Why does Germany wear green? The Ireland myth and the truth.

After dropping a few hints over the past few months, Adidas released the new Germany away kit that will be used throughout EURO 2012. It's green. Really, really green. Like you, we've seen a German flag before and could not find a trace of green on it.

Boxing Day Preview: Manchester United, Chelsea And Winning Bets - originally posted on Soccerlens.com

Premier League clubs are all set for Boxing Day showdown as 14 teams take to the field on Monday, with the remaining 6 playing on Tuesday. Here's a look at the choicest fixtures from the next two days and the best betting odds for them.

Out of wide array of matches being played and televised today (a bunch of international friendlies, a few South American World Cup qualifying matches, and the final four qualifying playoff matches for Euro 2012), the one to watch is a friendly in Hamburg:

Germany-Netherlands (2:30pmET, ESPN Classic, ESPN3.

This is an image of the Poppy Day armband that the England under-21's are currently wearing v Iceland this evening.
It will, of course, also be worn by the Senior England team V Spain on Saturday.
Its a dignified logo and it stands out very well, over the jersey.

I can actually understand why FIFA might be a bit touchy about emblems on shirts.

They've got it wrong before.

For example, in the 1934 FIFA World Cup tournament the Italian team (who won both that competition and went on to win in France in 1938) wore the Fascist symbol on their shirts: it's clearly visible on the official tournament poster and TOFFS are still making and selling that particular shirt.

We're about to flip the calendar from October to November which means that we've already reached the 10 game mark of the season and it's time for the latest instalment of This Season vs Last Season.

The eagled-eyed among you, and/or followers on Twitter, may have already seen the chronological numbers on the new Season Rankr page.

England overcame World War II buoyed by the bulldog spirit of Winston Churchill, the perfect choice for a war time leader. Yet, it was Clement Atlee who was voted to rebuild an England recovering from the war's aftermath and the decline of empire. 50 years later these two men rank in the list of greatest leaders.

Photographs capture specific moments in time, with the more iconic ones representing certain splendors or symbolizing tumultuous events. The New York Times Square photo of an American sailor sealing victory with a kiss stands out as one of joy at the end of major hostilities following World War II.

SOURCE: REPUBLICA
KATHMANDU, July 21: "A pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity, an optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty," former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill had said this during World War II.
Though it´s not World War II, Nepal has made it to the second round of the 2014 World Cup Qualifiers for the first time in its football history and is ready to face strong opponent Jordan in its away match on Thursday.

Pressure is a privelege. That's the perspective of our Women's USA squad this World Cup. Ranked #1 according to FIFA world rankings, the United States Women's National Soccer Team are the team at the top. We are team to defeat. This, however, is a new era. An era that follows the staunch legacy of 1999's Michelle Akers, Mia Hamm, and Brandy Chastain when the USA hosted and won the World Cup claiming World Dominance in women's football.

Scotland's most famous victory over the "auld enemy'

The Celtic fringe assert their independence and evoke the Battle of Bannockburn, Battle of Cadfan, and the Irish rebellion. The term 'historic agreement' is loaded and suggests a turning point. The Yalta Conference was a historical agreement and established the re-organization of post World War II Europe.

When a football legend parts from the game either through retirement or death, ink splatters as tributes are furiously written to consider the man's style of play, his memorable moments on the pitch, his connections with his fans, and his contributions to club and country. Even for an almost legend, debates commence over whether the player had been underrated, if he should indeed be a member in the pantheon of the greats instead of simply a distinguished guest, or what flaws he might have had as a player or person that prevented him from achieving truly legendary status.

Occasionally, there's a debate among fans just how far soccer has come in the United States. It's clearly more popular than ever, and the country now boasts a league that, according to some scouts, is on par with the English Championship (Division 2). Another way to chart the progress of soccer in the U.

I've got to be honest, I'm completely underwhelmed by today's game. If England don't win by more than two goals I think Capello should resign immediately. This game looks like a mythical third round FA Cup tie something like Histon v Liverpool.

To begin, let's start with some facts. We've only lost three times in Wales since World War II, the last time was a 0-1 defeat at The Racecourse Ground in Wrexham in May 1982, a game in the last Home International Tournament.

The Ballad of Matthias Sindelar (Or How World War II Robbed Austria's Golden Generation) is a post from: Just Football

The name Matthias Sindelar should be familiar to football aficionados everywhere as well as historians, for that matter. But, by and large, it isn't. Chris Woolfrey elaborates on an iconic symbol of Austrian football:

In his book Inverting the Pyramid Jonathan Wilson writes that "the modern way of understanding and discussing the game was invented in the coffee houses of Vienna," and in the realisation of an aesthetic of Austrian football formed by Hugo Meisl's Wunderteam and their iconic forward Matthias Sindelar, a nation patronisingly deemed by some as too lowly for its role as co-host of the 2008 European Championship contributed perhaps more to the development of football than most so-called 'major' sporting nations ever have.

Imagen vía WikipediaVinnie Jones is enlisting soccer stars Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and David Beckham for a remake of 'Escape to Victory', the 1981 cult classic movie -directed by John Huston- featuring former soccer aces Pelé, Bobby Moore and Oscar Ardiles
Sir Michael Caine and Sylvester Stallone also starred in the original movie – known only as ‘Victory' in North America - which told the story of a group of allied prisoners of war escaping a German prison camp in World War II.

WARSAW, Poland — Polish second division stragglers Warta Poznan may have found a secret weapon as they battle to avoid the drop: a former Playboy cover star. Izabela Lukomska-Pyzalska, 33, has been named club chair and is pledging to run a tight ship to try to save Warta from relegation. Lukomska-Pyzalska told the rolling news [.

Kevork Djansezian - Getty Images

I wonder how many joyous moments Edson Buddle may experience in Germany?

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I've been to Munich.

I regret to report that Richard "Dick" Winters has made his final jump - he has passed away after a long illness. A quiet and humble man, Winters received a level of fame he wasn't used to after HBO turned the Stephen Ambrose book Band of Brothers into an acclaimed mini-series in 2001.
Winters served as an officer in the 101st Airborne Division's 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, Easy Company.