The World Cup

[faceless]

28 days to go, and I'm getting quite excited at the prospect of watching the best players of the best game in the world show their stuff.

You can see the teams as they stand on this page:

http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/w/group/index.html

I'd like to see Sweden do well, but generally speaking I'll be supporting any time that plays against England - come on Trinidad!

[IRiSHMaFIA]

I'm really looking forward to World Cup too as my sig kind of projects.

Since Ireland is out, I'll be supporting Brazil. Reason for this decision is they're NOT England (sorry maycm), they'll last a good way through and they've players I can respect, not to mention I'll look bitchin in their team jersey with a tan

[maycm]

En-ger-land En-ger-land En-ger-la-and!

No contest.

I will be cheering on the boys in White / Red / grey / light blue / what ever the hell they are wearing these days / all the way.

Then if they get knocked out - anyone except the Germans and the French.

[Marcella-FL]

I'm not backing any team but I will be in Germany for the festivities ... I must be crazy! How did my hubby convince me to go?

[eefanincan]

[IRiSHMaFIA]

[janbo1960]

Hi Face... remeber that the swedes are ALL dirty buggerrs!!!!!

Engerland vs the krauts in the final AGAIN.... they think its all over!!!!

[IRiSHMaFIA]

Robots Vs. Hooligans



See that little guy right there? It?s not Johnny Five from Short Circuit ? though we have a suspicion it has a better career than Fisher Stevens ? it?s ANDRO Robot, which has been specifically designed to serve as security for the World Cup in Germany.

According to Gizmodo, the robot can ?climb stairs and examine suspicious objects,? two things that, incidentally, our parents were also excellent at when we were in high school.

Anyway, we?re imagining all kinds of ED-209 scenarios, where a hooligan is told to ?Please put down your Guinness. You have 20 seconds to comply.? You can probably guess what would happen then.

_______________________

I think it should take round 2 minutes for hardcore hooligans to tip Andro over. It's not a bad idea, but I don't see it having much, if any effect. They'll be selling it off as scrap metal before week 1 is finished

[faceless]

[IRiSHMaFIA]

The World Cup is ominously close! So that you aren?t caught offside, we?re previewing all the participants, bringing you Four Things You Don?t Know About Them.

Four Tiny Tidbits On: Tunisia



. Obi-Wan May Be Their Only Hope. Yes, Luke Skywalker?s home planet has made the World Cup finals. George Lucas has used the Tunisian desert for scenes involving the planet Tatooine in all of his Star Wars films, and, in fact, many of the sets are still around, many of them in the village of Tozeur. It all makes the area one of the country?s leading tourist attractions. Among other films set in Tunisia have been Raiders of the Lost Ark and The English Patient.

? 2. Play It Again, Roger. Tunisia made the finals at the expense of its North African neighbor Morocco (home of another famous movie locale, that of Casablanca). Tunisia has managed to avoid the sea change of African soccer, being the only one of five nations which took part in the 2002 WC to make a repeat trip to the finals. In fact, former French coach Roger Lemerre will lead Tunisia to its third consecutive Cup berth, and fourth overall. The area has a history of great leaders, after all. It?s the home of ancient Carthage, from which the general Hannibal departed to cross the Alps and attack Rome.

? 3. That ?70s Show. It was in 1978 that Tunisia pulled a huge upset over Mexico, 3-1, in the former?s first ever World Cup game; the first time that an African team had ever won in the tournament. But they haven?t won a game since.

? 4. Know Your Tunisian Stars. Tunisia has been boosted by foreign players, including 26-year-old Brazilian Francileudo Dos Santos, a striker who is now a Tunisian citizen. Pushed off of the Brazilian team because of that squad?s great depth at striker, he scored six goals in qualifying and figures to be one of the premiere offensive threats in the WC. Also at striker is Haykel Guemamdia, a budding star. Hatem Trabelsi, who plays for Ajax Amsterdam, is one of the best right-side defenders in the world.


