Posts Tagged ‘soccer’

USA’s Best Players For The World Cup

Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010

England, Slovenia, and Algeria should be sitting up a little straighter today because the United States has now qualified for the World Cup finals, beating out the recently defeated Mexico and World Cup victors Italy.  Bob Bradley’s team are hopeful of progressing beyond the first phase of the competition for the first time since 2002 and to do so, they are going to have to rely on the performances of some key players.

Landon Donovan              (Los Angeles Galaxy)                     123 caps               42 goals

Donovan must be considered as America’s primary weapon in the finals.  The boisterous winger, known for being outspoken, has already engaged in conflicts with David Beckham while Beckham played at LA Galaxy.  However, despite that, Donovan is the best player in the 2010 USA soccer jersey. The way that Donovan’s trademark technique, speed, and ability to control the ball with ease to score goals will make him a key player for the United States.

Oguchi Onyewu               (AC Milan)                                          54 caps                 5 goals

Injury put a premature end to Onyewu’s first season in Serie A with Milan after seven successful seasons in Belgian football with Metz, La Louviere and most notably of all, Standard Liege.  Oneyewu, the tall, strong defender that is making other teams take notice of the US national team, first signed with Milan last July, with high hopes after winning two titles for Standard in the Belgian league.  Despite his injury problems in 2009-2010, which restricted Onyewu to just one appearance for Milan in Serie A, the powerful defender will hopefully be fully fit to provide a key link in the United States defensive line at the World Cup finals this summer.

Tim Howard                       (Everton)                                             51 caps                 0 goals

Bob Bradley has had much to celebrate as Tim Howard gained notoriety as one of the top goalkeepers in the Premier League.  After an uninspiring spell with Manchester United, Howard moved to Everton, initially on loan, in May 2006 and such was his impact that Everton made the signing permanent in 2007.  Howard has not looked back since, being constantly named as one of the Premier League’s best goalkeepers and even earning the best goalkeeper award in the 2009 Confederations Cup tournament in South Africa, beating Italy’s Gigi Buffon, Spain’s Iker Casillas and Brazil’s Julio Cesar to the award.

 

Clint Dempsey                  (Fulham)                                             62 caps                 18 goals

Both Dempsey and Fulham rejoiced after a radiant 2009-2010 season, that included Dempsey’s extraordinary chipped winner that resulted in a ride into the Europa League semi-final in the lead of Juventus.  A clever striker or winger, Dempsey has the happy knack of being able to score crucial goals at crucial times, both for his club and his country.   With Dempsey and Donovan complementing each other’s play, the US will see improved attacks in the future.

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Why England Soccer Competition Causes Injuries At Crucial TImes

Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010

Just days before the World Cup starts and Rio Ferdinand, Manchester United and England captain, has been ruled out of the competition after sustaining a knee ligament injury during training.

 

Is Ferdinand’s injury just a result of misfortune? Some may point to Ferdinand’s injury hit season being proof that something like this was almost inevitable for the United star, others have been quick to state that it is the old “injury jinx” striking again just before a major finals event.

I believe that the luck theory is less than accurate and that the reason that top players get injured before donning  the official England jersey is most likely due to the repetitive strain of the sheer number of matches that the team faces in a single season.

If you are playing for a top side, who have qualified for Europe, then you can expect to participating in four competitions each season.  The Premier League, The Champions League or Europa Cup, The FA Cup and the Carling Cup. That doesn’t include the plethora of pre-season friendlies or the 6-10 international games that occur before, during and after the season.

As well as playing a lot of games, England plays games with a high degree of intensity. England is unique in that it plays games at an intensity and speed which is injury inducing.  Even accounting for squad rotation and players not playing in FA Cup or Carling Cup ties, many top players will be playing 40-50 very tough games a season, not to mention training.

This type of labour has dire consequences on the body of player. Injuries are unavoidable with this kind of consistent strain.

