2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil

Biggest Sporting Event on the Earth

Croatia World Cup Squad

No comments
Nico Krancjar is the biggest name missing in the Croatia final World Cup Squad list as the midfielder was recovering from a leg injury suffered in the Championship playoff final for QPR against Derby last week. Apart from that, the Blazers roster has no major surprises as regulars Modric, Mandzukic, Eduardo, Srna, Olic were all included in the final 23 bound to Brazil
Nico Kovac, who had to leave out Milan Badelj, Ivo Ilicevic, Ivan Strinic  apart from Kranjcar due to injuries, also excluded striker Duje Cop, midfielder Mario Pasalic and defender Igor Bubnjic in the final cut

Squad

Goalkeepers:
Stipe Pletikosa (Rostov), Danijel Subasic (Monaco), Oliver Zelenika (Dinamo Zagreb)
Defenders:
Darijo Srna (Shakhtar Donetsk), Dejan Lovren (Southampton), Vedran Corluka (Lokomotiv Moscow), Gordon Schildenfeld (Panathinaikos), Danijel Pranjic (Panathinaikos), Domagoj Vida (Dynamo Kiev), Sime Vrsaljko (Genoa)
Midfielders:
Luka Modric (Real Madrid), Ivan Rakitic (Sevilla), Ognjen Vukojevic (Dynamo Kiev), Ivan Perisic (Vfl Wolfsburg), Mateo Kovacic (Inter Milan), Marcelo Brozovic (Dinamo Zagreb), Ivan Mocinic (Rijeka), Sammir (Getafe)
Forwards:
Mario Mandzukic (Bayern Munich), Ivica Olic (Vfl Wolfsburg), Eduardo da Silva (Shakhtar Donetsk), Nikica Jelavic (Hull City), Ante Rebic (Fiorentina)

No comments :

Post a Comment

Netherlands World Cup Squad

No comments
Alongside the injured midfielder Van der Vaart, Tonny Vilhena, Jean-Paul Boetius, Patrick van Aanholt, goalkeeper backup Jeroen Zoet, Quincy Promes and Karim Rekik missed the Netherlands final roster selection ahead of the World Cup. Coach Louis van Gaal sprung no surprises in his selection with all major names like Arjen Robben, Wesley Sneijder, Robin van Persie, Nigel de Jong and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar made up the 23-strong squad
Jasper Cillesen, Michel Vorm and Tim Krull will be the designated goalkeepers in the Oranje squad

Squad

Goalkeepers:
Jasper Cillessen (Ajax), Michel Vorm (Swansea City), Tim Krul (Newcastle United)

Defenders:
Paul Verhaegh (Augsburg), Daryl Janmaat (Feyenoord), Joel Veltman (Ajax), Stefan de Vrij (Feyenoord), Ron Vlaar (Aston Villa), Bruno Martins Indi (Feyenoord), Terence Kongolo (Feyenoord), Daley Blind (Ajax)

Midfielders:
Leroy Fer (Norwich City), Nigel de Jong (AC Milan), Jordy Clasie (Feyenoord), Jonathan de Guzman (Swansea City), Georginio Wijnaldum (PSV), Wesley Sneijder (Galatasaray)

Forwards:
Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich), Robin van Persie (Manchester United), Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (Schalke), Dirk Kuyt (Fenerbahce), Jeremain Lens (Dynamo Kiev), Memphis Depay (PSV)

No comments :

Post a Comment

K minus 12 days - Final Squads by June 2

No comments
FIFA has a deadline of June 2 by which all the participating nations would need to announce and submit their final squads. The final squad should contain not more than 23 members and three of them should be goalkeepers. The players that are going to be part of World Cup games should be picked from these squads only with rare exceptions, like a player injured seriously can be replaced up to 24 hours before their first group game upon the acceptance of FIFA medical team
FIFA would publish the final squads on its website on June 5th. A similar deadline was imposed regarding the announcement of Provisional Squads, the deadline was on May 13th and the lists were displayed on the FIFA website on May 16th
So far thirteen out of thirty two teams announced their final squads

No comments :

Post a Comment

Spain World Cup Squad Announced

No comments
Injury hit winger Jesus Navas has been left out of Spain's 23-man final roster announced by Vicente del Bosque. Striker Alvaro Negredo was also not included as the coach preferred the Brazilian born striker Diego Costa, despite his injury struggles, along with out of form duo Fernando Torres and David Villa
Another notable exclusion in the squad is Real Madrid full back Dani Carvajal, Juanfran was preferred over him. Apart from these, the defending champions will fly to Brazil with all the usual suspects such as Iniesta, Xavi, Fabregas, Alonso and Pedro among others
Despite his struggles in the premier league, Juan Mata was added to the roster while Fernando Llorente missed out on his chance despite his successful season in Serie A
Iker Casillas as expected would start ahead of Reina and de Gea
Costa is the only player with major injury concerns in the squad but can be replaced if needed up to 24 hours before their first game at the finals

