Barcelona...Officially the best club in the world!!!

If anyone thought it was going to be easy, then you were wrong. It took Barcelona 120 minutes of play to defeat Estudiantes La Plata for the FIFA Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi.

As it has been for the past few years, the 2 finalists were the Champions League winner (Europe) against the Copa Libertadores winner (South America). It's my personal opinion that regardless how good European clubs are, they usually struggle playing against Latin American clubs. Don't believe me? Look at the finals from the past few years:

2005 -> São Paulo (Brazil) 1 – 0 Liverpool (England)
2006 -> Internacional (Brazil) 1 – 0 Barcelona (Spain)
2007 -> AC Milan (Italy) 4 – 2 Boca Juniors (Argentina)
2008 -> Manchester United (England) 1 – 0 LDU Quito (Ecuador)

This year, Estudiantes scored first, in the 37th minute, and it took Barcelona until the 89th minute to score an equalizer. The advantage European clubs have over clubs from other conferences is their conditioning level. This was clearly evident from the moment the whistle was blown to start the 1st half of Extra Time. In the 110th minute of ET, while players for Estudiantes could barely walk, Lionel Messi scored the winning goal with his chest from a cross by Dani Alves.

And with that, Barcelona makes history!!! This is the first time a club is able to win 6 championships in a single year: Champions League, La Liga, Copa del Rey, Spanish Supercup, European Supercup, and the FIFA Club World Cup.

CAMPEOOOONES...CAMPEOOOONES...OLÉ, OLÉ, OLÉ!!! Vamos Barça!!!

2010 World Cup Ball

The 2010 World Cup ball was finally unveiled on Friday. The ball is called Jabulani, meaning "to celebrate" in isiZulu, which is one of the 11 official languages of host country South Africa.

The main idea behind the new design was the number 11. There are 11 colors to honor the 11 languages spoken in South Africa, 11 small triangles to represent the 11 different communities of South Africa (found on the edge of the 3 triangular designs), there are 11 players on each team, and this is also Adidas's 11th FIFA World Cup ball. The 3 triangular designs on the ball is meant to represent Soccer City Stadium, where the World Cup final will be played.

Perhaps one of the most interesting features of the new ball are the grooves that can be found all throughout the surface. Called "Grip'n'Groove", this new technology is an aerodynamic improvement supposed to help the ball fly straighter through the air without having the wind change the direction of the ball.

I really liked the new design of the ball and I think we're going "Jabulani" plenty of goals being scored with it during the World Cup.

2010 World Cup Groups

The groups are set for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Here are the results from Friday's draw:

Group A
South Africa
Mexico
Uruguay
France

Group B
Argentina
Nigeria
Korea Republic
Greece

Group C
England
USA
Algeria
Slovenia

Group D
Germany
Australia
Serbia
Ghana

Group E
Netherlands
Denmark
Japan
Cameroon

Group F
Italy
Paraguay
New Zealand
Slovakia

Group G
Brazil
Korea DPR
Ivory Coast
Portugal

Group H
Spain
Switzerland
Honduras
Chile

The group of death this World Cup is without a doubt Group G. We can assume Brazil, Ivory Coast, and Portugal can get 3 points by beating Korea DPR, and after that, I believe Brazil is almost a lock to advance. This leaves Portugal and Ivory Coast to fight for the 2nd spot. That means one of the most important games during the group stage will be when they play each other on June 15th.

It's a bit early for predictions, but the front runners to win it all in my opinion are definitely Brazil, Spain, England, and defending champions Italy, in this order.

Lionel Messi - 2009 Ballon d'Or Winner!!!

Lionel Messi will be featured in the new issue of France Football magazine out this Tuesday. He's officially the winner of the 2009 Golden Ball trophy awarded by the magazine for the best player in Europe.

Messi won the awards with 473 points, while 2008 winner Cristiano Ronaldo came in second place with 233 points, and Xavi came in third with 170 points. Andres Iniesta was fourth with 149 points, followed by Samuel Eto'o in fifth and Kaka in sixth place. As you can see, 4 out of the top 5 players are Barcelona players. Eto'o was a Barcelona player for the 2008-09 season, but he has since transferred to Inter Milan.

This is the first time an Argentine-born player wins this award. Not only did Messi play exceptionally well, he also helped Barcelona win 5 titles in 2009: Champions League, La Liga, Copa del Rey, Spanish and UEFA Supercups.

