Black Stars, White Eagles and the Orange: World Cup Team Nicknames

There are lots of interesting team nicknames in international soccer, and some of the best are on display in the 2010 World Cup. The host country, South Africa, has one of the best: Bafana Bafana (though it's translation, "The Boys," isn't all that creative; still Bafana Bafana sounds pretty cool). In addition to South Africa, the African continent supplies plenty of other good ones as well:

Nigeria: Super Eagles
Cameroon: Indomitable Lions
Algeria: Desert Foxes
Ivory Coast: The Elephants
Ghana: Black Stars

Here are some other quality selections:
Australia: Socceroos
England: The Three Lions
Japan: Blue Samurai
Brazil: Seleção (The Selection)
Slovenia: Dragons

And of course, national colors often play a big role in team nicknames. Spain probably the best when it comes to this category.
Spain: La Furia Roja (The Red Fury)
Italy: Azzurri (Sky Blues)
France: Les Blues
Holland: Oranje (Orange)
Argentina: Albiceleste (White and sky blue)

We can't leave out the U.S. and Germany. America's squad goes by The Yanks, which is decent. Germany has several, but my personal favorite is National Elf, which, when translated, means "National Eleven," (for the 11 players on the field). Still, funny to picture 11 elves running around.

A good list of nicknames can be found here, so check that out if you want a complete list.

What's your favorite team name? Think the U.S. could be a little more adventurous than "The Yanks"? Leave your comments and ideas.

Injuries Taking A Toll

Injuries to key players are stealing the headlines as the kickoff to the World Cup is a week away. Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba broke his arm in a friendly match against Japan earlier today, and initial reports had him missing out on the tournament. However, head coach Sven Goran Eriksson later said Drogba could undergo surgery and be ready to play in 10 days. England captain Rio Ferdinand, a central defender, injured knee ligaments in training and has been ruled out of action, leaving question marks about who will replace him in England's backline. U.S. forward Jozy Altidore suffered a mild ankle sprain and though he will likely be held out of tomorrow's exhibition against Australia, all indications are that he will be healthy for the June 12th opener against England. Other big names that were already ruled out include midfielder Michael Ballack and goalkeeper Rene Adler of Germany, midfielder Michael Essien of Ghana, forwards Charlie Davies of the U.S. and Salvador Cabanas of Paraguay, and, of course, David Beckham of England. For teams with exhibition matches remaining before the start of group play, the main goal will most likely be staying healthy and injury free. France suffered a somewhat embarrassing 1-0 loss to China today, but will probably take comfort in the fact that nobody was hurt in the match.

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U.S. World Cup Squad Announced

U.S. National Team head coach Bob Bradley announced his 23-man World Cup roster this afternoon, with the only real surprise coming at forward. Bradley went with four forwards, Jozy Altidore, Edson Buddle, Herculez Gomez and Robbie Findley, leaving off Brian Ching, a player that many journalists and pundits had penciled into their final 23 due to his past experience with the national team and his ability to serve as a target player. In going with Findley over Ching, Bradley seems to be valuing speed and quickness over aerial skills and the ability to hold the ball and lay it off for others joining the attack. Speed kills, as the saying goes. It is still unclear who will start at forward alongside Jozy Altidore, but Buddle and Gomez played extremely well for their club teams heading into the U.S. training camp, while Findley's speed could be a strong asset as a substitute in the last 15-20 minutes of a game.

Some other thoughts: DaMarcus Beasley is playing very well and is much more effective as an outside midfielder than as an outside fullback. He is a natural attacker and has never seemed comfortable in a defensive role. Bradley seems to value Jonathan Bornstein for his ability to attack from the left fullback position, but Bornstein has continually struggled defensively against international competition. If and when he sees the field in the World Cup, it should also be as an outside midfielder.

