Category: Video

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Goal of the Week



English fans want to quickly forget the 4-0 loss to Germany in Monday’s UEFA European Under 21 Championship Final in Sweden. And Sandro Wagner, a 21-year old former Bayern Munich midfielder now at another German Bundesliga club, MSV Duisburg, played a big part in the unraveling of the England team. Wagner scored twice for Germany in that game. (It’s not clear whether the Bundestrainer, Joachim Löw, has plans to take him to South Africa next year). This was his second goal. The German commentator loses it.

[By the way, this is a new weekly Friday feature on this site. Send us your votes for Goal of the Week]

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Video

Did Stephen Colbert play himself?

The Colbert Report Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Is it Time to Care About Soccer?
www.colbertnation.com
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Like a number of other US commentators, comedian Stephen Colbert, who plays a faux-Bill O’Reilly on his show, had to discuss the future of football in the United States. As he describes soccer in the video, above: “.. The sport that [Americans] are the world champions at ignoring.” The US’s success in the Confederations Cup (against all expectations they made it to the final where they lost, after leading 2-0, to Brazil on Sunday), leads Colbert to mock-ask: “Is it time to care about soccer?” What follows is a send-up of American caricatures of football: rioting, David Beckham and warm beer. It’s satire after all. But then Colbert asks his producer to show some “thrilling soccer highlights” and we see video of players of a team in blue passing the ball around sort of aimlessly. The camera then cuts back to Colbert snoozing.

The thing is, unless Colbert or his producers (and his audience?) were in on the joke, they made fools of themselves with that clip as they missed one of the greatest goals of all time: a 25-pass move that resulted in a goal for Argentina against Serbia in the 2006 World Cup in Germany:

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The Vuvuzela ‘Conspiracy’



South African defender Matthew Booth decided to film his teammates during the recent Confederations Cup competition. (Remember him? He’s the only white guy in the team who fans greet with a loud “Boooottthhh” whenever he touches the ball and who Spanish reporters, looking for black racism decided was booed by the fans.) Booth, who maintains quite an active Youtube channel, regularly films his teammates, and in the video, above, captured them (and their Brazilian coach Joel Santana) singing on camera in the dressing room before their game against Spain in the first round. Check it out. (Here‘s another example.) It also made me wonder again why South African fans don’t leave the vuvuzelas outside the stadium and do some actual singing? That would not sound only better, but would present an actual, not corporate-induced part of football culture in that country, to visiting fans.

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Video

When Scotland Win the World Cup

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Great World Cups are often remembered as much for what happens off the pitch as what happens on the pitch. The pageantry and passion of supporters can be as memorable as the skill and performances of players.

Scottish qualification would go a long way to ensuring a successful South Africa 2010.

Recalcitrant Scottish tribes pumping through the arteries of Pretoria, their bestial roars still powerful enough to send shivers down the spines of long dead Roman Legionnaires. (Note to the BBC, CNN, AP and Reuters: Europe has tribes too.) The Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein booming to the tune of Scotland the Brave.

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Video

‘The United States is a still a developing nation in men’s soccer’



After shocking Brazil with their aggressive, physical style in the first half of the Confederations Cup final, the United States first gave up a two-goal halftime lead and then eventually lost 3-2 to Brazil. Brazilian defender Lucio scored the winning goal with 6 minutes of regular time remaining.

The way the US lost, left The New York Times’ correspondent (who up until the day of the final was announcing a new dawn for US soccer after the shock wins over Egypt and Spain), in a state of depression: “The United States is still a developing nation in men’s soccer,” he opined.

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Predicting the Confederations Cup Final

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Chicken Dinner–the British blog that’s all about sports betting–suggests you should take your lead from previous match statistics:

1. Brazil have won 14 of their 15 matches against USA (one after extra-time). The USA’s one win over the holders came in the 1998 Gold Cup Final, with former Everton winger Predrag “Preki” Radosavljevic scoring the winner.

2. USA haven’t scored against Brazil in three previous Confederations Cup meetings, with Dunga’s side beating them 1-0 in 1999 and 2003 and winning 3-0 against them last Thursday.

3. Bob Bradley’s side haven’t won any of their last six games against South American opposition, losing five and failing to score in three of the last four.

4. Confederations Cup finals involving Brazil are never short of goals. Their three finals to date have produced 18 goals – an average of six a game.

5. Holders Brazil last attempted to retain the cup in 1999 and on that occasion they reached the final only to lose to the CONCACAF Gold Cup winner – Mexico – in the final. USA are the reigning Gold Cup champions.

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Video

Can Mexico still beat the United States?



Mexico’s Giovanni dos Santos looks good in the video, above, scoring twice in a 4-0 win over lowly Venezuela. But can Dos Santos and this teammates play like this in early August when they meet the United States again in regional World Cup qualifiers? Three teams qualify automatically and the US is currently second behind Costa Rica. Mexico is fourth behind Honduras. Though Mexico has won all their home games (they’ve been less successful on the road), their neighbors, the United States–now also gloating from beating world number one, Spain–currently has Mexico’s number. Which just makes football fan and actor Diego Luna (quoted in lad magazine, COMPLEX) depressed:

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