International Soccer

I have several opinions about international soccer, here are a few of them:

Sven-Goran Erikkson and the Mexican National Team:
June 3rd, 2008 the Mexican Soccer Federation signed a Swede to coach the Mexican Nation Soccer Team. Sven-Goran Erikkson. Sven-Goran Erikkson would be replacing Hugo Sanchez at the head of the "El Tri". Hugo Sanchez was "let go" because he failed to qualify Mexico's soccer team to the 2008 Olympics at Beijing. Although I admire Hugo Sanchez, I feel it was the correct decision to let him go. Statistically, Sven-Goran Erikkson is more experienced and has been more successful as a coach. Hugo Sanchez has not been a coach for nearly as long as Sven-Goran Erikkson has, I believe Hugo Sanchez needs to successfully coach some clubs in Europe before he can return to coach the Mexican nation team. He has a great victor mentality, however a good mentality is not enough, experience is also needed. At the press conference where Hugo Sanchez responded to being "relieved of his duties" as coach of the Mexican side, Hugo left us with these words, "if Mexico wants to win a World Cup, the know my number". Probably the best exit from a press conference ever. A great example of his great victor mentality, but like I said, one good mentality will not cut it. Hugo will come back though, with more experience, and he will be a man of his word. He can bring home the cup for Mexico.
For now, Sven-Goran Erikkson will be in charge in Mexico. He has great potential, however his arrival has instigated a lot of controversy. Several aficionados of the Mexican Nation Soccer Team believe a Mexican should be in charge of the Mexican team. They believe someone who can speak Spanish should also be in charge and someone who is familiar with Mexican soccer. Sven-Goran Erikkson lacks any of these qualities which is why the decision to let him coach Mexico has generated a negative response. They believe this decision is a gamble. Sven-Goran Erikkson will prove them wrong. When you look at the pros and cons of Sven-Goran Erikkson as coach of the Mexican National team the pros outweigh the cons. Sure, Sven-Goran Erikkson does not speak Spanish and is not familiar with Mexican soccer. However, like he said, he is a very smart man. He is quick to learn, and he will become familiarized with Mexican soccer in an effective manner. And as far as the fact that he does not speak Spanish goes, again he is a very smart man. He has coached in England, Portugal, Italy, and Sweden, and he speaks English, Portuguese, Italian, and Swedish. He will learn Spanish quickly and very well. Also like he said, Portuguese and Italian derives from Latin, as does Spanish. So you would have to be "stupid" to not be able to pick up some Spanish when you are living in Portugal (which neighbors Spain) and Italy. The the cons of Erikkson can and will be treated, quickly and effectively. His pros are very impressive. He is a very smart man who loves football very much. He has successfully coached clubs in Sweden, Portugal and Italy, and he also coached the English National Side and Manchester City. He has learned the languages and the football of all of these countries respectfully and successfully. Sven-Goran Erikkson will do the same with Mexico. The hiring of Sven-Goran Erikkson to the Mexican National Team is not a gamble. Sven-Goran Erikkson is the right man for the job and will prove so.

Pumas and the Upcoming '08 Apertura in the Mexican Soccer League:
In 2004, the year of Gold, Pumas UNAM was the first team to win two consecutive league titles, an Apertura (the fall season) and the Clausura (spring) under the direction of Hugo Sanchez. Since then Pumas has not had that sort of success. They came close in 2007 when the lost the Apertura Final against Atlante in Cancun, but Pumas has not been the constantly successful team they once were. Over this summer, Pumas has gone back to the basics, and will prove to once again be a successful team. Pumas did lose the Three S's, Argentines, Esteban Solari, Rubens Sambuza, and Ignaccio Scocco, but the gained Juan Carlos Cacho, Martin Bravo, Dante Lopez, and David Toledo. Their coach, Ricardo "El Tuca" Ferreti knows exactly what he is doing and the Pumas will rise.
Respect them.

