Germany and England

Courtesy of BBC.
- Germany have reached the last eight in every World Cup they have competed in since 1938.
- England have never won a knockout match against a former world champion on foreign soil.
- Germany have the best penalty shootout record in World Cups.
- England have the worst penalty shootout record in World Cups.
- Stats mean absolutely nothing on days like today.

BBC - England fan turfs his front room for World Cup

This is so cool! Rest of the pictures on the BBC website.

Not really superstars

Shedding the light on some not so famous players in the 2010 WC. The players are not mega stars like Messi, Ronaldo or Rooney, and a lot of people don't know them. Some of them are even likely to be subs. (Number, Position, Country)

• Pienaar (10, M, South Africa): He's definitely the most famous player in SA's squad. A talented midfielder with an excellent work ethic.
• Tshabalala (8, M, South Africa): Another midfielder from SA. I smile every time the commentator says his name. A very good player though. Everything for SA goes through him and Pienaar. Can't wait to see what commentators will make of it :)
• Pablo Barrera (7, M, Mexico): Very talented winger, likely to be a sub.
• Javier Hernandez (14, F, Mexico): He just moved to Manchester United. A smallish striker with a very good eye for goal.
• Javier Pastore (23, M, Argentina): Almost surely a sub. A very skilful midfielder. I am not sure he'll even find playing time, but if he does, expect some excitement!.
• Peter Odemwingie (11, M, Nigeria), Chinedu Obasi (19, M, Nigeria): If Nigeria is to have any impact in the World Cup, expect these 2 wingers to have some big games along with John Utaka whom i expect to be an impact sub. They have a very technically astute coach in Lars Lagerback (previously of Sweden - knocked off Argentina in 2002).
• Lee Chung-Yong (17, M, South Korea): Everyone knows about Ji Sung Park, but this man had a terrific season for Bolton Wanderers, another skilful winger.
• Aaron Lennon (7, M, England): Did I mention I like wingers? This is definitely the fastest guy in the world cup. He can beat anyone with pace. If he gets his final ball right, England can fulfil its potential. For me he could be the unspoken key for England to lift the World cup (along with the know quantities of Rooney, Gerrard and the defence/GK).
• Miloš Krasić (17, M, Serbia): A skilful midfielder. He sometimes overdoes things, but is very dangerous when he gets it right. Currently plays for CSKA Moscow, and could be playing for a bigger club.
• Mesut Özil (8, M, Germany): Plays behind the strikers, and has to have a great world cup for Germany to have a chance of causing any upsets.
• Mako Marin (21, M, Germany):  He's still very young, and I don't think he'll have much part to play because he plays in the same position as Mesut Ozil. But this guy is one to watch for. He's skilful, pacey and has an eye for a pass. Plays behind the strikers.
• Eljero Elia (17, M, Netherlands): Skilful pacey winger. Still young and has a big future. Scored a dazzling goal in the last friendly against Hungary just after he came on..
• Benoît Assou-Ekotto (2, D, Cameroon), Alexandre Song (6, M, Cameroon), Achille Emana (10, M, Cameroon), Eric Choupo Mouting (13, F, Cameroon), Eyong Enoh (18, M, Ajax): Cameroon has a lot of players i like. Emana is the standout. Enoh should be an impact sub. The have a good coach in Paul Le Guen, and hopefully will be the surprise African team.
• Duda (5, D, Portugal): He spends most of his time in the wing, rather than defending. We'll see whether he starts or they go for the more defensive minded, the inept Paulo Ferreira.
• Danny (10, M, Portugal): Everyone will be looking for Cristiano Ronaldo and to a lesser extent Simão and Deco, and deservedly so. But this man plays just behind the striker, and could be the answer to Portugal's scoring woes benefiting from the talent around him. He's not shy either dribbling and pulling the trigger.
• Jesus Navas (22, M, Spain): Surely a sub. He's only 24 but his career should have kicked off even earlier. He has refused to join the National Team for some time now because he suffered from homesickness!
• David Suazo (11, F, Honduras): Not really an unknown quantity. He used to play for Inter and now plays for Genoa. Definitely the superstar for Honduras along with Wilson Palacios of Tottenham.
• Humberto Suazo (9, F, Chile): This guy is truly a goal machine. He's very stocky, and when you see him you would think he won't be able to do 3 sprints. He's surprisingly fast though and doesn't miss much in front of goal. He has been injured, but hopefully he will be able to play. The way he looks reminds of Amado Flavio from Angola.

As you could have noticed, i didn't include many defenders. People are usually captivated with attacking football.

NBA Playoffs: 2nd Round Predictions

I think I made 2 mistakes in my 1st round predictions. There were not any surprises in the predos, and I discounted the oldies.
The main surprises to me are the Spurs, Jazz and the Celtics level of play. I had 6 correct outcomes, the 2 wrong predictions being the San Antonio beating Dallas and Utah beating Denver. I really expected more out of the Dallas Mavericks, and the absence of George Karl is the main reason behind Denver's exit.