Here is the final roster:
Goalkeeper: Tim Howard, Marcus Hahnemann, Brad Guzan

Defense: Carlos Bocanegra, Steve Cherundolo, Clarence Goodson, Jay DeMerit, Oguchi Onyewu, Jonathan Spector, Jonathan Bornstein

Midfield: Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey, Maurice Edu, DaMarcus Beasley, Benny Feilhaber, Stuart Holden, Jose Torres, Ricardo Clark, Michael Bradley

Forward: Jozy Altidore, Edson Buddle, Herculez Gomez, Robbie Findley

Feel free to leave your comments on the final roster or email the newsroom at talkfooty@gmail.com

Champions League Final

Inter Milan takes on Bayern Munich in the final of this year's UEFA Champions League (or European Cup for you old timers), which will be played at the Bernabeu in Madrid, Spain. Inter head coach Jose Mourinho is known for his defensive ways and doesn't seem to mind winning ugly, while Bayern has scored plenty of goals in this season's competition but has suffered multiple lapses in the defensive third of the field. Both teams will come into the game full of confidence; Inter won the Italian league title and knocked off defending European champion Barcelona in the Champions League semifinals, while Bayern won the German league and cup double and has engineered several thrilling comebacks in European action behind the potent attacking play of Dutch winger Arjen Robben. Bayern will be without French forward Franck Ribery, who picked up a red card in the semifinals and is suspended for the match. Talk Footy's prediction is that Inter will sit back and absorb Bayern's pressure, and eventually score two goals on counterattacks. Bayern will pull one back late but won't be able to complete yet another comeback. Inter wins 2-1, and Jose Mourinho will start referring to himself as the "Really Special One," then leave to take the Real Madrid coaching position and convince LeBron James to join him at Madrid.

The match will be on Fox in high definition and kicks off at 2:45pm. Enjoy.

(image found at http://www.tvscoop.tv/ChampionsLeagueTrophy.jpg)

FA Cup Final: A Tale of Two Teams

It was the best of times (for Chelsea), it was the worst of times (for Portsmouth)...at least that's the storyline ahead of the 129th version of England's FA Cup Final, which features two clubs with extremely different fortunes. Chelsea, fresh off an 8-0 beatdown of Wigan that saw them claim the Premier League title, is back on top of English football and seemingly awash with cash from Russion billionaire Roman Abramovich. Portsmouth, meanwhile, has been relegated from the Premier League and faces uncertainty over the future in terms of finances, ownership, coaching staff and players. On paper, then, the final of the world's oldest knockout competition should be a stroll for Chelsea as they look to do the League/Cup double, but they don't play the match on paper (nor do they play it on dirt, despite what you see in the background of this picture of the FA Cup trophy taken at Wembley Stadium last April. There's grass there now, at least until they have to rip it up and plant it again.) Can Portsmouth pull off one last surprise this season? Will Chelsea's contingent of players headed to this summer's World Cup be content with the Premier League title and take a lax approach? England's Guardian newspaper has some great pre-match previews from both sides here:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football

The match kicks off at 10am EST and can be seen on Fox Soccer Channel here in the States. If you're in the Richmond area, head down to Penny Lane Pub to catch the match in a great atmosphere, and have a pint and an English breakfast as well. Enjoy the game.

Historic Day for Fulham, Dempsey

Clint Dempsey is set to become the first American to play in a European final as his Fulham side take on Spain's Atletico Madrid in the finale of the UEFA Europa League at 2:45pm today in Hamburg, Germany (TV: DirecTV ch. 461).

Although the match is in Hamburg's HSH Nordbank Arena, enjoy some pictures from Craven Cottage, Fulham's cozy home stadium on the banks of the River Thames in London. Yes, it really was a cottage at one point. In the first picture, you can see Mr. Dempsey himself (white shirt, behind the two shirtless guys) walking off the field after a victory over Stoke City in April 2009.

England's Telegraph newspaper offers a great look at Fulham's well-traveled manager Roy Hodgson and the club's incredible journey to get to this point:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/fulham/7712559/Fulham-v-Atletico-Madrid-Roy-Hodgsons-fairy-tale-ending-is-firmly-rooted-in-reality.html

Enjoy the match if you're able to see it. Fulham has been involved in some dramatic games during their run to the finals of the competition, and though championship games can often be dour affairs with neither team willing to risk too much, here's hoping this one features plenty of attacking and some inspiration from Dempsey.