Plus, the Huntsville Indoor League, the AFCON and AFC tournaments, UEFA Women’s Champions League, and RIP Gigi Riva

Every day I get notifications from several websites and blogs about my favourite teams or tournaments/competitions that I follow.

What has become a very annoying situation (to the point where I’m now blocking one blog) is constant click bait headlines and un-confirmed rumours that don’t list sources regarding specific players.

While it happens throughout the globe as fraudulent content creators (likely using AI instead of doing actual work themselves) try to capture as much attention as possible in an attempt to make passive income.

And then there are those who make stuff up in the hopes of creating buzz for their blogs or websites or social accounts … again with the idea being to make passive income.

Hey, I get it, the system is set up that way and these are just people trying to take advantage of it.

On the flip side, there are some really good blogs run by fans, X (aka Twitter) accounts by journalists, and real news sites that fact-check and name sources.

A few of my favourites include Waking The Red, Fabrizio Romano on X (the world’s foremost transfer market journalist), Football Italia, and The Guardian!

Check these out if you feel like it, or go ahead and find your own, but remember to look at everything with a keen eye and ensure the sources of your information are quality.

HUNTSVILLE INDOOR LEAGUE UPDATE

Week 2 was a fun affair with most teams finally settling on nicknames …

On that note, Your Mum beat The Golazos 5-3 in a friendly affair, while The EH-Team defeated Grape Soda (unofficial name I made up for them) by a 10-6 score.

My team, Blue Moon (unofficial name until my team votes on it), had a very tough match against Thunder FC on Tuesday night.

Though the result was an 11-11 draw (which is a fair result for both teams), really either squad could have walked off with a victory as the second half featured several lead changes.

Really, the turning point of the match came when Thunder FC captain George Johns tried to take me out with a knee-on-knee tackle mid-way through the second half which led them to a match-tying goal (I’m kidding about the intention – it was completely accidental, but the rest is accurate).

AFRICAN CUP OF NATIONS

As we mentioned in last week’s column, despite some flaws, the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) is a fun tournament to follow with plenty of action and scoring. Being hosted by the Ivory Coast, the tournament is into the most exciting stage.

Starting today (Saturday, January 27), the knock-out rounds kick-off with the Round-of-16 taking place over the next four days.

There are some very interesting matches on tap, including traditional African powers Nigeria and Cameroon on Saturday at 3 p.m.; Senegal vs. Ivory Coast, 3 p.m. on Monday; and World Cup semi-finalist Morocco against South Africa on Tuesday at 3 p.m.

While those stand-out due to those countries’ participation in World Cups over the years, there is sure to be a surprise or two over the next few days.

The full Round-of-16 fixture list
Saturday, January 27

Angola vs Namibia, 12 p.m. EST
Nigeria vs Cameroon, 3 p.m. EST

Sunday, January 28

Equatorial Guinea vs Guinea, Noon
Egypt vs DR Congo, 3 p.m. EST

Monday, January 29

Cape Verde vs Mauritania, Noon
Senegal vs Ivory Coast, 3 p.m. EST

Tuesday, January 30

Mali vs Burkina Faso (Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium, Korhogo, 5pm)
Morocco vs South Africa, 3 p.m.

Quarter-finals
Friday, February 2

Nigeria or Cameroon vs Angola or Namibia, Noon
Egypt or DR Congo vs Equatorial Guinea or Guinea, 3 p.m.

Saturday, February 3

Mali or Burkina Faso vs Senegal or Ivory Coast, Noon
Cape Verde or Mauritania vs Morocco or South Africa, 3 p.m.

Matches are available live on Fubo TV Canada.

AFC – ASIAN CUP

Due to what amounts to a lack of promotion in Canada, it wasn’t until early this week I realized the AFC – Asian Cup was being held in Qatar and that matches were being streamed live on YouTube – for free!

It was the perfect way to start the day with 6:30 a.m. matches a few days early in the week, including seeing Japan, Australia and South Korea (all three are capable of quality performances) have interesting matches that didn’t really show their full abilities.

Australian and South Korea both had draws against lesser opponents (Uzbekistan and Malaysia, respectively), while Japan wasn’t really full value in dispatching Indonesia 3-1.

This Cup is also in the Knockout stages with the Round-of-16 beginning Sunday, January 28, and the best thing that could happen is to have those three teams advance to keep neutral fans interested.

All due respect to the other nations, but those three are a touch more interesting and better to watch when at their best.

Round Of 16 Fixtures
Sunday, January 28

Australia vs Indonesia, 6:30 a.m.
Tajikistan vs UAE, 11 a.m.

Monday, January 29

Iraq vs Jordan, 6:30 a.m.
Qatar vs Palestine, 11 a.m.

Tuesday, January 30

Uzbekistan vs Thailand, 6:30 a.m.
Saudi Arabia vs South Korea, 11 a.m.

Wednesday, January 31

Bahrain vs Japan, 6:30 a.m.
Iran vs Syria, 11 a.m.

Quarter-finals
Friday, February 2

Tajikistan or UAE vs Iraq or Jordan
Australia or Indonesia vs Saudi Arabia or South Korea

Saturday, February 3

Iran or Syria vs Bahrain or Japan
Qatar or Palestine vs Uzbekistan or Thailand

Matches are streamed live for free on YouTube.

UEFA Women’s Champions League

Ajax, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, AS Roma . . . it’s a group that would be stellar no matter the competition (or whether it was taking place on the men’s or women’s side of things).

As it stands, this is a Group of Death in the UEFA Women’s Champions League that will come down to the final matchday of the group stage to see which two teams advance to the knockout rounds.

The standings are as follows: PSG (9 points), Ajax (7), Bayern (6) and Roma (5). While there are a variety of permutations that could see PSG, Ajax, and Bayern through, Roma has the simplest path in the sense that they need to win away against Ajax and see the PSG-Bayern match either end in a draw or with a PSG victory.

Those two matches and this group’s outcome will be settled on January 30. For Canadian fans, striker Evelyne Viens is a starter for Roma.

Teams that are already through heading into Matchday 6 include defending champion Barcelona, Brann, Chelsea (with three Canadian players), and Lyon.

All matches are available on DAZN Canada.

Goodbye, ROMBO DI TUONO

Earlier this week, the footballing world – particularly in Italia – said goodbye to Luigi “Gigi” Riva (November 7, 1944 to January 22, 2024).

The Italian centre-forward was nicknamed “Rombo di Tuono” (Roar of Thunder) by a journalist early in his career due to his powerful left foot, speed, strength, and ability to find the goal.

Considered of the greatest strikers of all-time, Riva played almost his whole professional career with Cagliari (other than his first season with Legnano), a remarkable feat for a talented player even in those times. He led Cagliari to promotion to Serie A for the first time ever in 1964 and to their only league title a few years later in the 1969-70 season.

For Cagliari, Riva scored 164 goals in 315 matches (he also scored six goals in 23 matches for Legnano).

He was a leader in the Azzurri squad which won the 1968 European Championship (aka the Euros) and finished as runner up at the 1970 World Cup. Riva is Italia’s all-time leading goal scored, having found the net 35 times in 42 appearances across all competitions.

Riposi in pace, Signore Riva.

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