The Cover Story: The Group of Death

Yesterday the Group of Death of Euro 2012 wrapped up and it was full of drama. Ronaldo, answered his detractors, and shot Portugal into the knockout stages while the Dutch flamed out. The German cruised and won the group, while former European Champion Denmark was sent home. Here is how newspapers in each country covered the events

Netherlands

Denmark

Germany

Portugal

EURO 2012 Here We Come

With the European Club season ending, its time for soccer fans to shift their attention to Euro 2102. Here are some of the great promos that are running around the world.

Nike's "My Time is Now" ad




ITV (England) has a great ad campaign asking people to dream



ESPN's promo for Euro 2012



Random promo I found on YouTube and its great



Another great promo I found on YouTube, this one takes a look at some of the tournaments great moments

OTWT Starting 11 for 2011

Everyone is doing it, so I thought we would too. Here is the OTWT starting 11 for 2011

• Goalkeeper: Joe Hart, Manchester City
• Left Back: Ashley Cole, Chelsea
• Center back: Vincent Kompany, Manchester City
• Center back: Nemanja Vidic, Manchester United
• Right Back:  Gregory van der Wiel, Ajax
• Left side: Eden Hazard, Lille
• Central Midfielder: Javier Mascherano, Barcelona 
• Central Midfielder: Xavi, Barcelona
• Right side:Mario Goetze, Borussia Dortmund
• Striker: Ronaldo, Real Madrid
• Striker: Lionel Messi, Barcelona

I know everyone does not agree with my starting 11, so let the trashing begin. 

The Ajax way

An amazing look at the set up at Dutch club Ajax, which includes former Arsenal star Dennis Bergkamp. They have an amazing coaching staff.

Please be nice to your trophies

As the European soccer season winds to a close, people are collecting trophies all over the place and some players are having a hard time handling the trophies.

Ajax goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenberg drops Dutch title trophy


Sergio Ramos drops the Copa del Rey


While its not a soccer trophy, the Spokane Chiefs break the Memorial Cup in 2008, classic, one of my favorites

MLS needs to hold on to this man

Over the course of the time, the MLS has produced a couple of players that have gone on to make an impact in different leagues around Europe. The two that come to mind the most are Clint Dempsey and Michael Bradley. But over the next couple of years that list will probably include this years #1 pick in the MLS Super Draft, Philadelphia Union's Danny Mwanga.

On Wednesday, I headed to the Linc to see Manchester United take on the Union and the one thing that stood out to me was the performance of Mwanga. In approximately, 60 minutes of work, Mwanga put pressure on the United back four. At over six foot tall Mwanga, is a force both on the ground in the air.

Coming up over the next couple of years, the league will face a choice: sell him or make him a star in this league. So far this season in his 12 appearances, Mwange has scored five goals. Mwanga is going to continue to grow and when he does some team from the Dutch League or another similar league will make a bid for the talented 19 year old and the league is going to have to make a choice. I would try to hold on and with his dual citizenship he could be in Brazil wearing the stars and stripes.

Soccer's real kung fu kid?

The World Cup Final is over and it was not the most entertaining game with Spain winning in extra time 1-0. But the one incident that stood out was dutch midfielder Nigel de Jong kung fu kick on Alonso, which got me to thinking, who is soccer real Kung Fu Kick: de Jong or Eric Cantona?

Nigel de Jong on Alonso during the 2010 World Cup Final


Manchester United Eric Cantona kung fu kicks a Crystal Palace fan

Is the Premier League Coming to ESPN3.com?

During halftime of the Netherlands vs. Uruguay World Cup semifinal yesterday, I was looking at the ESPN3.com schedule for soccer during the upcoming months and one thing that I found surprised me. Listed on Aug. 14 at 7:30 a.m. is the Barclays Premier League, there were no teams listed but same type listing was also scheduled for Aug. 21. Last year, ESPN3.com, then ESPN360 was not able to show the games on their Internet network because of an agreement with FSC, but if they worked this out, it would be a great service for fans. With the Barclays Premier League on board, the streaming network now features the German League, Italian League, Spanish League, Dutch League, and Portuguese League. Now that is a network for soccer.

