O'Brien Off to UK With Generation Adidas Team

Nice trip coming up for Colorado Rapids' midfielder, Ciaran O'Brien. O'Brien, who made his ill-fated debut for the Rapids against the LA Galaxy on opening night this past season, was sent off after coming on as a substitute and then did not play again all season in the first team, is off to the UK with the Generation Adidas team. The team will play three games against Premier Leage reserve teams and will also be able to watch Chelsea training and the Blues' UEFA Champions' League game against Romanian team, FC Cluj. The trip is December 6-14. O'Brien is the only Rapids player in the 16-strong party. Other Colorado links in the squad are Aurora native, Roger Espinoza, of the Kansas City Wizards and Bruno Guarda who was briefly on the books this season at the Rapids before being traded to FC Dallas.
http://www.coloradorapids.com/News/NewsDetails.aspx?NID=17jSERs4QJc=

No Training and African Journey

My apologies but I wasn't able to get to training this week to pick up on the mood in the camp and get a feel of what Fernando Clavijo is planning for this weekend. My guess is that it seems unlikely there will be much change in the line-up given last weekend's dominant performance against DC United. I do understand that Conor Casey may be challenging for a place so he may get some game time at Houston.
The reason why I couldn't get to DSG Park this week was because I am preparing for a two-week trip to Ghana in West Africa. I will be working on a volunteer project out there teaching kids cricket. In this football crazy land, they don't play much cricket, despite the British influence. I will be in Ghana for the FA Cup Final, the Champions' League Final, featuring Ghana's own Michael Essien of Chelsea, and the UEFA Cup Final. I will be wearing my Zenit St. Petersburg shirt with pride. I am sure these games will be on television in Ghana but I'm not so sure I'll see much Rapids' action. I'll do my best to blog from Ghana but who knows how often I will be able to do this? I am disappointed I will miss the Houston game as well as the two home games against RSL and Chivas but I will be back for the Dallas game June 1. In the meantime, enjoy your soccer and let's hope the Rapids continue their good form. Hear from you all when I get back but please do keep the comments up if I can manage to blog from Ghana. Take care everyone.

Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely

Oh dear. Another crazy owner who knows jackshit about football thinks he owns the world and can make bad decisions at the expense of everyone else at the club - players, coaches and fans. Manchester City manager, Sven-Goran Eriksson, is, according to the BBC, going to be sacked at the end of this season by billionaire owner Thaksin Shinawatra. Manchester City have had one of their best seasons in recent years. They may have slipped since the turn of the year but they will finish in the top ten, precisely the target set for Eriksson. I thought you usually kept your job if you met your targets. He may even exceed them. What does Shinawatra expect? Manchester City to win the Premiership? I've not been a fan of Eriksson for a while now. I think he was a great coach in his earlier days but he ended up a major disappoinment at the helm of England and I think his decisions largely cost England in the last World Cup. However, he has done a great job at City. The players like him, the fans like him. It just appears that the owner doesn't. What is with these power crazy owners? We've seen the shenanigans at Liverpool. OK, Liverpool have faded in the Premiership but they are still in the Champions' League for Christ's sake. Benitez remains a top notch coach.
I think there are lessons for everyone. Owning a football club, particularly in England, is not simply a financial investment. You have to have the players' and fans' interests at heart. Glory does not come overnight. I would not be at all surprised if the Manchester City fans take to the streets on this one. Maybe Mr. Shinawatra's days at City could also be numbered?
Here's the BBC link to the story.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/m/man_city/7370698.stm

Barca Masterclass as Men Beat Boys

It's all too easy to rhapsodize about stylish European teams but the elite of Barcelona strutted their stuff at Celtic Park yesterday in the Champions' League and the little I saw of it was spectacular. Admittedly, they fell behind twice to the Scottish giants but, turning on for the last 2o minutes or so, their class going forward was unmistakeable. Celtic, apart from one pseudo attack towards the end of the game, could barely touch the ball in those last 20 minutes. Eto'o, who had come on for Ronaldhino, Henri and Messi, especially Messi, combined with the likes of veteran Puyol to rip Celtic apart. It was a pleasure to watch as a neutral. Messi truly is a phenomenon. You expect great things every time he touches the ball. The only person I can think of who had such skill and presence in recent years (Kaka, Ronaldo maybe) and on whom such great expectations were set was Zidane. Not bad for a kid who is still a teenager. Barcelona won 3-2, making the Nou Camp trip for Celtic a mighty mountain to climb.