Argentina: Meaning of Maradona

I don’t even know where to start…Argentina ended up winning their 3 first matches of the World Cup but the last game against Greece was looking as if the goal was not going to come for Argentina.

Argentina tried, Greece defended with everything they got, but with 12 minutes left Demichelis finally broke the 0 – 0 score. I actually thought the goal it might not come and it would be a draw. Silly me.

The final score was 2 – 0 for Argentina, and the last goal was scored by Martin Palermo. He became the oldest scorer for Argentina in the World Cup at 36 years old and also the oldest debutant to ever score in a World Cup.

I don’t think that someone that is not from Argentina could understand the meaning of that goal. Maradona was heavily criticized for including Palermo in the final 23 players (also for bringing too many strikers). He earned a spot in the roster after scoring a critical goal during the qualifiers but it always looked as if Maradona was the only one that truly believed in him.

In a post game interview Maradona said he had asked his assistants who should go in with 10 minutes left and they all said “Higuain”. “Bring me Martin then” Maradona replied.

“Go and close this out” Maradona said he told Martin Palermo.

So that is definitely the story on the Argentinian newspapers. Check here for a summary of the game.

Today (Tuesday) I checked the sports section of the online edition of The Star like I do every day just to find Argentina (specifically Maradona) on the main page as the featured article for the first time since I can remember. I hope soon the team will be the cover story of the sports section…but for now enjoy the article here.

Next up: Against Mexico on Sunday, a rematch of the last World Cup round of 16.

About Alejandro Rossano

Greece: Downcast on the Danforth

Photo by Khalid Magram

Photo by Khalid Magram

Photo by Khalid Magram

About Khalid Magram

How to pick a European winner 101

With the recent spate of surprising results

• Italy : Paraguay - 1:1
• Mexico : France - 2:0
• Spain : Switzerland - 0:1
• Serbia : Germany - 1:0
• Greece : Nigeria - 2:1 (If the Greeks thought that they could actually win a match, then there must have been some ouzo in that tsatsiki)

I've determined a formula on figuring out whether a European team will win their next group match. Take the Euro, then determine a country's relative GDP in comparison to overall European economy. The higher the relative GDP, the lower is that country's chance of winning a match.

How else can one explain Germany losing to Serbia and the Greeks winning anything but the lottery? :D

If one doesn't like this theory of football predictive analytics, I have heard that Maggie the Monkey is looking for work - she is excellent in hockey picks, stock analysis and manages Hedge Funds in her spare time.

BTW what a comeback! Who knew the Americans had that spirit! Best game of the World Cup so far but Honduras isn't looking that bad right, are they? 

About Rishi Sankar

Greece: 'Bring on the ouzo!'

It took two World Cups and five games, but now the 2004 European champions finally have something to cheer about as  Greece pulled off a 2-1 victory Thursday afternoon. After a start reminiscent of their sloppy and uninspired play against South Korea in the opening game, it took an opposing goal and a red card against the Nigerians to wake up the Greek side.
  Nigeria came in brimming with confidence and a red hot goalkeeper after an impressive display against the Argentinians completely fell apart after the straight red card 15 minutes before the half.
  For a country that has been in the news in a negative light over the last few months this is something positive that the Greek supporters can rally around and lift their spirits.
  Greece now goes into a tough final match against a powerful Argentinian side that looks like the heavy favourite to win the World Cup at this point. Regardless of the outcome of the next game the Greeks are a celebratory bunch and festivities started before the game and have only intensified after the win.

  In Greektown this afternoon I caught up with some fans to discuss their thoughts:

"Whatever happens now I'm still satisfied. It's a great day we got the sun, the food and a Greek win.... Now bring on the ouzo!" Michael Georgopoulos has been camped out at the Fox and The Fiddle since 9 a m  and it looks like he'll be staying there for a while longer

"I've been waiting for this for 16 years, this is almost as amazing as the Leafs winning the cup!" Jon Catsaris or "Captain Greek", which seemed more appropriate considering his paraphernalia

 As the Greek team retreats back to their South African resort to prepare for Tuesday's pivotal game, their supporters will enjoy this win and hope for an upset on next week to progress to the knockout rounds.

About Costa Kladianos

Clawless Super Eagles fail to soar over Greece

A lone Super Eagle fan in the sea of blue and Greek supporters.

Before the match.

About Khalid Magram

What's in the "Magic Spray"?

Usually during a World Cup the most common question I get is “What’s in the Magic Spray that revives players?”

This year that question has been crowded out by the controversy over the vuvuzelas, but nonetheless the question still has been brought up to me on occasion.

I think the first thing we need to look at is what it is and what it isn’t. Due to the size of a soccer pitch, players tend to exaggerate some fouls in order to get the referees' attention. Some teams and players do it better than others, and believe it or not there is an art form to drawing a foul.

In those cases you have players who drop like they’ve been shot and one touch from the “Magic Spray” or “Magic Sponge” makes them leap up as if the Hand of God itself touched them. In other cases the player receives a legitimate sting or injury; if you have ever been hit in the shin or the knees you know how much that can hurt.

Every trainer has their own secret concoction but basically it always includes a refrigerant chemical and local anesthetic to temporarily numb and cool the area so the player can get right back on the pitch with minimal downtime.  It’s not “Magic” as it provides at most a couple of minutes of relief but that’s usually enough for a minor stinging injury to subside so the player feels minimum discomfort.

