Posts Tagged wayne rooney

Rugby World Cup 2011: All Blacks and the Kiwis

September 8, 2011 at 3:45 PM · Filed under Sport ·Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

All Blacks at the official welcome ceremony for the Rugby World Cup in Auckland.

Being in New Zealand for the Rugby World Cup wasn’t particularly my plan last year, but boy am I glad I stayed. Tomorrow, in less than 19 hours, the first game of the 2011 Rugby World Cup will kick-off at Eden Park in Auckland.

Right now, it’s just after midnight and Queen Street, Auckland’s main street, is buzzing with activity. Flags of all nations adorn every shop, car, lamp-post and person.

The World Cup celebrations start at 3pm tomorrow with free concerts, performances and fireworks to mark the start of this historic event.

After the Opening Ceremony, chances are you’ll see thousands of people with silver ferns painted across their cheeks watching the live telecast of New Zealand v Tonga with bated breath.

It has often been mentioned by the various media that the Rugby World Cup is the third largest sporting event in the world, but for rugby novice like me the trivia sounds trivial till I saw the emotion for the sport on the street.

I have been lucky to be in the country long enough to make friends and watch their beloved sport with them. Over the weekend I saw a Rugby League match between NZ Warriors and the New South Wales Cowboys from the comfort of a welcoming Kiwi home where proudly displayed on the piano was a picture of the All Blacks with the man of house cheekily Photoshopped in to be a part of the team.

People of this house got behind their team.

So imagine my surprise when every one of the 6 people in the room shouted out in disgust when one of the Warriors’ players body-checked a player from the other team.

I can’t really tell the difference between an overly physical rugby tackle and a normal rugby tackle. The entire sport seems overly physical to my football-tuned brain.  But my savvy rugby friends were appalled at the harsh treatment meted out to the player and more so because it turned out he used to be an ex-Warriors player. What made them livid was the way their player had treated a former teammate.

I am still trying to understand the game and am often left puzzled by it. But this reaction left my football- fuelled brain which has been numbed by ‘fan-thinking’ more puzzled than ever before.

Not give Wayne Rooney the stick when he goes to play at Everton or even Anfield?

How incredible.

This is when I got a rare insight into Kiwis’ relationship to Rugby and the All Blacks. The All Blacks are the country’s oldest franchise and probably their most recognisable brand the world over.  Every Kiwi loves one or the other form of Rugby and I’d put money on the fact that even those who claim to not care one bit about the game will say a little prayer if they think it’d help the All Blacks win.

But unlike the British obsession with football, Kiwis’ love of Rugby isn’t toxic. They see their team, as an extension of themselves and their country’s character and that is why it is unacceptable to them when one of their Rugby players is unfairly harsh to a fellow player.

Their love for the game is well- known but that doesn’t make them lose sight of it being just a game – important but not more important than being the good guys and being human

They realise that rugby in the end is just a game and they don’t let their love for the game taint their love for their ideals. And because of this, the All Blacks are so much more than just a team and Rugby so much more than just a game.

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World Cup 2010: The Fabulous Fabio Capello!

June 28, 2010 at 7:15 PM · Filed under Football, World Cup ·Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Fabio Capello is absolutely right when he says England “played well” in the 4-1 thrashing by Germany. Capello is right because if England had not played well they would have been kicked out of the 2010 World Cup by a much bigger margin; say 20-1 – After all, England were minnows of football world till the fabulous Fabio Capello so kindly took over the reins and turned us into a superpower. He braved the ever so unpredictable weather of England for a paltry annual fee of £6 million sacrificing the comforts of living in his favourite Italy. The lousy English weather must have put him a little bit under the weather, affected his judgment a little bit and clouded his thinking, you might think, after you saw the England-Germany encounter.  If you question his team selection and  rubbish his game plan; it just shows your ignorance of Fabio’s fantastic plan for the future of English football in general and 2014 World Cup in Brazil in particular.  What a match it was!  What fabulous foresight and what great execution of the first part of the bigger plan. Thank you Fabio Capello, for saving the honour of the English. Without your guidance we could not have “played well’ and would have been completely humiliated. Thank you God for giving us the one and only Fabio.

