manager would definitely have a few tough choices with this team.


GOALKEEPERS
Samir Handanovič (Slovenia; Udinese)
Stipe Pletikosa (Croatia; Spartak Moscow)

DEFENDERS
Josip Šimunić (Croatia; 1899 Hoffenheim)
Vedran Ćorluka (Croatia; Tottenham Hotspur)
Marko Baša (Montenegro; Lokomotiv Moscow)
Aleksandar Kolarov (Serbia; Lazio)
Nemanja Vidić (Serbia; Manchester United)
Neven Subotić (Serbia; Borussia Dortmund)
Branislav Ivanovic (Serbia; Chelsea)


MIDFIELDERS
Zvjezdan Misimović (Bosnia and Herzegovina; Wolfsburg)
Miralem Pjanić (Bosnia and Herzegovina; Lyon)
Luka Modrić (Croatia; Tottenham Hotspur)
Darijo Srna (Croatia; Shakhtar Donetsk)
Niko Kranjčar (Croatia; Tottenham Hotspur)
Simon Vukčević (Montenegro; Sporting CP)
Dejan Stanković (Serbia; Inter Milan)
Miloš Krasić (Serbia; CSKA Moscow)
Gojko Kačar (Serbia; Hertha BSC)

FORWARDS
Edin Džeko (Bosnia and Herzegovina; Wolfsburg)
Zlatan Muslimović (Bosnia and Herzegovina; PAOK)
Vedad Ibišević (Bosnia and Herzegovina; 1899 Hoffenheim)
Eduardo (Croatia; Arsenal)
Ivica Olić (Croatia; Bayern Munich)
Mladen Petrić (Croatia; Hamburger SV)
Goran Pandev (Macedonia; Inter Milan)
Mirko Vučinić (Montenegro; Roma)
Nikola Žigić (Serbia; Valencia)
Marko Pantelić (Serbia; Ajax)
Milan Jovanović (Serbia; Standard Liege, signed by Liverpool)
Milivoje Novakovič (Slovenia; 1. FC Köln)



Two Notes:
1. No political statement here, just having some fun looking at the potential player pool.

2. I don't follow these national teams closely so it's possible I may have missed one or two deserving players but you get the idea. They would be GOOD.

Videos: Asian Nations with One World Cup Appearance

Highlights (or lowlights depending on how you look at it) of the Asian nations that have only made one World Cup finals appearance in their history.

Korea DPR 1966 (One of the biggest upsets in WC History)


Kuwait 1982 (The only point in Kuwait World Cup History)


Iraq 1986 (only goal in Iraq World Cup History)


UAE 1990 (UAE scored a goal....)


China 2002 (0 points, 0 goals)




Note: Dutch East Indies (Indonesia) made a World Cup appearance in 1938 but I couldn't find any video footage.

Pictures: Face Painted Footy Fans

Austria




Cameroon




Colombia




Costa Rica




Netherlands




England (taking it to the next level...)




Ghana




Japan




South Korea




Switzerland




Tunisia




Turkey




Vietnam




Pictures from:
[smh] [cescy] [uefa-cup-bets] [virginmedia] [guardian] [viennadaily.blogspot] [bbc] [nypost] [blogs.reuters] [blogs.wsj] [telegraph]

Still Active Players from the 1994 World Cup

A list of the players from the 1994 World Cup squads that are still playing professionally around the world.



