And the Ref Says 'Play On!'

Feli-pow!

2008-06-13T11:48:00.003-04:00

Apologies to David Villa's fantastic hat-trick, Zlatan Ibrahimovic's wundergoal, Greece's war of attrition approach to football, Portugal's qualification for the knockout stage, and Switzerland's agonizing defeat, but I have bigger fish to fry.

This is an international tournament but the biggest news so far has to do with club football. After telling the unlucky and uncharismatic (I think I made that word up) Avram Grant he would not return as Chelsea manager, there was a great deal of speculation as to who would take the Blues into the future. My personal choice was to see Frank Rijkaard take the helm, but it was not to be...and I'm not even mad because:

Wait for it.

Wait for it.

Luiz Felipe Scolari will be defending the Bridge!

Things are looking up for Chelsea with this man at the helm

An announcement was made late Wednesday while I was watching the Switzerland v Turkey match on ESPN. Euro 2008 will be "Big Phil's" last competition with the Portuguese national side.

I think this is a great appointment for Chelsea as Scolari led Brazil in 2002 to the World Cup championship. Any time you can put down that you are a World Cup champion on your CV, you are a pretty big deal. Also, he likes to play an attacking style, which I think suits Chelsea very well.

In addition to his tactical prowess, big Phil has a solid clientele list as the manager of two high-profile international sides with Portugal and Brazil. He currently manages 3 Chelsea players with Paulo Ferreira, Ricardo Carvalho, and new signing Bosingwa. There have been rumblings that Carvalho might link up with old Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho at Inter, but hopefully the appointment of Scolari can convince Carvalho to stay as he is an integral part of the backline at Stamford Bridge.

Barcelona and Portugal central attacking midfielder Deco has been linked by the media with Chelsea and perhaps now that Deco's national manager has gone to Chelsea, it looks increasingly likely that Deco might follow him to West London. I really like Deco and he has bags of talent, but I am worried about where he would fit in terms of chemistry. With Frank Lampard "deputising" the midfield alongside a reinvigorated Michael Ballack and flanked by Joe Cole and Florent Malouda, I don't know where Deco would stand in that midfield. That could all change if Lampard's proposed move to Inter materializes.

Reading Soccernet.com this morning word on the street is that Scolari would like to bring another protege to Chelsea...Kaka. If this happens it would be an absolute coup no matter the price. Kaka has shown at the club and national level what a world class talent he is and I would love to see him strut his stuff at Stamford Bridge.

Alright I gotta go catch the rest of the fixtures from the group of death, but I dont know if I will be able to report on the happenings though as I am packing up for a nice little vacation to the sandy beaches of Virginia Beach (that sounds redundant). I hope to have internet down there so I can keep up on all the latest transfer info...bring on Kaka!

Do or Die

2008-06-12T14:29:00.002-04:00

In the earlier match, the Croatians turned Euro 2008 (and the Germans) on its head with a 2-1 upset over the heavy favorites. The second game is between the first day losers Austria and Poland with the loser of this match booking an early trip home. A draw would keep both alive but they would have a lot to do. I'd like to see the Austrian squad at least score for their fans (and the lucky scorer will earn a lifetime of free beer!)

Group B- Game 4
Ernst Happel Stadion, Vienna

Poland comes out in all white while the Austrians come out in all red. Its hard to differentiate the fans in the stadium as everyone is donning red and white. Either way, the crowd seems ready to back their respective country in this match that is essentially an elimination game.

A graphic flashes across the screen that both Austria and Poland are looking for their first win and first goal ever in the Euro competition. Theres not a whole lot to differentiate the two sides and I think that Austria can use their home advantage to see this one out and live to fight another die.
NB: I am going to butcher the Polish names.

1 min- Poland kicks off and gets the game under way

4 min- The Austrians really look up for this game as the midfield is intense and looking to dictate the pace of play.

6 min- Ivanschitz fires a warning shot wide of the Polish goal. He will definitely give Artur Boruc something to worry about today.

11 min- Harnik misses a fantastic opportunity to open their account as he sneaks in to steal a Polish back pass and fails to beat Boruc one-on-one.

20 min- Krzynowek blasts a shot well wide of the Austrian net...first "shot" by Poland thus far.

22 min- Garics gets the ball on the right side of the Polish 18 but Boruc comes out and stops Garics from doing anything constructive

24 min- Austria are just laying siege to the Polish net, but you have to wonder if they are susceptible to a counter attack.

27 min- I get my first reminder that the Celtics will be looking to bounce back against the Lakers tonight. I think its funny to hear a bunch of British guys try to talk about basketball.

30 min- GOAL!! After withstanding heavy pressure, its the Poles who strike first. Saganowski has a shot deflected right into the path of Roger Guerreiro who just taps it home.

31 min- The Austrians must be absolutely deflated that they conceded a soft goal after dominating the first half hour.

35 min- Krzynowek is afforded acres of space and tests his luck again but sends the ball over.

38 min- Again Krzynowek has a go and this time its on target, but Macho has no trouble with it.

44 min- Austria free kick, Ivanschitz sends it in but cleared with ease

45 min- Hicklesperger's team awarded another free kick at the right edge, Ivanschitz takes it..foul against Austria

HALF TIME- Austrian must be bemoaning their luck to be down once again at the half. Poland will look to concentrate more defensively in the second half and ensure that the lead remains theirs at the full time whistle.

54 min- In the words of Peter Brackley, this really has turned into a ding-dong battle as both teams are gung-ho for goal.

59 min- Its beginning to turn into a role reversal as the Poles are looking to put the game beyond all doubt in a dominating fashion right now.

62 min- Roger Guerreiro has been extremely lively this half and his dribbling has been a joy to watch

64 min- Macho made two fantastic saves off of a Polish corner to give his team a fighting chance. Ivica Vastic, the oldest player in the tournament on for Ivanschitz and Kienast on for Linz.

66 min- Saganowski goes off in pain, gets the magic spray and returns....what is that stuff??

67 min- foul on Krzynowek gives him a chance to tee off and does he ever..he sends a blast at the net that Macho tips over the bar..corner short but nothing comes of it

71 min- Golanski crosses a ball into the box for Smolarek but he cant get anything on it.

74 min- Aufhauser off for Saeumel

76 min- Vastic sends a free kick into orbit...what a waste

81 min- Austria is really struggling to crack the Polish defense, no one wants to take control and equalize for Austria.

84 min- Harnik does well to win a corner, but Proedl can put it on target

85 min- Guerreiro comes off for murawski

90 min- Poland just need to hold onto possession to see this one through. 3 minutes added on.

92 min- PENALTY!! Legawandowski called for pulling down Proedl

93 min- Vastic steps up...GOAL!!!! Vastic, the elder statesman sends the whole nation into raptures! Not only that but he's earned himself free beer for the rest of his life!

94 min- Krzynowek blazes a late corner over the bar

Full Time Austria 1-1 Poland

Austria pulls out a last gasp equalizer to thrill the home fans...There was a question offside on the first goal so perhaps this was a moment of poetic justice for the hardworking Austrians. Poland probably feel hard done by, but at the end of the day, it was probably a fair finish. Austria must realize that they must take advantage of any chance given to them or be on the wrong side of a result. Croatia will top Group B while Poland, Germany and even the Austrians will fight for the second berth into the knockout stage on Monday. Fantastic stuff.

Table

Croatia 6 pts +2
Germany 3 pts +1
Austria 1 pt -1
Poland 1 pt -2

Flash Forward

2008-06-12T11:49:00.002-04:00

Alright, so today I am going to try "live blogging", where I will be typing my observations on the games as they happen rather than talking about games that happened 3 days ago.

Group B- Game 3

Winners from the first round of matchups, Germany and Croatia will square off in Klagenfurt with a winner qualifying for the knockout stage.

Woerthersee Stadium, Klagenfurt

Germany and Croatia both come out in the same kits that they wore in the previous match. I expect the Croatian cycling team to have a mountainous time trying to overcome the Germans today.

I've noticed that "Seven Nation Army" by the White Stripes has become an unofficial football anthem, much like "Ring of Fire" by Johnny Cash. When did this happen? And who started it?

During the national anthems its pretty easy to distinguish the Croatian fans from the German ones as the Croats are donned in red and white checkered clothing, seems like an even split.

Germany come out with the same squad that started against Poland, and the only change for Croatia is Rakitic on for Petric.

Here we go:

3 min- Germany has enjoyed the possession majority, but neither team looks comfortable yet.

6 min- Srna takes a knock on the thigh courtesy of Metzelder and stays down for a considerable time...the Croatian medics apply copious amounts of the magical spray and Srna hops back up.

8 min- rakitic swings a cross in from the left but its headed out by the German defense, thats the closest the Croats have come to scoring thus far.

9 min- jansen does the same exact thing for Germany, but they win a corner...cleared away by the team in blue

12 min- srna free kick right of box, cleared out for a Croat throw in deep...cleared out for german counter, Klose couldnt control a pass from Lahm.

16 min- the Croats have some noisy fans as they've provided a nice backdrop for announcers Derek Rae and Tommy Smyth.

17 min- Croatian corner is glanced across the goal but no one is there to put it home.

20 min- this game is getting a bit chippy as the Germans are exerting their physical advantages, but the Croats are starting to push back

22 min- Mario Gomez caught offside..he really looks out of sorts today.

24 min- GOAL!!! Croatia's Dario Srna latches a boot onto a Modric cross in front of Jansen to hit the back of the net..Slaven Bilic celebrates with an air guitar solo.. beautiful build up for the Croats as they had at least 10 passes before the goal.

25 min- how will the Germans respond?

26 min- Jansen tries to make up for his lapse and swings a ball in for Gomez, who heads the ball over the bar another Gomez chance gone begging.

27 min- Srna given a yellow card for chopping down Podolski on the left side of the box. Frings on the ball...hits the wall and out for a deep throw.

28 min- Frings sends a cross in, snapped up by Pleitikosa.

30 min- Krancjar blows a perfect chance to put Croatia up 2-0, but he blazes the ball over the bar after it sits up nicely for him in the box.

33 min- ballack fires a deep free kick but Pleitikosa tips it wide..some energy from the Germans now, as they have a few half-chances in the box.

35 min- Slaven Billic is shown dropping a good luck charm and he kisses it like 23 times when he picks it up....weird.

40 min- Frings takes a corner for Germany and Metzelder couldnt keep it down. The Germans are knocking..

42 min- Lehmann makes a fantastic save after Corluka runs down the right, the ball ends up with Krancjar but Lehmann proves his equal.

43 min- Croatia wins the corner off the save, Srna hits the side netting trying to beat Lehmann near post

45 min- Gomez caught offside for like 5th time this half. if he ever manages to get it right, he will put one in the back of the net for sure.

45 min- Simunic given a yellow for time wasting

HALF TIME- The Srna goal is the only thing that separates these two sides. One of the Germans needs to step up and exude the class that everyone has been talking about. Klose and Podolski have been ghosts. Croatia doesnt look like they are going to let up, I expect a goal or two after the half, from which team remains to be seen.

46 min- Odonkor comes on for Jansen. A smart move by German manager lowe. He needs a more attacking approach on the right, and Jansen was getting worked by the Croatia attack

49 min- Ballack sails a rebound punched to him by Pleitikosa well over the bar.

52 min- Croatia seem happy to wait for a counter attack as Germany has enjoyed the possession in the early goings of this half. Modric rifles a shot from way out, Lehmann has a bit of trouble with it, but manages to hold on.

56 min- I must say that watching football in HD is amazing, you can see every blade of grass and every seam on the ball with clarity. Its gorgeous.

58 min- Croatia are playing well at the back but they are definitely inviting Germany to make something happen.

60 min- Srna takes another knock to the thigh he hurt earlier...I imagine more magical spray is not far behind.

62 min- GOAL!!!! A speculative cross from Srna takes a deflection and catches Lehmann off guard. It bounces off the post to poacher Ivica Olic to put in the net. A shock scoreline 2-0 Croatia.

64 min- Croatia is looking to put this game beyond doubt, Olic wins a corner, Srna takes it but Lehmann is able to punch it wide.

65 min- A logical substitution, a poor Mario Gomez comes off for Bastian Schweinsteiger. Tommy Smyth says that Podolski will go up top with Klose and Schweinsteiger will replace him on the left wing.

68 min- Krancjar wins a free kick right outside the German 18. Srna lines it up, hits the wall.

69 min- Klose takes a weak effort that hits a Croat defender...pretty much sums up the German attack thus far.

70 min- Olic wins a corner, Srna takes it, punched out by Lehmann for another corner

71 min- Srna takes the second corner and it sneaks across the box untouched.

72 min- Goal scorer Olic is coming off for Petric

73 min- Schweinsteiger shoots across the face of goal and it goes wide for a corner. He takes the corner, out for another...cleared

75 min- booking for the German captain Ballack

76 min- Krancjar takes a good shot but Lehmann handles it

77 min- a ball into the box for Klose is cut out behind for a corner

79 min- GOAL!! Podolski puts in his third of the tournament as the Croatia defense failed to seriously avert the danger and Podolski's left footed volley made them pay

81 min- Srna off for Leko

82 min- Fritz off for Kevin Kuranyi... Lehmann has to make a save again after a rasping shot from Krancjar

85 min- Kranjcar off for Knezevic...a defensive substitution

86 min- Germany has thrown everyone forward in desperation, Croatia is threatening another goal through counter attacking.