England defence was not just disorganised, you might think, “it was non-existent,” you might comment. So it seemed to the untrained eye of the ordinary fan or pundit. Thanks to the fabulous foresight of the fantastic Fabio Capello and his mind blowing strategy, the England defence was so cleverly camouflaged that everyone failed to notice it.  Capello cleverly used it instead, to score the all important goal for England. If he had not planned Upson to be strongly entrenched in the German 16 yard box, who would have scored the only goal for England?  England can now go back with their head held in the knowledge that even their defence is capable of scoring goals. You can imagine if our defence can do that what wonders can our strikers perform when the fabulous Fabio Capello decides to take them along to the World Cup in Brazil or remembers to get them off the bench and on to the field. Do you understand the strategy now?  It is as clear as day why Peter Crouch was never got to play in this World Cup which can only be considered to be a warm up for 2014. The Fabulous one did not want to risk injury to his tallest player ahead of the Brazil World Cup. What phenomenal foresight.

The fabulous gains

The Fabulous Fabio knows how to build National teams. You just have to read his CV to realize that. He knows it is not easy. He knows it takes time; it takes money. Before you win the World Cup you need to instill self esteem, self control, and spirit of self sacrifice into the team. He knows he has achieved all that or else why would he say “England played well”. The fabulous Fabio is no fool. The lessons the team has learnt are that, not only can the England team score a goal but even their defence can do it. This was important for the self esteem of the team. So what if they left their goal undefended? The important thing is the knowledge that their defence can score.  Now it is not beyond comprehension that the next piece of  Fabio’s  strategy is to train his strikers to defend  our goal. But that is a top secret. Can you imagine how baffled the opposition will be when they are chasing our strikers and our defense sneak out and score goals?  Their confusion will be confounded when our strikers pounce on their strikers and defend our goal. But that will be jumping the gun. That is to be in the next World cup. To keep things simple Capello likes to teach one thing at a time.

One major gain of the team is that they learnt the importance of self control. The players now know how to live without their Wives and Girlfriends. The considerate Capello, master mind that he is, planned all along to keep the first stint, of learning to live without WAGs, short and sweet. It has been proven to the world now that the England players can not only survive without WAGS during the tournaments but they also “play well” in their absence.  Frank Lampard nearly spoiled the plan by scoring the equalizer but such was the belief of the fantastic Fabio in the plan that Gods decided to intervene and blinded the referees.   You will have to wait and see; this experience will come handy in Brazil.

The biggest lesson the England team learnt was in the area of self sacrifice and delayed gratification. Fabio has taught the fans and players alike the importance of postponing gratification. What is the point in winning the World Cup if we can’t even appreciate the value of winning that comes only to those who can delay getting what they desire? Fabio the famous one knows very well that most England fans and even pundits cannot appreciate the deep philosophical aspect of delaying the World Cup win till 2014. Frank Lampard is all groggy eyed as he has spent sleepless nights in his effort to comprehend the significance of Fabio’s fabulous philosophy. John Terry has lost his head trying to make head or tail of it. He was seen, in the match, running all over the pitch like a chicken who has just been beheaded. The likes of Wayne Rooney, Joe Cole, Peter Crouch, Ashley Cole and James are wondering what happened. Theo Walcott, Darren Bent, Adam Johnson, Leighton Bains and Scott Parker are at a loss to know if they are missing something.  But he, in his graciousness, the fabulous Fabio Capello is willing to be patient and wait till they all understand and appreciate. That’s why he has said he will not stand down and will continue to be England Coach. There is one silver lining though. Steven Gerrard is in tune with the master and knows what the fabulous one  is doing.  That’s why he wants Fabio Capello to stay, “I’m sure Fabio will stay and he’ll address his own situation very soon,” Gerrard told The Sun. Thank God for small mercies.

