billsportsmaps.com

February 8, 2011

2011 Copa Libertadores, Second Stage – 32 clubs, including Cup Holder SC Internacional and 2011 South American Footballer of the Year: Andrés d’Alessandro.

Filed under: Copa Libertadores — admin @ 8:30 am

2011 Copa Libertadores Second Stage

The 6 losing clubs from the First Stage are gone, among them Corinthians, which makes them the first Brazilian club to be eliminated in the First Stage (this is the seventh year that a preliminary-round/first stage has existed). Corinthians, whose squad included the fading Ronaldo, failed to score in either leg against Deportes Tolima, a club making their fifth appearance in the tournament and with just one Colombian title to their name (in 2003-II). Corinthians lost 2-0 in Ibagué, Colombia on 2nd February – video highlights of Deportes Tolima 2-0 Corinthians, here (LUFCloaded.com}.

For the Second Stage, the 32 clubs have been split into 8 groups of 4.
Matches for the 2nd stage begin on 9 February. Clubs play the other 3 clubs in their group home and away (6 matches). Each club’s matches are scheduled every 2-3 weeks until 20th April. Clubs that finish in first and second place in the 8 groups advance to the Round of 16.
Groups for Second Stage of 2011 Copa Libertadores, with tables, fixtures, results (Soccerway.com).
‘2011 Copa Libertadores Second Stage‘, at en.wikipedia.org.

It wouldn’t be a proper international football competition without a ‘group of death’, and in the 2011Copa Libertadores Second Stage, that would be Group 3, which is comprised of… Argentinos Juniors (Argentina’s 2010 Clausura champions), Nacional (the Uruguayan giants who are 3-time Copa Libertadores champs, and were Quarterfinalists in the 2009 Copa Libertadores), Fluminense (the 2010 Brazilian champions, who were 2008 Copa Libertadores finalists), and Club América (the massively-supported Mexican giants, who truth be told, have not won a thing in the last 6 seasons). The first two matches in this group are on 9 February, with Fluminense v. Argentinos Juniors at Engenhão in Rio de Janeiro; and on 15 February, with América v. Nacional at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.
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2010 Copa Libertadores champion – SC Internacional, and Andrés D’Alessandro – 2010 South American Footballer of the Year

Andrés D’Alessandro emerged as the chief catalyst for Internacional’s successful 2010 Copa Libertadores campaign. The attacking left-footed midfielder, who was born in Buenos Aires in 1981, began his career with River Plate, where he scored 31 goals in 80 games from 1998-2003, including this one v. Gimnasia La Plata at River Plate’s El Monumental {Youtube, video by Riverplatecom, here}. D’Alessandro earned his first international cap with Argentina in 2002, and he was a part of the Argentina team’s winning of the gold medal in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens (scoring 1 goal in 6 games). Before that, though, his pro career saw him off to Europe with a then-club-record transfer of 9 million Euros – to Germany’s Wolfsburg. After two and a half seasons there, D’Alessandro went on loan in January 2006 to then-bottom-of-the-table Premier League club Portsmouth, where he played a crucial role in helping Portsmouth avoid relegation that year. He scored 4 goals in 13 games for Pompey, and his dead-ball skills, dibbling prowess, and playmaking abilities led to several other goals, and contributed to the South Coast side’s general improvement in form. From Daily Mail.co.uk, from 11 Jan., 2011, by Emma Reynolds, ‘The Friday Five: Loan stars who hit the heights in the Premier League‘.
Fom Youtube, video by passionargentina, goal by Andrés D’Alessandro, Charlton v. Portsmouth, 2006.

However, then-Portsmouth-manager Harry Redknapp was unable to secure a full-time deal, with D’Alessandro opting to realize his long-held desire to play in La Liga. So the Argentine moved on to the Spanish Cup-specialist club Real Zaragoza in 2006-07. It did not work out well there, as D’Alessandro clashed with management, despite putting up solid numbers for a midfielder, with 15 goals in 36 games. So he returned back home to Argentina in 2008 to be reunited with his former River Plate manager Ramón Diaz at San Lorenzo. He was part of San Lorenzo’s strong run in the 2008 Copa Libertadores, where the club made it to the Quarterfinals. However, as per the extreme fluidity of managerial shifts in South America, Diaz left soon after, to join Mexican giants Club América, and soon after that, D’Alessandro also sought greener pastures…to Sport Club Internacional, from Brazil’s southernmost metropolis of Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul state.

In 2009, with D’Alessandro controlling the midfield, Internacional just missed out on winning the Brazilian title, finishing in 2nd place, 2 points behind Flamengo. But the important thing was that Inter, after three years out, qualified for the following year’s Copa Libertadores. At that point in time, SC Internacional had only made it to South America’s most prestigious competition 7 times, but when they were there, the Colorados (the Reds) had made the most of it, winning the 2006 Copa Libertadores title by beating fellow Brazilian club São Paulo on 4-1 aggregate. Furthermore, in 3 of the other 6 times Internacional had qualified for the Copa Libertadores, the club had made it either to the Semifinals (in 1977 and 1989), or to the Finals (in 1980, when they lost to Nacional of Uruguay by 1-0 aggregate).

The 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa forced the 2010 Copa Libertadores to be interrupted during the month of June, with resumption, at the Semifinal stage, in late July. In the interim, SC Internacional had sacked coach Jorge Fossati because of poor results in the Brazilian league. Internacional had started the 2010 Campeonato Serie A season in May with 4 straight losses, and a day after the fourth loss, Fossati was gone. So the 2010 Copa Libertadores reconvened with one of the 4 remaining teams having a new man at the helm. Internacional’s new manager was the extremely well-traveled 54 year old Rio Grande do Sul native Celso Roth. Besides stints as Indonesia and Qatar national coach, Roth had managed Internacional on three separate occasions (1993-1994, 1996-1998, and 2002); local rivals Grêmio three times; as well as 2 stints at Vasco da Gama; two stints at Atlético Miniero; and stints at Vitória; Sport Recife; Palmeiras; Santos; Goiás; Flamengo; and Botofogo. Notably absent from the nomadic Celso Roth’s CV, however, was a major title. That was about to change.

Internacional, to be honest, had never looked dominant in the latter stages of their 2010 Copa Libertadores title run, relying on the away-goals rule to advance in the Round of 16 (advancing by 3-3 aggregate over Argentina’s Banfield); in the Quarterfinals (advancing by 2-2 aggregate over Argentina’s Estudiantes – who were the Cup Holder); and in the Semifinals (advancing by 2-2 aggregate over São Paulo). In fact, Internacional just barely made it out of the Group Stage, only clinching advancement in the final group match, in Ecuador, versus 2008 Copa Libertadores champions LDU Quito. Besides D’Alessandro, there were several players who were instrumental in Internacional’s Copa libertadores title run… one was Anderzinho (who was player of the week in week 12, largely via the following goal, from the aforementioned match in Ecuador…here (at 0:15 of the Youtube video by CristalPteLiberta13).
Other crucial players for Inter were striker Alecsandro (in spite of being injured for the 2nd Leg in the Finals); left wingback Kléber; super-sub/MF Giuliano; Porto Alegre-born central midfielder Tinga (who had returned in 2010 for his second stint with the club); and Rio Grande do Sul-born captain and central defender Bolívar.

Photo credits -
SwitchImageProject.com. Goal.com. Internacionaluk.blogspot.com. Alexandre Lops at Internacional.com. losblanquilos.com. Sambafoot.com. Globoesportes.Globo.com.
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2010 Copa Libertadores Finals

11 August, 2010, 2010 Copa Libertadores Final, 1st Leg at Estadio Omnilife, in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Internacional played with surprising assurance in the 1st leg of the Finals at Chivas’ new space-age-design/artificial-turf-laden 49,000-capacity Estadio Omnilife in Guadalajara before a crowd of 30,870. In the first half, Inter contolled the bulk of possession and hit the woodwork twice, but let Chivas take the lead against the run of play at 45′+2′, allowing in a looping header by Adolfa Bautista. But Guadalajara would not really threaten again in the match. Internacional lost Alecsandro to injury in the second half, but the Colorados scored the equalizer in the 72nd minute, with Kléber crossing to set up a Guilano header. Inter’s aerial domination continued – in the 76th minute center-backs Indio and Bolívar combined, with Indio heading over to set up a stooped header by Bolívar.

