Daily Dose: February 9th, 2010 – Kasabian Model the New England Away Kit
By: Daryl |
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Something to read after you watch England’s World Cup 2010 away kit unveiled. By Kasabian’s lead singer. In Paris.
Is it me or are England’s kit launches getting weirder and weirder?
- What the Premier League could learn from the NFL (Early Doors)
- Not everyone cares about John Terry’s private life (Reuters Soccer Blog)
- Diagnosing the Shakhtar Syndrome (Soccerlens)
- Dissing DB’s hair (Kickette)
- Advertising and football. What’s the best balance? (EPL Talk)
- Primera porristas indeed (Football Fashion)
- No Ronaldinho in latest selection (Brazil World Cup Blog)
Category: Daily Dose
Ramon Calderon Says Cristiano Ronaldo Rejected Barcelona to Join Real Madrid
By: Daryl | 4 Comments
Thanks to ex-Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon’s wonderful inability to keep quiet, we’re slowly but surely learning more and more about Cristiano Ronaldo’s transfer from Old Traffod to the Bernabéu last summer. Remember how someone at Real Madrid claimed the transfer was arranged a year in advance, in the summer of 2008? And remember how Alex Ferguson spent the 2008/9 season flat out denying that Man Utd had already sold CR9? Well seems they were both right. Sort of.
Here’s what Calderon revealed today:
“On December 8, 2008 Cristiano came to an agreement with Manchester United about joining Real Madrid,” Calderon said. “There was no negotiation about this as he had signed on it.
“The player, in order to show his good faith and desire to come to Madrid, took a financial penalty of 30 million euros (if he pulled out of the deal). But then Barcelona and Internazionale tried to sign him too.
So basically the deal wasn’t 100% signed and sealed, but some sort of (shady?) pre-agreement was in place, which meant that if Ronaldo joined anyone but Real Madrid he’d be €30 million poorer. At least I think that’s what Calderon is saying.
Category: Spain La LigaThe 30 Referees of World Cup 2010
By: Daryl | 10 comments
When FIFA announced it's final list of 30 referees for World Cup 2010 in South Africa, the big story was the inclusion Martin Hansson, the Swedish ref who somehow missed Thierry Henry's handball vs Ireland. Somehow.
There were 29 other referees on the list though, some of whom are very much aware that for 20 of the 22 men on the pitch, football is a feet only sport. Your full list of 30 World Cup 2010 referees is as follows:
Category: World Cup 2010The Unlikely Fan Goes Super Bowl Mainstream.
By: chris | 2 comments
Those of you hanging around during Euro 2008 may remember The Unlikely Fan from his newfound Oranje fandom after moving to Amsterdam from the States. As you may expect of a comedian, or comedic actor of a comedic troupe, he was quite funny, and his bits - or segments, not the intro - were one of the best things to come out of Euro2008 with Andrei Arshavin, Petr Cech's mortality and video replay (wait...).
In fact we were discussing not a few weeks back whether or not he'd return for the summer shenanigans in South Africa. At least he's back in some way - in a Super Bowl commercial for Teleflora. South Africa? We'll have to wait and see.
A selection here, or a little reminder after the jump.
Category: World FootballManfield Town Are The Future
By: chris | Add Comments
It’s going to be impossible to do this without referencing Radiohead’s album In Rainbows, which has sort of paved the mainstream way for “pay what you want” retail. From Wiki, for those in the blue:
Days after announcing the album’s completion, Radiohead released In Rainbows as a digital download that customers could order for whatever price they saw fit. Upon its retail release, In Rainbows entered the UK Album Chart and the U.S. Billboard 200 at number one; by October 2008, it had sold more than three million copies worldwide in both digital and physical formats.
Mansfield Town, lounging in the Conference National (5th division), pulled the exact same stunt with similar success. Though probably without the millions upon millions of pounds. Or the Grammy. (Alright, maybe the Grammy – they hand those things out like candy.)
Read the rest of this entry »
Category: EnglandWinning Fans & Losing Employees The Benin Way.
By: chris | 5 comments
Some countries choose to "shake things up" after a dismal continental tournament, pinpointing a problem. Nigeria have sacked Shaibu Amodu, after what can only be assumed were ritual pregame bong sessions, in order to put on a good show in South Africa.
