Don’t expect daily updates, right now I’m motivated, which could change any time.

Cristiano Ronaldo

It has been officially announced that Manchester United and Portugal winger, Cristiano Ronaldo, is the new winner of the Ballon D’ or (world player of the year). This is not surprising considering Ronaldo had 42 goals in his 49 appearances for Manchester United, eight goals in the euro 08 qualifying and one in the euro 08 tournament after qualifying. He had a terrific season.

Lionel Messi won second place and Fernando Torres won a close third.

I personally feel Torres’ results and statistics are much better than Messi’s, but Messi might have more individual skill

what is your oppinnion?

It’s been more than a month since Euro 2008 ended. Did it live up to expectations? Unquestionably, yes. It was “the best Euro tournament ever”, according to Arsene Wenger. Perhaps surprisingly, most people agreed. Euro 2008 really was something special. It not only dispelled the worries many purists had regarding the quality of international football, but also put to rest the widely held belief that a team could not win a major tournament in this day and age by playing ‘total football’.

What is probably most satisfying about this tournament is that the teams which actually went out to entertain the public by playing attractive football, invariably beat the negative sides – the ones that set out to kill the game and set up camp in front of goal. The French and Italians payed the price for their negativity, while the Spanish and Dutch impressed the world with their attacking football, increasing their fanbase to a large extent. Football is, after all, the Beautiful Game.
Teams got exactly what they deserved.

Tournaments are remembered for their ‘magic moments’, and in this regard, Euro 2008 did not disappoint. From Pepe’s astonishing 60 yard run on the opening day that cut through the Turkish defense like a knife through warm butter, to Torres’ tournament winning goal that dumbfounded both Jens Lehmann and Philip Lahm, Euro 08 has had some spectacular moments. A few that come to mind include Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s stunner that lit up an otherwise mediocre match against Greece; the Dutch decapitulation of the ageing Italian defence; The Turkish comebacks; Gianluigi Buffon’s penalty save that kept Italy in the tournament; the ‘mad minute’ , which saw Arjen Robben score from a seemingly impossible angle just a minute after Thierry Henry scored at the other end; Arda Turan’s last minute goal to eliminate Switzerland in the midst of a torrential downpour; Michael Ballack’s 30 yard belter that rejuvenated the Germans; the heart-stopping shootout between Italy and Spain – one could go on and on.

Switzerland and Austria proved to be excellent hosts. The atmosphere was lively, the fans – especially the Dutch – were in full voice, and incidents of hooliganism were almost non-existant. People attribute this to England’s absence from the tournament, but that’s being very harsh.

There was ofcourse much more to the tournament, including a couple of downsides, however all that is irrelevant now, for 20 years down the line, people will remember Euro 2008 as one of football’s most memorable spectacles.

I had boldly predicted earlier that Spain wouldn’t progress far, and how wrong I’ve been. They’ve silenced all doubters, answered every question asked of them, and no-one, not even their final opponents Germany, can deny that they were deserving champions. The traditional under-achievers have come of age. When Iker Casillas lifted the trophy that night, you could sense a shift of power in Europe. The much maligned Luis Aragones won over his critics, and though he is no longer at the helm of the Spanish national team, the foundation has been built for a period of Spain domination. The World Cup beckons.

]]> http://fashionbyme.wordpress.com/2008/07/31/soundtrack-4/ Thu, 31 Jul 2008 09:46:22 +0000 Fashionbyme http://fashionbyme.wordpress.com/2008/07/31/soundtrack-4/ http://piccoleorme.wordpress.com/2008/07/27/vergogna-vergogna-ai-francesi/ Sun, 27 Jul 2008 11:42:29 +0000 Koyuki http://piccoleorme.wordpress.com/2008/07/27/vergogna-vergogna-ai-francesi/

Bun. Cred că ăsta e ultimul post pe seara asta şi m-am hotărât să fie review-ul la UEFA Euro 2008.

Fiind produs de Ea Sports respectă linia trasă de Fifa 08 şi prea multe nu sunt schimbate faţă de predecesorul său. După cum spuneam UEFA Euro 08 aduce pe ecranele sistemelor noastre campionatul European de fotbal de anul acesta la care într-un final sa calificat şi Romania şi pentru unii e o palida consolare ca nu pot ajunge la meciuri şi ce-i mai bine decat să faci un meci cu cineva.

Jocul din acest an aduce aceleaşi aspecte pe care le are şi Fifa an de an. O grafică cat de cat bunicică, într-un final jucatorii par mai reali ca niciodată dar totuşi nu bate PES-ul, un gameplay practic, astfel încat un jucător consacrat de Fifa va şti din primul ecran al jocului ce taste trebuie să foloseasca în joc şi cum să le folosească, cele 50 sau câte echipe sunt mai nou afiliate la UEFA cu jucători reali, stadioane cât mai realiste şi în sfârşit antrenori ai echipelor calificate sau nu (Piţi aproape arată ca în realitate), un AI care iţi cam dă bătăi de cap chiar dacă joci cu Anglia sau cu România cam tot acelaşi lucru e că AI-ul te înconjoară ca un lup mort de foame şi se aruncă pe tine ca oile deabia mai având spaţiu sa dai o pasă, de multe ori trezindu-mă cu 3-4 adversari în apropiere şi fără posibilitatea să dau o pasă.

