Odds & Ends: International Weekend Edition
It’s like he’s the Argentinian David Weir or something!
- I was shocked when I recently stumbled upon the fact that 39 year old Argentinian international Javier Zanetti was still playing! Though he has not played for Argentina this year, he played for them 7 times in 2011 and he has played in 6 of Inter’s 7 matches thus far in the Serie A season and he played the full 90 in all of those. His total appearances (domestic league, domestic cup, and international caps) now stand at 1056. That’s even more than Ryan Giggs 982, though Giggs is a year younger. Whatever the case, well done.
- Newco F.C. lost, 1-0, to Stirling Albion F.C. last weekend. At the time Albion were in last place in the Third Division, making them the worst club in Scottish league football. Should Rangers lose to first place Queens Park after the international break they could find themselves outside of the promotion hunt again. At this time I would like to also point out that Newco are the only full-time (professional) club in the Third Division and that Queens Park are an amateur side. I’m really not sure how I could be enjoying this more.
- Scotland play Wales on Friday and Belgium on Tuesday. Anything but two wins- and decisive ones at that- and their qualification hopes for Brazil 2014 are over (maybe not mathematically, but…). Craig Levein will also be looking for work as well. Here’s your chance to be a hero, Steven Fletcher!!
- I’ll give Jurgen Klinsmann this, he’s his own man. Going into Friday’s match against Antigua & Barbuda and Tuesday’s match against Guatemala in which two wins really are essential if the U.S. wants to get its campaign back on track and avoid some “must win” matches on the road later on, he’s chosen Eddie Johnson and Alan Gordon as two of his four forwards- let’s hope Dempsey and Gomez are healthy! Gordon has no caps and is a player I’ve never favored, and Eddie Johnson is…Eddie Johnson. His form has been good this year (for the first time in 5 seasons!), but has it been better than Chris Wondolowski’s? Or even, and you know how much it pains me to say this, Kenny Cooper’s? That being said, I like the rest of the roster (Parkhurst, Bradley, etc.)…except for the Dirty Hippy. Warum, Jurgen? Warum?
- Ross County’s U20 squad defeated Inverness Caledonian Thistle F.C. yesterday in what, the Highland “Mini-Derby?” I guess that makes me feel a little better. A little.
- I’m not the only one who thinks Benny Feilhaber’s time with the Revolution is up.
- How is John Terry still the captain of Chelsea?
- How did John Terry get a shorter ban that Luis Suarez? It’s almost like race played a roll in punishing the racists. Wrap you’re head around that for a few minutes.
- Luis Suarez is a diving punk.
“It’s almost like race played a roll in punishing the racists.” Whooooaaaa, duuuude, I’m gonna need some stronger herb for that…
Seriously, is the FA so tone-deaf that they didn’t even realize how full of shit they would seem when they came up with ERJT’s punishment? Oh, wait, its the FA. Silly me, answered my own question…is there any football administrative body above maybe a local rec-league level that isn’t remarkably 1) clueless, 2) inept, 3) unethical, 4) corrupt, or 5) some pu-pu platter of the above?