Born on June 9 in 1984 in Utrecht, The Netherlands.

He comes from a football family. His father and both brothers have played professionally.

Received the Johann Cruyff Award as Dutch Young Player of the Year in 2004.

Groomed in the world famous Academy of AFC Ajax which he signed for at age 17 on a trial basis. He quickly became a regular.

In 2007, he was sold to Spanish giants Real Madrid for 27 million Euros.

In his very first match as a Real player, he scored the game winner in the derby against Atletico.

In August of 2009, Sneijder was purchased by Internazionale of Milan for only 15 million Euros.

Sneijder debuted for the Dutch Under 21 squad in 2003 but quickly made the jump to the Senior National Team. He is arguably the most important player for the Netherlands and a true match decider. With him the Dutch are a force in the world, without him they are unlikely to have a chance against the great international powers. Simply put, they need him.

With Inter he is becoming a true superstar. In his very first season with the club he won the European Treble, consisting of Serie A, Coppa Italia and the UEFA Champions League. He is an excellent playmaker who is unusually ambidexterous. A fantastic dead ball striker, he has scored more than a few decisive goals on free kicks. He has quickly become vital to Inter’s domestic and international success. At 26 years of age, his star is exceedingly bright.

Enjoy the games.

Jerrito

From time to time throughout the season (unless Fish gets distracted by a Caprese Salad or something) we’ll be highlighting some of the world’s greatest football clubs. Today we’ll be featuring the current Heavyweight Football Champion of the World (yes, me made that title up), Barcelona…

Barcelona FC

- The club was founded in 1899 by a group of football players from Spain, England and Switzerland.

- Their Club motto is “mas que un club” which means more than a club. And it’s true. They are also well known for fielding good teams in basketball, handball and even roller hockey!

- Only 3 La Liga clubs have never been relegated in their history. Barcelona is one of them.

- The club’s long list of accomplishments includes 20 La Liga titles, 25 Spanish Cups, and 9 Spanish Super Cups.

- Only Spanish winner of the Treble, which consists of La Liga, The Champions’ League, and Copa Del Rey. To this they added the Fifa Club World Cup, European SuperCup and Spanish SuperCup, becoming the first team in the history of the sport to win 6 titles in a single season!

- The club is the second richest in the world (behind rival Real Madrid) with an annual take of about 350 million Euros.

- The football club has become a shining symbol of Catalonia and the proud Catalan culture.

- There are over 1,300 Barcelona FC Fan Clubs around the world.

- The club play their home matches at the Camp Nou. Built in 1957, it has a capacity just shy of 99,000.

- A list of great footballers to don the Barcelona jersey would fill up a few pages. It would certainly include players like Kubala, Luis Suarez, Kocsis, Maradona, Ronaldo, Cruyff, Schuster, Lineker, Stoichkov, Rivaldo and many more…

- Our prediction for the current Barcelona squad is probably not surprising to those of you who follow football closely. The club, their fans, and many experts expect big things again this year. With Coach Pep Guardiola again leading the way and the addition of World Class striker David Villa to a roster which already includes superstars Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, and Dani Alves, how can anyone expect less? To repeat a season in which they won 6 titles will be tough of course, but more championships are almost sure to come to this ultra talented, attractive football playing side.
Enjoy the Games!

Jerrito

Samuel Eto’o

Born in Nicon, Cameroon in 1981.

Made his professional debut with Real Madrid in 1997.

In five seasons with Barcelona scored over 111 goals.

Leading scorer in La Liga in 2006 with 26 goals.

Scored the fastest hat-trick in Barcelona history with 3 goals in the first 23 minutes of the match against Almeria in 2006. Two games later against Real Valladolid, he scored four goals in the first half.

UEFA Best Forward of the Year award in 2006.

Traded after the 2009 season to Internazionale in exchange for Zlatan Ibrahimovic and a whopping 46 million Euros.

