FOOTY FAIR

Throwback Thursdays: The 1996 Summer Olympic Games - When The Super Eagles Soared

2016-08-04T08:00:00.000-04:00

What do Jay-Jay Okocha, Kanu, Javier Zanetti, Hernan Crespo, Rivaldo and the original Ronaldo all have in common?

The answer is that they all took part in a terrific Olympic football tournament in the United States in 1996, that would see Nigeria walk away with the gold twenty years ago this week.

Football has a long, but somewhat strained, history in the Summer Olympic with early battles over whether or not professionals should be allowed to participate in the games and what in fact defined a footballer as a professional.

The timing of the Olympics also doesn't sit well with clubs in Europe in particular, as it clashes with either their preseason training or the early part of their schedules.

The importance that nations place on the Olympic football tournament also varies from country to country.

But in 1996 a talented group of youngsters from Nigeria, led by Dutch coach Jo Bonfrere, took their place in America as one of the 16 nations vying for a gold medal. They would show the world that football at an Olympic Games can be every bit as exciting as that which is played at other more prestigious tournaments.

Drawn in a opening group containing Hungary, Japan and a star studded Brazilian side, Nigeria saw off the Hungarians with a goal from Ajax star Kanu, and then crucially defeated a Japanese side who had stunned Brazil in their opener with goals from Tijani Babangida and Okocha.

Brazil, with a goal from Ronaldo, stopped Nigeria from obtaining maximum points when they defeated them 1-0 in Miami.

With Brazil, Nigeria and Japan all tied at six points at the end of the group stage, it was goal difference that saw Brazil and Nigeria advance to the Quarter-Finals at the expense of the Asian side.

A fine victory over Mexico, with goals by Okocha and future Chelsea defender Celestine Babayaro, eased the Super Eagles into a return engagement with Brazil in the Semi-Final.

Facing a Brazilian side that contained the likes of Bebeto, Juninho, Dida, Roberto Carlos and Rivaldo, to go along with "The Phenomenon" himself Ronaldo, the odds were definitely stacked against the West Africans.

When Flávio Conceição put Brazil up 1-0 with only a minute played, Nigeria's fans surely feared the worst. But with the Super Eagles playing their way back into it, they forced Roberto Carlos to slice the ball into his own net on 20 minutes to draw level.

Unbowed, Brazil's 1994 World Cup winning striker Bebeto fired the South Americans back in front on 28 minutes before Conceição doubled their advantage ten minutes later. Up 3-1 at half-time, Nigeria's dream of Olympic gold seemed to be over.

As the minutes ticked away in the second half, Brazil confidentially controlled the ball and seemed to be conserving themselves for an eventual final against their old rivals Argentina.

With just over ten minutes to play though, Monaco's Victor Ikpeba found the net from 20 metres to give his team a bit of life and then on 90 minutes the impossible happened. Kanu took advantage of a mad scramble in the box to force an equalizer and send the match into extra-time.

The 78,587 fans in Athens, Georgia had been treated to a wonderful spectacle and they were in for an incredible conclusion. Only three minutes into extra-time that man Kanu picked up the ball outside the box, dribbled around a hapless Brazil defender before dispatching the golden goal winner. It was truly one of the greatest football matches seen at an Olympic Games.

Standing in Nigeria's way in the final though was another glittering side in Argentina that contained players such as Claudio Lopez, Ariel Ortega, Roberto Ayala, Diego Simeone, Hernan Crespo and Jose Chamot in their squad.

Again, Nigeria would find themselves down early as Lopez found the net on three minutes to put the South Americans in front. Celestine Babayaro responded for the Super Eagles on 28 minutes and the sides went in at the half deadlocked at one apiece.

Hernan Crespo, who would later become the most expensive player in the world, fired Argentina ahead again from the spot on 50 minutes.

Taribo West, who would enjoy a fine career at clubs such as Auxerre, Inter and AC Milan, was devastated after allowing himself to get drawn into fouling Ortega in the box.

At that point even the most ardent Nigerian supporter could have been forgiven for thinking that their wonderful run was about to come to a disappointing conclusion.

But proving that their heroics against Brazil weren't a fluke, Nigeria kept going at their illustrious opponents and on 74 minutes Daniel Amokachi looped in an equalizer over the head of Argentine keeper Pablo Cavallero.

Deadlocked at 2-2, Argentina nearly found themselves ahead again soon after Amokachi's equalizer, when Lopez forced a fine save out of Joseph Dosu in the Nigerian goal.

Then with only a minute remaining Emmanuel Amunike beat an terribly botched offside trap by the South Americans to seal an unlikely win for the Super Eagles and an Olympic gold medal.

Football Rivalries - Racing and Independiente

2016-05-11T08:00:00.000-04:00

Formed in 1891, Argentina's Primera Division is the oldest football league in the world outside of the United Kingdom.

The distinguishing feature of the Primera Division is that the competition is now comprised of 30 teams evenly split into two zones of fifteen sides. The one zone encompasses the Greater Buenos Aires area, while the other zone and it's fifteen clubs are spread elsewhere throughout the country.

The season ending winners of the two zones then play off against each other in a neutral ground hosted final to decide a national champion.

This unusual structure, and the fact that so many clubs are based in and around the Argentine capital, means that there are numerous hotly contested derbies to look forward each season.

While the rivalry between Boca Juniors and River Plate is known throughout the world, the derby between Independiente and Racing Club makes up for what it might lack in international recognition with an intensity that often spirals into violence.

Based in the port of Avellaneda, the grounds of these two rivals geographically could not be much closer with only a few hundred metres separating Independiente's Estadio Liberatadores de America from Racing's Estadio Juan Domingo Peron. Only Dundee and Dundee United in Scotland can lay claim to having major grounds that are so close together.

With both clubs coming into existence in the first decade of the twentieth century, the first Avellaneda derby took place in 1907 with Independiente taking home the spoils. But it would be Racing Club who would dominate the early years of Argentine football, claiming seven league titles in a row between 1913 and 1919, before returning for an era of dominance in the 1950's.

While it took rivals Independiente a little longer to gain a foothold in the league, it was internationally where they would make their mark. Back-to-back wins in the prestigious Copa Libertadores in 1964 and 1965 was followed by an unprecedented run of four straight titles between 1972 and 1975. The club won their still-record seventh South American club crown in 1984.

