Weekend Quiz: 2008 in Review, the Answers

By: Laurie | January 4th, 2009

If you haven’t already taken our year-end quiz, stop by this post first. Then come back here and check the answers.

And a question from Marco P.: Also is it just me, or did you post the quiz twice?

As I said in the quiz post’s comments, let’s just say that there is a long story here, taking place over a couple of days and involving an uninvited visitor, a bottle of chardonnay, a long and early morning road-trip to visit the in-laws, and food poisoning from an undercooked 7-11 hotdog. So let’s just leave it at that, shall we? (Or, if you prefer the short answer, Yes. I did. But it’s fixed now.)

Also from Stephen: Holy crap, how long did it take to make this?

As I said, the story behind this quiz is long and involved and took place over a couple of days. But for the record, the afore-mentioned bottle of chardonnay made the time go a lot faster. And all of the photos had either been used in previous quizzes or had been saved on my hard drive but not used, which made it easier. (These would include the adorable photos of Steve Bruce and Ronald Koeman.)

So, in closing, I had a lot of fun writing this up and hope those of you who took the time to take run through it enjoyed it too. Here’s to more great footy in 2009!

Whose eyes are these?

Dani Alves, Barcelona

2. Real Madrid was taken in by someone impersonating which celebrity?

That would be Nicolas Cage

Who did this hair belong to?

Shalrie Joseph, New England Revolution

4. Which National Team manager reportedly banned his players from playing the Wii?

France National Team manager Raymond Domenech. Who else?

Who belongs to this tattoo?

Marco Borriello, AC Milan. And not that I myself pay attention to these things, but you can see more of Marco and this tattoo over at HABs Offside.

6. A game between Groningen and Ajax was postponed when what was set on fire?

The match was called due to flaming toilet paper. Yes, toilet paper. Click on the link for video. (Who knew setting toilet paper aflame could create such a show?)

Who do these eyes belong to?

Sergio Ramos, Real Madrid

8. Fan groups of which two French clubs were ordered disbanded due to racism and violence?

PSG and FC Metz. No word on whether or not it worked.

Which current manager is this?

Steve Bruce, Wigan. (Of all of my collection of old manager photos, I thought this was the most adorable.)

10. Which player set the record for cumulative transfer fees in the January 2008 transfer window?

That would, of course be Nicolas Anelka, after his most recent transfer to Chelsea.

11.

Whose eyes are these?

Yohann Cruyff, Netherlands. Or, if you prefer, you can spell it the other way, with i’s and j’s and stuff. I myself was too lazy to look up that spelling.

12. Which National Team manager tried to deflect attention from his team’s abysmal Euro 2008 performance by proposing to his much-younger baby-momma on national TV right after the team’s tournament exit?

Raymond Domenech, France. (Okay, yes, he’s the answer to two questions. Few people in 2008 were quite as newsworthy as Raymond.)

13.

Which player is this?

The brutally lovely Lorik Cana, Olympique de Marseille

14. Which African National Team manager quit in the middle of the African Cup of Nations?

Henry Kasperczak, Senegal. You may recall that Senegal, one of the favorites, made an early exit. And it didn’t help that several of his players were out clubbing until the wee hours and therefore suspended for a game.

15.

Who do these eyes belong to?

Thierry Henry, Barcelona

16. The decision made by the Court of Arbitration of Sport that allowed a player to sign for another club for merely the amount his current club owed him for the rest of his contract has become knows as the ________________ Ruling.

“Webster,” after Hearts defender Andy Webster, for whom the Court ruled that he could be released to Wigan for the remaining amount Hearts owed him over the life of his contract.

17.

Who is this player?

Alessandro Del Piero, Juventus. Who else could manage sideburns like these and still look moderately cool?

18. Which MLS commentator was “reassigned” from the broadcast booth after making less-than-judicious comments about the California wildfires and a certain sports personality’s lack of love for the beautiful game?

This was, alas, poor Eric Wynalda, former top goal-scorer for the US National Team before Landon Donovan stole his record. And I don’t think I’m going to say what his other comment was. It was both impolitic and impolite and made me love Wynalda for the first time ever. Feel free to google “Eric Wynada” and “Jim Rome” if you’re curious.

19.

Which club does this jersey belong to?

FC Metz, Ligue 2, France.

20. Which player from a well-known EPL side was suspended four matches for getting into it with another club’s groundskeeper?

Patrice Evra of Manchester United, for engaging in fisticuffs with Chelsea’s groundskeeper. Sadly, all of the videos have all been removed from YouTube, but it was something to behold. The big debate at the hearing was whether the groundskeeper called him a “@#$% immigrant” or a “@#$% idiot” — one potentially involving racism, which I’m guessing would have made the Powers-that-be consider it more justifiable, and the other involving just…well…idiocy. Idiocy won out. Hence the ban.

21.

Whose eyes are these?

Salomon Kalou, Chelsea

22. Which player became the all-time leading US goalscorer in 2008? And what was the controversy that almost made him wait a bit longer to claim the record?

Landon Donovan. And one of his goals was originally disallowed because FIFA claimed that Denmark didn’t play its A team. The goal was eventually allowed (again) and Donovan topped Eric Wynalda in March, 2008. (But given that Landon is only 26, it was obviously only a matter of time anyway.

23.

Which club does this jersey belong to?

Parma, Italy

24. Which MLS player’s club discovered that he was on trial with a foreign team via the news media?

Jonathan Bornstein, outed by the media during the off-season while “working out” in Israel.

25.

Name the country where this was taken.

That would be Iraq. (But Afghanistan was a good guess too.)

26. Which MLS Club was awarded a franchise starting with the 2010 season?

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (This led to great rejoicing among their supporters’ group, Sons of Ben.)

27.

Who is this player?

Niko Kranjcar, Portsmouth

28. Spencer Tunick, an internationally known photographer, was brought in to photograph what for Euro 2008?

He went to photograph 2008 naked people. Alas, the effort fell short and only 1840 people showed up.

29.

Whose tattoo is this, and which important competition was it involved in winning?

This is Natasha Kai of the USWNT — gold medalists in the 2008 Olympics.

30. Name the 2008 winners for the following leagues:
A. EPL: Manchester United
B. Bundesliga: Bayern Munich
C. Ligue 1: Lyon
D. Spanish La Liga: Real Madrid
E. Dutch Eredivisie: PSV Eindhoven
F. Italian Serie A: F.C. Internazionale Milano (Inter)
G. Portuguese Liga: F.C. Porto
H. MLS: Columbus Crew
I. Brazilian Série A: São Paulo

I was doing this mostly by memory, and would you believe that for several hours I had Barcelona winning La Liga? I think I was a year early.

31.

Whose hair is this?

Kevin Hartman, Kansas City Wizards

32. Champions League final 2008:
A. Which player got red carded late in extra time?
Didier Drogba in a slapfest.
B. Which players missed their penalties?
Cristiano Ronaldo (MU), John Terry (Chelsea), Nicolas Anelka (Chelsea)

33.

Which manager is this?