First player in history to win European Trebles (Domestic league, Cup, and Champion’s League titles in a single year) with two different clubs (Barcelona and Internazionale) which he accomplished back to back.

Captain of Cameroon’s national team.

Made his debut for the national team as a 15 year old in 1996.

With Cameroon he won the 2000 Olympic Soccer Tournament along with African Cup of Nations in 2000 and 2002.

The all time leading scorer in the history of the African Nation’s Cup.

3 time African Player of the Year.

He is the most decorated African player of all time.

Perhaps the most versatile striker on the planet, he tends to stand out at any position. While he played mostly as a pure number nine in front of Messi and company at Barcelona, Jose Mourinho moved him around with Inter. Whether he played in the midfield, the right wing or “up top” he always shined and provided a major contribution to his team. In our opinion, he now ranks as the greatest African footballer ever and one of the world’s best strikers of the last 20 years.

Andrea Pirlo

Born in 1979 in Flero, Italy.

Originally a classic offensive midfielder who played close behind the strikers, he became a superstar when Milan Manager Carlo Ancelotti developed the position of deep lying playmaker exclusively for him.

With Milan he has won almost everything possible domestically and internationally, including 2 Champions League Titles, 2 European Super Cups, and a FIFA Club World Cup.

He has played for Italy’s Under 15, 18, 21 National teams and of course the senior national team, with which he won the ultimate trophy, the World Cup in 2006. Trust me, I have the DVD.

At Milan, his teammates have nicknamed him the Metronome because of the way he dictates the rhythm of the match. For Italy, he is the “Architect” for his role in constructing goals.

Why he’s great

Not as slick as Cristiano Ronaldo or as quick as Leo Messi, no midfielder relies more on quick thinking than Andrea Pirlo. In our opinion, no player in the last 20 years or so has done so as well. No sooner does he receive the ball from a defender than his head pops up, his foot swings in a smooth, almost effortless motion and suddenly the other team is on their back foot. From this position, he is known to launch a ball which lands precisely on the foot of a teammate 50 yards or more away. But he is also smart enough to lay the ball off to a defender when Italy or Milan has the lead. The way he dictates the tempo of a match is absolutely clinical.

A master of the free kick assist, we have not seen a player find his teammates in the middle of a crowded box off a corner this well since Diego Maradona. He can put it at the right height, drop it between defenders, or strike it with pace and accuracy to a teammate making a run from afar.

While watching my favorite player of the last 10 years run the midfield in a match Euro 2012 qualifier against Estonia today I had a thought. Andrea Pirlo is the most valuable player in the World. Why? 2 Pirlo Corner kicks, 2 Italian goals. Victory in a very important match and 3 points that could change Italy’s fortunes. As if we needed proof, he showed once again that Italy won’t win without him. Is there any other way to measure a player’s value?

Enjoy the games!

Andrea Pirlo

While watching Chelsea (my son’s favorite club team – ack!) play West Ham the other day I had a thought. What if kids ran the game? After all, isn’t this the sport we fell in love with as children? So why not turn it over to them? Here are some changes we might see if my 8 year old son (or your son or daughter) was in charge…

There would now be timeouts in football. Not for breaks in the game, but to replace yellow cards as punishment.

All games right up to the professional level would have 14 breaks of five minutes each which accounted for time to get goldfish and mini pizzas (Gennaro’s favorites), and for general distractions like butterflies on the pitch, not to mention those moments when the player “remembers” that he has to go pee very badly, or feels the need to give his mommy a hug.

John Terry would be asked to sit quietly by the corner flag when he “talks to” (that’s how daddy described it) another players girlfriend or wife.

There will be no more goalkeepers in an effort to encourage more scoring. Seriously, kids love goals. As my son so eloquently put it after being kept from scoring on Saturday, “goalies are bad!”

Lionel Messi would live next door to us. Because Gennaro said so.

Teammates would be required to shake hands after a match and say “good game” even if they didn’t mean it.

Shin Guards would be banned. Because they don’t “feel good”.

No spitting. It’s “nasty”.

