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MAKE MONEY ON FOOTBALL BET

2010-10-28T08:24:00.000-07:00

You need to know a number of football tips and tricks. This helps you realize the things to keep in mind when placing bets. Rushing into the betting business can leave you frustrated and with too many bad debts. This can bring shame and stress. It is simple to avoid such an outcome by simply looking for football tips and tricks which help you understand the business properly.

You need to know that betting with too much money on a single bet is risky. Football betting can consume all your money if you place too high bets which you can not afford to lose. In the betting business, you must manage your money wisely. This is the best trick which can sustain you in the business. When you get into the business, use all tricks and tips to make sure you earn money in every bet. This is the only way you are going to survive in the business.

You need a grounding check which should be done thoroughly to help you understand the teams. You can tell if they will win or not by trying to know them better. Most teams will play strongly at home but checking on their other records can help you come with a good betting strategy.

You need to check at the odds offered. The betting value is also important and helps you stay away from risky bets. This way, you can save your money for profitable bets. Risk element should always be considered when placing bets. It is the beat way to avoid small gains which come with big risk.

Keep you bets at a level which you can manage comfortably. Placing too many bets can be overwhelming and you will not be in a position to tell the best ones. This can lead to mass loss which can throw you out of the business and leave you in bad debts.

2010-09-22T10:01:00.000-07:00

FOOTBALL COACHING TIPS

2010-09-22T09:45:00.000-07:00

Football is a huge sport in the UK and has often been compared to a religion with many 'worshippers' spending weekends on the terraces watching their favourite teams take on their rivals. If you've ever been to a game of football you'll have no doubt heard many of the supporters barking instructions (sometimes in fairly colourful language) to the players on the pitch and sometimes they seem to make more sense than whatever the manager has told them.

This is possibly why many football fans and former players themselves become football coaches; to pass on their knowledge and ideas about the game and to help teams improve. A lot of coaches in the UK football leagues are well paid and respected at the professional level but even down at grass roots level the Sunday league and children's coaches command great respect from their team and their supporters for the effort they put in to develop the players and the team.

One of the main elements to being a football coach is to instill a philosophy and message to the team, some sports teams take the philosophy of "win at all costs" a little too literally and could resort to cheating such as the often maligned diving and faking injuries that you see in the professional matches. The good coach would want to promote the ideology that they must win within the rules, cheating is a loss to the team and the players. This kind of approach will encourage the players to respect you and your vision and hopefully have them performing better to do justice to your coaching.

Knowing everything about the game you coach is vital too. As a coach there are many more aspects of the game such as formations, set plays and knowing your players strengths that are essential knowledge for a good football coach. It's important during team practice sessions that these key strategies and plays are coached.

The best coaches tend to be ones who have come from a background in the sport, which is why, when you look at most of the Premier League coaches and managers, that they generally have been players in the past. Some of the greatest coaches of all time such as Kenny Dalglish were successful players who made the transition to the coaching aspect of the game and performed well. If you are an ex-footballer then much of what you have learnt over the years playing the game can be vital to help get the upper hand over your rivals.

ENTERTAINMENT AND SPORT

2010-07-03T06:30:00.000-07:00

Recreational activities like Golf, Hunting, Boating, Fishing and camping and its impact on sports & entertainment.Peer pressure in today's world builds the need for recreational activities that can de-stress us. Such activities are slightly different from pure sporting activities though it creates similar impact on sports-driven entertainment. Activities like Golf, Hunting, Boating, Fishing and Campaing falls under this category and provides excellent value for money for both service providers and end-users.Popularity of such activity can be gauged from the fact that Fishing is 4th most popular sporting activity in US. People tend to participate in such activities during weekends along with their family members. People from all age group can participate and enjoy such activities.
Golf, Hunting, Boating, Fishing and Camping are observed to be the most popular options people are opting world over as recreational activity. Recreational activity is now a multi-billion industry and is going to have tremendous impact on sports and entertainment. Governments across world have started promoting recreational tourism packages to attract inbound tourism traffic to boost up economy. Scotland has taken painstaking effort to promote itself as "The Destination" for Golf lovers. Similarly there are customized packages available for hunting, fishing camping and boating. America's Cup Challenger Oracle Racing by Larry Ellison of Oracle has changed the way people viewed boat racing. Today it is a multimillion sporting event that has perfect combo of sports and entertainment.

