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England plans big for the World Cup

Jeffdstuff — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 06:45:43 +0000

The World Cup, which is played every four years, never fails to capture the imagination of the English people.

And after failing to qualify for Euro 2008, it has been a long four years for England fans to wait and remember what it feels like to get behind their team in a major international competition. Now that England is in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, English football fans couldn’t be any happier.

England head to South Africa confident, having easily secured their place for this year’s World Cup. And for the first time in quite a long time, English fans can finally look forward to the World Cup with a sense of optimism.

With players such as Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard ranking amongst the best in the world, together with the other members of the talented England squad, Fabio Cappello could well be the man to guide England to World Cup glory for the first time since 1966.

The draw for the 2010 World Cup took place in Cape Town and with the way the countries have been drawn, it looks like lady luck is really smiling on England. They got a great draw coming up against USA, Slovenia and Algeria in Group C, making the English team as the clear favorites to win the group.

Looking back at England’s history in the World Cup, England has entered all 14 post-war competitions. They qualified through play in the preliminary competition on nine occasions (1950, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1998 and 2002), as host country once (1966) and as reigning champions once (1970).

England have had only moderate success in the World Cup, and that is perhaps a fair indication of their standing in the world game. They won the tournament once, in 1966, when it was held on their own soil and they played all their matches on their home ground, Wembley Stadium, an advantage extended to no other team in World Cup history.

Their 4-2 extra-time victory against...

Man-U to win all Five Titles in Soccer?

Jeffdstuff — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 03:09:30 +0000

Why are we asking?

Well, since the Manchester United Red Devils just won the Carling Cup, defeating Tottenham in a 4-1 penalty shootout after the teams played to a scoreless draw through regulation and extra time, we are.

You see, United is trying to win five trophies this season, something that has never been done. They won the Club World Cup title back in December and now with the Carling Cup title, they are nearly halfway to the goal. They have a comfortable lead in the 2009 English Premier League and Man-U winning the Premiership again is very possible indeed.

Aside from playing strong in the Premiership, the Red Devils are also in good shape in the 2009 UEFA Champions League, not to mention the fact that they are into the quarterfinals of the FA Cup.

‘’We’re not going to get carried away with it,'’ Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson said. ‘’We’ll keep our feet on the ground. A deflected shot goes off someone’s backside at Fulham on Wednesday and you’re out of the cup. Today proved that. Without Ben Foster, we’d have lost that.'’

United goalkeeper Ben Foster was brilliant for United in the victory, making big stops on Aaron Lennon and Darren Bent during the match. United also had chances to win before the shootout as Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez hit the post in injury time.

United is so deep that Ferguson chose to rest starting goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar in this match even though van der Sar has not given up a goal in the Premier League since November.

‘’Tottenham are good opponents and they probably had better chances in the match,'’ Ferguson said. ‘’But Ben Foster made two or three good saves.'’

The future definitely looks good for...

David Beckham debuts for AC Milan

Jeffdstuff — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 02:39:17 +0000

This ''David Beckham debut'' sure was better than the last one.

After making his highly anticipated debut with the Los Angeles Galaxy nearly two years ago, David Beckham was in the middle of yet another debut for an international football team and this time, he was with AC Milan, surprising football fans on how his ‘’new debut'’ turned out this time around.

You see, the last time David Beckham made his debut for a football team, it was with the Los Angeles Galaxy, fresh from his transfer from Real Madrid to the MLS. That one was more of a cameo appearance than a full-time playing appearance really, as Becks only played for 21 minutes as the L.A. Galaxy lost to D.C. United, 1-nil.

This time though, David Beckham was on the pitch for 89 minutes with AC Milan. He was solid too as he came up with probably one of the best performances he’s ever had since leaving Real Madrid for California.

AC Milan ended up with a 2-2 draw against AS Roma.

Beckham sure was fantastic. Although it does not compare with the performances he once had early in his career with Manchester United and Real Madrid, he was solid nevertheless. Hell, the guy was so good that he elicited boos from the AS Roma crowd as he exited the pitch in the 89th minute.

‘’I felt good in the game, very strong and I enjoyed it,'’ Beckham said. ‘’I enjoyed playing with these players and in this city.'’

AC Milan head coach Carlo Ancelotti initially said it would be difficult to start the former Man-U and Real Madrid star since the guy was inactive for the last two months. STILL, he had him lining up in his traditional spot on the right wing, leaving Mathieu Flamini and Massimo Ambrosini on the bench to...

Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid?

Jeffdstuff — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 03:33:15 +0000

Cristiano Ronaldo is on the brink of becoming the world’s most expensive player if he decides to take on Real Madrid’s generous offer.

Now that Cristiano Ronaldo’s stint in the 2008 UEFA European Football Championship is over after Portugal lost to Germany, he is now looking into a possible move from Old Trafford and the defending Champions League champions Manchester United, to Real Madrid and the Spanish Premiere League.

After failing to lead Portugal deeper into the Euro 2008 tournament, it seems that didn’t hurt his market value so to speak. Real Madrid still wants to land the fiery Portugese striker and after he captured both the English Premiership and the UEFA Champions League titles with Manchester United, Real Madrid is STILL willing to make him the highest paid football player in the world.

