The Tilehurst End - Reading FC World Cup LinksReading FC blog run by fans, for fans.https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/52568/tte_fav.png2018-06-13T15:00:12+01:00http://thetilehurstend.sbnation.com/rss/stream/171972852018-06-13T15:00:12+01:002018-06-13T15:00:12+01:00Reading FC World Cup Links - Group H
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<img alt="Reading v Charlton Athletic" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/kgXPJhgi5PuAxT08JtHJ24FPbPE=/0x692:1791x1886/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/60047499/72598436.jpg.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>A former owner, a Championship winner, a forgotten rumour and a past pre-season opponent round off our World Cup links.</p> <h2 id="gtGj2H">Poland</h2>
<p id="usMdjO">Sir John Madejski is without a doubt one of the most influential men in Reading’s history, if not the most influential, after he virtually saved the club from liquidation in 1990, funded a move to a new stadium before the end of that decade and then oversaw a first ever promotion to the English top flight in 2006. </p>
<p id="J36g4w">That new stadium of course took his name to become the Madejski Stadium, which is often mis-pronounced by unknowing fans and members of the media due to it’s unusual nature. ‘Madejski’ is a Polish name, but Sir John actually has no Polish heritage. He was born Robert John Hurst in Stoke-on-Trent in 1941 as a result of a wartime fling and was initially placed in a foster home. </p>
<p id="N0iMr1">By the time he returned to live with his mother, she had married a Polish Second World War airman, Zygmunt Madejski, so he adopted the surname. Zygmunt would go on to own a number of restaurants, shops and other small businesses in Reading. Sir John, now 77, never knew his biological father. </p>
<h2 id="JkuOMb">Senegal</h2>
<p id="zYjSyl">Signed from Brentford in the summer of 2004, <a href="https://thetilehurstend.sbnation.com/2016/3/25/11070698/the-tilehurst-end-interview-ibrahima-sonko-reading-fc-stoke-city-madjeski-stadium-steve-coppell">Ibrahima Sonko</a> played in every single game of Reading’s record-breaking Championship winning squad of 2005/06, forming an excellent partnership with Ivar Ingimarsson at the centre of defence and earning the nickname ‘Superman’. </p>
<p id="c5cD7r">He would make 136 appearances in total for the Royals, scoring eight goals, before departing for Stoke City in 2008. Sadly he would never quite reach his top form with the Potters or future clubs Hull City, Portsmouth, Ipswich Town and Turkey’s Akhisar Belediyespor.</p>
<p id="QEwWm1">Having moved from Senegal to France at a young age, Sonko had the option of playing for either side at international level, at one point admitting he would choose whichever country called him up first. </p>
<p id="cjJSaA">In January 2006 he rejected a call-up for Senegal’s African Cup of Nations squad in order to focus on Reading’s promotion push, but did eventually make his debut for the West African nation in 2008. All of his five caps came in that year as a 27-year-old.</p>
<h2 id="BXO0oB">Colombia</h2>
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<img alt="USA v Colombia - International Friendly" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/cUzBDZ0LkY7yajCB4yt_pgknb6o=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/11493967/459024110.jpg.jpg">
<cite>Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images</cite>
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<p id="Ps9lms">In the summer of 2012, <a href="https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/reading-target-carlos-sanchez-colombia-824447">The Mirror</a> reported that Reading were keen to make Colombia international Carlos Sanchez their first signing upon promotion to the Premier League. The midfielder, then of Valenciennes, was available on free transfer, with West Ham, Bolton, Udinese and Genoa all also interested. However, the deal allegedly hit a stumbling block when Sanchez was unable attain a work permit for the UK, meaning he re-signed for Valenciennes. </p>
<p id="Gl1yNS">He would eventually move to England two years later to join Aston Villa, via a move to Elche in Spain, and made 56 appearances in two seasons before departing for Fiorientina upon the Midlands side’s relegation. He spent the second half of last season on loan at Espanyol.</p>
<p id="42Osgz">Sanchez, now 32 years old, will be at the World Cup in Russia wearing number six for Colombia hoping to add to his 85 caps and maybe even score his first ever goal for the South American nation.</p>
<h2 id="CsFM8j">Japan</h2>
<p id="aUeheZ">As part of Reading’s preparations for the 2007/08 Premier League campaign, they were invited to the The Peace Cup in South Korea, a pre-season tournament featuring eight teams from multiple continents. </p>
<p id="b2989A">The Royals were placed in Group B, and opened with a 1-0 defeat to Argentinian powerhouses River Plate before impressively beating reigning French champions Lyon by the same scoreline. It meant they went into their final game still in with a chance of reaching the final. Their opponents were one-time Japanese league winners Shimizu S-Pulse, who had Shinji Okazaki in their side at the time and had previously been managed by Argentina legend Ossie Ardiles. </p>
<p id="wfGSPC">Reading had a lot of chances in the clash in Goyang, but only managed to win 1-0 thanks to Brynjar Gunnarsson’s second half header. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough for Steve Coppell’s men as they finished second in the group on goal difference, with Lyon progressing to the final where they beat Bolton. </p>