Some countries choose to relive the glory days after a disappointing collection of games. Italy did this by bringing back Marcello Lippi after the ugly experiment known as Roberto Donadoni.
Others combat failure by ducking under their desks and doing absolutely nothing but mumble a bit of prayer. Raymond Domenech says hello.
Benin have gone an entirely different route - they've blown up the whole goddamn thing.
Category: African Cup of NationsCharge Your Cell Phone With a Soccer Ball
By: Daryl | 9 Comments
I don’t know much about green technology, but I know what I like. So when I heard about the sOccket – a soccer ball that stores the energy generated through playing the beautiful game – I wanted to know more.
The sOccket is the brainchild of four ladies at Harvard University. They saw that in certain developing countries, communities were using kerosene lamps for light. The fumes from kerosene lamps don’t do anyone’s health any favours, and they are also big CO2 producers. In short, they’re not good. But if you live somewhere that’s not connected to an electricity grid, then you don’t have a lot of choice. The Harvard ladies are aiming to change that with the sOccket.
It’s a regular shaped football, but with an “inductive coil mechanism” inside. Don’t worry, I didn’t know what an “inductive coil mechanism” was either, but according to Inhabitat it means there’s a magnet inside that’s drawn through a coil when the ball moves around, and the resulting kinetic energy is then stored in a battery. Once the game of football is over, the energy in the battery can then be used to power an LED lamp, as a replacement for the kerosene lamp.
Category: World FootballDaily Dose: February 8th, 2010.
By: chris | Add Comments
The Belgian goals of the week.
- Finding hope in people who touch themselves on the internet. (Sid Lowe)
- The status of Polkraine 2012. (ESPN)
- Things you can get for free in Italy. (Calciomercato Offside)
- The David Beckham Academy’s unceremonious end. (Unprofessional Foul)
- The West Brom Blog – no, this space has not been hijacked – speaks to Kevin Phillips. (WBA Offside)
- Size doesn’t matter. (When Saturday Comes)
- UEFA rolls out its fancy new digs. (uefa.com)
Category: Daily Dose
Click Here, Because The West Brom Blog Wants You To.*
The West Brom Blog never doubted its own genius, but when it looped that ball of paper into the bin over its shoulder, that's when it really knew. Now onto West Brom's superficial rise to the top of the Championship. *Any typing errors can be explained by the breaking of
Feb 09, 2010 | Read this article...
A Thought On The Defense
Having watched our team go through a strange metamorphosis with the lose of Pepe, the suspension of Ronaldo and a rash of injuries that hit the team right before the match against Deportivo. With Lass and Garay injured, our defensive options were severely limited, and with Ronaldo, Van der Vaart
Feb 09, 2010 | Read this article...
Inter 3 – Cagliari 0; Ruthless!
In Milan, Inter went ahead in the 6 minute mark from Pandev’s foot and then doubled at the 20 minute mark from Samuel’s head. Milito added one more right after the break at the 47 minute mark and that accounts for 3 of Inter’s 7 shots on goal. This was
Feb 09, 2010 | Read this article...
Inspuration needed
Wolves take their next step in the effort to ensure survival in the top flight when they meet Spurs at Molineux on Wednesday 10th Feb at 7:45. Spurs will doubtless be looking for revenge after Wolves secured their best result of the season by winning at White Hart Lane in
Feb 09, 2010 | Read this article...
Trouble and Protest in Gallipoli
This summer the tiny club Gallipoli Calcio, founded in 1999, achieved a historic promotion to Serie B. The Pugliese club, managed by former Roma and Italy midfielder Giuseppe Giannini, weren't expected to do much this season, but have been a surprise, playing well and currently sitting above the relegation zone
Feb 09, 2010 | Read this article...
Juventus Primavera Continues Viareggio Defense
If you haven't heard of the Torneo di Viareggio, smack yourself upside the face. Like the Toulon tournament for national teams, the Viareggio classic is one of the most prestigious world competitions for youth teams. Held in Marcello Lippi's hometown, this is the 62nd annual tournament, always held during Carneval
Feb 09, 2010 | Read this article...
