As much as you have to feel sorry for the Irish football team – a possible place in the world cup was snatched away from them by Henry’s hand.

Their latest (and probably not their last) attempt to get into the world cup is to ask FIFA to add an extra team into the knock out competition.

Hmmm… 33 teams in a knock out competition – it could only be an Irish world cup!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup-2010/6701133/Fifa-reject-Republic-of-Irelands-request-to-be-included-as-World-Cups-33rd-team.html

… by saying something stupid like “can we be the 33rd team at the world cup?”

For fuck’s sake John Delaney. It was never gonna happen but at least the world was on our side. But then you go and make us look like fucking eejits again and it’s on CNN, BBC, SKY etc. Dammit.

And you make Roy Keane’s views seem almost rational, credible even. That’s some feat.

Dette er Lars

Han har SARS

Det er litt trist

Ja, du skulle bare visst.

For når han står opp

Og ser sin lekre kropp

Så tenker han.
Se på meg,
jeg er fin.
Bedre en to glass,
med årgangsvin

Nei, det kan ikke være lett

Å være så komplett.

Tusen takk for at du er til,

du er rett og slett bare rå, god og vill!!

For å ta min helg i få ord(til ekstra interesserte):kamp, sjøboden, bil, GØY biltur, kamp, taco, bursdag, chille, lekser og det var det.

Kjærleik

Lang war es still um Handball in der Region Hannover. Jetzt nach 26 Jahren gelang es dem TSV Hannover- Burgdorf endlich, in die Bundesliga aufzusteigen. Dieses Ereignis war Anlass dafür, Oberstufenschüler aus Schulen der Region Hannover zum spannenden Spiel in die AWD Hall einzuladen. Zusätzlich durften zwei Redakteure des OHG-Webjournals einmal „Presseluft“ schnuppern. Also ging es um 18 Uhr mit zehn Schülern, drei Lehrern* und zwei Pressevertretern auf nach Hannover. Da niemand genau wusste, ob uns ein spannendes oder langweiliges Spiel geboten würde, hofften wir – und natürlich alle anderen Zuschauer das Beste. Die Spannung auf das Spiel war förmlich sichtbar. Vor dem Spiel gab es eine tolle Show und während des Spieles wurde heftig mitgefiebert. Das Spiel wurde von viel Musik, Klatsch und Gesangseinlagen gefeiert und begleitet. Am Ende gewann Burgdorf 28:26.Die Zuschauer und natürlich auch die Burgdorfer waren glücklich über den Sieg in der Bundesliga. Im Anschluss daran, durften die Zuschauer sich Autogramme holen und Fotos mit den Spielern machen.

* Ein Herzlichen Dank für die große Hilfe und die tollen Fotos möchten wir an dieser Stelle Herrn Cordes, Herrn Ullmann und natürlich Frau Zehrfeld und ihrem Mann aussprechen.

Vor Ewigkeiten hab ich das Handballspielen auch mal beim EK Winnenden angefangen, aus diesem Grund bin ich diesem Verein trotz ein paar nicht so angenehmen Vorfällen sehr stark verbunden.  Am Samstag den 14.11.2009 war in der Stöckachhalle in Winnenden ein Probetraining für kleine Kinder. Einfach mal reinschnuppern und Grundängste abbauen. Da Lennox nach keinen Sport hat, wurde er und seine Schwester am frühen Morgen in Sportklamotten gesteckt und in die Stöckachhalle gefahren.

In der Sporthalle war ein sehr große Menge von Parcours aufgebaut. Es ging viel um Geschicklichkeit, Koordinantion und Ballgefühl. Nach einer Begrüßung wurden die Stationen von Verantwortlichen übernommen und die Kinder nach einer gemeinsamen Aufwärmaktion “frei gelassen”.  Jedes Kind konnte frei wählen wo es was machen will.  Samara und Lennox hatten auf einmal ziemlich Panik und ich bin dann mit den Kindern losgegegangen. Wir haben dann gemeinsam sehr viele Stationen durchgemacht und umso länger es ging umso lockerer wurden die Kinder und hatten trotz der anfänglichen Panik sehr viel Spass. Ganz nett war für mich, dass ich wieder sehr viele alte bekannte Gesichter getroffen habe und man auch ein paar Worte wechseln konnte.

Um 12 Uhr war die Veranstaltung beendet, die Kinder hatten wahnsinnig viel Spass.  Da sich das Training Voltigieren mit dem Handball überscheidet wird es aktuell für uns noch kein Thema, beim Lennox zeigt sich dass er mindestens noch ein Jahr braucht um das alles auf die Reihe zu bringen. Die Zeit bekommt er damit er den Sport den er sich aussucht auch lange gerne macht.

