If you had the one, the only El Hadji Diouf as the man swinging the balance of the 2009-10 Premier League title, step forward to the window and collect your winnings Mr. Tannern.
You'd likely have needed a sports results book from the future to figure that Blackburn would manage a 1-1 draw at home against Chelsea.
In fact, when Didier Drogba put Chelsea ahead inside of six minutes I turned the channel to the Syracuse/Gonzaga NCAA tournament game. We'd seen it so many times from Chelsea, get the early goal and take it from there. (I was back for the final 15, and the Blues didn't mount much of a challenge.)
This, being the surreal season, it didn't happen at Ewood Park, with Blackburn getting a deserved equalizer, thus putting an exclamation point on Chelsea's lowest ebb since Jose Mourinho walked away in 2007.
You could expect Chelsea lack of creativity to hurt them in the Champions League, but surely the Blue had enough to still hammer down the lower half of the table. Scoring, though, isn't the problem as the once solid Chelsea defense is being to show cracks and or signs of age. (Since January, Chelsea has kept only four clean sheets across all competitions, a low number based on its recent history.)
Wednesday's trip to last place Portsmouth -- the Blues game-in-hand -- is beyond must-win territory. You almost have to wonder how Chelsea reacts to all the pressure. Carlo Ancelotti is probably packing an extra pair of undies for the trip to Fratton Park, to be sure.
Chelsea aren't out of the race, just not the favorites anymore.
It's funny, today though, that we can predict looking back to the controversial Senegalese Blackburn player as the man that undid Chelsea's title hopes. (And what's the deal with his head? Bleached blond? Just shiny? The mohawk certainly was bleached, so that answers that. I always looked at Diouf with the same mystery of how Adibeyse's little hat stayed on his head in "Oz.")
The question going forward, is Roman Abramovich going to pull a personal Real Madrid and make a parade of "godfather" offers, trying to poach the best players in the world from their current clubs? Or will Chelsea play it more reserved and supplement around its core?
If the club loses the Premier League, on the back of getting KO-ed in the Champions League quarters, head will roll in West London.
Regardless isn't this fun? A genuine three-horse race for the big trophy with the crown?
While Chelsea stubbed its toe on the bumpy ground at Ewood, Arsenal and Manchester United took care of business.
Arsenal got its brief hold of the top, with a semi-tough win at the Emirates over West Ham. Admittedly, once Arsenal got up 1-0 early through Denilson, I was in-and-out of the match. (This time it didn't come back to bite me.)
Obviously the Thomas Vermaelen sending off and penalty was the big talking point. Of course Maunel Almunia made the huge save and eventually Cesc Fabregas made it 2-0.
It hit me later Saturday night on a long drive home, how remarkable that Arsene Wenger has been able to exhume the corpse of Sol Campbell and coax some reasonable performances from him. It's perhaps the biggest upset, or the most unlikely story of the season.
Arsenal could have caved, just like last week at Hull, but made sure to bank the three points and are now second favorites to Manchester United for the crown.
Okay, waited this long. Let's get into Manchester United's 2-1 win at Old Trafford over Liverpool.
Here's the quick Liverpool take. How frustrating is this team? Could it be any more annoying to root for? Just when you think you're out, you're back in. And vice versa.
Liverpool, thanks mainly to the threat of Fernando Torres, looked super dangerous anytime the ball was in the United half, like the Spanish ace could pounce at any time.
Of course the game HAD to come down to a strange penalty call when Javier Mashcherano pulled down Luis Valencia, on the edge of the box. The Ecuadorian gave it a good sell, stumbling into the box and getting the spot kick, which Wayne Rooney missed, but cashed in the rebound off Pepe Reina's correct guess to stop the initial attempt. (Does that count as a miss?)
I'm not getting too wrapped up in the fact Mascherano pulled down Valencia outside the box. It was a bad call. They happen. At this point Rafa, railing at the refs is wearing thin -- what's next blaming Sir Alex when's he's finally fired? Howard Webb screwed up that call. He didn't script the ensuing 75-odd minutes for Los Reds. (I'd love Man Utd./Liverpool match that didn't have the ref involved afterward. Oh well, I'd like to win the lottery, too.)
After the penalty the air went completely out of Liverpool, which decided it didn't feel like doing anything else, in essence an encapsulated of its season.