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5 Reasons Why England Crashed Out of the World Cup

June 28, 2010 at 6:56 PM · Filed under Sport, World Cup ·Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

England had everything going for them this World Cup. They had players available from the so-called  ’golden generation’ and a brand new manager who had a great resume and enough time to get England’s team ready to lift the 2010 World Cup. However, England crashed out of the World Cup last night after  losing 4-1 to a relatively inexperienced German side. This  4-1 defeat is England’s heaviest defeat at a World Cup after having outdone a 4-2 loss to Uruguay in 1954. So, I am going to try and figure out what went wrong for England and Fabio Capello?

1. Qualification

England’s qualification run saw them win 9 out of 10 matches with 34 goals scored and only 6 conceded. It filled everyone with great hope and when England beat Croatia who had ended our Euro dreams 9-2 over two games, we just couldn’t contain our optimism.I mean, after all we played Ukraine, Croatia, Andorra, Belarus and Kazakhstan and none of them are really major footballing powers.  If England couldn’t even win against them, how were we ever planning to win the World Cup?  I think our success in qualification matches deluded us and made us believe we were better than we actually were. The great defensive record against those nations was misguiding and made us put more faith in our defense than we should have. So, our problems began when we started glorifying a team for winning matches that we should have won anyway.

2. Fabio Capello’s Team Selection

Fabio Capello got the final 23 team selection completely wrong on three counts. Firstly, in true Italian fashion Capello went around constructing a squad made of very experienced players. Unfortunately, he confused age with experience which explains why Fabio picked 28-year-old Shaun Wright Phillips over the 21-year-old Theo Walcott, although Walcott already had the experience of being at a World Cup.

Secondly, Capello despite having announced very early on, that he would only select those players who had been playing and in good form for their clubs to South Africa, ended up selecting out of form star-players. He chose to take Emile Heskey who scored only 6 goals for his club in the last season over Sunderland’s Darren Bent who scored 24.  Similarly, he chose Matthe Upson who has had an indifferent season for West Ham over Michael Dawson who has been good for Tottenham Hotspur.

Thirdly, Capello took a massive risk in taking already injured players/player not a 100% fit with him. He named Gareth Barry who was struggling to get fit from an injury ahead of fit and in-form Tom Huddlestone and Scott Parker. Ledley King is another one of those players who is injury-prone and well, he got injured again. Capello’s decision to take Heskey was made even worst when he fell on Rio Ferdinand and injured the skipper. Rio Ferdinand himself was hardly available to Manchester United this season because of his injury troubles. So, Capello basically chose old, injured,out of form albeit experienced players for the World Cup in South Africa. Sometimes the only things experience is good for against pace, talent and freshness is tell you, you aren’t going to win this!  Unfortunately Capello like England managers of the past couldn’t put together an England team and ended up naming a collection of star players.

Fabio’s Idiosyncrasies

Fabio Capello came with the reputation of being a hard taskmaster and we all thought that was exactly what the spoilt English footballers needed. However, being a strict and opinionated doesn’t necessarily have to mean being dictatorial. Sometimes it seemed like Capello wanted to do what he wanted to do simply because he wanted to do it, without caring how it helped/hindered or affected his team.  He treated the footballers like children where his duty was to control and discipline them. Sometimes, even parents think a certain thing is good for their child but after a discussion with the child, realise they were wrong. The key word here being ‘discussion’, Fabio should have discussed with a his team a lot more, I think. For example, he felt that it was best if the goalkeepers didn’t know who was going to be playing more than 2 hours before a game but may be Robert Green, David James and Hart would have felt a lot more comfortable knowing. They probably would have liked to have more time to prepare mentally. Similarly, may be some of the players would have liked their families to be with them in South Africa, that probably was what how some of them needed to relaxed, especially when things hadn’t gone as well as they had hoped in the first 2 games.

Also, when John Terry and some other senior members of the team decided to talk to Fabio Capello about what they felt would be good for the team, Fabio, instead of getting his big ego in the way should have listened to the players suggestions. He may not have implemented them but he should have allowed them a fair hearing. John Terry was wrong in telling the media about it, however his intentions were good. Capello should not have reacted the way he did and should have been the bigger person and not made John Terry apologise for it. If Capello just stepped off his high pedestal and really worked with the team as a team player and not as unbearable boss, England would have had a better chance of qualifying.

