2010 WORLD CUP TEAMS
The group of death?
Dubbed as group of death, Germany is the favorite in its group for the 2010 FIFA World Cup with an impressive display in the qualifiers, winning eight and drawing two of their 10 matches and scoring 26 goals and conceding only five.
As the host nation of the last [...]

The group of death?

Dubbed as group of death, Germany is the favorite in its group for the 2010 FIFA World Cup with an impressive display in the qualifiers, winning eight and drawing two of their 10 matches and scoring 26 goals and conceding only five.

As the host nation of the last World Cup in 2006, not much was expected of then-manager Jurgen Klinsmann and his side. Germany struggled for form and results over the previous couple of years but, in somewhat typical German style, turned up for the main event and put on a series of rousing performances, claiming a third-place finish in front of a nation of re-awakened fans.

Since stepping into Klinsmann’s shoes, Joachim Low, his assistant in 2006, has continued in the same vein as his predecessor by attempting to marry flair and attacking prowess with Germany’s famously methodical and tactical approach to the game. For the most part, Low has succeeded in doing this, and has attracted praise for his temperament and ability to deal with a dressing room filled with big egos.

Germany’s qualifying campaign was comfortable, if unspectacular, with only Finland causing real headaches, holding them to draws home and away. Low’s side did turn on the style, though, against main group rivals Russia, winning 2-1 at home and 1-0 away thanks to a strike from Miroslav Klose. Much will depend on the form of Klose and captain Michael Ballack going into the tournament, but there is no question that Chelsea midfielder will be frantic to lead his country to a major trophy in what is likely to be his final World Cup.

René Adler burst on to the Bundesliga scene in 2007 and…

The 2010 World Cup begins on Friday, June 11th as the host country South Africa takes on Mexico.

A total of 32 teams will be competing for the 2010 FIFA World Cup title with Spain and Brazil the two favorites. There have been a total of 18 World Cups in history and only seven teams have ever won the title. Four years ago it was Italy winning the World Cup as they defeated France in a penalty shootout.

There are really only five teams that are serious contenders to win this year’s World Cup. Spain is loaded with talent and they have an easy group with Switzerlands, Honduras and Chile. With players like Fernando Torres, David Villa, Xaba and Cesc Fabregas, the Spanish team has the talent to win their first World Cup betting .

The only concern for Spain is that they could face a tough round of 16 match against the second place team from Group G which should be Brazil or Portugal. Brazil is the likely winner of Group G but if they somehow slip and finish second, wouldn’t it be a huge shock to have the two favorites, Brazil and Spain playing in the round of 16?

Brazil has won the World Cup a total of five times and they are a real threat to win it again this year. They play in a tough group with Portugal and Ivory Coast but they should not have any trouble advancing to the round of 16 especially since Ivory Coast probably has no chance now that leading scorer Didier Drogba is out with an injury.

England is the third choice in the betting odds behind Spain and…

The rest of the world will be watching South Africa soon.

The 2010 FIFA World Cup is fast approaching and eyes will be set on South Africa with matches held in nine cities across the land. The world’s greatest footballers will be on display too as football fans around the world are eagerly anticipating a month of football bliss.

On that note, here’s an early rundown of the top five countries to watch out for in this year’s World Cup, starting with the country that won the last biggest tournament in football, the Euro 2008 champions Spain.

Though Spain has never won the World Cup, this may be their best chance ever. Their forwards score goals and their midfield is among the best in the world. At goalkeeping, Iker Casillas is equally very impressive, helping them to engineer a 15 game winning streak to set an international record earlier in 2009.

Although the United States‘ victory over Spain late in the year was one of the biggest upsets in a long time, Spain remains the team to beat. They are in Group H along with Switzerland, Honduras and Chile.

Another team to watch out for is Argentina primarily because they have on their roster the best footballer in the world right now in Lionel Messi. Argentina also has the best defensive midfielder in the world, Javier Mascherano along with a number of very talented youngsters, including Sergio Aguero.

Their manager knows what it takes to win. While they did suffer…

I guess you can say that we saw the end of SPAIN’S PAIN.

Catchy ain’t it? Yes people, the 2008 UEFA European Football Championships have just ended with Spain winning it all to end 44 years of underachievement. They beat Germany 1-0, in Vienna last Sunday despite of Spain’s, as well as the tournament’s leading scorer, David Villa, playing with an injury.

In the end, Villa hurting was not a factor as it was Fernando Torres who was able to lead Spain to the title after scoring the game-winning goal in the 33rd minute. The German side, more specifically Michael Ballack, did everything that they could to even things up. Unfortunately for them, Spain simply held on.

Spain was coming into the Euro 2008 final as international heavyweights of football but can’t seem to win any major tournament whatsoever since 1964. Yes, Spaniards were regarded as big chokers when it comes to them playing on that pitch.

After beating Germany, they are no longer regarded as chokers but Euro 2008 champions. How about that eh?

Spain is a nation divided by their regions. Hell, lyrics of their national anthem was not even used for crying out loud. The Spanish side needed to win this tournament and after Fernando Torres did just that for them, Spain was…

Boredom at its best, that’s what.