<p id="i2XS4n">On a sidenote, the Royals’ shirt sponsors at the tournament provide us with another Japanese link. Kyocera, whose logo was strapped across the blue and white hoops between 2005 and 2008, are a ceramics and electronics manufacturer founded in Kyoto, Japan.</p>
https://thetilehurstend.sbnation.com/2018/6/13/17437238/reading-fc-world-cup-links-group-h-poland-senegal-colombia-japan-ibrahima-sonko-john-madejski-royalsOlly_Allen2018-06-12T08:01:02+01:002018-06-12T08:01:02+01:00Reading FC World Cup Links - Group G
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<img alt="International Friendly: England v Brazil" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/MeMqezfVgi6PBPpuIGGR_T3y15o=/0x0:3000x2000/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/59951387/74374706.jpg.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Ah, the days when Reading had an England international in their side...</p> <h2 id="tohyyk">Belgium</h2>
<p id="0sv1Wa">Dai Yongge and Dai Xiu Li were far from novices when their takeover of Reading was confirmed in May 2017, with the pair already involved in the ownership of Beijing Renhe in their homeland of China as well as Belgian side KSV Roeselare. It was Xiu Li who took the lead with the latter, choosing to invest in the club in July 2016 after deciding against other teams in Belgium such as Lokeren and Sint-Truiden.</p>
<p id="w0rBeG">She helped clear Roeselare’s debts, allowing them to become stable not only financially, but on the pitch as well. A link between them and Reading was perhaps inevitable, and Royals outcasts Danzell Gravenberch and Sandro Wieser spent last season on loan in West Flanders. They contributed to a fifth place finish for Roeselare in the Belgian First Division B, meaning they fell into the relegation play-offs. However, survival was comfortable in the end for the club. If rumours are to be believed, Brian Tevreden may take on more of a role within Roeselare in the next year or so. </p>
<h2 id="FfzAOb">Panama</h2>
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<img alt="Wales vs Panama - International Friendly" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/pyo1NLA1g54KhglOXuJlEMLxJi4=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/11439007/874463182.jpg.jpg">
<cite>Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images</cite>
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<p id="oBHYIo">Chris Gunter is a player who divides opinion amongst Reading’s fanbase, but whatever your opinion on him, you have to respect the fact that he has been an ever-present for both club and country for years, with seemingly incredible stamina levels and immunity to injury. This is personified by the fact that the right-back has not missed a game for Wales since October 2010, a remarkable achievement. </p>
<p id="lx01Q2">In November of last year, Gunter played his 65th consecutive game for The Dragons against Group G’s Panama, earning his 85th cap in the process to draw level with the late Gary Speed. Since the fixture, which ended in a 1-1 draw, he has surpassed the former Wales skipper and manager, and now needs just five more caps to become his country’s most capped player of all time.</p>
<p id="wFa2Ty">The Panama game was also the first time that Gunter had captained Wales, something that he described as “a huge honour” and “[meaning] the world”. </p>
<h2 id="Z8xgLq">Tunisia</h2>
<p id="XA3P5o">Remember Ahmed Akaichi? The Tunisian striker sparked rumours that he would become Reading’s latest signing in the summer of 2015 when he posted pictures of himself touring the Madejski Stadium, only for these to be dismissed as he was simply only on trial at the club. Akaichi, then playing for Esperance de Tunis in his homeland, shared images of himself with Nick Hammond, Orlando Sa and Paul McShane, but a move to Berkshire never materialised. </p>
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<p lang="fr" dir="ltr">Ahmed Akaichi joueur de l'@EDTnet proche du <a href="https://twitter.com/ReadingFC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ReadingFC</a> club de <a href="https://twitter.com/football_league?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@football_league</a> championship (D2 anglaise)<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Mercato?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Mercato</a> <a href="http://t.co/cn5cvETdf6">pic.twitter.com/cn5cvETdf6</a></p>— Marwen Ben Lamine (@MBLAMINE) <a href="https://twitter.com/MBLAMINE/status/625827639396274176?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 28, 2015</a>
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<p id="srmOIJ">He would indeed move clubs that summer, but stayed in Tunisia to sign for Etoile du Sahel. A year later though Akaichi did move abroad, joining Saudi Arabian side Al-Ittihad. The 29-year-old netted 10 times in 23 league appearances last season, so the jury is still out on whether Reading missed a trick in not snapping him up.</p>
<p id="1hERQz">To date, Akaichi has scored nine goals in 29 games for the Tunisian national team and was named in their provisional World Cup squad before being dropped when manager Nabil Maaloul named his final 23. </p>
<h2 id="z4mrDq">England</h2>
<p id="JABpRI">In total, 11 former Reading players have represented England at senior level in the modern era - six were capped before their time with the Royals (Chris Woods, John Salako, Martin Keown, Les Ferdinand, Wayne Bridge and Zat Knight), and four were capped after (Neil Webb, Kerry Dixon, Matthew Upson and Ryan Bertrand). But just the one had the Three Lions on their chests whilst contracted to the club. Mr Nicky Shorey. </p>