Also, I think after Capello could have done to learn English wwhen he took up the job as England coach to communicate better with the team.

4) Team Selection and Tactics on the day

Despite all the above problems,England quite amazingly, still made it to the last 16. We would have beaten Germany and gone on to the quarter-finals too. However, once again, Capello got his team selection and tactics completely wrong. Serbia had already shown us how to beat Germany but we stuck to a 4-4-2 formation with Frank Lampard and Gareth Barry in the middle. Both of whom did not know whether they were supposed to attack or defend and Barry lacked the fitness and pace to get back from an attacking position to defend, leaving England with a hole in the middle.

The Germans on the other hand moved the ball ever so well and no one in the England squad really knew whether it was Milner or the full backs or Gerrard who were supposed to get back to defend. So time and again, we attacked the German goal unsuccessfully, didn’t know who was staying back to protect our goal and got caught on the counter by pacy Germans. What is even more ridiculous is that the Germany’s strategy to score against us was very obvious  in the first half but Fabio simply refused to learn from his mistakes and change.

In second half, Fabio could have packed the mid-field with 5 men, let Wayne Rooney to play where he plays best for Manchester United, up front and have other players support him. As the game went on, I felt Fabio Capello just gave up, he took off Jermaine Defoe and brought on Emile Heskey, as if, we needed yet another slow player on the pitch. I don’t know why Capello even bothered to take Peter Crouch with him to South Africa, when clearly, he had no intention of playing him. A lot has been said about England’s bad defending in the game against Germany and I have to agree we were rubbish but in defense of John Terry, he wasn’t playing where he plays best and the defense got absolutely no help from the midfield and were left badly exposed too often.

5) FIFA’s Silly Technology Phobia

The incredible thing about our match against Germany is, that despite getting everything wrong from the selection of players to our tactics and being 2 goals down, England still found the net through Matthew Upson and then Frank Lampard hit the goal post and the ball crossed the line but the referee didn’t see it. Had the referee not gotten that decision wrong, England would have equalised in the first half itself and gone into the half-time break with momentum on their side. Then probably, Fabio would have strengthened the defence and we might just have won this game. Unfortunately, Sepp Blatter and FIFA are strangely more scared of technology than they are of ridicule and this bad decision by the referee is sadly what proved to be the last punch that knocked us out of the World Cup 2010.

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World Cup Preview: England vs. Germany

June 27, 2010 at 1:01 PM · Filed under Football, Uncategorized, World Cup ·Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

It is the moment of truth for Fabio Capello and England as they take on Germany in what can only be described as 90 minutes of nail-biting for England fans. That doesn’t in any way mean that the game isn’t equally scary for a Germany fan, just that England fans seem to believe more in the so-called great historic rivalry between the two teams. The bragging rights that an England win bestows upon us are just so mouth-watering, that I for one am very happy that if we go on to  win this World Cup, it will by beating Germany on the way.

Of the 27 times that the two teams have met, England have won 12 times, Germany 10 times while 5 of those meetings ended in a draw. However, this is only the fifth time that the two are meeting in the World Cup with their last encounter in the 1990 Semifinals ending in a win for West Germany.

England

Ranking: 8

England’s World Cup seemed all but over when they drew their first two group matches, however a win in their last match against Slovenia saw them qualify for the last 16 as runners’ up of Group C. The confidence in the England squad will be somewhat restored after their last performance. However, if past performances are anything to go by, it is easy to see that England seem to have a strange phobia of playing Germany or any big European nation. They have failed to reach the final of  the World Cup and the only teams England have manged to beat in the knockout stages  in the last 44 years are Paraguay, Belgium, Cameroon, Ecuador and Denmark. Today, England need to forget about the past, the historic significance of the collision, their wretched record against the Germans and just go play their game.