90 min- 3 minutes of added time

91 min- Lahm almost puts the ball in his own net after a low Modric cross...corner, Croatia just looking for time killing.

92 min- RED CARD!! Schweinsteiger gets caught retaliating against Leko and is sent off. Lehmann and Leko given yellows

93 min- Modric booked for challenge on Frings

FULL TIME

Croatia celebrates a fantastic win over the Germans and they proved that they certainly are no pushovers in this tournament. A win for Austria or a draw between Austria and Poland sees Croatia through as the top team in Group B. A surprise result for sure and Germany will have it all to do against Austria in their last match and will be without hot-headed Schweinsteiger.

Grupo de Muerte!

2008-06-11T23:27:00.002-04:00

Sunday was the much anticipated debut of the group of death and I couldnt have been happier...or so I thought. The France-Romania match turned out to be an absolute yawner and ended nil-nil. Leading up to the Oranje-Azzurri matchup, there had been a total of 6 clean sheets. Not exactly a good way to capture the attention of the neutral observer. Thankfully, the Dutch seized the limelight and put on a captivating display that wowed many (except the finicky Italians).

Group C- Game 1
Letzigrund, Zurich

France- All Blue
Romania- All Yellow

France really showed their age in this match as they failed to live up to the hype as a pre-tournament favorite. Without Thierry Henry, who sat out due to a sciatic nerve issue, it was up to Nicolas Anelka (Boooo!) and Karim Benzema to lead the attack with the help of Franck Ribery, the footballing Quasimodo. On paper that seems like a formidable threat, but this three-pronged "attack" couldnt have put the ball in the Atlantic Ocean, even if they wanted to. Anelka showed no real intentions of scoring and Ribery disappeared for long periods of the match. The young Benzema, who was clearly looking to impress a worldwide crowd blew the best scoring chance of the match as he cooly passed a nicely squared ball right to the keeper.

Romania matched France's anemia in almost every department. They seemed satisfied with ending their first group of death match with a draw and played accordingly. To be honest, I stopped taking notes on this match before the end of the first half as I found myself dozing off here and there. This game was certainly nothing to write home about, so I am going to stop pretending like this game interested me.

Fulltime France 0-0 Romania

Group C - Game 2
Stade de Suisse Wankdorf, Bern

Netherlands- Orange Shirts with white shorts
Italy- All Blue

Any fears or concerns that Euro 2008 would be a nadir of lackluster football were quickly put to rest in a thrilling match between the Oranje and the Azzurri in Bern. This game was extremely fast paced and very much a free-flowing affair, which suited the Dutch "total football".

The Dutch were given a favorable call thanks to a technicality as garbage man Ruud van Nistelrpoy was able to poke home a Wesley Sneijder cross in the 26th minute. Replays showed that Ruud was clearly offside, yet in the play that led up to the goal, Italian defender Panucci was knocked off the pitch by his keeper Buffon. Panucci remained off the field when van Nistelrooy tapped in the goal. According to the rule book any player who is not given permission to leave the field is deemed a part of the pitch, so technically the offside line was where Panucci was lying, so the goal stood. Both the Dutch and Italians shared an equal amount of disbelief when the goal was allowed to stand, but I dont think the Dutch were as upset as the Azzurri.

Five minutes later the Dutch were able to produce one of the greatest counter attacking(ie total football) goals I have ever seen. The Italians were awarded a corner kick that was flicked on and looked to curl inside the back post were it not for the omnipresent Giovanni van Bronckhorst, who dutifully stuck to the back post and cleared the ball off the line. For most defenders, their job would have been done, but van Bronckhorst took the road less traveled and sprinted up the left side of the field and received the ball. He then reached the left edge of the box and sent a cross to Dirk Kuyt on the far right side of the box. Kuyt headed the ball right to the feet of Sneijder, who beautifully took the ball and fired home at the near post in a space between Buffon and the post that was just as wide as the ball. It was a stunning piece of football that will surely go down as one of the best goals of the tournament.

Italy was reeling at this point and it was obvious. The Dutch are not exactly known for resolute defending and the Italians were looking to take advantage of that and get back in the match. Luca Toni and Andrea Pirlo both had a bevy of chances that went begging. Italian manager Roberto Donadoni went to his bench to find some additional firepower. Talisman Alessandro del Piero entered the match and made a positive impact, but like his teammates, he also couldnt unlock the Dutch defense. Donadoni's final substitution was made to bring Real Madrid striker Antonio Cassano on in an all-out effort to steal at least a point.

Any chance of getting something out of the match was put to rest in the 80th by none other than van Bronckhorst. Andrea Pirlo took a free kick that was fantastically met by a diving Edwin Van Der Sar. The ball was quickly pushed upfield to sub Robin van Persie, who boldly attacked the scrambling Italian defense. He fed the ball to Kuyt on his right, who tried to chip Buffon. The keeper was able to get a hand to it, but pawed the ball back to Kuyt, he found the diminutive van Bronckhorst--who had no business being up there--in the penalty area in which the left back headed home and put the game on ice. It was a fabulous result for the high-flying Dutch and it has certainly raised questions about the Italians.

Fulltime Netherlands 3-0 Italy

Table

Netherlands 3 pts +3
France 1 pt 0
Romania 1 pt 0
Italy 0 pts -3

Ref's Take:

I cant believe that the group of death produced the atrocity that was the France-Romania match, but thankfully the Dutch brought the tournament to life with their breathtaking display of attacking football (if you cant tell, I am a little biased here). I think the age and miles on the collective legs of the French and Italian squads are really starting to show as neither team looked like the sides that met in the World Cup finals just two years ago.

I wouldnt count the Italians out of it just yet, but I think that the French are dead in the water at this point. The Italians showed that they are built to sit on leads and suffocate the opposition, rather than play from behind. There still is no easy game in this group but I think the Dutch have turned a lot of heads by giving the Azzurri their worst loss ever in the Euros and will be a force to be reckoned with.

More of the Same

2008-06-11T17:25:00.003-04:00

Day 2 saw more of the same as the other co-host was undeservingly on the wrong side of a result and another favorite showed their superiority.

Group B- Game 1
Ernst Happel Stadion, Vienna

Austria- Red shirts with white shorts
Croatia- All blue

Croatia, who were dressed more appropriately for the Tour de France rather than Euro 2008, claimed a fortuitous win in their opening match. The Austrians were looking to avoid the same unfortunate circumstances that surrounded the loss of their co-hosts, but an early penalty consigned them to a similar fate. Croatian striker Ivica Olic was brought down in the box after a clumsy challenge from Rene Aufhauser. New Tottenham youngster Luka Modric stepped up and cooly slotted the ball down the middle to bulge Tommy Smyth's "Auld Onion Bag" in just the fourth minute.

Olic was at the forefront again as he was a toe poke away from removing all doubt on the game in the 14th minute. Croatia completely dominated the first 30 minutes of the game, holding at least 61% of the possession but still only had that one penalty to show for. Mladen Petric had his chance for doubling the lead as a cross from Vedran Corluka found him free behind the Austrian defense only for Petric to squander an easy chance by sending an audacious volley over the bar.

The last quarter of an hour in the first half seemed as though Austria finally understood that they were supposed to put the ball in the other team's net. Croatia found itself on the back foot desperately waiting for the halftime whistle to blow. Austria kept the pressure on with Standfest blazing a header over the bar just before the half.

Austria looked to build on the foundation laid at the end of the first half and you could tell their confidence grew with each minute passed. Harnik continually terrorized the right side of the pitch for Austria as he found his way to the box or thereabouts with some regularity.

Time began working against the Austrians as they scrambled to desperately level the game. Croatia's much vaunted creative midfield finally appeared in a timely fashion as they were able to control the last 5-7 minutes of the game. Austria were given a last-gasp chance at the death but sub Kienast headed a free kick just wide of the post and Croatia held on.

Fulltime Austria 0-1 Croatia

Group B- Game 2
Hypo-Arena, Klagenfurt

Germany- White shirts with black shorts
Poland- Red shirts with white shorts

This game has a real buzz about it as the Poles are looking for their first victory over their hated German rivals. Poland would love nothing more than to put a dent in the Euro hopes of the prohibitive favorites. What the Polish learned however, was that wishful thinking could only get you so far.

Germany started the game with the intent to erase any questions about them being the team to beat in the tournament but it was Krzynowak of Poland who had the first real chance of the game after Lehmann showed his copyrighted butter fingers. Moments later it was the Germans who squandered a golden opportunity to open their Euro 2008 account as Klose beat the offside trap and the keeper but his squared ball to Gomez was sent wide by the lunging youngster.

The Polish defense were inviting the Germans to sneak behind as they were playing an extremely high back four. It was only a matter of time before Klose was wreaking havoc once again as he slipped through the seams and played a square ball for the much-maligned Lukas Podolski to produce a simple tap in. The Bayern Munich striker produced a woeful season for his club and surprised many when Joachim Lowe included him in squad but he backed his manager's selection with a crucial first goal.

Poland were not too discouraged as they carved out a few solid chances themselves, with the best coming from midfielder Zurawski scuffing a cross just wide of the post. The Germans went into the half feeling comfortable with their lead but were probably wishing that they were up by a second goal.

The second 45 minutes produced more of the same as the Germans dictated the play while the Poles were scrambling to ensure they didnt fall further behind. Two-thirds of the way into the game, Poland had outshot the Germans 12-6 but the scoreline remained the same. Poland sub Roger Guerreiro provided a spark for the attack but was unable to help the ball find the back of the net.

Sometimes football can be a cruel game and the Poles found that out in heartbreaking fashion as Polish-born Podolski was in the right place at the right time to volley home a Klose misfire into the net and earn himself a remarkable brace. Germany looked like they could have added another with inspired sub Bastian Schweinsteiger constantly proving to be a thorn in the collective side of the Polish defense. The red and white had no response for the wonderful Podolski and left the Hypo-Arena still without a win against their hated rivals.

Fulltime Germany 2-0 Poland

Table
Germany 3 pts. +2
Croatia 3 pts. +1
Austria 0 pts. -1
Poland 0 pts. -2

Refs Take:

I think the first thing worth pointing out is how much livelier the fans were in Vienna and Klagenfurt. The Austrian fans were really behind their 11 and made the Swiss fans look like they were at a golf match yesterday. The Croatian contingent played their part too and I was really surprised to see how well they travel. Not to be outdone, the Germany-Poland match had an electric feeling as there was a palpable animosity in the air.

As far as the football went, it was almost deja vu as a co-host was unlucky to lose and a favorite showed why people werent betting against them. The Germans did almost everything right and will look to take this good form into their next match with Austria. From a tactical standpoint, I think Schweinsteiger did enough to merit a starting role in the next match, perhaps instead of Mario Gomez, who seemed to struggle at times.

And We're Off..

2008-06-11T14:16:00.003-04:00

The tournament officially kicked off in Basel at St. Jakob Park with an interesting ceremony that featured cows and alpine skiers amongst a field of cloth cubes. I really dont know who was the mastermind behind this thrilling event, but it was probably the strangest thing I've seen on TV this side of Japan, it was just bizarre. Thankfully the opening match was not far behind.

Group A- Game 1
St. Jakob Park, Basel

Switzerland- Red shirts with white shorts
Czech Republic- White shirts with blue shorts

If the Swiss started this tournament with a strong feeling of hope that they could progress to the next stage, they left St. Jakob Park on Saturday with a great deal of frustration. Their star striker and captain, Alexander Frei left the pitch in tears as his Euro 2008 came to an abrupt end with a knee injury in the first half.

Things never really improved for the Swiss as the Czech sub Vaclav Sverkos scored with the Czech's ONLY SHOT ON GOAL in the 70th minute. Replays showed that Sverkos miss-hit a volley when the ball was lobbed overhead to him in the box but he had enough on it to guide it into the net. The Swiss really turned up the tempo as they pushed for an equalizer. It was not the Czech defense or the rather ordinary looking Petr Cech that kept the Swiss from equalizing, but the woodwork (on a few occasions).

With the final whistle, the Swiss must feel extremely unlucky to walk away from this game with nothing to show for. They played some enterprising football at times and were able to create some efficient attacks. On the other hand the Czech must surely be unhappy with this result due to the lack of scoring chances but realize that 3 points are 3 points. It is painfully obvious that the Czech are missing the influential talents of Tomas Rosicky and Pavel Nedved in the midfield and will have to find a way to replace them if they want to make a sustained appearance in this tournament.

Fulltime: Switzerland 0-1 Czech Republic

Group A-Game 2
Stade de Geneve, Geneva

Portugal- All red
Turkey- White shirts with blue shorts

The mindset of both of these teams going into the second match of tournament could be summed up in one word: reaffirmation. The Portuguese were looking to reaffirm their status as a pre-tournament favorite while the Turks were looking to reaffirm their status as an elite footballing nation as they failed to qualify for World Cup 2006. From an individual standpoint, I am sure that Cristiano Ronaldo wants to prove that he is best player in the world as he can enjoy the limelight every time he steps on the pitch.

The Portuguese came out firing as Brazilian-born center back Pepe had an early goal rightly disallowed for offside. Ronaldo looked pretty lively as one of his trademark weaves through defenders but ended the run by putting the ball well wide of the net. He wasn't done as the best chance of the half came from his boot. With a handball called about ten yards outside of the box Ronaldo stepped up and blasted a shot for the right post in which the Turkish keeper Volkan could only get a fingertip to it; but that was enough as the ball deflected off the inside of the post and bounced out.

