the score

And so the group stage is underway. For the most part, the home teams held serve – eight games on Tuesday, and just one visiting team managed to score. And there was nary an upset (unless you count Lyon dumping Real Madrid – again). It was a great week for English clubs, as Arsenal, Man U, and Chelsea all won, and Liverpool got a draw on the road. Two weeks now, until Game Day 2.

Group A
Barcelona and Chelsea took early control with a pair of dominating home shutouts. Barca got scores from five different players.
Barcelona 5, Levski Sofia 0
Chelsea 2, Werder Bremen 0

Group B
A good day for the home teams here as well; Bayern cruising, Sporting Lisbon hanging onto a slim win over Inter Milan, who had Patrick Vieira red carded.
Bayern Munich 4, Spartak Moscow 0
Sporting Lisbon 1, Inter Milan 0

Group C
A pair of scoreless draws is probably good news for the visitors, who were likely the favorites in this group already.
Galatasaray 0, Bordeaux 0
PSV Eindhoven 0, Liverpool 0

Group D
Valencia came from behind, and got two goals in the final five minutes to take a road win in Greece; Fernando Morientes tallied a hat trick. Roma left it late as well, getting four goals in the last 23 minutes to bury a pretty good Ukranian side.
Olympiakos 2, Valencia 4
Roma 4, Shakhtar Donetsk 0

Group E
Tough week for the Ukraine, whose teams had been on a roll. And what about Real Madrid? Last year's Galacticos lost at Lyon 3-0; this year's new, improved, Fabio Capello-led non-Galacticos were just a goal better.
Dynamo Kiev 1, Steaua Bucharest 4
Lyon 2, Real Madrid 0

Group F
The much anticipated all-British matchup lived up to its billing, with end-to-end play, and five goals in the first half. Man U's Sir Alex Ferguson promised his lads wouldn't fail again this year, and so far, so good.
Manchester United 3, Glasgow Celtic 2
FC Copenhagen 0, Benfica 0

Group G
Arsenal got a valuable win on the road, but didn't necessarily look all that convincing doing it. Hamburg played a man down almost the entire game, after having their goalkeeper sent off while conceding a penalty in the 10th minute.
FC Porto 0, CSKA Moscow 0
Hamburg 1, Arsenal 2

Group H
Milan coasted; they look to be the class of this group. Second place looks wide open; give an edge to the French side.
AC Milan 3, AEK Athens 0
Anderlecht 1, Lille 1

Top two teams in each group advance to the final 16 knockout round.
Match Day 2 is Sept. 26-27

Read More | Comment »

The Lady Longhorns split a pair of road games last weekend, beating New Mexico 2-1 (Ashley Foster hit the winner in overtime), then losing 1-0 at Rice. The Horns' national ranking, up from nowhere to No. 8 last week, dropped to 23rd this week. Sic transit gloria. The Horns are back home this weekend for two nonconference games before the Big 12 schedule starts. Nicholls State, 7pm Friday; Cal St. Fullerton, 1pm Sunday. Myers Stadium, $7 (Friday: 4 tickets/$8, kids $1). Sophomore defender Stephanie Logterman is back with the team after her stint with the youth National Team at the U-20 World Championship in Russia. The U.S. finished fourth there, dropping both the semifinal and third place games in shootouts after 0-0 draws. Tough way to lose. In Europe, it's getting into the heart of the fall schedule, which means two games a week for many teams and players -- regular league games on weekends and cup and international play midweek. Last week it was the national teams, playing for Euro 2008 qualifying, this week it's the first games of the Champions League group stage. For the most part, the home teams held serve, and there was nary an upset (unless you count Lyon dumping Real Madrid -- again). It was a great week for English clubs, as Arsenal, Man U, and Chelsea all won, and Liverpool got a draw on the road. Here are the full results: Group A: Barcelona 5, Levski Sofia 0; Chelsea 2, Werder Bremen 0 Group B: Bayern Munich 4, Spartak Moscow 0; Sporting Lisbon 1, Inter Milan 0 Group C: Galatasaray 0, Bordeaux 0; PSV Eindhoven 0, Liverpool 0 Group D: Olympiakos 2, Valencia 4; Roma 4, Shakhtar Donetsk 0 Group E: Dynamo Kiev 1, Steaua Bucharest 4; Lyon 2, Real Madrid 0 Group F: FC Copenhagen 0, Benfica 0; Manchester United 3, Celtic Glasgow 2 Group G: FC Porto 0, CSKA Moscow 0; Hamburg 1, Arsenal 2 Group H: AC Milan 3, AEK Athens 0; Anderlecht 1, Lille 1 Read More | Comment »

Top two teams in each group qualify for the final.

Results from Sept. 2 & 6

Most notably in this week's action, in Group B, Scotland started off with two wins, while world champ Italy managed only a home draw with Lithuania, and a 3-1 loss at France in a rematch of the WC final.
• Norway moved to the top of Group C with two wins.
• Germany scored a record 13 goals on the road against hapless San Marino. They also beat Ireland, and share the Group D lead with the Czech Republic.
• England and Israel both won twice to share the early lead in Group E.
• Northern Ireland had a complete turnaround: getting shut out at home, 3-0, by Iceland on Saturday, and coming back on Wednesday to beat Spain, 3-2 in Group F.
• Netherlands won twice to take the lead in Group G.

