Soccer birthdays: Anybody feel like having a Frank Lampard debate today? Clearly, the man has skill and soccer smarts. But is he really all that and a bag of crisps? Is he one of the premier midfielders of his generation around the world? Or do such proclamations represent the typical over-reach we get with so many men from England?
Just asking, because the Chelsea staple and Three Lions veteran turns 34 today.
Argentina and PSG midfielder Javier Pastore turns 23 today.
Ahead on the blog today*: We’ll be talking about European Championship quarterfinals now that the matchups are set. And, alas, we’ll probably have ongoing discussions on goal-line cameras or computer chips in balls or special goal-sniffing dogs or anything that could move the game out of the dark ages in determining what does and doesn’t cross the line between the pipes.
And we’ll have plenty of Major League Soccer today, with a half-dozen mid-week matches set to begin Round 16. Oh, and our Weekly Panic Quotient is in the warm-up area as we speak.
What we should all watch on TV:
Corinthians-Santos in Copa Libertadores, Fox Deportes at 8:30 p.m. ET
Plus whatever MLS match your local market might carry; none of the six matches set for tonight are national televised.
RASNoD (Random American Soccer Name of the Day): Rick Davis
Twitter daps: Times Times writer Oliver Kay (@OliverKayTimes): Would’ve been “interesting” to say the least if goal-line technology had allowed a goal that should’ve been given offside.
Actress and singer (from The Glee Project) Lindsay Pearce (@lindsayhpearce): Don’t forget to vote for my brother @HeathGPearce for the @MLS #MLSAllStar team! This is a huge thing! #PearcePride
*Always subject to change; you know how it is