Ce m-a impresionat la acest joc e sistemul de lovituri libere care iar a fost schimbat, trebuind sa apeşi nu ştiu ce combinaţii de taste ca să dai un freekick corect, penalty-urile acuma se bat dintr-o parte, jucătorul fiind pozitionat mai în lateral şi poţi face diferite fente, bicicleta, poţi şuta din foarfecă şi tackling-urile sunt mai eficiente.

Ca şi moduri de joc avem clasicele single match şi turneul final, dar mai puteţi juca şi pe multiplayer, be a pro sau modul campaign în care vă alegeţi echipa care vă place şi înfruntaţi toate celelalte naţionale în diferite challenge-uri pentru a putea ajunge la turneul final pe parcurs, acumulând prestigiu şi multe puncte care pot fi cheltuite în sticker book un fel de album virtual cu toate echipele pe care le înfrunţi, la fiecare meci castigat primind în schimb 5 abţibilde cu jucători de la echipa adversă. Ah, şi Mutu e in joc da’ îl cheamă Murgu.

Per total UEFA îmi pare un joc echilibrat, pe care poţi să-l joci mai mult în multiplayer decât singur pentru că e mai fun să iţi baţi prietenii decat calculatorul sau consola. Aşa că aş da jocului după părerea mea de gamer înrăit un 8, mai mult din cauza AI-ului jalnic şi a graficii sensibil incomparabile cu PES, decat a gameplay-ului sau a modurilor de joc.

Sursa: mafia2laur.com, site: http://www.mafia2laur.com/2008/05/uefa-euro-08.html

Vor einiger Zeit habe ich über das Fussball-Börsenspiel Stoccer berichtet. Nun ist die Euro vorbei und mein Stoccer-Alias “pooth” hat sein Vermögen von 100′000 auf 250′000 virtuelle Dollars gesteigert.

Die brennende Frage ist aber vielmehr: wie gut war die Prognose der Börsenteilnehmer insgesamt? Gehen wir nochmals alle Mannschaften durch, und zwar in der Reihenfolge ihrer Kursbewertung, wie sie vor der Euro 08 bestand.

Spitzenreiter Deutschland hat mit dem zweiten Rang die Erwartungen einigermassen erfüllt. Italien als Zweitgesetzter weniger: ausgeschieden im Viertelfinal. Frankreich lag in der Erwartung auf Rang drei – autsch. Auf Rang vier folgte endlich der tatsächliche Europameister Spanien. Dann die Viererbande der Nebenfavoriten: Tschechien in der Vorrunde ausgeschieden, Kroatien, Portugal und die Niederlande im Viertelfinal.

In der unteren Hälfte: Österreich und Polen waren zu Recht das Schlusslicht. Die Schweiz hätte auch in diese Zone gehört, war aber – wie gesagt – aus heimatschützerischen Gründen überbewertet. Rumänien, Schweden und Griechenland wurden zutreffend als chancenlos bewertet. Den grössten Gewinn konnte machen, wer die stark unterbewertete Türkei oder Russland kaufte (und wieder rechtzeitig verkaufte).

Alles in allem: Das Plenum hat 6 von 8 Viertelfinalisten, 2 von 4 Halbfinalisten und 1 von 2 Finalisten richtig vorausgesehen. Nicht ganz so schlecht.

Via.

So, the Spaniards won the Euro 08 cup. But, my attention was more towards the stands, I must admit. The valuable observation( from my side, of course, by who else?) was that the young cheering German betties looked prettier than the Spanish lassies

Btw, its ‘Spaniards’ and NOT ‘Spainards’ as I had initially spelt. No, no, dont u mention now that I had spelt it correctly in the line numero uno. Coz, I have already covered up that goof up Now, aint I smart?? Indeed I am( gloating with pride)

Mood: Less tired and more sleepy ( c’mon, its 5:45 am in the subcontinent! )

Listening to: Tracks from Dus Kahaniyan and Awarapan. ( or u may reverse the order, I dont think Emran will mind, but I aint sure abt Miss Dhupia )

Você gostaria de treinar um time com a seguinte escalação?

Casillas (ESP); Bosingwa (POR), Pepe (POR), Marchena (ESP) e Zhirkov (RUS); Marcos Senna (ESP), Iniesta (ESP), Xavi (ESP) e Sneijder (HOL); Torres (ESP) e Pavlyuchenko (RUS);

Este foi o time titular dos melhores da Euro 2008 escolhidos pela equipe do EuroMania08. A escolha foi feita a partir da lista com os 23 melhores jogadores do torneio, divulgada hoje pela UEFA.