18 August, 2010, Copa Libertadores Final, 2nd Leg at Estadio José Pinheiro Borda [aka Beira-Rio], Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Before a capacity crowd of 56,000.
2nd Leg video highlights…{Youtube, 4:16 video by argentinofutbol13, here, (with times for goals noted below)…
(0:50 seconds into video}…Guadalajara take early command, and score first again, in the 43rd minute, on a fine play, with Bravo heading over a come back to Marco Fabian, who leaped up and backwards to swivel a sideways bicycle kick into the net. 2-2 aggregate.
(1:12 into the video}…In the 61st minute Internacional took back the aggregate lead with Kléber curling a pin-point cross from the left flank into the box, to allow FW Sobis to tap it in. 3-2 aggregate for Internacional.
(2:02 into the video)…In the 65th minute, Celso Roth again makes Guiliano a second-half substitution, and in the 73rd minute, he puts in young striker Dimão, who scores in the 86th minute, taking advantage of a poor pass by Fabian, with Dimão picking off the ball up at the half-line unmarked and open for a goal mouth sprint, shooting the ball past the Chivas ‘keeper Michel. 4-2 aggreagte for Internacional.
(2:40 into the video)…Omar Arellano of Chivas is given a straight red card in the 87th minute for a two-footed tackle on D’Alessandro.
(2:56 into the video)…One minute later (88′), Guiliano scores. He collects the ball above the center arc, then beats two Chivas defenders simultaneously with a stop-dribble/flick move that skids the ball into the box, where he then beats Michel and a another Chivas defender to the ball. 5-2 aggregate for Internacional.
(3:30 into the video)…In the 90th minute, Chivas get s one back, with Omar Bravo scoring on the rebound from Bautista’s woodwork-hitting free kick. 5-3 aggregate for Internacional, and that’s how it stood.
(3:44 into the video)…For the second straight Copa Libertadores Final, a fight breaks out after the ref’s final whistle, with Chivas Guadalajara showing some poor sportsmanship, picking fights with the celebrating Inter squadl.

From Reuters,’Brazil’s Internacional win Libertadores Cup‘.
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Andrés D’Alessandro, 2010 South American Footballer of the Year, chosen byEl País, Uruguay…
From ESPN Soccernet.com, by Sam Kelly, January 9, 2011, ‘Internacional superstar‘.
Youtube video, by dshogo, ‘Andrés D’Alessandro – S.C. Internacional [PARTE 2]‘ (7:15).
Below, photo illustration of Andrés D ‘Alessandro’s career, 1998-2010…

Photo credits – Sigamosriver.blogspot.com. Gsp.ro. Alan Walter/Daily Mail.co.uk [article: 11 Jan., 2011, by Emma Reynolds, ‘The Friday five: Loan stars who hit the heights in the Premier League‘. losblanquillos.com. Dalessandro10.com/Galerias. TheOffside.com’Libertadores. Silvia Izquierdo at MSN.Foxsports.com, here.
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Thanks to the contributors to the pages at en.wikipedia.org, ‘Copa Libertadores‘. ‘SC Internacional‘.
Thanks to Tim Vickery, for his article ‘Inter take Cup back to Brazil’, from the September, 2010 issue of World Soccer. WorldSoccer.com.
Tim Vickery’s Blog at BBC/football.
Thanks to CONMEBOL for this pdf of 2010 Copa Libertadoes attendances.
Thanks to the official site of SC Internacional, Internacional.com.br

Comments (2)

February 3, 2011

NCAA Basketball: The ACC – Conference map, with venues, capacities, and 2009-10 average attendances; and teams’ ACC titles and NCAA tournament histories.

Filed under: NCAA Men's Basketball,NCAA/bk->ACC — admin @ 3:27 pm

ACC Basketball, 2011

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ESPN/NCAA Basketball.
ACC Standings.
AP Top 25 (Jan.31).
Jeff Sagarin NCAA basketball ratings (USA Today.com)…by team
by Conference.
Ohio State are the only undefeated team in the country, and of course are #1. Kansas is #2, at 20-1. Texas is #3 at 18-3. Pitt is #4 at 20-2. Duke is #5 (down from 3rd, last week), at 19-2. Reigning national champs Duke’s first loss snapped a 25 game winning streak, and it was to unranked fellow ACC member Floride State, on January 12th. The Florida State Seminoles, under coach Leonard Hamilton, have qualified for March Madness in 2009 and 2010, and are now making an early case for a tournament bid in 2011.
Duke’s second loss came last weekend, away at Madison Square Garden in New York City, to St. John’s. St. John’s are 5-5 in the Big East this season and unranked, while Duke are 7-1 in the ACC this season, so it was a significant upset, especially since St. John’s beat the Blue Devils by a 15-point margin, 93-78…Jan. 30, – AP via ESPN.go.com, ‘St. John’s stymies No. 3 Duke to reel off 3rd ranked win’. It was Duke’s largest margin of defeat versus an unranked opponent in 15 seasons.

If you glance at the Sagarin ratings by conference, you will see that this season, as far as the top 10 conferences go, the ACC is slipping towards a more mediocre rating, at 4th best conference, with the Big East and the Big Ten ascending, to be first and second rated, and the Mountain West gaining the most (3) places, into fifth rated.
Sagarin Conference ratings (and comparison to their final 2009-10 Sagarin ratings) 1st through 10th best rated conferences are…
1st, Big East (up from 3rd in 2009-10).
2nd, Big Ten (up from 4th in 2009-10).
3rd, Big 12 (down from 1st in 2009-10).
4th, ACC (down from 2nd in 2009-10).
5th, Mountain West (up from 8th in 2009-10).
6th, SEC (down from 5th in 2009-10).
7th, Pac-10 (down from 6th in 2009-10).
8th, Conference USA (up from 10th in 2009-10).
9th, Atlantic 10 (down from 7th in 2009-10).
10th, Horizon (up from 12th in 2009-10).
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In Men’s Basketball, the ACC features two of the most successful college basketball programs in the United States – North Carolina (with 5 national championships, last in 2009) and Duke (with 4 national championships, including the 2010 title). The ACC also has amongst its members two other teams that have won national basketball championships: North Carolina State (with 2 championships, their last in 1983), and Maryland (who won their title in 2004). The North Carolina Tar Heels’ 5 titles puts them tied for third-best all-time (with Indiana) [UCLA is top with 11 titles, and Kentucky has the second-most titles, with 7]…’NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Championship/Winners‘ (en.wikipedia.org). NC and Duke are also at the top of the list of all-time-most Final Four appearances {see this}. North Carolina has made it to the Final Four an impressive 18 times (tied with UCLA for most), while Duke has the third-most Final Four appearances, with 15.
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The Atlantic Coast Conference is known almost universally as the ACC. The ACC came about as a result of a mass exodus of 7 then-members of the Southern Conference in 1953. Clemson, Duke, Maryland, North Carolina, North Carolina State, South Carolina, and Wake Forest were those 7 schools. The 7 left primarily because of the Southern Conference’s ban on post-season play (ie, college football Bowl games). Bylaws were ratified for the Atlantic Coast Conference in June, 1953. In December, 1953 an 8th school joined – Virginia, from the Metro Conference. In early 1954, the first season of ACC Basketball began. Unlike, say, the Big Ten [which is my next map in this series], the ACC has always had a Basketball Tournament to decide the conference champion.

The make-up of the ACC remained static for 19 years, until 1971, when South Carolina left to become an Independent (South Carolina is now in the SEC). The ACC operated with 7 members until 1978, when Georgia Tech joined from the Metro Conference. The total number of member schools reached nine with the addition of Florida State, also formerly from the Metro Conference, in July 1991. This 9 school set-up lasted until 2004/05, when there was a big shake-up within the ACC and the Big East…Miami and Virginia Tech jumped from the Big East to the ACC in 2004, and Boston College followed suit in 2005. The latter school’s presence making it the first occasion of an ACC member-school being from north of the Mason-Dixon line. That made it 12 teams in the ACC, and that is how it has remained. The make-up of the two divisions, Atlantic and Coastal, can be seen on the map page, with the teams’ profile boxes split up by division, and arranged top to bottom alphabetically.
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On the map page, team profile boxes are at the right. Each team’s profile box includes…primary logo; full name of school; location of main campus, basketball venue; year of the school’s establishment; year of the establishment of the school’s varsity basketball team; undergraduate enrollment; ACC Basketball titles (and year of last title); seasons spent in ACC Basketball; NCAA Basketball Tournament titles (and year of last title); NCAA Final Four appearances (and year of last Final Four appearance), and total number of NCAA Basketball Tournament appearances (and year of last appearance). Plus I squeezed in each team’s coach, and years he has spent coaching there. Then there is an interior photo of the team’s arena. Above the team’s arena photo is listed their 2009-10 avergae attendance. Finally, I have included a photo of the team’s most recent away basketball jersey that I could find. I stuck with away jerseys, out of both aesthetic reasons (white jerseys being bland and boring), and frankly, out of necessity, because some schools don’t even seem to make their men’s basketball team’s home white jerseys available for purchase on the Internet (and I am not going to spend my time cobbling together home white jerseys out of blank jersey templates, logos, segments of photos, and my drawing program, like I was forced to do with two teams, Rutgers and Providence, on my Big East basketball map {here}. The one exception ended up being with Maryland – I used Maryland’s alternate, yellow-with-red-and-black-trim jersey (it was the only jersey they sell – they aren’t wearing red away jerseys this year, but instead, black; and they are wearing their yellow jerseys often – home and away).

