Reaction to Champs League Round of 16 (1st Legs) and Miscellaneous

Craig Bellamy hit a hole in one against Barcelona, and may have saved his Liverpool career. This game was fantastic. Barcelona started the game firing on all cylinders with a beautiful Deco header. It was not, however, to be their day. Liverpool attacked, and then they attacked some more. Bellamy fired a header in on goal that was sloppily handled by Victor Valdez and it rolled over the goal line for a 1-1 equalizer. Then, in the second half, John Arne Risse gave Liverpool the lead for good with a great goal on the run of play. 2-1 Final, and another wrong prediction for me.


As for my predictions in the first legs, I went 5-3 to bring my overall Champs League total to 58-46 and an increase from 55% accuracy to 56% accuracy. Not much, but still an improvement. Now for my Impressive and Disappointing teams.

Impressive: Liverpool: This is a no brainer. They carved up the supposed best team in the world. They are a very deep squad, and maybe Rafa Benitez's squad rotation system will finally pay off.
Valencia: Rafa Benitez's old club was impressive. They came back with a late
equalizer and are in prime position to dump Inter from Europe.

Dissapointing: Every other team that played on the 2nd day of the first leg matchups.
- Barcelona: Once again, Barcelona seemed to have had a brain fart in the
defense. This seems to happen to them from time to time. It
will take the game of this team's lives at Anfield to advance to
the quarterfinals.
- Chelsea/Porto: BORING!!!!! Shevchenko is on the rise again, though
- Internazionale- uh-oh. Looks like Chelski syndrome to me. They got
all of the big stars, and the team chemistry just isn't
there. They need a big performance away at
La Mestalla.
Now for the Miscellaneous.

John Terry got knocked out cold, but Chelski still managed to win the Carling Cup, and I am going to say the same thing I said when Man U won it last year, woo-hoo. Although there was an all out brawl at the end that made it all worth while.

Cristiano Ronaldo is turning into the Michael Jordan of football. He scored the gamewinner against Fulham on a 50+ yard run from his own half. Manchester United seem to be firing on all cylinders, but they have a tough match tomorrow (2-27) against Reading in a FA Cup replay at the Madjeski stadium. I predict Manchester United wins in a walk 3-0. I just hope that when Henrik Larsson returns to Helsinborgs on March 12th, he doesn't take Manchester United's Treble hopes with him.

Champions League Rreview Round of 16 Day 1/Preview Day 2

For those of you who followed the old weknowfooty blog, you all know that I have been saying that Edison Mendez would come good. Well, he did just that yesterday against Arsenal. The Ecuadorian midfielder scored a WUNDER 30 yard strike and Jens Lehmann could do nothing. It was sweet to see an Ecuadorian get a little revenge on a German, but I digress. Now for a little bit of reaction from the first day of the round of 16.

Impressive: PSV- Duh. This by far was one of the best performances of the Champions League. They showed a lot of resolve in winning this game.
Ryan Giggs/Wayne Rooney- The Man U team as a whole played terribly, but the goal scored by Man U was incredible. Its nice to see that Giggs is still sharp enough to realize that he could take that kick quickly. Wayne sold it well too.
Bayern/Real- Both of these teams were impressive. Real scored three goals. That should be enough of a cushion to get through the next game right? Wrong, because Bayern scored 2 away goals. The return leg should be interesting.

Dissapointment: Arsenal- This is disappointing to some (not me, I Hate Arsenal), but they played like garbage. Henry fails to do anything once again.

Now for predictions for day 2.

Porto v. Chelsea- Gimme a Draw in Mourinho's return to the only team he has won/will win a Champs League with.

Inter v. Valencia- Inter in a walk. Inter are firing on all cylinders and are now the favourites in this competition due to Lyon's dicey form.

Lyon v. Roma- Push... Just kidding. I like a draw here as well.

Barca v. Liverpool- This is the marquee matchup. With all of the in-fighting going on at both teams, someone needs to step up. I want to say that Stevie G steps up and captains his team to victory, but it aint gonna happen. Barca have the homefield in this game, and I like them to win this game rather easily, just don't run it in Dinho, or else Craig Bellamy will go Tiger Woods on those golden legs of yours.

Champions League Preview Round of 16, 1st legs, Day 1

Watch the Champions league today, or end up like this poor chap here, passed out and becoming a dog's intimate.

