À bientôt

I am off to the land of Zidane and Henry to eat foie gras, drink Bordeaux and think deep thoughts along the banks of the Seine/the shores of la mer Méditerranée. Since Zizou is back in France these days, maybe I can run into him and strike up a lifelong friendship. We'll see how that goes.

Happy Thanksgiving. Let's hope Arsenal win on Wednesday and Manchester United lose on Saturday so we have even more reason to give thanks. Enjoy the turkey. See y'all on December 4.

Henry still amazing, Rooney still a thug

Arsenal -- not sure what's up with them. They missed a million chances in Saturday's 1-1 draw against Newcastle. Newcastle! The highlight of the game -- that beautiful, beautiful free kick/equalizer by Henry. So amazing. And I'm not the only one who thinks so -- this little tribute is hilarious. In other news, Gallas is hurt and will miss a "few weeks." Fuck. Hamburg is tomorrow.

In other news, despite scoring first, Sheffield United were clearly, clearly outplayed Saturday and couldn't hold on to their lead -- they lost 1-2 to Man Utd, but honestly, it should have been something like 1-5. Rooney, Ronaldo and someone else -- Giggs? Saha? I can't remember -- missed 3-4 easy goals. Ronaldo, especially, is kicking himself. And I will say this, for the record -- Rooney's second goal was a nice one, and he did show some of the talent that people are always going on and on about. But he's still a thug, and I wish they had lost. I hope Chelsea kick their butts next weekend.

Cannavaro Wins Ballon D'Or

Reports from Spanish media and others say that as pretty much expected, Fabio Cannavaro will win the Ballon D'Or this year, the first time an Italian has won in a gazillion years (since the '50s). Although of course I would have picked Thierry Henry, I like Cannavaro. He's a good guy, and he deserves it. Good for him. But next year is ours TH.

UPDATE: Someone with a bit more authority and credibility than me also thinks it should go to Henry.

Grrrrr...

Georges Freche, a Socialist politician in France, outraged just about everyone in France on Wednesday when he said: "On this team [French national team], there are nine blacks out of the 11. Normally, there should only be three or four. That would be a reflection of our society. But if there are so many, it's because the whites are useless." Ha! I love that second part. His comments follow those of far-right leader and openly racist Jean-Marie Le Pen, who suggested during the World Cup that French society did not feel truly represented by Les Bleus. Like they DO feel truly represented by an old fat racist. Right.

Thuram, France's most capped player, labelled Freche's remarks "unhealthy, racist and dangerous...What's unhealthy in what Freche and others have said is that they question the number of blacks on the France team to pit blacks against whites."

"For a long time the great footballers have come from the most disadvantaged backgrounds. And as, in France, a large part of those who live in the most disadvantaged areas are black, it's only normal to find a lot of them on the France team." It's sad that he had to point this out.

You know, this is not the first time I've heard this, and it just pisses me off. Like REALLY pisses me off. People (and I'm not just talking about misguided French politicians) who would never dream of suggesting that say, Ashley Cole isn't British, or that Michael Jordan isn't American, feel free to insinuate that Zidane or Henry are somehow less French than Ribery or Sagnol. Meanwhile Zidane was born in Marseille, Henry in Paris. And I don't seem to recall the same complaint about Klose or Podolski on the German team. But at least France hasn't built a wall along their southern border.

Let's all get over all this illogical and in-many-ways naive crap and just enjoy the beautiful game.

Christmas Comes Early

In their last game of the year, Les Bleus won 1-0 against Greece in an international friendly on Wednesday. Henry scored the winning goal, making his total so far 39 goals in 91 games. He is now two short of Michel Platini's French scoring record, which is 41 goals in 72 caps. Henry was typically modest: "This gives me a lot of pleasure but there's still two more," he said. "As I have said many times, Platini did it much quicker than me and just to be compared to that type of player is already amazing." But still -- yay.

As great as that news is, it's not the best news. Italy drew with Turkey 1-1 in their friendly yesterday. And that Turkey goal? An own goal by Materazzi!!! HAHAHAHA. HAHAHAHA. My only regret is that the game wasn't a qualifier. But apparently he did it as captain and I'll take what I can get. I hope he cried.

(I can't believe I'm putting this third.) A few hours before the France-Greece friendly (and the hommage to the Golden Generation) the president of the Greek footfall federation honored Zidane for his man accomplishments. Pretty cool and the same day as Materazzi's own goal. Coincidence or act of God? Didier Deschamps, captain of the '98-'00 French team, was similarly honored. Photos of Zizou's visit to Bangladesh here.

In other news --

Cyprus 1- 1 Germany.
Pretty amazing, and good for Cyprus. I love seeing underdogs win (unless they’re playing France).

Ireland 5-0 San Marino.
Poor guys. Let’s give them credit for trying.

Israel 3-4 Croatia.
Israel beaten for the first time at home in seven years and 13 successive World and European qualifiers without loss since 2003.

Russia 2-0 Macedonia.
Russia now leads England in their group. Speaking of which…

Holland 1-1 England (friendly)
I don’t get England, I really don’t.

Spain 0-1 Romania (friendly)
Ditto Spain.

Ivory Coast 1-0 Sweden (friendly)
Ljungberg is apparently no match for Drogba.

Switzerland 1-2 Brazil (friendly)
Belgium 0-1 Poland
Finland 1-0 Armenia

Portugal 3-0 Kazakhstan
I heard rumors that Cristiano Ronaldo would be named captain for this (which, though I love him, I don’t agree with – he’s too young) but didn’t see an armband in match photos, so who knows. And how Armenia and Kazakhstan fall into Europe remains a mystery.

