Even though the United States was already going to advance to the quarterfinals of the Gold Cup, a win would be nice and help them face an easier team in the first round of the knock out stage. For a while it looked like nobody was going to score a goal. Both teams had some good chances but the goalies always saved it in the end. Then the US head coach brought on the former FC Dallas and new Stoke player, Brek Shea. The crazy announcers of the game went on and on about how Shea really had to prove that he deserved a spot on the USA squad and how his talent was really sucky. Firstly, how many former MLS players and USA national team players do you know can even make it to a premier league bench? And part of the season Shea was injured. So on the fast break when Donavon made the pass to Shea and Shea finished it off beautifully, I was very happy.
The quarterfinals of the tournament start today! Panama and Cuba play against each other! I think Panama will slightly edge out Cuba. The game will not be completely one sided or anything, but Panama seems the stronger side. After all, they did come in first in their group. Poor Trinidad and Tobago come against Mexico who are probably the second best team in the tournament. Although, Mexico finished second in their group during the group stage!
Tomorrows quarterfinals include the interesting match ups of the United States vs El Salvador and Honduras vs Costa Rica. I think the USA should cruise by El Salvador, but you never know with the United States team. They're not the most consistent team in the world. On my club team that I play on, a guy is from El Salvador and his talent level is very high. You never know, maybe one day you will see him on TV playing in the Gold Cup, haha. Honduras and Costa Rica is the best match up of the quarter finals to me. Costa Rica is probably favored, but I think Honduras might have a few tricks up their sleeve. So that will be the game to watch!
COME BACK AND READ MORE!! In a week or two the special edition "Best and Worst Jerseys Part 2" will be released. The last best and worst jerseys was my most popular blog of all time. Hopefully the people will like this one too.
Saturday, July 20, 2013
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
The new thing!
Cleats get more and more fancy these days. I mean, I have a pair of Puma Kings. Blue and gold color-way and Kangaroo leather. How can you not like that? Well now personalizing cleats is coming into style. Of course it will make your wallet lose weight, but there are certain advantages to buying a cleat that's got your style input.
Nike and Adidas are the only two companies out there that I know let you fully customized a pair of their top flight boots. Not just your name and number sown in, but the color pattern is yours too. So instead of just having to deal with the colors the companies throw out there, you can put your oranges, and greens in there any place you want.
Although this is fun and all, most customized cleats take 4 weeks till on your doorstep. Which really sucks if you want them right away. But if you can wait, then of course you are fine. Also, most Nike and Adidas cleats cost a ton of money anyway, so its going to cost more to customize them. Although, on most of Adidas's cleats, the personalizing fee is only $25 dollars. Which if you think about it, is not that high to get them exactly the way you want. I don't really know Nike's customizing price, but they're usually higher. Lastly, the customizing does not change the quality of the boot, it just changes how it looks. So if you are just in it for the quality of the boot, then don't customize. But if you want to look stylish and cool (which is not always a bad option, you'll stand out infront of the crowd), customizing is the way to go. Mi Adidas is the Adidas customizing center. NIKEiD is the customizing center for Nike. Nike does not have as good a selection as Adidas, and it sucks that Puma and other companies do not let you customize.
I think the idea of customizing cleats and any shoe is very cool. I think both companies will make tons of money of this idea. Nike probably already has with all their Air Max shoes and so on. Hopefully other companies will catch up with this idea. The kangaroo leather on my cleats are cracking and will probably only last about 20 more games (practices, and other events included). So a pair of customized boots may be on my doorstep during Christmas.
Nike and Adidas are the only two companies out there that I know let you fully customized a pair of their top flight boots. Not just your name and number sown in, but the color pattern is yours too. So instead of just having to deal with the colors the companies throw out there, you can put your oranges, and greens in there any place you want.
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| My friend Adam's customized Adidas Predators |
I think the idea of customizing cleats and any shoe is very cool. I think both companies will make tons of money of this idea. Nike probably already has with all their Air Max shoes and so on. Hopefully other companies will catch up with this idea. The kangaroo leather on my cleats are cracking and will probably only last about 20 more games (practices, and other events included). So a pair of customized boots may be on my doorstep during Christmas.
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Hull City goes shopping.......
