Top-10 biggest football mistakes of 2005

2005 has been a year where many have brought negative attention upon themselves in the world of football. This is my top-10 list of the so-called "turds":

• 10) Referee Yoshida: The Japanese referee did not know the rules in the World Cup qualifier between Uzbekistan and Bahrain. He annulled a penalty goal for Uzbekistan because a player ran onto the pitch. The game was cancelled, and in the end Bahrain qualified.

• 9) Gambia fans: The fans of Gambia also have the privilege of being on my cool-top-10, for exactly the same reason they are on this list: their stunt of faking an emergency landing in Peru, in order to make it to a match on time.

• 8) Jorge Fosatti: Uruguay did not qualify for the World Cup, and is a great football nation that will be missed in Germany. They lost their final play-off match against Australia. Before the play-off match, the Uruguayan coach Fosatti, had been very arrogant and had spoken lowly of the Australia team, only to be beaten on the pitch.

• 7) Abel Xavier: The Portuguese defender of Middelsborough was tested positive for doping in November, and he was suspended for 18 months.

• 6) Wayne Rooney: He is undoubtfully a wonderful player. But this year his temper has run off with him too many times, which has brought unwanted attention on him. First was his attack on David Beckham during the Northern Ireland-England World Cup qualifier, and then his foolish red card in the Manchester United-Villarreal Champions League match. It seems lately he has managed to control himself, so I hope he can avoid getting on this list next year!

• 5) Referee Robert Hoyser: This German referee brought forth the specter of corrupt referees in football. Scandals also emerged in Brazil, but what makes Mr. Hoyser special, is that he was sentenced to 2 years in prison because of his admitting to fixing nine matches. And this was in the country that will host next year's World Cup...

• 4) Turkish fans: A disgrace when Turkish fans showed themselves as bad losers, and threw many things at the Swiss players who had just beaten Turkey to qualify for the World Cup in Germany.

• 3) Turkish players: More pathetic that their own fans, were the players of the Turkish national team. When the game between Turkey and Switzerland ended, with Switzerland qualifying for the World Cup, the disappointment of the Turkish players turned into blind rage, and they were caught on camera attacking Swiss players. Turkey should be suspended.

• 2) Italian fans: Racism in football has continued growing this year. While last year it was the Spanish fans, this year it has been in Italy. The issue came to a high in November, when the Ivorian player of Messina, Zoro, was reduced to tears by Inter Milan's fans racist chants.

• 1) Paolo Di Canio: With racism being the scourge of football and European society nowadays, it is pathetic to see the captain of Lazio, one of Italy's leading clubs, do a facist salute to the openly racist fans whenever he scores a goal. He has been fined and suspended for it, but he says he will continue doing it.

The list has not been that difficult to do. Unfortunately, many have done stupid things this year. I hope there won't be that many in 2006!

Top 10 coolest football people pf 2005

I have before made a top 10 of coolest football personalities of the year. This category is about people, or groups of people, whom I have found have brought positive attention upon themselves in the World of football:

• 10) Gambia fans: I have to include these on the list due to the stupid stunt the made during the U-17 World Cup in Peru in September: they pretended to have engine problems in a plane, in order to catch a match with their national team. It was stupid, but worthy of a high degree of football fanaticism.

• 9) Liverpool fans: They were great, and deserved the victory they were given this year with their Champions League triumph.

• 8) Real Madrid fans: A lot of people will be smiling, knowing my antipathy towards Real Madrid. However, I feel the fans of this team deserve to be on the list due to the display of fairness they showed when Real Madrid lost 3-0 to Barcelona at home in November. The fans simply clapped of Barcelona, in admiration of the amazing football display they had been witness to. Not many fans in the world would do that.

• 7) Roman Abramovich: The billionaire owner of Chelsea belongs here, because he is a huge football fan. He has done what I would do if I was a billionaire: buy a team, get some great players, the best coach, and try to win everything!