Und noch ein Gedicht… da kommt man spät nach Hause, der Schnitzelteller aus dem Nassauischen Hof setzt sich langsam, schwimmt noch in einem Liter lecker Pils – und wie bin ich da eigentlich rein geraten? Handball steht auf dem Programm, im Bezirk Wiesbaden liegt vieles ja eng zusammen, von Eddersheim bis Kastel alles Heimspiele. Also Unterstützung für die Damen I, die spielen gegen Eddersheim, aber in Hattersheim, klingt komisch, aber…

Jetzt laufen im HR3 gerade die 80er Dance Classics, das erschwert die Konzentration, wenn die alten Füße zu “Axel F.” zucken. Du du dudududu du du

Ein zäher Beginn des Spieles, der erinnert sich mir noch, das erste Tor nach gut drei Minuten – während der gegnerische Trainer nach 0:17 Minuten seine Mannschaft zum ersten Mal von der Bank aus motiviert hat. Was einem so auffällt, wenn man auf einer simplen Holzbank am Spielfeldrand sitzt, weil es in der Halle sonst nur eine Stehempore gibt. Die Hofheimer Damen konnten sich frühzeitig ein wenig absetzen und konnten ihren Vorsprung bis zur Pause auf acht Tore ausbauen. Insgesamt eine sehr gute Leistung in der ersten Hälfte. Bis hierhin hatte es sich noch nicht negativ bemerkbar gemacht, dass Hofheim nur drei Auswechselspielerinnen aufbieten konnte.

Die zweite Hälfte ging zwar mit zwei Toren verloren, aber durch einen guten Zwischenspurt konnten die Eddersheimerinnen wieder auf Distanz gebracht werden. Diese waren zwischenzeitlich bis auf ein oder zwei Tore ran gekommen, doch dann funktionierte plötzlich die Abwehr im Zusammenspiel mit den beiden Torfrauen Vesma und Nina richtig gut und die Hofheimer erste Welle überrollte den Gegner. Die schwindenden Kräfte zeigten sich eher im Stellungsangriff vorne, als sich doch einige Pass- und Fangfehler einschlichen.
Da Christina verletzt die Halle verlassen musste, saßen nun nur noch zwei Spielerinnen auf der Bank und auch Sibylle kam zu 15 Minuten auf dem Feld. Da nun aber auch Eddersheim im Angriff und Abwehr langsam mehr Fehler machte, da der Druck der drohenden Niederlage auf ihnen lastete, konnte Hofheim I die zwei Punkte am Ende sicher nach Hause mitnehmen.

Was gab es sonst noch nach Nettigkeiten? Eintritt war frei, dafür gab es auch kein Catering. Eddersheim hat VIER 7-Meter verworfen, und davon allein drei (nach meiner Zählung) am Tor vorbei – Armutszeugnis. Die Eddersheimer Torfrau war lange zu stark für unseren Rückraum, im Gegensatz zu den meisten anderen Torfrauen konnte die auch die Winkel abdecken…

Und danach ging es noch zum Mannschaftsessen mit Anhängsel. Und ich durfte lecker Schnitzel essen! Doch im Gegensatz zu manch anderem Spiel war diesmal ebendieses auch gut, nicht nur die Verpflegung! Weiter so, Damen – dieses Wochenende verbringt ihr auf Tabellenplatz 2! Und wollen doch mal schauen, ob die Herren es euch morgen Nachmittag an gleicher Stätte gleichtun. Ich werde zumindest dort sein. In Hattersheim, gegen Eddersheim…

Gute Besserung nochmals an Christina – bis du heiratest, ist alles wieder gut!

Une petite compilation subjective de vidéos concernant Metz,

glanées sur Dailymotion.

Pour se donner une idée de la ville, de sa vie

(cliquez sur les images pour les regarder).

Merci aux auteurs

Ces vidéos resteront en permanence sur une page accessible depuis le menu en haut de ce blog

J’en ajouterai au fur et à mesure (n’hésitez pas à me donner vos conseils)

Bon voyage à Metz!!!

Scharner: Dodgy hair, dodgy goal

Continuing the Microsoft Paint Stories Of The Week series (soon to be re-named ‘Baron-Watch’), this week we once again catch up with Baron Silas Greenback (aka Avram Grant), and it certainly appears that he’s been keeping himself busy of late.

Not only has the amphibious super-villain been officially appointed as Portsmouth manager (as predicted here on Eddie’s Football Blog), but there have also been one or two unexplained events in the past week, both of which I am fairly certain he had something to do with.

