Messi wins 2009 Ballon d'Or

In a break with the regular theme of this blog, here is some breaking news...Lionel Messi has won the 2009 Ballon d'Or award. The most prestigious award in all of football and soocer...combined!!! He garnered an unprecedented 473 of 480 total points from the 96 jurors (a collection of worldwide soccer journalists, 52 European based/44 based elsewhere). In second was deservedly Cristiano Ronaldo who likely missed out due to Man Utds lack of silverware when compared with Barca.

France Football has complete coverage, in French.

Some English detail from the France Football website.

FCBarcelona.cat has complete coverage in English.

Lionel's reaction courtesy of Goal.com

Surprisingly he is the first ever Argentinian winner and will be officially honored at what will surely be some extravagant gala event on Sunday evening. This is likely due to the fact that until 1995, only European players at European clubs were eligible for the award. The Liberian George Weah, was the first non-European to win it that same year. In 2007 the rules were again altered and now players from any club team in the world are eligible; prior to '07 it was only players from European clubs.

In honor of the diminuitive Argentine and now official best footballer on the planet....an epic highlight video approaching 10 minutes in length...enjoy...

Randoms: Classico/GolTV/Q & A/US Bits

Barcelona!

Some unforeseen circumstances prevented me from watching El Classico live on Sunday afternoon but I was able to spend an unusually lovely early Monday morning catching up.

Definitely a big win for Barca to move them back to the top of La Liga, but playing at home this is a game they must take all 3 points from.

Barcelona didn't look as sharp as their midweek encounter against Inter but I would argue that this Real Madrid team is much stronger. The inclusion of Ibrahimovic around the 50' seemed to turn things in Barca's favor slightly and he was able to finish their best chance of the match, further enhancing the genius of Pep. The ball from Dani Alves also must be praised, perfectly weighted and right out of Xavi's bag; more often than you would like his crosses seem to sail but when he delivers accurately, they are so dangerous. As predicted, Ibra seems to be slightly more suited to Barca's possession game of short, accurate passing than Eto'o was. Phil Schoen (the American GolTV announcer) noted that Barca is still adjusting to him but it seems a more natural fit in my opinion.

Carles Puyol was definitely deserving of man of the match accolades as he made at least two huge tackles in the second to prevent clear, point blank shots. Victor Valdes also made a huge save on CR9 early on in the game preventing RM from taking an early lead.

Speaking of CR9, in case anyone forgot he is as good as any footballer in the world when completely healthy. Based on last years body of work, Lionel Messi will probably win this year's Ballon d'or but the difference between the two at this point is almost negligible and will certainly make El Classico the biggest club game on the planet for the foreseeable future.

Barcelona v Real Madrid 11/29/09 Highlights....courtesy of ESPN Deportes via Youtube

GolTV

For better or worse, while watching any soccer on GolTV you cannot help but take note of the announcing tandem of Phil Schoen and Ray Hudson. Schoen plays the part of the calm play-by-play man while Hudson gets to wax poetic about the brilliance of Lionel Messi.

It is a fascinating tandem and a year ago I would have told you that I didn't like Schoen (rhymes with Spain) or Hudson. However, GolTV's penchant to show such a wide variety of La Liga matches seems to have served Schoen well. He posseses a broad knowledge of both the world game and specifically the Spanish league which (I would imagine this stretches to the Brazilian and German leagues which he also must commentate on a weekly basis) allows him to provide some excellent insights into the game which enhance the viewing experience.

Ray Hudson is a character, an english language announcer who has no parallel as no other network would allow for such an animated and opinionated commentator. He is over the top but his passion for the game is constantly on display and despite consistent exaggerations (Ibra 2x the player that Eto'o is? really?!) he makes the broadcasts enjoyable and flavorful. He has also spawned a series of YouTube greatest hits videos....

Zen and the art of watching football commentated by Ray Hudson....

Links

In light of the recent UEFA investigation rooted in Germany; an excellent Q&A from the NYTimes goal blog on match fixing with the journalistic authority.

I am not sure I completely agree with all points he makes but I am always a fan of the alternative/challenging point of view; another Q&A with Simon Kuper, the author of the recently released "Soccernomics"

America!!! - FUCK YEA!

Due to injury, Clint Dempsey got moved up front for Fulham last week v Blackburn and immediately paid dividends....twice motherfuckers.


Original Video - More videos at TinyPic

Please BB, tell me you were paying attention to this! Please.

In other USMNT news, the No Short Corners blog reports that the US will be playing another friendly in the Netherlands on March 3rd. An excellent tune up for South Africa.

Also, can't forget that Friday at Noon is the draw for next summer. A huge day in the international soccer community as it lays the blueprint for what will be 4 weeks of joy beginning on June 11, 2010.

