Mes: enero 2022

Samuel Eto’o, although he seems to have been playing at the top level for such a long time, was, in fact, born in March 1981 in Nkon, Cameroon. Seemingly followed by controversy, Eto’o signed for Real Madrid as a 16 year old and had, to put it mildly, a strange relationship with the club from then on.

Firstly, upon his arrival at Madrid airport, young Samuel was famously forgotten about – a young black African with no Spanish hanging around an airport; an inauspicious beginning. After uneventful loan spells at Leganés and Espanyol, the coltish-looking Eto’o found himself loaned out to Mallorca, where he really began to show off his credentials.

Scoring 54 goals, Eto’o became the islanders’ highest league goal scorer and developed a real affinity with the supporters there – and he famously scored a spectacular individual goal against Madrid in the Bernabeu! Eto’o enjoyed his relationship with Mallorca so much that, when they reached the Copa del Rey final in 2003, he paid out EUR30,000 on a meal for them!

At the end of his loan spell, the Real Madrid supporters were almost unanimous in their desire for Samuel to return to the capital and compete for the forward positions with Raul and Ronaldo. What followed was a summer of continuous speculation and argument and eventually, for EUR24 million, the player signed for Barcelona – something that still annoys many Real Madrid fans.

Since then, Eto’o has scored goals galore for the Catalan giants. In his first, championship-winning season, Eto’o scored 25 league goals, including the title-clinching strike at Levante. He reached 50 goals in just 67 matches – a club record.

In addition to wining African Footballer of the year a record three times in succession from 2003, Samuel was part of the Cameroon side that won the African Cup in 2000 and 2002 and was runner-up in 2008. Previously, he had been the youngest player, at 17 years and 3 months, in the 1998 World Cup. He was the pichichi, top goal scorer, in La Liga in 2005/06, when, of course, he scored an equalising goal in the Champions’ League final against Arsenal.

Controversy has never been far away, however. After winning the league in 2005, Eto’o made the mistake of singing an abusive song about Madrid during the on-pitch celebrations. He has also been famously outspoken in his denouncements of racial abuse chanted in grounds – even threatening to walk off during one league game at Zaragova. Furthermore, there were times during 2007/08 season when Samuel Eto’o seemed a very forlorn figure, when his relationship with some of the other players was not at its best. At the end of the season, it seemed that the club were determined to transfer Ronaldinho, Deco and Eto’o, the perceived bad influences at the club. Eto’o, though, with typical determination, was adamant that his future was still with Barcelona – and he has proved to be absolutely correct.

Samuel Eto’o is fast, two-footed, brave and a totally committed team player and arguably the best centre forward in modern football.

Valencia: Canizares, Miguel, Marchena, Helguera, Moretti, Mantoro, Albelda, Joaquin, Arizmendi, Morientes and Silva

Barcelona: Valdes, Puyol, Marquez, Milito, Abidal, Xavi, Toure, Inietsa, Gudjohnsen, Messi and Etoo

Chance for Eidur Gudjohnsen in 30 seconds but he could not find Samuel Etoo as his first touch was not very precise.

Bad first touch by Etoo as Messi found him with only Canizares to beat but he fluffed it in the 3rd minute.

Good chance for Yaya Toure from a corner kick but his header was straight at Canizares and he palms it over in the 9th minute.

Fantastic goal by Etoo, as he skips past the challenge of Marchena and Mantoro; and rifled the shot past Canizares in the 13th minute.

Another chance for Etoo as Puyol won a header and it fell kindly towards Etoo but his header was straight at Canizares in the 21st minute.

Absolutely brilliant 2nd goal for Barcelona as they passed and moved the ball between 6 players, it finally came to Etoo, he passed to Iniesta who passed it to Messi back to Etoo and its 2-0 in the 26th minute.

Another fantastic piece of football from Barcelona, started by Gudjohnsen, continued by Messi to Etoo then to Iniesta, whose cross was just missed by Messi to make it 3-0 in the 31st minute.

First attempt of any note by Valencia in the 33rd minute as Arizmendi cut inside Puyol but his shot was well over.

Another chance for Etoo, as he makes a great run behind the Valencia defence but Marchena was able to stick out a leg to prevent Etoo’s hattrick in the 36th minute.

Morientes has to come off injured for Vicente in the 39th minute.

Etoo is at it again, this time he went through 2 defenders and was just about to release the trigger when a desperate lunge by Marchena stopped him from making it 3 in the 42nd minute.

Lionel Messi is off due to an injury that may be muscular in the 43rd minute replaced by Giovanni.

Half Time

Valencia 0 Barcelona 2

As poor a performance as Valencia have given all season and they have been dire this season to be fair. Barcelona were so superior with Etoo being on supreme form, it was embarrassing.

