worldcupsoccereuro

World Cup Soccer

2006-05-10T22:45:14+02:00

As seen in Wikipedia:

The FIFA World Cup (often called the Football World Cup, Soccer World Cup or simply the World Cup) is the most important competition in international football, and the world's most representative team sport event. Organised by Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport's governing body, the World Cup is contested by the men's national football teams of FIFA member nations. The championship has been awarded every four years since the first tournament in 1930 (except in 1942 and 1946 due to World War II), however, it is more of an ongoing event as the qualifying rounds of the competition take place over the three years preceding the final rounds.

The final tournament phase (often called the "Finals") involves 32 national teams competing over a four-week period in a previously nominated host nation, with these games making it the most widely-viewed sporting event in the world.^[1] In the 17 tournaments held, only seven nations have ever won the World Cup Finals. Brazil is the current holder, as well as the most successful World Cup team, having won the tournament five times, while Germany and Italy follow with three titles each. The next football World Cup Finals will be held in Germany between June 9 and July 9, 2006.

Australia 'will host' World Cup

2005-11-28T20:22:43+01:00

legend Craig Johnston opened his heart today to end a quarter century of despair and predict a soccer World Cup future for Australia.

In accepting his induction into the Australian Football Federation Hall Of Fame, the 45-year-old said Australia would host the World Cup and possibly also be a winner.

"I've been forgotten, ignored, snubbed and not had any proper recognition until now. I thought it was time to make amends and get involved," Johnston said.

"The world body FIFA loves Australians and its administrators. I told FIFA when Australia was bidding for the 2000 Olympics that we would put on the best Olympics ever.

Politically, it will be very hard but FIFA knows from the past experience of the Olympics and two World Youth finals that if Australia stages the Cup here it will be the best World Cup ever."

"The way we handle sports here is better than anywhere else and I am very confident."

Johnston, who flew to Sydney from the United States to watch the return match against Uruguay, said the skill level of the Australian team was 30 per cent higher than the side he had seen last year.

"It could be the effect of new coach Guus Hiddink who is rated by many as a football genius. But whatever we're doing now is not enough, although the move into Asia will make us better."

"Playing nations like Tonga, The Cook Islands and West Samoa was a drawback but Japan, China and Korea is a step forward."

"Australia had suffered from geographic isolation and rugby league, union and the AFL had captured the minds of the kids. But now with the Socceroos and the A-League we have given them something."

"In previous years there was always a smirk and a giggle when Australian soccer was mentioned but when Terry Venables took over, people don't smirk anymore because they see Australia as a big threat," he said.

Johnston, who described his time at Liverpool as "the worst player in the world's best team" won 13 trophies during his seven years with the English Premier Club.

He also made the shock revelation that he had been approached to manage the Australian team but told the national officials that he preferred a business or advisory role.

"I said no to the offer but also said that I would get them a manager and Terry Venables was the result. That was a big contribution to Australian football."

"My desire is not to manage grown-ups but to mould kids into a better community and better footballers. I'm a passionate and proud Australian living overseas and I've always had this strong wish to give something back to Australia and soccer."

Johnston revealed his Supaskills program now operating in the United States and England had been endorsed by FIFA and leading English authorities.

He said the introduction of the program in England in big cities like London, Birmingham and Glasgow had taken youngsters off the street, reduced crime and obesity and improved discipline.

"My dream is to have more Australian kids playing soccer," he said.

"It's my mission and the future looks very promising but we must work hard. The Socceroos, if they want to win the World Cup, have to remember there's a poorer nation who wants it more."

Chip-enabled ball at 2006 World Cup soccer games?

2005-11-07T18:02:40+01:00

Engineers working on a chip-enabled soccer ball are optimistic about the technology being used at the FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) World Cup soccer tournament in Germany next year.

We've been testing the technology at the main soccer stadium in Nuremberg for some time and more recently in an under-17 FIFA tournament in Peru," said Günter Rohmer, director of performance-optimized systems at the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits in Erlangen, Germany. "The technology has performed well, and we're pretty optimistic that it will be used at the games in Germany next year."

FIFA has shown interest in the technology -- largely to help referees make crucial goal-line calls -- but has yet to make a final decision.