Enjoy the Games!

Jerrito

It was a great week to be Italian. After the National Team’s debacle at the World Cup there were many questions that needed to be answered about the future of Italian Football. After a pair of important Euro 2012 qualifying matches, we like the answers…

Estonia – Italia

The most important moment was when Estonia scored on a soft goal and went ahead thanks to their wet home pitch. The Italy team of the past couple of years would have folded up shop and gone home for a nice siesta. Sure, we would have sent an extra player forward, or loaded their area with attackers and shown all the signs that we wanted to win, but the mental will to come back simply was not there in the past 2 years. Sadly, you could tell that the players just didn’t feel it. This young team was different. In difficult conditions, away from home and under a constant rain, this team fought back and won 2-1, gaining 3 very important points in what promises to be a difficult Euro 2012 Qualifying group.

Italia – Faroe Islands

Building on their comeback victory in the Estonia match, this game did more for Italian Football than any match they have played in 4 long years. I bet your jaw dropped when you read that, but you must understand what the last four years have been like for those of us who love the Azzurri. You see, Italy rarely blows out anyone. Even against the weaker opponents they face, the Azzurri prefer to get an early lead and put the Ferrari on cruise control. They concentrate on defending and keeping the lead they have created, something which Italian teams are world renowned for. This leads to scores like 1 or 2 nil against teams like Cyprus and the Faroe Islands. So it was with great surprise (and in our case glee) that Italy did not even downshift after going up 1-0 only 11 minutes into this match. In fact, they accelerated. Cassano looked like a man who felt indignation at not being taken to the World Cup, chasing a goal and then scoring it in spectacular fashion. Pirlo played like a man outraged at suffering a defeat to a “minnow” like New Zealand a few months ago. The Azzurri played 90 minutes like men on a mission to remind the World that just 4 years ago, they were champions of the footballin universe. And Alberto Gilardino ended his 1 year scoring drought by putting in a header in his home stadium. Everyone played well while following Prandelli’s dictate of never holding the ball for more than a few seconds. It was a beautiful display of offensive football we have not seen from an Italian team in quite some time. And it was beautiful to watch.

Before this round of matches, Italy had not won a game in more than one year. You read that right, a full year. Things were dire. The hiring of Prandelli, still relatively young and full of offensive ideas and a desire to do great things, brought hope. These two matches, though hardly monumental on paper, are perhaps the beginning of those hopes materializing in to something great. Speriamo!

Enjoy the games!
Jerrito

From time to time throughout the season (unless we get distracted by a pretty girl or something) we’ll be highlighting some of the world’s greatest football clubs. In no particular order, we’ll start with perhaps the game’s most accomplished club of all…

Real Madrid

- Founded in 1902. They are one of the founding members of soccer’s governing body – the Federation International de Football Association (FIFA).

- Most successful club in the history of Spanish Football and FIFA has voted them the most successful of the entire 20th century!

- The world’s richest club, Real Madrid has about 400 million Euros in annual revenue.

- Winner of 31 Spanish League Championships.

- winner of 9 UEFA Champions League titles (between the best club teams in all of Europe). No team has won as many. They have reached the semi-finals of the tournament a stunning 21 times.

- Winner of 3 Intercontinental Cups (between the winner of the European and South American Club Championships.)

- The “Real” in their name means Royal, and is a designation given to them by the King of Spain in 1920, hence the crown in their team emblem.

- Though Atletico Madrid is their crosstown enemy, their real rival (for titles and hearts) is Barcelona. Some of the greatest football in recent history has been played in the match between them called “el Clasico”.

- Real play their home matches in the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium (named after a former president of the club who was responsible for it’s creation). It was built in 1947 and rebuilt after the Spanish Civil War. The stadium has a capacity of about 80,000.

- The list of great players to don the Real Madrid jersey is too lengthy to print here, but it includes Alfredo Di Stefano, Ferenc Puskas, Emilio Butragueno, Hugo Sanchez, Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo, Santillana and recently both Cristiano Ronaldo and Ricardo Kaka.

