Nationalities of the players who started their Champions League matches this week.

Brazil 44

France 30

Spain 27

Italy 21

Portugal 20

Argentina 18

Germany 15

Turkey 14

Scotland 13

England 11

Czech Republic 10
Holland 10
Romania 10

Norway 9
Ukraine 9

Greece 7
Russia 7

Ivory Coast 6
Serbia 6

Slovakia 5

Sweden 4
Uruguay 4

Colombia 3
Denmark 3
Ireland 3
Mexico 3

Belgium 2
Bosnia 2
Cameroon 2
Finland 2
Ghana 2
Mali 2
Nigeria 2
Poland 2
Senegal 2

Australia 1
Belarus 1
Burkina Faso 1
Canada 1
Chile 1
Croatia 1
Ecuador 1
Gabon 1
Georgia 1
Guinea 1
Iceland 1
Macedonia 1
Montenegro 1
Morocco 1
New Zealand 1
Panama 1
Paraguay 1
Peru 1
Switzerland 1
Togo 1
Uzbekistan 1
Wales 1

Not sure how to interpret these statistics, but I still found them interesting.

Bryan Robson, why he's still allowed to manage football clubs I have no idea...



Bryan Robson, why he's still allowed to manage football clubs I have no idea...

A couple of Ghana related tidbits today.

Firstly, Hearts of Oak of Ghana have an excellent kit. I can't think of any club in the world with a superior kit to this one!

[Hearts of Oak player on the LEFT!]

Secondly, the African Cup of Nations 2008 mascot is to be chosen next week. I can't wait for the decision!

"The Local Organizing Committee (LOC) of Ghana 2008 Africa Cup of Nations will officially outdoor the name of the Mascot for the tournament during the balloting of the teams billed for the Accra International Conference Center (AICC) on Friday, October 19.

The naming ceremony, according to Magnus Rex Danquah, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the LOC would be done in accordance with the Ga Traditional custom of naming a newly born child.

The naming ceremony, he said is a novelty of the Ghana 2008 LOC that forms part of activities lined up to give the general public a rare opportunity to view the tournament's mascot. "It's incorporation into the main official draw is expected to make the entire event a grand and memorable one."

The mascot, an eagle in motion is clad in Ghanaian rich traditional attire, Kente with black shorts piped with gold. Alhaji Issa Hayatou, President of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) will grace the event, which will also have members of the Executive Committee of CAF in attendance."

International World Rankings

I read a post on a football forum talk about how good England were against "top" sides in the world. Therefore I thought I'd draw up this little table. It represents the top ten teams in the world (by FIFA rankings) and puts them in a league table using only the results from 2000 onwards.



So there you have it. France out on top with England a disappointing 9th.