Well...

I'm currently "watching" the Man U. v. Barcelona Champions League match (recording it at home, the first half sounds worthy of keeping for later viewing)...and just found a news article about the Olympic draw for both US National Teams.

Also, this evening will be the second round of the new season of my new >30s team at Warners. The team name, if I haven't mentioned it yet, is Independientes F.C, borrowed from an Argentine team with the name Independientes ("los diablos rojos"). We're in blue and white (once the uniforms arrive) and the unis are said to be loosely based on the other "red devils," yes, Man U....NOT happy about that, but I guess it's a step up from our previous unis which were loosely based on AC Milan's). Our defacto captain, Santi, listed the Argentine team, Independientes, as one of his favorites (he's also a La Liga follower like myself).

The season has not started well as we lost our first match against Barely Kicking, 4-1 (I think). But the attitude was better with our team and we had a lot more show up for the first match (3 subs is a good thing). I'm hopeful about this season and it seems others are as well. Tonight we play 1040s and our goal is to shut them out...focusing on defense. I hope it works.

A must win situation...

Only a few hours away from match time and stories about it are everywhere.

UEFA.com story about what the team will need to win.

and

...Meanwhile, Sevilla president Jose Maria del Nido has described the second leg tie as "one of the most important in the history of Sevilla FC"...

Sounds like the Sevilla
match is also one of the most intense in its history. Just finished 30
minutes of overtime and aggregate score is still tied at 5-5. Certainly hope Gol TV or FSC replays this thing.

Possibly one of the worst matches i've "watched" online via matchcast. And yes, it's because Sevilla
lost after a full overtime in penalty shots (possibly the worst way for
any sporting event to be decided). Not sure I want to watch it now, but
I had to know how it ended. So,Sevilla is out of the Champions' League finals this year and we can only hope they survive and qualify to compete in it next year.

A few must win matches...

Though they are down a goal, I think Sevilla has a very good chance against Fenerbahçe SK next Wednesday. This story and the quotes from Poulsen do a good job of stating the obvious, "this will be another thriller." Though they were handed a loss in Turkey, they do have the two away goals, which can help a lot.

With their placement in La Liga, all of their remaining Liga matches will be just as important and almost as exciting as this next Champions League match against the Turkish side. Fifth place with only nine matches remaining, the Andalucians have little room for mistakes. I think a strong run of wins would make for a fitting tribute to fallen teammate Antonio Puerta.

Let's Go Sevilla!!

And speaking of a need for an end of season run, Fulham is in need of a really good run. As i've mentioned in the past, Fulham being relegated will look very bad for US soccer with their American heavy roster. Not that Americans are the only important players on the pitch, because they aren't, but surely the "court of public opinion" will have some more things to say (or at least think about) regarding US soccer should they fail to remain in the Premier League.

A new blog for a seperate subject...

My original blog was set up to post about music. It quickly pulled in some politics and some soccer. The politics sometimes works, but I found that no one reading my music and politics posts were interested in my futbol rhetoric. So...thus begins, Futbol in the Shadows. I'll be discussing futbol/soccer in general but my favorites include the US National Teams, the Republic of Ireland's National Teams, FC Sevilla and FC St. Pauli. I'm also a fan of Fulham in the EPL but that's mostly because they've picked up so many US National players for their roster.

Anyway, on with the show...

The first post will be about this evening's Champions League match that Sevilla will be playing in Turkey. The Fenerbahce coach is already spreading some harsh words to the press about how they plan on taking control of their destiny with this match. Should be an interesting match...just wish I could watch it instead of keeping track of it online via matchcast. At least Sevilla is a lot closer to full strength with several players returning.

Let's Go Sevilla!!!

[Edit: So, I was able to "watch" the gamecast off and on while at work. It sounded like a nasty match (Fenerbahce had 4 yellow cards) and I guess their coach was correct...at least for this match. Fenerbahce ended up beating Sevilla 3-2 with a goal in the final three minutes of the match. We shall see how the next ten years works out for him. I certainly hope Sevilla has better control over the second match which will be at home.]

...(Not a fun first post.)...