Se Necesitan Cazafantasmas para la Argentina

Otra tarde de fútbol, otra tarde con el ánimo por el piso.

Nuevamente aparecen los fantasmas de las eliminatorias en la selección argentina de fútbol luego de la apabullante derrota por 6 a 1 contra Bolivia, ¿¡BOLIVIA!?

No estoy tratando de faltarle el respeto a mis amigos bolivianos...yo he vivido en Santa Cruz de la Sierra y tengo muchos recuerdos lindos de mi niñez marcados en esa ciudad.

Pero, honestamente, creo que ningún boliviano se imaginaba salir del estadio Hernando Siles con una victoria de su país, especialmente por un marcador tan abrumador.

Sin embargo, estos tipos de marcadores se dan cuando no tenés la gente adecuada en el once titular. Podría alguien decirme quién le dijo a Gabriel Heinze que podía jugar al fútbol? El gringo anda de pesadilla a pesadilla; primero, Fernando "El Nino" Torres en la Liga de Campeones y, hoy, Marcelo Moreno y Joaquín Botero.

Otro que tuvo una tarde para el olvido es Emiliano Papa, quien demostró que el lateral izquierdo le queda grande y parece que la "3" también. Teniendo a Marcos Angeleri en el banco, ¿por qué Diego no se jugó con el hombre de estudiantes en el lateral derecho y Javier Zanetti por el izquierdo?

Lo cierto es que el pueblo boliviano tiene algo de qué festejar. Hace casi 12 años (11 años y 364 días) que la selección boliviana no le ganaba a la Argentina. Aquella vez, Fernando Ochaizpur y Marco Antonio Sandy anotaron los goles para la victoria del conjunto "bolita" por 2 a 1...vale aclarar que ese partido se lo recuerda más por los incidentes que pasaron durante el partido, donde Julio Ricardo Cruz salió a jugar el segundo tiempo con un corte en el pómulo derecho cuando realmente le habían pegado en el izquierdo.

Y hablando de estadísticas, Argentina no gana de visitante (por los puntos) desde el 16 de octubre del 2007. En esa ocasión Argentina le ganó a Venezuela, en Maracaibo, por 2 a 0.

Y si de Venezuela estamos hablando... creo que la victoria albiceleste del sábado pasado sobre la "vinotinto" NO convence al público argentino que la Argentina haya subido de nivel futbolístico. Perder contra Venezuela, en tu casa, con la camiseta de Argentina puesta...sería pecado.

Ahora habrá que esperar dos meses más para la próxima eliminatorias, espero que para ese entonces Argentina pueda conseguir 6 puntos de 6. Mientras tanto, presto la oportunidad para desear que el ex-presidente argentino, Raúl Alfonsín, descanse en paz en el cielo y que los fantasmas de las eliminatorias vuelvan al infierno.

(EN LA FOTO: Diego sufre del "baile" boliviano. Cortesía de Reuters y Olé)

Tired of the Messis, C. Ronaldos, and Ronaldinhos

It's been quite a while since I've posted my last post. And, I am sorry. I've just been busy with school, work, etc.
In addition of wanting to post something on my blog, I also wanted to express my opinion.
I am tired of all the people who just praise Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, or Ronaldinho... my question is: Have you guys ever watched Soccer/Futbol?
The "contemporary" soccer fans just don't appreciate other players who do their job quietly.
Who are those players? Javier Mascherano, Gennaro Gattuso, Andrea Pirlo, Pavel Nedved...just to name a few.
Nowadays, modern fans just appreciate those players who are fanzy with their moves or who just play for them, the fans.
That's not soccer, that is just a circus for you to enjoy them juggling and juggling...
The true fan knows what I am talking about.
Soccer in the past was more....soccer.
Where are the praise to players in the past such as Kiko, Luis Enrique, Frank De Boer, Marc Overmars, Pedrag Mijatovic, Sinisa Mihailovic, Gaizka Mendieta, Valeri Karpin, Paul Ince, Fernando Redondo, Marcel Desailly, Patrick Mboma...?
I bet you remember those names...

PCC in Playoffs, God on Their Side

PCC will play against Cerritos College to get a spot in the Final Four in the California's Community College Soccer Playoffs, after defeating L.A. Harbor, 4-2. (Picture from the beginning of the season taken by Richard Quinton)


Under the heavy rain, PCC defeated L.A. Harbor, 4-2 in overtime, Tuesday, for the second round of the Southern California Playoffs.
The game was played at East Los Angeles College.
Even though god got nothing to do with the rain, the luck was on PCC's side during the course of the game.
Robert Lewis, PCC Sports Information director, has the story.

PCC Has Bye for First Round of Playoffs; Maradona Era Begins Today

PCC men's soccer team will have a bye for the first round of the Souther California playoffs. PCC will have to wait until next Tuesday to play whoever is the winner of the match between L.A. Harbor College and Oxnard College (the game will be this Saturday). PCC's next game will be played at Glendale High School and not at PCC's home stadium because the soccer field does not meet the COA rules for playoffs.
As of now, the team has been given priority to the physical fitness as they have been running for two straight days without practicing with the ball.
PCC Coaches are trying to work on the physical shape of key players such as Edward Orellana, Abbas Said (pictured in right), and James Hernandez. Cherif Zein, team's head coach, has said that "[their] presence on the field will be important."
At one point, Zein should start working with the players' mental game...because it's been very mediocre in the past games. PCC has not played with the winning mentality and they have been depending on long-throw-ins too much.
In order to be champions, PCC will need to show that they can play football, we'll see what happens.