Turkey were lucky to start the second half on level terms but the Portuguese seemed intent on changing that as quick as possible. Nuno Gomes was the next Portugal player to coat the ball with woodwork paint. Nuno Gomes latched onto a ball that was free in the box after Moutinho was fouled at the edge of the box. The ref allowed for Gomes to play on, but the shot struck the bottom of the post.

After knocking on Turkey's doorstep for most of the match, Pepe, who plies his trade with Spanish champs Real Madrid, stormed down the middle of the pitch and played a lovely one-two with Nuno Gomes into the box and pushed the ball up over the sliding Volkan thanks to a desperation tackle from a Turkish defender.

Portugal never look satisfied with a one goal lead and Nuno Gomes showed their desire for a second with another encounter with the woodwork. The Turks created a few decent opportunities but never truly showed the quality in front of goal needed to equalize. Sub Raul Meireles sealed the deal in stoppage time after a superb flowing move by the Portuguese attack.

Fulltime: Portugal 2-0 Turkey

Table

Portugal 3 pts +2
Czech Rep 3 pts +1
Switzerland 0 pts -1
Turkey 0 pts -2

Ref's Take:

I thought the Swiss were extremely unlucky as they at least deserved to share the spoils with a lackluster Czech side. Petr Cech looked shaky at times and I hope that it was only a result of the devious ball that Jens Lehmann has cried foul over. Portugal showed their prowess and got their campaign off on a start they can surely be happy with. Not a lot went wrong for the Portuguese and they will look to go from strength to strength. It was nice to see new Chelsea signing Bosingwa have a positive impact on the game and I hope that translates into good things at the Bridge.

Lastly, the Ref has a huge problem with international squads that wear kits that do not reflect their nations colors. Japan and the Italians come to mind as the main culprits of this crime. Turkey seems to have joined this non-sequitur uniformed axis of evil by donning white and sky blue kits when they should be white and red. I am really upset about this; as an act of retaliation, I will root for any team playing against the Turkish side. You hear me Fatih Terim??

Like a Drug I Cant Quit

2008-06-09T17:18:00.003-04:00

Hello, its good to see everyone again.

With about three weeks of recuperation from Chelsea's devastating relinquishment of two major trophies to the European NY Yankees (read: Manchester United), John Terry's miss only haunts my dreams three times a week. I feel as though I am making great strides as the "Slip Heard 'Round the World" left me in a permanent catatonic state for about two weeks; but I will never fully recover.

I avoided all football coverage for about a week, no Fox Soccer Channel, no ESPN Soccernet, no Footytube (my new favorite highlights website) and certainly no Chelsea.com. So I missed the FA Cup final and then I realized that the season was over. No more live football matches until August. This brought an epiphany; I need to stop feeling sorry for myself and my team. There are plenty of Chelsea fans who have spent their entire lives hoping for European glory, endured through the misery of the 70s and 80s while I have been a "Johnny-come-lately" in the grand scheme of things. In the process of moping I missed out on some decent finals, namely the FA Cup Final and the Italian Cup Final. Now that I graduated from UMass and living at home is sucking the little youth I have left right out of me, the onset of Euro 2008 has fanned the dormant embers of the football flame that consumes my heart. And I dont think it could have come at a better time.

For those who arent familiar with UEFA Euro 2008, I will give you the low-down.

History:

Its a quadrennial tournament that alternates every two years with the World Cup and features 16 teams from the European continent. Outside of the World Cup, its probably the most important international competition. The first tournament was first held in France in 1960 with the USSR being the first team to lift the Henri Delaunay Trophy. The Germans (West Germany and Germany) are the most successful team in the tournament having won it on three occasions with their last title coming at Wembley in 1996. The French are the only team who have won the World Cup (98) and Euro (2000) consecutively and the Greeks surprised everyone in Portugal at Euro 2004 and therefore enter 2008 as the defending champs.

Venues:

Euro 2008 is being co-hosted by Austria and Switzerland and the venues are divided accordingly. In the Austrian nation, the cities of Vienna, Salzburg, Innsbruck, and Klagenfurt will provide action for groups B and D. While in Switzerland, Geneva, Bern, Basel, and Zurich will host groups A and C. The largest stadium is the Ernst Happel Stadion in Vienna. As such, it will host the final in front of 53,295 supporters. The smallest venue is the Letzigrund in Zurich with a capacity of 30,000.

Competition format:

There are four groups consisting of four teams. Each team plays the other three teams in their group once and the teams with the top two point totals in the group qualify for the quarterfinals. A team earns three points for a win, one point for a draw and zero points for a loss. In the event that two teams have an equal amount of points at the end of the three group games, the tiebreaker is then goal difference (goals scored-goals conceded= goal difference). The winner of group A plays the runner up from B, the Winner of B plays the runner up from A in the quarterfinals. The same matchups are used in groups C and D. Once in the quarterfinals, its a one-and-done knockout stage until only two teams are left for the June 29th final in Vienna.

The Teams:

Group A
Czech Republic
Portugal
Switzerland
Turkey

Group B
Austria
Croatia
Germany
Poland

Group C
France
Italy
Netherlands
Romania

This has been labeled by media as the GROUP OF DEATH as France, Italy, and the Netherlands all rank in the top ten in FIFA's world rankings. Romania isnt there to just make up the numbers as they topped a qualifying group that included the Dutch and rank 12th in the world rankings. This should be the best group to watch by far.

Group D
Greece
Russia
Spain
Sweden

The Favorites:

Germany have been made the favorites by bookmakers and pundits alike. They have a relatively easy path to the finals as potentially Portugal in the knockout stage would be the sternest test. France and defending World Cup champions Italy have many backing them for Euro glory as well.

The Darkhorses:

Spain has arguably the most talented team on paper but they have an unhealthy history of underachievement. They show promise at every major tournament and Euro 2008 is no exception. The Dutch always provide an entertaining brand of football but will have to show a lot of verve to escape the Group of Death. Lastly, Croatia has a few people buzzing as they have the talent and tactical acumen to make a deep run.

"We're Just Happy to Be Here"

This is Austria's first qualification for the tournament and it's by virtue of being a co-host for the event; they rank 92nd in the world. Many Austrians are fearful for what they feel might be a public embarrassment of their team during this tournament for spectators worldwide to see. Poland is also making their first appearance at the Euros. Although they do have two World Cup appearances, this tournament will not flatter their lack of star power.

The Ref's take:
(Ref's Note: I have watched the first round of matches from groups A, B, and C already so my predictions are a little biased at this point)

With the English unceremoniously failing to qualify, I am forced to reveal that my second favorite non-American team is Holland. They provide an unabashed knack for shooting first and asking questions later. I think the Oranje and the French will negotiate their ways out of the tricky group of death. In group D, Spain will emerge with some confidence and Russia will surprise some people with a booking to the knockout round. On the other half of the bracket, Germany will cruise in Group B and Croatia will follow in their wake. My other upset special will see the Swiss ride the wave of home support and manage to join Portugal out of Group A.

The Ernst Happel Stadion will play host to Spain and Germany in the Finals and I am going out on a limb and saying that Fernando Torres and his twinkling toes will lead Spain to their first major trophy since winning Euro 1964.

---

Since I have absolutely nothing better to do at the moment, I am going to be watching as many games as possible and writing match reports if anyone is interested. I know that every media outlet in the world is covering this tournament--even ESPN is offering live coverage of every match--but I am just going to write for the hell of it as it promises to be a fun tournament.

Boo-Yah Achieved

2007-12-24T22:57:00.000-04:00

Well its been almost four long months since I left the tropical island in the North Atlantic known as England and not a day has gone by where I haven't missed it. I spend more often than not thinking about how much I would rather be working 40 hours a week than taking a measly 10+ hours worth of classes at UMass. I know that its been a loooong time since I last posted, but its only now after having time to reflect that I can appreciate what I had the chance to experience.

First and foremost, one of the major plusses of my trip was the fact that I gave my family an excuse to leave the country and come visit me. I was so excited to see them and give them the chance to taste the Brit life. Despite their nightmarish delays on the plane ride over (at least they brought decent weather), I enjoyed watching how bright-eyed and bushy-tailed they were when I met them for the train ride from Fenchurch Street to Southend Central. My family reacted the same way I did, taking in everything (and not being able to decide on whether to look out the window on the right on the one on the left). I was eager to show my family the sights and sounds of Southend, but soon it donned on me that I was still needed at work.

The only portion of work that ever seemed to drag was the week that my family was in Southend. Its funny to think that in the week they spent in England, they probably saw more of London than I did during the whole summer. I went to England with the intentions of assimilating into the culture as much as possible and not trying to look like a tourist. Yet, with my family my cover clearly was blown so I went with them to the tourist hot spots around London. We visited Big Ben and the House of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, and Buckingham Palace. These were all sights that I had wanted to see, but I never really took the time out to see them. It was great to see my brother and sister immersed in a completely different culture, as it was nothing I was able to do when I was their age. But as excited I was to see them enjoy the sights and sounds, my one goal was for them to finally understand my passion for football firsthand.

As I had said in one of my first posts, my goal was to visit Stamford Bridge, home of my beloved Chelsea. Yet, as the schedules came out, every Chelsea home game coincided with a Southend United home game during my stay. It was a crushing blow. I was truly disheartened. However the Football Gods were kind enough to to smile upon me. I was perusing the Chelsea website and it was brought to my attention that the home opener against Birmingham City had been chosen for television coverage and thus moved from 3 PM Saturday to 1 PM Sunday. When my brain finally put two and two together (that I might actually be able to attend the game) my index finger went into overdrive and set an international record for clicking a mouse button. I found that tickets were still available for the game. The Football Gods smiled upon me once more as I was astonished when I purchased five tickets (all next to each other!) for the game. It was like the Gods gave me 5 golden tickets to visit my personal Mount Olympus where I could watch the football greats like Terry, Cech, Essien, Drogba, and Lampard. I was speechless...until I paraded around the office in triumph.

Heres what gold would look like if it was actually paper.

With tickets for Chelsea's home opener against Birmingham City firmly in my grasp, it was time to focus on Southend's home opener against local rivals in Leyton Orient. I was thrilled to finally see a meaningful match at Roots Hall. There was a real buzz about the area, something I hadn't seen on my morning commutes. My brother lent a helping hand as there was a shortage of "Programme" sellers. He managed to finagle a free Southend home jersey out of the deal, so I guess it was a win-win situation. There were issues with the bus that Saturday and my parents and sister missed about the first twenty minutes of the game (in all fairness to them, 2 PM bus never showed). In typical Greene family fashion, as my brother and I went outside the stadium to give my parents their tickets, we missed the only Southend goal of the game! Notice I didnt say only goal, as we were all witness to Leyton Orient securing a 2-1 comeback win as Southend were reduced to ten men as Alan McCormack was sent off for his second bookable offense. It was not the start to the season that I envisioned and I spent the rest of my night worrying that lightning didnt strike twice when the final whistle blew at the Chelsea game.

The build up to the Chelsea game was fantastic. I had read a statistic that Stamford Bridge had the most pubs in a one-mile radius and after visiting I fully agree. We spent the morning looking for a place to enjoy the pre-game atmosphere. We found a bar and upon entering, we were asked to state our allegiance, and I proudly stated that I was a Chelsea fan. It felt great to say it and feel a part of it. My family had no choice but to follow suit. We stood around an already crowded bar filled to the brim with Chelsea paraphernalia. After a few drinks, my family decided to visit the megastore and it was like I was 7 years old again at Toy R Us. I was just plain giddy. I made sure that my family picked up Chelsea apparel to look the part (I was already wearing my Drogba jersey of course). I finally purchased the neon jersey that I had been longing for, its awesome. We made our way to the Bridge, and I couldnt contain my excitement. I dont think I could have prepared for the beauty that awaited my eyes. It was everything that I wanted it to be and more.

Stamford Bridge in all her glory.

I was as antsy as a kid waiting to blow out the candles on the birthday cake. The game was a thriller, the crowd was buzzing and there were plenty of goals to boot.

The one downside was that Drogba was not expected to play as he was out with an injury. Chelsea dominated the match early with plenty of near misses, but it was the visiting Birmingham City that scored the first goal. Chelsea came back to score two before Birmingham City leveled things at two apiece. However, we were blessed to witness a great goal from an unlikely source in Michael Essien. The bruising midfielder put a great shot in the back of the net and Stamford Bridge went nuts. We were able to go home happy as Essien's goal proved to be the difference. Much to my surprise, Mourinho brought Drogba on for a few minutes towards then end of the match.

I wasnt the only one who was really excited to see him touch the field.

The final whistle blew at 3-2. It took me a few minutes to realize that I had just saw my favorite team play at home in an exciting match. Not one for the purists, but it was just the prescription to suck in casual observers like my family. They were as drawn to action and the atmosphere as much as I was, and thats saying something. Watching my father -who was one of soccer's biggest naysayers- truly enjoy the game (and the hotdogs) was one of the most rewarding experiences I have ever had.

THIS PHOTO HAS NOT BEEN DOCTORED IN ANY WAY. This was a genuine smile on my father's face after the game.

It what seemed like a blink of an eye, my family came and left. I was once again left to my own devices but it wasnt the worst thing in the world. I actually had another chance to see Chelsea play with my buddy Rob (a fellow Chelsea fan). This time they were on the road at Reading. Rob and I met at Paddington Station and took the train up to Reading. We had plenty of drinks with Chelsea fans at the pub in the train station and took the bus shuttle over to Madjeski Stadium. I remember it absolutely pouring out when we we were waiting for the bus. Rob and I sat with the Reading fans and we were forced to keep our allegiance a secret amongst ourselves for our own protection. Chelsea went down early once again but stormed back to win thanks to a fantastic long-range effort from my Drogba.