Four Tiny Tidbits On: Ukraine



1. Baby-Name Books Are In Short Supply There. Ukraine has not one, not two ? but six players named Andriy, and they?re all in the starting lineup. Count ?em: Rusol, Nesmachny, Husin, Voronin, Vorbei and Shevchenko. The latter, of course, is one of the world?s best at AC Milan, and is married to http://andriyshevchenko.net/gallery/milan0405_3/aab?>American-born model Kristen Pazik, not necessarily in that order. Shevchenko was a boxer before he switched to soccer, and as a child had to abandon his home with his family due to the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

? 2. Who Says Ukraine Weak?. After two near-misses, Ukraine is making its first-ever appearance in the finals, and was the first team to qualify besides the host Germans. They won European Zone Group 2, finishing on top of such international soccer stalwarts as Greece, Albania and Kazakhstan. Actually, it?s quite a source of national pride for the country, which became independent after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, and did not send its own team into World Cup competition until 1998.

? 3. We Stink. Ukrainian National Team coach Oleh Blokhin, a Communist who was once an MP in the Ukranian parliament, is not known for his cheerful attitude. Excerpts from his recent newspaper interviews: ?The young players do not listen to me for some reason, they are not knocking on the door, they are not pushing into the team. If I?m being honest, I?d take only 20 people to Germany, it is hard for us to find that number. But that wouldn?t be right. The squad has to include 23. The lack of serious competition in the team is a terrible thing.?

? 4. They Park The Team Bus In Front Of The Goal. Ukraine?s big strength is defense; the team allowing just seven goals in 12 qualifying games, including three in the past two games after it had already secured its World Cup berth. Goalkeeper Alexander Shovkovsky of Dynamo Kiev is one of the best in the world at his position. Andrey Rusol, though only 22, is a leader force for the defense.



Four Tiny Tidbits On: Angola




1. Know Your (Absent) Angolan Soccer Stars. Striker Pedro Mantorras (Benefica, Portugal) and Akwa are ready to go. But we?re pretty sure that missing the World Cup will be Angola?s Gilberto (Achilles tendon), Pedro Emanuel, Maurito (ligament injury) and Chainho, the latter because of eligibility questions. (He played for Portugal as youth).

? 2. Don?t Forget, Their Flag Features A Knife. The country is a former Portuguese colony. Well, that?s putting it nicely; Portugal colonized Angola in 1575, and for the next three hundred years or so used Angola as a source for slaves to send to Brazil. The Angolian FA crest features an Oryx, or some other African long horned deer. The flag of the nation, seen above, is pretty audacious. Red Star, machete, part of a tractor gear? who concieved this? Benito Trotsky?

? 3. Billy Packer Doesn?t Think They Belong In the Tournament. Not to disrespect the accomplishments of the Angolans, but there are about 20 teams more worthy of a spot than them. But much like the mid-major college hoops team that gets into the NCAA Tournament (to play Duke in the first round), Angola earned it, while the Nigerian Super Eagles sit home and practice their fadeaway jumpers with Akeem the Dream. Angola is currently running at about 20:1 odds to get out of their group; around 400:1 to win it all.

? 4. This Time, It?s Personal. Which team is Angola?s first Group D Finals opponent? Portugal, of course. No rivalry there (see item No. 2). In two previous meetings, Portgual has beaten Angola, 5-1 and 6-0, both in Portgual. But if you?re looking for an upset special in the WC, this could be your matchup.


Four Tiny Tidbits On: Iran



1. Nothing But Lip Service. Whatever happens, Iran will most likely lead the World Cup in formidable mustaches. Ali Daei, who has scored 109 goals in 146 caps and is considered by many as Iran?s soccer icon, draws strength from his ?buffo? style mustache. If he ever shaved it people might jump off of a building in Tehran.

? 2. Mission Accomplished, Reza. Some interesting nuggets gleaned from Franklin Foer?s How Soccer Explains the World ? during the 1998 World Cup, Iranian officials blocked out shots of the crowd on television because of protests toward the conservative government; In 1920, Reza Shah used soccer as a way to Westernize the country (and a lot of good it did him).