It was just too easy for Barcelona and some of their players did not have to break sweat. The only downside for them is that Messi went off injured and may miss the big clash next week against arch-rivals Real Madrid.

Valencia can surely not play worse than they have in the 1st half.

Etoo has another chance in the 47th minute after he skipped past a challenge and his shot was straight at Canizares though.

Good defending by Milito to stop Joaquin from putting a cross and the resulting throw-in was hit by David Silva that Valdes saved with difficulty in the 51st minute.

Great shot by Giovanni but it was saved by Canizares in the 53rd minute.

Its 3 -0 with another piece of good passing involving Xavi and Giovanni, who passed unselfishly to Gudjohnsen to just tap home in the 61st minute.

Chance for Valencia from a Vicente free kick and again Valdes fumbles the ball over the crossbar in the 65th minute.

Deco is on for Toure and Mata is on for Joaquin in the 65th minute.

Etoo comes off for Bojan Krkic in the 67th minute.

Lomban is on for Moretti in the 71st minute.

Chance for Giovanni to make it 4 but as he collceted a pass from Xavi in the 73rd minute but his shot was well wide.

It really should have been 4 as Barcelona started a move from their own half with Deco, who gave the ball to Giovanni and his cross field pass was well controlled by Gudjohnsen; he skipped past 2 challenges, passed a cute ball to Xavi, he went round Canizares, crossed to Giovanni but his weak shot was cleared off the line by Miguel in the 76th minute.

Nice shot by Bojan as he controlled a pass from Xavi well on his chest but was straight to Canizares in the 80th minute.

Half chance for Vicente in the 81st minute as Marquez was very sloppy with his pass out and it went straight to Villa and he passed to Vicente but the angle was too acute for him to score from.

Free kick in a dangerous position for Valencia, in the 90th minute, taken by Vicente, but clawed to relative safety by Victor Valdes.

Full Time

Valencia 0 Barcelona 3

It was too comfortable in the end for Barcelona as Valencia were just marginally better in the 2nd half but still nowhere good enough at the highest level.

There were a lot of good performances from Barcelona players with Gudjohnsen, Xavi, Iniesta, Puyol, Toure, Deco, Giovanni, Abidal and especially Etoo all in top form.

The only players that came out with any credit for Valencia are possibly Canizares and Miguel, the rest were awful.

With an away victory against Real Betis on Saturday night and a clash between Real Madrid and Sevilla on Sunday resulting in a victory for Madrid, the most important question for many Barcelona fans is whether their team has what it takes to finish the season with the 2007 La Liga title.

Prior to this weekend, May 5th and 6th, FC Barcelona was in top position with Sevilla just one point behind and Real Madrid trailing two points. While Barcelona’s victory at least gave room to breath a little, the result they were hoping for between their two closest rivals was a draw. Instead Madrid moved up into second place although they still remain two points behind Barcelona. That margin is too close for comfort and the fight looks like it will go on right to the end.

Barcelona’s form has been rather patchy at some points during the current season, including a period when a run of five matches saw them score one goal in each, drawing four times and winning just once; and one of the lowest points in the domestic calendar must surely have been in January when fellow Barcelona team RCD Espanyol beat Barcelona 3-1 at the Estadi Olimpic.

The team definitely lacked something when Lionel Messi was out of action through injury and perhaps Ronaldinho’s lack of form at times is due to the immense pressure there must be on all the players. And so, back to that big question; does Barcelona have what it takes to win this year’s Spanish League title?

Whatever the answer, it’s not going to be easy to do. As winners of both the Spanish League and Champions League titles in 2006 the pressure has been on the repeat their performance and after being knocked out of the UEFA competition the focus has been purely domestic. With clear focus, determination, hard work and a little luck the team does have what it takes to hold on to the title for another year, but if they make anything more than the smallest mistake then their ambitions will be thwarted.

10. Luis Figo, a world famous football star, who played for FC Barcelona from 1995 till 2000. He was arguably the fans’ most favorite player in FC Barcelona, until 2000. That’s when «it» happened, Barcelona’s biggest rivals, Real Madrid, decided to splash the cash and break the transfer list fees record by getting Luis to Real Madrid.

The move caused outrage among Barcelona fans, Madrid got him for a world record fee of 38 Million Pounds. And that’s when the fun begins, during the match between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, when Luis Figo stepped up to take the corner kick, a pig’s head was thrown at him from Barcelona’s side. Another incident took place during the 2004 EURO Cup Final between Greece and Portugal. A Portuguese fan ran out on the field, managed to outrun the police, and heading towards Luis threw a Barcelona jersey at him, as the whole world was watching.

9. 1996 – African Challenge.

