"HEY LEHMANN, QUIT YOUR WHINING!"

I doubt that that is what Oliver Kahn is screaming but it very well could be. The German international keeper who retired from Bayern Munich this past year has spoke out against claims by the former Arsenal keeper, Jens Lehmann's claims that the new Adidas ball for Euro 2008 deviates while in air.

The Gunner, who saw very little play time this past season, has stated that he has had trouble adjusting to the new ball and he apparently needs more time with the ball. Well, I hate to tell you Jens, time is up. Euro 2008 begins next week and I would love to try and stop the new ball. It has minute bumps on the surface that help the keeper with his grip. I think the problem is that Lehmann who rode the pine pony for most of the season is out of form and is scared that he will not make the grade when it counts. Simply put, Lehmann should stop his sniveling. If one of the best keepers to ever play the game says the ball is fine, then there is 99% chance that it is.

Cancun Day 3 And 4

Apart from the clouds trying to screw up my tanning, day three was rather exciting. We ate dinner at the Italian restaurant again and it was delicious. After dinner, we went to the rooftop bar for drinks. I walk out the door and say hello to Jose, the best bartender in the world, and I look to my left and see a guy wearing one of the new Chelsea jerseys. I jumped at the chance to go have a word with a fellow who seems to support the best team in the world. Now I had an instinct to not walk over to him and strike up a conversation. I really should start to listen to that little voice.

This guy and his fiance had been drinking since 10 that morning and you could tell. Me and the guy, who I never told my name (thank God for that), started to talk about footy and we discussed our starting 11's and all that jazz. Unfortunately the footy talk did not last for long. He and his fiance began to argue with one another and it got ugly quick. Jose ended up calling security and they started to follow the couple around. It was quite interesting to say the least.

Today (day 4) has been rather uneventful. We woke up to no air conditioning in the room. Apparently the power went out at some time during the evening. I ended up laying around for most of the day watching Angela's Ashes, rather good movie. And once again the clouds have laid subterfuge to my tanning. We have to be up at 3:45am to check out and head to the airport, so this will be my last post from Cancun.

Cancun Day 2 And The US Got Beat By England...Big Shocker

So I woke up yesterday and went to this meeting where they tried to sell me and mom a place in a vacation club. Sadly, we did not have the $55,000 they wanted for the top level of the club or the $32,000 for the lower level.

We went out and walked around for a bit and came across an open air mall where we were approached by two gentlemen who also tried to sell us membership in vacation clubs with their hotels. At one point I just wanted to tell them, "thunder's loud, guys." I came across a footy shop that had a very nice selection of kits and boots and balls. I could have easily spent $1,000 in there.

After dinner last night, we went up to the bar on the roof where I had a very interesting conversation about footy with the bartender, Jose. We talked mostly about the Mexican teams and Portugal and Argentina. I had a bit to drink and began to amaze one of the gentlemen who showed up with his drunk friends. We were talking about the program and the stuff that we did for our first project at the Hurst. All in all, it was a good evening.

In other news, the US lost to England. What else is new? John Terry scored the opening goal at 36'. His header was stunning and it scooted just past Tim Howard. Steven Gerrard netted the second goal of the evening. He punched the back of the net with a ground ball past Howard to send the Lions past the US in what I am sure will not be the last time the US will loose over the next year or so leading up to the 2010 World Cup.

"So,... Avram.. we'd um.. like you to come back"

And Avram Grant, the former skipper of the Mighty Blues, declined the offer to take over his prior position as director of football at the club. It makes me wonder what is going on at the Bridge. Is the club finally coming apart internally because of Abramovich's poor management of the clubs resources? While there have not been widespread disputes over how the coaching staff has operated it remains to be seen if the recent activity will cause the club to fall out of its second spot in the top four by the end of the next season. Chances are greater than sixty-five percent that this could happen. The situation at Liverpool this past season is a perfect example of how poor communication between staff and the ownership and it is likely that these conditions will translate into a rough season for Chelsea next year.

On a more positive note. I am in Cancun and if I would not have turned the waiter at the restaurant away, I would be plastered right now. I will have to keep everyone updated as the week goes forward.

Well It Seems We Were Wrong....