? 3. Are There Any Women Here Today? As soccer-crazy as the Iranians claim to be, a specialized form of Persian wrestling called Varzesh-e Pahlavani is actually the national sport. (How conservative clerics condone man-on-man action over soccer is a question we?re not qualified to answer). In fact, to many conservatives, soccer is a symbol of the West and is shunned. Women have been forbidden to attend games. For the World Cup, however, Iran is allowing women to watch the matches as a form of ?chastity.?

? 4. Parking Is A Bitch. Tehran?s Azadi Stadium is one of, it not the largest in the world. Believe it or not, the stadium?s name translates to ?peace.? International games there regularly attract crowds of 100,000. Many of the team?s leading players ply their trade in Germany in the Bundesliga, such as Mehdi Makhdavikia of SV Hamburg. Oh, and Ali Karimi, known as the Wizard of Tehran (F, Bayern Munich).


Four Tiny Tidbits On: Serbia and Montenegro



1. Home Of Big D. Their defense is crazy good. They gave up only one goal in the final 10 matches of World Cup Qualifiers, and that was to Spain?s Raul, of Real Madrid fame. They finished 6-0-4, one of the few countries to do that.

? 2. Remembering Preki. MLS legend, yes legend, Preki was born in Serbia. He scored the lone goal to defeat Brazil in 1998 Gold Cup. Too bad he was wasted away in front of 1,000 fans per game with the Kansas City Wizards. The guy was good.

? 3. S&M Explained. It?s apparently a marriage of convenience. S&M (ha, we just noticed that) was the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and considered by FIFA as the descendent of the fairly succesful formerly unified Yugoslavia. The two kingdoms could actually split, in a referundum, if there was majority support. That hasn?t happened yet. Oddly enough, only five percent of the country?s population are ethnic Montenegrans.

? 4. Just Eat It. Eat It. Belgrades?s FK Partizan has one of the better feeder systems in Europe. It hardcore fans call themselves Grobari ? the Undertakers. The club?s basketball branch is where bearded Laker legend Vlade Divac got his start. Divac triggered the world-reknowed training method of smoking whilst playing and growing neck-beards. He also triggered the floodgates so the likes of Marko Jaric, Vladimir Radmanovic, Predrag Drobnjak and the immortal Darko Milosic could play in the NBA. And as if that wasn?t enough, please note that Weird Al Yankovic is of Serbian descent.


Four Tiny Tidbits On: Switzerland

:shocked: (I'd love to get crackin on Hakin Yakin lol)

1. Let?s Get Ready To Rumble! Benjamin Huggel received a six-match ban for fighting with Turkey?s Alpay (the guy in the headlock in the video here), the most infamous moment in this World Cup Qualifiers. Both play professionally in Germany, and apparently were suspended again for fighting in a league game. The Turkish team was punished more severely; they were determined to have started the brawl, along with their projectile hurling fans. The Swiss, of course, maintained neutrality until attacked (we couldn?t resist).


? 2. Something For The Ladies. MySwitzerland.com would like to let you women know that, while the men are in Germany watching the World Cup, there are things for you to do, um, just over the border. We wouldn?t open this at work, by the way.

? 3. We?re Getin Hakin. Which country would you think Hakin Yakin plays for? That?s right, Switzerland. First, it?s impossible to read one of his interviews without giggling at the words: ?said Yakin.? Also, we don?t know what it actually sounds like, but you can get a Hakin Yakin ringtone. The lyrics are: ?were getin hakin were getin yakin were getin HAKIN YAKIN.? By the way, FIFA president Sepp Blatter is from Switzerland. No word yet if he has a ringtone.

? 4. Longest Of Longshots. If recent history is any indication, we wouldn?t bet on the Swiss in June. Its best performances in the World Cup have been reaching the quarterfinals in 1934, 1938 and when the country hosted the event in 1954. Switzerland also won silver at the 1924 Olympics.


Four Tiny Tidbits On: Saudi Arabia



1. Know Your Saudi Soccer Icons. Mohammed Al-Deayae has made the most caps in world football history (173). He?ll also enter rarefied air with his fourth World Cup appearance this June. He appeared headed to backing up youngster Mabrouk Zaid, but the wily vet has wormed his way back into the starting lineup, even if moss is starting to form on his shinguards. Plus, let?s face it, you have to give some love to a guy who plays goalie in sweatpants and a longsleeve shirt when his homeland is a desert.

