Reuters Soccer Blog

Swedes show Dutch courage

By Philip O’Connor

Sweden’s 3-2 victory over the Netherlands to qualify for Euro 2012 may have surprised many observers, but Swedish footballers have a long history of success against Dutch opposition.

The home of “Total Football” has for many years been something of a finishing school for Swedish footballers, and five of the players in the victorious Sweden squad play their club football in the Netherlands.

Many others have passed through Holland on their way to better things.

“Holland is not unlike Sweden. When they get there, Swedish players are well-schooled and it’s a good country to go to, especially as a first stop (in their career),” Henrik Larsson told the Reuters Sports Blog the day after the Swedes handed the Dutch their only defeat of the qualifying campaign.

“They play good football and most people there speak English, so you can make yourself understood much easier than in a league that has a more difficult language,” Larsson said.

It’s an atmosphere that Swedes seem to thrive in.

Soccer Break Wednesday – Will you watch the Europa League final?

Will you be watching the Europa League final later on Wednesday? Do you even know who is in the final? Does it annoy you that such a tough competition gets undervalued because of the unstoppable rise in popularity of the Champions League?

Anyway, enough questions. Venue: Dublin. Teams: Porto and Braga, two very contrasting Portuguese clubs. This could be one hell of a game, so watch it.

Porto will of course seek to get back to the heights of 2003 and 2004, when they followed their UEFA Cup triumph over Celtic with Champions League glory. But lose, and Braga winning would cap a remarkable season for the minnows. Either way, the signs are good for Portuguese football, in contrast with the country’s economy.

Right, transfer speculation now. Goalkeeper Shay a Given to leave Manchester City despite Champions League football next season? And how about unsettled Tottenham Hotspur striker Jermain Defoe?

Ligue 1 leaders Lille are poised to capture the French title, but do you really know anything about them? Read here for an expert analysis of their season and prospects next term.

And finally here’s a superb feature on the young Dutch players ready to take the game by storm.

Discuss all these topics and other stories in world soccer on the Reuters Soccer Facebook page. And please feel free to send us recommendations for your pick of the day’s stories.

Soccer Break Wednesday

Now the international period is over we can focus on domestic issues again, or can we?

Tuesday’s matches provided plenty of drama, from the battles Spain and the Netherlands had to fight to get through tricky Euro 2012 qualifiers, to Ghana’s lighting up of London, to Australia’s World Cup revenge against Germany in a friendly.

Brazil’s two-goal hero against Scotland continues to grab the headlines. Would you be interested in signing the talented 19-year-old Neymar?

For two of Europe’s biggest clubs there is bad news. The strike that could have seen the cancellation of La Liga matches this weekend has been called off, so Real Madrid must play three days before their Champions League quarter-final against Tottenham Hotspur.

Staying with a North London theme, Arsenal could be without striker Robin van Persie after the Netherlands forward was injured against Hungary in the 5-3 thriller. No doubt Arsene Wenger will have something to say so keep your ears open.

And what about Jens Lehmann? Gunners fans…would you trust him in goal over Manuel Almunia?

Some good news now. Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson says the game is developing well in the United States, though there’s always a flip side. After the encouraging 1-1 draw against Argentina on Saturday, the U.S. lost 1-0 to Paraguay on Tuesday.

Soccer Break Wednesday

Happy middle of the week to you all, and if like me you are in London where the sun is out and there is very little football to write about, you are forgiven for thinking the season is over and the grasscourt tennis season is about to kick in.

Don’t look so worried, David (right). While the weather will probably change before I’ve finished writing this blog, the good news is it’s only March and there is plenty more football left. It’s just this week it’s the international break.

One of the most intriguing matches is Friday’s qualifier between Serbia and Northern Ireland. Why? There will be no supporters in the ground after Serbia’s clash with Italy in October was abandoned following crowd trouble and the 2006 World Cup winners were handed a 3-0 win.

Also in action on Friday are Italy, France and the 2010 World Cup finalists Spain and the Netherlands, while on Saturday Wales host England in a British Isles derby and Norway host Denmark in a Scandinavian battle. Germany and Russia are two other big names playing.

Chelsea fans fond of Guus Hiddink should also keep a close eye on next Tuesday’s Turkey v Austria match. Blues supporters, should Carlo Ancelotti go if Chelsea fail to win any silverware this year?

