The Champions League group stage begins in about three weeks and we are scouring the ONELOVE community for predictions, opinions, and irrational arguments surrounding the upcoming round. To get the ball rolling, we caught up with OLFC West teammates Darren Davies and Cameron Araghi.
Davies, an LA area club coach, says: ‘Chelsea will win it (slight bias). They’ve been together, relatively unchanged, for three years and they have depth. Barça could win, especially with the addition of Villa, and Real is pretty damn serious. Picking up Ozil was huge. And then Mourinho has the formula for success.’
Cameron Araghi, another ONELOVE Ambassador, chimes in: ‘I always say Barça. They have the statistics. They have an attack-minded forward in Villa and if Mascherano signs, they will be the best team on earth. I see Real Madrid doing very well this year, but they will fall short in the major tournaments. And I may be wrong, but something tells me that Rafa is going to ruin Inter.’
What do you say? Who will surprise us this year? Who will disappoint?
The group stage fixtures will take place in September (14/15, 28/29), October (19/20), November (2/3, 23/24), and wrap up in early December (7/8).
Futbol is nothing without the little guy. That hometown team, or small nation which achieves immense success without Manchester City’s bankroll or Real Madrid’s players. Turkey during the ’06 World Cup, Uruguay this year, as well as various small clubs that succeed in European competition. For me, that little guy is everything. Hapoel Tel Aviv, my small hometown club.
Although considered by its fans in their chants as an “empire” we are but a small Israeli side with a few known players (Ben Sahar and Nigerian keeper Vincent Enyeama) and a small budget. Therefore, when we won the domestic double last season, we celebrated. We celebrated hard. We were automatically placed in the second qualifying round in the Champions League in which we met Željezni?ar, a small Bosnian team, whom we quietly demolished 6-0 on aggregate. However, next came a tougher challenge – FK Aktobe, the Kazakhstani champions.
In the first leg of the two leg tie, we were beaten 1-0 in Kazakhstan from a penalty that was awarded for a hand ball in the area. Although we were favorites to move on to the next round we had a difficult task ahead of us- beating a team that would come to Tel Aviv to play defensively and try to protect its one goal advantage. On Tuesday, we achieved that task and have positioned ourselves one step closer to playing against teams like Chelsea and Inter Milan. And we did it in style.
Playing in a sold out Bloomfield Stadium, the Red Devils came out strong scoring 3 goals in the first half. Eran Zahavi, Ben Sahar (ex Chelsea, QPR, and Espanyol), and an own goal by Aktobe’s Ba all contributed to my teams excellent first half showing. Sadly, the second half wasn’t as exciting with Aktobe scoring their only goal of the match in the 89th minute.
This game is more than just a small step forward for a tiny club. This victory guarantees that the club will receive in excess of 20 million New Israeli Shekels ($5 million) which for such a club is a huge sum of money. In the playoff round, one before the group stages and Hapoel’s next round they will be drawn with teams like Partizan Belgrade and Red Bull Salzburg. Hopefully my little hometown team will achieve big league fame and glory. 1L!
The word ‘Ayoba’ has murky origins but what is known is that it originated in South African townships, originally used to express appreciation of good dancing, something that runs deep in the veins of South Africans. The best description I have seen uses the word ‘awesomeness’, even though that word cannot be found in any dictionary.
June 11th in Joburg – Photo Cred: Alex V.
South Africa’s hosting of the world’s premier sporting event is about to come to an end and ‘Ayoba’ fits perfectly. That was the last thing the world expected four years ago after Germany in 2006.
South Africa’s high crime rate was the main issue but other questions remained. Would the stadiums be ready? Would there be enough accommodation? Would the transport system be a disaster and the attendance numbers pitiful?
The barrage of negative publicity was relentless, especially in Europe and the U.S. It reached levels of absurdity. The German team were considering bulletproof vests for their players, and an English tabloid hysterically cataloged the list of some of the world’s most dangerous snakes that were lurking around the English team’s rural base, just waiting to short circuit their World Cup hopes.
