Men's Olympic soccer isn't as big as the World Cup, of course, but Mexico's first gold medal in the event is even more important than its second-round World Cup victory over Bulgaria on home soil in 1986. Facing a Brazil team with a market value of at least $300 million that desperately wanted to win its first Olympic soccer gold, Mexico (market value: $30 million) played a better game from the opening minute, scoring just 28 seconds in when Oribe Peralta hit for the first of his two goals on the day. Brazil had its chances, but Mexico was sound defensively throughout the game, whether it was center backs Hiram Mier and Diego Reyes, goalkeeper José Corona or pressurizing wide players Héctor Herrera and Javier Aquino. Aquino in particular was magnificent, using great pressure to force the Brazilian turnover that led to the first Mexican goal.
• How much Olympic soccer failure can Brazil stand? Make no mistake, Brazil cared deeply about winning its first gold medal, sending to London a star-studded squad that included Neymar, Thiago Silva, Oscar, Hulk and Lucas Moura, along with senior team coach Mano Menezes. There was so much pressure, in fact, that it remains to be seen whether Menezes will keep his job after failing to win this tournament. But the fact is that Menezes made a mistake in his lineup for the final, using Alex Sandro instead of Hulk, and the coach admitted as much when he made a rare first-half substitution to bring on Hulk. Brazil's biggest problem was its back line and general defense. Aquino forced a turnover by pressuring Rafael, leading to Mexico's first goal, and Peralta was unmarked in the box on a free kick on the play that led to Mexico's second goal. Many of these players are expected to be on Brazil's World Cup 2014 squad, but if Brazil wants to win on home soil, it will have to tighten up defensively.
• The sky is the limit for Mexico moving forward. One reason this was Mexico's most important win is that it heralds an even better future, perhaps, for a nation on the rise globally. In recent years, Mexico has won the Under-17 World Cup (twice), reached the semifinals of the Under-20 World Cup and won the Olympic tournament. For a nation that has only reached the World Cup quarterfinals twice (in 1970 and '86, both on home soil) and has gone out in the second round five straight times, there's an infectious optimism that Mexico is a legitimate contender to win in 2014. I'm not kidding. The breakthrough comes when you start winning trophies, and Mexico is on its way. CONCACAF has swept the Olympic soccer gold medals here, and the region is undeniably on the rise.
Tuesday 28 August 2012
Tuesday 14 August 2012
Ramirez rejects Tottenham star Bologna
news about football probably According to the Uruguay international's representative, the Spurs are the only side to have made a concrete offer although he did acknowledge there have been That talks with Liverpool.
Despite Ramirez's decision to reject a move to north London, Oscar Betancourt did keep the door open for a future switch, suggesting That the sale of Real Madrid target of Luka Modric Could fund a move.
"The only solid offer is the one from Tottenham, WHO Offered 16 million euros," Betancourt of toll Calciomercato. "But the deal did not go Because the Spurs Offered through a wage too low to the player and if the wage difference is minimal he would stay at Bologna.
"Their offer Tottenham Could raise if They sell Modric and in case the deal That Could be done, otherwise Ramirez will stay another year at Bologna. We also talked with Liverpool but nothing more.
"Inter? They are interested in the player, but can not afford a cash offer similar to the English clubs. Nerazzurri would wish to include some players in the deal, but only wants cash Bologna, also Because of the arrangement with Penarol [Ramirez's former club] WHO receive a percentage if the player is sold. "
and so from this news may be less comfortable yes because I lack experience about writing thank you for reading
Despite Ramirez's decision to reject a move to north London, Oscar Betancourt did keep the door open for a future switch, suggesting That the sale of Real Madrid target of Luka Modric Could fund a move.
"The only solid offer is the one from Tottenham, WHO Offered 16 million euros," Betancourt of toll Calciomercato. "But the deal did not go Because the Spurs Offered through a wage too low to the player and if the wage difference is minimal he would stay at Bologna.
"Their offer Tottenham Could raise if They sell Modric and in case the deal That Could be done, otherwise Ramirez will stay another year at Bologna. We also talked with Liverpool but nothing more.
"Inter? They are interested in the player, but can not afford a cash offer similar to the English clubs. Nerazzurri would wish to include some players in the deal, but only wants cash Bologna, also Because of the arrangement with Penarol [Ramirez's former club] WHO receive a percentage if the player is sold. "
and so from this news may be less comfortable yes because I lack experience about writing thank you for reading
Friday 20 July 2012
Park Ji-Sung can be a ‘massive player’ for the Hoops
The 31-year-old joined QPR from Manchester United in a £2m deal after seven successful seasons at Old Trafford which saw the South Korea international win four Premier League titles.
