Seven non-Titi related posts you may have missed during the last seven days... Japan sound the horn. For silencing the horn. Tell us who your biggest international rival is. What they'll all be wearing in Philadelphia next year. Who deserves the golden trashcan? Nothing like an international break to recharge the old batteries New Zealand headed to South Africa thanks to [. Click to continue reading...

The year is 2010AD, Girls Aloud have split, Jedward are ruling the world with over 237 million albums sold, forcing many a music fan to throw themselves of various bridges throughout the world, Sir Dexy Longshot has left UKFF and now writes for Gardeners Weekly & Spurs are Premier League champions.

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Japan is the latest in the series of protestors wanting to end the din created by the vuvuzela.

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Vuvuzelas - Noisy Plastic Trumpets in All Colours

According to bbc news Motoaki Inukai, the president of the Japan Football Association (JFA), wants the noisy vuvuzela trumpet to be banned from the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Noisy Plastic Trumpet!

And to add insult to this sign of cultural intolerance, when asked for his thoughts on the subject after Saturday's stalemate, Japan coach Takeshi Okada responded dryly: "Perhaps if they play good football (the fans) will be quiet and watch.

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It would seem this vuvuzela thing is, at the very least, unpopular. As a direct result of its popularity, of course. Xabi Alonso left the Confederations Cup poo-pooing the vuvuzela and its effect on the field of play. The cacophony a bit too intense for such things as hearing the whistles and one's teammates not things entirely insignificant.

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Well, it's official the maddening buzz of the vuvuzela will be heard at the World Cup (assuming you don't gouge out your eardrums for fear of suffering through a month of aural torture before then). Says SABC News:

During the Confederations Cup earlier this year, players and the international media complained about the noise made by the vuvuzela.

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Somehow it feels like that day that FIFA President Sepp Blatter opened the Envelope and said South Africa was just the other day. The image of Madiba holding the solid gold World Cup Trophy above his head was busying into our minds as we realised that the World Cup� was truly coming to Africa, to South Africa in 2010.

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If anyone is leading the charge against vuvuzelas, especially in the blogosphere, it's Unprofessional Foul.
Not hard to believe they weren't a bit perturbed to hear the once in a lifetime opportunities you have with your cell phones in South Africa:

There is an ad on TV for the VUVUZELA RINGTONE.

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All the stuff being covered outside the unfriendly confines of the award winning Dirty Tackle...

After receiving a three-year contract extension from Chelsea yesterday, Didier Drogba put out the above video statement supposedly directed at the fans. But between the bedroom eyes and intimate tone, it sounds more like a message for his special lady friend.

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I think I can turn that question into a statement. With the World Cup in South Africa approaching, I am inclined to be against the vuvuzelas because, like we saw during Confederations Cup, it allows absolutely no space for chanting which is one of the beauties of being at a football match and screaming your lungs off.

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Stuff to read while you get a glimpse of what El Clasico will look like next year...... Not bad, eh? Still no clue where Peter Crouch's appeal lies. (SoccerLens) Mrs. Steven Gerrard bemoans 'rough' Liverpool nightlife; forgets who hubby is. (The Spoiler) The 5 dirtiest players in the game. (90 minutes on the pitch) Can Russia ever make a dent [. Click to continue reading...

In an event organized by their common sponsor PUMA, Samuel Eto'o met with Jamaican runner Usain Bolt at the offices of L'Equipe (a nationwide french daily newspaper dedicated to sports) in Paris last Wednesday. Even though the two speak different languages, they had quite an interesting conversation, full of laughs, via translator. Click to continue reading...

FIFA rejects calls to ban the wind instrument.

"It's been compared to a deafening swarm of wasps. Or a herd of flatulent elephants."

How about we will never have to suffer through Max Bretos and Christopher Sullivan's whingeing drivel?

For all those naysayers who think SA is going to be a crime haven, the vuvuzela will be the perfect crime stopper.

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Man of the Match: While we saw several good performances against Grenada Stuart Holden, Freddy Adu, and Chad Marshall, to name a few Robbie Rogers was the clear winner of this match's honor.� He ran at the Grenadan defense, provided great service, set up two goals, and scored one himself.

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It's all over. The 2009 Confederations Cup is in the books and Brazil reigns supreme as the greatest team in the world.
Ok, maybe not. Or maybe so ... Hard to tell. What does the Confederations Cup really mean?
One thing the Cup does is serve as a dress rehearsal for the 2010 World Cup. Click to continue reading...

Orlando Pirates Fans
Originally uploaded by notFlunky En estos momentos se juega la final de la Copa Confederaciones .
Si quieres pasar un buen tiempo viendo como EU se adelanta a los brasileños, o quieres que Brasil le de la vuelta o simplemente quieres hacer el característico sonido de la trompeta vuvzela en el estadio como los aficionados de la foto entra aquí y lo podrás hacer. Click to continue reading...

First off, I hope this morning's 3rd place Vuvuzela consolation cup match finds you well. It doesn't find Cesc Fabregas well, or maybe it does find him well and he's just not playing because his international manager is mad at him. I dunno, either way, there isn't much to say about this game since there aren't any Arsenal players on the pitch.

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Try you hand at it while you are waiting for the game to start.Go here and blow the vuvuzela.It's fun.No wonder so many people at the games can't stop themselves from giving it one more blast.

