GOA17!!!

Kumi Yokoyama takes on all comers for Japan Women's Under-17s.

Introducing... Diego Castro

Name: Diego Castro Jiménez
D.O.B: 02/07/82
Nationality: Spain
Club side: Sporting Gijón
Squad number: 17

What kind of player is he? Standing at just over 1.7 m, Diego Castro is a nippy, tricky wing-forward with a reputation for scoring golazos. He is also a talismanic figure and club captain of Sporting.

How is his devotion to the shirt? As recently as 2009 he admitted that "7 is my number. But I got 17 by default and I got to like it," he added. Despite this initial misguided affinity, he has been an excellent ambassador for a number of years now. Anyone who wears 17 and the captain's armband at the same time deserves maximum respect.

What are his prospects like for 2010/11? This season in Sporting's 3rd in Primera since Castro joined in 2006. Having come a creditable 14th and 15th in the last 2 years, Sporting will be looking to break into the top half. Diego has already scored a contender for goal of the season. Expect a few more as well.

Any magic moments? Several. Like this one against Osasuna. And this beauty to clinch Sporting's promotion to Primera in 2008.

SEVENTEEEEEEEN

17

Match Reviews: Wednesday 16th June

Brief summary of results:

Medel 2-1 Alvarez
Arbeloa 0-2 Ziegler

  

Arevalo 2-0 Parker
Bernard Parker failed to make the pitch in this group A match up, where the hosts dreams of World Cup glory crumbled. Arevalo was again tenacious in midfield, snapping at the heels of South African attackers and constantly staying goal side of the ball.

Match Previews: Wednesday 16th June

First up on Wednesday, it's an exciting match-up for followers of the 17s in South Africa: Honduran flyer Álvarez up against Gary "Pitbull" Medel. In a press conference today, journalists questioned Marcelo Bielsa's decision to select Medel, who measures 1.7m, at centre-back tomorrow. He responded by saying that it was not "mental" because "he is great in the air", adding that they cannot afford to lose the Pitbu17's defensive qualities since he is a player who "loves dispossessing opponents". He will be lining up against another player measuring 1.7m: the "Catrachos" winger Edgard Álvarez, who is lightning quick and will be looking to exploit the perceived aerial weakness of his Chilean counterpart with some good old-fashioned pacy wing play. Should be a good one, this.


Finally, finally, Spain get their tournament under way in the last of the first round games. This will see ex-Spurs full-back Reto Ziegler come up against the attacking might of La Roja. Switzerland coach Ottmar Hitzfeld has invited locals armed with vuvuzelas to recent training sessions to try and acclimatise his players but Ziegler and co will need to have more than a capacity to ignore the drone of a thousand bees tomorrow. Arbeloa may come on as a sub if Del Bosque wants to shore things up, but it's unlikely that he'll see any action unless Ramos or Capdevila take a knock.


Wednesday's last game is the first of the second round, as Egidio Arévalo's Uruguay and hosts South Africa look to take important points following first round stalemates. After an impressive individual performance in the middle of the park in their opening game, Arévalo will be relishing another midfield battle. It's unsure whether Bernard Parker will start for Bafana Bafana but expect to see him play at some point.

Match Review: Ahn vs Josué

Ahn 2-0 Josué

Ahn Young-Hak can be very pleased with his performance against favourites Brazil. He pressed and unsettled Kaká whenever he received the ball in dangerous areas and made some important interceptions in midfield, as well as clocking the biggest distance run by any player on the pitch. He can look forward to the remaining games with optimism as the Dear Leader's men impressed in what had seemed like a wildly mismatched encounter.
Josué failed to make it off the bench and when Dunga did make a substitution in the middle, it was Ramires who came on, so things not looking great for Wolfsburg's midfield engine.

Match Review: Tiéné vs Amorim

Tiéné 2-0 Amorim

This game started very well and so did the Éléphants' marauding left-back Tiéné, demonstrating a no-nonsense defending style on a number of occasions. In the absence of Didier Drogba, Côte d'Ivoire's number 17 stepped up to try to bend in a free-kick in the first half but it drifted agonisingly wide. Overall he performed admirably, charging up and down the left flank to reasonable effect, supporting Ivorian attacks and harrying in defence.
Despite most forecasts, in the dying minutes Carlos Queiroz threw on Portugal's emergency fill-in 17, Benfica's Ruben Amorim, who demonstrated some decent touches but was not on the pitch long enough to score any points.

Match Review: Hamšík vs Mulligan

Hamšík 1-0 Mulligan

Following Italy's draw with Paraguay, Hamšík and his boys went into their game against the All Whites with confidence, but unfortunately Slovakia's star player didn't shine as he would have liked. It was clear from his earlty touches that he is a technically gifted player, almost threading Vittek through with his first touch. He had three shots on goal, two of which were off target, and despite his obvious ability, he failed to take control of the midfield and drive his team forward. On top of this, Hamšík17's failure to deal with Smeltz in the dying seconds led to New Zealand's equaliser. It is for this aberration that his score falls below a 2. He'll need to up his game in Slovakia's remaining matches if he is to get another commemorative tattoo.
David Mu17igan didn't get off the bench.

Match Reviews: Monday 14th June

Makoto Hasebe 2-0 Mohamadou Idrissou
Hasebe was an integral part of a strong and organised Japanese midfield, which, as expected, he did Captain. He will be very pleased with his performance which culminated in a rasping shot from distance which forced the keeper into a save. His pre-tournament predictions of Japan doing well seemed well placed, even with this cagey performance, but Hasebe was a star throughout and the many fans wearing the 17 shirt with pride in the crowd were pleased with the performance that Hasebe17 put in. Idrissou made a late cameo appearance, but didn't manage to even force a shot.

Aureliano Torres 2-0 Angelo Palombo
Torres will be delighted with his performance as he made the first significant contribution of a 17 this tournament. His curling free kick was headed into the net to put Paraguay into a shock 1-0 lead over Italy. It is telling that when he was substituted it was still 1-0 and the lead was surrendered soon after he came off. His delivery into the box was a constant issue for the Italian defence. Palombo did not come off the bench in a disappointing performance by the Italians. Surely we should see his contribution later in the tournament?

Match Previews: Tuesday 15th June

Tuesday sees pureblood 17 and Slovakian national captain Marek Hamšík come up against David Mulligan of New Zealand. We are very excited about this. The All Whites have been tipped by many to be the worst team in South Africa so this is a great opportunity for Hamšík to show what he's made of. Along with Serbia's Krasić, Hamšík is another devotee being followed by Europe's big guns, although he has recently declared that he has a verbal agreement to sign a contract extension at Napoli. Perhaps this is because he knows that Krasić will bag Juve's freshly vacant number 17 shirt. It's not certain that Mulligan will start for New Zealand, so all eyes will be on the Slovakian skipper.

Next up is Siaka Tiéné against Ruben Amorim in a massive clash in Group F. It's extremely disappointing that we won't get the chance to see the Ivorian full-back line up directly against Nani but fingers crossed for an appearance for the United winger's replacement. With a good performance, we could have a conversion on our hands.

Finally, Brazil get their World Cup under way against Ahn Young-Hak's North Korea. It's all about Ahn in this one, as Josué is unlikely to play many minutes. In a recent interview North Korea's midfield general claimed that he can't see any weakness in the Brazil team, but he knows they will be hampered by the lack of a 17 in their line-up. People are predicting a rout in this game, let's see what the Dear Leader's finest can do. Yes We Ahn!