Il sogno di tutti.
Fare una pescata da Nazionale.
Con rammarico anche io almeno 2 volte ammetto di aver urlato piangendo "Azz! Questa potrebbe essere una pescata da nazionale!".
Questa la prima , 17enne pescato alla prima settimana della stagione, buono alto in regia e accettabile in cross, imprevedibile (vittima di trading e poi allenato malissimo, peccato).
Questa la seconda, 17 anni e una ventina di giorni, buono attacco e passaggi.

Nonostante sia già difficile pescare un giovane buono con secondaria (e poi trovare uno che te lo alleni decentemente) ci sono anche altri meccanismi sotto che regolano la convocazione nella nazionalina. Soprattutto girano leggende e idee sbagliate da quando è partita l'età con i giorni dei giocatori.

In questo bell'articolo della gazzetta di hattrick l'attuale mister della nazionale U-20, Pennywise80, spiega chiaramente qual'è il processo che porta alla convocazione dei giovani e quali i ragionamenti del mister.

Leggiamolo (tutti tranne siena, che non ha le giovanili), quanto meno per pescare con meno illusioni.

Latvijas U-20 izlase, kurai jau 12.decembrī ir paredzēta pirmā spēle PČ U-20 pirmajā divīzijā, nu jau ir aizvadījusi visas paredzētās pārbaudes spēles, tāpēc pienācis laiks vērtēt mūsu junioru gatavību startam.

Pirmajā pārbaudes spēlē mūsu juniori ar 3:6 piekāpās Rīgas "Rīga - 2000" komandai. Šajā spēlē nepiedalījās junioru izlases galvenie spēki - Kaspars Daugaviņš, Artūrs Kulda, Andris Džeriņš un Krišs Grundmanis, bet "rīdziniekiem" šajā spēlē palīdzēja nesen iegūtais sastāva papildinājums - čehs Tomašs Hlubna un divi baltkrievu leģionāri Kirils Petkevičs un Pavels Osmolovskis (pēdējie divi nu jau no komandas ir atskaitīti).
Kā jau tika paredzēts, "rīdzinieki" hokejisti šajā spēlē tika uzskatītie par favorītiem, taču junioru negrasījās padoties untrīs junioru gūtie vārti ir tam apliecinājums (M.Zembergs 2, R.Jekimovs), taču "Lauvu" leģionārs Tomašs Hlubna viens pats guva "hettriku", bet viņa komandasbiedri Meja, Glazkovs un Hartmanis guva vēl trīs vārtus. Šajā spēlē Aleksandrs Maticins iespēlēja abus vārtsargus, kuri pretendē uz otrā vārtsarga vietu – Daini Vasiļjevu un Artūru Dzelzi, kuri abi ielaida pa trīs vārtiem.

Otrajā pārbaudes spēlē juniori tikās ar Ogres „ASK/Ogre” komandu un uzvarēja pēcspēles metienu sērijā ar 8:7. Junioriem vārtus guva Daugaviņš, Džeriņš (2), Kulda, Grundmanis, Iļjiško, Uļeščenko. Abas komandas vienojās, ka pagarinājums netiks spēlēts un uzreiz sākās pēcspēles metienu sērija, kurā U-20 izlases labā vārtus guva Kaspars Daugaviņš un Jānis Straupe. "ASK/Ogre" šajā sērijā palika tukšā.

Jāpiebilst, ka pēc šīm spēlēm rodas viela pārdomām – abās spēlēs tikai ielaisti vismaz 6 vārti, pie tam pretinieki abas reizes darbojās „testa režīmā”. Arī vārtsargi līdz galam netika galā ar saviem pienākumiem. Vienīgi uzbrukumā spēlētāji savu darbu padarīja godam.
Līdz pasaules čempionātam ir palikušas vien 3 dienas un cerams, ka Maticins (pats bijušais aizsargs) sakārtos šo līniju, jo uzbrukumā mums ir kam iemest. ;)

Vēlot veiksmi, gairo.

Yesteday I was lucky enough to attend the two final games of the FIFA Under 20 World Cup.  It was a fantastic experience.  So far I haven't been able to get to a Toronto FC game so this was my first visit to the new stadium as well.  It is perfect.  Small enough to seem intimate but big enough to be loud as hell and look professional.  Seeing this only highlighted in my mind the need for a new outdoor preferrably waterfront stadium in Toronto for the Jays and Argos.  Unfortunately we're probably stuck with the sterile monstrousity that is the Skydome/Centre Rogers for many years.  Enough about that, lets get to the action.

The bronze medal game was between Chile and Austria.  I'm pretty sure you already know that Chile's team was involved in a pretty insane altercation with the cops after the last game which led to some hostility from Chilean fans outside the stadium but perhaps they were just pissed they couldn't get seats and were trying to watch from there.  The game was pretty entertaining.  My favourite part was watching this one flashy Chilean forward who absolutely refused to pass.  He must have gone on at least ten runs, making fantastic moves only to be stripped of the ball when it mattered.  He also had the most boss rat-tail I've seen in a while.  I think that the rat-tail is becoming the new mullet in soccer.  The mullet has just become to mainstream and boring for these guys.