Park, who scored 27 goals in 207 appearances for the Red Devils, became Mark Hughes’ fifth signing for QPR during the summer transfer window, with Samba Diakité, Robert Green, Andy Johnson and Ryan Nelsen all completing transfers to Loftus Road.
Cissé is confident Park will bring valuable experience to the first-team and have the required mentality to help the Hoops become an established Premier League club.
“Ji is a massive player,” Cissé told QPR’s website.
“He will be huge for us. He’s got a lot of experience having played for a couple of big, big Clubs.
“He’s what we needed – quality, experience, a winning-mentality.
“Ji-Sung is a big, big, big star in Asia, so it is great for the Club to promote the brand in this area of the world as well.”
Hughes hailed the signing when Park penned a two-year deal at QPR just under a fortnight ago, describing the capture of the South Korean as a “real coup” for the club.
“We are delighted Ji is going to join us because his record speaks for itself. He has been a big player for Manchester United and played a big part in their success in recent years,” Hughes said.
“He is hugely respected there because of what he has achieved, his application to his
work and the impact he has on games.
“He was always picked for the big matches because they could rely on him, and we are going to reap all those qualities
Park, who scored 27 goals in 207 appearances for the Red Devils, became Mark Hughes’ fifth signing for QPR during the summer transfer window, with Samba Diakité, Robert Green, Andy Johnson and Ryan Nelsen all completing transfers to Loftus Road.
Cissé is confident Park will bring valuable experience to the first-team and have the required mentality to help the Hoops become an established Premier League club.
“Ji is a massive player,” Cissé told QPR’s website.
“He will be huge for us. He’s got a lot of experience having played for a couple of big, big Clubs.
“He’s what we needed – quality, experience, a winning-mentality.
“Ji-Sung is a big, big, big star in Asia, so it is great for the Club to promote the brand in this area of the world as well.”
Hughes hailed the signing when Park penned a two-year deal at QPR just under a fortnight ago, describing the capture of the South Korean as a “real coup” for the club.
“We are delighted Ji is going to join us because his record speaks for itself. He has been a big player for Manchester United and played a big part in their success in recent years,” Hughes said.
“He is hugely respected there because of what he has achieved, his application to his
work and the impact he has on games.
“He was always picked for the big matches because they could rely on him, and we are going to reap all those qualities
Sunday 24 June 2012
Euro 2012 analysis: Peerless Pirlo exposes England
Andrea Pirlo's chipped spot-kick was the crowning glory during a sparkling performance as Italy beat England on penalties to secure a Euro 2012 semi-final against Germany.
Although the margin of victory was narrow, in the 120 minutes beforehand England were given a lesson in the value of possession by the 33-year-old Juventus midfielder. With Roy Hodgson's side struggling to hold on to the ball for long periods of the game, they allowed Pirlo to dictate play and he showed all of his mastery of the ball to lift the ball over Joe Hart to help secure a 4-2 penalty shoot-out win.
It left the England team wishing they had a player of his ilk to help cure their problems retaining the ball under pressure. He showed England midfielders Steven Gerrard and Scott Parker that despite his age, he lacked none of the qualities needed to run a game at international level.
Italy's victory in numbers
- Pirlo was by far the game's leading passer with 131 passes. England's highest passer was Ashley Cole with 44
- 13 of Italy's 14 players used had a pass completion rate of 80% or above, while England had only five players in that category
- Italy had 39 shots to England's 13, with 12 shots on target to four
- According to Uefa, Pirlo ran 11.58 kilometres, more than any England player. Gerrard covered 11.26 km
- England managed only 2.75 shots on target per game in Euro 2012; only Ukraine, Greece & Republic of Ireland produced fewer
- England have only won one of eight penalty shoot-outs in all competitions
- Italy victory on penalties was the first time they have won via this method at the quarter-final stage of a major tournament
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/18574269
Friday 22 June 2012
UEFA shows shameful double standard
Quick question, what’s worse: racial abuse or guerrilla marketing?
If you guessed the latter, then congratulations! You work for UEFA.
On Monday, Europe’s governing body for soccer handed down a $130,000 punishment and a one-game suspension to Denmark’s Nicklas Bendtner. His offense? Slyly pulling up his shirt to reveal an unapproved sponsor message for an Irish betting firm during his goal celebration.
Bendtner — despite his protests to the contrary — knew exactly what he was doing. The bookmakers in question admitted as much today when they agreed to pay his fine and said it was “a little bit of fun.” As well they should — they got millions of dollars in free publicity and, as marketing campaigns go, it was a fabulous one. For his troubles, Bendtner apparently got nothing more than a free pair of boxers. He needs a better agent.