I might try to live blog it, but a) I have to be "working and b) I am not sure anyone will pay attention. We'll see though.

FC Barcelona on ESPN + Weekend of Randoms

This weekend set up very well for me to watch a lot of excellent soccer and in an attempt to make up for my lack of recent blogging, I figured I would share some thoughts.

BARCA
Most importantly; Tomorrow aka Monday 8/31 at 2:55 EST on ESPN here in the States, FC Barcelona begins their La Liga title defense against the Asturian side Sporting Gijon.

Gijon, whose narrow escape of relegation was considered a success, should not present much of a challenge. The onus, however, is on Barcelona to not overlook them and recover from their Friday, extra time 1-0 UEFA Supercup victory over Shaktar Donetsk. 2 quick trophies down....the fight for the next 4 is going to be a lot longer.

The defending champions will be with out Messi as he has received special exemption to join the Argentinian National team early in advance of their massive Sept 5th qualifier against Brazil. He will probably be replaced by Friday's supersub, Pedro.

Iniesta continues to recover from last season's muscle tear as well and will be out. The pressure on the big money man, Ibrahimovic, is growing as he looks to get on the chart with his new club after a relatively dissapointing (read: goalless) pre-season.

Anyway, if you aren't working 9-5 at a desk set an alarm...if you're in a cube, DVR that shit!

Also, Monday AM saw the return of my favorite English language La Liga columnist, Phil Ball.

US National Squad
Last Thursday BB and co released the 24 man roster for the upcoming WCQ; Saturday 9/5 vs El Salvador in Salt Lake City (8PM EST on ESPN Classic) and Wednesday 9/9 vs Trinidad & Tobago in Port of Spain (7PM EST on ESPN Classic).

I'll take a further look at the games and the implications as it all approaches.

U-20 coach, Thomas Rongen, has named the 21 players he will take to Egypt in late September for the U-20 World Cup. Apparently, continuing on this summer's theme, ESPN will broadcast all the games in some capacity so I will make an effort to give it some coverage here.

Man Utd/Arsenal
Arsenal continues to look impressive as Arsene Wenger's faith in this oft-criticized squad seems to be paying off. On the attacking front, Andrei Arshavin seems to be as dangerous as any attacker in the league right now and has a brilliant sense of the goal.

Alas, ManU pulled out a win in a way that only they can, while Wayne Rooney continued his goal a game pace this campaign. For attacking purposes, he must stay healthy for England going into next summer.

Abou Diaby's awful own goal will surely haunt him for many a night but this is a long season and an early season encounter at Old Trafford isn't the worst place to give away 3 goals. His overall performance was quite positive and he must put the gaffe behind him.

Even with out Fabregas out there, Wenger's men seem to be playing the type of football he wants and continue to be the most entertaining EPL team to watch.

In what will probably be Fabregas's last season at the Emirates, a title challenge would be a joy to watch. The return of Theo Walcott and, eventually, Samir Nasri will make their attacking options almost alarmingly broad and exciting. Also, it's only a matter of time before Jack Wilshire goes all Federico Macheda on us and instantly endears himself to the Gunner faithful.

After paying vague attention to the first half of the Derby della Madonnina (Inter v AC Milan) but not being at all surprised by the 4-0 final, I took off till this morning's Everton v Wigan matchup on FSC which was followed by my first chance to catch Juventus this season.

It was good to see Everton get some deserved points this season against a Wigan side that seemed more interested in fouls than anything else (defending, attacking, maintaining possession). I am in favor of defensive soccer but when it takes on the form of constant fouling is when it becomes anti-football. Wigan paid dearly when a well called penalty was won by Jo in the 93' and finished by Leighton Baines. Gotta shout out Timmy Howard as well, who came up with a massive kick save early in injury time to keep the game 1-1.

Juve/Roma
The final game of the weekend turned out to be the best one. Juve's highly anticipated summer signing, the Brazilian Diego, formerly of Werder Bremen, scored his first 2 goals of the season. Both were very well created by himself, finished superbly and showed first hand why the Torino squad wasted no time in signing him after last season. He provides the creativity, playmaking, and finishing that they were missing last season.

Felipe Melo also impressed in his defensive midfield role along with the central defensive pairing of a seemingly reinvigorated Fabio Cannavaro and a much improvied Giorgio Chiellini. No doubt they are both benefiting from Ciro Ferrara's installment at the helm last June.

Amauri and Vincenzo Iaquinta are playing with a lot of energy up front and are probably inspired by the lack of any sort of structure in the Italian National Team's forward situation and the subsequent opportunity to win a spot with the Azzuri for next summer's African trip.

Real Madrid Fire Sale

In an attempt to make some money before the transfer period closes, Real Madrid's sold multiple players at a loss late last week, both who impressed immediately.