Now, as we all know from ‘Danger Mouse’ (the reality TV series in which Greenback featured heavily during the 1980s) The Baron has a history of going to great lengths to create the perfect ‘Kansas City Shuffle’ – a moment in which he makes us all look one way (via a distraction), whilst he sneakily steps in to take over the world. I have highlighted examples of this before…

Stealing all of the world’s sign-posts. Sending tins of exploding custard to every household on the planet. Turning elephants into sugar cubes. Stuff like that. Ideas that could only conceivably be contrived by an evil toad.

Naturally therefore, when I stumbled across an article this afternoon citing ‘mysterious toilet blockages’ on an entire fleet of Cathay Pacific aeroplanes, my suspicions were raised. Perhaps the plan this time is to drain all of the world’s oceans? Think about it… the entire population of earth, all wildly flushing their porcelain thrones at once. The water usage would go off the chart.

Well, it’s either that, or he’s plotting a world-wide shortage of drain unblocking products. Just think of a world without drain unblocking products. All hell would break loose. Indian restaurants would fight and squabble over the remaining supplies and, worse of all, we’d all have to start using bidets due to the constant fear of clogging our own crappers. Yes, that’s right, we’d basically all become French.

I can see the fear on your face now. He must be stopped.

Talking of the French, and insanely long introductions out of the way, this leads me nicely on to the second of the unexplained phenomena that has occurred more than once in the past week. Namely, the act of scoring a goal in professional football, having blatantly committed a handball prior to putting the ball in the onion bag.

Both Thierry Henry (the goal that broke Irish hearts. Well, unless you’re Roy Keane), and Paul Scharner (the ‘1′ in Wigan’s 9-1 walloping at Tottenham) have scored goals of this ilk in the past week. Both have got away with it. My question is how?

Suspecting Greenback, I headed to his lair at Portsmouth’s Blue Reef aquarium earlier this week. Passing myself off as ‘Mr Grant’s Wart Removal Technician’ I gained entry, and this is what I discovered…

I think I know what’s been going on now.

Greenback has known all season that, at some point, he was going to be asked to replace Paul Hart as manager. It’s one of the worst kept secrets of all time. Right up there with Tom Cruise’s homosexuality. However, with this knowledge came responsibility. When he became manager, he was going to have to improve Pompey’s form.

Henry: Giving Greenback's invention the high-five

Knowing that his squad wasn’t anywhere near good enough to stay up on their own, and given that he is an super-villain with a lair, an evil crow assistant, and more than a few masterplans up his sleeve, Greenback got to work on a couple of ideas he’d had to improve his team’s performance. The first of these was injecting a ‘Striker’s Serum’ into Aruna Dindane, in the hope that the Ivorian would end up scoring a bucket load of goals. As you’ll remember, it started with a hat-trick, and ended with a threesome. It turned out that the ‘Scoring Serum’ wasn’t specific to football, and the Baron was forced to abandon Dindane’s regular injections after the goals dried up.

Now though, it looks as though Greenback has a new concept to use. A footballing aid called ‘The Invisible Handball’. Basically it is a specially designed synthetic forearm and hand combination that, when attached to a footballer, is completely invisible to the referee and his assistants. It means that a footballer can control, dribble, and even score a goal with their hand, and the officials will not see any offence.

The prototype was tested by Greenback’s father (Earl Greenback) during the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, on a certain young Argentinean by the name of Diego Maradona. It worked brilliantly during a match against England, but after Maradona refused to remove his new hand because he saw it as a good way to get cocaine past customs officials, Earl Greenback abandoned the experiment. Now, in the knowledge that he’ll be taking over such a poorly equipped Premier League team, Greenback Junior has resurrected it.

The product was tested last week on France Captain (and shaving enthusiast) Thierry Henry, and Wigan utility man (and Austrian style icon) Paul Scharner. On both occasions (as mentioned above) the protagonists used their new hand to score via an unfathomably dodgy handball. This obviously means that ‘The Invisible Handball’ passed its test with flying colours. There is, however, no word on either player having become a coke-mule for an underground gang of Colombians since their match. I’ll keep you posted though.

As ever, Baron Greenback looks on from his office as his evil crow henchman prepares to remove the hand from Scharner, in order to get it attached to Ivorian science experiment Dindane, and ready for this weekend’s visit of Manchester United. So, if you see a dodgy handball from young Aruna this Saturday, you’ll now know why the referee allowed play to continue.

It also seems that MI5 are also suspicious of Greenback’s activities (perhaps they read the blocked plane toilets atricle too), as they sent one of their agents into his lair on the day I was conducting my investigation. However, after failing to desguise himself, and following a cliché-filled chat in the Baron’s office, the vodka martini drinking agent ‘fell’ through a trap-door (that just happened to randomly open below his feet) and into a pool of sharks with freekin’ lazerrrs attached to them. He never stood a chance.