Shona's Thoughts on the Soccer/Football World (with a little plea for Darfur)

I am procrastinating at work, it's cold and rainy and I just remembered that I had a dream that Cristiano Ronaldo broke his leg while touring Africa and I had to take care of him. What can I say, my obsessions with Darfur (see photo) and football collided in my subconscious. That said:

#1. Ronaldo is the only good thing about Man United. I saw that game on Saturday, and the whole time, while I was hoping desperately for them to lose (they didn't) I thought, what is he doing with this crew -- he needs to go to Arsenal or Barcelona, somewhere where his game will be appreciated. Dude. Also, he's better looking than the whole rest of the team put together. On a related note...

#2. Rooney sucks. I hate railing on players when they have one bad day, so I won't bring up the two missed goals on Saturday that even I could have made. I hate him because he is a thug. And, as I understand it, a 'ho. Who has a weakness for 'ho's.

#3. Thierry Henry, soccer love. So I always knew he was good, but since I mostly watched him play with France, and my eyes were of course on Zizou the whole time, I'm not sure I realized how good. But he is GOOD. Grace. And the only player besides Ronaldinho who smiles even when things don't go his way. Plus, that ball does exactly what he wants it to do. He didn't score on Sunday, but man, he was the only one to watch out there. And then this.

#4. If Chelsea trade Lampard for Deco I will be MAD. I love Deco, who kinda looks like a teddy bear, and like him just where he is. Leave him alone Jose.

#5. Dear Mr. Beckham. I like you. But don't go to the LA Galaxy. First of all, you need to keep your dignity and NOT play for a club in which Landon Donovan is the best player. And second, I'm not sure I can bear to watch Victoria set loose in LA.

#6. Sigh. The Federation Francaise de Football (FFF) will honor its "Golden Generation" -- winners of World Cup '98 and Euro '00 -- in a ceremony before the France-Greece friendly Wednesday at the Stade de France. I can't believe I'm going to Paris exactly seven days after this, and missing not only Les Bleus' last home game for the year, but also a tribute to Zidane, Thuram, Makelele, Henry, et al. Had I been able to go, I KNOW I would have met at least one of these guys and we would have been BFF. Damn.

Zidane in Bangladesh

Zidane, who was invited to Bangladesh by 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus (founder of the Grameen Bank), is scheduled to play in an exhibition match between under-16 teams on Tuesday in Dhaka, the capital. Yay. Money has been pouring into the Bangladeshi FA since the announcement was made. I can't be sure, but I think this is his first time on the pitch since the World Cup.

He will also visit a village near Dhaka on Tuesday to meet Grameen Bank borrowers who have been lifted out of poverty by the bank's pioneering microcredit concept. On Wednesday, he will officially open a factory project run by Danone and Grameen Bank. Each has a 50 percent stake in the plant, which is aimed at producing nutritious food products targeted at people on low-incomes.

Look, I know this a PR thing for Danone. I get that. But he can and will inspire people, mostly children, in one of the world's poorest countries while promoting the work of one of the most effective poverty-alleviation programs around. And you have to love him for that.

Weekend of the Underdog

Unfortunately, Man Utd won, but in other matches it was all about the underdogs:

Tottenham 2-1 Chelsea. What a game! It was nice to see Chelsea go down, but watching the Spurs win was even better. They played with such heart and determination. John Terry randomly got sent off; I can't figure out why, and apparently neither can Mourinho. But Michael Dawson and Robbie Keane were fab. The Spurs earned it. (But I AM glad that Makelele scored.)

West Ham United 1-0 Arsenal! Not happy about this one. I didn't see the game, but come ON Arsenal. Robin van Persie was struck by a coin during the game, which the FA is investigating. And not sure what happened between Wenger and Pardew -- unlike Wenger, so I wonder what Pardew said.

In La Liga, Barca were held 1-1 by Deportivo. Not happy about that either. Real Madrid lost 1-2 to Celta Vigo, which of course I am happy about. Van Nistelrooy was dropped in favor of "still fat" Ronaldo. Not sure what that's all about.

Finally, in Ligue 1, Lyon lost for the first time this season to Rennes 1-0 at Stade Rennes. Midfielder Juninho was sent off with a red card. Again, didn't see the game, but this is pretty huge. Lyon are still on top in the rankings, so in the end this doesn't mean too much.

Champions League Angst

Soo...despite scoring in the first three minutes and having a lead for most of the game (or so it seemed), and despite the commentators saying things in the second half like "Are Chelsea running out of steam?", Barcelona and Chelsea drew 2-2 yesterday. Great goal from Deco. And that Lampard one -- still don't know how that got in. Sigh. But I'll say this -- quite a year for Drogba.

Chelsea are being fined for "unsportsmanlike behavior" though -- there is an automatic punishment for any team shown five or more yellow cards in one game. The size of the fine will depend on the detail in the reports from referee Stefano Farina and the UEFA delegate at the game, Wolfgang Thierrichter. Apparently Barcelona could also be in trouble after fans hurled bottles down on Chelsea players as they applauded the travelling supporters in the top tier of the Nou Camp after the final whistle. I know it's bad, but still pretty funny.

And I don't know if anyone saw the AS Roma - Olympiakos game, a 1-1 draw. Totti missed a penalty and then scored a very nice goal in the 66th for the equalizer. But after his missed penalty, Totti decided to be a complete ass and get up in the keeper's face like some goon from the Sopranos. The keeper, who like most keepers is huge, just knocked him down, which I loved. Again, pretty funny.