What an exhausting day yesterday was... wake up, warm up the ol' typing machine, get the Twitter ready (that sounds dirty, I realize), and turn the TV on for the first World Cup match of the day. And as the US v Algeria match stretched on, I suffered through heart attacks, vomiting, and delirium. Around the 80th minute, I thought about abandoning the match and taking a long walk. The US was going to lose the game, I thought. I had to start preparing myself for the grim reality of crushing disappointment.
I'm not the most realistic person, though. Part of me still believes that crazy shit can happen in a football match. Twice I thought of Andreas Iniesta's incredible destructo shot in the last minutes of the 2009 Champions League semi-final against Chelsea. The goal was a miracle from the football gods (I may be an atheist, but when it comes to football... I'm a believer) and sent Barcelona on their way to become champions of Europe. Sadly, the US national team is not Barcelona. So when I thought of Iniesta, I also thought what a fool I was to even entertain such masochistic thoughts.
But Landon Donovan obviously felt a calling to turn it on. Incredible moment. 2/3 of apm screamed, clapped, stomped, sent our cats racing through the room, our neighbors dialing 911... then the tears flowed... and the laughter. The US is through to the last 16 and will face Ghana on Saturday. The African team booted us out of the 2006 World Cup in Germany, but this ain't Germany, and we ain't the same squad we were back then either, mate.
Here's the legendary Donovan goal. Speaks for itself. I didn't tape this, just so you know. Some other dude did. What a professional he was, too. You can't hear him crying with joy, screaming, or cursing at all. Pro.
The Algerians have been screwed before in the World Cup, but at least they went out this time fair and square and with their heads held high. They're a good team. Not all of their players took the loss well, though.
Also, here's a link featuring a few after the game video interviews with US coach Bob Bradley and hero Landon Donovan. Pretty damn cool. If you're a US supporter and their emotion doesn't move you... I don't want to know you.
And on that note... sleep. More big matches await.
Showing posts with label Chelsea. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chelsea. Show all posts
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Saturday, May 30, 2009
FA Cup: Chelsea v Everton
Well... I don't have a lot to say about this because I only caught most of the second half. But what I saw (that second Chelsea goal from Lampard was brilliant) seemed to favor Chelsea all the way. Malouda was robbed of that goal in the 79 minute too, so the scoreline should have been greater. But Chelsea is used to disappointment of late.
Not today, though. Not today.
Congratulations!
Chelsea 2, Everton 1. And I'll have to check out the replay to see the fastest FA Cup goal ever (25 seconds!) courtesy of Everton's Louis Saha. Good stuff.
Not today, though. Not today.
Congratulations!
Chelsea 2, Everton 1. And I'll have to check out the replay to see the fastest FA Cup goal ever (25 seconds!) courtesy of Everton's Louis Saha. Good stuff.
Thursday, May 07, 2009
Aftermath
The aftermath of the Chelsea v Barca Champions League semi-final game yesterday has been... well, nasty. I can understand why Chelsea supporter's feel crushed and I won't dig the shank in deeper. But I have to say that Drogba's and Ballack's performances after the game and the supposed "handball" incident with Eto'o respectively, as well as manager Hiddink's comments about some kind of UEFA conspiracy that prevented Chelsea from winning, were ridiculous.
We won. They lost. We didn't play up to our standards but we didn't blow it either. Great teams don't self-destruct and we didn't. We held on, we kept our composure, even after the red card against Abidal, and we pulled off a miracle. Chelsea scored that incredible goal early on, but they were never able to build upon it. It happens. So they dive, dive, dive, and then whine to the ref when the calls did not go their way. Barcelona have been accused countless times of doing the same thing. Drogba should consider himself lucky he didn't get a yellow card for diving. We won. They lost. It's over.
But a conspiracy? Please. The sense of entitlement from Chelsea, but from most of the top Premiership clubs in general, is astounding. It's difficult for me to believe that anyone would want to see another England league match disguised as the Champions League final again, but a conspiracy by UEFA to prevent Chelsea from winning their due European crown? I mean, they're entitled to win it! Suitcases of money had been exchanged beforehand cementing their victory! Roman Abramovich promised that it was a done deal! How come the ref didn't abide by the deal?
See how silly it is? Ah, cheer up Chelsea. You still have Everton to molest and take your frustrations out on.
For a more reasoned approach to yesterday's game, you can read Nic's great reflections over at FCBnews here.
We won. They lost. We didn't play up to our standards but we didn't blow it either. Great teams don't self-destruct and we didn't. We held on, we kept our composure, even after the red card against Abidal, and we pulled off a miracle. Chelsea scored that incredible goal early on, but they were never able to build upon it. It happens. So they dive, dive, dive, and then whine to the ref when the calls did not go their way. Barcelona have been accused countless times of doing the same thing. Drogba should consider himself lucky he didn't get a yellow card for diving. We won. They lost. It's over.