I don't know if this is a misprint or something like that, but bringing the Premier League would be great for people who don't have access to a tv during the game and have to be by a computer. I was wondering if anyone out there had any further information about this.

A bad weekend for South America

The World Cup quarterfinals featured two glamour South America vs Europe games Argentina vs. Germany and Dutch vs Brazil. The German and the Dutch advanced to the semifinals. Here is how the newspapers in the four countries covered the events.

Dutch

Germany
Brazil

Argentina

A Way to Solve the Big Freeze Issue in England

The big freeze has wrecked havoc on the Premier League this weekend. Five of this weekend's English Premier League fixtures have been postponed because of concerns for the safety of spectators making their way to grounds in freezing conditions. Saturday's Fulham v Portsmouth, Sunderland v Bolton and Burnley v Stoke matches were all called off on Friday, as was Sunday's Liverpool v Tottenham match at Anfield and the game between Hull and leaders Chelsea after heavy snowfall in Hull and more postponements might be comings. With all of the games being called off the rest of the season is going to look like a busy festive period fixture list.

I know this is going to sound out of line but maybe the Premier League and its clubs should follow the model of Ajax and build stadiums with retractable roofs. I know what people are thinking how is that going to work. I'm not saying domes, I'm saying when planning for these new stadiums maybe the clubs should take a page out of the Amsterdam Arena's book and build something with a roof that can be opened and close. The roof does not have to stay all of the time and will not, it will only be closed in the case of extreme weather, like what has hit England this weekend.

People who consider themselves traditionalist will say this will take something away from the game and that there is something that can be said about playing a game at Hull City in a snow storm. Sure that is great but we have already crossed that bridge and we are not coming back. Just go back to when the World Cup was in the United States. Games for the showcase where played in the Silver Dome in Detroit, yes indoors. So if FIFA says that it can be played in doors what is the difference if we have retractable roofs on some of these stadiums. This way we will not have a weekend like this where the showcase game of the weekend Liverpool vs. Spurs is canceled because of the weather.

Maybe its time

With Rangers getting closer and closer to almost becoming Leeds United, maybe its time for both Celtic and Rangers to run away from the Scottish Premier League and head for greener pastures. Rangers 's club's bankers Lloyds are owed £30million by the end of the campaign. With a TV contract that is nothing to celebrate the only way that they maybe be able to meet the payment is to sell half of the first team. Maybe its time that both clubs look for a new idea to generate revenue, something like the North Atlantic Soccer League.

The league, which has been rumored for sometimes, would include top teams from the Netherlands, Belgium, Scotland, Portugal and Scandinavia. The league would almost be like a smaller version of the Champions League.

The league would create some interest all of Europe. Traditional powers like Porto, Celtic, Rangers, Ajax, PSV would bring large fan bases and large of amounts of money to a league that would be interesting to watch. Under my proposal the 20 team league would consist of Rangers, Celtic, Sporting Lisbon, Porto, Benfica, Ajax, PSV, Feyenoord, Standard Liege, Anderlecht, Malmo, Gotenberg, Brondby, HJK, and eight other teams to developed from a playoff.

Some think the creation of the league would kill the leagues in Portugal, Scotland, and Belgium, but that does not have to happen, if UEFA decides to give out spots in the Champions League to the winners of the leagues that are left behind and give a spot to the winner of the proposed North Atlantic League, it might all workout in the end.

Sure it might not be the best idea to soccer purist but its only a matter of time before something like this happens and before we turn our backs on the idea we have to look at what the impact will be and if UEFA handle it correctly it could be a win win for everyone involved.

OTWT: UEFA Cup predictions

During its history the UEFA Cup has been the red haired step child to the Champions League, but this year in its final year as the UEFA Cup, it has some interesting match-ups in the the Round of 32. There are a couple of former European Cup winners and even some up and coming clubs.

Here is how I see the round going:

• Paris St Germain v Wolfsburg: PSG, the only top flight club in Paris has shown a rebirth this year after a couple of years battling relegation.
  