Now for those of you who have kept up with the old blog (weknowfooty.blogspot.com), you know that I have been predicting Champions League matches from Match day 1. In the group stage, I went 53-43 for a 55% accuracy mark. This is okay, but not great. I hope to improve as the knockout stage is upon us. Now, enough with the chit-chat, here is what you came for:
Celtic v. AC Milan: Draw. This is a tricky one. If the game were at the San Siro, you would be inclined to pick Milan, but at Celtic Park, it is a little different.
Man United v. Lille: Man United. This game is in France, so it will not be easy, but Larsson helps United to the win.
PSV v. Arsenal: Arsenal. I want PSV to win as I hate Arsenal, but the dutchmen have been on real patchy form lately. Hopefully I am wrong on this one.
Bayern v. Real: I gotta go with REAL on this one. Bayern are losing left and right in the Bundesliga, and Beckham is having a resurgence and will score a free kick.

Now to touch on something different:
Larsson won't extend his Man United contract past March 12. As a Man United fan, this saddens me, but as a family man, this is the right move. Manchester United will still be the favorites for the Prem and one of the favorites for the Champs League, but it will be harder without a LEGEND.

Brazil/Portugal Recap and USA/Mexico preview

I'm Baaaaaack!
For those of you who are switch-overs from the old "Weknowfooty" blog, there's no need to fear, Sambo is here. I know that I haven't posted anything in a while, but there is no need to worry; I wasn't going to subject you to too much Stephen (scary thought). Now that I have the intro out of the way, ON TO THE FOOTY!
Yesterday marked the Colonial Power vs the Colony, and the Colonial power once again BITCH-slapped the colony. Brazil got it handed to them and played like crap. I don't know where Dunga's head is, but that was clearly one of the worst Brazilian sides that I have seen play in a long time (since the world cup...) They performed okay in the 1st half, but once Simao came onto the pitch for Cristiano Ronaldo (so-so performance himself) the game was over. He put a beautiful finish past Helton, the Brazilian keeper, and Brazil had their heart ripped out. Aside from a Ricardo Carvalho Wunderstrike, Portugal had put the game away. I like the direction that Portugal is going in for the Euro 2008 tournament. However, I don't like the path that Brazil is taking towards the 07 Copa America and when that tournament roles around, they will probably suffer one or two embarrassing results (including a loss to either ECUADOR OR THE UNITED STATES, YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST). Speaking of the United states:
The rivalry continues tonight, (no not UNC v. Duke or UGA v. UF for all you NCAA basketball nuts out there like myself) but USA takes on Mexico at the new University of Phoenix stadium in Glendale Arizona. The fan turnout is projected to be very pro-Mexican and that bothers me. I know this game is close to the border, but come on guys, it's still on our soil. We need to support our boys, but regardless of fan support (or lack thereof), I like the boys in red, white, and blue to win this game 3 goals to 1 with goals from Dempsey, Johnson, and Ricardo Clark for the Americans and a goal from Cuautemoc Blanco who makes his long awaited Mexican return after being exiled by former Coach Ricardo Lavolpe. Lavolpe, an Argentinian, had no idea how much Blanco meant to the Mexican team and Mexican people. It is great to see him back in the lineup, as he can change a game on the drop of a hat. But enough of this mexican love fest, back to the issue at hand. Despite the fact that the USA will pick up the win tonight, I am a little concerned that Bob Bradley left out what I think are three key ingredients to the progression of US soccer for years to come in Beasley, Onyewu, and Adu. I know some people think Freddy isn't ready (nice rhyme), but we need to put him in big game environments like this so he can get experience. The Beasley and Onyewu omissions are what blow my mind. How can you leave out one of the best, young center-halves in the world, especially after he just signed with Newcastle. And Beasley is just now cracking his way into the starting lineup at the City of Manchester Stadium for Stuart Pierce's Man City. Beasley has always played his best against Mexico, and who can forget the Onyewu/Jared Borgetti staredown of the last time these two teams met (when USA won to win CONCACAF and qualied for the World cup before mexico). It's nice to see some new blood in the lineup, but come on Bob Bradley. You left out 2 of our best players and 1 that COULD become one of the best ever to suit up for the red, white, and blue. Again, I look forward to a great match, and the USA wins 3-1.