On the map itself are the city locations of the teams. At the lower left of the map page are the final standings for 2010 ACC Basketball; a listing of the 2 ACC teams that were nationally ranked by the AP (Duke at #3 and Maryland at #20); as well as a listing of the 6 ACC teams that qualified for the 2010 NCAA Basketball Tournament (Duke, Georgia Tech, Maryland, Wake Forest, Clemson, and Florida State), their seeding in the tournament, and how far the team went in the tournament. As mentioned, Mike Krzyzewski’s Duke went all the way to win Duke’s fourth national championship (it was Coach K’s fourth national title with Duke as well). The Blue Devils were just able to fend off Cinderella-team Butler in the March Madness final, by a 61-59 score. Before that, Duke had also won the ACC Tournament, beating Georgia Tech 65-61 in the ACC final.
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At the lower left of the map page are 2009-10 average home attendances, venue capacities, and percent capacities of ACC teams. {source – pdf of 2009-10 NCAA basketball attendance (NCAA.org)}. The best-drawing team in the ACC in 2009-10 was, once again, North Carolina, who averaged 17,786 per game. But the Tar Heels had a real poor season by their standards, not even qualifying for March Madness, and were only able to fill the 21,750-capacity Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill, NC to a 81.8% capacity. Maryland had the second-best attendance in the ACC last season, pulling in an average of 16,792 per game, to a respectable 93.6% capacity at the ComCast Center in College Park, MD. Best percent capacity was, of course, Duke, who once again played to 100% capacity in their small, raucous, and visitor-unfriendly Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, NC. If you are wondering why a college basketball program as prominent as Duke only plays in a 9,314-seat arena, well, Duke athletics certainly does not need to rely on ticket sales to keep their sports programs viable…Duke is a private university with an endowment at $4.8 billion , making the school the tihird-most-endowed school in the US [#1 is Michigan, #2 is Columbia]. This flush state of affairs for the school was the initial result of tobacco money from the Duke Endowment, which saw the school change it’s name from Trinity College to Duke University in 1924. Besides, if Duke built a larger arena they would very likely wreck their home-court vibe and run the risk of not selling out games. Because after all, Duke, in Durham, is just 11 miles away from Chapel Hill and the North Carolina Tar Heels, and NC definitely has a larger fan base.
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Photo credits -
Boston College…Conte Forum photo from bceagles.cstv.com/conte-forum-info, here. Jersey, at store.cstv.com/Boston College online store, here.
Clemson…Littlejohn Coliseum photo from clemsontigers.cstv.com/facilities, here. Jersey from store.cstv.com, here.
Duke…Cameron Indoor Stadium photo, submitted by en1044 at Sktscrapercity.com/forums thread ‘USA – College Basketball Arenas’, here.
Florida State…{note, thanks to NoleFan.org for date of est. of FSU bk}. Donald L. Tucker Center photo from seminoles.com/facilities, here (full panorama image). Jersey from seminoles.com/shop, here.
Georgia Tech…Alexander Memorial Coliseum photo, Getty Images at Daylife.com, here. Jersey at ramblinwreckstore.com.
Maryland…Comcast Center photo by Mike Haw at flickr.com, here. Jersey from store.cstv.com, here.
Miami…Bank United center photo from hurricanesports.cstv.com, here. Jersey from shopmiamihurricanes.com, here.
North Carolina…Dean Smith Center photo from tarheelblue.cstv.com/Inside Arthletics/Facilities, here. Jersey from store.cstv.com, here.
North Carolina State…RBC Center photo by User B at en.wikipedia.org, here. Jersey from store.cstv.com, here.
Virginia…John Paul Jones Arena photo from the University of Virginia vioa ESPN, here. Jersey from FootballFanatics.com, here.
Virginia Tech…Cassell Coliseum photo submitted by en1044 at Skyscrapercity.com/forums thread ‘USA – College Basketball Arenas’, here. Jersey from CollegeBasketballStore, here.
Wake Forest…photo of “The Joel” from Sportsposterwarehouse.com, here. Jersey from College BasketballStore.com, here.

Thanks to the contributors at en.wikipedia.org, ‘Atlantic Coast Conference‘.
Thanks to NCAA.org, for attendance figures.

Comments (2)

January 30, 2011

England, Non-League Football: 2010-11 Conference South [a 6th Level league].

Filed under: 2010-11 English Football,Eng-6th level — admin @ 1:37 pm

2010-11 Conference South

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Conference South table, fixtures, results (Soccerway.com).

The Conference South is one of two leagues that comprise the 6th Level of the English Football Pyramid. The Conference South’s sister league is the Conference North {to see my recent map of and post on the 2010-11 Conference North, click here}. These two leagues were instituted in 2004-05. Clubs were drawn from the Northern Premier League, the Southern League, and the Isthmian League [those three leagues now make up the 7th Level]. After each season, two promoted clubs go up to the Conference National (5th Level) – the league winner and the winner of the 4-team playoff. Three relegated clubs go down to the 7th Level, to the Southern Football League Premier Division, which is composed of clubs from the South West, the South Central, and the Midlands; or the Isthmian Football League Premier Division, which is composed of clubs from the East of England (particularly Hertfordshire and Essex), Greater London, and the South East. [Theoretically, a club relegated from the Conference South could go to the Northern Premier League Premier Division (which is composed of clubs from the North East and the North West), but there would have be real unusual circumstances for that to happen].

There are 22 clubs in the Conference South.

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The map page shows the clubs’ profile boxes placed from top to bottom in the order of the current Conference South table (as of Sunday, 30 January, 2011). The profile boxes include the club’s home kit badge, nickname, year of formation, stadium and capacity, location, 2009-10 final placement, and all-time highest league placement. Current average attendances (from home league matches) and 2009-10 average attendances are shown at the right of the map.

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Current leaders are the north Essex club Braintree Town FC (est. 1898), who hail from Braintree, which is 63 km. (39 mi.) north-east of London, and has a population of around 42,000 {2001 census figure}. Braintree Town have now won 6 straight matches, and are 6 points ahead of 2nd-place Bromley, with 4 games in hand. Braintree Town are known as the Iron, and the club’s origins are as Manor Works, the works team of the Crittall Window Company, who were once the leading window makers in the country (the Iron name refers to the company’s iron window frames). The factory overlooked the Cressing Road ground that Braintree Town play at, and though it was demolished in 2005, its image is still part of the club’s crest. Braintree Town were promoted to Conference South as champions of the Isthmian League Premier Division in 2005-06. The Iron play these days in orange jerseys (previously yellow) and blue pants. Their manager is Rod Stringer, who came over from the south Essex/Thames Estuary 7th Level club Aveley FC in May, 2010, after revitalizing that club and leading them to promotion from the 8th Level to the Isthmian League Premier Division in 2008-09. Here is an article from This Is Essex.co.uk, from 20 January, by David Ward, ‘BRAINTREE TOWN: Iron progress a surprise for boss‘. Here is the official Braintree Town site, www.braintreetownfc.org.uk/. The site features highlights from their previous match. Also, at the Braintree Town site you can see the ambition the club have, with an architect’s rendering of the club’s proposed new stadium.

Pyramid Passion.co.uk’s page on Braintree Town, here.

Photo credits – David Bauckman at Pyramid Passion.co.uk, here. Bing.com/maps/Bird’s Eye satellite view, here. BraintreeTownFC.com, here.

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Median average attendance this season in Conference South is currently (30 Jan.) 616 per game. This puts Conference South as a higher draw than Conference North, whose current median avg. attendance is 443 per game. There are currently 3 clubs drawing over 1,000 per game and 13 clubs drawing over 500 per game in Conference South. In Conference North, there are currently 2 clubs drawing over 1,000 per game and 7 clubs drawing over 500 per game.

The best-drawing club in Conference South this season is Dartford FC, who won promotion, as champions, from the Isthmian League Premier Division in 2009-10. Dartford is on the edge of Greater London, in Kent, on the Thames Estuary, and is 24 km. (15 mi.) south-east of London city center. Dartford has a population of around 89,000, and is perhaps best known as the location of the main thoroughfares which connect South East England to East London and Essex, via the Dartford Crossing and the Dartford Tunnel.

The Darts are currently in a relegation battle, in 17th place, but they have won 2 straight. Dartford FC are averaging 1,320 per game this season, which is a pretty impressive figure for a club that had never been in the 6th Level before this season. The primary reason for their good turnstile count is that the Darts play at Princes Park, a ground that is pretty unique, to say the least. It has been described as the most ecologically sound football ground ever built. Princes Park, which is constructed primarily of wood, maintains an open-air feeling underscored by the large glass windows of the club house behind parts of the main stand, and features a living roof (with sedum growing on it – sedum is a plant commonly used in green roofs, with water-retention characteristics that make it preferable to grass). The ‘green roof’ allows rainwater to be collected (and stored in two ponds on the site) and re-used for watering the pitch. Solar panels are employed for energy saving. Designed by Alexander Sedgley Architects, Princes Park opened in 2006. It has a capacity of 4,100 (642 seated) and is located close to the Dartford town center.
‘A Park Fit For A Prince‘, from SPAOTP.com.
Tims92.co.uk’s page on Dartford’s Princes Park, here.

Photo credits-Groundtastic.co.uk. Tims 92.co.uk. SomePeopleAreOnThePirch. Bluesqsouth.com.

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Thanks to Soccerway.com, for attendance figures.
Thanks to the contributors to the pages at en.wikipedia.org, ‘Conference South‘.

Comments (5)

January 27, 2011

2010-11 FA Cup, Fourth Round Proper.

