Moeneeb Slimkat Josephs - in the goal for Orlando Pirates

People know who they support you are either a Buccaneer or and Amakhosi supporter ! This weekend's Soweto Derby will once again be a mighty battle between Oralndo Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs in the Telkom Knockout final.

The armchair managing of the off-season has just begun...

We have already heard a lot of chatter about the next steps that Sigi, Adrian, and Chris need to take to push this team to the next level, and guard against the type of injury and bad chemistry induced purgatory which doomed the first half of the 2010 season.

It's clear the best bid on paper will never win. And nor should it.

But why did England do so badly and how can they guarantee they host the World Cup in 2026?

England's one additional vote is the embarrassing equivalent of 'Nil Point' at Eurovision. Yes, our bid was reduced to the level of Jemini.

By Eric Beard, writing from Boston

Though Major League Soccer will be entering its 16th season when Spring 2011 rolls around, it's fair to say the league has come a long way. Not simply in trying to break down the perennial American mindset against the beautiful game, but rather trying to be accepted by mainstream media.

It is the season for lists, so here is our list of the top five soccer business stories in the United States. Let us know y0ur thoughts....what did we miss?

5. WPS Struggles

Two years ago, WPS launched with great fanfare, including the signing of world star Marta, a relationship with PUMA, a television relationship with FSC and a promise to provide quality soccer without budget busting salaries.

Stoppage Time celebrates its first birthday today

It was on December 1st, 2009 when I posted my first ever blog on Stoppage Time and it is good to know that the novelty hasn't worn off. Of course when one tries to cover the world of football it is difficult to keep up with every event as it happens but the intention is there on my part to provide a service dedicated to informing my readers about the world of football.

Martin Tyler's stats and facts column is here!
Every week he will be here to offer you statistical gems to make your day, impress your mates and, on occasion, to settle the odd bet.
Sky Sports' voice of football and his back-up team of experts are here to answer your questions and queries on all things statistical and historical from the beautiful game.

Having seen all five of yesterday's 2022 World Cup bid presentations, I have to admit that I am extremely excited about today's huge announcement. As an American that supports the beautiful game at all levels and in all nations, any news of an impending World Cup stirs up an enormous amount of anticipation.

Rest assured, the United States will host another World Cup, it just won't be in 2022 as FIFA award the honor of hosting that tournament to tiny Qatar, which put forth an impressive bid based on Middle East solidarity, an entirely new geographic region for the World Cup, state of the art technology and of course, billions of dollars pledged for new infrastructure.

While the disappointment of England's failure to land the 2018 FIFA World Cup will take some time to disappear and questions will be asked of where it all went wrong, one man did himself no harm and that is the legend that is David Beckham.

As a 24 year old male I'm not afraid to admit that I love David Beckham.

While the disappointment of England's failure to land the 2018 FIFA World Cup will take some time to disappear and questions will be asked of where it all went wrong, one man did himself no harm and that is the legend that is David Beckham.

As a 24 year old male I'm not afraid to admit that I love David Beckham.

Today the hosts for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups were selected. It was widely expected that the winner of the 2018 bid would be in Europe, where England, Spain/Portugal and Russia were contesting. Following FIFA president Sepp Blatter's wish to spread the beautiful game further in new countries and regions (which admittedly gave us an excellent cup in South Africa), the choice of Russia for 2018

So we're back to the City Ground where, after the conclusion of the FIFA palm-greasing blatant bribery-fest World Cup 2018 and 2022 selection process is set to be our home for a little longer that the powers-that-be wanted. I've always had strong reservations about leaving the banks of the Trent anyway, so feel somewhat ambivalent whilst retaining a certain level of disgust and disdain for the governing body of our beautiful game [.

Welcome to Fergie Time, a roundup/newsletter type deal that delivers news, opinion and links directly to your screen. As the name suggests, there will be some exaggeration, nsfw moments, canceled press conferences (oh, who are we kidding) and late, late, late scoring of points. You'll like it, trust me.

Manchester United fans are no different to any others. They hate the man who has hijacked the 'The Beautiful Game' so here's your chance to have a good laugh at FIFA President Sepp Blatter's expense...
Continue to the full story

Article reprinted with permission of the author: Coree Reuter http://coreereuter.com/
Coree grew up in the backwoods of the Pacific Northwest, where she played in mud puddles, rode horses and kicked soccer balls throughout her childhood. After graduation from Centenary College (NJ) in 2008, she relocated to Virginia where she works as a journalist.

Oops...On Thursday morning we watched with bated breath for FIFA's 2018 and 2022 World Cup hosts announcement. And in a single moment our hopes for the United States to be the home for the world's largest sporting spectacle in 12 years time vanished like a fart in the wind.
When Sepp Blatter pulled "Qatar" out of that plain white envelope my heart sank.

Famous Soccer Tattoos From David Beckhams' world famous tattoos to U.S. Women's team member Natasha Kai and her massive tattoos, soccer players from around the world are sporting more and more body art than ever before.
Here is a look at some of the most famous soccer players with tattoos as well as some of the tattoos from around the world of soccer.

Playing cack and winning might just be the new playing superbly and losing. At least this seems to be the case down at the Emirates.

Over the past 5 years or so Arsenal have held the reputation of being England's representatives of the beautiful game.

Pace, style, skill, creativity and disturbingly accurate passing.