• 6) Diego Maradona: I have long admired Maradona. He is the main reason I started watching football as I was a child in Argentina. Therefore, I was always sad to see how he was going down the drain. But this year it seems Mr. Maradonahas gotten his act together: he hosts a popular TV show and seems fit. This is probably the greatest battle he will ever win!

• 5) Rafa Benitez: The Liverpool coach had made Valencia UEFA and domestic champions in 2004. That was apparently not enough for Valencia's leadership to make him stay. But Mr. Benitez took the offer from Liverpool, and in 2005 they have been one of the best teams of the year, notably with their Champions League triumph in Istambul.

• 4) Jose Mourinho: Mr. Mourinho is arrogant indeed. But he is has a reason to be: he is an amazing coach. At the same time, by his sheer personality, he is taking all the burden off his players, and carrying it all himself. In a world of football, where stars shine shortly, this is very risky, and you have to be a strong personality to do it.
  

• 3) Adrian Mutu: The former Chelsea striker almost ruined his career because of cocaine. I have no doubt he has had to fight his way back to the pitch, but he is indeed back on a strong Juventus side.

• 2) Manchester Fans: My experience with Manchester United fans is very positive, and I have always admired them. This year, they faced the takeover of their team by the media-magnate Mr. Malcolm Glazer. They rightly fear that Mr. Glazer will turn the clud into a money machine, in place of the symbol of the city it is. Although in the end, Mr. Glazer has managed to take over the club, the fans feeble attempts at hindering the takeover were an admirable feat of the fans against the money. At least somebody is trying to show that football belongs to the fans, although this might be a dream long gone...
  

• 1) Rene Temmink: Racism in football continues to be a disgrace. All over the pitches of Europe, racism thrives, as a rotten sympton of sick societies. Although UEFA has made feeble attempts at solving the problem, it just seems to grow. Therefore, it was admirable when a Dutch referee, Mr. Temmink stepped in and stopped a match because of the racist chants by the fans. It is seldom a referee shows such character, and Mr. Temmink is a friend of football, and a decent human being. There seem to be too few of both around in the world these days...

This is my list. I was close to being very arrogant and nominating myself. As usual, I have identified everything with football this year: I ditched a cocktail with a Danish Minister for a football game, and I remember my fight with malaria because of a football game. Although I think people consider me a decent guy, I have concluded that football for me has moved beyond passion, and become an addiction...

Top 10 Best teams of 2005

I have already made my list of the top 10 best players of 2005. Something I have found much more difficult, was to make my list of best teams of 2005. There have truly been some remarkable team performances in 2005. My final (and as always, very personal list) is as follows:

• 10) Ghana: The "Black Stars" this year qualified for their first World Cup ever. This was a tremendous achievement for a country that has produced so many great players. I was personally delighted, living in Ghana, and will look forward to seeing them in Germany 2006.

• 9) Mexico U-17: The Mexican side for the U-17 World Cup in Peru destroyed the defending Champions of Brazil in the final, to give Mexico their first World title in football ever.

• 8) Argentina U-21: Led by a marvelous Lionel Messi, the Argentinian U-21 won their 5th World Cup title in the Netherlands this summer.

• 7) Olympique Lyon: The French side has won the French league and been very strong in the Champions League. They are one of the teams to watch next year.

• 6) Brazil: It is difficult to make a list like this without Brazil Although starting the year with some problems, they had an excellent performance winning the 2005 Confederations Cup, and later qualifying for the World Cup. With the many star players on the team, they must be considered favourites to win the World Cup title.

• 5) Boca Juniors: The legendary Argentinian side is among the top teams in the World. This year they finished greatly by winning the Argentinian tournament, as well as the South American Cup after a dramatic match against UNAM Pumas from Mexico.
  

• 4) Chelsea: In 2005 the London club with the many stars won their first Premier League title in decades. Still the club is far more ambitious, and the Champions League is their targets. The team has started the new season strongly, and they are heading straight for a new Premier League title.

