This article has been submitted by Alex Jackson.
Probably by this point you are sick and tired of hearing about this “Euro Cup” deal. Sadly, this is not your means of escape. I would like to think, however, that what I’m going to present is slightly different. At least that’s the intention 40 words in. We’ll see how it goes.
If you haven’t noticed, I haven’t really contributed a whole lot regarding “relevant” or “current” sports topics. I shared pictures of smokin’ hot women. I’ve discussed my experiences watching rowing and cross country skiing. I’ve even put together a crazy story about Lil’ Penny. But nothing “now.”
Not to be too much of a walking cliché for Christian Lander’s book/website, but I’m currently studying abroad right now in Vienna, Austria. As you know, this little city is playing a fairly large role in the Euro Cup. Not to sound too ignorant, but prior to last Saturday, I really couldn’t give a damn about this soccer tournament. I didn’t know who was playing. I didn’t know who was supposed to be good. I didn’t even understand what the big deal was. It was all a “ho hum” thing. I knew Manchester United was a good team; I have in the past watched Lady Bugs and the Big Green; and I had recently watched Green Street Hooligans, but this really wasn’t enough to “get me in the zone.”
But then last Saturday rolled around and there was something in the air. I rounded up some peeps and started to make the trek to Vienna’s Fan Zone. We quickly got side tracked and changed our minds.
Rather than going to the main Fan Zone, we settled for a smaller one, located close to Vienna’s Ernst Happel Stadium, in the shadow of the world famous Risenrad ferris wheel. Baby steps. The wheel, which has been featured in “The Third Man” and the James Bond film “The Living Daylights,” was adorned with a giant Adidas ad featuring Czech goalie Petr Cech. The smaller venue was nice; we were given free rain ponchos, thunder sticks and some crazy hand things. It was a nice experience, but there were bigger fish to fry.
More after the jump!
This article has been submitted by Stu Wilkinson.
Soccer Players Dive Slightly More Than The Detroit Red Wings
Sorry to beat on Barbaro here, but as a non-soccer fan writing about soccer I’m required to talk about how much diving there is in the beautiful game. Also, I love complaining about things for which I can’t think of a viable solution. So obviously I’m qualified to go off on a mini-rant about how much flopping there is in soccer.
Now, I’m a member of the “it’s pathetic that Paul Pierce got taken off in a wheelchair” crowd. That moment actually cracks my top three favorite non-soccer embellishments from the past month, a list that carries the same level of prestige as a list of MTV Movie Award nominees. The top three consists of Chris Osgood’s reaction after being hit by Mike Ribiero, Johan Franzen going limp after getting a lovetap from Gary Roberts, and Paul Pierce’s aforementioned wheelchair/magical knee healing device charade. So after I was amazed by Mr. Pierce’s willingness to be rolled off the court during Game 1 of the NBA Finals, I’ve been absolutely astonished by Euro 2008 so far.
More after the jump!
This article has been submitted by Trevor Smith.
Disclaimer: The following is a sermon on the grace and glory of soccer. It comes from someone who played his entire youth, with only marginal success, and someone who, in an ode to every bad cliché possible, awoke to its brilliance while on international academic exchange. I present that failing openly, as to put my lacking expertise into perspective so that you cannot use anything against me I haven’t give you myself.
“I Will Possess Your Heart”- Death Cab for Cutie
Last Saturday, the 2008 UEFA European Football Championship kicked off in Austria and Switzerland. For the majority of North American sports fans, this was met with thundering silence. As I am currently residing in Louisiana, I cannot help but smirk that the pool-play portion of second-most important football tournament in the world plays out on…ESPN Classic? While every available participation statistic holds football as the most-played sport among North American youth, the beautiful game does not resonate with adults in the way baseball does for our neighbors to the south, or hockey does at home in the frozen tundra. The most basic explanation for why this (that ’soccer’ is “boring, man, nothin’ ever happens”) is terrifically flawed. A more thoughtful examination of why the game hasn’t taken root in this continent would underline the lack of international success our national teams have had, which in turn reduces their visibility and ability to permanently penetrate the mind of the American fan. One would also be wise to point out that every few years the requisite “Here Comes Soccer!” stories push the sport’s exposure, only to meet disaster, whether it be because expectations were unrealistic to begin with (such as the US being ranked in the Top 5 in the world at the last World Cup) or untimely injury (in the case of Beckham-mania). Soccer is trying to win you over. It might be doing a phenomenally poor job of capturing your love, but it is trying. Hey, a billion people can’t be wrong, can they?
More after the jump!
This article has been submitted by Mostafa El Beheiry.