Fabio Capello will most likely go with 4-4-2 formation with Wayne Rooney and Jermaine Defoe leading England’s attack. England will put out an almost unchanged side with Matthew Upson expected to retain his place at centre-half, despite Jamie Carragher’s return from suspension, with Ledley King on the bench. David James will once again start in goal for England with John Terry, Glen Johnson, Ashley Cole making up the rest of England’s defense. Capello will depend on the creativity of Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, James Milner and Gareth Barry in midfield.

Germany

Ranking: 6

Germany started off their World Cup campaign in great form with a 4-0 win over Australia. They seem to have lost their form in the last 2 matches and will be desperate to fire on all engines against England. They welcome back Miroslav Klose who was suspended for their last game but have lost Cacau  to an abdominal muscle tear. Germany also have injury concerns with Bastian Schweinsteiger(hamstring) and Jerome Boateng (calf), however both the players did train with the team yesterday and will most likely feature in today’s game.

Germany lost their first choice goal-keeper René Adler, first-choice centre-back Heiko Westermann, the two holding midfielders from the Euro 2008 final, Simon Rolfes  and Thomas Hitzlsperger  and their captain Michael Ballack to injuries ahead of the World Cup. This lead to the Germany manager Joachim Loew coming to the 2010 World Cup with Germany’s youngest squad since 1935, with an average age of just under 25.  The German team is almost unrecognisable from  the one that  lost to Spain in Euro 2008 and of them  only Lucas Podolski, Miroslav Klose and Per Mertesacker keep their original positions. Many of the new comers in the team like Thomas Muller and Sami Khedira were second or third choice even at their clubs.

Joachim Loew will most likely go with a 4-3-3 formation with Miroslav Klose, Lukas Podolski and Thomas Muller up front. Bastian Schweinsteiger will control Germany’s midfield with Mesut Ozil and Sami Khedira. Manuel Neuer, who is in fact a third-choice keeper (after Adler and Robert Enke) for Germany will be supported by Phillip Lahm, Arne Friedrich, Per Mertesacker and Holger Badstuber at the back.

Joachim Loew’s team lacks experience, with only 40 caps between Mesut Ozil, Jerome Boateng, Sami Khedira and Thomas Muller while England’s two youngest starters today in James Milner and Wayne Rooney, have 73 caps between them. If England ever had a chance of beating Germany, it is today.

Insanity or Fact?

Fans being fans have their own way of predicting whether their team will win. In Germany, they have a psychic octopus who predicts Germany’s results eating a mussel from one of two jars, one with a Germany flag in it and the the other with the opposition flag. The octopus predicted  70% of Germany’s results during the 2008 European Championship  and it looks like he has improved on his skills this World Cup. The eight-legged genius predicted Germany’s win over Australia and Ghana and get this, Germany’s loss to Serbia!

His call for today’s game is a harsh Germany win, even harsher considering the Octopus was born in England.

England fans don’t want to leave the prediction to the whims and fancies of an Octopus and instead try and gauge who will win the match through the more-reliable, more efficient means - a  computer. The Mirror have a computer which uses world-renowned databases and the most accurate match engine to simulate  games. The computer says, England will win 3-2 with a goal from Wayne Rooney and a brace from Steven Gerrard of England. According to this computer, Thomas Mueller and Bastian Schweinsteiger will find the net for Germany.

So, today is not just a contest between England and Germany but also the day an Octopus takes on a Computer!

Manager Speak

“Both teams go into the game with a certain amount of respect. There will be no fear from us and not from the English.” – Joachim Loew, Germany manager

“We have to beat the big teams, and Germany are one of those.” – Fabio Capello, England manager

Stars to Watch Out For

England: Jermaine Defoe, Wayne Rooney, Frank Lampard

Germany: Miroslav Klose, Thomas Muller, Bastian Schweinsteiger

Go Figure!

England have taken 29 corners from their opening three matches, the most by any team in the tournament so far.

Germany’s defeat by Serbia in the group stage was their first in the opening round of a World Cup since 1986.