I also had the privilege of traveling with some West Ham faithful to watch the Hammers take on Birmingham City at St. Andrew's in Birmingham. It was a miserable day out, but the West Ham fans were fantastic and were able to leave happily with a late 1-0 win. Southend's season was a rocky one during my stay (although they were able to right the ship after I left). I did have the chance to witness the fearsome Millwall following come to town. I hadnt seen Green Street Hooligans at this point (great movie by the way), but it confirmed everything I witnessed with the Millwall fans, they were absolutely terrifying. Southend fans are usually the type to aim a few jabs at opposing fans, but there were none of the sort when Millwall lost 1-0 at Roots Hall.

The sands of time quickly fell out of my hands and before I knew it, my summer was over. Like I said earlier, I miss England more than anything. These past few months have only confirmed that my heart is in the olde country; even despite the fact that they drive on the wrong side of the road. I made some great friends (and even better drinking buddies), I saw some wonderful places I never even dreamt of seeing. I also had the chance to be independent and grow as a person; I learned a lot about myself. Most importantly, I lived, breathed, ate, slept, worked, played, watched, learned, and listened football.

A special thanks goes out to my parents because without their blessing this never would have happened. Also, thanks to everyone who enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Merry Christmas!

The ref's guide to the 2007/08 Season

2007-08-08T16:39:00.000-04:00

Ok, so all of the media pundits have been flooding my inbox asking me for insight on the upcoming season. So I'm going to set the story straight right now. And if you know that I just made that up, then you know me too well.

I follow the Premiership more than I follow directions on mapquest, therefore I decided I would write a season preview.

First things first.
There are 20 teams in the Barclay's Premiership. The coach is known as a manager. You play each team twice, one home and one away. You get 3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for a loss. Team with the most points wins the title. In the event that there is a tie for points, it goes to head-to-head record, then to aggregate goals (the difference between the amount of goals scored during the season and the amount of goals conceded). The bottom three teams at the end of every season are relegated to the Championship, the league directly below the Premiership. The top two teams from the Championship, plus the winner of a playoff between the teams that finish 3rd-6th get promoted to the Premiership.

Teams relegated to Championship: Watford, Sheffield United, and Charlton.

(yes it was extremely hard to find pictures of them celebrating as each team had very little to celebrate last year.)

Teams promoted to Premiership: Sunderland, Birmingham City, and Derby County (won the playoff).

Its worth mentioning that Sheffield United feels aggrieved that they were sent down due to some questionable moves made by relegation rivals West Ham United. WHU purchased a player illegally and were eventually fined, but Sheffield United claimed that they should have been docked points (which would have seen WHU relegated). It even went to the high courts and the court ruled in favor of West Ham.

The top two teams automatically qualify for the UEFA Champions League, which is a European competition to decide the best club team in all of Europe (with a format similar to the World Cup). Teams 3 and 4 enter a preliminary round before the Champions League and must win that in order to qualify. Teams 5, 6, and 7 qualify for the UEFA Cup, a lesser European competition. By 'lesser' I mean that every team dreams of winning the Champions League. Thats where all the big boys of Europe play (not to mention thats where all the money is). The 8th placed team can qualify for the UEFA Cup, but they must first enter and win the Intertoto Cup, an even smaller tournament. These competitions are played throughout the regular season, usually during the week. So a team could have a premiership match on saturday, then a champions league match tues or wed and then back to the premiership on sunday.

So due to last seasons results:

+Manchester United and Chelsea qualified automatically for the Champions League.

+Liverpool and Arsenal must go through prelims to make the Champions League.

+Tottenham Hotspur, Everton, and Bolton Wanderers qualified for the UEFA Cup

+Blackburn Rovers qualified for the UEFA Cup by winning the Intertoto Cup.

Manchester United won the league last season, stopping the ref's favorite, Chelsea from winning the title for a remarkable third consecutive season.

Alright now that we got that all squared away lets dig in.

Cloud 9:
There is a bit of a monopoly at the top of the Premiership. Footballing giants Manchester United (thats cute, huh?), Chelsea (of course I was gonna use Drogba), Liverpool, and Arsenal (that guy on the right is a thing of the past) have dominated the top four spots of the Premiership in some fashion and have become regular fixtures in the Champions League. Its no coincidence that these are four of the richest teams in Europe. These teams spend big and as a result their fans expect a trophy every year.

I really dont see any reason why Man U. cant repeat as league champs last year. They went out and purchased big name players to add to an already stacked roster. The only real weakness I can see is aging keeper Edwin Van Der Sar. With a defense like his, he shouldnt have to worry too much.

The injury bug has already hit Chelsea, with 13 players already struggling with some sort of injury. It has been an interesting offseason for a club known to splash the cash (Chelsea is owned by a Russian billionare) as they have only purchased one player this summer (they have added others, but they did not have to pay for their rights). They have been very quiet but have bolstered areas that let them down last season, particularly the defense. I see them pushing Man U to the end but I dont see them winning it all. Especially when their African stars, Drogba, Essien, and Mikel will miss a month due to the African Nations Cup (African World Cup). I do however see them making a strong run in the Champions League and I think they have the depth to win it all this year. I really hope I can look back on that statement and say 'look I told you they could do it!' Its the only trophy this core group hasnt won.

Liverpool has spent a lot of money on proven and unproven goalscorers so it should be interesting to see how that translates for the Champions League Runners-up. Manager Rafa Benitez is widely hailed as a tactical genius in football circles, so if anyone can make it work its him. Despite being tactically gifted, he isnt nearly as tactful. When asked about Liverpool's plans for its new stadium , Benitez is quoted as saying, 'There are a lot of windows and it really is ground-breaking in terms of stadium design.' Ummmm...thanks for the insight. That quote has become a running joke around the office. Its also worth noting that Liverpool were recently purchased by two americans that also own NHL teams.

Ok now heres where things start to get interesting. Tottenham Hotspur has been touted as the best team outside the 'big four' and have been picked by many to finally break through this year. They have spent a great deal of money this offseason while Arsenal have endured the biggest loss of the summer (Thierry Henry going to Barcelona). While Arsenal have purchased a few players, it will be a miracle if any one of them could reproduce half of what Henry brought to the table. I think that Spurs can finally make it to the big time this season partly due to the fact that Arsenal wont be able to completely cope with the loss of Henry, and partly because I just dont like Arsenal.

Best of the Rest:

If Arsenal get the boot out of the top four there is no doubt that they will finish 5th. They are still a cut above the rest.

Looking to add to the Passport stamp collection:
These clubs will be looking to join Arsenal in the UEFA Cup.

Evertonqualified last season and I think they have a strong group of players who know how to win. Their coach David Moyes is one of the best (and most underrated) in England.

West Ham, Newcastle, and Blackburn have all been busy on the transfer market this summer and feel that they have the strength to join in on the European fun next season. I think that although West Ham have certainly gotten better, they are still a year or so away. New Newcastle manager Sam Allardyce is famous for helping clubs overachieve, thats what I think he can get Newcastle back to Europe. Blackburn will most likely have to settle for the Intertoto Cup again.

Staying Afloat:
These clubs are staying up, but they arent making much noise.

Manchester City and Portsmouth are probably the strongest of this bunch. Like the previous group, Man City has been busy this summer. They have bought many new players, they have a new owner, and a new manager. Its in the new manager, Sven Goran Eriksson, that they have their problem. He was the former England national team coach and he left a legacy of grossly underacheiving. Not good news if you are a Man City fan. Portsmouth has a very strong defense but questions of who is going to put the biscuit in the basket leave them in mid-table mediocrity.

Aston Villa and Middlesbrough round out this group. They never do anything worth noting.

Sleeping with the Fish?
These clubs might go down.

Its a generic rule of thumb that 2 out of the 3 teams that get promoted are immediately relegated. Reading managed to be that one team that stayed up last season, but they lost their best player (Steve Sidwell) and will have to find the magic of last season if they want to make it consecutive seasons in the Premiership.

Many have picked Sunderland as the promoted team most likely to stay up, but I think that it will be Birmingham City that are still standing after game 38. They have spent wisely this offseason and have retained many of their players that were around during City's last stint at the top league.

Despite being in Europe this year, Bolton lost their charismatic coach and a number of key players. Thats a lot to deal with. I wouldnt be surprised to see them needing a win on the last day to stay up.

Fulham, which boasts a whopping 3 americans on its roster might also find itself needing a few last-gasp points to keep the London outfit in the Premiership.

Thanks for stopping by:
Going down.

Wigan have overachieved in recent seasons and needed a win against Sheffield United on the last day of the season last year to stay up. I dont see them escaping again this season.

As aforementioned, many think Sunderlandwill survive the season. I just dont see it. They have made some questionable signings this summer and manager Roy Keane is only in his second year of coaching. Looks like trouble to me.

Derby County have to be a surefire bet for the bottom of the barrel. They overachieved to make it here in the first place and simply dont have the talent to compete in this league.

So there you have it, a reliable source to the final standings for the 2007/08 season...take it with a grain of salt the size of Rhode Island.

Play On:

+One of the most interesting aspects of football (to me at least) is the constant changing of kits (read: jerseys). This has a lot to do with the changing of club sponsors, something extremely rare in American sports. The other reason kits get changed is just to switch things up I think. So I’d like to give out some awards for my favorite kits for the upcoming season. Who knows, you might even follow a team based on my awards.

Best Logo: Tottenham Hotspur. I absolutely love that logo. Cant get much simpler than the cock and ball.

Runner up: Derby County. I dunno what it is, but I really like that ram.

Worst Logo: Fulham. The logo is supposed to send a message of fear or intimidation, this one just shows how bland the club acutually is.

Best Home Kit: Portsmouth. Im not sure what it is but I just really like that jersey.

Runners Up: Newcastle. Amidst a bevy of blues and reds, this jersey always stands out.

Worst Home Kit: Birmingham City. Its been dubbed the penguin kit and I just dont like it.

Best Away Kit: Chelsea. Hands down the best kit I have ever seen. I knew I was going to buy one as soon as I saw it.

Runners Up: Liverpool. This one is really sharp.

Worst Away Kit: Arsenal. Stupid.

Best Sponsor: Liverpool. This one is easy.

Worst Sponsor: Reading. They make shit phones.

+We all know that football is a passionate game. But some games are taken to a higher level of rivalry. These games are known as a derby (pronounced 'darby') and usually involve two local clubs. I just wanted to take a second and highlight a few of the bigger ones.

Manchester Derby: Manchester United v. Manchester City

Liverpool Derby: Liverpool v. Everton

North London Derby: Arsenal v, Tottenham Hotspur

Second City (Birmingham) Derby: Aston Villa v. Birmingham City

Tyne-Wear Derby: Newcastle v. Sunderland

Alright, thats that. Heres to another great season and a chance to see Chelsea do the quadruple (win the FA Cup, Carling Cup, Premiership, and the Champions League). Hope this helped and I cant guarantee that any of my predictions will come true. So for betting purposes its best to look elsewhere!

Let's Get Carnivorous

2007-07-24T16:49:00.000-04:00

Hello there, nice to see you all again. Sorry for the large gap between posts, I really havent had the time to sit down and write and be satisfied.

To all of those who wanted to know, Amsterdam was unbelievable. Ian and I met up at London Gatwick Airport. This place is one of the weirdest airports I have ever been to; it feels like you are in this massive convention center and there are airline check-in booths strewn around the building with no real rhyme or reason. After you pass through security you are in a mall, complete with a food court. Only after an escalator ride does it feel like you are at an airport and that’s only because you can look outside and see the planes. That place just made me really disoriented. We flew on Ryan Air and it is a no-frills airline for sure. They pride themselves on having the lowest prices and it really shows. The seats are first come-first serve (something you never see in the States) and that’s all you get. If you want anything else, such as a drink or snack, its coming out of your wallet. I couldn’t help but become giddy when the inaudible captain came over the intercom and told us that we were in Eindhoven. Forty minutes earlier we were just taking off. It was really a bizarre feeling knowing that I was in another foreign country quicker than it would take me to fly from Boston to New York City. Once we passed through customs at the tiny Eindhoven Airport it was on to the bus that dropped us off at the train station. On the way we passed Phillips Stadion, home of PSV Eindhoven. PSV is one of the European football powerhouses and their stadium was simply awesome. Stupidly enough, I didnt take out my camera and capture the Kodak moment.

The train ride took us through the heart of Holland. As you could imagine, it was extremely flat and full of farm land. The grass was some of the greenest I have ever seen in my entire life. I assume this is mostly due to the expansive irrigation system they have in the country. It was interesting as it seemed that every form of vegetation was planted in a careful manner. Everything looked like it had its own place, the trees were all in rows along the streets and even in the fields. There were roads that ran along the tracks and it was fun to watch people bike along. We would go for stretches where there would be nothing, and then suddenly a small town would pop up or even just a car dealership right along the track.

I was growing impatient until I gazed out the window and saw my version of the neon ‘Welcome to Las Vegas’ sign…Amsterdam ArenA (no not a typo). This beauty of stadium is one of the many monuments of European football and home to the legendary Dutch side Ajax Amsterdam.