? 2. They Will Not Super-Size It. To their credit, the Saudi?s are probably the only team in Germany, aside from the hosts, with their entire squad playing domestically on the club level. Essentially the whole squad plays for Al-Ittihad or Al-Hilal. It?s a safe bet, though, that none of the starting XI have tasted the culinary joys of a bacon cheeseburger.

? 3. When HBO Gets It Right. As snooty as Bryant Gumbel is, and as foppish as No. 1 soccer hater Frank Deford is (note the ludicrous caption to the photo linked, about U.S. soccer), HBO?s Real Sports presented a very compelling segment recently detailing the exploitation of children as slave camel jockeys in Saudi Arabia.

? 4. Have Whistle, Will Travel. The players may be home grown, but not the coaches. The current Saudi Arabia coach is former Argentine international Gabriel Calderon, who replaced Dutchman Gerard van der Lem, following a poor showing by the Saudis in the Asian Cup. Calderon is the second Argentinean to lead Saudi Arabia into a FIFA World Cup finals. Jorge Solari coached the team at USA ?94.


Four Tiny Tidbits On: Portugal



1. Meet Portugal. It fashions itself as Brazil junior, with the one-name players, the flashy 1-v-1 skills, the language, etc. However, Portugual has never won a major tournament and lost (gasp!) to the USA, 3-2, in the opening game of the 2002 Cup. Even worse, they lost at home to Greece at Euro 2004.

? 2. Keep Your Eye On The Crowd. Singer Nelly Furtado, although born in Canada, has Portuguese/Azorean roots. She wrote the offical theme song for Euro 2004. But how about Luis Figo, who comes home to Swedish super-model Helena Svedinevery night?

? 3. Know Your Portugese Soccer Icons. Eusebio ? born in Mozambique, the ?Black Pearl/Panther? was the first Portuguese star from their colonial African empire. He led Benefica to the 1962 European Cup over Real Madrid. In 1966 he led the World Cup with nine goals scored, earning him immediate enshirement in Madame Tussaud?s Wax Museum. He even took the cash and played a few seasons in the NASL in the late 1970s, taking the field for the immortal Boston Minutemen and Las Vegas Quicksilver.

? 4. You Make The Call. Who know?s what this team can do? Witness: In qualification they blew a 2-0 lead to draw mighty Liechtenstein (the first ever points for the country), causing Lisbon newspapers to call the Selecao ?Europe?s Laughingstock.? Days later Portugal hammered Russia 7-1, en route to scoring 35 goals in qualifying.


Four Tiny Tidbits On: Australia



1. Can Olivia Newton-John Be Far Behind?. For the past month in Australia, they have been preempting South Park for a show called Song for the Soccerroos. Here?s the description from Yahoo7?s online TV Guide: ?Hosted by RocKwiz?s Julia Zemiro, this new seven-part series follows the search for a song to inspire the Socceroos to glory in their 2006 World Cup campaign, tracing the finalists? song entries from rough cuts to professionally recorded anthems. The winning song, to be decided by judges and a public vote, will be released by Universal Music as a single, as well as sung and chanted by thousands of fans to encourage the team during its 2006 World Cup bid.? So it?s like a crappier version of Australian/American Idol for songwriters to spend a whole lot of time cheering for the Socceroos, who will do about as well as the Aussies in the WBC.

? 2. Aussie Rules. In world terms, Australian acceptance of soccer is much like America?s. Most full-blooded, koala-eating Aussies prefer their version of football; Aussie Rules. And golly, with teams like the Geelong Cats, Sydney Swans and West Coast Eagles, why wouldn?t they? Basically the only people that care about soccer Down Under are immigrants from Italy, Greece and what have you. Thusly, the players are really playing for themselves.