At this point, does winning the Europa League even matter to Los Reds fans? Will it be enough to keep Rafa Benitez around Anfield? How many lives does he have? With the instability and volatility in the manager's box at almost all top flight clubs not named Arsenal and Manchester United it's a minor miracle Rafa has survived.
Enough about that.
Oh there is the rapidly oxidizing decline in form from Steven Gerrard, but let's safe that for another day.
United did, as it's done all season. It found a way to win. This time it was Park Ji-Sung, or is it Ji-Sung Park? At times the Korean was described as "reserved", "hard working" and "unassuming." Not sure what kind of veiled code that is?
Park got a head on Darren Fletcher's cross and that was that. Liverpool was cooked, which is sad because the game was there to take since Rooney's shooting touch was off all match.
Torres did have a chance late, that he fluffed.
The 90 minutes summed up the seasons so far for the two giants of English football. Manchester United keeps on finding ways to pile up results, while Liverpool can't get out of its own way for more than a couple minutes at a time.
To the consternation of many, there Sir Alex sits, two points clear with seven to play.
True grit?:
Tottenham is such a strange team. Spurs are chock full of solid B+/A- talent, but 30 games into the season it still seems like Harry Redknapp is a guy trying to put together a 10,000 piece puzzle without the benefit of the picture on the box.
From the Croatian trio, the English guys with lines shaved into their eyebrows, its simply a strange mix.
For all bad results logged by Tottenham this season -- losing at home to Wolves springs to mind -- Redknapp's crew might have punched in the grittiest result of the season, winning 2-1 at 10-man Stoke on Saturday.
Why was this that impressive?
Let's see. Jermaine Defoe -- basically the team's only consistent scorer -- was already out with hamstring. Then Roman Pavlychenko went down in the first half, leaving Peter Crouch and Eidur Gudjohnsen up front. Yikes.
Gudjohnsen somehow got behind the defense and scored only a few seconds into the half. That goal wasn't enough, with Stoke leveling from a penalty kick.
Yet Spurs managed to grind out a second goal, with Niko Kranjcar getting onto the end of ball from Gareth Bale. (The Welshmen was actually very positive all game.)
Spurs now hold onto a tenuous grip of fourth place -- two points ahead of Manchester City, which has a game-in-hand.
The typical M.O. of Tottenham is to tease fans and ultimately collapse. That win though Saturday, it really spoke volumes about this squad's ability to find a way to win.
Can Redknapp coax them past hard-charging City, especially with his attack options muted? (Loaning out Robbie Keane and even Gio dos Santos looks bad in retrospect.) Everything logically says no, but considering how crazy this season has been, maybe it'll happen.
Vanilla Villa:
The league's best defense with a savvy manager in Martin O'Neill, it seemed like Aston Villa might sneak away with fourth place.
The path back into the Champions League -- remember Villa won the European Cup in the early 1980s -- took a major hit early Saturday with a home 2-2 draw against rival Wolverhampton.
It's hard to call it anything other than a terrible loss, up 1-0 at home only to give up goals off a set piece to a 30-something defender and then an own goal from your best player -- James Milner.
Sure they showed a little heart getting a point, with John Carew's second possibly offsides goal of the match, but it still as them five off the pace, albeit with a game-in-hand.
Troubling was the lack of any variation of attack for Villa, which just kept whipping crosses from Ashley Young and hoping one of them would stick. When O'Neill needed offense in the second half, all he had to turn to was 20-year-old Marc Albrighton.
Emile Heskey? Clearly the English equivalent of Brian Ching. Let's leave it at that.
Villa remains stuck in that uncomfortable gray zone in the Premier League.
O'Neill has worked wonders, building a solid, sturdy squad, which almost as importantly is fun to root for. As seen in the Carling Cup and the FA Cup, the Villa first XI can hang with anybody in the league.
Where the problem lies is making that next step, if it really wants to challenge for at lest a place in the Champions League.
How do make that final push up the mountain? Where do you can that extra canister of oxygen with upsetting the apple cart? (How's that for a mixed metaphor?)
Or look at it this way? How can you improve without abandoning what got you there in the first place?
The answer could be pretty easy. With O'Neill moving Milner into the middle of the field now that Stuart Downing is healthy, the ex-Newcastle midfielder needs to take his game to a Gerrard-like level. Or he's got to find a way to rise to the occasion and lift Villa up by the proverbial bootstrap when they need it. (Late Saturday a long ball over the top was played to Milner, who ended up stumbling allowing Marcus Hahnemann to collect it with ease.)