Amsterdam ArenA

This team (along with the Dutch National team) established the idea of ‘Total Football’ This concept boils down to having extremely versatile players on the pitch who can play many different positions. A basic example of this would be a defender who frequently makes attack runs in the oppositions territory while a midfielder drops to the backline to cover for the defender. This radical thinking not only revolutionized the game, but it brought Ajax to the forefront of European football as they were one of the most dominant sides. If you would like to know more, the wikipedia link is here. With all that being said, we had finally arrived.

Amsterdam is truly a city that needs to be experienced by everyone at some point in their lifetime, although I really don’t think it’s a place to bring youngsters. I suppose the location that is most similar to Amsterdam is Las Vegas, but they even that’s a bit of a stretch.

I was Amsterdam.

The city boasts some beautiful architecture amongst the backdrop of the intricate canal system. It just reeks of history and is extremely multi-cultural. This is all due to the fact that Amsterdam was the trading capital of the world from the 17th-19th century. The famous West Indies Trading Company had its headquarters here. The people are extremely friendly and speak near-perfect English. To be completely honest, when I got back to England it seemed as though the people here were speaking a foreign language.

The nightlife here was simply amazing. The bars, whether dives or hot-spots were always crowded with people enjoying a good drink, good music, and good company. There were people everywhere and I don’t think the city ever really shuts down. Like good tourists, Ian and I bought an I AMsterdam card, which allowed us to get into many museums and sights for free. We went to the Amsterdam Historical Museum, the Van Gogh Museum, and on a canal tour.

A thrilling tour.

However the coolest place was the Hortus, which was a gigantic garden which was home to many exotic plants. Just a really cool place to go and relax.

The highlight of the weekend might have been the trip to the Heineken Factory. It was the original brewery of the legendary Dutch bier but it has now been refurbished as an interactive museum. You walked along the path of how the beer was made, starting with the importing of hops, water, and wheat, and then you worked your way through to a happy ending with the perfect pour. No Heineken I drink from this day forth will ever be as good as the three pints I had in that factory; I think I can bet my life on it.

The perfect pour. The perfect ending to the tour.

On the flight home I tried to recap my weekend and I could only think of two negatives. One of them was our hostel, Hostel Linda. Just an awful, dirty, place that probably should have failed some sort of health inspections but didn’t. The bathroom floor was constantly coated with a pool of water about an inch deep. It was just gross. Although we were in room 001, we were actually on the 4th floor and the stairs were more like ladders. It was a steep climb. In fact it was steep enough where I felt like rappelling down the stairs everyday would have been a better option. I cannot complain too much because I booked the damn place about 4 days in advance but now I see why its no wonder that place was available.

The second complaint I had was that you had to pay to use the toilets throughout the city at night. Bars, restaurants, even the golden arches of McDonald’s made you pay the toll for tinkling. After a night of drinking you’d look in your wallet and realize that you paid 5 euros the night before just to go to the bathroom. If I was a citizen of Amsterdam (Amsterdamonians? Amsterdamites?), and this lowered my taxes, I would be all for it. Let foreigners pay my bills. However as a temporary resident I couldn’t help but feel scammed. Thankfully, these two complaints are extremely minor and in no way would stop me from going back there.

I was planning on doing a Weird Car of the Week from Amsterdam and I found a car, but it just isn’t fitting for the cycle capital of the world. Bikes are everywhere you look, and I do mean everywhere. I think they outnumber cars in the city by 224:1. Yes I made that statistic up, but the fact remains that taking your hobby horse out on the town is the most prominent method of transportation.

Good luck finding a spot.

Traffic jams were more likely caused by a slip-up changing gears than by a fender bender. The funny thing was that you didn’t see high-tech mountain bikes, but everyone seemed to ride an old beat up 3 speed. Not ones to miss out on an experience, Ian and I rented bikes for a day and it was a great choice. Not only did we have a chance to see much more of the city this way, but for those 24 hours I felt less like a tourist.

Pick your poison.

Play on:

+ I have plenty to talk about. I went to Swansea, Wales for the day. Southend finally had its big friendly with West Ham. I went to Upton Park to watch West Ham again and got the VIP treatment. And I want to do my own little preview of the upcoming season. I am going to try and do a binge writing session, but I just wanted to let you know that I haven’t forgot about you.

+ I am by no means a tree hugger, but I do know a cool thing when I see one. This article previews Dartford FC's new self-sustaining stadium. Hopefully we will see more ingenuity like this in the future.

And out come the Wolves

2007-07-13T06:56:00.000-04:00

Hello all, just wanted to drop a quick line. I hope that everyone had a good Fourth of July. I think it was the first time in my life that I had to work on the 4th. A bit disorienting. Despite having to work I still had a chance to celebrate thanks to everyone at the Waverley.

A proper feast on the Fourth with my little friends Chloe (L) and Jasmine (R).

Much to my surprise there were American flags and a 4th of July banner waiting for me back at the Waverley when I got home from work. The best part about it was eating Burgers, Hot Dogs, and Corn on the Cob just as I would have back home. It was a great meal and I couldnt have been more satisfied. I was really surprised that Cherryl and the family went out and did that for me. It was a nice gesture and it really meant a lot to me. They are great people and have made me feel welcome into their home. I would recommend them to anyone who decides they want to visit Southend. I really cant say enough about them.

Play On:

+ Southend recently sold their best player, Freddy Eastwood to Wolverhampton Wanderers. It is a move with mixed emotions. He had expressed his interest to move away from the club, so at least they made money off of his sale (£1.5-£2 mil estimated)instead of him leaving the club for free at the end of the season. There is also the sentiment that the team lost its star player, a great goal scorer that led the team to the Championship for the first time in team history. He also scored a goal last season in the Carling Cup that was the decider when Southend scored a famous victory over eventual Premiership champs Manchester United. That was actually his undoing for Southend. He received a ton of press after that beautiful goal (which you can find on youtube if you type in 'freddy eastwood manchester united' in the search box). Larger teams were exposed to a quality little known player and as a result it was only a matter of time until he left Southend. Wolves really wanted him and made multiple bids for him until this one was finally agreed upon. I was looking forward to having the chance to watch him play in person but unfortunately it was not meant to be. Hopefully the club takes the money from his sale and invests it in some quality players.

Wont be seeing this guy in a Southend jersey any longer.

+ For all the naysayers of football that claim it is too low scoring needs to watch the Copa America. The Copa America is a smaller World Cup-esque tournament that features all of the South American national teams as well as two invited wild cards. The two invitees were the US and Mexico. Both teams headed to Venezuela (the host nation) right after their clash in the Gold Cup final (the North American version of Copa America), which the US won. The games are on at like 1:30 AM here but I did stay up to watch the US play perennial powerhouses Argentina. The US were acutally leading at one point but ended up losing 3-1. They crashed out fairly early of the competiton but it was good experience for the club. Sorry I am rambling but the point of all of this is that over the course of the tournament, the average amount of goals scored per game has been 3+. It has been free flowing and highly attacking. Really fun stuff to watch. Two teams have scored 6 goals in one game and there have been a few penalty shootouts to boot. The final is on Sunday between Brazil and Argentina, which is no small surprise because these two are the most dominant in South America.

+ If you prefer a more global flair to the game of football then dont fret. The Under-20 World Cup is taking place right now in Canada. These games have been highly entertaining like the Copa America. The American squad, led by Freddy Adu have made it to the quarterfinals and have a legimate chance of winning it all. They beat an extremely talented Brazil side in group play and feature many talented youngsters. The best part about these games is watching how much it means to the players and its also a chance to watch the future stars of tomorrow today. If you get a chance (I think they are on either ESPN or FSC) take a moment to sit down and watch a few minutes.

+ Most importantly I am meeting up with my good friend from home, Ian, and we are flying out to Holland for the weekend. He is spending a few weeks at Oxford University and its always a good time when the two of us get together. It will be nice to have someone to talk to instead of just throwing on the ipod hah. I am really looking forward to visiting the Dutch nation as it has always been on my lifetime travel list. We fly from London Stansted Airport to Eindhoven and then from Eindhoven we are taking a train up to Amsterdam, where we are spending the weekend. I am really excited to do some travelling again and it will be my first time in a country where English is not the first language. I really dont know what to expect, but if the Disney ride 'Its a Small World' taught me anything, there should be a lot of blonde girls with pony tails and wooden clogs in Holland. Thats ok with me.

I'll be back after the weekend to let you know how things went and hopefully with good pictures to boot.

One-Timers and Ocean Liners

2007-07-03T16:33:00.000-04:00

I have been treated to some awesome light shows around here, and its not even the Fourth of July. The skies of Southend produce some great lightning storms and they are quite spectacular. One storm just seemed to come and go as if you forgot that it was there, so it would come back to remind you. Little did I know, but these storms were harbingers of changes to come.

The changes moved in swiftly and without much warning. Its safe to say that I have been able to witness three major events (one football related) in about the span of the week. The first was the introduction of the new Prime Minister Gordon Brown. I really didnt hear much about this in the news. Granted I dont watch tv, but I do try to keep up with the newspapers. However the papers that are most common to find (The Sun and The Daily Mirror) read more like tabloids than credible news sources. The Sun and Daily Mirror will have half the paper dedicated to the current events of celebrities and Big Brother (the reality series), another quarter for the sports, and the last quarter is for whatever they forgot to mention. Like maybe a page or two for the newly elected PM. I am not sure if the UK is as apathetic as the US when it comes to politics, but from what I've seen it somewhat appears that way. Interestingly enough, Brown is Scottish. I never thought that the English would let a Scot rule over the UK but thats just me.

Secondly, the smoking ban finally went into effect and it is glorious. Since being over here I have realized that I took the Massachusetts smoking ban for granted. In the month or so that I have lived here, the second-hand smoke may have taken about a year or so off my life. Or at least thats what it feels like. You couldnt go anywhere without walk into smoke billowing out of someone elses mouth. The worst places for this was at a small pub. Everyone smoked and there was poor, if any, ventilation. So the smoke just hovered over us like LA smog. Needless to say, I am much happier now that the ban has been imposed. I am interested to see how this plays out because from what I've heard, many bars/pubs are worried that they are going to lose customers because they can no longer smoke indoors. So I would like to see how strict they actually are when it comes to enforcing this ban.

In the grand scheme of things, this may not seem very big......aw hell who am I kidding. Arguably the best striker in the beloved game of football, Thierry Henry, left his club to join the greatest team in the world. Henry was unsure of his future at Arsenal (in North London) and therefore the move was made to send him to Barcelona for 16 million pounds (32+ mil USD), which already features the likes of Ronaldinho, Messi, Xavi, Eto'o, and Carles Puyol. For those of you keeping score at home, that would be like MJ leaving the Bulls, to join the Dream Team on a permanent basis (if they were a professional team). It could be argued that no player meant more to his club than Henry to Arsenal. He turned that team into an English powerhouse and they were always in the running in European competitions. Arsenal was never out of a game when Henry was in the lineup. He is a prolific scorer and his statlines/highlights reflect that. He garnered great respect throughout this little North Atlantic Island, regardless of whether or not people liked Arsenal. With that being said, as much as I respect Thierry Henry, I couldnt be happier that Arsenal lost the best player in their history for almost pennies on the dollar. Last year it was rumored that he would leave Arsenal for 32 million pounds. Dean from work on the other hand (the Arsenal fan) has been placed on suicide watch level 6.

Barcelona has no excuse to not win every title under the sun next season.

Play On:

+ Took a quick trip up to Chelmsford last Thursday and witnessed my first cricket match. I had seen some on TV at work, as some of the guys intently follow the sport. How they follow 5 day Test matches is beyond me. Proper cricket is a 5 day event and it takes so long during the day that the teams get breaks for lunch. Tell me, what sport allows you to take a lunch break?? Anyways, what I saw wasnt proper cricket, its a variation called Twenty20. Its as close to baseball as cricket will get. It is more offensive as teams have a set limit of overs they can hit. An over is 6 bowls (pitches) so they have only 120 bowls to hit. It was pretty entertaining as it came down to wire. The Essex Eagles (the home team) were able to overcome sloppy defense and beat the Surrey Brown Caps. I found my attention wandering at some points, but for the most part it was engaging. The field is a giant circle, so theres no large stands to sit in, but it didnt ruin the atmosphere. The fans were really into it, and I was in a particularly humorous section. It wouldnt be that far removed from going to a packed minor league baseball game. It had a similar vibe. Also, it was here that I saw a sight I never thought I would ever see…my beloved Carlsberg in PLASTIC bottles. It thought it was downright sacrilegious. They were having problems with the kegs and so they had to resort to the plastic bottles I guess. As appalled as I was, that didnt stop me from drinking it. Perhaps the best thing I witnessed all night was a converted coke dispenser that was modified to dispense umbrellas. The Rainbro dispenser. Only in the UK.

+ I finally got to meet some of the players and they are not as physically imposing as I thought they would have been. I was shocked to see how small FIFA 07 scapegoat Jamal Campbell-Ryce was. But I’m sure he could beat me in a footrace with a plastic hip and crutches.

+ Other football related news, Tottenham Hotspur, a Ref favorite, signed striker Darren Bent from Charlton. Under most circumstances this would have been a great signing. However, THEY PAID 16.5 MILLION POUNDS FOR HIM! Put it this way, Thierry Henry, one of the greatest of all-time went for a half a million pounds less than he did. I dont understand it. Bent isnt and will never be anywhere near the class of Henry. To make things worse, one of the Ref’s favorite Spurs players, Jermain Defoe is most likely going to get shipped off to another team. Bad news all around.