A survey in US has generated information that on an average an adult spends $10 to $30 every week for their main recreational activities. When participation and accounting of all recreational activities is combined total expenditure within any given region becomes very high and paves way for commercialization and corporatization of sports and create an entertainment value chain for end users. This in turn brings more investment to the region and ancillary activities would drastically improve living standards of people around.

Recreational sports like Golf, Hunting, Boating, Fishing and Camping were considered to be within means of rich only till now. However people are now looking it as source of both sports and entertainment. This has bought dramatic shift in way recreational sport is shaping sports and entertainment space.

Going forward most of the government across world will create excellent infrastructure in public private partnership to capitalize on booming recreational activities in sports and entertainment sector.

You can reach me at rajesh.nair@admakersindia.com

Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Sports-and-Entertainment&id=1573895] Sports and Entertainment

FOOTBALL SKILLS

2010-07-01T04:22:00.001-07:00

No matter what type of football you decide to play, there are some certain skills you need to do well. And obviously with Soccer or Football you need to master the skill of kicking.

In football there are a number of different demands, from passing the ball to a teammate who is a few feet away to a high power swerving kick for goal from 20-30 metres out.

The important thing to remember is you will get different levels of accuracy, power and height depending on which part of the foot you use, which part of the ball you kick or whether your knee is behind the ball or over it. It sounds hard, but it's not, it just comes down to practice and repetition.

Practice with your friends or practice kicking to a wall. Once you have done this for a period of time, you will find quickly what works for you.

There are 3 Important things you need to remember.

1) Any player should make sure they are lined up with the ball as it approaches. This is extremely important.

2) You need to decide very quickly once the ball is in the air what part of your body you will use to control it once it arrives. Making this decision early, means you will be well prepared when the ball gets to you.

3) You will need to cushion the ball when it arrives, a skill that is vital otherwise the ball will bounce of you into your grateful opponent! Cushioning is simply relaxing your body at the moment of impact and allow that part of your body to just "give". When you use your foot to cushion, just ensure your foot is slightly of the ground, with a relaxed ankle.

I know this can sound a bit difficult but these are all very simple techniques that you can learn yourself by just simply practising for hours on end. Until they become second nature in the rel=nofollow heat of battle.

The Football World Cup is getting closer, Check out the latest news in world football by checking out http://footballworldcup2010s.com/

COMMON FOOTBALL INJURIES

2010-06-07T06:33:00.000-07:00

Many of us play sports for recreational fun, or for competition. You may think that being active is enough to take care of your body but the thing is, you are susceptible to injuries when you are playing a lot of sports if you don't employ the proper measures. If you want to prolong your sporty lifestyle, or have a shot at playing for the New England Patriots, then there are certain guidelines that you should follow so that an injury won't hinder you from your plans.

In any sport, it is quite painful to see any great player have his career cut short because of an injury and what more if this happened to you. You'll hear countless stories about how promising college athletes lost their chances to get into the big leagues because of a serious injury. If you are planning to get into a university or the pros, it is important to know that injuries could make organizations hesitant to get you regardless of your talent, or you would have less leverage in your contract. A lot of athletes are given short term contracts because the organization would fear their injuries would render them useless most of the time and would only take up the team's resources. While injuries are inevitable, here are a few precautionary measures to avoid them.

Pumping Iron

Just because you are lifting weights, doesn't mean that you have to grow in to a large and bulky hulk. There are a lot of new programs out there that cater specifically to a particular sport. These programs would help train your body to get used to the strain and movements that your sport requires, and highlight the needed skills for it. Weights could increase your agility, speed, and stamina. With stronger muscles, your body has better support for movements such as running, jumping, pivoting, and laterals.

Always warm-up

Warming up correctly before a game or training is very crucial if you want to avoid injuries. Make sure you are able to stretch your muscles properly, and heat them enough so that you don't pull, twist, or tear them. Warming up does not only help you avoid injuries, but it helps you bring your "A" game as well because you can move a lot better. When warming up, it's important that you remember to do it the right way. Doing it wrong would prove to be detrimental to your goals either you overdid it, or stretched the wrong muscles.

These are just a few things that could help you avoid injuries. It is always best to consult a doctor on certain exercises and he or she would also know whether you need extra gear such as arch support, knee braces, and back support. Everyone's body is built differently and the impact of certain sports is different with every individual.