My intelligence communications class final project this past term was to put together a list of events that would effect US national security over the next twenty-four to thirty-six months. We mentioned the Olympics and the election in Iran. We also mentioned the 2010 World Cup. Against the discretion of my professor to look for smaller events, I focused on the Cup. I can not help it, it's the fan in me. My estimation was that the Cup would fail for infrastructure reasons. The builders of the stadiums walking out over the past six months surely brought to my mind Heysle. The last thing that FIFA needs is for a stadium to collapse because it was put together at the last moment.

Well... it seems like my analysis was a bit off. Violence against foreigners has erupted in South Africa and for the time being it doesn't look like it's going to stop. To my knowledge FIFA has never moved the site of the Cup but this could happen if the violence continues for another few months without any decrease in it. But, Bela, the Cup isn't for another two years. True. However, do you really think that FIFA will allow a country to host the tournament where the nations of the world come together. If the situation does not get better within the month, look for FIFA to begin to discuss the possibility of moving the games. Truly sad.

Will D.C. Ever Be United?

Not if they hire Bruce Arena. Now, I know what you are thinking, "United have a coach.. he's not the greatest.. I mean.. they have a 2-7 record right now." The Offside Rules have been talking about the situation with United coach Tom Soehn and I agree, the death watch is on.

But in an article on Soccernet, Ives Galarcep has written about the possibility that former US National team coach, Bruce Arena, may be in position to take over for Soehn in short order. United take on Toronto at the weekend and it is highly likely that Soehn will be sacked if United loose. Toronto thrashed United earlier this week and there is no doubt that they will do so again this weekend.

But is Arena the right coach to come in and save United? Not likely. Despite his success with the Red Bulls, Arena failed to produce a team that could score goals against the elite of the world during the 2006 World Cup. He was promptly fired and I would normally say rightly so, but I do not think Arena should have been hired in the first place. He seems fit to coach at the semi-pro level. However, if United do not pick Arena up, it is likely that he will coach one of the two expansion teams that are due to come into the league in the next two years. I think that United should look elsewhere for a new manager and not at former national team coaches.

PFC Nick Madaras

I am sitting here downloading footy videos off of youtube with my dial up connection and I am watching ESPN MLS Primetime. Sounds like a rather boring evening right? Well it was until during half time ESPN ran a rather touching story. With Memorial Day coming up this Monday, most of us will be doing the all American thing of bar-b-q'ing or watching Fireworks. Most of us would never associate soccer with America but ESPN showed me that our troops have a deep love for the beautiful game.

PFC Nick Madaras was born in Wilton, CT. and played sports for most of his life. After running through the range of sports available to play, he found his home in the back left corner of the pitch. He played left back for his high school. He helped his brother out with his game. He also attended summer camps to help kids work on their skills. After high school, Nick signed up for the Army and after his basic training he was deployed to Iraq. After some time in country, he noticed the Iraqi children kicking around bags of rocks and he had an idea. When he was home on leave in 2006 he rounded up as many balls as he could to take back to the children. I agree with Nick that if soccer could end the civil war in the Ivory Coast, we could sure give it a try in Iraq.

Nick wouldn't see his dream come to fruition though. He was killed by an IED on September 3 2006. After his death, his family started the Kick For Nick program. The goal of the program is to put soccer balls in the hands of Iraqi children. Dixieland Footie urges you to send what you can to honor the memory of Nick. I know most of you who read this have a ball or two laying around that can be sent in. I will personally be sending in all but one of my balls and I will probably be writing them a check as well. Dig deep people, this is for a good cause. Football is a beautiful game and I can not think of a more beautiful way to support it.

City Have Turned Into My High School Band Program

I know what you are thinking. "What the hell is Bela thinking?" Well, looking at the recent results from the clubs tour of Asia, it seems that they are using a tactic that we used to use when everyone in the band got angry over a decision from the director. We would essentially suck. We got knocked out of preliminary competition from time to time because of something that had happened either at the football game the night before or the morning of at practice. And Manchester City seem to be doing the same thing.

The club have lost their last two games in their Asian tour, including a loss against a Thai All Star team this past Saturday. Why are they loosing? It is likely that it has to deal with the departure of coach Sven-Goran Erkisson. City owner, Thasking Shinawatra, has all but kicked the former English gaffer out the door over his performance at the club this year. So, in retaliation, the club is playing down. Sounds a lot like what my band did in high school, right? But there is one small difference between us and them. We did this for free and there was never a fear that we would get kicked out of the program for not doing our part. This is not the case for City who ended up ninth in the league this year and who received a spot in the UEFA Cup for next season. There is also speculation that Thaskin will sell the entire first team squad this year. Of course Thaskin has denied these rumors but it is likely that he will sell the club by this time next year if they do not do well in the league.