Filed under: 2010-11 FA Cup — admin @ 1:14 pm

2010-11 FA Cup Fourth Round Proper

BBC/Football/FA Cup home.
From the Two Unfortunates.blogspot.com, 27 January, by Lanterne Rouge, ‘The Thursday Preview: West Ham Vs Nottingham Forest‘.
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2010-11 FA Cup Fourth Round matches on television…
United Kingdom
‘FA Cup Live Televised Games‘, (FACupfootball.co.uk).
Saturday, 29 January:
12:30 pm GMT, Everton v. Chelsea (ESPN-UK).
5:15 pm GMT, Southampton v. Manchester United (ITV1).
Sunday, 30, January:
12:00 pm GMT, Arsenal v. Huddersfield Town (ESPN-UK).
2:00 pm GMT, Notts County v. Manchester City (ITV1).
4:30 pm GMT, Fulham v. Tottenham Hotspur (ESPN-UK).

USA and Canada
FoxSoccer.com/FSC programming, here.
Friday, January 28:
6:00 pm ET, FA Cup Preview Show (Fox Soccer Channel)
Saturday, January 29:
7:30 am ET, Everton v. Chelsea (Fox Soccer Channel).
10:00 am ET, Stevenage v. Reading (Fox Soccer Plus).
12:15 pm ET, Southampton v. Manchester United (Fox Soccer Channel).
Sunday, January 30:
7:00 am ET, Arsenal v. Huddersfield Town (Fox Soccer Channel).
9:00 am ET, Notts County v. Manchester City (Fox Soccer Plus).
11:30 am ET, Fulham v. Tottenham Hotspur (Fox Soccer Channel).
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Thanks to the FA Cup silversmiths, Thomas Lyte Silver, for the photo of the FA Cup trophy, here.
Thanks to the contributors to the pages at en.wikipedia.org, 2010-11 FA Cup/Fourth Round Proper.
Thanks to ESPN Soccernet, for attendance figures – Barclay’s Premier League Stats: Team Attendance – 2010-11.

Comments (5)

January 23, 2011

2011 Copa Libertadores, map of the 38 clubs in the competition.

Filed under: Copa Libertadores — admin @ 3:34 pm

2011 Copa Libertadores, all 38 clubs

From BBC/football/blogs, Tim Vickery’s Blog, from 24 Jan., ‘Crunch time for Ronaldo and Corinthians‘.
The map page shows the 38 clubs’ locations on the map. Flanking the map, grouped by their countries, are the clubs’ profile boxes. Each club’s profile box includes…home kit; crest; city location; stadium(s), and capacity; how the club qualified; national professional titles (with year of last title); total Copa Libertadores appearances (and how the club fared in their last Copa Liberrtadores appearance); and Copa Libertadores titles (with year of last title).

Copa Libertadores page at ESPN Soccernet, here.

The Copa Libertadores is South America’s premier international football tournament. It is run by CONMEBOL, and includes clubs from 10 South American nations, plus, since 1998, it has included one CONCACAF country, Mexico (basically because the television money coming from Mexico is so lucrative). The 52nd Copa Libertadores competition, the 2011 Copa Libertadores, begins with First Stage matches on 25, 26, and 27 January. 6 of the 12 teams who must play in the First Stage get eliminated. To be very general about it, First Stage is comprised of non-national champions – each country has it’s own way of selecting their qualifying clubs, and if you are curious, you can go to the Wikipedia page {here}. One innovation that I really wish UEFA would adopt is that the winner of the ‘second-tier’ competition, the Copa Sudamericana, now qualifies for the Copa Libertadores…and that is the Argentine club Independiente (who have won the most Copa Libertadores titles, with 7 {List of Copa Libertadores winners, by club, here}). From ESPN Soccernet, from 25 January, ‘Inderendiente target success‘.

First Stage was introduced in 2005, as the Preliminary Round. The preliminaries became called the First Stage in 2006. Previous to this (in 2004 and 2005) there was no preliminary stage, with 9 groups of 4 in the Group Stage – 36 teams. Before that there were 32 teams – 8 groups of 4 (from 2000 to 2003). Before that there were 20 teams – 5 groups of 4 – which was a set-up that lasted for almost three decades (from 1971 to 1999). The competition originally began in 1960, with a 7 team format, and it’s first title was won by Uruguay’s Peñarol.

The Copa Libertadores presently has 38 clubs from 11 countries participating. Here are the countries, their first season involved, and the total Copa Libertadores titles won by clubs from that country, and the last club to win it from that country…
Argentina, 1960 – 22 Copa Libertadores titles (last in 2009 by Estudiantes de La Plata).
Bolivia, 1960 – 0 titles.
Brazil, 1960 – 14 Copa Libertadores titles (last in 2010 by SC Internacional).
Chile, 1960 – 1 Copa Libertadores title (in 1999, by Colo-Colo).
Colombia, 1960 – 2 Copa Libertadores titles (last in 2007, by Once Caldas).
Paraguay, 1960 – 3 Copa Libertadores titles (last in 2002, by Olimpia).
Uruguay, 1960 – 8 Copa Libertadores titles (last in 1988, by Nacional de Montevideo).
Ecuador, 1961 – 1 Copa Libertadores title (in 2008, by LDU Quito).
Peru, 1962 – 0 titles.
Venezuela, 1964 – 0 titles.
Mexico, 1998 – 0 titles.
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The 16 clubs in the First Stage are all the lowest-seeded clubs from each country, except for Brazil, which, has 2 First Stage clubs. This is to make room for the Cup-Holder…SC Internacional, who won last years’ 2010 Copa Libertadores. The winners of the 6 First Stage ties advance to the Second Stage. On the map page, in the upper right-hand corner are the 6 First Stage match-ups. Below is the same fixtures list, with club crests…

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The Second Stage will begin on 9 February. I will post a map of the Second Stage on 8 February.
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I used this list for all-time Copa Libertadores appearances ‘Copa Libertadores 1960-2010 Club Histories’ at rsssf.com .
Thanks to the contributors to the pages at en.wikipedia.org, ‘2011 Copa Libertadores‘.

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January 19, 2011

England, Non-League Football: 2010-11 Conference North [a 6th Level league].

Filed under: 2010-11 English Football,Eng-6th level — admin @ 10:09 am

2010-11 Conference North
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Conference North/South tables, fixtures, results (Soccerway.com), here.
The Conference North is one of two leagues that comprise the 6th Level of the English Football Pyramid. The Conference North’s sister league is the Conference South. These two leagues were instituted in 2004-05. Clubs were drawn from the Northern Premier League, the Southern League, and the Isthmian League [those three leagues now make up the 7th Level]. After each season, two promoted clubs go up to the Conference National (5th Level) – the league winner and the winner of the 4-team playoff. Three relegated clubs go down to the 7th Level, to the Northern Premier League Premier Division or the Southern Football League Premier Division (which is composed of clubs from the South West, the South Central, and the Midlands). [Theoretically, a club relegated from the Conference North could go to the Isthmian Football League Premier Division (which is composed of clubs from Greater London and the South East), but there would have be real unusual circumstances for that to happen].

There are 22 clubs in the Conference North, but because of Ilkeston Town’s demise last September, the 2010-11 Conference North season has 21 clubs, and only two clubs will be relegated.
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The map page shows the clubs’ profile boxes placed from top to bottom in the order of the current Conference North table (as of Wednesday, 19 January, 2011). The profile boxes include the club’s home kit badges, nickname, year of formation, stadium and capacity, location, 2009-10 final placement, and all-time highest league placement. Current average attendances and 2009-10 average attendances (from home league matches) are shown at the right of the map.
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Current leaders are phoenix club Nuneaton Town, who hail from Nuneaton, Warwickshire, which is 14 km. (9 mi.) north of Coventry and 31 km. (19 mi.) east of Birmingham. Nuneaton has a population of around 70,000 {2001 figure}. Nuneaton Town FC are heir to another phoenix club, Nuneaton Borough AFC, who had 4 seasons in the Conference (5th Level) from 1999-2000 to 2002-03, and existed from 1937 to 2007. They were wound up in May 2007. Nuneaton Town were then formed in 2008. The club plays at tiny Liberty Way, which has a capacity of 3,800 (with just 300 seated). They wear royal blue and white halves, and still go by the nickname of Boro. Nuneaton won promotion from the Southern Football League Premier Division in 2009-10, and are one of three clubs in Conference North this season that have the chance of winning back-to-back promotions (the other two are talked about in the last paragraph). Nuneaton have been managed by Kevin Wilkin since 2006 (ie, in the last days of Nuneaton Borough, and also as the sole manager of the re-formed Nuneaton Town). Nuneaton Town draw well for this league, pulling in 1,002 per game currently.

[Photo credits - Nuneatontownfc.com, here. I-want-football-2009.blogspot.com, here.]
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Second place, two points back with 3 games in hand, are the Derbyshire club Alfreton Town. Alferton Town FC were formed from the merger of Alfreton Miners Welfare and Alfreton United, in 1959. Alfreton is 20 km. (12 mi.) north of both the cities of Derby and Nottingham, and serves somewhat as a bedroom community of both. It has a population of 22,000. Alfreton Town FC have never had a higher final placement than their current spot. Crowds are up 50% this season, to 746 per game.