But a conspiracy? Please. The sense of entitlement from Chelsea, but from most of the top Premiership clubs in general, is astounding. It's difficult for me to believe that anyone would want to see another England league match disguised as the Champions League final again, but a conspiracy by UEFA to prevent Chelsea from winning their due European crown? I mean, they're entitled to win it! Suitcases of money had been exchanged beforehand cementing their victory! Roman Abramovich promised that it was a done deal! How come the ref didn't abide by the deal?
See how silly it is? Ah, cheer up Chelsea. You still have Everton to molest and take your frustrations out on.
For a more reasoned approach to yesterday's game, you can read Nic's great reflections over at FCBnews here.
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
live blogging: Chelsea v. Barcelona, Champions League Semi-Final, Second Leg
Derek: Wow, is right. Thanks to everyone and anyone who stopped by for this. We've never done a livblogging thing before, so it was fun. I think we'll do it again and get better at it. Damn, it was hard! Anyway... cheers to you all.
Lynda: Wow, that was . . . that was grueling. Chelsea played a better game than they did at Camp Nou last week. It's true, I too have seen them snatch a soul-crushing stoppage time victory more than once (and was afraid of them doing it this week).
I'm looking forward to the Messi v. Ronaldo showdown in Rome.
I think I'm in shock. Over and out.
Derek: GAME OVER. With all due respect to my friends who are Chelsea supporters... I feel nothing. I've seen Chelsea kill off teams just like this in the last minute. Brutal, though. No doubt about it. All in all, I don't think Barcelona played up to their usual standards, but this is the craziness football. And no, Eto'o did not touch the ball with his hand. He was obviously turning away from the ball and the ball hit him in the upper arm (I think it was; haven't seen the replay). That's not a handball, sorry. It wasn't intentional.
I have to take a breath. My head is spinning.
Chelsea 1, Barcelona 1; 1-1 aggregate with Barcelona moving on to the final with that mean away goal.
Lynda: Iniesta in stoppage time. I think I just had a heart attack.
Derek: GOOOOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Lynda: 85.00 My Bojan Krkcic in for Busquets.
Derek: 80:00 Pique gets plenty of touches and movement on the ball and makes a good shot on goal. Hard to believe that this was the same team who destroyed Real Madrid on Saturday.
Lynda: 76.00 Remember what I said earlier about wanting two goals? One would be good.
Also, when I said I wanted John Terry to cry, by "John Terry" I did not mean "me."
Lynda: 71.20 Former Barca man Belletti in for Drogba.
Lynda: 68.00 The ref, Tom Henning Øvrebø, has done this before.
Derek: 66:00 This is ridiculous. I'm stunned. Red card for Abidal, who made no contact on Anelka. This is wrong, wrong, wrong. And I'm now officially in favor of instant replay.
Lynda: In fairness, I've seen Dani Alvez shot by snipers from the stands in more La Liga games than I can count.
Derek: 61:00 This is horrifying. I've never seen anything like it before. It looks like... the ball... assassinated Drogba. I guess crime really is on the rise in London.
Derek: 56:00 And Drogba dives again! Beautiful. Clean tackle by Toure.
Derek: 48:00 Pep is understandably pissed at Alves. What the hell is Dani thinking by taking that shot?
Lynda: HALF. I may spend the second half lying down in a dark room far from the TV. But in the meantime, yeah, I'm with Derek--I want to see two goals from Barcelona. Chelsea are too good at those stoppage time, dream-crushing goals for me to comfortable with a 1-1 scoreline.
Derek: HALF. Frustrating first half, no doubt about it. Eto'o, Iniesta, and Messi have been absent for large portions of the game. Hopefully Pep will get 'em focused for the second half and we can get two goals. I know all we need is one, but two is insurance against a Chelsea squad who know how to kill off an opponent at the last minute.
Derek: Stoppage. Excellent shot by Xavi... but to no avail.
Derek: 41:00 Looks like Barca is slowing it down a bit more, inching closer to goal, but still they can't connect.
Derek: 32:00 Hate to see my man Puyol seated in the stands.
Lynda: 30.00 Yellow card for Alvez. It's unsurprising, but Dani, chill out. Seriously. And now Lampard's down on his hands and knees with a split lip. Not sure what went down there.
Derek: 29:00 And Messi finally appears....
Lynda: 26.45 Tommy kept bragging about how this was going to be a "physical" game and how La Liga just isn't used to such a "physical" game because La Liga refs don't allow it and now he keeps complaining when Barca gets "physical" and Chelsea doesn't get the call....
Lynda: 22.53 Free kick for Chelsea after Alvez fouls Malouda. And it's a miss. I can't argue with the ref's decision.
This is getting nerve-wracking. Barca need to score.
