The wives and girlfriends of the England players could have a ready made excuse not to bother with South Africa next summer once they see the pictures of England's possible base.
Coping without Harvey Nicholls for a few weeks could be traumatic – but at least the WAGs won’t have to travel by train. Here’s what awaits anyone who needs a free trip to the match and is prepared to put up with a little discomfort on the way.
Patrick Vieira is outraged by French manager Raymond Domenech's failure to pick him for the forthcoming play offs against the Republic of Ireland. Talk about having a high opinion of yourself. On this evidence Vieira must have a permanent nosebleed. No wonder he struggles to get games at Inter.
New South Africa manager Carlos Alberto Parreira was in confident mood at his first press conference. While he thinks his team can progress from the group stages, how they will fair against the assorted members of the animal kingdom he seems to think they might face later in the competition is anyone’s guess.
And here’s an excellent profile of a player who amassed over 100 caps for his country – and introduced us all to the Blanco Hop. If you haven’t seen it before, take a look at this and other fancy footwork from the 2002 World Cup at the YouTube screen.
06/11/2009
05/11/2009
Latest World Cup betting
Want to know how the bookies view the current World Cup betting? Ask Ed.
The latest revelation from the ‘Soccernomics’ book by Simon Kuper caught my eye this morning. So how did a nation covered in snow for most of the year become the most soccer mad?
Here’s an interesting article picking up on a visit to South Africa by Oliver Holt, sports columnist for the Daily Mirror.
Athletico Madrid striker Sergio Aguero is married to Diego Maradona’s daughter, Giannina. This year the couple had their first child, prompting wild speculation about the baby’s footballing prowess and causing Chelsea to launch a pre-emptive bid which only failed because of FIFA’s anti-foetus selling policies. So the West London club is now chasing the dad instead, presumably so they can put him out to stud.
And there’s great news for Scottish fans missing out on the World Cup finals. They can converge in the Highlands for “battle re-enactments by clan organisations; performances by Keepy Uppy King, Graeme Lightbody; a march through Aviemore by the Tartan Army; a Highland Games and a kilted five-a-side football tournament”. The event starts around the same time as the quarter finals. Organisers are hoping for a repeat of the Cairngorm Hotel party in 2006 when 2,000 fans saw England lose on penalties to Portugal.
The latest revelation from the ‘Soccernomics’ book by Simon Kuper caught my eye this morning. So how did a nation covered in snow for most of the year become the most soccer mad?
Here’s an interesting article picking up on a visit to South Africa by Oliver Holt, sports columnist for the Daily Mirror.
Athletico Madrid striker Sergio Aguero is married to Diego Maradona’s daughter, Giannina. This year the couple had their first child, prompting wild speculation about the baby’s footballing prowess and causing Chelsea to launch a pre-emptive bid which only failed because of FIFA’s anti-foetus selling policies. So the West London club is now chasing the dad instead, presumably so they can put him out to stud.
And there’s great news for Scottish fans missing out on the World Cup finals. They can converge in the Highlands for “battle re-enactments by clan organisations; performances by Keepy Uppy King, Graeme Lightbody; a march through Aviemore by the Tartan Army; a Highland Games and a kilted five-a-side football tournament”. The event starts around the same time as the quarter finals. Organisers are hoping for a repeat of the Cairngorm Hotel party in 2006 when 2,000 fans saw England lose on penalties to Portugal.
04/11/2009
How much will LA Galaxy miss David Beckham?
The absence of World Cup wannabee David Beckham might not affect LA Galaxy as much as fans and pundits have suggested, according to this article.
Sunderland’s recent freak goal against Liverpool, when a wayward shot cannoned off a beach ball and wrong footed keeper Pepe Reina, was widely condemned as an aberration. So how should referees at next year’s World Cup finals react to this story?
Not content with annoying fans everywhere with his perplexing mix of fabulous skills and grass hugging tendencies, Cristiano Ronaldo is now set to take on George Foreman with his own version of the sporting grill. I’m not kidding.
The debate on the legacy of the 2010 World Cup for South Africa continues, courtesy of a new diary from The Guardian.
And as Bosnia prepare for the World Cup play off games against Portugal, ESPN talks to coach Miroslav Blazevic about a player who escaped with his mother and sister to Holland during the conflict which ravaged the Balkans from 1992 – 95. Sadly, Haris Medunjanin’s father was killed, one of many reasons why Radovan Karadzic will probably never leave prison alive.
Sunderland’s recent freak goal against Liverpool, when a wayward shot cannoned off a beach ball and wrong footed keeper Pepe Reina, was widely condemned as an aberration. So how should referees at next year’s World Cup finals react to this story?
