Weekend Watch: Stretched to the limit

By: Bob | October 12th, 2007

They’re playing for love of country this weekend in most parts of the world, which means that all of you have to collectively support my beloved Snow Leopards of Kazakhstan when they take on Poland or I will never speak to you again. In addition to that epic match, there are some leagues that are still kicking it this weekend. Here is a random selection of some games that will stretch your minds

Saturday

DC United v Chicago – There are 13 teams in Major League Soccer. Only eight of them will make the playoffs. The Chicago Fire would like to be one of those eight. Currently they are four points clear of Colorado in the eighth and final spot. They will have their hands full today playing a DC United side that is top of the league. The game will be played on new turf at RFK Stadium.

Gillingham v Millwall – No one likes them and they don’t care. Hard to believe that Millwall were playing in the UEFA Cup back in 2004-05. Now they find themselves in last place in Football League One. Their manager has been sacked and it is up to Richard Shaw to guide the team while having the dreaded ‘interim manager’ label attached to his name.

Chiapas v San Luis – I once dated a women who was obsessed with the situation in Chiapas. She never once mentioned the plight of their football team. We are no longer dating.

Sunday

Albinoleffe v Pisa – You have to go back to 1991 to find the last time that the cool kids from the Leaning Tower city of Pisa played in Serie A. They might be on their way again. After gaining promotion from Serie C last season, they are currently in third place in Serie B, right on the heels of Albinoleffe.

Eibar v Grenada 74 – After buying their way into the Spanish Second Division, Grenada 74 find themselves 16th in the table while using a collection of players from the old Ciudad de Murcia club as well as some new blood.

Madagascar v Comoros Islands – One of these countries will most likely face Kazakhstan in the 2010 World Cup final. Today they each begin their World Cup qualifying campaigns.

Xelaju v Malacateco – You win the grand prize if you can pronounce “Xelaju”. Fans of the Guatemalan football league and those missing their tongues are not eligible for this contest.

Know of a game that we should follow or be excited about? Feel free to hype it in the comments.

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Category: World Football

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Ian

And it's Poland that scores first in the battle for my temporary and half-hearted support. 1-Nil to Poland. Can Kazakhstan hope to equalize? Stay tuned.
Lucas

@Ian - I've been a huge fan of the Scotland nat'l team ever since they ended up in the qualifying group with Italia. Plus watching the Ukraine team gets boring since every other guy is named "Andriy."

Go Tartan Army!
Ian

PS - Being a neutral in the Kazakhstan v. Poland match, I'll support whichever side is more supportive of Scotland over Ukraine. Deal?
Ian

I think the MLS playoff picture is a little weird too, but it helps to not think of them as playoffs. After all, the Supporter's Shield goes to the winner before the playoffs, so the playoffs are really more of a Cup tournament. And in that way, they're actually more exclusive than most domestic cups, since most of them allow every team in the league in. Oh my God - I think I just defended an MLS policy. I have to go wash.
Lucas

in re: Kazakhstan vs Poland...Bob, you do know that my name has too many consonants and ends in "-ski" right? I'm afraid I shall have to do right by my ancestry...
Greg

"Only eight of them will make the playoffs." This was said tongue-in-cheek, Bob, right? I had NO IDEA that 60+% of the teams in the MLS make the playoffs (excuse the ignorance, I haven't bought into the MLS yet). Talk about an almost entirely meaningless regular season. It's worse than the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.