Soccer

[TonyMcFadden]

Clanger

http://www.thisislondon.com/sport/articles/PA_SPOA12883631151143331A?source=PA%20Feed

FIFA's referees committee have confirmed that Poll, England's most high-profile match official, booked Croatia's Josip Simunic three times, only sending him off on the third occasion, in Thursday match against Australia.

In addition, he missed a rugby style tackle against Viduka (by the same Simunic) while he was in the box in a position to score, and a blatent handball by Tomas (Croatia) again in the box.

And, to be perfectly fair, I believe Kewell was offside when he scored.

If Australia had lost, the "three cards and you're out" gaff would have justified a rematch.

[TonyMcFadden]

I'm watching the Spain-Tunisia match and after Torres score on the penalty kick I see a confederate flag waving in the stands (surrounded by Spain's flag waving.

what the hell is that?

[ergo sum]

I think the subs made a big difference. The Japanese goal I thought was fair enough. There were two Aussies pushing behind those Japanese forwards and the goalie was out of position to begin with.

[TonyMcFadden]

Un-freaking-believable.

Australia wins its FIRST World Cup final game, 3 - 1 against Japan (and i should have been a clean sheet -- the Japanese goal should have been disallowed; one of the Japanese players took out the Aussie keeper before he had a chance to get his mitts on the ball. Not cool)

Now bring on Brazil and Croatia and get this group stage out of the way!

[TonyMcFadden]

World Cup opening ceremonies tonight

and Team America playing their hearts out for 295 million people who couldn't care less

What **is** the sentiment in the states?

[TonyMcFadden]

Australia plays a friendly against Liechtenstein before their official start of the world cup. For those that don't know, the population of Liechtenstein is 33,987.



I work with a guy from (crap this is hard to spell) Liechtenstein so joking I asked him if he would be suiting up for the game (since it's got to be a challange, with the population in the 10's of thousands, to field a team).

I was joking, of course.

He laughed and replied that he wasn't, but two of his neighbours in his home town, and one of his cousins, would be.

[TonyMcFadden]

Some Nike sponsored vid clips -- and a chain...

http://nikefootball.nike.com/nikefootball/siteshell/index.jsp#,us,0;jogatv,,0,0,0

Check out the time wasters clip

"Every minute you waste in a game is a day more you will have to spend in hell! It's a fact. Everybody knows."

[evensooner]

http://www.toffeeweb.com/players/current/Bent.asp

[TonyMcFadden]

The road to Germany, 2006.


The groups have been decided:

Group A
Germany
Costa Rica
Poland
Ecuador

Group B
England
Paraguay
Trinidad and Tobago
Sweden

Group C
Argentina
Côte d'Ivoire
Serbia and Montenegro
Netherlands

Group D
Mexico
Iran
Angola
Portugal

Group E
Italy
Ghana
United States
Czech Republic

Group F
Brazil
Croatia
Australia
Japan

Group G
France
Switzerland
Korea Republic
Togo

Group H
Spain
Ukraine
Tunisia
Saudi Arabia

There are 6 games at the group stage, and the winner and runner up from each group move to the second stage and the possibility of instant elimination...

http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/w/bracket.html

There is no way in hell that Australia can win group F (with Brazil in it) but it's conceivable that they can come second, and then have to meet the US or Italy (personally, I doubt the US could win their group, so let's say Italy.)

Frankly, if Australia gets that far, and into the quarterfinals, I would be astonished.

I am predicting a Germany/England Final, with England winning it.

[TonyMcFadden]

...a piece of trivia.

The last time the Socceroos went to the world cup (1974) it was in the old West Germany.

This time they are going to the world cup -- in Germany...

[TonyMcFadden]

Mosy of y'all probably don't give a shit, but


AUSTRALIA IS GOING TO THE WORLD CUP FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 32 YEARS!!!

They just defeated Uruguay on penalty kicks in Sydney, and the place is going nuts!

[TonyMcFadden]

In the route to the World cup, African, European, South and North American teams and Asian countries have a playoff the year to 18 months in advance to determine what countries will actually go.