1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, The most surprising gold medals went to the hands of Nigerian football stars after they overcame Brazil in thrilling semi-finals, with a 4-3 score. The finals was between Argentina and Nigeria, well over 2 billion people were watching it, of course most of them thought that Argentina will have no problems getting the gold medal, but most of them were wrong. Argentina was in the driver’s seat after leading 1-0. The goal came on a 3rd minute, scored by Claudio Lopez, on the 28th minute Nigeria managed to equalize, as Babayaro scored a perfect finisher. So it was 1-1 on half-time. In the early second half Hernan Crespo gave Argentina the lead again and Argentina was on the way to get the gold medals, but «not so fast» said Amokachi as he scored the equalizing goal and again gave Nigeria hope. Match was almost over and everybody thought it was going to be decided by the penalty shoot out. 90th minute and Amunike gave the lead to Nigeria, it was a shock for Argentina, time was almost over, Argentina had no chance, so it ended with a final score 3-2. Nigeria won the gold medal, for the first time in Olympic Games history.

8. 1960, First ever UEFA European Football Championship (EURO) held in France. It was won by the USSR, beating Yugoslavia 2-1 in a tense final in Paris. It is however quite interesting to note that earlier in the competition Spain had withdrawn from its quarterfinal match against the USSR due to political reasons. As an interesting fact, USSR also scored the first goal in the EURO history, during the qualification games.

7. 1998/1999 English Premier League season, Manchester United got all trophies possible that season. They became the first ever team in football history to do so in one season. First they got the Premier League title, finishing first in the league table, then they took the F.A. Cup title by beating Newcastle United 2-0, and of course the most famous UEFA Champions League final, when United managed to come back from a 1-0 defeat, and score not one but two goals in an injury time beating Bayern Munich 2-1; it was considered to be one of the greatest comebacks ever witnessed.

6. 2002 World Cup, Korea/Japan. Korean fans will never forget that historic moment, when Guus Hiddink took them all the way to the Semi-Finals of 2002 World Cup. Korean national football team became the first ever Asian national football team to reach semi-finals of World Cup. Nobody expected the underdogs to go that far, as they beat Portugal 1-0 in a group stages, then a famous 2-1 win over Italy, drawing with Spain in a quarter-finals and then beating them 5-3 on penalties. In the end however they couldn’t take on Germany in semi-finals, and they lost 1-0. In the game for the third place Korean team met Turkey, but again they lost. Eventually the Republic of Korea finished 4th in the 2002 World Cup, which was still a great success for the country’s football team.

5. June 2003, Chelsea FC was bought by the Russian Billionaire Roman Abramovich for a record fee of 140 million pounds. Back then it was the biggest sale of an English Football club. Straight away Roman wanted to make Chelsea the best and strongest club in the world. He began buying players for a record braking transfer fees. First season with a new owner Chelsea FC finished as a runner-up. But next year, the 2004/2005 English premier league season, Chelsea became champions of England, for the first time since 1954/1955 season. 2005/2006 Season they took the premier league trophy again as they were crowned the champions of England for the second time in a row. These 2 seasons were the most successful 2 years in the club’s history.

4. January 11th 2007. It was confirmed that David Beckham will be leaving Real Madrid to play for the United States «soccer» club, Los Angeles Galaxy. Beckham’s decision was a shock to many, as one of the world’s best football players moves to United States of America, where «soccer» is not that popular. He was the first big player to enter Major League Soccer.

3. 6th February 1958, the Munich air disaster. It was the darkest day in Manchester United Football Club history. On the board of the plane was Manchester United football team along with the club supporters and journalists. 23 of the 44 passengers on board died. Captain James Thain, the pilot tried to take off twice, but both attempts were aborted due to engine surging. When a third take off was attempted, the plane failed to gain adequate height and crashed into the fence surrounding the airport and then into a house. Now every year on this day Manchester United holds a memorial to the people who lost their lives in the Munich air disaster.

2. 2006 World Cup Final produced one of the most famous moments in football history, when Zidane’s head-butted on Italian defender Marco Materazzi. It was Zidane’s last international appearance for the French national team and 3 billion people around the world were watching it. The next day newspapers all over the world were not writing about how Italy won their 4th World Cup title, but they were writing about how Zidane pulled the «stunt» on Marco. Definitely that was one of the biggest moments in the history of football.

1. Edison Arantes do Nascimento, aka Pele, the world’s most famous name in football. Football is probably the most famous sport in the world, and Pele is the man who made it what it is today. Pele made 669 appearances in club football, scoring 626 goals. He also made 92 appearances for Brazilian National football side and scored 77 goals. He made his first club appearance when he was just 15 years of age. He made his first international appearance for Brazil when he was 16, and won his first World Cup when he was just 17. Pele is hailed in Brazil as a national hero. The number one moment in football history is when Pele managed to score his first international goal for Brazil, just three month before his 17th birthday.

