Tag: futbol

Home Stretch

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For most football teams, the year is almost over. For Manchester United, there is still far to go.

United is still in the FA Cup, the Champions League and at the top of the Premier League. United still have to play both Chelsea and Arsenal in the Premier League as well as having to play Man City and Chelsea in the FA Cup and Champions League second leg respectively.

United has faced some injuries but they have such a deep squad they should be ok on that front. The suspension of Wayne Rooney could potentially be damaging but they were able to easily beat Fulham 2-0 without him.

Carlos Salcido, Antonio Valencia, Aaron Hughes

I really cannot make up my mind on whether United can win the treble. I have no doubt that they have the talent but they can be so inconsistent.

For United, the FA Cup is the least important, but after making it this far and getting lined up to play Manchester City, United will undoubtedly push to the final.

United have an advantage going into the second leg against Chelsea at Old Trafford after a good 1-0 win at Stamford Bridge. If United can make it past the semi finals I think they will win but the semi will be their real challenge.

Manchester United vs Fulham

United are currently 10 points clear of Arsenal in the Premier League but Arsenal do have two games in hand. If United can get a win and a draw out of their back-to-back games against Arsenal and Chelsea, they should be able to win the Premier League.

This is all speculation but I have confidence in the talent that Untied has. Although I do not think they have played the best football in United history, they have been able to win and that is all that matters. Hopefully their dreams of a treble comes to fruition.

P.S. For a little humorous reading that involves Sir Alex Ferguson I would highly suggest this article. It has possibly the best insult I have ever heard come out of Fergie.

Red Over Blue

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In the “blind draw,” Manchester united selected Chelsea as their opponents in the Champions League. Today was the first of two games for a place in the semi finals.

Manchester United got off to a great start with a beautiful goal from Wayne Rooney. Carrick hit a great ball to Giggs who took a great touch and hit it to Rooney who finished it nicely.

Wayne Rooney scores the opening goal against Chelsea

That goal gave United a 1-0 victory. The game was at Stamford Bridge, the home of Chelsea, so winning the game for United was a big deal.

In the Champions League, an away goal counts as two goals if the team to advance has to be decided by number of goals. Not only is that a factor, but for United, playing at home is easier than having to travel in to the den of their enemies (shocking).

United have a very tough schedule ahead of them due to the fact that they are still in three tournaments. They have to play games for the FA Cup, the Premier League and the Champions League.

The face Manchester City in the FA Cup and Chelsea one more time next week for the Champions League. Adding to that are games every weekend against strong opponents who look to keep United from winning their 19th League title.

I look forward to the rest of the (so far very good) season.

Wacky World of Football

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Although I am still young, I have had the chance to work on all sides of football. I have played, refereed, coached and worked in the management.

For me there is an obvious favorite, playing. Playing football is a great feeling, one that allows me to get out all of my emotions. It is an art form. It is like I am in my element, one in which I am completely comfortable.

But playing is not that far ahead of the others surprisingly.

Refereeing is not what one might consider “fun” but for me there is a sense of duty. I am going out to ref with the idea that I am helping the game (although players may disagree). Being a ref is a very hard job and it has given me insight to the pain I cause refs when I yell and hassle them.

Coaching is very exciting for me. It gives me the feeling that I am opening up a whole new world to kids. I remember the joy that learning football gave me and I try to emulate that. I hope that my coaching gives kids a opportunity to go have fun and learn as much as they can about the game of football.

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Racism in Football

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This weekend’s friendly between Scotland and Brazil saw an ugly display of racism, one that cannot be tolerated.

I support Brazil in the international game because of how great they play football. Most Americans are incredulous on how I could not support my home country but the fact of the matter is I support Brazil because they play the best football.

During their friendly against Scotland (which was played in England), the Brazilian youngster Neymar got two goals. Being 19 years old, that is extremely impressive. But when Neymar went to take a penalty kick, a fan through a banana on to the pitch.

For someone who does not know Neymar this might seem irrelevant but Neymar is black. This is a unexcusable action that should be heavily punished. Neymar and the other Brazilian players are out showing the world their skills. They do not show hatred towards anyone.

Neymar is a young kid who is making it in the crazy world of football and he does not deserve this.

I support Scotland in most games (except when they play Brazil ironically) because my heritage is from there. But the Scottish fans who were involved in the throwing of the banana and the usage of racial slurs against the Brazilians should be ashamed of themselves. I am embarrassed to say that I support Scotland after this incident.

This is not the first time Brazil has had to deal with intolerance. going back over 50 years, Brazil has taken the brunt of many racial insults. Argentina fans often refer to Brazil as being the (n-word) team because Brazil has many more blacks due to colonization than Argentina.

France, with its large population of black soccer players, has also had to put up with racial prejudice. I will say that FIFA does everything they can to stop the hate; banning certain fans they catch on tape and even banning some teams from playing in front of spectators.

But FIFA should not be the ones who have to get people to stop, it should be the fans. As a football fan I want to say enough is enough. Supporting the other team is no excuse for being racially intolerant. Let us enjoy the wonderful skill and appreciate what there people are giving to us.

Qatari Clouds

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Today the tiny country of Qatar produced a great idea: make a cloud to hang over a soccer match.

An artist's impression of the Al-Rayyan stadium for the 2022 World Cup finals

Qatar has run into a problem (many actually) after winning the bid to host the 2022 World Cup. The major problem is that it gets well over 120 degrees in the months that the World Cup is supposed to take place.

