World Cup 2010 Blog: “The World Cup Twitter Record” plus 2 more

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• The World Cup Twitter Record
• Carles Puyol: Not Done Yet
• U20 Women’s World Cup: Host Germany wins!

The World Cup Twitter Record Posted: 02 Aug 2010 05:10 AM PDT A historic milestone was hit in the world of Twitter: 20 billion short little bursts, 19.9 of which belong to Darren Bent. But in the process of learning about Twitterstones, we’ve found this surprising little nugget: Twitter’s popularity in Japan has soared in the past year with the company estimating that the Japanese send about 12% of all tweets worldwide, second only to the US. One reason for this surge is that it is possible to say much more in Japanese than in English within Twitter’s 140 character limit. Twitter activity reached an all time high of 3,283 tweets per second during the Japan-Denmark game in this year’s World Cup. Knowing absolutely nothing about Twitter or how it works at the technological level, I do know this: if Japan-Denmark is your high watermark, things may not be going as planned. Though I also have a theory that most tweets were simply a product of people fainting onto their keyboards and inadvertently hitting send after Honda’s free kick.

Carles Puyol: Not Done Yet Posted: 02 Aug 2010 01:10 AM PDT Most of the cats who stepped away from the international game in wake of World Cup 2010 were lacking in one key ingredient: effectiveness. There are, of course, exceptions, such as Gio van Bronckhorst, who pulled a half-Zizou and stepped away from the game entirely in the final. The list of retirees we now know does not include the highest-profile possibility from the champions, Carles Puyol. His perm is giving it at least another two years at the top. Carles: “After turning the matter over in my mind a lot, I have decided to continue for two more years with the national team, after talking to my team-mates, the coach, Fernando Hierro and friends I opted to take this decision.” This is presumably good news for everyone in Spain who aren't centerbacks in the pecking order just behind Carles – the best possible news for La Furia Roja's eight-deep team of hairdressers in charge of maintaining his head shrubbery, seven of whom will surely be out of work whenever he does hang up his international boots.

U20 Women’s World Cup: Host Germany wins! Posted: 01 Aug 2010 04:14 PM PDT With the U20 Women’s World Cup added to their list of titles, Germany may now rival Spain for the title of most successful summer in football.  The Spanish side, which won the men’s World Cup and appeared in the U19 European Championship Final (before losing to France), has received widespread attention for their countries sporting success this summer.  And while Germany may lack the tennis success of Rafael Nadal, the Tour de France titles of Alberto Contador, the wins of Fernando Alonso at the German Formula One Grand Prix and victories of Jorge Lorenzo at the MotoGP to challenge for the “Sports Superpower” title- they may be able to challenge for the “Football Superpower” trophy. The German women’s team, playing at home, beat a tough Nigerian team 2-0 today to win the Women’s World Cup for the second time in its nations history (previous win was in 2004).  As hosts, they managed an impressive 100% winning record.  But, despite FIFA’s attempt to ignore sweep controversial moments under the rug, Germany’s tournament wasn’t completely unblemished as their game against France was marred by an unjust disallowed goal ruling. But other than that, the Germans can claim a dominant performance from start to finish at this tournament- in their six games, they scored over 20 goals and only conceded five. Alexandra Popp’s Golden Ball win was hardly a surprise given that half of Germany’s goals had come from the nineteen year old’s foot (and I believe only 1 of those was a penalty). The second place winners, Nigeria, were also impressive – and their presence in the final was a first for any African team in a Women’s World Cup.    On that achievement and the future of the team, Nigeria’s coach, Ndem Egan had this to say: "We will now be a role model in Africa for women's football.  We are very happy with the performance of our team. There are some great prospects among them and some will graduate to the senior women’s team. Undoubtedly they have learned from their experience in Chile two years ago.” Congrats to both Germany and Nigeria as well as South Korea who beat Colombia 1-0 to win 3rd place (highlights below)! AWARDS Adidas Golden Ball: Alexandra Popp (GER) Adidas Silver Ball: Ji So Yun (KOR) Adidas Bronze Ball: Kim Kulig (GER) Adidas Golden Shoe: Alexandra Popp (GER) Adidas Silver Shoe: Ji So Yun (KOR) Adidas Bronze Shoe: Sydney Leroux (USA) Adidas Golden Glove: Bianca Henninger (USA) FIFA Fair Play award: Korea Republic

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World Cup 2010 Blog: U19 European Championship: France beats Spain in Finals!

