It's Friday, which means it's almost time to get out your navigating shoes and set off, with a gleam in your eye, through the noisy city streets of the football matches to come. You don't know what you'll see or how the days will change you, but you can at least take a look at some maps before you leave and try to figure out a route that will help you make it back home. I've been looking at…
- Reading v. Man Utd: Reading give up goals like late-career Star Trek actors give up dignity. And they're playing the Premier League team voted most likely to transform spontaneously into the thunderbolt of Zeus (you can look this up). And they have two players out at the African Cup of Nations (Man Utd have 0). All signs point to this being one of those games where everyone gets a little too excited about the fact that the teams combine for eight goals, even though the final score is 7-1 and the match is over before halftime. (Saturday at 3pm GMT; 10am US Eastern time)
- Newcastle v. Bolton: Normally, I would expect this game to feel a lot like watching a man take his socks off so he can wash them in a motel sink (you know, frustrating and a little sad? Do you ever feel that way about soccer?) But this time it's the site of the second coming of the Geordie Messiah, Kevin Keegan, who may be in his third day on the job with a squad belittled by injury, but who has surely already shaped them into a fluid attacking unit capable of passing for Brazil in a blind taste test. Yeah, I know, but I'm going to watch it anyway. (Saturday at 5:15 pm GMT; 12:15 pm US Eastern time)
- Ghana v. Guinea: The actual match of the weekend. Like many of you, I've been following the build-up to the African Cup of Nations with the help of Daryl and his cronies at the World Cup Blog, and I can't wait for it to start. A lot of the time, we think of globalization in football as a sinister force that makes Vietnamese children need to own Arsenal t-shirts, but a few years ago no one outside Africa was interested in this tournament, and now I think most football fans are excited for it no matter where they live. People are picking their teams. For the record, I'm leaning toward Angola. (Sunday at 5pm GMT; 12pm US Eastern time)
- Atlético Madrid v. Real Madrid: I'll probably skip it in favor of the action in Ghana, but you could do worse than seeing two of the top three Spanish teams play one of the most ferociously observed derby matches in Spain. If this match had a personality it would be that of a man in prison who sat alone at the table thinking about a crime whose exact nature was known to only the wisest old inmates. (Sunday at 6pm GMT; 1pm US Eastern time)
- Inter v. Parma: For the same reason that I'd watch the Venus of Urbino play Parma, if Parma was who she was playing. (Sunday at 7:30pm GMT; 2:30pm US Eastern time)
What about you? Which matches are looking forward to? I'd love to hear your thoughts about the games you happen to watch, so don't be a stranger if you're out on the sidewalk and happen to pass by the comment box.
Juventus vs Sampdoria and Udinese vs Milan look interesting too even though I have been largely bored by the Old Lady's play this season.
After the game last week, I'd certainly look in on Milan, at least. It'll be interesting to see how their Epic Saga of Three Generations handles the Udinese defense. I have a feeling the whole "Maldini making his last appearance in the Stadio Fruilli after starting his career there 23 years ago to the day" storyline is going to wear on me, though. Just not a very good story.
EDIT: By the way, I realize I forgot to include the U.S.-Sweden friendly at 8:30 Eastern time tomorrow night. I have plans and won't be able to catch it, but for those of you who are interested in U.S. soccer (or Swedish soccer, for that matter), it's happening. Will Landon Donovan become the U.S. team's all-time leading scorer? Maybe.
Speaking of the U.S. national team, word came down today that they'll (we'll? I have patriotism, only I keep not getting called up) be playing Spain in a Euro 2008 warmup friendly on June 4. Should be fun. Although my first thought on hearing the news was, "But the U.S. isn't playing in Euro 2008!" Apparently my unconscious doesn't give Spain a lot of credit.
We will be at Inter-Parma, and are seriously thinking of taking the train to Bergamo this afternoon to see Albinoleffe-Frosinone.