But FIFA Rules dictate that there cannot be indoor stadiums and that the games cannot be played in the Winter. I still do not see why FIFA then picked Qatar for the World Cup when there are rules in place that make hosting the tournament very difficult.

But Qatar is already taking real strides to solve the problems they are faced with. Their latest proposition is to make artificial clouds that would hang over the stadiums and block sunlight and provide a moist and cool environment.

They have many plans to do wild things to their stadiums such as one that is totally surrounded by media screens, 420,000 square feet of them. Incredible things such as that would make the World Cup very cool if they can pull it off.

In theory it sounds like a great idea but I do not know how feasible it is. I do know that after seeing the pictures of the stadiums Qatar is planning on building and hearing all their crazy ideas, I am ready to pack my bags for the Qatari World Cup today.

What is Wrong With Youth Soccer

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Being a referee, I have seen many youth games as an outsider. But I also have played both club and organized soccer as a kid. Now that I see the insanity from an outside prospective, I am a little taken aback.

Youth Sport Violence image

I think that every child should play soccer as a kid. This is an incredibly biased opinion but it does have merit. Soccer is a great sport for kids because it is simple in rules but complex in thinking. There are no plays drawn up, the player has to figure out what he or she needs to do. Soccer is also very physically demanding — a good amount of long, slow distance mixed with sprinting. For the development of kids, soccer is great.

But here is the dark side: parents. This is also biased because almost every weekend I have to deal with parents who are upset and out of control. Parents ruin soccer for kids. If the parent starts caring more about the game than his or her child, something is wrong.

Parents are their to support their kids, not to scream obscenities at the other team, the ref or another parent. I have seen many a child’s faces go a deep red when he or she hears his or her parents screaming from the sideline.

Parents should be involved with their sons and daughters soccer education. But parents need to learn to control themselves. I know that how badly they want their kid to win and to demolish the other team but can they please keep it to themselves. When they open their mouths to yell things like “Break his leg!”, “Pull her down!”, “That’s right, take that losers!”, they simply look immature.

Parents want their kids to be great and there is nothing wrong with that. But the kids will either motivate themselves to play soccer or they won’t. Chances are that the kid won’t stick with soccer if they have parents yelling at them from the sideline.

So parents take my advice: Encourage your kids, support their team. But please calm down and let the kids play. After all, its youth soccer.

The Ventura County Fusion

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For the last 3 years, I have been working part-time with a professional football team in the city of Ventura. The team, The Ventura County Fusion, is going into its fifth season in the PDL.

The PDL is the fourth tier of professional football in the United States. That does not sound like it would make a team prestigious but the Fusion are an exception.

The Fusion have played teams from the highest level including Burnley and Everton. They have also played team such as Real Salt Lake, Columbus Crew and most recently the Portland Timbers (the Fusion were the first team to play Portland’s new MLS team).

In 2009 the Fusion won the PDL Championship, an incredible feat for a team in only its third season. The PDL is made up of 64 teams and the Fusion topped them all. In their last season they finished first place In the Southwest Division of the Western Conference.

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Shock Move

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It has just come out that Fernando Torres has signed with Chelsea. This is a shocking move, one that was once considered a silly rumor.

What is being said right now is that Torres has been sold to Chelsea for about £45 million or about $72 million.

The Spanish international Torres has scored 65 goals in 102 EPL games, a very good record. However, Torres form in recent matches has not been like the Torres of old. I do not think he has looked very good since last season.

I was able to watch Torres play at the World Cup this last summer and I know he has talent. But he will be playing up top with Drogba, another great striker. I question whether the styles of Drogba and Torres will fit together for they are very different.

Drogba is a power players, crashing through defenses and blasting shots. Torres on the other hand has speed and agility, combined with a deadly accurate foot. If these two players can work together, Chelsea will be an incredibly deadly team. But if not, one of the strikers will leave, possibly ruining Chelsea.

Liverpool are getting a good deal here. Torres wanted out for quite a while and they are getting a very good price for a players that has not been playing up to his potential. Liverpool just added Suarez who is an attacking force, making up for the loss of Torres’ goal scoring capability.

This is a very interesting deal and the football world will be watching very closely at Fernando Torres’ performance the rest of the season. He now must put out £45 million performances every game.

Why I Love United

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Over the holidays Manchester United showed exactly why I love them. If one was to watch a Man U game without any knowledge of their current league position, they would easily think they were a mid-table team. But Manchester United, full of potential talent, always does just enough to get by.

Nani celeb Manchester United v Stoke

Now many people might wonder why I would appreciate this in a soccer team, for it sounds quite outlandish. Here is why: Manchester United keeps soccer interesting. They are that team in the Premier League that at any point can do something amazing. But at the same time they are right on the brink of total failure. There are games where their midfield has no control, their defence is full of holes and their strikers don’t even look interested in scoring. And then out of nowhere that all changes, they become a team that cannot be stopped.

To many fans this would come off as being inconsistent and lacking true talent. I will not deny that their play is inconsistent but the fact that fans never know what to expect is what makes it fun.

I love to watch Barcelona play because they almost always are making spectacular passes and moving the ball around in unfathomable ways. But the reason I love Man U is that I never know what to expect when I turn on my TV, every game is a new experience, there is no “been there, done that” type of soccer.

Michael Carrick gets treatment as Steven Gerrard prepares to see red

As inconsistent as the play may have been, Man U sits atop the Premier League. At this point it is theirs to lose. but whats great about that is they very well may lose it
(I cringe to imagine it) , and that is what keeps us watching.

To read about all of the latest Manchester United news go to: http://soccernet.espn.go.com/team/_/id/360/manchester-united?cc=5901