Lucas Leiva has thanked his Liverpool teammates after they dedicated Sunday's goal celebrations to
his new son Pedro Lucas.
The Brazil international became a father for the first time this week when his wife Ariana gave
birth in a Liverpool hospital.
And so after both goals during our 2-0 win in Sunderland the players joined him in a 'rock the
baby' celebration which was made famous by Brazilian World Cup winners Bebeto, Romario and Mazinho
during USA 1994.
The match between Russia and Cameroon in the first round of the 1994 was completely irrelevant for
both teams. Russia had lost their previous two matches 2-0 and 3-1 to Brazil and Sweden
respectively, while Cameroon had tied Sweden 2-2 and lost 3-0 to Brazil. This meant that while
Cameroon had a small theoretical chance of progressing, Russia was out.
Derek Rae, one of the most talented US-based soccer commentators, will call his last game for
ESPN US next week before he heads to the United Kingdom to work for ESPN UK.
Rae will be the ESPN UK's main commentator for the Scottish Premier League, where ESPN UK will
air 30 SPL games from the 2010-11 season, beginning on August 15 for Europa League qualifiers
Motherwell against Hibernian.
Hope everyone in the States watched the ESPN "30 for 30" -- "June 17, 1994" on Wednesday night. It
was fantastic. However I just don't remember the 1994 World Cup being that lame, a gurgling volcano
spewing cheese from sea to shining sea. Sure the Diana Ross* collapsing goal gaffe has been
recycled as a "worst football moment" ever since then.
Few goals doesn't automatically mean a bad World Cup. I'm not going to patronise Pitch Invasion
readers with lectures about the value of 0-0 draws and 1-0 games. Shit, I'll just say: Switzerland
1-0 Spain.
But we have now completed the first round of group games, and there have been 25 goals in 16
games.
Greece World Cup 2010 Preview #6 (Group B) is a post from: Just Football
Greece
Appearances at World Cup finals: 1 (1994)
Best ever performance: Simply being there at USA 1994 was as good as it has
gotten for Greece, making this upcoming 2010 a special occasion for it's rarity.
Inter coach Jose Mourinho is renowned for making controversial remarks, Â for using the media to
hammer his point and for manipulating the press to engage in psychological games against his
toughest opponents. The focus here will be on Mourinho's latest statement which is actually
inaccurate if one is to consider the many factors associated with the World Cup and involved in the
buildup to the biggest sports tournament in the world.
After the victory of West Germany and the reunification of the two Germanies it would seem that the
1990s would be poised to be the era where German football would dominate. Although the unified
German team had not managed to defeat Denmark in the final of the 1992 European Championships, the
team was strong and motivated to defend its title at the 1994 World Cup in the USA.
With the 2010 FIFA World Cup less than 100 days away, its time to breakdown the nations that will
be participating in The Great Tournament. The Greeks are the final team of Group B to
breakdown.
Name: Michel Preud'homme DOB: 24/01/1959 Height: 6ft 0in (1.83m) Clubs: Standard Liege (1977-86) KV
Mechelen (1986-94) Benfica (1994-99) Years Active: 1977-1999 Club Appearances: 649 International
Appearances: (Belgium) 58 Michel Preud'homme was the first ever winner of the Yashin Award for best
goalkeeper in a World Cup in the USA 1994 tournament, which was a fitting way for the player, who
then had arguably his best [.
Name: Michel Preud'homme DOB: 24/01/1959 Height: 6ft 0in (1.83m) Clubs: Standard Liege (1977-86) KV
Mechelen (1986-94) Benfica (1994-99) Years Active: 1977-1999 Club Appearances: 649 International
Appearances: (Belgium) 58 Michel Preud'homme was the first ever winner of the Yashin Award for best
goalkeeper in a World Cup in the USA 1994 tournament, which was a fitting [.
With the 2010 FIFA World Cup less than 100 days away, its time to breakdown the nations that will
be participating in The Great Tournament. Continuing the Group B previews with the Super Eagles of
Nigeria.
