31 December, 2013

Biggest winning margins in CL knockout stage.

1-12 : Sporting-Bayern Munich [0-5 1-7] round of 16, 2009
2-10 : Leverkusen-Barcelona [1-3 1-7] round of 16, 2012
2-10 : Werder Bremen-Lyon [0-3 2-7] round of 16, 2005
7-0 : Bayern Munich-Barcelona [4-0 3-0] semifinal, 2013
2-8 : APOEL-Real Madrid [0-3 2-5] quarterfinal, 2012
6-0 : Bayern Munich-Kaiserslautern [2-0 4-0] quarterfinal, 1999

26 December, 2013

Player ratings Arsenal 0, Chelsea 0.

Played on December 23.

Att: 60.039
Arsenal: Wojciech Szczęsny 6,00 - Bacary Sagna 6,20, Per Mertesacker 6,30, Thomas Vermaelen 6,00, Kieran Gibbs 6,00, Tomáš Rosický 5,90, Mikel Arteta 6,20, Mesut Özil 5,50, Aaron Ramsey 5,40, Olivier Giroud 5,70, Theo Walcott 6,00. - coach: Arsène Wenger. = average: 5,93 [vulnerable]
Chelsea: Petr Čech 6,00 - Branislav Ivanović 6,20, Gary Cahill 6,40, John Terry 6,60, Azpilicueta 6,20, Ramires 6,00, Frank Lampard 6,00, John Mikel 5,70, Eden Hazard 6,00 (73' André Schürrle), Willian 5,70 (77' Oscar), Fernando Torres 5,50 ( 87' David Luiz). - coach: José Mourinho. = average: 6,03 [acceptable]

23 December, 2013

Player ratings Bayern Munich 2, Raja Casablanca 0.

1-0 7' Dante r (Jérôme Boateng), 2-0 22' Thiago r (David Alaba). Att: 37.774 (Stade de Marrakech).
Bayern: Manuel Neuer 6,70 - Dante 6,90, Rafinha 6,00, Jérôme Boateng 6,40, Philipp Lahm 6,70, David Alaba 6,70, Thiago 7,10, Franck Ribéry 5,80, Xherdan Shaqiri 5,80 (80' Mario Götze), Toni Kroos 6,10 (60' Javi Martínez 6,40), Thomas Müller 5,60 (76' Mario Mandžukić). - coach: Pep Guardiola. = average: 6,35 [strong]
Raja: Khalid Askri 6,40 - Zakaria El Hachimi 6,30, Mohamed Oulhaj 5,70, Adil Karrouchy 5,90, Ismaïl Benlamalem 5,50, Mouhssine Moutouali 5,00, Chemseddine Chtibi 5,30 (50' Vianney Mabidé 6,20), Abdelilah Hafidi 5,60 (88' Badr Kachani), Kouko Guehi 5,80, Issam Erraki 5,90, Mouhcine Iajour 5,80 (78' Rachid Soulaimani). - coach: Faouzi Benzarti. = average: 5,78 [mediocre]

Player ratings Inter 1, Milan 0.

1-0 86' Rodrigo Palacio r (Fredy Guarín). Sent off: 90' Sulley Ali Muntari. Att: 79.311.
Inter: Samir Handanovič 5,80 - Hugo Campagnaro 6,10, Rolando 6,30, Juan Jesus 6,10, Jonathan 6,10, Saphir Taïder 5,80 (55' Mateo Kovačić 6,40), Esteban Cambiasso 6,00 (82' Mauro Icardi), Javier Zanetti 5,90 (68' Zdravko Kuzmanović 6,20), Yuto Nagatomo 6,50, Fredy Guarín 6,50, Rodrigo Palacio 7,40. - coach: Walter Mazzarri 6,40. = average: 6,24 [solid]
Milan: Christian Abbiati 6,10 - Mattia De Sciglio 5,70, Daniele Bonera 6,40, Cristián Zapata 5,10, Kevin Constant 5,40 (46' Urby Emanuelson 5,40), Andrea Poli 5,30 (86' Giampaolo Pazzini), Nigel de Jong 5,80, Sulley Ali Muntari 5,50, Riccardo Saponara 5,50 (75' Alessandro Matri 5,10), Kaká 5,40, Mario Balotelli 5,70. - coach: Massimiliano Allegri 5,20. = average: 5,56 [failing]

19 December, 2013

Player ratings Raja Casablanca 3, Atlético Mineiro 1.

1-0 51' Mouhcine Iajour r (Abdelilah Hafidi), 1-1 63' Ronaldinho Gaúcho freekick, 2-1 84' Mouhssine Moutouali penalty (Mouhcine Iajour), 3-1 90' Vianney Mabidé l. Att: 35.219 (Marrakech, Morocco).
Raja: Khalid Askri 5,60 - Zakaria El Hachimi 5,80, Mohamed Oulhaj 5,90, Adil Karrouchy 5,60, Ismaïl Benlamalem 6,10, Mouhssine Moutouali 6,80, Chemseddine Chtibi 5,90 (56' Vianney Mabidé), Abdelilah Hafidi 6,70 (76' Deo Kanda), Kouko Guehi 6,40, Issam Erraki 6,70, Mouhcine Iajour 7,60 (88' Idrissa Coulibaly). - coach: Faouzi Benzarti. = average: 6,28 [good]
Atlético-MG: Victor 5,60 - Marcos Rocha 4,60 (63' Luan 6,10), Leonardo Silva 4,40, Réver 4,60, Pierre 4,40, Ronaldinho Gaúcho 6,20, Lucas Cândido 5,80 (85' Alecsandro), Josué 5,20 (58' Leandro Donizete 5,00), Fernandinho 6,40, Jô 5,20, Diego Tardelli 5,00. - coach: Cuca. = average: 5,27 [lame]

18 December, 2013

Player ratings Guangzhou Evergrande 0, Bayern Munich 3.

0-1 40' Franck Ribéry l, 0-2 44' Mario Mandžukić h (Thiago), 0-3 47' Mario Götze r (David Alaba). Att: 27.311 (in Agadir, Morocco).
Guangzhou: Cheng Zeng 6,50 - Xiaoting Feng 5,20, Young-Gwon Kim 6,00, Linpeng Zhang 5,80, Elkeson 5,50, Zhi Zheng 5,80, Darío Conca 5,40, Bowen Huang 5,80 (46' Hao Rong 5,80), Xiang Sun 5,00, Xuri Zhao 5,30 (76' Junyan Feng), Muriqui 5,80 (72' Lin Gao). - coach: Marcello Lippi. = average: 5,66 [failing]
Bayern: Manuel Neuer 6,30 - Daniel van Buyten 6,30, Rafinha 6,00, Jérôme Boateng 6,00, Philipp Lahm 6,30, David Alaba 6,60, Thiago 7,00, Franck Ribéry 7,30 (72' Xherdan Shaqiri), Mario Götze 6,80, Toni Kroos 6,30 (58' Javi Martínez 6,00), Mario Mandžukić 6,50 (75' Claudio Pizarro). - coach: Pep Guardiola. = average: 6,45 [strong]

17 December, 2013

Player ratings Milan 2, Roma 2.

