The Obscure Quiz
Wednesday, 07 November 07, 09:55 PM
The completely obscure yet totally googleable football quiz:
See how many you can get without resorting to research.
A certain Serie A team is (usually) marshalled by two bald/shaven headed players in the middle of the park. Both more attack minded than Everton's duo of Thomas Gravesen and Lee Carsley, it's still
a slightly odd occurence in Serie A where players usually like their hair... long. Name the team and players. (Hint - the lesser known one of them is Eugene Corini)
Inter's Hernan Crespo has a namesake playing for a well known La Liga club. He appeared in that clubs' win on the weekend despite only lasting 41 minutes. Name the club and player.
Abdel Kader Keita played for Cote D'Ivoire at Germany 2006. Seydou Keita plays for Sevilla this season. What country does the latter represent ?
Despite the name, Lazio's Christian Manfredini has been capped for a different country in the past. Name the country. (Hint - they were at the World Cup last year)
Jose, Raul, Sergio, Luis. Which two Garcias play for Athletico Madrid ? Bonus - name another Garcia who sometimes plays in goal for another La Liga club.
Athletic Bilbao have a unique and interesting trend with regards to player personnel. All their players must be something in common. What is it ?
At France 98, the only player in Italy's squad not to play for a Serie A team was Christian Vieri. Despite being unpopular and regularly booed, he scored 24 goals in 24 league appearances for them
the season before. Name the club.
Parma's Damiano Zenoni and Sampdoria's Christian Zenoni are, you guessed it, twins. What team did the both play for, for a while when they both came to prominence several years ago ?
Christian Vieri, arguably the most successful 'journeyman' striker of all time has of this season, played for 14 different clubs. But how many of them were in Serie A when he played for them
?
Liverpool's Xabi Alonso has a sibling playing in the Premiership. Name him and the team he plays for.
Wales' current manager John Toshack has a penchant for managing Spanish Clubs. Which one did he manage for 3 separate spells?
Portsmouth's Benjani Mwaruwari is from Zimbabwe. Pompey used to have another African player from a country that neigbours Zimbabwe across the Zambezi river. Name the player and the country.
An Ex-Arsenal star and current media pundit for the Premiership had a twin brother who died in a car crash. Name the player. (Hint - he scored the last World Cup goal of the 20th century.)
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Fans of Premiership teams revealed
Thursday, 05 April 07, 12:57 PM
OleOle does not condone or suggest any of the following, not often anyway.
The Arsenal man: Goes for the exotic looking ones. Discards the generally good looking ones. Smooth talking with a slight accent, lots of charming conversation, best looking
dance moves... but at the end he still leaves alone. Lad just can't score.
Chelsea: Finds the ugliest looking girl. Goes up, hits her over the head and carries her off over his shoulder.
Liverpool: Goes for the simple types. Talks about the past, throws in the odd joke about pedigree, patriotism and bushy moustaches with a local twist. Does the robot on
the dance floor. Very successful in local bars close to home. Usually less so, in remote bars in other towns.
Man United: Spots the easiest looking lass in the joint. Pushes her from behind. After she falls, he picks her up and dusts her down - all the while blaming the Arsenal
man a few feet away for knocking her over while drawing attention to the latter's foreign accent. After the knight in shining armour routine, asks if she has any kids, or better yet any
grandkids.
Aston Villa: Quiet at first, girls are drawn to his shy yet promising looks. As the conversation goes on, the girl gets bored and it becomes painfully aware he's never going
to score.
Tottenham: Watches the moves of the Arsenal man very closely. After the former moves on, goes for the girl Arsenal failed with or discarded. And promptly fails to make an
impression himself.
Bolton: Same as Tottenham except he picks United's leftovers... and uses Chelsea's approach.
Blackburn: Goes for the nearest girl he sees and asks her for sex straight out. After she slaps him he moves onto the next girl. Repeat till done.
West Ham: Enters the bar feeling very clever as he has roped in two latin fellows as wingmen. They score, he doesn't and realises he's about to be thrown out of the bar for
being too drunk.
Charlton: Does nothing. Sits and stands near the back. Occasionally smiles at the odd girl. Never even threatens to make an impact.
