Saturday Fulham Stuff (12.06.10)

[White Noise]

Africans will not be Pants

Published: Today

 
JOHN PANTSIL insists an African team can win the World Cup on home soil.

Ghana are leading the charge for the continent along with Nigeria, Algeria, Cameroon, Ivory Coast and hosts South Africa.

Fulham defender Pantsil, 28, said: "An African country can lift the cup. If it's not us others from this continent will do well."


Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/worldcup2010/3011321/John-Pantsil-talks-up-African-World-Cup-hopes.html#ixzz0qc9MbimT

[White Noise]

Yanks are out to bash Ash


From SIMON VENESS

Published: Today

ASHLEY COLE can expect to see a lot of Landon Donovan today. And Clint Dempsey. And Robbie Findley.

That's because USA believe Donovan has shown them the way to attack England thanks to Everton's Premier League victory over Chelsea earlier this season.

The on-loan American played the key role in unhinging the Blues' back four as the Toffees won 2-1 on February 10.

Cole was the focal point, losing several one-on-one battles before breaking an ankle in a 50-50 tackle.

Now Donovan believes US boss Bob Bradley has them lined up for a repeat job on the left-back, with Jozy Altidore playing the role of Louis Saha, who scored both Everton goals.

The LA Galaxy star insisted: "England don't have a lot of weaknesses but my experience for Everton was highly valuable personally in getting to play against some of the players we will see on Saturday.

"I was really excited to get that opportunity. I knew it was a big test for me."

Bradley - a relentless football scholar - has studied video of Donovan's performance that day and how Everton repeatedly opened up the Premier League champs down the right flank.

And in the States, soccer insiders believe he is preparing a counter-attacking ploy to give all his quickest and most dynamic attackers a chance to attack Cole - who returned from his broken ankle only at the end of April.

Those tactics include getting Fulham wing man Dempsey to periodically switch sides with Donovan - as they did effectively in last month's 2-1 win against Turkey - and to send rookie speedster Findley out wide from time to time.

One Major League Soccer coach revealed: "Bob studies video of his opponents almost 24-7 and will have noted that Everton game with interest. Altidore can definitely take on the Saha role.

"He also has experience of playing against John Terry this season, so he'll have some inside track.

"The US team are under no illusions they will have their hands full.

"But many people here see this as their World Cup final and Bradley will have his side very well prepared."

Altidore's ankle injury in training early this month looked likely to deal Bradley's plans a major blow.

But the on-loan Hull striker's physical presence is key to keeping Terry tied up - hence the Yanks manager is ready to start him.

However, Los Angeles' in-form hitman Edson Buddle is lined up to replace him if there is a hint Altidore is not fully match-fit.

Mexican-based striker Herculez Gomez will also be America's secret weapon, primed for a 20-minute run as a substitute if Bradley's men are struggling for a breakthrough.


Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/worldcup2010/3011512/USA-target-Englands-Ashley-Cole.html#ixzz0qc9kSnHf

[White Noise]

Brad out to stop the Wayne

From ROB BEASLEY in Rustenburg

Published: Today

BOB BRADLEY is convinced the USA will beat England tonight - if they can stop Wayne Rooney.

The American coach believes the Manchester United hotshot is the key to the outcome of this evening's Group C opener at the Royal Bafokeng stadium.

So his pumped-up side will be under orders to make sure Rooney is shut out of the game.

Bradley said: "If we can keep Rooney quiet we have a chance, if not then we surely don't.

"He's a great player. We all respect him so much as a player. He's experienced and such a competitor. And we have to try and compete at the same level he plays at."

But Bradley is confident of putting on a good performance - and of victory.

He was even been boasting in interviews he expects the USA to beat England. When challenged over his cockiness he added: "I was asked the question: Do I expect to win?

"I said 'yes' because the work we've put in, and what we believe in within our team.

"We will step on to the field believing we can win.

"It's said with no disrespect to our opponents and we know it will take a strong, strong effort on our part.

"But the preparation has been good and the feeling is the players are ready to go. We're stepping on to the field with the idea to win."

And he could not stop the day-dreaming claiming it would NOT be a shock if the Yanks win.

Bradley said: "It wouldn't be a surprise like some of the victories in the past - we've earned more and more respect.

"We prepare for every team properly and we have a great amount of respect for England. But, on the inside, we feel good about the way we've grown as a team and we've been looking forward to this opportunity since the draw.

"It certainly would be a great way for us to start the World Cup."

Bradley also reckons a win would equal 60 years ago when minnows USA stunned England 1-0 in Brazil.

He added: "1950 is a big moment in US soccer history and victory would certainly be right there on a par."

He also hailed two of his players who he believes are going to trouble us.

One is Hull flop Jose Altidore - who managed ONE goal in the Premier League last term.

And the other is former Fulham defender Carlos Bocanegra who now plays somewhere in France.

Now we're really scared aren't we?

USA defender Jonathan Spector wants bragging rights over West Ham team-mates Robert Green and Matt Upson tonight.

He said: "There's been banter at West Ham since the draw was made.

"We'll wait until we know the result before we really get stuck into each other."



Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/worldcup2010/3011508/Bob-Bradley-says-the-USA-can-beat-England-if-they-stop-Wayne-Rooney.html#ixzz0qcA9c1NP

[White Noise]

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup/marquez-damps-down-incendiary-show-of-south-african-pride-1998176.html

Marquez damps down incendiary show of South African pride

South Africa 1 Mexico 1

By Steve Tongue at Soccer City


Saturday, 12 June 2010

The pride that the Rainbow Nation has felt ever since being awarded this World Cup six years ago was redoubled in its magnificent new stadium yesterday afternoon as Bafana Bafana – the Boys – grew into men. At the end of the rainbow there was just an opening draw rather than a three-point crock of gold, but they had been only 11 minutes away from finding one.

Initially tentative and nervous, they somehow kept a clever Mexico side out and finally found some form and confidence to carry over into the second period.

Siphiwe Tshabalala's hammer of a strike brought the lead before the old Barcelona hand Rafael Marquez, operating ostensibly as a holding midfielder, stole forward to catch out some naive defending and equalise. Tshabalala would later be named man of the match ahead of Mexico's Giovani dos Santos, whose lively running had threatened to leave Carlos Alberto Parreira's team as the first hosts to lose in an opening game.

The outcome left both coaches satisfied. "All in all the result was fair," said Parreira after the first game of his sixth World Cup. "I couldn't ask more from the boys. Mexico is the most daring teams here with three strikers and attacking full-backs. They're full of quality." His opposite number Javier Aguirre was disappointed only that the quality did not bring them a goal in that dominant first half. "We could have won, we could have lost," was his philosophical take. "First half we really had them in a corner but second half they were good on the counter-attack. Now we're really forced to beat France, but we're confident of winning our other two games."

Not until the last few minutes of the first half did Bafana Bafana do any more than huff and puff as doggedly as their supporters on the ubiquitous vuvuzelas. Mexico were as composed as they had been at Wembley just under three weeks ago with Paul Aguilar, as in that game, a right-back in name only, constantly forcing his way down the right wing to take crossfield passes. There was danger from the second minute, as Itumeleng Khune failed to hold his low cross and Aaron Mokoena scrambled the ball for a corner.

Once Carlos Vela and Dos Santos switched flanks, Guillermo Franco took Vela's pass on his chest and Khune did well to keep out a smart shot with his right hand. Dos Santos then had a shot deflected for a corner that was headed on and nudged in by Vela; but he was rightly adjudged to have strayed offside.

At last the hosts were galvanised, exerting pressure on the diminutive goalkeeper Oscar Perez. He would have been beaten had Katlego Mphela's bald head been a fraction closer to Tshabalala's fine cross.

That flurry was something to take into the dressing-room and 10 minutes after the resumption the new stadium was rocking as it had never done before in its short life. Fulham's Kagisho Dikgacoi played a perfect pass for Tshabalala to take in his stride and thrash the latest Adidas football up and across the groping Perez into the far top corner of the net.

Khune saved splendidly as Dos Santos cut inside on his left foot, and all things seemed possible. In the space of four minutes, however, two glorious chances were wasted by the midfielder Teko Modise.

Aguirre sent on the veteran Cuauhtemoc Blanco and Manchester United's much younger acquisition Javier Hernandez, though it was his earlier substitute Andres Guardado who fashioned the equaliser. As he swung a cross from the left South African hearts joined vuvuzelas in mouths to see Mokoena left all alone against three men in black shirts, one of whom, Marquez, calmly took the ball down and dispatched it past Khune.

In an end-to-end last few minutes, Khune began hoisting huge punts downfield and from one of them Mphela jabbed a shot against the post.

A winner at that point might have brought almost too much emotion to bear. As it was, Bafana Bafana richly deserved their ovation in the centre circle.

South Africa (4-4-1-1): Khune; Gaxa, Mokoena, Khumalo, Thwala (Masilela, h-t); Modise, Dikgacoi, Letsholonyane, Tshabalala; Pienaar (Parker, 83); Mphela.