0-1 13' Mattia Destro r (Kevin Strootman), 1-1 29' Cristián Zapata h (Sulley Ali Muntari), 1-2 51' Kevin Strootman penalty, 2-2 78' Sulley Ali Muntari r (Mario Balotelli). Att: 37.989.
Milan: Christian Abbiati 6,00 (46' Gabriel 4,70) - Mattia De Sciglio 5,50, Cristián Zapata 7,00, Daniele Bonera 6,40, Sulley Ali Muntari 6,20, Andrea Poli 5,40 (66' Alessandro Matri 5,70), Riccardo Montolivo 5,30, Urby Emanuelson 6,80 (89' Cristian Zaccardo), Nigel de Jong 5,90, Kaká 5,90, Mario Balotelli 5,60. - coach: Massimiliano Allegri 5,80. = average: 5,88 [vulnerable]
Roma: Morgan De Sanctis 6,20 - Dodô 6,10, Leandro Castán 6,20 (42' Nicolás Burdisso 5,80), Maicon 6,00, Mehdi Benatia 6,70, Michael Bradley 6,20, Kevin Strootman 6,90, Adem Ljajić 6,00 (81' Alessandro Florenzi), Daniele De Rossi 6,20, Mattia Destro 6,50 (63' Francesco Totti 5,90), Gervinho 6,20. - coach: Rudi Garcia 6,50. = average: 6,22 [solid]

16 December, 2013

Player ratings Napoli 4, Inter 2.

1-0 9' Gonzalo Higuaí­n l, 1-1 35' Esteban Cambiasso l (Ricardo Álvarez), 2-1 38' Dries Mertens r (Blerim Dzemaili), 3-1 41' Blerim Dzemaili r, 3-2 45' Yuto Nagatomo r (Fredy Guarín), 4-2 81' José Callejón r (Lorenzo Insigne). Sent off: 71' Ricardo Álvarez. Att: 42.555.
Napoli: Rafael 6,20 - Anthony Réveillère 5,50 (90' Goran Pandev), Christian Maggio 5,40, Federico Fernández 5,70, Raúl Albiol 5,90, Blerim Dzemaili 6,80, Lorenzo Insigne 6,70, Gökhan Inler 6,00, José Callejón 6,80, Gonzalo Higuaí­n 7,10 (77' Valon Behrami), Dries Mertens 7,40 (85' Pablo Armero). - coach: Rafael Benítez 6,50. = average: 6,32 [good]
Inter: Samir Handanovič 5,50 - Jonathan 5,80, Hugo Campagnaro 5,20 (82' Mauro Icardi), Andrea Ranocchia 5,00, Rolando 5,70, Yuto Nagatomo 5,60, Ricardo Álvarez 5,40, Fredy Guarín 6,50, Esteban Cambiasso 6,20, Saphir Taïder 5,60 (60' Mateo Kovačić 5,30), Rodrigo Palacio 6,10. - coach: Walter Mazzarri 5,50. = average: 5,66 [disappointing]

15 December, 2013

Average ratings Manchester City.

6,89 Agüero
6,62 Silva
6,42 Negredo
6,26 Y. Touré
6,18 Nasri
6,17 Kolarov
6,14 Zabaleta
6,12 Fernandinho
6,08 Jesús Navas
6,05 Milner, Pantilimon
5,95 Dzeko
5,94 Nastasic
5,85 Javi García
5,79 Kompany
5,77 Lescott, Demichelis
5,71 Clichy
5,57 Hart   


Last season:
6,34 Silva
6,31 Tévez
6,15 Y. Touré, Agüero
6,11 Nastasic
6,10 Zabaleta
6,03 Hart
6,00 Barry
5,97 Kompany
5,92 Clichy, Richards
5,83 Nasri
5,80 Dzeko, Maicon
5,79 Lescott
5,78 Javi García
5,75 Kolarov
5,72 Balotelli
5,68 Rodwell
5,61 K. Touré

Player ratings Man City 6, Arsenal 3.

1-0 14' Kun Agüero r (Martín Demichelis), 1-1 31' Theo Walcott r (Mesut Özil), 2-1 39' Álvaro Negredo l (Pablo Zabaleta), 3-1 51' Fernandinho r, 3-2 63' Theo Walcott (Aaron Ramsey), 4-2 66' David Silva l (Jesús Navas), 5-2 88' Fernandinho r (Samir Nasri), 5-3 90' Per Mertesacker h (Bacary Sagna), 6-3 90' Yaya Touré penalty (James Milner). Att: 47.229.
Man City: Costel Pantilimon 6,00 - Vincent Kompany 6,30, Gaël Clichy 6,00, Martín Demichelis 6,00, Pablo Zabaleta 7,00, Samir Nasri 6,80 (90' Javi García), David Silva 7,00 (71' James Milner 6,30), Fernandinho 7,80, Yaya Touré 6,50, Álvaro Negredo 7,00, Kun Agüero 6,80 (50' Jesús Navas 7,00). - coach: Manuel Pellegrini. = average: 6,65 [excellent]
Arsenal: Wojciech Szczęsny 5,00 - Bacary Sagna 5,50, Per Mertesacker 6,00, Laurent Koscielny 5,20 (42' Thomas Vermaelen 5,00), Nacho Monreal 4,50, Jack Wilshere 4,80, Mesut Özil 4,60, Aaron Ramsey 5,00, Mathieu Flamini 5,00 (72' Serge Gnabry 6,10), Olivier Giroud 5,00 (76' Nicklas Bendtner), Theo Walcott 7,00. - coach: Arsène Wenger. = average: 5,28 [lame]

12 December, 2013

Probability of teams surviving CL group stage.

Current format (two teams out of four qualifying), since 1999-2000.

100% Real Madrid
93,3% Arsenal
92,9% Barcelona
92,3% Milan
90,9% Chelsea
90,0% Inter
86,7% Man United
85,7% Roma
83,3% Lyon
75,0% FC Porto, Liverpool
71,4% Leverkusen, Bayern
70,0% Juventus
66,7% Valencia
50,0% Dortmund, Galatasaray, Sparta Prague
42,9% Panathinaikos
37,5% Celtic
33,3% Werder Bremen, CSKA, Benfica
30,0% PSV
25,0% Ajax
23,1% Olympiakos
14,3% Rosenborg, Rangers, Spartak Moscow
12,5% Anderlecht
11,1% Shakhtar
9,1% D. Kiev

Per nation
85,7% England
81,0% Spain
76,5% Italy
65,1% Germany
53,7% France
50,0% Portugal
31,8% Russia
26,7% Scotland
26,3% Turkey
26,1% Greece
24,0% Holland
10,0% Ukraine
7,1% Belgium
other nations: 14,3%


Per city
94,4% Madrid
92,9% London
91,3% Milan
77,8% Manchester
66,7% Rome 
42,9% Prague
31,2% Moscow
30,0% Lisbon
29,4% Istanbul
26,7% Glasgow
26,1% Athens

Average ratings Man United.

6,74 Rooney
6,19 P. Jones
6,16 De Gea
6,11 Evans
6,07 Kagawa, Januzaj
6,04 Valencia
5,99 Evra
5,98 Carrick, Smalling
5,94 Giggs, Rafael
5,93 Van Persie
5,85 Vidic
5,83 Welbeck
5,79 Cleverley
5,76 Ferdinand
5,72 Nani
5,56 Hernández
5,52 Fellaini
5,34 A. Young


Last season:
6,48 Van Persie
6,37 Rooney
6,33 J. Hernández
6,31 De Gea
6,24 Rafael
6,20 Giggs, Carrick
6,16 Kagawa
6,13 Anderson
6,10 Evans, R. Ferdinand, Scholes
6,09 Vidic
6,08 Cleverley, P. Jones
6,05 Welbeck
6,01 Büttner
5,97 Evra
5,95 Valencia
5,94 A. Young
5,85 Lindegaard
5,83 Smalling
5,79 Nani

Player ratings Atlético de Madrid 2, FC Porto 1.