? 3. You Were Expecting Russell Crowe?. We?re not sure how we feel about John Travolta showing up in the Aussie lockerroom to help celebrate their qualifying for the World Cup. Of course he?s a licensed pilot, so he?s liable to show up anywhere. But Australian soccer? Doesn?t sound like something Vinnie Barbarino would be into.

? 4. Know Your Key Australian Footballers. Aussie fans should be on the lookout for Tim Cahill (Mid, Everton); Marco Bresciano (Mid. Parma, as Aussie as they come!); Harry Kewell, (Mid, Liverpool, generally considered an enigma); Mark Schwarzer (GK, Middlesboro, as gawky as they come).


Four Tiny Tidbits On: Paraguay



1. They?re Four Kinds of Crazy. Jose Luis Chilavert, the avowed communist nutcase, won?t be in Germany this summer and we are worse off for it. Chilavert was once a top class keeper who would demand to take all his team?s free kicks, scoring eight goals internationally. He also spat in Roberto Carlos? face during a qualifier, which further reenforced his world class status, naturally.

? 2. Welcome, Crockett and Tubbs. The city of Ciudad del Este is the third-largest tax-free zone in the world. Even better, part of the upcoming Miami Vice movie was filmed there. (Colin Farrell with a bad moustache and ponytail ? awesome!)

? 3. Kick Your Shoes Off, Stay Awhile. In his novel At the Tomb of the Inflatable Pig: Travels Through Paraguay, John Gimlette writes: ?Paraguay is not merely isolated, it is almost impenetrable. Small wonder that it has become a refuge to Nazis, cannibals, strange sixteenth-century Anabaptists, White Russians and fantastic creatures that ought long ago to have been extinct.?

? 4. Whither Santa Cruz? Paraguay?s best player (or at least biggest name), Roque Santa Cruz, is likely sidelined with an injury sustained with Bayern Munich. Reports say he?s training, but who knows? ? The last two tournaments have been sheer heartbreak for Paraguay. In 1998 they lost to the hosts and eventual winners, France, on a 113th minute goal from Laurent Blanc, the first golden goal in Cup history.


Four Tiny Tidbits On: Poland



1. Fun With The Early Cross. It?s called a ?soft goal,? and we?re not sure why. But here?s an example, from a Friendly in March, in which the U.S.?s Clint Dempsey scores a header against Poland. We?re told Artur Boruc committed the gaffe that made the goal possible.

? 2. That?s Not The Wurst Of It. Grzegorz Piechna has become somewhat of a cult hero in his native land. While still playing in the third division, Piechna worked in a factory, delivering meat to shops (earning hin the nickname ?Kielbasa?). But now that he?s a Poland international and the league?s top scorer, with 16 goals in the first 16 games and a good chance of going to the World Cup finals, he?s moved up in the world. Now he drives coal trucks for his mother-in-law?s company.

? 3. Know Your Polish Soccer Icons. Zbigniew Boniek has a moustache stolen right off the upper lip of Larry Bird and short-shorts that would make John Stockton blush. He led Poland to third place at Spain ?82 and later starred in Serie A for Juventus in what was at the time the largest transfer fee for an Eastern European player.

? 4. That Expalins His Great Eyesight. Midfielder Euzebiusz ?Ebi? Smolarek is apparently quite a cad. During his time with Rotterdam?s Feyenoord, he picked up a few of the local Dutch customs, leading to a failed drug test for hashish, earning him the nickname The Hasch Bomber. Also, he?s part of Pepsi?s David Beckham team, so his face will be on a can putting him in the same class as the immortal Jar-Jar Binks.


Four Tiny Tidbits On: Argentina



1. If You Have To Ask, You Can?t Afford Him. Hernan Crespo, Argentina?s star forward, is one of the most expensive soccer players of all time with a combined transfer fee of ?68,000,000 (about $122 million for those scoring at home). He has never been sold for less than ?16,000,000.

? 2. Caution: Do Not Open At Work. It?s hard to argue that anyone has done more to popularize Argentina?s national team than Keyra Augustina, who proudly sported a version of Carlos Tevez?s jersey in those glorious photos.