However, because Australia is a Country/Island Continent, (of course you can pull Fiji and New Zealand into the mix) the FIFA folks have decided (as they have in years past) that Australia must defeat, over two legs, the 5th place South American team.

So that means, as they had to do 4 years ago, Australia must defeat Uruguay -- one game in Montevideo, and one in Sydney.

The 1st leg in Uruguay was held this morning (Sydney time) and Australia lost 1-0. A good result since neither Brazil nor Argentina have ever beaten Uruguay in Montevideo.

Wednesday evening Uruguay comes to Sydney for the second leg.

Away goals count as 2 in the case of a tie.

If Australia can keep the Uruguay team goal-less, then 2 Aussie goals will get them there. If Uruguay scores 1, Australia need to score 2 to win.

(If U scores 2, A needs 4. And so it goes)

If Australia gets there, i will be the first time since 1974.

[ergo sum]

Soccer to Test Ball With Microchip Beep
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: February 26, 2005


Filed at 11:38 a.m. ET

CARDIFF, Wales (AP) -- A soccer ball containing a microchip that beeps when it crosses the goal line will be tested at this year's under-17 world championship.

The International Football Association Board, which makes the rules for world soccer, agreed to the trial Saturday at its annual general meeting.

The microchip ball, which was produced by Adidas, was used in a game between Nuremberg and Nuremberg reserves on Wednesday in Germany.

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The English Football Association also offered to experiment with the ball. However, the Premier League and Football League use balls made by rival manufacturers.

The under-17 worlds are set for Sept. 16-Oct. 2 in Peru. The technology most likely will not be ready for next year's World Cup in Germany.

Calls for new technology resurfaced in England after Tottenham was denied a clear goal at Manchester United on Jan. 4. Goalkeeper Roy Carroll dropped the ball behind the line, but the officials missed the call.

The IFAB also decided that any tackle endangering a player's health will earn an automatic red card, with the rule taking effect July 1. In addition, the board clarified the definition of active play in the offside rule.

Since its inception in the late 19th century, the IFAB has met annually to review soccer rules. The IFAB consists of four representatives from FIFA and one each from the soccer associations of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

[ergo sum]

I really need cable.

[TonyMcFadden]

Did you, by any chance, see the Liverpool/Arsenal game this past Sunday?

1-1 tie going into injury time, 5 seconds left and a Liverpool rookie blasts a 25 yard bullet past Lehman to win the game.

Astounding goal...

[ergo sum]

Players might develop a false sense of security, relying on headgear instead of proper medical evaluation after suffering a concussion, federation doctors say. Or, they say, players might feel invincible in headgear and play with reckless aggressiveness, displaying behavior known as the Superman effect.

Rather than headgear, federation officials advocate better technique, stricter rules enforcement and improved officiating to reduce the number of head injuries. Some also recommend mouth guards and padded goal posts instead of padded headgear.

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"There is no evidence headgear are going to help, and some theoretical stuff that it could hurt," said Dr. Gary Green, a clinical professor at the U.C.L.A. division of sports medicine who is on the soccer federation's medical advisory committee. "Why take a chance until this gets studied?"

Because Full90 pays some pro players (the equivalent of $50 to $100 per game, it says) and some state soccer associations ($4,000 to $10,000) to endorse its product, the soccer federation says the company's claims are suspect.

"We're talking about marketing and fear and manipulation," said Dr. Bert Mandelbaum, team physician for the United States national teams.

Not all medical soccer experts oppose headgear.

Dr. J. Scott Delaney of McGill University in Montreal said laboratory data, not yet published, does indicate that headgear could reduce impact forces by 10 to 30 percent. (The soccer federation says this involves low-level forces that don't cause concussions.) Delaney said an industry standard for headgear has been drafted and could be instituted in May.

In a study, published in the Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine, Delaney queried 328 Canadian university football players and 201 university soccer players as they reported to fall training camp in 1999. He found that 70.4 percent of the football players and 62.7 percent of the soccer players had experienced symptoms of a concussion in the previous year.