• FC Copenhagen v Manchester City: Manchester City, the only question is what will the roster look like after the January transfer window.
  
• NEC Nijmegen v Hamburg: Hamburg.
  
• Sampdoria v Metalist Kharkiv: Sampdoria
  
• Braga v Standard Liège: Standard Liege, could be a team that makes a run deep into the knock of rounds.
  
• Aston Villa v CSKA Moscow:Villa, this might be one of the hardest ties to call. I would not be shocked if the former UEFA Cup champions beat the rising English team.
  
• Lech Poznan v Udinese: Udinese
  
• Olympiakos v St Etienne: Olympiakos
  
• Fiorentina v Ajax: Fiorentia
  
• Aalborg v Deportivo de La Coruña: Aalborg
  
• Werder Bremen v Milan: Milan, maybe Golden Balls will make an appearance in the knock out stages.
  
• Bordeaux v Galatasaray: Galatasaray
  
• Dynamo Kiev v Valencia: Valencia
  
• Zenit St Petersburg v Stuttgart: Stuttgart. Zenit look like a team that could care less to be there.
  
• Marseille v FC Twente: Marseille.
  
• Shakhtar Donetsk v Tottenham: Donetsk. I think that Harry will be more concerned with the Premier League rather then the UEFA Cup.
  

The match ups are really not that bad, some are really interesting.

Fun with the Dutch

A couple of months we profiled the International Football Factories on the Turks, now its time to give the Oranje their shot.

Part I


Part II


Part III


Part IV


Part V

Money makers from the Olympics

With Argentines being crowned Olympic Champions it's always good to see who may have made some money based on their performances in Beijing.

Here are five that I think made them selves some serious cash during the Olympic soccer tournament.

1. Angel Di'Maria, Argentina (above): Everyone talks about Messi and Roman but the Benfica wingers performance was key. Scored the extra time winner in the quarterfinal against the Dutch and the winner against Nigeria in the final. It's only a matter of time before he makes a big money move.

2. Maurice Edu: USA: Showed great versatility in playing in the center of defense, a position that he never played. His performance led Rangers to come calling.

3. Gianni Zuiverloon, Dutch (right): The defender just made an off season move to West Brom. During the tournament Gianni made great runs down the wing opening up space for the Dutch forwards.

4. Thiago Neves, Brazil: Despite being on a terrible team, Neves performance impressed many including Manchester City and Atletico Madrid.

5. Promise Issac, Nigeria: The attacking midfielder will be on ever big clubs shopping list, he never stops. Trabzonspor in Turkey will have a hard time keeping hold of him.

Weekend Soccer Thoughts

The domestic season in Germany and EPL kicked off in a big way this weekend and Olympic soccer and the Spanish Super Cup. Wow what a weekend.

Only Time Will Tell Preseason Top 25

The season is almost here and boy I can not wait. Usually I leave the ranking of the top teams in Europe to my friend over at World Club Rankings, but since it a new season I figured I would give it a shot.