Mexico (4-3-3): Oscar Perez; Aquilar (Guardado, 55), Rodriguez, Osorio, Salcido; Juarez, Marquez, Torrado; Dos Santos, Franco (Hernandez, 73), Vela (Blanco, 69)

Referee R Irmatov (Uzbekhistan)

Man of match Tshabalala

Attendance 84,490

[White Noise]

http://hammyend.com/?p=7250

Fulham Players in South Africa


by lydia on June 11, 2010

I watched the World Cup opening two fixtures today and I'm sure that most of you will agree that the first was much better than the second. France v Uraguay was in my dads words, "...like watching paint dry." The opening fixture however was a very entertaining battle with both teams showing a true desire to win. I believe that the difference between the 2 matches was that the Mexican and S Africa players injected a bit of pace into the game and therefore created more chances.

I took time today to watch Fulhams Dikgacoi today and I must say that he impressed me. We didn't really get that many opportuntities to see him play last year and this was certainly the first time taht I have seen a full 90min of him personally. He played just infront of the back 4 and was not afraid to get stuck in. Sometimes he lost the ball a little bit too easily but that and one silly foul that gained him a yellow was his only failings in my eyes. He wasn't interested in making the pass of the tournament but kept it nice and simple. This is all you need from a player of his position; win the ball and make a smart pass. He could fit in beside Murphy quite neatly with him winning the ball and Murphy meing the creative one. I'm not saying he is ready right now for the PL but give him time to gain experience and he could end up being another hidden gem found by Hodgson. Lets just see how he does against France and Uraguay now.

Fulham have 6 players now in the World Cup, all from different countries. Keep an eye out for them especailly Philippe Senderos of Switzerland. We also have Schwarzer (Australia), Pantsil (Ghana), Etuhu (Nigeria) and Dempsey (USA). This is such a special time for the whole World and I just hope to see some Fulham stars really shining on the World Stage.

Also, for any other female readers- how good does Dempsey look in this picture posted on the offal? What a guy!

[White Noise]

Dickson Is Ready


Friday 11th June 2010


Fulham FC News


|Fulham midfield favourite Dickson Etuhu says that he is relishing the chance of going head-to-head with the world's greatest player on Saturday afternoon.

The Super Eagles face Argentina in Johannesburg as Group B opens to the backdrop of the power and boldness of the West Africans against the flair and versatility of the South Americans.

And for Etuhu, there is no doubting the threat Diego Maradona's side present, with their envious attacking armoury led by the sublime World Player of the Year – Lionel Messi.

"He's the man, isn't he?!" he says. "For me, and for many, he is unquestionably the best player on the planet right now. He was incredible last season, we're talking about one of the real greats of the game.

"He's a player that I love watching, he makes everything look so easy when, in actual fact, the things he does week-in-week-out are very difficult.

"I'm looking forward to facing him and testing myself against someone who is now considered as one of the best, not just of our generation, but of all time. It will be a great test for myself and for my team-mates, but we have to show no fear, he's only human after all.

"In the Premier League we play against some top, top players every week so we have the experience. On our day we're capable of beating anyone."

Argentina certainly start the World Cup as one of the favourites, with Maradona offered the chance to emulate the likes of Mario Zagallo and Frank Beckenbauer by winning the trophy as player and manager.

"People are expecting them [Argentina] to do very well," says Dickson. "They will be among the favourites. It will be a difficult game for us, but the World Cup is full of surprises; we see that every four years.

"We then face South Korea, before playing our final match against Greece. We know that we can progress from the group, we just need to make sure that we perform on the day."

Having reached the Second Round both in 1994 and 1998, Nigeria failed to advance from their group in 2002, before failing to qualify altogether four years ago.

For a while they were regarded as the most likely of the African countries to reach the latter stages of the World Cup, with the class of '94 setting the precedence for the next generation of Super Eagles.

"That was the best Nigeria team that we have ever had, they were great," reflects Dickson. "I remember that team very well, and loved watching them play. Sunday Oliseh was a player that I looked up to - he's arguably the best player that we have ever had.

"Then there were the likes of Daniel Amokachi and Jay-Jay Okocha who was an exceptional player. Of course, it would be nice to emulate that team, but as I say, that was the best we had. We'll play our own game and hopefully that will take us as far as possible."

Dickson was speaking exclusively to Fultime Magazine. To read the full interview and the rest of a World Cup special featuring Clint Dempsey, Mark Schwarzer, John Pantsil, Kagisho Dikgacoi, George Cohen, Paul Parker and Ray Houghton, plus reflection on an unforgettable season at Fulham, see this summer's publication, delivered to Season Ticket Holders and Members this week, or available from Club stores for just £3.50. Alternatively buy your copy online today!|


Read more: http://www.fulhamfc.com/Club/News/NewsArticles/2010/June/EtuhuWorldCupFeature.aspx?#ixzz0qcGn57p7

[White Noise]

http://www.footballfancast.com/football-blogs/the-five-alternative-deals-should-wenger-fail-to-land-schwarzer


The FIVE Plan B's should Wenger fail to land Schwarzer

Date: 11th June 2010 at 1:30 pm | Filed under: Arsenal, Football Blogs | Author: Tony Merakli |

Arsenal yesterday (10th of June) confirmed that the club have made an approach to sign Fulham Goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer, as the Gunners look for a new no.1 for next season's campaign.

Wenger wants to bring in a new goalkeeper and has pinpointed the Australian international as his number one choice this summer.

Many Arsenal fans have expressed their unhappiness this season with their current goal-stopper's Manuel Almunia and Lukasz Fabianski. Due to their frustrations, the fans have urged Wenger to go out acquire a more proficient keeper, and it seems the calls have been answered by the Frenchman. However, is Schwarzer the man the Arsenal faithful had in mind?

Schwarzer is a good option for the Gunners to venture into. It's blatantly obvious to fans not just that of Arsenal, but fans of other Premier League teams, that the Gunners need a more experienced and reliable set of hands to guard the goal at the Emirates. According to the Arsenal boss, Schwarzer can offer both of these.

Without a doubt Many fans would prefer to see the Aussie model the no.1 jersey next season rather than Almunia or his deputy Fabianski. The Aussie boasts more experience, has greater communication, distribution and handling attributes than the current Arsenal keepers. However, Is Schwarzer the answer to Arsenal's ongoing goalkeeper problem? Or are there better options available to Wenger and co this summer?

A majority of Arsenal fans will want to see Wenger target a more youthful and dynamic goalkeeper this summer...Schwarzer is neither, but he remains on top of Wenger's wish list in this particular department. Nevertheless, which other shot-stoppers could Le Professeur seek out should the Fulham goalkeeper not be allowed to leave Craven Cottage this summer?

Here are 5 other probable and reasonable alternatives for the Frenchman to consider when the window re-opens. Each one have been given a rating on how good (in my opinion) they would be for Arsenal football club :

Joe Hart (Manchester City)

Arsenal have expressed their interest in the young England international shot-stopper prior to the completion of the domestic season. The club were reported to be lining up a possible bid for Hart when the summer window opens in July.

The 23-year-old Manchester City goalkeeper spent the entire year on-loan with Birmingham City where he produced brilliant performances week in week out. Capello rewarded the keeper for his displays this season by selecting him to fly to South Africa this summer. Hart is a young talented goal-stopper who will become a world-class act in the future given the chance and guided by the right individual.

Hart looks as if he will be starting next season's campaign off with City, after Shay Given dislocated his shoulder against the Gunners in late April. However, with Given on the mend and regaining full-fitness, Hart will still be second choice for Mancini despite excelling this season. Joe Hart appears to be the Arsenal fans favourite to take the gloves off Almunia; they will no doubt love to see the young keeper between the Emirates sticks next season.

Glove Rating: 5/5

Sebastien Frey (Fiorentina)

The highly rated and reliable Fiorentina goal-stopper has been strongly linked with a number of European clubs, after the Frenchman had declared he seeks a new challenge. Despite recent reports from his agent suggesting that the shot-stopper is happy in Florence, the 30-year-old will no doubt be upset with his team's failure to qualify for the Champion's League next season.

Arsenal are reported to be amongst the horde of clubs that wish to acquire the keeper's signature and have a good chance of obtaining it should they show more interest. Frey has stated that he will make his decision after his summer break which has left the door wide open for clubs, including Arsenal to bid for the player.

Frey is a well established and dependable keeper who has made his name in the Italian game for the past several seasons. Wenger should definitely consider Frey as a possible target should Schwarzer refuse sign for the Gunners this summer.

Glove Rating: 3/5

[White Noise]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2010/jun/12/england-young-footballers-scrapheap

England's young footballers face final whistle

As England kickstart their World Cup campaign, spare a thought for the young players thrown on the scrapheap by 18

 
Stuart James The Guardian, Saturday 12 June 2010 Article history



As England's footballers get their World Cup campaign under way against the United States in South Africa tonight, another generation of youngsters will start to dream. The greatest sporting event on the planet leaves an indelible mark on impressionable minds, as several England players have reminded us in recent weeks with their vivid memories of the World Cup moments that inspired them.