Fulham: Very moody. On the odd day capable of talking to and walking away with the hottest girl in the bar. On other days to be found at one of the back tables
sharing a pint with Charlton, Tottenham and Middlesborough.
Middlesborough: Very boring, most girls run the moment he approaches. Despite claiming multiple cultured influences he drinks only the local bitter. Plenty
of. Scores with the girls who are semi conscious themselves.
Everton: Watches Liverpool very closely. Tries to hit on 'the friend' while trying to outdo Liverpool. Easy to spot as he's usually bald and slightly mean
looking.
Reading: Excitable and young. Rushes in to talk to the gaggle of girls near the dance floor despite warnings from the older folk to bide ones' time. Rejection
hasn't affected this man yet.
Wigan: like Reading, except jaded by all the rejection over time. It's been a year....
Watford: Knows he's not going to get anywhere. Sits down next to Charlton and turns on the TV to catch up on the sports news before the place closes.
Man City: Penchant for trying very hard but not getting very far. Usually starts well but an ill timed gaffe or faux pas usually puts paid to his chances of hooking up
for the night. Keep off the pickles and the beans.
Portsmouth: Nervous head twitches and neck twists keep from having a normal conversation with a girl. That and his preoccupation with talking to every single girl in
the bar. Not only are they distracted but so is he.
Sheffield United: Comes in sweaty, wearing a dull sweater and musty smell. Repellent to anything female. Usually can be heard swearing loudly at the telly with
Watford. Extremely likely to get into a fight with Blackburn when the latter propositions his sister.
Newcastle: At home, injured. Watching Rugby with no shirt on.
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Random Musings on the Premiership
Monday, 22 January 07, 09:42 PM
Arsenal's youth players:
If Birmingham City win the Championship (basically Division 2), or at the very least return to the premiership, their windfall will be considerable. Surely Arsenal are entitled to a portion of that, a fourth or a fifth part, considering that 3 of their crucial players are Arsenal loanees, lead striker Niklas Bendtner, midfield anchor Fabrice Muamba and winger Sebastian Larsson? Perhaps, Steve Bruce will keep the amount to reconstruct himself a new nose. Perhaps I am being too cheeky.
Arsenal's youth player's part 2:
.. continuing on that note, since Arsenal's youth team reserve players, whether resident or on loan, seem to make mincemeat of most premiership teams (witness Birmingham's 5-1 demolition of Newcastle in the FA Cup, Arsenal's 6-3 win against Liverpool, etc, etc) and that Arsenal's first XI sometimes come unstuck against Fulham and co; wouldn't it be expedient to play (more of those) those players against the lesser lights of the Premiership ? I guess it would be too disrespectful to the likes of Sheffield United.
Fergie's gratitude to Reading:
If United do go on to win the title, can we assume that Stephen Hunt and Ibrahim Sonko will be invited to Ferguson's mansion for a sit down dinner, boot-kicking, red wine and all ?
Liverpool versus Chelsea:
Does Martin Tyler wet himself every time Riise scores (or comes close to) ? John Arne Riise's long distance drives are top quality, more often than not, but Martin Tyler's spontaneous orgiastic appreciation is surely a step too far. By the way, Doesn't Geremi look exactly like Mekhi Pfifer ?
Liverpool versus Chelsea part Cashley:
Ashley Cole has now contributed directly to atleast 5 goals conceded by Chelsea this season. To think Chelsea actually paid 5 million for his skills - that's one mil per goal. Good business Mr Kenyon!
Portsmouth and North London:
Now that there are 7 ex-Tottenham and ex-Arsenal players at Portsmouth, will intra squad games in training be called the North London Derby ? For the record,
ex-Arsenal: Lauren, Kanu, Sol Campbell, Andy Cole, Richard Hughes
ex-Tottenham: Pedro Mendes, Sean Davies, Noe Pamarot
Portsmouth and defenders:
Speaking of Portsmouth, how many discarded (and often rubbish) defenders can Harry Redknapp stockpile in hopes of rejuvenation. At last count he had 7.
Rubbish category: Traore (Liverpool), Andy Griffin and Andy O'Brien (Newcastle)
Unwanted: Sol Campbell and Lauren (Arsenal), Dejan Stefanovic (Sheffield Wednesday), Noe Pamarot (Tottenham)
It seems only Matthew Taylor and Linvoy Primus are current Portsmouth defenders who are there because they were considered to actually be any good.