Argentina
Ariel Ortega - River Plate (Argentina)

Bolivia
Juan Manuel Peña - DC United (USA)
Jaime Moreno - DC United (USA)
Luis Cristaldo - Guabirá Montero (Bolivia)

Brazil
Ronaldo - Corinthians (Brazil)
Viola - Brusque (Brazil.4th Division)

Cameroon
Rigobert Song - Trabzonspor (Turkey)

Colombia
Faryd Mondragón - 1. FC Köln (Germany)

Germany
Jürgen Kohler - Alemannia Adendorf (Germany.9th Division)

Morocco
Mustapha Hadji - CS Fola Esch (Luxembourg)

Netherlands
Edwin van der Sar - Manchester United (England)

Norway
Erik Mykland - Drammen FK (Norway.2nd Division)
Sigurd Rushfeldt - Tromsø IL (Norway)

Saudi Arabia
Mohamed Al-Deayea - Al-Hilal (Saudi Arabia)

South Korea
Lee Woon-Jae - Suwon Bluewings (S. Korea)

Sweden
Teddy Lučić - Elfsborg (Sweden)



Side Note: I'm not 100% sure because I wasn't very thorough when checking this, but I believe Kasey Keller is the only player still playing from the 1990 World Cup squads. I'm sure a stat guru out there will correct me if I'm wrong on that...

Fun With Player Names

Soccer Player names around the world that have to do with the three randomly selected topics of Days/Months, Colors, and Weather Terminology.

DAYS and MONTHS

Stephen Sunday Obayan - Real Betis (Spain)

Akkani-Sunday Wasiu - Changsha Ginde (China)

Monday James - Hammarby (Sweden)

Jamie Friday - Green Bay Hoppers (Antigua and Barbuda)

January Ziambo - Laci (Albania)

April Hadi - PSPS Pekanbaru (Indonesia)

July Mahlangu - Thanda Royal Zulu (South Africa)

Thabo September - Supersport United (South Africa)

Thomrick October - Mpumalanga Black Aces (South Africa)

Motseothata November - Free State Stars (South Africa)



COLORS

Rubén de la Red - Real Madrid (Spain)

Robert Green - West Ham United (England)

Markus Pink - Austria Kärnten (Austria)

Scott Brown - Celtic (Scotland)

CJ Brown - Chicago Fire (USA)

Michael Brown - Portsmouth (England)

Wes Brown - Manchester United (England)

Hughan Grey - Sporting Central (Jamaica)

Andy Gray - Barnsley (England)

Ian Black - Hearts (Scotland)

Jeremiah White - Al-Ettifaq (Saudi Arabia)

Marco Rose - FSV Mainz 05 (Germany)

Danny Rose - Tottenham Hotspur (England)

Max Cream - Cleveland City Stars (USA)

Emerald George - Avenues United (Barbados)

Will Salmon - Ebbsfleet United (England)

Tan Tai Le - Khanh Hoa (Vietnam)

Gary Teale - Derby County (England)


WEATHER TERMINOLOGY

Bo Storm - HB Køge (Denmark)

Rain Poldme - Vaprus (Estonia)

Rain Tölpus - Tulevik (Estonia)

Lars Winde - Esbjerg (Denmark)

Tornado Mongale - Jomo Cosmos (South Africa)

Dominic Blizzard - Bristol Rovers (England)

Jan Cloud - Olimpija (Slovenia)

Eddy Bosnar - Shimizu S-Pulse (Japan)

Matthew Spring - Charlton Athletic (England)

Martin Fall - Angers (France)

Adrian Winter - St. Gallen (Switzerland)

Mads Fogh - Kolding (Denmark)

John Frost - Sporting Fingal (Ireland Republic)

Jamie Breeze - Newtown (Wales)

George Vernal - Boys Town (Jamaica)


And finally, an interesting unrelated name I came across while putting this post together.....

Mario Moistlik - Tallinna Kalev (Estonia)

Colombia Club Crests

The club crests from the Liga Postobon in Colombia.

América de Cali



Atletico Huila




Atlético Nacional




Boyacá Chicó




CD La Equidad




Cortuluá




Cucuta Deportivo



Deportes Quindio



Deportes Tolima



Deportivo Cali




Deportivo Pereira




Independiente Medellín



Envigado FC



Junior




Millonarios




Once Caldas



Real Cartagena



Santa Fe

Biggest League Goal Differences in the World 2009/2010

A worldwide look at the teams who have a goal difference of at least + or - 40 in their 2009/2010 league seasons.