PEAK PERFORMANCE IN SPORT

2010-06-07T06:23:00.000-07:00

In the sports arena, peak performance in sports has always been a much sought after state by players and coaches of all levels. Whether the athletes are school boys soccer players or Olympians striving for their Gold medals, peak performance in sports has always attracted athletes and coaches alike. In our modern age of sports, where sports science is at a stratospheric level and rising, what are the factors that when applied correctly can lead sports participants to peak performance in sports? Are there secrets to sporting excellence? Are these factors easily manipulated for the benefits of the athletes? This article discusses the factors that can lead athletes and coaches to peak performance in sports.

There has been many articles and books detailing principles, programs, success factors and the like that can lead to peak performance in sports. Many authors have written at length about them and in many ways, the principles and factors are universal. The principles of progressive resistance, variety, goal specific training, recovery, etc are all undisputed underlying reasons that allows athletes to achieve peak performance in sports. This article goes a step further by exploring these universal factors in a different light. In the process, I hope to give athletes and coaches alike how to practically apply these principles and which are the factors with higher weightage in terms of achieving success and peak performance in sports.

There are basically two set of factors we need to look into. Technical and human factors. Let us take a look at the former set of factors first;

Technical Factors

1. Quality Preparation
2. Mastering Individual Skills
3. High Fitness Levels
4. Understanding Overall Team Play
5. Filling Up Key Positions of the Team
6. Minimise Errors in Games

1. Quality Preparation

The hard work for any sports season begins with the preseason training which is very intensive. No body likes this season, as the work and training required is often very boring and painful. But this has to be done for the athletes to be optimally prepared for the rigours of the competitive phase. The endurance, strength, speed and skill volumes must be done. Not just the volume of work, but how much quality is put into the preparation phase is vital as well. When players cut corners and put in training at face value without their heart and soul, it will show up later in the competition as fatigue, injuries or lack of sharpness in their performance. Peak performance in sports cannot be possible under such circumstances. The quality of preseason preparation is even more important in youth sports.

Very often in schools, the playing seasons for many sports start almost immediately when the school year starts. With our children away for long vacations, our athletes very often return to school to face competitions with very little training time. Team play, fitness building and mental preparation are supposed to be done in 2-3 weeks, which in a sports world is almost impossible and impractical. This kind of preparation is also detrimental to the development of our children. Under these circumstances, coaches and teachers (and parents if possible) have a very important responsibility to ensure that our athletes are well prepared for competition. Training programmes for sports ought to be drawn up and implemented at year's end previously. Our athletes need to understand that that their season effectively began when their examinations are over. With a training programme started, coaches and teachers can than instruct athletes about a vacation training programme as well. Each athlete should have one whereby, they can do something to improve their playing abilities during their break away from school. It could include things like maintain a certain standard of fitness through endurance activities like cycling, running or swimming, playing catch and pitching in the backyard with their siblings, or even individual practices to improve certain skills. The main thing here is to preserve and improve what has been attained in the preceding season, so that athletes do not return back to school and start from scratch. Simply planning and training this way will ensure quality preparation for the sports teams to attain peak performance in sports later.

2. Mastering Individual Skills

In all sports and games, there are certain skill sets and skills that are considered basic and necessary. These must be achieved by athletes before they can play at a higher level later. In basketball, dribbling and executing a proper lay-up are crucial. Throwing, catching and fielding skills are a must in baseball and softball. The push-pass and receiving a pass are necessary skills in hockey and floor ball. The list goes on. In preseason training, or at the earliest playing stage, these essential skills must be made known to our young players, and all efforts and time must be spent on mastering these basic skills. Without these skills, a coach will find it very difficult to execute more complex team plays to achieve peak performance in sports. If strikers cannot even control a long pass from a teammate, how can we expect the same player to hold up the ball well up field against oppositions defenders and execute lay-off passed to oncoming teammates in support. It will be wise for coaches to develop these skills early and also for players to keep improving themselves in these skills even though they might feel that they are good enough already.

Even at professional levels, these basic skills for their sports is important for peak performance in sports. The repertoire of skills required and the intensity of how these skills are performed at the highest levels are even more acute. At the highest levels where opponents are very evenly match in all areas, one mistake can often result in a win or loss. It is even more important for professionals to master all the skills required of the game or sports. Only under such intense conditions can peak performance in sports be possible.