From Rio Ferdinand trying to dribble around the green in Leyton Square like Diego Maradona after the Argentinian's wonder goal against England in 1986, to Steven Gerrard being almost as upset as his tearful hero Paul Gascoigne at Italia 90, and Wayne Rooney running through the streets of Croxteth pretending to be Michael Owen after the teenager scored against Argentina in the 1998 finals in France, the images are enduring.

Their stories are uplifting because they provide evidence of how young children can fulfil their dreams, yet they also paint a rose-tinted picture of a fiercely competitive industry where the vast majority of young footballers who join professional clubs end up looking for another career. While that has long been the case, the changing face of English football in recent years – including the influx of foreign players and demands for instant success – has made it even harder to break through.

For those still hellbent on trying, the serious business starts at the age of 16, when clubs offer scholarships, or apprenticeships as they used to be known, to their most promising young players. Although aspects of the two-year training programme have changed significantly – the days of sweeping the stands and cleaning the boots are long gone at many clubs – the goal remains the same: a professional contract.

Yet the statistics are damning. The Premier League and Football League say between 60% and 65% of the 700 or so scholars taken on each year are rejected at 18. Even half of those who do win a full-time contract will not be playing at a professional level by 21, reckons the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA). Put another way, five out of every six of the scholars starting next month will not be playing football for a living in five years. "If it was a university of football, with our success rates we would have been closed down by now because it's just not good enough," says Gordon Taylor, chief executive of the PFA.

"The fallout rate is very worrying. A lot of the lads do well up to 18 and 19 and then we feel there is a bit of a black hole where so many disappear because managers don't have enough confidence to put them into the team when they can get ready-made players from abroad."

Taylor's argument holds water. In 1992-93, the inaugural Premier League season, 71% of the players taking part were English. A few months ago, the England coach Fabio Capello pointed out that the figure had fallen to 38%, reducing the pool of players he could pick from. Few would dispute the standard of football has improved over that period but the obvious drawback is there are fewer opportunities for English players at the top, causing a ripple effect down the leagues.

The Premier League hopes things will change through the introduction of a "homegrown" rule next season. This will require managers to name, in a 25-man squad, a minimum of eight players who have spent at least three seasons with an English or Welsh club between the ages of 16 and 21. Many, would like to see it taken even further. "It's the first step. I think the second step needs to be the rule should apply to those on the field," says Taylor.

Few youngsters get that far and are left picking up the pieces after being told they are not good enough at the end of their scholarship. It is a sobering verdict for an 18-year-old to digest and in some cases will be delivered to players whose association with the club spans more than half of their lives. Those tasked with breaking the news have come to dread the moment almost as much.

"It's the worst job in football," says Dario Gradi, manager of League Two club Crewe. He has an excellent track record of bringing players through but last season gave only one of the club's nine second-year scholars a professional contract. "There is no nice way of doing it. We've done it face to face with the boys and some have got themselves in a real state, crying and shouting and screaming. Now we write to them and invite them in," he says.

"It seems like a cowardly way. But I think the best place to be when you receive that letter is at home with your family because you don't know how boys will react.

"I know Fabio Capello [who phoned the players he left out of his World Cup squad] has had some criticism for how he's handled it. But at that level it's easier. You're saying: 'You're not going to the World Cup'; you're not saying: 'You're not going to be a player'."

Those who have been rejected respond in different ways. Some, like Rhema Obed, who was let go by Arsenal last season, refuse to consider a life outside of football. "I wasn't playing regularly in the under-18s so I had a feeling what was going to happen," said the full-back, who hopes to find another club in pre-season. "It's not like it's the end of the world. I probably wouldn't have got into Arsenal's first team anyway. But I am not going to give up. I don't even want to think about doing anything else."

Others, like Pietro Palladino, who was recently released by League Two side Wycombe, are preparing for another career. "When I was offered the scholarship, if I hadn't said 'yes' I would probably have been wondering 'what if?', so it's certainly worth the risk," said the striker, who plans to study sport science at university in September with a view to becoming a PE teacher. "You always have to think about a plan B in case it doesn't work. But some people who don't make it think their life is over."

Yet even those with a plan B, such as Richard Woolley, who did two A-levels during his scholarship at Wolves and is now studying economics at Sheffield University, can find it difficult to deal with rejection.

"What I struggled with when I got released [last year] was that they say you're in the top 1% in the country if you are at academy level, but then all of a sudden I went from that to thinking: 'What am I good at now?' What I also found strange was that Wolves were a relatively big club but I couldn't even get on the bench for [Zamaretto League club] Hednesford Town."

His decision to pursue further education is one of several avenues open to those who have been discarded.

All scholars are expected to complete about 12 hours per week of academic work alongside their football training, with the Premier League's educational department and League Football Education (LFE), which oversees the Football League clubs, claiming that there is flexibility within the programmes they run to meet individual needs.

Whether clubs are willing to accommodate different courses is another matter, however, and the reality is that most scholars will study for a BTec qualification in sport which provides the theory to underpin what they are doing on the pitch.

The thinking behind the BTec is that young players should have the knowledge that gives them every chance to become a footballer, rather than study a subject related to another career. "I don't think it's the right message to say: 'You need to do this course in case you are not a footballer'," says Martyn Heather, head of education at the Premier League. I know a lot of people in football will disagree with me. But this is two years' great experience and if you don't make it at the end, you can pick things up again. I think our job is to enable them to do a bricklaying course when they finish."


What is indisputable is there is far more support for released players now than a decade ago. Some clubs could do more but the Premier League and the LFE offer help, organising exit trials, when scouts are invited to watch matches involving the rejected players, and establishing links with employers as well as universities at home and in the US. There are also initiatives such as Pitch to Podium, which offers players the chance to transfer their skills to another sport.

Yet while it is encouraging to learn that football has finally accepted it has a duty of care to the many youngsters who fail to make the grade each year, the fundamental issue of how to improve success rates among scholars has still to be addressed.

Huw Jennings, Fulham's academy director and former youth development manager at the Premier League, believes one solution would be for some bigger clubs to form partnerships with those lower down the ladder.

"There is an argument that would say: 'Aren't there too many clubs offering the apprenticeship scheme for the number of players that we require at the end of it?'," says Jennings.

"It's certainly worth considering the opportunity for Fulham to team up with three or four clubs in our surrounding area and maybe one beyond, to offer pathways for players who don't make it, so we don't have this high dropout rate."

Of course not everyone is just another statistic, and amid all the tales of woe it is worth remembering the success stories. Chris Gunter, who plays for Nottingham Forest, is one of them.

Gunter joined Cardiff as a scholar at the age of 16 and was given a professional contract a year later, a few weeks before he made his first-team debut. At the end of that season he won his first Wales cap and the following year signed for Tottenham for £2m.

"I was quite fortunate because I got a contract early but I'll never forget the day the rest of the boys found out," says the 20-year-old defender. "One by one they had to go in and see the manager. It was almost like X Factor. The scary thing is that 80% of the lads that were rejected when I was there don't even play semi-professional now.

"I know people always say footballers have got a great life, and they're right. But to get there is so tough."

[White Noise]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jun/12/world-cup-2010-usa-pen-pics

World Cup 2010: USA pen picsProfiles of the USA players lining up against England in Rustenburg
 
Compiled by Barney Ronay The Guardian, Saturday 12 June 2010 Article history


1 Tim Howard, GoalkeeperEverton, Age 31 Caps 51

All-action custodian and these days the first choice. Started out as a midfielder before taking up padded gloves. Played college basketball and has appeared as an honorary Harlem Globetrotter.


2 Jonathan Spector, DefenderWest Ham United, Age 24 Caps 25

Tough-tackling right-sider-cum-makeshift-centre-half. The youngest American ever to play for Manchester United. A childhood friend of Michael Bradley. Has never scored a goal.


3 Carlos Bocanegra, DefenderRennes, Age 31 Caps 79

Captain America: inspirational centre-half-cum-raiding-left-back. Played more than 100 games for Fulham. Recently voted eighth-sexiest sportsman in the world. Favourite food: sushi.


4 Michael Bradley, MidfielderB Mönchengladbach, Age 22 Caps 43

When Bradley plays well the USA tend to impress. A dynamic box-to-box central midfielder also at home in a deeper lying anchoring role. The son of the national coach, Bob Bradley, he is integral to his side's challenge. Bradley is the heartbeat of Borussia Mönchengladbach and no one would dream of painting him as the beneficiary of nepotism.


5 Oguchi Onyewu, DefenderMilan, Age 28 Caps 54

Defensive giant: the tallest outfield player in USA history at 6ft 4in. Spent most of last season recovering from a ruptured knee. Has agreed to play for free during the final year of his contract at Milan.