Hull City was promoted to the Premier League last season and they're not wasting any time on improving their squad (maybe arsenal could learn from this). Hull city currently have their eyes on two strikers: Danny Graham and Nicklas Bendtner. Both these strikers did not have the best season. Graham had a pretty good deal going for him at Swansea, or at least I though so. Then for some crazy reason he moved to Sunderland, where he did not play at the level he is capable of. So, maybe a move to Kingston Upon Hull, will pay off for him. Bendtner on the other hand was loaned from Arsenal to Juventus last season where he got little to no playing time..... AT ALL. When he got there, the staff at Juventus even said he was fat and they had to put him on a diet. So cleary, Bendtner needs to get out of Italy fast. Going back to Arsenal does not seem like the right move. He was never a great player and I don't think the fans liked him too much. So a move to Hull City would probably work out. Bendter has played for the head coach of Hull City before, so he already knows what's up.
Cesc Fabregas made the mistake of going back to his home Barcelona in 2011. He should have stayed with the Gunners, oh well. But anyways, many premier league teams would like to have his talents. Manchester United placed a bid on the Spanish international, but the bid was REJECTED. Tito Vilanova, the head coach of the ticky-tackers, said that he talked to the former Arsenal captain, and that Cesc said he is happy in Catalonia and does not want to move. Why stay at Barca? I mean the playing time there is always in question, and to me, the Spanish league isn't really that hard. But we will see where this goes for the next few days. The price can always be right in buying football players.
Come back and read Best and Worst Jerseys part 2 in about a week or so. It was one of my most popular posts........EVER!!!!!!!!!!! And check back in the following days for more amazing blogs!
Cesc Fabregas made the mistake of going back to his home Barcelona in 2011. He should have stayed with the Gunners, oh well. But anyways, many premier league teams would like to have his talents. Manchester United placed a bid on the Spanish international, but the bid was REJECTED. Tito Vilanova, the head coach of the ticky-tackers, said that he talked to the former Arsenal captain, and that Cesc said he is happy in Catalonia and does not want to move. Why stay at Barca? I mean the playing time there is always in question, and to me, the Spanish league isn't really that hard. But we will see where this goes for the next few days. The price can always be right in buying football players.
Come back and read Best and Worst Jerseys part 2 in about a week or so. It was one of my most popular posts........EVER!!!!!!!!!!! And check back in the following days for more amazing blogs!
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
Great Stadiums Part 2
People seemed to like my other great stadium blog, so I have returned with a second edition. This summer in Europe, I got to visit a few cool stadiums. Including: Emirates Stadium (home of Arsenal), Wembley Stadium (home of the England National team), the Allianz Arena (home of FC Bayern Munich, and AC Siena's stadium! The Emirates and the Allianz were featured in my last great stadium blog so it was cool to see them in person!
Signal Iduna Park is the home of Borussia Dortmund. Dortmund have been pretty successful in the last few years, although last season they did not win a single trophy. The stadium is usually called Westfalenstadion, but because of the club partnering with a company, the name is changed for now. Signal Iduna is said to be one of the nicest stadiums in Germany and is known for its great atmosphere every game day. The official capacity of the stadium is around 80,700, but the numbers are never exact. It also boasts a standing area that lets 25,000 fans
stand and cheer on the black yellows. Signal Iduna Park has many cool features, including one of the first stadiums to have an under-pitch heating system. This makes sure the pitch is in perfect condition, even in the freezing German winter. The Westfalenstadion has been a part of two World Cups. When when it was fresh and new, in 1974 and the World Cup in 2006.
The biggest stadiums are not always the coolest or most interesting. Lyon's stadium, Stade de Gerland, is an example of that statement. It only holds 40,500 fans, but it has always been cool looking to me! It is one of the oldest stadiums ever featured on my blog and was built all the way back in 1926! Lyon was not even a team until created in 1950, so before their time, the stadium was used for multiple sports. The stadium takes a more rectangular shape then most stadiums and has a historical monument inside it. The arches, designed to look like they came from Roman theaters, became historical monuments in 1967. I thought that was pretty cool, because most stadiums can not put a historical monument on their resume. The stadium has been a host to a couple of important matches including games at the 1984 European Championships and several matches in the 1998 World Cup. Sadly, Lyon is building a new stadium that should be ready by the summer of 2014, so they will move out of the Stade de Gerland.
I hope you enjoyed this second edition of great stadiums. Come back to my blog often for more interesting topics.
Signal Iduna Park is the home of Borussia Dortmund. Dortmund have been pretty successful in the last few years, although last season they did not win a single trophy. The stadium is usually called Westfalenstadion, but because of the club partnering with a company, the name is changed for now. Signal Iduna is said to be one of the nicest stadiums in Germany and is known for its great atmosphere every game day. The official capacity of the stadium is around 80,700, but the numbers are never exact. It also boasts a standing area that lets 25,000 fansstand and cheer on the black yellows. Signal Iduna Park has many cool features, including one of the first stadiums to have an under-pitch heating system. This makes sure the pitch is in perfect condition, even in the freezing German winter. The Westfalenstadion has been a part of two World Cups. When when it was fresh and new, in 1974 and the World Cup in 2006.