+ Chelsea released its new away kit and I couldnt be more excited for this jersey. I havent purchased one yet, but its high up on the pecking order thats for sure. Im not going to post a picture up because I plan on doing a post on the new jerseys. But if you are curious to see just how extreme these jerseys are, just poke around on Google. You wont be disappointed.

+ I went up to Rayleigh (which is in the northern part of Southend) for the first time to meet up with Dean and company for a few drinks. This was right after the breaking news of Thierry Henry’s move and so I tried to get a rise out of Dean. He was not having any of it. I got the hint. In this country, it goes Faith, Family, Football and then everything else.

+ I also met up with Dean and some of his friends to finally play some ‘competitive’ football. It wasnt proper football, his friends had all pitched in to buy a portable net. So having only one net they played a game called ‘Wimbledon’ which was basically like half-court soccer, two teams and one impartial goalie. It was a lot of fun and it was good to get some exercise. And believe it or not, I held my own. Hopefully there will more of that to come.

Weird Car of the Week:

The Fiat Multipla:

It was only a matter of time before I featured a Fiat.

This car/van/spaceship is just absolutely hideous. The lip that connects the hood to the front windshield is completely unnecessary. In addition to this, there is more window space in this car than anything I’ve ever seen before. You better think twice about what youre doing inside your car because anyone within a mile radius of you can see you inside your car clear as day. I suppose on the plus side there are very few blind spots in this gem of an automobile.

+ Look up and listen to the song ‘The Girls’ by Calvin Harris. If this song isnt already popular in the US, it will be. I cant go anywhere without hearing this song. So when you hear it on the radio for the 19034th time in one day, I want you to think of me.

Alright I promise I will take pictures of the stadium and post them, I have really been meaning to do that I swear.

My new favorite hobby is watching the big ocean liners make their way up the River Thames. For some reason I find them absolutely captivating. I find myself stopping what I’m doing to just watch some go pass on by. I think it has something to do with growing up watch the boats pass through the locks in Seattle. Either way, its a great way to pass the time.

Dont follow me, follow SUFC!

2007-06-20T19:19:00.000-04:00

Well, its been awhile since we last spoke and I apologize for that. Life has been an exciting blur at the moment. I started work finally and I have plenty to share (although I dont have any pictures of the stadium or office yet!). My first day of work I think I made it through the day on sheer adrenaline due to the fact that I got about 2 hours worth of sleep. I had little worries though. The title of this entry was on a bumper sticker I saw on my way to work I knew it was going to be a good day. I managed to catch the right bus to the stadium and found myself 30 minutes early. Brian Dear, the man who picked me up from the airport was waiting outside the stadium. So as he was my ambassador to England, he was my ambassador to Roots Hall Football Ground, home of Southend United Football Club. The stadium was built in 1955 and it really shows. What it lacks in modern amentities, it more than makes up for in character. Reminiscent of Fenway Park, there are wooden seats and plenty of spots with obstructed views. Roots Hall holds a bit more than 12,000 fans. I tried to envision the stadium packed, like it was when the team famously beat Manchester United in the fourth round of the Carling Cup. I became really excited just to be there, but also a little bummed when I realized its still about two months until I'll see another live match.

After walking through the maze-like interior of the offices and lounges I was introduced to the commercial department, where I am currently employed. There are 8 people in the dept., making it the largest component of the front office for the club. The commercial dept is responsible for a lot of the 'behind-the-scenes' stuff. They renew the signage and advertising space throughout the stadium, they sell the corporate hospitality packages and executive boxes. The team media is also governed by the commercial dept. There are two media directors who oversee the content that goes on the official website (including video, interviews, etc.) The commercial dept also puts together all of the promotional events, like family day and the kids club. And then theres me..

Everyone is really nice in the office and has gone out of their way to make sure that I either feel comfortable or understand whats going on. I even have my own desk and computer, which quickly quelled the ongoing joke in my family that I would be donning the mascot uniform or working out of the storage closet (much to my relief). After a few days of being a near mute, I have started to pick up on office banter and I feel more comfortable speaking up when they are having a go at the American. Its funny because two of the guys in the office are on opposite sides of the fiercest rivalry in English football, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur. Anthony, a Spurs fan, loves to deride Dean the Arsenal fan and vice versa. Its funny stuff and I am stuck right in the middle because I sit between the two. And I must say that I side with Anthony because I like Spurs and I cannot stand Arsenal. The two will spend the early parts of their morning scouring the news to find something worth mentioning to continue this never-ending feud. Its really entertaining.

As for actual work (thats what I'm here for right?), the club has thrown me right to the wolves. The better part of my first week I spent analyzing the results of an online survey for fans. This survey was created by Anthony to gauge how the fans perceived the club and gave them an avenue to directly express their concerns or suggestions so that the club could better serve them. I think this was a good place for me to start as it gave me an outsider's insight of the club. It also got the ball rolling in my head to start churning out some ideas to make life easier for the fans (like a web-based forum to arrange carpools...the parking lot is a mess!). After analyzing the data I compiled it into an excutive report so that Anthony and I can deliver a presentation to the higher-ups. I wasnt lying when I said they have thrown me to the wolves here. My boss hasnt been here much longer than me, so the department is in a transitional phase. He is full of energy and has really big plans for the club so I think this is an exciting time to be around Southend United. Apparently this club has one of the best data management systems in the country and it has been grossly underutilized. This system keeps track of the data of anyone who comes into contact with the football club, whether it be they buy a ticket for just one game, or they have been to every game for the past 20 years. So now I am working on a project that is helping find all the bugs and glitches in the system so that we can really start putting this to good use.

The work atmosphere from what I've noticed here is much more relaxed than in the US. People work their 40 hours a week and not much more. They appreciate being able to go home and have dinner with their families and enjoy their weekends as well. I got kicked out of the office one day at 5:30, I was told that everyone is forced to go home then. So even if you wanted to work late, you cant. Its kinda nice.

Thursday the Football Association released the schedules for the upcoming season and I will have the chance to see three home matches at Roots Hall before I leave. They open the season at home against Leyton Orient for a local derby (pronounced 'darby'). A derby is a game played against two rivals who play close to one another. Some of the bigger derbies include the aforementioned North London derby between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, while the Liverpool derby between Liverpool and Everton is an intense rivalry. The team then hosts a Carling Cup match at home against Cheltenham before taking to the road at Leeds. Which was one of my favorite teams growing up, not sure why. When I showed my eagerness to visit Elland Road, my colleagues didnt share the same fervor. Supposedly, Leeds isnt the nicest place to visit and the Leeds United fans dont take too kindly to away supporters. So I will have to weigh my options on that one. That might be a good weekend for me to go see a Premiership match in London as many of the teams I want to see (namely Chelsea) play when I will be working at the Southend games. I am hoping that I can scoot into London and catch a game. The following weekend Southend is back home to face Millwall another London side and these two hold a grudge against one another, so it should be another entertaining home match. Lastly I can finish up my trip here with a drive down to Brighton on the weekend (anyone catch the reference?). I spent the latter part of my Thursday mapping out which Premiership games I could potentially see. The release of the schedule has me all fired up to see some real football. Also, West Ham United, the closest Premiership side to Southend has agreed to come play a friendly at Roots Hall, so if I dont make it to a Premiership game at least I'll have seen a Premiership team play.

Ok enough about work, lets get to the fun stuff.

Play On:

+ I joined a gym finally. I was getting sick of not doing anything and I joined Fitness First, which is convenient to get to as it is on the bus route. I still havent gotten used to using the metric system and so I find myself guess how much weight I am lifting. Also, its worth noting that this place plays the most depressing music. The last thing I want to listen to while I am on the treadmill or lifting weights is 'When a Man Loves a Woman' by Michael Bolton. Michael Bolton and the gym is like drinking and driving..it just doesnt mix.

+ Speaking of crime, I found myself in a conversation at school discussing the whereabouts of McGruff the Crime Dog. I thought he had been kicked to the curb but I am happy to report that he is currently leading a campaign to fight cyber crime. Its good to have him back.

Welcome Back.

+ Chips (read: French fries) come with just about every meal you could possibly think of. Really strange combos too. I had a chicken caesar salad the other day and it came with a side of chips. People really like their potatoes over here I guess.

+ The crisps (or potato chips as I like to call them) come in some really really weird flavors. Why go through the hassle of waiting for the chef to prepare a leg of lamb when you can just have lamb and mint flavored crisps? Why pay market price for some prawns when you can get the same flavor in a bag of prawn cocktail crisps? In the words of some anonymous philosopher, some questions are better left unanswered.

+ I found out that the best player on Southend United, Freddy Eastwood, is a gypsy. He lives in a caravan on land that he and his 'tribe' took for themselves on the outskirts of town. Interesting.

+ Remember that minaret I told you about on my train ride to London? Well it turns out that it is remnants of a castle built in the 13th century. I took a bike ride last Sunday to visit the ruins known as Hadleigh Castle. My trek took me down the coast into Leigh-on-Sea, which is a very old fishing town, complete with narrow cobble stone roads. It was very rustic and just reeked of history. I then had to cut up north and biked through these vast fields until I came across the castle. I found myself feeling like I was on hollowed ground as I reached this towering tribute to a long-forgotten era. The best part about it was how it was open to the public. It was a beautiful day and many families enjoyed a nice picnic in the company of ancient royalty.

I looked for Excalibur, but it wasnt here.

+ I have yet to see Gatorade over here. I did see one store that had some alternate version of Powerade, but that’s about it. Most places carry Lucozade, which is the official energy drink of the Premier League. It comes in two flavors, lemon-lime and orange. I haven’t had the lemon-lime one, but the orange Lucozade tastes eerily similar to Sunny Delight. Now I know that Sunny D was the beverage of choice back when I was a hyperactive 7 year-old (it sure beat soda and the purple stuff), but I’m not convinced that this is what a world class football player would need after running around for 90+ minutes.

+ Also to the few of you who are keeping track from school, I had apple JUICE DRINK. Yes, you read that correctly, it was juice and drink.

+ I am just starting to catch on to some of the slang and common terminology used around here. The phrase I had the most difficulty with was “Are you alright?”, which to me sounds like that person thinks theres something wrong with me and that maybe I need to see a doctor. But it actuality it’s another way of asking “How are you?”. Just thought I’d let you know.

+ Now for the triumphant return of Weird Car of the Week! This week there is a double dose. Please Note: I stopped taking real photographs because I don’t want to run the risk of the owner watching me photograph their car. It would be a really awkward moment.

+ The Ford Ka: For all the alleged financial troubles Ford Motor Company is having, you wouldn’t know that over here. I see Fords everywhere. This car most especially, it might actually be the most common car I see when I’m out and about.

The egg on wheels.

There is so much going on with this car that I don’t even know where to begin. First of all, the name. Ka? That’s the best the Ford marketing team could come up with? Its like one of the geniuses was like, ‘I really like the Boston accent’ and someone else chimes in with, ‘yeah, me too, lets call it Kah!’ and the accountant in the meeting interrupts their excitement and says, ‘if we drop the ‘h’ it will save us x amount of dollars when we manufacture the name plates’ and then everyone at the meeting in unison, ‘BRILLIANT!’.. I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t been waiting to write that. Anyways, the car looks like a deformed egg. The thing that really bugs me the most is how the rear axle looks. You cant really tell from the picture but in person, it looks like the rear axle is angled outwards. Although I think its like an optical illusion due to the lack of a definitive rear bumper and the curvy nature of the car. Lastly, the two-tone cars need to go, I really feel like Ford was trying to be frugal here and just took leftovers from other cars and put this together. With all of that said, the people over here love this car. Crazy Europeans.

+ The Nissan Micra:

Is this what the Beetle sees when it looks at itself in the mirror?

I don’t think Nissan got the memo, this car was already invented, its called a Volkswagen Beetle. The first time I saw one of these, I did a double-take. I thought it might have been a new version of the Beetle; that’s why I was shocked when I saw the Nissan logo. I suppose its not really that bad of a car, it’s a bit tiny though. However, it scores negative points on the originality scale in a huge way.

It merits mentioning that theres nothing better than listening to the tide coming and going. I’m not rubbing it in, I promise!

Come On England!