Squad

Goalkeepers:
Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), Pepe Reina (Napoli), David de Gea (Manchester United)

Defenders:
Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Juanfran Torres (Atletico Madrid), Raul Albiol (Napoli), Javi Martinez (Bayern Munich), Jordi Alba (Barcelona), Gerard Pique (Barcelona), Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea)

Midfielders:
Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), Cesc Fabregas (Barcelona), Sergio Busquets (Barcelona), Xavi (Barcelona), Santi Cazorla (Arsenal), Juan Mata (Manchester United), David Silva (Manchester City), Koke (Atletico Madrid), Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid)

Attackers
Diego Costa (Atletico Madrid), David Villa (Atletico Madrid), Fernando Torres (Chelsea), Pedro Rodriguez (Barcelona)

No comments :

Post a Comment

K minus 13 days - Legends - Kocsis, Fontaine, Charlton, Muller, Cruyff

No comments
Here come the third edition of Legends
Legends Part I - Garrincha, Meazza, Puskas, Eusebio, Pele
Legends Part II - Yashin, Moore, Cafu, Maldini, Beckenbauer

Category: Attackers        Period: 1954 - 1974

Sandor Kocsis

Along with Puskas, Kocsis is one of the best players to have emerged from Hungary. Both of them were part of the golden team "Mighty Magyars", which also include Zoltan Czibor, Jozsef Bozsik and Nandor Hidegkuti. The legend of Kocsis was established when he scored a record 11 goals in the 1954 World Cup. He also scored two hat tricks in the tourney
Kocsis is famed for his goal scoring rate. His eleven goals at 1954 tournament were recorded at the rate of 2.2 goals per game, still unbeaten achievement. His 75 goals for Hungary arrived at 1.1 goals/game in 68 appearances. He also scored seven hat tricks for his nation

Just Fontaine

Fontaine is the only other player to score more goals than Kocsis in a single World Cup edition. He bettered Kocsis record with thirteen goals of his own for France in the immediately next World Cup in 1958. His only World Cup appearance also puts him on the fourth place in the overall top scorers list, behind Ronaldo (15), Muller and Klose (both on 14)
Fontaine scored an astonishing 227 goals in just 248 senior appearances. His national career is much more appealing with 30 goals in 21 games. He scored his 13 World Cup goals in just six games with 2.17 goals/game just missing Kocsis' another record

Bobby Charlton

Sir Robert Charlton played in four World Cups for England and is instrumental in the 1966 winning squad. He's considered as the best midfielder in England. A Manchester United player for most part of his career, he won the Ballon d'Or in the same year he won the World Cup. He's one of the survivors of the tragic Munich air disaster
He played 106 matches for England and scored 49 goals and was part of World Cup squads in 1958, 1962, 1966 and 1970. he also scored a record 249 goals for Manchester United in 758 appearances. He was knighted OBE, for his services to football in 1969

Gerd Muller

Gerhard Muller is the first player to beat Fontaine's record thirteen goals in all World Cups by scoring his fourteenth at the 1974 World Cup, which was eventually beaten by Ronaldo at 2006 tourney. He blasted ten of those goals in 1970 World Cup. He was named "The Bomber" for his explosive goal scoring ability

Muller is a very prolific scorer in international football with 68 goals in just 62 appearances for Germany in just six years and 487 goals in 555 club appearances
Another German Miroslav Klose is level with Muller's record of 14 goals in World Cups

Johan Cruyff

Johan Cruyff is the personification of "Total Football" phenomenon which put Netherlands in the top bracket of World Football. He is the central part of Rinus Michels scheme of Total Football in which every player will be part of all the elements of football in the pitch and no one is restricted to a single position. The Netherlands team used to play around Cruyff, which paid rich benefits to the team. Only Beckenbauer's outstanding defending could stop the Dutch from winning the 1974 World Cup
Along with Messi, Platini and van Basten, Cruyff is the only other player to have won the Ballon d'Or three times, Messi overtaking the others with his fourth win in 2012. He is considered to be the best player to have played in Europe and voted so in 1999 poll by IFFHS. Even as a manager, he's one of the most influential figure. He scored 33 times in 48 games for his nation

Legends Part IV - Maradona, Romario, Klinsmann, Zidane, Cannavaro
Legends Part V - Platini, Matthaus, Lineker, Baggio, Ronaldo

No comments :

Post a Comment

Colombia Provisional Squad Trimmed

No comments
Although he's patient to wait for Falcao to recover from his ligament tear till the last minute before he announced his final roster, Jose Pekerman decided otherwise with regards to the other members of the squad. The Colombia head coach decided to purge unwanted players from his provisional squad including the injury dogged midfielder Edwin Valencia
The other players to miss the cut are defender Aquivaldo Mosquera. midfielders Elkin Soto and Macnelly Torres
Colombia provisional squad is effectively trimmed to 26 members after the exclusions