1-0 14' Raúl García l (Emiliano Insúa), 2-0 37' Diego Costa r (Óliver Torres). Att: 24.629.
Atlético: Aranzubía 6,50 - Toby Alderweireld 6,30, Manquillo 6,00, Emiliano Insúa 6,00, Miranda 6,30, Koke 6,00, Raúl García 6,70, Gabi 6,50, Óliver Torres 6,50 (62' Arda Turan 6,00), Adrián 6,00 (82' Leo Baptistão), Diego Costa 6,50 (46' David Villa 6,00). - coach: Diego Simeone. = average: 6,25 [solid]
FC Porto: Helton 5,70 - Danilo 6,00, Maicon 5,40, Alex Sandro 5,80, Lucho González 6,10 (64' Nabil Ghilas 6,00), Josué 5,00 (46' Licá 6,30), Eliaquim Mangala 5,70, Fernando 5,40, Steven Defour 5,80 (78' Héctor Herrera), Jackson Martínez 6,60, Varela 6,30. - coach: Paulo Fonseca. = average: 5,85 [vulnerable]

Player ratings Olympique Marseille 1, Borussia Dortmund 2.

0-1 4' Robert Lewandowski l (Erik Durm), 1-1 14' Souleymane Diawara h (Saber Khelifa), 1-2 87' Kevin Großkreutz r (Julian Schieber). Sent off: 34' Dimitri Payet. Att: 36.655.
Marseille: Stéve Mandanda 6,30 - Lucas Mendes 5,50 (46' Kassim Abdallah 5,90), Souleymane Diawara 6,10, Benjamin Mendy 5,90, Rod Fanni 6,10, Benoît Cheyrou 5,90, Mario Lemina 5,90, Florian Thauvin 6,00 (79' Gianelli Imbula), Dimitri Payet 4,90, André-Pierre Gignac 5,60, Saber Khelifa 5,90 (55' Jérémy Morel 6,20). - coach: José Anigo. = average: 5,86 [vulnerable]
Dortmund: Roman Weidenfeller 5,90 - Marian Sarr 6,10, Sokratis Papastathopoulos 6,40, Erik Durm 6,20, Sebastian Kehl 5,50 (78' Łukasz Piszczek), Henrikh Mkhitaryan 5,30, Jakub Błaszczykowski 5,90 (66' Jonas Hofmann 5,60), Nuri Şahin 5,50, Kevin Großkreutz 6,60, Robert Lewandowski 6,40, Marco Reus 5,80 (78' Julian Schieber). - coach: Jürgen Klopp. = average: 5,93 [vulnerable]

Player ratings Milan 0, Ajax 0.

Sent off: 22' Riccardo Montolivo. Att: 61.744.
Milan: Christian Abbiati 7,30 - Mattia De Sciglio 6,00, Cristián Zapata 6,50, Daniele Bonera 7,00, Sulley Ali Muntari 6,30, Riccardo Montolivo 4,00, Kevin Constant 5,80, Kaká 5,30 (81' Philippe Mexès), Nigel de Jong 6,80, Stephan El Shaarawy 5,50 (24' Andrea Poli 5,90), Mario Balotelli 6,80. - coach: Massimiliano Allegri. = average: 6,10 [satisfactory]
Ajax: Jasper Cillessen x - Ricardo van Rhijn 6,00, Niklas Moisander 6,00, Daley Blind 6,30, Stefano Denswil 5,70, Christian Poulsen 6,20 (46' Danny Hoesen 5,50), Davy Klaassen 6,80, Lasse Schøne 5,60, Thulani Serero 5,80 (80' Mike van der Hoorn), Viktor Fischer 5,90, Bojan 5,50 (72' Kolbeinn Sigþórsson 5,80). - coach: Frank de Boer. = average: 5,92 [vulnerable]

Player ratings Napoli 2, Arsenal 0.

1-0 73' Gonzalo Higuaí­n l (José Callejón), 2-0 90' José Callejón r (Lorenzo Insigne). Sent off: 76' Mikel Arteta. Att: 34.027.
Napoli: Rafael 6,00 - Christian Maggio 6,00, Federico Fernández 6,50, Raúl Albiol 6,20, Blerim Dzemaili 6,20, Pablo Armero 6,20, Valon Behrami 6,50, José Callejón 6,80, Gonzalo Higuaí­n 7,20, Dries Mertens 6,40, Goran Pandev 5,50 (57' Lorenzo Insigne 6,40). - coach: Rafael Benítez. = average: 6,32 [good]
Arsenal: Wojciech Szczęsny 5,70 - Per Mertesacker 5,50, Laurent Koscielny 5,50, Carl Jenkinson 5,00, Kieran Gibbs 5,40, Tomáš Rosický 6,10 (74' Nacho Monreal), Mikel Arteta 5,20, Mesut Özil 5,70, Santi Cazorla 5,50 (68' Aaron Ramsey 5,30), Mathieu Flamini 6,20, Olivier Giroud 5,60. - coach: Arsène Wenger. = average: 5,56 [poor]

Player ratings Galatasaray 1, Juventus 0.

1-0 85' Wesley Sneijder r (Didier Drogba). Att: 37.375.
Galatasaray: Fernando Muslera 6,20 - Gökhan Zan 6,30, Aurelien Chedjou 5,70, Semih Kaya 5,90, Emmanuel Eboué 5,50 (81' Umut Bulut), Felipe Melo 6,00, Selçuk İnan 6,30, Wesley Sneijder 7,20 (90' Ceyhun Gülselam), Riera 5,20, Didier Drogba 7,30, Burak Yılmaz 5,80. - coach: Roberto Mancini. = average: 6,13 [satisfactory]
Juventus: Gianluigi Buffon 7,00 - Giorgio Chiellini 5,50, Andrea Barzagli 6,50, Leonardo Bonucci 6,00 (90' Sebastian Giovinco), Stephan Lichtsteiner 5,80, Paul Pogba 5,00, Claudio Marchisio 5,20 (87' Fabio Quagliarella), Kwadwo Asamoah 5,00, Arturo Vidal 5,50, Carlos Tévez 6,50, Llorente 5,70. - coach: Antonio Conte 5,20. = average: 5,79 [mediocre]


The first 31 minutes were played on Tuesday.

11 December, 2013

Average ratings in World Cups & Euros, 2000-2012.

At least 8 rated appearances. Ratings: Kicker.

