Post by sandbachhatter on Dec 12, 2016 10:01:55 GMT
It's Eppers' turn this week, so over to the man himself...
Here we go with Week C.
A mention for the Chilean national team, who have some fabulous stories about them – including a player cutting himself on purpose to try and get an opponent sent off, Jimmy Greaves catching a dog at the 1962 World Cup and the U20 coach banning laughing!
Also, a special mention for Chapecoense – unbelievably sad what has happened to that club; thoughts and prayers continue to be with those affected.
And so, to the three C’s…
First up is an international team, Curaçao. I’m sure you already know that Curaçao is in the Southern Caribbean. If you go to Caracas in Venezuela, take a left and then a right, you’ll end up in this beautiful Island (well, actually you’ll come across Klein Curaçao first, which is a smaller island, and uninhabited).
The country has only been around since 10th October 2010, although I believe the island itself has been there for a little longer. Curaçao was created after the Netherlands Antilles was dissolved, although the football team continued to play under the banner of the Netherlands Antilles until 2011.
With a population of just 150,000, they do have some well-known names who have turned out for them: Vurnon Anita of Newcastle's, Cuco Martina of Southampton, Leandro Bacuna of Aston Villa and, perhaps most famously of all, everyone’s second favourite Zeus (after the Greek god of sky and thunder, obviously) … Zeus de la Paz the, erm, Nuneaton reserve goalkeeper.
Also in the running with Zeus for the most famous name in Curaçaon (is that the word?) football is their manager for the 2015/16 season: Patrick Kluivert. They had their best World Cup Qualifying campaign with him in charge, although won’t be in Russia in 2018 thanks to a 2-0 defeat to El Salvador. His last two matches in charge were in the Caribbean Cup: defeating Guyana 5–2 and the U.S. Virgin Islands 7–0, so not a bad way to leave. Their best ever result was just after Kluivert left, when they beat Puerto Rico away, 4-2 AET in October.
They play their games at Stadion Ergilio Hato which is the island's largest stadium, with a capacity of 15,000. Ergilio Hato apparently was
regarded as one of the best keepers in the world in the 1940s and 1950s. His nicknames perhaps give the best indication of the type of keeper he was: Pantera Negra (Black Panter), Vliegende Vogel (Flying Bird) and Man van Elastiek (Elastic Man). However, he refused to become professional, preferring to stay on the Island – and who could blame him.
Next up is Colón de Santa Fe. Time to give this team a thorough examination – a Colónoscopy, you might say. And yes, I will be punctuating this report with crappy puns.
Here we go with Week C.
A mention for the Chilean national team, who have some fabulous stories about them – including a player cutting himself on purpose to try and get an opponent sent off, Jimmy Greaves catching a dog at the 1962 World Cup and the U20 coach banning laughing!
Also, a special mention for Chapecoense – unbelievably sad what has happened to that club; thoughts and prayers continue to be with those affected.
And so, to the three C’s…
Curaçao FC
The country has only been around since 10th October 2010, although I believe the island itself has been there for a little longer. Curaçao was created after the Netherlands Antilles was dissolved, although the football team continued to play under the banner of the Netherlands Antilles until 2011.
With a population of just 150,000, they do have some well-known names who have turned out for them: Vurnon Anita of Newcastle's, Cuco Martina of Southampton, Leandro Bacuna of Aston Villa and, perhaps most famously of all, everyone’s second favourite Zeus (after the Greek god of sky and thunder, obviously) … Zeus de la Paz the, erm, Nuneaton reserve goalkeeper.
Also in the running with Zeus for the most famous name in Curaçaon (is that the word?) football is their manager for the 2015/16 season: Patrick Kluivert. They had their best World Cup Qualifying campaign with him in charge, although won’t be in Russia in 2018 thanks to a 2-0 defeat to El Salvador. His last two matches in charge were in the Caribbean Cup: defeating Guyana 5–2 and the U.S. Virgin Islands 7–0, so not a bad way to leave. Their best ever result was just after Kluivert left, when they beat Puerto Rico away, 4-2 AET in October.
They play their games at Stadion Ergilio Hato which is the island's largest stadium, with a capacity of 15,000. Ergilio Hato apparently was
regarded as one of the best keepers in the world in the 1940s and 1950s. His nicknames perhaps give the best indication of the type of keeper he was: Pantera Negra (Black Panter), Vliegende Vogel (Flying Bird) and Man van Elastiek (Elastic Man). However, he refused to become professional, preferring to stay on the Island – and who could blame him.
Curaçao, where even the sea is blue
There is one final incident of note to add and it from the Curaçao local league. It involves a player called Orville Barnett who plays for Victory Boys and, to say he was upset with a lino’s decision, is a bit of an understatement. Instead of doing what most normal players would do (you know, wait until the end of the game and have a big whinge), he lunges at the official. Leading with an elbow, he absolutely clatters into the unsuspecting linesman, before a mass brawl obviously ensues.
The official holds his own, throwing a number of punches at the player in an impressive counterattack. I think a lengthy suspension may be looming. Not even the god of sky and thunder can get him out of that one.
Oh, and finally, of course, they play in blue.