I'm sure this is the first of many Ballon d'Ors that Messi will be awarded the next couple of years, and deservinly so. I think without a doubt that he's 10 times better than Cristiano Ronaldo!!! And with this award, we can definitely get a better idea of who's the front runner to win FIFA's World Player award.

Final Results:

1. Lionel Messi (Barcelona) - 473 pts
2. Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United/Real Madrid) - 233 pts
3. Xavi (Barcelona) - 170 pts
4. Andrès Iniesta (Barcelona) - 149 pts
5. Samuel Eto'o (FC Barcelona/Inter Milan) - 75 pts
6. Kaka (AC Milan/Real Madrid) - 58 pts
7. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Inter Milan/Barcelona) - 50 pts
8. Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) - 35 pts
9. Didier Drogba (Chelsea) - 33 pts
10. Steven Gerrard (Liverpool) - 32 pts
11. Fernando Torres (Liverpool) - 22 pts
12. Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal) - 13 pts
13. Edin Dzeko (Wolfsburg) - 12 pts
14. Ryan Giggs (Manchester United) - 11 pts
15. Thierry Henry (Barcelona) - 9 pts
16. Luis Fabiano (Sevilla), Nemanja Vidic (Manchester United), Iker Casillas (Real Madrid) - 8 pts
19. Diego Forlan (Atlético Madrid) - 7 pts
20. Yoann Gourcuff (Bordeaux) - 6 pts

270 Million Euros later...

Real Madrid still cannot beat Barcelona!!!

The first game of El Clásico was a 1-0 win for Barcelona. The game was a little tighter that I expected, but once again Barcelona showed Real Madrid that they're still the team to beat.

Cristiano Ronaldo started and played 65 minutes, but he didn't really do much to make a difference. Kaka did all he could, but it wasn't enough. The rest of the team wasn't of much help either, and they missed the few clear chances they had.

It was also hard for Barça to get into the rhythm they're used to. Messi played the entire game while Zlatan Ibrahimovic came off the bench early in the second half. It looked like it was the right move to make as he scored on a first-time, left-footed shot from a cross made by Dani Alves.

The game was chippy with a lot of fouls, mostly by Real Madrid. Sergio Busquets was given a red card, after a second yellow, for an intentional handball...a really stupid play. This was 6 minutes after Ibrahimovic scored in the 56th minute, so Barcelona played with a player down for most of the second half. Lass Diarra lost his cool towards the end of the game and was shown a red card after intentionally fouling Xavi, which looked like it was out of frustration.

Real Madrid can spend all the money in the world on players, but what they really need is to spend money on a new coach. Although soccer is a team sport, the solution to Real Madrid's problems lies in the feet of 1 player...Kaka!!! No matter how many players will get offended by having to play second fiddle to Kaka, Real Madrid needs a coach that will do just that...make this Kaka's team! I guarantee he will deliver just as he did with AC Milan, and much like Zidane did in his day with the Merengues.

Adidas F50 Techfit Shin Guards - Approved!!!

I recently got a pair of the Adidas F50 Techfit shin guards from the Soccer Shop and I have to say these shin guards are really good.

The shin guards are light weight with a very hard shell, meaning it's going to protect your shins really well without bothering you while you play.

I really liked the Techfit compression sleeves that comes with the shin guards. The guards go inside of a pocket in the sleeves, which have a rubber like band around the bottom to keep the guards in place without the need of tape. These bands also run up your calves and are supposed to increase circulation for increased stamina.

These shin guards come in 5 sizes: XL(7.5"), L(7"), M(6.5"), S(6"), and XS(5.5"). I'm 5'11" and the Large (7") fit me perfectly. The size was also very accurate.

I highly recommend these shin guards to players of any level, so go get yourself a pair!

The Hand of God, Part 2!

1986 World Cup in Mexico...Argentina vs England...Diego Armando Maradona...If you still don't know what I'm talking about, here's a quick summary:

It was a quarter final game and Argentina defeated England 2-1. Argentina's second goal was scored by Maradona, who is 5 ft 5 in, against England's goalkeeper Peter Shilton, who is 6 ft 1 in, on a "header"! Maradona said after that game that it was "a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God." Look at the picture above...It was ALL Maradona's hand!!! Turns out Argentina advanced and ended up winning the World Cup that year.