2007-06-07T18:34:00.000-04:00

Tired, hungry, and bored, the two minutes I took to stop and smell the roses turned out to be the best decision I made in recent history. I walked out of the gates of the park and saw a group of England fans headed my way (my detective skills told me so due to everyone wearing an England national jersey). My map didnt have Wembley on it and it looked like these guys knew where they were going. So I asked them how to get to Wembley and one of them (wearing a yankees hat of all things) started to point out the directions. Noticing that Wembley was off the map and I clearly was from out of town he extended an invitation to have a beer and enjoy the pregame atmosphere with him and his friends. I duly obliged. It was a no-brainer. I was looking for some company and these guys seemed like diehards I had always envisioned England being full of. After being down in the doldrums my spirits were given just the boost they needed. I started small talk with a few of them on my way to whatever pub they had in mind. All six of them were from a town called Wolverhampton, which is a fair distance north of London, closer to Manchester than London, I believe. All but one was a lifelong Wolverhampton Wanderers fan, a team that plays in the Championship and narrowly missed out on a promotion to the Premiership. I found out through conversation that Wolves overachieved last season and really didnt have much of a chance to move up. The one anomaly was an Aston Villa fan. His grandfather was a Villa fan and so it was just ingrained into his head as a young child. The pledge of allegiance to a team has always been intriguing, but I've always enjoyed knowing why someone likes a particular team. We walked about a half-mile or so before we reached our pregame destination, The Globe. It was your basic London pub and it was on a corner. This place had the ability to take advantage of nice days with its sidewalk patio, and Friday was no exception. Fans were all over the place, I am sure that you are sick of the Red Sox references but its the only way I can compare the two: Imagine Yawkey Way before the first pitch but on a main road in London. Fans spilled out onto the street and there was no chance of you rounding the corner on the sidewalk. The place was really buzzing. It was the first full international match for England back at Wembley, world favorites Brazil were in town, and a certain David Beckham was back in the lineup. It was going to be the first match for Becks since being dropped from the team after another disappointing World Cup run in 2006. The focus of the conversation with my newfound friends often turned to David Beckham and what kind of impact he would have on the MLS. I told them that I really think he could help the MLS turn the corner, I gave a few reasons and they seemed to buy it. I took a moment and realized that I just convinced a handful of English football fans that David Beckham belongs in the US. I was fairly proud of myself. As we sipped our beers and talked about travels, what sights I should see, and more importantly football, the topic of how I got my ticket and what I paid for it came up. When I told them the amount I paid, they all grimaced and laughed, but they were impressed with my efforts. Due to the fact that it was my first real football match and my financial loss they bought me a beer, a nice consolation prize. The time was beginning to grow short so we finished our beer and headed towards the closest tube station, baker street (I wonder if that was the baker street that Gerry Raferty referred to?). We managed to catch the tube that was just about to leave. I all my years of using public transportation I can say that without a doubt that was the most God awful experience I ever had. I barely had enough room for my lungs to expand in order to accommodate the incoming oxygen. If I had a genie at that moment in time, I would have wished for him to temporarily suspend my sense of smell. Thats how bad it reeked, not to mention it was about 138 degrees (Fahrenheit, I have no clue what the conversion is for Centigrade) inside the subway car. In order to pass the time, one of the guys attempted to explain cricket to me. I just smiled and nodded. We finally reached our stop and walked out to Olympic Way (Wembley is the focal point of the London 2012 Olympics) and there loomed the most awe-inspiring structure I had ever laid my eyes on.

Finally!

I had never seen such an imposing stadium before, nothing in the US rivals this modern day Colosseum, nothing. We and 90,000 others made our way down the street, it was still about a quarter-mile ahead. There were people everywhere, all you could was just walk behind the person in front of you. The fans were very lively, singing all types of songs and chants. Although I applaud their candor, the songs were very unoriginal. They were basically just saying 'England' repeatedly to the tunes of different songs, like the 'Ole, Ole, Ole' song. My personal favorite was 'I'm England til I Die!'. It was interesting to hear some people singing 'Ring of Fire' by Johnny Cash. Apparently this is an unofficial theme song for Liverpool (think Sweet Caroline). I made my way to the top of the ramp and parted ways with the guys from Wolverhampton as they were sitting on the opposite side of the stadium. Before I went inside I took a second to soak it all in. I looked behind me and there was just wave after wave of people entering Wembley. I never went to the Million Man March, but I have a feeling it looked something similar to what I was seeing.

The thousands of faithfuls are returning to the 'Cathedral of Football' according to Pele.

I made my way to the gate and officially entered Wembley. The architects of Wembley were smart ones. In most stadiums, if you have a seat in the south side of the stadium, you went over there and entered through the same gate as everyone else who was sitting in the south end, regardless of what level. At Wembley, not only do they take into account what end you are sitting in, but what level as well. So each level has its own entrance. I was in the west end on level 5 so I entered through Gate E with only other people in the west end level 5. Common sense goes a long way. It was a breeze to get to my seat. I just had to go up a few flights of escalators and I was at my seat. It was just about time for the players to come out and everyone was hurrying to find their seats. I read the rules and regulations on one of the postings and I found reason number 235 why I love football: prolonged use of a mobile phone is grounds for ejection from the stadium. I was thrilled to read that; there is nothing worse than sitting near a person at a game who is more interested in the he said/she said on the phone than whats happening on the field. Reason number 236: excessive and unneccessary standing is also cause for removal. So theres a chance that 'that guy' doesnt exist in England (at least at Wembley anyway). In what seemed like hours, the teams finally took the pitch, my first real match was underway.

The teams taking the pitch.

The English national anthem gave me goosebumps, everyone was just so excited to be back at Wembley after the 8-year absence. It would be like losing Madison Square Garden for 8 years.

This needs to be incorporated in more US sporting events.

Thank You.

At the start of the match everyone was glued to the action, it was filled with singing and chanting from all parts of the stadium. I figured that this was just people getting all of the energy out of them in one fell swoop and that it would quiet as the game went along. This was far from the case. Every person in that stadium, old and young, did not lose their focus nor their intensity towards the game. Reason number 14 for my love of football: football seems to be the only sport where fans applaud something that could have happened. A player might make a nifty move to get past a defender and then send a pass that happens to be just a bit too high above the jumping teammate looking for a header into the net. In most cases the fans will clap for the fact that the player had the skill and speed to beat a defender and the vision to find an open teammate across the field. Its a wonderful example of how fans just truly appreciate and understand the game and the talent necessary to play it. Although there are surely casual fans, I couldnt spot any at Wembley during the game.

The game was deadlocked at half 0-0 with both teams having a few chances to put one on the scoreboard. Knowing that this was my only chance to use the restroom without missing any action, I made my way down. To be honest I was curious to see what the bathrooms looked like because as I had mentioned in previous posts I had did some research on the stadium and one of the boasts was that it had more toilets than any other facility on the planet. I was expecting to walk into a porcelain palace with hardly any wait. What I got was a ten minute wait only to share a trough with about 20 other guys. I find the whole 'most toilets' claim a bit debateable.

I returned to my seat for the second half and the fans picked up right where they left off. To be fair, the Brazilian fans deserve acknowledgment as well. They were vastly outnumbered but there were a few times where their chants echoed louder than any English chant. Not to mention there was constant Samba music; brass horns accompanied with drums. It was really fun watching them enjoy the game. Its like one big party to them. Not to mention they were hard to miss. They were a yellow and green blob in a sea of red.

The Brazilians always know how to have fun.

Back to the action on the pitch, England finally broke the deadlock when Captain John Terry headed home a free kick from none other than Mr. Beckham himself. The place went nuts. I think it reached decibel levels where if it was a factory it would be illegal not to wear ear plugs. Shortly after, Beckham was replaced and walked off the field to a standing ovation from the fans, its neat to see how much he meant to his country firsthand. When he was walking off, I heard the most creative song all night, David Beckham has his own song and everyone was singing it, but I couldnt quite make out the words. Fans seemed happy with the result, beating a Brazil squad featuring Ronaldinho and Kaka. But just as I was thinking that England played a great game, a costly lapse in concentration allowed Brazil to score a last-gasp equalizer. The Brazilian contingency went nuts. The final whistle blew and England fans walked out like they had just left a funeral. It was quite depressing to see that after all the excitement surrounding the homecoming before the game and up until the last minute of the game. In all truth, it was a fair result as Brazil were unlucky to capitalize on earlier chances in the game. I had to wait about 30 minutes just to get on a tube train in equally unpleasant conditions as when I arrived. And as tired as I was I really didnt mind, I just witnessed two of the greatest teams of my time play in the greatest stadium in the world (FINALLY!).

(Note from the ref: If you were hoping to get weird car of the week and other information (seeing how I started my internship this week), its going to have to wait until this weekend as Wembley is more than worthy of its own blog post.)

London Calling

2007-06-03T19:17:00.000-04:00

Friday I made my first foray into the capital of the Olde Empire and what a place it is. My day started bright and early as I had to catch a train from Southend to the city. I caught the 8 am C2C which is pretty much the commuter rail. So all the business type were rumbling and bumbling about on the same commute they have been making for god knows how long now. The train ride was extremely smooth and very quiet, I was really impressed. I took a window seat to make sure that I saw what we were traveling through. It was mostly cowfields and pastures, but it was all new to me so I didnt mind. There was one particular field we went through that seemed to have an old minaret tower that just stood alone, I'm not sure what it was but it looked very cool but it just came and went along with the rest of the scenery. I had to stop off in Upminster which--from the 5 minutes I was in the town--seems very well-to-do. A place where you would find proper Englishmen and Englishwomen. Perhaps the most important exchange of the day happened during my brief encounter with Upminster, I got my ticket for the match later on at Wembley!

The Golden Ticket.

After that brief hiatus my trip got back on track and I got back on a C2C train. Shortly thereafter arrived at Fenchurch Street, London. If I had known any better I would have stretched because I walked all over the place. My first order of business took me to BUNAC on Bowling Green Lane. BUNAC is responsible for producing my student visa which allows me to work over here in the UK. So I bought a day pass on the Underground (Tube) which would be my primary mode of transportation for the day (or so I thought). Once at BUNAC I had to go to a mandatory meeting about the basics of living in England, like the taxes, health care and so forth. To be honest though, I really wasnt all that attentive and I probably should have been. I just wanted to get out and see the city. What I did learn from the session was that London is divided into different zones, with start with Zone 1 (the center of the city) and Zones 2-5 form rings around the center with 5 being the farthest away, like a bullseye. After finishing up at the BUNAC headquarters I had the rest of the day to myself and decided to walk to the US embassy to register as an American in the UK. I wanted to walk rather than taking the tube because I would miss much of the city. So me, my ipod, and map were left to our own devices. The layout of the city is very similar to Boston with the random one-way streets as well as streets that just defy logic or common sense everyway possible. So I felt confident that I could take London head-on. I made sure take in my surroundings and it was amazing to see all of these old buildings, like at the Tower Hill tube station, which features London Tower as well as a wall dating back to when the Romans were conquering Celtic and Saxon tribes. My trek to the embassy led me from the east side of Zone 1 to the west side and it was very much a stop-and-go affair for various reasons. Either I was double checking my map, browsing a store or taking pictures. The first store that caught my eye was a small shop called signedsports.com, which was a football memorabilia shop owned by an enthusiastic Scotsman. He had wall to wall covered with framed jerseys or photos signed by various players. Needless to say, I couldnt afford anything in that store but they were fun to peruse. I made small talk with the owner about how I was going to watch my first football match at the new Wembley and his demeanor quickly changed. He went from the terse Scotsman owner to the fellow football fan in the blink of an eye. He told me how his business partner's son played for the England national U-16 squad and how he watched them play at Wembley a week before. He then told me how amazing the stadium was and how I was lucky that I managed to find a ticket. He then went on for about 10 minutes about how I should travel to the stadium. I appreciated his fervor; I kept the post-it note with his directions as a memento even though I didnt end up going to the stadium his way. After I left his store I made a more concerted effort to make it to the US Embassy. It was fairly straightforward on the map, but once I started walking things just didnt match up with the map. For one thing, streets in London have a habit of changing names depending on where you are, which is nothing new coming from Boston. But one major difference is that there are no street signs on the corners of blocks. Rather there are little signs that are attached to the sides of the buildings on the corner of the block and face the street. So if you want to know what intersection you are at, you have to stop and play a quick little game of 'Wheres Waldo'. And just when you thought you were getting the hang of it, some of the newer buildings dont have signs on them at all.

Oh there you are.

So I finally caught on and was making good time to the embassy (or at least I thought I was doin ok) and I couldnt help but notice all the people holding signs on the sidewalks telling passers-by to visit a store. There had to be at least 5-10 people per block holding a sign telling me to visit some back alley gift shop or visit Subway for the 'Friday Mint Lamb special'. Talk about aggressive adverstising, each shop basically had a full time marketer on every street I walked by. So I made it to the embassy and they were doing construction on the building. Therefore in typical American fashion I was made to walk very far out of the way to finally get to the entrance. Continuing in typical American fashion, I waited in line for about 15 minutes until someone came up to me and told me that I did not even need to register with the embassy and pointed out some small print in the back of my passport. American Government-42023 Me-0. So feeling defeated and hunger quickly setting in I needed to find a place to eat. I noticed on my map that there was a discount for an Italian restaurant that I passed a few blocks back on the edge of Soho. So I put an extra hop in my step back to the restaurant and the extra distance was worth it for the discount. London is an expensive city. Feeling revitalized after my chicken caesar salad I noticed that it was only 3 o'clock, meaning only one thing. I still had 5 hours to kill before kickoff. Browsing my map I found meerkats telling me to get off at the Camden Town tube stop and visit them at the London Zoo. I figured what the hell, I'm going to visit some meerkats. So I took the tube to Camden Town (which is in Northern London in Zone 2) and headed to Regent's Park, home of the London Zoo, with every intention of seeing some meerkats and their animal friends. When I got there I must say I was mildly unimpressed with the Zoo. There wasn't a whole lot to see or do and frankly the habitats left a lot to be desired. I can only imagine how the giraffe feels with his sprawling 20 yards of serengeti (sorry I'm a bit biased, I spent a large portion of my childhood at the world famous San Diego Zoo). But it was a zoo and there are always entertaining animals like the gorillas to make it worthwhile.

Hello.