Derek: 22:27 Great save by Valdez. Close though.
Lynda: 15.00 Yes, rather than watch the game, please treat us to a montage of shots of Essien's goal. There's still a game going on. Anyway, 15 minutes gone and there's my first prediction shot down--the wrong side scored! No more predictions. Come on, Barca.
Derek: 9:30 Nice goal from Essien.
Lynda: 8.50 Goal for Chelsea, Michael Essien. Valdez should've had that. Damn.
Lynda: 7.30 I can't really argue with Tommy's remark that Dani can be "a bit of a cheat and goes to the ground too easily." Heh. That Dani.
Derek: 4:30 Some really nice forward movement from Barca. Didn't see the supposed handball by Messi. I'd like to see Terry cry again too.
Lynda: 3.30 I've got nothing against John Terry, or even Chelsea for that matter, but that doesn't mean I don't want to see Terry cry again this year.
Derek: 2:25 Nice "shot" Lampard. Or was that a pass? Only he knows.
Derek: Looks like Toure is playing in Marquez's position and Pique has shifted over to Puyol's place. Watch out for Busquets... he's the unknown factor for Chelsea.
Derek: And we're on.... Visca Barca!
Lynda: To their credit, all three ESPN pre-game commentators predicted a win for Barca. 1-1 except for Shaka Hislop who thinks it'll be 1-2. I'm scared to make any scoreline predictions.
Derek: Glad that Pep has pulled Toure back into Puyol's normal position too, shifting Pique into Marquez's. Caceres has simply been too unpredictable to start.
Derek: Still pre-game. Did Tommy Smyth just say that all Chelsea had to do was win? What a genius. No wonder I can't stand to listen to these guys.
Derek: So enough of the ESPN half-informed commentators. Let's get this thing going. I hate predicting anything at this point but I agree with Lynda that Barcelona will score within the first 15 minutes. Iniesta is going to be trouble to defend again. I think it's funny that the four commentators on ESPN keep talking about Barca as untested and that they have trouble getting past the semi-finals. Does no one remember that we won just three seasons ago with many of the same players? Stupid.
Lynda: We'll be liveblogging until the end or until our heads explode from the ESPN announcers' slavish adoration of the Premiership and All Things English (question: if a loss for Barca means La Liga is a second-rate league, does a loss for Chelsea mean the same about the EPL?). Looks like Henry's out with that knee injury he sustained this weekend during El Clasico. Guardiola's made some interesting shuffles in the lineup to account for the lack of defenders--he's got Toure in Puyol's position (who's out on accumulated yellow cards). For Hiddink's part, he's added Anelka as a striker alongside Drogba.
Hang on tight. We're just minutes away from the start.
Lynda: Wow, that was . . . that was grueling. Chelsea played a better game than they did at Camp Nou last week. It's true, I too have seen them snatch a soul-crushing stoppage time victory more than once (and was afraid of them doing it this week).
I'm looking forward to the Messi v. Ronaldo showdown in Rome.
I think I'm in shock. Over and out.
Derek: GAME OVER. With all due respect to my friends who are Chelsea supporters... I feel nothing. I've seen Chelsea kill off teams just like this in the last minute. Brutal, though. No doubt about it. All in all, I don't think Barcelona played up to their usual standards, but this is the craziness football. And no, Eto'o did not touch the ball with his hand. He was obviously turning away from the ball and the ball hit him in the upper arm (I think it was; haven't seen the replay). That's not a handball, sorry. It wasn't intentional.
I have to take a breath. My head is spinning.
Chelsea 1, Barcelona 1; 1-1 aggregate with Barcelona moving on to the final with that mean away goal.
Lynda: Iniesta in stoppage time. I think I just had a heart attack.
Derek: GOOOOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Lynda: 85.00 My Bojan Krkcic in for Busquets.
Derek: 80:00 Pique gets plenty of touches and movement on the ball and makes a good shot on goal. Hard to believe that this was the same team who destroyed Real Madrid on Saturday.
Lynda: 76.00 Remember what I said earlier about wanting two goals? One would be good.
Also, when I said I wanted John Terry to cry, by "John Terry" I did not mean "me."
Lynda: 71.20 Former Barca man Belletti in for Drogba.
Lynda: 68.00 The ref, Tom Henning Øvrebø, has done this before.
Derek: 66:00 This is ridiculous. I'm stunned. Red card for Abidal, who made no contact on Anelka. This is wrong, wrong, wrong. And I'm now officially in favor of instant replay.
Lynda: In fairness, I've seen Dani Alvez shot by snipers from the stands in more La Liga games than I can count.
Derek: 61:00 This is horrifying. I've never seen anything like it before. It looks like... the ball... assassinated Drogba. I guess crime really is on the rise in London.
Derek: 56:00 And Drogba dives again! Beautiful. Clean tackle by Toure.
