Posts Tagged ‘Landon Donovan’

The more things change the more things stay the same. This is deja vu all over again. Ghana defeated the USA 2-1 in extra time.

It took 120 minutes to settle this puppy.

Ghana knocked out the USA of the 2006 World Cup held in Germany.

Yes, we won Group C  but the USA came up short when it counted.

Two defensive lapses killed the USA.

Kevin Prince Boateng split the seam in the “D”. He flat out beat a defenseless Tim Howard short post left in the 5^th minute.

The USA didn’t quit. We crawled back into the match.

Clint Dempsey took it to the rack. This forced the Ghana defender to foul him.

Up steps the D Man.

Landon Donovan nailed the PK off the right post in the 62^nd minute.

Injury time and it was Déjà vu all over again.

Asamoah Gyan beat two American defenders to the ball.

He flipped the shot over Tim Howard’s out stretched hands in the 93^rd minute.

The USA is now 0-1-14 in matches when they trailed at half.

These goals were not Tim Howard’s fault.

We played crappy “D” on these two plays that were the turning points of the match.

The USA showed promise but we still have a long way to go in futebol.

I am sad but hey this all part of the game.

Go Brasil.

Uruguay defeated South Korea 2-1.

Luis Suarez hit for the daily double.

Uruguay’s super striker Diego Forlan set up Suarez’s first goal with a great centering pass across the goal crease.

The second goal Suarez dribble to his right. He nailed a curling knuckler that went ker plunk off the right post into the twines.

Uruguay and Ghana will meet in the quarterfinals of the World Cup.

South America’s strong showing in the World Cup surprises the clowns at ESPN however, I am not.

I have been writing about South American futebol for two years.

The pundits used by ESPN are ex-European futebol players. All these guys know is the EPL, Spain, Italy, France, and Germany. They know nothing about South American clubs.

When one thinks about South American futebol only Brasil and Argentina, come to mind. Yet, team like  Chile, Uruguay, and Paraguay are flying under the radar.

If you want to get a feel for South American futebol watch the Copa Libertadores. I have been follwing the Copa since 1993.

The teams that win the Copa always give the Champions League titleholder fits. Just ask Manchester United, Barcelona, Liverpool, and Inter Milan.

South American  futebol is for real folks.

Brasil has a ring for the thumb.

We are going for a ring for the other hand.

Italy has four titles.

Uruguay has won two World Cup titles.

Argentina has two titles too.

Many of the top futebolers are from South America.

Up next Argentina-Mexico and England-Germany.

Sunday will be great.

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The USA won Group C with a thrilling 1-nil win over Alegria.

Landon Donovan is finally proving he belongs on the world futebol stage.
The Landon Man nailed the match winner in the 91^st minute.

The superman in goal Tim Howard set up this goal. Howard blocked a point blank shot. He gobbled up the loose ball. A quick outlet pass by Howard and we were off to the races.

Alegria never knew what hit them.

The USA was off to the races.

Buda bing buda boom the ball is in the back of the Algerian net in a matter moments.

Fast break futebol at its best.

You gotta love it.

Game, set, and match to the USA.

My wife and I stood and cheered at the top of our lungs.

Our neighbors thought we are nuts.

I have the papers to prove I am nuts.

We win the Group and now on to the knockout stage.

The idiot pundits in the USA media have proclaimed Landon Donovan the greatest player in United States history.

NOT!

One brilliant World Cup doesn’t make up for all the times Donovan stunk the joint out.

Read my lips Tim Howard is the only world-class player have.

Time in and time out Howard has saved the USA hide.

Without Howard, we would have lost to England, Alegria, and Slovenia.

Trust me on this.

England finally tickled the twines in a huge 1-0 over Slovenia.

Jermain Defoe saved the English skin when he nailed the match winner in the 23^rd minute.

The Aussies defeated Serbia 2-1.

Germany escaped with Ghana 1-0.

After a scoring barrage against a short-handed Australian squad, the Germans have petered out in goal production.

Germany is over rated.

Germany wins Group D.