Stealth marketing is the bane of folks who run major tournaments. McDonald’s has a monopoly on Euro 2012, but competitors such as Burger King are attempting to crash the party. In this case, the fast-food giant’s billboards here in Poland cheekily replace their ubiquitous motif with the phrase: “Sorry, we can’t show our logo.” People do pay a great deal to be associated with tournaments like this, and they pay for exclusivity.
But when cracking down on a marketing campaign is more important than dealing with pernicious hatred, you know this game’s compass is broken, or at least the compass belonging to the people directing orders.
UEFA fined Russia only slightly more ($156,000) for an incident in which 30 of its fans assaulted four stewards at the team’s first game in Wroclaw. A six-point penalty for Euro 2016 qualifying was suspended — declawing it from the start. UEFA has handed out significantly smaller fines to clubs that saw sustained racial abuse of players during their tournaments. Worse, UEFA continues to abet serial offenders.
Astonishingly, Croatia was fined only $105,000 on Tuesday for the racist chants its fans directed at Italy during last week’s game in Poznan. This is the third time in four years Croatia has been sanctioned for such behavior — and the fine fell far short of the punishment the team’s own manager had called for.
Croatia manager Slaven Bilic told reporters this past weekend that he wanted to impose life bans on fans found guilty of such chanting. He went on to say, “We are angry at these few crazy supporters. . . . We have to put [in] sanctions and stop these kind of supporters forever."
UEFA has taken some strides, installing monitors from FARE (Football Against Racism in Europe) at every game and quickening their response time to displays of banners and racist chants. What it has not done is made teams actually take the punishments it hands out seriously.
Why would Croatia work to root out the perpetrators when it is clear a marketing campaign riles UEFA more than hatred from the stands? Why would Russia try to stamp out its hooligan problems when the big gun — being tossed out of a tournament — is kept in its holster?
There’s a reason for this, of course. Advertisers who pay for the tournament sit right next to the UEFA bigwigs that run it. Their complaints get heard first and loudest. Those of us who catalogue the abuse that has been hurled at players with different skin colors or religions are much farther away from the skyboxes and luxury suites. It’s another example of how corrosive money has become in this sport — and it should be one of the most worrying.
When a man is banned for displaying his underwear but a team is allowed to play on when its fans toss bananas at black players, something is seriously wrong. UEFA had an opportunity to take a stand against a problem that is poisoning the game. Instead, it chose to focus on what hurts its wallet.
There’s no other word to describe that choice than shameful.
Read More :
http://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer/eurocup/story/uefa-shows-shameful-double-standard-nicklas-bendtner-underwear-fine-denmark-racism-croatia-061912
If you guessed the latter, then congratulations! You work for UEFA.
On Monday, Europe’s governing body for soccer handed down a $130,000 punishment and a one-game suspension to Denmark’s Nicklas Bendtner. His offense? Slyly pulling up his shirt to reveal an unapproved sponsor message for an Irish betting firm during his goal celebration.
Bendtner — despite his protests to the contrary — knew exactly what he was doing. The bookmakers in question admitted as much today when they agreed to pay his fine and said it was “a little bit of fun.” As well they should — they got millions of dollars in free publicity and, as marketing campaigns go, it was a fabulous one. For his troubles, Bendtner apparently got nothing more than a free pair of boxers. He needs a better agent.
Stealth marketing is the bane of folks who run major tournaments. McDonald’s has a monopoly on Euro 2012, but competitors such as Burger King are attempting to crash the party. In this case, the fast-food giant’s billboards here in Poland cheekily replace their ubiquitous motif with the phrase: “Sorry, we can’t show our logo.” People do pay a great deal to be associated with tournaments like this, and they pay for exclusivity.
But when cracking down on a marketing campaign is more important than dealing with pernicious hatred, you know this game’s compass is broken, or at least the compass belonging to the people directing orders.
UEFA fined Russia only slightly more ($156,000) for an incident in which 30 of its fans assaulted four stewards at the team’s first game in Wroclaw. A six-point penalty for Euro 2016 qualifying was suspended — declawing it from the start. UEFA has handed out significantly smaller fines to clubs that saw sustained racial abuse of players during their tournaments. Worse, UEFA continues to abet serial offenders.
Astonishingly, Croatia was fined only $105,000 on Tuesday for the racist chants its fans directed at Italy during last week’s game in Poznan. This is the third time in four years Croatia has been sanctioned for such behavior — and the fine fell far short of the punishment the team’s own manager had called for.
