"an overnight e-mail"? The man needs a faster computer for Xmas.

There's really nothing to say about Crouch's comment. It speaks for itself.

ARSENAL vs AC MILAN

I'm sensing a matchup for the ages there.

Barcelona
Manchester United
Porto
Inter Milan
Roma
Arsenal
Chelsea
Sevilla

The Arsenal - Milan and Roma - Real Madrid matches will hopefully be the most entertaining.

Crouch later went on join the rallying cry of "natural born Brits" in blaming video games for the fattening up of Britannia and lack of young British athletes.

(No, he really didn't do that. But my money's on him making such a statement within the next 48 hours).

Celtic-Barcelona
Lyon-Manchester United
Schalke-Porto
Liverpool-Inter Milan
Roma-Real Madrid
Arsenal-AC Milan
Olympiakos-Chelsea
Fenerbahce-Sevilla

Barca, ManU, Schalke, Inter, Roma, AC Milan, Chelsea, Sevilla.

Now let's take it up a notch. My TI-83 graphing calculator's random generator says that the quarters will look like...

Barca-AC Milan
Schalke-Inter
Chelsea-Sevilla
ManU - Roma

Barca, Inter, Chelsea, and ManU advance.

And the calculator says...

Chelsea-ManU and Barca-Inter

How about a ManU-Barca final?

I can't side with ManU...Barca wins it.

(It won't get any more scientific than that.)

The final 8 will be:

Barcelona
Lyon
Porto
Inter Milan
Roma
Arsenal
Chelski
Sevilla

I am Liverpool supporter and the first to admit Crouch's tackle was absolutely disgusting. Shameful.

He should shut his mouth. If he HAD caught Mikel, he could have broken his leg. Then who is the bad guy? The deceptive foreigner or the Big Bird cretin?

Crouch is a dirty player IMHO. He fouls constantly. He is horrible in the air. His weak vertical leap and slight build forces him to foul in order to generate headers at goal. Watch him. For a guy of his statue, he is truly abysmal in the air.

Case in point: England vs Trinidad at WC 2006...Crouch put the Trini defender (Sancho) in a quasi half nelson, yanked his dreads, then pushed off/down, nearly leapfrogging the defender in order to over the top for the header. ((Notice Sancho never leaves off the ground...Hmmm, that is normal for a defender to stand and watch an adjacent attacker go up for a free header. Couldn't be bothered, surely. Nothing to do with the scarecrow sitting on him.))

Here is a picture:
http://www.footballspectator.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/06/Crouch%20Foul.jpg

Clearly, the dirty foreigner has made of meal of it, taking his own hair and putting it into Crouch's clenched fist, in order to win a bogus call. Yeah.

Crouch should STFU and GBTW.

Allow me to add:

Crouch - after trying to crack Mikel's leg - gave a holiday season "F@CK OFF!" to the Chelsea crowd as he departed the field. Nicely done. Sheer class. Classless.

Hard to miss when he is six feet in front of the TV camera.

With any luck the FA will sanction him.

Way to do the badge proud, chopstick.

It looked to me like Crouch went in to shoulder tackle Obi off the ball, but Obi was stronger and sent Crouch flying in a pile of arms and legs. It looks worse in real time than it does if you pause it on the foul. I am an Arsenal fan BTW, and that Milan draw is going to be tough.

New Brit policy: Make a crap tackle, blame it on foreigners.

Crouch may be right though. If he had tackled Lampard that way he might have got a fist to the jaw instead of a guy rolling on the pitch -- which is really what he deserved.

Great move for Perkins - really deserved. Since his taking over as full time keeper, he has continued to improve and made some huge saves for us last year. Of course the howler vs. Chivas was unfortunate but he is another example of a player coming from basically nowhere to play a big role and then move onto Europe in just a couple of years. Hope DCU front office can find some other diamonds in the rough. We are going to need them to stay on top.