The biggest stadiums are not always the coolest or most interesting. Lyon's stadium, Stade de Gerland, is an example of that statement. It only holds 40,500 fans, but it has always been cool looking to me! It is one of the oldest stadiums ever featured on my blog and was built all the way back in 1926! Lyon was not even a team until created in 1950, so before their time, the stadium was used for multiple sports. The stadium takes a more rectangular shape then most stadiums and has a historical monument inside it. The arches, designed to look like they came from Roman theaters, became historical monuments in 1967. I thought that was pretty cool, because most stadiums can not put a historical monument on their resume. The stadium has been a host to a couple of important matches including games at the 1984 European Championships and several matches in the 1998 World Cup. Sadly, Lyon is building a new stadium that should be ready by the summer of 2014, so they will move out of the Stade de Gerland.I hope you enjoyed this second edition of great stadiums. Come back to my blog often for more interesting topics.
Sunday, July 7, 2013
Good Ole Transfers
Well this is one of my first real time event blogs in a while, so bear with me. As it may get a little choppy.
Summer is here and has been for a month or two now, which means the summer transfer window has opened. Of course all the crazy rumors are going around and people start to wonder if anything can be true! Americans coming to the Premier League? Fuzzy Belgians moving teams? Wayne Rooney leaving or staying? Many, many more are floating around!
Jozy Altidore, a player who I do not really like, has been on great form for the United States National team lately and he is ready to make his move to England. Not the Championship, or League 1, but the Premier League!! Sunderland is the team interested and has apparently made the deal. As much as I don't like Altidore, I'm glad to see an American play with high quality players. I think its great for the National team! This will be his second go in the Premier League after playing with Hull City in the 2009/2010 season. It didn't go to well, but you have to remember Altidore is only 23. So he's young and has improved a lot. It will be interesting to see what he can do in his return to the Barclays Premier League.
Marouane Fellaini has been wanting to play with a higher quality side then Everton after having a pretty nice season at the Merseyside. Many teams have said they're interested in him and he brings a few qualities. He's tall and a good aerial threat, but he can also pass and win possession. Arsenal, who needs another big tall guy besides Giroud, have said they are interested. You can never tell with them, but as an Arsenal fan I hope they get him. One of the big problems with Fellaini is that he is not very consistent. When he does get on a good run of form, he might do something crazy like elbow a Stoke player. In the end I think he's worth it for many teams. I think he will leave Everton.
Wayne Rooney has been a big story. Nobody can ever tell what's going to happen to the English man. The latest news is that David Moyes, new Man U boss, is going to keep Rooney no matter what. Of course, any player is always for sale as long as the number is big enough. But will Rooney impact Man U? Do they really need him? He brings something Van Persie does not! He brings a passing game and plays defense. An overall hard worker. The counter to that is, he wants to be the star, and I do not see that happening. The problem for many teams are his wages. The amount of money needed to pay him is too high. So, unfortunately, I see him actually staying at Man U. Why would he go to Chelsea or Real Madrid if he wanted to be the star?
Don't forget to eat your frosted mini wheats every morning!
Summer is here and has been for a month or two now, which means the summer transfer window has opened. Of course all the crazy rumors are going around and people start to wonder if anything can be true! Americans coming to the Premier League? Fuzzy Belgians moving teams? Wayne Rooney leaving or staying? Many, many more are floating around!
Jozy Altidore, a player who I do not really like, has been on great form for the United States National team lately and he is ready to make his move to England. Not the Championship, or League 1, but the Premier League!! Sunderland is the team interested and has apparently made the deal. As much as I don't like Altidore, I'm glad to see an American play with high quality players. I think its great for the National team! This will be his second go in the Premier League after playing with Hull City in the 2009/2010 season. It didn't go to well, but you have to remember Altidore is only 23. So he's young and has improved a lot. It will be interesting to see what he can do in his return to the Barclays Premier League.
Marouane Fellaini has been wanting to play with a higher quality side then Everton after having a pretty nice season at the Merseyside. Many teams have said they're interested in him and he brings a few qualities. He's tall and a good aerial threat, but he can also pass and win possession. Arsenal, who needs another big tall guy besides Giroud, have said they are interested. You can never tell with them, but as an Arsenal fan I hope they get him. One of the big problems with Fellaini is that he is not very consistent. When he does get on a good run of form, he might do something crazy like elbow a Stoke player. In the end I think he's worth it for many teams. I think he will leave Everton.