7,64 Kahn (rated 14 times)
7,56 Forlán (8)
7,50 Nesta (13)
7,44 Messi, Laursen (8)
7,42 Buffon (25)
7,41 Xavi, Van der Sar (16)
7,40 Nedved (10)
7,38 Tévez (8)
7,36 Neuer (11)
7,33 Casillas (23)
7,32 Pepe (11)
7,31 Miguel (13)
7,30 Lee Woon-Jae (10)
7,28 T. Müller, Iván Helguera (9)
7,27 Iniesta (13)
7,25 Zidane (16), Lehmann (12), Song Chong-Gug (8)
7,23 Xabi Alonso (13)
7,22 Fernando Couto, Fábio Coentrão (9)
7,18 Pirlo (19)
7,16 Gerrard (16)
7,15 Isaksson (13)
7,13 Villa (15)
7,12 Khedira (12), Zhirkov (8)
7,11 Mascherano, Tugay (9)
7,10 R. Ferdinand, Davids (10)
7,09 Robben (16), Torrado (11)
7,07 Lahm (27)
7,06 Wilhelmsson, Kingson (9), Gyan (8)
7,04 Cech (14), T. Márquez (12)
7,03 Vieira (19)
7,00 Sergio Ramos (15), S. Campbell (13), Pletikosa (12), Juan, Ujfalusi, Seitaridis, Alpay (9), Jakobsson, Óscar Pérez (8)
6,98 F. Cannavaro (21)
6,97 Barthez (19), Gilberto Silva (15)
6,96 Fàbregas, Maniche, Donovan (12)
6,94 João Moutinho (8)
6,93 Cristiano Ronaldo (23)
6,92 Rüstü (12)
6,91 Stekelenburg, Rosický (11)
6,90 Schweinsteiger (25), Ljungberg (15), Bruno Alves (10)
6,89 Puyol (22), Dellas (9)
6,88 Ricardo (17), Marchena (8)
6,86 Raúl (14), Gattuso (11)
6,85 Klose (27)
6,83 H. Larsson (18), Simunic, Özil (12)
6,82 Henry (20), Deco (14), Van Nistelrooy, R. Kovac (11)
6,81 Sneijder (18), Kim Nam-Il (8)
6,80 Ronaldinho Gaúcho (10)
6,79 Park Ji-Sung (14), Ronaldo, Van Bommel (12)
6,78 Totti (16), Boulahrouz, G. Neville, Maxi Rodríguez (9)
6,77 Tomasson (13), Cassano (11)
6,76 A. Friedrich (19), B. Schneider (17)
6,75 Ricardo Carvalho (18), Terry (16), Grønkjær, Scholes, N. Kovac (12), Jakulovski (10), Gravesen, Salcido (8)
6,74 Mellberg (21), Ballack (21)
6,73 De Rossi (15), Fernando Torres (13), Rommedahl (11)
6,72 Ribéry (16), J. Boateng (9)
6,71 N. de Jong (12)
6,70 Maldini, Desailly, Nuno Gomes, Galasek, Charisteas (10)
6,69 Lampard (13), G. Johnson, Basinas , Lee Eul-Yong (8)
6,68 Figo (19), Lúcio (17), Cocu (14)
6,67 Linderoth (12), Rui Costa, Srna (9)
6,65 A. Svensson (13)
6,64 Raul Meireles, Hamann (11)
6,62 Heinze, Ooijer, Ümit Davala, Ahn Jung-Hwan (8)
6,61 Makelele (14), Kaká (9)
6,60 Frings (21), Poborský, Koller (10)
6,59 A. Cole (22)
6,58 Ibrahimović, Capdevila (12)
6,56 Jorge Costa, Gusyev, Tymoshchuk (8)
6,55 Thuram (21), T. Sørensen, R. Henriksen (11), Lizarazu (10)
6,53 Mertesacker (19)
6,50 Podolski (24), Gallas (17), Simão (15), Costinha (14), Karagounis, Rooney (13), Petit (11), P. Müller, Grosso (10), Rui Costa, Wiltord, Barnetta (9), Fernando Meira (8)
6,46 Kuyt (12)
6,45 Cafu (11)
6,44 Linke, Grygera, Choi Jin-Cheul (9), Helveg (8)
6,42 Zambrotta (24), Perrotta (13)
6,41 Van Persie (17), Chiellini, Nuno Valente, Fatih (11)
6,40 Källström, H. Yakin (10)
6,39 Pantsil (9)
6,38 Samaras (8)
6,35 Beckham (17), Sagnol & Trezeguet (10)
6,34 Katsouranis (16)
6,33 Toni, Anyukov, Nikopolidis (9)
6,32 Metzelder (19), Panucci, Plasil (11)
6,31 J. Mensah (8)
6,30 Roberto Carlos, Lee Young-Pyo (10)
6,28 Santa Cruz (9)
6,25 J. C. Cáceres (8)
6,22 Torosidis (9)
6,19 Sand, M. Jørgensen (8)
6,18 Lučić, Baros, Hakan Sükür (11)
6,17 Pauleta (15), Alexandersson (12), Krzynowek (9)
6,15 Abidal (10)
6,12 Heskey, McBride, Osorio, D. Simic, Caniza (8)
6,06 Marchisio, Hélder Postiga, Paulo Ferreira, D. Stanković, Hakan Ünsal, Nelson Valdez, Mi. Zewlakow (8)
6,05 Del Piero (11)
6,04 Owen (14), Malouda (13)
5,95 Camoranesi (11)
5,94 Olic (9), A. Frei (8)
5,75 Van der Wiel (8)

Player ratings Bayern Munich 2, Man City 3.

1-0 5' Thomas Müller l (Dante), 2-0 12' Mario Götze r, 2-1 28' David Silva l (James Milner), 2-2 59' Aleksandar Kolarov penalty (James Milner), 2-3 62' James Milner r (Jesús Navas). Att: 68.000.
Bayern : Manuel Neuer 6,40 - Dante 5,60, Jérôme Boateng 5,10, Philipp Lahm 5,60, David Alaba 5,80, Thiago 6,10, Franck Ribéry 6,40, Mario Götze 6,10 (55' Javi Martínez 5,80), Toni Kroos 5,60, Mario Mandžukić 5,60 (68' Xherdan Shaqiri 5,60), Thomas Müller 6,10. - coach: Pep Guardiola. = average: 5,83 [mediocre]
Man City: Joe Hart 6,20 - Micah Richards 5,60 (16' Pablo Zabaleta 6,30), Joleon Lescott 5,30, Aleksandar Kolarov 6,10, Martín Demichelis 5,80, James Milner 7,40, Javi García 5,90, Jesús Navas 6,60, David Silva 6,90 (73' Álvaro Negredo), Fernandinho 6,10, Edin Džeko 5,60 (88' Jack Rodwell). - coach: Manuel Pellegrini. = average: 6,15 [solid]

09 December, 2013

Bundesliga: top rated players.

 German press only.