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World Cup Preview: England vs. Algeria

June 18, 2010 at 12:13 PM · Filed under Football, World Cup ·Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

England started their World Cup campaign with their supporters truly believing that the time for England to win the World Cup was finally here. The Three Lions had a very successful qualification campaign and truly looked like worthy contenders for the highest prize. In the first four minutes of their opening game against USA, they scored and long-suffering England supporters the world over rejoiced. However as the game went, euphoria soon gave way to disbelief, England were starting to look hauntingly similar to the England of past World Cup campaigns. They lacked creativity, their passing lack precision and the players seemed to lack the desire and the belief.  And then, a fumble by the goalkeeper lead to England losing their 1 goal advantage and the imageof a free-flowing, potential world cup winning team was shattered yet again . England need to win this game to make their supporters believe in them once again.

Algeria kicked off their World Cup against Slovenia, a game they’d like to erase from their memories. They were left struggling against Slovenia with 10-men after Abdelkader Ghezzal was sent off for a ridiculous handball. Then just like the English, the Algerians became victims of a goal-keeping error causing them to lose the game 1-0.

England must win today, if they are to ensure their progress to the last 16. A win today, gives England the added advantage of finishing top of this Group C and therefore avoiding playing Germany in the next round.

England

Ranking: 8

It is England manager Fabio Capello’s 64th birthday today and all 3 points will make the perfect birthday present. England have enough quality to beat the North Africans whose 4-5-1 formation would clearly make it hard for England midfielders to find space against the barrier of midfielders. Fabio Capello has yet to disclose his first choice goalkeeper for the match. The Italian had said earlier in the week that Robert Green would keep his position in goal despite his error in the USA game which gifted USA the equaliser. Reports now suggest that Green will most likely be replaced by David James.

Another change to the England line-up is that Gareth Barry returns from injury to play in today’s match while Ledley King who got injured in England’s last game is replaced by Jamie Carragher at the back. Gareth Barry’s return means Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard will be able to return to a more advanced offensive role. Capello will most likely stick to a 4-4-2 with Wayne Rooney and Emile Heskey (!!!) up front. Although Emile Heskey is sure to start, Capello might look to striker Jermaine Defoe t play amajor role in Plan B. Just like the last match, it looks like both Peter Crouch and Joe Cole will not get starts and will be on the bench.

Algeria

Ranking: 30

Algeria hardly created any clear-cut chances against Slovenia but they will be desperate to get at least one point from this match to keep their slim chance of qualifying from this group alive. They play on England’s weakness of being unable to break down a strong  defenses and will rely on counter attacks to score. Their goalkeeper Faouzi Chaouchi missed a training session on Wednesday due to a sprained ankle and is doubtful for the match. Their manager, Rabah Saadane decided to drop captain Yazid Mansouri to the bench ahead of the defeat against Slovenia leading to many players questioning the manager’s judgment. Algeria’s 4-5-1 formation means that the England midfielders will need to be more creative than they usually are, to break down the Algerian defense. England also need to be aware of Algeria’s power striker Rafik Djebbour whose pace, aerial ability and direct threat can cause problems for England’s somewhat slow (old) back four.

England will need to be patient, keep their organisation and focus for 90 minutess to win this game.

Manager Speak

“If you ask me what I want, I would say no more mistakes. I thought we created so many chances in the first game and this time we need to take them.” – Fabio Capello

“England have their backs to the wall.We have nothing to lose and everything to win.” – Rabah Saadane, Algeria manager

Stars to Watch Out For

England: Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, Gareth Barry, Wayne Rooney

Algeria: Rafik Djebbour, Nadir Belhadj, Hassan Yebda

Go Figure!

This will be the first ever meeting between England and Algeria.

England have not lost any of the 15 matches they have played against an African side, winning 11 and drawing four.

Algeria have failed to keep a clean sheet in the seven previous World Cup matches they have played in.


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World Cup 1Goal: Education for Referees!?

June 10, 2010 at 8:45 PM · Filed under FIFA, Football, World Cup ·Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Wayne Rooney’s explosive nature is what makes the England striker brilliant. His fiery temper is fast becoming a thing of legend. Unfortunately for Rooney, his big mouth usually begets hoards of attention from the referees. Attention that the England forward could certainly do without.

