Soccer Improved

Read More...

Tags: Bitches, Soccer Game// Category Soccer Game // Add Comment »

Read More...

Tags: 2002 World Cup Soccer, Nike Commercial, World Cup Soccer// Category World Cup Soccer // Add Comment »

Disappointment, disbelief and great personal loss the summary of my emotions, of the day that was Saturday the 1st of July 2006, the day Brazil was knocked out of the greatest show on earth and a tragedy that would change my life significantly. There are some things in life that we least expect, yet they surprise us by happening. Brazil, the best team, favorites and defending champions, were knocked out by their old nemesis and 1998 World Cup Champions France. Happened in 1986, 1998 and 2006, Platini in 1986 and later Zidane in 1998 and again in 2006.

Zidane will always be remembered for his 1998 World Cup Final against Brazil and even more so for his head butt against Italy in 2006. The Brazilian's will always resent "Zizou" for showing Brazil the door and the French supporters will rue his headbutt. A single player had the ability to keep the best team at bay, not once but twice. Everybody thought he was finished but he showed his critics, "Form is temporary, class is permanent!" Unfortunately for Zidane he got too big for his head. One of the greatest comebacks in football was marred by one act of rage.

A day of great loss to my family and me, the unbelievable was happening around us. England had been knocked out, yet again not with their stars not playing close to their potential or for that matter the worth of the salaries they get in the Premier League. Brazil and France were very evenly matched; I had a feeling one mistake or one act of brilliance could be the result of the match. Still in shock as life for my family and me would never be the same, I was driving listening to the commentary on the radio and heard Henry had scored for France. There was already enough disbelief on my mind but my hands went up in disappointment as I knew that that was the end of the road for Brazil.

End of the road, ironic is the only way that my emotions could be described as it was also the end of the road for a Brazilian fan in shock of their loss to France and the end of an era for my family. Though being worried about football was the last thing that made sense at such trying times, I suppose it served as a way to express the shock and disappointment.

The end of an era signals the beginning of a new one and the rise of Italy from the football match fixing scandal in 1982 and now in 2006 where clubs like Juventus and Lazio were relegated as a punishment to the second division to win the World Cup after their triumph in 1982 and utter disappointment in the missed penalty of Baggio in the 1994, Totti in 2006 heralded a new era for the Italians showing great tenacity in the face of adversity.

ProVFX Editing School has been written by Pranay Rupani who is a Freelance Writer.


Read More...

Tags: Brazil Soccer, Brazilian Fan, Brazilian Soccer// Category World Cup Soccer // Add Comment »

The qualifying rounds are a process for national football soccer, with teams competing to enter the final football world cup. This year, 31 teams will be chosen for the final 2010 FIFA World Cup to be held in South Africa along with the host team.

A total of 200 teams have entered in the qualifying rounds to compete for one of the 31 places for the final World Cup. These teams play in their own continents, at a national level and the tournaments are held within the six FIFA continental zones, namely Africa, Asia, North America, Central America and Caribbean, South America, Oceania and Europe. A pre decided number of spots is reserved for teams from each of these FIFA Continental Zones. In 2010, 5 spots have been allocated for Africa, with 1 spot reserved for the Host team. Asia got 4.5 spots, with Oceania getting 0.5 spots. Europe got the most spots allocated this year which are 13, and North and Central America and Caribbean getting 3.5, with South America getting 4.5 spots.

The number of teams entering from each continent includes 53 from Africa, 43 from Asia, 11 from Oceania, 53 from Europe, 35 from North and Central America and Caribbean and 10 from South America. This makes the total entrants this year to be 205, with South Africa qualifying as the hosts. They will compete on the CAF qualifying rounds for the FIFA World Cup 2010, making them the first hosts to compete in the World Cup since 1934.

The February fixtures will be held on 11 February 2009, with 10 different qualifying matches taking place between different teams. These include USA vs. Mexico, Iran vs. Korean Republic, Korea DPR vs. Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan vs. Bahrain, El Salvador vs. Trinidad and Tobago, Japan vs. Australia, Malta vs. Albania, Ireland vs. Georgia, Costa Rica vs. Honduras, and San Mario vs. Northern Ireland.