- The list of big name Real managers is also long. Fabio Capello, Miguel Munoz, Vicente Del Bosque, Guus Hiddink, Carlos Queiroz are just a few of football’s household names who have coached them.

- As usual, their roster this year includes a bevy of superstars like Ronaldo, Kaka, Benzema, Carvalho, Diarra, Xabi Alonso, and more. Their World Class goalkeeper, Iker Casillas is back and the team look strong on paper. Lately though, their star studded lineups have had to bow down to the superior technicality and consistency of the likes of Leo Messi and Xavi of Barcelona. Will this be the year that Real manages to get the most out of their superstars? Stay tuned…

Enjoy the games!
Jerrito

This promises to be a fantastic year to watch football from places East, West and around the globe. So much has happened that we can’t wait to get going. And so, before you have yourself welded to your couch to get prepared for for a long year of matches, check out our list of things to watch for in world football this year…

Who will be the World Player of the Year?

Robben? Rooney? Messi? Sneijder? Nope. We say Xavi Hernandez of Spain edges his National Teammate David Villa by a nose. Xavi was the human command center of La Furia Roja’s ball control attack, after another great season with his club team Barcelona, and a deserved winner of any award. One of the great players of his generation, and the praise he is finally receiving is long overdue.

What will prove to be the most important transfer of the offseason?

Ricardo Carvalho has moved to Real Madrid. Mario Balotelli will try and earn his stripes at Manchester City and Yaya Toure and David Silva will join him. Juventus midfielder Tiago is heading to Atletico Madrid. Joe Cole has moved to Liverpool on a transfer that cost the Reds nothing. But the most significant move of all is David Villa’s 40 million Euro move to Barcelona. Try to imagine a better front four in the history of the game than Villa, Messi, Xavi and Iniesta. Barcelona scored a ton of goals last year without him. How many will they score now? Could they put up 10 in one match? Seriously. It’s sick.

What young player will officially become a superstar?

The list of up and coming players is long and impressive, as we witnessed at the most recent World Cup. 17 year old Philippe Coutinho is showing signs of becoming a future great at Inter. 21 year old Mesut Ozil of Werder Bremen has future midfield giant written all over him. Alexandre Pato of Milan could be Brazil’s next great striker. But our pick to be the best of the pack is 21 year old Thomas Muller of Bayern Munich. The World Cup Golden Boot AND Best Young Player Award winner has all the tools and a nose for goal. Watch every match you can that this kid plays.

Which among the top leagues will display the best football?

Though we are partial to Serie A of course, the clear choice is between Spain’s La Liga and England’s Premiership. With the large number of superstars in both leagues, it’s a tough call. The Prem is more physical and played at a high pace, while the Spanish League is more crafty and technical. While England has 4 or 5 “big” clubs, Spain is known for Real Madrid vs. Barcelona. Because they have more “giants”, there is a better chance that you’ll see a great club play on the weekend every time you turn on the television, we think the Premier League squeaks by in this race. But time will tell, as always…

Enjoy the Games!

Jerrito

At the risk of sounding defensive, we have to admit that we’re a bit annoyed at the suggestion of some folks around here (and there) that soccer is boring. And so we give you the top 10 reasons that soccer is less boring than baseball…

1. Longness! A baseball game can go as long as 5 hours and sometimes even more. I don’t even want to do stuff I love for that long. Seriously, put a timer on the damned thing!

2. Bigness! Best of luck finding a soccer player who uses steroids. I mean, we’re just not that big. Or want to be. On the other hand, Jason Giambi looks like he had a couple of midfielders for breakfast.

3. Childishness! Hitting a ball with a stick is infantile. Personally, I haven’t done it since that “accident” involving my little brother and a cat when we were kids.

4. Failure! Even the very best baseball players get a hit on only about 33% of their attempts. That means that they DON’T get a hit two thirds of the time! I would rather watch DIY for 24 hours straight hours than watch a guy flail hopelessly at the ball twice, then poke one between third and short and celebrate like he just won the Tour De France.

