Oh Steven Gerrard. Oh captain, my captain. What a game he had this weekend. Incisive passing, vision, he had it all. In one move, he sealed the fate of United and Benitez. Brilliant back pass. Best ever maybe. He’s had a quiet season by his standards, and that sublime backpass just might end up being one of his most significant contributions. Funny old game, football.
This is a tale that started in tears, carries on with tears, and barring a resumption of the age of miracles, will end in tears. Paul John Gascoigne’s tumultuous life has been tinged with unhappiness and misfortune since his humble beginnings in Newcastle when his demons first surfaced and football became his only refuge. His incredible skills would lift him to stardom, but he’ll be remembered as much for his outrageous antics as his astounding midfield play. (more…)
Tomorrow France, Portugal, Russia and Greece will be seeded in the playoffs to determine the final four European spots at the 2010 World Cup. The four nations will be paired against the four non-seeded teams—Ukraine, Ireland, Bosnia and Slovenia— and the qualification will be decided over a two-legged affair. We all recognize that there is no crime in seeding the four highest-ranked of the playoff teams as per the FIFA world rankings… I am just astonished there wasn’t uproar after FIFA decided to move the goalposts to favour influential European teams when creating seeds for at the last minute.
Governance » Outside the Lines
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With the recent news of Glasgow Celtic and Glasgow Rangers putting across their aspiration to exit the Scottish Premier League (SPL); the question is whether the ‘Old Firm’ should be allowed to join the Premier League. The soccer governing body FIFA says that both Scottish clubs could ‘hypothetically’ make the move to the English Premiership. Fact is that there are a number of football clubs that already play in leagues other than the ones governed by their own countries. Already a small number of Welsh teams such as Cardiff City, Swansea City. Wrexham, Newport County , Merthyr Tydfil and Colwyn Bay play in the English Leagues . So why can’t the Scottish clubs do the same thing the Welsh clubs are doing in England?
Over the past few months I have bitten my tongue with the whole notion of professional athletes going on Twitter.com, a website that asks one question, “What are you doing?” The answers must be under 140 characters in length and it’s a method for fans to keep up with their favourite “celebrities”. Everybody is talking about it. As a consequence I am really trying to find out why? Perhaps I’m a miserable cynical fool. Nevertheless I have no yearning to inform cyberspace with what exactly I’m doing at any given moment of the day. Nor do I feel as if much of it would want to know. And by the same indication, I really do not see the obligation in knowing what exactly my mates are doing at any capricious instant in the day. Really… if truth be told, it sounds a wee bit warped and grotesque if a mate felt inclined to enlighten me every bloody second of the day about their daily activities.
I was watching the Liverpool/Manchester United game earlier today in a pub with some friends of mine. At some stage during the match I noticed the camera concentrating on injured Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard and his wife sitting in the director’s box. A friend shouts out, “That is Alex Curran and what’s his face…. her man….. Gerrard… Steven G, right?” For a minute I thought she was pulling my leg.
Who can remember the smoldering heat of Mexico City’s Azteca Stadium, Argentina were already a goal up against England (due to divine intervention according to Argentinean folklore)…. In a sequence of outright mind-blowing passage of play, Diego Armando Maradona at the halfway waltzed, tangoed, foxtrotted and rumbaed his way past almost the entire England team to score what has since been selected the greatest goal in the history of football. He may be considered as one of the most disreputable figures in English sporting history, but the talent clearly was there for all to see. His vision, skill, speed and above all his endurance was the stuff of legends. He was born to play the game…
If you love perms or Didier Drogba, you’ll love the Les Éléphants shirt …
Spain is trying to conquer the world again. This time, they might succeed.
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