Group A
Saturday, Sept. 2
Poland 1, Finland 3
Serbia 1, Azerbaijan 0
Wednesday, Sept. 6
Finland 1, Portugal 1
Poland 1, Serbia 1
Armenia 0, Belgium 1
Azerbaijan 1, Kazakhstan 1

Group B
Saturday, Sept. 2
Italy 1, Lithuania 1
Scotland 6, Faroe Islands 0
Georgia 0, France 3
Wednesday, Sept. 6
France 3, Italy 1
Lithuania 1, Scotland 2
Ukraine 3, Georgia 2

Group C
Saturday, Sept. 2
Hungary 1, Norway 4
Malta 2, Bosnia-Herzegovina 5
Moldova 0, Greece 1
Wednesday, Sept. 6
Norway 2, Moldova 0
Turkey 2, Malta 0
Bosnia-Herzegovina 1, Hungary 3

Group D
Saturday, Sept. 2
Germany 1, Ireland 0
Slovakia 6, Cyprus 1
Czech Rep. 2, Wales 1
Wednesday, Sept. 6
San Marino 0, Germany 13
Slovakia 0, Czech Rep. 3

Group E
Saturday, Sept. 2
England 5, Andorra 0
Estonia 0, Israel 1
Wednesday, Sept. 6
Macedonia 0 - 1 England 1
Israel 4, Andorra 1
Russia 0, Croatia 0

Group F
Saturday, Sept. 2
Latvia 0, Sweden 1
Northern Ireland 0, Iceland 3
Spain 4, Liechtenstein 0
Wednesday, Sept. 6
Northern Ireland 3, Spain 2
Iceland 0, Denmark 2
Sweden 3, Liechtenstein 1

Group G
Saturday, Sept. 2
Luxembourg 0, Netherlands 1
Romania 2, Bulgaria 2
Belarus 2, Albania 2
Wednesday, Sept. 6
Netherlands 3, Belarus 0
Albania 0, Romania 2
Bulgaria 3, Slovenia 0


The next games are Oct. 7 and 11, and Nov. 15.
And in 2007: March 24, 28, June 2, 6, Aug. 22, Sept. 9, 12, Oct. 13, 17, Nov. 17, 21.
Read More | Comment »

The UT Lady Longhorns had a big weekend, beating third-ranked Penn State, 2-1, and then 13th-ranked Illinois, 1-0 in double overtime. Kelsey Carpenter scored both game-winning goals, to earn national player-of-the-week honors, while the Horns jumped as high as eighth in the national polls; they're on the road this week, at New Mexico Thursday, Rice Sunday, and LSU on Wednesday. Qualifying for the 2008 European Championship got underway for real this week, with full slates on Saturday and Wednesday. Most notably, in Group B, Scotland started off with two wins, while world champ Italy managed only a home draw with Lithuania, and a 3-1 loss at France in a rematch of the WC final. (See full results on Soccer Watch Online.) Marco Materazzi, of World Cup head-butted fame, didn't play in that game; he's serving a two-game suspension for provoking Zinedine Zidane in the WC final, and revealed this week just what it was that did the trick. Zidane: "If you want my shirt I'll give it to you afterwards." Materazzi: "I'd prefer your sister." Read More | Comment »

The Lady Longhorns' first home game of the season could be the best one all year. The Penn State Nittany Lions, fresh off a 3-1 pasting of No. 1 UCLA (see below), are probably the best team UT will face. As for the Horns, they opened with a 1-0 loss at Auburn (on an own goal, ouch!), despite outshooting the Tigers 15-6. Let's hope that's not the continuation of a trend. Over the past couple of years, the Horns have consistently outshot opponents but had trouble finishing. Penn State: Friday, Sept. 1, 7pm; Illinois: Sunday, Sept. 3, 1pm; Myers Stadium. $7 ($4 students, or see "Soccer Watch Online" for $1 tix). Horns' captain Stephanie Logterman will miss those games -- gladly. She's still with the U.S. national team at the Under-20 World Champion­ships, where the U.S. advanced to a Thursday semifinal against China by thumping defending champion Germany, 4-1, avenging a 2004 loss in the semifinals. In a busy opening weekend in NCAA women's soccer, the top three preseason picks all lost on the road: Penn State knocked off UCLA, defending champ Portland lost to Florida State, and Texas A&M beat North Carolina, 1-0, before an NCAA record crowd of 8,204 in College Station. But I've still got the Bruins at No. 1; they'll soon get back five starters who are now in Russia with the national team. 1) UCLA (1-1-0) 2) Santa Clara (2-0-0) 3) Penn State (1-0-1) 4) Florida State (1-0-0) 5) Notre Dame (2-0-0) 6) Texas A&M (2-0-0) 7) North Carolina (1-1-0) 8) Virginia (2-0-0) 9) Portland (0-1-1) 10) California (2-0-0) Read More | Comment »