6 Steve Cherundolo, DefenderHannover 96, Age 31 Caps 60

Pint-sized full-back known for his forward raids. Played every game at Germany 2006. Has spent 11 years in Germany. Name is pronounced with an emphasis on "run".


7 DaMarcus Beasley, MidfielderRangers, Age 28 Caps 92

Left-sided raider playing at his third World Cup. Has scored more goals in the Champions League than any other American. Was caught by TV cameras furtively urinating on the pitch while warming up at the 2002 World Cup.


8 Clint Dempsey, MidfielderFulham, Age 27 Caps 62

Crafty dangerman with an eye for goal. Scored his first international goal against England in 2005. Once broke John Terry's cheekbone with his elbow. Recorded hip-hop track Don't Tread under the alias "Deuce".


9 Herculez Gomez, ForwardPachuca, Age 28 Caps 4

Journeyman poacher who has played for the San Diego Gauchos, LA Galaxy, San Diego Sockers, Seattle Sounders, Colorado Rapids and Kansas City Wizards. At Colorado had the honour of scoring first goal at Dick's Sporting Goods Park.


10 Landon Donovan, MidfielderLA Galaxy, Age 28 Caps 122

Jet-heeled wing-man. Has scored 42 goals in internationals, 17 more than Wayne Rooney. Helped Everton beat Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City during 10-game loan spell this year.


11 Stuart Holden, MidfielderBolton Wanderers, Age 24 Caps 14

Scots-born wingman and dead-ball specialist. Left Sunderland without playing a game in 2005 after being beaten up in a bar. Impressive last season for the Trotters. Grew up in Aberdeen and can still affect a Scots brogue.


12 Jonathan Bornstein, DefenderChivas USA, Age 25 Caps 32

Mr Versatile at left-back or in the midfield engine room. Scored the goal against Costa Rica that meant Honduras qualified for the World Cup, after which his name was chanted in the streets of the Tegucigalpa. Insists on eating a foot-long turkey sandwich on Italian herb bread before every game.


13 Ricardo Clark, MidfielderEintracht Frankfurt, Age 27 Caps 29

All-action defensive shield with a Rolls Royce engine. Unassuming off the pitch but not afraid to put his foot in. His father is called Lancelot and he likes the music of Bob Marley.


14 Edson Buddle, ForwardLA Galaxy, Age 29 Caps 43

Rangy hitman who made his debut seven years ago but still has only two caps. Was named after Pelé, whose real name is Edson Arantes do Nascimento.


15 Jay DeMerit, DefenderWatford, Age 30 Caps 19

Reliable stopper with a prodigious leap. Star of the 2009 Confederations Cup. Sang lead vocals on heavy rock track Soccer Rocks, which contains the tactically awry lyric "opponents fear a slide tackle when I have the ball".


16 Francisco Torres, MidfielderPachuca, Age 22 Caps 10

Jinking creator with a cultured left foot and tricks in his locker. Has a Mexican passport and plays for Mexican team Pachuca. The lightest man in the squad at 135 kilos, the same weight as a Bengal tiger, a small moped or Charlize Theron.


17 Jozy Altidore, ForwardHull City, Age 20 Caps 25

Muscular targetman. Has played for three European clubs (Sevilla, Xerez and Hull City) since 2008, but scored only two goals. Had 208,834 followers on Twitter last time we looked. Low-key tweet of the week: "Show some love as we prepare for the big show! USA!! USA!!"


18 Brad Guzan, GoalkeeperAston Villa, Age 25 Caps 16

Agile stopper and penalty specialist who once saved four in a game for Aston Villa in the Carling Cup. Born in Chicago. Loves U2. Not to be confused with: Brad Friedel.


19 Maurice Edu, MidfielderRangers, Age 24 Caps 13

Flexi-player who can play as a feisty pivot or a driving central force. Signed by Rangers for £2.3m and missed seven months last year with a knee injury. Known as Mo. His father is also called Mo. His mother is called Molly.


20 Robbie Findley, ForwardReal Salt Lake, Age 24 Caps 6

Up-and-coming rough-and-ready striking ace, reputed to be the fastest man in the MLS. Has three cousins who are all professional sportsmen in either basketball or the NFL.


21 Clarence Goodson, DefenderIK Start, Age 28 Caps 14

Hulking centre-half who cut his teeth with the Maryland Terrapins. Dangerous from free-kicks and a surprising turn of pace for a big man. Has a degree in "Art Studio" from Maryland University.


22 Benny Feilhaber, MidfielderAGF Aarhus, Age 25 Caps 32

Wiry schemer who can lurk in the hole or raid from the right side. Born in Brazil, aged six he moved to Scarsdale, linking him with dwellers past and present Beyoncé, Jay-Z and Yoko Ono.


23 Marcus Hahnemann, GoalkeeperWolverhampton Wanderers, Age 37 Caps 8

Excitingly bearded gloveman who excelled during Wolves' Premier League survival season. Owns "at least" nine cars and keeps chickens. Favourite band: Five Finger Death Punch.

[White Noise]

http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/features/sportsonthehour/2010/june/12/sportsbreak-12-06-2010-001.htm

The Super Eagles build-up matches, particularly, the 3–1 emphatic victory in the last international friendly against the North Korean World Cup squad, was enough proof that the Swede has got something up his sleeves tactically.

He is expected to line-up a strong midfield that would feature the new-kid-on-the bloc, Lukman of Monaco, Dickson Etuhu of Fulham of England, Dutch-based Sani Kaita and Kalu Uche, who plies his club football in Spain. The youthful quartet is expected to find answers to the antics of Messi and old-war-horse, Sebastin Veron, who are expected to lead the midfield battle for Argentina in today's epic clash.

[White Noise]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703509404575300794290598112.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Can the U.S. Be a Soccer Nation?

'The English media didn't think we could put on the World Cup. The English media don't think our team is that good. But they don't know.'

Article Comments (26)
 
By MATTHEW KAMINSKI

Though it faces little competition for the distinction, today's meeting between the U.S. and England at the World Cup in South Africa is the most anticipated soccer match in American history. Millions are expected to tune in, and more than a few know the star players for Team USA—Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey in midfield and Tim Howard in goal, the trio featured on the cover of last week's Sports Illustrated.

Also watching closely in person at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium near Rustenburg will be a reedy, Indian-American economics lecturer at Columbia University. Sunil Gulati isn't a household name. His last glory days on the field came as a sweeper on Bucknell University's JV soccer squad three decades ago. But Mr. Gulati figures as prominently as anyone in any serious discussion of the sport's growth in America. His story shows how far the game has come, and how far it has yet to go.

"One of the most connected and intelligent men in American soccer," the San Diego Union-Tribune once wrote of Mr. Gulati. "An enormous asset for U.S. soccer; if Sunil's in charge, I'm signed up," John Skipper, ESPN's content guru, tells me.

In the small world of U.S. soccer, Mr. Gulati's ego and power also can rub badly, with one newspaper noting that he is "considered often aloof and sometimes arrogant." Former national player Alexi Lalas, who helped bring David Beckham to the Los Angeles Galaxy when he ran the team and doesn't "agree with everything [Mr. Gulati] does," says: "People have many, many words to describe him. Ultimately the most important thing for me is that he is a fan of the game and he believes in the future of the sport."

Now 50, Mr. Gulati has had a hand in every important soccer initiative in America for half his lifetime. He is president of the U.S. Soccer Federation, the governing body for the men's and women's teams. He was instrumental in launching and then running Major League Soccer in 1996, and today he presides over the New England Galaxy franchise. He chairs the bid committee to bring the World Cup back to the U.S. in 2018 or 2022. He helped secure and organize the 1994 tournament, which was a conscious effort to light a soccer flame underneath America's otherwise-occupied sports culture.

Where skeptics see a stillborn experiment post-1994, Mr. Gulati sees "an extraordinarily successful 25 year cycle" for U.S. soccer. "If we can only replicate that going forward."

More
U.S. Soccer's Not-So-Great Expectations Which World Cup Coaches Have an Edge? South Africa Kicks Off World Cup Just Inches Away From a Big Upset Complete Coverage: WSJ.com/WorldCup The data points for growth start with America's winning its bid for the World Cup in 1988. A year later, a squad of college players with virtually no professional experience qualifies for the tournament, marking America's return to the tournament after a 40 year absence. The U.S. wins the inaugural women's World Cup in 1991. The '94 World Cup in America sets an attendance record that still stands.

Two years later the domestic professional league, MLS, gets off the ground. The women win again in 1999, in a Cup held here, and in 2002 the men for the first time reach the quarter-finals. The U.S. qualifies again for the 2010 tournament, for the sixth consecutive time, a better record than many countries, including England, the birthplace of the game. America pays the highest TV rights fees for the Cup and Americans buy up the most tickets for this year's tournament. "And so on," says Mr. Gulati.

