Monday, June 10, 2013

The World's Game

This is what Belgium defender & captain Vincent Kompany...



This is what Belgium defender & captain Vincent Kompany looks like after a World Cup qualifier in which he suffered a concussion, broken nose, & cracked eye socket.

Football, bloody hell.

(pic via Kompany's twitter account)

While we know the FIFA Rankings mostly mean nothing and are...



While we know the FIFA Rankings mostly mean nothing and are usually met with a lot of derision, I have to REALLY laugh at Brazil at #22. Anyway, here's your chance to yell about them.

The worst kept secret in the free world was confirmed today, as...



The worst kept secret in the free world was confirmed today, as Jose Mourinho was installed as Chelsea boss for the second time on a four year deal.

The Special One back at Stamford Bridge.

Photo









fatmanatee: Well this is unusual. Deuce



fatmanatee:

Well this is unusual.

Deuce

image

This own goal by Mario De Luna of Chivas USA might be one of the...



This own goal by Mario De Luna of Chivas USA might be one of the worst own goals you'll ever see. I've watched it three times now and I seriously have no idea what he was attempting to do. If he's heading it out to concede a corner, he's pointed towards the center of the net. If he's heading it to his keeper, it's more than likely going to be called a back pass. If he's forgotten that he's playing defense, well…let's just stop right there.

United for United: Supporters of 'The Biggest Little Football Club in the World'

United for United: Supporters of 'The Biggest Little Football Club in the World':

Check it out.

That's Sepp Blatter on the left, the President of FIFA. On...



That's Sepp Blatter on the left, the President of FIFA. On the right is Lydia Nsekera of Burundi, the first woman elected to the top board of FIFA.

How did Sepp choose to introduce her at the initial news conference after she had been elected?

"Say something ladies, you are always speaking at home, now you can speak here."

Oh Sepp, you do go on. They should take FIFA on the road, since it's pretty much the best ongoing show available. Corruption, graft, awarding major tournaments to countries who have horrendous human rights records, and now we can add overt sexism to the list!

flipflopflyball: This a great photograph. But it's kind of...



flipflopflyball:

This a great photograph. But it's kind of deceiving. I wrote a blog post about it. http://flipflopflyin.com/g/2013/05/maradona-vs-belgium/

A very interesting read about this rather iconic photograph. 

Faces of Maradona dot Tumblr dot com









Faces of Maradona dot Tumblr dot com

afootballreport: Welcome Back, Robbie "You could see it on my...











afootballreport:

Welcome Back, Robbie

"You could see it on my face; I had a huge smile of enjoyment. Okay, I'm back, this is normal and very supportive. I keep saying the word: normal, normal, but it was. Once I got on and I saw the support, I just zoned in…It was good to be back and I'm excited to move on from here…I've kind of been on this huge journey trying to figure out my life. And now I'm back here. I think kind of where I'm supposed to be."

On a night where the weight of history seemed overwhelming, the most remarkable part ended up being how unremarkable the entire moment seemed. Months after coming out of the closet and retiring from professional football, Robbie Rogers made his debut for the Los Angeles Galaxy in the 77th minute of Sunday's match against the Seattle Sounders, becoming the United States' first openly gay, male professional athlete. Robbie jogged onto the pitch to a chorus of support from the announcing crew and the Los Angeles crowd, who both recognized the significance of the moment, but just as quickly, the focus turned back to the game. It all seemed so normal.

That's definitely a sign of progress, but we've still got a ways to go. Here's to a world in which athletes like Robbie can be just that, athletes. [Posted by Maxi. GIFs via]

usatodaysports: This celebration, FTW! Full GIF +...





usatodaysports:

This celebration, FTW! Full GIF + explanation: http://usat.ly/13YQfB0

emmanuelnegro: Neymar announces: "I'm going to...



emmanuelnegro:

Neymar announces: "I'm going to Barcelona"

Around 10 PM this Saturday night (Sunday 3 AM GMT), Neymar finally put an end to speculations by announcing - on Instagram, of all places - that he came to an agreement with FC Barcelona and he's going to sign a contract with the blaugrana on Monday.

I forgot to note that FC Barcelona also confirmed the deal on Twitter adding that Neymar will sign a 5-year contract.

Borussia Dortmund vs. Bayern Munich: Champions League Final Hangout | KICKTV LIVE

Borussia Dortmund vs. Bayern Munich: Champions League Final Hangout | KICKTV LIVE:

pumasport: Here we go now.



pumasport:

Here we go now.

