Thursday, December 17, 2009

Things for Thursday

Picking the Right Coach

With RCU's recent coaching change, this article from former Chicago Fire General Manager Peter Wilt for Pitch Invasion was a timely read. It's a very interesting look into the types of things organizations consider when sorting through candidates to run their team.

Oh no Jens...


Insert adult diaper joke here!

First, he pees on the field, during a game. Now, he stomps on an opposing player, costing his team precious points in the Bundesliga. What is going on with VfB Stuttgart's enigmatic goalkeeper Jens Lehmann? My favorite soccer writer, Raphael Honigstein, breaks it down and drops another great quote on us.
The Stuttgart keeper had already endured a busy week that included public criticism of the board – and peeing on an advertising board in the Champions League win over Unirea. "He handled it quite expertly," was the sporting director Horst Heldt's verdict. Bild, however, wondered why the referee hadn't shown the keeper a yellow card. (No pun intended, we presume).
Here's hoping the former Arsenal netminder can keep his head together for a few more weeks. He is just too entertaining a figure for him to retire now.

More On Diving

Here's another quality article from the Guardian. This one is on the hypocrisy of the English player who claims to abhor flopping, only to look like they are on iceskates once they enter the penalty area. BTW, the same can be said about American players. I've heard that players from the US are too "honest" to dive, but those people have never watched Chris Rolfe or Taylor Twellman hit the deck. It happens in MLS, too.

1 comment:

  1. It's not just the hypocrisy of the English players, but their match commentators too, unwilling to admit Wayne Rooney's obvious dive recently while railing against the "pernicious" simulation brought into the EPL by "foreign elements."

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