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U19 European Championship: France beats Spain in Finals! Posted: 31 Jul 2010 05:33 PM PDT Spain and France, arguably the most dominant teams in the tournament, met on Friday to determine the winner of the U19 European Championship.  Going into the final, the hosts (France) had been consistently impressive- beating the Netherlands (4-1) and Austria (5-0) in their first two matches and then Croatia 2-1 in the semifinals.  Only a draw with England in the group stage blemished their winning record.  Spain, who had failed to reach the knock-out stages of this tournament since winning it in 2007, were the only team left to have a 100% winning record. And at the start of the match, Spain looked likely to hold on to that record for the entire tournament after Rodrigo (forward, Real Madrid) scored in the 18th minute.  Spain continued to dominate the first half – accumulating the best chances and the most possession.  But despite a plethora of opportunities, Spain weren’t able to increase their lead and allowed France to go into the 2nd half with only a single goal deficit. And in the 2nd half, France made them pay…but only after surviving several close calls as Spain continued to dominate the opening minutes of the 2nd half. Then, after almost conceding, France was able to equalize through goalkeeper Diallo’s (GK, Rennes) long kick forward to subsitute Tafer (forward, Lyon) who lifted the ball over the Spanish keeper.  The equalizer was arguably the turning point in the match- energizing the crowd and providing France with the momentum to in the final minutes of the match.  France’s Lacazette (forward, Lyon) scored the winning goal at the 85th minute. Despite a series of impressive performances in the tournament, Lacazette had been largely invisible in the finals game and the goal seemed to come from nowhere.  But, despite Lacazette’s impressive finishing- the hard work came from Gael Kakuta (midfield, Chelsea) whose run through the center of Spain’s defense was impossible for Alex (GK, Zaragoza) to defend. With only a few minutes left, Spain were unable to find a second goal which had eluded them since early in the first half- leaving France to lift the trophy in the end! The only question left is if these two countries can make it three in a row when they compete next year at the FIFA U20 World Cup.  In addition to this U19 final, these two teams also played each other in the U17 European Championship two years ago (which Spain won).  The two teams have consistently been comprised of the same players- 11 of the 22 starters in the finals match played in the U17 final two years ago.  Any bets on those players making another final appearances in the U20 tournament?

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World Cup 2010 Blog: North Korea’s Joyful Homecoming

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North Korea’s Joyful Homecoming Posted: 29 Jul 2010 10:00 AM PDT Life as a player for the North Korean national team is probably pretty difficult as it stands what with living through that 7-0 to Portugal and a much improved 3-0 loss in their final two games. Their passion for the motherland combined with their pride as athletes surely took a belting hit as they headed back to the land of mystery. Seems this was the least of their worries, as they were publicly humiliated for "betraying the trust of Kim Jong-un" – a phrase which is getting more and more play by the day. (Feels like I may have done the same at least twice during breakfast.) Of course it doesn’t help that the first ever live game showed in North Korea was that very same 7-0 loss, a move which seemed perfectly fine from the end of the Brazil match until the whistle starting the second half. It was at that point which the nuclear bomb went off and the team was left to rubble while serving as the fish in Portugal’s barrel. Hard to imagine a worse live debut. And this was their payback: Citing unnamed North Korean sources, RFA said the team were made to stand on a stage at the People's Palace of Culture on July 2, just three days after they returned from South Africa, and subjected to ideological criticism for six hours. The team's two Japanese-born players, Jong Tae-se and An Yong-hak, were exempt from the session. Around 400 officials including the vice minister of the Workers' Party, Sports Minister Pak Myong-chol, other athletes and sport students were apparently part of the audience. Ri Dong-kyu, a sports commentator for the North's state-run Korean Central TV, pointed out the mistakes of each player. "Coach Kim Jong-hun and the team's athletes were made to stand on a stage and other North Korean athletes and students took turns criticizing the players. At the end of the session the team members were made to criticize their coach," RFA quoted a source as saying. It sounds a bit harsh, but there are countries doing internal studies trying to determine whether or not they can get away with the very same. [Thanks to Marco for the tip.]

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