The Curious Case of Hoffenheim

A fairy-tale story is being hatched in the Bundesliga

Spiegel Online gives an account of how this tiny team made it to the top of Germany's premeir league.

Few in Germany had ever heard of tiny Hoffenheim before this year. Now, though, the village club team is at the very top of the country's professional soccer league. On Friday night, they clash with powerhouse Bayern München.

World Cup Goals

To the tune of "Everlong"

A Wonderful Day in Football

Ello all,

Isn't it great when all the work is done and you can sit down and just chill out?  I am finally finished studying and I took the day off to do what I do best - laze around and watch football.

And what a day it has been.  First, I woke to read that Toronto FC have signed a club favorite, Dwayne De Rasario.  What an amazing signing for the club. Not only is he an outstanding player, but also a local hero.  He will surely become a fan favorite.

I caught 3 games today. Yep.  3 games in one day.  JACKPOT!

10am Manchester City 0 - 1 Everton

What looked like a promising game from the start turned out to a scrappy stalemate.  Both City and Everton came out guns-a-blazing firing shots on net and playing some really nice end-to-end football.

Robinho showed a little bit of magic but once again his teammates incompetence (mostly all except for Wright-Phillips and Ireland) prevent City on really capitalizing on anything.

The two sides slugged it out through the second half and the game got uglier and uglier as it went on. Robinho was substituted for fear of an injury and it seemed certain each team was satisfied with a draw at this point.

But as it happens many times in football, the unexpected occurs.  Just as Everton were nicked 3 points in the closing seconds of the game last weekend by Aston Villa, this time David Moyes's men salvaged 3 precious points from Tim Cahill's last minute header.

What goes around comes around! Sorry Mr. Hughes.

12:30pm Tottenham Hotspur 0 - 0 Manchester United

This was a mesmerizing game that I really couldn't take my eyes off of.  The midfield work by both sides was outstanding and the constant booing of everyones favorite aloof Bulgarian striker made it all that more enjoyable.

The crowd really must have got under Berbatov's skin, because once again he failed to find the net on another occasion.

What really stood out in this match for me was 2 things:

• Gomes made some outstanding saves.  Perhaps he is starting to come out of his shell, and Spurs might not have to start searching for a better keeper come January.
• What if Luka Modric started scoring goals?  This guy could be so dangerous if he found the net.  Think Frank Lampard Euro 2004.

Overall it was an amazing game and Spurs stood firm to go into the Christmas season with the dignity of showing the world that they are much better without Berbatov.

Here are the highlights.

4pm  Barcelona 2 - 0 Real Madrid

El Classico was amazing.  The sheer quality of Barcelona has been awe-inspiring this season.  These guys have it all this season: strength, agility, speed and pure dynamism.  

Their ability to tackle and win the ball while losing possession on the attack sets them apart from any team out there now, and Messi is consistently showing that he is 100% pure class.

After a penalty was awarded, and Casillas made a set of outstanding saves.  He seemed to be the only thing working on Madrid though, and it was only a matter of minutes before Eto'o found the net, followed by an injury time goal by Messi to put the nail in the coffin for Madrid.

The Only Champions League Game that Mattered

Today at least...

Watch Chelsea V CFR Cluj in News Online | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

Chelsea did it. And with Drogba?!

He sat on the bench and rolled his eyes, then came out and scored within a few minutes. Good on ya!

Worst Dive Ever. Worst Refereeing Ever.

Villa 3 - 2 Everton

Other Weekend Highlights:

WBA - Portsmouth

Hull - Middlesbrough

Stoke - Newcastle

Arsenal - Wigan

Chelsea 2 - 0 Bolton

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gallas to miss wigan

I cant really comprehend why so much controversy has been surrounding William Gallas for simply speaking his mind.

The ex-Arsenal captain has been reported to miss this weekend's clash with Wigan Athletic, which is an extremely crucial game for the Gunners as they can only pull of results against the top 4.  

This is a crucial flaw about Arsenal, they are a team with such class and flare, but this simply doesn't give results.  Other, less attractive teams like Chelsea have always had these kind of internal conflicts, and players like John Terry have always been vocal about players not pulling their own weight.  Why strip your most experienced player of his arm-band, further isolate him in the dressing room and lose what little stability you have at the back in the process?

Arsen Wenger's favoritism to young talent needs to stop somewhere.  This is football, and when you are a team of Arsenal's potential it is more than healthy to voice concerns about the effort of his team members.  And what is more despicable, Gallas's insubordination off the pitch, or his team-mates on-pitch hissy fits.

It is a shame that Wenger and the Arsneal team were to quick to cast aside the wisdom and stability of a seasoned veteran like Gallas to side with these hit-or-miss youngsters. Kudos to Wenger for sticking to his vision, but I am sure he will feel the pressure to qualify for the Champions league much harder at the end of the season if he looses this key defensive piece.

Although Wenger is a genius at growing young home-grown talent, the departure of Gallas would be a rough blow to the Gunners already wavering stability.

New Toronto FC kits

Toronto FC's new kits were unveiled today.

These ones have a collar! And one of those "sweet" embossed images (in this case a maple leaf) on the front of the shirt, a sartorial flourish which ceased to be stylish around the time when Eric Cantona was ninja-kicking Crystal Palace supporters.

Here are the new shirts, modeled by Rohan Ricketts and Greg "Not Protected in Expansion Draft" Sutton:


Meh. They're alright- a little underwhelming. I was hoping for something a little more audacious and bold, something closer to the Jorge Campos look. Or the MLS of old.

Huntelaar to Madrid

Well, it was inevitable.

Ajax striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, the best Dutch player still in the Eredivisie (and Ryan M fave), was signed by Real Madrid yesterday for a cool 27 million Euros. Huntelaar will replace the injured Ruud van Nistelrooij at Madrid, and will join countrymen Royston Drenthe and Arjen Robben, as well as fellow Ajax alums Rafael Van der Vaart and Wesley Sneijder, at the Bernabeu. Madrid has officially supplanted Barca as the home for crazy Dutch talent in La Liga. Meanwhile, my beloved Ajax continues to serve as a nursery squad for the big clubs in Europe...

Anyways, this is why Huntelaar was signed: SWEET GOALS

weekend highlights

Chelsea 1 - 2 Aresenal.

Man United 1 - 0 Man City