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Posts Tagged ‘Soccer’
Thu, August 28, 2008 11:41 am By James Coolridge  Printer friendly version
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 BUCHAREST – The Romanian soccer coach Victor Piturca’s is under axe fr after the defeat against Lithuania in their World Cup qualifier. His job could be in danger after a “shameful” home defeat yesterday. He has been warned by officials and the media on Sunday.
“It was a shameful result but it’s not the time to discuss Piturca’s dismissal now,” Romanian Football Federation (FRF) president Mircea Sandu said the reporters here. “We’ll review the case after the match (against Faroe Islands) in Torshavn, for sure.”
Romania, who play the Faroes on Wednesday, had been expected to easily beat unheralded Lithuania in their World Cup Group Seven match on Saturday.
“Piturca’s main aim was to get at least seven points from the first three matches (in the 2010 World Cup campaign) but he has already failed to achieve that,” Sandu said.
Piturca was severely criticised by the local media after the team’s first defeat at home since 2005.
“The failure put Piturca’s job in great danger,” feels influential daily Evenimentul Zilei said. “He said he would quit in 2010 but his departure could happen much earlier.”
A crowd of 20,000 frustrated spectators at the game in the western city of Cluj whistled at the players and shouted slogans against Piturca, calling the sacking of him.
“Very few ideas in attack, huge errors in defence, a poor playing manner recalling the Euro 2008 finals’ disagreeable 2-0 defeat against the Netherlands,” Pro Sport daily wrote on its front page.
Romania’s last defeat at home was three years ago to the Netherlands won 2-0 in Constanta at Piturca’s first match in his second spell in charge of the team.
Piturca rejected Sunday’s criticism, saying Romanian soccer was not as strong as fans and the media believed.
Romania will host group favourites France in Constanta on Oct. 11.
Tags : World Cup, Soccer, Romania, Lithuania, Victor Pitruca, Cluj, Summary: The Romanian media along with football officia
Sun, August 24, 2008 10:47 am By James Coolridge
 BUENOS AIRES - Argentina’s indifferent World Cup qualifying campaign continued on Saturday when they were held 1-1 at home by Paraguay and had striker Carlos Tevez sent off early again. The point has helped Paraguay to stay top of the 10-team South American group on 14 from seven games with Argentina two points behind in second place. This is Argentina’s third draw in a row.
The last remaining winless and unbeaten records ended when Peru defeated Venezuela 1-0 to move off the bottom and Colombia lost 1-0 at home to Uruguay, who climbed to third.Brazil, away to Chile on Sunday, temporarily camr down to sixth and out of the qualifying places.The top four teams qualify for South Africa in 2010 and the fifth plays off against a side from the CONCACAF region. Tevez, sent off in the first half of the 2-1 defeat in Colombia in November for a petulant kick at an opponent, faces a ticking off from coach Alfio Basile after leaving his team in the lurch again.The Manchester United forward, wearing boots for his second international since then, was dismissed after two bad tackles in the first 31 minutes.”I have to speak to him in private about these dismissals,” said Basile.”Everything was difficult. We played nearly the whole game with 10 men, our goalkeeper was injured and we conceded an own goal. So you can’t really analyse this match in the normal way.”
HEINZE BLUNDER
Tevez’s red card came with Argentina trailing to a Gabriel Heinze own goal, the defender having headed past goalkeeper Roberto Abbondanzieri as both tried to deal with a long ball into the area in the 13th minute.
Despite the setbacks, Argentina caught the rivals on a draw in the 61st minute when substitute Sergio Aguero provided the finishing touch after Lionel Messi burst through the Paraguay midfield. A 14th-minute header from Sebastian Eguren gave Uruguay their win in Bogota.
“I think we controlled the match. Colombia was repetitive and you couldn’t see them finding a way through,” said Uruguay coach Oscar Washington Tabarez after the match.
Peru was belittled 6-0 by Uruguay in June and this has brought just a few spectators into the stadium. Only a few thousand spectators bothered to watch them on Saturday.Bolivia had Alejandro Gomez sent off after only 18 minutes and coach Erwin Sanchez ordered from the touchline in the second half in a 3-1 defeat in Ecuador.
Tags : Soccer, Brazil, goal, Argentina, Peru, Venezuela, South America, Colombia, red card, Chile
Thu, July 10, 2008 11:29 am By James Coolridge
 SKELLEFTEA, Sweden: With the goal by Carli Lloyd in the 39th minute, the United Sates owned a win over Sweden in the women’s Olympic tune up on Saturday. The golden goal by Lloyd helped the United States in folding up the Swedish side by 1-0 giving an edge in the series.
Lloyd by dribbling past three defenders inside the box succeeded in firing a low left-footed shot which glanced off Sara Thunebro’s and past goalkeeper Hedvig Lindahl.
With this win, the United States celebrated their 20th straight this year. It also includes one on penalty kicks over Canada in the CONCACAF Olympic qualifying final. Thanks this time to the good fortune of Carli Lloyd.
“Yeah, it was a deflection, but it’s always exciting to score a goal,” was the early comment by Lloyd, who had earlier taken the American side to a 4-0 victory over Norway three days back. With this first match America have managed to make their 16th win in 25 matches against Sweden. Sweden has grabbed five wins with four draws.