Ghana and the Aussies tied for second with four points but Ghana had a better goal difference. Ghana was a zero while Australia was a minis three.

In my heart, I would love to see a miracle in South Africa. The USA wins the World Cup. Dreams are great to have.

Do you believe in Miracles?

YES!

1980 Lake Placid, New York.

USA upset the pro Russian hockey team and wins the Gold Medal.

Will this happen again?

If not I want Brasil to win.

I don’t want Argentina to win.

My head tells me that Brasil, Argentina, and Spain are even money to win it all.

The second tier consists of Germany, Netherlands, England, and Portugal.

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The United States was screwed out of a win. The goal by Maurice Edu in the 86^th minute was a good goal.

The dumb ref disallowed this sucker.

The USA scored two second half goals after falling behind 2-nil in the first half.

The USA and Slovenia tied two all.

Tim Howard was hung out to dry on both goals.

Valter Birsa nailed a long-range sniper shot top shelf left to gave Slovenia a 1-0 lead.

The goal by Zlatan Ljubijankic was a classic spilt the seam in the “D” score that forced Tim Howard to come off his line.

This forced Ljubijankic to shoot. He did. Zlatan Ljubijankic ripped the twines in the 42^nd minute to give Slovenia a 2-0 lead.

These goals were not Tim Howard’s fault.

The USA should be given great kudos for not quitting.

The guys toughed it up and scored two second half goals to level this sucker.

Landon Donovan finally proved he just might be a good player. He roofed a close range screamer in the 48^th minute to cut the deficit to 2-1.

Michael Bradley poked home a free ball in the 82^nd minute to level this baby up at two all.

This wasn’t futebol. It was the WWF on a pitch.

Slovenia was the king of the arm bar and sleeper hold.

Hulk Hogan and Johnny Valentine would be proud the way Slovenia performed their wrestling moves in the box.

What has happened to the mighty English?

Again, they played like clowns and tied with lowly Algeria nil-nil.

Where was Wayne Rooney?

How about Frank Lampard or Steven Gerrard?

Fabio Capello needs to be shot.

His team sucks.

The English press will be calling for his head.

Heck, I am calling for his head.

I am not English.

This was disgraceful futebol.

Serbia beat the mighty German team 1-0.

So much for a 4-1 thrashing of Australia

The German Floppers finally got a taste of their own medicine when Miroslov Klose was given the heave-hoe in the 36^th minute.

This was not a red card but after years of Germany receiving the benefit of crap calls, they finally got one called against them.

Paybacks are a bitch.

Better yet Serbian keeper saved the match when he stone cold stopped Lukas Podolski PK shot in the 60^th minute.

Stick a dagger in the German’s heart. 

Serbia’s Milan Jovanovic ripped the twines in the 38^th minute.

All the USA has to do is win baby and we’re in like Flynn.

 Here was another day of upsets, crappy play, and horrible refereeing.

FIFA needs to straighten out the ref mess,

It looks like the fix is in.

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Double Bubble boil and trouble is the problem with Fabio Capello and his English chargers.

The Americans were out played for 75% of the match but Clint Dempsey’s gift of a goal in the late stages of the first half gave the Yanks a one all draw with the Three Lions.

America’s saving grace was keeper Tim Howard.

He is the only world-class player we have.

Thank our lucky stars Howard was on the top of his game. If not it could have been worse.

We will take it.

Landon Donovan played okay but for most of the match, he was a non-factor.

Steven Gerrard’s strike in the 4^th minute put England up 1-nil.

This was set up by a great give and go.

Howard never had a chance.

He was hung out to dry by the American’s crappy “D”.

Clint Dempsey found the back of the net in the 40^th minute. Keeper Robert Green should have stopped Dempsey’s shot. Instead, Green had a brain fart. He decided to do an imitation of Charlie Chaplin. The ball hits Green in the worse place the hands. Whamo, bamo the ball bounces off of his hands into the back of the net for a one all tie.

Green needs to be shot at dust for stupid play.

Argentina shut out Nigeria 1-0.