The next qualifying rounds are scheduled to take place from 28 March 2009 to 1 April 2009, then from 6 June to 10 June 2009, 20 June to 21 June 2009, 5 September to 9 September 2009, 10 October to 14 October 2009 and then the final qualifying rounds will take place from 14 November to 18 November 2009, with the final soccer results for the qualifying rounds being announced on 19 November 2009.

These qualifying teams will play in the 19th FIFA World Cup to be held in 2010. This big soccer and football event will take place between 11 June and 11 July 2010, in South Africa and will be held at 10 different venues in 9 different cities. Stay in touch with all soccer results for these qualifying soccer fixtures for FIFA World Cup 2010.


Read More...

Tags: Africa Asia, Continents, Korean Republic// Category World Cup Soccer // Add Comment »

Yet another Soccer World Cup is around the corner. World Cup Qualifying Matches are in full swing and fan’s frenzy has already started building up and most of the football freaks must have already booked their travel packages for their much awaited soccer trip. 2010 Soccer World Cup is expected to be one of the most spectacular events of this most loved and widely played game in the world. The world has already witnessed some dramatic results in the 2010 Soccer World Cup Qualifying Matches recently. Australians were the underdogs for many years but this time they are all set to have back to back appearances in the upcoming world cup. They are on the verge of qualifying and must have started planning for their soccer travel too. But may be Argentina has other plans, the way they are playing it seems they have plans of booking some other travel packages. Chances are they won’t be there for playing but they can always register there appearance as tourists in the picturesque South Africa. After all the country has something or the other for anyone visiting this proud nation which is honored to host the Grand Event for the very first time.

Even though people who are least interested in the game have found another reason to get their travel packages booked well in advance as bookings for the soccer travel are already on a high for South Africa. South Africa is one of the most diverse and beautiful countries in the world. This is one of the reasons why people who won’t be watching any football matches are queuing up for bookings under soccer travel packages fearing they are not left behind in the rush and perhaps for while they would be unconventional football fans having an unexpected soccer trip to Africa. But nobody is complaining and there is no reason to. People are taking full advantage of various soccer travel packages on offer. So, this time around the whole world seems to be preparing for its “soccer trip” to South Africa.

There is every reason why one should spent a bit over budget on his travel packages. This glorious country has so much to offer that even if your teams or players didn’t do well, your hard earned money spent on soccer travel packages won’t go down the drain. Whether you are looking for a wildlife, beach or adventure holiday with family, it is all there. So your dream soccer trip cannot just end at the soccer stadiums. African Safari must find its place on your soccer travel destinations.

And your soccer trip just doesn’t end there. You must book your soccer travel packages for the iconic and adventurous Kruger Park. A visit at the Garden Route would be memorable which is spread out along the coast, like a giant natural theme park, it is a rich tapestry of very large trees, freshwater lakes etc. It won’t be a bad idea if your soccer trip also includes a visit at Devil’s Peak in Cape Town, Nature Reserves of St. Lucia and Drakensberg in Durban and Shamwari Game Reserve in Port Elizabeth to say the least but South Africa has far more to it what you can imagine and it is up to you, how much you can add to your soccer trip. One thing is assured that your 2010 soccer trip to this glorious country of South Africa would be one you would cherish for the rest of your life.

For More information on World Cup 2010 Packages or Soccer Tickets and Travel Packages for any major soccer tournaments or matches across the world visit: www.worldfootballtravel.com


Read More...

Tags: Australians, Football Fans, Full Swing// Category Soccer Game // Add Comment »

Every four years a World Cup will come along and occupy a football fan's thoughts and time for weeks. Game after game, the best footballers in the world will parade their skills in front of thousands at the stadium and millions watching on the TV back in their homes.

Players

Players generally make the World Cup what it is. If there were not great players we would certainly not be watching this tournament in the vast numbers that we do. In previous World Cup finals we have seen the emergence of some great talents, talents that we would not normally be able to see.

History

Which players did the world discover after displaying their skills in previous World Cups? There would be far too greats many to be able to list in detail and there has always has always been heated discussions about who is the greatest player of all time, with two players always at the forefront of the debate.