In what seems like an aftermath of Wayne Rooney’s antics at England’s warm up game against Platinum Stars when the England striker let fly a sizeable chunk of abusive language at the local referee Jeff Selogilwe, FIFA have taken it upon themselves to give the referees and his assistants for the Group C match in Rustenburg a crash course in English swear words.

Although the Brazilian referee in-charge of England’s match on Saturday Carlos Simon is a journalist, fluent in English; he and his linesman Altemir Hausmann and Roberto Braatz, have been given a list of 20 English swear words to study in preparation for the game. Surely, the 1Goal, education for all objective didn’t imply a compulsory 20 english swear words.

I wonder if the list includes the words, ‘soundrel, crook and a shameless bastard‘, famously used by Palmeiras president, Luiz Gonzaga Belluzzo, to denounce Simon Carlos last November. Also, wouldn’t it make more sense for FIFA to train the referees better so that they improve their skills and become more proficient in spotting fouls. That way, we’ll get more reliable referees (not to mention swear-words free), who won’t make dumb calls and the players won’t have to ‘wax eloquent’.

Hausman said, “We have to learn what kinds of words the players say. All players swear, and we know we will hear a few ‘son of a…’”.

Braatz was quick to add: “We can’t do this in 11 different languages, but at least we have to know the swear words in English.”

Language is being taken very seriously and it seems ‘Respect the Referee’ campaign is still on. Though it does seem a bit unfair that only English abuses are being targeted. Looks like Wayne should listen to Jeff Selogilwe and “learn to control his temper” or maybe choose to get inventive in another language.

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World Cup 2010: Final England Squad

June 1, 2010 at 9:53 PM · Filed under BC First, Football, World Cup ·Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Fabio Capello has confirmed his 23-man England squad for the World Cup. The exclusion of Arsenal’s Theo Walcott who started both of England’s recent friendlies against Mexico and Japan  was the biggest surprise. Others who miss out include Darren Bent, Adam Johnson, Scott Parker, Michael Dawson, Leighton Baines and Tom Huddlestone.

Last world cup, Walcott had been the surprise inclusion in England’s world cup squad. The then 17-year old had never played in a single premier league game and the then England manager (the current Ivory Coast manager) Sven Goran Eriksson had been widely criticized for his selection of a player whom cynics claimed he had seen only in training.

Since 2006, Theo Walcott has earned  11 caps for England and scored 3 international goals, all of them in England’s crucial 4-1 qualifying win against Croatia. Unfortunately the 21-year-old’s season has been injury riddled with back, shoulder, knee and hamstring problems restricting him to only 15 starts with Arsenal this season, with his form suffering as a result.

Walcott said in statement,”I am very disappointed not to be included in the squad going out to South Africa, but completely respect Mr Capello’s decision. I would like to wish the team the best of luck and hope they have a really successful tournament.”

Fabio Capello had announced a long time back when he had taken over as England manager that he would only select those players who were playing regularly for their clubs and were in form.

Darren Bent who has been in form for Sunderland and was the third-highest scorer with 23 goals in the 2009-2010 season would be justifiably disappointed to have missed out. Tom Huddlestone is another such casualty despite the midfielder being very impressive all season for Tottenham and helping them finish fourth in the Premier League.

It seems Fabio Capello wants to take only tried and tested players to South Africa which explains his inclusion of players like Joe Cole, Emile Heskey, Gareth Barry and Leadly King, all of whom have been struggling with injuries and not been in the greatest of form for their respective clubs. All of them, however have played in Capello’s squad and formation explaining why the Italian chose them over the others.

Fabio Capello contacted each of the players who missed out by telephone. The rest of the squad will fly out to South Africa tomorrow to start the preparations for the tournament. As usual, it seems England will look to Frank Lampard, Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard to provide goals. Aaron Lennon’s creativity and pace could be the key to England’s goal scoring.