Not content with annoying fans everywhere with his perplexing mix of fabulous skills and grass hugging tendencies, Cristiano Ronaldo is now set to take on George Foreman with his own version of the sporting grill. I’m not kidding.
The debate on the legacy of the 2010 World Cup for South Africa continues, courtesy of a new diary from The Guardian.
And as Bosnia prepare for the World Cup play off games against Portugal, ESPN talks to coach Miroslav Blazevic about a player who escaped with his mother and sister to Holland during the conflict which ravaged the Balkans from 1992 – 95. Sadly, Haris Medunjanin’s father was killed, one of many reasons why Radovan Karadzic will probably never leave prison alive.
03/11/2009
Beckham to Milan shock
This is of course the most heavily trailed story since the last time David Beckham moved to Milan from LA Galaxy. And the details are much the same as last time. The move will keep Beckham in shape. Milan gets a charismatic leader for a few months. Frenzied speculation about His place in the World Cup squad will be fed by Italian TV shots of our man taking free kicks and hugging Clarence Seedorf. WHEN WILL IT STOP?
It’s almost as if they hadn’t noticed until recently, then the news provoked a mass scramble to the engravers for some last minute touches. This is the announcement that The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (aka North Korea, aka paranoid half-starved nuclear fledgling wacko state) has finally acknowledged its team’s success on the football field. That or they think most are about to retire after years of service cleaning the Great Leader’s toilets.
Here’s what I understand to be the official FIFA trailer for the World Cup. Lots of shots of kids kicking a ball around before we move on to some of the best goals from Germany 2006. And it’s all accompanied by a hauntingly familiar soundtrack which begs one question: is Michael Jackson alive?
‘Soccernomics’ is the new book by football author Simon Kuper. Watch out for some of the most unsurprising “surprising” findings ever revealed in a football book. My favourite? “Avoid the urge to acquire players after big international tournaments because you are likely to overpay”. You can’t go wrong with this and other startling revelations.
It’s almost as if they hadn’t noticed until recently, then the news provoked a mass scramble to the engravers for some last minute touches. This is the announcement that The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (aka North Korea, aka paranoid half-starved nuclear fledgling wacko state) has finally acknowledged its team’s success on the football field. That or they think most are about to retire after years of service cleaning the Great Leader’s toilets.
Here’s what I understand to be the official FIFA trailer for the World Cup. Lots of shots of kids kicking a ball around before we move on to some of the best goals from Germany 2006. And it’s all accompanied by a hauntingly familiar soundtrack which begs one question: is Michael Jackson alive?
‘Soccernomics’ is the new book by football author Simon Kuper. Watch out for some of the most unsurprising “surprising” findings ever revealed in a football book. My favourite? “Avoid the urge to acquire players after big international tournaments because you are likely to overpay”. You can’t go wrong with this and other startling revelations.
02/11/2009
This is what happens when you don't have a World Cup song
From Back Home to World in Motion the World Cup song is as much a part of our national DNA as curry or sticking two fingers up to the French. So why has Fabio Capello announced he and his team won’t have anything to do with an official England World Cup song? OK, he’s Italian, so Capello has an excuse, but you’d think someone in the FA would know such rash behaviour only encourages Coldplay fans to do this?
Judging by some of the options the battle to name one of next year’s World Cup stadiums was fought out between twelve-year-olds reading comic books and geography professors. I think they made the right choice.
The atmosphere surrounding the fast approaching World Cup clash between Egypt and Algeria is turning uglier by the day. Strap yourself in for a tale of North African rivalry featuring a website hacker acting “In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful”.
And Diego Maradona has taken a good hard look at the stats and the players he chooses before realising one probably deserves a recall to the squad. For some reason the scorer of this goal didn’t play in Argentina’s last eight World Cup qualifiers. Perhaps Maradona was looking the other way when Cambiasso scored this goal in 2006:
Judging by some of the options the battle to name one of next year’s World Cup stadiums was fought out between twelve-year-olds reading comic books and geography professors. I think they made the right choice.
The atmosphere surrounding the fast approaching World Cup clash between Egypt and Algeria is turning uglier by the day. Strap yourself in for a tale of North African rivalry featuring a website hacker acting “In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful”.
And Diego Maradona has taken a good hard look at the stats and the players he chooses before realising one probably deserves a recall to the squad. For some reason the scorer of this goal didn’t play in Argentina’s last eight World Cup qualifiers. Perhaps Maradona was looking the other way when Cambiasso scored this goal in 2006:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)