The Pursuit of Victory

2012 OSA World Juggle-a-thon

2012-04-25T13:03:00.002-04:00

1. Download a Pledge Sheet. Mark your calendar to juggle on April 25, 2012 at 6pm your standard time.

2. Start fundraising by collecting pledges, flat donations and recording them on your pledge sheet. For fundraising ideas and tips please visit the Fundraising page.

3. Next, start practicing your juggling and set a juggling goal and a fundraising goal. For juggling tips please visit the Juggling Tips page or sign up for OnlineSoccerAcademy.com.

4. Contact your friends, team and soccer club and encourage them to join you in your mission to Juggle to get Better, Juggle to Save lives. Get creative and talk about throwing an OSA World Juggle-a-thon party.

5. Use the Facebook fan page and easily share it with your Facebook soccer friends so they can also participate.

6. On April 25 juggle to get your record at 6pm your standard time by yourself, with your friends, team or club. Then collect your funds raised, mail them in with your pledge sheet and we will mail you back your official OSA World Juggle-a-thon Skillzys® tag and any incentive level prizes you earned.

Genoa vs Siena Suspended for 45 min

2012-04-22T16:45:00.001-04:00

Things got a bit ugly when Genoa went down 4-0 to Siena.

Genoa president Enrico Preziosi:

"I'm sorry that 60 or 100 people can say and do as they want with impunity without us having the ability to control them and send them home, They cannot take over the stadium and enforce their law. These people should go to jail, they are the evil of Genoa."

"I do not fear them. I hope we get a ban from playing at home, so we have to play away and get a bit of calm."

President of the Italian Football Federation Giancarlo Abete: "The events in Genoa are a very ugly incident which takes us backward and we must react."

Source: ESPN

Goal of the Week: CR7 vs Barca

2012-04-22T12:33:00.004-04:00

Barcelona vs Real Madrid 1-2
Cristiano Ronaldo 73'

Soccergate

2012-04-05T15:46:00.001-04:00

When we hear of a politician misusing taxpayer money we tend to think that it was used on a limo, a nice dinner at a expensive restaurant, or a vacation. Well, North Miami Mayor Andre Pierre misused tax payer money in order to play soccer. Pierre and his friends used a city-owned soccer stadium more that 100 times and didn't pay a single dime. According to NBC Miami the fees that he failed to pay to use the facility add up to $40,000. In order to play in the stadium schools, charities, and small businesses would need to pay more than $1,000 per game. Alonzo Mourning High School students sell candy bars to help pay the fees. The candy bars are sold for 50 cents, meaning that over 80,000 candy bars would need to be sold in order to pay for Pierre's use of the field.

Pierre's actions are against a city resolution which says that no one is exempt from paying unless it's a charity. In additions, charities are allowed just one exemption a year. To make things even better, the resolution was signed by Pierre. "It's almost a conspiracy, racketeering," said former North Miami mayor Kevin Burns.

Source: NBCMiami

Gold Coast United will not play in 2012/13

2012-04-04T21:24:00.000-04:00

The FFA has announced that Gold Coast United will not play in the Hyundai A-League 2012/13 season.

FFA statement on Gold Coast United:

FFA has made the assessment that the a level of public and corporate support on the Gold Coast for an A-League team falls below the minimum requirements for a professional club.

In addition, a viable business plan and adequate capital investment have not materialised over the past six weeks since the termination of the license held by Gold Coast United Pty Ltd on 29 February.

“FFA is bitterly disappointed that Gold Coast United Pty Ltd failed to develop a market for football on the Gold Coast over the past three seasons,” said FFA CEO Ben Buckley.

“Today’s decision to exit can be directly attributed to Gold Coast United Pty Ltd’s lack of community engagement and its inability to build a football culture around the club.

“We acknowledge the hard work and commitment over the past six weeks by Football Queensland, Gold Coast Football Association, the Gold Coast players and coach Mike Mulvey. The team showed great professionalism and pride in performance in the way they completed the season.

“FFA’s mandate is to govern for the good of the game and this decision is the only responsible course to take in ensuring we have a sustainable Hyundai A-League.”

The potential for a National Youth League team to remain on the Gold Coast is currently under discussion with Football Queensland.

Goal of the Week: Kaka vs APOEL Nicosia

2012-04-04T20:19:00.000-04:00

Kaka
Real Madrid vs APOEL Nicosia

Bari Match Fixing Scandal

2012-04-03T20:50:00.001-04:00

photo by Papesatan

At the end of the 2010/11 season Bari were on their to relegation to Serie B. Scared that they would not get paid, a few of the players decided to help a Balkan betting syndicate, known as The Gypsies, fix the outcome of games. One of those players was defender Andrea Masiello, who played for Atalanta until January this season. Masiello was paid €50,000 for scoring an own goal against Lecce last season.

