World Cup Preview: Group E – Denmark

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Team: Denmark

 

Nickname: The Danish Dynamite (quite a cocky name from such humble people)

 

Group: E

 

Impress your friends at a World Cup party by mentioning: Denmark has won both a European Championship and a Confederations Cup Championship in the last 16 years. In that 16 year span they’ve also managed to miss out on 2 World Cups (1994 & 2006) and either failed to qualify or were knocked out after the group stages in three of the last four European Championships.

 

You need to know: Their spine is strong and the Danes will D up on you. GK Thomas Sørensen has been more than reliable for Stoke City in the Premier League. This past season alone Stoke City had 14 clean sheets in the Premier League.  Center Backs Daniel Agger (Liverpool) and Per Krøldrup (Fiorentina, Italy) sure up the back line. His name is Christian Poulsen. Christian Poulsen plays his club football for Juventus in Italy and he is the meanest Dane you will ever meet.

 

In the 2005-06 Champions League tournament, Poulsen’s club Schalke played two games against Italian team A.C. Milan. Following their first match, a 2-2 draw, Poulsen was described as “a coward” by Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti, alleging that Poulsen had been purposle kicking Milan midfielder Kaká when the officials had their backs turned. In the second match Schalke lost 2-3. Following the final whistle.

 

In 2007, Denmark faced Sweden in a qualifying match for the 2008 Euro’s. With the game tied 3-3 in the 89th minute, Poulsen punched Swedish striker Markus Rosenberg in the stomach inside the Danish penalty area. The linesman notified referee Herbert Fandel, who gave Poulsen the red card and awarded Sweden a penalty kick. This did not go over well infront of a Danish crowd. An angered Danish supporter ran onto the pitch and attempted to attack Fandel, who chose to abandon the game which was subsequently awarded a 3-0 win to Sweden. He accepted UEFA’s punishment of suspension from Denmark’s next three competitive games.

 

Pedigree: 1^st World Cup Appearance.

 

Journey to South Africa: 1st in Group 1 in UEFA 2010 World Cup Qualifying.

 

Predicted XI (4-3-3) GK: Thomas Sørensen LB: Patrick Mtiliga CB: Per Krøldrup CB: Daniel Agger RB: Lars Jacobsen LM: Dennis Rommedahl CDM: Daniel Jensen RM: Christian Poulsen LW: Jon Dahl Tomasson RW: Thomas Kahlenberg ST:  Nicklas Bendtner

 

 

Who to Watch: We’ve established that Christian Poulsen will kill a man. The success Danish attack will fall on the shoulders of Nickals Bendtner the Arsenal striker who can be very hot or very cold. The 6ft 4in striker can trouble defenses with his size. Bendtner will also be able to hold up the ball and supply service to the likes of Tomasson, Rommedahl, and Kahlenberg.

 

Reasons to root for: The recent outburst by Samuel Eto of Cameroon make the Danes easier to root for. Also when people ask “who ya got,” in a particular match you get to say “The Danish Dynamite,”

 

Reasons to root against: Christian Poulsen

 

SWTCF Prediction: It has to be assumed that 2^nd place in the group will come down to Denmark and Cameroon. At the moment I have Cameroon suriving group play and matching up with Italy in the 2^nd round. However, if the current dressing room issues that are surrounding the Cameroon side persist the Danes will take the 2^nd place spot in the group.

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Better Know A Player: Jay DeMerit

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Age: 30

Hometown: Green Bay, Wisconson

Position: Center Back

Number: 15

Height: 5-11

Weight: 170

Club: Watford (Coca – Cola Championship, tier below EPL)  

Twitter: No but hit the man up on facebook.  

Appearances with US Team: 13, First Cap: Switzerland on October 17, 2007

 

In 2000, as an American soccer player, failing to get drafted by the MLS should have been a decent indicator that your soccer career was likely over. Sure you could attempt to get picked up by a lower division league but at that time there were not to many players making the move back up to the MLS from the lower American leagues. For one kid from Green Bay who didn’t want to stop playing not getting drafted wasn’t a clear enough signal that a soccer career might be out of reach.