Sweden, ranked third by FIFA is a favourite among Olympic favourites. The two scoring chances late in the first half and another early in the second were thwarted by goalkeeper Hope Solo. This was the first match of Pia Sundhage as coach of the United States against her native country. She has booted for Sweden in two World Cups and one Olympics. She feels the victory against Sweden will pump energy and confidence to her side. “We will be working on some tactical stuff,” she said. “At halftime, it was nice to hear the players say they need to challenge themselves …” says Pia Sundhage.
The United States will enter the fields next time against Brazil on July 13 near Denver, and July 16 at San Diego before marching to China.
Tags : Soccer, Olympics, US, China, goal, FIFA, Sweden, women soccer, Carli Lloyd, Pia Sundhage
Sun, June 29, 2008 1:01 pm By James Coolridge
 In the popular sport soccer, they are specific positions for the players such as mid, defender and forward position. The players in each position have their own unique purpose. Each one of them acts as a link in the chain. Positions like sideline defender and center forward are also there in the game of paintball. After all, it is a team sport!
The three key players in paintball are Front, Mid and Backplayers. Each position has to be filled by the players who are thoroughly trained to handle their respective positions. For instance, a front player should have the qualities of agility, shrewdness and should be snappy. The front player should have an incredible ability to read the game. He, perhaps, needs to be the team’s best player. Let us have a detailed view of some of the common positions in which the paintball players position themselves to get the job done.
The two knees kneel position:
This is widely used by the tournament players. In this position, the player kneels down on both knees in his bunker. The player in this position often stays in the same spot until the game concludes or he gets shot out.
This position is widely used since it is very easy to get into and doesn’t hurt the player. The two knee kneel position is also stable. This position is not considered to be the best anyways!
One Knee Kneel:
Both the two knee kneel and one knee kneel positions are favored by the paintball players. They are a few reasons why both the positions are preferable by the paintball players. First, the player in one knee kneel position is able to play closer to the bunker. So if you are shooting by maintaining this position, you will be kneeling on your left knee. You will be able to rest your right elbow on your right knee. But, this position prevents the mobility. Moreover, it takes you some time to stand up and readjust your aim and get moving.
The standing position:
The standing position is perhaps the easiest and the most perilous position to play in. Standing up in a bunker allows you to easily wrap and shoot or suppress multiple targets at once.
Tags : Soccer, paintball, position, front player, standing position
Wed, June 25, 2008 4:24 am By James Coolridge
 Juggle a soccer ball, like any other skill, requires skill and regular practice to produce better results. In this article, we give you hot tips on how to juggle a soccer ball like a pro.
Patience: You can’t come up as a good soccer player unless and until you have patience. Juggling is a skill which requires a lot of patience. It takes some time to master the skill.
Practice: Practice has no substitute. If you want to become a pro, practice regularly. Make it a point to include juggling in your practice sessions. Do it everyday, for at least thirty minutes. Continue this practice and after four to five weeks, you will find yourself juggling the soccer ball just like your favorite footballer!
Choose a small ball: Juggling with a small ball is much more difficult than juggling with a regular one. It will often irritate you to mess up with a tiny ball, but this practice will surely improve your juggling skill. It will be then easier for you to juggle with a regular soccer ball.
Keep focused: Don’t you ever loose your focus! Keep your eye hooked to your ball. Keep the ball in the air and close out everything else around you.
Relax: Focusing on the soccer ball doesn’t mean that you have to stand up with your muscles tight! Relax, keep your cool, and be in a cheerful mood while practicing. A relaxed mood will make it easier for you to keep the ball in the air for a longer time. Slowly, increase the juggling time.
Tags : Soccer, ball, Tips, Juggle, Professional, Practice, Relax, Record
Sun, June 15, 2008 8:47 am By James Coolridge
 London football club Chelsea is soon to leave its mark in the Asian continent. Best known for its quest for dominating European football, Chelsea football club is moving a step ahead for the development of the game in Asia.
In 2006, the club became the first major team to sign an agreement with the Asian Football Confederation as Official Football Development Partner of the AFC’s Vision China Project.
Currently, the club has fixed its eyes on rapidly-emerging India to build a number of significant relationships. It is in the quest of exploring ways of working together with India to expand itself in the country.
Chelsea started with a huge shirt sponsorship deal with South Korean conglomerate Samsung in 2005.
The club has so far helped launch four of a planned 10 city leagues in the world’s most populous countries including Chengdu, Wuhan, Nanjing and Qingdao.
“Three years back these (Chinese leagues) were just plans but now these are full fledged leagues,” said chief executive Peter Kenyon.
“It is remarkable that the leagues are in such a (good) position now. The AFC has the passion and commitment to make this happen and this is what spurred me into talking how we can extend our partnership to India too.
“Our credentials are well known in the area of grassroots development and if we can find a way of working together in India as well, there is a real opportunity of making Vision India come true as partners.”
Under the Indian program, Chelsea could be involved in developmental projects in Manipur, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, where the AFC’s Vision India project has already been launched.
Tags : Soccer, China, Chelsea Football Club, London, Asia
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