Weekend review 9/27
Though it is Tuesday and I am enjoying the Champions League I can multitask and jot down some thoughts about the past weekends games. I have to say it is a glorious time to be a soccer
fan in the US, I just switched games from the Rangers-Sevilla blowout to AZ-Standard game, one of the 6 I had to choose from. Think back a few years to where ESPN would air one game PER
ROUND, invariably it was an English team featured, regardless of the other matchups. We are living in an enlightened time, my friends, a golden age.
Hoffenhiem 5-1 Hertha – Hertha coach Lucien Favre was canned following this game and rightly so, it was a blowout of the highest order. Hertha was going to be in for a rough go
of it after being unable to sign Andriy Voronin after his loan expired. The addition of him turned a mid-table team to one that narrowly missed the Champions League. Having a
striker who is playing well instills a level of confidence in a team that surpasses just the goals that he scores, shown so well by poor Hertha.
AEK 0-1 Panathinaikos – Nothing is better than a heated derby and this one had the passion, if not the drama. Pana has a right back Nikos Spiropoulos,who is a clone of Roberto Carlos from back
in the day, in the attacking end more often than not, high work rate, always causing trouble. On the left wing they have a similar player in Giorgos Karagounis who has the same type of
game, both are a pleasure to watch.
Sao Paulo 1-1 Corinthians - Another heated derby, this had a little more action in it. The most striking image of this game was Ronaldo being caught from behind on a
breakaway and dispossesed. That is what and extra 25 lbs will do to you. Interesting to watch him, the skill and moves are still there, just as long as he doesn’t have to move
too far to do anything. Plus, he was substituted for a player simply named Bill. Nothing against Bill, it just sounds funny.
Fire 2-2 Toronto FC – Calen Carr sucks, always has. I am unable to accurately describe how he missed an open net from three yards out on the last play of the game. I think the post
game interview with Brian McBride said it all, he paused for a moment and said flatly “we should have won this game”. Overall, with the amount of starters missing this is an acceptable
result, but that doesn’t make it an easier to digest.
Big week with the UEFA and CONCACAF Champions leagues. Just saw Standard score in injury time to get a road draw at AZ. Wow.