Today will be Maradona's debut as of the Argentina's soccer head coach against Scotland. (Photo Courtesy of Ole)

In other note, Argentina will play against Scotland today for a FIFA day. Expectations are flying high in Argentina as this will be Maradona's first game as the head coach. He has already decided that the first 11 will be: Juan Pablo Carrizo; Javier Zanetti, Martin Demichelis, Gabriel Heinze, Emiliano Papa (a surprise); Maxi Rodriguez, Javier Mascherano, Fernando Gago, Jonas Gutierrez; Carlos Tevez and Ezequiel Lavezzi, who will replace Maradona's son-in-low's (Sergio "Kun" Aguero) position. Aguero had to leave the team yesterday as his wife/Maradona's daughter had complications with her pregnancy.
Lo mejor para el Diego.

PCC Loses, Cerritos Champs!

Jorge Sainz, right with yellow jersey, was the only one that performed at his best on PCC's 2-0 loss against L.A. Harbor College. (Photo Courtesy by Richard Quinton)

Cerritos College men's soccer team clinched the South Coast Conference title after defeating Long Beach City College, 4-0.
Pasadena City College could have done so, if they would have beaten Los Angeles Harbor College.
Yet, it never happened.
PCC played with no huevos, and lost 2-0.
Harbor dominated the game from the first minute as they controlled the possession of the ball and showed a winning attitude.
PCC did not have any of those qualities to win the game and they suffered.
Lancers' goalkeeper Jorge Sainz was the only one in the team who had a great performance despite of the loss. Sainz made save after save, yet his defense did not help him.
Now, the Lancers' future for the playoff is still uncertain. If they maintain their standing within the top three they will have a bye for the playoffs, but ccsoccernews hasn't updated the website.
Es una pena que hayan perdido, but as I said to the players there is nothing else that you can do but to start thinking on the playoffs.
On a good note, the PCC women's soccer team say good-bye to its sophomores with a win. PCC defeated Harbor, 2-0. And with this win they closed their 2008 season with a 10-8-1 overall record, 5-6-1 in the season.

PCC Recupperates First Spot After Mt. SAC's Loss

PCC men's soccer will need one more victory to be the SCC champs after three years of title-drought. (Photo Courtesy by Richard Quinton)

Pasadena City College men's soccer team is now back on track for the South Coast Conference title as Cerritos College defeated Mt. SAC, 5-4, today, at the Mounties' home.

The Falcons' victory was important for the Lancers as they defeated El Camino College, 6-0.

With one game left to play, both Cerritos and PCC share the first spot in the SCC with 28 points, while Mt. SAC has 26 points.

If Cerritos defeats Long Beach City College, and PCC beats L.A. Harbor College, they will be co-champs for the SCC title.

Yet, nada esta dicho.

Without any doubt, the SCC, what once PCC's Head Coach Cherif Zein called "the most competitive conference in the nation", is on fire.

In other note, PCC's forward Melissa Fudge reached the mark of 18 goals after putting two in the net today against El Camino. Fudge's goals allowed PCC to win the game, 2-0, and improve the season's record to 9-8-1 in the season, 4-6-1 in the SCC.

The women's soccer team does not have the chance to make the playoffs, but still plays showing a soccer bonito.

Decisive Game For PCC Tomorrow; Two Chivas, Two Different Paths

PCC men's soccer team will have a critical game tomorrow against Cerritos College. It will be a todo o a nada.
It is simple.
PCC has to win tomorrow to stretch the difference between them and Cerritos to six points and await for the result between Mt. SAC and East L.A. College.
The win won't only give the Lancers the tranquility of staying in first, but also the confidence to play the next two games to clinch the South Coast Conference title.
PCC comes from tying against ELAC at home, and we'll see if the Lancers are ready to get back in the winning path.
PCC won't count with stopper Albrik Tahmasian (pictured in the right - photo courtesy by Richard Quinton) after receiving a red card on Tuesday. His spot will most likely to be covered by Dario Orozco.
Polly Nader, PCC Courier Staff Writer has the story of PCC tying ELAC here.
PCC will be playing against the Falcons tomorrow at 3 p.m. at Cerritos. The PCC women's soccer team will be playing at 1 p.m.

Chivas obtuvo un empate frente al conjunto argentino y ahora tendrá que enfrentarse contra el Inter de Brasil. (cortesía de Cariverplate.com.ar)

As of the Chivas-es, the one from Guadalajara is in the next round of the playoffs while the Angeleno one is ready for the second leg against Real Salt Lake.
The Mexican Chivas got the ticket for the next round as they tied Argentina's River Plate 2-2 at Jalisco. The aggregated score was 4-3 for the Rebaño Sagrado.
The one from U.S. is looking forward to playing their best against RSL. Chivas USA will need to win at least 2-0 to go straight into the next round or in case the win by one goal, they will be going to penalty shutout.
Veremos que pasa.