Wayne Rooney has been a big story. Nobody can ever tell what's going to happen to the English man. The latest news is that David Moyes, new Man U boss, is going to keep Rooney no matter what. Of course, any player is always for sale as long as the number is big enough. But will Rooney impact Man U? Do they really need him? He brings something Van Persie does not! He brings a passing game and plays defense. An overall hard worker. The counter to that is, he wants to be the star, and I do not see that happening. The problem for many teams are his wages. The amount of money needed to pay him is too high. So, unfortunately, I see him actually staying at Man U. Why would he go to Chelsea or Real Madrid if he wanted to be the star?
Don't forget to eat your frosted mini wheats every morning!
Thursday, July 4, 2013
Wienerschniztel vs. Cheeseburger
So, while in Europe I went to tour the amazing Allianz Arena. The home of FC Bayern Munich, triple winners. 1860 Munich also plays there but has to rent the stadium from Bayern for about 10 Million Euros a season. Yeah, a lot of money just to play in a stadium, but hey, its awesome. Well the 1860 Munich 2nd team (not even the 1st team 1860 Munich) had a playoff game at the Allianz the night I went to tour. So we went and watched the match. It then gave me a wonderful idea: to compare the play of the 4th league German division to the MLS.
Firstly, you can tell the style of play is totally different. The MLS these days are really are about tall and strong guys. Of course there are the short quick players too, but aerial threats seem to be an important part of the MLS game. Meanwhile in the German 4th division, its more European style. The quick short passes, with the occasional thru-ball. Both are fun to compare to each other. And it was fun seeing a different style of play.
If FC Dallas played the 2nd 1860 Munich team I would think it would be a super close game. I really do not think the quality of the 4th division play was that high. I might actually edge out FC Dallas 3-1 or something like that. The thing that would be interesting to see in the match is how FC Dallas adapted to the passing. When I have been to a couple of their games, I can see that it's hard for them to get a great string of passes on the ground going. While 1860 Munich tied some pretty good strings of passes together. Then you could counter that with how would 1860 Munich deal with the physical part of the game and defending set pieces (although they did score off a set piece in the playoff match).
So when the crazy announcer during an MLS game says "wow I think most of the MLS players are as good or are better than the players in Germany", he might be talking about the German 4th division.
Come back next time and read. I think I've got some pretty good editions coming out.
Firstly, you can tell the style of play is totally different. The MLS these days are really are about tall and strong guys. Of course there are the short quick players too, but aerial threats seem to be an important part of the MLS game. Meanwhile in the German 4th division, its more European style. The quick short passes, with the occasional thru-ball. Both are fun to compare to each other. And it was fun seeing a different style of play.
If FC Dallas played the 2nd 1860 Munich team I would think it would be a super close game. I really do not think the quality of the 4th division play was that high. I might actually edge out FC Dallas 3-1 or something like that. The thing that would be interesting to see in the match is how FC Dallas adapted to the passing. When I have been to a couple of their games, I can see that it's hard for them to get a great string of passes on the ground going. While 1860 Munich tied some pretty good strings of passes together. Then you could counter that with how would 1860 Munich deal with the physical part of the game and defending set pieces (although they did score off a set piece in the playoff match).
So when the crazy announcer during an MLS game says "wow I think most of the MLS players are as good or are better than the players in Germany", he might be talking about the German 4th division.
Come back next time and read. I think I've got some pretty good editions coming out.
Monday, July 1, 2013
Belgian Waffles
It has been a long time since I stepped foot into Just Plain Football. I'm sure all my wonderful readers have missed me very, very much. Last summer I created this masterpiece and planned to keep writing it forever, with no breaks. Then school hit. Time was short and all the creativity I had was sucked out of me at school. Next, the beginning of this summer came into focus. But, I went to Europe on a great 3 week journey and toured many amazing places. Some of you probably read "Food and Football: a europe journey" Well now I'm back and ready to write expert blogs and give expert insight on the world of football. Hope you enjoy my long awaited return:
No, in Europe I did not visit Belgium. Although, a thought did come to me! Why is Belgium's National team not good? Shouldn't they be amazing? I mean look at their lineup, it boasts many Premier League Players including: Courtois, Mignolet, Vermaelen, Vertonghen, Kompany, Fellaini, Dembele, De Bruyne (now a free agent), Hazard, Mirallas, and Lukaku. Hazard did not even start in their World Cup Qualifier vs Serbia. The supporting players of these Premier League players are really good too, or on club level anyways. Maybe it's because they are just young or something like that. The experience could be lacking. The chemistry might not be there yet, but it will come. There are 3 reasons you should be afraid of the up and coming Belgium team: scorers/passers, good goalie's, and a good balance.