Third Qualifying Round
Second Leg: Results from Aug. 22-23

AEK Athens 3, Hearts 0 (AEK 5-1 on aggregate goals)
Steaua Bucharest 2, Standard Liege 1 (Steaua 4-3 agg.)
Mlada Boleslav 1, Galatasaray 1 (Galatasaray 4-3 agg.)
Ruzomberok 0, CSKA Moscow 2 (CSKA 5-0 agg.)
Rabotnicki 0, Lille 1 (Lille 4-0 agg.)
Spartak Moscow 2, Slovan Liberec 1 (Spartak 2-1 agg.)
Chievo Verona 2, Levski Sofia 2 (Levski 4-2 agg.)
Fenerbahçe 2, Dynamo Kiev 2 (Dynamo 5-3 agg.)
Legia Warsaw 2, Shakhtar Donetsk 3 (Shakhtar 4-2 agg.)
Ajax Amsterdam 0, FC Kobenhavn 2 (Kobenhavn 3-2 agg.)
Maccabi Haifa 1, Liverpool 1 (Liverpool 3-2 agg.)
Red Star Belgrade 1, AC Milan 2 (Milan 3-1 agg.)
Valencia 3, Salzburg 0 (Valencia 3-1 agg.)
Osasuna 1, Hamburg 1 (Hamburg 1-1, away goals)
Arsenal 2, Dinamo Zagreb 1 (Arsenal 5-1 agg.)
Benfica 3, Austria Vienna 0 (Benfica 4-1 agg.)

With Spaniards Osasuna and Italians Chievo Verona losing, England is the only country this season to advance four teams into the CL group stage; Spain, Italy, Germany, France, and Portugal have three apiece, and Greece, Russia, and Ukraine two each. Single entries from Bulgaria, Holland, Turkey, Romania, Denmark, Scotland, and Belgium round out the field.

England and Spain each have three top seeds, and Italy has two. (Presumably, Juventus would've been a top seed, were they not disqualified due to scandolo.)

Group Stage Draw
(Teams listed in order of seedings; group play begins Sept. 12-13)

GROUP A
Barcelona (ESP)
Chelsea (ENG)
Werder Bremen (GER)
Levski Sofia (BUL)

GROUP B
Inter Milan (ITA)
Bayern Munich (GER)
Sporting Lisbon (POR)
Spartak Moscow (RUS)

GROUP C
Liverpool (ENG)
PSV Eindhoven (NED)
Bordeaux (FRA)
Galatasaray (TUR)

GROUP D
Valencia (ESP)
AS Roma (ITA)
Olympiakos (GRE)
Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR)

GROUP E
Real Madrid (ESP)
Lyon (FRA)
Steaua Bucharest (ROM)
Dynamo Kiev (UKR)

GROUP F
Manchester United (ENG)
Celtic Glasgow (SCO)
Benfica (POR)
FC København (DEN)

GROUP G
Arsenal (ENG)
FC Porto (POR)
CSKA Moscow (RUS)
Hamburg (GER)

GROUP H
AC Milan (ITA)
Lille (FRA)
AEK Athens (GRE)
Anderlecht (BEL)

Read More | Comment »

As noted in the print edition, the Lady Longhorns are back in action this week; practices are open to the public:
Aug. 10-22, 8-10:30am and 8-9:30pm at Mike A. Myers Stadium (times are approximate and subject to change).
The Horns also play an exhibition game against UT-San Antonio, 7pm Friday, Aug. 18, before opening their regular season the next week at Auburn.
Here's a preview of the Horns squad, sight unseen:

Overall, the Horns return 15 lettermen, and all but one regular starter from last year. And where last season's team featured just one senior who got any playing time, and six freshman who stepped in to make major contributions, this year's model has six seniors for leadership, and it's hard to see any newcomers getting a lot of playing time.

The Horns will miss graduated defender Julie Gailey, a four-year fixture in the back, and also the team assists leader last season. But defense will still be a strength, led by two outstanding sophomore defenders who've had national team experience – Kasey Moore and Stephanie Logterman – and two experienced goalkeepers in Dianna Pfenninger and Dana Hall.
Austin native Logterman will miss the start of the season, since she's playing on the U.S. Under-20 team at the FIFA World Championships in Russia from Aug. 17-Sept. 3. If the U.S. goes all the way to the finals (as they should), the team captain will be out for the first three games.

Up front, the Horns return their entire front line, and every goal-scorer from last year, led by Kelsey Carpenter, Caitlin Kennedy, Amy Burlingham, and Ashley Foster, who combined for 21 goals and 15 assists last year. With another year playing together, this has the potential to be an explosive attack.

One place there will be some new faces is on the sidelines. (And interesting that the Horns open their season at Auburn.) Just a couple of weeks ago, UT coach Chris Petrucelli announced the hiring of Matthew Mott as an assistant coach; Mott had been a key member of the Auburn soccer program since 1999, rising from assistant, to assistant head coach, to associate head coach for the last two years. Petrucelli's other assistant is new as well – Nicole Nelson, who was an assistant coach at Baylor last year, after three years as the head coach at Stephen F. Austin. Read More | Comment »

European Champions League, Third Qualifying Round
First Leg results, Aug. 6-7
Most of the favorites came through unscathed in their first tests of the season. A few highlights:

Liverpool waited to the 87th minute before scoring the winner over Israel's Maccabi Haifa at home; for security reasons, that return leg will be played in either Cyprus or Kiev, Ukraine.

