World Cup 2010
The year 2010 has certainly not been a favorite of Carlos Quieroz. Even if some had higher hopes, the World Cup run was met with the expected outcome for many – Spain and then done – but the rest has seemingly been one mess after another.
There was the shoving match with a journalist at [...]
FIFA has released its World Cup 2010 Technical Report in the form of a 9.28 megabyte pdf document. Which might sound impressive, but only if you haven’t read it. Because this thing is 289 pages of fluff, in four different languages.
The document basically contains a lot of pictures, a lot of over-simplifications, and a lot [...]
The German captaincy saga, threatening to derail a nation if simply through the wrath of Michael Ballack, will not be allowed its due end, though Jogi may be trying.
Jogi has declared that Michael Ballack is very much Germany’s captain, which would normally put the kibosh on matters. However, he hasn’t been called up and has [...]
Everyone anticipated that the World Cup would be a distraction, but the size of the distraction was vastly underestimated, and as a result online poker sites have seen their profits plummet.
Can we not all agree that online poker is the “distraction” and not the other way ’round? Poker’s nice and all, surely, but the World [...]
Though he could probably walk into any international midfield in the world save for Spain, it seems the nature of Zizou’s surprise showing at Clairefontaine was more training for his eventual political career – handshakes, photos, kissing babies, etc. – than training for a surprise return to the football pitch.
But given how the summer went [...]
It’s been nice, football sans vuvuzelae, hasn’t it? For most of us, anyway, and this surely goes double if you’re the sound engineer for a broadcasting company which pumps out football. (Nightmares of ambient noise and so forth.)
UEFA feels similarly and has done away with the devil seed for UEFA-sanctioned competition. A large battle in [...]
Euro 2012 qualifying gets underway in a few days, and – if you haven’t noticed already – the scheduling may come as something of a surprise. In a break from tradition, games will no longer follow the familiar Saturday afternoon/Wednesday evening pattern, but will instead be played on Friday and Tuesday evenings. The Tuesday games [...]
Though it may seem an occasion long since gone, yesterday brought forth a significant obit: the only player still remaining from the first World Cup final in 1930. Argentine Francisco Varallo passed away at the ripe young age of 100.
That first World Cup final was more than 80 years ago, and 75 or so [...]
Seems those recent Jürgen Klinsmann to coach USA rumours were as baseless as, well, as a story with no identifiable source. Because current coach Bob Bradley has now signed a contract extension to coach the US national team until the end of 2014. I know that this probably will not be popular with a vocal [...]
ESPN started a rumour this weekend, and I can’t help spreading it. Apparently Jürgen Klinsmann has been talking with U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati about replacing Bob Bradley as coach of the U.S. national team. That’s “according to a source with knowledge of the discussions” anyway. As opposed to a source with no knowledge of [...]
In England, it is not unusual for the private lives of football players to make the front pages of newspapers. Its not unusual for papers to print stories (alleging!) players are sending pornographic photos of themselves to random women across the country, engaging in extra-marital activities and impregnating numerous women along the way. [...]
The piece below – a piece rather than video – is a rather astonishing remake of the final 15 minutes, the penalties, of the semifinal between France and West Germany in 1982. Astonishing in its labor, nuanced accuracy and sheer simplicity. These are everyday people doing largely everyday things, movements which normally wouldn’t turn [...]
Footballer autobiographies can be found housed under the Dewey decimal system in the eight circle of hell. Where does that put autobiographies by the team doctors of famous teams? Hitchhiking to the ninth, I suppose.
The team doctor from France’s ‘98 World Cup win has made some fairly damning statements regarding the blood samples of France’s [...]
England and Russia are two of the front-runners to host World Cup 2018, and FIFA are in England this week assessing the English bid. I’m an England fan and therefore biased, but I’m now 100% sure Russia should not be hosting the World Cup eight years from now.
I have no idea how long the above [...]
When I heard that Paul the Octopus was recording an album titled Paul the Octopus Sings Elvis, I cried a little for the state of the world. But I also took comfort in the fact that this whole octopus thing had reached a firm upper limit of bizarreness. Because things don’t get any weirder or [...]
Most if not all, want to be loved and appreciated. Some even require it for the most basic of life’s relationships, be it personal, professional or otherwise.
Serbian coach Radomir Antic is no such man. Love him, hate him, cut his pay – it matters not. He’ll still coach your team. At least when he’s not [...]
Yesterday Daryl pondered whether or not Nicolas Anelka’s international is over. Nicolas has weighed in on the subject himself, apparently being banned from Disqus as well as Les Bleus, going with the well-worn but undoubtedly effective “you can’t fire me, I quit!” – but probably in French.
In other words: nothing’s changed since June.
Anelka’s response:
“Who told [...]
There are two things Michael Ballack doesn’t do:
i. Win tournament finals.
ii. Give up the German captaincy without a fight. Or a half-Nelson.
When Ballack went down before the World Cup, the band was handed over to that 12 year old fullback from Munich and with a good bit of success, in the process deciding he doesn’t [...]
Little Lionel received something of a mixed bag this summer over his performance. He was undeniably brilliant throughout much of it, overshadowed by no one heading into the quarterfinals, but then was taken out of the game against Germany, largely attributed to Jogi Loew’s tactical abilities and Diego Maradona’s lack of the very same.
The critics [...]
The French Football Federation has handed down punishments to the players involved in the infamous World Cup 2010 revolt. Big loser is Monsieur Nicolas Anelka, who started the whole thing by suggesting that coach Raymond Domenech do something anatomically impossible during halftime of the 2-0 defeat to Mexico.