Eden Hazard joined Chelsea just his season. He impressed right away. Some players have trouble adjusting to the Premier League, not him. He was part of Chelsea's first "blank number of goals". I forgot how many but I remember it was an insane amount. So he either scored or assisted Chelsea's first few goals this season. Dembele and Mirallas are both good playmakers too. Especially the young Mirallas, he has ability to score and assist. The point of all these opinions/facts is..... everybody on the team has talent. Nobody seems to just be a Chamak and stand around and do nothing for 90 minutes.
Belgium have 2 fantastic goal keepers. I was surprised when I looked at the starting lineup of one of their World Cup Qualifiers and saw Courtois starting instead of Mignolet. I thought, who is this guy? Then I did some research and found out he is pretty boss too. Since I got to watch a lot of the Premier League games on TV, I saw what skills Mignolet had. It just sucks that Sunderland could not do anything to protect him, or even score on the other side of the field. I've seen potatoes more exciting then that team, oh well they stayed in the top flight though. Courtois has been on loan from Chelsea to Atheltico Madrid for 3 years now! He's earned some experience there and when Petr Cech finally retires, he will probably take his spot. Mignolet is looking for a bigger and better club, he might of found one already! So these 2 keepers are good for a National team. Let's face it, some National teams just have sucky goalies.
Lastly, the balance of short,tall,strong, and weak players look great on the Belgium side. You have strong and buff defenders like Kompany. Strong midfielders like Fellaini who had an excellent season this year. Then Lukaku up front, who had a great season on loan, is strong in the sense of physical strong too. Hazard and Mirallas are quick and have good control, while Vermalen, who did not have the best season at Arsenal, is a pretty quick and tall defender. This mix of players is good for any national team. England's youth system focuses a little too much on the buff part of the game these days. They might need to take a look at what Belgium is doing.
Well thanks for reading on my first day back in the Just Plain Football world. Don't forget to eat your waffles......
No, in Europe I did not visit Belgium. Although, a thought did come to me! Why is Belgium's National team not good? Shouldn't they be amazing? I mean look at their lineup, it boasts many Premier League Players including: Courtois, Mignolet, Vermaelen, Vertonghen, Kompany, Fellaini, Dembele, De Bruyne (now a free agent), Hazard, Mirallas, and Lukaku. Hazard did not even start in their World Cup Qualifier vs Serbia. The supporting players of these Premier League players are really good too, or on club level anyways. Maybe it's because they are just young or something like that. The experience could be lacking. The chemistry might not be there yet, but it will come. There are 3 reasons you should be afraid of the up and coming Belgium team: scorers/passers, good goalie's, and a good balance.
Eden Hazard joined Chelsea just his season. He impressed right away. Some players have trouble adjusting to the Premier League, not him. He was part of Chelsea's first "blank number of goals". I forgot how many but I remember it was an insane amount. So he either scored or assisted Chelsea's first few goals this season. Dembele and Mirallas are both good playmakers too. Especially the young Mirallas, he has ability to score and assist. The point of all these opinions/facts is..... everybody on the team has talent. Nobody seems to just be a Chamak and stand around and do nothing for 90 minutes.
Belgium have 2 fantastic goal keepers. I was surprised when I looked at the starting lineup of one of their World Cup Qualifiers and saw Courtois starting instead of Mignolet. I thought, who is this guy? Then I did some research and found out he is pretty boss too. Since I got to watch a lot of the Premier League games on TV, I saw what skills Mignolet had. It just sucks that Sunderland could not do anything to protect him, or even score on the other side of the field. I've seen potatoes more exciting then that team, oh well they stayed in the top flight though. Courtois has been on loan from Chelsea to Atheltico Madrid for 3 years now! He's earned some experience there and when Petr Cech finally retires, he will probably take his spot. Mignolet is looking for a bigger and better club, he might of found one already! So these 2 keepers are good for a National team. Let's face it, some National teams just have sucky goalies.
Lastly, the balance of short,tall,strong, and weak players look great on the Belgium side. You have strong and buff defenders like Kompany. Strong midfielders like Fellaini who had an excellent season this year. Then Lukaku up front, who had a great season on loan, is strong in the sense of physical strong too. Hazard and Mirallas are quick and have good control, while Vermalen, who did not have the best season at Arsenal, is a pretty quick and tall defender. This mix of players is good for any national team. England's youth system focuses a little too much on the buff part of the game these days. They might need to take a look at what Belgium is doing.
Well thanks for reading on my first day back in the Just Plain Football world. Don't forget to eat your waffles......
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