Updated Provisional Squad

Goalkeepers:
David Ospina (Nice), Faryd Mondragon (Deportivo Cali), Camilo Vargas (Independiente Santa Fe)
Defenders:
Mario Yepes (AC Milan), Cristian Zapata (AC Milan), Pablo Armero (West Ham, on loan from Napoli), Camilo Zuniga (Napoli), Santiago Arias (PSV Eindhoven), Luis Amaranto Perea (Cruz Azul), Eder Alvarez Balanta (River Plate), Carlos Valdes (San Lorenzo)
Midfielders:
Fredy Guarin (Inter Milan), Juan Cuadrado (Fiorentina), Victor Ibarbo (Cagliari), James Rodriguez (Monaco), Abel Aguilar (Toulouse), Juan Fernando Quintero (Porto), Carlos Sanchez (Elche), Aldo Leao Ramirez (Morelia), Alexander Mejia (Atletico Nacional)
Forwards:
Radamel Falcao (Monaco), Luis Fernando Muriel (Udinese), Jackson Martinez (Porto), Carlos Bacca (Sevilla), Adrian Ramos (Hertha Berlin), Teofilo Gutierrez (River Plate)

No comments :

Post a Comment

Injury Update - Valencia Out of World Cup

No comments
Colombia added to the ever growing World Cup injury list as midfielder Edwin Valencia failed to recover from his injury. Valencia has been struggling with his muscle injury throughout the season and Jose Pekerman announced on Wednesday that the Fluminense midfielder will not recover on time for the World Cup
Colombia is already facing a big injury problem in terms of star striker Falcao's recovery from Anterior Cruciate Ligament damage but Pekerman vowed to give him as much time as possible to get back in shape. Colombia's fortunes at the tourney hang on Falcao's ability to get back into the squad

No comments :

Post a Comment

Injury Update - Alvaro Saborio Ruled Out

No comments
Costa Rica first choice striker Alvaro Saborio suffered a fifth metatarsal fracture on his right foot during a closed door training session on Thursday and is ruled out of next month's World Cup. Coach Luis Pinto announced that the striker would not be able to make a recovery in time to feature in the finals
Saborio, who plies his trade at Real Salt Lake, is expected to miss the next 3-4 months as part of the recovery from the injury and he will be thoroughly missed in the Ticos squad. Pinto would now need to reassess his attacking plans as the other attackers Joel Campbell and Bryan Ruiz are supposedly more comfortable on breaks rather than with direct attacks

No comments :

Post a Comment

K minus 14 days - Innovation at the Games

No comments
The FIFA World Cup is organized on such a huge scale, it's the biggest single event sports competition in the world, its impact on the host nation, on the broadcasters, media, viewers and the participating nations is more than noteworthy. On television and internet, it is the most followed event, and the fact that football is played literally in every nation of the world, including the Vatican makes it one of the most influential events
This is exactly why most of the innovations are introduced at or around the World Cup. Even the players chose to introduce their innovation like celebrations, new moves, hairstyles, beards, apparel and other accessories during a World Cup. No wonder Qatar has won the bid mostly based on cooling technologies, carbon-neutrality and man-made clouds, it promise to introduce to the world by 2022
FIFA World Cup 2014 at Brazil has its fair share of innovations in terms of advancements in sports, and sustainability of environment. The mascot of the cup Fuleco, is a three-banded armadillo, which is one of the endangered species native to Brazil. Fuleco comes from Football and Ecology (Futebol and Ecologia in Portuguese) and sustainability is one of the most recurring themes of this tourney
Here are some of the technological innovations we're going to witness at the World Cup

Goal-line Technology

Football is one of the most uninterrupted sports, in terms of break of play due to non-playing circumstances. It has only one break in normal time and the goals and fouls that offer some kind of breaks in play are part and parcel of the game. It is due to this reason that FIFA doesn't want to stuff the game with lots of technology in order to maintain the natural flow of an established game. Due to this fact, games are sometimes hit by controversies when the Referee adjust debatable line calls regarding goals, off-sides, corners and penalties
FIFA decided to introduce its much anticipated goal-line technology, which was trialed and deemed fit in 2013 Confederations Cup. Each goal post is monitored by seven high speed cameras and capture a ball passing the post at 5000 pictures per second. Within a second the referee will be notified, as vibrations and alerts, through a gadget he wears, whether the goal has been scored or not

Vanishing Spray

To assist the against the mischief of the players who tend to move around or move the ball, to gain advantages during free kicks, FIFA introduced the vanishing spray. Referees can mark the ten-yard line and the position of the ball with the spray, which duly vanishes in a minute after use