The snakes didn’t have to bother—not that there was any real danger to begin with—as England managed to self destruct without any outside assistance.
It reached a point where even optimistic South Africans began to doubt themselves.
Estimates of foreign visitors were cut down from a high of about 450,000 down to 300,000, which would have been a disaster.
All these fears have turned out to be totally misplaced. Crime has been minimal, most of which has been dealt with speedily by an enhanced police presence and swift justice in special World Cup courts.
The world class stadiums were all ready on time as was the transport system and accommodation has been readily available.
Attendance will be over three million for only the third time in World Cup history, and the post final average attendance will be just under 50,000, exceeded by only two other tournaments. The four largest stadiums which hosted almost half the games have approached full capacity. Bear in mind that attendance at the games is determined by tickets used, not by tickets sold, as is the custom for American major league sports.
Most important has been the welcome and support given teams and tourists alike by the South African people. For them, hosting the World Cup is a miracle, or as the always effervescent Bishop Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize winner, described it, “a fairy tale come true.”
A mere two decades ago, South Africans were still living under the throes of Apartheid. The racist system made political violence an everyday reality with no end in sight.
That all changed in the early 1990’s as Nelson Mandela walked to freedom after 27 years in prison. Mandela’s freedom led a new ‘Rainbow Nation’ out of the darkness.
Today, South Africa stands at the threshold of being finally accepted. Not only as an example to the world on how to move resolve conflict, but as a nation with the wherewithal to successfully host the World Cup
South Africans of all colors united behind their beloved Bafana Bafana with even more fervor than they did in 1995 at the Rugby World Cup. Despite being eliminated in the group stage, their fans lost none of their fervor throwing support behind ‘Baghana Baghana,’ as they called the Ghanaian team in their quest to be the first African team to reach the semifinals.
Even their tragic loss at the final hurdle as not deterred the nation. There is a renewed sense of pride, evident when Nelson Mandela became President. While many questioned the sanity of spending over $4 billion on the Cup, that sense of pride and the positive image from hosting the tournament is worth so much more.
As the competition has progressed, more fans have flocked to South Africa. It’s now expected that the number of visitors for the soccer will top 500,000, far more than previous estimates.
On Monday, South Africa will return to reality. It’s country still plagued by crime, poverty, a dreadful AIDS epidemic, a lack of decent housing and an infrastructure that needs a lot more work.
For millions of black South Africans, life has improved little from the rigors of Apartheid. But many others have prospered when previously all the doors of opportunity were completely shut.
The foreign visitors will all be heading home with vuvuzelas packed in their luggage, and memories of a beautiful land and an expansive and gracious people. These visitors will no doubt spread the word about this bountiful land at the southern tip of Africa.
As a former South African who spent the first 25 years of my life during Apartheid, where fear and anger ruled, I look on with pride and more than a little bit of Aboya.
There is talk now of South Africa bidding to host the Olympics in 2020 or 2024. After the World Cup, there is no reason to doubt their ability to host such a major event and this time the fear mongers will find no traction for their skepticism.
The European champions, Spain, have joined Netherlands in the World Cup Final on Sunday after defeating Germany 1 nil in Durban tonight.
Carles Puyol’s 74th-minute header was enough to secure La Rojas a spot in their first ever FIFA World Cup final.
No matter who wins at Soccer City on Sunday, history will be made.
Tonight, Joachim Low’s men (minus wunderkind Thomas Muller) were unable to repeat the displays with which they swept aside England and Argentina in previous rounds. Once again, the Germans suffered a semi-final defeat.
This was Spain’s first World Cup semi-final and Vicente del Bosque’s side dominated possession from the start. Spain had dropped Torres from the starting eleven. Instead, Pedro Rodriguez had his first start of the finals and made a mark early on as he slipped a through-ball to David Villa after just six minutes. Despite a solid finish, German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer made the save.