While River Plate and Boca Juniors are the two best supported clubs in the land, the Avellaneda sides are very much the country's third and fourth biggest. Now who edges ahead in terms of size depends on who you ask.

Since the early 1980's the passionate support for both sides quite often results in violence in and around the grounds on derby day, making this very much a fixture that the Argentine Football Federation and the police mark on the calendar as one to be wary of.

One of the more serious incidents between the clubs occurred in 2002, when a massive brawl between the two sets of Barras resulted in 25 people being sent to hospital and the shooting death of a 22-year-old Independiente fan.

Another notorious meeting in 2006 saw fighting in the stands during a Libertadores match result in Racing fans attacking the police and having the match, which Independiente were winning 2-0, abandoned.

As a result of this match, and a pattern of violence across several derbies across the country, the Football Federation banned all away supporters from matches in the top four divisions for the rest of the season.

While the two club's footballing success has declined a bit in recent years, with the notable exception of Racing's 2014 Primera Division title, this very much remains the second biggest derby in the country.

Football's Joy of Five (Quiz)

2016-05-03T08:00:00.000-04:00

With Juventus rather incredibly winning their fifth straight Serie A title this season, they joined a select group of club's that have topped their respective league tables at the end of a season on at least five straight occasions.

Those clubs, along with a few famous footballing nations and several free-scoring players, are the focus of today's Joy of Five quiz:

myiq

Argentine Club Tigre to Implant Chip Under Fan Members' Skin

2016-04-26T08:00:00.000-04:00

Technology has come a long way in the last few decades and with its various advancements odd ideas are bound to pop up as well. One such insane idea has come out of the front office of Argentine side Club Atlético Tigre. In recent days reports have surfaced about the club's intentions to implement a technologically advanced way to keep track of their fan base; that, by implanting a chip under the supporters' skin.

As insane as it sounds, so far, there has been no evidence to dismiss the rumors as being false or even a publicity stunt by the club. That said, we here at FootyFair really hope that we hear otherwise in the next few days and are very hopeful no club would actually play around with the idea of implementing anything of this idiotic nature. Nonetheless, let's pretend for a second that this is in fact true, what would this achieve?

Well, according to the club's official Twitter account, the chip under the skin would allow fans to enter the stadium much faster because the technology at the gate will be able to detect whether or not the fan entering has a valid ticket for the match, has no outsdanding payments for seasons tickets and so forth. In some countries football supporters are required to bring ID to matches, another aspect of the "game-day experience" the chip would eliminate. The club has also stated that this would help further with security concerns and would make operations run smoother.

It's very likely that this is just a stunt, but what does the club hope to achieve with such a silly idea? Whatever it is, at least the slogan for the campaign is entertaining: Ahora, podés llevar a tu club adentro...De verdad! Which roughly translates to English as: Now you can carry your club inside you... really!

Cheating and Corruption in Football - Part 2 of 5: The Hand of God

2016-04-05T08:00:00.000-04:00

Ask any English football fan in their mid-30's or older for their thoughts on the 1986 World Cup in Mexico and chances are they will immediately blurt out something about "The Hand of God".

It has been said that the World Cup has only been won single handedly twice, Garrincha for Brazil in 1962 and Diego Maradona for Argentina in 1986.

In Maradona's case the word singlehandedly takes on a more literal meaning though as England find out to their great cost.

The relationship between the United Kingdom, or England specifically, and Argentina has historically been a strained one. The conflict between the two nations, that are separated by thousands of miles, stems from a disputed claim over the British territory of the Falklands Islands which is only 300 miles off of the coast of Argentina.

In 1982, Argentina's military regime seized the Falklands, that they refer to as Malvinas, under the ludicrous assumption that the British would not respond militarily.

The UK did of course respond, and the resulting ten week war left nearly seven hundred Argentine's dead and scores more injured. The resulting fallout would see Argentina's government fall the following year.

It was under this politically charged climate that Argentina would face England in the Quarter-Finals of the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.

With the match evenly poised, Argentina's genius would turn cheating villain, when a mis-hit back pass towards Peter Shilton was punched over the keeper's outstretched hands and into the net by Maradona.

As Argentina's number ten wheeled away in celebration, England's players surrounded the referee like they'd just collectively had their wallets stolen.

The inexperienced referee from Tunisia, Ali Bennaceur, who FIFA really shouldn't have placed in charge of such a massive occasion, waved the English players away and allowed the goal to stand.

Maradona would shortly after dribble through a dazed English midfield and backline to score one of the greatest goals in tournament history. Argentina would win the match 2-1 on their way to being crowned World Cup champions a week later.

Although his second goal has been shown on highlight reels for the past three decades, and is rightly lauded for its brilliance, in England many still remember his first goal a bit more and view Maradona as a cheat who conned them out of the World Cup.

Whether or not England would have beaten Argentina without Diego's bit of trickery is open to question.

Following the match when Argentina's captain was questioned about his handball he responded that the goal was a little bit of Maradona, a little bit of the hand of god.

Football's Biggest Ever Scandals (Part 3 of 5): Maradona Gets Kicked Out of USA '94

2016-02-15T08:00:00.000-05:00

The World Cup, as the legend goes, has only been won single handedly twice: By Garrincha for Brazil in 1962 and by Diego Maradona in 1986 for Argentina.

That humid summer in Mexico, the man who many consider to be one of the finest players ever, led Argentina to victory with five goals and out of this world performances which left opposition defenders trailing in his wake.

Among his memorable feats, in what was arguably the last truly great World Cup, was that he scored a famous individual goal against England in the Quarterfinals, put away one nearly as good in the Semi Final against Belgium and despite heavy man marking by West Germany in the Final, he provided the assist for Jorge Burruchaga's tournament winning goal.

He also found time to show his darker, or perhaps mischievous, side when he famously punched in the "Hand of God" goal against England.

Sandwiched either side of that wonderful tournament for the Argentine icon, was the 1982 World Cup which was best remembered by a consistently fouled Maradona losing his temper and being sent off in disgrace against Brazil, and the 1990 World Cup in Italy where a half fit Maradona somehow helped a poor side to the final where they would narrowly lose to West Germany.

The 1994 World Cup in the United States was seen as El Pibe de Oro's ("The Golden Boy") last chance to shine on the world stage.