The Euro 2008:
This year's Euro was full of surprises. Before it started I predicted Portugal and the Netherlands would meet in the final and Portugal would take it home. Boy was I wrong. Portugal was eliminated early by Germany. Then I thought Germany would be would be champions. Other surprises were Italy and France. Who would have imagined that both of the finalists from the 2006 World Cup Final would play so poorly? The Netherlands were another surprise, they were extremely successful in the group phase, some even began giving them the nickname, the Clockwork Orange, a nickname that is not easy to play up to. Sadly the were also eliminated soon after the group phase. Turkey was another surprise. A team full of miracles, such as coming from behind after losing 2-0 to Czech Republic to win 2-3 and go on the next round. Also going to penalties vs Croatia after losing in extra time and coming back to tie and win in the penalty shootouts. Unfortunately, a Turkish team full of injured and suspended players could not beat Germany to advance to the final. Russia was another surprise, no one expected them to play so well and get so far. Finally, Spain was a surprise. The played great football, some of their best in 40 years.
So Germany and Spain met in the final. And Spain won. The final was not an entertaining match. Spain played with a strategy that has become too popular in this era of modern soccer. The "score and then defend your lead" strategy. Which is exactly what Spain did. Fernando "El Nino" Torres scored and then Spain defended. When teams do that, they take away what fans like to see. A Joga Bonito. Pretty, attractive soccer, with offensive teams. With lots of goals and creative plays. Spain did not want to take that risk and settled for the "score and then defend your lead" strategy. It was effective sure, the Spaniards and fans of "La Furia Roja" were content, but it left the rest of the soccer world disappointed that the final was not as exciting as they expected. This strategy is cheap but effective, and sadly many teams are resorting to it. For example Real Madrid, with it is how the won their 2nd consecutive Spanish league title. All in all it was a good, interesting, surprising Euro. The final, however, left us on the edge of our seats. Not because it was so exciting, but because we were so bored watching it we had to contemplate whether or not we wanted to get out of seats and leave.
Finally, it was sad to see a Euro Cup without England. The national team of the country that brought us soccer could not qualify for the Euro Cup. It's all Steve McClaren's fault, which is why the Italian, Fabio Capello is now coaching the English side. The fact that England could not qualify for the Euro is good news yet at the same time illogical. It is good news because that means other teams are trying harder to qualify for it, so the big dogs won't find it as easy to enter the Euro. This is also illogical, because, this year, 2008, we the UEFA Champions League had their first English final. It was the first time two English teams met in the Final of the Champions League. As a matter a fact 3 out of the 4 teams that qualified directly to the Champions League were in the semi-finals. If English clubs were so strong in the Champions League, then why was England unable to qualify for the Euro Cup? Are players now more motivated by money from their clubs than they are motivated to seek glory for their countries? Or are there too many foreigners playing in domestic leagues?

And on that note,
au revoir.

misc.

Well, I doubt many people will read this. I doubt anybody will read this, but I created this blog regardless so that I may let things that are on my mind off my chest.
I'm tired and need a shower and sleep but I will blog anyway.

I have several things on my mind:

Summer School:
Tomorrow is the last day of summer school. Honestly, I will miss it. However I will not miss waking up at 6am everyday. It's been a pain. You'd think that after a month you would get used to it, but I had as hard a time waking up today as I did the first day of school. I've met some interesting (to put it nicely) people in summer school, and I've had some good times and great stories because of it. I'll miss the good stories it gave me, not waking up before the sun rises.

The "Beckham" Game:
David Beckham and the LA Galaxy will play FC Dallas at Pizza Hut Park this Sunday. I still don't have tickets, I'm hoping something will come up and I'll be able to get tickets for free - like I have for the two past Galaxy games here in Dallas. If I don't get tickets then I won't mind spending money out of my own wallet. We'll see how David Beckham plays, most people are blind and don't understand that he isn't even trying out there sometimes. He's become content with his signature chip pass up to Landon Donovan or (now) Carlos Ruiz, and every once in game he'll get a good run. He'll start off a game strong and then fade away. Maybe the summer heat it getting to him, and we'll see an increase in his play come fall. Maybe. Regardless, many of the blind people have been content with seeing him once, so ticket sales are dropping again. I'll comment more on this later.

I'm tired and need sleep and a shower.
I still have more to say, but that's it for now.

Coming Soon:
Sven-Goran Erikkson and the Mexican National Team
Pumas and the upcoming '08 Apertura in the Mexican Soccer League.