Many holes can be picked in his rosy picture. Except during the World Cup or on Spanish-language networks, Americans aren't taking to professional soccer in great numbers. The MLS can't fill many of its stadiums and television ratings are paltry. A women's league, launched with bad economic timing last year, lost one of its eight original franchises. On the field, America has yet to produce a soccer phenom like England's Wayne Rooney or Argentina's Lionel Messi, two of the game's best players today.

Mr. Gulati has heard this all before and says, essentially, just wait. America is "a soccer nation" already, if judged by the millions who play and watch the game. "What it isn't is embedded in the mainstream community or water cooler talk the way the World Series might be or the Super Bowl is."

The World Cup in South Africa may or may not help. Some of it depends on the fortunes of the U.S. team. For the first time, the team is favored to get out of its group into the elimination round. At last year's Confederations Cup tournament in South Africa, America scored a huge upset by ending top-ranked Spain's 35-match unbeaten streak, then nearly beat Brazil in the final. Nineteen of the U.S. team's 23-member squad today play in stronger leagues abroad—though Mr. Gulati is quick to add that 17 players at some point also came through the MLS. In past Cups, Americans had limited international experience.

The world's respect comes grudgingly. Late last month, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, the honorary chairman of the World Cup bid committee, hosted the team at the White House. Later that day, the team was bused to prepare for a tune-up match against Turkey in Philadelphia. One British sports reporter said the U.S. practice on a football field used by the NFL's Eagles brought home how low soccer sits on the American sports pecking order.

Hearing his comment, Clint Dempsey, who stars at London's Fulham club in the Premier League, laughed. "It's been my life," he said. "I grew up in Texas. If we do well [in the World Cup], I hope it would help." In another sign of progress, the definition of doing well has changed. "Getting out of the group is a must for us," said the goalie Tim Howard, who plays for Everton. "In past years [reaching] it was a success. Now it's expected."

When told of the questions that U.S. players faced in Philadelphia the previous day, Mr. Gulati, over a bagel and coffee on the Columbia campus, lets off more than a little competitive steam: "The English media didn't think we could put on the World Cup. The English media don't think our team is that good. But they don't know." Then he adds, "That's not to say we'll beat England."

Though blessed with talent in certain positions, above all at goal, America has always lacked the bona fide game-breakers that top teams bring to the tournament. "Technically with the ball, they're still better," says Mr. Gulati, talking about an Argentina or Spain. "We still don't, player for player, match up against Brazil or Argentina. Not many teams do." But, he continues, "It's no longer as it might have been 20 years ago: 'How are we going to make sure the score is manageable?' You're thinking about winning the game."

American teams are known for their fitness, teamwork and physical style of play. "Hopefully our training regimen gives us a bit of an advantage," says Mr. Gulati. "You try to accentuate the positive, sure, because in a few weeks you're not going to become much better with the ball than you were in the first 30 years."

The future for America's side depends on its ability to develop world-class players. The common diagnosis is that soccer in the U.S. is a middle-class sport, played widely in suburban youth leagues starting in the 1970s. The best athletes, particularly from poorer areas, often aren't attracted to or able to pursue the sport. "Soccer is very much a pay to play sport," Mr. Gulati says. In soccer powers, promising poorer kids are plucked by the youth arms of professional teams, with cost no barrier.

One proposed cure is an outreach to the black and Hispanic communities. In April Mr. Gulati tapped Claudio Reyna, a retired U.S. national player who is fluent in Spanish and spent time in the European leagues, to head that effort as the federation's youth technical director. The emergence of the MLS improved the infrastructure to develop players too. Each club supports a youth team. Producing an American Messi may take a while. "We don't know where that player will come from—whether it will be from the African-American community, or Westchester County, or the soccer mom driving her kids or the Hispanic community," says Mr. Gulati. "As long as America continues to become more of a soccer culture, then it'll happen."

Impatient by nature, many Americans expected quicker results from the great soccer experiment. Mr. Gulati says no other country has come this far, this fast. Born in Allahabad, India, he came to the U.S. at five and took to the game on Connecticut youth teams before dabbling in coaching. As a graduate student, he was asked to run a national camp for under-16 boys in 1984. It was a mess. "Sprinklers were going off while kids were practicing," he recalls. They didn't have enough balls. The head of the U.S. federation, Werner Fricker, came by and got an earful from him. "He said 'Send me a note, but don't send me a 17-page memo,'" he says. "I sent him a 17-page memo, and he said 'Come on and help me out.'"

He signed on, and aside from a two year stint at the World Bank, he has stayed closely involved in the game.

As hard as building up the game has proved, making the economic case for soccer in America is "pretty simple," says Mr. Gulati, who teaches Principles of Economics and Sports Economics. He notes America's size (310 million people), changing demographics (a growing, soccer-mad Hispanic population) and affluence. Young people so coveted by television executives and advertisers play and understand the game in growing numbers.

"The upside potential for television, for commercial entities, where it's still not as mature as football, baseball, basketball," he says, is behind the unprecedented interest in the Cup this time around in America. "We're part of the world community, but if we ever get to be part of the world community in the way that Brazil or Germany or England [are] . . . [that would be] a game changer for the international game."

Having soccer match the popularity of the big three sports is the wrong yardstick, he says. While there's intense competition for television time and entertainment dollars among sports, "it's a big country. I don't think displacement is the issue. I think the sport is additive. I don't think we need to replace anything."


After the World Cup, the next benchmark for American soccer will be December's decision by the sport's international body, FIFA, to award the 2018 and 2022 tournaments. Mr. Gulati brought onto the bid committee Mr. Clinton, New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg, soccer fan Henry Kissinger and Bob Iger, who runs ESPN's parent Disney. The way this bid is playing out, he says, shows the "changed atmosphere."

Whereas in 1994 the doubts ran deep about the wisdom of placing the sport's treasured event in a country that lacked soccer roots, today FIFA can be sure the huge palaces built by the NFL will be full and the tournament will deliver record revenues. American perceptions are evolving too.

"When we talked to cities [about hosting Cup matches] back in '86-'87, we had to explain what the World Cup was," says Mr. Gulati. "First that it was soccer. How many games. How long is the tournament. When we call now, we have mayors getting involved trying to convince us they should be on the list. It's completely different."

Mr. Kaminski is a member of the Journal's editorial board.

Printed in The Wall Street Journal, page A13

[White Noise]

MARTIN SAMUEL: There is no need to keep hiding away, England...this is your moment

By Martin Samuel


Last updated at 12:09 AM on 12th June 2010

On the streets of Johannesburg, the vuvuzela reveille sounded at 6am yesterday, local excitement deliciously unrestrained before the big match.

Drive north from the capital, however, and the din gradually subsides until one reaches Phokeng, a village with a football stadium attached, to find a group of men on a mission.

This is Fabio Capello and his England squad, disengaged from the bedlam down the road, distanced from the tournament, as always it seems. It is the English way, remote, aloof, clinging to an Atlantic outpost in France, up a mountain in Germany, on an island in Japan.

The logical conclusion is that one day subterranean or inside a volcano like SPECTRE. The England manager will sit at his desk in the manner of Ernst Stavro Blofeld stroking a white Persian cat. 'Ah, Mr Rooney,' he will say, 'I've been expecting you.'

Holland and Portugal have placed themselves at the heart of this World Cup in the Johannesburg suburb of Sandton. The South Africa team is a stone's throw away, and the area is almost bursting with noise and anticipation. Brazil train not far from Soweto.

England's isolated location was part of Capello's mantra of no distractions (once I've got my contract sorted out) and whether this detachment is healthy will be discovered tonight, when the Group C matches begin in Rustenburg with a fixture against the United States.

Some fear Capello's players, removed from the mild and happy diversion of the festival, will blow in and blow out, mentally crushed by the expectation that must surely be building within their lonely camp at the Royal Bafokeng Sports Complex.

Others, Capello particularly, believe this single-mindedness will cause them to explode from the traps, all pure focus and coiled tension. It may be too soon to judge with certainty. The psychological implications will grow in significance as progress is made and pressure increases.

For now, man for man, the simple fact is England have a much better team than the USA and should win. They should defeat Algeria and Slovenia also, to play a last-16 match against the runners- up in Group D (Germany, Australia, Serbia and Ghana).
What is being examined here, though, is more than just Capello's preparation theories. It is the entire ethos of English football in the 21st century, the Football Association's belief that the World Cup can be bought, as good as put on expenses by securing the services of a stellar foreign coach.

Even if Capello remains manager until the 2012 European Championship, it will never be this way again, with this generation of players, this manager, this opportunity.

This is it. This is our chance, not least because by the time the next World Cup comes along it can be safely presumed that Capello, and the bulk of what is already a very experienced squad, will have moved on from international football.

They will take with them the FA's attempt to circumvent a coaching crisis in English football by employing the best brain money could buy, regardless of nationality.

