As the anticipation and preparations for World Cup 2006 goes fever pitch, football fans around the world are now preparing their list of teams to root for and players to watch. Here’s mine:
My teams: (The usual favorites. Most likely to reach the semi-finals and finals)
Japan Korea Australia – With Guus Hinddink as Coach, Australia is a team to reckon.
My list of players to watch (A partial list of mostly my favorite old stars. Although this year’s World Cup will set the stage for the debut of a new generation of promising players.):
1. Ronaldinho (Bra)
2. Ronaldo (Bra)
3. Robinho (Bra)
4. Adriano (Bra)
5. Oliver Khan (Ger)
6. Michael Ballack (Ger)
8. Hernan Crespo (Arg)
9. Javier Saviola (Arg)
10. David Beckham (Eng)
11. Michael Owen (Eng)
12. Francesco Totti (Ita)
13. Gianluca Zambrotta (Ita)
PS: I would like to drumbeat the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2006 by dedicating my sidebar for news and updates about events and happenings leading to Germany. All news are RSS feeds from the news and features content of the official FIFA World Cup website. Read the news and updates and feel the heat rising as the World Cup 2006 drama unfolds.
It’s now 36 days before the FIFA World Cup 2006 kicks off in Germany. After four years, the whole world will once again focus its attention to the world’s most beautiful game where 32 National Teams compete in 64 Games for only One Prize.
Unfortunately unlike the rest of world, football is not much appreciated in the Philippines. While everyone around the globe is already struck with the World Cup fever, the Philippines is still stuck to developments in Pinoy Big Brother. Perhaps we can easily put the blame to our Yankee Legacy. I can only think of one reason why football is not popular in the Philippines – because it’s not Uncle Sam’s favorite game. Most pinoys adore Uncle Sam’s favorite games – throwing balls in the basket and invading other countries.
The only consolation we can get is that while almost everyone is not unfamiliar with the NBA, when it comes to football at least there’s still a few who knows about Pele no matter how trifle. This is the only thing that we share in common with planet football, the recognition of Pele as the undisputed and still reigning O Rei – the King of Football.
Here’s a video clip reliving the greatness of Pele playing the “Beautiful Game”.
The great Brazilian footballer Ronaldinho has once again showed the world why he is three times and currently FIFA World Player of the Year and also presently holder of the title as European Player of the Year. The Catalan team, FC Barcelona humbled Italy’s AC Milan in their home stadium at San Siro in a stirring first leg semi-final UEFA Champions league match. It was the first home defeat for Milan in nearly three years of European competition.Barca secured the only goal for the match. But no it was not Ronaldinho’s goal. Barca’s only goal was delivered by the Frenchman striker Ludovic Guily. So why Ronaldinho?
Since football is a team sport, a good football player is distinguished not only by individual scoring feats. It is also measured by one’s mastery in the art of playing set-pieces or providing good oppurtunity for the team to score a goal. Ronaldinho is master on both counts.
Right from the start of the match AC Milan made sure that Ronaldinho could not come close as to make any attempt to shoot at goal. Ronaldinho was closely marked by the Italian’s defense. But such maneuver didn’t handicapped Ronaldinho. The footballing genius of Ronaldinho took such manuevers against him as an oppurtunity to gain an openning for his teammates to attack. With awesome magical skill on ball control Ronaldinho enticed AC Milan’s defense to close in on him leaving his other teammates free. That was how Barca scored a goal against a tight and effective AC Milan’s line of defense. Ronaldinho effortlessly passed the ball in the most precise angle for Guily to strike it straight to the goal.
Their second leg semi-final match is surely another exciting match to watch. With just one more game separating them from the Paris final, Barca are enjoying a truly impressive run in the Champions League. Everyone in planet football is looking forward to a UEFA Champions League Grand final match in Paris between Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal FC and Frank Rijkaard’s FC Barcelona. But with Ronaldinho’s genius I’m pretty sure that Barca will be the next title holder of the UEFA Champion’s League.
One very important rule to remember in maintaining a saltwater aquarium is the proper selection of fish. Although one can easily find joy in having a motley of species of various size swimming together in the tank. But such delight can easily disappear as fast as the rate of disapperances of the small fishes cohabiting the tank with the bigger ones. Yes, there’s always a bigger fish, and in the case of a saltwater aquarium, size really matters. One cardinal rule in selecting fish for a saltwater aquarium is that a fish that fits into a bigger fish’s mouth usually ends up there.
Besides experiencing the usual temporary stress due the transfer, all livestock were healthy and manifested vitality. No signs of Ich or any common fish disease were detected. Our new qurantine tank inhabitants is a picture of a happy company, a peaceful co-existence of various species of different sizes. So we thought.
After a while we noticed that some of the smaller fishes have mysteriously vanished without trace. We thought that they may have just dugged and hidden under the live rocks or the substrate. But just this afternoon the mystery of the lost fishes was uncovered as we witnessed how the big bad Harlequin Wrasse gobbled alive in whole the last of the small helpless dottyback.
Like in real life, some lessons are learned at some smaller fish’s expense.