The English in general are really becoming quite pathetic with their lame excuses.
They miss a major tourney every decade so it's not like missing 2008 is a big deal.
They also grossly over rate their players which doesn't help.
The blaming foreigners stuff is really getting funny. The denial is MExicanesque at this point.
Actually, it seems Mexico is finally learning but the Brits are just going into deeper denial.

WHat's real funny is that their one WC win came at home, on a goal that wasn't scored, and they possibly recieved the most one sided officiating in WC history. SK can challenge.

Evn in the other playoffs the teams considered to be England's biggest threats were given a raw treatment and their best players were allowed to be butchered relentlessly. Of course you never hear this in England and most here are two young to know any better or have seen it.

Illusion and delusion. The English past time. Crouch is just par for the course.

So I guess "utviklingslag" means minor-league team, or something (it's near the bottom in the bio segment)?

Barca
Man U
Porto
Liverpool
Real Madrid
AC Milan
Chelsea
Fenerbahce

Speaking of Crouch, if you don't already listen to the Guardian's Football Weekly Podcast, you should this week. The latest version includes a hilarious story about Crouch, a fast food restaurant tantrum and nachos.

http://football.guardian.co.uk/footballweekly/

Barca
Man U
Porto
Liverpool
Real Madrid
AC Milan
Chelsea
Fenerbahce

Posted by: Chico | December 21, 2007 11:22 AM

I agree with Chico on all of these

I don't see a reeling Liverpool side beating (perhaps) the best team in Europe over two legs. Inter have lost one match in all competitions thus far.

I wrestled over the last one, Sevilla can definately turn it up when they have to but they just lack that....."It" factor. I'm looking for an upset by Fenerbahce.

Crouch's tackle was bad but he is right that the continental and other non-Brit players tend to dive a lot and play act to make things look worse than they are.

It is a true statement, and a noted problem in the American game in MLS too. I don't know why people act like he is saying something completely absurd or wrong.

Barcelona
Man. United
Porto
Liverpool
Real Madrid
Arsenal
Chelsea
Fenerbahce

I can easily see both Milan teams going down. Arsenal will be way too much to handle for AC and Inter may be the best team in Europe right now but they are taking on a Benitez led Liverpool that can take on anybody on a european night.

As for Americans in the UEFA Cup, an injured Beas and Rangers got Panathinaikos, Adu and Benfica have Nurnberg, and Rossi and Villareal have Zenit. Not too bad.

Man, Crouch's dropkick tackle was pretty awkward looking. He's got a future in UFC if the "football" thing doesn't work out for him.

I don't know why people act like he is saying something completely absurd or wrong.

Posted by: Bad tackle but true statement | December 21, 2007 11:47 AM
---------------

Go back and read his words.

It's absurd and wrong because, at best, it's the kind of non-apology that we get from politicians (If I did something wrong that may have been an error in judgment, then I'm sorry). At worst, he's blaming Mikel and the referee for making him commit the foul.

Nery a comment about Castillo's move to Man City? Fascinating that he basically paid for the transfer himself. I know it's off topic, but I still fear he is a superstar in the making...I think he'll have more success than other Mexicans have had in England.

Champion's League -- throwing darts, I come up with Barca, Man U, Schalke, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, Arsenal, Chelsea and Fenerbahce.

Speaking of Arsenal, (Milan just isn't showing the form a team with it's talent should), in the grand tradition of naming players that DCU has a snowball's chance in Hades of getting, let's pretend we have a chance at getting Jens Lehman (after all, he wants out). He could school Wells for a year or two.

Crouch? A complete jackass. Unfortunately, I imagine he is really endearing himself to the Liverpool faithful, though. He's not the most worldly chap, but he seems like he would fit in with the great, affable masses of the fans of the Reds.

Final 8 will be:

Barca
Man Utd
Porto
Inter
Real Madrid
AC Milan
Olympiakos
Sevilla

"Nery a comment about Castillo's move to Man City?"