7,79 Franck Ribéry (Bayern München)
7,55 Marco Reus (Borussia Dortmund)
7,55 Arjen Robben (Bayern München)
7,48 Sidney Sam (Bayer Leverkusen)
7,36 Max Kruse (Mönchengladbach)
7,36 Philipp Lahm (Bayern München)
7,33 Sven Ulreich (Stuttgart)
7,25 Toni Kroos (Bayern München)
7,25 Bernd Leno (Bayer Leverkusen)
7,22 Marc-André ter Stegen   (Mönchengladbach)
7,20 Sokratis Papastathopoulos (Borussia Dortmund)
7,20 Raffael (Mönchengladbach)
7,19 Kevin Volland (Hoffenheim)
7,18 Robert Lewandowski (Borussia Dortmund)
7,17 David Alaba (Bayern München)
7,16 Roman Weidenfeller (Borussia Dortmund)
7,15 Max Meyer (Schalke 04)
7,14 Pierre-Michel Lasogga (Hamburger SV)
7,13 Raphael Schäfer (Nürnberg)
7,08 Nuri Şahin (Borussia Dortmund)
7,07 Kevin Großkreutz (Borussia Dortmund)
7,07 Stefan Kießling (Bayer Leverkusen)
7,04 Henrikh Mkhitaryan (Borussia Dortmund)
7,04 Kevin Trapp (Eintracht Frankfurt)
7,03 Thomas Müller (Bayern München)
7,02 Manuel Neuer (Bayern München)
7,01 Adrián Ramos (Hertha Berlin)
7,00 Jérôme Boateng (Bayern München)
7,00 Simon Rolfes (Bayer Leverkusen)
6,98 Oliver Baumann  (Freiburg)
6,95 Mario Mandžukić (Bayern München)
6,94 Mario Götze (Bayern München)
6,93 Jonas Hofmann (Borussia Dortmund)
6,92 Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund)
6,92 Thomas Kraft (Hertha Berlin)
6,92 Timo Werner (Stuttgart)
6,91 Dante (Bayern München)
6,91 Ricardo Rodríguez (Wolfsburg)
6,91 Ron-Robert Zieler (Hannover 96)
6,90 Heung-Min Son (Bayer Leverkusen)
6,89 Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang     (Borussia Dortmund)
6,88 Maximilian Arnold (Wolfsburg)
6,88 Diego Benaglio (Wolfsburg)
6,88 Erik Durm (Borussia Dortmund)
6,88 Stefan Reinartz (Bayer Leverkusen)
6,88 Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern München)
6,87 Gonzalo Castro  (Bayer Leverkusen)
6,86 Sven Bender (Borussia Dortmund)
6,84 Juan Arango (Mönchengladbach)
6,84 Daniel Baier (Augsburg)
6,84 Jakub Błaszczykowski (Borussia Dortmund)
6,84 Alexandru Maxim (Stuttgart)
6,85 Emir Spahić (Bayer Leverkusen)
6,83 Änis Ben-Hatira (Hertha Berlin)
6,83 Christoph Kramer (Mönchengladbach)
6,83 Naldo (Wolfsburg)
6,82 Martin Stranzl (Mönchengladbach)
6,81 Karim Bellarabi (Eintracht Braunschweig)
6,81 Jefferson Farfán (Schalke 04)

Clubs with most supporters, Spain.

Los clubes españoles con más aficionados.

Source: Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas (2007).

32,8% Real Madrid
25,7% Barcelona
5,3% Valencia
5,1% Athletic Bilbao
4,3% Atlético de Madrid
3,3% Betis
2,7% Zaragoza
2,3% Sevilla
2,2% Celta, Deportivo
1,3% Osasuna, Real Sociedad
1,0% Espanyol
0,8% Racing Santander, Sporting Gijón
0,7% Málaga
0,6% Cádiz, Las Palmas, Tenerife
0,5% Mallorca
0,4% Recreativo Huelva, Murcia, Valladolid
0,3% Almería
0,2% Gimnàstic Tarragona, Alavés, Albacete, Elche
0,1% Getafe, Villarreal, Hércules Alicante, Numancia, Xerez.

Player ratings Roma 2, Fiorentina 1.

1-0 8' Maicon r, 1-1 28' Juan Vargas (Nenad Tomović), 2-1 67' Mattia Destro r (Gervinho). Sent off: 87' Miralem Pjanić. Att: 48.318.
Roma: Morgan De Sanctis 6,90 - Dodô 5,90, Leandro Castán 6,90, Maicon 6,80, Mehdi Benatia 7,00, Kevin Strootman 6,40, Adem Ljajić 5,40 (72' Taddei 6,00), Miralem Pjanić 6,10, Daniele De Rossi 6,50, Alessandro Florenzi 5,30 (57' Mattia Destro 7,00 - 89' Michael Bradley), Gervinho 7,80. - coach: Rudi Garcia. = average: 6,46 [very good]
Fiorentina: Neto 7,00 - Gonzalo Rodríguez 5,60, Juan Cuadrado 6,40, Stefan Savić 5,70, Manuel Pasqual 5,80, Nenad Tomović 6,00, Alberto Aquilani 5,00 (72' David Pizarro 6,00), Borja Valero 6,10, Massimo Ambrosini 6,00 (78' Joaquín), Juan Vargas 6,70 (86' Ryder Matos), Giuseppe Rossi 5,30. - coach: Vincenzo Montella. = average: 5,97 [acceptable]

08 December, 2013

Player ratings Man United 0, Newcastle 1.

0-1 61' Yohan Cabaye. Att: 75.233.
Man United: De Gea 6,00 - Rafael 6,00 (76' Antonio Valencia), Patrice Evra 5,30, Phil Jones 5,50, Jonny Evans 6,00, Nemanja Vidić 5,40, Nani 5,30 (68' Wilfried Zaha 5,70), Tom Cleverley 5,70 (69' Anderson 5,70), Adnan Januzaj 6,10,  Javier Hernández 5,50, Robin van Persie 5,30. - coach: David Moyes. = average: 5,65 [failing]
Newcasle: Tim Krul 6,30 - Fabricio Coloccini 6,90, Davide Santon 6,80, Mike Williamson 6,70, Mathieu Debuchy 6,70 (83' Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa), Yohan Cabaye 7,00 (78' Shola Ameobi), Moussa Sissoko 6,50, Vurnon Anita 6,00, Cheik Tioté 6,50, Yoan Gouffran 6,10 (57' Hatem Ben Arfa 6,50), Loïc Remy 6,20. - coach: Alan Pardew. = average: 6,52 [very good]

05 December, 2013

Average ratings Paris St Germain.

6,95 Ibrahimovic
6,76 Thiago Motta
6,50 Cavani
6,45 Van der Wiel
6,42 Thiago Silva
6,41 Verratti
6,34 Maxwell
6,21 Matuidi
6,19 Sirigu
6,12 Alex Costa
6,10 Rabiot
6,03 Marquinhos
5,98 Digne
5,90 Lavezzi
5,84 Lucas
5,68 Pastore
5,43 Ménez
5,23 Jallet

02 December, 2013

Average ratings Chelsea.

6,38 Čech 
6,30 Terry
6,27 Hazard
6,24 Ramires
6,19 Cahill
6,14 Ivanovic
6,13 De Bruyne
6,07 Fernando Torres
6,05 Azpilicueta
6,04 Oscar
6,02 Schürrle
5,93 Lampard, Willian
5,89 A. Cole
5,86 Mata
5,85 Mikel
5,77 Eto'o
5,76 David Luíz

Player ratings Athletic Bilbao 1, Barcelona 0.

1-0 70' Muniain (Susaeta). Att: 35.950.
Athletic: Iraizoz 6,60 - Aymeric Laporte 6,30, Iraola 6,60, Balenziaga 6,80 (82' Albizua), Iturraspe 6,60, Susaeta 7,40, Mikel Rico 6,40 (87' San José), Gurpegi 6,00, Ander Herrera 6,80, Toquero 6,20, Muniain 6,80 (86' Ibai). - coach: Valverde. = average: 6,59 [excellent]
Barcelona: Pinto 6,00 - Martín Montoya 5,70, Piqué 5,60, Adriano 5,50, Javier Mascherano 5,70, Cesc Fàbregas 5,70, Xavi 5,20 (78' Sergi Roberto), Iniesta 6,10 (84' Pedro), Busquets 6,30, Alexis Sánchez 5,20, Neymar 5,70. - coach: Gerardo Martino. = average: 5,70 [disappointing]

28 November, 2013

Average ratings Bayern Munich.