Croatia manager Slaven Bilic told reporters this past weekend that he wanted to impose life bans on fans found guilty of such chanting. He went on to say, “We are angry at these few crazy supporters. . . . We have to put [in] sanctions and stop these kind of supporters forever."
UEFA has taken some strides, installing monitors from FARE (Football Against Racism in Europe) at every game and quickening their response time to displays of banners and racist chants. What it has not done is made teams actually take the punishments it hands out seriously.
Why would Croatia work to root out the perpetrators when it is clear a marketing campaign riles UEFA more than hatred from the stands? Why would Russia try to stamp out its hooligan problems when the big gun — being tossed out of a tournament — is kept in its holster?
There’s a reason for this, of course. Advertisers who pay for the tournament sit right next to the UEFA bigwigs that run it. Their complaints get heard first and loudest. Those of us who catalogue the abuse that has been hurled at players with different skin colors or religions are much farther away from the skyboxes and luxury suites. It’s another example of how corrosive money has become in this sport — and it should be one of the most worrying.
When a man is banned for displaying his underwear but a team is allowed to play on when its fans toss bananas at black players, something is seriously wrong. UEFA had an opportunity to take a stand against a problem that is poisoning the game. Instead, it chose to focus on what hurts its wallet.
There’s no other word to describe that choice than shameful.
Read More :
http://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer/eurocup/story/uefa-shows-shameful-double-standard-nicklas-bendtner-underwear-fine-denmark-racism-croatia-061912
Monday 2 January 2012
Donovan headed back to Everton on loan
United States and LA Galaxy star attacker Landon Donovan is on the verge of securing a two-month return to Everton FC of the Barclays Premier League, the Liverpool-based club confirmed via their website on Thursday.
According to the club, an "agreement in principle" is in place for Donovan's second stint at Everton, his first coming during the winter of 2010.
Paperwork is still to be completed on a deal reached between Major League Soccer, LA Galaxy and Everton, one which parties had been working on in Liverpool over the last 72 hours. The agreement would have Donovan in England shortly after Christmas, returning to the MLS champions after the Toffees' February 25 match at rival Liverpool.
The first game for which Donovan would be eligible is January 4, when Everton faces Bolton Wanderers.
"I am delighted that we have managed to get Landon back," Everton manager David Moyes told the club website. "He will give us some good experience over January and February."
"His season has just finished and like last time we need him to hit the ground running because the games come thick and fast at this time of year."
During his early 2010 loan spell with Everton, Donovan scored twice in 13 appearances, giving performances strong enough to garner interest from the club a year later. Donovan instead chose to rest in the winter of 2011, but after completing a championship-winning season in MLS, the four-time US Soccer Athlete of the Year has chosen to leave for a second stint in England.
"The opportunity to return to Everton and play for such a well-respected club and a manager that I hold in such high regard was something that was simply too good to pass up," Donovan told EvertonFC.com.
"I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Everton in 2010 and I'm hopeful that we can experience similar success this time around."
From :
http://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer/usa/story/landon-donovan-everton-loan-2011-2012-english-premier-league-121511
According to the club, an "agreement in principle" is in place for Donovan's second stint at Everton, his first coming during the winter of 2010.
Paperwork is still to be completed on a deal reached between Major League Soccer, LA Galaxy and Everton, one which parties had been working on in Liverpool over the last 72 hours. The agreement would have Donovan in England shortly after Christmas, returning to the MLS champions after the Toffees' February 25 match at rival Liverpool.
The first game for which Donovan would be eligible is January 4, when Everton faces Bolton Wanderers.
"I am delighted that we have managed to get Landon back," Everton manager David Moyes told the club website. "He will give us some good experience over January and February."
"His season has just finished and like last time we need him to hit the ground running because the games come thick and fast at this time of year."
During his early 2010 loan spell with Everton, Donovan scored twice in 13 appearances, giving performances strong enough to garner interest from the club a year later. Donovan instead chose to rest in the winter of 2011, but after completing a championship-winning season in MLS, the four-time US Soccer Athlete of the Year has chosen to leave for a second stint in England.
"The opportunity to return to Everton and play for such a well-respected club and a manager that I hold in such high regard was something that was simply too good to pass up," Donovan told EvertonFC.com.
"I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Everton in 2010 and I'm hopeful that we can experience similar success this time around."
From :
http://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer/usa/story/landon-donovan-everton-loan-2011-2012-english-premier-league-121511
Wow LeBron James proposes to longtime girlfriend
The new year is already off to a hot start for Miami Heat forward LeBron James, who rang in 2012 by proposing to longtime girlfriend Savannah Brinson at his 27th birthday party Saturday night in Miami.