Masiello was arrested yesterday. Eight other Bari players are also being investigated. Bari's sporting director Guido Angelozzi said the club had nothing to do with any manipulation of the result, and told SkyTG24 that they "thought it was a normal match."

Oh, The Horror: Ronaldinho Miss

2012-04-03T20:17:00.002-04:00

Flamengo vs Bangu. Ronaldinho misses from 10 yards out. It happens to the best of us.

R.I.P. Giorgio Chinaglia

2012-04-01T14:45:00.001-04:00

Former Lazio and NY Cosmos Striker Giorgio Chinaglia passed away this morning. He had recently been hospitalized with cardiac problems. Giorgio scored 193 goals in 213 appearances with the Cosmos from 1976–1983. In 2000 he was inducted into the U.S.A. National Soccer Hall of Fame. A little known fact about him is that he began his career with Swansea in 1964. He played only 6 games. scoring one goal. He would go on to play with Massese and Internapoli before joining Lazio in 1969.

When I think of Giorgio I think of this:

Pele: "You shoot from no fucking angle!"

Chinaglia: "If Chinaglia shoots from that angle, it is because Chinaglia can score from that angle!"

Now that is swagger.

Hat Trick for Monsieur Henry

2012-03-31T21:06:00.000-04:00

Thierry Henry scores a hat trick against the Montreal Impact. That's 5 goals in the past 2 games.

Thierry Henry - Legend

2012-03-29T20:36:00.002-04:00

Two summers ago the Fort Lauderdale Strikers played the NY Red Bulls in a preseason friendly. The game was open to the public and was free. 2,000 people had the unbelievable opportunity to watch Thierry Henry for free. I went to the Chivas vs Barca game this past summer during the World Football Challenge and Thierry Henry is still the best player I have ever watched play live. I should point out that Messi didn't play in the World Football Challenge, and if he had played that feeling may have been different.

Thierry Henry is the definition of class.

Supporters react to Al-Masry ban

2012-03-27T21:48:00.001-04:00

Last month 74 people were killed and thousands injured when supporters of Al-Masry and Al-Ahly S.C rushed the field. As a result of the Port Said stadium disaster, Al-Masry has been banned for two years by the Egyptian Football Association. "We are devastated - and really furious," Al-Ahly board memeber Khaled Mortagy told BBC Sport, "We believe this has nothing to do with justice, when you have 74 fans getting killed at a home game of this club, and yet these are the sanctions that are taken - just a one-year ban from playing. Because, theoretically, this season is finished, so when they say it's two years, it's actually just one." In addition to the two-year ban, Al-Masry will also be banned from playing at Port Said Stadium for three years. Last week 75 people were charged with murder or negligence.

Al-Masry supporters were not too happy with the decision made by the Egyptian FA. About 65 people have been injured in clashes with police during rioting in the city of Port Said. According to Reuters "Fifteen suspects were arrested during the clashes that took place between the army and protesters in front of the Suez Canal Authority building in Port Said,"

Balotelli Crashes New Manager Unveiling

2012-03-27T18:13:00.000-04:00

Claudio Ranieri was sacked as manager of Inter Milan yesterday and today during the formal unveiling of their new manager, Andrea Stramaccioni, they get a little surprise. That surprise was former Inter, and current Man City player, Mario Balotelli. According to the BBC, Balotelli drove a ferrari to meet up with his former teammates at Inter's training grounds. It's just Balotelli being Balotelli.

Celtic may join English League One

2012-03-25T20:43:00.009-04:00

photo by Ronnie Macdonald

There a secret talks going on that could end with Celtic leaving the Scottish Premier League and joining nPower League One in the English Football system. According to People.co.uk, Celtic have been in talks with the Premier League and Football League in order to make this happen. This is nothing new, but with the on going financial struggles the SPL is going through this may be something that is necessary for the club to survive.

People.co.uk report that Celtic are desperately looking for a solution and are willing to enter at a lower level. I find that hard to believe. One thing that is true is that if celtic were to enter the English System at League One it will bring instant attention to the league. It would be awesome to one day have a Premier League with Celtic and maybe even Rangers. There is no way any other league in the world could claim to be the best, in my opinion.

