Monday, August 3, 2009

4 August 1999 - But Would They Have Beaten France? Probably, Yeah.

On 4 August 1999, host nation Mexico beat Brazil 4-3 in the Confederations Cup Final before a crowd of 110,000 at Mexico City's Estadio Azteca. The tournament was the fourth Confederations Cup, which typically includes the winners of the six FIFA confederations (CAF, CONMEBOL, UEFA, AFC, OFC, and CONCACAF) as well as the World Cup holders and the host country.

For the 1999 tournament, World Cup holders France declined to participate, so World Cup runners-up Brazil filled that slot. Brazil were also CONMEBOL champions, however, so CONMEBOL runners-up Bolivia took that confederation's qualifying spot. Similarly, because CONCACAF champions Mexico qualified as hosts, the United States filled the CONCACAF slot as the second-place team. They were joined by Egypt (CAF champions), Germany (UEFA champions), New Zealand (OFC champions), and Saudi Arabia (AFC champions).

The Final featured a showdown between the tournament's two best players—Brazilian midfielder Ronaldinho and Mexican midfielder Cuauhtémoc Blanco. Ronaldinho had scored in every match for Brazil, including a 13th-minute gamewinner in their 1-0 win over the United States in the group stage and a hat-trick in their 8-2 demolition of Saudi Arabia in the semi-finals. Similarly, Blanco netted four in Mexico's opening match against Saudi Arabia and scored the 97th-minute golden goal in Mexico's 1-0 win over the United States in the semi-finals.

In the Final, Mexico took a 2-0 lead in the first half with goals from midfielder Miguel Zepeda (13') and striker José Manuel Abundis (28'). Brazil pulled one back just before the break when left winger Serginho converted a 43rd-minute penalty kick. Striker Roni then equalized in the 47th minute, but the game did not remain level for long, as Zepeda scored his second in the 51st minute. Blanco added another eleven minutes later, to recapture Mexico's 2-goal lead. It turned out to be the matchwinner, as Brazilian midfielder Zé Roberto completed the scoring with a goal in the 63rd minute.

Blanco and Ronaldinho tied with Saudi Arabia's Marzouq Al-Otaibi for most goals of the tournament at 6 each. And while Blanco helped his team to the title, Ronaldinho earned the Golden Ball as the tournament's best player.




Sunday, August 2, 2009

3 August 1996 - The Super Eagles Have Landed

On 3 August 1996, Nigeria beat Argentina 3-2 in the gold medal match of the Summer Olympics before a crowd of 86,117 in Athens, Georgia's Sanford Stadium.

The Nigerian side, nicknamed the Super Eagles, had impressed during their first World Cup appearance two years earler, when they won their group, then lost in the first knockout round to eventual runners-up Italy in extra time. They had also won the African Cup of Nations in 1994.

In the 1996 Olympics, they finished the group stage even on points with Brazil and Japan, with two wins and one loss each, but finished in second position on goal differential (Brazil finished first). They then defeated Mexico 2-0 in the quarterfinals before beating Brazil 4-3 in the semifinals with a dramatic come-from-behind victory. With Brazil up 3-2, striker Nwankwo Kanu scored a 90th minute equalizer to force extra time, then won the game with a golden goal in the 94th minute.

Nigeria received more last-minute heroics in the Final. After giving up a 3rd-minute goal, then twice drawing level, the match was tied at 2-2 in the 90th minute when midfielder Emmanuel Amuneke received the ball about 10 yards out from the Argentine goal and sent a soft looping shot over the head of keeper Pablo Cavallero for the win.




Saturday, August 1, 2009

2 August 1967 - Cracking The Istanbul Cartel

On 2 August 1967, Trabzonspor Kulübü was founded in the Turkish city of Trabzon.

The club formed from the merger of several rival Trabzon clubs, including fierce local rivals Idmangücü and Idmanocaĝi. The merger was not voluntary, but was forced by the Turkish Football Federation, who demanded the unification of all clubs within the same city in order to strengthen the teams and increase the competitiveness of Turkish football.

Originally admitted into the Turkish Second Division, Trabzonspor earned promotion to the top tier Süper Lig for the 1974-75 season. They were successful almost immediately, winning their first league title in 1975-76, becoming the first team outside Istanbul to do so. They finished either first or second for the next eight seasons.

Trabzonspor won their last league title in 1983-84, but remain one of Turkey's "Big Four" clubs, along with the Istanbul triumvirate of Fenerbahçe, Galatasaray, and Beşiktaş J.K. They finished the 2008-09 season in third place.