2010 WORLD CUP TEAMS
Serbia will have a lot to prove in South Africa.
Serbia is in the 2010 FIFA World Cup as an independent nation for the first time. However, as Yugoslavia, they have plenty of previous World Cup experience.
The Serbians topped their qualifying group ahead of France and enjoyed a good 2009, recording nine [...]

2010 WORLD CUP TEAMS
Dominant. That’s what Spain is to football.
The world’s number one ranked team, Spain, had their 35-match unbeaten run shockingly ended in the semi-finals of the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup by team USA. That was the only loss they suffered during the year as they won the other 15 matches they played, totaling [...]

Serbia will have a lot to prove in South Africa.

Serbia is in the 2010 FIFA World Cup as an independent nation for the first time. However, as Yugoslavia, they have plenty of previous World Cup experience.

The Serbians topped their qualifying group ahead of France and enjoyed a good 2009, recording nine wins, two losses and one draw. One of those victories came in South Africa when the White Eagles beat the World Cup hosts 3-1.

The players representing Serbia can be found in the major European leagues, including England, Spain, Italy, and Germany, which means many of them are battle-hardened from playing in continental club competitions.

They have a chance with Nemanja Vidic in defense and the giant Nikola Zigic up front, they have power throughout the side. Milan Jovanovic has a decent strike ratio for his country, and scored five times in qualifying. Raddy Antic, former Luton midfielder and boss of Barca and Real Madrid is their coach.

Captain Dejan Stankovic has been playing international football for over a decade – he made his debut in April 1998 against South Korea, scoring two goals in a 3-1 win – and he brings an experienced and calm presence to the midfield. Behind him, Manchester United’s highly-rated Nemanja Vidic takes care of the central defense.

Serbia’s national team was previously Yugoslavia, from…

Dominant. That’s what Spain is to football.

The world’s number one ranked team, Spain, had their 35-match unbeaten run shockingly ended in the semi-finals of the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup by team USA. That was the only loss they suffered during the year as they won the other 15 matches they played, totaling 47 goals and conceding only 12 along the way. Those excellent results earned Spain the title as FIFA Team of the Year heading to the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

The current European champions are blessed with talent and depth at every position. The vast majority of their players ply their trade in Spain, which helps when it comes to preparation.

Spain’s play is composed and assured – one of the results of winning becoming a habit. Their defense is solid and unyielding, their midfielders talented as a unit and able to create opportunities, and their strikers have a cutting edge. They are, in a word, complete.

The only thing standing between the Spaniards and their making a big impact in South Africa is their previous failures in big FIFA tournaments, but many would argue that those days are now over following their victory in Euro 2008.

Since that time they have continued to wrack up victory after victory and there has been no sign that they will slow down any time soon. Their team is sprinkled with experience, but overall they are astonishingly young, although many of their youngsters have played for some years on the big stage of the…

For whatever its worth, he really really wants to.

Former England team captain David Beckham is eager to represent his country in the 2010 FIFA World Cup. He got a deal with AC Milan, allowing him to stay in game shape in Italy over the next few weeks during Major League Soccer’s off-season.

England team manager Fabio Capello will decide whether or not he will name the Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder to his 23-man roster for this year’s World Cup in South Africa. Capello has publicly stated that Beckham must be playing first-team soccer at the highest level in the buildup to the World Cup to even be considered for the English national team this summer.

Beckham has made a handful of appearances for AC Milan and figures to be a regular starter for the Rossoneri as they attempt to chase down city rivals Inter Milan, currently in first place in Serie A, for the Italian league championship. But will that be enough to get him a spot in the England national team?

”He is a leader and an inspiration to his teammates. Equally, he is feared and respected by all of his opponents. He’s vastly experienced on the international stage. He’s a big-game player who doesn’t get intimidated by anyone,” CBC Sports soccer commentator Nigel Reed said.

David Beckham was sent to exile when he earned a red card during…

According to Cristiano Ronaldo, the balance of power in European football has shifted to Spain.

You read it, Cristiano Ronaldo, the former Manchester United winger, suggested that the Spanish La Liga is now THE league to be in European football and he claimed that one of the reasons was that star players enjoyed greater protection from referees in La Liga.

The Portuguese, who just set a record by singing a £80m contract with Real Madrid, made no secret of his dissatisfaction at what he perceived to be rough treatment from Premier League opponents during his six years at Old Trafford. Sir Alex Ferguson, his manager at Old Trafford, had even hinted that Ronaldo might be driven away from England if he was not better protected from bad challenges.

Ronaldo, the world footballer of the year, has switched to Real together with Kaka from Milan to play for a league that he claims will protect its stars better.