UEFA would of course have to approve such a move. This shouldn't be a problem since UEFA has reportedly considered creating a Champions League that would include teams from outside of Europe. One of those teams that would reportedly be invited to join is the NY Cosmos. Since Celtic play in Europe, there shouldn't be a problem.

According to the Independent, Football League chairman Greg Clarke has reportedly ruled out the chance of Celtic joining. "We have absolutely no intention of having any discussions with any club from another national league regarding membership of our competition." Clarke said, "This would be highly disrespectful to the Scottish FA and Scottish Premier League and will not be countenanced by the Football League."

Colin Clark verbally abuses Ballboy

2012-03-25T18:45:00.005-04:00

I truly don't understand why Colin Clark needed to abuse the ball boy during Houston's game against Seattle. Yes, maybe the ball boy wasn't doing his job but he's still a ball boy. To make things worse the whole thing happened literally in front of a microphone.

Colin apologized on Twitter after the game: "I'd like to offer a sincere apology to everyone who watched the game, especially the ball boy for whom I used awful language towards. I didn't mean to disrespect anyone and am sorry for letting my emotions get the best of me. It's not who I am and it won't happen again."

MLS statement on Saturday: "We are aware of the incident involving Houston Dynamo midfielder Colin Clark during the game in Seattle Friday night, and his public apology for it," the league said in a statement. "MLS is conducting a thorough review of the facts and examining possible disciplinary action."

TRS: Super Mario Balotelli

2012-03-25T01:05:00.002-04:00

Buy "Super Mario" HERE

The Reserve Squad is back with a new line of shirts. The first in the Spring/Summer 2012 Series is "Super Mario". Check out TheReserveSquad.com and follow him on Twitter @ReserveSquad

Goal of the Week: Peter Crouch vs City

2012-03-24T23:12:00.000-04:00

Peter Crouch
Stoke City vs Manchester City

Eden Hazard: EPL's Most Wanted Player

2012-03-23T16:39:00.001-04:00

by Tushar Sundrani, writing from Mumbai, India

All of the big six premier league clubs have been paying close attention to Lille Star Eden Hazard for the last couple of months. Eden Hazard has also expressed his desire to play in the Premier league. Before the game against West Bromwich Albion Sir Alex Ferguson was spotted in the Lille stands watching Eden hazard in action as Lille played Lyon. Manchester United requires a creative midfielder very badly and Eden Hazard is perfect as he not only creates goals but he scores them too. When asked about whether he’ll be interested in moving to the Old Trafford club, the 21 years old Belgium international said, "Of course [United interest me], this is a club that excites everyone, but for now my focus is on Lille. But yes, it is a pleasure to be watched by one of the best coaches in the world, if not the best."

Spurs are also very interested in acquiring the services of Eden Hazard and Hazard may prefer Spurs as he wants to join a club where he will be guaranteed a regular starting place. Harry Redknapp is adamant that Spurs can compete with the likes of Manchester United and Manchester City to sign the Lille star. He said, “I know Manchester United are also following him very closely. Manchester City too, so it will be difficult to sign him but our owner is ready to pay for an exceptional talent like Eden Hazard”

Roberto Mancini too was spotted watching Hazard from the Lille Stands. Hazard when asked whether he was aware that Roberto Mancini was watching him he responded by saying, "I was aware that Roberto Mancini was there. The manager (Rudi Garcia) told me. I wasn't thinking about it. I was trying to play to the best of my abilities. We'll see later. I'm concentrating on Lille this season."

Eden Hazard transfer saga promises to be a fascinating one this summer, with a lot of clubs competing for his signature.

Real Madrid Resort Island

2012-03-22T14:29:00.004-04:00

Take that Barcelona! Madrid has their own private island! Well, they will by January 2015.

Club President Florentino Perez: “It is a decisive and strategic step that will strengthen our institution in the Middle East and Asia,”

Who: Real Madrid, RAK Marjan Island Football Investment Fund, and the government of the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah.

Size: 4.6 million square feet.

Cost: $1 billion.

Resort will include: Sports facilities, A marina with Yacht Club, 5-Star Luxury Hotels and Villas, an Amusement Park, a Real Madrid museum, and a 10,000-seat stadium that will have one side open to the sea.

The resort with have have Hologram Football shows. I don't know what that means, but it sounds cool. I'd prefer a real Football show, though.

Location: United Arab Emirates - more than half of their estimated 300 million followers are based in Asia.

The location was picked for strategic reasons. There are 2 Billion consumers will be 4-hours away by plane. All of Europe, Asian, and Africa will be 8-hours away by plane. 50 million consumers are 1-hour away by car.