"We've shown concussions are a problem, and in the lab these things work," Delaney said of headgear. "What else do you need? Why wouldn't you start protecting people?"

Studies involving large numbers of players can occur only after headgear is used widely, said Delaney, who is team physician for the McGill soccer team and the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League.

The concern over concussions, and whether headgear can protect against them, is a growing issue for youth soccer associations. In September, the New York State West Youth Soccer Association, which governs more than 200 clubs and 80,000 youths in the Buffalo-Rochester area, voted to require headgear for all players under 14.

The association later retreated over concerns about liability and protests from some coaches and officials. Several coaches interviewed in Rochester wondered why headgear were proposed for young children and not for older teenagers, who are more likely to get concussions.

Others said risk was inherent in any sport.

"Where are you going to draw the line? Make everyone wear knee braces?" said Tom Maines, who coaches an under-10 boys team in Brockport, N.Y.

Some players resist headgear on aesthetic grounds.

"It looks goofy," said Brittany Myles, 13, of Syracuse.

Ross Paule, a midfielder for the Columbus Crew of Major League Soccer, wore Full90 headgear for a dozen games in the recently completed season, seeking some security after suffering three earlier concussions.

"I'm on the fence," said Paule, who was not paid to endorse the headgear. "I don't agree it should be mandated. If something makes you comfortable, why not?" He added: "I can't tell you if it was a huge help. When I got hit one time, maybe it gave me a little extra cushion."

Any club or association that makes headgear compulsory risks losing its affiliation with the United States Soccer Federation, Dr. S. Robert Contiguglia, its president, said.

But that threat is either unknown or ignored by the Temecula Valley Soccer Association in Southern California, which for three seasons has required headgear for players under 8. Peter Schilperoort, president of the association, said headgear prevented bumps and cuts previously suffered by his players, calling the equipment "the best thing since sliced bread."

The De Anza Force soccer club of Cupertino, Calif., will require headgear for players under 17 beginning in March, said Tom Pridham, a club official. Both the Temecula and De Anza clubs are sponsored by Full90.

Jerry Smith, coach of the Santa Clara women's team, which received free headgear from Full90, said the equipment made his players more confident in challenging balls in the air, and more assertive, but not overly so.

Anson Dorrance, who has coached the women's team at North Carolina to 18 national championships, said compulsory use of shin guards had not changed the nature of soccer, as many feared. He predicted that headgear would not, either.

"I'd challenge any of these doctors who feel this has no value to run into the goal post without a Full90 and with it, then tell me, if they were forced to do it a third time, whether or not they would wear it," said Dorrance, whose team is also sponsored by Full90.

Several players, including Joy Fawcett of the United States women's national team, who endorses Full90, discounted the so-called the Superman effect, saying the headgear did not make players dangerously aggressive.

"It's like a flag that reminds you not to go up for stupid plays," said Jill Conaboy, a defender at Downingtown West High in suburban Philadelphia, who wore headgear last weekend as her team won the Pennsylvania Class AAA state championship.

Kathy Conaboy, Jill's mother, said she held no illusion that her daughter, who has suffered two concussions, would never be hurt again while wearing headgear. What she hopes, she said, is that a blow that might have caused a third concussion will result in only a bruise.

"A seat belt is not going to save a life in a 90-mile-per-hour crash into a wall," Kathy Conaboy said. "A 30-mile-per-hour crash, a fender bender, it helps. I'm looking at this as a seat belt."

[ergo sum]

Soccer Headgear: Does It Do Any Good?
By JERE LONGMAN

Published: November 27, 2004


ost soccer players on the Santa Clara University women's team will enter the N.C.A.A. quarterfinals today wearing protective equipment - headgear - that is as controversial as it is lightweight.

In the 15 months since FIFA, soccer's world governing body, began permitting its use, headgear has been worn by thousands of American players from youth leagues to high schools to colleges to the pros. The headgear gained international visibility during the 2003 Women's World Cup and the Athens Olympics this summer.