<p id="o5rO4a">The left-back won two caps, both in the summer of 2007 after a stellar first season in the Premier League, against none other than Brazil and Germany. The fixture against the <em>Seleção</em> was England’s first at the new Wembley and saw Shorey come up against the likes of Ronaldinho, Kaka and Robinho in a 1-1 draw. </p>
<p id="KXWKWw">Many would say that that was Shorey’s peak as a footballer, and it was certainly a magnificent journey for a man who had joined Reading in the Second Division as an 18-year-old in 2001 and helped the club to two promotions to reach the top flight in record-breaking style. #ShoreyForEngland</p>
https://thetilehurstend.sbnation.com/2018/6/12/17404370/reading-fc-fifa-world-cup-links-group-g-belgium-panama-tunisia-england-nicky-shorey-royalsOlly_Allen2018-06-11T08:05:01+01:002018-06-11T08:05:01+01:00Reading FC World Cup Links - Group F
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<img alt="Group G France v Korea Republic - World Cup 2006" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/axN3AjLHvlurCqDcIdO3vXMXZfE=/0x0:1961x1307/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/59879725/71234022.jpg.0.jpg" />
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<p>Links from the 80s, 90s, 00s and 2010s in today’s links - an odd journey through Royals history.</p> <h2 id="e1jskI">Germany</h2>
<p id="zHFjsr">To date, the only German to don the blue and white hoops is Uwe Hartenberger, who was a Royal between 1993 and 1995. The striker’s two year spell in Berkshire was the only time he spent outside of his homeland in his entire career, and he scored five goals in 29 games for the club.</p>
<p id="RKJZgG">Hartenberger moved to Reading through contacts then-manager Mark McGhee had built up whilst playing for Hamburg, and cost around £100,000. He became an instant hit amongst the Elm Park faithful after coming off the bench to score an equaliser against Swansea City on his debut. </p>
<p id="gjTSLE">Unfortunately for him though, the form of Jimmy Quinn and Stuart Lovell restricted his game time, and he only completed 90 minutes on two occasions for the club before moving back to Germany to join Waldhof Mannheim. In 2015, the Former Players’ Association conducted an interview with Hartenberger, in which he discusses the friendships he made at the club and what is was like to be at Wembley for the 1995 Division One play-off final. <a href="http://www.readingfcformerplayers.co.uk/news/74/In_conversation_with_Uwe_Hartenberger">You can read it here. </a></p>
<h2 id="rpq5bH">Mexico</h2>
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<img alt="Mexico v Jamaica: Final - 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/9r8VzXqENhibYPma71hFZK95_IM=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/11424901/482093598.jpg.jpg">
<cite>Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images</cite>
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<p id="iXysVP">Having qualified for 16 World Cups, Mexico is undoubtedly the most successful nation in CONCACAF - The Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football. This is emphasised by their record seven Gold Cup wins - the confederation’s regional tournament that takes place every two years.</p>
<p id="pnNQxE">Their most recent victory came in 2015, when they faced a Jamaica team in the final containing Garath McCleary and Michael Hector, both of Reading at the time, as well as Adrian Mariappa and Jobi McAnuff, two former Royals. The latter of course captained the club to promotion in 2012.</p>
<p id="vXKojE">Andres Guardado, Jesus Corona and Oribe Peralta netted in a 3-1 win for Mexico (all three will be at the World Cup this summer), but the four Reading alumni were still part of a record-breaking Reggae Boyz side. It was the country’s first ever major final, whilst they were also the inaugural Caribbean nation to reach the tournament’s showpiece. </p>
<h2 id="zRs112">Sweden</h2>
<p id="BfWK4c">Before he managed Slough, Woking, Reading, Leeds and then Reading again, Brian McDermott was a bit of a journeyman in his playing days. He represented no less than 11 clubs in his career as a midfielder, starting off at Arsenal, where he is now a scout. In April 1984, the Gunners loaned him out to Swedish side IFK Norrköping and he made a huge impression during his six months in Scandanavia, being voted Sweden’s Player of the Year as the club reached the final of the Allsvenskan play-offs.</p>
<p id="nHw7XH">Two years later and McDermott was an Oxford United player, but he returned to the home of ABBA and IKEA for another loan spell, signing for newly promoted Djurgardens IF. Sadly he couldn’t have quite the same impact as he had had previously, as the club were relegated straight back to the second tier.</p>
<p id="NVx6lM">Before coming up against Sven-Göran Eriksson in a meeting between Reading and the Swede’s Leicester City side in 2011, McDermott said: “I’m looking forward to speaking a little bit of Swedish to Sven. My Swedish was good in 1984. It’s not the easiest of languages to understand, though, and you forget it pretty quickly.”</p>
<h2 id="1RbXAs">South Korea</h2>
<p id="r5S3a0">“He’ll shoot, he’ll score, he’ll eat your Labrador!” - probably one of my favourite Reading chants ever for the club’s only South Korean player to date, Seol Ki-hyeon. </p>
<p id="oZnRaJ">The midfielder joined the Royals from Wolves in July of 2006 after representing his country at two World Cups (including the one that summer) and becoming the first South Korean footballer to score in the history of the Champions League whilst at Anderlecht. </p>