My prediction of a goal glut for Man Utd against Reading is only slightly off, as it's 0-0 at halftime and United are cracking like an ice cube. The players are all annoyed with each other and, though it's been a relatively open game, it's been an open game with two very tightly closed goals.
Rooney's having one of those days where he looks sluggish and overmatched and you can't quite figure out how he ever manages to resemble a great talent. Ronaldo is teetering aggressively whenever defenders come near him. Tevez looks very sharp until he shoots the ball, and would look sharp even then if the goal were six yards to the right. Kalifa Cisse has marked him tightly and done very well.
I can't quite figure out why United have lined up with a defensive midfield (Carrick/Hargreaves) when Reading are so vulnerable to attack. Did Anderson sprain a braid?
Ursus, I hope you're enjoying the Serie B match, if you've gone. I see it's tied at half-time. Cheering for Albinoleffe, I assume? Or have you got a Frosinone connection?
UPDATE: Sir Alex has kindly endorsed my line of reasoning with regard to the central midfield by switching Hargreaves for Nani in plenty of time for Man Utd to record a 2-0 win. One brilliant goal from Rooney (on the back of a brilliant pass from Tevez) to make up for 89 minutes of nothing, and one easy break-away goal for Ronaldo. Reading really made them work for it.
Newcastle-Bolton is underway, and so far my only question about the Kevin Keegan era is why, stuffed from head to toe in a bright blue puffy track suit, he's decided to come to the game dressed in the style of a novelty overweight late-1980s rapper?
Rooney did look sluggish, but the touch on his goal reminded us why he's great. Though the pass from Tevez was even better.
Are Newcastle winning 6-0 yet or has Keegan quit already?
We didn't make it to Bergamo (Albinoleffe won 2-0), and have made the mistake of watching Newcastle.
If Christ's first 60 minutes out of the tomb had been this tedious, the history of Western Civilisation would be dramatically different.
Michael Own isn't even a pale shadow of his former self right now, is he? It's sad to watch.
Great shot of Ashley in the stands just now, though, sipping on his Newcastle branded mug of tea.
(and he doesn't even deserve the 'e' in his surname any longer, either.)
I have to think there are message boards out there where he's known as Michael Pwnd.
Ashley's replica shirt allegedly sports "King Kev" and the number 1.
The Sky Italia commentator has used the word "ugly" to describe the match at least once every ten minutes, and has now moved on to "seriously ugly".
Didn't Keegan say that he hadn't seen a match since he left Man City? Owen, Duff, Carr, Amoebi, etc were all half decent then, weren't they?
Bolton are worse, though.
To be fair, at least Bolton weren't trying to score.
"It finished nowt-nowt, and they were lucky to get nowt," as they say in the vicinity of Newcastle.
Ghana are punishing the woodwork in the African Cup of Nations opener. It's 0-0 at halftime, but Ghana have hit the post three times and made Guinea look like a video-game team whose player has just turned up the difficulty level. And yet, no score, which makes Guinea keeper Kemoko Camara rival the guy who just proposed to his girlfriend as the luckiest man on Earth.
Daryl is liveblogging the game at the World Cup Blog, and there's a good discussion going in comments, so stop by if you're looking to chat about the match. And I'd be very curious to read your thoughts here as well, of course—about this game or any other. Anyone know what's happing in the Madrid derby?
EDIT: Ghana 2 - 1 Guinea is the final. What a match! Ghana easily outclassed their opponents and clearly deserved the win, but Guinea played with a lot of spirit and won me over just by not giving up. Even Camara, who was saved by the post three times in the first half, made some gutsy saves in the second.
Brutally, I missed the last 15 minutes of the match and didn't see Muntari's goal. I'd just like to take this opportunity to thank YouTube in advance.
On the evidence of some of the last two weekend's matches, the Serie A this season is the best league in Europe in terms of depth in skill and imagination on show.
Inter-Siena, Milan-Napoli, Udinese-Milan and Inter-Parma was technically of a very high order and also big on excitement and drama. I have not witnessed that standard in either of Spain or England yet this season.