Pretty soon O'Neill is going to have to make some kind of move, figure out a way to get a little more dynamic, or this team may have peaked. The problem, beyond the Cristiano Ronaldo-caliber players of the world, there's not a simple solution to buy a player, plop him into the XI and cash the UEFA check in 10 months.
The alternative is consolidating and taking a more Fulham-like approach and playing within your means. That's not meant as an insult for either club.
Sometimes you just have to be realistic. Villa needs to figure out which road it wants to take.
My new slogan for Barclays:
Wonder what Richard Scudamore thinks of this statement -- "The Premier League is played in England, but it belongs to the world." ?
Other stuff:
John Terry please shut up. Please. A officiating conspiracy in the Champions League against Chelsea? Nobody every thought you were a Mensa member, but just stop talking, sit this next play out. ... Looking at Richard Dunne, doesn't he look like a guy that could have easily purchased a ticket and watched the game for the stands. And aren't there a lot of guys in the Prem, if you took them out of uniform you'd never expect them to be a world-class athlete? ... Even with Jozy Altidore, who Twittered during the match and might have picked up an injury, Hull City you are the weaknest link. Goodbye. Coughing up a pair of leads to Portsmouth. The Prem will be a lot more fun with Newcastle United back up in your place. ... Speaking of the Magpies, watched a ton of their rousing 2-2 comeback at Bristol City. Andy Carroll is going to be a beast in the top flight next season. A 6-foot-3 beast with John Belusi's samurai delicatessen wig. The Geordies are loving this team so much about a half dozen ran onto the field to mob Carroll after his late equalizer. (Just don't blow a 10-point lead guys.) ... Did you know that Paul Hart, the guy in charge of Portsmouth to start the season is now managing Crystal Palace, which is 22nd in the Championship and also in "administration"? Keep him away from your club at all costs. ... The play of Steven Pienaar for Everton might give South Africa a glimmer, albeit a slight one, when it hosts the World Cup in June. He's playing like a man on fire. ... Another guy playing a little too much "FIFA 10" -- Denilson. His goal celebration dance was lifted straight from digital life. ... I heard Charlie Davies was online with fans playing the game Saturday? How is Chuck Deezy? ...
Fantasy Team O' the Week:
Scott Graham's Steaua Needarest gets top honors with 63 points thanks to Fabregas, Mikel Arteta -- sick free kick goal -- Drogba and Darren Bent.
Me? My goose is cooked. I made James Milner captain and he scored an own goal. I had Craddock on the bench and Tommy V getting sent off. Ugh.
One other thing:
Am I crazy that the Clint Dempsey goal vs. Juventus still has put a spring in my step? I'm about thiiiiiis close from biting the bullet and buying his jersey.
Midweek Fixtures:
Remember that cold spell in England, that left all the pitches frozen? These apparently are the makeup dates.
Tuesday:
* West Ham United v. Wolves -- (Live, FSC+, 3:45 p.m.) A true six-pointer here. West Ham can't afford anything less than three points. It's that simple. Unlike Newcastle, West Ham might not either have the squad to bounce back up or survive in the Championship. No pressure Gianfranco Zola. (Play Carlton Cole. Just a thought.) Wolves are playing with resolve, which might play against the nervy Upton Park crowd. ... West Ham 2, Wolves 1
Wednesday:
* Manchester City v. Everton -- (Live, FSC+, 3:30 p.m.) Something tells me this will be a fun one to watch. ... City 3, Everton 1
* Aston Villa v. Sunderland -- No excuses here for Villa. Hold off Sunderland early, and the result will come. Gabby Agbonlahor, get well some. ... Villa 1, Sunderland 0
* Portsmouth v. Chelsea -- (Live, FSC, 3:30 p.m.) This has been a crazy season. Could the craziest result be lodged here? It could get nutty, I just sense it. Then I realize how leaky Pompey's defense has been. ... Portsmouth 1, Chelsea 2
* Blackburn v. Birmingham City -- Meh. ... Blackburn 1, Birmingham City 1
Last round: 7-3 w/a couple scores pegged too!
Season: 161-137
You'd likely have needed a sports results book from the future to figure that Blackburn would manage a 1-1 draw at home against Chelsea.