The resort is expected to attract over 1 million visitors in the first year alone.

Your move, Barca.

El Clásico in Slow Motion

2012-03-21T15:17:00.000-04:00

Real Madrid vs Barcelona (Slow Motion HD 1080p) - El Clásico

Pray for Muamba

2012-03-21T09:50:00.002-04:00

by Crystian Cruz

by Hiten Mandalia, writing from West London

It was the 41st minute at White Hart Lane. The FA Cup tie between Tottenham and Bolton was 1-1. Suddenly, Fabrice Muamba collapses to the ground. There were no players around him, there wasn’t a tackle on him, but he just collapsed to the ground.

When the medical staff from both teams rushed to the pitch, it was evident it was something serious. They spent a good ten minutes on the pitch, trying to turn him over onto his back and they tried their best to resuscitate him. It was something so serious, that the distress on the face of the players was emotional. The fans from both teams showed their support by chanting Fabrice Muamba’s name and they clapped him off when the medical tea, took him to the ambulance.

This wasn’t about football anymore. This was about a young man’s life that could be taken away from him. The emotions from the crowd were clearly evident. People were crying, prayed that he would get better soon, they were in hope rather than agony, but most of all, everyone hoped that he would pull through.

This made headlines in the footballing world, and it was supported when Real Madrid wore t-shirts in their game against Malaga that said ‘Get better soon Muamba’. They were also wearing t-shits that prayed for Eric Abidal to recover, as he was undergoing treatment too.

Muamba’s heart had stopped for two hours, but thankfully, his heart had started pumping by itself. In the last few hours, it has been confirmed by doctors that he can move his legs and arms freely, and just recently, he is able to speak to friends and family without any assistance. He’s slowly getting better, but still remains in a critical state.

There have been similar incidents that have occurred in the past. Most noticeably, it had happened to Marc Vivien Foe, who had collapsed during a football match, and died, on the pitch. It’s moments like these when it hits you, that there are more important things to life than just football.

Whether you’re a football fan or not, this is a striking and emotional matter that suggests that you never know what’s round the corner. Yes, Muamba is on the road to recovery, but anything can happen to anyone at anytime, no matter how young or old a person is.

May you recover as soon as possible Muamba and all our thoughts are with your family and friends.

Ribery & Kroos play ''Rock Paper Scissor"

2012-03-18T23:40:00.001-04:00

Frank Ribery and Toni Kroos couldn't decide on who would take the free kick, so they handles the it the way they we all did when we were in elementary school: rock paper scissors.

Athens derby abandoned

2012-03-18T23:27:00.000-04:00

Athens derby between Panathinaikos and Olympiakos was abandoned due to crowd violence. Scary stuff.

Panathinaikos captain Kostas Katsouranis: “That was not football, certainly it’s one of the worst moments in Greek football and I don’t even want to comment on the game. As a team we will just try to get on with the next matches and fight for a place in the Champions League qualifiers.”

Take A Bow, Son: Vittorio Esposito

2012-03-18T23:14:00.005-04:00

Video Description:

March 16th, 2012 The Coppa Italia Dilettanti, otherwise known as the Italian Amateur Cup, matched up Torres (the club famed for launching the career of one Gianfranco Zola) against US Termoli, and both legs of the tie were were treated to some breathtaking moments.

Last week we brought you Fabio Cifani's outstanding 50-yard golazo for Termoli in the first-leg 2-2 draw, whilst the second-leg produced one of the great fair play incidents of the year.

With Termoli leading 1-nothing (3-2 on aggregate), the hosts were awarded a 90th minute penalty when striker Vittorio Esposito went down in the box despite a lack of contact from a Torres defender. Furious protests from the Torres team came to nothing as the referee refused to budge from his decision. But there was a twist.

Clearly suffering under the weight of guilt from winning a penalty that never was, Vittorio Esposito took matters into his own hands by purposefully fluffing the spot-kick. The gesture was warmly received by Torres (who nevertheless were dumped out the cup) and has since turned Esposito into something of a cult hero.

Vittorio Esposito = Class

Things like this make the beautiful game even more beautiful. This is the kind of stuff people need to see. Football/Soccer is not just about a bunch of guys throwing their bodies to the ground, pretending to be hurt.

I have a lot of respect for you, Vittorio Esposito.

Supporters Protest Turkish FA Banning of Flares

2012-03-18T15:23:00.001-04:00

Eskişehirspor supporters protest the banning of flares. Epic Troll.