This has triggered skepticism within the United States Soccer Federation, which contends that marketing to the fears of parents has trumped science regarding the effectiveness of headgear in preventing concussions.

This resistance has not dissuaded some youth clubs from requiring the use of headgear.

"I remember when baseball players didn't wear batting helmets," said Steve Ryan, commissioner of the Major Indoor Soccer League, which approves of headgear. "You see some resistance in soccer, which is natural. But I expect, over time, you will see it broadly accepted."

The founder of a San Diego-based company called Full90 said he had sold 100,000 pieces of headgear. The headgear resembles an enlarged headband, weighs less than 2 ounces, and covers the forehead, temples and occipital bone in back of the head. The device is made of shock-absorbing foam situated between an outer layer of Lycra and an inner layer of sweat-absorbing polypropylene. Several models are available for $24 to $39.

Full90 does not claim that its headgear prevents concussions. But the company does say the headgear can reduce, by up to 50 percent, the peak impact forces that occur during typical collisions when a player's head strikes another head, the ground, an elbow or a goal post.

The headgear debate is occurring at a time when some studies indicate that concussions occur in soccer at a rate similar to the rate in football.

There also is disagreement on whether heading the ball can cause concussions or long-term brain impairment. Studies have presented contradictory results, and the matter remains disputed as the soccer federation undertakes a long-term examination of head injuries.

The resolution of these head-related issues could have far-reaching health and financial impacts, given that nearly 18 million people play soccer in the United States.

On one side of the headgear argument is Jeff Skeen, founder of Full90. He said he developed the protective device after his daughter Lauren suffered two soccer-related concussions in high school, causing her to quit the sport.

At 46, Skeen possesses the righteousness of the aggrieved parent. He believes his product can reduce head injuries without giving an illicit advantage in heading the ball.

The soccer federation, which permits headgear but does not endorse it, fears that its wide use would undermine the assertion that soccer is a safe alternative to football, Skeen said. He likens the doubt of soccer officials to familiar but failed arguments once made against the use of bicycle helmets, automobile seat belts and soccer shin guards.

"They are trying to thwart the evolution of headgear in soccer because they think it will scare soccer moms away from the sign-up table," Skeen said of soccer federation officials. "And because they think it could be viewed as an admission that heading the ball itself is dangerous."

Calvin Williams, founder of the Kangaroo headgear company, said he thought soccer officials resisted the equipment because they felt "it is sissified."

Soccer federation officials disagree, saying their caution is based on scientific uncertainty.

Insufficient independent evidence exists to confirm that headgear can reduce the risk of head injuries, they say. Doctors affiliated with the federation also say that headgear is being marketed primarily to children, who least need them because there is little incidence of concussions in players under the age of 12.
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/27/sports/soccer/27soccer.html?oref=login&8hpib

[TonyMcFadden]

Disgraceful



From thesun.co.uk -- http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2004532921,00.html

Spanish 'fans' hurling racist taunts at Shaun Wright-Phillips during a 'friendly' between Spain and England

[ergo sum]

The leg was a collision with the goalie. Not even a foul really just a bad situation. The rest is pretty typical of High School soccer here. They now play with three refs on the field to try and stop the problems. It has gotten better in the last few years. It was the worst game I have seen this year so far.

The refs did a very poor job and lost control early.

[TonyMcFadden]

Are you sure that wasn't a hockey game? That's terrible!

[ergo sum]

High School playoffs and the gentle game of soccer. Todays game. One broken leg, one person knocked unconscious, one person kicked in the head, three bloody noses. A pk for a punch in the face.

[TonyMcFadden]

There were some absolutely shameful displays at the ManU/Arsenal game tonight. Flagrent fould that would get my sone grounded if he tried them. As much as I admire his play, Nistlerooy should be banned from playing for the knee spiking. Ferdinand should have been red carded for his take down, being the 'last man'.

I was afraid a hockey game was going to break out.

[ergo sum]

Brazil putting on a clinic here against Mexico.

[TonyMcFadden]

The games are on at (roughly) 6:30 am and 8:30 am. I've seen a couple, and frankly don't care what the score is. I enjoy watching the different (from England) style of play.