<p id="uDUbGM">He made an instant impact at the Madejski Stadium, setting up the club’s first ever Premier League goal as he drilled the ball in for Dave Kitson to net against Middlesbrough, before scoring two magnificent goals himself against Sheffield United and West Ham a few weeks later. But he featured less and less as the season went on, and joined Fulham the following summer, citing a desire for regular football as the reason for his swift departure. </p>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Stop what you're doing! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoalOfTheDay?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GoalOfTheDay</a> is an absolute ... <a href="https://t.co/rmFUzsL3D9">pic.twitter.com/rmFUzsL3D9</a></p>— Premier League (@premierleague) <a href="https://twitter.com/premierleague/status/783973309826342912?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 6, 2016</a>
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<p id="MYP32g">For South Korea, Seol totalled 82 caps and 19 goals before retiring in 2009. He would continue at club level for five more years, representing three different clubs in his homeland.</p>
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https://thetilehurstend.sbnation.com/2018/6/11/17395266/reading-fc-fifa-world-cup-links-group-f-germany-mexico-sweden-south-korea-seol-ki-hyeonOlly_Allen2018-06-10T09:42:01+01:002018-06-10T09:42:01+01:00Reading FC World Cup Links - Group E
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<img alt="Brazil v South Korea - Toulon Tournament Group B" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/WuaLE2vtJOzosxh83vuEKFNYoG0=/0x11:2086x1402/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/59854341/493210981.jpg.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Christopher Lee/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Probably the hardest group to find links with yet...</p> <h2 id="pLRlsc">Brazil</h2>
<p id="jmS6Dg">Only one player has ever pulled on the blue and white of Reading as well as the yellow and green of five-time World Cup winners Brazil - Lucas Piazon. Well, pretty much. The Sao Paulo-born forward has represented his country from Under 17 level to Under 23 level, but never for the senior side. </p>
<p id="Y1kwUa">He signed on a season-long loan with the Royals in the summer of 2015, appearing in 22 games in all competitions, scoring five goals. Along with Ola John, his name helped form what <a href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516590&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.telegraph.co.uk%2Ffootball%2F2016%2F05%2F18%2Fthe-10-best-football-chants-of-the-season%2F&referrer=sbnation.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fthetilehurstend.sbnation.com%2F2018%2F6%2F10%2F17394828%2Freading-fc-fifa-world-cup-links-group-e-brazil-switzerland-costa-rica-serbia-lucas-piazon" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">the Telegraph named as the Championship’s best chant of the year.</a> </p>
<p id="0Gx1HW">Since then, Piazon has spent the last two campaigns with Fulham (the fifth loan club of his career, he is still officially registered to Chelsea), netting 12 times in 58 appearances to help the Cottagers reach the Championship play-offs two years in a row. It’s also worth noting a mutual hatred seems to have developed between Piazon and sections of the Reading fanbase, but we won’t go into that...</p>
<h2 id="WIuGXA">Switzerland</h2>
<p id="nKGDr1">Next up is a man who has been contracted to Reading for the last two years but is still yet to kick a ball for the first team and has more red cards than goals for the Under 23s. It’s Sandro Wieser. The Lichtenstein international is certainly a candidate for Reading’s worst ever signing, and has spent the last year on loan at Belgian second tier side KSV Roeselare. What has he got to do with Switzerland? Wieser joined the Royals from Swiss side FC Thun, where he had spent a season, scoring three times in 24 outings. </p>
<p id="rpw5e4">The 25-year-old has also previously played on loan for another Swiss team, FC Aarau, in 2014/15. In November of that season, his knee high challenge on FC Zurich’s Gilles Yapi-Yapo not only led to a straight red card but also Zurich Ancillo Canepa president launching legal proceedings against Wieser after fears that Yapi-Yapo would never play again. Some rumours suggest that he may be set for a return to Aarau this summer, so midfielders of the Swiss Super League better watch out. </p>
<h2 id="K1nkoO">Costa Rica</h2>
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<img alt="Fulham v Reading - Sky Bet Championship" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/jNHPZeZGchNZHtWy-14XFi2P1ig=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/11424741/461675558.jpg.jpg">
<cite>Photo by Ker Robertson/Getty Images</cite>
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<p id="7Se5hB">Away wins in the Premier League were incredibly hard to come by for Reading in 2012/13, in fact we only got two all season. At Newcastle in the resurgent month of January, and at Fulham in May, when our relegation had already been confirmed. Still, it was a good day out on Thames-side as goals from Hal Robson-Kanu, Adam Le Fondre and Jem Karacan helped Nigel Adkins’ team to a 4-2 victory. The scorer of the Cottagers’ two goals? Costa Rican international Bryan Ruiz. Having also scored against us at the Madejski that season, it meant that over half of Ruiz’s five goals that season came against the Royals.</p>
<p id="BuX5UX">He would pop up again on Reading’s next visit to Craven Cottage two years later, this time inflicting misery on the travelling fans as he headed home a dramatic 93rd minute winner for Fulham. Pavel Pogrebnyak had earlier cancelled out Alexander Kacaniklic’s opener.</p>