The radio-based tracking system could also be used to determine whether or not a ball has gone out of bounds, to compile statistics about individual players and more, said Rohmer, in an interview at the Systems IT exhibition and conference in Munich.

The chip-enabled soccer ball is being developed by German sportswear manufacturer Adidas-Salomon AG, software company Cairos Technologies AG and the Fraunhofer Institute.

The technology is based on an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit) chip with an integrated transmitter to send data, according to Rohmer. The chip is suspended in the middle of the ball to survive acceleration and hard kicks via a system developed by Adidas. Rohmer was unable to provide information about the Adidas system.

Similar chips, but smaller and flatter, have been designed to insert into players' shin guards, he said.

At the Nuremberg stadium, 12 antennas in light masts and other locations distributed around the arena collect data that is transmitted from the chips. The antennas are linked to a high-speed fiber optic ring, which routes data to a cluster of Linux-based servers.

The chips use the same 2.4GHz unlicensed frequency band used by Wi-Fi systems, according to Rohmer. "In our tests, we have noticed that although no Wi-Fi systems have interfered with our technology, our technology has caused some interference with Wi-Fi systems in isolated cases," Rohmer said. "We are looking at ways to avoid any possible interference because we know that Wi-Fi will be used at the games."

FIFA aims to test the technology later this year at another tournament in Japan before ultimately deciding whether or not to introduce it in all 12 stadiums in Germany selected to host next year's World Cup soccer games.

"Even if the technology is very accurate, it's not perfect -- no technology is," said Rohmer. "Our technology is meant to be an aide. Ultimately, the decision whether or not to call a goal will still be up to the referee."

The Systems event runs through Friday.

Los Angeles Galaxy Take U.S. Open Cup Title on Herculez Gomez Goal

2005-09-30T22:50:16+02:00

The Los Angeles Galaxy won their second ever Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup title at The Home Depot Center on Wednesday night with a 1-0 victory against FC Dallas.

Herculez Gomez put home the game-winner in the 25th minute with a beautifully executed side volley from 12 yards out as Chris Albright broke free of his defender near the touchline on the right side of the area and chipped a cross to the unmarked Gomez.

"Chris Albright played in a pretty great ball," Gomez said. "It was just sitting up there. This is what dreams are made of."

Gomez has a chance to take the scoring title outright and give Los Angeles a 2-0 edge, but hit the left post after he had rounded Scott Garlick after intercepting a bad back pass.The goal for Gomez was his sixth in the 2005 Open Cup, tying for the competitions top scoring honors for the year with Melvin Tarley of the Minnesota Thunder who also had six goals.

Los Angeles controlled most of the game, and at times forced FC Dallas goalkeeper Scott Garlick to keep his team in the game with acrobatic saves, ending up with six on the night.

This is the second Open Cup title for Los Angeles, also winning at home in 2001 at Titan Stadium in Fullerton, Calif. The Galaxy take home the $100,000 prize as champion, while Dallas gets $50,000 as the runner up.

Four teams and one dream

2005-09-30T22:40:49+02:00

The FIFA U-17 World Championship enters its decisive phase this Thursday with two hotly anticipated semi-final encounters. Chiclayo will be the setting for what is sure to be an intriguing and full-blooded showdown between Mexico and the Netherlands, while Trujillo will host an equally enticing duel between Turkey and Brazil. The winners go through to the grand Final on 2 October in Lima, while the vanquished will have to make do with a playoff to see who joins them on the podium in the Peruvian capital. Read on as FIFA.com gives you a taste of what to expect when the reigning world champions and three pretenders to their crown go into battle later today.

Mexico-Netherlands, duel of the debutants in Chiclayo
The Estadio Elías Aguirre will be the setting for today's first semi-final (16:00) between Mexico and the Netherlands, both making their first appearance at the last-four stage of a FIFA U-17 World Championship. The Latin American side booked their spot with an extra-time win over Costa Rica in the quarters, while the Dutch got the better of the USA in regulation time in their last-eight encounter.

