Map: MLS - Mexico, Central America, and Caribbean-born Players

View MLS Mexico, Central America, and Caribbean Players in a larger map

All-Time World Cup Points per Game

The average points per game by nations who have played a minimum of 25 World Cup games in their history.


PPG - Nation (Games Played)

2.23 - Brazil (97)
2.01 - Germany (99)
1.91 - Italy (80)
1.77 - Argentina (70)
1.77 - Netherlands (43)
1.71 - Spain (56)
1.64 - England (59)
1.61 - Poland (31)
1.59 - France (54)
1.54 - Russia (37)
1.50 - Hungary (32)
1.40 - Uruguay (47)
1.38 - Austria (29)
1.37 - Serbia (Yugoslavia) (43)
1.33 - Sweden (46)
1.24 - Slovakia/Czech Republic (34/33)
1.15 - Paraguay (27)
1.14 - Chile (29)
1.14 - Switzerland (29)
1.08 - Belgium (36)
1.00 - Mexico (49)
0.90 - USA (29)
0.82 - South Korea (28)
0.65 - Bulgaria (26)

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)