? 3. This Time, It?s Personal. Can?t wait for June 21, Argentina vs. the Netherlands at Gelsenkirchen. Rematch of France 1998, in which Ariel Ortega headbutted Edwin Van Der Sar (notice how that is almost impossible) AND an all-time class goal from Dennis Bergkamp.

? 4. The Hand Of God Goal. Diego Armando Maradona, regarded by some as the greatest player in the history of the game, is truly a rags-to-riches story. Born in a shantytown on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, he was spotted by a talent scout at the age of 10 while playing on a neighborhood club team. He led Argentina to the 1986 Word Cup championship with a 3-2 win over West Germany. But it was one of his two goals against England in the ?86 quarterfinals that was voted Goal of the Century in a 2002 online poll conducted by FIFA. (The other goal, he later admitted, was scored illegally with the help of his hand).


Four Tiny Tidbits On: The Netherlands



1. Don?t Call Them Holland ? unless you want someone from Maastricht kicking your ass. Holland only refers to two provinces in the Netherlands, and most people find the name a bit arrogant. Kind of like saying that Vlad Guerrero plays for the California Angels and not the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim of the State of California of The United States of America. Also of note: The Dutch drink beer out of little glasses and call them ?fluitjes? (little whistles); their team name is ?Oranje? (orange) because of the royal family ? the national flag is actually red, white & blue.

? 2. Be Sure To Bring Us Back A Program. It is an absolute, proven fact that with Ruud, Gert, Jap and Pierre van Hooijdonk, the Dutch have the goofiest soccer names on the planet. And nothing, absolutely nothing, tops PSV striker (wait for it) ? Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink. (That?s his name, really.). Lastly, what kind of a name is Giovanni van Bronckhorst? And why does he just wear ?Gio? on his Barcelona jersey? What is the Dutch word for terrible? (vreselijk!)

? 3. Johan Cruijff Is The Matrix. The most famous Dutch footballer of all time is widely credited (along with coach Rinus Michaels) for being the innovator of the concept ?Totaal Voetbal,? or Total Football. This is a strategy where a multi-talented player such as Cruijff has the freedom to navigate areas of the field not normally dedicated for his position, effectively allowing him too play multiple positions, while other members of the team fluidly replace his original role. If you can?t understand what this means, just think of it this way: Cruijff was the Shawn Marion of Dutch football.

? 4. Circle Your TV Guide. Netherlands/Argentina on June 21 in Frankfurt looks, on paper, to be the match of the group stage. In particular from the bad blood from their 1998 encounter. The Oranje?s greatest success was winning the 1988 European Championship, played, yep, in West Germany.


Four Tiny Tidbits On: Ecuador



1. Smells Like Team Spirit. We should probably point out that Ecuador?s national team has its own perfume. Um, sorry; cologne. And it?s called Dribbling. Totally true: A World Cup soccer team has its own fragrance. Oh, and Dribbling will come in three fragrances: Dribbling Training, Dribbling 9 and Dribbling Celebration. Any chance there will a demand for that third one? We?ll see.

? 2. Heh, Heh, You Said ?Header.? Mike Judge, who is the voice of red-blooded American Hank Hill, as well as Beavis and Butt Head, was born in Guayaquil, Ecuador?s largest city. Also, remember cutlery expert Lorena Bobbit? Her full name is Lorena Leonor Gallo de Bobbitt, and she was born in 1970 in Bucay, Ecuador.

? 3. ?I?ve Got A Note From My Dad, Man.? Ecuadorian striker Ivan Kaviedes briefly went AWOL from his club, Argentinos Juniors, earlier this season. When El Nine eventually showed up back in Argentina, he explained to his bosses that the reason he was gone was that he had travelled to Japan with the Ecuadorian national team for their friendly on March 30. But this was news to Ecuadorian coach Luis Suarez. Oops. Kaviedes apparently forgot that the match in question was televised.

? 4. High Anxiety, You Win. Ecuador went 8-6-4 in qualifying, including wins over Brazil and Argentina; but seven of its wins came on its home field in Quito, nestled in the Andes mountains. Quito is 9,252 feet above sea level, making it almost twice as high as Invesco Field in Denver. Plus, no snow.