Here are my predictions for the 2nd round after 2 games in each series:

How Mahmoud Bakr gets his expressions (Arabic speakers only)

Mahmoud Bakr adds 20% fun to local football games. I always wondered how he got his expressions. Listen to what he says in this video, it explains a lot! He just says it without thinking. He certainly knows his stuff.

Evra speaking about Alex Ferguson

Interesting interview.
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=779939&sec=england&cc=3888
 "Evra reveals that Ferguson is still prepared to unleash the hair dryer treatment - something the 28-year-old discovered in only his first game for the club, against rivals Manchester City.

"He took me off after 45 minutes. I could tell he was angry. He just looked at me, deadly serious, and said, 'Mr Evra, now just watch and see what is English football. And learn'."

English Premier League Team of the Season

Just a few notes about the selections:
- The season starts in August. So consistency is key in these selections, not just performances in the last couple of months, but rather the whole season form. Also it's not about who is the better player, it's who had the better '09/10 season.
- I took all competitions into consideration, including cups and European competitions when applicable. i guess that makes it more "English Premier League Teams Team of the Season".

GK. Heurelho Gomes (Tottenham Hotspur). They always say that good goalkeepers can save you 8-12 points a season. Gomes has certainly done it this year, and he finally looks like the keeper Spurs thought they were getting when they bought him from PSV.
RB. Branislav Ivanovic (Chelsea).  This currently seems to be the problematic position in world football. There are 2 world class right backs at the moment, and they're both brasilians, Maicon and Dani Alves. England has a decent RB as well in Glen Johnson, but he has been injured for long periods during the season. I had to settle for a converted CB in Ivanovic.
CB. Brede Hangeland (Fulham). 
CB. Thomas Varmaelen (Arsenal).
LB. Leighton Baines (Everton). He hasn't missed a beat this season, both defensively and providing good support and crosses going forward.
RM. James Milner (Aston Villa). He has played most of the season as a central midfielder, but this is his original position. He will certainly be in England's World Cup squad due to his work rate, consistency and ability to play in different positions.
DM. Scott Parker (West Ham). He plays with his heart every minute of every game. I've seen him do the same for Charlton, Chelsea, Newcastle and West Ham. He's been West Ham's best player by far this season, and key to their survival. A true captain.
CM. Frank Lampard (Chelsea). Again 25 goals this season from midfield.
LM: Florent Malouda (Chelsea).
FW: Bobby Zamora (Fulham). He has carried Fulham on his back to the semi final of the Europa League (terrific competition by the way), while injury plagued Andy Johnson, their big money signing, was expected to carry the load.
FW: Wayne Rooney (Manchester United). Undoubtedly player of the season in England.

Manager: Roy Hodgson (Fulham). When he took over at Fulham 2 years ago, it looked like they were doomed to relegation. He saved them with a miraculous late push, and got them to 7th place the next season with basically the same group of players. His only major signings are Damien Duff (came cheaply) and Andy Johnson, who has had an unlucky time with injuries. This year in the Europa League, they got to the final in 18 games knocking out Juventus, Shakhtar Donestsk (the holders), German champions Wolfsburg, and Hamburg who had the incentive of playing the final on their own ground. In the same time, they're middle of the table without even concentrating on the league. The most impressive thing for me, is that he hasn't splashed out the cash, like Portsmouth did to win the FA cup, and get into administration 2 years later.

Given
Hangeland                 Vermaelen  
Ivanovic                                                                      Baines

 Parker

Milner                                                                           Malouda

Lampard

Rooney                            Zamora

Bench: (i know the premier league bench has 7 players, but i am including 11)
- Shay Given (Manchester City). He has been consistent all season, being hailed as Man City's best signing along with Tevez. Actually he's the been the most consistent goalkeeper in the premier league in the last 10 years, along with Jussi Jaskelainen and Brad Friedel.Heurelho Gomes (Tottenham Hotspur).
- Richard Dunne (Aston Villa).
- Gareth Bale (Tottenham Hotspur).
- Alex Song (Arsenal).
- Matthew Taylor (Bolton Wanderers).
- Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal). I think he was terrific this season, but he got injured 2 times in very critical times for Arsenal. It could have been a very different season had he stayed fit, along with Robin Van Persie (and had Wenger decided to buy a couple of established players older than 15, including a striker)
- Craig Bellamy (Manchester City).
- Zoltan Gera (Fulham).
- Antonio Valencia (Manchester United).
- Carlos Tevez (Manchester City).
- Darren Bent (Sunderland).
- Didier Drogba (Chelsea).

- Special Mention: Owen Coyle (Manager of Burnley and Bolton). When he left Burnley to take over at Bolton in January, they were in 14th position while Bolton were 18th. Bolton are currently 14th and safe from relegation, while Burnley have been relegated this week, stuck in 19th position.