<p id="EQEmbx">Luckily for us, Ruiz has been at Sporting Lisbon since the summer of 2015, whilst he’ll be looking to add to his 101 caps and 23 goals for Costa Rica as captain at the World Cup. </p>
<h2 id="FPtOSD">Serbia</h2>
<p id="hrACtI">After scoring 22 goals on loan for Dutch second tier side Telstar in 2017/18 and earning a first call-up to the US national side in the process, Andrija Novakovich has been tipped for a first team breakthrough at Reading next season. The striker has already made his debut for the Royals, against Watford in 2015 as Steve Clarke rested several key players ahead of the FA Cup quarter-final replay against Bradford, but now could be his time to cement a place in the side.</p>
<p id="AnRscw">Novakovich qualifies to play for the USA after being born in Wisconsin, but both of his parents are actually Serbian. It was the first language that the 21-year-old learnt as a child and he still speaks with a Serbian accent - one of his youth teams was even called United Serbians as many of the children from his town in the States were also of the same descent. “I am proud of my Serbian heritage. I do have a special place for Serbia in my heart.” he said in an interview with the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/soccer-insider/wp/2018/03/21/meet-the-young-usmnt-hopeful-with-a-serbian-accent-and-a-torrid-goal-rate-in-netherlands/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.90011d1faff1">Washington Post</a>.</p>
https://thetilehurstend.sbnation.com/2018/6/10/17394828/reading-fc-fifa-world-cup-links-group-e-brazil-switzerland-costa-rica-serbia-lucas-piazonOlly_Allen2018-06-09T09:28:12+01:002018-06-09T09:28:12+01:00Reading FC World Cup Links - Group D
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<img alt="Iceland v Hungary - Group F: UEFA Euro 2016" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/sLpEGDTjUFvK2pFhW_SIrFRhvqY=/0x0:5283x3522/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/59814485/541053184.jpg.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Featuring Gylfi and Yakubu - two players remembered for very different reasons in Berkshire.</p> <h2 id="wSV8ib">Argentina</h2>
<p id="99RTdl">In each of the last two summers, Reading have been linked with a player who has heralded from Argentina, but you’d be forgiven for having forgotten both of them.</p>
<p id="Eikjh7">In 2016, it was defender Gaston Campi of Racing Club that looked set to join the Royals having been on trial with Jaap Stam’s side in Holland for their pre-season training camp. Reports in Argentina suggested that he would be signed on loan for the season with the option of then permanently signing for $1.2 million. However, Stam was clearly not impressed with what he saw from Campi, who stayed with Racing Club before joining Estudiantes last summer. </p>
<p id="HeicxV">Then, last summer there were reports that Reading were in for winger Mauro Marconato, who was a free agent after being let go by CA Colon. Yet the rumours were quickly dismissed by the 21-year-old’s agent, and he ended up staying in Argentina to sign for Atlético de Rafaela in September. </p>
<h2 id="4G4rxy">Iceland</h2>
<p id="18yCwA">Reading have a history of recruiting Icelandic talent, from current Royal Jon Dadi Bodvarsson, to Championship winners Brynjar Gunnarsson and Ivar Ingimarsson. Don’t forget the latter’s cousin Gunnar Heidar Thorvaldsson either. </p>
<p id="zCHkx8">But arguably the most gifted of the lot was Gylfi Sigurdsson, who is probably Iceland’s greatest footballer ever. The midfielder joined Reading’s academy at the age of 16, and made an incredible breakthrough into the first team four years later. Scoring 20 goals in 44 games, he was named the club’s Player of the Season for 2009/10 and it seemed inevitable that the youngster would go on to better things. </p>
<p id="NorK10">Despite signing a new contract that summer and beginning the next campaign in blue and white, Sigurdsson would sign for Hoffenheim in the last few days of the transfer window. As expected, he has gone from strength to strength since, returning to the UK to star for Tottenham, Swansea and now Everton. </p>
<p id="UKtqXj">Gylfi has 55 caps for Iceland to date, scoring 18 goals and collecting the country’s footballer of the year award for the last six years. He has helped them qualify for their first ever European Championships, where they knocked out England, and now the World Cup where he will feature alongside Bodvarsson. </p>
<h2 id="dRZvrC">Croatia</h2>
<p id="N8dnMV">No Croatian has ever featured for Reading in the past, but could that change this summer? If you believe everything you read online then the answer is yes, as centre-back Denis Kolinger of Lokomotiva Zagreb has been linked with the club recently by The Sun. £1 million is the rumoured price for a player who has still has two years left on his current contract but impressed greatly in 2017/18. </p>
<p id="hkNDmT">Brighton and Middlesbrough are also reportedly interested in Kolinger, who is 24 years old and has one international cap to his name. </p>
<p id="1Ae6JW">The closest we’ve come in the past to signing a Croatian in the past was in the summer of 2013, when reports suggested that Mladen Petric, recently released by Fulham and scorer of 13 goals at international level, was set for a medical at the Madejski Stadium, but the move never materialised.</p>
<h2 id="MK0xlv">Nigeria</h2>
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<img alt="Reading v Leeds United - Sky Bet Championship" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/sBeOT1fYh-JIueokZpJDLLS5av4=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/11064447/463138806.jpg.jpg">
<cite>Photo by Ben Hoskins/Getty Images</cite>