 That kid from Green Bay with an art degree form the University of Chicago and a good job offer on the table took his last $1,800 and was off to Europe. His trip to Europe wasn’t going to be like the one you took after you finished college. He wasn’t getting a euro pass, he wasn’t going to the Louvre, and he wasn’t planning on heading to Holland for a wild weekend.  Jay DeMerit was going to find a way to play soccer professionally in Europe. On the advice of a European teammate DeMeritt went to England in search of a contract. His grandfather being Danish helped DeMeritt secure a work permit and he was off to find any and all available tryouts. Eventually he got on with a team in the ninth tier of English football, Southall, earning only £40 a week. (Think semi pro, borderline rec league baseball, not even A ball)

In July 2004, DeMerit joined Northwood, a seventh-tier side, to play in some of their pre-season matches. On the pre-season schedule for Northwood was Watford, then a League Championship side (one tier below the Premier League). During the course of the match, DeMerit impressed then then Watford manager Ray Lewington enough to earn a two-week trial. Following the trial, DeMerit signed a one year contract with Watford to play in the 2004–05 season. Amazingly, he made 32 appearances for the Hornets that season, including 22 starts in the Championship.  Since that 2004 season DeMerit has made 153 appearances and played a major role in the club being promoted to the Premier League in 2006. DeMerit scored the game-winning goal in the play-off match that decided promotion between Watford & Leeds United. (On average promotion to the Premier League meas about 40-60 million pounds in additional profits for a club) In 2007, after being relegated back to the Championship DeMerit was named captain and remained captain until June 1^st, 2010 when the club announced they would not be able to re-sign DeMerit.

In 2007 , DeMerit received his first call up to the US National team in a match versus Guatemala. He was a member of the USA squad for the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup. During the 2009 Confederations Cup, DeMerit started at center back due to Carlos Bocanegra’s hamstring injury. DeMerit’s play in the match where the USA defeated Spain in the Confederations Cup semi-final was one of his finest performances as a US player.

DeMerit is a unique character, he has an art degree from the University of Chicago and his path to the National team is essentially unheard of. I tend to put highlight reels at the end of these pieces but I would ask you to watch the feature US Soccer produced a few months back.  

 

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Better Know A Player: Maurice Edu

Age: 24

Hometown: Fontana, California

Position: Central Midfielder

Number: 19

Height: 6-0

Weight: 170

Club: Rangers FC (Scottish Premier League

Twitter: Yes, @MauriceEdu  Mo enjoys twitter and according to some he enjoys it more ways than most of us do.

Appearances with US Team: 13, First Cap: Switzerland on October 17, 2007

Born in Fontana, California Edu attended theUniversity of Maryland, College Park from 2004 until 2006 and played three years for the Maryland Terrapins. He forfeited his final year of NCAA eligibility to enter the 2007 MLS Superdraft. Edu was drafted by Toronto as the first overall pick of the 2007 MLS SuperDraft. During that first season he made twenty-five appearances in MLS and scored four goal. Edu would go onto win the 2007 MLS Rookie of the Year award.

 

2008 is when Edu began to establish himself as a player to be noticed. In 2008, he captained the U.S. Olympic Team during a successful qualifying run and appeared in all three games during the Olympics in Beijing. During the 2008 MLS season, Scottish giants Rangers bought Edu. Rangers manager Walter Smith has been drawn to American players  in the past and plucked Edu to join Rangers and USMNT teammate DaMarcus Beasley in Glasgow.  On August 16, 2008, Edu flew to Glasgow to hold talks with Rangers after a fee of £2.6 million, was agreed with MLS. Edu signed a five-year contract with Rangers on August 17, 2008, but had to wait until August 22 to officially join after successfully gaining a work permit. Edu made his debut for Rangers in a Scottish Premier League match against Kilmarnock on September 13, 2008. Midway through the 2008-09 season Edu began to find his form. He scored his first goal for Rangers on April 8, 2009, in a league match against St Mirren and then followed his goal up with another against Hibernian in a 3–2 win. May would see Edu make his Old Firm debut against Celtic (scotlant’s biggest football match) on May 9 at Ibrox Stadium in a 1–0 Rangers win. He ended his first season in Scottish football by winning the league championship however injury saw him miss out in the 2009 Scottish Cup Final. The US might have seen more of Edu in the 2009 Confederations Cup had it not been for the injury suffered in the Scottish Cup Final.