The years leading up to the finals in America had not been good one's for Maradona though. He had served a 15 month ban for being found with cocaine in his system, faced suspicion over his relationship with Naples' notorious mob the Camorra, fathered an illegitimate son, and had finally been transferred away from his beloved Napoli side.

Struggling with his weight in the months leading up to the World Cup, Maradona appeared to have gone on a strict diet and exercise regime to regain his fitness and he looked to be somewhere near his best when he helped Argentina rip apart Greece 4-0 in their first match of the tournament.

Maradona's contorted face, screaming into the camera after scoring the final goal in that win was an image that would be replayed over and over in the coming months but not for the reasons he would have liked.

Following a 2-1 win over Nigeria in their second match, Maradona was reported to have failed a drug test.

The Argentine captain was found to have the banned drug ephedrine, primarily used for weight loss, in his system.

Maradona claimed that his trainer had given him the energy drink Rip Fuel, and that they were unaware of the fact that it contained ephedrine.

FIFA brushed aside his claims of innocence and one of the finest players ever had played his last minute at the greatest football show on Earth.

___________________________________
Football's Biggest Ever Scandals:
(Part 1 of 5): Manchester City's Under the Table Payments
(Part 2 of 5): Totonero 1980
(Part 3 of 5): Maradona Gets Kicked Out of USA '94
(Part 4 of 5): Olympique de Marseille's Epic Run of Corruption and Lies
(Part 5 of 5): Bad Santa - The Unbelievable Story of Chuck Blazer

5 Reasons Why Messi is Brilliant, But Maradona is Still the Best in My Eyes

2016-01-12T08:00:00.000-05:00

So Lionel Messi has strolled off with yet another Ballon d'Or this week and you can't say that he's anything but deserving.

But inevitably people have begun to champion Messi as the greatest of all time yet again, and while he is a phenomenal player that has torn up the record books in recent years he still hasn't quite measured up to his brilliant countryman Diego Maradona in my opinion.

While opinions aren't facts, and like assholes we all have them, I do have a few reasons why I see El Diego as just that much better than Messi. Here are my top five reasons:

More than half of the tackles in Maradona's day would be fouls now, and many of them would draw cards. In fact it was only in the last few years of his career that the rule against tackling from behind came in.
Maradona wasn't protected by referees like Messi is. Tying into my first point, the rules against aggressive tackling are far less lenient now than they were in Diego's day and with FIFA trying to encourage attacking play, it's an open secret that players like Messi get special protection from referees.
While Messi has had the obvious benefit of playing for one of the best club sides ever in Barcelona, with many of his club teammates making up the Spanish national side that swept to two European crowns and a World Cup title, Maradona played for a decent Napoli side that he drove on to the only two Serie A titles in the club's history in 1987 and 1990.
Playing in a league that only has two giants in Real Madrid and his Barcelona side, with a resurgent Atletico only challenging them in recent seasons, Messi has had opportunities to collect trophies for fun. Maradona though played for Napoli at a time when Serie A was the undisputed best league in the world. The Italian league was dripping with quality in the 1980's and early 1990's with sides like AC Milan, Juventus and Inter providing stiff competition for his Napoli side. Despite the competition, Maradona was still able to help guide his team to glory.
Maradona carried a solid, but unspectacular Argentina side to a World Cup title in 1986 and took a terrible side to the final in 1990 where they would only narrowly lose to West Germany on a late penalty.

Football Fans Tell FootyFair Which Matches They Wish They Had Been At

2015-12-14T08:00:00.000-05:00

Imagine that you had immeasurable wealth and you could jump into a time machine, most likely a DeLorean because as Doc Brown once said "(this) car's stainless steel body improves the flux dispersal generated by the flux capacitor", and you could transport yourself to any football match in history.

What match would you turn up to?

Would you zip off to Montevideo to see the 1930 World Cup Final between Uruguay and Argentina, or would you turn up at Edgar Street in 1997 to witness the Third Division crunch match between Hereford United and Brighton & Hove Albion?

We asked a few football fans what matches they would have loved to have witnessed live and the following are their varied responses:

Parmar

Supports: Chelsea and Brazil (Or maybe Argentina?)

Matches:

Argentina v West Germany, Azteca, 1986 World Cup Final.

Why? Did you watch the match? Most of you here probably didn't watch it live, I did. Maradona was fucking double teamed all match and even triple teamed at some points in the match. He still found ways to send his strikers through on goal or his wingers down the flanks for runs. What he was able to do in that match might have been greater than his entire body of work in that tournament as a whole.

By the final the world had figured out Maradona was the greatest football player in that time and of that generation. Nothing the Germans did could stop the man.

I might as well throw in there another match I'd have love to have been at, the Champions League Final of 2012 at the Allianz. I'd be a fucking wreck all the way through but knowing what I know now LMFAO I'd want to be there so I could hold up a sign for a couple of people saying "I told you mother fuckers, anything can happen!"

Iain

Supports: Manchester United and England

Matches:
Germany v England, WC Qualifier, Munich, 2001. After years of disappointment and ineptitude, which saw Germany and most of the other big European sides surpass England, we finally looked to have a good generation of players coming through in the early 2000's. This night in Munich, which ended 5-1 to England was stupendous. Like watching decades of frustration stripped away. We humiliated the Germans on their home ground (apologies lads) and it was incredible. I watched this in the Peel Pub in Montreal and got absolutely shit faced that night.

I'd have rather have been in Germany though.

As a United supporter I would have of course liked to have been in Moscow in 2008 or in Barcelona in 1999 for the Champions League Finals, but I think my nerves would have been shot to bits. Rotterdam in 1991 for the Cup Winners' Cup Final would have been a wonderful night, but one United match in particular I'd have like to have been at was the Manchester Derby at Maine Road in 1993-1994. City led 2-0 at HT, then Cantona scores two after the break to equalize and sets up Keano for the winner. Fucking awesome. I taped Soccer Saturday the week they had extended highlights of that one and must have re-watched that match 20 times. That United side was so quick at transitioning from defending to attacking and had great width with a young Giggsy and Andrei Kanchelskis. They were pretty much the opposite of the current team.

Bramble

Supports: Manchester United and England

Matches:
If I had to pick one from modern history it'd have to be United's 7-1 demolishing of AS Roma. That match was probably the pinnacle of English football in the Champions league while it was the absolute lowest point for Italian football. Especially since the first leg was a really hard fought 1-1 draw. We came home and just destroyed them in every part of the field. Geez remembering that makes me feel sad after yesterday's freaking performance against AFC Bournemouth.