In the 14th minute, Spain had a corner where Iniesta drove in a cross that eventual goalscorer, Puyol met with a flying header that flew over the crossbar.
Germany who were happy to play deep in their own half, continued to counter-attack when Podolski played in Ozil on the left before he brought Klose into play on the edge of the box, but the Bayern Munich forward was crowded out.
Spanish keeper Casillas needed to be alert on the half hour mark when he turned a 30-yard daisycutter from Trochowski by the post.
Germany called for a penalty on the stroke of half time when Ramos looked to have brought Ozil down in the box, but the referee waved play on.
The second half began with Alonso driving a shot narrowly wide from 25 yards, then Villa bent another attempt just wide of the post. Pedro was next to try his luck as he made the German keeper Neuer make a fingertip save. As Mertesacker moved slowly to clear the rebound, Iniesta leaped on the opportunity to fire in a low cross that Villa just barely missed.
Casillas had to make another save on 69 minutes as German sub Kroos side-footed an effort at goal, but it was at the other end that the all-important goal was scored. With 16 minutes remaining on the clock Xavi fired in a corner that was met by the flying Puyol, and powered his header past the diving Neuer.
Pedro could have finished the game off in the final minutes when he and Torres burst through the German defense with a 2 on 1 assault. It looked as though Pedro would set Torres up with his first goal of the tournament, but the young Barca striker held on too long. In the end, Spain won.
We now look forward to history being made as a new name will proudly appear as FIFA World Cup Champions 2010. No one could argue that these two teams deserve to be at Soccer City on Sunday.
The only question that needs answered now is, Will it be La Rojas or the Oranje?
For any real fan, the World Cup is just as much (if not more) about heartbreak than it is about celebration.
Today’s battle between Ghana and Uruguay turned out to be one of the cruelest operas in modern soccer history. The game itself was brilliant.
Sulley Muntari showed us that Ghana was not only physically superior to Uruguay, but as dangerous as any attacking force in the final 8.
When Forlan equalized for Uruguay in the 55th minute, it was anyone’s game. In Extra time, Ghana would have earned the win all over again, if not for Luis Suarez’s goal-line handball. And that’s when the rollercoaster took it’s sharpest, most unforgiving turns.
it went like this…
Suarez earns a red card for literally slapping a ball that was headed for goal. Gyan is awarded a penalty shot. The whole world is overcome with equal parts joy, fear, and heart-pounding excitement. And then it happens. Gyan strikes. The ball coasts up, up, off the crossbar, and away from what would have been the single proudest moment in African football history.
…
Forlan and co may have represented in the shootout, but today was all about the African game. ONELOVE salutes the Blackstars on a profound run in South Africa.
Heading home after 9 days in Joburg. What a dream.
When I was a kid, I would brag to my grandfather about my dreams of becoming a professional soccer player, a professional skateboarder, snowboarder, film director, business man, etc etc. Every couple months it was something new. Every time I came to him with a new plan, he would always wait til I was finished and then ask enthusiastically, “Wow, Al, and then what?” As a teenager, I began to understand what he meant. “And then what?” means, will that be your life? Will you be happy then? And even after I began to understand the question, I had no idea how to actually SOLVE the riddle.
I think I get it now. Just live. Work hard. Stay curious. Be good to people and listen. Maintain your health. Give what you can, when you can. Accept responsibility and let others do the same for themselves. Have fun. Dozens of people have told me all of these things in the past, but it all sounded vague and impersonal until I could embrace it all through the context of ONELOVE.
After spending time in Joburg I have more belief than ever in the potential of ONELOVE FC. We are bound together, not simply by a single passion for soccer, but by an openness to embrace the lives and perspectives of different people. This is not about America, or sports, or products, or politics. It’s about people, plain and simple. We love people, and soccer is, for us, the people’s sport.