7,19 Ribéry
6,92 Robben
6,75 Lahm
6,55 Schweinsteiger
6,54 Alaba, Kroos
6,50 Neuer
6,36 J. Boateng
6,31 Dante
6,27 Mandzukic
6,24 T. Müller
6,21 Götze
6,17 Javi Martínez
6,12 Contento
6,00 Van Buyten
5,79 Rafinha

Average ratings Real Madrid.

6,86 Cristiano Ronaldo
6,59 Di María
6,45 Diego López, Isco
6,44 Bale
6,42 Modric, Jesé
6,37 Benzema
6,36 Casillas
6,08 Casemiro
6,03 Pepe, Illaramendi
6,02 Arbeloa, Marcelo, Carvajal
5,99 Khedira
5,95 Varane
5,93 Sergio Ramos
5,80 Fábio Coentrão

Player ratings Bayer Leverkusen 0, Man United 5.

0-1 22' Antonio Valencia r  (Wayne Rooney), 0-2 30' og Emir Spahić, 0-3 65' Jonny Evans r (Wayne Rooney), 0-4 77' Chris Smalling r (Wayne Rooney), 0-5 88' Nani r (Ryan Giggs). Att: 29.412.
Leverkusen: Bernd Leno 5,80 - Emir Spahić 4,90, Ömer Toprak 5,00, Giulio Donati 5,10, Stefan Reinartz 4,60 (70' Jens Hegeler), Simon Rolfes 4,80, Lars Bender 5,80 (81' Dominik Kohr), Emre Can 4,60, Gonzalo Castro 4,90, Heung-Min Son 5,10 (70' Eren Derdiyok), Stefan Kießling 4,80. - coach: Sami Hyypiä. = average: 5,04 [hopeless]
Man United: De Gea 6,30 - Patrice Evra 6,70 (70' Alexander Büttner), Phil Jones 6,50, Rio Ferdinand 6,20, Jonny Evans 6,70, Chris Smalling 6,90, Ryan Giggs 6,90, Nani 6,80, Antonio Valencia 7,00 (80' Anderson), Shinji Kagawa 6,80, Wayne Rooney 7,50 (80' Ashley Young). - coach: David Moyes. = average: 6,75 [superiour]

27 November, 2013

Player ratings Ajax 2, Barcelona 1.

1-0 19' Thulani Serero r (Ricardo van Rhijn), 2-0 42'Danny Hoesen l, 2-1 49' Xavi penalty (Neymar). Sent off: 48' Joël Veltman. Att: 53.000.
Ajax: Jasper Cillessen 6,40 - Ricardo van Rhijn 6,20, Niklas Moisander 6,30, Joël Veltman 5,50, Nicolai Boilesen 6,60 (34' Christian Poulsen 6,30), Daley Blind 7,10, Davy Klaassen 6,80, Lasse Schøne 6,40 (51' Stefano Denswil 6,40), Thulani Serero 7,10, Viktor Fischer 6,90, Danny Hoesen 7,20 (84' Lerin Duarte). - coach: Frank de Boer. = average: 6,55 [very good]
Barcelona: Pinto 5,70 - Martín Montoya 5,10, Piqué 5,10, Puyol 5,40 (68' Patric), Cesc Fàbregas 5,30 (82' Adama Traoré), Xavi 6,10 (74' Sergi Roberto), Iniesta 5,90, Javier Mascherano 5,10, Alex Song 4,30, Pedro 5,30, Neymar 6,00. - coach: Gerardo Martino. = average: 5,39 [feeble]

Player ratings Borussia Dortmund 3, Napoli 1.

1-0 10' Marco Reus penalty (Robert Lewandowski), 2-0 60' Jakub Błaszczykowski r (Marco Reus), 2-1 71' Lorenzo Insigne l (Gonzalo Higuaí­n), 3-1 78' Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang r (Robert Lewandowski). Att: 65.829.
Dortmund: Roman Weidenfeller 6,80 - Kevin Großkreutz 5,80, Sven Bender 6,00, Sokratis Papastathopoulos 6,20, Erik Durm 5,90, Nuri Şahin 6,20, Sebastian Kehl 5,50, Jakub Błaszczykowski 6,80 (68' Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang 6,60), Henrikh Mkhitaryan 7,00, Marco Reus 7,00 (80' Łukasz Piszczek), Robert Lewandowski 6,70 (89' Julian Schieber). - coach: Jürgen Klopp. = average: 6,38 [strong]
Napoli: Pepe Reina 7,60 - Christian Maggio 5,40, Federico Fernández 5,10, Raúl Albiol 5,30, Blerim Dzemaili 4,90 (62' Gökhan Inler 6,00), Pablo Armero 5,30, Valon Behrami 6,40, José Callejón 5,40 (66' Lorenzo Insigne 6,50), Dries Mertens 5,30, Goran Pandev 5,30 (76' Duván Zapata), Gonzalo Higuaí­n 5,80. - coach: Rafael Benítez. = average: 5,72 [disappointing]

26 November, 2013

Average points in the last three seasons.

82,4% Pep Guardiola
80,4% Jupp Heynckes
79,2% José Mourinho
78,1% Sir Alex Ferguson
76,8% Antonio Conte

25 November, 2013

Player ratings Man City 6, Tottenham 0.

1-0 1' Jesús Navas, 2-0 34' Álvaro Negredo, 3-0 41' Kun Agüero (Jesús Navas), 4-0 50' Kun Agüero (Yaya Touré), 5-0 55' Álvaro Negredo (Fernandinho), 6-0 90' Jesús Navas (James Milner). Att: 47.228.
Man City: Costel Pantilimon 6,10 - Gaël Clichy 6,40, Martín Demichelis 6,10, Matija Nastasić 6,10 (46' Joleon Lescott 6,10), Pablo Zabaleta 6,60, Samir Nasri 7,70 (77' James Milner), Jesús Navas 7,60, Fernandinho 6,80, Yaya Touré 6,80, Álvaro Negredo 7,40, Kun Agüero 8,70 (69' Javi García 6,10). - coach: Manuel Pellegrini. = average: 6,81 [superb]
Tottenham: Hugo Lloris 4,50 - Kyle Walker 4,80, Younes Kaboul 4,30, Jan Vertonghen 4,60, Michael Dawson 4,10, Aaron Lennon 4,70, Paulinho 4,30 (61' Moussa Dembélé 5,50), Erik Lamela 4,70, Lewis Holtby 5,10 (46' Emmanuel Adebayor 5,40), Sandro 5,30, Soldado 4,90 (61' Gylfi Sigurðsson 5,10). - coach: André Villas-Boas. = average: 4,81 [outrageous]

24 November, 2013

Player ratings Arsenal 2, Southampton 0.

1-0 22' Olivier Giroud, 2-0 86' Olivier Giroud penalty. Att: 60.007.
Arsenal: Wojciech Szczęsny 6,00 - Bacary Sagna 6,30, Per Mertesacker 6,80, Laurent Koscielny 6,20, Kieran Gibbs 6,00, Mikel Arteta 5,70 (74' Tomáš Rosický), Jack Wilshere 6,40, Mesut Özil 6,20 (81' Nacho Monreal), Aaron Ramsey 6,40, Santi Cazorla 5,90 (70' Theo Walcott 6,00), Olivier Giroud 7,00. - coach: Arsène Wenger. = average: 6,24 [solid]
Southampton: Artur Boruc 4,00 - Nathaniel Clyne 5,80, José Fonte 5,00, Luke Shaw 6,00 (46' Steven Davis 5,50), Jos Hooiveld 5,50, Morgan Schneiderlin 6,00, Victor Wanyama 6,10, James Ward-Prowse 5,50, Rickie Lambert 5,50, Jay Rodriguez 6,00, Adam Lallana 5,40 (53' Pablo Osvaldo 5,30). - coach: Mauricio Pochettino. = average: 5,51 [poor]

Player ratings Borussia Dortmund 0, Bayern Munich 3.