Sustainability

All the stages of the World Cup hosting are planned and implemented to ensure sustainability and environmental preservation. Most of the newly built stadiums use the theme of reuse, renew and recycle in order to be nature friendly, especially in case of waste management, environment conservation, energy usage and raw material utilization. Solar panels are extensively used to produce renewable energy. Waste and water are better managed with an emphasis on recycling. Carbon emission is reduced to a minimum and preventive measures against its impact are being undertaken
The volunteer programs are also improvised so that the trained participants can be employed in future programs. It is often debated whether this could be the greenest tourney ever to be held at this scale

Brazuca

Adidas, the official partner of FIFA, seems to have delivered a much improved game ball this World Cup, termed as the Brazuca. It follows uo the much criticized Jabulani from World Cup 2010. Here are the sailent features of Brazuca according to Adidas
  • Most aerodynamic in nature due to its panel shape and provides the most reliable flight speed and shape
  • With a water absorption rate of just 0.2 percent, it will retain its weight, shape and size even in the most heaviest of rains
  • Latex made bladder would ensure a desired bounce
  • Made of six thermally bonded rough panels, the geometry of the ball ensures the most reliable flight path reducing unpredictable movement
Adidas finally might have overcome the criticism it wass facing regarding the ball unpredictability over the last couple of World Cups

No comments :

Post a Comment

Injury Update - South Korea's Kim and Hong - Defensive Woes

No comments
Defender Kim Jin-su's ongoing ankle problem forced him to drop out of the Korea Republic World Cup Squad. The 21-year-old Kim Jin-su, who plays for Albirex Niigata in J league, had been a regular in the Korean XI since coach Hong Myung-bo took over but suffered an ankle injury during training last week. He couldn't recover from the problem and had to be replaced, according to KFA
Mainz left-back Park Joo-ho will replace Kim in the 23-squad bound to Brazil. Meanwhile Yun Suk-young played as the left-back role in the home friendly against Tunisia, which the visitors won 1-0
The friendly also witnessed the central defender Hong Jeong-ho stretchered out in the 13th minute with a possible ankle injury. Hong, who missed the 2012 Olympics due to a broken leg was forced off after a tackle from Tunisia's forward Issam Jemaa. He's currently being assessed and is expected be back on the squad in time

No comments :

Post a Comment

K minus 15 days - Stephen Hawking, Goldman Sachs, Emergency and Fixing

No comments
What does the English theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, American financial services firm Goldman Sachs, The river Negro and Fulham's Craven Cottage have to do with this World Cup. Well, apart from Craven Cottage being a football ground and River Negro being the tributary to Brazilian river Amazon situated near the Arena Amazonia stadium in Manaus, there seems to be no link
But all of these are trending today prominently regarding the FIFA World Cup

Goldman Sachs Predicts World Cup Winner

Smitten by the World Cup bug, the analysts at Goldman Sachs deemed it fit enough for them to grab all the historical data of all 32 World Cup participant teams and generated a depiction of the results for each and every game to be played at the World Cup. They predicted that Brazil would defeat Argentina 3-1 to lift the trophy a record sixth time and England, as widely expected, will be pipped out by Italy and Uruguay. Defending champs Spain and strong favorites Germany will have to be satisfied with the semi final spots
While they have taken all the previous encounters of each team with others, only significant matches are considered, so friendlies are out of the equation, one flaw in the model is lack of consideration to current strengths and form. It is strictly based on historical data

Stephen Hawking Formulates English Success

England finally found why it is found wanting in the big tournaments since their solo 1966 Cup victory, and the light is shed by none other than the English physicist Stephen Hawking. Commissioned by the bookmaker Paddy Power, the scientist delved into the roots of theoretical physics to unveil the exact reasons for the nations patchy performances over the years and suggested the fixes. Here are some excerpts from his observation
  • They need to wear red uniforms to get motivated to win, as red is the color of confidence and aggression
  • WAGs are not the reason for their failures, actually presence of WAGs is optimal for English success
  • To be more successful in taking penalties, they need to take at least three steps in their run ups, aim for top corners on either side and give the ball some velocity. Also use the side foot instead of laces
  • Bald or fair headed players are more likely to score, while the reason for that is still a mystery, but strikers are generally better than defenders and midfielders
He also reckoned that the heat, game timings and other issues like playing away from home and at a higher altitude would make the current team unlikely to get success at Brazil. Hawking finished with a remark that him being a theoretical physicist he would be a marginally better qualified than Paul the Octopus to make predictions

Emergency in Manaus, Negro Swells

Coming to River Negro in Manaus, the Amazon tributary is overflowing and the Manaus has gone into a state of 180-day Emergency to deal with all the possibilities that might arise from the circumstances. According to the authorities, the river might swell into the city but flooding is nearly not a possibility
The situation however would not affect the games to be played at Arena Amazonia during the month long tournament. The emergency is placed so that the emergency services can be swiftly deployed when in need