Official Name: Nigeria Football Association
Nickname: The Super Eagles
FIFA Confederation: CAF (Africa)
FIFA Code: NGA
How They Qualified: Won Group B of African Final Stage Qualifying
World Cup Appearances (Including 2010): 4
Best WC Finish: USA 1994 & France 1998, Eliminated Round of 16
World Cup Record (MP: Wins - Draws - Losses): 11: 4W - 1D - 6L
Head Coach: Lars Lagerbäck
Most Capped Player (# of caps): Mudashiru Lawal (86)
All-Time Goal Scoring Leader (# of goals): Rashidi Yekini (37)
Brief Footballing History:
Nigeria is a continental power having won the African Cup of Nations twice in 1980 & 1994 and have
reached the semis of the African Cup of Nations in 4 of the last 5 editions.
OK, we are all stoked about the World Cup Final Draw on 4 December in Cape Town when we will
know where and whom the 32 teams are playing, but what about the Official World Cup Match Ball?
Very little has been said about the most important element of this 2010 World Cup Mix – the
Match Ball.
Italy managed to draw 1-1 against both Paraguay and New Zealand while failing to impress despite
having seen a lot in terms of ball possession, in particular against the Kiwis when the Italians
had just over 70% in terms of ball possession. Pundits and fans alike are debating what has gone
wrong for the Azzurri in South Africa 2010 with some attributing it to the Italian tendency to
start slow referencing Spain 1982, USA 1994 and even Germany 2006.
As I type this, Algeria and Slovenia are convincing me I shouldn't have woken up at 6am to watch
them both hamfistedly try to score a goal. It has just finished 1-0 to Slovenia and that comes
after the first two days of the World Cup produced a pitiful 1.4 goals per game, the lowest total
for that period of games since 1986.
World Cup
Appearances 1 (First in 1994)
Best result Round 1, 1994
European Championship
Appearances 3 (First in 1980)
Best result Winners, 2004
Confederations Cup
Appearances 1 (First in 2005)
Best result Round 1, 2005
Greece has only participated in one previous World Cup, USA 1994.
Spain and Italy are two great southern European footballing nations that have produced some of the
best players, and at club level have some of the most winning clubs in the world. That said, their
trajectories at the level of national teams could not have been more different: while Italy has won
the world championship four times and been in more finals, Spain has only one semifinal in 1950 to
The series ends with the nineteen-nineties, the decade when Baggio, Gascoigne, Ronaldo and Zidane
all took centre stage.
The 1990s
The three tournaments held during this decade saw two World Cup stalwarts reclaim the title and the
trophy finally head to the home of the tournament's founder, Jules Rimet.
When a player is the subject of a 30 million transfer fee in the market, the subject is expected
to deliver. Though the occasional glimpse of genius has been seen at Dimitar Berbatov's Old
Trafford career, the phrases in the opening line have been associated with the Bulgarian to
date.
Suiza en Sudáfrica 2010 Calendario x Fecha y hora lugar contra Primer juego Segundo juego Tercer
juego Las últimas tres participaciones de Suiza en mundiales Mundial Posición final Avanzo hasta
Eliminado por Compartió fase de grupos con: Inglaterra 1966 16 Primera ronda Puntos Alemania del
oeste, argentina, España USA 1994 15 Octavos de final España Rumania, USA, Colombia Alemania 2006
10 Octavos de final ucrania Francia, corea, Togo Su mejor participación fue en:
en el 34 y el 38 llegaron a cuartos de final
Se le recuerda especialmente por:
nada especialmente
Jugadores sobresalientes Nombre posición Club Diego Benaglio portero Wolfsburg Stephan
Lichtsteiner defensa Lazio Philippe Senderos defensa Arsenal Marco Padalino medio Sampdoria Eren
Derdiyok medio Bayern leverkusen
Grecia en Sudáfrica 2010 Calendario x Fecha y hora lugar contra Primer juego Segundo juego Tercer
juego Las últimas tres participaciones de Grecia en mundiales Mundial Posición final Avanzo hasta
Eliminado por Compartió fase de grupos con: USA 1994 24 Primera ronda puntos Nigeria, Bulgaria,
argentina Su mejor participación fue en:
la única fue en USA 1994 y terminaron en el lugar 24.