+83 - Ajax (Netherlands)
+61 - Barcelona (Spain)
+57 - Newtown United (St Kitts and Nevis)
+56 - Real Madrid (Spain)
+54 - Benfica (Portugal)
+54 - Chelsea (England)
+54 - The New Saints (Wales)
+53 - Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia)
+51 - Manchester United (England)
+51 - Rangers (Scotland)
+47 - UE Sant Julia (Andorra)
+46 - Llanelli (Wales)
+43 - PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands)
+42 - Anderlecht (Belgium)
+42 - Dynamo Kyiv (Ukraine)
+42 - River Plate PR (Puerto Rico)
+40 - Red Bull Salzburg (Austria)


-76 - Washington Archibald (St Kitts and Nevis)
-66 - Caersws (Wales)
-60 - Milano (Macedonia FYR)
-57 - Cefn Druids (Wales)
-55 - Al-Shamal (Qatar)
-51 - Botev Plovdiv (Bulgaria)
-50 - Baloch FC (Pakistan)
-49 - Aarau (Switzerland)
-49 - Austria Kärnten (Austria)
-49 - RKC Waalwijk (Netherlands)
-47 - Bellinzona (Switzerland)
-41 - UE Engordany (Andorra)
-41 - Panthrakikos (Greece)
-41 - Tornados de Humacao (Puerto Rico)
-40 - Pothmadog (Wales)


BONUS:
Minimum Goal Difference of +/- 60 since 99/00 in the 'Top Leagues' in Europe

+83 - Ajax (09/10)
+81 - PSV Eindhoven (99/00)
+79 - Celtic (03/04)
+71 - PSV Eindhoven (04/05)
+70 - Barcelona (08/09)
+70 - Rangers (99/00)
+67 - PSV Eindhoven (02/03)
+64 - Ajax (02/03)
+63 - Rangers (02/03)
+63 - Celtic (01/02)
+62 - PSV Eindhoven (03/04)
+61 - Barcelona (09/10)

-69 - Derby County (07/08)
-68 - RBC Roosendaal (05/06)

Non-Africans in Top African Leagues

This is a list of the Non-African players currently in the Top African Leagues. I mainly designated the 'top' leagues based on African Champions League performance over the past couple of decades (and a little bit on rosters being available at soccerway.com).




EGYPT

Al-Ahly
Ramzi Saleh - Palestine

Al-Ittihad Al-Sakandary
Fred - Brazil
Giancarlo - Brazil

Al-Mokawloon Al-Arab
Mohamed Samara - Palestine

Ismaily
Xhevair Sukaj - Albania

NIGERIA

NONE

SOUTH AFRICA

Ajax Cape Town
Deniss Ivanovs - Latvia
Derek Decamps - France
Romain Carbonnier - France

AmaZulu FC
Nick Gindre - Argentina

Bidvest Wits
Gustavo Zamaio - Brazil
Fabricio Rodrigues - Brazil

Free State Stars
Eder Richartz - Brazil

Golden Arrows
Helton Da Rocha - Brazil
Italo Fernandez - Brazil

Kaizer Chiefs
José Torrealba - Venezuela

Mamelodi Sundowns
Eduardo Ferreira - Brazil

Moroka Swallows
Davi Rancan - Brazil
Igor Alves - Brazil
Thomas Cichon - Germany (born Poland)

Mpumalanga Black Aces
Thomas Richter - Germany


Platinum Stars
Norikazu Murakami - Japan
Luis Rentería - Colombia

Wits University
Fabricio Robingues - Brazil

TUNISIA

Club Africain
Mohamed Bachtobji - France

Monastir
Renato Lopes - Brazil

Stade Tunisien
Alvès Daona - Brazil

World's Tallest Active Soccer Players

A list of the world's tallest active professional soccer players. (minimum of 2.02m - 6ft7½)


