Total Futbol

Spain v. Italy! TODAY!

And so, we're down to two...Spain vs. Italy. 2:45 p.m. ESPN

Spain is trying to become the first team ever to win the Euro-World Cup-Euro trifecta. Resurgent Italy looked mighty good in its semifinal against Germany and hasn't allowed a goal in 300-plus minutes. Should be a great match.

If you want to watch with other soccer-crazed fans, here are some great spots:

Fritz and Franz (Coral Gables and Ft. Lauderdale),
Churchill's (North Miami), Fado Irish Pub (Mary Brickell Village), Sports Grill
(South Miami, Kendall, Sunset, Bird Rd.), Waxy O'Connors (Miami Beach),
Playwright (Miami Beach), Finnegan's (Miami Beach), Novecento (Brickell), George's (South Miami)

 I am on vacation, and hope to have access to a TV...here is my column from this morning...

http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/07/01/2876463/spains-style-of-play-different.html

Enjoy! And share your comments after the match.

Mamma Mia! Italia!

Italy scores first! Mario Balotelli header puts Italy ahead of Germany 1-0 in 20th minute.

on ESPN. Now.

MAMA MIA! Balotelli scores AGAIN! This time an amazing blast from his right foot to upper right corner. Italy leads Germany 2-0 in 36th minute!

No wonder they call him "Super Mario''!

Balotelli, 21, plays for Manchester City and has a cult following there. He was born in Sicily to Ghanian immigrants (his birth name is Burwuah), and given to an Italian foster family when he was 3 years old because he suffered from medical problems and his parents couldn't afford to help him. When he was 18, he sought Italian citizenship. Italians are happy he made that decision !! Germans not so much.

Second half underway...buckle your seat belt.

61' Free kick Germany. Can they close the gap? Reus takes beautiful high curling shot, but Buffon leaps and makes the save.

69' Super Mario Balotelli out. DiNatale replaces him.

Bad news for Germany: They just said on TV that Italy hasn't allowed a goal in 300 minutes. Impressive!

Italians keep attacking. This could easily be 4-0.

91' Ozil scores for Germany. Too late. Not enough.

ITALY WINS 2-1. ADVANCES TO SUNDAY FINAL vs. Spain!

 

Is Spain boring? Will GER or ITA win?

Hard to believe Spain, defending Euro and World Cup champions, and home to one of the best (the best?) pro league in the world, has to defend its playing style. But that's what is happening. Critics are complaining that the Spanish ticky-tacky short passes are boring. The crowd looked bored, or at least dispassionate, as Spain and Portugal played 120 minutes of scoreless soccer before Spain won Wednesday's semi in a penalty kick shootout. Perhaps Ukraine and Poland were not the best choices to host Euro 2012. It is the farthest East they've ever been held, and fans there don't seem as crazed about the tournament as folks are in England, Spain, France, Italy, Portugal and Germany. Or, maybe they really were bored by Spain, good as they are.

So, we have two questions for you...1. Is Spain boring? 2. Who will Spain play in the final? Vote below! And share your comments.

Also, if you don't want to watch today's game alone, here are some soccer-loving spots:

Where to Watch:

Fritz and Franz (Coral Gables and Ft. Lauderdale),
Churchill's (North Miami), Fado Irish Pub (Mary Brickell Village), Sports Grill
(South Miami, Kendall, Sunset, Bird Rd.), Waxy O'Connors (Miami Beach),
Playwright (Miami Beach), Finnegan's (Miami Beach), Novecento (Brickell), George's (South Miami)

 

Who'll make Euro final?

And so, we're down to four.

Italy beat England in penalty kicks and advanced to the Thursday semifinal vs. Germany. Spain plays Portugal (Oh, my!) in the Wednesday semifinal.

Who do you think will win? Vote here...

 

Euro quarters set! Messi's Miami visit.

Been on furlough the past week (cruising in the Caribbean)...watched Euro 2012 aboard the Allure of the Seas ship, which was very cool. Many of the passengers -- and the crew members -- were soccer fans.

So, the QFs are set: Czech vs. Portugal, Germany vs. Greece, Spain vs. France, England vs. Italy.

Thoughts? Biggest underachievers were the Dutch. I expected more.

If I had to guess, I'd say Portugal, Germany, Spain and Italy will advance. You agree?

You can vote below. Closer to home, Lionel Messi comes to Miami's Sun Life Stadium on Saturday for an all-star exhibition called World Masters Tour. Also includes Diego Forlan, Falcao, Didier Drogba, Clint Dempsey, Jozy Altidore, Dani Alves, Alessandro Nesta, Carlos Bocanegra and more. This is a rare chance to see Messi up close. Don't miss it! Tickets on sale through Ticketmaster and stadium.

 

 

 

Poll: Who will win Euro 2012?

Messi, Forlan, Drogba, Dempsey, Falcao in Miami!

The list of confirmed players has been released for the World Soccer Masters exhibition match June 23 at Sun Life Stadium, and it reads like a Who's Who of international soccer...Here is the full list. If you haven't gotten tickets yet, you are not a true soccer fan. Tix start at $25 through Ticketmaster or at 305-943-6311. A portion of the proceeds go to Messi's charitable foundation. The coaches will be Fabio Capello and Dunga.

