Bayern Munich will be playing at home as the championship game returns to Munich this year. Striker Mario Gomez is a German player of Spanish descent, he is physical, strong and fast. Like Drogba he is deceptively quick. Arjin Robben from Holland is another star forward playing for this team. Manuel Neuer is the goalie for Bayern and is also the goalie for the German National Team, quick and rangy, he made incredible saves in the shootout against Ronaldo and Kaka of Real Madrid thus securing a win for his team in the semifinals. The midfield has the likes of Bastian Schweinsteiger and this group swarms the field like giant bees ready to sting the opposition. The defenders are superior with the likes of Rhafina from Brazil and Lahm from Germany. Their coach Jupp Heynckes (AKA Don Jupp) has a glorious history as a player for Germany and is a no nonsense coach who is determined to win.

This will be a great match with fantastic players and great rivalry. Chelsea’s defeat of Barcelona in the semifinals was nothing short of a miracle. They won despite severely lagging in possession time and shots on goal. They played the last game with a man short for more than half the game. Will they get crushed by powerhouse Bayern Munich or are they a team of destiny? This is in brief  the setup for the championship match of the European soccer clubs, it takes place on Saturday May 19 at around noon time. See you at the game baby

The Union of European Football Associations is known as UEFA and it is comprised of futbol (soccer) clubs from Europe. These clubs belong to different leagues and vie for the Championship through a complicated process of qualifying and selection which you can review at this link as well as the upcoming schedule: UEFA Rules

We have now arrived at the Quarter Final stage and this is guaranteed to be very high quality soccer. These private clubs compete within their leagues on weekends and play in the UEFA championship during the week. Unlike the world cup, players from all nationalities play together on one team. For example Messi of Argentina plays for Barcelona and Reynaldo of Portugal plays for Real Madrid. You do not have to be an expert to enjoy these and since the Octopus is dead, just sit back and go with the Yak. Here is a preview of Tuesday’s games and soon we preview Wednesday’s games.

Both games Tuesday start at 11:45 AM Pacific Time. APOEL of Nicosia Cyprus the beautiful island in the Mediterranean, the biggest long shot faces what is possibly the best team Real Madrid. Some say it is just a matter of how many goals the Spanish team will score, but the game is being played in Cyprus and the place has already gone mad with expectation. If the Cypriots pull out an upset it would be the equivalent of Rocky, Cinderella and David vs Goliath all put together. APOEL’s goalie Dionisios Chiotis made two insane saves in the penalty shoot out to win over Lyon and bring his team to the quarters. Serbian goalie coach Goran Cumic said they studied videos of the Lyon players shooting penalties before the game. You will need to watch more than videos to prepare for Real Madrid, let’s hope they don’t end up watching “Gone with the Wind”. The team is full of national Cypriots, but they also have strong foreign players like Kaka and Manduca from Brazil. They have to face a powerhouse of a team in Real Madrid with the likes of Ronaldo from Portugal and the ultimate goalie and ladies’ favorite Iker Casillas of Spain. I saw Real Madrid live at Qualcom Stadium in San Diego last year playing live against Chivas of Guadalajara, they are big, strong, fast and dominant.

As for the other Tuesday game, we have Benefica of Portugal against Chelsea from the British Premiere league. Benefica is also an underdog, but they play with spirit and determination. Benefica is not a star studded team, but they do have good players like Luisao from Brazil. Chelsea has some great players like Didier Drogba of the Ivory Coast and Branislav Ivanovic of Serbia, they have really played well for care taker coach Roberto De Matteo. This one will be a close match.

Looks like the games will be broadcast on Fox Soccer and Fox Soccer Plus, but it is possible you might need to watch them streaming live on the internet. Here is a link for live streaming which we soccer fans have become used to: UEFA Live Game Streaming Let the games begin - Wednesday preview on Sundayak

Saturday afternoon will have the Happy New Yak alternative milonga then Hurricane Shorey will make landfall in the evening and welcome the New Year with her heavenly music (Yeah Baby). Sunday evening the very cool and master teacher Jay Abling will be our DJ. The all nighter will be at Patty Wells studio where the Greek Demigod, son of Zeus, Lampis the Z man will DJ.

Teachers: San Diego favorites Homer and Cristina Ladas arrive first and if it was up to us, we would never let them go. The great Shorey will teach as well as DJ, prayers have begun for a tanda with her. Am so happy to report that Brian Nguyen and Yuliana Basmajyan from LA will be teaching as well, these two have made us Californians so proud. I haven’t taken classes with Eric Lindgren and Rebecca Shulman so I read about them, asked around and watched their videos and they are just outstanding. Last but not least is Tom Stermitz with Amy Beaudet who are well respected and well liked as well.