So, whether you’re worried about Portsmouth’s new ability to score goals, the possibility that you might have to cleanse your nether regions like a Frenchman in the near future, or just the concerned about the prospect of reading yet another article dedicated to a cartoon character lookalike, it is clear that this man must be stopped.

Where the hell is Danger Mouse when you need him, eh? Let’s hope that he has suffered the same fate as this little chap…

Liverpool’s below par form saw them make an uncharacteristically early exit from Europe’s premier competition when their single goal victory was rendered irrelevant by Fiorentina’s success over group leaders Lyon by the same score. Benitez’s men have lived a notoriously charmed life in the tournament since his arrival, but with no poor refereeing decisions apparent, no dubious goals awarded and no outrageous 30 yard thunderbolts from the right boot of Steven Gerrard, Liverpool fans were forced to come to terms with their own mortality… that and the mediocrity of their squad.

This is not something the Liverpool faithful are very good at however, spoiled by years of cooing from elder statesmen who are all too willing to regale stories from the glory days of eras gone by, the red army of Anfield have believed themselves a breed apart for so long that all this not being very good has stirred up some fantastic theories on the terraces. The Corridor of Uncertainty has taken a look at some of these theories and their plausibility:

1.  “The Yanks don’t like each other.”

The much publicised spat between Liverpool co-owners George Gillette and Tom Hicks has caused as much consternation in the Liverpool dressing room as it has in the director’s box where frantic seat swapping has been a feature of every Liverpool home game since the fallout. Seen as a measure of how well the two American businessmen (affectionately referred to as “those fucking Yanks” by nine tenths of the ground) are getting along that particular week, the varying number of seats between them is thought to have had a direct influence upon Liverpool’s performance. Such a division in what has been a historically harmonious club, united in their delusions of grandeur, has had consequences previously unthinkable happen upon their Melwood training ground. Cooperation between the players is at an all time low as they side with their preferred American, the first signs of this becoming apparent at the Hawthorns last year when Alvaro Arbeloa was thought by Jamie Carragher to have insulted his favoured Yank George Gillette with an exclamation of “his razor’s are fucking shit!” as Marc-Antoine Fortuné (a renowned user of Gillette’s products) narrowly placed a shot wide of Pepé Reina’s post. More recent examples of this division have been noted this season with Martin Skrtle having fallen out with the match ball since Tom Hicks began to sponsor it, this is widely thought to have been the reason for his refusal to approach it on various occasions at Anfield this year.

2. “Karma”

Liverpool’s only goal against Debrecen was scored by French cheat David Ngog. The youngster has looked much more spritely these last couple of weeks, this is thought to be because the Batman to his Robin of footballing con-artistry, Thierry Henry has shown himself to be the orchestrator of global injustices whilst Ngog remains and the unsightly dive merchant and somebody who Lee Carsley would like to punch. Such is the belief in fate, karma and deity that is Fernando Torres (“A child born unto us”), on the Kop that Liverpool fans are starting to wonder whether the latest foul play on behalf of Ngog (full name: Ngogdownlikeashortscotchatafuneral) and his recent alignment with Henry (full name: Henryplaysicanbeseentakingthelaceout) is bringing about bad Karma for Liverpool in what is normally their most charmed arena, the Champions League.

3. “Who are you and what have you done with Benitez?!”

Rafael Benitez’s demise from tactical mastermind to hapless enforcer of bizarre substitutions has come as such a mystery to Liverpool fans that the only explanation left unexplored before they admit they are now rubbish, and therefore the obvious explanation to their woe is… Rafa’s goatee. A clean shaven Benitez is immortalised upon many oversized flags waved bi-weekly on the Kop, showing him in his famed ‘sitting down to win the Champions League’ pose and accompanied by some tenuous James lyrics. Whilst the difference in managerial ability of that sitting champion compared to the floundering fact finder that frustrates the Anfield faithful today is incredible, the only physical difference to be found upon that enigmatic mask of Hispanic calm is a tidy goatee beard, cultivated just around the time of his demise! Benitez is clearly suffering from what has until now been known as Phil Brown Syndrome, condition in which an ageing man develops a malignant brain addling growth on his face that, fully formed, arrives in the shape of a goatee beard and renders the sufferer unable to make any educated footballing decisions. Benitez is thought to be in the early stages of his condition and the Anfield DJ is on standby to cut short any attempt by Rafa to seize the microphone and make an idiot of himself by giving the incredulous fans a version of ‘Ring of Fire’ over the PA system, assistant Sammy Lee is also locking the dressing room door at half time in case of any sudden decision by Benitez to give his half time team talk on the pitch. These are all symptoms only normally found in long-term sufferers and they follow a suspicious tanning of the skin, Benitez seems to only have been affected by the loss of managerial ability thus far.