 

The injury Edu suffered at the end of the 2009 lead to Edu being in a lengthy battle to regain his form. His knee injury took longer than expected to heal and once healthy Edu would have to earn his place back in the lineup. Edu would finally return in December of 2009 and he would score one of the biggest goals of Rangers season versus Celtic in Feburary of this year. Cue Madness. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqwAeNi0G34

 

Edu provides the US with a confident, tough, and athletic play at the center of midfield. Edu can a box to box player but also a defensive cog in midfield. The Scottish league can be a physically brutal league. The weather can be miserable and the style play bruising. Edu has done well to adapt to the Scottish game and that could serve the US well in South Africa. Edu will likely play a more defensive role for the US, his athleticism, passing ability, and ability to get on to the end of free kicks and corners could help the US. Edu could be the player that many US fan have waited for, good size, good speed, and a fearless attitude.  Paired alongside Michael Bradley the two could prove to be a nasty force for teams to go up against.

 

Highlights:

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USMNT Extra Time

See and download the full gallery on posterous

While you shuffle through a few of the images from the USMNT first traning session in South Africa here are some US-centric stories & videos from today. (Day life & TOW)

The first rule of World Cup bids, you don’t tell anyone about World Cup bids. In an effort to trump the hottness of England’s WC Bid (David Beckham) the US has seen England’s Beckham and raised them a Brad Pitt (The Original Winger)

ESPN plans to carpet bomb you with World Cup Coverage begining June 10th. Soccer fans have wanted proper coverage of the game by ESPN for a while and they will be getting, well… hours of coverage at least. Chris Fowler, Bob Ley, & Mike Tirico will be providing studio coverage from South Africa. Sal Masekela from the X games will be a “human interest correspondent.” and don’t think you’re getting out of this with out the expert analysis of Mike & Mike. Throw in some Julie Foudy and Pedro Gomez and you have tasty “we don’t know d*ck about soccer pie.” I’ll be watching BBC on Adthe thank you very much – (Match Fit USA)

Now less reading and more watching

Nike goes inside the pro with Tim Howard.

Jonathan Bornstein answers questions from the fans. No one asked if he could’ have done us all a favor and missed the plane.

No Short Corners stumbled upon a pretty decent US Highlight Reel

 

 

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SWTCF.COM is Here

Hey everyone just wanted to thank everyone for visiting the site over the last few weeks. The numbers have been outstanding. Which is why I moved the site to a .com domain and also changed the formatting up a bit. I want it to be easier for people to follow and to enjoy. You can now bookmark swtcf.com that is where the site will call home from now on. You can still go to the word press site if you’d like however it wont update as fast as the new site. The site has a feedburner rss feed and we will also have a facebook app available as well. Hopefully mon or tues there will be a podcast up and I’d like to do a few more throughout the duration of the tournament. Again, thanks for all your visits and comments

32 Golazos in 30 Days: Serbia

Today’s golazo is courtesy of 23 year old Manchester United midfielder Zoran Tošić. His bit of fancy footwork came against Lithuania in a 2-1 loss to Serbia. Tošić should start on the left side of midfield for Serbia in South Africa (Sidebar – finding Golazos from Serbia similar to finding footage of Diego Forlan scoring at Manchester United)

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32 Golazos in 30 Days: Serbia {{tag: wc2010, Serbia}}

Today’s golazo is courtesy of 23 year old Manchester United midfielder Zoran Tošić. His bit of fancy footwork came against Lithuania in a 2-1 loss to Serbia. Tošić should start on the left side of midfield for Serbia in South Africa (Sidebar – finding Golazos from Serbia similar to finding footage of Diego Forlan scoring at Manchester United)

Posted via web from Singing With The Corner Flag