Some of the team unable to stand up unaided after a night out on the blue Curaçao
Vote for Curaçao – that’s the spirit.
Colón de Santa Fe
Next up is Colón de Santa Fe. Time to give this team a thorough examination – a Colónoscopy, you might say. And yes, I will be punctuating this report with crappy puns.
The club was founded on 5 May 1905, as "Colón Football Club" by a group of friends that were enthusiastic about football. It was named after Cristóbal Colón (Christopher Columbus), as one of the friends was reading his autobiography at the time. Thankfully, Dick King-Smith didn’t publish until 1978.
Christopher Columbus having a colonoscopy *
Colón had to work their way up from the bottom and now they play in the Argentinian Premia Division. Their home is Estadio Brigadier General Estanislao Lopez which has a capacity of 33,500 or 47,000, depending which bit of the wiki page you read – although since when has accuracy with numbers ever bothered South Americans? The other name for the stadium is Cementerio de los Elefantes, which means Elephants Graveyard as a result of Colón beating a Santos team led by Pele in 1964.
The team’s nickname is “Los Sabaleros” which means The Shad Fishers. No? Me neither. Their youth teams are called small colon and semi colon. *
Colón play in red and black, with a slightly alarming sponsor
They are currently 10th in the league (of 30 teams!), where they play each team once (home or away) and then a 30th game against a local rival – "Fecha de Clásicos" (Derbies Fixture). The Santa Fe derby (Clásico Santafesino) is contested between Colón and Unión. They’ve played 105 times with 31 wins to Colón, 37 to Union and 37 draws. Hopefully in the next derby, Colón can get their wing backs in motion, improve their movement at the back and prove they’re not sh…..
You will probably have heard of one of their previous managers: Roberto Sensini. Their current manager is another legend of Football Italia (the 90’s Channel 4 show that those of us of a certain vintage grew up on): Paulo Montero. Montero replaced the previous manager, Reinaldo Merlo. We all know that South Americans can be tempestuous, and this is a case in point. Merlo got Colón promoted to the new 30 team Premia Division. He was then sacked after the first game of the season – a 2-0 defeat at San Lorenzo. A bit harsh.
Before Montero’s appointment, the favourite for the job was yet another from Football Italia days, this time a villain, Gabriel Batistuta, who was Sporting Director at Colón in 2012/13. On his appointment, Montero declared that the fire had gone out of the team and that his first priority was to put more coal on*.
So, that’s Colón de Santa Fe. Caught between two stools? You may need time to digest all that before casting your vote.
*probably not true
Changchun Yatai F.C
And finally, to China with Changchun Yatai F.C. They play in the Chinese Super League at the imaginatively titled: Development Area Stadium, which has a capacity of 25,000.
The club was formed in 1996 by a private conglomerate called Yatai Group. And they seem to be run in the tradition of several Chinese private companies, as you will see. Their logo is a rather charming dragon kicking a football. It gives a rather innocent and playful feel to the club, don’t you think? Yeah right.
A picture of innocence?
They started in the third tier of the Chinese league pyramid in the 1997/98. They didn’t do too well in their early years and failed to get promotion. So, what do you do next? Well, this being China, you splash the cash. In 2000 they bought a position into the second division by purchasing Bayi Chaoneng, a club already in that league. Easy when you have a spare fifteen million yuan.
In 2001 they did suspiciously well in their first season in the second division, finishing runners-up. The suspicions were well founded as they were denied promotion after becoming embroiled in a match-fixing scandal. It seems they got a little complacent and the 6–0 win against Zhejiang was investigated and found to be fixed. The manager at the time was former Chinese Under 20 star, Yin Tiesheng. The club
reformed and re-applied for a playing license for the following season. I know what you are thinking: which manager did they employ to rid themselves of the shame of match fixing? Yep, former Chinese Under 20 star, Yin Tiesheng, who kept his job throughout. And, as if to cement Yin Tiesheng’s credentials as the trusted man of football, he was appointed the National Under 20s coach and, for a short time, the interim Chinese National coach. A man adept at falling upwards, if ever there was one.
In 2005, they *cough* somehow gained promotion to the Chinese Super League. Their remarkable rise then continued and, in 2007, they won the Chinese Super League title. Since then, money must have got a little tight as they came second in the league in 2009 and otherwise have finished mid-table.
Their home strip is red – something they are probably in after the ‘payments’ they made in the early years. Their away kit is white – although I suspect it is far from whiter than white.
The home shirt is designed to match the ‘Other Payments’ line in the P&L
Of their current squad, most are Chinese. They have one English speaker: Jack Sealy, the son of former Queen's Park Rangers forward Tony Sealy. He was born in England but lived most of his life in Hong Kong and qualifies to play for the Hong Kong national football team, for whom he has won 15 caps.
Former Wigan player and Bolivian international, Marcelo Moreno, also plays for them as does the wonderfully named Chinese Taipei international, Yaki Yen.
So, what does the future hold for this Chinese club – will they ever return to the top of the league? Between yuan and me, anything is possible.
A vote for them could be very *wink* lucrative.
Over to you for the vote!