While Ronaldo may have a point in saying that the Spanish La Liga should now be superior, he knows that it isn’t just about the officiating. La Liga should now be superior because of the fact that it now has the two greatest footballers in the world too.

”The Premier League is a very good competition,” Ronaldo said, ”but I think that the Spanish league is going to have a little more…”

Holy shit. Apparently, Real Madrid really wants to win.

In what has been a chaotic series of events for football fans, Real Madrid just signed the two biggest stars of the sport. After signing Kaka to a whopping €67.2 million, the entire blockbuster deal involving the Brazilian is now yesterday’s news with the club now having finalized a deal involving Cristiano Ronaldo of Manchester United.

You read it, Real Madrid just signed Cristiano Ronaldo to a mind-boggling €80 million contract, eclipsing the deal Kaka just signed with the club. The ex-Milan ace, however, has no problems vacating the spotlight for the Portuguese and, if anything, he is looking forward to playing alongside the soon-to-be former Red Devil.

”I rejoice in the signing of Cristiano,” Kaka said when, upon touching down in Johannesburg, he was informed that his new employers had made an official bid for CR7. ”There’s no doubt that Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the best players in the world and he will help Real Madrid fight for every title next season.”

Kaka became the world’s second most expensive footballer following his switch to the Spanish behemoths, but he was soon demoted to the third spot on the list after Ronaldo’s mega €80 million transfer from Manchester United to Real Madrid went through.

As expected, questions have already been raised about…

Just when you thought you’ve seen it all in the world of soccer, this happens.

Real Madrid just confirmed the signing of Brazilian footballer Kaka. You read it, the Spanish football giants just came up with yet another blockbuster signing that could probably eclipse the deal the L.A. Galaxy pulled back in 2007 when they got David Beckham.

This deal Kaka has with Real Madrid is expected to set a new world record transfer fee although we still have no idea how much exactly did Real Madrid pay to get the Brazilian away from AC Milan.

There are rumors that claim AC Milan was paid around 68 million euros for Kaka. If that’s true, that means Real Madrid just broke their own world record when they paid Juventus 47 million euros for Zinedine Zidane back in 2001.

As far as Kaka is concerned, he says his heart will remain with AC Milan even though he is now a part of Real Madrid.

”I can officially say I’m a Real Madrid player. My professional link with AC Milan finishes now, but my sentimental link will never end,” Kaka said. ”Real Madrid intend to build a great team, with historic players such as Raul and Casillas. We will make history again, both in Spain and Europe. I guess the sport project is very good.”

Kaka also talked about Manchester City, when the…

Because soccer is just too boring to write about every single day.

FC Barcelona struck what may prove to be the decisive blow in the Spanish title race earning a 6-2 win at Real Madrid CF, with Lionel Messi and Thierry Henry scoring two apiece for the 2009 UEFA Champions League semi-finalists.

Josep Guardiola’s side’s once commanding lead at the top of the Liga had shrunk to just four points before kick-off at the Santiago Bernabéu, and they had reason to be nervous just 14 minutes into the fixture as an unmarked Gonzalo Higuaín headed Madrid into the lead. However, the Barça response was to be devastating, with Messi flicking a ball over the Madrid defense for Henry to level on 17 minutes before Carles Puyol headed them into a 20th-minute lead.

In another games, Olympiacos CFP completed a domestic double after a 15-14 penalty shoot-out win against AEK Athens FC capped an unforgettable Greek Cup final, with Antonis Nikopolidis the hero after the sides finished level at 4-4 after extra time. The two sides took 17 penalties each, with Olympiacos goalkeeper Antonis Nikopolidis, 38, finally emerging as the hero of the hour, saving Agustin Pelletieri’s spot-kick before stepping up to convert the winner himself. It was a fitting end to perhaps the most exciting Greek Cup final of all time, with Olympiacos recovering from going 2-0 down to prevail.

FC Internazionale Milano made another important step…

The Champions League tournament is down to eight teams, half of them coming from the English Premiership.

England should be feeling pretty good after four of their English football teams made it to the 2009 UEFA Champions League quarterfinals. Defending champion Manchester United took out Inter Milan 2-0 to win 2-0 on aggregate while Premiership rivals; Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool also advanced.

Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea FC and Liverpool are the big dogs of the Premiership and it was only fitting that all four of them got to the quarterfinals of the biggest football tournament of the year.

The Manchester United Red Devils were able to hold off Inter Milan to advance. ”It was one of those long European nights where you don’t know if you’re watching a game of football or watching a game of suicide,” United manager Sir Alex Ferguson said after the fixture.

”After scoring the first goal, I thought we would go on and kill them. But after going ahead we started trying to put icing on the cake and we were lucky to be in front at half-time.”

As stated, Man-U’s rivals from the Premiership also got through the Champions League quarterfinals…