See Soccer In The Movies In Goal II: Living The Dream.

I just saw Goal II: Living The Dream. Despite its wild inaccuracies, it was a highly entertaining movie that I wouldn't hesitate to recommend to any soccer fan.

I had seen the original Goal: The Dream Begins but I didn't realize the sequel had come out. Where Goal I is more of a feel-good, poor-boy-from-the-streets-(of the U.S. via Mexico)makes-good story; Goal  II explores the darker side of stardom as protagonist Santiago Muñez hits the big time with Real Madrid.

Goal II also gives you much greater access to the stars of the game and the surroundings of a top-flight club. Steve McManaman was brought on as an associate producer and offered access to the Real training  facilities, locker room and even the field of Santiago Bernabeu. Awesome!

As if access to the players and  field weren't enough there are appearances by many of the top stars of the game. The Galacticos of Real Madrid make numerous appearances with David Beckham and Steve McManaman getting significant screen time. The locker room scene in Bernabeu is highly realistic but awesome nonetheless! Imagine kicking the ball around before the game with a happy Roberto Carlos, Zidane and Beckham. That's cool (even if you're not fan of Los Bancos)!

The game action looks much more realistic than the first movie. Real games footage has been blended with  footage of our movie heroes so that it looks like Santiago Muñez and Gavin Harris are really receiving passes from or setting  passes up for Raul, Zidane, Ronaldo and Beckham.

The on-ball moves might be a bit overdone but the dramatic effect doesn't ruin the movie.

One thing  that bothers me bit more is that real games been re-worked with the magic of effects to be the reverse of their actual results. The opening scene shows Barcelona beating Real in Bernabeu 3-0. It's the game where Ronaldinho earned a Golden  Ball and  Bernabeu applauded his genius. It's the last real game  you'll see.

When Real plays a Champion's  League Final against Arsenal it's actually their first-elimination round against Arsenal from the 2006 Champion's League. For some reason Nic Cannon is added as an Arsenal forward. Real playing in  the Champion's League final in 2006? Nic Cannon giving the Real defense fits? I guess they  couldn't put Muñez on 2006 Barca because there's no way he'd break into the lineup.

Another plus for Goal II is the appearance of Leonor Varela as Spanish report Jordana Garcia.if you remember being impressed Job's girlfriend in Season 1 of Arrested Development, you'll enjoy seeing her here. I'd love to see here in more movies.

So check out Goal II at your favorite movie purveyor or you could probably even watch it (in poor definition) on YouTube.
Part 1
Part 2
You get the idea...

If you don't want to start watching the whole movie on YouTube, here's the trailer. Enjoy!

Real Madrid: The Whiners That Cried Ref! (Madrid El Equipo Mas Lloron De La Liga)

So Jose Mourinho thinks that the referees were unfair to Real Madrid. Awww! Ooh boo!

I feel terrible for Jose and his team. Clearly there is a referee conspiracy against the merengues. In fact, the whole league is probably against them. And, we all know about the governments historic sabotage of Madrid!

Bullshit!

That's right, I'm going to pull the bullshit card on this one. The fact of the matter is, I haven't seen any team in La Liga that has been as coddled, if not illegally favored by the referees of the Spanish league.

Madrid isn't satisfied to be the nina of the referees ojos, they heap it on by whining about how the refs are mistreating them. What a bunch of spoiled cry babies.

Remember when Rafa Van der Vaart played volleyball with a pass in front of goal? He put both hands on the ball and literally setting it to his foot. Sporting had been winning 1-0 (in Bernabeu) and the Madrid goal totally changed the course of the game.

I've seen few more ridiculous referee calls in soccer (although Thierry Henry's France vs. Ireland handball fits the bill) but its indicative of the game-changing calls in their favor that Los B(l)ancos regularly get.



This is just one of many examples of the rampant favoritism that the referees show Madrid. Have you watched Madrid in the last 10 years? Remember when they went from Galacticos to Iker y los diez tontos (Iker Casillas and the ten fools - a term coined by a Madrid fan)? There was game after game when San Iker repeatedly saved his team with spectacular saves while Los Blancos played horribly. Then, just when you thought Sevilla, Almeria, Athletic, Gijon, Getafe, Osasuna, Valladolid or whoever, were finally going to beat Madrid, the refs would come to the rescue. I'm sure every Spanish team has their share of these examples.

Here's another example taken over the course of a season.



Want more? How about Pepe's shameless mauling of Getafe's Casquero (at the end of last season)?

I realize that you could probably find unflattering examples of the play of any top team if you looked long and hard enough. Still, you'll find more examples from Madrid. Don't believe me? Watch their games. You'd have to be delusional not to see that Real not only get more than their share of preferential treatment from the refs but intentionally try to injure players on occassion.

Even so, I wouldn't even bring this up if it weren't for the constant whining about referees that comes out of Madrid from both the Real organization but also Marca, the propaganda wing of Madrid (to be fair to Marca, they clearly love soccer and produce a very entertaining paper - day in and day out). Real's delusional supporters remind me of right-wing talking heads in the U.S., railing against the dangers of the mainstream media - it's so ridiculous it would be laughable - except that some people believe this BS.