3. High Fitness Levels

At high school levels, many athletes would not have reached their maximal physical development yet no matter how much they train. Physiologically speaking, the development in this area in youths is very varied. Some children reach a high fitness standard faster than others, while others have body types that will only respond to training optimally when they get older. Hence, it can be assumed that a team with the fittest group of players will have the most advantage. No matter how skillful your opponents are, if you are fitter than him or her, you will be able to overcome your lack of fitness by reacting rapidly to overcome your short fall. Let's say, you are out dribbled by a more skillful opponent in soccer. But if you are fitter than your opponent who have just out-dribbled you, you will be able to track back fast enough to cover your position again. This edge in fitness for youth is very important at the later stages of the game too, as players tend to tire faster at this age. A fitter team will definitely be able to prevail and score more later in the game. Players at this age need to be convinced of this need for fitness, and be encouraged to do whatever they can to attain the highest level of fitness possible.

How about professionals? Without a doubt, professional athletes are expected to possess fitness at the highest levels. If they are not, their opponents will be and consequently, they will outperform them and reach their peak performance in sports. Generally speaking, professional sportsmen know how to get into great shape and maintain that till the end of the season. Their physical bodies are also in the best state to be developed to their fullest potential.

4. Understanding Overall Team Play

The next factor of great importance in achieving peak performance in sports is understanding the overall team play by the players. Imagine a coach telling his charges to clear the balls down the flanks in any invasion game. You will be surprise how many players actually understand why they are told to do this. More often than not, the players will just do what is required or told by the coaches. The understanding behind their action is very often very little. They might not know that by playing the ball down the flanks or wing, it actually forces the opponents defence to spread wider, thus leaving more gaps in the middle for the attacker to exploit subsequently. Another statistically advantage is that plays down the flanks generally result in the attacker getting the ball back if it is knocked out of bound. That is why, you often hear players or coaches shouting to their charges to 'throw it down the line'. Young players love the direct route to goal and very often that means playing through the middle. Whatever is taught in tactics to the players, coaches must make every effort to explain and make sure that all the players understand the tactical significance of their plays. This form of coaching if done properly, makes the players better players and improve their decision making on the pitch. And we are always looking for more thinking players in our pitch which will give the team a higher chance of achieving peak performance in sports.

5. Filling Up Key Positions of the Team

The fifth factor that can produce peak performance in sports is actually finding the right players to fill up the most key positions of the team first. In any sport teams, there will be key positions that must be filled first. The point guard in a basketball team is the driver of the team. he controls all plays. A centre in ice-hockey is pivot in both defense and attack, hence he must be the best and fittest and most abled player. The catcher in baseball is the key man, as he dictates and calls the pitches, and also sees the entire fielding situation. These key positions must be filled first, even if it means fielding someone out of position. I use to have a very talented and strong striker who loves to score goals. Unfortunately, I also have a big gap in goal-keeping and he happens to be the best handler of balls in the team. After much persuasion and sacrifice, he finally converted to a goal-keeper. Thanks to his selfless act, the team did extremely well as very few goals were scored against us. It was not easy to make this move. But as the coach than, I felt that the goal-keeper is too important a player to let any Tom, Dick or Harry player, hence it must be the best. These result was the least number of silly errors from our goal-keeping department and that gave the team a much better chance to win games.This brings us to the last technical factor that influence peak performance in sports - making fewest errors.

6. Minimise Errors in Games

In sports these days, errors often decide the outcome of the game. Errors will be more plentiful at youth and children levels. The fact that children are playing at lower technical and tactical levels makes it inevitable that errors will be made. The team that makes the fewest errors in any game will generally perform at their peak. Its a mentality that must be drilled into players to make the fewest error individually as well as as a team. If you do not believe this, watch your next game with a watchful eye over how goals or points are scored. More often than not, you will realize that a goal started from an error from the opponents somewhere. Or a point or run is a result of some players fumbling the ball. Making many silly errors will not lead a team to peak performance in sports. A team that is doing well makes the fewest errors. So coaches, make sure you train your players to understand this and do the right things in the game. Show them evidence through videos or live games, and they will be convinced that the team with the fewest errors win games and peak in their sports performance.

So far we have discussed the technical factors that will lead your team to peak performance in sports. Coaches and players must make sure that these factors are well looked into to ensure that your teams will attain peak performance in sports. Otherwise, it will be a waste of effort and time no matter how talented the team and players are.