Friendly Fix at Craven Cottage

The British National Crime Agency(NCA) has alerted FIFA over the possibility that the friendly match to be held between Scotland and Nigeria, at Fulham's Craven Cottage this Wednesday might have been fixed. The Scottish Football Association has been liaising with NCA, which handles serious and organized crime investigations, regarding the fixture
The game would go on with routine preparations and arrangements though

No comments :

Post a Comment

Injury Update - Van der Vaart Out

No comments
Update - May 28: Van der Vaart will not be considered for the World Cup due to his injury. KNVB website has announced that coach Louis van Gaal decided to exclude the midfielder from the possible 23-man squad which is due to be announced this Saturday. The 31-year old backup playmaker is the most experienced of the Netherlands squad

May 27:
Dutch midfielder Rafael van der Vaart has suffered a calf injury during training at the camp in Portugal. He's struggling to be fit before the planned announcement of the final squad by coach Louis van Gaal, expected to be out on Saturday
Van der Vaart is considered to be backing up the Netherlands playmaker Wesley Sneijder in the Dutch midfield. His season with his Hamburger SV club was already shadowed by fitness and form struggles after he suffered an ankle injury in the second half of the season. With Georginio Wijnaldum fighting for his place in the squad, the midfielder's injury couldn't have come at a worse time
Manchester United transfer target Kevin Strootman was already ruled out of the World Cup due to a knee injury but Netherland's midfield is not the only headache Louis van Gaal is encountering. Two right backs have injury issues, Paul Verhaegh is down with ankle problems and Daryl Janmaat just recovered from the same after a week's layoff

No comments :

Post a Comment

Injury Update - Van der Vaart struggling with Calf Injury

No comments
Dutch midfielder Rafael van der Vaart has suffered a calf injury during training at the camp in Portugal. He's struggling to be fit before the planned announcement of the final squad by coach Louis van Gaal, expected to be out on Saturday
Van der Vaart is considered to be backing up the Netherlands playmaker Wesley Sneijder in the Dutch midfield. His season with his Hamburger SV club was already shadowed by fitness and form struggles after he suffered an ankle injury in the second half of the season. With Georginio Wijnaldum fighting for his place in the squad, the midfielder's injury couldn't have come at a worse time
Manchester United transfer target Kevin Strootman was already ruled out of the World Cup due to a knee injury but Netherland's midfield is not the only headache Louis van Gaal is encountering. Two right backs have injury issues, Paul Verhaegh is down with ankle problems and Daryl Janmaat just recovered from the same after a week's layoff

No comments :

Post a Comment

Injury Update - Niko Kranjcar's heartbreak

No comments
A ruptured hamstring during the biggest game of his career resulted in Croatian playmaker Niko Kranjcar missing the biggest tourney of his life. He was substituted in the 29th minute of the Queen Park Rangers Championship's playoff win over Derby County at Wembley last Sunday. The news was announced by Croatian Football Federation on twitter
Kranjcar feared any injury in the playoff game would result in messing up with his World Cup plans. His recovery would take around a month according to the medical team. This is the third casualty in the 30-man Croatian squad after defender Ivan Strinic and midfielder Ivo Ilicevic were already ruled out last week

No comments :

Post a Comment

Socceroos Trim Their Provisional Squad

No comments
A former captain not included in the 30-man squad, an injury and then a friendly. Now Australia's provisional squad is reduced to 27-man after coach Ange Postecoglou decided to drop the injured defender Curtis Good and two more midfielders, Adam Sarota and Josh Brillante from the intial provisional squad. He termed it disappointing to have to drop the players despite their efforts in the training sessions
It has to be noted that defender Ivan Franjic, who picked up a knee injury in friendly against South Africa, is still in. Another injured midfielder Marc Bresciano, who was rested for the match, hopes to be fit in time for the final selection
Postecoglou need to make another purge before the June 2 FIFA deadline to announce the final squad for the World Cup

Provisional Squad Update

Goalkeepers:
Mark Birighitti (Newcastle Jets), Eugene Galekovic (Adelaide United), Mitchell Langerak (Borussia Dortmund), Mat Ryan (Club Brugge)
Defenders:
Jason Davidson (Heracles Almelo), Ivan Franjic (Brisbane Roar), Ryan McGowan (Shandong Luneng Taishan), Matthew Spiranovic (Western Sydney Wanderers), Alex Wilkinson (Jeonbuk Hyundai), Luke Wilkshire (Dinamo Moscow), Bailey Wright (Preston North End)
Midfielders:
Oliver Bozanic (Luzern), Mark Bresciano (Al Gharafa), James Holland (Austria Vienna), Mile Jedinak (Crystal Palace), Massimo Luongo (Swindon Town), Matthew McKay (Brisbane Roar), Mark Milligan (Melbourne Victory), Tommy Oar (Utrecht), Tommy Rogic (Melbourne Victory), James Troisi (Melbourne Victory), Dario Vidosic (Sion)
Forwards:
Tim Cahill (New York Red Bulls), Ben Halloran (Fortuna Dusseldorf), Josh Kennedy (Nagoya Grampus 8), Matthew Leckie (FSV Frankfurt 1899), Adam Taggart (Newcastle Jets)