In fact, when Didier Drogba put Chelsea ahead inside of six minutes I turned the channel to the Syracuse/Gonzaga NCAA tournament game. We'd seen it so many times from Chelsea, get the early goal and take it from there. (I was back for the final 15, and the Blues didn't mount much of a challenge.)
This, being the surreal season, it didn't happen at Ewood Park, with Blackburn getting a deserved equalizer, thus putting an exclamation point on Chelsea's lowest ebb since Jose Mourinho walked away in 2007.
You could expect Chelsea lack of creativity to hurt them in the Champions League, but surely the Blue had enough to still hammer down the lower half of the table. Scoring, though, isn't the problem as the once solid Chelsea defense is being to show cracks and or signs of age. (Since January, Chelsea has kept only four clean sheets across all competitions, a low number based on its recent history.)
Wednesday's trip to last place Portsmouth -- the Blues game-in-hand -- is beyond must-win territory. You almost have to wonder how Chelsea reacts to all the pressure. Carlo Ancelotti is probably packing an extra pair of undies for the trip to Fratton Park, to be sure.
Chelsea aren't out of the race, just not the favorites anymore.
It's funny, today though, that we can predict looking back to the controversial Senegalese Blackburn player as the man that undid Chelsea's title hopes. (And what's the deal with his head? Bleached blond? Just shiny? The mohawk certainly was bleached, so that answers that. I always looked at Diouf with the same mystery of how Adibeyse's little hat stayed on his head in "Oz.")
The question going forward, is Roman Abramovich going to pull a personal Real Madrid and make a parade of "godfather" offers, trying to poach the best players in the world from their current clubs? Or will Chelsea play it more reserved and supplement around its core?
If the club loses the Premier League, on the back of getting KO-ed in the Champions League quarters, head will roll in West London.
Regardless isn't this fun? A genuine three-horse race for the big trophy with the crown?
While Chelsea stubbed its toe on the bumpy ground at Ewood, Arsenal and Manchester United took care of business.
Arsenal got its brief hold of the top, with a semi-tough win at the Emirates over West Ham. Admittedly, once Arsenal got up 1-0 early through Denilson, I was in-and-out of the match. (This time it didn't come back to bite me.)
Obviously the Thomas Vermaelen sending off and penalty was the big talking point. Of course Maunel Almunia made the huge save and eventually Cesc Fabregas made it 2-0.
It hit me later Saturday night on a long drive home, how remarkable that Arsene Wenger has been able to exhume the corpse of Sol Campbell and coax some reasonable performances from him. It's perhaps the biggest upset, or the most unlikely story of the season.
Arsenal could have caved, just like last week at Hull, but made sure to bank the three points and are now second favorites to Manchester United for the crown.
Okay, waited this long. Let's get into Manchester United's 2-1 win at Old Trafford over Liverpool.
Here's the quick Liverpool take. How frustrating is this team? Could it be any more annoying to root for? Just when you think you're out, you're back in. And vice versa.
Liverpool, thanks mainly to the threat of Fernando Torres, looked super dangerous anytime the ball was in the United half, like the Spanish ace could pounce at any time.
Of course the game HAD to come down to a strange penalty call when Javier Mashcherano pulled down Luis Valencia, on the edge of the box. The Ecuadorian gave it a good sell, stumbling into the box and getting the spot kick, which Wayne Rooney missed, but cashed in the rebound off Pepe Reina's correct guess to stop the initial attempt. (Does that count as a miss?)
I'm not getting too wrapped up in the fact Mascherano pulled down Valencia outside the box. It was a bad call. They happen. At this point Rafa, railing at the refs is wearing thin -- what's next blaming Sir Alex when's he's finally fired? Howard Webb screwed up that call. He didn't script the ensuing 75-odd minutes for Los Reds. (I'd love Man Utd./Liverpool match that didn't have the ref involved afterward. Oh well, I'd like to win the lottery, too.)
After the penalty the air went completely out of Liverpool, which decided it didn't feel like doing anything else, in essence an encapsulated of its season.
At this point, does winning the Europa League even matter to Los Reds fans? Will it be enough to keep Rafa Benitez around Anfield? How many lives does he have? With the instability and volatility in the manager's box at almost all top flight clubs not named Arsenal and Manchester United it's a minor miracle Rafa has survived.
Enough about that.
Oh there is the rapidly oxidizing decline in form from Steven Gerrard, but let's safe that for another day.