Im ersten von zwei Länderspielen kam die deutsche Auswahl gegen die Niederlande zu einem klaren Sieg. In Wuppertal gewannen die DHB-Damen vor knapp 1.500 Zuschauern 33:19. Nach einer knappen 12:10-Halbzeit-Führung drehten die Deutschen ordentlich auf. Beste Werferin war Sabrina Neukamp, die 13 Mal traf. Morgen gibt es dann einen weiteren Test gegen den gleichen Gegner. Spielort ist die Rönnehalle in Greven (Anwurf 19 Uhr).

Nominiert hat DHB-Trainer Rainer Osmann:

Tor: Sabine Englert (Midtjylland), Katja Schülke (Leipzig), Clara Woltering (Leverkusen)

Feld: Nadine Härdter (Thüringer HC), Isabel Klein (Buxtehude), Ania Rösler (Leipzig), Sara Walzik (Leverkusen), Nina Wörz (Randers), Wiebke Kethorn (Oldenburg), Anna Loerper (Leverkusen), Susann Müller (Leipzig), Sabrina Neukamp (Blomberg-Lippe), Franziska Mietzner (Frankfurter HC), Laura Steinbach (Leverkusen), Christine Beier (Frankfurter HC), Anja Althaus (Viborg)

Handball live erleben

Afternoon all.

The controversial decision last week involving Mr. Henry handling the ball has thrown up the old age debate of video replays. Should video replays be used by the officials if they missed it first time? Everyone who believes they should be used always refers back to the NFL, and says how it could work in the premiership. All the nay sayers believe it would interrupt the game too much, but the game stops and starts quite a lot as it is. Also, if it is used like the NFL then managers will only get 3 challenges anyway, so it can’t be used for everything. Perhaps just incidents where a goal is scored and it can be used within the box. Games shouldn’t be stopped for it though, only once the game has stopped already anyway.

I for one am not sure whether it would be worth it, and whether it would make the game less fun. Even though it is harsh on the Irish it has made people talk and add some interest to the game.

Some blame must be put on the broadcasters, they moan and moan about refs. making bad decisions but do they do anything apart from that?….no.

Anyway it would be great to see what everyone thinks about these issues.

Die in diesem Jahr schwächelnde SG Flensburg-Handwitt kann es doch noch! bei den Rhein-Neckar löwen gewannen die Norddeutschen heute Abend 30:26. Bis zur 26. Minute waren die Gastgeber zum Teil mit 3 Toren in Führung, dann wendete sich das Baltt. Schon zur Pause lag die SG mit 15:13 in Front. Nach der Pause blieb es zunächst spannend. Flensburg war meist mit 1 oder 2 Toren in Front, ehe die SG in der Schluss-Viertelstunde bis auf 6 Tore davonzog (30:24/59.). Bester Werfer bei Flensburg war Oscar Carlén (7), bei Mannheim Olafur Stefansson (6). In einer weiteren Partie wurde der HSV Hamburg seiner Favoritenrolle gerecht und gewann in der Color Line Arena gegen den TSV Dormagen klar 39:23. Hamburg liegt in der Bundesliga mit einem Punkt hinter dem THW Kiel auf Platz 2.

Fiquei sabendo através do meu antigo professor e treinador Ronaldo Bueno que o ex-goleiro da seleção de handball, o Xexa, tem um projeto muito legal com o Mosteiro São Geraldo. Fui dar uma pesquisada e vou falar um pouco sobre o projeto.

O Mosteiro São Geraldo

O Mosteiro São Geraldo de São Paulo é uma sociedade civil de direito privado, filantrópica e sem fins lucrativos, fundada em 12 de janeiro de 1950 pelos monges beneditinos húngaros da Abadia São Geraldo, com sede na cidade de São Paulo, tem por finalidade criar, congregar, dirigir e manter instituições que visam a beneficência, a promoção humana, a educação, a cultura, o ensino e a assistência social. Sua primeira grande atividade, no campo da educação, foi a fundação, em 27 de fevereiro de 1951, do Colégio Santo Américo, no Bairro de Santa Cecília.

Tendo o Colégio e a comunidade monástica se transferido para o Morumbi em 1963, desde então o Mosteiro ajuda a população carente que vive nas imediações, sob a coordenação de uma das criadoras do projeto, Sra. M. Suzana Oltay Haypek. As obras sociais do Mosteiro são desenvolvidas em quatro núcleos: em Vila Morse, na Favela de Paraisópolis (dois núcleos) e em Monte Kemel. Esses núcleos são centros comunitários que atendem crianças e adolescentes de 0 a 18 anos através das creches e dos chamados núcleos sócio-educativos. O objetivo do Mosteiro São Geraldo, entretanto, não é meramente assistencialista. O trabalho realizado visa educar e formar pessoas que estejam aptas a conseguir um lugar no mercado de trabalho e possa, assim, tornar-se autônomas e conquistar sua dignidade humana.