Anelka received an 18 game ban from the [...]
Though the World Cup is no stranger to structural changes – 18 World Cups, 18 World Cup rulebooks, it seems – the announcement that FIFA may eliminate draws for the World Cup is still a thumping headline for an organization which has balked at some much desired rule changes recently.
FIFA president Sepp Blatter says [...]
It feels like just yesterday Spain were dominating possession, peppering balls towards the opposition’s box and keeping the Spanish public on edge right until the very end. Probably because it was just yesterday, but it also feels like the World Cup ended yesterday too.
Time to turn the page. International friendlies made their return, but so [...]
David Beckham’s England career, which began way back in 1996 against Moldova (call-up photo with then England manager Glenn Hoddle is to your left) received its notice of termination from Fabio Capello yesterday.
Not a huge surprise. Beckham is 35 years old and won’t be any younger by the time Euro 2012 gets here, and the [...]
These friendlies mean nothing, the goals even less and there is certainly no real ‘controversy’, but the nature of the one goal England conceded can only conjure up a laugh the very same day Sepp Blatter confirmed FIFA’s curious eye towards goal-line technology.
It certainly looks as though the whole ball never crossed the line entirely, [...]
Ladies and gentlemen, meet the new Brazil. After the more pragmatic and less exciting Dunga years (an approach which won the Copa America and Confederations Cup, but failed at World Cup 2010) new coach Mano Menezes seems to have his team playing the way we all – rightly or wrongly – expect Brazil to play. [...]
With the various European league seasons about to start, and the USA about to play Brazil in a friendly in New Jersey, the Total Football Soccer Show podcast (broadcast on WRIR 97.3FM, and published as a podcast here on WCB/The Offside) takes a look at American players in Europe, and who we think looks set [...]
Whether the various domestic leagues – and Harry Redknapp – like it or not, this is an official FIFA international week. This Tuesday and Wednesday, much of the world’s national teams will be in action. World Cup 2010 is in the history books, and the time for rebirth and rebuilding is about to begin. For [...]
At the World Cup this summer, both England and France fans were dealt some disappointing blows. Sure, the details of what happened in the squads may be different. Arguably, what happened to France was by far worse. While England merely fizzled out (with a few sparks-both good and bad) during the tournament, France exploded. I [...]
Houllier’s lack of class this time definitely did not get a thumbs up from me…
Well, if you are a France fan, you might replace “entertain” with “mortify” or “embarrass.” A number of dramatic and laughable incidents have continued to emerge from the French Football Federation (FFF) headquarters- proving that replacing former President Escalettes (who “voluntarily” [...]
If you had to guess the most sustainable, greenest stadium in the world, you might understandably assume it was one of the new ones, one of those towering behemoths built for a recent World Cup or Olympics. After all, environmental concerns are certainly a bigger part of planning a new stadium now than they [...]
Jermaine Jones has never been afraid of a bit of controversy. In 2004, he took a fairly softball question, “Are there any gay footballers in the Bundesliga?” (Easy answer: I don’t know) and turned it into a major story when he answered “Hopefully not”. Classy. He’s also somewhat infamous for his relationship, [...]
One of the perks of winning the Golden Ball is having an invite list so long it requires an assistant whose sole task is to RSVP. State dinners, talk shows, groupie debriefing – he’s up for it all.
Diego Forlan’s list also includes kicking off football matches before slowly sauntering off the field, entirely unable to [...]
Last we checked in with Paul he’d just snapped himself up a Mr. 15%. That agent, Chris Davis, appears to be working overtime, with his most insane project to date on the docket.
“There are books being written, a range of octopus toys are coming out this Christmas and there is even a new iPhone app.
“One [...]
The soap opera that is Argentina’s head coaching position will not cease its turbulent plot twists and he said/he said. The latest development is one which no one is likely to have seen coming after all the comments hurled from The Bearded One.
The door has been left open for his return.
“If Diego comes and talks, [...]
A historic milestone was hit in the world of Twitter: 20 billion short little bursts, 19.9 of which belong to Darren Bent.
But in the process of learning about Twitterstones, we’ve found this surprising little nugget:
Twitter’s popularity in Japan has soared in the past year with the company estimating that the Japanese send about [...]
Most of the cats who stepped away from the international game in wake of World Cup 2010 were lacking in one key ingredient: effectiveness. There are, of course, exceptions, such as Gio van Bronckhorst, who pulled a half-Zizou and stepped away from the game entirely in the final.
The list of retirees we now know does [...]
With the U20 Women’s World Cup added to their list of titles, Germany may now rival Spain for the title of most successful summer in football. The Spanish side, which won the men’s World Cup and appeared in the U19 European Championship Final (before losing to France), has received widespread attention for their countries sporting [...]
Spain and France, arguably the most dominant teams in the tournament, met on Friday to determine the winner of the U19 European Championship. Going into the final, the hosts (France) had been consistently impressive- beating the Netherlands (4-1) and Austria (5-0) in their first two matches and then Croatia 2-1 in the semifinals. Only a [...]
Life as a player for the North Korean national team is probably pretty difficult as it stands what with living through that 7-0 to Portugal and a much improved 3-0 loss in their final two games. Their passion for the motherland combined with their pride as athletes surely took a belting hit as they headed [...]
Riley is a big fan of the BBC show Top Gear. So he knows a sweet car when he see’s one. In South Africa, we saw an amazing number of high end auto’s. Here are a few pics.