• Lionel Messi - Argentina and Barcelona – World’s best player three years in a row;
• Diego Forlan - Uruguay and Inter Milan - Best player of the 2010 World Cup;
• Didier Drogba - Ivory Coast’s national captain - Former front-man of Chelsea F.C.;
• Diego Milito – Argentina and Inter Milan - Champions League winner;
• Dani Alves  - Brazil and Barcelona -  Two time winner of UEFA cup;
• Lucio - Brazil and Inter Milan – 2006 Brazil national captain;
• Antonio Cassano­ - Italy and AC Milan;
• Alessandro Nesta - Italy - 2006 World Champion;
• Radamel Falcao - Colombia and Atletico Madrid - top scorer of European League;
• Juan Silveira dos Santos - Brazil and AS Roma;
• Gerardo Torrado - Mexico and Cruz Azul;
• Diego Lugano - Uruguay and Paris Saint-Germain;
• Edison Cavani - Uruguay and Napoli;
• Walter Gargano - Uruguay and Napoli;
• Marco Materazzi - Italy’s national team;
• Luis Suarez - Uruguay and Liverpool;
• Jhon Viafara - Colombia and La Equidad;
• Javier Mascherano - Argentina  and Barcelona;
• Ezequiel Lavezzi – Argentina and Napoli;
• Fabio Cannavaro – Italy - 2006 national  captain, participation in four World Cups;
• Clint Dempsey - USA and Fulham;
• Jozy Altidore - USA and AZ Alkmaar;
• Carlos Bocanegra - USA and Rangers F.C. – National team captain;
• Ariel Ortega – Argentina and Defensores de Belgrano;
• Marek Hamsik – Slovakia and Napoli;
• Pablo Daniel Osvaldo – Argentina and AS Roma;
• Guillermo Ochoa  - Mexico and  Ajaccio –  Goalie;
• Andre Santos – Brazil and Arsenal;
• James Rodriguez – Colombia and F.C. Porto;
• Martin Demichelis – Argentina and Malaga;
• José Salomón Rondón – Venezuela and Málaga;
• José Manuel Pinto -  Spain and FC Barcelona, and
• Julio Cesar - Brazil and Inter Milan – Goalie.

Bad night for MLS

Tuesday night is one MLS executives surely would like to forget.

Seven MLS teams were eliminated from the US Open Cup by 2nd, 3rd, and even 4th division clubs. No, the MLS teams didn't all field their best players, but still. For a league trying to convince fans it is the best soccer America has to offer, Tuesday's results won't help. In fact, many fans were Tweeting that perhaps a pyramid relegation system, like they use in other parts of the world, might be a good idea if the NASL and USL teams can knock off seven MLS teams in one night.

Here are the results:

Carolina Railhawks d. LA Galaxy 2-1

San Antonio Scorpions d. Houston 1-0

Minnesota Stars d. Real Salt Lake 3-1

Dayton Dutch Lions d. Columbus Crew 2-1

Charlotte Eagles d. Dallas FC 2-0

Harrisburg City Islanders d. NE Revolution on PKs after 3-3 regulation

Michigan Bucks d. Chicago Fire 3-2

The Fort Lauderdale Strikers led the San Jose Earthquakes through 63 minutes, but wound up losing 2-1. Great effort by the Strikers. Definitely earned some respect across the country.

Big game tonight: USA vs. Brazil! 8 p.m. ESPN2. I plan to park myself on the sofa with my family, and switch back and forth between Heat game and soccer.

Question: What do you conclude from Tuesday's US Open Cup results? Share your thoughts.

Miami tops Champions League TV ratings

Which US city had the highest TV ratings on Fox for Chelsea's dramatic Champions League final win over Bayern Munich? MIAMI, of course.

1. (tie) Miami, Austin (TX) 2.6

2. Dallas 2.2

3. (tie) Washington DC, New York City 2.1

Some people have already e-mailed me saying it is perplexing that a city that consistently tops US TV ratings for international soccer hasn't been a hotbed for MLS and Strikers struggle to draw. I don't find it perplexing. Au contraire. This is a very soccer-savvy market. People here devour the World Cup, Champions League, La Liga, EPL. They know who the world's top players are, and their children wear those jerseys around town more than they wear Dolphin jerseys (I see it in my daughter's middle school..when it's jersey day, way more kids wear Barca, Real Madrid, ManU jerseys than NFL or MLB. Only Heat competes). Now that there is SO MUCH European and South American soccer on TV, fans here would rather watch their favorite teams and stars on TV than sit in a local stadium and watch teams and players they don't identify with. Soccer snobs? Perhaps. But it is what it is. For MLS to work here, my opinion, needs to be the right owner, with a 25,000-seat high-quality soccer-specific stadium in Miami, and some star players to get people excited. 

In other soccer news Tuesday, beINsports USA, Al Jazeera's new US soccer broadcasting arm, is reporting that it hired veteran broadcaster Phil Schoen, who had been doing LaLiga games for GOL-TV since 2003. Other big names are expected to follow, both English and Spanish-speaking.

beINsports will own rights to LaLiga, Serie A and Ligue 1...and don't be surprised if they go after English Premier League next. Question is whether they'll get cable contracts done in time for August 1 launch.

Their broadcast center will be in Miami, at Imagina studios. Stay tuned...GOL, FOX, ESPN certainly paying close attention.

Reminder: Tonight, 7:30 p.m., Lockhart Stadium: Ft. Lauderdale Strikers vs. Fresno Fuego in US Open Cup second round. Winner goes to Stanford, Calif. May 29 to face MLS San Jose Earthquakes.

Poll: PKs vs. Golden Goal