[Photo credits - parkin1s at PhotoBucket.com, here. Wherestheteahut.blogspot.com, here. Southport FC fansite at btinternet.com/~portconnection, here.]

Alfreton Town are managed by Nicky Law, who had an extensive career in the lower half of the Football League including captaining Chesterfield to a Division Three playoff final win over Bury at Wembley in 1995. Law has been Alferton’s manager since 2007. Alfreton Town play at North Street, which has a capacity of 3,600 (1,500 seated). That size of stadium is pretty much the norm in the 6th Level. It is one example of how the new gulf between English football levels is no longer between Levels 4 and 5 (the League/Non-League dividing line), but between Levels 5 and 6. Most clubs these days that play in the Conference National (5th Level) play in grounds of 5,000 to 6,000 or larger; while most clubs that play in the Conference North and Conference South play in grounds that are 3,000 to 4,500, with more standing capacity than seated capacity. 15 of the 21 Conference North clubs this season play in grounds that are smaller than 4,500 capacity; and 15 of the 22 Conference South clubs this season have grounds at or smaller than 4,500 capacity.

Another way that Conferences North/South are separated by a wide gulf from the Conference National is that most clubs in the Conference are full-time, and virtually all Conference North/South clubs are part-time. It is pretty much the normal routine these days for clubs that are relegated to Conference North or South to revert to part-time status once they get the drop. Not all clubs conversely go full-time immediately after getting promoted up to the Conference, though, but it usually happens by a couple seasons in.

Median average attendance for the Conference North is currently {19 Jan.} 443 this season; median average attendance for last season (2009-10) was 435 per game. The biggest club in Conference North this season are #1 draw Shropshire phoenix club AFC Telford United, who pull in pretty large crowds for this level…they currently are seeing 1,976 pass the turnstiles each game at the New Bucks Head in Telford {click here and zoom in for a Bing.com/Bird’;s Eye satellite view…you can see that the ground is pretty up-to-date}. The other club that is frankly too big for this level is Lincolnshire club Boston United FC, who played 5 seasons in the League (2002-03 to 2006-07). Boston United are now 3 seasons on from recovering from a two-level-relegation – one relegation from on-field performance and one relegation thanks to Steve Evans and his cooked books. [In 2007, Manager Evans and then-Boston Utd. chairman Pat Milkinson were charged with conspiracy to cheat the public revenue {see this, from BBC.co.uk from June 2007/11th and 12th paragraphs}. Evans is currently practicing his house-of-cards financing at Crawley Town in the Conference, and again, no one knows where the money is coming from. But I digress.] Boston United, who won promotion from the Northern Premier League Premier Division in 09/10, are drawing 1,477 per game this season, and, at fifth place, are in the running for a twice-promoted run. There is one other just-promoted club that could make it back-to-back promotions – Greater Leeds-based Guisely FC, who are in third place currently in Conference North, yet are only drawing at the league median, at 443 per game.
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Thanks to Mike Avery.co.uk, for 2009-10 average attendances, here. Thanks to HarrogateTown.com, for 2010-11 average attendances, here.
Thanks to the contributors to the pages at en.wikipedia.org, ‘Conference North‘.

Comments (10)

January 15, 2011

2010 NCAA Division I Football Rankings – Final AP Poll, Top 10.

Filed under: NCAA Gridiron Football,NCAA/fb->AP top 10 — admin @ 2:49 pm

NCAA Division I Football, AP Poll – Final poll for 2010 season, Top Ten map

‘The Associated Press Top 25 Poll [Final Poll/January 11, 2011]‘ (SI.com).

If you think all the other Division I college football teams that make it to the plethora of Bowl games actually benefit from the pointless Bowl system, then why is it a fact that most Division I college football programs these days end up losing money when they go to Bowl games? Because schools are forced to buy huge blocks of tickets (like 17,000 tickets)…that no one ends up wanting or buying. That is why many of these tickets go on re-sale for next to nothing. Last season, in December, 2009, tickets for the Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl game were on sale at Stub Hub.com (to see Kentucky v. Clemson in Nashville, TN) for 19 cents per ticket. And you know, Lexington, KY and Clemson, SC are both relatively near to Nashville, TN, but still there was so little demand for tickets that you could buy one for less than a quarter.

From Sports Illustrated, by Austin Murphy and Dan Wetzel, from November 15, 2010, ‘Does It Matter?‘
[Note: the Sports Illustrated article linked to above has 5 pages. The part about what I just mentioned is on page 3/ Paragraphs 6,7,and 8 - here...

Excerpt from Sportsillustrated.cnn.com, 'Does It Matter?', by Austin Murphy and Dan Wetzel,
"...Very few bowls do, in fact, sell out. Aware of this, their directors require a ticket commitment, which obligates the purchase of thousands of tickets at face value. Schools must then resell those tickets or risk losses that can run into seven figures. Before Internet ticket sites democratized the market, the deal made sense to the participating schools. Now, for all but the biggest games, fans can avoid paying full price—as they must when they go through the school's ticket office. Tickets to the 2009 Music City Bowl were available on StubHub for 19 cents.

The commitment guarantees only one thing: the fattening of the bowls' profit margins. For their appearance in the 2009 Orange Bowl, Virginia Tech and the ACC agreed to purchase 17,500 tickets at $125 per seat, but they could sell only 3,342, according to university documents. The result: a $1.77 million bath for the school, not the bowl.

Ohio State ate $1.01 million in unsold tickets at the 2009 Fiesta Bowl. Smaller bowls do similar damage to schools thrilled by a mere invitation. The euphoria of playing in the postseason quickly wore off for Western Michigan two years ago when the Broncos' athletic department was able to unload only 548 of the 11,000 tickets it was required to purchase by the good folks at the Texas Bowl. Western Michigan's loss of $462,535 (before adding in travel and lodging costs) probably hurt more than its subsequent 38--14 defeat at the hands of Rice." -{end of except}
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The only parties benefitting from the Bowl system are the Bowl Committees themselves. And no one cares about dead-end Bowl games involving teams with more than a couple losses, let alone Bowl games involving teams with .500 records or even losing records.

Meanwhile, if you are a Division I team and you go undefeated, and you are not in the SEC, the Big Ten, the Big 12, the PAC-10, the ACC, or the Big East, your shot at a universally-recognized national title is at the mercy of entrenched interests. And they will freeze you out. Utah (a Mountain West team) was frozen out in 2008, when they went 13-0. Boise State (a WAC team) was frozen out when they went 14-0 in 2009. And TCU (a Mountain West team at the time) was frozen out in 2010 when they went 13-0. That's 3 straight seasons that an undefeated team was not allowed to play in the BCS National Championship Game. [It also happened in 2006, when Boise State went 13-0.] But what does winning the BCS National Championship Game get you? It gets you the Mythical National Championship. Because no matter how you spin it, that’s what winning the BCS Championship Game still is. The NCAA does not recognize the title. The media just does.

NCAA Division I Football is probably the only competitive sports organization in the world that has never recognized a champion. The Bowl Championship Series is a third-party organization. Excerpt from the en.wikipedia.org page on Bowl Championship Series : “The NCAA, the governing organization of most collegiate sports, has no official process for determining its FBS (Div. 1-A) champion. Instead, FBS champions are chosen by what the NCAA calls in its official list of champions “selecting organizations”.” Selecting organizations?…a more apt description would be…Organizations set up to make sure only an SEC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-10, ACC, or Big East team can ever be called champion, so the NCAA can pass the buck on this, and so the Bowls can continue to make profits on pointless Bowl games.

The BCS was supposed to solve the problem of NCAA Division I not recognizing a Division I football champion, because of the belief that doing so would undermine the established Bowl system. The Internet is instead undermining the Bowl system by democratizing ticket sales. Fans are voting with their wallets, and those 19 cent tickets for the 2009 Music City Bowl speak volumes. Fan apathy might be the thing that brings down the BCS. I await the day when a college football team turns down a Bowl invitation so they don’t lose money. Do you think Western Michigan really wants to lose half a million bucks again, by going to some quasi- Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl game?
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Photo Credits -
Auburn/Jordan-Hare Stadium…College Stadiums at http://www.collegecharlie.com/stadiums.html.
TCU/Amon G. Carter Stadium…Bing.com/maps/Bird’s Eye satellite view, here.
Oregon/Autzen Stadium…http://tom.nosleep.net/flying.html.
Stanford/Stanford Stadium….Skyscrapercity.com/thread ‘USA – College Football Stadiums’, submitted by westsidebomber here.
Ohio State/Ohio Stadium…College Charlie.com, here.
Oklahoma/Gaylord Family Memorial Stadium at Owen Field…Sharenator.com, here.
Wisconsin/Camp Randall Stadium…Bing.com/maps/Bird’s Eye satellite view, here.
LSU/Tiger stadium…http://www.collegecharlie.com/stadiums.html.
Boise State/Bronco Stadium…BroncoSports.com, here.
Alabama/Bryant-Denny Stadium… http://www.rmbama.com/alabama.html.

