World Cup 2010 Blog: “World Cup 2018/22’s Latest Playground: Moscow.” plus 7 more |  |
- World Cup 2018/22’s Latest Playground: Moscow.
- Schweini: Good, But Still Wants To Be Lamps
- Something About Enrique Iglesias & A Nude World Cup Bet.
- Del Bosque: Messi Should’ve Won Golden Ball
- FIFA’s World Cup All-Star Team
- Soccer Goes Mainstream as Team USA Wins ESPY for Best Moment
- Argentina to Offer Diego Maradona Four More Years
- The World Cup Final in Lego
| World Cup 2018/22’s Latest Playground: Moscow. Posted: 15 Jul 2010 05:10 PM PDT In 140 days, two bids will be given the task of assembling the world’s biggest traveling circus, one in 2018 and another in 2022. One of the greatest beneficiaries in the process is us, of course – the fans. As the movers and handshakers worry about the details, we’re being thumped on the head with futuristic playgrounds conceptualized in a architectural race for design supremacy and, hopefully, a World Cup. Perfect example: Qatar’s double bid we featured not long ago. Russia and Dynamo Moscow have joined the race, blueprinting up an insane new stadium – a complex, really – which will be built regardless of their success with the bid. Season tickets line starts behind me. [Specs]
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| Schweini: Good, But Still Wants To Be Lamps Posted: 15 Jul 2010 04:00 PM PDT Fresh after a full World Cup tilt – 7 games – Bastian was spotted in a Munich park doing what he does best: playing football. Only he wasn’t wearing some ratty tee, but rather Frank Lampard’s game worn shirt he snagged after their knockout victory, like he’s some little kid paying homage to his idol. And this will easily be the coolest photo you see today. Unless you have different standards, in which case this is the least cool photo you’re likely to find on Bild’s front page. (Bild, as ever, is NSFW.)
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| Something About Enrique Iglesias & A Nude World Cup Bet. Posted: 15 Jul 2010 02:41 PM PDT
There are bets and then there are bets. Of course, then there are offhand remarks which probably shouldn’t be said when speaking in the public arena. So if you’re famous and prone to making outrageous declarations on air, at least do so while rooting for a team with no chance to win. Spaniard Enrique Iglesias promised to jet ski drunk and nude if Spain won the World Cup. You know the rest of the story. (Cue fangirl swooning.)
And suddenly there isn’t a tree limb unoccupied in or around Biscayne Bay. Undoubtedly it will happen at 3am under a sudden and inexplicable electrical grid failure, but props nonetheless for promising to go through with it. Now go root for Andorra.
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| Del Bosque: Messi Should’ve Won Golden Ball Posted: 15 Jul 2010 11:40 AM PDT There are those that feel Lionel Messi was a disappointment in South Africa. There are those who feel he was good, but not great. And there are those who feel he was simply the best player at the tournament. Toss Vicente Del Bosque into that latter category, because if he was in charge he’d be snatching the Golden Ball from Diego Forlan and handing it over to little Lionel, whose trophy cabinet is probably feeling unloved after a month without a trinket.
For four games, Lionel was a cut above the rest. He was simply unstoppable until it came to the goal mouth, where keepers were suddenly finding an inner Lev Yashin and deflecting all that crossed their path. And then he met Germany, an excellent team with an excellent coach and excellent tactics, who shut down Diego Maradona. Golden Ball material? That’s another story altogether, but who are we to argue with the man who just won a World Cup?
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| FIFA’s World Cup All-Star Team Posted: 15 Jul 2010 10:40 AM PDT
There’s only one XI that goes in the history books though, and that’s the FIFA one. The FIFA World Cup All-Star Team was decided by the votes of FIFA.com Club members (that’s folks who’ve signed up at the FIFA website) and the results were announced today. So, as voted for by fans, the World Cup All-Star Team is as follows:
That’s six members of the Spain team, and only one player – Brazil’s Maicon – who didn’t make the semi-finals. The teams also features three right backs and no left back. Obviously it’s not worth being too pedantic about an All-Star team, but I think this shows that maybe an XI can’t really be selected via a fan vote. At least not unless there’s a separate vote for specific positions, like left back, that would otherwise be overlooked. Because now when future generations look back at World Cup 2010, they could easily assumethere were no decent left backs present, which is a shame for players like Uruguay’s Jorge Fucile and Portugal’s Fábio Coentrão. I think I’d much rather see the Best XI as selected by FIFA’s famed Technical Study Group.
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| Soccer Goes Mainstream as Team USA Wins ESPY for Best Moment Posted: 15 Jul 2010 09:10 AM PDT That headline might be overstating things, but not by much. The ESPY Awards were created by American sports broadcaster ESPN in 1993. A little like the Oscars, if everyone was a lot more relaxed. Various sporing achievements from the year are honoured, with more than a little ESPN self-promotion thrown in. The important thing is that they’re very much mainstream and popular. Expert panels pick the nominees, and then fans vote for a winner. The “Best Moment” category – as in the best sporting moment of the past year, as decided by the American general public – was contested by the New Orleans Saints Superbowl victory, Phil Mickelson winning the Masters amid much emotion, Joannie Rochette performing at the Olympics after a personal tragedy, and Landon Donovan’s dramatic late goal against Algeria that kept the team in the World Cup. Somewhat surprisingly, American sports fans voted for the US soccer team beating Algeria 1-0 as their “Best Moment” of the last twelve months. I know this doesn’t mean soccer is suddenly more popular than the NFL or golf. I know that the US beating Algeria benefitted from being by far the most recent and therefore fresh in the memory of all the moments nominated. And I know that a few people probably thought Carlos Bocanegra was Landon Donovan when he stepped up to the mic. But at the very least this is the sport of soccer taking another step towards the limelight in American popular culture. Unfortunately, it won’t get the chance to stay there, since the next World Cup is a whole four years away. But Thierry Henry’s arrival at New York Red Bulls is yet another sign of progress. Check in with Dave at Red Bulls Offside for updates on today’s TH14 press conference.
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| Argentina to Offer Diego Maradona Four More Years Posted: 15 Jul 2010 08:20 AM PDT
Personally, I think this is brilliant news. I enjoyed Maradona at World Cup 2010, not just for his comedy moments (see above) but for his dedication to attacking football and the manic passion he brings to the touchline. No other coach in the world hugs his payers like El Diego does. The man may need some tactical help (I hear Jogi Loew’s still laughing) and there may be many Argentina fans who want Maradona gone. But for the sheer excitement of it all, I’d love to see Maradona re-sign and coach Argentina at Copa America 2011 (which they’ll host) and World Cup 2014 in Brazil. - Read more about la albiceleste at the Argentina blog.
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| Posted: 15 Jul 2010 07:12 AM PDT The game recreations at Lego Fussball have been one of the small joys of World Cup 2010. Of course they did one of the final, so if you want to see Spain 1-0 Netherlands, complete with Lego Mark van Bommel slide tackles and Lego Nigel de Jong delivering a Lego kick to the Lego chest of Lego Xabi Alonso, then click play above. For more football and Lego fun, have a look at our 2008 Offside post When Lego Meets Soccer, featuring famous stadiums made from the little plastic bricks.
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