I'd also have to say I'd have liked to have been at the USA 94 match between Brasil vs Netherlands. There were five goals in that game and Brasil took a two nil lead, gave it up and then got it back. I watched it on TV but man that would have been amazing to go to live. On that note it shouldve been played in a different location as the fan atmosphere was nowhere near what it should've been, because it was in America and the newborn US Soccer fans didn't know how to get "Footy crazy" yet.

Luka

Supports: Hajduk Split and Croatia

Match:
If I could attend any match in history before my birth it would undoubtedly be Hajduk Split v Crvena Zvezda (aka Red Star Belgrade) fixture that took place on October 29, 1950. It was the second last match of the season and despite being undefeated with 8 wins and 8 ties, Hajduk needed to win the last two matches of the season against Crvena Zvezda and bottom dwellers Budućnost to ensure the league title. Now, there are several reasons why this is such an iconic match in Hajduk’s history.

1. This was before European competition, so for the club, the league title was the ultimate prize.

2. Hajduk had not yet won the league since it was reformed after WWII where the club fought hard to keep its identity and away from the control of the Communist Party (then Partizan army) which wanted to move the club to Belgrade and rename it Partizan.

3. Hajduk had a remarkable squad. The keeper, Vladimir Beara was one of the greatest of his generation with even Lev Yashin insisting that he was a greater keeper than himself. The left winger, Bernard Vukas is recognized as the greatest Croatian footballer of the 20th century by the Croatian FA and is a 2x Olympic Silver medalist (back when it meant something). Frane Matošić, Hajduk’s greatest goalscorer and greatest ever captain. Many attribute the fact that Hajduk is still a club to Matošić’s leadership and defiance in WWII. And Slavko Luštica, who like the others would go on to win a silver medal for Yugoslavia at the 1952 Olympics.

4. The oldest supporters group in Europe was formed the day before the match to give the club extra support to win the match. Torcida Split, was formed by a group of students (just as the club was 40 years earlier) inspired by the Torcidas in Brazil that they had heard about during the World Cup that past summer. This was a pivotal moment and would change the Football culture in Europe forever. The support seen on that day had never been seen before in Europe and caused backlash from the government in Belgrade who tried to ban Torcida and sanction Hajduk.

5. The game is reportedly a classic, a packed stadium of around 40k, fervent support and many of the best players in Yugoslavia on display. The game ended 2-1 for Hajduk with the winner scored in the 86th minute by Božo Broketa. Hajduk went on to win the league after defeating Budućnost 2-0 two weeks later.

Juan

Supports: Liverpool and Spain

Match:
I think the 2005 CL final would have been wild to have seen. A roller coaster of emotions for me.

Kon

Supports: Newcastle and Ukraine

Match:
October 20, 1996 St. James' Park. Newcastle 5-0 Manchester United. Would give my left ball to have been there!

Foto Friday: The Facilities of Gimnasia

2015-11-20T12:00:00.000-05:00

Club Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata is a professional Argentinian sports club and as is often the case it is known best for its football team. Simply referred to as Gimnasia, the football club plays in the Primera División, Argentina's top tier. Instead of enjoying match-day photography however, local photographer Gonzalo Martinez Villar decided to capture the character filled facilities of the club in one of his recent shoots.

How Well Do You Know the Club Crests of South America? (Quiz)

2015-11-07T08:00:00.000-05:00

Rise and shine it's Saturday morning!

Before heading out the door to support your local club or flipping on the television set to catch the first match of the day, why not try out this quiz on South American club crests?

Quiz Maker

Can You Name These Boca Juniors Stars (Quiz)

2015-10-12T08:00:00.000-04:00

Founded in 1905 South American giants Boca Juniors are by some distance the most successful club in Argentinian football with 63 domestic titles and 22 international titles in their trophy case.

Over the years the club has been blessed with numerous brilliant footballers and although some of them are pretty obvious, how well do you really know the players that have contributed to Boca's success.

Check out the following quiz and see how many Boca Juniors stars of the past or present you can name:

Poll Maker

Throwback Thursdays: Uruguay win the 1930 World Cup Final

2015-07-30T08:00:00.000-04:00

On July 30, 1930 exactly eighty five years ago today the first World Cup was captured by Uruguay after they defeated their fierce rivals Argentina by a score of 4-2 in the Final.

Before the advent of the World Cup the official champions of world football was determined by the Olympic tournament.

Under FIFA President Jules Rimet, football's governing body were encouraged by the popularity of international football in the Olympics and sought to create an independent tournament of their own.

When an international football World Cup was proposed, Italy, Sweden, the Netherlands, Spain, Hungary and Uruguay all stepped forward as potential hosts, but eventually all of these nations dropped out with the exception of Uruguay.

As the 1924 and 1928 Olympic champions Uruguay were the dominant footballing force of the era and from a football perspective were an attractive host, but the cost and difficulty of travelling to South America in 1930 caused many of the European nations to pull out of the tournament.

Uruguay had even offered to pay the travel costs of several European nations, including that of England who were not even members of FIFA at that time, but with less than two months to go before the tournament not a single country from Europe had agreed to participate.

With the competition threatening to not get off the ground, Rimet convinced Belgium, France, Romania, and Yugoslavia to make the trip overseas and with that the first World Cup kicked off on July 13, 1930.

The hosts did not disappoint as they cruised through to the final, winning both of their group matches easily before thumping Yugoslavia 6-1 in the Semi-Final.

At the Estadio Centenario in Montevideo, in front of 68,346 supporters, Uruguay opened the scoring after twelve minutes with a goal by Pablo Dorado. However, Argentina took a shock 2-1 lead into the half with goals through Carlos Peucelle and Guillermo Stábile.

An interesting note about the final is that a strong mistrust between the two sides had caused them to use an Argentinian ball in the first half and a Uruguayan one in the second.

Perhaps the ball made a difference, as the second half was all Uruguay as Pedro Cea, Santos Iriarte and Héctor Castro all found the net to cap a 4-2 win and thus capture the first World Cup for La Celeste.

The following day was declared a national holiday in Uruguay as fans took to the streets to celebrate the historic victory. Meanwhile in Argentina, irate supporters threw rocks at the Uruguayan embassy.

