Wednesday, January 19, 2011

World Cup 2010 Blog: “Paul The Octopus Gets A Shrine” plus 2 more

World Cup 2010 Blog: “Paul The Octopus Gets A Shrine” plus 2 more

Link to International Football News - World Cup Blog

Paul The Octopus Gets A Shrine

Posted: 18 Jan 2011 11:00 AM PST

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Paul the Octopus is, at this point, nothing short of immortal. The octopus that will not die could not die, even if he chose to do so, as there’s simply too much money to be made on an endearing mollusk medium.

The latest in a long line of postmortem reminders that Paul is everything that Vegas fears, just perhaps slightly less slimy: he’s getting a permanent memorial at the aquarium which has hit the jackpot several times over already, hoping to inspire throngs of adoring Spaniards and fried octopus lovers into pilgrimages.

Paul, the German octopus famous for correctly predicting each of Germany’s 2010 World Cup matches, will get his own permanent memorial three months after his death.

The memorial corner will be unveiled Thursday at the Sea Life aquarium in Oberhausen in western Germany, the aquarium said Tuesday.

Dubbed “Paul’s Corner,” the centerpiece of the memorial will be the octopus oracle’s urn. Paul died aged 2-1/2 in October.

We’re can’t be too far away from a Shankly-esque statue outside the headquarters of the Spanish FA.

Deviating to the cinema for a moment, this is reportedly the trailer for the movie Kill Paul Octopus.

If a question mark wouldn’t look like a random typo here, this is where it would go. Did Paul’s doppelganger price itself onto the cutting room floor?


Semifinalists set in the Copa Centroamericana

Posted: 18 Jan 2011 09:16 AM PST

There are entirely too many international tournaments going on at once right now. Between the club seasons and all of these tournaments, fans have an embarrassment of riches at the moment. We have the Asian Cup, the South American U-20s, and in Central America, the old UNCAF Nations Cup (now called the Copa Centroamericana) is also in full swing. In fact, after today's matches, the semifinalists are set, as is an unusually significant fifth-place match.

If you're a football fan looking to put more than your opinion on the line on one or more of the tournaments going on right now, you could do your sports betting at BetUS. The more obscure tournaments can give great odds, and successfully picking Guatemala over Nicaragua (or vice versa) earns its own special brand of fan credibility.

Those are the two teams contesting the fifth place match, which is exactly the kind of match most tournaments don't even have. But this one has it for a very good reason. The top five teams from the Copa Centroamericana earn spots in this year's CONCACAF Gold Cup in the United States, and therefore, a shot (small as it may be) to represent North and Central America at the 2013 Confederations Cup.

The four teams that we know are through to the Gold Cup are Honduras, El Salvador, Panama and Costa Rica. El Salvador is one match away from their best ever performance in the tournament, having finished third four times but never making it to a final. They have been powered by a shock performance from Rafael Burgos, who has three goals in El Salvador's opening two matches, and now sits at a total of four goals in five appearances for his country.


This post was brought to you by BetUS


Nike Launches French Revolution

Posted: 18 Jan 2011 08:35 AM PST

It’s difficult to remember a kit launch with as much anticipation as Nike’s French revolution, but that may be down to the simple fact that France was donning adidas when they stormed the Bastille.

Wait no longer. Nike’s first French kit, complete with poetic ad campaign, has been unchained.

And Laurent Blanc thinks it’s beautiful but terrible.

The kit:

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Blanc:

“I find that the completely blue jersey is beautiful but a bit Italian,” said Blanc after US sports apparel giants Nike unveiled the new kit in Paris.

“We know that the French are very attached to the blue-white-red. I made this remark but there’s a clever thing on the sleeve that you can lift up and that’s red inside.

“Afterwards it’s a question of consistency and uniformity. It will be up to the players to decide if we lift up the sleeves or not.

“In any case when we play in blue we’ll have white shorts and red socks so the blue-white-red will be visible.”

The potential for a schism in the locker room over turning up the sleeves/not turning up the sleeves leaves the possibility of another World Cup 2010-esque meltdown looming.

Maybe Blanc’s right. Maybe it was designed by Nike’s Italian branch.


Tuesday, January 18, 2011

World Cup 2010 Blog: “South American Youth Championship Fixtures” plus 1 more

World Cup 2010 Blog: “South American Youth Championship Fixtures” plus 1 more

Link to International Football News - World Cup Blog

South American Youth Championship Fixtures

Posted: 18 Jan 2011 12:53 AM PST

The following are the fixtures and results for the 2011 South American Youth Championships, currently being held in Peru. The first group stage began on January 16th, and will last until the 28th, when the top three teams from each group will advance to the final group stage. No knockouts in this one. The top four finishing teams qualify for the U-20 World Cup, and the top two book trips to the 2012 Olympics.