Relegation and 4-0 thrashings:
As much as I enjoyed seeing Leeds get relegated in 2003-04 on the back of some splendid 4-0, does it hurt yet? thrashings by Arsenal, I must say it will be with no small measure of glee that I will watch Alan Pardew join the ranks of championship managers this May. Too bad he's taking Charlton with him - that's one less 4-0 thrashing I can count on. He won't have any foreigners too scream at down there though.
Overvalued English Players:
Now that Blackburn's Matt Derbyshire has scored 3 consecutive away goals will he be snapped up by one of Newcastle, Everton, Villa, Bolton in the off season - presumably for 10 million? If Ashley Young fetched that much, Matty boy cannot be far behind if he keeps this up (sic).
Alternative England XI:
If you could pick an England XI without anyone from the top 4 (say for a friendly match against middling opposition) whom would you pick ? For me:
(4-4-2)
Scott Carson
Liam Ridgewell
Michael Dawson
Gareth Barry
Matthew Taylor
Aaron Lennon
Joey Barton
Scott Parker
Stewart Downing
Jermain Defoe
Gabriel Agbonlahor
Andrew Johnson and Ledley King are injured.
Kieron Dyer, Jermaine Jenas are rubbish.
Now they can't do much worse than the current lot, can they ?
Cheers.
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Whom will Ferguson kick a boot at now ?
Monday, 22 January 07, 06:26 PM
If this was a test of belief then Arsenal passed with flying colours. Stand up Gunners every where and salute.
The Premiership's most resilient team came back on home turf to snatch a deserved win over the league leaders. Arsenal beat United at their own game of winning at the death. The trip back to the gloomy north west of England will be so much gloomier for Fergie knowing that he has lost both games against Wenger this term. How decidedly delicious it is to speculate who Ferguson will kick a boot at this time.
Chelsea may be the current team to dislodge, their temporary wealth skewing the order of things in the premiership, but make no mistake, Arsenal is the team that gives Ferguson (among others) the most joy to beat. Arsenal is the team that gives most premiership teams nightmares.
Arsenal may not win the Premiership this season but have ensured that they remain the most dangerous team in the league while playing the best football. With this come-from-behind win they have completed an impressive quintet of wins over fellow big 4 clubs this season and have accomplished the double over the Red Devils. With Chelsea to visit and a trip to Anfield remaining, one can hope to see Arsenal add to that tally. And we're still unbeaten at home. Hopefully that streak can continue. Arsene Wenger stands vindicated in both his choice of approach and his backing of the kids.
I was concerned about Gilberto's absence in the middle of the park through suspension and Ronaldo's threat down the left troubling us on the break. In the event, Flamini put in a fairly good, tough performance in Gilberto's place while Rosicky on the other hand seemed to be a little wasteful overall. The Czech maestro is more than an adept shooter from distance but his aim and timing were woefully off in this game. Even though Hleb went off to be replaced by Baptista (who was anonymous), I felt the Belarussian breadman played a good game overall. He hustled, harried, ran and tackled, with his passing often angled more vertical than horizontal, as he probed the right side of United's stall for an opening.
Fabregas was the artiste in his element. He bossed the midfield at Old Trafford, he bossed the midfield here. Michael Carrick cost close to 19 million pounds, Fabregas cost Arsenal nothing. Carrick played well as a glorified ball retriever, Fabregas gave a demonstration on being a modern midfield maestro. If passing is an art, this man is master of his craft.
Senderos kept his concentration all game and had Larsson in his pocket for most of it. How Ferguson must be wishing he had started Saha in place of the Swede. Perhaps, Wenger's comment, that he was terrified of playing the Swede, had Fergie double-guessing himself. The Swiss youngster may have struggled against the physical approach of Saha, against the wily Swede, he had a smooth game. Toure, as ever, was a champion workhorse, matched only by his opposite number, the immense Vidic, at the other end of the park. The job he has done in anchoring this young squad, is admirable.