Johan Cruyff is a legendary football player known the world over for his aggressive and intelligent style of play. Though he had success in his earlier years, it is when he joined FC Barcelona in 1973 that his star really began to shine.

Cruyff began his career in his home country of the Netherlands playing for AFC Ajax. There he led the team to many victories and memorable performances, but was eventually sold to FC Barcelona for a hefty sum. Cruyff wasted no time winning over the Barcelona fans, stating to the press that he chose Barcelona over their rivals Real Madrid because he didn’t want to play for a team associated with former Spanish dictator Francisco Franco. He even named his son Jordi, a traditional Catalan (the region of Spain in which Barcelona is found) name.

Cruyff’s years playing for FC Barcelona were truly memorable and made him an icon. In his first year with the team, he helped them win La Liga for the first time in fourteen years (beating Real Madrid on their own turf along the way) and was also named European Footballer of the Year. It was during this time that he also scored one of his most memorable goals, called «The Phantom Goal» or «Le but d’imposible de Cruyff» (The Impossible Goal of Cruyff). In a match against Atlético Madrid, the football was already past the far goal post and was at about neck height when Cruyff leapt into the air, twisting so that he was facing away from the goal and kicked the ball into the goal with his right heel. This move among others propelled him to godlike status in the eyes of football fans.

Cruyff then spent many years away from FC Barcelona as a player and manager, until finally returning to the club as manager in 1988. When he returned to Barcelona, Cruyff brought with him the so-called «Dream Team». This elite squad was composed of Spaniards Jon Andoni Goikoetxea, Jose Mari Bakero, Josep Guardiola, Txiki Beguiristain, along with international stars Romanian Gheorghe Hagi, Bulgarian Hristo Stoichkov, Dane Michael Laudrup, Brazilian Romario, and Dutchman Ronald Koeman.

Under Cruyff’s direction, the Dream Team went on to win four consecutive La Liga titles from 1991 to 1994. They won the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup in 1989 and the European Cup in 1992 at Wembley Stadium with a famous free kick goal courtesy of Ronald Koeman. In 1990, the Dream Team won a Copa del Rey, the European Super Cup in ’92, and three Supercopa de Espana.

Cruyff remains FC Barcelona’s most successful manager to date, with eleven trophies to his name. He also has the distinction of being the club’s longest serving manager. He continues to be an advisor for FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta, whom he openly endorsed during the elections. To this day, he is still revered by FC Barcelona fans, who call him «El Salvador» (The Saviour) for his successful run as both player and coach at the club.

In recent years, a number of schools have explored moving up from Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly known as I-AA) to Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. The most recent team to make the move was the Western Kentucky University Hilltoppers in 2009. There are four more teams slated to move up in 2012 to 2013, however. These include the University of South Alabama Jaguars, University of Massachusetts «UMass» Minutemen, and the Texas State University – San Marcos Bobcats. A fourth program, the University of Texas – San Antonio Roadrunners, is a startup program without any FCS history that is going directly into FBS.

There are a number of candidates to move-up from FCS to FBS. Knowing who will be the next to move up requires a thorough examination of the college football landscape. There is an arms race going on among major college football programs which has led to conference expansion in major conferences like the PAC-12 and Big Ten as well as huge TV rights deals with conferences as well as individual university networks like the Longhorn Network and BYUtv. Budgets have soared and it has become increasingly expensive to build and operate top notch facilities and provide the best tools for the 85 scholarship football players to compete at the highest level.

While less prestigious conferences like the Mountain West, Mid American Conference, and Conference USA have found it more difficult to keep up financially with the big boys, they will likely benefit in the fact that college football is so popular right now that major TV networks like ESPN and Fox are searching for any type of college football programming they can get, and these conferences are in a position to provide the networks with a reasonable return on a smaller investment. Schools like the University of Montana are likely looking at these TV deals and thinking, while we like the playoff format in FCS, could we potentially benefit from the money and TV exposure that come along with playing in a mid-major FBS conference?

Villanova is actively considering moving from FCS to FBS. Already being a member of the Big East Conference for all other sports, they would be in the enviable position of immediately being a member of an Automatic Qualifier (AQ) conference. Besides the aforementioned University of Montana Grizzlies, other schools that have been most frequently mentioned include the Montana State University Bobcats, Lamar University Cardinals, University of California – Davis Aggies, Northern Arizona University Lumberjacks, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Mustangs, and Appalachian State Mountaineers. All these schools, with the exception of Appalachian State, are likely candidates for the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) which has been decimated by the defections of Boise State University, University of Hawaii -Manoa, California State University – Fresno, and University of Nevada – Reno. Appalachian State would be a strong candidate for the Sun Belt or possibly even Conference USA. One other program to keep your eye on is the University of North Carolina – Charlotte. They are starting an FCS program in 2013 and might be a program to move up quickly.