Back to European football, and read here for a very dedicated look at the major European leagues including an analysis of AC Milan’s loss in form that has made the Serie A title much more open.

Some good news for Barcelona fans on Tuesday was fullback Dani Alves renewing his contract until 2015.

FIFA’s World Cup decision day — live

We’ll be following all the presentations and the vote itself as FIFA’s executive committee decides on the hosts for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

Spain/Portugal, Russia, England and Netherlands/Belgium are the four rival bids for 2018, while Australia, South Korea, Qatar, United States and Japan battle it out for 2022, with the vote to come on Thursday.

Follow it all here live…

Bit late for De Jong rebuke, Mr Marwijk

If Netherlands coach Bert van Marwijk had slapped down Nigel de Jong after the World Cup final, Hatem Ben Arfa might now not be facing six months out with a broken leg.

Instead, only after a second “robust” challenge has De Jong been punished by being dropped for the upcoming Euro 2012 qualifiers with Moldova and Sweden.

His kick to the chest of Spain’s Xabi Alonso in the World Cup final was bad enough but the Manchester City midfielder’s fierce tackle on Newcastle United’s Frenchman on Sunday caused real damage. Ben Arfa had to have oxygen on the field.

What happened to the beautiful game? Moreover, what’s happened to Van Marwijk to suddenly make this decision? Sunday’s challenge was not as bad as the World Cup final kick.

“I saw no other possibility,” the coach said in a statement. “In the near future I will discuss this matter with Nigel.”

Why didn’t he discuss De Jong’s recklessness with the midfielder back in July? He did not seem so bothered by his player’s karate kick on Alonso at Soccer City.

“Both sides committed fouls and it may be regrettable for a final and it is not our style but you do play a match to win,” he said in South Africa. “I would have loved to win the match even with not so beautiful football.”

World Cup final live — Spain 1 Dutch 0 – how it happened

We’ve followed every World Cup match live here and it’s now time for the final — the Netherlands v Spain. Join us here for commentary, discussion of the game and the best photos in the world.

Losing team’s national stock markets at risk

By Ross Kerber

Two national market indexes that may not shine on Monday are those of Spain and the Netherlands, whose soccer teams are scheduled to meet in the World Cup’s championship game on Sunday.

Whichever country’s team loses can expect a drag on its market index of 49 basis points, said Wharton business school professor Alex Edmans. That is the amount that national stock indexes tend to be held back on average on the day after their country is eliminated from the World Cup, according to a paper he published in 2007 with two co-authors, Diego Garcia of the University of North Carolina and Oyvind Norli of the Norwegian School of Management.

In an interview with Reuters, Edmans said his predictions seem to be playing out this year as well, based at least on anecdotal observations. For instance, as an English citizen, Edmans noted ruefully that the FTSE 100 index fell in late June as England’s team played below expectations before being tossed out of the tournament by Germany on June 27 by a score of 4-1.

“As an England fan and an English shareholder I’ve been suffering both ways!” Edmans said.

Edmans’ paper made a splash when an early version was circulated before the 2006 World Cup tournament. It is part of a growing body of academic literature in the field of ‘behavioral economics”. Begun partly in reaction to the extremely theoretical research that had dominated much academic discussion, its practitioners aim for a greater understanding of how human psychology affects their economic decisions.

In the soccer case, for instance, one of Edmans’ conclusions is that sour investor sentiment tied to a team’s misfortune spills over into general negativity about their economic outlook.

Reuters World Cup 2010 podcast — quarter-finals (II)

Listen!

Join us for a look back at the extraordinary first two quarter-finals at the World Cup and a look forward to Germany v Argentina and Spain v Paraguay. Paul Radford, Felix Bate, Jon Bramley and Kevin Fylan argue over the merits of penalty goals in soccer and consider Ghana’s desperate misfortune.

Reuters World Cup podcast — quarter-finals (I)

Join us for an in-depth look at the first two World Cup quarter-finals, Netherlands v Brazil and Uruguay v Ghana, with our soccer experts Paul Radford, Owen Wyatt, Felix Bate, Mark Gleeson, Helen Popper and Kevin Fylan.