This week features three important and interesting games, starting with tomorrow's do or don't World Cup qualifier between Greece and Ukraine. The teams played to a scoreless tie on Saturday in Athens, so it's a pretty straightforward scenario (for the most part; this is after all futbol): the winner qualifies for the 2010 World Cup. Ukraine has to win to advance, however Greece can advance if the game ends in a tie if both teams score - advancing on away goals since Ukraine did not score in Athens.
The game is in Ukraine, in a city called Donetsk, and the weather will not be Mediterranean. High is supposed to be 2 degrees Celsius so the Ukraine will have the home field and home weather advantage.
The game will be shown live on ESPN2 at 12:55 pm if you have a TV in your office/want to set your DVR.
From what I can tell from watching some Greek TV and visiting some web sites it appears that Greeks are very frustrated with this team - but especially with their legendary German coach Otto Rehagel. The team looked tentative on Saturday, and Rehagel has been criticized for not starting Angelo Charisteas and for taking Fanis Gekas out with 20 minutes left in regulation. Rehagel engineered what has to be one of the biggest upsets in soccer history, Greece's 2004 European championship, but as it is in any sport, in any land, that good will only lasts so long. Many expect him to resign as head coach if Greece does not advance tomorrow.
Test for Carolina
While not playing do or don't games like the Hellenic side of this blog, Carolina does face it's first real test this week. On Thursday the Heels travel to Madison Square Garden to take on Ohio State in the Coaches vs. Cancer semi-finals. No Crusaders (B ABBEY and Valpo), no Dean Dome, just a tough game on a neutral floor against a top-25 team from a power conference.
On Friday night the Heels play either Cal (the only legit team in the Pac 10 this year; want proof, UCLA lost to Cal State Riverside last night) or Syracuse for either the Coaches vs. Cancer championship or the consolation game.
We'll see if the Heels played down to the competition in Sunday's uninspiring win over Valparaiso, or if this squad really IS a top 10 team - this early in the season. My gut tells me the Valpo game was an aberration. The Heels may not be experienced enough to win on Thursday night (also on ESPN 2, BTW) or at all in New York, but I bet they will play well and cut down the turnovers and rotate better on defense. I'm predicting big games from Ginyard and Thompson - and for Graves to find his stroke - and two surprising wins for Carolina this week.
The two games in New York kick off a brutal stretch for the young Heels. They return to Chapel Hill for tilts versus Gardner-Webb and Nevada but then host Michigan State in the Big East-ACC challenge. [Man, we've played them a lot lately, but when the Spartans play the Heels it's the ideal Carolina Hellenic Blue blog match up.]
After a breather against Presbyterian the Heels go on the road again for difficult games at Kentucky (remember, the 2006 Heels won a bid game in Lexington led by Reyshawn Terry and David Noel, who did THIS that game) and against Texas in the first basketball game in the new, obscene Texas Stadium on December 19th.
We'll know a lot more about this team in a month, that's for sure.
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