Here is the Only Time Will Tell preseason European Top 25.
1. Manchester United: With Ronald back my team tries to repeat what it did last year.
2. Inter Milan: Now how does this sound The Special One (to the right) vs. Sir Alex in the Champions League Final in Rome.
3. Bayern Munich: Was not involved in the Champions League last year, but will return this with intentions of lifting Mr. Big Ears.
4. Real Madrid: Won the Spanish title for the second straight year, must do better in the Champions League.
5. Chelsea: The best second place team in the world.
6. AC Milan: Can a team that did not make the Champions League be one of the best teams in Europe. With the addition of Flamini and Ronaldihno they will be a force to be reckon with.
7. Liverpool: Keane is a scousers delight, but must find a way to better in the league.
8. Villarreal: The little Yellow Submarine that could, Marco Sena and the crew will give anyone a hard time in the Europe.
9. Arsenal: Every time you turn around Wenger is signing a kid and they all turn out well and this gang is no different.
10. Roma: Totti and DeRossi, might be the most exciting team in Italy, Only Time Will Tell favorite Italian team.
11. Lyon: They rule France but always find a way to blow it in the Champions League.
12. Barcelona: Last year was a disaster for the Blue and Red, but moves for Dani Alves and other should make it a better year at the Nou Camp.
13. Juventus: Last year the Old Lady did not play in Europe, this year they are ready.
14. Atletico Madrid: One of the most exciting teams in Spain, one problem they do not defend, this is Only Time Will Tell's Favorite Spanish team.
15. Schalke 04: Maybe this will be the year the Royal Blues win the league title.
16. Fenerbache: Last year they made a run deep in the Champions League this year they may go deeper.
17. Porto: The Special Ones former club is ready roll again in Portugal.
18. Fiorentina: Mutu and the gang return to the big ears cup.
19. Werder Bremen: Diego might be the best player in the world that no one knows about.
20. Zenit St. Petersburgh: Last years UEFA Cup champs, now they get to show there skills on the big stage.
21. Marseille: If there is going to be a team that catches Lyon in France it's going to be OL.
22. PSV: The Dutch League has fallen hard times but the tenant at the Phillips are the best of the bunch.
23. Celtic: Going for another SPL title and going to make every ones life in the Champions League hell.
24. Tottenham Hotspurs: The Magic Juande has made a huge impact at White Hart Lane.
25. Sporting Lisbon: The former home of Nani and Ronaldo look to catch Porto for the domestic title.

Euro 2008: Team of the Group Stage

With the Euro group stages ended, here is a look at the team of the group stages:

Goalie: Giggi Buffon, Italy
Defenders: Sergio Ramos, Spain
Defenders: Pepe, Portugal
Defenders: Vedran Corluka, Croatia
Defenders: Gio Van Bronkhorst, Dutch
Midfielders: Wesley Sneijder (right), Dutch
Midfielders: Arda Turan, Turkey
Midfielders: Luka Modric, Croatia
Midfielders: Deco, Portugal
Strikers:: David Villa, Spain
Striker: Nihat Kahveci, Turkey

Subs:
Ronaldo, Portugal
Rafeel van der Vaart, Dutch
Orlando Engelaar, Dutch
Lukas Podolski, Germany
Marco Senna, Spain
Roman Pavlyuenko, Russia

The Italians are not happy

In the first game between true international heavy weights in Euro 2008 the Dutch ran ruff shot over an old looking Italian squad 3-0 in the first game for both in Group B yesterday. The Italian press is not happy with the Azzurri's performance.

La Gazzetta dello Sport

La Stampa

Il Tirreno

Il Mattino

EURO 2008 in Beer

While everyone around is debating the outcoming of Euro 2008, the Guardian's Ben McFarland breaks down the important issues surrounding the tournament, which county has the best beer. The next time the tailgating crew goes to a bar, we are going to bring the list of beers with us.

Liverpool could be doomed already

The last time members of the Kop celebrated an English First Division Championship was back in the days of the back pass, 1989-1990. With the new season only a couple of months away, the Kop's dream of a title might be dead already. Liverpool might be one of the major clubs affected by national teams calling up of overage players for the Beijing Olympics. Traditionally Olympic squads consist of players Under-23 years old and three over age players.

If the national associations in Holland and Argentina both have their way, Liverpool would be down Ryan Babel and Javier Mascherano for their countries run for Olympic gold. If both of the players represent their countries it's possible that they could miss more then a month of the season and as Rafa the Rotating Manager's squad sits now there are not enough quality players to cover the holes. The tournament runs from Aug. 7 to Aug. 23.

With Babel gone Liverpool loose most of the speed that they have on the roster, aside from Torres. While loosing Mascherano means that they will have to find another holding midfielder to cover for Gerrard when he goes forward. One of the reasons that playing Gerrard in back of Torres up front is so successful because he has great defensive cover in the tough tackling Argentinian.

The loss of both players for the tournament could mean more time for two of Endy in the Outfields favorite Liverpool players Lucas and Jermaine Pennant, which would mean the title drought continues. That is why the signing of Gareth Barry from Aston Villa is so important.