So what? Ericksson gets canned. He will not be the first manager to be fired after a season. Thaskin will sell the club. This is certainly will not be the first time this has happened. The problem here is that you have more foreign owners in the Premier League these days and most of them do not really understand how to manage the clubs and how much slack to give the gaffer. A clear example of this is the situation earlier this year with Liverpool. The American owners wanted to sack Benitiez. Then when the club did not do that well, one of the owners wanted to sell his part of the club off. This leaves these clubs in upheaval year after year and the clubs will fall further down the rungs of the league ladder. Granted, you will never see anything like the situation at Man City occur at Chelsea or Manchester United or Arsenal for that matter. But for the smaller clubs, a mere mention of relegation and the owner starts to fire off about how things will change and people will be sacked and conversely, the team will start to play down due to their faith to their gaffer. It is a rather ugly cycle that makes the beautiful game far less beautiful.

You Don't Need To CGI My Kicks To Get them To The Bar

I have went down to the field for a second day and for a second day I hit the crossbar on the goal about six times on my free kicks. Now, I did punch the back of the net more times than I punched the bar but it is still a bit discouraging unless I want to be a stand in for Ronaldnhio in the next Nike commercial.

So why did I go down to the field for therapy? Chelsea lost to Man U in Moscow earlier today. Now mind you, I thought they would beat Chelsea but it was seriously touch and go for a moment. When it came down to penalties I started to pace around the living room and my mother looked at me like I had lost my mind and my friend Shibley just laughed at me.

I am not going to make excuses for Chelsea but I think the poor pitch conditions combined with the rain was the eventual downfall of the Blues. I think that UEFA really should have dealt with this problem well before the game instead of having to relay the pitch so soon to the match time.

Regardless of the pitch, United have won their third Champions League final and did it in amazing fashion. I do think that United started to back off in the second half and Chelsea had a few descent chances that could have ended it before the need for either extra time or penalties.

How does this effect the teams? Manchester is probably still partying at this hour even though it's close 4 AM on the other side of the pond. United are looking to dip their fingers into the transfer pool that will be opening soon and very well could increase the strength of their team even if Ronaldo decides to move.

As for Chelsea, I really think this will be a strong catalyst for them when next season rolls around. With or without Avram Grant at the helm, this will be a highly motivated team that will certainly be ready to take on the any of the worlds champions.

Congrats Red Devils. We will get you next year.

Sunny Spring Days in Moscow

Europe's premier club competition comes to an end tomorrow in the capital city of Russia and as a Chelsea fan, I can not wait for it to start. I have some bratwurst thawing in the fridge and I plan to toss on my Chelsea jersey and tuck in for the match. I will probably skip training tomorrow because I will either be too happy or too sad to really want to. But that is beside the point. The point of this blog is to discuss the match itself and who I think will hoist the trophy that hardly ever graces England.

For starters, this is the first all English final and I could not think of two teams that are more deserving than Chelsea and Man U. I do not know what made Didier Drogba wake up at the end of the the second tie between Chelsea and Liverpool, but the docile tones of the Ivorian were reversed when he banged home a splendid shot in extra time to help carry the Blues to their first ever Champions League final. This will truly be one of the most splendid finals in Champions League history.

Moving on for a look at the teams and you see that there is no lack of talent on either bench. The question is, who will be sitting on the reserve list and who will be in the starting eleven. The team sheets are not out yet but it is worth speculation. The Blues will more than likely field the side that they have in the past few games and I do not know if playing Drogba up front alone will really do any good. I hope that Grant has used his time off to work the Drogba, Anelka combo. A 4-3-3 with the addition of Lampard could prove trouble for the Red Devils back four. With Ballack and Essien in the midfield feeding crosses in, it is likely that United will have something to deal with.

United have a completely fit side to square off with and there is no doubt that it is the most talented side in Europe right now. They will likely field a stunning eleven that will clamp down on Chelsea early on. The one thing to consider with United is that they lost earlier in the season to Chelsea during the run down of the Premiership.