As we grow, it is our ultimate goal to establish and maintain a global presence, committed to local initiatives in the United States and abroad. Since ‘abroad’ used to be an ambiguous (sometimes terrifying) term, we scrapped it from our initial mission statement. After meeting people, talking about what soccer means in other parts of the world, experiencing new cultures in the context of soccer, we see limitless opportunity to affect positive change on a human level. We are inspired by people. We affect change through the beautiful game.
My brother, Jamie, and I visited with our grandparents before leaving for South Africa. We sat with them and explained our dream for ONELOVE. I was prepared to answer the “And then what?” question. I was finally ready. But it never came. Instead, all we heard was, “go for it.”
Hats off to Greece today as they won their first ever World Cup match against Nigeria.
They were helped by the fact that a Nigeria player kicked out at a Greek player and got sent off, but kudos to the Greeks for scoring the goals they needed. The ‘Pirate Ship’ now looks forward to playing Argentina. A win would probably take them through to the next round, but Argentina are firing on all cylinders at the moment and will be a tough squad to overcome.
Today, however belongs to Greece and after their recent financial meltdown, this will be a welcome break from that.
One of the most interesting and wide open groups. Any of the 4 teams can finish either first or last. Yes, I know most are giving South Africa little hope to advance and I am more than a tad biased but this isn’t the same team that endured a prolonged slump and failed to even qualify for the African Cup of Nations.
Carlos Alberto Parreira (Brazil ’94 coach) was brought in and since then Bafana has gone undefeated in 12 games, albeit mostly against weaker opponents. Home support will obviously be a huge factor despite limited success in their two previous appearances. Consider South Korea who had no wins in 14 prior games before they made it to the semi-finals as hosts in 2002.
Bafana has a solid defense although it is mistake-prone at times. Their strength is in the midfield where they match with up with any of their opponents. Their biggest problem is up front where they always struggle to score against quality teams. A big plus for South Africa is that the local season was shortened by two months to allow for extended training camps. They are well rested and Parreira is fanatical about fitness which will help in the later stages of their games.
Mexico were in the same bad shape as Bafana when they fired the overrated Sven Goren Eriksson halfway through qualifying. It looked as though they wouldn’t qualify, something that is normally automatic for them in the weak CONCACAF region. Javier Aguirre worked the same magic he did in 2002 in Korea, guiding ‘El Tri’ to qualifying comfortably. The team has a good mix of veterans and youth and the Dos Santos brothers controversy seems to have died down. The altitude will not be a problem for them. They’ve looked lively in their lead-in games and beat a lackluster Italy earlier this week.
They have excellent speed up front with Carlos Vela and Javier Hernandez and solid midfield support from Andres Guardado and Giovanni dos Santos, making for arguably the best attack in this group. In the back a lot will depend on Rafael Marquez who hasn’t seen much playing time with Barcelona this year. Their opening game against South Africa will answer a lot of questions. Mexico are a little more polished than Bafana, especially up front, but home support should negate that. It might come down to a bit of luck for either team in the opener.
Uruguay’s strength is up front where Diego Forlan and Luis Suarez are formidable. Forlan won the scoring title in Spain this past season and can be a gamebreaker. Suarez has all the tools and can both create and score goals. Close them down and it becomes a lot harder for Uruguay. As you work your way back back from the front Uruguay’s weaknesses become more apparent. Goalkeeping has been dodgy although Walter Gargano, who plays for Napoli, stands out in defence. Martin Caceres has become a regular on the Juventus squad, but considering their lame performance this season, that might not be much of a recommendation. Nonetheless, there is little depth beyond those two.
Since winning the cup for the second time in 1950 they Uruguay hasn’t done much other than a semi-final appearance in 1970
Zidane was France’s talisman. Consider the record. With Zidane they won in ’98, won Euro 2000 and if not for a moment of sheer insanity might have won in Germany. With Zidane injured they crashed out in ’02 without scoring a goal and didn’t make it out of the group in Euro ’06, although they did manage to score. They only made it to South Africa when Thierry Henry utilized his volleyball skills against Ireland.