• 3) Barcelona: The Catalan side has played entertaining and attacking football, and their stars are shining brightly. Most of all Ronaldinho. The team took a deserved Spanish title, and they have taken a strong lead in the Spanish league. They also won their group in the Champions League, and we will be witnessing a clash of champions between Barcelona and Chelsea in February.

• 2) Liverpool: Liverpool lived up to their history. And they gave us the most memorable game of the year, and one of the most dramatic finals in history. I will never forget their victory in the Champions League in Istambul, coming back from being behind 3-0 against AC Milan, and finally winning on penalties. I thank Liverpool for such a great football-experience!

• 1) Sao Paulo: The Brazilian side won the Copa Libertadores in June by defeating Atlético Paranaense over two matches. In December, they won the FIFA Club World Championship, defeating Liverpool in the final.
  

The top five positions have been especially difficult to place. In the end I gave Sao Paulo the top spot for having won two of the most prestigious international titles, as compared to Liverpool, who only won one. Also, the only reason I ranked Barcelona above Chelsea, is that I like Barcelona better...

Best Player Top 10 of 2005

The year is coming to an end, and it is time to give my own personal compilation of top 10 football players of the year. Most of them are newcomers, but others were also on my 2004 list:

• 10) Didier Drogba: Chelsea has rightfully been criticized for playing overly defensive. But they still have a very powerful striking force, and the best one is Didier Drogba. This year, he has confirmed himself as one of the best strikers in the world. Furthermore, he has been part of the Ivory Coast team that qualified for their first World Cup ever.

• 9) Lionel Messi: The Argentinian youngster is certainly the newcomer of the year. He was the best player for Argentina's U-21 team that won the World Championship in the Netherlands in July. He had some problems starting in Barcelona, due to questions on his status as "extra-comunitario", but has shined since on the great Barcelona team. He will surely be a player to watch in 2006!

• 8) Juan Roman Riquelme: The former Barcelona player was a very important player in the Villarreal side that qualified for its first Champions League ever. At the time of writing, Villarreal had won their first round group in front of Benfica, Lille and mighty Manchester United, and is set to play Glasgow Rangers in the final-16 in February. Mr. Riquelme was also an important player of an Argentinian national team that had an excellent spring, becoming the first South American side to qualify for the World Cup after a marvelous 3-1 victory against Brazil, where Mr. Riquelme scored the second goal.

• 7) Michael Essien: His marvelous performance in Olympique Lyon in the spring, was rewarded with a highly anticipated change to Chelsea. In the London-team he has been an important defensive player, although his imagine has been tarnished by his recent violent tackles, particularly the one on Didi Hamann. However, it does not take away that he has had a wonderful year. He was furthermore an important player on the Ghana national team that qualified for its first World Cup ever.

• 6) Frank Lampard: Frank Lampard was also on last year's list. He has continued playing excellent on a Chelsea side that seems un-beatable. Also on the English national team, he has been one of the better-performing players on a team that had some difficulty qualifying for the World Cup.

• 5) Samuel Eto'o: Topscorer of last season's Spanish league with Barcelona, as well as the leading scorer at the end of the season, he has been another of the important player's on the great Catalan team this year. On another front, the World Cup dream faded for him and Cameroun, so he will be one of the missed great players next year in Germany.

• 4) Juninho: Has been marvelous in the strong Olympique Lyon team. They have been French champions as well as very strong in the Champions League, where a memorable 3-0 victory against Real Madrid gave them an early lead in a group they easily won. Mr. Juninho is probably the best free-kicker in the world at the moment, and in February, we will see his magic against PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League.

• 3) Steven Gerrard: This was a marvelous year for Steven Gerrard. He was the captain of Liverpool's amazing victory in the Champions League final. There was much talk of him changing to a "bigger" club, but he has fortunately stayed in Liverpool. He has continued playing very well into the new season, and will be an important player as Liverpool try to defend their title, as well as for the English side in the World Cup.

• 2) Adriano: The Brazilian striker in Inter Milan is surely the best striker in the world at the moment. He scores many goals in the Italian league as well as in the Champions League. For Brazil he has also become the main striker, and he is specially remembered for his marvelous strike against Argentina in the final of the 2005 Confederations Cup this summer.