Well played

To Wiggan:

Are you mad? Crouch came in with both legs -- a flying tackle. It's true that his shoulder hits a solid wall as Mikel pushes back, and that's what upends Crouch, but if his legs were on the ground, he would have just been muscled off the ball. Instead, he wound up with his legs around Mikel's waist. It was an ugly challenge and Crouch acknowledges it was a deliberate response to a studs-up play earlier.

RK -- You're leaving out the most prominent Yank in the tourney. Tim Howard and his Everton boys are on quite a run lately.

Crouch tackle was horrific. His comments equally so. Although it is a bit of a relief that our country isn't the only one with the problems of nativism.

Pardon the topic change, but...

Did somebody mention Happy Hour? Is Kilroy's still on the list?

I'm in. And I suggest we leave an empty chair for Mr. Goff, just in case he can slip away for a bit.

I confess I only discovered this blog after it won the USSF award - my loss! Congrats Mr. Goff! Always loved your excellent coverage in the Post.

Crouch is a jerk, and the issue of diving is completely beside the point in his case BUT diving is a huge problem. I rarely watch Italian or Argentine soccer because there's hardly any futbol going on. Of course it happens everywhere -- and 'foreigner' Fredy Adu got a well deserved yellow for his recent efforts!

I suspect the Italian diving team may be called into action against Arsenal and Real Madrid.

Ala Madrid!!

Troy,

Thanks for the memories.

My daughter is very happy that she was able to meet Troy before the MLS Cup, get an autograph, and have her picture taken with him.

All she wants for Christmas now is a new favorite player.

Best of Luck in Norway and wherever your career takes you.

"Hala" Madrid

Visca del Barca!

The Brits have no skill on the ball, but by golly they still have their manliness ... whatever.

Speaking of proud footballing nations with little basis for such touchy egos, the fans of Mexico are convinced that Nery is the real deal. Luis Bueno is saying Nery is a can't-miss prospect in the EPL. Umm, he largely paid his own way there ... It could pay off big for him in the end, but he's hardly coming in thru the front door.

Yeah, Nery has more skill than probably any English player, we all saw it last summer in the Gold Cup and Copa America. But his trajectory has been up and down, even with Olympiakos. Maybe now that he has a financial stake in doing well for Man City, he will give it his all like last summer for El Tri.

Also, don't forget he was playing for a club contract last summer, after only coming to choose Mexico reluctantly. If things do take off for him in England or elsewhere in Europe, I won't be surprised to see him suddenly begging off trips across the pond to face the likes of Honduras, Jamaica and Canada.

"New Brit policy: Make a crap tackle, blame it on foreigners."

Posted by: scott47a | December 21, 2007 11:06 AM

That is not a new Brit Policy, that has been the overwhelming policy for years. Something goes wrong, blame the immigrant population. Don't qualify for the Euros, too many foreigners in the Premiership. This is fairly typical British xenophobic behavior.

I also wish Troy best in his new endeavor. I feel he will show well and have a nice career.
My recently purchased Perkins jersey (at the eqpt sale) still needs an autograph, though. Troy can you post a new address for us back in DC land?

My son is also on a quest for a new favorite player. He seems a little skeptical about Zach Wells. But, I have confidence in Wells and expect a lot over the next couple of years.

About Castillo, I think it is great that most of his team mates have only seen him on Utube. There are some great quotes from Dunne about it. One of the best things to watch for a City fan like myself is who will blow up first, Castillo or Stevie Ireland, they are both moody and a little odd, and they are probably competing for playing time.

Good for Troy. Beats hell out of working at Galyans. Thanks for the memories and the best of luck in Europe.

Fisch, I'm not surprised I missed him -- there are enough people to follow the EPL for me :) I thought I might miss one, but obviously I should've had that. There are so many Yanks now in the EPL that it can get confusing (who would've thought that?).

Quote - Crouch's tackle was bad but he is right that the continental and other non-Brit players tend to dive a lot and play act to make things look worse than they are.

I guess when the English players do it it's OK? Oh wait, English players don't dive, right? Give me a freaking break. Stop watching through Union Jack glasses.