O handball no mosteiro

O Projeto de Handebol das Obras Sociais do Mosteiro São Geraldo, idealizado pelo ex-goleiro da Seleção Brasileira de Handebol, Marcelo Minhoto Ferraz de Sampaio, o Xexa, tem o objetivo de formar cidadãos e propiciar a inclusão social de jovens de baixa renda por meio do esporte.

Desde agosto de 2005, Xexa vem desenvolvendo esse trabalho de iniciação esportiva com jovens do Centro Comunitário de Paraisópolis, um dos núcleos das Obras Sociais do Mosteiro São Geraldo.

No início, 33 garotos na faixa etária de 11 a 14 anos de idade se reuniam aos sábados, no Colégio Santo Américo, para treinar com o ex-goleiro. O grupo cresceu e atualmente atende 80 jovens entre 11 e 18 anos, subdivididos em quatro categorias – Mirim (11/12 anos), Infantil (13/14 anos), Cadete (15/16 anos) e Juvenil (17/18 anos – em organização). Um auxiliar técnico, o professor Luiz Márcio Berlfein, veio reforçar o projeto.

Já no final de 2007, as três equipes de handebol começaram a se destacar. Os meninos do Mirim sagraram-se campeões dos tradicionais Jogos Mirins da Cidade de São Paulo. E as equipes Infantil e Cadete conquistaram a segunda colocação na Liga Escolar. Inclusive quatro atletas foram convidados a integrar a seleção da Liga: Diego Costa e Ian Soares ( Infantil); e Fernando Foschini e Guilherme Oliveira (Cadete).

A partir deste ano de 2008, o Projeto de Handebol contará com o apoio da Associação dos Ex-alunos do Colégio Santo Américo (AEA). As quatro equipes receberão uniformes completos para participar de competições ao longo do ano.

Para o presidente da AEA, Alexandre Simões, é um privilégio dar apoio a trabalho tão importante. “Queremos valorizar as crianças e jovens assistidos pelo programa, colaborando para a sua formação como pessoas e cidadãos”, observou.

Já Xexa, que também é pai de alunos do Colégio Santo Américo, afirmou que ações dessa natureza contribuem com o trabalho formativo, essencial para o projeto. “Na verdade, a parceria da AEA faz com que os meninos se sintam extremamente valorizados”, afirmou.

A trajetória de Xexa

Durante 15 anos, Marcelo Sampaio atuou como goleiro da Seleção Brasileira de Handebol. Ao longo de sua carreira, entre 1981 a 1996, defendeu as cores do Brasil por 150 vezes. E, como atleta federado, jogou pelo Pinheiros durante 11 anos.

Além da participação em duas Olimpíadas, Barcelona (1992) e Atlanta (1996), Xexa também defendeu o Brasil em outras duas importantes competições internacionais – o mundial da Itália e o da Islândia.

É isso, para ajudar o mosteiro:

• Participe como voluntário
• Financie eventos e projetos
• Doe remédios para a farmácia social
• Participe do programa “Adote Uma Criança na Creche”, contribuindo mensalmente com o valor que julgar conveniente
• Faça doações em espécie (alimentos, roupas, material de higiene, material escolar)

Para ajudar clique aqui

é muito bom saber desses projetos, se souberem de mais projetos enviem para: renan.abranches@gmail.com

being a Capetonian, i am supposed to be very excited about the impending world cup in our land, now under 200 days away.

but i have had my misgivings about fifa for some time now, in the way they deal with the whole world cup. it has become quite clear that this is not about the friendly competitiveness of soccer played by the best nations of the current year, but it is rather a cash-cow for fifa’s coffers.

examples:
1. Why would McDonalds have to be the official food sponsor (and only food allowed near a stadium) in Germany – when Germany has some of the best & easiest foods around (such as their well known sausages – perfect for a game like this!)

2. Why does FIFA get tell us who can and can’t trade within 1km of the stadium, and who can and cannot brand their souvenirs with “2010″?

3. Why does FIFA dictate ridiculous rates for hotels, making them stupidly low for the local hoteliers in a boom season, yet selling them at madly inflated prices to the public? I’m glad so many SA hotels and accommodation establishments told MATCH (FIFA’s accommodation arm) to go look elsewhere.

and now the Ireland – France game has just proven this cash-cow fixation:
it is clear, without any doubt whatsoever, that France’s Thierry Henry used his hands on the ball. ANYONE knows that that is not allowed.
He admitted it was wrong.
He suggested a replay.
Ireland suggested a replay.
France suggested a replay.
everyone suggested a reply.