Derek: 48:00 Pep is understandably pissed at Alves. What the hell is Dani thinking by taking that shot?
Lynda: HALF. I may spend the second half lying down in a dark room far from the TV. But in the meantime, yeah, I'm with Derek--I want to see two goals from Barcelona. Chelsea are too good at those stoppage time, dream-crushing goals for me to comfortable with a 1-1 scoreline.
Derek: HALF. Frustrating first half, no doubt about it. Eto'o, Iniesta, and Messi have been absent for large portions of the game. Hopefully Pep will get 'em focused for the second half and we can get two goals. I know all we need is one, but two is insurance against a Chelsea squad who know how to kill off an opponent at the last minute.
Derek: Stoppage. Excellent shot by Xavi... but to no avail.
Derek: 41:00 Looks like Barca is slowing it down a bit more, inching closer to goal, but still they can't connect.
Derek: 32:00 Hate to see my man Puyol seated in the stands.
Lynda: 30.00 Yellow card for Alvez. It's unsurprising, but Dani, chill out. Seriously. And now Lampard's down on his hands and knees with a split lip. Not sure what went down there.
Derek: 29:00 And Messi finally appears....
Lynda: 26.45 Tommy kept bragging about how this was going to be a "physical" game and how La Liga just isn't used to such a "physical" game because La Liga refs don't allow it and now he keeps complaining when Barca gets "physical" and Chelsea doesn't get the call....
Lynda: 22.53 Free kick for Chelsea after Alvez fouls Malouda. And it's a miss. I can't argue with the ref's decision.
This is getting nerve-wracking. Barca need to score.
Derek: 22:27 Great save by Valdez. Close though.
Lynda: 15.00 Yes, rather than watch the game, please treat us to a montage of shots of Essien's goal. There's still a game going on. Anyway, 15 minutes gone and there's my first prediction shot down--the wrong side scored! No more predictions. Come on, Barca.
Derek: 9:30 Nice goal from Essien.
Lynda: 8.50 Goal for Chelsea, Michael Essien. Valdez should've had that. Damn.
Lynda: 7.30 I can't really argue with Tommy's remark that Dani can be "a bit of a cheat and goes to the ground too easily." Heh. That Dani.
Derek: 4:30 Some really nice forward movement from Barca. Didn't see the supposed handball by Messi. I'd like to see Terry cry again too.
Lynda: 3.30 I've got nothing against John Terry, or even Chelsea for that matter, but that doesn't mean I don't want to see Terry cry again this year.
Derek: 2:25 Nice "shot" Lampard. Or was that a pass? Only he knows.
Derek: Looks like Toure is playing in Marquez's position and Pique has shifted over to Puyol's place. Watch out for Busquets... he's the unknown factor for Chelsea.
Derek: And we're on.... Visca Barca!
Lynda: To their credit, all three ESPN pre-game commentators predicted a win for Barca. 1-1 except for Shaka Hislop who thinks it'll be 1-2. I'm scared to make any scoreline predictions.
Derek: Glad that Pep has pulled Toure back into Puyol's normal position too, shifting Pique into Marquez's. Caceres has simply been too unpredictable to start.
Derek: Still pre-game. Did Tommy Smyth just say that all Chelsea had to do was win? What a genius. No wonder I can't stand to listen to these guys.
Derek: So enough of the ESPN half-informed commentators. Let's get this thing going. I hate predicting anything at this point but I agree with Lynda that Barcelona will score within the first 15 minutes. Iniesta is going to be trouble to defend again. I think it's funny that the four commentators on ESPN keep talking about Barca as untested and that they have trouble getting past the semi-finals. Does no one remember that we won just three seasons ago with many of the same players? Stupid.
Lynda: We'll be liveblogging until the end or until our heads explode from the ESPN announcers' slavish adoration of the Premiership and All Things English (question: if a loss for Barca means La Liga is a second-rate league, does a loss for Chelsea mean the same about the EPL?). Looks like Henry's out with that knee injury he sustained this weekend during El Clasico. Guardiola's made some interesting shuffles in the lineup to account for the lack of defenders--he's got Toure in Puyol's position (who's out on accumulated yellow cards). For Hiddink's part, he's added Anelka as a striker alongside Drogba.
Hang on tight. We're just minutes away from the start.
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
Champions League Semi-Finals Biased Live Blogging
We've never live blogged before, but Wednesday afternoon we'll be hunkered down in front of the telly trying to keep our lunch down while we live blog the Barcelona v Chelsea match.
It will be biased and we'll probably make fools of ourselves trying to keep up with all of the action. But it will be fun.
Drop on by if you're so inclined.
See y'all tomorrow!
It will be biased and we'll probably make fools of ourselves trying to keep up with all of the action. But it will be fun.
Drop on by if you're so inclined.
See y'all tomorrow!
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