Timid Everton Underwhelm on the Big Stage
Everton out fought and out thought in a Dire Derby Day Everton's resurgence up the ranks of the Premier League was well and truly brought to an abrupt halt at the hands of Arch Rivals Liverpool. The Blues failed to take advantage of an extra man in a tempestuous affair and really
Feb 09, 2010 | Read this article...
All the Sounders Results and Highlights for 2009. (This is Exceptionally Cool)
I got this in my email yesterday from my former co-blogger Steve, who has escaped Seattle for grad school elsewhere. It's all the results and highlights from all the games in 2009, in timeline form, at your fingertips. You can see highlights and find details for each game
Feb 09, 2010 | Read this article...
WAG Alert! Schweini's girl Sarah Brandner's SI "Swimsuit" Video
Bastian doesn't need the glasses for Sarah.. Next time she ought to try actually mentioning Bayern, and maybe doing the shoot in a Bayern kit rather than that awful red monstrosity of a national team trikot.
Feb 09, 2010 | Read this article...
Carnival
I know, I'm late, and by now all of you probably know more about last match than I do. But I have a good excuse for my absence: I was on a trip to a friend's ranch and after some BBQ, cold beer, sunny weather with temperatures around 30-35°C and
Feb 09, 2010 | Read this article...
Chamakh Reportedly Signs with Arsenal
Sport is reporting that Bordeaux striker Marouane Chamakh has signed a pre-contract with Arsenal. If true, he will join the club at the end of the summer for pre-season training after the World Cup. Here's what I had to say about Chamakh in November: I think it would have been funny
Feb 09, 2010 | Read this article...Serie A Goals of the Week: Giornata 23
Not a big goalscoring weekend in Serie A, with only 19 balls bypassing goalkeepers this week. Antonio Di Natale scored a hat trick vs. his hometown club Napoli, and is now the leader of the scoring charts with 16 goals, 1 shy of his single season record of 17 back
Feb 09, 2010 | Read this article...
South of the Border
Posted on Kerith Gabriel's Twitter page yesterday, and confirmed on philly.com, the Union will be leaving cold, snowy North Carolina for warmer climes (for real) this time. In a couple weeks they'll be heading down to Guadalajara, Mexico. Hmm, I wonder if that city has any professional soccer
Feb 09, 2010 | Read this article...Breaking News: Van Buyten out of Cup Match with Flu
FC Bayern reported on its official website that central defender Daniel van Buyten will miss Wednesday's DFB Pokal match because of the stomach flu. The team's site went on to speculate that Holger Badstuber would shift inside to replace Van Buyten and Danijel Pranjic would get the start at
Feb 09, 2010 | Read this article...Arsenal to Pen Letter to Barcelona Over Repeated Attempts to Unsettle Cesc
The report is that Arsenal, through CEO Ivan Gazidis, will write a letter to FC Barcelona regarding their repeated, flagrant attempts to unsettle a player under contract with the club. And we here at the Arsenal Offside have, in a huge coup for investigative journalism, obtained a copy of an
Feb 09, 2010 | Read this article...
Stuttgart rip 5 wins in a row
Another derby, another win. That's five in a row for those counting at home and quite an ascent up the table. This was a pretty wild affair; could've easily been 4 or 5 more goals. Miscellaneous thoughts about the game in no particular order: -It was an unchanged
Feb 09, 2010 | Read this article...
Reja to take the reins
It's not yet official but barring a minor disaster, Edy Reja will be the new coach of Lazio. Ballardini's time is up and perhaps he has had longer than he deserves. Many, including myself, would've let him go during that horrible period when we endured four months without a league
Feb 09, 2010 | Read this article...
Luciano Spalletti Likes to Coach His Players in Water
Maybe you've heard of Luciano Spalletti's famous long, exhausting tactical trainings – where to stand, when to run, how to play etc. Zenit players did. Whey prepared to swallow a lot of tactical stuff on pre-season camp but, all of a sudden, were taken... in the swimming pool. Vladislav Radimov, former
Feb 09, 2010 | Read this article...
Mister Mercato ; Philippe Mexes
Think about a Mexes-Chiellini partnership in central defence, pretty decent in my mind. It seems the Juventus management more than agrees. It’s no secret that Juventus need a CB to bolster their defence while everyone knows Rosella Sensi loves a good pay out. The summer signing of a CB is
Feb 09, 2010 | Read this article...
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