Weekend Watch: Become one with the ball

It won’t be too much longer until our weekends are packed to the rafters again with football games and we won’t have to leave our couches for 48 hours straight. Until then, we’ll just have to deal with weekends like this one, which are light on compelling club games, but do feature Copa America, Asian Cup and U-20 World Cup action. Here’s a smattering of what is on tap this Saturday and Sunday.

Saturday

Los Angeles v Kansas City – Savor this moment. This is the last time we’ll see the LA Galaxy taking on MLS competition without David Beckham. The Galaxy don’t play another MLS game until July 31. In between they will face the Richmond Kickers, Tigres, Chelsea, Pachua and Chivas. They’ll also introduce Beckham, but you probably won’t hear a thing about that.

Náutico v Palmeiras – True to their name, the Brazilian club Nautico started as a rowing club. They are barely afloat at the moment, languishing in second to last place in the table, but still worthy of a Wikipedia fact of the week: “The official mascot of the Náutico is the opossum or “timbú”, which would be some sort of Brazilian skunk.”

Thailand v Iraq – It is the kickoff of the 2007 Asian Cup with one of the host countries facing those kids from Iraq. The Asian Cup is being played in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam this time around. Maybe next time it will be hosted by Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan. Japan are the tournament holders. Typhoons and other such things could mess up the schedule.

Sunday

Portugal v Gambia U-20 – There must be something in the water because Portugal sure does produce a number of quality youngsters. They are on display once again at the U-20 World Cup in Canada and will try to bounce back after losing 2-1 to Mexico. Gambia are along for more than just the ride and the complementary maple syrup. They beat New Zealand earlier in the tournament. Is there any other sport in this world in which Gambia and New Zealand have played one another?

Trinidense v 2 de Mayo – If you aren’t careful you will confuse the Paraguayan club Trinidense with Boca Juniors. Both feature blue shirts with a yellow stripe. Both play at a stadium called La Bombonera. The biggest difference, however, is that Trinidense has merely a few Third Division trophies in their trophy case. They won’t add any this year as they are towards the bottom of the table.

Orebro SK v Halmstads BK – Trivia time: Where did Freddie Ljunberg begin his career? Give up? It was Halmstads BK. The club located in a small Swedish town was Ljunberg’s home for four years. During that time he helped them qualify for the UEFA Cup. They currently sit one point off the lead in the Allsvenskan table.

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Category: World Football