Vanja Iveša - Eskişehirspor



GK - Kristof van Hout - 2.08m - (6ft10) Standard Liege (Belgium)

FW - Yang Changpeng - 2.05m - (6ft8½) Three Gorges Kangtian (China)

GK - Vanja Iveša - 2.05m - (6ft8½) Eskişehirspor (Turkey)

FW - Vitali Shuhanau - 2.05m - (6ft8½) Nõmme Kalju (Estonia)

GK - Nikola Drkusič - 2.05m - (6ft8½) Krka (Slovenia)

FW - Tor Hogne Aarøy - 2.04m - (6ft8) Aalesund (Norway)

DF - Žarko Marković - 2.04 m (6ft8) Gaz Metan Mediaş (Romania)

GK - Costel Pantilimon - 2.03m - (6ft8) FC Timişoara (Romania)

FW - Øyvind Hoås - 2.03m - (6ft8) Sarpsborg 08 (Norway.2)

GK - Kjell Petter Opheim - 2.03m - (6ft8) Stryn Fotball (Norway.3)

GK - Milan Lukač - 2.03m - (6ft8) AEK Athens (Greece)

FW - Jan Koller - 2.02m - (6ft7½) AS Cannes (France.3)

FW - Nikola Žigić - 2.02m - (6ft7½) Valencia (Spain)

GK - Paolo Acerbis - 2.02m - (6ft7½) Grosseto (Italy.2)

GK - Zeljko Kalac - 2.02m - (6ft7½) Kavala (Greece)

FW - Stefan Maierhofer - 2.02 m (6ft7½) Wolverhampton Wanderers (England)

GK - Lazar Jovisić - 2.02m (6ft7½) CD Nacional (Portugal)

FW - Kevin Vink - 2.02m (6ft7½) RKC Waalwijk (Netherlands)

GK - Jurgen Wevers - 2.02m (6ft7½) RKC Waalwijk (Netherlands)

GK - Wojciech Kaczmarek - 2.02m - (6ft7½) Śląsk Wrocław (Poland)

GK - Pavel Kováč - 2.02m - (6ft7½) Olympiacos (Greece)




This post is an update to the previous tallest player list. I've changed the requirements from 2.00m up to 2.02m as the other list was getting too long and harder to update. This list wouldn't have been near as long without the help of all the commenters at the old post. Once again, if you know of any players that should be included in this list (2.02m or taller), please let me know and I'll add them.

Biggest Movers in the April 2010 FIFA Rankings

Nations that have moved at least 6 places up or down in the newly released April 2010 FIFA Rankings. March Results listed.


+22 - Senegal (W; Greece)
+15 - Libya (W; Mali)
+14 - Guatemala (W; El Salvador)
+13 - Albania (W; Northern Ireland)
+13 - Moldova (W; Kazakhstan)
+13 - UAE (W; Uzbekistan)
+10 - Krygyzstan (No Matches)
+9 - Norway (W; Slovakia)
+7 - Bolivia (No Matches)
+6 - Iraq (No Matches)
+6 - Paraguay (No Matches)
+6 - Turkey (W; Honduras)
+6 - Georgia (W; Estonia)



-20 - Uzbekistan (L; UAE)
-18 - Cape Verde Islands (No Matches)
-14 - Guam (No Matches)
-12 - Sudan (No Matches)
-11 - Northern Ireland (L; Albania)
-9 - Nepal (No Matches)
-8 - Malta (L; Finland)
-8 - Bulgaria (L; Poland)
-8 - Trinidad and Tobago (No Matches)
-7 - South Africa (D; Namibia)
-7 - Faroe Islands (L; Iceland)
-7 - Singapore (L; Jordan)
-7 - Bahamas (No Matches)
-6 - St. Lucia (No Matches)
-6 - Kuwait (D; Oman)
-6 - Mauritania (No Matches)