Thanks to the contributors to the pages at en.wikipedia.org, ‘NCAA‘.
For the helmet illustrations…Thanks to MG’s Helmets, http://www.mghelmets.com/.

Comments (9)

January 10, 2011

2010-11 UEFA Champions League, Knockout Phase – Round of 16, with match-ups.

Filed under: Denmark,Football Stadia,UEFA Champions League,Ukraine — admin @ 6:14 pm

2010-11 UEFA CL, Round of 16 map

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The UEFA Champions League 2010-11 Knockout Phase, Round of 16 gets underway on 15th and 16th February, with four matches; then resumes a week later for the other four 1st Leg matches. 2nd Leg matches are set for 8th and 9th / 15th and 16th March. If you want to see the 8 match-ups, with club profile boxes and 2 stadia photos for each club, scroll down a bit and click on the 2 dark blue boxes near the end of this post.

Teams that play at home for the 2nd Leg Leg were seeded higher for for the draw by winning their groups in the Group Stage. The biggest surprise in that category are Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donetsk, who finished ahead of Arsenal in their group. This is the first time Shakhtar Donetsk have made it to the Round of 16 in the Champions League. Shakhtar come from the heavily industrialized Donbass region of eastern Ukraine, from the city of Donetsk, which is a grim city built on coal mining and heavy industry, offering little in the way of the things considered to be tourist attractions. In fact, enlarging the amount of total hotel rooms in the city is one of the most pressing issues facing Donetsk when the city hosts some of the matches for UEFA Euro 2012 (which Ukraine is co-hosting with Poland in June 2012). Shakhtar Donetsk are owned by Ukraine’s wealthiest citizen, Rinat Ahkmetov, who began his rise as an oligarch in the banking sector in Donetsk in the first half of the 1990s, when newly independent Ukraine was freeing itself from the grip of Russian imperialism and setting up a system of private enterprise. Akhmetov is an ethnic Tatar/ Ukraine-born son of a Donbass coal miner, and is 42 years old. In 2000, Akhmetov founded Systems Capital Management (SCM Holdings), which has stakes in metals, coal mining, power generation, banking, insurance, real estate, telecommunications, and media. Assets of the company, 100% owned by Akhmetov, have been recently disclosed as $18 billion {SCM.com.ua/Key Financial Indicators [to 2009]‘. Akhmetov has devoted considerable sums in turning Shakhtar Donetsk from a small cup-specialist club with no national titles to a force in Ukraine and now Europe. Their futuristic new Donbass Arena (cap. 51,504) is testament to this. Shakhtar are pulling in around 33,000 per game this season in domestic home league matches, and are running away with the Ukrainian Premier League title again (they have won 4 of the last 6 Ukrainian titles). Akhmetov has undertaken this by making sure players he lured to eastern Ukraine are treated like royalty – it is common knowledge these days among football players that Shakhtar Donetsk’s facilities and infrastructure are on par with the most elite clubs in Western Europe. Shakhtar Donetsk are managed by the Romanian Mircea Lucescu, who has also coached in Turkey (winning titles for Galatasaray in 2002, and Besiktas in 2003), and in Italy (with Internazionale in 1998-99). Lucescu has managed Shakhtar since 2004. For the past few seasons, Shakhtar has been fielding around 3 to 5 Brazilians in their starting lineups in most matches. By way of example, when Shakhtar Donetsk beat Werder Bremen in Istanbul to win the 2008-09 UEFA Cup title, Shakhtar started 5 Brazilians (including goal scorers Luz Adriano and Jadson), 3 Ukrainians, 1 Croat (captain and DF Dario Srna), 1 Romanian (DF Razvan Rat), and 1 Pole (Mariusz Lewandowski). Luz Adriano, Jadson, Srna, and Rat still figure prominently in Shakhtar’s current configuration.

The crucial match which propelled Shakhtar Donetsk to the Round of 16 this season was the 3 November, 2010 match in Ukraine which saw a 2-1 defeat of Arsenal in the Donbass Arena before 51,153. This had come two weeks after Arsenal had humiliated Shakhtar by a 5-1 score at the Emirates Stadium in North London. In the 3 November match, goals for Shakhtar were scored by western Ukraine-born DF Dmitro Chygrynskiy in the 28th minute (following a 10th minute Arsenal goal by Theo Walcott), and a 58th minute winner by former Arsenal player, the Croatian international/Brazilian-born Eduardo, who looks to be recovered from his devastating leg injury in early 2008. From uefa.com, 3 Nov. 2010, ‘Eduardo strike sinks former club Arsenal’.

Shakhtar Donetsk have drawn AS Roma for the Round of 16. They will meet for the 1st Leg on 16 February at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. 2nd Leg is for 8 March in Donetsk.
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Of the 16 clubs still alive in the 2010-11 Champions League, the biggest surprise overall is the qualification of FC Copenhagen (in Danish, FC Kobenhavn). This is the first appearance in the Round of 16 for a club from Denmark. Like quite a few other football clubs in Denmark in recent history, FC Copenhagen was the result of a merger. In this case, it was between two historically successful but stagnating clubs from the country’s capital city, KB and B 1903. The two clubs had not won a Danish title between them for 12 years running when they merged; and immediately after the merger FC Copenhagen won the 1993 Danish title. KB (Kjobenhavns Boldklub) won 15 Danish titles, including the first in 1913, and most recently in 1980. B 1903 (Boldklubben 1903) won 7 national titles, their last in 1976. FC Copenhagen are the highest-drawing Danish club, and can draw in the 20,000 per game range (their peak has been 23.7 K in 2006-07).The club’s home is Parken, which is also the primary venue for the Denmark national football team. FC Copenhagen are coached by the Norwegian Stale Solbakken, who has been at the helm since 2006. Their goal scoring threats are Porto Alegre, Brazil-born FW César Santin, Senegalese FW Dame N’Doye, and Danish winger/supporting striker and former Ajax/Chelsea/Birmingham City/Atlético Madrid/VfB Stuttgart player Jesper Gronkjaer (age 33).

FC Copenhagen have drawn Chelsea for the Round of 16, with the 1st Leg on 22 February in Copenhagen, and the 2nd Leg on 16 March in West London. Judging by Chelsea’s recent form, Copenhagen can be seen as having a fighting chance of advancing. After all, FC Copenhagen beat Manchester United in the CL Group Stage in 2006-07, and Chelsea can’t beat bottom-of-the-table clubs like Wolverhampton Wanderers these days.
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Last season I posted a map of this round of the competition in December, 2009, right after the draw was held. I decided to hold off a little this season. The CL Knockout Phase still will not be starting for 36 days, but on the Sunday (13 Feb.) before the matches begin on 15 and 16 February, I will re-post the 3 gifs here (the map and the 2 match-ups pages), along with a map of the 2010-11 UEFA Europa League Round of 32 (which will begin on Thursday, 17 February).
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From Backpage Football.com, from 6 January, ‘Champions League – Reason to be excited‘, by Ger McCarthey.
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The following gif shows the 8 clubs involved in the first two match days of the 2010-11 Champions League Round of 16, on 15 and 16 February…
AC Milan v. Tottenham Hotspur
Valencia v. Schalke 04
Arsenal v. Barcelona
AS Roma v. Shakhtar Donetsk
Click on box below…

The next gif shows the 8 clubs involved in the second set of match days, on 22 and 23 February…
Lyon v. Real Madrid
FC Copenhagen v. Chelsea
Internazionale v. Bayern Munich
Marseille v. Manchester United
Click on box below…

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Photo Credits -
AC Milan/San Siro…Dankuna.com, here. RossoneriBlog.com, here.

Tottenham/White Hart Lane…Jazza5 at en.wikipedia.org, here. Daily Mail.co.uk, here.

Valencia/Mestella…A Life In Valencia.com, here. z6.invisionfree.com/Ultras Tlfosi, here.

Schalke 04/Veltins-Arena…VioletaS_gr at Flickr.com, here. ArenaPark.Gelsenkirchen.de, here.

Arsenal/Emirates Stadium…ByrneGroup.co.uk,/Projects, ‘Emirates stadium – Scope of Work [6-photo slideshow]‘, here. DailyMail.co.uk, here.

Barcelona/Camp Nou…kammourewa at Photobucket.com, here. Bing.com/maps Bird’s Eye satellite view, here.

AS Roma/Stadio Olimpico…Bing.com/maps/Bird’s Eye satellite view, here. ASRomaAlive.com, here.

Shakhtar Donetsk/Donbass Arena…Elparadiso19 at en.wikipedia.org (link is to a Donbass Arena gallery, here). Ultras.org.ua, 2010 Shakhtar gallery, here.

Lyon/Stade de Gerland…Bing.com/maps Bird’s Eye satellite view, here. Chasseurdestades.com/France, here.

Real Madrid/Bernebéu…FCB Transfers.blogspot.com, here. Real Madrid Videos, here.

FC Copenhagen/Parken…Virtual Tourist.com, here. MTU.edu, here.

Chelsea/Stamford Bridge…cyberdees at Flickr.com, here. Eco Compact City.org, here.