With the early end of the Raptors post season dreams, an up and down Jays squad in an impossible division and a Leafs franchise in the process of rebuilding after its third straight absence from the playoffs, Toronto sports fans haven’t been seeing much fruit ripen off the trees that their money and support have helped to grow. It’s been a depressing new millennium for the T.O. but let me tell you that there is still hope for Toronto and it comes in the form of the World’s Game and the 11th most popular league in North America.
Toronto FC played out their inaugural season in Major League Soccer last year amid a torrent (not the kind you download) of passionate fan support at BMO Field, ending their freshman year in last place with a less than respectable 6 wins, 17 losses and 7 draws with the worst goals for (25) and goals against (49) in the MLS. Not much to cheer about, but still the crowds came, selling out each match at the 20,522 capacity BMO Field.
The 2008 season of the MLS is now 6 weeks in and in their sophomore year, TFC sits tied for 3rd in the Eastern Conference and in the League (14 teams in the MLS, 7 per conference) with a 3-2-1 record and with a draw against the New York Red Bulls (that’s right, they’re named after an energy drink) last week are currently undefeated in a franchise record 4 games. Though it’s still really early in the season (24 games left to play), they’re looking fantastic and are a shadow of the team they were last year due to some smart pickups during the offseason by manager Mo Johnston.
More after the jump!
Pre-Pre Game
Based on the fact that our very thin soccer writing roster is unable to adequately cover this game, and because I rarely turn down an opportunity to make a fool of myself, I am writing a running diary of the second leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-finals between Liverpool and Chelsea. I have no idea what that means, except that the winner will face Manchester United. I also learned a good deal about soccer in the past few weeks picking the brains of Mo Cash, Cascone, and Weezie Whee, so this maybe won’t be quite as ignorant as I expected.
Before doing this, I considered what else I could do with this time instead. I also thought about live-blogging what I was doing instead. But no, I’m sitting here with a turkey burger, a headache, and a coffee, and it’s time to write An Ignorant Non-Fan’s Running Diary of the UEFA Champions League Semi-Final Second Leg Game Between Chelsea and Liverpool or, more simply, Big Sexy Does Soccer Part 1. Here we go.
More after the jump!
This articled has been submitted by the debuting Mostafa “Mo Cash” El Beheiry.
It’s been awhile since the ODC was graced with an update on Europe’s premier club competition, the UEFA Champions League, which is now in its semi-final stages. Four teams have emerged from the last two knockout rounds, some gracefully and some with a bit of luck as they try to prove their claim as Europe’s best soccer club. In the quarter-finals, the English Premier League’s Liverpool FC dispatched league rival Arsenal FC (with a little help from the officials) and meet fellow English club Chelsea FC in the semis, who shakily eliminated Turkish underdogs Fenerbaçhe SK. England has one more semi-final representative in Manchester United who breezed past Italy’s injury plagued AS Roma and go on to face the Catalan giants of FC Barcelona, who were shown too much respect from zee Germans, FC Schalke 04 (founded in 1904 by German school boyz). The first legs of these semi-final matches were played out earlier this week, and here’s what happened.
More after the jump!
This article has been submitted by GMIL highlight Michael Cascone You can find part one here.
Last Wednesday, the Champions League Round of 16 continued with a few surprises and some fantastic soccer. Here’s Part 2 of your Champions League lesson…
AS Roma (Italian Serie A) 4 – Real Madrid (Spanish Primiera) 2
In a well fought matchup, Roma overcame Spanish opponents Real Madrid with 2-1 wins at home and away. I won’t lie and tell you that I’m not biased towards the Roma side, but they deserved to win both games. They outhustled Real in the first match and were rewarded with the victory.
More after the jump!
This article has been submitted by the debuting Michael Cascone. Italians do love their soccer.
In the exhausting UEFA Champions League journey, the Round of 16 represents the finish line somewhere on the horizon. After emerging successfully from numerous rounds of qualifying and a pressure-filled group stage, the European club teams remaining in the competition were set in a number of elite matchups.
For those of you who don’t fully understand the Champions League system (and even if you do, you know that it’s ridiculously intricate), club teams are selected from their respective national leagues based on last year’s record. Each domestic league sends a certain amount of top teams through to the group stage automatically, while many more are sent to compete in qualifying rounds for the remaining group stage spots. While this ensures that the best teams will compete, it is an exhaustive process that takes away from a club team’s national schedule. Kind of like that friend who always wants to get sauced…and you fail your midterm.
The Round of 16 is a two leg (home and away) series in which the team with the higher aggregate score moves on. In the Round of 16, the stakes are raised and many teams get to face their first true challenge. Perhaps the most intriguing round, this year’s 16 featured traditional powerhouses as well as surprise performers, giving everyone someone to cheer for. Here’s a little review of the action you may have missed so far (given the shoddy TV coverage, there’s a good chance you did…unless you were in Cuba over reading week, in which case it was fantastic):
More after the jump!
This article has been submitted by Alex Jackson.