Scotland's Hearts of Midlothian suffered a surprising home loss to AEK Athens.

AC Milan edged Red Star Belgrade (Crvena Zvezda), 1-0; that return leg in Serbia could be brutal.

Italy's Chievo Verona, elevated into the CL by the three disqualifications ahead of them in Italy, was lifeless in Bulgaria.

Heavily favored Valencia hit a wall in Austria.

Both Ukrainian clubs, Shakhtar Donetsk and Dynamo Kiev, continued to impress, following up on Ukraine's good showing in WC2006.

Ajax Amsterdam won on the road with a goal in the 84th minute in Copenhagen.

Arsenal looked to be in midseason form in a 3-0 road romp in Croatia.


The return leg games are Aug. 22-23. The 16 winners advance to the Champions League group stage, which will begin Sept. 12.

The full results:

Liverpool 2 - 1 Maccabi Haifa
Hearts 1 - 2 AEK Athens
AC Milan 1 - 0 Red Star Belgrade
Salzburg 1 - 0 Valencia
Standard Liege 2 - 2 Steaua Bucharest
FC Kobenhaven 1 - 2 Ajax Amsterdam
Hamburg 0 - 0 Osasuna
Slovan Liberec 0 - 0 Spartak Moscow
Galatasaray 5 - 2 Mlada Boleslav
Levski Sofia 2 - 0 Chievo Verona
Shakhtar Donetsk 1 - 0 Legia
CSKA Moscow 3 - 0 Ruzomberok
Lille 3 - 0 Rabotnicki
Dynamo Kiev 3 - 1 Fenerbahçe
Dinamo Zagreb 0 - 3 Arsenal
Austria Vienna 1 - 1 Benfica

Read More | Comment »

Adult Soccer
Austin Women’s Soccer League
Austin Men’s Soccer Association
Austin Co-Ed Soccer Association
Texas State Soccer Association-South (state organization)
United States Adult Soccer Association (national organization)

Youth Soccer
University Interscholastic League (UIL) (runs high school sports in Texas)
Capital Area Youth Soccer Association (CAYSA) (regional association has links to all accredited youth clubs)
South Texas Youth Soccer Association (state association)
U.S. Youth Soccer (USYS) (national association)

Some Local Youth Clubs
CC United Soccer Club
Austin United Capitals Soccer Club
River City Rangers
North Austin Soccer Alliance
West Austin Youth Association (WAYA)
East Austin Soccer Club
University Hills Optimists: 401 W. St. Johns, 453-6852

Other
Austin Aztex (USL First Division and PDL teams)
Stoke City FC (English League Championship; affiliated with Austin Aztex) Austin Amp'd (Premier Arena Soccer League team)
Soccer Zone Austin (indoor soccer facilities and leagues)
Soccer Enterprise (Frank Allcorn’s site; lots of info)
Paisanos Soccer Club (national champ over-30 men’s team)
United Soccer Leagues (USL) (national pro/semi-pro leagues)
U.S. Soccer Federation (governing body of soccer in all forms in the U.S.)
Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) (world ruling body)

Local College Programs
University of Texas (NCAA Division I Women)
St. Edward’s Men and Women (NCAA Division II)
Concordia Men and Women (NCAA Division III)
Huston-Tillotson University Men (NAIA)
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With the No. 1 pick of the 2006 NFL draft, the Houston Texans select … Mario Williams. Mario Williams? With Reggie Bush and Vince Young on the board, the Texans chose to go for a relatively unknown defensive end, thereby bypassing two of college football's greatest players of all time. Whether this is a monumental blunder in line with many of the Texans' previous upper-management mishaps or a shrewd maneuver inevitably guiding them toward their first-ever Super Bowl appearance will play out over these players' careers. Regardless of the outcome, their decision has left many Texans' fans bewildered and stunned and has baffled the hardcore football world in general. EA Sports NFL Head Coach allows all the armchair Tom Landrys and Don Shulas out there a chance to step into the role of all-powerful head coach for an NFL team and to handle the tasks and duties thereof: hiring a managerial staff, drafting college players, signing free agents, creating and adding plays to the playbook, motivating and training players, adjusting the depth chart, conferring with the coaching staff, etc. As fun as that may sound (not much fun at all), NFL Head Coach is one of the most boring, tedious, and unsatisfying video-game experiences known to mankind and nothing more than a glorified version of Madden's franchise mode with all of the gameplay removed. Sure, you can call the plays on "game day," but that's it – the computer simulates all of the actual football action. On top of the total lack of gameplay, simming, loading, and saving take a torturously long time, and many of the tasks are lifelike in the sense that they actually feel like work and are neither entertaining nor satisfying. How about an exciting "chat" with your defensive coordinator? It's in the game. Feel like choosing the outfit for your coach? NFL Head Coach brings that dream to reality. Head Coach's possible success could pave the way for future titles like NFL Equipment Manager (must be hard getting all those grass stains out), NFL Beer and Peanut Vendor (bad for the back), or Fat, Drunk, and Obnoxious NFL Fanatic (try not to puke on the guy in front you). EA Sports is known for producing quality sports titles, but this attempt to feed off America's raging appetite for all things football places commerce above entertainment. Read More | Comment »

The Italian match-fixing scandal boiled over last Friday, as Juventus, Lazio, and Fiorentina were demoted to the second division, while Silvio Berlusconi's AC Milan avoided demotion but got a 15-point penalty for the coming season, and a ban from European play. Juve was also stripped of its last two Serie A titles, and given a 30-point penalty for next season, meaning it's almost certain to spend at least two years in the minor league. All four clubs will appeal the ruling; meanwhile, criminal probes are ongoing as well.