For if this fails, there is no upgrade, no quicker fix. We will have bet the farm on the ingenuity of Capello and all that will remain is the weary return to the drawing board and the reluctant admission that there is a reason no World Cup, in football, rugby or even 50-over cricket has ever been won with a foreign coach.

It is hard to imagine the FA will invest as much in a manager again, and therefore harder to conceive that England's players will again take instruction from such a substantial, successful, qualified figure (certainly unless there is a change of heart from Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger or Jose Mourinho).

That Capello's time should coincide with that of Wayne Rooney approaching his peak, plus Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, John Terry and Ashley Cole not far from the summit, makes this the most potent concoction at a World Cup for England in many years.

Yet, for all these advantages, Capello must buck a major trend. Home coaches have a 57.3 per cent winning average for World Cup matches when they have met foreign coaches, plus a 3-0 record in finals.

So there is potential for failure, and if it happens - and to fall short of the semi-finals would be something of an anti-climax with this manager and group - the repercussions would be great.

Not necessarily for personnel, because as the pre-tournament matches with Mexico and Japan indicated, what lies beneath this current first-team is a muddle of mediocrity, but for the administrators now reinvented by the FA as Club England.

Capello has signed on for two more years but may choose to depart in extreme circumstances - of success or failure - and what is certain is that the appointment of his successor would represent a sharp alteration in the thinking that has prevailed at the FA since the employment of Sven Goran Eriksson.

There would be no more £6million contracts and the favourite in this instance would not be an exotic outsider but a son of Croydon: Roy Hodgson, experienced, down to earth and working wonders at Fulham.

It is worth noting, however, that Hodgson has spent 28 of his 34 years as a coach abroad; hardly an endorsement of the English system.

But we are ahead of ourselves here. It is the immediate future that will consume the nation this morning, a future that most definitely includes Capello but also worryingly the most frustrating, under-achieving group of players since 60 years ago when an England team including Tom Finney, Stan Mortensen, Billy Wright, Alf Ramsey and Wilf Mannion lost 1-0 to the USA in Belo Horizonte.

Results like that have schooled the English in fearing the worst even if all evidence suggests they should hope for the best, and today's opposition is an unnerving reminder of the least edifying episode in England's World Cup history.

Clint Dempsey compared the current United States team to Fulham, cussed, determined and capable of surprise. Yet recent sightings suggest Fulham would also give them a game and if Capello's team cannot beat the USA it is hard to see them overcoming some of the favourites in the knockout rounds.

This is a relatively gentle introduction to the tournament for England - even if the USA are known to be organised and physical - and the only concern over what follows in Group C is that Capello may have used up all his tournament luck at the draw in Cape Town before Christmas.

Only Brazil, who face North Korea on Tuesday, can be said to have a more agreeable first acquaintance with the competition, although their next matches, against Portugal and the Ivory Coast, will be intense.

Perhaps it is the benign nature of the group - coupled with Capello's admirable stewardship through the qualifying stages - that has kept England's preparation largely panic free, despite some severe setbacks, including the permanent loss of Rio Ferdinand and temporary absence of Gareth Barry.

Faced with Nigeria, Sweden and Argentina in 2002, injury issues appeared momentous. This time, England have a £6m insurance policy. Even the weather, cool, spring-like, exceedingly pleasant, is with England.

Instead, we have been reduced to creating our own scares around a Brazilian referee studying a big book of English swear words intended to trap the famously potty-mouthed Rooney.

From the tournament's perspective this would seem entirely self-defeating. Why coach referees in how to be offended? Are we now actively searching for ways to expel the best players and ruin the match? How ridiculous. And if all an official learns of a language is the cuss words, how can he judge the context, whether a player is swearing out of frustration at a colleague's bad pass, or in anger at an offside decision. All he will hear is 'blah, blah, eff, blah, blah, eff, blah, eff.' And this is now a potential red-card offence?

Still, terror of the random intervention aside, it should be two weeks at least before Capello and his players are significantly tested.

Until then, all the manager has to do is find ways to maintain that much-lauded focus.
It is said that, when unhappy, Capello can turn the blood of a player to stone with a cold-eyed stare and the barked examination: 'Why?' Yet the question of the summer should be an equally challenging, 'Why not?' directed at this England squad.

Or the plaintive lament often seen on the T-shirts of  embittered Dutch followers. "If not now, when?"


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/worldcup2010/article-1285950/MARTIN-SAMUEL-There-need-hiding-away-England--moment.html#ixzz0qcbfqowN

[White Noise]

http://soccervoice.com/n100611.htm

Norwegian Rooney, can he be the next top goalscorer in Europe

Norwegian players are not as popular as they where in the 90's when the nation played in the 1994 and 1998 World Cup, but there are exports and a new group of younger players coming through, one of them is Marcus Pedersen from Stromsgodset.

Marcus Pedersen has been linked with a move to Celtic, and by the Scottish press compared to Wayne Rooney. Marcus (20) has a bit left to be named in the same cetegory as the Manchester United forward, but anyway flattering.

Marcus joined Stromsgodset in front of the 2009 season from Ham-Kam. He has previously been linked with both Newcastle and WBA, but those clubs looks out of the picture now.

Marcus is one of many young Norwegians, known as the "artificial turf generation". There has been a huge growth in artificial turfs in Norway and almost every local club have one.

Advantages are huge and players in all generations can now play football for much longer period in the year and there are almost no postponed games.

This leads to more football activity and the new turf makes it better for players to work on their skills and the technical part of the game.

Norwegian players used to be robust, strong physically build and the best players were either tall strikers, big central defenders or goalkeepers. Today as Marcus, you see quicker, more technical players coming through.

Stromsgodset has in just a few years turned their squad from an old group of former proffesionals including Jostein Flo and Øyvind Leonhardsen, into a talent factory using a group of young talents.

Marcus is mentioned, and you also have Jo Inge Berget who is loaned from Italian club Udinese but linked with a number of top clubs including Newcastle, Blackburn and Fulham.

The tall defender, Lars Saetre (18) is another interesting player, who is compared to former Norwegian international and Werder Bremen legend Rune Bratseth.

Norwegian football has in recent years struggled with a decline at national level and the great years of Roseonborg in the Champions Leauge is behind us, but with Egil Olsen back and also Nils Arne Eggen in charge for Rosenborg again, the whole nation believes that good times are in front.

The Norwegians hopes that the new generation of "artificial turf talent" will guide them into an ever better period than what this little "Olympic Winter Games Dominator" has experienced before.

[White Noise]

http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/England-World-Cup-Liverpool-star-Glen-Johnson-insists-he-can-cope-with-expectation-and-has-no-fears-ahead-of-USA-opener-article459849.html


Johnson insists he can cope with World Cup expectation



Published 23:00 11/06/10

By Martin Lipton


Glen Johnson last night insisted he has the nerve to cope with his World Cup debut.

The Liverpool defender has seen off the challenge of Anfield club-mate Jamie Carragher to make his tournament debut against the USA in Rustenburg tonight.

Johnson will be asked to prevent Fulham midfielder Clint Dempsey foraging down the England right and also add his attacking weight to the more floating sting of Aaron Lennon.

Despite having abundant attacking ability, the 25-year-old Johnson has been criticised over his lack of defensive nous, an element of his game that is likely to be tested over the next month.

But Johnson promised the England fans he is not scared of the task and cannot wait to get to grips with Dempsey and the rest of his opponents.

Johnson said: "I'm not nervous at all. I'm just excited.

"You've got to remember I come across some of the best players in the world in the Premier League, so there's no reason for me to be worried about what's going to happen out here in South Africa.

"I know that the next month is going to be exciting and I can't wait for it to start."

Capello has insisted Johnson can mature into one of the great attacking right-backs and has shown huge loyalty to the former West Ham, Chelsea and Portsmouth man since he broke into his first-choice team for the home qualifier with Ukraine in April 2009.

The Italian believes the ability he has going forward is of more value to his side than the more certain defensive attributes offered by the veteran Carragher.

That faith has given the defender the confidence to start attacking with even more threat, shown to its most potent when he scored the first goal of his England career against Mexico at Wembley last month.

Now, though, there is huge pressure on Johnson to show he has the big-match temperament and tactical discipline England will need if they are to remain resilient at the back and threatening going forward.

But the Liverpool man suggested having broken his England duck against the Mexicans, he will feel even happier about trying his luck again over the next few weeks.

Johnson admitted: "When I picked the ball up down the right I wasn't really thinking about scoring.

"Theo Walcott gave me the ball and I was going to play it back but I saw him fall over so I kept on going.

"I was actually trying to slip Jermain Defoe in but suddenly the defender went down and I could see there was a chance.

"Even then I didn't think I was going to score but I hit it really well and it was a fantastic feeling to see it hit the net."

[White Noise]

http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Australia-Germany-preview-Tim-Cahill-hopes-to-exploit-slow-starting-Germans-article459671.html


Tim Cahill looking to exploit slow-starting German's


Published 22:30 11/06/10

By David McDonnell


Tim Cahill believes Australia can take advantage of Germany's slow-starter status and spring a major shock in their World Cup opener.