Despite the loss, I really do not see an easy going for either team. Both teams are hungry for the win and their motivations are more than enough to add up to a shocking final that will really astound the fans of both teams. So, who do I think will lift the trophy? As much as I hate to say it, I think United will win on penalties.

What does this mean for the two teams? Avram Grant is possibly looking at packing his bags and leaving the Bridge after the end of the season due to his rough and tumble performance the past eight months. Out of the potentials, it is likely that Roberto Mancini from Milan fame will be making a residence in west London in the fall. Hopefully he will speak better English than Mr. Cappello.

As for Fergie, he is probably the safest manager in the Premiership these days. If anything, this is practice for next year when United may very well win the Treble next year. Reports out of the camp have said that they are looking to snag up talent over the summer that could truly make them the best team in the world. I would not be surprised if Fergie was elevated to the gaffer of the English national team at some point in the future.


If there is one thing that is for certain when the Champions League anthem is played over the PA system at the dilapidated Luzhniki Stadium, truer lyrics will never be sung about the two teams that are on that pitch. Go Blues!!

I Got A List Of Deamands!

I demand that Nike stop making their adds so damn addictive. I saw this add the other day when I was watching softball and I got onto youtube and snatched the video up as well as the video for the actual song. Which is properly titled, List of Demands.

This motivated me to go back down to the high school field that I spent working on my game at last summer. The teams left the nets in the goals as opposed to last year and there is nothing like watching your shot smack against the back of the ol' onion bag. And there is nothing like looking back on the past year and the simple fact that in about a weeks time it will be the one year anniversary of me breaking my leg because I decided to be dumb and go play in the middle of the night.

I would almost say that this past year has been the roughest of my life. It doesn't even compare to the year that we got kicked out of our house or the year that followed my grandmothers death. It feels like something was robbed from me over the past twelve months. Yeah, sure I was walking again in ten weeks but all that work was destroyed. All the shuttle runs. All the nights playing in front of Humanities in the freezing cold with the wind. All the work I did to develop my juggle and my touch. All the plyometric work to develop my jump. It all got pissed away almost a year ago. I remember leaving the hospital after they released me before my surgery and I started crying as the nurse waited with me for my mom to pull the car around. She asked me why I was crying and I told her, "it's seventy degrees, good breeze, and no humidity... my feet should be on a ball getting to know it even better than it already does." She looked at me kinda awkwardly for a moment then it sunk in.

It's been rough but I've got back to it. I played at school on a basketball court but to be back on the grass today was liberating. The entire time I was down there I had the song from the add in my head. I've got my list of demands. I will increase the power in my shot by next year. I will run at least five days a week. I will get fast. I will develop touch. My better will be better than your better. It's simple. These are not goals, they are demands that I am making to myself and I will hold myself hostage until the demands are met. What are your demands? Find some and you will probably cease to be sitting around here reading my blog. Happy footie all.

Is Ronaldo Heading For Retirement?

The United winger said earlier in the week that he may consider a move to Real Madrid after next weeks Champions League final. Retirement you may ask? Why, he's the best footballer in the world. I agree with you. He is one of best, if not the best, player in the world right now. But in recent years it seems like Madrid have picked up United players who are well on their way out the door, Beckham and van Nistelrooy for example.

But will he leave? Will United let him leave? United's chief executive, David Gill, said in January that they would not sell their Portuguese international. He also hinted last week that Red Devils are gearing up for another high dollar signing season and that they hope to improve the team even more. I am not sure that they possibly could improve the team even more. This is by far one of the best United teams to ever be kitted out in a season and if the entire first team can be fit and fielded for next weeks match against Chelsea then it is highly likely that I will be dodging renditions of "Glory Glory Man United" both on facebook and at my friend Josh's wedding next week.

Will he leave? Not for another year. If the squad gets better next year, it is likely that they will win the Treble again. Ronaldo would not pass up a chance like that to play for the La Liga winners. He wants to win. He wants trophies to his credit. He said so at the Football Writers Association gala. I think he is starting to talk about the transfer prospect now so that when it comes down to actually transferring, he will have his pick of clubs that will be after him. So, is he heading for retirement? Nah, No one heading for the retirement home would be able to dance around defenses or his intentions quite the way Mr. Ronaldo does.