Also on Friday, U.S. national team coach Bruce Arena was axed by the U.S. Soccer Federation. His likely successor? Speculation centers on Juergen Klinsmann, who lives in California, and resigned as the German head coach just after the World Cup. As for Arena, he was out of a job for just three days, before being hired by the New York Red Bulls on Tuesday.

Reigning European champs FC Barcelona will be at Houston's Reliant Stadium on Wednesday, Aug. 9 to play Mexican side Club America, current CONCACAF champions, as part of a doubleheader with the Houston Dynamo and L.A. Galaxy. Barcelona's U.S. tour will also take them to Los Angeles on Aug. 6 and New York on Aug. 12. Read More | Comment »

You hate to see a game, let alone a championship, get decided by penalty kicks, but it does make for perhaps the most exciting five minutes in sports. Great ending to a great World Cup.

Afterwards, of course, all the talk has been about the head-butt (see below for some links and video clips). Crack teams of lipreaders at The Guardian and elsewhere have come up with various interpretations of what Marco Materazzi may have said to Zizou, mostly centering on his mother, his sister, their nipples, terrorism, and an accusation of being a French collaborator during Algeria’s war for independence – but ultimately, the incident had little effect on the outcome.

National team coaches Marcello Lippi of Italy and Juergen Klinsmann of Germany both announced their resignations Wednesday. Lippi goes out a hero, but also under scrutiny in the ongoing match-fixing scandal in Italy. Klinsmann also leaves on good terms, with a reported 93% public-approval rating, and with the prospect of another job coming open closer to his California home; U.S. coach Bruce Arena is said to be on his way out; he’ll meet with USSF officials this week.

The new coaches won’t have much time to settle in; the qualifying campaign for Euro 2008 begins Sept. 21.

FIFA released their redesigned world rankings on Wednesday, weighted more toward more recent games, and with an enhanced “strength of schedule” component. Brazil remains number one, Italy rose from 11th to second, and Germany, France, England, and Argentina moved up as well. On the other hand, the U.S. dropped from fifth to 16th, and Mexico from fourth to 18th.

A Few Head-Butt links and resources:
Materazzi Hit Lists:
Sports Illustrated
New York Times
World Cup 365
Zidane speaks
Zidane's mother speaks: "I want his balls on a platter"
Materazzi's agent: "My personal wish would be that one day they could meet again and maybe make a nice moment.'
An Arcade Game Read More | Comment »

Saturday, 1:55pm: Germany-Portugal.
I know: who cares about third place? But this could be a fun game. The Germans are playing essentially an exhibition game for their home fans -- a final game together for this very popular squad. Portugal has nothing more to lose, but some prestige to gain. Let's hope for a beautiful game from two teams who have more interest in playing attractive soccer than in just surviving.
Menu: German black bread, with various cheeses and sausages, and lots of bier; Pastéis de Bacalhau (Codfish Pastries) (excellent recipe below; thanks to Sofia Resnick), plus sardines, mussels, etc., Portuguese cheeses, and vinho verde.

Sunday, 12:55pm: Italy-France. (Note the earlier start.)
Long-awaited, but unexpected, rematch of the 2000 European Championship Final, won by France in overtime. There are a lot of the same players, on both sides, but it's been thus far a very different Italian team, with coach Marcello Lippi using lots of strikers, unleashing the midfielders to go forward (in the 120th minute of the semifinal, it was a defender who was all the way up front to score the winning goal) ... and thus putting a lot of pressure on the remaining defenders and goalkeeper. (With Buffon, Cannavaro, and Nesta, you can do that.) Should be a tough test for a very inspired French team.
Menu: Tortellini, Pane Rustica with prosciutto e melone, salami antipasto, fresh mozzarella, mascarpone, and other cheeses, cornetti, espresso, Peroni, vino rosso; Croissants and baguettes, with fromages & pates, vin rouge. Afterwards: Amaretto? Benedictine?

Pastéis de Bacalhau (Codfish Pastries)
1 pound dried salt cod
2 cups milk
4 medium Idaho potatoes
1 large Spanish onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 handful fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
1 handful fresh cilantro, finely chopped
2 large eggs
Freshly ground black pepper and sea salt, if needed
Vegetable oil, for frying
Lemon wedges, for serving


Starting a day ahead, soak the dried cod in cold water for 12 to 24 hours, changing the water several times to remove most of the salt. Drain the cod, rinse, and put it in a large pot. Add the milk and enough water to cover by 1-inch; cooking the cod in milk keeps it really moist. Simmer gently over medium-low heat for 20 to 25 minutes, until the cod is tender and pliable. Drain and rinse well, then flake the cod into a bowl with your hands, removing any little bits of skin and bone.