The Aussies take on three-times winners Germany in their opening Group D encounter in Durban tomorrow, with Everton midfielder Cahill predicting an upset.

"It'll be a hard game," said Cahill. "We know Germany are very tactical, compact and strong.

"But they're generally slow starters in competitions they play, so hopefully we can catch them cold."

"We have a lot of respect for them as a nation and as a country, but we're going out there to do as well as we can.

"We know how strong they are as a team but we'll concentrate on our strengths and try to break them down slowly."

Cahill, who started all four of Australia's games at the 2006 World Cup, believes the Socceroos can improve on four years ago, when they were beaten 1-0 by eventual winners Italy in the last 16.

It took a controversial late penalty to give Italy victory on that occasion and, with a clutch of current and ex-Premier League players including Cahill, Blackburn's Brett Emerton, Fulham's Mark Schwarzer, as well as Hary Kewell and Lucas Neill, Australia are aiming high.

"In the last World Cup the whole Australia nation stopped," said Cahill.

"I don't think there has been a bigger event in Australia since that.

"Now the sport is were it should be, up there fighting with the best codes in Australia, if not being one of the leading codes.

"For me it's an honour and a privilege to play for Australia. To fly the flag for football in Australia for the kids and the people who have been dying for ages to see this is a massive thing for us.

"My first expectation this time would be to get through the group. After that, like we saw in Germany in 2006, anything can happen.

"At international level, everyone is starting on level par. For me, I'd like to get through the group and hopefully then make a few surprises."

[White Noise]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup-2010/news/7814473/England-v-USA-match-preview.html

England v USA: match preview

Read a full match preview of the World Cup 2010 Group C game between England and USA at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenberg on Saturday June 12 2010, kick-off 17.30 BST.


Group C Match 5
Royal Bafokeng Stadium

By Telegraph staff


Published: 10:15PM BST 11 Jun 2010

Group C
England v USA
Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenburg
Kick-off: Sat June 12, 7.30pm BST.
TV: ITV1 7pm, ITV HD 7pm

England are without Gareth Barry through injury for their opening game, while Ledley King will replace Rio Ferdinand, ruled out of the tournament with a knee injury.

The identities of Fabio Capello's first choice goalkeeper and front-line striker remain shrouded in doubt, though David James seems out of contention for the former position.

The USA are rather more settled, with Jozy Altidore – a confirmed starter after just one goal in his season at Hull - likely to replace Robbie Findlay, despite the latter's speed, after Edson Buddle seemed to cement his place in the line-up by scoring twice in last week's warm-up game with Australia.

Touchline duel

Fabio Capello v Bob Bradley: On paper, the former Chicago Fire coach should not stand a chance of outwitting the Italian, one of the most decorated coaches in world football. Bradley, though, has grown into his role since replacing Bruce Arena – initially on an interim basis – in 2006, despite the US Soccer Federation only appointing him after talks with Jurgen Klinsmann stalled.

The United States' impressive showing in last summer's Confederations Cup, particularly, buffed Bradley's reputation as a fine motivator.

Key clash

Wayne Rooney v Jay DeMerit: DeMerit finished his season leaving Watford, where he had spent the last six years of his career, and Rooney now faces the task of getting the better of a defender hoping a good World Cup will earn him a move to a new club.

Rooney will certainly fancy his chances, of course, although DeMerit's work will no doubt be shared by the equally uncompromising US national captain, Carlos Bocanegra, formerly of Fulham.

Tactical Battle

Capello's plans for the game have been hampered by Gareth Barry's injury troubles, meaning the Italian is likely to field a central midfield pairing of Steven Gerrard, his third captain in four months, and Frank Lampard.

If the United States are to repeat their remarkable win against England in the 1950 tournament, they must hope that Michael Bradley, the coach's son, can exploit any weakness in the highly-rated pair's understanding.

What they said

Fabio Capello: "England are ready for this match. The first game is always hard because expectation levels are really big. But we have been here eight days, training has gone very well and we are confident. We know the expectation levels of the fans are really good. But I am sure the team can reach the final."

Bob Bradley: "I would concede stopping [Wayne] Rooney is the key to our chances of success. He is such an important player in their team. He comes here off a super season. Our ability to keep track of him and make life hard for him is a key part of us making sure we can win."

Teams

England (4-4-2): Hart; Johnson, King, Terry, A Cole; Lennon, Gerrard, Lampard, J Cole; Rooney, Crouch
USA (4-4-2): Howard; Spector, DeMerit, Bocanegra, Cherundolo; Dempsey, Bradley, Torres, Donovan; Altidore, Buddl
Referee: Carlos Simon (Brazil)

Previous meetings

P9: England 7, Draws 0, USA 2

1950 (Belo Horizonte, WC): England 0 USA 1
1953 (New York, friendly): USA 3 England 6
1959 (Los Angeles, friendly): USA 1 England 8
1964 (New York, friendly): USA 0 England 10
1985 (Los Angeles, friendly): USA 0 England 5
1993 (Boston, friendly): USA 2 England 0
1994 (London, friendly): England 2 USA 0
2005 (Chicago, friendly): USA 1 England 2
2008 (London, friendly): England 2 USA 0

Fact: England have lost just one of their last eight opening World Cup fixtures – against Portugal in 1986. Of the other seven, England have won four and drawn three.

Prediction: USA will be up for it, England should be stronger, but they rarely start well, so this has draw written all over it.

[White Noise]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup-2010/news/7813504/South-Africa-1-Mexico-1-match-report.html

Within 10 minutes, Fulham's Kagisho Dikgacoi, previously most celebrated for giving Scott Parker a slap on his debut, delivered a defence-splitting diagonal ball which may not be bettered in the entire tournament to set up the devastating left foot strike from man of the match Tshabalala, a slight midfielder Parreira has helped transform into what calls "our very own Brazilian".

[White Noise]

http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/news/newsid=1233164/

Howard: This is the real deal

(FIFA.com) Friday 11 June 2010


"This is the real deal right in front of us now," USA goalkeeper Tim Howard, who plays his club football on the blue side of Liverpool with Everton, told FIFA.com on the eve of the big opener against one of the world's top sides. "The time for friendlies is over, the preparations are done and it's show-time now," said the former Manchester United No1, who was in between the posts the last time the US lined up at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg.

Last June, the Americans began their FIFA Confederations Cup – a warm up for these world finals – in dismal fashion, losing to Italy 3-1 in their opener before going down by an identical scoreline to Brazil in Tshwane/Pretoria. Needing a big win and a whole slew of positive results elsewhere to ensure qualification for the knockout rounds on three slim points, they went about the business of putting African champions Egypt to the sword in a 3-0 win under the floodlights on the outskirts of Rustenburg.

"We learned we could compete with the best teams in the world," said Landon Donovan after the tournament, where the Americans picked up the pace after their slow start, beating European champions Spain and leading Brazil 2-0 at the half of their first-ever world final. "I think what that tournament showed was that, on our day, we can beat any team in the world."

Clint Dempsey, one of eight American players in Bob Bradley's squad to ply his club trade in England, was named man of the match in that crucial win over the Egyptians. "This is the World Cup, man, you can't hold anything back. This is what we work hard for as professionals," he said, fresh off a standout season for UEFA Europa League runners-up Fulham. "It's going to be a tough game against England, they're a strong team and everyone knows that. But we've got out preparations right and now all we can do is go out and do our best and see what happens.

"I'll try to take the confidence I have from playing over the Premier League into the national team here in South Africa when we meet up with England," Dempsey added. "I'm feeling good right now; I feel like I'm playing some good football. We're hoping to hit our peak in this first round and go on from there." USA team captain, defender Carlos Bocanegra, sees something to fear in the English. "They're a strong team, very direct, very physical and very technical," said the France-based defender, formerly a club team-mate of Dempsey's at Fulham's Craven Cottage. "It will be a tough test for us, but I think we can match well up against them and anything can happen."

If the Americans were able to pull off a shock win against the English it certainly wouldn't be a first on the world stage. One of the greatest upsets in FIFA World Cup history came in 1950, in Belo Horizante, Brazil, when a lone goal from Joe Gaetjens saw the Americans shock the world with victory over the founders of the modern game. Bocanegra, for one, is eager to dismiss any romantic connections between this meeting and the one 60 years in the past. "Those guys did a special thing back then," he told FIFA.com," but it was a long time ago and now we need to do something for ourselves."

For Howard – the man who will stare down the predatory likes of Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard, the concerns are also more present-day. "There's a lot to fear in this England team. They're potent and aggressive all the time. We'll have our work cut out."

[White Noise]

http://www.independentmail.com/news/2010/jun/11/fueled-palmetto-power/

Fueled by Palmetto power


Posted June 11, 2010 at 11:59 p.m.


Today the United States Men's National Team will begin play in its sixth consecutive World Cup. And although there are pockets of the country that are true hotbeds of the sport, South Carolina was not one of them.