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Pre-game is at 1:00 pm and the boys will kick off at 1:25 pm today on ESPN. While the U.S. Men are in their first-ever FIFA tournament final, five-time FIFA World Cup champions Brazil are making their fourth appearance in the Confederations Cup final and looking for their record-setting third title.

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Seven stories you might have missed this week... Don't like your team's new strip? Change it. Tell us who your team should sign this summer The most disappointing player of all time? So Spain have anything to worry about? Can an African team win the World Cup in 2010? The Vuvuzela: get used to it Four very suspicious "retirements" in Iran Click to continue reading...

Many people, including my good friend Brian Lofrumento over at Premiership Talk have had their say about the Vuvuzela. In case you don't know what a vuvuzela is, just watch a Confederations Cup match and you'll soon find out. Click to continue reading...

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Xabi Alonso on the vuvuzela- shortly before Spain crashed out "I think they should be banned," he said. "We're used to when people shout but not to this trumpet noise which doesn't allow you to concentrate and is unbearable."
Bob Bradley must have given his team some tips on how to block out the noise.

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Play it loud, South Africa! SoccerBlog.com goes on record in favor of the Vuvuzela.

Brazil has the support of its Samba drums, the Bafana Bafana has vuvuzela support.

Don't let a few journalists and European players throw a wet blanket on the celebration.

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Play it loud, South Africa! SoccerBlog.com goes on record in favor of the Vuvuzela.

Brazil has the support of its Samba drums, the Bafana Bafana has vuvuzela support.

Don't let a few journalists and European players throw a wet blanket on the celebration.

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The wacky Sepp Blatter, FIFA's President, the same guy who last summer called Cristiano Ronaldo a slave - singlehandedly re-igniting my sportswriting career, is back at it again.
This time, Blatter says that a major concern ahead of next year's World Cup in South Africa is an accommodation shortage - and he is proposing the berthing of passenger cruise ships off Durban, Cape Town, and Port Elizabeth to deal with the issue - setting up floating mini-hotels. Click to continue reading...

If you're travelling to South Africa to watch the World Cup next year, the WDKF's Research Laboratory has just the thing for you and most importantly, your ears. Introducing the WDKF's MAXI-PLUG*, for those very annoying and noisy vuvuzelas. Always keep in mind what Perez Hilton said after his/her altercation with Black Eyed Peas' Will. Click to continue reading...

If we thought Round 1 and 2 were great then Round 3 sure threw up a whole lot of surprises and amazing results!
Honestly, if the Confederations Cup were a preview of the World Cup, I can honestly say that I will start counting down the months, days, hours, minutes and seconds to the World Cup 2010! Click to continue reading...

África do Sul/PortugalFoto: Francisco Paraíso

"...Entre os bafana bafana, os futebolistas da selecção sul-africana, entre aquela maré negra, destacava-se o defesa central Matthew Booth. Além do seu 1,98m (o mais alto da equipa) e da sua cabeça brilhante de rapada, era o único branco da equipa.

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While it's indeed absolutely righteous that the ol' Stars n' Stripes conquered whatever demons they had been wrestling against the Egyptians (and thanks, Brazil!) and offered themselves the opportunity to toreador against the running of the silky and insurmountable Spanish bulls, the fact remains that the country's domestic league has been rendered a forgotten soldier, blanched and drowned out by the androgynous moan of the vuvuzela. Click to continue reading...

And the USMNT is through to the semifinal. They play Spain on Wednesday. South Africa will wile away a couple of Brazil's idle hours on Thursday. I should probably peel off a quick patriotic valediction, or least stumble through 600 words about the decline of Italy (already one of the least buoyant world championship teams in recent memory, and sinking fast), but my brain sounds like a plague of vuvuzelas*, and I want to go look at the parts of each match that I didn't watch while watching parts of the other match and figure out how this mathematical sliver managed to come to pass.

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The Vuvuzela
Originally uploaded by Just_1ce Como saben en estos momentos se juega la Copa Confederaciones en Sudáfrica, dentro de 354 días empezara el mundial, en esas tierras africanas.
Algo que me ha llamado la atención en los partidos es el sonido ambiente, las llamadas Vuvuzelas o cornetas futboleras (Air Horns) que en los años ochenta en México proliferaban y daban ese sonido parecido a un zumbido de panal de abejas. Click to continue reading...

The current controversy over the vuvuzela at the Confederations Cup in South Africa is hardly the first debate about "artificial" noisemakers used by football fans. In different forms, their use has been common across the world for over a century. So is the vuvuzela an organic instrument of South African football culture we should respect, or a commercialised nuisance that should be banned?

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Anyone watching the Confederations Cup over the last week or so can't fail to have heard the continuing, defeaning drone coming from hundreds, if not thousands, of plastic horns known as Vuvuzelas.These are, apparently, extremely popular among South African football fans. However, such is the incessant din produced by this horns, that players (well Xabi Alonso anyway) have complained it knocks Click to continue reading...

Something to read while you enjoy a Fatih Terim teamtalk (I don't think it's really him though)... Setanta loses next season's Premier League UK TV rights (EPL Talk) Man Utd are the 8th most valuable sports brand on earth (Sports Pro Media) Remembering Razor (ThreeMatchBan) Vuvuzela violence? (Studs Up) Anatoly Kuznetsov and Dynamo Kyiv's "almost incredible" story (The Global Game) Rajko [. Click to continue reading...