While the cod is cooking, pour 1-inch of water in a large pot fitted with a steamer insert. Add the potatoes and simmer on medium heat for 20 to 25 minutes until very tender. Drain the potatoes, peel off the skins, and mash them well with a potato masher or pass them through a ricer or sieve.

Add the cod to the potatoes, along with the onion, garlic, parsley, cilantro, and eggs. Beat the mixture firmly with a wooden spoon so that it well combined and firm - a spoon should stand up in it. (If you find it too dry, add 1 or 2 tablespoons of milk.) Season with a pinch of pepper and taste for salt - you may not need to add any, as the cod itself retains enough saltiness, in spite of being soaked and boiled. With lightly moistened hands or using 2 tablespoons, shape the cod mixture into egg-shaped balls - you should get about 25. (The cod balls can be covered and refrigerated for up to 1 day before cooking or frozen in a container.) (NB: I made smaller, bite-sized versions -- maybe halfway between a marble and a golf ball. I also lightly sauteed the onion and garlic before mixing it in.)

Heat 3-inches of oil in a deep heavy skillet or pot to 370 degrees F. Add a few of the cod balls at a time to the hot oil, turning them 3 or 4 times to get nicely browned all over. Carefully lift the cod fritters out of the pan with a slotted spoon and place on a platter lined with paper towels to drain. Repeat. Serve hot or at room temperature with lemon wedges.
Read More | Comment »

With three upsets out of four quarterfinal games (well, depending on who you listened to coming in), this is not the set of semifinals most anyone expected. But it promises to be a great pair of games. As for the suggested menus, as we eat our way through the WC schedule, it's basically breads, cheeses, meats, beer, and wine. But who does those better than France, Italy, and Germany? Portugal's kind of the odd country out at the table as well as on the field, but, just in time for the big games, Portugal found their game, and I found a very nice recipe for fried codfish-and-potato balls. Very exciting.

Tuesday, 1:55pm: Germany-Italy.
This is a rematch of a March "friendly" that Italy dominated, 4-1, with only a late German face-saver bringing it that close. After that game, played in Florence, German fans were calling for head coach Juergen Klinsmann's head. But now we're in the fatherland, Klinsmann's a genius, and Germany's a 2-1 favorite. Maybe so, but for my money Italy's still a better team. We shall see.
There was bad news for the hosts on Monday: midfielder Torsten Frings, who's been having a great tournament, has been ruled out of the semifinal, suspended for throwing a punch during a post-game dustup with the Argentinian team and staff. Key defender Alessandro Nesta (groin) is still iffy for Italy, but they'll have Marco Materazzi back from his red-card suspension if Nesta's not ready to go.
Menu: German black bread, with various cheeses and sausages, and a Bitburger (or maybe a Dortmunder Union, since that's where the game's being played); or Pane Rustica with prosciutto & salami antipasto; fresh mozzarella, mascarpone, and other cheeses; cornetti; espresso; Peroni; vino rosso.

Wednesday, 1:55pm: France-Portugal.
This has the makings of a classic: two very, very good teams, who no one thought were going to make it this far. Two attractive, attacking styles of play, as well, and some good individual matchups, too. Both sides will be at full strength, as Portugal gets Deco and Costinha back from red-card suspensions.
Menu: Croissants and baguettes, with fromage & pates; a couple of nice Portuguese cheeses; various fish products; and a new find from the quarterfinals: Pastéis de Bacalhau (Codfish Pastries); thanks to Sofia Resnick and Michael Schwarz for the idea and recipe. Vin and vinho, verde, blanc, et rouge. Benedictine or port to finish, depending on who wins. Read More | Comment »

Down go the pre-tournament favorites. Down go the favorites coming out of the first round. And suddenly, we've got all-European semifinals.

Germany 1, Argentina 1 (4-2 in PK shootout)
It's always disappointing to see a game decided on penalty kicks, but for the most part, the marquee matchup of the round lived up to its billing: hard-fought (but remarkably clean, until after the final whistle), tense, and emotional. German keeper Jens Lehmann guessed right on every Argentine PK in the shootout, saved two, and that was about the extent of the difference between these two squads on the day.

Italy 3, Ukraine 0
The scoreline is flattering to the Italians – Ukraine had at least two balls off the woodwork, and two others cleared off the goal line – but Italy controlled the game pretty handily for the most part, and looked good enough to perhaps go all the way. It's certainly encouraging for them to get striker Luca Toni untracked; his two second-half goals were his first of the tournament, though he's played well throughout. And Francesco Totti looked comfortable playing 90 minutes, and had beautiful assists on the first two goals.

Portugal 0, England 0 (3-1 in PK shootout)
The first stunner of the day wasn't really much of a surprise, given how these teams have been playing. England actually looked better here than they had all tournament, even after Beckham went out with an injury and Rooney stomped off. They survived the overtime, on a hot afternoon, on pretty much even terms. Portugal is being tabbed as the upstart outsider; don't believe it. They may not have won any major championships yet, but they've been knocking on the door for a decade, and they were the favorites to win the Euro championships just two years ago.