Until now.

Twenty-three players were selected to make the trip to South Africa by coach Bob Bradley, and almost a quarter of them have ties to the Palmetto State. Not only that, of the five who played college soccer in the state, four are expected to get significant playing time during the month-long extravaganza.

Oguchi Onyewu and Stuart Holden represent Clemson; Clint Dempsey and Ricardo Clark carry the banner for Furman; and Brad Guzan is the former South Carolina Gamecock in the mix.

Onyewu played for Clemson during the 2000 and 2001 seasons and was named to the Soccer America MVP team in 2001 as well as most All-American teams.

Onyewu was also a Hermann Award Finalist in 2001 — collegiate soccer's highest honor.

As a Tiger Onyewu was named first-team All-ACC in 2000 and 2001. He scored the game-winning goal in the ACC Championship match against North Carolina in his final season at Riggs Field and also tallied the game-winner against UAB in the NCAA Tournament that year.

Holden played at Clemson in 2003 and 2004 and was a second team All-ACC selection in 2004.

Dempsey, a midfielder, is the most recognizable of the five, having played a major role in the United States' run in the Confederations Cup last summer and serving as one of the go-to players in the run-up to the World Cup.

Dempsey scored 17 goals and recorded 19 assists at Furman, playing as both a midfielder and forward. He was selected to the NSCAA Second Team All-America squad in 2002 and was an All-Southern Conference pick during his three seasons at the Greenville school. A two-time NSCAA All-South region selection, he was a main cog in the 2002 squad that finished 19-3-1 and reached the third round of the NCAA Tournament.

Barring injury, by the time the United States is done in South Africa he will have logged the most minutes of the group.

Dempsey has honed his skills playing for Fulham in the English Premier League.

"I think it helps me because it's one of the best leagues in the world, and for three years I've been consistently good," Dempsey said. "So I'm taking that confidence with me to the World Cup, and that's how it helps me. When you get to international play, it's different from club and all you can take with you is your confidence in your form and those are the positives that I'm going to take from that league and take into this game.

"But we're going to watch tapes, like we do for any opponent, to know what their strengths and weaknesses are and know what we have to do to get a result."

Onyewu is one of the United States' top defenders, but has been limited due to a devastating knee injury suffered during qualifying. Whether he is fit enough to go the distance in Saturday's match against England remains to be seen. Bradley said earlier in the week that Onyewu can go the distance if needed.

"I'm feeling better every day," Onyewu said. (The exhibition last Saturday against Australia) was my third game back since my injury, and I'm progressively feeling better. Since the (training camp) started there haven't been any issues."

Holden, who had a goal during the United States' Olympic effort in 2008 and has been increasingly more active for the Men's National Team, is expected to get plenty of quality minutes throughout the tournament.

"I remember watching the last World Cup on the couch in my first year as a professional with (the MLS Houston Dynamo) and thinking, 'What would it take to get me out there?'" the midfielder said. "At the time it seemed like a bit of a stretch to think I could be out there in four years time.

"But I've developed as a player and grown."

The most physical player of the group — nicknamed by some as "Redcardo" due to his propensity for rough play — Clark should also be a factor in South Africa. Just making the squad was a victory for the former Paladin, who has struggled with injuries while playing in Germany.

"I had some real problems with my calf," Clark, a midfielder, said. "I was out for maybe four weeks and when I came back I still struggled to get 100 percent. But I'm ready to go now."

A teammate of Dempsey's in 2002 as a collegian, Clark helped Furman set NCAA records for consecutive shutouts (11) and longest conference unbeaten streak (43 matches).

Guzan, a goalkeeper, will probably be a spectator for much of the World Cup. Tim Howard is the starter, and will remain so barring some unforeseen circumstance.

Still, Guzan is happy to be a part of the squad and vows to be ready if called upon.

"As a kid and a soccer player in America, you dream of representing your country at the highest level," Guzan said. "Now we have to know our roles on the team, whether that's as a starter or a sub, playing 90 minutes or two minutes."

[White Noise]

http://www.yanks-abroad.com/get.php?mode=content&id=6406

US PLAYERS ASSESS ENGLAND


David Smith - Friday, June 11, 2010

 
On the eve of perhaps their most anticipated game in recent history, head coach Bob Bradley and his players are clear on the challenges awaiting as they line up against a tough England squad on Saturday in Rustenburg.

While players and fans alike breathed a small sigh of relief when the US was drawn into what many pundits consider one of the more straightforward groups of the World Cup, the team was nevertheless given the tricky prospect of facing one of the favorites in an opening match which could very well set the tone for the remainder of the group stage.

Under head coach Fabio Capello, the Three Lions blew through qualification with an unbeaten record, and come to South Africa with a formidable stable of attacking talent which the Americans know will put their questionably-fit back line to the test.

"We're going to have to defend like bandits," starting keeper Tim Howard bluntly admits. "It's going to be all hands on deck but we seem to find a way to usually do that."

"We've got our work cut out for us, we know that," he continues, "but we also know that collectively we've shown that we can do the job over the course of 90 minutes."

The rabid media frenzy constantly surrounding the English national team does provide opponents a clear picture of all aspects, positive and negative surrounding the team. Shining a bright spotlight on the risks posed by their opponents is an invaluable tool of preparation for the team as they ready themselves, a fact which is even more clear to those who have had the opportunity to face those English players on a weekly basis in league play.

"It helps that you're familiar with them," Fulham standout Clint Dempsey evaluates of his three-plus seasons of experience in the English Premier League. "Whether you play with them or watch them on TV, you'll have an idea of what they can do."

Dempsey makes no mistake of their quality, but is also confident that toppling the world's eighth-ranked team is by no means out of reach.

"[We] know they're a good team - they're top ten in the world," he continues. "We know what their strengths and weakness are, and know what we got to do in order get a result."

"That's what we're going to try to do."

At the center of the English threat lies menacing duo of Wayne Rooney and Steve Gerrard, two players who have proven time and again their ability to confound defenses with their ability to fluidly shift their roles in the team's attack, jointly pulling the strings from the midfield while maintaining the ability to explode forward into the box as an instantaneous strike threat.

"It's very tough," Howard chimes in on dealing simultaneously with this aspect of Rooney and Gerrard. "They do that really well and I think in modern-day football, nobody plays a 4-4-2 anymore where the strikers go right up against your backs and the wingers stay wide."

"They find pockets, create holes and they are given the freedom to roam because they work so hard. What they do is pull you out of your slots, because they want to dictate the tempo, and they want to dictate the pressure."

"It's up to us as a back four and maybe a block of eight to dictate that, close that space down and put them on our terms."

As the Americans' last line of defense, the Everton hero knows that disrupting the flow of their opponents' attack will ultimately provide the best chances for their own admittedly limited chances going forward.

"If we get the opportunities in spurts and spells we're going to attack and show them we can do that."

The importance in the modern game of having players possessing such a flexibility between the midfield and a more advanced role is a necessity which head coach Bob Bradley also fully recognizes from his standpoint. While they lack the starpower of their English counterparts, Bradley pinpoints Dempsey and Landon Donovan as indispensable resources which fit this very role for the American team.

"Landon and Clint are both important attacking players for us," he appraises. "We are lucky they have the ability to play different roles."

"We've seen that with [Clint at] Fulham and we've seen that with Landon at the Galaxy and with Everton," Bradley goes on. "That's something that allows us to have some tactical flexibility and that we can use to our advantage."

Even though the Three Lions are now considered amongst the favorites in South Africa, as recently as two summers ago they were a team in disarray after having missed out on the 2008 European Championships.

With few wholesale changes in the fulcrum of the squad in the time since, their turnaround has been largely attributed to influence of head coach Fabio Capello. Having faced a number of teams led by coaches of similar pedigree in his time at the head of the US National team, the leverage given to an already-talented team by such a master of the game is abundantly clear to Bradley.

"What you expect is that the teams will be well prepared. Tactically they will be right. The mentality will be right."

"[Capello] certainly sets a good tone with his team in terms of how they need to play, and how they go about their business. "

As for the team's chances to repeat their feat of 60 years prior and deal a crippling blow to the English expectations over the course of 90 minutes in Rustenburg's Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Howard is under no false pretense of what awaits, but feels that he and his teammates are up to the task.

"It's going to take everything we've got and a boatload of luck as well, but hopefully it goes well for us."

Far more than just jockeying for position in Group C, Bradley well knows and is proud that his squad's performance bears special significance to all lovers of the game connected to the American team on every level, from player to rabid fan.

With this in mind, he has sought to instill a tenacious, never-say-die attitude in his players as they are set to embark on what they hope is a successful South African campaign.

"In football we understand that success is never guaranteed, every time you step on the field, you have to earn it all over again. "

"Every time we step on the field as a national team, we represent all the people who are involved in soccer in the U.S."

"The ability to perform and be successful at the highest level - we understand what that means to everyone."