United did, as it's done all season. It found a way to win. This time it was Park Ji-Sung, or is it Ji-Sung Park? At times the Korean was described as "reserved", "hard working" and "unassuming." Not sure what kind of veiled code that is?
Park got a head on Darren Fletcher's cross and that was that. Liverpool was cooked, which is sad because the game was there to take since Rooney's shooting touch was off all match.
Torres did have a chance late, that he fluffed.
The 90 minutes summed up the seasons so far for the two giants of English football. Manchester United keeps on finding ways to pile up results, while Liverpool can't get out of its own way for more than a couple minutes at a time.
To the consternation of many, there Sir Alex sits, two points clear with seven to play.
True grit?:
Tottenham is such a strange team. Spurs are chock full of solid B+/A- talent, but 30 games into the season it still seems like Harry Redknapp is a guy trying to put together a 10,000 piece puzzle without the benefit of the picture on the box.
From the Croatian trio, the English guys with lines shaved into their eyebrows, its simply a strange mix.
For all bad results logged by Tottenham this season -- losing at home to Wolves springs to mind -- Redknapp's crew might have punched in the grittiest result of the season, winning 2-1 at 10-man Stoke on Saturday.
Why was this that impressive?
Let's see. Jermaine Defoe -- basically the team's only consistent scorer -- was already out with hamstring. Then Roman Pavlychenko went down in the first half, leaving Peter Crouch and Eidur Gudjohnsen up front. Yikes.
Gudjohnsen somehow got behind the defense and scored only a few seconds into the half. That goal wasn't enough, with Stoke leveling from a penalty kick.
Yet Spurs managed to grind out a second goal, with Niko Kranjcar getting onto the end of ball from Gareth Bale. (The Welshmen was actually very positive all game.)
Spurs now hold onto a tenuous grip of fourth place -- two points ahead of Manchester City, which has a game-in-hand.
The typical M.O. of Tottenham is to tease fans and ultimately collapse. That win though Saturday, it really spoke volumes about this squad's ability to find a way to win.
Can Redknapp coax them past hard-charging City, especially with his attack options muted? (Loaning out Robbie Keane and even Gio dos Santos looks bad in retrospect.) Everything logically says no, but considering how crazy this season has been, maybe it'll happen.
Vanilla Villa:
The league's best defense with a savvy manager in Martin O'Neill, it seemed like Aston Villa might sneak away with fourth place.
The path back into the Champions League -- remember Villa won the European Cup in the early 1980s -- took a major hit early Saturday with a home 2-2 draw against rival Wolverhampton.
It's hard to call it anything other than a terrible loss, up 1-0 at home only to give up goals off a set piece to a 30-something defender and then an own goal from your best player -- James Milner.
Sure they showed a little heart getting a point, with John Carew's second possibly offsides goal of the match, but it still as them five off the pace, albeit with a game-in-hand.
Troubling was the lack of any variation of attack for Villa, which just kept whipping crosses from Ashley Young and hoping one of them would stick. When O'Neill needed offense in the second half, all he had to turn to was 20-year-old Marc Albrighton.
Emile Heskey? Clearly the English equivalent of Brian Ching. Let's leave it at that.
Villa remains stuck in that uncomfortable gray zone in the Premier League.
O'Neill has worked wonders, building a solid, sturdy squad, which almost as importantly is fun to root for. As seen in the Carling Cup and the FA Cup, the Villa first XI can hang with anybody in the league.
Where the problem lies is making that next step, if it really wants to challenge for at lest a place in the Champions League.
How do make that final push up the mountain? Where do you can that extra canister of oxygen with upsetting the apple cart? (How's that for a mixed metaphor?)
Or look at it this way? How can you improve without abandoning what got you there in the first place?
The answer could be pretty easy. With O'Neill moving Milner into the middle of the field now that Stuart Downing is healthy, the ex-Newcastle midfielder needs to take his game to a Gerrard-like level. Or he's got to find a way to rise to the occasion and lift Villa up by the proverbial bootstrap when they need it. (Late Saturday a long ball over the top was played to Milner, who ended up stumbling allowing Marcus Hahnemann to collect it with ease.)
Pretty soon O'Neill is going to have to make some kind of move, figure out a way to get a little more dynamic, or this team may have peaked. The problem, beyond the Cristiano Ronaldo-caliber players of the world, there's not a simple solution to buy a player, plop him into the XI and cash the UEFA check in 10 months.