For proof, look no further than England’s National team. We’ve already had to lament the loss of Rio Ferdinand, Bobby Zamora, Owen Hargreaves, and Michael Owen from the World Cup tournament, a very sad fact, considering that they are all great players. Capello eliminated Theo Wolcott After his game performance suffered due to an injured shoulder that he sustained in 2008 match against Stroke. 

The players on the team that are fit, didn’t get that way easily Ledly King keeps his knees in top shape by utilizing a specialist trainer. David James, Glen Johnson, Joe Cole, Ashley Cole, Steven Gerrard, Aaron Lennon and most worryingly of all Wayne Rooney have all recently recovered from injury. People like Gareth Barry will be missing the first game of the World Cup finals against the United States.  Then of course there is David Beckham, who’s body finally gave up a couple of months ago after almost two constant years of soccer with LA Galaxy and Milan, when an Achilles injury ruling England’s most capped player out of the playing squad for the finals.

In England, we love soccer, desiring huge, quick games, by our fervor may indeed end up hurting our players. 

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Is Arsenal Going To Lose Youngsters?

Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010

Arsenal’s ability to find and nuture young talent is well known, although the success of their youth program may prove detrimental by the loss some of their stars in the January transfer window.

The truth of the matter is that for youngsters like Fran Merida and Jack Wilshere, the limited first team opportunities afforded to them, due to the fact Arsenal’s first team squad is well off for talented midfielders, has only allowed them to appear in some unimportant Champions League games of the Carling Cup.

The problem facing Arsene Wenger is that players like Wilshere and Merida are now ready for a more prominent first team role at the club. With a lot of talented midfielders to choose from including Diaby, Diarra, Rosicky, Narsi and Fabregas, not to mention the likes of Arshavin who can also play a midfield role, there are very limited spots within the midfield for up and coming youngsters to step into the first division.

The irony is, of course, that at the moment, Arsenal don’t have and youngster to trial as strikers which they desperately need at the moment, given the injuries at the moment to leading strikers Robin Van Persie and Nicklas Bendtner.

Wilshere has been linked with a loan move away from Highbury for a few weeks now. He has been shown intrest from Burnley to move to Turf Moor, but given that manager Owen Coyle is on the verge of quitting the club to move to Bolton Wanderers, it seems unlikely however that and deal will take place until the managerial problems are fixed. Wilshere himself has stated that he would prefer a loan move to another Premier League side. Recent rumours have leaked that Wilshere is contemplating a loan to West Ham for the remainder of the season and with Arsene Wenger admitting the youngster needs first team soccer, a move could be on the cards.

Fran Merida’s situation with Arsenal is much more complicated. Transferred in much the same was as Cesc Fabregas from Barcelona to Arsenal as a young player, Fran Merida has shown a lot of comparisons with his Spanish counterpart. Arsenal’s first side however has been to hard for Fran Merida to crack despite his obvious talent, and with his contract due to expire in June 2010 and Arsene Wenger unable to persuade him to sign a new deal with the club, Merida has decided that Spain is were he wants to be. He will be making the move to a club he has followed since he was young; Atletico Madrid, however this move will be a permanent one, he will most likely never wear the current Arsenal jersey again..

Although Arsenal’s midfield is hard to crack, Arsenal fans can’t be feeling good that up and coming players that they trained and taught will be leave the club to make a name for themselves for another team, albeit temporarily in Wilshere’s case, only because there is no room for them in the first grade squad.

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Football Forums Users

Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010

What’s the score for the Crystal Palace vs. Newcastle game? Who is moving to which club this season? These were some of the questions I thought about but wasn’t sure where to go to get them answered. The rumours that surround the Man United signings and management movements within different clubs are all in one place, and that’s the Football Forums. The excitement of thousands of football fanatics all on one site at the same time discussing the important stories, rumours and information. The constant communications and discussions surrounding the many aspects of football.