Maradona’s squad thoroughly out played Nigeria. The result should been at least 5-0.

This is not good for Argentinos.

If Argentina continues to play like this, they will not make it out of the group stage.

Gabriel Heinze diving header off a well place corner kick in the 6^th minute was the difference.

Nigeria had several opportunities off the counter attack but they could not convert.

Maradona played five guys up front. This left the back line exposed. If Nigeria could have convert their limited chances Argentinos might have lost instead Maradona has to thank Nigeria’s ineptness.

Nigeria played like a team that didn’t want to be there. They played without heart. Nigeria looked they wanted to be at home.

South Korea killed Greece 2-0.

The South Korean’s flat out played pedal to the medal futebol.

Day two was full of surprises just as day one was.

No one expected England to tie with the United States.

Argentina barely got by Nigeria.

The Greeks stunk the joint out.

We have learned one important lesson so far in the World Cup.

Expect the unexpected.

Watch out for the dogs.

Tim Howard is one of the keepers in the world.

ESPN still suckers at broadcasting futebol.

Lalas and his buds Chris Fowler need to give up the ship and let someone who knows futebol do the grunt work.

At least ESPN had the good sense to let English announcers broadcast the matches. ABC should do the same.

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There are two days until the World Cup begins. I can’t wait. The idiots at ESPN will broadcast the entire tournament. I would rather watch paint dry then torture myself listening to the clowns at ESPN butcher futebol.

No, thank you I will watch the Spanish Stations instead.

Listening to Alexi Lalas spout his insane comments and idiotic ideas is bad enough on ESPN 2 during the EPL now I have put up with his dribble on greatest futebol stage-The World Cup.

I would rather eat cat shit and live.

It is my blog and I can say what I want.

You don’t like it tough do-do.

Give me a break.

Throw into the mix Tommie Smyth and the rest no wonder the world thinks America futebol is a joke.

The Americans are in the same group as England, Slovenia, and Algeria.

The USA should advance but anything is possible with this team.

Tim Howard needs to play lights out.

The “D” stinks.

Howard is the great eraser.

Landon Donovan finally needs to step up and show what he is made of.

He had a great short run at Everton.

Let’s see if this was a fluke or for real.

We will find out real quick.

England is hurting. The Rooney Man will hopefully be healed of all his nagging injuries.

Wayne Rooney is a world-class futebol player.

He is your typical power forward in the NBA.

You can’t stop him when he gets in the crease.

Frank Lampard, Shawn Wright Phillips, Jermain Defoe, and Jamie Carragher need to step up to the plate and knock it out of the park.

Super defender Rio Ferdinand is out due to injury.

This is not good.

He is the glue that holds the “D” together.

Just ask Sir Alex about that.

I still think the English squad has a better than fifty-fifty chance to win it all.

I am an American with a Brasilian heart.

I married a Brasilian.

I have always rooted for Brasil since I was knee high to a grasshopper.

Dunga and the guys are favorites but they have their work cut out for them.

We will talk about that on Friday.

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The World Cup is three days away. The world’s best futebol clubs will battle it out for the 2010 World Cup title.

Spain and Brasil are the favorites to win the whole shooting match.

Argentina, England, and Italy have a good shot a being crowned champs too.

Italy is the defending World Champion.

Will the Italians repeat?

Not.

Let the games begin on Friday June 11^th.

The opening salvo has South Africa battling Mexico and Uruguay has a hot date with France.

Brasil opens up with Korea on June 15^th.

The USA takes on England on Saturday June 12^th.

This should be a good one.

The Unites States saving grace is Tim Howard in goal.

He is the only world-class player we have.

Landon Donovan showed promise when he played for EPL club Everton for a spell from January thru April but when push comes to shove Donovan wusses out in money matches.

Let’s see if Landon man will change his ways.

I can’t wait.

I am pulling for Brasil.

My heart is Brasilian.

Go Brasil.

Teams to watch out for-France, Germany, Nigeria, Portugal, England, and Cameroon.