Like the unicorn, the leprechaun and chocolate popcorn, the Brazilian footballer has taken on a mythical status in the modern day.
All flair and tricks with oodles of skill, the Brazilian is meant to signal all that is great about football, with the greatest Brazilian of them all (please keep any filthy jokes to yourself) Pele having coined the phrase "the beautiful game".

Mike Ashley is a man used to making difficult decisions.
The business World isn't a popularity contest and it is obvious he has made some controversial – if ultimately successful – decision in the past, given his vast wealth.
In business you always seek to maximise the return for every penny you spend, make the money work harder for you.

Article reprinted with permission of the author: Coree Reuter
Coree grew up in the backwoods of the Pacific Northwest, where she played in mud puddles, rode horses and kicked soccer balls throughout her childhood. After graduation from Centenary College (NJ) in 2008, she relocated to Virginia where she works as a journalist.

Dangers to fans and players have prompted the Asian Football Confederation to urge FIFA to reschedule the 2022 World Cup to January or February in order to avoid the scorching 40 degree summer heat in Qatar.
AFC General Secretary Peter Velappan also believes European countries may boycott in protest at the dangerously hot temperatures and that the proposed air-conditioned stadiums are not enough.

By Eric Beard, writing from Boston

The month-long celebration of the beautiful game clearly has a massive impact on football as a whole, but could the game still thrive without the world's biggest competition in sport every four years? Though not ideal, the hypocritical nature of FIFA's governing body that is in charge of such events forces this question.

Is Sepp Blatter the worst president of any sports organization in the world? I think so.

Blatter, the president of FIFA, has faced a world-wind of challenges in the last year from horrific officiating during last summer's World Cup to recent reports revealing that several of his "respected" FIFA panelist were accepting money under the table to persuade their vote.

Dimitar Berbatov reckons that the people who wrote United off at the beginning of the season, and those that continue to do so, should feel embarrassed.

"With the goals we score it's stupid to say that Manchester United is not a contender for the league," he said. "It's a statement that if someone is going to make then they should feel embarrassed because it's Manchester United, and you have the best players in the world playing there.

This is a guest post by Ryan Rosenblatt.

Every soccer fan loves a great match filled with great goals, incisive passes, fantastic tackles, jaw dropping save and of course, a pulsating crowd well aware that there is a ton on the line. It is the matches that make The Beautiful Game what it is, but even so, few can pretend that the what ifs and possibilities that make up the transfer market aren't enthralling.

MANILA, Philippines - The national men's football team Wednesday night belied statements recently issued by former Philippine Football Federation (PFF) president Jose Mari Martinez, who has claimed credit for the squad's successful showing in the just-concluded Group B tournament of the AFF Suzuki Cup in Hanoi, Vietnam.

With Christmas fast approaching and the cold snap beginning to bite, let's take a look at five films soccer related films that you can enjoy over the festive period without leaving the comfort of your house, thanks to the joy that is iTunes.

5. The Football Factory
Based on a novel wrote by John King, this film is a fair reflection on the hooliganism epidemic that caused huge problems in England.

Every week he will be here to offer you statistical gems to make your day, impress your mates and, on occasion, to settle the odd bet.

Sky Sports' voice of football and his back-up team of experts are here to answer your questions and queries on all things statistical and historical from the beautiful game.

Born in 1944 in Leggiuno, Luigi (or ‘Gigi') Riva displayed both artistry and power in a career spanning 15 years. A player who was once described as the most handsome man on Earth, became a folk hero on the island of Sardinia and an icon to followers of the beautiful game all over the world.

Today, this blog is featuring a new book - "Planeta do Futebol: do Brasil a fronteira afega"("Football Planet: from Brazil to Afghan" in English, pictured above) written Brazilian football journalist Renato Andreão
Renato, as you can remember, was the kind gentleman who conducted my email interview with S.

In 2010, we've published more than 1,000 posts on all so many different aspects of the Premier League, England national team, World Cup and coverage of the beautiful game on all sorts of media devices such as TV, smart phones and computers. Hopefully you've enjoyed most of the posts.

Merry Christmas everyone. We at The Offside hope you and your friends and family are spending a great day safe, warm and together. Now, on to the presents. Our readers range from hardcore season-ticket-holding fans to those wonderful ten people per day who find us by Googling David Beckham's penis.

Forget the goals, and the red card, and the slightly bonkers refereeing and whatnot – the entire game pales into insignificance besides that quite blisteringly good five minutes just before half-time. Away from home - and down to ten men - our heroes, as they had threatened to do from kick-off, indulged in a lengthy period of the most glorious keep-ball, borne of impeccable technique and worthy of Barcelona.

2010: The year the soccer gods showed the way

This year has made me a bit more optimistic for the future of the US game. When compared to my sentiments in years past, this one has been by far the best.

No our national teams have not shown any progress, MLS and college remain barely watchable, and our youth development is still piss poor.

Irresponsible uncle that I am I cannot quite recall how the fairytale pans out, but I presume that in the end Beauty slays the Beast, and thus it transpired yesterday, life imitating art at the Lane.

My north-east spies tell me that Messrs Tiote, Barton and Smith are normally the very models of chivalry, but the other day (Saturday?

A Football Report's 2010 Review: What was your best memory in 2010?

It has been a defining year for us at A Football Report and we could not have done it without your support. In this video, we've collected about 300 posts that chronologically look at all the major events that unfolded in the world of the beautiful game throughout the year, as well as the wonderful pieces that have been featured on the site throughout the year.