Internazionale/San Siro…zerozerofootball.com/San Siro (gallery, 30 photos), here. oscar federico bodini at en.wikipedia.org, ‘Curva (stadia)/Italy‘.

Bayern Munich/Allianz Arena…Karl Leidorf at Leidorf.blogspot.com, here. Maximillian Dörrbecker (Chumwa), at en.wikipedioa.org, here.

Marseille/Stade Vélodrome… Projets-Architecte-Urbanisme.fr. fredGLLS at Flickr.com, here.

Manchester United/Old Trafford… ManUtd24.com, ‘Nervous Glazers tell ManUtd players not to wear Green and Gold!’. ManUtdPics.com , (Manchester United/Old Trafford photo).

Thanks to the contributors to the pages at en.wikipedia.org, ‘2010-11 UEFA Champions League‘.
Thanks to E-F-S site, for attendance figures from 2009-10, and for Shakhtar Donetsk current attendance figures. Thanks to ESPN Soccernet for most of the current attendance figures. Thanks to Soccerway.com for FC Copenhagen current attendance figures {Danish Super Liga at Soccerway.com}

Comments (8)

January 3, 2011

2010-11 FA Cup, Third Round Proper.

Filed under: 2010-11 FA Cup — admin @ 3:32 pm

2010-11 FA Cup Third Round

BBC Sport/football/FA Cup, here.

2010-11 FA Cup Third Round Proper…The 5 biggest upsets…
#1, Stevenage 3-1 Newcastle United. League Two’s Stevenage, a club that is spending it’s first-ever season in the Football League, defeated the Premier League’s Newcastle United. In terms of current league tables, Stevenage are three levels and 75 places lower than Newcastle. Stevenage are just the 13th club from the 4th Level or from Non-League to defeat a 1st Level club in the FA Cup since 1980, and are only the third club to do this since the Premier League was formed in 1992-93..
From Guardian.co.uk/football, by Paul Doyle, ‘Peter Winn seals famous victory for Stevenage over Newcastle‘.
From TVGolo.com, ‘Stevenage 3-1 Newcastle (FA Cup) [video highlights, 1:39]‘.

#2 biggest upset…Crawley Town 2-1 Derby County (3 levels and 61 places separate the two clubs). Crawley Town are the only Non-League club still alive in the competition. [The club are in second place in the Conference National, 3 points behind AFC Wimbledon (with 3 games in hand).] from Guardian.co.uk/football, Monday 10 January 22:16 GMT, by Dominic Fifield, ‘Crawley Town beat Derby County to keep non-league flag flying in FA Cup‘.
From 101 Great Goals.com, ‘Remember Sergio Torres: Crawley keep the magic of the FA Cup alive dumping Derby‘ [video highlights from all 3 goals].

#3 biggest upset…Sunderland 1-2 Notts County (2 levels and 54 places separate the two clubs). ‘Lee Hughes seals Notts County win at Sunderland in FA Cup third round‘, by Lance Harvey at Guardian.co.uk/football.

#4 biggest upset…Burton Albion 2-1 Middlesbrough (2 levels and 47 places separate the two clubs). ‘Burton Albion 2-1 Middlesbrough‘, from BBC.co.uk/FA Cup.

#5 biggest upset…Norwich City 0-1 Leyton Orient (1 level and 40 places separate the two clubs). ‘Norwich 0-1 Leyton Orient‘, from BBC.co.uk/FA Cup.

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As usual with this category of map, fixtures are on the far right of the map page; locations of clubs, with their crests, are on the map and within the map segments flanking the main map; and current average attendances (from domestic home league matches) are listed on the far left. Also on the left is each club’s percent change versus 2009-10 average attendance.

The FA Cup Third Round is when clubs from the top two levels of English Football, the Premier League and the Football League Championship, enter the competition. That accounts for 44 teams. The other 20 teams come from lower levels, in this case as far down the pyramid as the 6th Level (Dover Athletic; more on them below). Due to the inclement weather this winter in Britain, there are 65 clubs on the map, not 64 clubs, because one Second Round tie, Lincon City v. Hereford United, has been postponed 3 times due to a frozen pitch at the Imps’ Sincil Bank. That Second Round replay is now scheduled for when the bulk of the matches this round are being played – at 2 pm GMT on Saturday. The winner of Lincon/Hereford is then scheduled to play in Buckinghamshire on Tuesday the 11th, versus Wycombe Wanderers.
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Here are the matches scheduled for television…
United Kingdom…The FA Cup on TV (The FA.com).
Sat. 8 Jan…
12:45 pm GMT, Arsenal v. Leeds United (ITV1).
5:30 pm GMT, Stevenage v. Newcastle United (ESPN/UK).
Sun., 9 Jan…
1:30 pm GMT, Manchester United v. Liverpool (ITV1).
4 pm GMT, Leicester City v. Manchester City (ESPN/UK).
Mon. 10 Jan…
8 pm GMT, Crawley Town v. Derby County (ESPN/UK).

USA and Canada…
foxsoccer.com/fsc
foxsoccer.com/fs+
Sat. Jan. 8…
7:45 am, Arsenal v. Leeds United (Fox Soccer Plus).
9:30 am ET, FA Cup Preview Show (Fox Soccer Channel).
10 am ET, Sheffield United v. Aston Villa (Fox Soccer Channel).
10 am ET, Scunthorpe United v. Everton (Fox Soccer Plus).
12:30 pm ET, Stevenage v. Newcastle United (Fox Soccer Channel).
Sun. Jan. 9…
8:30 am ET, Manchester United v. Liverpool (Fox Soccer Channel).
11 am ET, Leicester City v. Manchester City (Fox Soccer Channel).
Mon. Jan. 10…
2:30 pm ET, Crawley Town v. Derby County (Fox Soccer Plus).
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Fom The Guardian.co.uk/football, ‘FA Cup third-round preview: five potential upsets to look out for‘, by Rob Bagchi.
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Dover Athletic are the lowest-placed club still alive in the FA Cup this season. The coastal Kent club are in the 6th Level, in the Conference South. The Whites aim to make it two promotions in three seasons, and are currently in the playoff places, in 4th place. They’re unbeaten in their last 5 matches, which includes a 7-2 trouncing of Thurrock on Sunday the 2nd of January. Dover’s manager is Martin Hayes, whose playing career included 102 matches and 26 goals for Arsenal (1983-90). Dover Athletic have sizable support for a club two rungs below the Football League, and in fact Dover Athletic were in the Conference National (which is the 5th Level) for nine seasons, from 1993-94 to 2001-02. Dover are currently drawing 1,013 per game to their Perry’s Crabble Athletic Ground in River, Kent (the ground is just across the border from the town of Dover; Perry’s are a car dealership).

In the 2010-11 FA Cup First Round, Dover beat Gillingham away, 2-nil. That match-up was significant in two ways – first, it was a Kent derby. Second, it was a grudge match for Dover, as Gillingham had wrested away Dover’s then-manager, Andy Hessenthaler, over the summer break, and to rub salt into the wound, Hessenthaler then lured two of the Dover staff over to the Gills. On 6 November, Dover dispatched the two-levels-higher Gillingham before 7,475 at Priestfield (which included 2,300 Dover supporters). Then in the Second Round, on 27 November, Dover hosted another League Two club, Aldershot Town, and they beat the Shots 2-0. 4,123 filled the Crabble Athletic Ground for the match. That match was televised, so Dover made a bit of cash on that, too. Both goals v. Aldershot were scored by Adam Birchall, who is attracting the attention of clubs in higher divisions. He had played 104 games for League Two’s Barnet from 2006 to 2009, and it’s likely he will end up back in the 4th Level soon. Adam Birchall was born in Maidstone, Kent, and is a Wales U-21 international. Birchall currently is the second-highest scorer in the Conference South – he has netted 13 league goals (Braintree Town’s Sean Marks has 14 league goals). Birchall also has 11 cup goals in 6 matches in the FA Cup this season (five rounds’ worth of matches plus one replay). That’s insane. Birchall has been crucial to the Whites’ First and Second Round victories – netting the first goal in the Gillingham match – a 30-yard screamer in the 18th minute; and scoring both goals (one from the penalty spot) versus Aldershot. The photo on the left directly below the stadium image shows Birchall seconds before he scored that strike against Gillingham. The photo on the right, there, shows Luke l’Anson right as he was about to score on the parried rebound from a shot by teammate Harry Baker, in the 28th minute.

Here is Dover Athletic’s page at Pyramid Passion.co.uk…Dover Athetic FC/Crabble Athletic Ground.

Below is a satellite view image of the Crabble Athletic Ground, plus photos from the 2 matches (all photos from Doverathletic.com).

Dover Athletic have their work cut out for them in the Third Round, as they must travel up to West Yorkshire to face 3rd Level club Huddersfield Town, who sit 6th in League One.
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Thanks to the FA Cup silversmiths, Thomas Lyte Silver, for the photo of the FA Cup trophy, here.
Thanks to the contributors to the pages at en.wikipedia.org, 2010-11 FA Cup/Third Round Proper. Thanks to Bobby McMahon at SoccerReporetExtra, here (via @OptaJoe) for the Stevenage/FA Cup stat. Thanks to ESPN Soccernet for attendance figures – here… 1st Level/Premier League ; 2nd Level/Championship ; 3rd Level/League One ; 4th Level/League Two ; 5th Level/Conference National.

