Archive for the ‘International’ Category

2011 FIFA Puskas Award

Monday, December 5th, 2011
Messi scores vs Arsenal

FIFA and France Football’s separate ‘world player’ awards merged in a startling union of cooperate filth-slinging last year and we’ve had to come to terms with it over the last 12 months. Surely now, we’re all over it. In fact we should be over lots of things. Maybe Joey Barton being a footballer will settle in at some point. Maybe England being rubbish at penalties will be taught in schools and maybe, just maybe,Barcelona’s Lionel Messi won’t win everything this year. Of course, some things we do not accept and I should think because of that universal condition, the little Argentinian will. Of course that is just one award and this year, Messi, his team-mate Xavi and Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo have been nominated. Who will be crowned ‘The Best Player in The World EVER… for a year until next year when we’ll choose another one who will probably just be one of these three again!’

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…So, Manchester then?

Monday, August 29th, 2011

Photobucket

You can’t help but think you’ve been dragged into some kind of peculiar alternate dimension, can you? When in Odin’s eye did both Manchester clubs look so good? When, at only game three of the season, have both Manchester clubs looked so aggressively brilliant and skilled? When, has a hair transplant ever looked at good as Wayne Rooney’s? Stephen Ireland tried it at Manchester City and obviously the Sheikh Mansour view was that it wasn’t classy enough so he ended up at Aston Villa. It was a sign.

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Brazil legend Socrates in hospital

Thursday, August 25th, 2011

Socrates in his playing days

Brazilian legend and icon midfielder Socrates is recovering a Sao Paulo hospital after suffering a stomach haemorrhage. The former Corinthians man played 60 times for Brazil and notched up 22 goals for ‘A Seleção’. He was also part of what has been famously known as ‘the best side not to win the World Cup’ when he took to the field in the 1982 World Cup finals in Spain. Brazil were eliminate 3-2 by eventual winners Italy following an epic Paulo Rossi hat trick. Pele named Socrates in 2004 as one of the top living footballers of all time.

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Gareth Bale Transfer: I could play abroad

Monday, April 4th, 2011

Gareth Bale

Tottenham Hotspur and Wales Winger Gareth Bale has admitted that he would have ‘no qualms’ about moving abroad if the lure of a Real Madrid or Barcelona came about. Wales have not qualified for a World Cup finals since the days of legendary Leeds and Juventus forward John Charles – when he led his nation to the quarter finals of the 1958 tournament, only to lose to a single goal against Brazil. Bale is Wales’ greatest talent since the emergence of Ryan Giggs nearly two decades ago and has been unplayable at times this season.

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Victory over Denmark a sign of the future

Wednesday, February 9th, 2011

It’s that time of year again. England win a friendly to rid the ghost of a humiliating defeat in their previous outing and all of a sudden they are world beaters again. While this is massively removed from the truth, there were plenty of positives to take from the 2-1 victory over an impressive Denmark.

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Qatar World Cup 2022 could be held in Winter

Saturday, December 18th, 2010
Zidane Qatar bid

There is widespread concern that the 2022 World Cup scheduled to be held in Qatar could be moved to the winter months due to the hostile Qatari weather conditions. June and July are considered to be the hottest months of the years, with temperatures set to rise to 50 degrees Celsius. FIFA president Sepp Blatter has also revealed, surprising since he was reported to have voted for Qatar, that the heat could ‘prove too great a handicap’.

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England in pole position for 2018 World Cup bid

Wednesday, November 17th, 2010

World Cup Statistics can reveal that 1966 World Cup winners England are in pole position to host the 2018 World Cup finals – 52 years after hosting their last World Cup. The one time winners chance of hosting the World Cup in eight years time will be boosted by the publication tomorrow of technical reports, by FIFA, which will categorise the bid as a low legal risk with a high potential financial return. However, it isn’t all rosy for England as it is also expected to highlight four contractual areas where government guarantees are not currently met.

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Bob Bradley signs new contract with US team

Tuesday, August 31st, 2010

Bob Bradley

USA coach Bob Bradley has agreed to stay on as national team coach for another four years, which includes the 2014 World Cup, U.S. Soccer said this week. The 52-year-old, who steered the U.S. to the last sixteen at this year’s World Cup finals in South Africa where they were eliminated by Ghana, will retain the job until the end of 2014 after agreeing to a four-year contract extension. This announcement puts an end to the widespread rumours linking Bradley with the vacant position at Aston Villa.

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World Cup 2010 Review

Sunday, July 11th, 2010

Spain trophy

This tournament has been historic. It will always be remembered as the first World Cup to go to Africa, in particular, to South Africa – a country that has suffered so much oppression, that has fought to show the world that it is safe and that has shown the world that white people and black people are co-existing in peace.

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Schweinsteiger inspires as Germany march on

Saturday, July 3rd, 2010

Bastien Schweinsteiger

Germany put in a professional, resolute and quite simply spectacular performance as Joachim Löw’s tactical nous shined through in the 4-0 victory over Argentina. The 1954, 1974 and 1990 World Cup winners were devastating in as they defended narrowly and vigilantly against an Argentinian side who evidently lacked any real creativity as Messi was stifled throughout. The little Argentinian genius leaves the greatest International tournament without finding the back of the net, however the reliance on Messi in a 4-3-1-2 formation by Maradona was surely a burden that the Barcelona number ten didn’t need when things clearly weren’t working.

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