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<p id="XEetZY">It’s fair to say that Yakubu’s best days were past him when Reading signed him on a free transfer in February 2015. At 32 years old, the striker had scored nearly 100 Premier League goals for Portsmouth, Middlesbrough, Everton and Blackburn, and netted 21 times for Nigeria, starring at two World Cups for the African nation. He displayed virtual none of that goalscoring nous in his four month spell with the Royals, except for on one day. Valentine’s Day at Pride Park.</p>
<p id="51Xq5b">Reading were facing Derby in the FA Cup fifth round and the scores were level with eight minutes left after Darren Bent had cancelled out Hal Robson-Kanu’s opener. But then Yakubu, who had only been substituted on ten minutes earlier, was put through by Robson-Kanu and finished expertly to send the travelling fans crazy and the Royals into the quarter-finals. It was his only goal for the club, but probably paid back all of his wages instantly. Reading of course would beat Bradford via a replay in the last eight before losing to Arsenal in only our second ever FA Cup semi-final.</p>
<p id="C647Py">In addition to ‘The Yak’, three other Royals have also represented Nigeria at international level - Sam Sodje, Hope Akpan and Sone Aluko.</p>
https://thetilehurstend.sbnation.com/2018/6/9/17380738/reading-fc-fifa-world-cup-links-group-d-argentina-iceland-croatia-nigeria-gylfi-sigurdsson-yakubuOlly_Allen2018-06-08T12:00:02+01:002018-06-08T12:00:02+01:00Reading FC World Cup Links - Group C
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<img alt="Socceroos Portrait Session" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/8Pjf6Kc6ekbfuLPLnn-0F9joxxc=/52x0:3000x1965/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/59813471/99974675.jpg.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>It’s fair to say the players in today’s links had varying degrees of success at Reading. Plus there’s a bit of club history.</p> <h2 id="2do0yL">France</h2>
<p id="dgFVP5">With PSG not formed until 1970, the team to beat in France’s capital before that point was Racing Club de Paris, and beat them Reading did, in our first ever floodlit game in October 1954. A Royals side including legends such as Ray Reeves, the club’s all-time leading penalty scorer, and Eddie McLaren ran out 3-0 winners in the friendly game watched by 12,789 fans at Elm Park. </p>
<p id="NRY8oX">Despite only being a Third Division side at the time, Reading’s installation of “the most up-to-date system of floodlighting in this country” (according to chairman James Carter) attracted clubs such as Racing Club de Paris and English First Division outfits. The BBC were also impressed by the technology, and broadcast the second half of the game around Europe. </p>
<p id="sdhtUX">The Daily Mirror reported that Reading “showed the star-studded French team that old style rugged tackling wins matches”, but the teams were all friends afterwards as they dined together on poached Darne Scotch Salmon, roast quarter of Southdown Lamb and iced gateaux at the French Horn in Sonning Common. Fancy. </p>
<h2 id="rmbWBs">Australia</h2>
<p id="l476bM">A crucial part of the Championship winning squad of 2011/12, Adam Federici spent ten years at Reading, making 245 appearances in between the sticks. Incredibly, for a goalkeeper, he also managed to get on the scoresheet once too, smashing home a 96th minute equaliser against Cardiff on Boxing Day 2008 after coming up for a corner. </p>
<p id="CV8Mni">Federici would depart in the summer of 2015 having just picked up the Player of the Season award, signing for Premier League bound Bournemouth. He has struggled for game time on the South Coast since though, featuring in just eight top flight games. At international level, the 33-year-old has been capped 16 times by Australia, and was part of the Socceroos’ squad at the 2010 World Cup. </p>
<p id="wFpUg9">But of course Federici is not the only former Royals hero to hail from down under, with fellow Aussies Stuart ‘Archie’ Lovell and Andy Bernal key figures in Reading teams throughout the 90s. </p>
<h2 id="SrpM1N">Peru</h2>
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<img alt="Argentina v Peru - FIFA World Cup 2014 Qualifiers" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/VW9CflRUKuxCB5gVd9FzrOdEQi8=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10856627/184185239.jpg.jpg">
<cite>Photo by Buda Mendes/Getty Images</cite>
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<p id="UsLLbT">There are some players who you really wonder why Reading ever signed them. Paolo Hurtado is one of those players. </p>
<p id="BbiieD">The winger was brought in on a three-year-deal in the summer of 2015, but never settled in Berkshire, featuring just five times and earning only only start, against Everton in the League Cup. He was shipped out on loan to Portuguese top flight side Vitória Guimarães the following January, and again that summer, before finally joining the club permanently in July 2017. </p>
<p id="IN8pAL">13 goals and six assists in 30 games in the season just gone shows you that Hurtado is far from a bad player, just that the Madejski Stadium clearly wasn’t the right fit for him. Indeed, the 27-year-old’s impressive form in 2017/18 earned him a call-up to Peru’s World Cup squad, and he’ll be looking to add to his 29 caps and three goals for the South American nation in Russia. </p>
<h2 id="kS5GNN">Denmark</h2>
<p id="nUi1WI">Mikkel Andersen joined Reading in 2007 as a promising 18-year-old goalkeeper, and departed eight years later having done very little with his career other than go out on loan. A lot. </p>