Group A
16 Jan 2011: Argentina 2-1 Uruguay
16 Jan 2011: Peru 0-2 Chile
19 Jan 2011: Peru vs. Argentina
19 Jan 2011: Venezuela vs. Uruguay
22 Jan 2011: Argentina vs. Venezuela
22 Jan 2011: Chile vs. Uruguay
24 Jan 2011: Chile vs. Argentina
24 Jan 2011: Peru vs. Venezuela
27 Jan 2011: Chile vs. Venezuela
27 Jan 2011: Peru vs. Uruguay

Group B
17 Jan 2011: Colombia 1-1 Ecuador
17 Jan 2011: Brazil 4-2 Paraguay
20 Jan 2011: Bolivia vs. Paraguay
20 Jan 2011: Colombia vs. Brazil
23 Jan 2011: Brazil vs. Bolivia
23 Jan 2011: Ecuador vs. Paraguay
25 Jan 2011: Colombia vs. Bolivia
25 Jan 2011: Ecuador vs. Brazil
28 Jan 2011: Ecuador vs. Bolivia
28 Jan 2011: Colombia vs. Paraguay

The top three in each group move on to the final group stage:

Final Group Stage
31 Jan 2011: A1 vs. B2
31 Jan 2011: A2 vs. B1
31 Jan 2011: A3 vs. B3
3 Feb 2011: B1 vs. B3
3 Feb 2011: A2 vs. A1
3 Feb 2011: A3 vs. B2
6 Feb 2011: A3 vs. A2
6 Feb 2011: B2 vs. B1
6 Feb 2011: B2 vs. B3
9 Feb 2011: B2 vs. B1
9 Feb 2011: A3 vs. A1
9 Feb 2011: B3 vs. A2
12 Feb 2011: B3 vs. A1
12 Feb 2011: B2 vs. A2
12 Feb 2011: A3 vs. B1


CONCACAF Bends FIFA’s Ear For Another World Cup Participant

Posted: 17 Jan 2011 09:15 AM PST

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While FIFA’s busy shaking the very foundation of the sport and happily overturning traditions which were seemingly untouchable, CONCACAF thought they’d slyly slide in a request of their own while the suits in Zurich are feeling generous. Not the worst of ideas, really.

Their request: a fourth spot in the 2014 World Cup – no 3.5, no playoff.

Think it sounds ludicrous? That CONCACAF is simply not a good enough conference to have four World Cup spots at this point in time? That considering their example of the performance at World Cup 2010 (two Round of 16 knockouts is apparently something to write home about), their timing probably couldn’t be worse as the team that beat out potential CONCACAF member #4 finished #4 in the whole tournament?

Well, that’s all logical and sound reasoning; enough to think that CONCACAF shouldn’t and won’t have a firm fourth spot in 2014.

Save for one tiny detail…

But CONCACAF President Jack Warner said on Sunday the region would press FIFA to give them four guaranteed places instead of the current 3.5.

“We believe that CONCACAF deserves another full place at the World Cup finals due to the performances of our teams on the field and the actions of our confederation off it,” Warner said in a statement.

“We are unified in our efforts to make this happen.”

Do you suppose the official check is made out to J. W. or simple Cash?


Monday, January 17, 2011

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Sunday, January 16, 2011

World Cup 2010 Blog: Ex-World Cup Ref Moreno Pleads Guilty to Heroin Smuggling

World Cup 2010 Blog: Ex-World Cup Ref Moreno Pleads Guilty to Heroin Smuggling

Link to International Football News - World Cup Blog

Ex-World Cup Ref Moreno Pleads Guilty to Heroin Smuggling

Posted: 15 Jan 2011 10:03 AM PST

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Byron Moreno can add up to 63 months of time in federal prison to his already long-ish list of controversies in his career.  Moreno, who was arrested at JFK in New York City in September, has admitted to smuggling heroin into the country from his flight home from Ecuador.  While the charge means he can face up to 63 months in prison, a sentencing date has yet to be set.  Until then, he will be watching games from  prison while being held without bail.

And while Italy fans may joke that this explains his referring decisions, it is a pretty serious situation.  Something which Gianluigi Buffon pointed out when questioned about the subject…

I think Moreno already had the [heroin] in 2002, but not in his underwear, in his body.  Joking aside, when sports people get involved in drug cases it means they’re scraping the bottom of the barrel.

It also means they’ve lost the real meaning of the sport, which is also to save kids from the street and various dangers, like drugs.