Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Jurgen Klinsmann to Bayern Munich

The former German national team coach, Jurgen Klinsmann, has been confirmed of new coach of Bayern Munich when Ottmar Hitzfeld steps down next summer.
Lately the Bayern giants have not been as strong as before, but I am sure Mr. Klinsmann can carry them very far. When he played he was a superb striker, and as national team coach he created a charming and offensive team that did so well in the 2006 World Cup.
It is the best choice, and I wish Mr. Klinsmann the best!

Don't miss it: The African Nations Cup 2008

The African Nations Cup is starting on January 2008 in Ghana. It is bound to be an interesting spectacle, with some intense clashes in the Ghanaian heat and humidity, but I would not expect too much in level of quality: while there are many top players who perform in top clubs in Europe, quality in these types of national tournaments is far below what is seen in top clubs nowadays (with the World Cup being an example).
Nevertheless, with the intensity and nationalism these tournaments engender, it is not to be missed. Also, with the next World Cup 2010 being held in South Africa, it will be interesting to see the way the teams perform.
The groups with the 16 teams are as follows:
  • Group A: Ghana, Namibia, Guinea, Morocco
  • Group B: Nigeria, Benin, Mali, Cote d'Ivoire
  • Group C: Tunisia, Angola, South Africa, Senegal
  • Group D: Egypt, Sudan, Zambia, Cameroon
Obviously there are already in the first round some interesting matches!
In group A, the hosts of Ghana, supported by passionate fans, will be expecting nothing else but success at home.
Group B will see giants Nigeria and last cup's finalists Cote d'Ivoire in an interesting West African group, where Mali should be considered some serious outsiders with many very experienced players from European top clubs.
Group C sees some giants of African football, Tunisia and Senegal, with the South Africans, who will desperately be looking for success before the 2010 World Cup, and the new interesting Angolan side, who did so well in the 2006 World Cup.
Finally, group D will see Egypt, defending champions from 2006, and a Cameroonian side, led by Samuel Eto'o, who will be looking for the success they otherwise have the team for!
Don't miss it!!!

Monday, January 14, 2008

My team in the UEFA CL Fantasy Football

I have prepared a Fantasy Football team on UEFA's excellent CL Fantasy Football site.

My team's name is Akunhas, and features some pretty good players if I have to say it (S means Substitute):

  • Goalkeepers: Valdés (Barcelona), Helton (S) (FC Porto)
  • Defenders: Daniel Alves (Sevilla), Alex (Chelsea), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Les Ferdinand (Manchester United), Milito (S) (FC Barcelona)
  • Midfielders: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United), Joe Cole (Chelsea), Quaresma (FC Porto), Jesús Navas (Sevilla), Baptista (S) (Real Madrid)
  • Attackers: Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Robinho (Real Madrid), Kanouté (S) (Sevilla)
Still, with currently more than 300,000 people playing, and the randomness of football ahead, it will not be easy to win. No matter what, it will make it even more interesting to watch the Champions League (as if it weren't already...).

I have created a group as well: The football fanatics, and any football fanatic out there is more than welcome to join.

May the best win!

Tuesday, January 01, 2008

My best teams 2007

Happy new year!!!! As all pass the hangovers, we must reflect back on the year gone in football. I must personally admit, that for me this has been a bad football year: I have not been able to follow much, had difficulty updating my site, and so on.
Still, looking back, I must attempt to do a list of what I considered the ten most important/best teams of the year 2007.
Note, it is a very personal list, as is more based on my personal impressions and thoughts on the year gone, and not as objective as I would like it to be. And well, surely some surprises for those who know me!

10. Arsenal: I am in awe at what Arsene Wenger is creating with this team of youngsters. They are very young, and have been on top of the Premier League and on in the Champions League. Surely this is a team heading towards great victories.
9. FC Barcelona: They still play beautiful, but have been unable to win anything this year: Real Madrid took the Spanish title ahead of them.
8. Argentina: Argentina´s national team only lost two games the entire year, and ended top of the FIFA world ranking ever. With some amazing players, they will be a team to watch up to the 2010 World Cup!
7. Boca Juniors: Winners of the Copa Libertadores.
6. Sevilla: Won the UEFA cup, ended top in the Spanish League, and have been playing wonderfully in their first Champions League.
5. Brazil: Any list without Brazil...? While not top on the FIFA World ranking, they managed to win the Copa América defeating the top ranked team, Argentina.
4. Real Madrid: Under Fabio Capello the team was stabilized and won the Spanish title for the first time for many years. Under Bernd Schuster the team has started to play beautiful as well, and they may be on the way of finding their former greatness, not from huge investment but as a team.
3. Liverpool: While not winning, they were again able to surprise in the Champions League, pulling some really intense and entertaining matches.
2. AC Milan: Deserved winners of the Champions League, they have slipped in the second half of 2007, but with a wonderful Kaká and a team of very experienced players still won the Club World Championship in December.
1. Brazil (women): This will surprise many... A women's team as my most important team of 2007!? And for that a team that didn´t win the World Cup? (They lost to Germany). But why I put them here, is that because of them, I think Women's football has become much more entertaining and interesting to watch.