Lets look at these players' credentials.

Diego Armando Maradona [Argentina]

[World Cup Honours : 1982, 1986 (winner), 1990 (2nd), 1994]

Maradona is a flawed genius, no-one has ever had his sublime talents and been able to hit the self destruct button with such great effect. Never before has a player been credited with winning the World Cup trophy single handed as he did in Mexico 1986. Even in the infamous 1986 quarter final and scoring what is widely regarded the best goal that has ever been scored in the Finals. After picking the ball up in his own half he managed to dribble hi way through a quality England side before slotting the ball past Peter Shilton, the England keeper on the day.

The Argentinean team that he played with in this tournament were all excellent players but possibly not quite good enough to lift the trophy. However, with Maradona at the height of his powers there could only be one team that could possibly win.

Maradona also helped his nation to the final of the World Cup in 1990 in Italy and only lost to a German penalty scored by Andy Brehme.

However, after failing a drug test in 1991 his career was on a downhill path and then came his final appearance on the greatest stage in the game of football.

In 1994, the World Cup in USA when he scored in Argentina's first game against Greece anyone that watched his celebration knew that it was not only adreneline that powered the little magician. Eyes glaring into the camera, the hearts of all Argentineans knew that drugs were fuelling their talismanic captain. A drug test followed and the inevitable positive result ended Maradona's tournament and effectively his career.

Edson Arantes do Nascimento - Pele

[World Cup honours : 1958 (winner), 1962 (winner), 1966, 1970 (winner)]

The only similarity between Pele and Maradona is that they hail from the same continent. Pele was the original World superstar, enjoying a career that can be regarded as a being a model professional.

Pele's credentials are there for all to see, he set up goals, he was an instrumental leader on and off the field and he also scored goals. In fact the amount of goals that he scored is a substantial feat in itself.

His record is phenomenal, scoring five goals in a game six times, four goals 30 times and three goals 90 times. These are numbers the modern player can never dream of matching. In his illustrious playing career he scored a stunning total of 1283 goals. In his international career he scored an amazing 77 goals in 92 appearances. However, there was much more to Pele than ‘just' goals.

He will also be remembered as being the only player in history for winning the world Cup on three occasions, a feat that is unlikely to ever be repeated. Only an injury in 1966 in England stopped him from possibly winning the World Cup on four consecutive occasions, allowing a fine England side to become World Champions for the first time.

He was captain of the greatest team of all time, the 1970 Brazil side that won the tournament so convincingly in Mexico. Anyone who has watched the final game of that tournament, which Brazil defeated Italy by four goals to one, will be amazed at the skill and vision of the original total footballing side.

Given that Pele hung his playing boots up over 20 years ago and is still revered by football fans that never saw him in his prime is testament to the great man's passion and skill for the greatest game of all.

Many others have graced the greatest tournament that is the World Cup, but both of the players named above are by far heralded as the greatest two. But who would make the top ten complete?

Gordon Banks, Eusebio, Puskas, Zinedine Zidane, Michel Platini, Franz Beckenbauer, Garrincha and the Johann Cruyff to name but a few. In fact many modern day critics may have Cruyff as the greatest modern player, a player who helped to mould the game into the style of play that you see today.

Then there are players that did not manage to show their talents in the World Cup, the most notable being the late, great George Best from Northern Ireland. The other most notable absentee is Alfredo Di Stefano. There are actually many Latin Americans that would hail the ‘Blonde Arrow' Di Stefano as the greatest player that the world has ever seen.

Among those still playing, Czech Republic playmaker Pavel Nedved, of Juventus, Manchester United's Dutch predator Ruud van Nistelrooy and Ukrainian goal-machine Andrey Shevchenko, of AC Milan, would top the list. But all three will appear at Germany 2006, barring late injuries, and will probably write some new headlines too.

We look forward to this year's event with great enthusiasm and hopefully it will be remembered as being one of the greatest tournaments of all time. Let us all hope!


Read More...

Tags: Best Footballers In The World, Dribble, Hi Way// Category World Cup Soccer // Add Comment »