No comments :

Post a Comment

K minus 16 days - Brazil the Hosts

No comments
It is less than three weeks to go for the kickoff and Brazil is supposed to be brimming with World Cup activity, considering how football crazy the nation is. The South American nation is hosting the biggest event for the second time, after 1950 and expectations were huge all over the world ever since they were announced as hosts back in 2007. They had seven years to prepare for the footballing carnival, but its 2014 now and Brazil seems to be overwhelmingly underprepared to host the cup. With Olympics to follow in 2016 at Rio, it's highly alarming

No comments :

Post a Comment

K minus 17 days - FIFA and its Tournaments

No comments
The Federation Internationale de Football Association, or simply FIFA, has been in operation since the last 110 years, established on May 21, 1904 by seven founding members - France, Spain, Switzerland, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands. It has since expanded to include 209 member nations currently and is one of the most dominant sporting bodies in the world
The advent of football as the most popular and global sport was so complete that there exists only one sovereign nation, the Marshall Islands, which has no history of a national football team and only eight other nations, which have at some point of time or other having a football team, have not been a member of FIFA. The association, which has its headquarters in Zurich, has been instrumental in spreading the game beyond the boundaries
Initially incorporated in Europe, it has expanded into Africa in 1908, Americas in 1912/13. FIFA has recognized six continental confederations that oversee the operations in different regions of the world
  • AFC - Asian Football Confederation which includes most of the Asian Continent and the nation of Australia
  • CAF - Confederation of African Football
  • CONCACAF - Confederation of North, Central and Caribbean Association Football
  • CONMEBOL - Confederacion Sudamericana de Futbol in South America
  • OFC - Oceania Football Confederation in the Pacific Oceania region except Australia
  • UEFA - Union of European Football Associations
FIFA had been affiliated to the International Olympic Committee since its initial years, organizing the Olympic football event first time at 1908 London Olympics and then a World Cup in 1930. It currently organizes twelve structured tournaments around the world, eight in men's category and three more in women's along with the Olympics event
Men's Tournaments
  • 19 World Cups since 1930 - Spain won in 2010
  • 9 Confederations Cups since 1992 (as King Fahd Cup) - Brazil won in 2013
  • 10 Club World Cups since 2000 - Won by Bayern Munich in 2013
  • 19 Under 20 World Cups since 1977 (initially as World Youth Championship) - France won in 2013
  • 15 Under 17 World Cups since 1991 (1985-89 as Under 16 Championship) - Won by Nigeria in 2013
  • 75 Blue Stars/FIFA Youth Cups since 1939 - Won by FC Zurich in 2013
  • 7 Futsal World Cups since 1989 - Won by Brazil in 2012
  • 17 Beach Soccer World Cups since 1995 - Russia won in 2013
Women's Tournaments
  • 6 Women's World Cups since 1991 - Japan won it in 2011
  • 6 Under 20 Women's World Cups since 2002 - Won by USA in 2012
  • 4 Under 17 Women's World Cups since 2008 - Won by Japan in2014
Olympic Football Event
  • Held as an exhibition event in 1900 Olympics and as a medal event in 1904 but both events were participated by club teams and hence not recognized by FIFA
  • 23 Men's Events since 1908 - Won by Mexico in 2012
  • 5 Women's Events since 1996 - USA won it in 2012

No comments :

Post a Comment

K minus 18 days - Champions League and Championship Update

No comments
It was one of the best days for football as two of the most significant and popular matches were played on Saturday
The championship playoff between Derby County and Queen Park Rangers is the most lucrative because the difference between the winner and loser would be a simple matter of £134 million. That's the difference in TV deals, Premier League awards would make in the next few years in case they win. When compared to the £17 million the Champions League finalists combined make, its humongous
Well, Queen Park Rangers won the match with a 90 minute Bobby Zamora goal and broke Derby county players hearts at that instant
Compared to that, Champions League final is less financially spectacular but its surely a footballing spectacle. It was the first time two teams from same city were competing for the biggest European crown. Being the best followed game of football, rivaled only by the FIFA World Cup which is gonna start in less than three weeks, it lived up to its expectations
There was a Godin goal in the first half from Atletico Madrid when the most experienced goalkeeper Iker Casillas  made a huge blunder at the goal and Atleti dominated most of the first hour despite the tenth minute loss of star striker Diego Costa to injury. But the second half was one way traffic from Real Madrid with a barrage of attacks on Courtias goal, but for ninety-two minutes, he stood tall to defend his fortress. But it all went in vain when Sergio Ramos met Modric's corner with his head to force the game into the extra time
Atletico looked the most tired side as the attacks from Real never ceased in the first half of extra time but the stale mate couldn't be disturbed. The second half of the added extra time witnessed the remarkable turn of tide when Gareth Bale, the most expensive transfer of the last summer and who was to be blamed for at least two clear misses during the regulation time netted the Di Maria's splendid assist. The Argentine winger was the best player on the pitch throughout the game providing numerous assists and crosses throughout the game where Ronaldo and Bale were kept on leash effectively by Diego Simeone's team
Atleti seemed resigned after Bale put Real ahead and then the remaining ten minutes showed the most one-sided display in the whole season. Marcelo's low drive met Courtias and but he could only deflect it into the net and then in the last minute, Cristiano Ronaldo extracted a penalty from the opposition captain Gabi which he duly put in, his seventeenth goal in the league. And the last couple of minutes saw minor altercations between Varane and Simeone which saw the manager sent off into the tunnel
Real won the League after twelve long years of wait and they famously completely their dream of a "La Decima" in an extraordinary fashion

