BY ADAM SERRANO
The reign of "King Otto" has ended for Greece.
Otto Rehhagel has resigned after a nine-year term as the head coach of the Greek national football team. Greece failed to make it to the knock-out stages on Monday when it fell to Argentina, 2-0 marking the end of the tournament for the Greeks. Rehhagel did lead the Greeks to their first points at a World Cup with their 2-1 victory over Nigeria in their second match.
A man with enormous popularity in Greece, the German presided over the greatest era in Greek football leading the nation to the European Championship in 2004. During his tenure, Greece became known for their high organization and intense defensive play. A replacement has not been named.
Here are a few more stories to get you through the night:
SCHWEINSTEIGER FACES FITNESS TEST FOR ENGLAND MATCH
Germany may be through to the Round of 16, but Joachim Low's side may be without its playmaker, Bastian Schweinsteiger, who may miss the Germans' second round match against England.
The 25-year-old picked up a thigh injury in Germany's 1-0 victory over Ghana and appeared to be limping off the field when he was subbed off in the 81st minute. The Germans will may also be without the services of defender Jerome Boateng, who picked up a calf injury in the victory.
ANDRE LUIZ NEEDS SEASON-ENDING SURGERY
On the heels of their trade for Sam Cronin, the San Jose Earthquakes have announced that Brazilian playmaker Andre Luiz needs season-ending knee surgery.
Luiz will have surgery to repair an injured MCL as well as to reconstruct a torn PCL. The influential, 35-year-old midfielder's time with the Earthquakes has been riddled with injuries since the Brazilian arrived in the Bay Area late in the 2009 season. Luiz ends the year having played in nine matches and tallying a single assist.
TWELLMAN OUT FOR THE SEASON
The New England Revolution announced on Wednesday that forward Taylor Twellman would be placed on the season ending injury list.
Twellman has not played since sustaining an injury against the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2008. The forward was injured after colliding with then Galaxy goalkeeper Steve Cronin. Twellman suffered an rehabilitation setback in May and has not trained with New England since May 18th.
ANELKA RE-UPS WITH CHELSEA
Nicolas Anelka may not be the most popular player on the planet right now, but there is one place that he is wanted: Chelsea.
Anelka has signed a one-year contract with the defending Premier League champions, ending any uncertainty and keeping the Frenchman in Blue till the Summer of 2011. The forward scored 11 goals for Chelsea last season and has netted 42 times since being signed from Bolton in 2008.
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What was your favorite moment of King Otto's reign? Can Germany beat England without Schweinsteiger? Will the Earthquakes and Revs recover from their injuries? Will Anelka come up big for Chelsea next season?
Share your thoughts below.
As someone who has suffered at least five concussions, I really can feel for Twellman. It can take ages to recover and the more your have them the worse they get. I really wish him the best in his recovery!
Sorry to hear that about Twellman — not the way you want to go out. He deserves better.
And he never got to play in Europe.
I hate the soccer, but I can’t hate his results. He did what he could with limited skill.
Starting their possessions doesn’t make him their go to “playmaker”, that would be Ozil.
Namoff : (
Twellman has been working with Comcast on their World Cup coverage here in Boston and has been pretty good. I could see him going into broadcasting. He was interviewed on WEEI today,it’s Boston’s all-sports station, and hinted he may be making a decision on his future fairly soon. As a longtime Revs supporter, I have loved having him on the team and want what’s best for him healthwise as well as the team, but realistically, I think retirement may be the best option for him, and I’m beginning to think he may agree.
as someone who’s suffered four, I feel bad for him too and think it may be time for retirement. SBI: how about a longer article/more in depth look at the impact concussions have had on MLS players who’ve had them, how they dealt with them, what they’re doing now if they retired, etc? thanks
I’m not happy to see Schweini out of the side. Germany should still be able to dispatch England though.
Oh and I’m sorry but this is an enormous annoyance of mine: it is Joachim Löw.(see link below) Now I know many are too lazy to go to the Character Map and past the ö in, or use a multi-language setting on their keyboard (ctrl+alt…tough stuff) but it is easily solved as EVERY ö,ä,ü in German is simply: oe, ae or ue. It’s not that hard and omitting it can give a word a VERY different meaning. Please…please.
http://www.bundesliga.de/en/
played in World Cup, won EPL championship, made millions…. Anelka’s bad time is a dream time for everyone fan and most of pro players.
Twellman should never play again. One more knock to the noggin and it will be dementia pugilistica at an early age. He was fun to watch and scored some great goals but it will never be fun for me to watch him again knowing that he is skating on such thin ice. He should retire and go into broadcasting or management.
Uh… have you been watching them in the world cup? He starts a major number of their possessions.
Huh?
Hmmm. Bad time to be an Anelka? OK, I’ll take Nicholas Anelka’s life and his new 7-figure deal.
no Greece, no Italy= fun world cup!
Can Twellman ever play again after such a long layoff? Sucks for him
As someone who has suffered at least five concussions, I really can feel for Twellman. It can take ages to recover and the more your have them the worse they get. I really wish him the best in his recovery!
When did Schweinsteiger become germany’s playmaker? lol
Andre Luiz is having knee surgery, not ankle surgery.
Bad time to be an Anelka. His brother just got fired from AC St. Louis:
http://acstlfanatic.wordpress.com/2010/06/24/ac-st-louis-fires-coach-claude-anelka/
“High organization and intense defensive play” is also known as a “8-1-1 formation.” Greece under Rehhagel played some of the most negative soccer I have ever seen.