Weekend Matches: September 15-16

Happily, club football is back on the field and back on the air. No more of this international nonsense. For me the pick of the litter this weekend is Sienna v. Milan, but that is purely for personal reasons. (Believe it or not, I am wearing a Sienna shirt right now. In fact, I kind of wish I was relaxing in the beautiful piazza of Sienna right now, but I digress.) Bayern v. Schalke should also be a good game, as should the Sevilla game, particularly for the chance to see if Dani Alves is as good on TV as he is live. The best English option this weekend is probably Spurs v. Gunners, but even that doesn’t get me very excited. Manchester United gets Christiano Ronaldo this week, so their attacking potency should increase.

I will be back later with a book review. Enjoy the games this weekend.



Saturday

7:00am Everton vs Manchester United Setanta Sports

8:30am Tottenham vs Arsenal FSC

9:30am, Bayern Munich vs Schalke 04 GolTv

10:30am West Ham vs Middlesborough FSC

12:00pm Chelsea vs Blackburn FSC

2:30pm Lazio vs Empoli FSC

4:30pm Sienna vs Milan FSC



Sunday

9:00am Juventus vs Udinese FSC

11:00am Murcia vs Atl. Madrid GolTv

1:00pm Sevilla vs Recreativo GolTv

Restoring Hope

I’ve written before about the many, many problems that are apparent in Italy’s Series A, including the corruption and the violence. I’ve also written that the most common complaint about the league is that the games are “boring,” a criticism almost always made by yammering nabobs who never actually watch any Italian football. Well, if any more proof is needed that the football itself in Italy is fine, I encourage you to tune into a replay of the AC Milan v. Siena match that was played yesterday. (It is being re-run on Monday at 2pm, EST, on GolTV.) It is one of the best games I have ever seen.

I went into the game with mixed emotions; I pull for Siena but my favorite player, Yoann Gourcuff, plays for AC Milan. Ideally, I would have liked to have seen Siena get the win and maybe Gourcuff get a goal or assist. Instead, I got a thriller.

Milan went ahead early on a sweet header by Ronaldo. Sienna tied within two minutes on a nice shot by Simone Vergassola. At the thirty minute mark, Ricardo Oliveira scored off of a great assist by Ronaldo, who was promptly taken out by a Siena defender. But the big guy got back up. Remarkably, Massimo Maccarone leveled for Siena almost instantly, and we went into the break tied at 2-2.

Things took a while to heat up in the second half, but in the 81 minute Ronaldo scored again off a fantastic assist by Kaka. Ronaldo now had two goals and assist in the game; meanwhile, Real played yet another grim 0-0 game where they could have used some scoring.

But the drama wasn’t over. Maccarone was somehow left alone in the Milan box and leveled again, giving him a brace on the day. Perhaps Middlesboro could use a guy like him, no?

As the cameras showed the Milan president dramatically storming off the field, I settled in as it looked like Siena had earned itself another of its patented draws; they lead the league in getting one point from matches. But it wasn’t to be. Deep into injury time my man Gourcuff (who came on as a substitute) curled a nice ball into Massimo Ambrosini, who scored; seconds later the ref blew the whistle. I was exhausted, elated and disappointed all at the same time. I was sorry Siena lost, but elated at the game and the drama that unfolded in front of me; this one is going to stay on my DVR for a long, long time, to refute any of those Italian critics who tell me the game is too boring.

Everything’s coming up Football!

As a football fan, it is easy to have a lousy weekend. Your favorite club can drop its third game in a row; your team’s striker can be on a cold streak so pronounced he should move to Antarctica; or perhaps your team’s coach acts like an escapee from a mental institution. Hey, it happens.

However, every once in a while, everything comes up roses for the football fan. This weekend was one of those weekends for me. I follow a bunch of teams, allowing for lots and lots of bad things to happen, but everything came out aces. Here’s what transpired:

Real Madrid v. Real Sociedad (2pm, Saturday)

I started the day with my Spanish team, Real, perhaps because I am a glutton for punishment. Rumor was Real coach Fabio Cappello was a goner if the Whites dropped another game in a row. Amazingly, Cappello backtracked last week and announced he would not only play, but start David Beckham after banishing him in January when he signed his big contract with the Galaxy. Real went down 1-nil, but Beckham brought them back even in storybook fashion on a nice free kick. Good for Becks. Rudd van Nistleroy headed in the winner after the break, and the team closed out the game as if it were a collection of actual professional soccer players. Good start to the weekend.

Sheffield United v. Tottenham Hotspur (late night Saturday)

After a very fine Saturday evening spent with family and friends, I returned home to watch my favorite English club, Sheffield United, take on the Spurs and the jowls of their coach, Martin Jol, who looks, at this point, like he swallowed a whole pumpkin. Sheffield predictably goes down 1-nil on a sloppy throw-in after five minutes, and I settle in for an uncomfortable 85 minute stomach-ache while I contemplate relegation. However, and slightly more unpredictably, the Blades score two going away, the first off a Rob Hulse header and the second from a Phil Jagielka penalty kick. The later also has the benefit of justifying my decision to keep Jagielka on my fantasy team. Anyway, the Spurs play the second half like a team that is already contemplating where they are going to go golfing during the summer break. My boys aren’t free and clear yet, but they’re not in the relegation zone either. Also, I’m two for two this weekend.

Siena v. Cagliari (9am, Sunday)

I’ve been a big fan of Siena since I visited the gorgeous town with my wife this fall. I even purchased a Sienna club shirt which I wear on occasion. Anyway, good game here: Siena has had SERIOUS trouble scoring goals this season but scores two in this one to draw with Cagliari and keep them mid-table. Corvia’s first goal was particularly sweet. When watching the game, I was only able to see a few thousand spectators in the crowd; I assumed Cagliari’s stadium was one that was subject to the spectator ban. Unfortunately, it wasn’t. The fans just didn’t give a shit. This has got to be worrying for Series A. I, however, will gladly take a draw, and thus consider myself three for three.

Fiorentina v. Udinese (midday Sunday)

Fiorentina is my favorite team in Italy, so I was bummed I didn’t get to see them this week. I checked the score on the ‘net around noon, and saw that we won. Sweet. I was four for four. Having no other games to watch for a while, I accompanied my lovely wife to Federal Hill in Providence, Rhode Island for a little lunch. Federal Hill, for those who don’t know, is sort of the “little Italy” of Providence. Anyway, we walk into an Italian grocery store, and what’s on the TV above the meat counter, but the Fiorentina game! Apparently they get the RAI channel in Rhode Island, while I don’t. Regardless, I watched transfixed while the wife buys food. This really is my weekend.

AC Milan v. Livorno (Sunday evening)

I’m not necessarily a big fan of AC Milan, but I watch all their games because my favorite player, Yoann Gourcuff, wears the red and black. Unfortunately, he didn’t play Sunday, so I can’t really consider myself five for five. However, Ronaldo was substituted in at about the sixty minute mark, and so I gladly took in that. Ronaldo looks surprisingly thin to me. I mean, Barcelona thin. I think he could end up doing some damage this year, as long as he keeps this weight down. On the other hand, I have heard that Northern Italy has some pretty good cuisine….

All-in-all, however, it was a great weekend. May football fans everywhere occasionally experience one just like it.