<p id="DzhbPG">Andersen had temporary spells at no less than seven clubs (including two at Bristol Rovers) before finally being handed his Royals debut in September 2014 against Sheffield Wednesday. He would make four more appearances that season before realising that he would have to move elsewhere for senior football, and joined Danish side FC Midtjylland in June 2015. </p>
<p id="peOnoo">Since returning to his homeland, Andersen has impressed greatly and become one of the best goalkeepers in the Superliga. In his time with Midtjylland, he saved a penalty against Manchester United in the Europa League, whilst last summer he joined Lyngby BK.</p>
<p id="hWT3kZ">During his time in Berkshire, Andersen was capped by Denmark at Under 19, Under 20 and Under 21 level, but at 29 years old he is still awaiting that senior team call-up. </p>
https://thetilehurstend.sbnation.com/2018/6/8/17364430/reading-fc-fifa-world-cup-links-group-c-france-australia-peru-denmark-adam-federiciOlly_Allen2018-06-07T09:04:02+01:002018-06-07T09:04:02+01:00Reading FC World Cup Links - Group B
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<img alt="Reading v Middlesbrough - Sky Bet Football League Championship" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/vsOCc9-EPftgLMA7SCeXBEEghf8=/0x32:1832x1253/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/59949133/491666854.jpg.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Martin Willetts/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Two names from the 2015/16 season and one from THAT collapse against Arsenal feature in our Group B Royal connections.</p> <h2 id="EfWJxJ">Portugal</h2>
<p id="QE26EK">For a while, it looked as though Reading had hit the jackpot when they signed Orlando Sa from Legia Warsaw in the summer of 2015. The striker netted four goals in his opening six games for the Royals, including an impressive hat-trick in the 5-1 demolition of Ipswich, and along with an inspired Nick Blackman he looked as though he may be to able to lead the club back to the Premier League. Yet only four days after the rout against the Tractor Boys, Sa was sent off against Derby, and could never recapture his early season form upon his return from suspension.</p>
<p id="gGGrHL">In January of that season, he made a swift exit to Maccabi Tel Aviv amidst rumours of his wife feeling unsettled in England. Sa has since also played for Standard Liege and currently Chinese side Henan Jianye.</p>
<p id="G25dVe">Born in Braga, the 29-year-old has been capped once by the Portuguese national team - a 30 minute cameo in a 1-0 friendly win over Finland in 2009. The manager back then was Carlos Queiroz, who is now in charge of Portugal’s Group B opponents Iran. </p>
<h2 id="Xmqt6t">Spain</h2>
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<img alt="Cardiff City v Reading - Sky Bet Championship" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/XYtbAfF1ZDCHQXWTtOpw9t4Gn7A=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10853279/496133158.jpg.jpg">
<cite>Photo by Harry Trump/Getty Images</cite>
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<p id="GwQYK6">Rarely has there been a player so well liked by Reading fans despite playing so little than Alex Fernandez. The Spanish midfielder featured just 10 times on loan for the Royals from Espanyol in 2015/16, scoring once against Huddersfield in the FA Cup, but was (and still is) lauded by the Madejski Stadium faithful for his heartfelt social media posts. </p>
<p id="iIG4Uj">After his spell in Berkshire, Fernandez signed permanently for Elche, but suffered relegation to the Spanish third tier with the Alicante-based side so moved to Cadiz last summer. The 25-year-old scored four goals in 42 appearances in 2017/18 as the club finished 9th, just one point below the Segunda play-offs.</p>
<p id="auwtRr">Whilst Alex may not have a Spanish senior cap to his name (he did appear at youth level for <em>La Roja</em>), his older brother Nacho, a centre-back for Real Madrid, has 16 caps for his country and is indeed set to feature at the World Cup. </p>
<h2 id="st4UzL">Morocco</h2>
<p id="TOZgtf">Apologies in advance, as I have been left with little choice but to pick Marouane Chamakh for our Morocco link, meaning we are going to have to briefly relive Reading’s 7-5 defeat to Arsenal in the League Cup in 2012/13.</p>
<p id="ltrOqk">The striker netted twice in that staggering comeback at the Madejski Stadium - a low shot through the legs of Kaspars Gorkss that gave the Gunners the lead for the first time on the night in the 103rd minute, and a chip over Adam Federici that was their seventh and final goal in the 123rd minute. They were Chamakh’s only goals that season and last for Arsenal before he joined Crystal Palace in the summer of 2013. He would spend three years at Selhurst Park before being released, and has been without a club since being let go by Cardiff City 18 months ago. </p>
<p id="FCFhp2">Capped 65 times by Morocco (but not since 2014), the 34-year-old scored 18 goals for his nation and played in the final of the African Cup of Nations for them in 2004, losing to Tunisia. </p>
<h2 id="hoB6hE">Iran</h2>
<p id="ySxAdh">Born in Utah but largely raised in Iran’s capital Tehran, Omid Namazi was a defender who played for Reading very briefly in the 1992/93 season. Well, apparently. Every source on the internet says that Namazi featured in Berkshire during the winter of that campaign, but no one appears to have any recollection of him, suggesting that perhaps he was part of the reserve team or was only on trial. I mean we haven’t got any other Iranian link, so we’re going to have to go with it!</p>