FIFA said, “non”.

Why? presumably because France being in the game will ensure more spectators at the tournament in SA than if Ireland were travelling south. And more spectators = more money. plain and simple.

But now, if France were to actually win the tournament, it may well be considered a fraud by the world, because they shouldn’t have actually been there. by their own admission.

FIFA has fucked up, and like Mugabe, they are too embarassed to say, “pardon”, “sorry” and stick to the actual old ideals of this game – friendly competition between soccer-loving nations – and may the team that plays the best this year win.

very very sad.

Noen ganger er alt så motsatt fra dagen før. I går var jeg veldig sliten, jeg hadde egentlig ingen energi og bare surret rundt i den der hvilken dag er det i dag ørska mi, mens jeg i dag har full peiling. Jeg vet at det er tirsdag, jeg visste at jeg hadde kamp, og at jeg skulle kjøre bestefar. Så jeg sluttet 12 på skolen jeg, likegreit, og gikk hjem for en blund på øye. Med i bilen mot bestemor var en venn, og etterpå kjørte vi litt rundt, før jeg brutalt dumpet han og hentet bestefar igjen. Så drog jeg på kamp. Og vi vant, på tross av at bare 4 fra mitt lag møtte, og vi måtte låne 2 spillere fra motsatt lag. Vi vant, folkens. Så drog jeg hjem å dusjet og slikt man gjør når man er svett, spiste litt, og nå er jeg i seng. POW. Jeg har attpåtil gjort en halv lekse, og ser at klokken har bikket over mot ny dag, altså det er onsdag! Nå har jeg skjønt det.

For å kommentere overskriften er det bare litt lyrics fra det som muligens er min nye yndlingssang. Jeg hørte den på vei til kamp, og ble med ett forelsket. Det var liksom.. himmelen og jorden. Ærlig føltes det som om noen sang om drømmene mine, så fin er den. Jeg kjente meg liksom igjen i sangen, og godt var det. For dere nysgjerrige, så heter sangen Fireflies av Owl City. Jeg kan jo alltids linke dere.

For dere med spotify: TRYKK HER FOR Å HØRE DRØMMENE TIL RANNVEIG!!

HØR OG NYT! Jeg tar natten og hørte rykter om at det ble Soho i natt. En hånd å holde i!

Kjærleik

We Irish are fit to make a middling fist of cynicism. After all, it’s a well fashionable attitude. But at heart we are anything but. Tell us a good myth and we will buy it, hook, line and most probably sinker. We believe in the dream. Whether it be the American Dream, the Roman Church Dream, the Celtic Tiger Dream or the Good Intentions of Fianna Fail Dream. Now that the dust has begun to settle slightly on the Main de Dieu affair, what lessons are we to take from the sorry tale of Ireland’s unfair departure from the World Cup?

For a start, let’s agree that the let’s-get-a-grip people have a point. It is not the end of the world that we missed out on qualifying for the World Cup. Yes, it cost us a lot of money. Yes, it was unfair. But there are so many more serious issues facing us; floods, global warming, the financial crisis, list them yourself. But football, as has been observed before, is a metaphor for life. Football makes us feel good. Football in the 1980’s was one of the absurd things that gave us a previously lacking belief in ourselves, that took us out of the post colonial doldrums. It has sometimes been said that Jack Charlton and – for entirely different reasons – Mary Robinson started the Celtic Tiger. And whatever about these big brush strokes one thing is sure. A strange tinge of regret will linger in Irish hearts as we watch Henry, Gallas and friends go about their business in South Africa 2010. Our minds will inevitably drift back to a November evening in 2009.

Remember? First off, we sang. The 5000 or so of us who had forked out and travelled to the match sang their lungs out for Amhrain na bFiann, but they sang Les Marseillaise nearly as lustily, shoulder to shoulder with our hosts. They bought into the occasion, into the pageant, into the competition with our traditional belief, commitment and humour. The rest of us sang along mentally with the TV. The country is small, and many of the Irish soccer fans would also have watched rugby matches at the Stade de France. We like the French. We knew a lot of their players, some in particular from their high profile gigs in England. The feeling in our hearts was more of hope than of conviction, being 1 – 0 down from the first leg. But we do the role of underdog well. When no one expects much from us, we are always good.