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Adriano was given time off to sort his life. Adriano and his bride Joana Machado were having some problems. UOL had this to say www.uol.com.br O problema pessoal envolvendo o atacante Adriano (confusão num baile funk com a noiva Joana Machado) não foi levado para dentro de campo pelos jogadores do Flamengo. Sendo assim, a equipe rubro-negra, com facilidade, goleou o Resende por 4 a 0, na noite deste sábado, no Estádio Raulino de Oliveira, em Volta Redonda, pela terceira rodada da Taça Rio, segundo turno do Campeonato Estadual.

Did The Emperor’s absence hurt Flamengo? Many would say no way Jose but I beg to differ. Without Adriano in the line up Mengao had a hard time with second division side Resende before finally pulling away in the second half to win 4-0.

Yes, the torrid rain had something to do with the sloppy play but I think Mengao is resting on their laurels and not seriously getting ready to defend their title.

Globo Esporte http://globoesporte.globo.com/  wrote this-A chuva intermitente que castigou Volta Redonda durante todo o sábado prejudicou o estado do gramado, repleto de poças. O toque de bola era difícil, e pelo alto o Flamengo quase abriu o placar. Após escanteio cobrado por Vinícius Pacheco, aos dois minutos, Fernando cabeceou no canto direito e Cleber saltou para fazer excepcional defesa.

Mengao started really slow. Rubro-Negro had several early opportunities to score but Fernando just missed a close range header in the 2^nd minute.  Toro fired a wicked shot on goal but Resende keeper Cleber stopped em cold in the 24^th minute.

Vagner Love wasted a golden opportunity in the 31^st minute. Fabricio forced a ball into the goalmouth. It was pinball machine time. Love just missed putting away the loose ball. Resende keeper Cleber was able to punch the ball out of harms way.

Mengao finally got on the scoreboard in the 37^th minute. Vagner love threaded the needle to mate Bruno Mezenga. Mezenga flew past Resende defender Rodrigo Costa. Bruno Mezenga stopped and popped a shot right into the top shelf left. Cleber never had a prayer to stop this sucker.

The second half was a different story. Mengao pressed the attack. Flamengo scored three-second half goals to salt this puppy away.

Leonardo Moura ripped the twines in the 62^nd minute. His shot off a free kick from just outside the top box beat the keeper Cleber top shelf left.

Mengao scored again in the 72^nd minute. Flamengo worked the ball down the pitch with some precision passing. Vinicius Pacheco was recipient of this great teamwork. He was one on one with the keeper. Pacheco hit a perfect shot just inside the far right post to make 3-0 Flamengo.

Vagner Love capped the scoring in the 82^nd minute. Love had an easy walk goal to make 4-0 Mengao.

This goal was set up by a turnover in the Resende offensive end of the pitch.

Juan pulled the keeper and the defenders away from goalmouth.

Juan lay off a great pass to mate Love who was crashing the far right post.

All and in all it was a win but Mengao was very sloppy with the ball and this could back and hurt them big time.

 Mas a chance inicial parecia chuva de verão. O Resende rondou a área adversária, insistindo no jogo aéreo para Tuta. Disperso, o time rubro-negro errou muitos passes no meio de campo, o que travou o andamento das jogadas.

Vagner Love is a big hit with Mengao. Love is the clubs top scorer with ten goals.Com mais um gol, Vagner Love chegou ao seu décimo na competição e se isolou ainda mais na artilharia do Campeonato Estadual. Dodô, do Vasco, com oito, vem logo atrás.

Love added that this victory was for Adriano.

“O Adriano faz falta ao time e oferecemos esta vitória para ele. Mas jogamos com personalidade e estamos com uma moral maior”, disse Vagner Love.

In the lone EPL action on Sunday Everton dismantled Hull City 5-1. Landon Donovan recorded his first EPL goal in the 82^nd minute.

Mikel Arteta hit the daily double for Toffees.  

FA Cup Quarterfinal action saw Chelsea take care of Stoke City 2-0. Aston Villa doubled up on Reading 4-2. Chelsea and Aston Villa are into the FA semifinals.

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