Nigeria en Sudáfrica 2010 Calendario x Fecha y hora lugar contra Primer juego Segundo juego Tercer
juego Las últimas tres participaciones de Nigeria en mundiales Mundial Posición final Avanzo
hasta Eliminado por Compartió fase de grupos con: USA 1994 9 Octavos de final Italia Bulgaria,
argentina, Grecia Francia 1998 12 Octavos de final Dinamarca Paraguay, España, Bulgaria Corea
Japón 2002 27 Primera ronda Puntos Suecia, Inglaterra, argentina Su mejor participación fue en:
USA 1994 quedando en noveno lugar
Se le recuerda especialmente por:
yo recuerdo el autogol de Zubizarreta en Francia 1998
Jugadores sobresalientes:
nadie especialmente conocido pero la mayorÃa juega en equipos de medio pelo en
Europa
Camerún en Sudáfrica 2010 Calendario x Fecha y hora lugar contra Primer juego Segundo juego
Tercer juego Las últimas tres participaciones de Camerún en mundiales Mundial Posición final
Avanzo hasta Eliminado por Compartió fase de grupos con: USA 1994 22 Primera ronda Puntos Brasil,
Suecia, Rusia Francia 1998 25 Primera ronda Puntos Italia, chile, Austria Corea Japón 2002 20
Primera ronda puntos Alemania, república de Irlanda, arabia saudita Su mejor participación fue
en:
Italia 90
Se le recuerda especialmente por:
el error de Valderrama que le costó la eliminación en Italia 90 a manos de
Camerún
Jugadores sobresalientes Nombre posición Club Carlos Kameni portero Español de Barcelona Samuel
Etoo Delantero Inter de Milán Pierre Webo delantero Mallorca Alexandre Song medio Arsenal Geremi
defensa Newcastle
Jugadores sobresalientes Nombre posición Club Mark van Bommel medio Bayern Múnich Wesley Sneijder
medio Inter de Milán Rafael van der Vaart medio Real Madrid Robin van Persie delantero Arsenal
Arjen Robben delantero Bayern Múnich
En estos dias nos hemos topado con penales muy bien cobrados como el de Ezequiel de laÂ
selección española sub-19 quien perdio la final con Francia en el mundial de su categoria, otros
han cobrado los penales de una forma que dan pena ajena.
Pero lo que tambien llamo la atención fueron las celebraciones de gol en varias ligas por el
mundo, como la de estos jóvenes islandeses(Iceland) y la celebración del pescador, que le dio
la vuelta al mundo, como explican ellos el anotador del gol festejo de esa manera ya que su
compañero se llama Laxdal que en su idioma significa Salmon:
Eso nos lleva a mostrarles el vÃdeo recopilatorio con las mejores celebraciones/festejos de gol
de todos los tiempos en el fútbol mundial, las que se me vienen a la memoria rapidamente son:
El festejo de Bebeto en el mundial USA 1994.
For all the talk that France is in rough shape (including from former and current internationals),
they still have the most talented players in the group (despite being weaker than 2006). I don't
believe that qualifying form has much to do with World Cup performance, at least when it comes to
the title contenders.
Here is a look at ESPN's World Cup 101 Preview features from this past week:
- March 7th - OTL reports from South Africa - Last weekend ESPN's Outside the Lines TV show
reported on the the United States 2010 project that was launched in 1998. A look into the US
program to strengthen their youth development
- March 8th - Best World Cup jerseys of all time - The top 10 best national team jerseys
from World Cups of the past, including USA 1994 and Zaire 1974.
