Football Home: December 2010

AFC Champions League Wallpaper&Pics

AFC Champions League Trophy

AFC Champions League Logo

AFC Champions League Standings

AFC Champions League Fan's

AFC Champions League Champion Team

This morning the group stage draw was made for the Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) for the 2011 AFC Champions League. The outcome of the draw was as follows:

West Asia

Group A:

1. Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia)

2. Al Gharafa (Qatar)

3. Al Jazira (UAE)

4. Sepahan (Iran)

Group B:

1. Esteghlal (Iran)

2. Al Nassr (Saudi Arabia)

3. Pakhtakor (Uzbekistan)

4. Winner of West Play-off*

Group C:

1. Al Wahda (UAE)

2. Piroozi (Iran)

3. Al Ittihad (Saudi Arabia)

4. Bunyodkor (Uzbekistan)

Group D:

1. Al Rayyan (Qatar)

2. Emirates (UAE)

3. Zob Ahan (Iran)

4. Al Shabab (Saudi Arabia)

*) West Play-off: Al-Saad (Qatar), Al-Ittihad (Syria), or Dempo SC (India)

East Asia

Group E:

1. Jeju United (South Korea)

2. Melbourne Victory (Australia)

3. Gamba Osaka (Japan)

4. Tianjin Teda (China)

Group F:

1. Hangzhou Greentown (China)

2. FC Seoul (South Korea)

3. Winner of East Play-off*

4. Nagoya Grampus (Japan)

Group G:

1. Cerezo Osaka (Japan)

2. Shandong Luneng (China)

3. Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors (South Korea)

4. Arema FC (Indonesia)

Group H:

1. Sydney FC (Australia)

2. Winner of Emperor’s Cup or Kashima Antlers (Japan)

3. Shanghai Shenhua (China)

4. Suwon Samsung Bluewings (South Korea)

*) East Play-off: Sriwiaya (Indonesia), Muangthong United (Thailand), or Al-Ain (UAE)

The stand out draw of the group stage is Group A, when four Middle Eastern clubs go head-to-head. In that group there is 2007 runners-up Sepahan from Iran, Saudi Arabia’s 2010 semi-finalists Al Hilal, UAE’s domestic runners-up Al Jazira; and Qatari Champions Al-Gharrafa. In the other all-Middle Eastern group (Group D) are UAE’s 2010 double cup winners Emirates Club, Iranian Pro League runners-up Zob Ahan, 2010 Saudi Federation cup winners Al Shabab; and Qatari club Al-Rayyan.

In the other half of the AFC group stage draw the main group to look out for is Group F. That group sees the champions of Japan (Nagoya Grampus) and the champions of South Korea (FC Seoul) go head-to-head. That group could see another domestic champions participate, should either the champions of Thailand (Muangthong United) or the Champions of Indonesia (Sriwiaya) make it through the regional play-off that will take place next February. Making up that group is Chinese Super League side Hangzhou Greentown, who will be making their competition debut next year.

Argentina Football Team 2010

Argentina Football Team 2010 Coach

Argentina Football 2010 Fans

Argentina Football Team 2010

The Argentina national football team represents Argentina in association football and is controlled by the Argentine Football Association (AFA), the governing body for football in Argentina. Argentina's home stadium is Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti and their head coach is Sergio Batista. Argentina shares with Uruguay the record of most international titles won by a national team (with 19). The team is currently fifth in the FIFA World Rankings.
Argentina has twice won the FIFA World Cup, in 1978 and 1986. Along Brazil and Spain, they are the only teams that have won the competition outside their continental zone. Argentina has also won the Copa América (top continental competition) 14 times, a record shared with Uruguay, the Confederations Cup in 1992 and the Olympic tournament in 2004 and 2008.
Argentina and France are the only two national teams that have won the three most important men's titles recognized by FIFA: the World Cup, the Confederations Cup, and the Olympic tournament. They have both also won their respective continental championship (Copa América for Argentina, and UEFA European Football Championship for France).