A great team at an incredible venue in the finest city, truly you don’t have to die or take a bus to go to heaven. Get rid of the family, pack your stuff (bathing suit too) and come on down to San Diego, let us enjoy the weather but dance up a storm
Web Site: San Diego Tango Festival 2012

Japan destroyed an excellent team from Sweden, what a performance. They have unbelievable ball control, incredible strategy, crisp passing, solid defense and even scoring which was never their forte. Their poise is amazing with the goalie as the prime example. They play as a group and it is hard to pick out “stars” in the team, and although players like Sawa, Kawasumi and Maruyama stand out, they are all magnificent. Playing against them is like fighting a swarm of killer bees, they sting you till you are no more. Highlights of Japan vs. Sweden

Here we go with the championship game which pits the Samurais of the Rising Sun against the Calamities of Jane. The US team is on a mission and the Japanese are on a quest. Glory and national pride are at stake, what a battle it shall be. The championship game will be on this Sunday July 17 at 11 AM Pacific Time on ESPN.

Oh, and yes there is a game for third place between France and Sweden. Both are fantastic teams and this is a game definitely worth watching. It is scheduled for this Saturday July 16 at 8:30 AM Pacific Time on ESPN. A final salute from the Yak son of Shahtoul the Tibetan Ghoul, reporting from Germany.

The US beats Brazil in one of the best soccer games ever. These mighty women overcame a good Brazilian team as well as a cretin of a referee. They rattled the great Marta and ran on fumes with a woman down and tied the game with seconds left in overtime. US defender Rampone showed her incredible speed and stayed toe to toe with Marta on the breakaways. Abby Wanbach scored “the” second goal on a feed from Rapinoe to tie the game (replay), I will watch this goal over and over. Goalie Hope Solo is a Goddess and coach Pia is as cool as they come. This one is for the books. As for France they are a most excellent team. They have great speed as well as superior possession skills. They defeated a strong British team albeit in penalty kicks (highlights for those who like penalty kicks). Players to watch are Rampone (middle back), Heather Oreilly (midfield) and Hope Solo (fantastic goalie) for the US as well as Camille Abily (midfield) and Gaetane Thiny (forward) for France. The best looking woman of this world cup is Marie-Laure Delie (French forward shown in picture) and she can be a great player if only she can get a little more aggressive and less tentative in her play, hopefully not till after the game with the US. Will the US have more emotion left for this game, YES they will. The coverage begins at 8:30 AM (PT) on Wed. July 13. This is the Yak reporting from Germany, peace out

The host country Germany will play Japan on Saturday July 9th at 11:45 AM (PT) on ESPN. The Germans looked strong against a very good French team. They will have the home crowd behind them, but do not count out the feisty Japanese team. They had been red hot of late until they lost to England.

France plays England on Saturday July 9th on ESPN as well at 9 AM (PT), a classic match up. The Brits have gotten stronger and stronger with each game and might very well be the surprise of the tourney. The French team is confident despite their loss to Germany where not a lot was at stake. Look for a hard fought game, we are after all in the sudden death phase.

The US loses to Sweden and gets Brazil in the sudden death quarter finals on July 10th at 8:30 AM (PT) on ESPN. They  played their worst game against Sweden and clearly must pick it up against Brazil if they are to stand a chance. Their defense looked slow except for center back Rampone who remains a speedster. Goalie Hope Solo is fantastic and had a shutout going until that game. Goals were no fault of her own, a deflected penalty and a penalty kick. She made a save reminiscent of the Casillas vs. Robben save in the men’s finals. The US offense appeared anemic without Heather Oreilly, and many scoring opportunities were lost. Will the defense stand up against Marta and the rest of the Samba Queens? We shall see.

Sweden looks strong and fast. They play the crafty Aussies in the quarters on July 10 unfortunately at 4 AM (PT) on ESPN also. The Swedes will have a huge challenge on their hands. The Aussies are fast as well and hungry for fame and glory. This game will be a toss up, but the socceroos have a reasonable chance here. This one is for the DVR. The Yak will be back.

Groups A and B: Germany defeated France yesterday and both advance to the quarterfinals with Germany in first place of Group A. The Germans will play Japan who ended up in second place in Group B behind England, in the sudden death phase. England plays France next.  Canada, Nigeria, Mexico and the Kiwis are out.

