Gundi: Bulgaria's Very Own James Dean

guido.merry@gmail.com — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Georgi Asparoukhov, or "Gundi", is considered by many to be the greatest Bulgarian football player of all time. This means he is deemed a better player than modern Bulgarian stars such as Barcelona's phlegmatic forward Hristo Stoichkov, Stuttgart's brilliant play-maker Krassimir Balakov, or the defender Trifon "Wolf" Ivanov.

A while ago, I was drinking a few pints and having a laugh with some friends in my local pub when we got into a conversation with some foreign season-workers.

How a Disastrous Flood Changed Dutch Football Forever

guido.merry@gmail.com — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Ironically the start of a proper league in the Netherlands happened very much despite the Dutch federation, KNVB, who did everything in its power to delay the entrance of money into the game.

In 1954 it submitted to pressure from press, players and several businessmen, who had started a successful league of their own.

Dutch football was averse to cash until well after World War II. The post-war years therefore saw an exodus of players like Faas Wilkes, Kees Rijvers, and Bertus de [...]

Svein Grøndalen: An Unknown Cult Hero From Norway

guido.merry@gmail.com — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Svein Grøndalen is a former footballer from Norway, like so many others before him. Born in Halden, Grøndalen had a fairly successful career. He generally played as left wing-back or central defender, and was noted for his "physical" style of play.

Many people remember him best for a brutal tackle which injured Swedish forward Ralf Edström during a 1977 international match, so it's pretty fair to say Grøndalen wasn't the most technically ski [...]

Keisuke Honda: VVV's Very Own Midfield Emperor

guido.merry@gmail.com — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 00:00:00 +0100

The fans call him "Keizer Keisuke", Emperor Keisuke. It's a fitting nickname for VVV Venlo's Japanese midfield star. The young Japanese play-maker has been the inspirational for VVV this season and last.

Honda is the driving force in midfield for the current leader in the Dutch Jupiler League. Only 21 years of age, Honda has a mature style of play and he is already capable of dictating the tempo in a match. A pretty impressive achievement for a such a young player, active in a [...]

Lefter Küçükandonyadis: Hakan Sükür's Predecessor

guido.merry@gmail.com — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 00:00:00 +0100

When you say great Turkish football, I bet most people will name Galatasaray forward Hakan Sükür. In Turkey, most people think their nation has produced a striker far more talented then the "Bull of the Bosporus." I present to you, Lefter Küçükandonyadis.

I have to admit, when I first read the name in a football game, it sounded like something I'd order at a kebab shop. "I'll have a Lefter Küçükandonyadis please and some fries.& [...]

Faas Wilkes: Dutch Superstar and the Cristiano Ronaldo of His Time

guido.merry@gmail.com — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Holland is a nation that is internationally renowned for the many fine football players it has produced over the years. The likes of Johan Cruyff, Frank Rijkaard, Ruud Gullit, Clarence Seedorf, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Jaap Stam, Edwin van der Sar, Johan Neeskens, Ruud Krol, Dennis Bergkamp, and many, many others have never ceased to impress on the world stage.

Everyone has heard of these players, yet when Dutch pundits compile a list of our nations finest, one completely unknown name is al [...]

A Real Football War: The Croatian Patriotic War

guido.merry@gmail.com — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Football is about passion, about emotions. Every single one of us has been part of that moment where an entire nation holds its breath, when social life stops for ninety minutes so everyone can be witness to that one thing we all understand.

The sport is basically a common language understood by all. Some may say it's just a game, I say football is about heroes and tribes, loyalty and devotion. To some people, football has become faith, a complete religion. They become ecstatic when the [...]

That Little Touch of Magic Should Never Be Frowned Upon

guido.merry@gmail.com — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 00:00:00 +0100

In an age where football is becoming less about individual skill and finesse and more about team tactics and defensive responsibilities, some players and their style of play are like a breath of fresh air.

Fans and spectators want to be entertained and it's generally not the team players who provide most of this entertainment. It's not the Makelele's, Gattuso's, and Senna's of this world people want to see when they go to a football stadium.

People want to see players who are pron [...]

Union Berlin: United We Stand But Divided We Fall

guido.merry@gmail.com — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 00:00:00 +0100

In a time where fans are becoming more and more like customers, whose loyalty can be bought with fluffy seats and prawn sandwiches, it's becoming quite a rare sight to see fans who actually care about their clubs history and traditions.

I know I'm stereotyping the modern fan here, but due to the world becoming more and more of a global village, the increase in glory hunters over the past few years has been alarming. Well, in my eyes anyway.

I can't stand people who start supportin [...]