It wouldn't be the last contentious meeting between these two football powers.

Inside Club Ferro Carril Oeste - a 111 Year Old Argentine Team

2015-07-28T16:00:00.000-04:00

Today marks the 111th birthday of Argentine second tier side Club Ferro Carril Oeste. The over a century old club from a residential area of Buenos Aires known as Caballito has won the Premier division on two occasions, once in 1982 and again two years later in 1984. But the football club which plays in the 24,000 capacity Estadio Arquitecto Ricardo Etcheverry is better known for their involvement in the Primera B Nacional division which they have won seven times.

Today, through the wonderful work of Argentine photographer Laura Vacatello we take a look at the interesting lower league game-day experience of Club Ferro Carril Oeste, where you can watch the match by simply finding a friend that lives in the buildings near the stadium, or join the small but passionate contingence of supporters in the stands.

Messi Meets the President of Gabon and Dresses Like a Bum

2015-07-24T12:00:00.000-04:00

Widely considered, outside of Madrid at least, to be the finest footballer on the planet Lionel Messi is as useless at picking out what to wear as he is brilliant at picking apart opposition defenses.

As if his comically bad shiny maroon suit he wore to a recent FIFA Awards night, one of those annual events where they give him a prize simply for being Messi, wasn't bad enough he's now outraged a nation with his dress sense.

While in Gabon, the Barcelona star went on a VIP tour of the capital city, Libreville, organised by former teammate Samuel Eto’o, who is a close friend and advisor of Gabonese president Ali Bongo Ondimba.

The president also asked Messi to place the first stone for a new national stadium being built for the 2017 African Nations Cup.

For such a momentous occasion you figured that Messi would perhaps put on a suit, or even a nice pair of dress pants and a button up, but instead he opted for a pair of scummy looking shorts and a t-shirt. As if he was going to the beach or the zoo.

The Union du Peuple Gabonais (UPG) political party responded with the following statement:

“The messiah of football arrived in Gabon like he were going to a zoo: dirty, unshaven and his hands in his pockets, looking for peanuts to throw to them!

“When you’re called Lionel Messi and you’re a multi-billionaire, you don’t have the right to present yourself to officials of a republic, even a banana one, with your hands in the pockets of a ripped, tattered pair of shorts.

“Gabon isn’t a zoo. We don’t know what the Argentine came to Gabon for, but we at least have the right to denounce his negligence and his lack of respect for standards and principles.

“We are uneasy with Messi’s attitude and his attire. Only for these reasons, linked to respect for the host country, do we condemn the footballer’s indelicateness, to say the least!”

That Messi dirtbag was also accused by France Football magazine of being paid €3.5million for the visit, but the Argentine play maker strongly denies that.

No Easy Road for Argentina at the Copa America

2015-06-23T08:00:00.000-04:00

As the 2015 Copa America moved into the knockout stages this week I couldn't help but be startled by the quality of opposition that Argentina will potentially come up against if they are to have any chance in lifting the trophy.

After Argentina finished off Jamaica 1-0 to top their group, a bemused Lionel Messi who won his 100th cap on the night was asked by opposition forward DeShorn Brown to pose for a selfie.

While some of us shook our head at the latest example of annoying trends seeping into modern football, the Argentine's were likely already looking ahead to a decidedly difficult knockout phase.

Despite winning their respective group, Argentina will first come up against a Colombia side in the Quarter-Finals, who were made it to the last eight in last summer's World Cup.

Should Argentina make it past Colombia, they will then likely come up against Brazil who face Paraguay in their Quarter Final.

Brazil though have been rocked by the loss of Neymar, who was red carded after his country's group stage loss to Colombia and then showered the referee with abuse.

Getting into the stretched hypothetical stage now, if Argentina gets past Brazil they would almost certainly face one of the two strongest sides on the other side of the bracket in Chile or Uruguay.

Breaking it down like this, and after watching an action packed group stage, it's apparent how strong this tournament is despite it not getting the coverage or fan fate of the European Championships.

The knockout rounds are certainly shaping up to be very interesting indeed and if you're Argentina there doesn't appear to be an easy route to the final.

4 Players Who Were Supposed to be the Next Maradona

2015-06-16T08:00:00.001-04:00

Before getting into the whole Messi is the greatest thing in the universe since liquid cheese on a jumbo hotdog debate, I'd like to take a moment to talk about another Argentinian genius who almost single handedly won his country the World Cup.

I am of course talking about Diego Maradona, one of the finest players to lace up a pair of Puma's.

After leading his country to glory at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico and inspiring his club side Napoli to domestic success in Serie A, fans and media were keen to find "the next Maradona" and began throwing that tag around a little willy nilly.

Before we can look forward to seeing players labelled as the next Lionel Messi, or the next Cristiano Ronaldo, here are four players that were supposed to be the second coming of Maradona:

Ariel Ortega

Here is a guy that could, and perhaps should, have made it. He had the build of Maradona and the same sort of skillset, but while El Diego had what you could call a destructive streak, Ariel Ortega's penchant for getting into trouble was off the charts. After impressing for River Plate and Argentina, he was run out of Valencia because of his attitude and difficulties with alcohol, and similarly failed to make the grade at Parma and Sampdoria. Despite his obvious ability, he's remembered more for his fiery temper and off the pitch problems more than his achievements on it.

Juan Roman Riquelme

A strange one, as although Juan Roman Riquelme was lumbered with the troublesome tag of being the next Maradona, he was a completely different type of player. While Diego was all about making ferocious runs and dazzling with his trickery, Riquelme was more of a thoughtful player who excelled in controlling a matches tempo and unleashing defense splitting passes. Although he didn't hit the heights of the great man himself, Riquelme still had a terrific career with his time at Villarreal and Boca Juniors in particular being fondly remembered by the fans of those clubs.

Gheorghe Hagi

The Maradona of the Carpathians, Gheorghe Hagi, was even nicknamed after the great man and although he wasn't quite at the level of the Argentine legend he was still a brilliant player in his own right who is a legend in his native Romania. The creative heart of his national side through three World Cups (1990, 1994, and 1998), he was selected to the tournament First XI after helping his side to the Quarter-Finals. At club level, Hagi played with much success for seven sides, famously playing for both Barcelona and Real Madrid.