Whether it be the Premier League, UEFA Cup, or any other type of league there is always another fan who is just as fanatical as you. Even if you just want to chat or moan about the previous game the football forum is the place to go to find that fan who feels the same as you. If you want to discuss the winner of the world cup or a player from league two. No matter what your problem, query or just general question, football forums are the first point of contact for all your football needs.

Want hints on who to bet on? Cheats on the new Fifa game on the PS3? Football forums not only discuss televised games but allows you to access answers to all your football questions. The help not only comes from other fans but some pros within the football world will answer some queries and questions. Even if you need help on where the buy the newest, best boots for your local 7 a side team, the football forums provide you with all the advice you fanatics need.

Even if you just want to go online and talk about your local team. Who’s playing excellent this season? And who should be, literally, booted out? No matter what your question is, whether it be easily answered or whether it is really difficult, there will always be someone who can answer your query.

They are a great place for the youngest of fans to develop their knowledge and interest in the most well know sport in Britain. It is a place to expand your interests and become more advanced in a sport which you love. Football surrounds our culture and therefore is placed in the media constantly. The football forums allow all fans voices to be heard no matter what you want to say to people.

Some Football Forums lead onto other sports, such as Rugby or Cricket. No matter what your fanatic about there will be a forum where you can exchange your thoughts and find out what you need to know. Whether you’re new to football or and experienced fan the forums cater to all your needs whether big or small. They allow your interests and thoughts to be heard by many other fans and permit you to speak your mind and get responses. The forums present a place where any fan can start a chat or just become a part of one. All you thoughts and opinions are important so let them be heard in a football forum.

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Advantages And Disadvantages To A Football Forum

Saturday, May 15th, 2010

A forum, or message board, is defined as an “online discussion website”.  The online software allows its members to post messages to one another.

The forums often have a specific theme linked to them.  One of the more popular subjects is a football forum, where users can chat about their teams, latest games, cup ties and matches.

These forums have been known to forge friendships, although football forums have been known to cause quite the opposite effect by fueling hatred and “flaming” between rival fans.

Some of the larger football forums on the Internet have as many as 30,000 regular members who post daily about their teams trials and tribulations.  The more regular and trusted members often become ‘moderators’, who are a sort of super-user that can edit and delete posts, topics and categories, aswell as move topics to their rightful place on the forums, and just perform general maintenance.  Being a moderator on a forum often brings kudos from other users, and as such it is quite a sort after position.

The die-hard fans who tend to use the football forums are generally the strongest supporters of the clubs, and are very often season ticket holders, or frequent matches on a regular basis.  Because the forums act as a strong platform where fans can meet one another, they are often used as a very successful tool for organising trips to away matches and competitions.

There are lots of football forums on the Internet.  Some of the forums cater better to different people’s tastes.  For example, there will probably be a forum purely for the football team that you support, even if it’s a small sunday-league team.  There are also forums with categories for every league in every country in the world.There really is something that everyone can enjoy.

Because of the sheer size of the Internet as well as the popularity of football as a sport, there is a huge market for forums.  Aswell as the huge amounts of people there are also a huge amount of tastes that cannot be satisfied with one large forum – some users will prefer the intimacy of a small forum with a select few users who all know each other, over the monolithic forums with thousands of new posts every hour.

For a lot of people a football forum will be the first web site that they visit, and one of the first activities they will do in the morning will be to check for latest posts on the forum about their team, or for replies on a specific topic.Football is so close to so many people’s hearts it is totally reasonable that football forums get so much traffic and so much of a following.

Although football forums have brought a huge amount of joy and a great past time for so many people, they have been known to cause pain and destruction.  Just like any other sort of social platform on the Internet, it can be open to cyber bullying.  Most forums carry private messaging functions, allowing members to privately message other members – this can lead to users getting bullied in private, away from where moderators and administrators can control what is being said.  As well as this, it has been known that football forums can be used by hooligans to organise crime against rival gangs and clubs.

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