I am a true blue Madrista right from the start, but after having witnessed this season’s Real Madrid’s miserable performance, I now have doubts about my chosen side. Last night’s match between Real Madrid and Arsenal showed me how the once great Los Galacticos had already become the Lost Galacticos.
Besides their goalkeeper Iker Casillas who was made busy doing his job, the only person that has shown hyperactive performance during the match was RMadrid’s new coach Juan Ramón López Caro who kept on springing out from their bench and into the pitch’s sidelines. The rest of team displayed a shameful performance. Robinho performed like he’s still in the under 19 league by playing an ineffective and frustrating football. A lot of Becks pinpoint cross fell into empty space with no one on the receiving end while he himself also wasted Real’s best two chances in the first half. Ronaldo played like an empty uniform while his compatriot Roberto Carlos looked like he was just running back and forth in a 100 meter relay competition. While Zidane, well he’s already old. And as what is slowly becoming a pathetic trademark, RMadrid’s defense looked like a sentry guarded by boy scouts against an onslaught of a marauding army.
Ah well, RMadrid’s performance bored me to sleep during the closing minutes of the match. Unless they make up on their rematch during the second leg of round 16, it’s going to be Adios Lost Galacticos for me.
Two weeks from now, this season’s UEFA Champions League is entering its First Knock-out round. After only few teams left to compete for this round, the matches are surely going to be very exciting.
One match that I’m anticipating to watch is the match between the English Chelsea FC and the Catalan FC Barcelona.
This is a sort of rematch of last season’s stormy showdown between these two great teams. Both legs of that volatile tie were marred by controversy as Chelsea went on to win 5-4 on aggregate. It was also during this match where at the end of the game there were skirmishes in the tunnel after a Chelsea steward allegedly called Barcelona’s black striker Samuel Eto’o a “monkey”. FC Barcelona Coach Rijkaard and Ronaldinho were both involved in the clashes after the match and the Barcelona coach admitted that the defeat was hard to bear.
On February 22, these two teams will meet again at London. For sure this match will be full of drama and scintillating football. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.
This Chelsea-Barcelona first knock-out round match will be shown live at ESPN on February 23, 2006 at 3:30 AM (Philippine time).
Also not to miss is a knock-out round match between Real Madrid and Arsenal which will be shown live at STAR Sports Channel on February 22, 2006 at 3:30 AM (Philippine time).
These two matches is a great treat, it offers the best of futbol Espanyol versus the top notchers of the English League. So place your bets.
Four years ago nobody paid attention to a smiling-long-haired-slender-bodied kid playing among the giants of world football, until he scored a goal for Brazil against England during the semi-finals of World Cup 2002. And because he’s still unpopular many critics easily dismissed Ronaldinho’s goal as a fluke. His detractors even ridiculed him as a look alike of Star Wars character Jar Jar Binks. But Ronaldinho had proven his critics wrong. Brazil got away with their fifth World Cup crown and Ronaldinho blazed in glory while leading FC Barcelona to major victories since then.
This year, the 25 year old Brazilian footballing genius has capped two major Football awards. Ronaldinho grabbed the Ballon d’Or, or European Footballer of the Year award and for a second succesive season has been named FIFA World Player of the year.
The FIFA World Player of the year is the highest award given to an individual footballer by the World’s football governing body. Ronaldinho is only the third player to have won the global title more than once since its inception in 1991. France playmaker Zinedine Zidane took the honours in 1998, 2000 and 2003, while Brazil striker Ronaldo scooped the trophy in 1996, 1997 and 2002.
Ronaldinho earned the sobriquet, the Magician, for his display of an almost magical football antics and brilliant playmaking to the delight of fans and detractors alike. After four years, Ronaldinho with his trademark beaming smile is now a world renowned football icon while his critics and detractors are now eating crow.
The great Brazilian footballer Ronaldinho has once again showed the world why he is three times and currently FIFA World Player of the Year and also presently holder of the title as European Player of the Year. The Catalan team, FC Barcelona humbled Italy’s AC Milan in their home stadium at San Siro in a stirring first leg semi-final UEFA Champions league match. It was the first home defeat for Milan in nearly three years of European competition.Barca secured the only goal for the match. But no it was not Ronaldinho’s goal. Barca’s only goal was delivered by the Frenchman striker Ludovic Guily. So why Ronaldinho?
Real Madrid was beaten by Arsene Wenger’s Gunners, humiliated right in their very own Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. The man of the match, Arsenal’s Thierry Henry registered the only goal with less than two minutes played of the second half, leaving three Madrid defenders trailing in his wake before firing low past Iker Casillas. 
One match that I’m anticipating to watch is the match between the English 
Four years ago nobody paid attention to a smiling-long-haired-slender-bodied kid playing among the giants of world football, until he scored a goal for Brazil against England during the semi-finals of World Cup 2002. And because he’s still unpopular many critics easily dismissed Ronaldinho’s goal as a fluke. His detractors even ridiculed him as a look alike of Star Wars character Jar Jar Binks. But Ronaldinho had proven his critics wrong. Brazil got away with their fifth World Cup crown and Ronaldinho blazed in glory while leading FC Barcelona to major victories since then.
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