To sum up: Madrid - quit your pathetic whining and play soccer - you have an incredible roster, one of  the world's best coaches and more money than a US-government-bailed-out investment banker. Shut up and play!

What Soccer Game Should I Watch?

Looking for a soccer game to watch early in the week of December 19th? If you like goals, try the Stuttgart - Bayern Munich game from the German Bundesliga.

I usually don't watch many games from the Bundesliga but I stumbled on this game on ESPN Deportes. It was a highly entertaining part of this nutritious breakfast. I won't tell you what the score was or even tell you what happened; but I will say that you won't see many games with more goals. (Warning, do not watch this game if defensive errors and bad goalkeeping make you angry.)

Enjoy!

Real Madrid - Sevilla: This is ugly

The game is still in progress, but so far this game isn't very pretty.

Madrid have made more chances but you'd be hard-pressed to say they're playing well.

Di Maria dived like Greg Louganis in the 60th minutes but unlike most Madrid games, the ref called him on his bull - he got a Yellow.

Sevilla had a shot to go up 1-0 but Negredo missed a clear shot.

Now Madrid is down to 10 because Carvalho got a second yellow.

Despite the disadvantage, a horrible lack of positioning by Sevilla keeper Palop, led to the Madrid goal.

More when the game is over.

Espanyol 1 - FC Barcelona 5: The Catalan Derby Crowns An In-form Barca

I was impressed when Barcelona erased Real Madrid from the field of play with a 5-0 win. I wasn't surprised when they followed that up with a 5-0 victory over Real Sociedad, but it did confirm their superb form. Yet there is no greater proof of Barcelona's transcendent, world-beating football than their victory over in-town rival, Espanyol.

Don't let Espanyol's humble history and position in the league fool you - they play Barcelona tougher than anyone except Real. And in recent years they've given Barcelona more trouble than Real.

Going into the game, Barca and the Periquitos (parakeets - read one opinion on the name here) had played 76 league games with the Blue-and-Whites as the home team. 25 games resulted in wins for Espanyol. 25 resulted in ties and 26 saw Barca win.

Espanyol even gave Rijkaard's superb Barcelona team fits. They regularly dulled the brilliance of an in-form Ronaldinho and in 2007, their 2-1 victory so frustrated Rijkaard that he broke the plexiglass of the dugout bench!

Expectations were so high that Real players openly spoke of catching and passing Barca in the league tables after the Blaugrana fell to Espanyol.

Even Guardiola complimented Espanyol.

Hay equipos que te esperan y otros que te vienen a buscar. El Espanyol es de esos que te vienen a buscar. Su entrenador ha creado una predisposición my buena. Salen muy bien con el balón, sobre todo con Víctor Ruiz. Me siento muy cercano al juego que plantea, me gusta" "Pochettino es uno de los mejores entrenadores de la Liga, viéndole se aprende mucho."

There are teams that wait for you and other that come looking for you. Espanyol is one of the these that comes looking for you. Their coach has created a very good predisposition (attitude). They come out well with the ball, especially with Victor Ruiz. I feel very close to the game that they set forth. Pocchettino is one of the best coaches in the league, seeing him one learns a lot. 

So to see Barcelona not only win against Espanyol but thoroughly crush them was very impressive.

Clearly, Barcelona is firing on all cylinders. Pedro and Villa are finding the back of the net at will. Up front, Messi, Pedro and Villa understand each other. They're perfectly setting up the walls, runs into space, searching passes and powerful long-range shots that Barca needs to create to win. It's a thing of beauty.

As if the front 3 weren't good enough, the midfield, especially Xavi, is performing at an amazing level too. Xavi is not only unlocking defenses but scoring critical goals. His goal against Espanyol was an exclamation point on the amazing personal form he's been enjoying.

After this truly impressive victory, I'm beginning to wonder how many consecutive games Barcelona can string together with 5 or more goals. We'll find out. Until then, enjoy the video!

Questions about the Spanish League Going Into 2011.

• Does anybody play better football/dollar than Villareal?
• Is Real Madrid's locker room really in disarray?
• How long will it take Christiano Ronaldo to piss off everyone around him?
• Who will Real sign to lead the line when Higuain is out? Why haven't they signed someone yet?
• How long will it take Mourinho to get sick of everyone in Madrid? What will his next challenge be?
• Will Real and Barca play 4 times this spring?
• Is Barcelona really considering the sale of Iniesta for 85mil?
• Will Barca's debts hamstring the best team ever?
• Will Atletico ever get their act together?
• Why don't people give Kanoute more credit?
• When will Sevilla get another coach worth his salt?
• How much fun will it be to see Raul come back to Spain {on Schalke) and play Valencia?
•  Does Pellegrini wish he had never left Villareal? How much of a letdown is coaching Malaga?
• Will Operacion Galgo and Operacion Puerto knock on La Liga's door?

I'll take on a few of these questions in the days to come.

Ready For World Cup In Brasil?

Oh Hell Yeah! Let's start getting excited about this now. No one parties like Brasil. I'm going to this World Cup. Here's a video from Brasilian MC Extraordinaire Carlinhos Brown getting the crowd psyched.

Enjoy!