Brazil Soccer Team Wallpaper&Pictures

Brazil Soccer Team

Brazil Soccer Team&Fans

Brazil Soccer Team

Brazil Soccer Winning Team

FIFA has adopted anti-racism regulations that increased penalties for teams whose fans engage in racial taunting of players, including disqualification from competitions and banishment for up to two years for member federations.
To complete a great year (2004), Brazilian star Ronaldinho (Barcelona) was elected the 2004 FIFA Player of the Year. At the youth level, Brazil was recently crowned their third FIFA U-17 World Championship Title in the last 4 editions of the tournament, with a mixture of the same ingredients that have seen them re-emerge as the dominant soccer nation at the professional level: strong defense, physical endurance, technical proficiency, excellent goalkeeping, and extraordinary skill.
They are the only team to have qualified for every single FIFA World Cup. Currently ranked second by FIFA, Brazil is generally considered to be the strongest football nation in the world and is the only team to have played in every World Cup.
Ronaldo
In Germany 2006, Ronaldo becomes the World Cup's leading scorer of all time after beating Gerhard Mller's record of 14 goals. I believe it's normal for players like Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Kaka to play for the world's most powerful clubs. Ronaldo and Pele have last names but they are so famous their last names are not necessary.
Great idols of soccer such as Pele, Garrincha, Zico, Romrio, Ronaldo, and many others from lower social classes started playing soccer on dirt fields under poor conditions.
Ronaldinho
Of the former Magic Quartet, Ronaldinho and Kaká were the only players who had a regular place in the Brazil squad. Dunga’s teams value winning over everything, even if that means leaving out players such as Ronaldinho and Kaká in favor of Josué or Mineiro, both players in the mold of Ze Elías (or, more generously, Dunga himself).
When a poor boy sees that a player like Ronaldinho, considered the best in the world going into the World Cup, can earn 28 million euros (about $35 million) a year, it encourages him to aim high and devote himself to the game.
Kaka
Kaka, 25, won the award by just one vote over Argentine soccer player Lionel Messi of Barcelona soccer club in Spain. Kaka, who is expected to sign with AC Milan until 2013, is headed for a monster contract signing, ensuring that he will be a part of footballing history to come. The Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA) named Kaka Ricardo Izecson as Best Player of 2007, in a poll in which coaches and national soccer team captains participated, and he received twice as many votes as Messi and Brazilian soccer striker Ronaldo.
Skills
On Video: The skills are taught with a series of drills to develop the techniques and confidence on the ball and under pressure. Pele reveals the extraordinary skills which propelled him to soccer immortality, and demonstrates them in a fashion which excites and inspires. You can show your players the soccer footwork, juggling and other essential soccer trick tips and skills demonstrated by great players like Pele, Ronaldo, etc.
These videos show various soccer techniques like passing and receiving, moves to beat an opponent, ball possession and control skills, shooting and other strategic moves that make soccer the wonderful game it is.
Style
The Brazilian style of play was so unique that traditional soccer fans everywhere took notice. I realize that most of the American kids are not brought up with the Brazilian culture, but the Brazilian style of Football (soccer) is the most attractive and I think that the American Coaching Culture needs to try to adopt it and try to encourage the Brazilian flair in our young players.
The Brazil team of 1958 and many teams after them played a free-flowing soccer that gave rise to the typical “Brazilian” style. This style originally came about as soccer was brought to the country from England, explains Vickery. Playing this new style, Brazil was very successful and this led to international triumphs and international recognition for a nation that was starved for both.
History
The most famous forwards in Brazil's soccer history, Edson Arantes do Nascimento and Manuel Francisco dos Santos, are better known as Pele and Garrincha.
Brazil is the most successful team in World Cup history.
The history of soccer in Brazil is related to the history of the people and perhaps can be the explanation of the Brazilian soccer appreciation and style.

Eusebio Ferreira Images

Eusebio Ferreira Old Star Player

Eusebio Ferreira

Eusebio Ferreira Pic

Eusebio da Silva Ferreira was born at Lourenco Marques (now Maputo), Mozambique, in 1942 and in 1961 joined Benfica as a 19 year old from his local club, for £7.500.

In a Paris tournament, he had a hat-trick Santos. This Santos team had the legendary Pele at the time.

Eusebio got his first cap in 1961. In 1966, he scored 9 goals in the World Cup, including four against North Korea, and became the leading scorer for that tournament.

He was the 1965 European Player Of The Year and in 1968 was the first winner of the Golden Boot Award, as Europe's leading scorer, a feat he repeated five years later. The Portuguese League's top scorer every year from 1964 to 1973, he helped Benfica to 10 league championships and 5 cup wins.

His career dwindled through injury and finally moved to Beira Mar and finally to the US and Mexican leagues.

Eusebio is one of the world's most iconic figures in football. He was seen as Pele's contemporary competitor, always a threat to any team.

In 2004, Eusebio will be one of the three ambassadors for Euro 2004.

Primera Liga Pictures

Primera Liga Cristiano Ronaldo

Primera Liga logo

Primera Liga Winning Team

Primera Liga best Player

The Primera Division (First Division) of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional (Professional Football League), commonly known as La Liga (The League) or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA (BBVA League) since 2008, is the top professional association football league in Spain. It is contested by 20 teams, with the three lowest placed teams relegated to the Segunda División and replaced by the top three teams in that division. A total of 59 teams have competed in La Liga, nine of which have been crowned champions. Since the 1950s, Real Madrid and Barcelona have dominated the championship. The former have won the title 31 times while the latter have won it on 20 occasions. However, during the 1930s and 1940s and in the last two decades, La Liga has seen other champions including Atlético Madrid, Athletic Bilbao, Valencia, Real Sociedad, Deportivo, Sevilla and Real Betis. Barcelona are currently back to back winners of La Liga.
La Liga is one of the most popular professional sports leagues in the world, with an average attendance of 29,029 for league matches in the 2007–08 season. This is the eighth highest of any domestic professional sports league in the world and the third highest of any professional association football league. La Liga is currently ranked the second strongest league in Europe according to UEFA's league coefficient, based on recent European performances.