The final game got off to a very slow start.  The Czech and Argentine players both seemed unwilling to give an inch.  A yellow card was given less than a minute into the game and the ref did not stop issuing them.  In all 10 yellow's were given along with millions of free kicks forced by ferocious diving from both sides.  The first goal was a beauty, perhaps the nicest of the tournament which came early in the second half.  A left footed volley from Fenin of the Czech Republic.  The honeymoon didn't last long as Argentina scored almost immediately.  They then went ahead with just minutes remaining to ice a game and tournament that they truly deserved to win.  They were the strongest side and I'm sure many of their players will go on to be dominant for years to come.  The celebration that ensued was something that cannot be described.  In fact, it's quite possible that the players are still running around the stadium shirtless doing choreographed group headfirst slides into their collection of trophies.  They even grabbed drums from their fans and put on an impromptu concert while receiving their medals.  The highlight was when one fan jumped onto the pitch to join the team celebrating at one goal.  He was surrounded by the team and security was unable to grab him.  Eventually players shielded him all the way back to the stands where he lept back in unscathed.  Here's a video of the goals from the final if you're interested.  When I think soccer I think Blink 182. 

All in all it was a great day.  Viewing scantily clad beautiful South American fans, yelling at adolescent youth for their dramatic flair and poor choice in barbers, and overindulging in massive overpriced beers definitely have their merits.

The next day found me at Ottawa watching Argentina and Mexico. Now this game was better than what the 1-0 score shows. If you bought tickets and saw it you got to see why South America has the best players by far. These guys make soccer look so easy and beautiful. Team Canada can learn a lesson or two from them.

On the homefront not much has been going on for me. I'm going to be volunteering for this years Toronto International Film Festival and hopefully I get to see some great flicks. I got approached to do some modelling but I'm not so sure about doing it. I don't think I'm at that level, but who knows. LOL. I'm thinking about starting to get into fashion design. I figure, what better way to make some money and wear some stuff that I want to wear. So we'll see how that goes. Well sorry to keep it short and sweet but Fantasia has a movie showing on CityTV and I'm trying to figure out how the hell she managed that. TTFN.

Spain 4 Brazil 2: Okay, so it happened 2 days ago, but for those who missed it here in the States (AKA, virtually most of you), here's how it went down. After a slow first 35 minutes with very few shots on goal, Brazil opened the scoring on a beautiful volley by Leandro Lima in the 39th minute. Brazil strikes two minutes later on a brilliant header by star player Alexandre Pato. So Brazil is up 2-0, game over right? Well, Spain brought one back heading into halftime on a controversial play by defender Gerrard Pique (pronounced as the letters P and K), in which he appeared to have played the ball with his hand, causing the ball to roll into the net.

So in the second half, Brazil appeared to be headed for 3-1 but Spanish goalkeeper Adan stopped a Brazilian player's shot in the 55th minute brilliantly. After a 30 minutes span in which both teams had many chances to score, Spain equalized on a stunning quick free kick taken by Javier Garcia, catching the Brazilian keeper Cassio by surprise. With that being said, Spain sent the game into extra time.

In extra time, Spain scored the winner on Alberto Bueno's free header on a great cross by Diego Capel in the 102nd minute. Brazil's Leandro Lima was then sent off for arguing with the referee moments after the goal. So now they've got ten men, and they're dead right? Yeah, but Luiz Adriano could've equalized for Brazil with a free header, that went straight to the keeper in the 2nd period of extra time. Aside from that, Spain could've easily scored 2 more goals, including one that hit the post, but were rewarded on a 120th minute goal by Adriano Lopez, who had his 5th goal of the tournament.

So there you have it, Brazil are done, Spain are through on a thriller, and will advance to face the Czechs tomorrow.

Well once again I've gotten busy and alot has happened since I last posted. And here you go:

Canada is out of the U-20 and everyone is not surprised. The team didn't get either a single goal or win. Aww Canadian soccer at it's worst. The truly sad part is that the coach for the U-20's is suppose to be coaching the senior national team.

I didn't get the writing job with the Torontoist. No I'm not pissed. It just means I need to get my writing skills up to par and try again next time.

The Pope says that Christian churches outside of the Roman Catholic church are not full churches. Now I remember why I stopped going to church. People, regardless of rank, can be stupid.

Researchers have confirmed what I've known for a long time. Men with muscles get more ass. Life was good as a musclebound man-whore. LOL. I'll have to put some pics of my muscular days on here.

There is still some racism here in Toronto but don't let it discourage you from coming here. It's rare and few. The thing that pisses me off about this is that it happened during the Chin Festival. If it would've happened to me all those involved would have been in a world of hurt. But than again I'm part Kraaaaazzzzzzzzzzzyyyyyy (think I got this somewhere just can't rememember where). So gotta new style watch out now!!

And the award for "One of The Dumbest Lawsuits I've Ever Seen" goes to Arthur Friedman. You want to know more here's the article. Get ready to be amazed. I'm also glad to see that in the 21st century women are still treated like property.

Also just wanted to let you know that in a week or two you will be seeing my first audio podcast. So ciao and have fun. By the way if you ever want to hit me up for a conversation check out my skype button. Let me know if it works or not.

The team just seems to be playing blah. They seem lifeless, tired, and like this is the first time they've ever played. Everytime I see them play I just get so bored. All of the other teams have been pretty exciting. Hell, my girl and I watched the Zambia and Spain game and that was pretty exciting. I was sitting there cheering for the great plays both of the teams made. But when I was up at Parry Sound and I saw Chile vs Canada. I instantly became sickened. The lads just played sloppy. They make it seem like Canadians and soccer are a bad combo kinda like oil and water.

You can join the discussion about the teams woes.

Hopefully the next tournament the new crop of kids will see this dismal performance and improve on it.