 So that’s the secret of the spray. Nothing earth shattering or magical about it, just another tool used to get the player back in the game quick as soccer is a sport of very few substitutions.

About Costa Kladianos

THE place to watch the Super Eagles vs Ganalolefki

Catching a World Cup match at one of many sports bars at the Danforth on Sunday afternoon. The Greek Town will be the hottest spot to watch a must win match for both the Super Eagles VS Ganalolefki.

About Khalid Magram

 

Nigeria: Super Eagles, down but not out

 It was surely a disappointing first outing for Nigeria's bird of prey, the Super Eagles, as they lost their opener against Argentina at FIFA 2010 World Cup. Once again Le Selection, and Maradona got away unscratched.

One positive thing the Super Eagle's fans can take from the Saturday's game is the fact that the Talk Of the Town in South Africa, Nigeria and even here in Toronto was not Messi, not Maradona's salt and pepper beard or the suit but Super Eagle's goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama, who was also named FIFA's Man of the Match. He was Nigeria's main man in goal making six fantastic saves in the match.

“The goalkeeper was phenomenal,” Messi said after Argentina were limited to a 1-0 win at Ellis Park with Enyeama producing a series of tremendous saves to thwart the world player of the year.

“He takes all the credit. We played a great game today and created a lot of chances. We just couldn’t get the second goal.”

The Super Eagles fans are now hoping Super Eagles follow the Black Star of Ghana in the winners column by winning their upcoming encounter with The Greeks/Galanolefki.

The Black Star became the first African team to win after beating Serbia 1-0 in South African capital Tshwane/Pretoria on Sunday.

About Khalid Magram

Where to watch Greece ...and some soccer science

The countdown has begun and the preparations have been made, the third largest Greek Community outside of Greece is ready for World Cup 2010. With over 200 000 residents of Greek heritage, Toronto will be rocking in support of the Blue and White come Saturday. 

Everyone is familiar with Greektown on the Danforth , the Fox and the Fiddle on 535 Danforth Ave has turned into the unofficial headquarters. Showing all the games live on 22 TVs with  draws and prizes hosted by the Hellenic Student Federation at Ryerson University. $10 will get you breakfast and a coffee while you enjoy the game! Media will be present to catch all the early morning craziness and cheering from the supporters.

 

On another note, as you know I run an athletic performance company and I know that soccer players get a lot of flack from some sports fans in North America.They feel that players are “wimps” and “fake injuries”.

To the casual observer who may only catch a glimpse of the game here and there this may look like it is the case. The reality though is much much different. In an average game an elite soccer player can cover up to 10km.

If you break it down further, 20 per cent of this time is sprinting at full or near full speed. So in an average game a player is full out sprinting for 2 kilometres! If you’ve sprinted 100 m you know how taxing that is on your system. Now imagine doing it for 2 km!

Add another 8 km of activity plus kicking and dribbling and you have 90 of the most intense and demanding minutes in all of sports. It’s a small wonder that soccer has the highest injury rates of all sports.

It also tells you how well conditioned and incredible these athletes are. Their bodies are literally machines that work at full capacity. Through intense training and proper nutrition these athletes have conditioned their bodies to perform at the highest levels. Throughout these blogs we will delve further into how this is accomplished.

About Costa Kladianos

Futball Fever hits GreekTown

One of the great things about living in a multicultural city like Toronto is that every four years we become home base to the United Nations of Soccer.

It’s an experience unique to Toronto that you can practically visit any country in a day and never is this more evident than during  the World Cup. From Little Italy, to ChinaTown, to Greektown, it’s a great time to experience what this city has to offer and to cheer on your country in their quest for what was originally called the Jules Rimit Cup but now more commonly known as the “Fifa World Cup.”

 As a Greek Canadian, I have the privilege of cheering on Greece together with a large, vibrant and passionate Greek community of Toronto. Greeks are known for their fiery passion and at no time is this more evident than during this tournament. After shocking the world in 2004 as European Champions Greece is looking to recapture that glory this year as they begin their quest.

 Canada is home to many prominent Greeks and I decided to ask them where they would be watching the games and if they have any superstitions when watching.

Here’s what some of them had to say.

Angelo Tsarouchas (Actor/ Internationally renowned Comedian): Well we just did a show in Toronto called the www.worldcupofcomedy.com so we have been doing rival shows on the cup. I will be on the road, so what I do is I put on my team Greece scarf wherever I am because I was wearing it in 2004 and the won the Euro Cup! I also light up a Cohiba Robusto and have a Greek coffee, Metreo at half time to rally our guys :) 

Nick Macrozonaris (100m Sprinter, 2004 Canadian Olympian and one of the world’s fastest men):

No superstitions or rituals.. Just watch the game and cheer for my team!! I like to watch it in a Greek bar preferably in a Greek community and feel the ambiance. Cheers my friend.

  If you are looking for a place to enjoy the game this Saturday and are an early bird (or a night owl depending on how you look at it), get down to the Danforth for the 7:30 a.m. kickoff time and enjoy the game in any bar or café with other bleary eyed fans. Follow my blog during the World Cup where I will not only be discussing how Greek Canadians will be celebrating but also taking a look at what makes these athletes tick, from training to nutrition, what makes an elite soccer player.

About Costa Kladianos