Last World Cup draw saw Heidi Klum prancing about on stage kicking balls and pulling them out of pots; this year we're led to believe that South Africa's finest piece of ass, Charlize Theron will flaunt her Sth. Africaness on stage and even babble off some cheesy FIFA script. Ah, ...

Well, now we know Adidas' Jabulani (Happiness) is the new Official 2010 FIFA World Cup Match Ball and it was carried on to the stage at the Cape Town International Convention Centre last night by South Africa's Oscar winning star, Charlize Theron.

Jabulani 11 Colours

Jabulani has 11 colors honouring each of South Africa's eleven official languages, the 11 match ball, and the 11 players on the field.

Barca president Joan Laporta sat beside Real Madrid president Florentino Perez during his side's El Clasico win on Sunday, so he had to be somewhat respectful during the match. But as the picture above shows, he apparently partied his balls off afterwards popping bottles like P. Diddy on a bender.

So Arsenal supporters aren't too happy with my analysis of Arsene Wenger's comments following their club's 3-0 defeat to Chelsea at the Emirates on Sunday. I'm so sorry.

They seem to believe their beloved leader was, in fact, praising the mighty Didier Drogba when he said in the post-match press conference: "He is a good player but it is funny because he does not do a lot," Wenger said.

Welcome to South Africa's World Cup as Charlize Theron will have World Cup balls literally in her...
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I am naive. I had imagined that each World Cup 2010 addias Jabulani match ball (and all official match balls for that matter) was lovingly hand stitched by elderly and highly skilled craftsmen and women, using nothing but a pigs bladder, a leather hide, and a sewing needle.

We all know Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is the sorest loser in world football. However, he took his delusional tirades to new levels following his side's 3-0 defeat to Chelsea on Sunday at the Emirates Stadium.

Not only did Wenger dismiss the idea that this was men against boys anyone who saw Didier Drogba shrug off a flailing Armand Traore late in the second half, a challenge that sent the young fullback flying at least two meters, would favor the analogy he sunk even further with suggestions that the Ivory Coast striker doesn't do much.

Catch me a clue. Where was Wenger being small minded about Didier Drogba as claimed by The Guardian's Kevin McCarra ? He was not overly effusive and why should he be? His team got beaten. But he was not belittling Drogba. Far from it.

" You would be surprised by the number of balls he touched today.

Just found this simple but entertaining (and topical) game involving Thierry Henry and his now infamous left hand. It's all in French, but is pretty self-explanatory, just click on the picture below...

...and then click on "jouer".

To play, click to wave Thierry's hand at the balls as they fly down.

Just over a year ago it was announced that Marshall was acquired from Toronto by Seattle for allocation money (salary cap exempt monies). Generally TFC fans were giddy, they loved that they were going to cast aside a veteran centerback for free money. Yesterday, the Sounders announced that Marshall was named the team Defender of the Year as voted on by his teammates.

What a great day for soccer. After a nice WC Draw event at 810 Zone on the Plaza, we have now have our opponents and even though Ravi Ubha from ESPN.com predicts that the U.S. will not advance, I am very content with our group.
When Portugal came up on the board (unlucky for them), I thought of a funny story back in 1999.

It was quite a contentious match on an unordinary day at Eastlands Saturday as Manchester City held on for a morale-boosting 2-1 win against Chelsea.

What was most obvious about this game is how much it mattered to most teams. I lost count of the number of times Chelsea and City players collided when trying to win 50/50 balls.

Manager Rafael Benitez insists Saturday's point at Blackburn was another step in the right direction for Liverpool.
Chances were at a minimum during a frustrating afternoon at Ewood Park, but the Spaniard was delighted with a third successive clean sheet which extended his side's unbeaten run in all competitions to six games.

Hey, Antonio Cassano has two balls, everybody. And he is NOT afraid of you. Apparently he wants you to know that. From Sky Sport 24 via Goal:

During training on Tuesday, a supporter began to argue with the Italian star and Cassano reportedly responded with anger, claiming "I have two balls, I am not afraid of you," accompanied with inappropriate gestures towards the fan.

Watch Olympiakos v Arsenal (1-0) Goals & Highlights (9.12.2009) in Sports | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

The Gunners enjoyed a lot of possession in the first half ably marshaled by Aaron Ramsey. But there was no real momentum. The second half was a complete change as Kyle Bartley's whiffed tackle enabled Oscar Gonzalez to pass the ball to Leonardo.

I don't think I can quite believe it. We went in to a game Wenger described as 'must win' and we won, while being as far from our best as the Spuds will be from the top of the table come the end of the season. We did what Champions do. Laugh if you want, I've listened to laughter from others all season.

If Brisbane are to stay at Suncorp, and the FFA are negotiating to do so, they must both have someone of the quality of Robby Fowler and win.
That was the lesson from last night as 11,500 people turned up. This included 3,000 walk ups (without a purchase ticket), catching the stadium manager off guard and leading to queues for tickets.

Much better. Never underestimate Tottenham's ability to raise your spirits on a gloomy winters night. And raise spirits they certainly did as a 3-0 win silenced the critics and scribes who were preparing their 'not-good-enough' themed copy, expecting another Spurs defeat. Instead, the big spenders from Manchester came out second best as they were outplayed by the big spenders from North London.

As part of our ongoing series looking at marketing soccer products in the United States, we recently had a chat with Trevor Bolliger of SoccerPro.com. Among other titles, Mr. Bolliger is the Online Marketing Ambassador for SoccerPro.com and has been with the company for more than 1.5 years.

Yesterday Bjorn-Helge Riise delivered two ultimate bastard crosses. This is a new term, used to denote a cross that simply cannot be defended.

How often do we hear commentators bemoaning poor 'final balls'? All the time. Sometimes I think this is a bit unfair, as truly good crosses are very rare.

I'm a little late on this, but I wanted to make sure I gave a shout to the efforts being made to help Michelle Akers repair her horse rescue farm and save the animals in its charge after devestating storms. Via the USWNT Blog:

Still, the storms left considerable damage -- more than $50,000 in fact -- as major repairs to the barn and pastures are necessary to get the farm in working condition again.

Well - I celebrated this most satisfying of wins by drinking 9% stout somewhere in London. I feel as rough as Phil Brown must look before his monthly spray tan session.Haven't seen any highlights yet, or seen any other match reports than the Beebs but I am assuming most people say the result flattered us?

Robbie Fowler has been busy in the Australian A-League. Apart from having scored nine goals and one assist, he has been doing what marquee signings are meant to do.

Fowler kicks in for Mayor's Christmas Appeal
Wednesday, 9 December 2009North Queensland Fury FC skipper Robbie Fowler has blasted past feeble goal keeping to kick home a win for the Townsville Mayor's Christmas Appeal.

Thai Port's dead-ball specialists
Here's a video showing all the free kick goals scored in the first half of the 2009 TPL season. You'll notice that Port midfielder Jirawat Makarom features 4 times. New boy, Nontapan Jiensatawong is also featured twice (playing for Nakhon Pathom).
With Jirawat being right footed, and Nontapan left, it'll give us plenty of options from dead-balls next season.

When I was growing up, Boxing Day was about Test cricket. Normally, there are two or three matches that start at different grounds around the world and with holidays in school, I used to love watching all of them. This has changed over the last few years. Nowadays, the time just after Christmas is all about non-stop football.

"The guy must have put in over 20 crosses with each one being of supreme quality. I have never seen a player be so consistent in one game. And it wasn't just the same type of cross. He was sending them in from everywhere and anywhere.
I would say our defense looked extremely shaky tonight due mainly to the consistent high quality of his deliveries.