In trying to achieve peak performance in sports, human factors are also very important. Understand and master these factors, and success and peak performance in sports is almost a sure thing. But very often these factors are often the hardest to achieved. Here we are drawing on the qualities of human beings to excel in different areas in order for them to reach their peak performance in sports. Very often, these qualities form the foundation of all athletic performances in sports. The players and coaches will find mastering these factors most difficult because we are dealing with intangible elements of human nature. Its easy to improve on your pitching skills, but to improve team spirit it has a lot more to do with just practicing a skill.

Fortunately, we only need to focus on two human factors here in order to achieve peak performance in sports.

Human Factors

1. Players' Dedication and Commitment
2. Team Work and Team Spirit

The first factor deals with having dedicated and committed players. This is very much an individual player factor, but it is also the coach's responsibility to reap the highest commitment and dedication from each player. We all know that every player is different, hence it requires different strategies to motivate different players. For some players, simply setting goals, both team and individual goals, will suffice because maybe the players themselves are already intrinsically motivated. For players with poor motivation and a star attitude, some form of carrot and stick methods might be required to get the most out of them. Whatever the strategies, failure to get the highest commitment and dedication from players will mean that training and match play will not be optimum thus resulting in poorer peak performance in sports.

The second human factor that leads to peak performance in sports is team work and team spirit. When a team is able to work together to a level whereby players' understanding is so good, than the team will have reach the ultimate potential. Not just will tactical plays be good all round, but the effort to play for each other in the team will be so high that the level of satisfaction and sacrifice will be so immense that team play will improve. Players are willing to run and cover for each other more, and there is almost a magical factor in the team play. Team effectiveness will improve. Players will not be playing for selfish reasons but rather for the common team goals. History provides wonderful elements for us to see team work in action. Very often, it was not teams with the most skills that won the competitions, but rather, the teams with the greatest team spirit and team work, When players are willing to set aside personal differences to play for greater team goals. In Euro 2004, Greece was not the team with the greatest fair or skills,but they still won, because the coach was able to mold a team of seemingly nobody into a cohesive unit that was willing to play hard for each other.

Training and reaching peak performance in sports is very often the dreams and aspirations of many coaches and players. At all levels of sports, from high school to professional, all athletes and their coaches want to achieve their peak performance in sports. It is a inner desire of human to succeed and be the best. Being the best requires not just skill, but also certain technical and human factors that can be manipulated for the benefits of achieving peak performance in sports. These factors are important for any sports fans striving for peak performance in sport