Four Tiny Tidbits On: South Korea



1. Meet South Korea?s Pele. Despite the second part of his name, Cha Bum-Kun is regarded as the best Far East player of the 20th century. He spent over a decade in the German Bundesliga and scored 98 goals, then a record for highest total by a foreigner.

? 2. Four More Years! Four More Years! Striker Lee Dong-Gook can?t catch a break. He missed out on the World Cup in 2002 because he didn?t get along with coach Guus Hiddink. And now a knee injury has knocked him off of this year?s roster. Lee, 27, who plays for the exquisitely named Pohang Steelers, will need surgery to repair torn cruciate ligaments and will be out six months.

? 3. Can You Hear Me Now?. Midfielder Ahn Jung-hwan is South Korean soccer?s pinup boy. Nicknamed The Lord of the Rings for his habit of kissing his wedding ring after scoring a goal, he once sued a South Korean phone company for using his image to promote scholarships for South Korean children wanting to become soccer players.

? 4. More on Ahn. Tensions flared between Ahn Jung-hwan and Italian Perugia owner Luciano Gaucci when Ahn?s goal for South Korea ousted Italy from the 2002 World Cup. Ahn plays for Perugia during the regular season. Gaucci told La Gazzetta dello Sport, ?I am not going to pay the salary of a guy who has been the ruin of Italian soccer.? Needless to say, Ahn left the club.


Four Tiny Tidbits On: Brazil



1. We?re Not Worthy! No discussion about Brazil can begin without the king of the worldwide endorsement, the man with the drug dealer son, man of the Cosmos, the Black Pearl, simply genius; Pel?. Unlike some immortal athletes, (cough, cough Michael Jordan), you cannot overstate Pel??s greatness. In an international career that spanned 91 games from 1957-1971, he scored 77 goals and won three World Cups.

? 2. Pulp Fiction. Barcelona striker Brazilian Ronaldinho, twice chosen FIFA?s Player of the Year, has achieved a goal matched only by the great Pel?; he?s now a comic book hero in Brazil. If we did this in the U.S., Barry Bonds would be the best evil mastermind ever!

? 3. By The Numbers.You probably wouldn?t think it, but here are the latest demographics on the population of Brazil: white 53.7 percent; mixed race 38.5 percent; black 6.2 percent. Brazil has: 1. Played the most WC games (87); 2. Scored the most goals (191).

? 4. Bermanisms Await. Yes, Brazil features a player named Kaka; wait ?til the yucksters at ESPN SportsCenter get ahold of that. Hilarity awaits. (Of course we doubt Neil Everett is married to a sweet 18-year-old Brazilian student/socialite; those are surely falling out of the trees in Bristol.).


Four Tiny Tidbits On: Italy



1. They Make The Trains Run On Time. Former dictator Benito Mussolini, in addition to being a fascist monster, is known for perhaps the greatest pregame speech next to Knute Rockne?s ?The Gipper.? Il Duce told his troops prior to the 1938 Cup Final in Paris against Hungary, ?Win or Die.? (This followed his antics at the 1934 Cup in Italy were he manipulated the refs and essentially handed Italy the title.) His memory lives on in Lazio player Paulo ?Titus Pollo? di Canio, who has a tattoo ?DVX,? which is Latin for Duce.

? 2. Their Hooligans Take A Back Seat To No One. Italian hardcore supporters, or Ultras, are well known for thuggery. In a recent UEFA Cup match between England?s Middlesborough and AS Roma, three ?Boro fans were stabbed. Then there is the infamous flare incident from last year?s Champions League AC Milan/Internazionale match (Italian fans threw flares onto the field). Or how about the anti-semitic and Nazi imagery at games? Wee!

? 3. Delightful Clown-Like Actors Need Not Apply. Oscar-winner Roberto Benigni offered to be the team?s mascot ? he is, after all, the self proclaimed Italian ?Donald Duck? ? but was refused, presumably after officials watched his version of Pinocchio.