Também foram escolhidos os goleiros Buffon (ITA) e Van der Sar (HOL), os defensores Puyol (ESP) e Lahm (ALE), os meias Zyryanov (RUS), Modric (CRO), Althitop (TUR), Fabregas (ESP) e Ballack (ALE). Os outros atacantes são Villa (ESP), Arshavin (RUS) e Podolski (ALE).

Xavi Hernandez, meia da Espanha, foi escolhido o melhor jogador da competição. São nove espanhóis, quatro russos, três alemães, dois portugueses, dois holandeses, um italiano, um turco e um croata.

Do time titular da Espanha apenas Sérgio Ramos, Capedevilla e David Silva ficaram fora da lista da UEFA. O único “reserva” entre os 23 é também espanhol: Cesc Fabregas.

Congratulations to Spain, who defeated Germany 1-0 to win the UEFA 2008 European Championship. I probably watched half of the games and gained a lot of knowledge on players and some new clubs to follow come August and September. Though I’m tagged as a novice, I would like to point out that I did predict the champion in my preview (I have to boast a little bit). Even so, there is a still a ton for me to learn, and starting with a major tournament like this was definitely beneficial. I look forward to finally writing about something other than Euro ’08 next week, but before I do, I figured I better reflect on what I’ve learned…

The coaching carousel in soccer is just as bad as American sports, amateur or professional. The coaches from Turkey, Portugal, Italy, Austria, France, Czech Republic, Netherlands, and even the eventual champion, Spain, were all out before the championship game. While some coaches resigned, like Portugal’s Scolari, who will coach Chelsea in England, others, like Italy’s Donadoni, were forced out. The longest tenured coach is Greece’s Otto Rehhagel, who started in 2001 and has recently extended his contract through the 2010 World Cup.

Even though goals make the game fun and entertaining, great goal keeping often creates the best suspense.

The best goal scorers are not always on the field at the end of games. Many coaches opted for fresh legs and looked like geniuses when their subs came through and scored key goals, which was often the case with Netherlands and Spain.

It is not frowned upon when a player sits due to an injury that he or the club feels will hamper the team. David Villa sitting out of the championship seemed cowardice to me at first, until I read that he felt his selfishness to play through a hamstring injury would not benefit the team. Where we Americans see athletes battle through injury and call them gutsy, the soccer world views it a bit differently. Hmm…that might explain our major problem with David Beckham’s arrival last year – cultural differences with injured athletes.

Foul calls are much, MUCH different when a player is in the box versus when a player is outside of the box.

Cristiano Ronaldo is great, but he needs to be more impressive in international play before the rest of the non-soccer world (America) cares about him. Pele, Maradona, Brazilian Ronaldo were propelled into the American lexicon by World Cup wins. Roberto Baggio may have never won a cup with Italy, but his prolific play made him popular amongst Americans.

National pride is a beautiful, poignant, and powerful thing – especially when thousands of fans join in one place for their country and sing their national anthem in unison.

Fernando Torres picked the right time to break out of a minor slump. So much was expected of him from his spectacular year with Liverpool. David Villa might have stolen his thunder to start with, but Torres carried the Spaniards to European glory.

Soccer does not need the England National Team to gain popularity in America.

While it’s hard for some national club teams to part ways with their more seasoned heroes, like Czech Republic’s Jan Koller, 35, who was shuffled quite a bit in his three games, other clubs favor a more youthful squad and seem to find more success. Spain elected to part ways with their international goal scorer Raúl González, 31, for the likes of much younger players like David Villa, David Silva, and Fernando Torres. Result: first championship in forty-four years for the Spanish. Russia, the youngest team in the tournament, made it to the semifinals.

Croatia is NOT a defensive team.

Soccer is not a perfect sport. However, to me there is currently no comparison to American sports when it comes to sportsmanship and passion. Sure the game itself is like any other sport in the world – a battle of cheap shots, flops, and plenty of words that got George Carlin arrested. But the respect displayed before and after the game is simply inspiring. Plus, elimination caused tears from fans, players, and coaches EVERY time; the dejection and joy on the pitch after a game is something missing from professional sports here. It’s not completely missing, but we also don’t see it enough.

On a similar note, playing for one’s country is still valued amongst these athletes who pull in millions with their respective clubs. Remember years ago when certain NBA players did not feel obligated to play for the U.S. National Team?

The Dutch have the sweetest looking uniforms.

Many Brazilian born players are playing with adopted European countries. Portugal, Turkey, Croatia, and Spain are all experiencing success with some of Brazil’s best talent. This is even more peculiar after seeing Brazil recently lose to some traditionally much weaker South American teams like Venezuela and Paraguay.

Lastly, the 2010 World Cup looks like it will be as competitive as ever.