Zinedine Zidane, still the highest paid footballer after moving from Juventus to Real Madrid, agrees with his former club. He believes that Cristiano Ronaldo is worthy to break his own record breaking fee and the Portugese’s 3-2 loss to Germany should not slow down his bandwagon.

‘’He has had a great season, a league and Champions League winner, and I think the fact that he and Portugal got knocked out at the quarter-finals doesn’t mean anything because they were up against a great Germany team,'’ retired Zinedine Zidane said.

‘’It doesn’t say anything about the merits during the year. He is not scared of his new Real Madrid engagement and every time they wanted good players they got them. Now it depends on his personal plans, if he wants to...''

Manchester United captures 2008 English Premiership

Jeffdstuff — Mon, 12 May 2008 09:47:13 +0000

Manchester United, champions of English football!

The 2007-08 English Premier League season finally concluded with the usual suspects, Man-U, winning the coveted English football title after beating Wigan 2-0 on the final day of the season.

This is now the 10th Premier League championship the Manchester United Red Devils have won in the last 16 years. Talk about domination huh? After taking it away from Chelsea last season, Man-U made sure that their title win last year was no fluke after successfully defending their crown despite the slow start to the season.

Speaking of Chelsea FC, they had the opportunity to make this year’s Premiership title chase interesting. They were up against Bolton on the final day of the season, holding a 1-0 lead. They could’ve had a 2-0 win over Bolton and steal the title away from their rivals from Man-U by taking over the points lead in the standings, instead, they gave up a goal merely a few minutes before the match ended, ending up with a 1-1 draw to the Bolton Wanderers and two points behind Man-U after the anticlimactic finish.

In the end, Manchester United finished with 87 championship points to win this year’s Premiership while Chelsea FC wound up with 85. This was the closest finish for the Premiership since Man-U edged Arsenal by a single point back in 1999.

Now, Manchester United, with 10 Premiership titles, will continue to chase the all-time record set by Liverpool of 18 league titles. Sure, these guys still have a long way to go before they get there but with young guns Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney on their side, eight more Premierships are not that too difficult to...

Beckham, Galaxy Succumb to Chicago Fire, Out Of MLS Playoffs

Tristan — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 12:22:02 +0000

David Beckham has just finished his first season with the Los Angeles Galaxy in a setback. His team failed to reach the play-offs for the second season in a row losing 1-0 to the Chicago Fire over the weekend in front of a packed crowd of around 21,000 at Toyota Park Stadium.

That leaves the international superstar with playing only five games and no goals under his belt.

Evidently, things did not go to the former Real Madrid star, who has been struggling with an ankle injury. David Beckham will have to wait another six months before the new season of Major League Soccer begins in April.

So the big question is what went wrong to the Los Angeles Galaxy?

The Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder admitted that his arrival from Real Madrid back in July became a distraction from his teammates. "To go through what the players went through when I arrived, and before I arrived, was difficult to adjust, but they showed character in the last six, seven games. No one expected us to be in this position today like we were, so it shows that we have character.” David Beckham said.

England VS Estonia in Euro 2008 Qualifiers

Jeffdstuff — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 08:50:43 +0000

David Beckham is still nursing a knee injury and he'll be out for England's fixture against Estonia.

Heading to England's Euro 2008 Qualifier against Estonia this Saturday, David Beckham will be out with yet another injury. Despite that, Steve McClaren is still praising the guy because of his motivation to return and play again for his home country.

England head coach Steve McClaren is praising David Beckham for, according to McClaren, the way the England star is still trying to regain his fitness.

''He's a true patriot and he loves playing for England,'' England coach Steve McClaren said of Beckham for his efforts to be available for the national team's campaign this season. ''That's still his motivation, that's still his mind-set.''

David Beckham is still nursing a right knee injury he sustained playing for the Los Angeles Galaxy in MLS soccer. The injury denied Becks for two England European Championship qualifiers last September and will still rule him out of two more fixtures, one against Estonia this Saturday, and another against Russia.

What David Beckham is aiming for now is to be fit in time to lead England to next summer's finals in Switzerland and Austria. Back in 2001, Becks did just that, scoring a late free kick against Greece to send the England national team to the...

Can Michael Owen get his starting job back in Newcastle?

Jeffdstuff — Sat, 18 Aug 2007 10:56:07 +0000

Michael Owen is not Allardyce’s favorite footballer in Newcastle. With the 2007-08 English Premiere League season here, Newcastle big boss Sam Allardyce is apparently laying down the law after telling Michael Owen that he has to fight for a starting spot in his rotation this year. It turns out that Newcastle United manager Sam Allardyce [...]

Manchester United V Reading on Sunday

Jeffdstuff — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 11:55:43 +0000

The 2007 English Premiere League season has officially begun. Manchester United will face Reading on Sunday in a fixture that could very well be the Red Devils’ first match they need to win in their defense of the English Premiership title. The Red Devils are talking and they should, after beating Chelsea FC 3-0 in [...]

Chelsea will play second fiddle to David Beckham

Jeffdstuff — Sun, 15 Jul 2007 12:00:43 +0000

Chelsea, one of the most popular teams in all of soccer, agrees to play second fiddle to David Beckham. Chelsea FC, the same team that became the 2007 FA Cup champions, and the same team that ruled the English Premiership for two years before Manchester United won this year’s Premiership title, agreed to let David [...]