? 4. They Bend It Like Totti. Francesco Totti is Italy?s David Beckham; having captured the imagination of Italian futbol fans like you wouldn?t believe. He?s currently nursing a broken ankle, yet each Sunday on the European soccer wire, there are at least five or six shots of Totti in street clothes watching his squad, AS Roma, play. And when they played Lazio in the infamous Rome Derby, the television showed more Totti than the game.


Four Tiny Tidbits On: Ghana



1. Hearts Of Oak. Ghana?s capital city of Accra is home to the best named soccer club in the world, the uber-cool named ?Hearts of Oak.? Ghana, by the way, which was former from a merger of Britain?s Gold Coast and British Togoland, was the first sub-Saharan African country to gain independence.

? 2. Purple Reign. Prince plays soccer. Prince Tagoe, that is, the 19-year-old striker who has scored 70 goals during the past three seasons. Tagoe played for Ghanaian second division club Midtjylland and Hearts of Oak, prior to moving on to Saudi Arabian club Al Ittihad in January. He made his Ghana debut in a friendly against Tunisia on January 15, and appeared twice at the CAF African Nations Cup, coming on as a late substitute against Senegal and then playing the first 45 minutes of the 2-1 defeat by Zimbabwe.

? 3. Oh Ghana, What Could Have Been. Ghana, the United States? third and final opponent in the first round, is pretty good. But just imagine what their team might have been like had some of these guys played for their native national team instead of sporting another country?s colors: Gerald Asamoah (Germany, World Cup 2002); George Boateng of Middlesbrough (cap-tied to Holland); Marcel Desailly (France, with whom he won World Cup '98; and one Mr. (or is it still Master at this age?) Freddy Adu.

? 4. They Are Explosive. Ghana midfielder Sulley Ali Muntari, possibly their best player, helped carry Udinese to the 2005 Champions League. One of his teammates there was Al-Saadi Qadhafi, son of Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi.


Four Tiny Tidbits On: Mexico



1. They Will Conquer You With Style. Mexican coach Ricardo Lavolpe is known to sport blue jeans on the sidelines of high stakes matches. Yeah Mexico, thats your coach! But who could ever forget former goalie Jorge Campos?s fashion sense. Ow! My retinas!

? 2. ?The Referee Says There Is No More Time.? Although he broadacsts from the U.S. and graduated from USC, Andres Cantor is most associated with Mexico, having popularized the signiature call of ??GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLL!? while working at Univisi?n. The call became popular during the 1994 World Cup. Cantor made guest appearances on the Late Show with David Letterman during the ?94 and ?98 tournaments, and the call is being sold as a ringtone on Telemundo?s website.

? 3. A Mexico vs. U.S. Matchup Should Be, Um, Interesting. From the USA Today: ?After the USA?s first two games of Olympic qualifying (in 2004), the U.S. players left the field to chants of ?Osama! Osama!? In past years, American flags have been burned in the stands, bags of urine and feces have been tossed on the field and the likeness of U.S. players have been hung in effigy from the stadium rafters. There is no bigger target than Landon Donovan, who is fluent in Spanish and has been highly critical of Mexico?s fans and highly criticized by them. In the Olympic qualifying tournament, Donovan was caught on camera relieving himself near the field which, enraged fans.?

? 4. Hugo Sanchez Drills Daily. Mexico?s all-time greatest footballer is probably the world?s finest soccer-playing dentist. Yes, Sanchez is a dentist, but somehow found time to star on Spain?s Real Madrid for seven seasons, which was only topped by a stint with the Dallas Burn of the MLS. Pele even named him to his Top 125 Living Players? List.

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The longest post in history is now at an end....for now

[faceless]

that was some going there Irish! nice one





they're giving this DVD of the full 1966 final away in tomorrow's News of The World, so I'll do a full DVD torrent of it... it might take a day or more to seed, but hey, it's worth it.

meanwhile, this:

is currently available in the documentaries section...

bring on the world class footie!

[IRiSHMaFIA]

[faceless]

[faceless]

click HERE to listen to Johnny Vegas' World Cup monologue

[IRiSHMaFIA]

thats mad lol