FTW/USA Today Exclusive: Robbie Rogers coming back as first openly gay player in MLS

FTW/USA Today Exclusive: Robbie Rogers coming back as first openly gay player in MLS:

While the world awaits today's Champions League Final, big news leaked out back here in the States, last night.

Today is the UEFA Champions League Final in London. As I'm sure...



Today is the UEFA Champions League Final in London. As I'm sure you know, the final will be contested between the two German behemoths, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund. There will be many glittering stars of world football on the pitch this evening at Wembley and these two giants will put on a fabulous show, no doubt.

The sides have met a total of four times since the 2012-13 season kicked off. Munich has claimed two victories and there have been a pair of 1-1 draws. Of course, Munich ran away with the Bundesliga title, and finished a whopping 25 points ahead of second-place Dortmund in the Bundesliga table.

As we have seen in the past though, all bets are off in a one match showdown. Munich are the prohibitive favorites to win tonight, but we'll ask you as we always do:

WHO YA GOT?

Neymar deal not closed tonight, Barça move not so 100% certain anymore?

A little after Midnight local time (5 AM GMT), after a four-hours meeting that supposedly should seal the deal for Barça, Neymar left Santos’ HQ at Vila Belmiro saying that this is “the happiest moment” of his life, but that he hasn’t decided yet where he’ll play next year.

“I’m happy with both teams’ [Barcelona and Real Madrid] interest in me, it makes me proud, it’s one of the happiest moments of my life. I’m gonna think carefully about both proposals. I’m in no rush. I’ll decide with my family. My decision can come in 5 minutes, half an hour or three days”, the player said while leaving Vila Belmiro after the meeting.

“Now it’s up to him, now it’s his choice. We’ll listen to our hearts”, said the player’s father and agent, Neymar Silva Santos.

While most sources still confirm that Neymar’s future is all set in Barcelona, the player’s words seem to indicate that the eleventh-hour offer from Real Madrid has, at the very least, cast some doubt. According to the usually well-informed Paulo Vinicius Coelho of ESPN Brasil, Real’s offer to Santos is far superior than Barça’s: RM was allegedly ready to pay almost in full the 65M € buy-out clause, more than double the 28M offered by Barcelona. It is also speculated (although no actual figures have leaked so far) that the contract offered to Neymar by RM would be quite a lot more lucrative than Barcelona’s proposal; and this last detail may be the cause for this last minute hesitation, an unexpected turn of events considering how Neymar had been stating for a long time and until a few hours ago that Barcelona was his one and only choice.

Personally, I still think he’ll go to Barça (also, there is allegedly some kind of more or less legally binding pre-contract that would require Neymar to pay a harsh penalty should he decide to go play elsewhere), but what seemed like a done deal just hours ago appears now to have turned into a potential war between Spain’s two top teams and fierce rivals.

We’ll keep you updated in the next hours or days (Most likely 2-3 days IMHO) as this story - now looking more and more like a Brazilian telenovela - unravels.

emmanuelnegro: theworldsgame: Our friend Ives Galarcep...



emmanuelnegro:

theworldsgame:

Our friend Ives Galarcep retweeted this just a bit ago, and he's as legit as it gets when it comes to knowing if stuff is true.

If this is actually true, it means Neymar and Lionel Messi on the same attacking force. It also probably means David Villa is definitely heading elsewhere this summer.

Stay tuned, if there's full confirmation, we'll get back to it.

Word down here in Brazil is this: Santos officially announced they recieved TWO separate offers (Barça and… Real?) for Neymar and that they have, on principle, accepted both, leaving it to Neymar to decide; he apparently had no doubt and picked Barcelona. Earlier tonight, local press said the latest (and possibly final) Barça offer was around 66M Reais (that would be 25M Euros, give or take; other sources say 74M R$, or 28M € ).

Hearing right now that Neymar and his father are now negotiating contract details with Barcelona via e-mail, and an announcment could come either tonight or tomorrow morning; sources close to Santos are quoted as saying they expect to close the deal later tonight.

UPDATE: It was confirmed that the second offer was indeed by Real Madrid and, according to Folha de São Paulo, they offered more than Barça, but Neymar had already decided Barcelona would be his destination. Folha also confirms the 28M € price tag.

Our friend Ives Galarcep retweeted this just a bit ago, and...



Our friend Ives Galarcep retweeted this just a bit ago, and he's as legit as it gets when it comes to knowing if stuff is true.

If this is actually true, it means Neymar and Lionel Messi on the same attacking force. It also probably means David Villa is definitely heading elsewhere this summer.

Stay tuned, if there's full confirmation, we'll get back to it.

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