0-1 66' Mario Götze (Thomas Müller), 0-2 85' Arjen Robben (Thiago), 0-3 87'  Thomas Müller (Philipp Lahm). Att: 80.645.

Dortmund: Roman Weidenfeller 5,80 - Manuel Friedrich 5,50, Sokratis Papastathopoulos 6,40, Erik Durm 5,70, Sven Bender 6,40 (79' Łukasz Piszczek), Henrikh Mkhitaryan 5,00 (71' Jonas Hofmann), Jakub Błaszczykowski 5,60 (71' Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang), Nuri Şahin 5,80, Kevin Großkreutz 6,20, Robert Lewandowski 6,20, Marco Reus 6,30, - coach: Jürgen Klopp. = average: 5,90 [vulnerable]


Bayern: Manuel Neuer 7,00 - Dante 6,00, Rafinha 5,60 (79' Daniel van Buyten), Jérôme Boateng 5,50 (64' Thiago 6,50), Philipp Lahm 6,50, David Alaba 6,20, Javi Martínez 6,00, Toni Kroos 6,20, Mario Mandžukić 5,60 (56' Mario Götze 7,10), Arjen Robben 7,00, Thomas Müller 6,70. - coach: Pep Guardiola. = average: 6,30 [good]

23 November, 2013

Player ratings Romania 1, Greece 1.

0-1 23' Kostas Mitroglou (Giorgios Karagounis), 1-1 55' og Vasilios Torosidis. Att: 49.793 (Stadionul Naţional).
Romania: Ciprian Tătăruşanu 6,00 - Dorin Goian 5,80, Vlad Chiricheş 6,30, Răzvan Raţ 5,50 (26' Iasmin Latovlevici 6,00), Alexandru Măţel 5,00, Gabriel Torje 5,20 (56' Marius Niculae 5,50), Cristian Tănase 5,20, Alexandru Maxim 5,40, Ovidiu Hoban 6,20, Bogdan Stancu 5,50 (86' Gheorghe Grozav), Ciprian Marica 5,00. - coach: Victor Piţurcă. = average: 5,58 [failing

Greece: Orestis Karnezis 6,00 - Vasilios Torosidis 5,80 (72' Loukas Vyntra), Sokratis Papastathopoulos 6,80, Ioannis Maniatis 6,00, José Holebas 7,20, Alexandros Tziolis 6,30, Dimitrios Siovas 6,60 (80' Kostas Manolas), Giorgios Karagounis 6,80 (73' Andreas Samaris), Georgios Samaras 6,20, Dimitrios Salpingidis 5,20, Kostas Mitroglou 6,20. - coach: Fernando Santos. = average: 6,28 [good]
Sports journalist Bengt Grive was born in 1921, so he had actually seen most of the great Swedish players in his professional life. Grive wrote in his book Glitter och Stänk (1989):

"Kurre Hamrin was a dribbler and opportunist but his big 'number' was the nutmeg. But there is no way he could compare to i Torbjörn and his feints. He didn't have the Göteborgers action range his shot was not remarkable in comparison. Gunnar Gren was techincally at the same level as Nilsson, but slower: Gren's footwork was somewhat heavy. Gunnar Nordahl easily beats Torbjörn in terms of shooting power, but hardly in anything else.  Ralf Edström was better in acrobacy, but not on the floor. His vision was a excellent as Torbjörn's, but he lacked pace. Nacka Skoglund's dribbling ability was more spectacular and he was as quick, but his shot was clearly inferiour and his defensive work was not impressive."

22 November, 2013

Player ratings Croatia 2, Iceland 0.

1-0 27' Mario Mandžukić (Ivan Perišić), 2-0 47' Darijo Srna (Mateo Kovačić). Sent off: 84' Mario Mandžukić. Att: 22.612 (Stadion Maksimir, Zagreb).
Croatia: Stipe Pletikosa 6,70 - Darijo Srna 7,40, Josip Šimunić 6,90, Vedran Ćorluka 7,00, Ivan Rakitić 6,70, Danijel Pranjić 7,20, Ivan Perišić 6,70, Luka Modrić 7,00 (89' Dejan Lovren), Mateo Kovačić 6,90 (74' Ante Rebić 5,90), Ivica Olić 6,70 (80' Nikica Jelavić), Mario Mandžukić 6,40. - coach: Niko Kovač. = average: 6,79 [superb]
Iceland: Hannes Halldórsson 6,70 - Ragnar Sigurðsson 5,40, Birkir Sævarsson 5,60, Ari Skúlason 5,30, Gylfi Sigurðsson 5,60, Aron Gunnarsson 5,20 (72' Emil Hallfreðsson), Birkir Bjarnason 4,70, Kári Árnason 5,70, Jóhann Guðmundsson 5,40, Eiður Guðjohnsen 4,50 (64' Rúrik Gíslason), Alfreð Finnbogason 5,10. - coach: Lars Lagerbäck. = average: 5,38 [feeble]

Number of World Cups, 1950-2014.

In bold text, nations having played at least one semifinal.

1) Brazil : 17
2) Italy, (West) Germany : 16
4) England, Argentina, Mexico : 14
7) Spain : 13
8) France : 12
9) Uruguay : 11
10) Soviet Union/Russia, Yugoslavia/Serbia : 10
12) Sweden, Belgium, South Korea : 9
15) Holland, Switzerland, Czechoslovakia/Czech Republic, Scotland, Chile, USA : 8
21) Hungary, Bulgaria, Paraguay, Cameroon : 7
25) Portugal, Austria, Poland : 6
28) Colombia, Nigeria, Japan : 5
31) Romania, Denmark, Croatia, Morocco, Australia, Tunisia, Iran, Algeria, Costa Rica, Saudi Arabia : 4
41) Northern Ireland, Greece, Peru, Honduras, South Africa, Ecuador, Ivory Coast, Ghana : 3
49) Turkey, Norway, Slovenia, Bolivia, North Korea, El Salvador, New Zealand : 2
56) Wales, Israel, East Germany, Ireland, Ukraine, Slovakia, Bosnia, India*, Zaïre, Haïti, Kuwait, Iraq, Canada, UAE, Egypt, Jamaica, Senegal, China, Trinidad & Tobago, Angola, Togo : 1


*) India qualified but withdrew in 1950.

20 November, 2013

Player ratings France 3, Ukraine 0.

1-0 22' Mamadou Sakho, 2-0 34' Karim Benzema (Matthieu Valbuena), 3-0 72' Mamadou Sakho (Franck Ribéry). Sent off: 47' Evgen Khacheridi. Att: 77.068.
France: Hugo Lloris 6,20 - Mathieu Debuchy 6,60 (78' Bacary Sagna), Raphaël Varane 6,70, Mamadou Sakho 7,90, Patrice Evra 6,40, Paul Pogba 7,00, Yohan Cabaye 7,30, Blaise Matuidi 6,90, Matthieu Valbuena 6,90, Karim Benzema 6,60 (82' Olivier Giroud), Franck Ribéry 6,70. - coach: Didier Deschamps. = average: 6,84 [superb]
Ukraine: Andriy Pyatov 6,20 - Vitaliy Mandzyuk 5,10, Evgen Khacheridi 4,30, Yaroslav Rakitskiy 5,60, Vyacheslav Shevchuk 5,30 - Ruslan Rotan 5,70, Edmar 5,20, Andriy Yarmolenko 5,70, Roman Bezus 5,60 (64' Oleg Gusev 5,50), Evgen Konoplyanka 5,30, Roman Zozulya 5,00 (76' Evgen Seleznev). - coach: Mikhail Fomenko. = average: 5,38 [feeble]

Player ratings England 0, Germany 1.