<p id="yvFncH">The Royals were the only club outside of the USA that Namazi played for in his career, even featuring for few futsal teams in the States as well. After retiring he took up coaching, again in America, but in 2011 he was named as the Iran national team’s assistant coach to Carlos Queiroz. Namazi spent three years in that role, helping the country qualify for the 2014 World Cup. The 52-year-old is currently the manager of the USA Under 18 team. </p>
https://thetilehurstend.sbnation.com/2018/6/7/17362162/reading-fc-world-cup-links-group-b-portugal-spain-morocco-iran-orlando-sa-royalsOlly_Allen2018-06-06T09:33:01+01:002018-06-06T09:33:01+01:00Reading FC World Cup Links - Group A
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<img alt="Denmark v Russia - International Friendly" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/AdD78f0naSHFU7wrdRwzqnI6YN4=/0x41:3264x2217/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/59634043/140178898.jpg.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>The World Cup kicks off in just over a week, so we thought we would preview the tournament in a very special way.</p> <p id="LQfZ9N"><em>Throughout the next eight days, we’ll be going through all 32 World Cup teams group-by-group, trying to find a Royals link to all of them. Logically, we’ve started with Group A...</em></p>
<h2 id="196MVJ">Russia</h2>
<p id="QDlIo6">There probably isn’t a man more fitting to open this series than The Big F***ing Russian himself, Pavel Pogrebnyak. Signed on a free transfer (but on some of the biggest wages the club has ever seen) ahead of Reading’s Premier League return in the summer of 2012, Pog scored 26 goals in 103 games in three year stint in Berkshire. Despite being far from the most effective striker in the world, he achieved cult status at the club, whilst the image of him sliding across to the corner flag, topless, after netting a last minute winner in the dramatic 3-2 victory over West Brom in January 2013 is nothing less than iconic. </p>
<p id="zw6ZSL">Now 34 and plying his trade in his homeland for FC Tosno, Pogrebnyak has not played for the Russian national team since 2012 and he is unlikely to add to his 33 caps and eight goals anytime soon. </p>
<h2 id="gnNxwU">Saudi Arabia</h2>
<p id="uOyzU6">Had we been doing this piece a year ago we probably would have struggled for a Saudi Arabia link, but thanks to two transfers in the last 12 months, we have been saved. Speaking of being saved, goalkeeper Ali Al-Habsi rescued Reading on plenty of occasions before he departed to the Middle East last summer, joining Saudi Arabia’s most successful club team Al-Hilal. A two-time Player of the Year award winner, the Omani racked up 91 appearances for the Royals and a made a huge impact on and off the pitch – it could perhaps even be suggested that his absence was a reason for the team’s decline last season. </p>
<p id="gMwszZ">In January, winger Adrian Popa followed Al-Habsi to Saudi Arabia as he joined Al-Taawoun on loan. The Romanian had only been at Reading for a year having signed from Steaua Bucharest but found opportunities hard to come by in Berkshire, featuring just 16 times, scoring once. He made nine appearances in his spell in Saudi Arabia, and now only the summer will tell us if he has a future with the Royals.</p>
<h2 id="YUmhNp">Egypt</h2>
<p id="JvyCM2">Widely regarded as one of the greatest African footballers of all time (well, according to Wikipedia anyway), Mohamed Aboutrika achieved 103 caps for Egypt, scoring 38 goals before retiring in 2013. In addition, he helped his nation to win two African Cup of Nations crowns. </p>
<p id="tDsjMy">But what has he got to do with Reading? Well, back in November 2006, the Royals were <a href="https://www.getreading.co.uk/sport/other-sport/bolton-can-inspire-success-says-4260733">linked with a loan move</a> for Aboutrika, then 28, to bolster their options in midfield. The rumour came about whilst Aboutrika was playing for Egypt’s most successful club Al-Ahly, who he ended up winning seven league titles and five African Champions Leagues with, so it didn’t work out too badly for him either.</p>
<p id="VNcMQJ">He would hit the headlines again in January of this year, when it was announced that he had been added to a terror list in Egypt for his alleged links with the banned Muslim Brotherhood.</p>
<h2 id="uQgLPO">Uruguay</h2>
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<img alt="Reading v Liverpool - Premier League" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/CxUa3r8opTrR-N4hXLirfwbGLMU=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10782673/166656644.jpg.jpg">
<cite>Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images</cite>
</figure>
<p id="nPVyQ4">If in doubt when trying to find a Uruguay link, just find out something about Luis Suarez. And I have. The striker faced 26 different teams in the Premier League during his prolific time with Liverpool, failing to score against only four: Birmingham, Blackburn, Bolton* and, you’ve guessed it, the mighty Reading. </p>
<p id="6jdqp9">Suarez featured in the entirety of both of the Reds’ clashes with the Royals in 2012-13 but failed to put the ball past Alex McCarthy in either game. The academy graduate goalkeeper was in particularly inspired form in the fixture at the Madejski Stadium which ended 0-0, making a staggering ten saves in 90 minutes – four of which were to deny Suarez. In addition, the Uruguayan striker also had an effort cleared off the line by Chris Gunter. </p>
<p id="weAcBp"><em>*whilst this make look similar to the list of teams Reading battled relegation with last season, it is in fact not.</em></p>
https://thetilehurstend.sbnation.com/2018/6/6/17321096/reading-fc-royals-fifa-world-cup-links-group-a-russia-saudi-arabia-egypt-uruguay-luis-suarezOlly_Allen