SOUTH AFRICA'S WORLD CUP HISTORY

2010-06-01T12:16:00.000-07:00

Team Profile: South Africa

GettyImagesSouth Africa played at their first finals in 1998

Appearances at finals:
1998 - First round
2002 - First round
Overall record at finals: Played 6, Won 1, Draw 3, Lost 2.
Best performance: First round in 1998 and 2002.
Most appearances at finals: Lucas Radebe (1998, 2002), Quinton Fortune (1998, 2002), Benni McCarthy (1998, 2002) - 6.
Most goals at finals: Benni McCarthy (1998, 2002), Shaun Bartlett (1998) - 2.
World Cup high: Their first ever finals victory at their second tournament appearance in 2002, beating Slovenia 1-0 with a Siyabonga Nomvethe goal the difference between the sides.
World Cup low: Bafana Bafana's embarrassing failure to qualify for the 2006 World Cup in Germany, finishing third in their qualification group behind Ghana and Congo DR, after having been named hosts of the 2010 tournament.
World Cup legend: Benni McCarthy is the country's record goal-scorer and second most capped player, with 31 goals in 76 appearances. He scored at the 1998 and 2002 tournaments against Denmark and Spain respectively.
The story so far: The history of the South African football team, like the country itself, has been greatly affected by the system of apartheid. The enforced racial segregation of the country was hugely contentious and numerous attempts were made to suspend the national side from FIFA because the country's constitution prohibited the fielding of racially mixed teams. But South Africa, along with Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan, were one of the founding members of the Confederation of African Football and continued to escape expulsion because of a widespread reluctance for FIFA to become embroiled in political matters.
They were suspended from FIFA competition in 1966 but, after the violence of the Soweto uprising in 1976, a horrified FIFA finally expelled South Africa and the national team would not play again for 16 years. In 1991, as apartheid drew to a close, a new multi-racial South African Football Association was born and the new team played its first game against Cameroon in 1992, winning 1-0. Four years later, hosting and competing in their first African Nations Cup as a multi-racial side, Bafana Bafana lifted the trophy and were joined in celebration by an overjoyed Nelson Mandela.
They went on to play in the 1998 World Cup in France and, after being soundly beaten 3-0 by the hosts in their first ever finals match, South Africa went on to earn admirable draws against Denmark and Saudi Arabia, but finished in third place in the group, two points behind the Danes.
At the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea, an improved South Africa side were agonisingly close to making the second round, missing out to Paraguay on goals scored. A 2-2 draw with the South Americans in the first game was followed up by a first finals victory, a 1-0 win over Slovenia. In their final game against Spain, Bafana Bafana twice came from behind but were denied by a Raul goal as Jose Antonio Camacho's side narrowly triumphed 3-2. A disappointing failure to qualify for the 2006 finals followed but in 2004 it had been announced that, in 2010, South Africa would become the first African country to host the World Cup.
Qualification: As hosts, South Africa qualified for the tournament automatically but did play a number of friendlies while qualification was taking place. They were involved in the first stage of African qualifying with a place at the 2010 African Nations Cup at stake but finished 11 points adrift of Nigeria in the group, missing out on a place at the tournament.
It has been a tumultuous time for Bafana Bafana and, although they performed creditably at the Confederations Cup - losing in the semi-finals to Brazil and the third place play-off to European Championship winners Spain by just a single goal - they continued to crash to defeat after defeat in friendlies, which eventually saw the sacking of boss Joel Santana and the re-appointment of former boss Carlos Parreira.
Qualifying record (second round): P6, W2, D1, L3, F5, A5, Pts7.
Confederations Cup record: P5, W1, D1, L3, F4, A6.
Most appearances: Kagisho Dikgacoi (11).
Top goalscorer: Kagisho Dikgacoi, Katlego Mphela, Bernard Parker (2).

WORLD CUP HISTORY

2010-06-01T12:08:00.000-07:00

History of the FIFA World Cup

No other sporting event captures the world's imagination like the FIFA World Cup. Ever since the first tentative competition in Uruguay in 1930, FIFA's (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) flagship has constantly grown in popularity and prestige.

A group of visionary French football administrators, led in the 1920s by the innovative Jules Rimet, are credited with the original idea of bringing the world's strongest national football teams together to compete for the title of World Champions. The original gold trophy bore Jules Rimet's name and was contested three times in the 1930s, before the Second World War put a 12-year stop to the competition.

When it resumed, the FIFA World Cup rapidly advanced to its undisputed status as the greatest single sporting event of the modern world. Held since 1958 alternately in Europe and the Americas, the World Cup broke new ground with the Executive Committee's decision in May 1996 to select Korea and Japan as co-hosts for the 2002 edition.

Since 1930, the 19 tournaments have seen only seven different winners. However, the FIFA World Cup has also been punctuated by dramatic upsets that have helped create footballing history - the United States defeating England in 1950, North Korea's defeat of Italy in 1966, Cameroon's emergence in the 1980s and their opening match defeat of the Argentinean cup-holders in 1990....

Today, the FIFA World Cup holds the entire global public under its spell. An accumulated audience of over 37 billion people watched the France 98 tournament, including approximately 1.3 billion for the final alone, while over 2.7 million people flocked to watch the 64 matches in the French stadium.

After all these years and so many changes, however, the main focus of the FIFA World Cup remains the same - the glistening golden trophy, which is the embodiment of every footballer's ambition.

World Cup Summaries- updated

Year	Champion	Runner-Up	Result	3rd Place	Host
1930	Uruguay	Argentina	4-2	United States	Uruguay
1934	Italy	Czechoslovakia	2-1 (ot)	Germany	Italy
1938	Italy	Hungary	4-2	Brazil	France
1950	Uruguay	Brazil	2-1	Sweden	Brazil
1954	West Germany	Hungary	3-2	Austria	Switzerland
1958	Brazil	Sweden	5-2	France	Sweden
1962	Brazil	Czechoslovakia	3-1	Chile	Chile
1966	England	West Germany	4-2 (ot)	Portugal	England
1970	Brazil	Italy	4-1	West Germany	Mexico
1974	West Germany	Holland	2-1	Poland	West Germany
1978	Argentina	Holland	3-1 (ot)	Brazil	Argentina
1982	Italy	West Germany	3-1	Poland	Spain
1986	Argentina	West Germany	3-2	France	Mexico
1990	West Germany	Argentina	1-0	Italy	Italy
1994	Brazil	Italy	0-0 (3:2 pk)	Sweden	United States
1998	France	Brazil	3-0	Croatia	France
2002	Brazil	Germany	2-0	Turkey	Korea / Japan
2006	Italy	France	1-1 (5-4 pk)	Germany	Germany