Emre Belözoğlu

Emre Belözoğlu, the Maradona of the Bosphorus, a powerful and creative force was another who fit the mould of Diego and was landed with a "Maradona of the..." tag himself hasn't quite had the career his brilliant early play promised. After a flying start to his career at Galatasaray, he subsequently won a move to Inter Milan where he first ran into the injury problems that would plague him for much of his career. A subsequent move to Newcastle saw him continue to struggle with injuries before he ended up back in Turkey with Fenerbahçe.

Why Italia 90 Was Better Than You Remember

2015-06-14T16:00:00.000-04:00

This week marked twenty five years since the start of the 1990 World Cup in Italy, a competition that has been widely derided as being an overly defensive and cynical tournament lacking in quality.
But that's not how I remember it at all. Sure there were a lot of 1-0's and knockout matches going to penalties, but I remember the last tournament before football became the commercial beast it is now with a lot of fondness.

The 1990 World Cup featured a terrific West German side led by captain Lothar Matthaus lifting his country's third World Cup, after getting through a couple of epic encounters against rivals from the Netherlands and England, all while wearing some of the coolest kits to ever grace a World Cup.

Speaking of England, Italia 90 saw the Three Lions best performance at a World Cup since winning the trophy on home soil in 1966.

After a dire 1-1 draw with Ireland in their first group match, manager Bobby Robson changed around his tactics to allow for a sweeper and with that England surged on to the last four.

Despite the loss on penalties to the West Germans, a star was born in Paul Gascoigne and England left with their heads held high for once.

Elsewhere the side that England defeated in the Quarter-Finals, Cameroon, provided the surprise package of the tournament as they defeated the reigning champions Argentina in the tournament opener and then thrilled the world with their progress into the knockout stages, in no small part due to the swashbuckling exploits of the 38 year old Roger Milla.

As for the hosts, the emergence of Italy's Roberto Baggio was thrilling to witness and the wide eyed celebrations of the unlikely goal machine Toto Schillaci lives long in the memory.

Schillaci had been plying his trade at Messina in Serie B only a year before his surprising move to Juventus and had not even been capped until 1990. However the little man from Palermo would go on to win the tournament's golden boot with six goals for his country.

Alas all good stories have both heroes and villains, and Frank Rijkaard certainly fell into the latter category when he gobbed into the hair of Rudi Voller during an ugly confrontation between his Netherlands side and West Germany.

But the true villains of the piece were a sub par Argentina side that somehow kicked and scraped their into the World Cup Final. Their ugly and cynical play, which couldn't even be brightened up by Diego Maradona who was not 100% fit for the tournament, won them few admirers.

It was even rumoured that during Argentina's 1-0 win over Brazil in the Round of 16 that a water bottle spiked with tranquilizers was purposely given to the Brazilian left back Branco by Argentina's physio to nullify the player.

The notoriously ruthless Argentinian manager Carlos Bilardo later said "I'm not saying it didn't happen", when questioned about the incident.

Argentina also didn't endear themselves to the hosts in particular, when Maradona encouraged the people of Napoli to remember how badly the rest of the country thinks of them and back his side in the Semi-Finals over the Azzurri. The South Americans would win that match on penalties and send Italy into mourning.

In the end though the best team won the World Cup and after the spectacle of a tournament that Luciano Pavarotti's "Nessun Dorma" had been the soundtrack, international football was on the edge of evolving into the global juggernaut it would become over the next two decades.

10 Facts About the Copa América

2015-06-06T08:00:00.000-04:00

The 2015 Copa América kicks off on June 11 in Chile as ten South American national sides from CONMEBOL and two guest nations will try to be the last one standing on July 4.

The following are ten facts about the tournament:

- ONE -

This year's Copa América is the forty-fourth edition of a competition that was first played in Argentina in 1916, making it the oldest international continental tournament in world football.

- TWO -

After the first tournament in Argentina, Brazil were all set to host the finals in 1918 but had to cancel the event after a major flu outbreak in Rio de Janiero. Fortunately, Brazil were able to successfully host the competition the following year.

- THREE -

Uruguay, the defending champions from 2011, are the most successful team in the tournament's history with fifteen titles.

- FOUR -

Due to animosity between Argentina and Uruguay after the 1930 World Cup Final between the two countries, there was no South American Championship between 1929 and 1935. With Argentina claiming they had been subjected to unfair abuse and pressure by the victorious hosts of the first World Cup, football relations between the two was broken off for several years and this made a South American tournament virtually impossible to stage until they had buried the hatchet.

- FIVE -

Real Madrid legend Alfredo Di Stéfano only played six matches for the country of his birth, Argentina, and all of them came at the 1947 championships where his six goals helped his country to victory in the competition.

- SIX -

The tournament almost died in the 1950's as disorganization and disinterest reigned supreme. The chaotic nature of the scheduling, and rise to prominence of the World Cup, led to some sides not taking the competition seriously. In 1959 their were in fact two tournaments held, one in Argentina and one in Ecuador. The newly crowned world champions Brazil couldn't be bothered sending their full side to Ecuador, so they instead sent a team made up only of players from Pernambuco. Fortunately by the 1970's the importance of the tournament was renewed and today it's rightly viewed as one of the major events in world football.

- SEVEN -

Argentina's Martin Palermo found himself in the Guinness Book of Records for the wrong reason after a 1999 Copa América match against Colombia when he incredibly missed a record three penalties in a 3-0 loss.

- EIGHT -

The 2011 Copa América in Argentina was the first in the tournament's history to feature neither Brazil or Argentina in the Semi-Finals. Both nations were ousted in the Quarter-Finals on penalty kicks by Paraguay and Uruguay respectively.

- NINE -

The tournament's current configuration is made to accommodate twelve teams, but as CONMEBOL comprises only ten national associations two guest nations are invited to the tournament. This year Mexico and Jamaica will take part in the Copa América as guest nations.

- TEN -

The Copa América, in its present form, is contested every three or four years, but never in a World Cup year. Although to confuse matters there will be one hosted by the United States next year to mark the competitions one hundred year anniversary. Got all of that?

Throwback Thursdays: Ricky's Dribble Wins the Cup for Spurs

2015-05-14T12:00:00.000-04:00

Following the 1978 World Cup in Argentina, Tottenham Hotspur manager Keith Burkenshaw shocked English football when he signed Ricardo Villa and Osvaldo Ardiles who had played for the victorious host nation.