5. Celebrations! Baseball players stand around homeplate, waiting for the home run hitter, high five him, then hug him and head back to the dugout. Then it’s over. Soccer players dance, sing, salute, strip and hug the goal scorer like he’s their long lost, rich cousin Bruno from Perugia.

6. Looginess! Whether it’s sunflower seeds, chew, or good old fashioned phlegm, the spitting in baseball isn’t manly. It’s disgusting.

7. Beanballishness! Too often a pitcher will hit a batter with a pitch, then when the other team comes to bat, the opposing pitcher retaliates by hitting the other team’s batter. These two players then stare at each other, after which players pretend to run on to the field, pretend to fight, then go back to their dugouts and spit.

8. Managersurlyness! Another tradition in baseball is the “tossing”. At some point in a game, a manager will argue a call made by the umpire. He will go face to face with the official in a great display of feigned toughness, yelling and cursing like there’s no tomorrow, while the usually overweight umpire stands placidly. This is followed by the umpire making a grand gesture which signals to the umpire that the show is over and he can “hit the showers” early. “The Real Housewives” had less scripted drama.

9. Lackofathletishness! I’m not exactly sure how a game in which so little actually happens in so much time can be considered a sport. A soccer player runs more at halftime than a baseballer does in a double-header.

10. Worldappealishness! The 2009 World Series view a total of about 150 million viewers in 6 games. The 2010 World Cup Final drew about 600 million viewers for 1 match. Doesn’t that alone settle the argument???
Enjoy the Games!
(But try not to fall asleep)

Jerrito

A friend of mine mentioned to me the other day that he enjoyed the recent World Cup very much, but wasn’t sure he would follow soccer the rest of the year. We think this is a tragedy of epic proportions! So I’ve been thinking of ways to get this friend and others who follow the game only every 4 years to really get in to it on a year round basis. So here are a few suggestions for those who are only “casual” fans of the world’s game.

1.) Go to a live match, preferably involving quality teams in a great atmosphere. Go see Liverpool at Anfield, Boca Juniors or River Plate in Buenos Aires (better yet, watch them play each other in a match called “El classico”), Barcelona at the Camp Nou, Napoli at the San Paolo…Yes this could cost you a few bucks, but the passion you’ll witness in those places will give you a deep appreciation for what the game means to people around the world. If this is absolutely undoable and could possibly cost you your job, then try…

2.) Watch the Champion’s League and/or Copa Libertadores on television. You’ll see high quality football, all out competition and all of the passion we mentioned above. These matches are played between the best of the best Club Teams in Europe and South America, and the atmosphere, high stakes and tension is infectuous. How do you start?

3.) Get the channels! Setanta sports is the best channel I’ve seen available here in the states for quality football. Fox Soccer Channel shows matches from the best leagues around the world including Serie A, the English Premiership and La Liga in Spain. The Spanish language channels like Univision and GolTV show tons of football from Argentina, Mexico and more. Hook a couple of these channels up and you’ll be able to watch all the high quality football you’ll need to get you seriously obsessed with the Beautiful game!

4.) Play the game! One of the reasons some people don’t like soccer is that they don’t really understand it. Join a fun Recreational League and give it a try. The more you understand, the more likely you’ll be to appreciate and enjoy this great game!

5.) Love your team. Start by watching your national team, whatever that is. The matches between nations are full of historical drama. And qualifying for the next major tournament starts immediately after the last one ends. Just think of the historical implications of matches like Germany-England, Brazil-Argentina, and Italy-France! There is always much more than football involved.

I can’t imagine that anyone who followed at least one of these steps could avoid becoming a serious fan of football. Give it at shot and come join the billions of people from Senegal to Saudi Arabia who call it the national game of their country. We leave you with this thought…

“Some people believe football is a matter of life and death. I’m very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that.”

Bill Shankly