No comments :

Post a Comment

K minus 19 days - Past World Cups

No comments
All past World Cups in a nutshell...

1930 Uruguay

Venue: Montevideo
Participating Teams: 13

Winner: Uruguay
Runners-up: Argentina
Third Place: USA

Golden Ball: Jose Nasazzi (URU)
Golden Boot: Guillermo Stanile (ARG)
Golden Glove: Enrique Ballesteros (URU)

1934 Italy

Venues: Bologna, Florence, Genoa, Milan, Naples, Rome, Trieste, Turin
Participating Teams: 16

Winner: Italy
Runners-up: Czechoslovakia
Third Place: Germany

Golden Ball: Guiseppe Meazza (ITA)
Golden Boot: Oldrich Nejedly (TCH)
Golden Glove: Ricardo Zamora (ESP)

1938 France

Venues: Antibes, Bordeaux, Le Havre, Lille, Paris, Reims, Strasbourg, Lyon, Marseilles, Toulouse
Participating Teams: 15

Winner: Italy
Runners-up: Hungary
Third Place: Germany

Golden Ball: Leonidas (BRA)
Golden Boot: Leonidas da Silva (BRA)
Golden Glove: Frantisek Planicka (TCH)

1950 Brazil

Venues: Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Belo Horizonte, Curitiba, Porto Alegre, Recife
Participating Teams: 13

Winner: Uruguay
Runners-up: Brazil
Third Place: Sweden

Golden Ball: Zizinho (BRA)
Golden Boot: Ademir (BRA)
Golden Glove: Roque Maspoli (URU)

1954 Switzerland

Venues: Basel, Bern, Geneva, Lausanne, Lugano, Zurich
Participating Teams: 16

Winner: West Germany
Runners-up: Hungary
Third Place: Austria

Golden Ball: Ferenc Puskas (HUN)
Golden Boot: Sandor Kocsis (HUN)
Golden Glove: Gyula Grosics (HUN)

1958 Sweden

Venues: Solna, Gothenburg, Malmo, Eskilstuna, Norrkoping, Sandviken, Uddevalla, Helsingborg, Boras, Halmstad, Orebro, Vasteros
Participating Teams: 16

Winner: Brazil
Runners-up: Sweden
Third Place: France

Golden Ball: Didi (BRA)
Golden Boot: Just Fontaine (FRA)
Golden Glove: Harry Gregg (NIR)

1962 Chile

Venues: Santiago, Vina del Mar
Participating Teams: 16

Winner: Brazil
Runners-up: Czechoslovakia
Third Place: Chile

Golden Ball: Garrincha (BRA)
Golden Boot: Florian Albert (HUN), Valentin Ivanov (URS), Garrincha (BRA), Vava *BRA), Drazan Jerkovic (YUG), Leonel Sanchez (CHI)
Golden Glove: Viliam Schrojf (TCH)

1966 England

Venues: Sunderland, Middlesbrough, Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield, London, Birmingham
Participating Teams: 16

Winner: England
Runners-up: West Germany
Third Place: Portugal

Golden Ball: Bobby Charlton (ENG)
Golden Boot: Eusebio (POR)
Golden Glove: Gordon Banks (ENG)

1970 Mexico

Venues: Guadalajara, Leon, Mexico City, Puebla, Toluca
Participating Teams: 16

Winner: Brazil
Runners-up: Italy
Third Place: West Germany

Golden Ball: Pele (BRA)
Golden Boot: Gerd Muller (GER)
Golden Glove: Ladislao Mazurkeiwicz (URU)

1974 West Germany

Venues: Munich, West Berlin, Hamburg, Dortmund, Dusseldorf, Gelsenkirchen, Frankfurt, Hanover, Stuttgart
Participating Teams: 16

Winner: West Germany
Runners-up: Netherlands
Third Place: Poland

Golden Ball: Johan Cruyff (NET)
Golden Boot: Grzegorz Lato (POL)
Golden Glove: Sepp Maier (GER)