This was in the days when a player from Scotland was considered "foreign", so to bring in two South American's who were recent World Cup winners was quite extraordinary.

Both Ardiles and Villa initially found the transition difficult, due to the physicality of English football compared what they had been used to back home, but eventually they began to settle.

Playing in a side with players Glenn Hoddle and Steve Archibald, the two imports helped form the core of an exciting Spurs side in the late 1970's and 1980's, going some way to proving that overseas players could flourish, given the right circumstances, in England.

Although "Ricky" Villa didn't quite reach the legendary status afforded to his compatriot "Ossie" Ardiles at White Hart Lane, he is however fondly remembered for scoring one of the greatest goals in the history of the FA Cup Final.

On May 14, 1981 following a 1-1 draw in their first encounter five days earlier, Spurs faced Manchester City in a replay to decide who would claim the venerable old trophy.

Ricardo Villa scored the replay's first goal, a straight forward effort considering what was to come, in the 8th minute.

The lead was short-lived though as forward Steve McKenzie equalized for City four minutes later.

In the 50th minute, City took the lead through a Kevin Reeves penalty, but Spurs drew level at 2-2 in the 70th minute with a goal from Garth Crooks.

The stage was then set for Villa in the 76th minute, as he received a pass on the edge of the City box and brilliantly skipped his way through their defense before finishing with aplomb.

It was Tottenham's first FA Cup win in fourteen years and went some way to justifying Burkenshaw's gamble on signing the two Argentine stars.

10 Outrageous Quotes by Diego Maradona

2015-05-12T08:00:00.000-04:00

Argentinean legend Diego Maradona caused a minor stir this week after he dared to state that Real Madrid and Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo strikes more fear into the hearts of goalkeepers than his country's current favourite son Lionel Messi.

Taken in context though it isn't really that controversial what the former Napoli midfielder said:

"Cristiano is a predator in front of goal. You can’t let Cristiano shoot from anywhere in the opposition half.

Goalkeepers are scared of him. You have to be honest, goalkeepers are scared of Cristiano. They are not so scared of Messi in those areas because he doesn’t have the same power as Cristiano.

Cristiano is an incredible professional. I think at this present time he is right up there at Messi’s level."

In fact this is all rather lighthearted material from the man who often appears before a camera or a microphone without a filter.

Here are ten of his real gems:

My mother thinks I am the best. And I was raised to always believe what my mother tells me.
There would be no debate about who was the best footballer the world had ever seen - me or Pele. Everyone would say me.
Pele should go back to the museum.
Usually, when you see (Pele) these days, it's only at award ceremonies next to the president of FIFA and looking like a doll that's being moved by remote control
We all know what the French are like and Platini as a Frenchman thinks he knows it all.
My legitimate kids are Dalma and Giannina. The rest are a product of my money and mistakes.
I think (George W.) Bush is a murderer. I'm going to head the march against him stepping foot on Argentine soil.
Maybe Neymar is the best player in the world, but only if you say that Messi is from a different planet.
I say this: the player who scores our winning goal in the final is free to enter me from behind
To those who did not believe: now suck my dick - I'm sorry ladies for my words - and keep on sucking it. I am either white or black. I will never be grey in my life. You treated me as you did. Now keep on sucking dicks. I am grateful to my players and to the Argentinian people. I thank no one but them. The rest, keep on sucking dicks.

Under Armour Primera División by Davide Lanave (Gallery)

2015-04-30T08:00:00.000-04:00

He is at it again! One of our favorite kit designers Davide Lanave's latest jersey project incorporates the brand Under Armour in conjunction with Argentine Primera División and the result is stunning as always.

Five Football Conspiracy Theories

2015-03-27T12:00:00.000-04:00

Fans of certain clubs or countries will tell you that the authorities are all against them, and even some managers have been known to don a proverbial tinfoil hat if things don't go their way.

But what if sometimes there are actual dark forces at work shaping results on the pitch and the decisions made off of it?

The following are five conspiracy laden questions from football's often colourful history:

5 - Did Nike Force Brazil to Play Ronaldo in the 1998 World Cup Final?

Brazilian striker Ronaldo, the reigning two time FIFA World Player of the Year going into the 1998 World Cup in France, did not disappoint as he led his side to the Final that summer.

However on the morning of their meeting with the hosts, Ronaldo suffered an apparent seizure and was dropped from the starting eleven. Before kickoff though, Brazil's boss Mario Zagallo apparently changed his mind and put 'Il Fenomeno' back into the lineup to face France.

A visibly weakened Ronaldo stumbled around the pitch ineffectively and a Zinedine Zidane led France roared to a 3-0 victory.

Why a clearly unfit Ronaldo was even in the lineup has long been a subject of speculation, with the truth never adequately revealed. One of the most popular rumours, and one that doesn't seem as far fetched as you might think, is that Ronaldo and Brazil's chief sponsor Nike pressured Zagallo to insert Ronaldo into the lineup against the Adidas sponsored French side, that was led by the German company's own poster boy in Zidane.

Seventeen years later we still are waiting to hear the truth on what really happened that day.

4 - Was the 1978 World Cup Fixed?

The 1978 World Cup in Argentina was played under a cloud to begin with as the country had been taken over by a brutal military dictatorship called the National Reorganization Process in a military coup two years earlier.

Some of the qualified nations, such as the Netherlands, debated pulling out of the tournament amidst rumours of political opponents of the regime being 'disappeared'.

The tournament went ahead as scheduled, with all of the qualified nations taking part, but there was a lot of grumblings over the schedule as host Argentina played all of their matches at night so they would know the results of their group opponents prior to kicking off.

This would factor in big time at the end of the second group phase, as Argentina kicked off against Peru they knew that to edge rivals Brazil out of a place in the final they would need to win by four clear goals. Peru simply rolled over and were swamped 6-0 by the hosts, who would later go on to beat the Netherlands 3-1 in the Final.

Brazil cried foul and a lot of theories about what actually happened in that notorious Peru match have been floated in the decades since this World Cup. Peru's keeper, who had a shocking match, was born in Argentina which didn't help with the conspiracy theories, there was also rumours that a large grain shipment was sent by Argentina to Peru after the match and that funds were sent to the Peruvian government. Another rumour is that a Colombian drug lord brokered a payoff on behalf of the Argentine dictatorship directly to the Peruvian players.