Part 2 happened this past Wednesday when France's Thierry Henry clearly controls the ball with his forearm and hand, before crossing it to William Gallas for the game winning goal against Ireland. It was bad officiating on the part of referee Martin Hansson and his assistants, but it's over now and there's nothing that can be done about it.

Ireland protested and wanted FIFA to replay the game. Henry himself admitted to the handball, but he said he wasn't the referee and it wasn't his call. He's also being fair about the situation saying the game should be replayed, but that's also not his decision, and I bet you he's only saying that because his team already clinched a spot in the World Cup, while Ireland will be watching it from home.

Law 5 of the Laws of the Game states that "The decisions of the referee regarding facts connected with play, including whether or not a goal is scored and the result of the match, are final." This basically means that if a referee makes a bad call, that's all it is, just a bad call. Regardless of the ramifications of that call, the decision won't change.

That's a wrap!!!

We finally have all 32 countries who will be in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa!!!

After the games played on November 18th, Portugal, Greece, Uruguay, France, Algeria, and Slovenia have qualified for the tournament. Here are the results:

Bosnia 0 – 1 Portugal (agg. 0-2)
Ukraine 0 – 1 Greece (agg. 0-1)
Uruguay 1 – 1 Costa Rica (agg. 2-1)
France 1 – 1 Ireland (agg. 2-1)
Algeria 1 – 0 Egypt (agg. 1-0)
Slovenia 1 – 0 Russia (agg. 2-2, Slovenia wins on away goals)

France beat Ireland in overtime and thanks to referee Martin Hansson awarding William Gallas a goal that should've been waved off. After a free kick was taken from almost midfield and lobbed inside the area, 2 French players were offside at the time the free kick was taken. One of these players participated on the play, and by rule, the assistant should've called offsides even if that player didn't touch the ball. Then, Thierry Henry, who was not offside, clearly controls the ball that was going out of bounds with his left forearm and hand before crossing it back to the middle to a wide open Gallas, who simply headed the ball in for the victory. This was daylight robbery and even though I rather see France rather than Ireland in the World Cup, this was just unfair to Ireland.

Here is the list of all 32 teams for the 2010 World Cup:

South Africa              Australia              Japan              Korea Republic
Brazil                          Korea DPR           Chile               Ghana
England                     Spain                     Paraguay        Ivory Coast
Germany                    Denmark              Serbia              Italy
Netherlands              Mexico                  Nigeria            Switzerland
Slovakia                     Argentina             Honduras       New Zealand
United States           Cameroon             Algeria             Greece
Slovenia                     Portugal               France              Uruguay

The final draw for the 32 teams will be held on December 4th to determine which teams will be grouped together for the tournmanet.

THE COUNTDOWN HAS OFICIALLY BEGUN!!! 203 days to go!!!

New coach coming to town?

Felipao is coming to the rescue!!!

Different media outlets are reporting that Real Madrid is currently negotiating with Luiz Felipe Scolari (Big Phil) to become the teams' new manager. It has been reported that the former Portuguese national team and Chelsea coach has the blessing from Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo as they believe he'll be the right man for the job.

Big Phil is behind some of Ronaldo's success with the nation squad and he knows Kaka very well from having coached him as well with the Brazilian national team. If this turns out to be true, it'll be one of Madrid's best signings.

Big Phil is a father figure type coach that is able to motivate and stand behind his players. If you've seen him on the sidelines, you can tell that he suffers and celebrates as if he was the teams #1 fan! Not only is he a good coach with an excellent track record, he's already familiar with most players on Real Madrid's squad and his style of play will fit Spanish soccer perfectly.

One step closer to South Africa!

Three more countries are going to South Africa!!!

Cameroon, Nigeria, and New Zealand have booked their tickets to the 2010 World Cup. Nigeria and Cameroon have won their respective groups in the African qualifiers while New Zealand beat Bahrain in the 2nd leg of their playoff match.

Results from the 1st leg playoff matches:

Costa Rica 0 – 1 Uruguay
Ireland 0 – 1 France
Portugal 1 – 0 Bosnia
Greece 0 – 0 Ukraine
Russia 2 – 1 Slovenia

In Group C for the African qualifiers, Egypt and Algeria finished tied for 1st place and all tiebreakers used to determine a winner were even, so they will be playing a one game playoff match on November 18 to decide who will be going to the World Cup.

All other matches will be played on the same date, so check back on Thursday for a complete list of the 32 countries who will be part of the World Cup in South Africa.