The alternative is consolidating and taking a more Fulham-like approach and playing within your means. That's not meant as an insult for either club.
Sometimes you just have to be realistic. Villa needs to figure out which road it wants to take.
My new slogan for Barclays:
Wonder what Richard Scudamore thinks of this statement -- "The Premier League is played in England, but it belongs to the world." ?
Other stuff:
John Terry please shut up. Please. A officiating conspiracy in the Champions League against Chelsea? Nobody every thought you were a Mensa member, but just stop talking, sit this next play out. ... Looking at Richard Dunne, doesn't he look like a guy that could have easily purchased a ticket and watched the game for the stands. And aren't there a lot of guys in the Prem, if you took them out of uniform you'd never expect them to be a world-class athlete? ... Even with Jozy Altidore, who Twittered during the match and might have picked up an injury, Hull City you are the weaknest link. Goodbye. Coughing up a pair of leads to Portsmouth. The Prem will be a lot more fun with Newcastle United back up in your place. ... Speaking of the Magpies, watched a ton of their rousing 2-2 comeback at Bristol City. Andy Carroll is going to be a beast in the top flight next season. A 6-foot-3 beast with John Belusi's samurai delicatessen wig. The Geordies are loving this team so much about a half dozen ran onto the field to mob Carroll after his late equalizer. (Just don't blow a 10-point lead guys.) ... Did you know that Paul Hart, the guy in charge of Portsmouth to start the season is now managing Crystal Palace, which is 22nd in the Championship and also in "administration"? Keep him away from your club at all costs. ... The play of Steven Pienaar for Everton might give South Africa a glimmer, albeit a slight one, when it hosts the World Cup in June. He's playing like a man on fire. ... Another guy playing a little too much "FIFA 10" -- Denilson. His goal celebration dance was lifted straight from digital life. ... I heard Charlie Davies was online with fans playing the game Saturday? How is Chuck Deezy? ...
Fantasy Team O' the Week:
Scott Graham's Steaua Needarest gets top honors with 63 points thanks to Fabregas, Mikel Arteta -- sick free kick goal -- Drogba and Darren Bent.
Me? My goose is cooked. I made James Milner captain and he scored an own goal. I had Craddock on the bench and Tommy V getting sent off. Ugh.
One other thing:
Am I crazy that the Clint Dempsey goal vs. Juventus still has put a spring in my step? I'm about thiiiiiis close from biting the bullet and buying his jersey.
Midweek Fixtures:
Remember that cold spell in England, that left all the pitches frozen? These apparently are the makeup dates.
Tuesday:
* West Ham United v. Wolves -- (Live, FSC+, 3:45 p.m.) A true six-pointer here. West Ham can't afford anything less than three points. It's that simple. Unlike Newcastle, West Ham might not either have the squad to bounce back up or survive in the Championship. No pressure Gianfranco Zola. (Play Carlton Cole. Just a thought.) Wolves are playing with resolve, which might play against the nervy Upton Park crowd. ... West Ham 2, Wolves 1
Wednesday:
* Manchester City v. Everton -- (Live, FSC+, 3:30 p.m.) Something tells me this will be a fun one to watch. ... City 3, Everton 1
* Aston Villa v. Sunderland -- No excuses here for Villa. Hold off Sunderland early, and the result will come. Gabby Agbonlahor, get well some. ... Villa 1, Sunderland 0
* Portsmouth v. Chelsea -- (Live, FSC, 3:30 p.m.) This has been a crazy season. Could the craziest result be lodged here? It could get nutty, I just sense it. Then I realize how leaky Pompey's defense has been. ... Portsmouth 1, Chelsea 2
* Blackburn v. Birmingham City -- Meh. ... Blackburn 1, Birmingham City 1
Last round: 7-3 w/a couple scores pegged too!
Season: 161-137
Labels: aston villa, English Premier League, Liverpool, manchester United, Monday recaps, rafa benitez, Soccer, tottenham hotspur
In Korean the family name comes first followed by the given name. So in Korean his name is Park Ji Sung, Park being the family name and Ji Sung being the given name. Some Koreans when moving to an english speaking country will rearrange their name so the family name comes last. So Park Ji Sung is just as correct as Ji Sung Park.
Benoit Assou-Ekotto played the ball into Kranjcar for the winner, not Gareth Bale.