France 1, Brazil 0
Stunning, not so much because the old guys, all but written off a couple of weeks ago, extended their recent mastery over the consensus best team in the world, but because of how easy they made it look. France dominated the midfield, won most every free ball, and shut down every attack. Brazil didn't manage a single shot on goal until the 80th minute. Thierry Henri's gorgeous volley in the 57th minute joins Maxi Rodriguez's stunner against Mexico as the top goals of the tournament. Read More | Comment »

Here's a look at the games in the next couple of days (Friday-Saturday, June 30 and July 1), plus suggested breakfast menus.

Friday:
9:45am: Germany-Argentina. These two would probably be favored to go to the finals if they weren't in the same quarter of the bracket; the winner becomes the favorite to win it all.
Menu: Apfelpfannkuchen (apple pancakes), cheese and sausage plate; fruit, Yerba Mate, submarinos (bittersweet chocolate melted into steamed milk). An excellent game to drink beer with: Quilmes from Argentina; any of dozens from Germany.

1:45pm: Italy-Ukraine. On paper, this is something of a breather for Italy; but they looked anything but comfortable in a pre-tournament scoreless tie with the Ukraine. Italy will be missing defenders Alessandro Nesta (groin) and Marco Materazzi (red card), plus midfielder Daniele DeRossi, suspended four games for his elbow on Brian McBride. For Ukraine, striker Andriy Voronin is out for the rest of the tournament, putting all the focus on Andrij Shevchenko, longtime AC Milan star leaving Italy this off-season for the Premiership.
Menu: Breads & cheeses, prosciutto & salami, fresh mozzarella, cornetti and other pastries, espresso, Peroni & vino rosso.

Saturday:
9:45am: England-Portugal. First big test for an English side that has looked anything but impressive so far. They don't look fit to play another afternoon game; heaven help them if it goes to overtime. Portugal, on the other hand, looks ready to atone for their failure in the 2004 Euro championships, though they'll miss the creativity in the midfield from Deco, one of the two red-carded players from the Dutch game.
Menu: This could be the best cheese plate of the entire tournament; that's a given for England, but there's also some very nice Portuguese soft sheep's cheese. Plus of course, bangers, crumpets, jams, tea and strong coffee; nice ale selection, plus some English hard cider, and port.

1:45pm: Brazil-France. Rematch of the 1998 championship game; both sides say there's no revenge factor involved, but don't believe it. Should be a good one. Menu: Still working on this one a little. Croissants, of course, plus a fromage & pate plate; tropical fruits for Brazilian breakfast, but we could perhaps shade it more toward lunch, given the time of day. I'm having trouble finding more Xingu (Brazilian black beer), and Central Market is out of the Alsatian beer they used to stock. So, we shall see. And of course, there's always Cachaca and Cashew juice. Or Benedictine, if you prefer. Read More | Comment »

Who can tell why, but the pattern of one great game a day, and one disappointing one, held throughout the first knockout round. Italy and Brazil went through as expected, but in contrasting styles, and the best game of the tournament so far was saved for last.

Monday:

Italy squeaked by Australia, 1-0, on a disputed penalty on literally the last touch of the ball, four minutes into extra time. Leave it to the Italians to pile on the drama. (Oh, did I mention they were playing a man down almost the entire second half?)
So, speaking of dramatics, was the controversial penalty call a dive? Probably. But it was also a foul. Perhaps unintentional, but clear, inside the box, on a player going toward goal with the ball. That's a call the referee has to make. Still, the Sockeroos can justifiably feel betrayed by fortune, if not by the ref; they played almost well enough to win, controlled possession, but couldn't quite get the final pass through, or shot on target. Speaking of which …

Ukraine outlasted Switzerland in penalty kicks in the afternoon game; and if Australia lacked the final touch, here were two teams who looked like they didn't have any clue how to go about creating an attack. For once, it was a relief when the game went to a penalty kick shootout, because you got the feeling these guys could've played for hours longer without creating any scoring chances. Hell, Switzerland couldn't even score in the shootout, losing 3-0, and exiting the tournament without allowing a single goal. Surely that's some sort of record for offensive futility?

Tuesday:

Brazil dispatched Ghana by a methodical 3-0, and as a contest it was about that one-sided. But the scoreline doesn't reflect a couple of realities: Ghana had the best of the possession, and actually won most of the midfield battles, only to be undone (like Australia) by poor finishing, time and time again. But for a few flashes of counterattacking brilliance, the Samba hardly looked like the big pre-tournament favorite they were hyped to be. Still, the coaches all stress that for Brazil, it's a seven-game tournament; no point peaking early. And I suppose if I'm grousing about the quality of their 11th straight WC win, – and a 3-0 win at that – they must be doing something right. In the same vein, how about that Ronaldo? Old, fat, slow … seems like nowadays all he can do is score game-winning goals. What a bum!

