My favourite Barcelona goals

Stemming from a conversation had in the pub a little while ago when the subject of our favourite goals scored by Barcelona which weren't scored in the last two 'Pep' years by Villa, Messi, Iniesta, Xavi etc etc I've decided to share my top five with the world via the medium of the www.

I'll be honest, I have found myself being increasingly anit-Barca in the last year or so...I hold my hands up and accept that in terms of technical ability they are different class, but why oh why does everyone have to rave about them so much...and this was a particular sore point when a TV show of the top 50 Barca champions league goals ever was basically focused on the Pep years...so to try and re-balance the universe and remind everyone that there was life before Pep, here are my favourite Barca goals;

• Ronaldo vs Alaves - the original Ronaldo with an amazing run from the half way line, holding off defenders and showing the electric pace he had pre-injury...what says it all is that when Messi scored a similar goal everyone immediately started trying to compare it to this.
• Ronald Koeman vs Sampdoria - its the Eurpean Cup final, Wembley Stadium, 0-0 and you get a free kick 30yrds out.  Do you a) Try and bend one over the wall into the top corner b) Realise you don't really fancy this one, the pressure is a little too much, so pretend to be talking to the bench or c) Step up and hit the ball with all the force of Thor's hammer into the bottom corner...if you're Ronald Koeman, there is only one answer to that...boom.
• Maradona vs Red Star Belgrade - like the Ronaldo goal above, a mazy dribble (would you expect anything less) followed by a delightfully delicate finish.  The man was a genius, Messi still has a long way to go.
• Rivaldo vs Valencia.  No words, just watch.

If you only see one goal from this weekend - 22-22/10/2011

Slightly belated this week, apologies, but I've been caught up in the excitement of the Carling Cup...or something like that...but let me assure you that this weeks belter is worth the wait.

We head across to the US of A for this weeks goal, and to the Houston Dynamo v LA Galaxy game.  After a bit of a scrappy play in the midfield, Houston Dynamo's Adam Moffat picks up the ball 35yrds out (the eagle eyed amongst you will say that he hits it from the 30yrd mark, but I would point out that the "touchdown" line is on the 6yrd box) and unleashes hell from his right boot...enjoy

You can make stats say anything you want...

...60% of people know that.

Stats in football are big business, companies like Prozone and Opta have made big money through providing in-depth analysis of player/team performance.  It is claimed that by using live stats as the game is being played has led to more than one manager making a substitution when a players performance has begun to drop.  The stats are also used as a safety net and can be used to show when a players performance is beginning to drop and potential injuries can be identified.

Obviously in the hands of the professionals these stats are vital and can provide a valuable insight into what is and isn't working, and also how the next opponents like to play...however, its is also made far far too easy for the media to get hold of useless facts, the classic being 'X haven't beaten Y for more than fifty years'...but if they've only had one game in the last fifty years that's not quite such an impressive stat, or even if they haven't actually ever played...for example, did you know that Accrington Stanley have not ever been beaten by Egyptian giants Zamalek in a competitive fixture, wow!

Sometimes though we the stats masters deal in half truths and spin...Opta's stat of the day for today was that Gervinho had a 100% pass completion rate against Stoke in his 66 minutes on the pitch...sounds pretty impressive, especially since Arsenal ended the game with 60% possession, the boy must have put in quite a shift and been popping off passes left, right and centre...however when you scratch the surface, you find that he in fact made a mere 22 passes during his 66 minutes...for those of you not of a mathematical persuasion, that's about a pass every 3 minutes...what was he doing for the rest of the time?  The criticism has already been leveled at him that perhaps he is a little bit greedy, and from the games I have seen him play this sounds about right, picking up the ball in a wide position, taking on two or three men and ending up in a blind alley or hitting a somewhat pathetic looking shot straight at the keeper.

At the end of the day I shouldn't complain too much, it doesn't do me any harm to fill my head with useless information, if I'm being honest it isn't going to be replacing anything I'll miss (as long as I can still remember all the words to the John Barnes rap I'll be fine)...but maybe instead of stats, commentators should have little crib sheets on each player that they can lift a pointless bit of trivia off when the teams are lining up in the tunnel. Nothing earth shattering, maybe just a little ditty like "Anderson has only ever used two facial expressions since the age of 7, angry and close to tears"....or just make it up.