Real sold Wesley Sneijder to Inter Milan late last week for €12 Million Euros less than they bought him for only 2 years prior. He was immediately given the no. 10 shirt and slotted into the starting lineup for this weekend's Derby. Seijder is what Mourinho was looking for this summer and should be what Inter needed to move beyond Italian dominance and make a European run. If he stays healthy, his creativity and strength in the attacking midfield role will be appreciated by the new strike force; Diego Milito and Eto'o.

Real also went and sold Arjen Robben to Bayern Munich late last week for €2 Million Euros less than they paid for him. The addition of Robben probably gives Bayern the most explosive attacking winger pair in all of Europe and it paid more immediate returns than Seijder, as the half-time substitute scored twice en route to a 3-0 victory. Both have had a history of injury issues but as their "understanding" contributed to both those goals, this signing is huge for a Bayern team who has had trouble finding their way lately.

A dissapointing Bundesliga finish last year and a Barcelona smoking could have resulted in more summer movement but they seem to have faith in their youth products (not always a bad thing). They started roughly this season as well and had trouble finding the net with Ribery not taking part till this weekend. I hope this convinces him to stay in Munich rather than join the Whites in Madrid, because this should make Munich as difficult to defend as anyone in Germany and possibly Europe (and extremely fun to watch...www.goltv.tv).

American - VIDEOS!!!

Can't forget...the Americans.

Jozy Altidore's first Hull City goal in the Carling Cup midweek clash against Southend United:


Charlie Davies draws the penalty which results in the only goal of Sochaux's 1-0 win against Monaco on Saturday:


If you want the full rundown, the "official USMNT blog" has a good one.

Cup of the World Video Special

Someone's excellent compilation of the top 50 WC goals of all time video as well...courtesy of Sacha Klejstan's Twitter page:

Interesting choice for number 1 but I guess this compilator values the team work of the Brazilians over the individual brilliance of Maradona.

Randoms: 8/7/09

A few random soccer related internets finds...

Dempsey

Pretty cool to see Mr Dempsey get some FIFA recognition and the beginning of the video contains some sweet video of historic USMNT moments. He has received his fair share of criticism on this blog but only b/c I have come to expect a lot of him.

He has good field vision and a creative style that is not very American, along with a knack for coming up with big goals. However, he still can get caught up trying to do too much w/the ball which can lead to crucial errors (see US v Honduras 6/6/09).

Hoping the addition of European football to Fulham's schedule this year helps him hit that proverbial next level that I think he has in him.

Iniesta

On another note, the always fun to watch, Andres Iniesta has come out with a few interesting comments in the past few days.

His thoughts on losing Samuel Eto'o and how Barcelona should honor him.

A statue might be a bit much but its an interesting comment on how much Eto'o meant to Barcelona's success the past few years. More importantly....

His thoughts on his own contract aka Zen and the art of being a Star

Absolutely one of the most refreshing views on money/contracts that an athlete has ever verbalized. The large majority of major athletes out there, esp in the US, (whether on their own or b/c of their agent) hold out or request more money based on some sort of contribution to the team.

This man scored the biggest goal of the season for Barcelona but is so content with his compensation and what the club has afforded him that he doesn't feel it necessary to ask for anything.

I think it is a reflection on the club and the type of players they produce. They treat their players as family and in return they rarely end up with self important superstars.

It's almost unbelievable...

Finally and not related to anything but soccer...William Rhoden from the NYTimes gives his view on how Thierry Henry would help advance soccer in this country.

OFFICIAL: Eto'o for Ibrahimovic

So the actual deal that went through was....

Barca gets:

Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Inter gets:

Samuel Eto'o

A one year loan of Aliaksandr Hleb

€43.25 million

For an attitude like this Samuel Eto'o will be missed

“I don’t feel at all inferior to Ibrahimovic. I am Samuel Eto’o and can’t be compared to anyone,” he told Gazzetta dello Sport.

A good article here which kind of explains Barcelona's financial logic...

Overall, should make for a very skilled and equally dangerous (on paper) Barca side as last season.

Also, I might try to post some US v Mexico thoughts later today...

Swap Meet (Multi Million Dollar Soccer Player Version)

You know those swap meet things? You bring stuff to sell or trade...sometimes you make out with a sweet wooden tennis racket or old bowling shoes. I don't know if they happen much anymore but I have memories of going to them when I was young and being real excited until I realized everything there was shit.

Anywho, the soccer version of this is always rumored in Europe but rarely actually happens. That didn't seem to stop Inter and Barcelona from pulling off a blockbluster player swap....Eto'o, Aliaksandr Hleb, and ~$85M USD (around 50M Euros) for Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Nothing has been signed but a FCB director has said it is completed and all that's left is players signatures. Ibrahimovic has left Inter's American camp to return home to Sweden before an apparent trip to Barcelona for a Monday unveiling.