Whatever the truth of the matter is, the 1978 World Cup will always be viewed as tainted by many observers of the game.

3 - Did the CIA Poison Gordon Banks?

What football fans that are well versed on World Cup history know is that in the lead up to England's Quarter Final with West Germany in the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, the Three Lions star keeper Gordon Banks came down with food poisoning and was unable to take to the pitch in Leon. The fact that Banks' replacement Peter Bonetti let in two howlers on the way to a 3-2 loss to the German's left England's players and fans wondering "what if?".

In the subsequent decades there's been rumblings about the possibility of someone tampering with a drink Banks had with his team at an exclusive club two nights before the match. The fact that no one else in the squad came down with "Montezuma's Revenge", only their most important player, has fueled suggestions that it was a local who spiked his drink. The reigning World Cup champions were seen as arrogant by the Mexican's and the Three Lions prickly manager Sir Alf Ramsay hadn't endeared himself to the local media.

Several players in the England squad have raised the possibility that Banks may have fallen victim to something other than bad luck.

But what if it wasn't a local that slipped something into Banks beer? After the tournament another theory emerged that the CIA were nervously monitoring the political situation in Brazil and thought that a World Cup win, as it often does, would help raise the spirits of the people and they would put revolutionary talk to one side. England, coming into the tournament with arguably a stronger side than the one who had won the World Cup in 1966, were widely expected to meet Brazil in the Final and were seen as the only nation capable of preventing Pele and company from lifting the Jules Rimet trophy. In order to avoid that, the theory is that a CIA operative spiked Banks drink and caused the keeper to miss England's match with the Germans.

This may sound a little like a James Bond story, but then again this is the agency that tried to kill Fidel Castro with an exploding cigar.

2 - Did FIFA Help South Korea Reach the 2002 World Cup Semi-Final?

In 2002 the World Cup was held for the first time outside of Europe or the America's, as Japan and South Korea co-hosted the biggest event in world football.

Many neutrals, and of course the hosts themselves, hoped that the two sides could stage a great tournament and also perform well on the pitch to show the progress of Asian football.

Although Japan were disappointingly dumped out of the tournament by Turkey in the Round of 16, South Korea managed to storm through to the Semi-Finals.

Their progress though was not without controversy and, particularly in Italy, rumours persist that the Koreans had a little help in getting as far as they did.

In their second match of the group stage against a strong Portuguese side, South Korea benefited from some questionable refereeing decisions that saw two Portuguese players sent off as the hosts triumphed 1-0.

In the second round against Italy, Ecuadorian referee Byron Moreno, who was later banned for 20 matches in his own country for either a string of bad decisions, or corruption, depending upon your source, wrongly disallowed Damiano Tommasi's Golden Goal match winner for Italy, allowed a string of terrible Korean tackles, and then dubiously sent off Franceso Totti for diving. As Ahn Jung-hwan slammed in a classy winner with three minutes to go in extra time, the Azzurri were left fuming.

Moreno's later troubles with the footballing authorities in his own country and his post retirement conviction for attempting to smuggle 6 kilograms of heroin into JFK in New York in 2010 did little to quell the rumours of his impropriety.

The Spanish were also left unimpressed after they had two perfectly good goals wrongly ruled out for offside in the Quarter-Finals, a match which Korea would win on penalty kicks.

Although South Korea would eventually fall to Germany in the Semi-Final making it that far was viewed as a terrific achievement, but not one without a bit of a controversy around it.

1 - Who Messed With Tottenham's Lasagna?

Going into the final weekend of the 2005/2006 season, Tottenham held a single point advantage over rivals Arsenal for the last coveted Champions League spot.

Unfortunately for Spurs, diarrhea reared its ugly and smelly head, thus making a mess of their Champions League dreams, and not to mention their pants. After a lasagna dinner at the team hotel the night before their match with West Ham, ten of Tottenham's players complained of upset stomachs, which hampered then manager Martin Jol's team selection and severely hindered those that were able to take part in the action.

West Ham would go on to beat Spurs, which coupled with an Arsenal win over Wigan, gave the Gunners a spot in the following season's Champions League.

An irate Tottenham side pushed to have their match replayed, but the FA denied their request after the environmental health officers at Tower Hamlets Council found that the Marriott, where they had eaten the notorious lasagna, had no case to answer. The hotel was absolved of any wrongdoing, but Spurs conspiracy theorists weren't convinced that a Gunners fan had not been in the kitchen on that fateful day and derailed their final match of the season.

Foto Friday: Diego Armando Maradona

2015-03-20T08:00:00.000-04:00

This week photography topic is none other than Argentine footballing legend Diego Maradona. But while his "hand of god" may be the most popular image associated with the incredibly talented player, we take a look at Maradona's life from a more photographically centered point point of view.

Ink: Boca Juniors

2015-02-15T16:00:00.000-05:00

After last week's feature of Polish club Legia Warszawa tattoos, we head back to South America into Argentina where storied club Boca Juniors' supporters also enjoy a little ink especially if it is to display their affection for their beloved club Boca.

Alianza Lima Fans Fight Amongst Each Other in Argentina

2015-02-11T16:00:00.000-05:00

Alianza Lima is the oldest and the second most successful club in the football league of Peru. They are known for their successful domestic history and their bitter rivalry with club Universitario. As a result of this derby with their rivals, Alianza supporters have shown on many occasions that they are able to turn to violence for their beloved club. In yesterday's Copa Libertadores match against Argentine club Huracán however, the supporters of the Peruvian capital club turned not against a rival set of fans, but instead decided to take their frustration with their own club against one another.

After losing 4-0 in the first of two legs against Huracán on home soil, some Alianza supporters apparently stormed their team's locker room and attacked their own players, leaving a couple of them injured in the process. But the one-sided loss in the first of two matches did not stop many Peruvian fans from travelling to Buenos Aires to watch their club in the return match.

When the scoreline was still at 0-0 late in the match and hope to qualify for the group stages of the competition were all but gone Alianza supporters turned on each other using shoes and belts as weapons to fight.

The two sides on the pitch slowed the match in protest of what was happening in the stands, but the Alianza supporters did not seem to care. Some fans were seen bloodied, while others were trying to shield children from the violence.

Huracán has now qualified to the group stages where they will face Venezuelan club Mineros, Brazilian side Cruzeiro and a Bolivian club that goes by the same name as Alianza's big rivals Universitario.