Eboue, despite himself, kept Ronaldo fairly quiet, even managing to get the Portugese wanker/winger/winker booked out of petulant frustration. A few nervous moments with his clearances and the odd clumsy challenge aside, the Ivorian was more than competent at right back and what a sweet cross it was indeed - textbook stuff, like at the start of the season. How vindicative it must be that after selling off one of their most consistent right backs of recent times, his replacement was instrumental in both containing and overcoming the threat of the league leaders. How Redknapp must be wishing Arsenal had let the other West African right back leave.
Clichy goes from strength to strength and judging by both his contribution to Arsenal's game this season (And Cashley's contribution to Chelsea's demise), he has more then replaced the money-grabbing Englishman in both team and spirit. His pacy counterattacks were balanced evenly by his dogged defending and critical interceptions. Eric Abidal must be nervously peering over his shoulder when considering the pecking order for the Les Blues's left back position.
Henry was sulking at times and a little peripheral it seemed but just as I sensed an unwilling sense of deja-vu, the captain came up with a flick-on assist and a gutsy headed winner. Tremendous Thierry, that was fantastic. He may have seemd a little unwilling to get stuck in, but boy did he rise to the occasion (no pun intended) when it was asked of him. His first half header was an apology to centre forwards everywhere, but his second half winner was a clinic in big time delivery with the head. Va-va Voom!
You sensed that, with bringing Van Persie on, Wenger switched to a more direct style in Arsenal's attacking approach. Uptil then, like on innumerable times in the last 3 seasons, Arsenal prevaricated when a more direct approach presented itself. With the exception of Rosicky of course, but he was so woeful with his shooting, it didn't matter. Tactically there is an advantage of playing the ball back to the cavalry, arriving in numbers in and around the box, when the ball is played long to the foremost attacker. By dragging the ball back and square, it pays off, on occasion, to tee someone else up in a better situation. However, Vidic and Rio were so composed in their positioning, and Carrick was so in the way, that dragbacks inevitably resulted in the ball going back to square one in the middle of the park. I was glad, therefore, to see Van Persie, never a stranger to direct, selfish shooting, positioned at the far post when Henry's flick on arrived there, rather than one our more selfless midfielders.
It was delightfully self-indulgent to see Van Persie and Henry pull the trigger, the Dutchman's sweet one time shot rifling into the roof of the net to send Ashburton Grove into hysterics while Eboue's late cross to Henry condemned United to a comprehensive defeat. Direct style: two goals from four attempts; short passing approach play: zero goals from the entire game till then. Numbers rarely lie.
Adebayor's tireless approach was illustrated in one sequence where, after running close to 50 yards to retrieve the ball, he placed it on the corner of six yard box for Van der Sar to take. Typically United, Van der Sar proceeded to waste time by shifting the ball onto the other corner. If any gesture signaled that United were a little concerned, perhaps even scared, it was that little piece of pathetic gamesmanship. One can talk all they want about the need to rush the ball back into play, but few Premiership footballers would have spent so much energy on what was, eventually, a fruitless endeavour. In my mind, Adebayor was neck and neck with Vidic, when he received Fabregas' long ball and was flagged for being offside. Had he scored, it would be nothing less than he deserved.
How fitting it was then, to see Ferguson whine at the end, when Lehmann, in the final moments, with Arsenal leading, proceeded to do a little time wasting himself. Pot calling the kettle black ? No, Sir Alex, as you sow so you reap.
Finally Lehmann, what can you say ? The German was solid at the back, keeping out 3 shots that may have trickled in. The entire game, he was only out of position once, and when you consider the aerial bombardment as well asd long distance shooting that United subjected him to, that is an achievement in itself. Lehmann led from the back and started what Henry finished at the other end.
A truly awesome, whole hearted team performance from Arsenal.
Next time Arsenal meet United, in perhaps the FA Cup or the Champions' League, you can rest assured that Ferguson will revert to employing the muscular physical approach that served him well the last time Arsenal were in direct ascendancy over them - the 2002-03 and 2003-2004 seasons. They will resort to being more forceful and rough in the middle of the park. If anything, United missed the brutish style of Saha and O'Shea when they were leading. I will however, not complain. This game reiterated once more that no one (and no one) can outfootball Arsenal. Full credit to United for playing football though and trying to beat Arsenal at it.
2-1 to the Arsenal. Wenger must be proud.
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On The Obscure Footie Quiz III