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December 28, 2010

NCAA Basketball: The Big East Conference – Conference map, with venues, capacities, and 2009-10 average attendances; and teams’ Big East titles and NCAA Tournament histories.

Filed under: NCAA Men's Basketball,NCAA/bk->Big East — admin @ 2:37 pm

Big East basketball 2011

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The map on the map page shows the locations of the schools in the Big East Basketball Conference, as well as the teams’ venue locations (if different than the school location). Three teams have dual venues – one basketball venue on campus, plus a larger basketball venue in a nearby city…those 3 teams are Connecticut (Storrs, CT/Hartford, CT), St. John’s (Queens, NYC, NY/Manhattan, NYC, NY), and Villanova (Villanova, PA/Philadelphia, PA). Two teams play not in the the school’s location, but in an adjacent municipality – DePaul (who are from Chicago, IL, but play in Rosemont, IL), and Seton Hall (whoi are from South Orange, NJ, but play in Newark, NJ). One team, Georgetown, has an on-campus venue (McDonough Arena, capacity 2,5000 – {see this photo (Sports Illustrated.com)} that is basically too small to stage games on a regular basis, and in recent seasons has hosted one game a season. But this season it won’t be hosting a game. I included it in Georgetown’s profile box, but put in a picture of their main venue, the Verizon Center. [It's a shame the McDonough is so small...if it had a capacity of a couple thousand more, it would be a viable venue for more games. I understand the atmosphere there is fantastic. And the problem for Georgetown is that the Verizon Arena is too big - it holds 20,173, and Georgetown averaged 12,040 (granted, that one game in 2009-10 at the McDonough, which drew 2,400, pulled down Georgetown's average attendance a little bit). Playing to six to eight thousand empty seats on a regular basis is not a very ideal situation.]

On the far left of the map page is a table that shows the 2009-10 final standings for Big East Basketball; the winner of the 2010 Big East Tournament (West Virginia); the 5 Big East teams that were in the final AP Basketball Poll, and their rankings; and the 8 teams that qualified for the 2010 NCAA Basketball Tournament, as well as which round they exited in. Again, West Virginia went the furthest, making it to the Final Four, where they lost to the eventual 2010 champions, Duke. Good job to the Mountaineers, and to coach Bob Huggins, who, after revamping the Kansas State program (2006-07), has further rebuilt his reputation after those sordid final days of his Cincinnati stint (ca. 2005, which involved a very public DUI conviction and a protracted contract squabble with the school’s top brass). Huggins, an alumni of West Virginia University, looks to be building a solid program in Morgantown…which will result in only strengthening the already powerful juggernaut that is Big East Basketball. An example of the giant shadow that Big East basketball casts on the sport can be seen in the fact that 8 of the top 20 teams in the all-time list of most appearances in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament come from the Big East…
March Madness all-time appearances list, click on the following…‘NCAA Men’s Division I Tournament bids by school’(en.wikipedi.org)
Big East teams in the All-time top 20 NCAA Basketball Tournament appearances list -
#5 Louisville,with 36 NCAA Basketball Tournament appearances.
#8 Syracuse, w/ 33 NCAA Basketball Tournament appearances.
9 [tied] Villanova, w/ 30 NCAA Basketball Tournament 30 appearances.
#9 [tied] Notre Dame, w/ 30 NCAA Basketball Tournament appearances.
#12 [tied] Connecticut, w/ 28 NCAA Basketball Tournament appearances.
#12 [tied] Marquette, w/ 28 NCAA Basketball Tournament appearances.
#19 [tied] Georgetown, w/26 NCAA Basketball Tournament appearances.
#19 [tied] St. John’s, w/ 26 NCAA Basketball Tournament appearances.

Below that table are 2009-10 Big East Basketball teams’ average attendances and percent capacities. Big East Basketball features some very high-drawing teams, and last season 2 teams – Syracuse and Louisville – were among the top 3 highest drawing NCAA basketball teams in the country (Kentucky drew the highest). 14 of the 16 teams in the Big East were among the top 100 drawing college basketball teams. ’2010 National College Basketball Attendance, [2009-10]‘, from the NCAA.org site, here (pdf file).

One other element to the map is the inclusion of future Big East member TCU [Texas Christian University]. The TCU Horned Frogs will join all Big East sports, including basketball, in 2012.
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At the right of the map are profile boxes of all 16 current teams in Big East Basketball. Included are…full name of school; location of main campus, basketball venue(s) (and location if different); year of the school’s establishment; year of the establishment of the school’s varsity basketball team; undergraduate enrollment; Big East Tournament titles (and year of last title); seasons spent in Big East Basketball (and season the school joined the conference, and from where); NCAA Basketball Tournament titles (and year of last title); NCAA Final Four appearances (and year of last Final Four appearance), and total number of NCAA Basketball Tournament appearances (and year of last appearance). Plus I squeezed in each team’s coach, and years he has spent coaching there. Then there is a shot of the interior of the team’s venue (or in the case of those 3 dual-venue-teams, their campus venue), and above the photo, the team’s 2009-10 average attendance is listed. Finally, I had room for just one jersey per team, so I chose the most colorful one…not very, ahem, professional of me, I know, but if I did it by the book and just put in photos of each team’s home whites, it would look a lot more boring, and would not give you a sense of each team’s color scheme. At any rate, many teams do not even offer their white jerseys for sale on the internet, or if they do, I couldn’t find them. In fact, two teams seem to not sell basketball jerseys at all…Providence and Rutgers. I had to assemble an image of these two teams’ jerseys. So anyway, the jerseys all ended up being the teams’ away jerseys, with the exception of Marquette, who feature here their alternate away jersey (a snazzy light blue jersey), and Georgetown, who famously play in home greys. An interesting fact I learned while making this map is that the Georgetown Hoya’s colors were created by the members of their first sports team, the rowing team, in 1876…it was to honor both the Union and Confederate armies – with the Prussian Blue of the Union troops’ gear, and the Cadet Grey of the Confederate troops’ gear {see this}. By the way, some of these jerseys are last season’s version, but what I put there was the most recent that I could find. One final point…those aren’t empty orange seats in the Syracuse Orange/Carrier Dome photo – that’s around 25,000-plus students and fans in orange shirts. Go ‘Cuse!
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Photo credits-
Cincinnati…gobearcats.com/Fifth Third Arena photo gallery, here. Jersey at gobearcats.com.
Connecticut…Dinur Blum at Flickr.com, here. Jersey at Football Fanatics.com.
DePaul…depaulbluedemons.com/Allstate Arena. Jersey at depaulbluedemons.com, here.
Georgetown…Verizon Center photo by Anna Creech [aka eclecticlibrairian] at Flickr.com, here. Jersey, at collegebasketballstore.com, here.
Louisville…KFC Yum! (man what a ridiculous name for a stadium) Arena, from AP, at SI Live.com, here (‘Goodbye Freedom Hall, hello KFC Yum! Center for Louisville basketball’). Jersey, at collegebasketballstore.com, here.
Marquette…Bradley Center photo from Replay Photos.com, here. Jersey from FootballFanatics.com, here.
Pittsburgh…Petersen Events Center photo by crazypaco at en.wikipedia.org, here. Jersey at shoppittpanthers.com, here.

Providence…Dunkin’ Donuts Center photo, Getty Images at Rivals.Yahoo.com, here. Jersey, note: no Providence Friars jerseys available on the internet, therefore I assembled one, thanks to this site (Logosportswear).
Rutgers…Rutgers’ Athletic Center photo, from scarletknights.com. Jersey not available on the internet, and was assembled thanks to this site (Logosportswear).
St. John’s…Carnesecca Arena photo, at redstorm.com/inside athletics/facilities, here. Jersey, at FootballFanatics.com, here.
Seton Hall…Prudential Center photo, from shupirates.com/facilities, here. Jersey, at shupirates.com/store, here.
South Florida…J. Meric at bullsheaven.com; Jersey at bullsheaven.com.
Notre Dame…Joyce Center photo at und.com/facilities, here. Jersey, at und.com/store/cstv.com, here.
Syracuse…Carrier Dome photo from Section 247 Sports Blog.com, here. Jersey, at CBS Sports.com, here.
Villanova…The Pavillion photo, posted by jicharles at ChampionshipSubdivision.com/forums, here. Jersey, at FootballFanatics.com, here.
West Virginia…WVU Coliseum photo from msnsportsnet.com/facilities, here. Jersey, at CNY Discounts.com, here.
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Thanks to the contributors to the pages at en.wikipedia.org, ‘Big East Conference‘.

Thanks to Duane Frank (a Notre Dame supporter/ @BigDuaneFrank on Twitter), and the fellas at CollegeHoops.net, including Charles Seymour Jr. (@CollegeHoopers on Twitter), for tweeting {here} about my last college basketball post. CollegeHoops.net can be found on my blogroll.

Thanks to Jeremy at AlbionRoad.com, for info on Georgetown.

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