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The Beautiful Game

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Sadly, this blog remained dormant while I was away in Europe for a vacation.

Happily, there is no experience like seeing games live where they really live for their sport.

As a die-hard Red, seeing Liverpool play Middlesborough in the season opener at Anfield was special to say the least. To see them win in the 94th minute on a Steven Gerrard special was spectacular.

The wall of sound that descends on you when the hometeam scores is a feeling unfelt in any other North American sporting venue that I’ve been lucky enough to attend.

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Yes, Vancouverites love the Canucks, and are consumed by them, but the level of passion for the team just doesn’t reach the same proportions as it does for European soccer matches.

I also had the opportunity to visit Goodison and see Everton lose to Blackburn in the last minute, and the same thing can be said there. They love their teams, it’s tribal, it’s part of their culture, and the electricity around the ground before the game is something else.

If you’re a fan of the sport and haven’t been to a game in England, Italy, Spain, Germany, you need to go. Just thinking about it still makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

Wenger whine

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is in full moan mode talking of the treatment lickle Theo Walcott got at the hands of Dynamo Kiev in the Champions League this week.

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He is a footballing genius and has admirably built a team with scant funds compared to his rivals, and his teams play beautifully. But has the man ever done anything with grace?

‘”The referee should have sent off the left-back (Andriy Nesmachniy) three times at least during the game because he destroyed Walcott.” Wenger whined.

He then went on to complain about injury time: “I wanted to understand how we had only three minutes of injury time, and then only played one minute.
Every referee looks to have a different computer to calculate the in time and still I do not know and really understand how it works.”

United dilemma

After losing to Liverpool, Manchester United face a tough home match against co-leaders Chelsea this weekend. Nemanja Vidic is suspended for his red card at Anfield, but Ferguson is buoyed by 20-year-old Johnny Evans, who played a blinder against Villareal mid-week. Normally Ferguson would play Wes Brown in the middle, but with Evans showing in such a big match, Ferguson has admitted being tempted to giving the youngster a shot in such a crucial match.

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Milan misery

Lots of intrigue in Italy where AC Milan appear in serious trouble.

Granted, it’s only two games into the Serie A season, but Milan has lost both having been beaten by Genoa and Bologna, hardly powerhouses.

They spent a lot of money to bring Ronaldinho and Andriy Shevchenko into the team, but facing Lazio this weekend, they need results. Don’t forget that AC didn’t qualify for the Champions League last year, so they’re absent from the big dance. If they don’t pull up their socks, manager Carlo Ancelloti could be in trouble, especially as missing out from playing with the best clubs in Europe two seasons in a row will be unacceptable for such a storied club.

Same old story, sigh

Can’t let a new entry passing without talking about Canada and our dismal men’s program.

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Four years ago Canada couldn’t even beat Panama in the first round of qualifying and crashed out right at the earliest stage. All sorts of pledges were made,  yet here they are four years later, and the same results are there.

Three games, one point. A draw at home to Jamaica, a loss at home to Honduras  all but knocking them out of the process after two games.

It’s a complete joke. There are three and a half spots up for grabs. Mexico and the U.S. are automatics, but the fact Canada hasn’t been able to compete with Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Honduras or even Panama is beyond embarrassing. The whole Canadian Soccer Association’s board should resign.

We need new stadiums in Vancouver and perhaps Ottawa to get the MLS  up here in force, and there need to be better coaching programs, and facilities, at the grass roots on up.

In Vancouver there are two all-weather turf fields in use for clubs to use. They’re booked morning to night, and any 10-year-old with promise is faced with playing on chunky gravel, even in development programs. If they happen to be good at basketball or golf or whatever, you can see why soccer might not be a priority.

The fact that Canada has only played in one World Cup so far is disgraceful.

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