No Guts, No Glory: Dutch Sides Should Drop Possession Football

guido.merry@gmail.com — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 00:00:00 +0100

An old adage says no guts, no glory.

Unfortunately, this is not quite compatible with the way the top Dutch sides play these days. We can all blame Johan Cruijff for that (yes, it's Cruijff and not Cruyff...), who once claimed that possession of the ball was the most important thing ever.

Now as any novice to football will tell you, teams that aim to retain control of the ball over longer periods of time, in the process making a large percentage of passes that give [...]

Power to the People: A TOP Idea

guido.merry@gmail.com — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Football and politics generally don't really mix, but there's always the odd exception. Dutch minnows TOP Oss are following the Barcelona model with representation by the "socios" or fans.

Barcelona socios are eligible to vote on a new chairman, and several other matters, when they are season ticket holders over 18, who have held their ticket for at least a year.

Dutch Jupiler League side TOP Oss are looking to duplicate this system by selling certificates to the fans. S [...]

Everton to Scout New Wayne Rooney through Computer Game

guido.merry@gmail.com — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 00:00:00 +0100

The computer game series "Football Manager" is considered by many fans to be one of the most realistic football-management simulations ever. The in-game database includes the data of over 370,000 players scattered all over the world.

Most of the data is gathered by local fans who send their findings to a main researcher for a specific area. He filters out the unrealistic entries before mailing his research to London to the headquarters of the developing firm Sports Interactive [...]

The Hunter Will Become a Big Hit For Les Merengues

guido.merry@gmail.com — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 00:00:00 +0100

As some of you may or may not have noticed; Real Madrid purchased Ajax forward, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar last week for around twenty million euros. I firmly believe Huntelaar or KJH as he is also called will be a great success at Real Madrid. I will analyse his style of play in an effort to back this claim up.

Huntelaar is not very reliant on his physique. If I were to give him marks out of ten for the various physical attributes a modern-day strikers should possess, he wouldn't score over 7 [...]

Ruud Boymans: The Poor Man's Kuyt is Departing

guido.merry@gmail.com — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 00:00:00 +0100

We have all heard of Dirk Kuyt, the Dutch forward/winger, currently active for Liverpool FC. Fortuna Sittard, my favourite club-side, have a player whose style is similar to that of Kuyt's.

His name is Ruud Boymans and because of his impending transfer to rivals VVV-Venlo, I decided to write an article to express my feelings regarding this poor man's Kuyt.

In an effort to explain why Boymans means so much to me, I will first break down Kuyt's style of play. Dirk is known neither f [...]

Red Devils' Offer for Cooperation Turned Down by SC Heerenveen

guido.merry@gmail.com — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Reigning World Champions Manchester United have approached Dutch Eredivisie-side SC Heerenveen with an offer for cooperation, according to Frysian/Dutch newspaper Leeuwarder Courant.

Heerenveen-director Yme Kuiper declared in this article that "although the club is honoured to receive such an offer, they would like to continue alone down the path they have chosen."

The Frysians haven't slammed the door shut though, as Kuiper also stated that "contacts between the tw [...]

Darío Cvitanich: Have a Little Faith in Him

guido.merry@gmail.com — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Ajax sold their star-striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar to Real Madrid for 20 million euros a few weeks ago. The Galacticos are no doubt pleased, but in Amsterdam, trouble is brewing as it is unclear who will fill Huntelaar's boots upfront.

The Amsterdam-based club are now linked to several strikers, but apparently Marcus Berg is at the top of the Ajax-shortlist. The Swedish FC Groningen striker has scored 13 goals in 15 appearances this season, after bagging 15 goals in 25 appearances last se [...]

Blog Entries for Guido

Gundi: Bulgaria's Very Own James Dean

How a Disastrous Flood Changed Dutch Football Forever

Svein Grøndalen: An Unknown Cult Hero From Norway

Keisuke Honda: VVV's Very Own Midfield Emperor

Lefter Küçükandonyadis: Hakan Sükür's Predecessor

Faas Wilkes: Dutch Superstar and the Cristiano Ronaldo of His Time

A Real Football War: The Croatian Patriotic War

That Little Touch of Magic Should Never Be Frowned Upon

Union Berlin: United We Stand But Divided We Fall

No Guts, No Glory: Dutch Sides Should Drop Possession Football

Power to the People: A TOP Idea

Everton to Scout New Wayne Rooney through Computer Game

The Hunter Will Become a Big Hit For Les Merengues

Ruud Boymans: The Poor Man's Kuyt is Departing

Red Devils' Offer for Cooperation Turned Down by SC Heerenveen

Darío Cvitanich: Have a Little Faith in Him