• 1) Ronaldinho: The Brazilian was also top of my list in 2004. He has continued as a super-player this year, and now the titles have begun coming: with Barcelona he won the Spanish title, and with Brazil he both qualified for the World Cup and won the 2005 Confederations Cup. There is no doubt Mr. Ronaldinho will be a key player in both Barcelona and Brazil as they contend for Spanish title, Champions League and World Cup in 2006.

The list is as always difficult to complete, and is of course my own personal opinion. I would like to hear others though!

FIFA U-17 World Champions

The 11th FIFA U-17 World Cup started in Peru this weekend. Traditionally, these tournaments have been dominated by African teams, although the defending champions are Brazil. The table shows the history of the tournament that started in 1985:

China 1985	Nigeria	West Germany	Brazil	Guinea
Canada 1987	USSR	Nigeria	Ivory Coast	Italy
Scotland 1989	Saudi Arabia	Scotland	Portugal	Bahrain
Italy 1991	Ghana	Spain	Argentina	Qatar
Japan 1993	Nigeria	Ghana	Chile	Poland
Ecuador 1995	Ghana	Brazil	Argentina	Oman
Egypt 1997	Brazil	Ghana	Spain	Germany
New Zealand 1999	Brazil	Australia	Ghana	USA
Trinidad & Tobago 2001	France	Nigeria	Burkina Faso	Argentina
Finland 2003	Brazil	Spain	Argentina	Colombia
Peru 2005

This time, the Africans are also some of the teams to watch. Actually, the defending champs from Brazil, started by losing 1-3 to the African champions from Gambia.
Netherlands, Mexico, Italy and USA have also started with victories, while the Peruvian hosts started by playing 1-1 with Ghana in a very tight group A.
The tournament might not reflect as much the real football strength at senior level asfor instance the U-21 World Cup. However, many young stars have played this tournament before, and it is likely that more than one future football star is playing for the glory of his country in Peru these days.

FIFA World Youth Champions 2005

Last Saturday, the final of the FIFA World Youth Championship was played in the Netherlands. I did not have the fortune to watch the match, because I was rocking and drinking at the Roskilde Festival. However, I was glad to hear that Argentina won a tight match 2-1 against a well-playing Nigeria team. Both Argentinean goals were scored on penalty by Lionel Messi - a rising 19-year old Argentinean star, who plays for Barcelona. I do not think this is the last time I will be writing about Mr. Messi.
This was the 15th final of a tournament which started in 1977, and was won by the USSR. The tournament has largely been led by the two South American giants, Brazil and Argentina. Brazil has won four times, and with this year's victory, Argentina has won five. The following table gives a full overview of the tournament:

Tunisia 1977	USSR	Mexico	Brazil	Uruguay
Japan 1979	Argentina	USSR	Uruguay	Poland
Australia 1981	West Germany	Qatar	Romania	England
Mexico 1983	Brazil	Argentina	Poland	South Corea
USSR 1985	Brazil	Spain	Nigeria	USSR
Chile 1987	Yugoslavia	West Germany	East Germany	Chile
Saudi Arabia 1989	Portugal	Nigeria	Brazil	USA
Portugal 1991	Portugal	Brazil	USSR	Australia
Australia 1993	Brazil	Ghana	England	Australia
Qatar 1995	Argentina	Brazil	Portugal	Spain
Malaysia 1997	Argentina	Uruguay	Ireland	Ghana
Nigeria 1999	Spain	Japan	Mali	Uruguay
Argentina 2001	Argentina	Ghana	Egypt	Paraguay
UAE 2003	Brazil	Spain	Colombia	Argentina
Netherlands 2005	Argentina	Nigeria	Brazil	Morocco

The next tournament in 2007, will be hosted by Canada. It will again be a good opportunity to see the rising stars of international football. The matches are usually very entertaining, and the tournament is beginning to attract much greater attention! And surely, we might already see some of the players in next years World Cup in Germany!