Idiot of the week

Now occasionally we all think that an official has got a decision wrong, sometimes we have a little pop and then carry on with the game, sometimes people go a little further...but Maccabi Tel Aviv's Yoav Ziv has taken it a little too far...by kicking his boot at the linesman...cue inevitable red card...

If you only see one(or a few) goals from this week(end)

Ok...so for a "regular" segment to be changing format after only 2 weeks may seem a little bit odd...but to be honest I was only too happy to do it having perused the world wide web for goals over the last few days.

This week was the week free kicks...so here's a few of my favourites;

• Ronaldo v Denmark - a trademark free kick from the big fella...shame it couldn't help them qualify outright
• Ronaldinho v Mexico - one of my favourite players of all time...and can still play a bit
• Kim Kallstrom v Holland - pace, power and whip...textbook left footed strike from Kimmy
• Seb Larrson v Arsenal - Maybe its because of Tomas Rosicky walking away before its hit the back of the net because he know how well Larsson struck it...or maybe just because of the movement on the ball, it'd be a crime not to include it.
• RVP v Sunderland - I've included one, so I have to include the other just for the debate...but which is better?  Personally I'd back RVP...but I'll let you decide.

Highlights...what highlights?

Now, early on in the lifetime of the Footyfile blog I wrote a piece about Italian football and how it used to be good, then went a bit rubbish, and is now good again...I may have to revise that having looked at the results from today;

Atalanta Bergamo 0-0 Udinese
Cagliari 0-0 Siena
Cesena 0-0 Fiorentina
Chievo Verona 0-0 Juventus
Genoa 0-0 Lecce
Lazio 2-1 AS Roma
Novara 0-2 Bologna

So that would be 7 games played, 5 goals scored...at one point today (prior to the Rome derby) this stood at 6 games played, 5 goalless draws...I feel sorry for whoever presents the Italian equivalent of Match of the Day...poor b*stard.

2014 World Cup qualifying

Whilst last weekend say the end of the African Cup of Nations qualifying tournament and tonight marks the end of the Euro 2012 qualifiers some nations around the world are already in full World Cup mode.

The preliminary rounds were played earlier in the summer and threw up some big results...St.Lucia beating Aruba 5-4 on penalties having drawn 6-6 on aggregate...Montserrat being beaten 8-3 on aggregate by the relative might of Belize...Mongolia being turned over 2-1 on aggregate by Myanmar...the Philippines beating the Sri Lankans 5-1 over two legs...and in a genuine grudge match, the mighty Bengal Tigers from Bangladesh beating Pakistan 3-0 on aggregate, only to be beaten by Lebanon in the next round.

This has meant that the next round of qualifying in the America's (both North and South) has begun, along with the Asian section, and the African qualifying due to begin in November with big hitters such as George Weah's former team Liberia taking on Mauritius and the Seychelles taking on Kenya.

In the North American section Canada, Haiti, Guatemala, Panama, Guyana and El Salvador have all won their first three group games (just a quick note, USA, Mexico, Costa Rica, Honduras, Cuba and Jamaica haven't entered yet, all six teams have had a bye into the next round) with Canada and Haiti clocking up 7-0 wins against St.Lucia and US Virgin Islands respectively.  Amongst the Canadian scorers were Iain Hume and Simeon Jackson who are very well known in the English leagues.

Similarly in Asia, the Australians and Jordan have 100% records after three games, with former perennial qualifiers Saudi Arabia struggling with just two draws (with Oman and Thailand) from their opening three games.  Japan have made a strong start with 7 points from three games, including an 8-0 humping of Tajikistan.

Just one game so far in the South American section, and obviously with Brazil having qualified already as hosts, its no surprise to see Argentina sitting on top of the rankings, I wouldn't be expecting to see them shifted from top spot for the next two years, Copa America Champions from the summer Uruguay beat Bolivia and Peru made a winning start by beating Copa America Finalists Paraguay.

And in case you think I'm forgetting the Oceanic region, the first round of their tournament is to be a mini league featuring American Samoa (203), Cook Islands (197), Samoa (203) and Tonga (201)...the number in brackets shows the FIFA ranking...203 puts you bottom of the FIFA rankings...anybody got a Cook Island passport I could borrow? Might be a nice little holiday with a bit of World Cup experience...