The World Cup starts on June 11, and England’s first game  is on June 12 against the United States in Rustenburg.

England’s 23-man squad for the World Cup finals:

Goalkeepers: Joe Hart (Manchester City), David James (Portsmouth), Robert Green (West Ham).

Defenders: Jamie Carragher (Liverpool), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United), Glen Johnson (Liverpool), Ledley King (Tottenham), John Terry (Chelsea), Matthew Upson (West Ham), Stephen Warnock (Aston Villa).

Midfielders: Gareth Barry (Manchester City), Michael Carrick (Manchester United), Joe Cole (Chelsea), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Aaron Lennon (Tottenham), James Milner (Aston Villa), Shaun Wright-Phillips (Manchester City).

Forwards: Peter Crouch (Tottenham), Jermain Defoe (Tottenham), Emile Heskey (Aston Villa), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United).

Article first published as Theo Walcott Left Out of the England Squad for World Cup 2010 on Technorati.

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FIFA World Player of the Year Award Shortlist 2009 : Will it be Michael Essien?

November 1, 2009 at 10:10 PM · Filed under Chelsea, Chelsea FC, Cristiano Ronaldo, FIFA, Football ·Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

John TerryFernando TorresSamuel Eto'oFranck RiberyKaka Real MadridDavid VillaCristiano Ronaldo Real MadridWayne RooneyGianluigi BuffonAndreas IniestaMichael EssienFabianoDeigoXavi HernandesLionel MessiPuyol Zlatan IbrahimovicThierry HenryIker CasillasSteven GerrardMichael BallackDidier DrogbaFrank Lampard

Congratulations to all True Blues out there. Aren’t we having a great year so far?  8 goals in total against Bolton this week, top of the Premier League table and now we have the 5 players on the FIFA World Player Award shortlist. The 23 men (in a completely biased Chelsea first, order) who are in contention for the title of the FIFA World Player2009 are:

Chelsea

John Terry (England),  Frank Lampard (England),  Michael Ballack (German)

Didier Drogba (Côte d’Ivoire) Michael Essien (Ghana)

Barcelona

Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden),  Andrés Iniesta (Spain),

Thierry Henry (France),  Lionel Messi (Argentina), Carles Puyol (Spain),

Xavi Hernandez (Spain)

Real Madrid

Iker Casillas (Spain),  Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal),  Kaká (Brazil)

Liverpool

Fernando Torres (Spain),  Steven Gerrard (England)

Juventus

Gianluigi Buffon (Italy), Diego (Brazil)

Inter Milan

Samuel Eto’o (Cameroon)

Sevilla

Luis Fabiano (Brazil)

Bayern Munich

Franck Ribéry (France)

Valencia

David Villa (Spain)

Manchester United

Wayne Rooney (England)

According to me, the FIFA World Player should go to  Michael Kojo Essien and its not because he is a Chelsea player but because he is an incredible player. A player whose contribution to Chelsea’s success is often overlooked because of the presence of such superstars in the Chelsea line-up. Essien is a very talented midfielder who creates great chances for the team and is  also very strong in defence. The stunner he scored in the Chelsea-Blackburn game is yet another reminder of what a powerful footballer he is, something which is somtimes  overlooked by the starry-eyed fans mesmerised by the glamour of Michael Ballack,  Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard, Joe Cole, John Terry and Nicholas Anelka.  An all-rounder and a handful for any team, Essien is the quintessential talented, hard-working, focused player who is an asset to any team that he plays for. While he might not have won the title of Chelsea’s top pin-up boy, which is proudly held by Michael Ballack, Michael Essien has definitely  won the respect of all as Mr. Dependable. He is admired by opposition players and absolutely adored by his Chelsea and Ghana teammates who recognise just how important a part he plays in the team’s success. I know he probably isn’t going to win and  everyone senses that this year is finally going to be  Lionel Messi’s  turn to win it but I think one of these year’s someone is going to have to give Essien this award. Messi is marvelous and it will be great to see him crowned the Best Player in the World but then who knows maybe FIFA will surprise us all.

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