THey are replayed in the evening, so my son and I will have the game on then...

[ergo sum]

If I had know you were watching this I wouldn't have posted it.

I watch it here in Spanish.
Some good games so far.

[TonyMcFadden]

Will have to watch the replay this evening...had a meeting this morning I had to go to...

Thanks

BTW, Greece??? Winners of Euro 2004?????

Should have put a couple of bucks on them...

[ergo sum]

Brasil 1 Chile 0
ck in stoppage time.

[TonyMcFadden]

With odds against them at 80-1 at the opening of the Euro 2004 tournament, Greece goes on to win it in regulation time, 1-0 over hosts Portugal.

Astounding.

[TonyMcFadden]

Lampard makes it 4 - 2 (78 minutes) and someone scored for France to make it 2 - 1 (wasn't paying attention)

[TonyMcFadden]

Tudor (sp) brings it to 2 for CRO at 73 minutes.. (3-2 England)

[TonyMcFadden]

and it's rooney again...3 - 1 England over Croatia (68 minutes)

[TonyMcFadden]

and Rooney (18 years old) scores to make it 2 - 1 for England. His third goal this tournament at the half (45 minutes)

[TonyMcFadden]

scoles scores (1st international goal in 3 years) to tie croatia (40 minutes)

[TonyMcFadden]

...and swiss tie it up with France

[TonyMcFadden]

France scores at 20 minutes (Zidane)

[TonyMcFadden]

croatia scores at 5 minutes. damn. (Kovac)

[TonyMcFadden]

England playing Croatia and France playing the SwissMiss...

And it;s 2:45 am here...dang, I'm going to be a sack of crap in the morning...

Lots of channel flipping, but my money is on England and France (no-brainer)

[DCschmoeka]

hehe boring game, yet 3 goals. I liked france vs crotia as well, everybody can still make it inm this group, even switzerland (winning next game against france, lol)

[TonyMcFadden]

Rooney scores 1st goal for England against the Swiss Miss...(youngest Euro goal ever, I think)

[DCschmoeka]

so anybody here liked the eurocup opening games? France-England last nite was great ..... so was Portugal-Greece.........

[flota]

all right there is a soccer page.wwwwwwwweeeeeeeeeeeeeee

[DCschmoeka]

Oh just saw your location.... was just checking if there was any attention for this event at IHUB......

[TonyMcFadden]

There's going to be some good games this weekend, but here in Singapore they are on at midnight and 2:45 am...

[DCschmoeka]

eurocup...... anybody watching? some classics to come there, such as France-England, Germany-Netherlands, Spain-Portugal, Italy-Denmark.........

[TonyMcFadden]

Futbol (not the same as futsal)

And ...

hell no!!

[ergo sum]

Futsal? They play that in the winter here.

Are you going to be on the new show where the first couple to get pregnant wins?

[TonyMcFadden]

He definitely has skills.

Check this out...

5000 at a game is deplorable.

[ergo sum]

Go here and look for the 5/19 video.
http://www.mlsnet.com/MLS/sights/

I missed the first half of this game because of my son's game. So I didn't get to see all that much. Last game was like 5000 people but with Freddy there was over 30,000. He is impressive. Beat two defenders and slipped a ball through in the box that led to the first goal.

Would love to watch the FA cup but I don't have cable. If I do get to see any I watch it in Spanish.

[TonyMcFadden]

Would love to see any of his games.

We get EPL games here, some Italian and Spanish league games and obviously the local (Singapore S-League) games. Haven't seen Adu's skills yet.

The FA cup final was on last night (this morning, for you). Manchester United v/s Millwall (1st Division underdogs).

Christiano Ronaldo played a brilliant game, with footwork that would impress Zidane, and finally showing some teamwork skills. (At the beginning of the season he only paid attention to his feet, regularly getting well inside the opposing teams side with his brilliant dribbling skills, only to throw the ball aware with absolutely no team-mate positional awareness.)

[ergo sum]

Saw Freddy Adu tonight. That's all really.