Just before Spain was busy being dispatched from their path along the impossible dream of winning the u19, u20 and u21 championships in the same summer, France was busy getting a lesson in late-game drama from Nigeria.
And then Gueida Fofana hit back with some drama and technique of his own, sending France on its way to a 3-2 victory in ET.
But perhaps even better than one of the best goals this summer is the fact he began celebrating almost as soon as the ball left his foot. A… Continue reading
Spain holds the World Cup and the European Championships, beating the Dutch for the World Cup roughly one year ago. (And does it count that Spain thumped the team that thumped the Dutch in ‘08? No? Okay.) Since that time, the Spaniards have gone 5-0-0 in real, actual international matches. Friendly record is less scintillating, but they’re friendlies, right?
So obviously the Dutch are FIFA’s new No. 1 team.
Further proof there is something biblically wrong with FIFA’s system.
Fairly sure this was completely missed during the World Cup, but if not, it’s certainly no crime to post again. Actually, it may be illegal in several countries not to post it again.
You’ll probably remember the a-capella Gimme Hope Joachim song from pre-World Cup, because it was the best thing without umlauts to arrive from Germany this year. Well, turns out they made a remix at some point during the World Cup to aptly reflect what had transpired. And it’s predictably the best thing since sliced bread mit… Continue reading
One of the major concerns, if not the major concern, of the World Cup in Qatar has been that pesky issue of its location – a very, very warm location. The summers are scorching and though their big promise to world football was air conditioned stadiums, as many have said: you can’t air condition Qatar. Though they damn well might try.
With this in mind, figures have been popping up advocating a winter World Cup, touting its possibilities. Only they’re not just figures, they’re powerful figures, with titles and clout… Continue reading
Memories are short in football, but none more so than those in the Les Bleus camp. Despite everything seemingly going fine and dandy under Laurent Blanc at the moment – four straight victories – at least one man in the camp just can’t seem to quit Nicolas Anelka, their World Cup pariah (one of ‘em, anyway).
It’s like watching the girl just back on her feet stumble back to the abusive ex-boyfriend. Why won’t they ever learn? Man of epic name, Alain Boghossian, speaks:
“I’ve seen a lot of… Continue reading
Difficult though it may be to see him atop the sport’s most powerful acronym, Sepp Blatter still remains the gift that keeps on giving. The man’s motormouth is a 365 day-a-year Santa Claus, bestowing us with gifts under the tree, never a hint of oversaturation, on all topics.
Yesterday the world’s press sat down with Sepp and he touched on the all-important subject: sodomy. (Link’s kosher – promise.)
Apart from the searing temperatures expected during the finals time of June and July, there could also be other problems with… Continue reading