1978 Argentina

Venues: Buenos Aires, Cordoba, Mar del Plata, Rosario, Mendoza
Participating Teams: 16

Winner: Argentina
Runners-up: Netherlands
Third Place: Brazil

Golden Ball: Mario Kempes (ARG)
Golden Boot: Mario Kempes (ARG)
Golden Glove: Ubaldo Fillol (ARG)

1982 Spain

Venues: Madrid, Barcelona, Vigo, A Coruna, Gijon, Oviedo, Elche, Alicante, Bilbao, Valladolid, Valencia, Zaragoza, Sevilla, Malaga
Participating Teams: 24

Winner: Italy
Runners-up: West Germany
Third Place: Poland

Golden Ball: Paolo Rossi (ITA)
Golden Boot: Paolo Rossi (ITA)
Golden Glove: Dino Zoff (ITA)

1986 Mexico

Venues: Mexico City, Guadalajara, Puebla, San Nicolas de los Garza, Queretaro, Monterrey, Leon, Nezahualcoyoti, Irapuato, Zapopan, Toluca
Participating Teams: 24

Winner: Argentina
Runners-up: West Germany
Third Place: France

Golden Ball: Diego Maradona (ARG)
Golden Boot: Gary Lineker (ENG)
Golden Glove: Jean-Marie Pfaff (BEL)

1990 Italy

Venues: Rome, Milan, Naples, Turin, Bari, Verona, Florence, Cagliari, Bologna, Udine, Palermo, Genoa
Participating Teams: 24

Winner: West Germany
Runners-up: Argentina
Third Place: Italy

Golden Ball: Salvatore Schillaci (ITA)
Golden Boot: Salvatore Schillaci (ITA)
Golden Glove: Sergio Goycochea (ARG)

1994 USA


Venues: Pasadena, Pontiac, Stanford, East Rutherford, Orlando, Chicago, Dallas, Foxborough, Washington DC
Participating Teams: 24

Winner: Brazil
Runners-up: Italy
Third Place: Sweden

Golden Ball: Romario (BRA)
Golden Boot: Oleg Salenko (RUS), Hristo Stoichkov (BUL)
Golden Glove: Michel Preud'homme (BEL)

1998 France

Venues: Saint-Denis, Marseille, Paris, Lyon, Lens, Nantes, Toulouse, Saint-Etienne, Bordeaux, Montpellier
Participating Teams: 32

Winner: France
Runners-up: Brazil
Third Place: Croatia

Golden Ball: Ronaldo (BRA)
Golden Boot: David Suker (CRO)
Golden Glove: Fabien Barthez (FRA)

2002 Korea/Japan

Venues:
Korea - Seoul, Daegu, Busan, Incheon, Ulson, Suwon, Gwangju, Jeonju, Daejeon, Jeju
Japan - Yokohama, Saitama, Shizuoka, Osaka, Miyagi, Oita, Nligata, Ibaraki, Kobe, Sapporo
Participating Teams: 32

Winner: Brazil
Runners-up: Germany
Third Place: Turkey

Golden Ball: Oliver Kahn (GER)
Golden Boot: Ronaldo (BRA)
Golden Glove: Oliver Kahn (GER)

2006 Germany

Venues: Berlin, Dortmund, Munich, Stuttgart, Gelsenkirchen, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Cologne, Hannover, Leipzig, Kaiserslautern, Nuremberg
Participating Teams: 32

Winner: Italy
Runners-up: France
Third Place: Germany

Golden Ball: Zinedine Zidane (FRA)
Golden Boot: Miroslav Klose (GER)
Golden Glove: Gianluigi Buffon (ITA)

2010 South Africa

Venues: Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, Pretoria, Port Elizabeth, Polokwane, Nelspruit, Bloemfontein, Rustenburg
Participating Teams: 32

Winner: Spain
Runners-up: Netherlands
Third Place: Germany

Golden Ball: Diego Forlan (URU)
Golden Boot: Thomas Muller (GER)
Golden Glove: Iker Casillas (ESP)

No comments :

Post a Comment

Injury Update - Lars Bender Out of World Cup

No comments
Germany's training squad has been reduced to 26 members after injury forces another player out of the preliminary squad. Germany and Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Lars Bender has become the latest victim to injuries that plagued the German squad throughout the season. He picked up a muscle and tendon injury in his right thigh during training


Meanwhile Bastian Schweinsteiger has been declared 100% fit for the tourney but he's yet to join the training sessions. Captain Philipp Lahm and first choice goalkeeper Manuel Meuer are still days away from full recovery from their end of the season injuries. Striker Miroslav Klose is also in a race with time to get fit for the tourney while Sami Khedira has recently returned from a long injury
Bender's twin brother Sven failed to make it to the squad due to an injury too, so are Mario Gomez and Ilkay Gundogan

No comments :

Post a Comment