Team Records
Brazil holds the most World Cup championships with five, Italy is in second with four titles and West Germany/Germany holds third with three World Cup titles. Hungary has tallied the most goals in a single World Cup when they scored 27 in 1954. In the 1954 World Cup Austria beat Switzerland 7-5 for the most goals (12) combined in a World Cup match. Hungary beat El Salvador in 1982, 10-1 for the highest goal differential in a World Cup match (Hungary is also the only team to score 10 or more goals in a World Cup).

Individual Records
Ronaldo is the top scorer in World Cup history with 15 goals, and he is followed by Gerard Muller with 14. Salenko of Russia scored 5 goals in a match during the 1994 World Cup. Bert Patenaude of the US was the first player to ever record a hat trick (1930 World Cup). Hakan Sukur of Turkey scored the fastest goal in World Cup history in 2002 when he scored 11 seconds into the match against South Korea. Lothar Matthaus of Germany / West Germany has the most appearances by a player in the World Cup with 25. Norman Whiteside of Northern Ireland was the youngest player (17 years old) to ever step on the field in World Cup (1982). Pelé of Brazil was also the youngest player to score in a World Cup (1958) match. Pelé also was the youngest player to ever win a World Cup (1958). Roger Milla of Cameroon was the oldest (42 years, 39 days) player to play in a World Cup (1994). Milla also scored a goal in that match against Russia. The first player to ever be ejected from a World Cup match was Galindo of Peru in 1930.

World Cup Records
The 1994 World Cup held in the United States had the highest average attendance with over 68,990 for each match. The 1950 World Cup Final (Uruguay vs. Brazil) had over 174,000 spectators for the largest number of spectators to watch a single game. While this match did determine the winner of the World Cup that year, it was not a "true final", as there was a second round of group play and the top placed team, Uruguay, was the cup winner! The 1970 World Cup Final at Azteca Stadium in Mexico City had the highest Final attendance with 107,412 spectators attending the game. The 1954 World Cup held in Switzerland holds the highest average for goals per game 5.38 (140 goals in 26 matches).

messi wins

2009-08-28T04:00:00.000-07:00

Lionel Messi Wins European Club Footballer Of The Year Award
The Argentine has been named as the continent's best.Allen Ramsey
Aug 27, 2009 12:58:27 PM