France ousted Spain, 3-1, in the last game of the round – clearly the best-played, most competitive game of the tournament so far, pitting two teams with very high expectations, as well as big chips on their shoulders. For France, this WC is the last stand of a generation – Zidane, Thuram, Barthez, et al. – who won it all in 1998 and 2000, then got swept out of the 2002 WC with three losses and no goals. For the Spaniards – who have famously never advanced past the quarterfinals despite almost always being among the favorites – it was another bitter disappointment; they'll be little cheered by the promise shown by this very young team, or by the fact that they played such fine, smart, inventive, attacking football … and still fell just barely short. No moral victory here.

So, now it's on to the quarterfinals, Friday and Saturday. More on that soon. Read More | Comment »

A couple of crackling games on the afternoons, and a couple of relative duds each morning: Saturday: Germany looked very strong, very comfortable, in taking out Sweden, 2-0. But it's hard to tell, really, how good they are; they scored twice in the first 12 minutes, and then effectively killed the game; the Swedes never really challenged, especially going a man down with 10 minutes to go in the first half. Argentina, on the other hand, looked vulnerable for the first time in the tournament, leaving it late before pulling out a 2-1 overtime thriller over Mexico – on the best goal of the fortnight, Maxi Rodriguez's perfect volley from the corner of the box, into the opposite top corner of the goal: a 40-yard pass, chest, to foot, to goal. Bang. Mexico, you're dead. So it's Argentina-Germany on Friday in Berlin. Still looking like the two best teams in the world, but how good are they? Sunday: England advanced over Ecuador, as expected, behind a gorgeous David Beckham free kick in the 60th minute. This did not, however, look like a confident team – or a good one, for that matter. Especially not a fit one. Becks was throwing up on the field for most of the second half, and the entire team looked absolutely gassed by the finish. Fortunately for them, Ecuador seemed inexplicably content to settle for the 1-0 loss, so England move on. Unfortunately for them, their next game, against Portugal on Saturday, is another afternoon game. If they somehow manage to push it into overtime, I seriously worry for the lads. Someone's going to die out there. Portugal ousted Holland in the late game, and if Argentina-Mexico was the best-played game of the weekend, this was the most competitive. Russian referee Valentin Ivanov handed out an astounding 20 cards, including four reds (two to each team), but his meltdown somehow didn't hurt the game any; these were two top-quality squads, battling 90 minutes. Great stuff. Read More | Comment »

Here are the Round of 16 matchups, along with menus for the WC Breakfasts I'm hosting at my house. Drop by! Saturday:
10am: Germany-Sweden. The hosts will be favored, but Sweden is dangerous. Cheeses and sausage of course, and perhaps dueling pancakes; apfelpfannkuchen were a crowd favorite in the first round, and I have some Swedish pancake mix.
2pm: Argentina-Mexico. Mexico got the draw nobody wanted; Argentina has been flat-out dominating at both ends of the field. Migas, perhaps menudo, yerba mate, Quilmes & Tecate, lots of fruit juices.
If things go as expected, this will be a killer quarterfinal next Friday. Sunday:
10am: England-Ecuador. Brits should take this one, but losing Michael Owen to a torn ACL will hurt them at the next level. Bangers and crumpets have become a standby, of course, as has the Wensleydale and other cheeses; good thing Ecuador advanced, because I never got a chance to try out the yucca and eggs in the first round.
2pm: Holland-Portugal. The Portuguese handled Mexico fairly easily while resting six of their best players, and the Dutch are always a treat. Pannenkuiken met poedersuiker, some rather nice Portuguese sheep's cheese and sardines. Monday:
10am: Italy-Australia. Italy has a huge talent edge; but scrappy Australia produced two of the best games of the first round. Foster's vs. Peroni. Spaghetti vs. Toast with spaghetti and baked beans. Vegemite vs. Mascarpone. What's not to like?
2pm: Switzerland-Ukraine. Two dark horses who've played very well (except for Ukraine's first-game horror-show). Cheeses, again, and a couple of other Swiss snacky things. Having a little trouble finding an appropriate beer, though. Tuesday:
10am: Brazil-Ghana. The last stand of the Fufu (barring the upset of the century), fried plantains, and otherwise I'm still working on the menu; Brazil has been the favorite beverage nation, though; try some Xingu beer, various juices, and most notable, Cachaca and Cashew juice.
2pm: Spain-France. Perhaps the biggest big-name matchup of the first round. Croissants, perhaps crepes, assorted toasts, and Benedictine, which has become the new tradition for the Francophiles in the crowd. Read More | Comment »

Rockstar Games, following its reign as cool-gaming king with the Grand Theft Auto series and the retro-hip Warriors, decides to lower the stakes with Table Tennis. Their latest release focuses less on style and lets the simple beauty of the sport shine. The players are rendered well without dropping any jaws, and the soundtrack sidesteps the unnecessary hit parade. Instead, Ping-Pong is allowed to be the quick-witted game of finesse that it is. The controls are easy to learn (the training mode takes about 10 minutes) and difficult to master (keeping track of the ball's spin puts quite a strain on the eyes), as they should be. Rockstar chooses an underrepresented sport and produces a respectable simulation. That's cool. Read More | Comment »