If there is justice in soccer, France ought to be sent home early, but sadly there is little. Their warm up games include a 2-1 win against Costa Rica, a draw with Tunisia, and a 1-0 loss to China. There is a measure of gloom in their camp and with a number of their players rapidly approaching their ‘use by date,’ more problems are likely to surface. Then again, they have the talent with Ribery, Gourcuff, their rising midfield star, Malouda and a trio of Arsenal defenders and they could just as easily win the group.
France’s first game against Uruguay might be their easiest as long as they can contain Forlan and Suarez. Ribery, Gourcuff and Malouda are all coming off excellent seasons and should stretch the Uruguayan defense beyond its capabilities. The game is at sea level but their next games are at altitude against the two teams that are comfortable in the thinner air.
A couple of the more fancied teams will crash out in the first round and France is a prime candidate.
My fearless forecast:
1 – South Africa 2 – Mexico
(It’s the week before the kickoff when hope springs eternal for all fans and I have to go with my heart)
The US National Team needed a good performance from their last game on home soil before flying out to South Africa for World Cup 2010.
It’s important from a confidence perspective to gain some belief in yourself as a player and just as importantly, your teammates. Today’s game against Turkey was never going to be easy, but a tough competitor is just what times like these demand to really prove where you are as a team.
Things didn’t look good at the beginning. Turkey took control of the game and made the US look very sloppy in the opening minutes. This was somewhat understandable because this starting XI has not played together in months.
Questions can be raised about Bob Bradley’s continual inclusion of Benny Feilhaber in his best XI. Benny never seems tough enough to handle central midfield duties but today he started out on the left side of midfield. Would Stuart Holden have been a better choice?
The answers came soon enough as Feilhaber consistently gave the ball away without much pressure and never provided the width needed from the position. He was a big part of why it took the US 22 minutes just to find their footing in this game after repelling wave after wave of Turkish attacks.
Turkey seemingly could do no wrong, playing a short passing game through and around US players like they were standing still. Quite frankly, the US looked simply overmatched. This had the appearances of being a very long afternoon for the Stars and Stripes.
But around the 22nd minute the Americans began to gel and the team was getting more possession of the ball. Early on, the defenders were just whacking it downfield when playing through the midfield would have been a better option.
Turkey would just collect the ball and build another attack, time and time again. But as time wore on you could see the US starting to gain some belief a get a foothold in the game. Jonathan Spector won a ball in defense and instead of just booting it, he made nice run, dribbling about 40 yards upfield before the ball was tackled away by Turkey.
After Turkey won the ball, you could see if they could find Arda Turan wide open on the left, the US would be in trouble. After Spector made his run he showed little urgency in getting back to defend his position and with no one covering for him, Turan had nothing but green grass in front of him.
A good ball out of defense did find Turan, and away he went towards the US goal with Spector trudging up from behind trying to catch him. Jay DeMerit also tried to close down the run from his position in the middle of the field. Neither US player could get there in time and as US goalkeeper Tim Howard came out, Turan slotted it home calmly underneath him. 1-0 Turkey.
Both sides created chances before the end of the first half but it was obvious the Americans needed to make player changes in order to get a look at new players before the World Cup and to try to turn this game around.
Coach Bob Bradley responded, ringing in four substitutes after the halftime break. Oguchi Onyewu, Steve Cherundolo, Jose’ Torres and Robbie Findley replaced Clarence Goodson, Spector, Ricardo Clark and Feilhaber respectively.
We’ve been hard on Robbie Findley here in the Supporters Group, but this time he would be playing out wide on the left side of midfield as opposed to his customary position as forward. The US took control of the second half early and you could see the additions of Torres and Findley in particular were paying off.
Whereas the team had been mostly dominated in midfield in the first half, Torres’ skill and confidence were paying dividends by winning possession, getting into open spaces and playing a controlled passing game.