Brinson and James are high-school sweethearts, dating back to James’ days as a standout at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio. Brinson is the mother of James' two kids, LeBron, Jr., 7, and Bryce, 4.
James turned 27 on Friday, and in addition to the engagement, Saturday night’s bash also featured the kind of extravagant birthday cake that you’d expect at a party thrown by King James, a a towering rum cake adorned with edible 18-carat lions and Swarovski crystals.
In photos from the event, James is wearing a black tuxedo with a bow tie and black glasses, and Brinson is wearing a black dress.
A witness told the New York Post that James "got down on one knee and proposed" to his high school sweetheart, putting a large pear-shaped diamond on her ring finger.
"It was real cool," James said. "It was an opportunity for me with my personal life, so it was good. My girl, she's very excited."
The swanky party was hosted by Heat teammate Dwayne Wade and his girlfriend, actress Gabrielle Union.
"He was just trying to catch her off guard," Wade said of James. "Obviously, they've been together for a while, and I'm sure they had many discussions about the possibility of marriage. So, I thought he did a good job of catching her when she least expected it."
Heat power forward Chris Bosh and actress Queen Latifah were also among the 60 friends and family members at the shindig.
Shortly after 1 a.m. ET, Heat owner Micky Arison sent a tweet congratulating his star player on the engagement, writing, “Congrats to Lebron. @KingJames and Savannah so happy 4 u guys.”
Other NBA stars (and their wives) got in on the action too, as tweets of congratulations came in from L.A. Clippers point guard Chris Paul and La La Vazquez, the wife of New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony, among others.
James isn’t the first member of the Big Three to put a ring on it in 2011. Bosh married Adrienne Williams in June at an extravagant wedding at Miami's Fontainebleau Hotel — an event that required the NBA to make an exception allowing team executives and players to mingle during the lockout.
Now that Bosh and James are done giving out rings, fans in Miami are holding out hope that they can team up with Wade to bring a different ring to South Florida.
They’re off to a good start. The Heat are unbeaten through five games, and James is averaging 29.6 points, 7.8 rebounds and 6.6 assists per game.
From :
http://www.foxsportsflorida.com/01/01/12/LeBron-proposes-to-longtime-girlfriend-B/landing_heat.html?blockID=637448&feedID=3934
Brinson and James are high-school sweethearts, dating back to James’ days as a standout at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio. Brinson is the mother of James' two kids, LeBron, Jr., 7, and Bryce, 4.
James turned 27 on Friday, and in addition to the engagement, Saturday night’s bash also featured the kind of extravagant birthday cake that you’d expect at a party thrown by King James, a a towering rum cake adorned with edible 18-carat lions and Swarovski crystals.
In photos from the event, James is wearing a black tuxedo with a bow tie and black glasses, and Brinson is wearing a black dress.
A witness told the New York Post that James "got down on one knee and proposed" to his high school sweetheart, putting a large pear-shaped diamond on her ring finger.
"It was real cool," James said. "It was an opportunity for me with my personal life, so it was good. My girl, she's very excited."
The swanky party was hosted by Heat teammate Dwayne Wade and his girlfriend, actress Gabrielle Union.
"He was just trying to catch her off guard," Wade said of James. "Obviously, they've been together for a while, and I'm sure they had many discussions about the possibility of marriage. So, I thought he did a good job of catching her when she least expected it."
Heat power forward Chris Bosh and actress Queen Latifah were also among the 60 friends and family members at the shindig.
Shortly after 1 a.m. ET, Heat owner Micky Arison sent a tweet congratulating his star player on the engagement, writing, “Congrats to Lebron. @KingJames and Savannah so happy 4 u guys.”
Other NBA stars (and their wives) got in on the action too, as tweets of congratulations came in from L.A. Clippers point guard Chris Paul and La La Vazquez, the wife of New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony, among others.
James isn’t the first member of the Big Three to put a ring on it in 2011. Bosh married Adrienne Williams in June at an extravagant wedding at Miami's Fontainebleau Hotel — an event that required the NBA to make an exception allowing team executives and players to mingle during the lockout.
Now that Bosh and James are done giving out rings, fans in Miami are holding out hope that they can team up with Wade to bring a different ring to South Florida.
They’re off to a good start. The Heat are unbeaten through five games, and James is averaging 29.6 points, 7.8 rebounds and 6.6 assists per game.
From :
http://www.foxsportsflorida.com/01/01/12/LeBron-proposes-to-longtime-girlfriend-B/landing_heat.html?blockID=637448&feedID=3934
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