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Lionel Messi, Barcelona-Manchester United (MARCA)
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The European Club Footballer of the Year award ran parallel to the draw for the Champions League group stages, which you can discover here.Lionel Messi is officially the best player in Europe, according to UEFA, who today named him as both the overall winner of the European Club Footballer of the Year award and as the European Club Forward of the Year for his exploits when his club, Barcelona, swept all before them.The overall prize saw Messi shortlisted alongside the other three positional winners, who are revealed below, before he received the grand award.The shortlists, as well as the final winners, were selected by sixteen of Europe's top coaches, namely those who led their sides to the First Knockout Round of last year's competition.As expected, FC Barcelona dominated the nominations and ended up scooping two of the possible five accolades, while English sides such as Manchester United and Chelsea - not to mention Liverpool - were not far behind. Every single nominee came from one of these four clubs.Here we offer a full examination of each winner, as well as a look at the players each one defeated to earn their prize (or, in the case of Messi, prizes.)
EUROPEAN CLUB FOOTBALLER OF THE YEARWinner: Lionel MessiShortlisted: Edwin van der Sar, John Terry, Xavi
After the four awards below were given out, the respective winners gathered to hear which player out of these four cardinal positions was judged to be Europe's best.In the end, and to the surprise of few, Messi garnered the award.The young Argentine was asked to select his crowning moment from a memorable year, but in particularly bashful fashion he offered this response:"It's really difficult to pick just one. It was an unbelievable year which gave me so much happiness and success."
EUROPEAN CLUB FORWARD OF THE YEARWinner: Lionel MessiShortlisted: Samuel Eto'o, Cristiano Ronaldo
The Argentine was up against some stiff competition for the best forward prize, in the shape of Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo, who reached the final of the Champions League and won the Premier League with Manchester United, and his own former team-mate Samuel Eto'o, now in Italy at Inter.All told, Messi hit nine Champions League goals last season, making him the most prolific player in the contest. He also provided five decisive assists for teammates.
EUROPEAN CLUB MIDFIELDER OF THE YEARWinner: XaviShortlisted: Andres Iniesta, Steven Gerrard
Barcelona midfielder Xavi Hernandez was also confirmed as UEFA's club midfielder of the year at today's Champions League draw in Moncao, having beaten off competition from club colleague Andres Iniesta and Liverpool's talismanic skipper Steven Gerrard.The Spaniard was a part of the smooth-passing, aesthetically pleasing Blaugrana side who attracted plenty of praise from neutrals as they collected an astonishing treble of trophies, with their European win supplementing victories in the Copa del Rey and La Liga.
EUROPEAN CLUB DEFENDER OF THE YEARWinner: John TerryShortlisted: Gerard Pique, Nemanja Vidic
Chelsea defender John Terry was earlier named as UEFA's club defender of the year, having emerged as the best from a trio of top contenders which was completed by Manchester United's Nemanja Vidic and Barcelona's Gerard Pique.The lion-hearted Englishman was superb last season as the Blues won the FA Cup, once again showing all the leadership and commitment of a player who has now picked up this award three times."I think just to train hard every day, that's something I try and do myself," he revealed. "Especially for myself, not to get my hands on that trophy (the Champions League) is enough motivation for me. And that's something I'm aiming to do, to lift that trophy with Chelsea Football Club."
EUROPEAN CLUB GOALKEEPER OF THE YEARWinner: Edwin van der SarShortlisted: Victor Valdes, Petr Cech
Edwin van der Sar was today confirmed as UEFA's official club goalkeeper of the year, having been named as the continent's top glovesman ahead of the draw for the Champions League today in Monaco.The Manchester United keeper fought off a challenge from Chelsea's Petr Cech, the winner of the award last year, and Barcelona's Victor Valdes, who of course won a treble with the Catalans last season.Van der Sar enjoyed something of a renaissance last season, defying the critics who felt that he was too old at 38 to keep his place at Old Trafford to set a clutch of clean sheet records.

Life is about choice,do it right!!!

2009-07-18T10:15:00.000-07:00

A young man,who just graduated from the university was so lucky,so lucky that his first search for a job earn him his heart desire,The company gave him a car, house and a blossom salary but this cmpany has a unique policy or we should perhaps,call it motto which is "Miss work lose job" meaning ,if a worker under this company miss a day in the office or work rather,with or without,(sometimes with) a genuine excuse, the worker loses his/her job."What a policy"
One day, this young man receive a phone call that his mother, the only family he had left in this world,the one who laboured to make sure his dreams come true(with the help of God) was ill and will like to see him.....what a puzzle this will be ! The only thing that could flash through his mind at that very moment was the copanys'policy"Miss work lose job".But this young man must make a choice ........
What will you do, if you are in this type of situation?

Life is all about choice, making decision(right or wrong),The kind of life we live eveyday show the type of decision/choice we make..Everyone makes choice based on desire,choice to become great or less,the choice to do things that will change this generation/life positively or negatively...........

"Success comes as a result of choice/decision we make and failure also comes as a result of these choice/decisions we make"-sulaimon ayo

"What a joy it will be to make a right choice in life, the bible says :What a joy it si to find just a right word for a right occasion (pr15:23)

All human knows the difference between good or bad, we all know what is right or wrong, we only try to dulge it because of our selfish reason and sometimes due to lack of information(ignorance)

Do it right, make it right,whatever decision you want to make in life think twice and make a right choice..............

Seek knowledge and get information because lack of information causes deformation and deformation is responsible for wrong decision/choices,it also make it live in the shadow of what appear to be right...........Stupid people are happy with their foolishness but the wise will do what is right(pr15:21)-GSAF

NB: Nobody can destroy you without your permission,get all the advice you can and you will succeed,without it you will fail(pr15:22)......So in order to succeed and not fail,make a right choice; Life is about choice, do it right.............................................

Thanks
SULAIMON AYODEJI