Nigel Martyn best GoalKeaper

Nigel Martyn Image

Nigel Martyn

Nigel Martyn Picture

Nigel Martyn Great try

Martyn became the first £1m goalkeeper in 1989, moving from Bristol Rovers to Crystal Palace. He had several good seasons before Everton came in for him in 1996 only to lose out to Leeds United who paid £2.5m for his services.

This was his most successful time and in 1999/2000 season he finished in 3rd place in the premiership whch in turn gave him champions league football. Also in the same year got to the UEFA cup semi-final.

However this may have also been his most frustrating of times. After a public falling out with then manager Terry Venables in the summer of 2002 he spent the whole of the 2002/3 season on the bench.

David Moyes moved in for the out of favour keeper in a bid to give the other keepers at Everton a wake up call. After a major injury to Richard Wright Martyn was given his chance and has held his place on merit through the 2003/4 campaign. If his form continues in this vein Richard Wright will no longer be the automatic first choice keeper. At 37 Martyn is possibly playing his best football in the twilight of his career.

Adrian Mutu Best Player

Adrian Mutu with Wife

Adrian Mutu Chelsea

Adrian Mutu Wallpaper

Adrian Mutu Image

Mutu was bought by Dinamo Bucuresti for €600,000 where his superb form of 22 goals in 33 games had not gone unnoticed by Inter Milan.

He joined Inter Milan for €1.2m in 1999, but was unable to find the form he did in his previous club, but in the next season was able to score 12 times which tempted Parma to buy him where he scored 18 goals in 31 Serie A games which qualified them for the UEFA Cup.

He didn't get to join Parma in the UEFA Cup however, as he was quickly swooped by the lucrative offer Abrahimovic had for him at Chelsea in 2003/04.

Mutu scored five times in his first six outings but his form quickly dropped and new Chelsea Manager quickly dropped him in preference for another striker. Things never started looking up for Mutu, as he was caught for using banned substances, first thought to be cocaine, but now it's an unidentified substance. Consequently, Chelsea sacked him after two weeks this was discovered, and Mutu could have faced a two year ban, but was given a shocking seven month ban instead.

In December 2004, rumours persisted that Juventus was interested in signing the services of Adrian Mutu. Juventus had just gone through a set of trials for supplying illegal supplements to players during the 1990s. He eventually signed for them in January 2005.

Jose Mourinho Best Football Manager

Jose Mourinho Picture

Jose Mourinho Image

Jose Mourinho

Jose Mourinho with Wife

Jose Mourinho started off as a translator for Bobby Robson while he was at Portugal in the early 1990s.

He grabbed Robson's attention, by being a very keen student at the sport. Robson moved onto Porto in 1993, and took Mourinho with him as his assistant manager. In three years they were there, they won two titles.

In 1996, they moved onto Barcelona, winning 2 Spanish Cups and a European Cup Winners Cup. Mourinho was ready to follow Robson to England, but the English legend told Mourinho to learn more about the manager craft under the new Barcelona manager, Louis van Gaal.

Louis van Gaal had just come from Ajax Amsterdam, and had won the UEFA Cup and UEFA Champions League, and reached the finals twice in latter tournament.

With the Barcelona squad, van Gaal and Mourinho were able to bring success into domestic competition, but were unable to bring in European glory, nor have the same relationship Robson and Mourinho had, with van Gaal trying to replace Mourinho with his own coaching staff from his Amsterdam days.

Mourinho moved back to Portugal, and had a very short lived manager session with Benfica, lasting only 9 games.

He then joined Uniao de Leiria, a struggling team, and guided them to European competition. The following season, very poor results at FC Porto led to a job opening there, which Mourinho jumped at, and that same season, guided Porto to third place.

The following year, Porto won the league title, as well as the UEFA Cup. Not to be outshone by the previous year, Mourinho defended the league title, as well as winning the Champions League in 2003-04 season.

With such a huge success, clubs all over were ready to sign for Mourinho, but it was the ambition of Chelsea's that caught his interest, and signature.

El Hadji Diouf Best Player

El Hadji Diouf Picture

El Hadji Diouf in Match

El Hadji Diouf Image

El Hadji Diouf

In the 1992 World Cup, El Hadji Diouf was one of the most influential and promising players in the tournament. He helped his Senegal get to the elimination stages of the World Cup before they were ousted by Turkey 1-0.

He joined Houillier's Liverpool and showed great promise after he scored in his debut.

However, everything went downhill from there, and Diouf was no longer the player he was meant to be, scoring only 3 goals in 55 appearances for Liverpool.

In 2004 he was loaned out to Bolton Wanderers for a year, and his personal troubles didn't stop there. In November 2004, he spat on an opponent, his third spitting incident (and not his last). He was made to give a public apology and was docked 2 weeks pay along with a 3 match suspension.

At the end of the 2004-05 season, Diouf signed with Bolton Wanderers, after a season full of controversy and goals. He helped Bolton to their best ever finish in the Premiership, qualifying for the UEFA Cup after scoring 9 goals.