But for those of you who just loves talking about the 2008 UEFA European Football Championships, you’ll probably read through this article like Tony Dungy on his Colts playbook.

For starters, we have Russia beating European Champions Greece 1-0 in their Euro 2008 Group D match at the EM Stadion Wals-Seizenheim in Salzburg, Austria.

The loss to Greece put them out of the tournament, much to the dismay of their fans. A costly error from Greece keeper Antonis Nikopolidis led to the only goal of the fixture. The game went into half-time 1-0 to Russia, who commanded the first-half and could have extended their lead.

The second-half kicked-off at a terrific pace with chances for both sides, and with Greece becoming far more of a threat on the Russian goal. I the end, the Russian side was just the far superior team.

In Group A, Turkey gained last-gasp revenge for the Battle of Istanbul with a 2-1 victory and sent co-hosts Switzerland spiraling out of the Euro 2008. Portugal beat Czech Republic 3-1, and Portugal won 2-0 over Turkey.

In Group B games, Croatia beat Germany 2-1, thanks to goals from Darijo Srna and Ivica Olic, assisted by an error from Jens Lehmann, taking points, as well as the top spot in the group. Chelsea FC star Michael Ballack and…

For Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho, this could be the most important Champions League campaign of his career with the Blues.

Yep, the 2007-08 UEFA Champions League is here and Chelsea FC will be hosting Rosenborg at Stamford Bridge for their Group B opener to kick off their Champions League campaign. You just know Jose Mourinho is feeling more than just butterflies in his stomach now.

Yeah sure, Chelsea FC are the heavy favorites to just bitch-slap Rosenborg for this Tuesday’s fixture but what’s scary for the Blues is how will the rest of their 2007-08 UEFA Champions League campaign look without injured stars Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard.

Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard are just huge elements to the Chelsea offense. Heck, this duo is responsible for Chelsea’s 50 goals last season. Rosenborg on Tuesday should be easy, yes, but what will happen if the Blues face powerhouse teams like AC Milan or Liverpool for crying out loud without these two?

Chelsea FC boss Jose Mourinho has his own take on what’s it like without Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard. You’ll never guess what’s his…

Yep, the brand new English football season is finally here.

For all ya’ll who could care less about international football then this Sunday’s fixture between Manchester United and Chelsea for the Community Shield may not mean that much to ya’ll. But if you are, rejoice, because the 2007-08 English Premiere League season is here.

You see, the fixture for the Community Shield trophy is football’s way of kicking off the brand new season. It always pits the defending English Premiership champs (that being Manchester United this year…) against the defending champions of the F.A. Cup. (Yes, it’s Chelsea FC this season…)

However, the Community Shield has somewhat of a curse during the last decade. The winner of the traditional season-opener has only went on to win the Premiership ONCE in the same season the past 10 years.

Last time we started things in the English Premiership, Liverpool beat Chelsea FC 2-1 to win the Community Shield but it was Chelsea who went on to win the league title while Liverpool finished that season without any trophies whatsoever.

On Sunday, both Manchester United and Chelsea FC will be hoping to…

Seems like these Chelsea FC boys are already running their mouths even before the new season starts.

We are STILL months away from the 2007-08 English Premiere League season and yet, Chelsea team captain John Terry is already making stupid claims, one of which is the one about the 2007 Premiership title being ‘ON LOAN’ with Manchester United. (Obviously, I’m a Red Devil fan…)

Yep, after Chelsea failed to win the title for a three-peat under Jose Mourinho last season, John Terry is already bad-mouthing Manchester United, mounting some sort of a challenge to their English rivals once the brand new season kicks off.

This is the same Manchester United team who re-emerged as the dominant force in the English game. And with the young tandem of Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo still having their best days as a professional footballer ahead of them, I reckon we’ll see yet another season dominated by Man-U.

Apparently, Chelsea captain John Terry thinks otherwise.

After Chelsea went through a season plagued by various player injuries, most notable of which was the one that got to Andriy Shevchenko and Michael Ballack, Terry insists that…

Uh oh…

Yep, Frank Lampard could very well be on his way out of Chelsea FC. Why? How? When? Well, he just turned down a massive contract from the club. A contract so massive that it would’ve make him the highest paid Blues striker at Stamford Bridge.

The Englishman rejected a multi-million pound deal with Chelsea FC, much to the dismay of Chelsea fans hoping to get the English Premiership title back from the Red Devils of Manchester United.

The rumors say that the contract Chelsea FC offered to the 28-year-old Frank Lampard eclipsed the £121,000-a-week contracts given to Andriy Shevchenko and Michael Ballack and would have made him the highest earner in the club’s history.

What does that mean? Does it mean we’ll see Frank Lampard take his No.8 jersey somewhere else? Will we see Lampard join Barcelona FC too? Apparently, these international football stars seem to favor going to Barca these days after signing their biggest name to date, Thierry Henry.

If Frank Lampard do go to Barcelona, he’ll join…