I took my time and made sure to see everything before the 5:30 closing time. I walked through the rest of Regent's Park, which looks absolutely gorgeous with well-cared for gardens and big oak trees. I wish I took more time to enjoy the park but I was growing weary and I just wanted to fast forward to kickoff at Wembley to be honest. I was running out of gas and I reached the point where the idea of actually getting to Wembley, nowhere near where I was at the time (I know good planning on my part), was starting to detract from my excitement of attending the game. I reached the end of Regent's Park and I took a moment to stop and smell the roses, literally. And you know what? Life has a funny way of working sometimes. Im glad that I took that moment and I'll tell you why tomorrow...Wembley gets its own blog article.

Sitting on a Parkbench Older than My Country

2007-05-31T10:45:00.000-04:00

Well I finally made it and I can thank British Airways for getting me here in one piece. I would definitely recommend flying with them to anyone. The flights are a little on the expensive side but worth the extra money. The seats are comfortable, the food is decent and the service is helpful. You also get a little tv screen to watch movies and the like. My favorite channel showed you exactly where the plane was at all time. If they had this when I was younger I would have been the best behaved child on the planet. I was picked up by a worker at the club named Brian Dear. He reminded me of 'Brick Top' from the movie 'Snatch'. He was just as foul-mouthed, wore glasses and even looked a bit like him. Needless to say, we hit it off great and found plenty to talk about during our travels through the rolling hills and green pastures, namely football (soccer). I came to find out that Brian played for the East London side West Ham United back in the 60's and holds a few records as well. He scored 5 goals in 20 minutes in a game in 1965 vs. West Bromwich Albion and also has a European Cup Winner's Medal, which predated today's Champions League. It was interesting to hear him talk about his days as a football pro. He even traveled with his team to the US to take on teams in the North American Soccer League. He mentioned the names of Clive Toye and Phil Woosnam, two Englishmen who helped sign Pele to the New York Cosmos and also the subject of the excellent book I'm reading, "Once in a Lifetime" by Gavin Newsham. I spent a majority of my transatlantic flight reading about these two and the man driving me home knew them personally, amazing.

When we arrived in Southend, Brian stopped at Pizza Hut and I got some pizza, but it was nothing like the pizza I know and love back home. It tasted like flavored cardboard with plastic pepperoni on it. I should have known better. We soon arrived at my destination, The Waverley. A quaint bed and breakfast right on the River Thames. Quaint is a funny word, the only two instances I have ever heard it used is describing either a town or a house. Anyways, Cherryl the owner seems very nice and helped me to my room, which is just a tad smaller than a single dorm room. What it lacks in size it more than makes up for in the beautiful view I have. I have a balcony that overlooks the beaches and river. Its really nice, have a look yourself:

Ok ok, It was low tide and cloudy, but as the day passed it became beautiful out. 65 and sunny..and I cant wait to see a sunset.

This morning I enjoyed an early homemade English breakfast with two local cricket players who had a match in Southend today. For some reason the English love tomatoes. Having walked around town, every breakfast menu includes tomatoes has part of the meal, very strange. Even stranger is the bacon, its not the thin strips that Michael Scott wakes up to every morning on his George Forman but rather more akin to a slice of ham that tastes like bacon. Like a man on a mission I set out to take on Southend after breakfast. I had plenty to do. I walked along the waterfront towards the longest pier in the world. The waterfront reminds me a lot of either Hampton Beach or Nantasket minus the decay. There are little waterfront arcades, restaurants and even Adventure Island, a small theme park. I then made my way up the hill inland towards High Street, the downtown crossing of Southend. The first shop I entered was Poundland--essentially a dollar store. I bought some necessities and tolietries. After that out of the way I made my next purchase a UK mobile phone. I went to a place called O2 and if you didnt know any better you would have thought you were walking into an armani store that just happened to display cell phones. They had these exotic displays for the phones, like in grass and in water and whatnot. It was intense. Even the packaging that my phone came in was exquisite:

Not your average box.

That was pretty much it for what I needed to do for the day so I just wandered around aimlessly just taking in the sights and sounds. I made plenty of mental notes that I saved to share.

Observations:

+ There is no 1 pound note, its a coin. So a few times I have gone through my wallet looking for a note and it doesnt exist. Thankfully for me I have years of experience of paying with coins. I spent four years of high school paying for lunch using quarters from my mom's coin jar. Thanks mom.

+ It seems as though everyone smokes here, I cant turn anywhere without seeing someone ripping a rod. Even youngsters. You can smoke in restuarants too, but that going to change on July 1st (with a minor uproar Im sure).

+The Waverley has a tap of Carlsberg and I couldnt be happier. However, I had a Carling today and it was everything I dreamt it was. It may surpass Carlsberg as my favorite beer by the end of the Summer. If you sponsor a football trophy (The Carling Cup) it clearly has to be a cut above the rest.

+ 70% of the eating establishments are take-out kitchens that are nothing but the kitchen. Theres no room to eat inside. You walk in the door and theres a tiny lobby with an menu over the ordering window and the kitchen in the back and thats it. The Pizza Hut I went to last night was like that.

+ I saw more rugbys than I did soccer balls, which was somewhat surprising. I did see a group of kids playing in a nearby park however. The jersey of choice around here is definitely an England National team jersey, with Manchester United the next most popular. I saw a few Chelsea jerseys so I'm safe around here I think. I thought that was interesting because the closest Premiership team to here is West Ham United and I only saw one jersey, maybe it was laundry day.

+ Bad News: I still havent gotten used to how people drive on the opposite side of the road so Im a likely target for a hit-and-run.

+ Good News: These cars are so small that if I do in fact get hit, the injuries would amount to no more than a charlie horse.

+ Parking lots/garages are called 'car parks' and they have this genius meter in front of the entrance to the lot that calculates how many spaces are open based on how many times the gates had opened for those who are either coming or going. The US needs these. Theres nothing worse than seeing a sign out front of a parking lot that says 'full' when you can clearly see a handful of open spots.

+ As aformentioned the cars here are extremely small and economical. If the gas prices in the US ever reached the heights they are here, there will be a mutiny, I bet my 9th child's life on it. Aside from freight trucks or work vans, the largest personal car I've seen is a Toyota Rav-4. No SUVs, and its kinda nice.

+ Speaking of cars, its time for the debut of:

WEIRD CAR OF THE WEEK!

I have seen so many strange automobiles that I thought it would be fun to keep tabs on all of the hottest rides in the UK. Without further ado, here is the inaugural entry.

This Vauxhall is part station wagon/part paddy wagon. It is closely related to the mullet with its business in the front/party in the back attitude. The racing stripe is optional. I have seen a few of these around town today and I am sure they are pratical for local repairmen and the like, but damn those things are ugly.

Alright I'm off to find a nice pub, sit down and have myself a meal. Tomorrow is the match at Wembley (finally!) and I'll let you know how that went later on this weekend. Cheers!

P.S. If anyone notices me typing with 's' rather than 'z' like materialise rather than materialize please stop me. The letter 'z' gets little love as it is.

I Dream of Napoleon in Aquamarine

2007-05-28T00:54:00.000-04:00

Kele from Bloc Party had one hell of a dream; it’s one that would make even Jerry Garcia envious. While Kele has been reminiscing of European history in Technicolor, I have been dreaming of the ultimate stadium, Wembley. I have seen this mecca of a stadium on television. It is the cathedral for the world religion of soccer. It has been closed for the past seven years in order to receive the proper refurbishing (I read up on the stadium history so that I would feel worthy enough to enter the gates of England’s version of Graceland). As a result, I have made it a mission to visit London’s 90,000-seater when I'm overseas. Whether it is on a tour or actually watch a match with my own two eyes as long as I get to step inside this piece of heaven on earth. As luck would have it England is playing Brazil in an international friendly next Friday (June 1st). Two of world’s greats on the same pitch; I have been scrounging for tickets all week. I finally hit jackpot on Thursday. One ticket in section 503 (read: nosebleeds!) costing me an arm and a leg. But you know what? I really don’t mind. I’m going to the greatest stadium in the world and seeing the likes of Ronaldinho, Robinho, Kaka’, John Terry, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, and the return of David Beckham. Wembley is sold out and the English fans are going to give the England squad a proper welcome home. My first foray into the beautiful game is going to be a baptism by unwavering passion and intensity accompanied by Brazilian Samba music and I could not be more excited.

Play on:

I watched the Champions League Final on Wednesday and it was a highly entertaining match. It was a back and forth affair but the end result was a disappointment. It made me cringe to watch another Italian side win a major trophy. I’m no soccer genius but I think that Liverpool should have taken Bolo Zenden off after he showed futility on the left flank. Once AC Milan scored that fluke goal, Rafa Benitez should have put Harry Kewell on. He really didn’t have much time to put his mark on the game. Adding to Liverpool’s woes was the fact that Steven Gerrard’s world class ability eluded him. He seemed very ordinary as he miffed a chance to equalize after creating a dangerous turnover in Milan’s end. Liverpool often relies on Gerrard and his talent to win games. Unfortunately for the Reds, Gerrard did not find the back of the net. Milan put another one in the net and the game seemed out of reach. Peter Crouch came on too late to make an impact and although Dirk “the Gargoyle” Kuyt’s late consolation made things interesting, but it was too little too late.

My farewell tour led me to Boston earlier this week with a trip to the ICA. This building might look like a giant storage facility on the waterfront, but its full of awesome and equally bizarre artwork. Thanks to my tour guide I was able to see the best of what this place had to offer. On a nice day I recommend taking a few moments and just watching the busy Boston Harbor; I’ve always been a sucker for the salt air. The best part about this place is that its pretty cheap, $10 for students and its free on Thursday’s from 5 pm- 9 pm. I capped off my night with a dinner at Brown Sugar, a great Thai place on Comm Ave near BU. The service is good, nauseatingly good. Just expect a ton of water refills. If you like Thai food then I highly suggest you visit, but I have just one caveat, don’t get the Thai Tea. Not only does it taste terrible, but it will never quench your thirst. The weather was warm, the T was bumping and the 'R's were nonexistant; I’m going to miss Boston.

And now we play the waitin' game...

2007-05-22T16:23:00.000-04:00

After many many emails, I finally got the one I was looking for. Southend United has made a lifelong dream come true. I'll finally have a chance to see the beautiful game in all its glory while working for Southend. ARRIVING IN ENGLAND CANNOT COME SOON ENOUGH.

I have spent countless hours becoming a student of the game, preparing for barstool debates with passionate locals. I am proactively working to fight the stigma of an American football fan. Youtube, ESPN's Soccernet, and fifa.com have become second nature to me. I watch gamecasts and less than legal transmissions of games, not to mention Fox Soccer Channel at home (FSC to those in the know).

With a trip to England not yet secured I planned on following the English leagues as much as possible for that extra motivation to get overseas. This past season had started off with a bang, both my Chelsea Home Kit and my Liverpool scarf arrived on the same day. Seems like a bit of a contradiction I know, but you cant go wrong with a scarf that says "You'll never walk alone". I wore my new Drogba jersey almost everyday eagerly anticipating the new season and finally felt like a true fan. Then the games actually started. Chelsea lost its first (albeit quite meaningless) match when it played Liverpool in the Community Shield. Looking back on it, that was a taste of what was to come, as Chelsea lost to Liverpool twice and more importantly, ruined a chance at a Champions League final (AGAIN). A season full of promise left Chelsea with just the Carling Cup at one point, but the season was salvaged by an extra time goal from Didier this past weekend to win the FA Cup over Cristiano Ronaldo and Co. Being the eternal optomist that the Red Sox have taught me to become, there is always next year to see the Blues lift the Champions League Trophy. Perhaps my planned visit to Stamford Bridge will ignite a dormant fire in the players and spur them on to long-awaited European glory. Hey, it could happen (McWORRRRRRRLD!!)

Other disappointments from this season:
- Cristiano Ronaldo becoming FA player of the year over the Ref's favorite, Didier Drogba. He's basically the A-Rod of the EPL; theres no doubting his talents and he's more clutch than A-Rod will ever be, but he is flamboyant, whiny, plays for the wealthiest team and oftentimes his sexuality is called into question just like his American counterpart. Brothers from a different mother, you heard it here first.

- Seeing Michael Carrick sell his soul and sign with Man Utd. He was a likeable favorite at Spurs (another favorite of the Ref), now hes just left with no dignity and more money than I will ever see in my life.

- Man Utd winning Premiership Title, this is probably the last team that I would want to see win, with Arsenal being a close second.

- Most importantly it was unfortunate to see Southend United unable to avoid the drop. I was looking forward to the chance of seeing them in the Championship, but alas it was not meant to be. League One here we come.

All was not lost. As much as I make it seem that way. During that span Bloc Party came out with a new album 'A Weekend in the City' and also tore the lid off the Orpheum in Boston. Clive Tyldesley and Andy Gray burst onto the scene and tirelessly provided hours and hours of commentary in the tightest of matches and the biggest of blowouts in FIFA 07. The two guided my friends Chris, Tebo, and I through heartache and ectasy and I probably would not have made it through a school year without them. Turning 21 also had its benefits and as a result The Harp became a great place to watch a Tuesday or Wednesday afternoon kickoff for the knockout stages of the Champions League. If you are ever in the Amherst, MA area I highly recommend (don't be fooled into thinking The Pub is actually a pub).

Last but not least I will finally be venturing out of the North American continent. It's something I've always wanted to do but I never actually thought it would happen. The chance to work for Southend United and the thought seeing a football match in person gives me chills, I wish I could describe it better than that. May 30th is sandbagging worse than me.

Now if you'll excuse me I have to go watch the FA Cup highlight show on FSC for the umpteenth time.