Group C: USA and Sweden battle for first place in this group today Wednesday 7/06 at 11:30 AM on ESPN. The winner gets to avoid Brazil in the quarter finals. The US team looks great and excels in all aspects of the game. They will be tested against Sweden. North Korea plays Columbia at the same time and both are out (snore).

Group D: The fantastic showdown between Norway and Australia today Wednesday 7/06 at 8:45 AM ESPN results in a huge win for Australia. This has been the game of the tournament so far. The Aussies (Matildas) now advance to the quarter, not a small achievement in this tough Group. The socceroos are fast, strong and crafty and have many tricks in their pouch. Is this exciting or what? Brazil dispatches Equatorial Guinea and finish in first place of Group D. they play the loser of the US vs. Sweden game in the quarter finals.

This is a great day to watch the US team in action. The winner of this Group avoids Brazil in the first round. The Brazilian team did not do a lot of preparation due to limited resources. That means they will get better and tougher with each game. All the quarter final spots will be decided today. Soon, it will be on to the next round. The group A/B quarterfinals will be on July 9th, and the C/D groups play each other July 10th. It will be sudden death after today’s matches. The Yak will keep you posted and the schedule will follow soon. Enjoy the day.

The DJ team includes Lung Kuei from New York, Ramu Pyreddy (Tango Sutra) from DC, Lampis Zalavras (the chic Greek) from LA, Felipe Marinez from San Francisco and yours truly from San Diego for the alternative milonga. It has been a while since I’ve seen Ramu and listened to his great music, am looking forward to his milonga as well as the rest of the DJ team.

The teachers include her majesty Marika Landry as well as the master of disaster and agent provocateur par excellence, Mr. Ney Melo. Felipe Martinez, Tara Fortier, James Friedgen and Crista Rodriguez round out the team.

The last Denver Festival was one of the good ones, we all had a great time and hopefully this one will be the same. Am looking forward to great dancing, good music and seeing many good friends. Here is the web link: Denver Labor Day Festival

The LA tango community is rich with wonderful young enthusiastic dancers like the organizers of this festival (Naomi Hotta for example). They are warm and welcoming and fantastic dancers. They are enhanced by the San Diego Nomads, the San Francisco Troubadours and the Santa Barbarians among others. California’s finest dancers will be waiting for you. Last year was the first festival and this year the organizers promise a fantastic event with emphasis on music and hard core dancing.

The teachers are not well known to me (this reflects my ignorance as they are held in high esteem world wide), but am told they are all stellar and quite talented. Utube videos are quite impressive and I trust this is a high caliber group of instructors. the DJ team is headed by Hurricane Shorey and includes Avik Le Sympathique as well as Evan Griffith who am told is great and lastly yours truly the Yak attack.

This is definitely going to be a lot of fun in the Southern California sun. So when shall we all meet again, not in thunder, lightning or in rain. When the hurley-burley is done, when the battle is lost and won, there in Santa Monica at the SMITH (from Macbeth with liberties). Here is the web site: SMITH

The local dancers are magnificent. The ladies are unbelievable, they have perfected the art of creative following, the good connection without holding on, and most of all they are delightful, welcoming and smile like the heavens on a Spring day. The men have proven worthy of these ladies, many of them are seasoned festival travelers and most wonderful leads. Of note is the young people of this community, both men and women, they have a divine combination of excellent skills with a deep feel for the music, WOW.

The teachers are always excellent and chosen carefully by the organizer Mazen. They include the likes of Geraldine Rojas and Miguel Zoto and of course Mazen himself the true pride of tango Lebanon. The rest of the team are not known to me, but am certain they are most wonderful. As for the DJs, let me start by saying that I am filled with gratitude, pride and joy to be able to DJ for my country of origin for dancers that I love both personally and tangoesquely. Felix Picherna(Argentina) is a renowned tango DJ world wide and it will be an honor to learn from his experience. Luca Lamberti (Italy) is an accomplished DJ all over Europe. Alina La Morocha (Rumania) rounds out the team and am so excited to be hearing her music for the first time, if she DJs like she dances (i have danced with her in Beirut) then we are in for a huge treat - YEAY.

This will be the third Beirut Festival and promises to be the greatest one yet. The previous two were out of this world, one cannot imagine the fun, the energy and the pleasure of dancing with local dancers as well as those from all parts of Europe and the world. This one promises to be the mother of all festivals. Come one, come all and pardon my Mideastern drawl. Web Link: Beirut Festival 2011.