0-1 39' Per Mertesacker (Toni Kroos). Att: 85.934.
England: Joe Hart 6,50 - Kyle Walker 5,70, Chris Smalling 5,70, Phil Jagielka 5,60, Ashley Cole 5,90 (53' Kieran Gibbs 5,70), Steven Gerrard 6,00 (56' Jordan Henderson 5,60), Tom Cleverley 5,10 (64' Jack Wilshere 5,60), Andros Townsend 6,60, Wayne Rooney 6,00 (71' Ross Barkley 6,00), Adam Lallana 6,10 (76' Rickie Lambert), Daniel Sturridge 5,50. - coach: Roy Hodgson. = average: 5,84 [mediocre]
Germany: Roman Weidenfeller 6,00 - Heiko Westermann 6,30 (67' Julian Draxler), Per Mertesacker 7,50, Jérôme Boateng 6,50 (46' Mats Hummels - 65' Benedikt Höwedes), Marcel Schmelzer 5,80 (46' Marcell Jansen 5,90), Sven Bender 6,10, Lars Bender 5,80, Mario Götze 6,70, Toni Kroos 6,70, Marco Reus 6,00 (82' André Schürrle), Max Kruse 5,40 (56' Sidney Sam 6,10). - coach: Joachim Löw. = average: 6,22 [solid]

Player ratings Sweden 2, Portugal 3.

0-1 50' Cristiano Ronaldo (João Moutinho), 1-1 68' Zlatan Ibrahimović (Kim Källström), 2-1 72' Zlatan Ibrahimović freekick, 2-2 77' Cristiano Ronaldo (Hugo Almeida), 2-3 79' Cristiano Ronaldo (João Moutinho).Att : 49.766 (Friends Arena, Solna).
Sweden: Andreas Isaksson 5,60 - Mikael Lustig 5,00, Per Nilsson 5,00, Mikael Antonsson 5,10, Martin Olsson 5,40 - Sebastian Larsson 5,70 (90' Alexander Gerndt), Rasmus Elm 5,00 (46' Anders Svensson 5,70), Kim Källström 6,10, Alexander Kačaniklić 4,70 (82' Jimmy Durmaz) - Zlatan Ibrahimović 7,70, Johan Elmander 5,90. - coach: Erik Hamrén 5,50. = average: 5,58 [failing]
Portugal: Rui Patrício 6,10 - João Pereira 6,30, Pepe 6,10, Bruno Alves 6,00, Fábio Coentrão 6,10 (52' Antunes 5,90) - Raul Meireles 5,70 (73' William Carvalho), Miguel Veloso 6,30, João Moutinho 6,80, Nani 5,80,  Hugo Almeida 6,40 (82' Ricardo Costa) - Cristiano Ronaldo 8,80. - coach: Paulo Bento 6,40. = average: 6,40 [strong]

19 November, 2013

Memory Lane: Real Madrid 1983/84.

La Liga, UEFA Cup and Copa del Rey matches. 

3,54 Stielike
3,48 Butragueño
3,46 Miguel Ángel
3,43 Chendo
3,35 Martín Vázquez
3,10 Juan José, San José
3,04 Juanito
2,98 Camacho
2,88 Sanchís
2,85 Salguero
2,79 Bernardo
2,77 Pineda
2,75 Gallego
2,71 Ángel
2,70 Lozano
2,69 Bonet
2,63 Metgod
2,43 Santillana
2,25 Isidro

Player ratings Italy 2, Nigeria 2.

1-0 12' Giuseppe Rossi, 1-1 35' Chinedu Dike, 1-2 40' Shola Ameobi, 2-2 47' Emanuele Giaccherini. Att: 15.267 (Craven Cottage).
Italy: Sirigu 6,20 - Maggio 5,70, Ranocchia 5,70, Ogbonna 5,50, Pasqual 5,50, Candreva 6,10 (65' Cerci), Thiago Motta 5,60 (53' Parolo 5,50), Montolivo 6,10 (53' Pirlo 6,40), Giaccherini 6,80 (75' Poli), G. Rossi 6,70 (53' Diamanti 6,40), Balotelli 6,30. - coach: Prandelli 6,20. = average: 6,04 [acceptable]
Nigeria: Ejide 6,40 (65' Enyeama 6,40) - Kwambe 5,80, Oboabona 5,50, Egwuekwe 5,60, Francis 6,10, Onazi 6,30, Obi Mikel 6,20, Oduamadi 5,60 (46' Ogu 6,10), Ameobi 6,80 (65' Emenike), Moses 6,80 (75' Ideye), Dike 6,40 (65' Musa 6,00). - coach:  Keshi 6,30. = average: 6,14 [satisfactory]

16 November, 2013

Player ratings Portugal 1, Sweden 0.

1-0 82' Cristiano Ronaldo (Miguel Veloso). Att: 61.467 (Estádio da Luz).
Portugal: Rui Patrício 6,30 - João Pereira 6,30, Pepe 6,00, Bruno Alves 5,90, Fábio Coentrão 5,90, João Moutinho 5,70, Miguel Veloso 6,50, Raúl Meireles 6,50 (78' Josué), Nani 5,80,     Hélder Postiga 5,20 (66' Hugo Almeida 5,40), Cristiano Ronaldo 7,00. - coach: Paulo Bento. = average: 6,04 [acceptable]
Sweden: Andreas Isaksson 6,20 - Mikael Lustig 6,00, Per Nilsson 6,10, Mikael Antonsson 6,20, Martin Olsson 5,50, Sebastian Larsson 6,00, Rasmus Elm 6,00 (72' Pontus Wernbloom), Kim Källström 6,20 (78' Anders Svensson), Alexander Kačaniklić 5,20, Johan Elmander 6,00 (88' Alexander Gerndt), Zlatan Ibrahimović 5,60. - coach: Erik Hamrén. = average: 5,91 [vulnerable]

12 November, 2013

Europe's Under 21 topscorers.

1. Lasogga (Hamburg) : 8 goals
2. Berardi (Sassuolo), Castaignos (Twente) : 6
4. Aboubakar (Lorient), Drmic (Nürnberg), Gehrt (Den Haag), Jorginho (Verona), Lukaku (Everton), Musa (CSKA Moscow), Piazón (Vitesse), Promes (Twente), Volland (Hoffenheim), Zivkovic (Groningen) : 5
14. Isco (Real Madrid), Kadlec (Frankfurt), Kostic (Groningen), Kwesi (Twente), Neymar (Barcelona), Pogba (Juventus), Son (Leverkusen) : 4

Memory Lane: Monaco 2003/04.

League matches only. Ratings: France Football. 



3,56 Giuly

3,50 Squillaci

3,47 Bernardi

3,44 Roma

3,43 Rothen

3,42 Rodriguez

3,23 Evra

3,23 Zikos

3,21 Morientes