Speaking earlier to FIFA.com, the ever cordial Mexico coach Jesús Ramírez was adamant that his side would not be at a disadvantage simply because the Netherlands had wrapped up their quarter-final in 90 minutes: "Playing extra-time has not affected the players. They trained rigorously for this competition and are in great shape physically. The boys are fine. A few of them have minor complaints, but nothing that will stop them from playing."

Naturally, the game will be decided by a lot more than stamina. Chucho, as the coach is known in his homeland, has overseen Mexico's best ever performance in this competition and is confident that breaking new ground will not be a problem for his players, given the "strength and enormous motivation" in the side. "We don't feel pressure because we know we're capable of winning," Ramírez remarked. So just what can we expect when they go head-to-head with the Europeans. "A fascinating duel between two sides of great potential. We'll try and play the best football we can. After that, it will be down to the team that shows the most desire," answers the coach.

As for the Dutch, who are also in uncharted waters in this category, their strategy appears to be to play down the task ahead in order to minimise the pressure on their young players. "The pressure was in the first phase because we were in an extremely tough group. Now that we've come through that, we're proud and delighted. Tension is probably the best word to describe what we're feeling ahead of such a huge game," Ruud Kaiser tells FIFA.com. The loss of his two central defenders to injury and suspension respectively is also a blow to the coach: "Losing Jordy Buijs and Dirk Marcellis was tough, but I came to Peru with 20 players and have the utmost confidence in all of them. Nonetheless, the team will miss their regular captain (Marcellis)," Kaiser adds.

Before sending his young charges out to face Mexico - a team he describes as "a great footballing side without obvious weak points" - Kaiser confides in us what his final rallying cry will be: "I'll tell them the same thing I've told them since our first game: that we've trained two years for this, that I love working with them and that I want it to continue. I'll urge them to keep doing what they have been doing so that we can finish what we've started and lift the World Cup."

Turkey-Brazil, a 'final' in itself
Two of the pre-tournament favourites square off in today's late game in Trujillo (19:00), when the host city will be performing its last act of Peru 2005. In many respects, it is a game worthy of the Final itself, featuring as it does, the meeting of the reigning champions Brazil and the only team with a 100% record in the tournament, Turkey.

Nuri Sahin, who has been the outstanding figure in Abdullah Avci's side, is aware of the challenge awaiting them in the semi-final: "It's not every day you get the chance to play against Brazil, the number one team in world football. We can't wait to take them on. We respect them, of course, but they hold no fear for us," he tells FIFA.com. His coach Avci also insists that Turkey need not fear their rival: "What we need to do is just focus on our strengths and play as we know we can. I can't tell you how many goals you're going to get, but what I can promise is a feast of football. I can also guarantee that, despite the time difference, the whole of Turkey will be glued to their TV screens following our every move."

However, Avci is not convinced that Brazil's extra-time exertions against Korea DPR will work to his side's advantage, saying: "At their age, recovering from an extra 30 minutes should not be too much of a problem."

The last time Brazil and Turkey met in the semi-final of a FIFA competition was at the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan™, with the South American giants holding sway on that occasion. Could this be their chance to exact revenge? "We certainly hope so, as we remember that game only too well. We want to make our mark on history," says Sahin.

Meanwhile, in the world champions' camp, the mood is one of calm confidence as they prepare for what will be their seventh semi-final in the history of the tournament. So much so in fact, that the coaching staff spent almost two hours playing football yesterday against the staff of Brazil's technical commission, much to the enjoyment of the watching players. Coach Nelson Rodrigues explains the staff's motivation: "We take every opportunity to bind the squad even closer together. The atmosphere is one of concentration, but also one of fun and laughter. You have to be united to become champions."

So what can we expect from the big game in Chiclayo? The coach says his side are well aware they will be facing "a great team who have yet to show any weak points". "They deserve our respect, but I'm still confident we will beat them," he tells FIFA.com, while playing down the loss of the injured Renato: "It should not affect us too much as we have a very talented squad of players."

In spite of the over-riding confidence emanating from the Brazilian camp, Rodrigues is conscious that the opposition will be at least as stiff as some of the teams that asked questions of them on the way to the last four. "At no time did I think we would have an easy ride here. We were drawn in the toughest group, but we prepared for it and we came through. We mustn't change our mentality now," the coach insisted.