Archive: Australia
Morning Kick-About
I like stats (good stats, not junk like this), and FIFAWorldCup.com has a good stat-driven piece up today. They crunched the numbers on the average age of World Cup players thru history, and discovered that no winning side in the last 40 years has had an average age of 28 or more. In Chile 1962 [Brazil] weighed in at an average of 30 years and 1 month, a staggering 17 months older on average than the next oldest squad. Since then the average age of the winning squads has been: England (27/01); Brazil (25/02); Germany (27/03); Argentina (26/03); Italy (27/04); Argentina (26/10); Germany (27/09); Brazil (27/11); France (27/04) and Brazil (26/09). ... The average age of every player taking part in the Germany showpiece is 27/05. Remarkably that figure has scarcely changed over recent competitions. Four years ago it was 27/06 as it was in 1998. In 1994 it had...
By Jon DeNunzio | June 6, 2006; 09:20 AM ET | Comments (22) | TrackBack (0)
Morning Kick-About
There are four days till the first game, and it's time to kick it into a higher gear ... we'll start the day with the kick-about: - Friendlies that made news: Brazil 4, New Zealand 0: Saw some highlights on Sky (thanks to Fox Soccer Channel); Adriano's goal was quite nice. Kaka scored late on a long run that made you wonder how hard New Zealand was trying at that point. Australia 1, Netherlands 1: Again, saw some highlights. Good for Australia: GK Mark Schwarzer made some gigantic saves, and hey, it's a very respectable result. Bad for Holland: three Dutch players were hurt in the game; MF Wesley Sneijder seems to be worst off. "It's like an episode of M.A.S.H.," said Holland Coach Marco van Basten said. "It was some sight in the dressing room. But I don't regret the match because it is good to play physical football."...
By Jon DeNunzio | June 5, 2006; 08:00 AM ET | Comments (7) | TrackBack (0)
Who Do You Like in Group F?
Friday. Predictions. It feels like a tradition now. First, the reading material. - Steve Goff's group analysis, written the day of the draw. - Team profiles, also writen in December. BBC.com's team guides: - Australia - Brazil - Croatia - Japan Did you know: During France 1998, the stadium authorities were astonished to find the Japan fans' seating area cleaner after a game than before. On the final whistle, the fans had picked up all the rubbish they could find before depositing it in the bins by the exit. My thoughts ... I hate to be boring again, but how does Brazil not win this group? And how does Croatia not finish second? The biggest question seems to be who takes third -- and the June 12 Japan-Australia game may determine that. I assume most everyone agrees Brazil is the pick for No. 1 here. Anyone think Croatia might stumble,...
By Jon DeNunzio | May 19, 2006; 09:05 AM ET | Comments (50) | TrackBack (0)
Late Lunchtime Roundup
Hmmmm, where to start? I need to catch up ... - Germany F Michael Ballack sounds less than supremely confident. "Everyone must be aware that a surprise is possible with this young team - but also an early exit," Ballack said in SportBild magazine. - Australia, Sweden and Ecuador choose their teams. - Two players getting teased with "Hey, you still might make the team" talk: Holland MF Edgar Davids and England D Ledley King. - Reported in a comment yesterday -- Italy F Christian Vieri is out. Is it possible his last touch in a World Cup match was putting an exceedingly easy chance over the bar vs. South Korea? Or maybe I'm remembering it wrong....
By Jon DeNunzio | May 10, 2006; 01:45 PM ET | Comments (14) | TrackBack (0)
Morning Kick-About
Some items of interest: - Angola's Gilberto is out -- snapped Achilles' tendon (that has to hurt). "Gilberto was a regular for his country in last year's qualifying campaign and also helped his club to win the 2005 African Champions League." - Iran's coach admits his team is, at this point, not well prepared for Germany. But it's not because of the geopolitical tension, he swears. - Some doubts persist about Tim Cahill's recovery. Cahill plays for Everton and, he hopes, Australia this summer. - Brazil F Oliveira is holding out hope he can still land a spot on the team. Best part (emphasis mine): Yet even if he were fully fit, the task would be far from easy, facing as he does fierce competition from players such as Fred of French champions Lyon and Nilmar of Corinthians. - Poland loses a friendly to Lithuania. Despite the fact that a...
By Jon DeNunzio | May 4, 2006; 09:55 AM ET | Comments (8) | TrackBack (0)
Lunchtime Kick-About
A quick read on the news: - The BBC says England has offered its coaching job to Luiz Felipe "Big Phil" Scolari. It will be controversial to take a non-Englishman again, but not as controversial as picking Peter Scolari (bottom left). (Note: If you haven't been following this story, this is England's pick for its 2010 World Cup coach. Sven-Goran Eriksson is still in charge this year. Next week, the FA will start interviewing candidates for 2014 ...) - Argentina phenom Lionel Messi experiences a potential setback. Messi pulled up during a sprint and kicked a cone in frustration but Argentina national team sources said it was not serious, they said. It was not immediately clear whether the problem was with the same leg or the same injury. - Aussie Injury Woes Continue. This item is about MF Tim Cahill (Everton), but also reminds us: [Coach Gus] Hiddink is already...
By Jon DeNunzio | April 27, 2006; 12:40 PM ET | Comments (18) | TrackBack (0)
Lunchtime Kick-About
No story jumps out at me right now (other than Alecko Eskandarian possibly being in trouble for his antics vs. the Red Bulls -- and that doesn't really fit here), so here are some headlines: - At Arsenal, Sol Campbell will play, Philippe Senderos will not in the second leg of the Champions League semi on Tuesday. England fans can see how Solly's doing; Swiss fans can sweat it out -- would be a blow to lose Senderos for the World Cup. - I tire of being England-heavy in these news updates, but I have to point out that former England coach Bryan Robson took a shot at Beckham this weekend. "Becks would not have been my choice as captain. Gerrard and Terry are more natural leaders and have the aggression most managers like in a captain. ... Beckham is not a leader on the pitch." - Australia GK Mark...
By Jon DeNunzio | April 24, 2006; 01:45 PM ET | Comments (18) | TrackBack (0)
Hiddink's Next Stop:
Russia. That is, after he coaches Australia this time. Hiddink, of course, coached South Korea's amazing run in 2002. I'm not gonna get too carried away with "Who will be coaching where in 2010?" issues. I could post daily links to the England situation, for instance. But hey, Gus Hiddink is a name....
By Jon DeNunzio | April 10, 2006; 03:43 PM ET | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)