Now there are rumblings that Hleb is no longer a part of the deal.

The NFL parallel would be something like Adrian Peterson for Clinton Portis, Chris Cooley, and a 1st Round Pick. Would Minnesota give up AP for all that? Probably....would Washington? Probalby not but you never know w/Daniel Snyder (although, for arguments sake, lets say he's a non-factor)

This is a fascinating deal for many reasons.

• Barcelona won an unprecented Triplete this past season and Eto'o played a huge role, scoring 30 goals in La Liga (2nd overall) and becoming only the 2nd player to score in 2 Champion League Finals.
• He was integral to FCBs back to back La Liga titles in 2005/2006, survived the exodus last summer (despite a ton of rumors), and as mentioned, rediscovered his form for this fantasy seasons.
• He's a 3 time African Footballer of the year...and there are a lot of good African footballers.
• Zlatan Ibrahimovic led Serie A in goals scored with 25 and has been integral to Inter's 4 consecutive titles...although his move is much less thought provoking.

From Inter's perspective though, it was almost too good of an offer to be true. Swap 1 world class striker for another, only 1 year difference in age, and while Eto'o is a different type of player than Ibra, his ability to score goals is as natural as anyone in the world. When on form, you could make an argument for either being a top 3 striker in the world. They also receive Aliaksandr Hleb, a quality midfielder who never found his place in Catalunya but strengthens Inter's squad as their midfield has been what is holding them back in Europe. Most shockingly they will also receive €50,000,000 EUROS

Seriously?!?!?! WTF?!?!? What kind of valuation is Barca using where they could believe that Ibrahimovic is valued that much higher than Samuel Eto'o? Do they feel it is this necessary to keep the squad fresh enough in hopes of preventing any sort of complacency?

He lacks the pace that Eto'o brings but his touch is an upgrade and considering the type of soccer that FCB likes to play, short/quick passes that require a lot of touch, maybe the brain trust thinks that he is the optimal type of striker. He also represents a size upgrade and will probably cause more problems in the air for opposing defenders. And finally, his ability to switch to the wing is a little more natural than Samuel, which could make that trident up front (Henry, Ibra, Messi) a little more fluid and allow Henry to play in the middle a little more than last year.

Overall...I like what it does to Barcelona's team moving forward. I do think that Ribery would have been more of an upgrade, and altho it might have prevented the fluidity just mentioned, he is more versatile and could have helped Pep employ more rotation within the midfield and in the case that Messi doesn't stay healthy (god forbid), provide an equally dangerous winger. Also, it's not my money so I won't get buyer's remorse.

Eto'o does have a reputation for being a little inflamatory. Refusing to come on as a sub, being a "this is my job, i want to make as much cash as possible" and not a club first player. This could have also encouraged Barcelona to sell high but if you are selling high, how do you end up giving away €50M Euros as well?

An interesting move for Inter too, Eto'o has big shoes to fill in a league where goals are harder to come by. I imagine he will fit well and does bring Champions League experience to a team with out much of it. Let's see if Inter doesn't use this money to make another huge signing, it is widely known that Signore Mourinho has been in search of a top class midfielder since his arrival.

Former Juve director and Calciopoli centerpiece, Lucca Moggi, doesn't quite agree.

And now...a few videos to introduce you all...

First...Mr Zlatan Ibrahimovic

And now my ganked tributes to Samuel Eto'o...god speed good man

Galacticos: 2009

Less than 6 weeks ago FCBarcelona strolled into the Santiago Bernabeu and made Real Madrid look nothing less than foolish, getting goals from center backs Puyol and Pique en route to a 6-2 thrashing.

In response Real Madrid has gone out and bought arguably 2 of the top 5 players in the game; the straight line, thank the lord for my ability, Brazillian orchestrator Kaka....and basically his opposite, the "I'm the first second and third best player in the world," prostitute adoring, Portuguese megalomaniac Cristiano Ronaldo.

It's undeniable that if these two (and the other 9 out there, can't forget) generate an understanding Real Madrid will be a force in both Spain and Europe next year.

My allegiances and a belief in the absurd nature of predictions give me an excuse for not going out on a limb and making any predictions.

However, I will say this.....These two purchases immediately make the La Liga the league to watch going into next year. And there is a TBD December weekend when Real Madrid v Barcelona will face off in the most anticipated soccer game of the 2nd half of 2009.

Barcelona Pre-CL Final Video

Apparently Pep Guardiola had his friend at Catalan TV Station TV3 make this video and showed it to FCBarcelona right before they took the field in Rome. A little long but it's pretty sick....esp the Gladiator scenes in Spanish...."Mi nombre es Gladiador"