This FK cheated blatantly in the WC to score in a deadlocked match versus T&T, shamelessly grabbing the D's dreadlocks and jumping over him, and you barely hear a word in England.

Hypocrites and panzies. Most disliked, revolting, disrespecting fans on the continent are hands down English. No one wahts them because they openly mock the host country while pissing all over it. Oar for the course. Even in Germany in the WC they would sing insulting WWII songs about their hosts. We may be hated for our arrogance on the continent, but we are considered rude, crude and disgusting. That's for the Brits.

So essentially we're countering Crouch's wide paint brush with an even wider one. That makes sense.

RK: I'm not sure I would include Rossi in a list of American players in Europe. Not until he commits to the U.S. National Team, which is unlikely.

Sure I'm biased against the New Jersey native, but only with regards to calling him an "American" player in Europe. Rossi clearly wants to play for Italia. More power to him if he gets his wish.

Fenerbahce!? Didn't they lose 8-0 to Liverpool? Or was that one of the fixed matches UEFA was investigating?

Anyhow, anyone who picks Fener is smoking the deluxe crack. Same with picking Liverpool over Inter.

Barcelona
MU
Porto
Inter Milan
Real Madrid
AC Milan
Chelsea
Sevilla

Beckham to stay fit by training [not playing] with Arsenal

http://sports.yahoo.com/sow/news?slug=ap-beckham-arsenal&prov=ap&type=lgns

BECKHAM TO ARSENAL! MLS A DISASTER! FOLD LEAGUE!

wait.

SSMD:"I'm not sure I would include Rossi in a list of American players in Europe....
Sure I'm biased against the New Jersey native, but only with regards to calling him an 'American' player in Europe."

Ed Anger lives!

Playing for a foreign team doesn't make him somehow less American.

"Fenerbahce!? Didn't they lose 8-0 to Liverpool? Or was that one of the fixed matches UEFA was investigating?"

Yep, and perhaps more amazing... they're the only side this season that have beaten Liverpool's opponents - Inter

dang, Kev beat me to it....

Besiktas lost 8-0 to Liverpool not Fenerbahce.
Inter always, always leave wanting in the Champions league no matter how in form they are.

Mastadon Juan is biased against NJ natives. I'm just biased against bad teams from NJ.

Barcelona
Manchester United
Schalke
Liverpool
Real Madrid
AC Milan
Chelsea
Sevilla

AP - Wenger dismissed suggestions that Beckham could play for Arsenal during the MLS break.

"He comes [only] to keep fit and work hard," Wenger said.

Wenger was later heard to say "I've already one Englishman on the team, do they expect me to manage another? I only want foreign players who know how to dive."

On diving -- did anyone see Olbermann last night? There was a clip from earlier in the year -- I've already forgotten the game -- but while the one team celebrated the goal, a fan ran onto the field and gave the goalie a bit of a slap in in the neck or face as he ran by.

The goalie started to run after the fan, when it seemed his diving training suddenly kicked in, albeit a bit late. He collapsed like he'd been shot, and sarted writhing in agony, as if he thought he might be able to draw a card aginst somebody....Anybody know the details of this incident?

fyi, "udviklingslag" means development team. More useless trivia that will never pay off for me...

Celtic-AC Milan.

Dida was shot by the gunman in the grassy knoll. I suspect that he exaggerated the incident to, maybe, have FIFA sanction Celtic somehow, but I'm giving him a lot of credit for thinking things through.

RK -- One more American possibly in the UEFA Cup. With Preston Zimmerman having extended his deal with Hamburg SV, Yanks Abroad says "he's a prime candidate to make the leap to the first squad after the winter break..."

Yes. That was cEltic v
Milan. Because of Milan keeper Dida's fake reaction he was banned some games too.

Glad we didn't have to get into a Rossi debate :) I'm just happy to have someone in La Liga to follow. Sure, I could follow Szetela -- if he played! Wonder if he'll be loaned...