Pace is Findley’s game (with not much else, some might say) and he immediately started to trouble the Turks down the left flank, opening up things in the middle of the pitch. The width that seemed so foreign to the team in first half was now there in abundance.
In the 59th minute, Findley worked his way over to the middle of the field and played a good first touch as he saw Landon Donovan make a run just to his left. Robbie’s deft pass chipped the Turkish defender for Donovan to run onto, where Landon’s excellent first touch took him around the onrushing goalkeeper.
Landon then squared the ball across for a wide-open Jozy Altidore to finish. With nothing but net gaping in front of him, Jozy calmly side-footed the ball in for a 1-1 score. The US’s dominance in the first 15 minutes of the second half had paid off with a well earned goal.
The game continued to go the US’s way and they continually put pressure on Turkey, with Torres and Findley playing the roles of shining stars.
In the 75th minute, that pressure would pay off once again. After a US throw in, Donovan would once again turn provider. He found Clint Dempsey, who had been quiet for much of the game, to his left and clipped a ball over which Clint controlled with his right hip, bringing it down and through the first Turkish defender.
As the Turk’s ‘keeper came out to close down the angle, Dempsey deflected the shot off of him before following through and sending it underneath the ‘keeper and into the back of the night. It was a true fighter’s goal, with Dempsey battling his way through to make sure he would score, no matter what.
Clint set off the celebrations and the already raucous Philadelphia crowd of over 55,000 exploded. Dempsey even added a cool little dance move at the end, seemingly a tribute to injured teammate Charlie Davies.
Dempsey and Torres, the team’s Texas two-steppers, came close to adding a third goal, which would have put an exclamation point on this well earned American victory.
The USA got what they came in looking for out of this game: the appearances and evaluations of several players, the building of a cohesive unit as the team heads towards its June 12 opening game against England, and a victory.
A standing ovation should go to the crowd in Philadelphia. Time after time you could hear great songs and chants coming through the TV speakers, something not often experienced at American soccer games with such volume.
The team will fly out to South Africa tomorrow and play it’s last warm up game against Australia next Saturday morning in Roodepoort at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time.
About the Author: Craig Hutcheson is a lifelong player who lives and coaches out of Sparta, NJ. He also runs a growing community for USMNT supporters – click here to become a fan!
The Oranje were the latest top team to announce their 23 man World Cup squad.
Goalkeepers: Sander Boschker (FC Twente), Maarten Stekelenburg (Ajax), Michel Vorm (FC Utrecht)
Defenders: Khalid Boulahrouz (Stuttgart), Edson Braafheid (Celtic), John Heitinga (Everton), Joris Mathijsen (Hamburg), Andre Ooijer (PSV Eindhoven), Giovanni van Bronckhorst (Feyenoord), Gregory van der Wiel (Ajax)
Midfielders: Ibrahim Afellay (PSV Eindhoven), Nigel de Jong (Manchester City), Demy de Zeeuw (Ajax), Stijn Schaars (AZ Alkmaar), Wesley Sneijder (Inter Milan), Mark van Bommel (Bayern Munich), Rafael van der Vaart (Real Madrid)
Forwards: Ryan Babel (Liverpool), Eljero Elia (Hamburg), Klaas Jan Huntelaar (AC Milan), Dirk Kuyt (Liverpool), Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich), Robin van Persie (Arsenal)
There were no huge surprises in the players that were cut from the 27 man quad. Orlando Engelaar, Vurnon Anita, Ron Vlaar and Jeremain Lens will not travel to South Africa.
Last night the Dutch squad defeated Mexico 2-1 convincingly with a Van Persie double.
Holland are another amazing nation that have never won the World Cup. Having finished as runners-up twice (1974 & 1978), they’re looking to go the distance in South Africa.
They certainly have a squad of players capable of winning the competition and it would be refreshing to have a different name on the cup. Their fans are also among the most colourful in the world.
