To all the people who are going to the game can you guys take some pics and post them later, or video on youtube. As I wont be there I would appreciate a few pics to live vicariously through, thanks.
Hey Bolivians can you give me some info on the Bolivian team ? I see a possible XI was posted earlier here. Is this your strongest team ? What type of shape is your team in, good or bad ? Are you happy with your manager ? Are confident of a win ? Ireland will play a very young, inexperienced B side. However this team played well against Ecuador (an Ecuador B team) on Wednesday. I will post the team later when it is announced. Our manager is really bad, the worst we ever had. Recently we lost to Cyprus and only beat San Marino with a goal in the 95th minute. If you have any questions about us i will be happy to answer them
Coach is Erwin Sanchez, one of Bolivias greatest futbol players, he's still unproven as a coach, he briefly coached Boavista in Portugal where he played & had the most success as a player. I would say this is a mix of A team players (Arce, JM Pena, Mojica, Garcia, Alvarez) and the rest are a bunch of B teamers, has beens or unproven at international level. We're missing our best defender & captain and some of us want to smash our heads into our keyboards for not having called up some of our younger guys who've got some talent (Tordoya, J Campos, Lampe, others) instead of the old has beens or guys who can't cut it. I would say our team isn't in very good shape at all. There's a reason why we finished last in WC qualififying. Our coach is supposed to change things and bring in the new generation, but from the recent call ups we've had I'm not too sure. At least you guys are playing a bunch of youth & getting their feet wet, our youth usually don't get a shot until they're no longer youth. We've only had 2 friendlies since Sanchez came on board as coach almost a year ago. An ass kicking we gave El Salvador in Bolivia (I think it was 5-0) and a win over South Africa 1-0 in Johannesburg. I don't expect a win at all, our defense is gonna be very slow & I predict your young guys to run circles around our back line. I think the result will be contingent on how our midfield guys play especially Joselito Vaca who is supposed to be our creative midfielder. The game usually goes the way he plays. He's however horribly inconsistent. One game you'll think he's the next great midfielder, the next he'll look like he could barely crack a college roster. Let's not forget our young promising forward Jaime Moreno why in the world was he called up none of us know, hopefully it's a courtesy call up for his career & many years he never got called up. Most of us want to see our young forward Gustavo Pinedo (I think he's 18) who plays in Spain right now get quality minutes during the game. We'll see, hopefully it's a good game. I know the Irish team is a B & some would say C team, but do any of those guys have a shot at the A team in the forseeable future?
Ireland: Nicky Colgan; Joseph O'Cearuill, Alan Bennett, Peter Murphy, Stephen Kelly; Joe Gamble, Kevin Kilbane (c), Darren Potter, Alan O'Brien; Anthony Stokes, Shane Long We'll be playing 4-4-2 most likely. This is our starting XI, brief notes on the players: Colgan: Useless goalkeeper, plays for Barnsley in the English Championship. Shouldn't be anywhere near an Irish squad, A,B,C or otherwise. O'Cearuill: Youngster from the Arsenal youth system. Made his debut against Ecuador and will play right back today (though he is in actuality a centre half). We don't know all that much about him, but he looks a decent prospect. Alan Bennett: A bit old to be considered pure potential, but has been in the Reading reserves for the latter half of the season after having moved from Cork City. Some expect him to break into the Reading first team next season. Peter Murphy: His inclusion is shocking. Plays for Carlisle United and has been released. Barely a professional footballer. At 27, he has no future in international football. He's (arguably) only in the squad because of personal connections to Pat Devlin, one of Staunton's assistants. It's his international debut. Stephen Kelly: He is a good full back. Broke into the Premiership and did very well for Spurs, has sinced move to Birmingham and was an integral part of their promotion-winning side this season. Joe Gamble: Will probably play on the wing, though he is a central midfielder. Plays for Cork City in the Eircom League, and is regarded by many as that league's best player. Wins his second cap tonight. Darren Potter: Holding midfielder who plays for Wolverhampton Wanderers. I never really rated him, but he was really good on his debut against Ecuador and another good performance here could cement his place in the squad for our Euro 2008 qualifiers in the autumn. Kevin Kilbane: The one established international in the squad. Has twice as many caps as the rest of the squad put together. Always gives his best, though he's technically very limited. Alan O'Brien: Has bags of pace but not much else. Has played a few times in the Premiership this season for Newcastle. Most don't rate him. Shane Long: Good young striker for Reading, has scored a couple of goals in the Premiership this season. Has a lot to learn, but we have high hopes for him. Another pacy striker. Anthony Stokes: Sunderland, product of the Arsenal youth academy. Gifted young striker. Pacy, but too often tries to do it all himself. Very highly rated by most.
thanks for info about Bolivia this is a much weaker team than that which played Ecuador this is not even a B team, it is a C team Ireland's best players against Ecuador were Doyle, Murphy, Hunt, Keogh, Potter and Bruce of these, only Potter stays in the team has the Ecuador team been named yet ?
good summary btw pmannion agree about kilbane, he is usually technically limited but surprises us all now and again with an exquisite pass
Dude, that was a great summary. I could easily go over the players until 2001 or so, but after that, it's been a rollercoaster ride with the nats (Too many different coaches trying various players). Basically, Milo struck the ball when he said the team is full of players that have yet to prove them selves internationally, at least for the most part. I really think the speed of the Irish players may be overwhelming for some of the young guys on the team. The team that won't be intimidated, and strong enough to implement their system is going to win. As for players, hmmm. I heard Arce is doing great in Corinthians, but I haven't seen him play since he was 17-18 years old. Basically, I haven't really seen the majority of the team play for the nats, or internationally to comment... Sad huh? OH! I know Moreno, our old speed demon! But he's old now and his pace is not where it needs to be for the international game. Well, hopefully it's going to be a fun match. We won't have the speed, but we do have very technical players. Goodluck!