The world of the top flight professional footballer is one far removed from the world inhabited by most football fans. Millions of words have been written about the fishbowl of celebrity. But, like a lot of things, you probably need to be there to really understand what being a famous footballer is all about. We know, but don’t understand their world, a world in which they (generally) start out young, leave (an often modest) home, never grow up and dedicate huge work to their skills and fitness. They pretty well sacrifice everything to become one of the few, the very few who graduate, get through the eye of the needle and fulfil their dreams of fame and riches.

It might be useful to contemplate here some of the threads that bind the fans and these remote football stars together. One such is obvious. It is memory. Most footballers were once fans themselves. They stood on the terraces and dreamed. Another link are the referees, the middle-aged lads who puff and huff through the game blowing (or not blowing) whistles and raising flags. Most of these are part time (although FIFA are said to favour more professional referees), and they are modestly paid, especially in comparison to the celebrities whose play they regulate. Theirs is the epitome of a thankless job. Sometimes all that opposing fans agree on are the failures of the ref and his team.

Another link between fans and players are the managers. However high-flying and however famous a manager, he dare not incur the displeasure of the fans. Losing the dressing room is one thing; but losing the terrace is even more threatening for the career of a gaffer.

At some stage in the Stade de France on 18 November, it dawned on Thierry Henry that he was not playing in a superleague, Spanish or English or French. An international, especially this kind of international, is a different beast. Here you play with the honour of your country at stake. And to most people, even today, that means something. The Irish fans are not cynics; but neither are the French. They too, sang. They too, believed. And from their reaction in various blogs, in overwhelming votes on the Internet, in their calls for the match to be replayed, it is obvious that a sporting occasion, not a win-at-all-costs one was what they thought they were attending. Fans across the globe, English fans, Hungarian fans, Japanese fans, all voiced their outrage and disquiet at the injustice. These are not cynics either. A small minority, of course, insisted on a display of world-weary cynicism. But, as a number of people pointed out, a large proportion of the consumers of football and its associated merchandise are children. And they are not cynical either.

It was informative to listen to a series of professional footballers deliver their verdicts on the subject of the Henry foul that got away. Because of the sacrifices they have made, perhaps because they have had to re-invent super-flexible versions of themselves to get through the eye of the needle, the top players and ex-players have become as cynical as soldiers. Be it Roy Keane or Mick McCarthy. Be it Ronnie Whelan or David Beckham. And this sorry affair gives us a glimpse behind the clichés of football at the real people who perform week in week out for the clubs. You can detect the egos, the arrogance of course. But you can also detect self doubt, self loathing, even in the words of Roy Keane. He seems to be forever fighting a shadow Roy Keane who forgot to bring the footballs to Saipan or who is afraid to win, or who might have let the ball hop in the six yard box, once, at the end of a tired game, and lost everything. He had a fantastic playing career, and has entered the hall of fame as one of the true greats of Ireland and of Manchester United. He always seemed to have time on the ball, even in the most crowded midfield. He had authority on that field of dreams. Yet he left his last management job with an air of Hari Kiri about him. Roy needs to give himself a break. And give others a break, too.

Likewise Stephen Ireland, in a totally different way. Ireland just can’t believe he got through the needle’s narrow eye. He with his gawky body and prematurely receding hair. To convince himself, he keeps flaunting absurdly expensive cars, and giving interviews explaining why he’s not coming back to play for his country. He once said (perhaps in jest) that he hates football. He is every inch the star but all his body language betrays is fear. He is afraid of breaking the spell. He is afraid to play for Ireland, because he might be found out. He might not be good enough. You have to think for a second, when you try to name examples of people at the very top who seem to have kept their innocence and personal balance. But, from a distance, we can venture Ryan Giggs, Richard Dunne, Shay Given. Others have had their difficulties and recovered and carried on. It must be a strange place these lads occupy.

Thierry Henry seems basically to be a nice guy. His post match comments regarding his actions and even his apology for his celebration show that he is a man with a conscience and a sense of justice. It is true that his reaction was confused. He played up the goal, then later sat beside Richard Dunne on the pitch and tried to engage him in discussion. Not because he is a cynic, but because he knew by then that he was a loser, too. He had heard the singing and remembered the faces of the Irish fans. Later he saw the tears of the Irish. The uproar and genuine anger across the world did hurt him. There is no doubt about that. He was the captain in a very real sense of the French team. It is he, reports claim, rather than the vague Domenech, who really leads – and perhaps even picks – the French side. But once the storm broke Henri found himself isolated and abandoned, by the French FA, and – by the tone of his remarks – perhaps even by his playing colleagues. Everyone had to wait to see if he might have to be sacrificed. At this level, the players may be cynical. But the blazer brigade, made up of ex players and wannabe players are cynical squared. Cynical magnified to grotesque levels.

Korea, the World Cup host nation, were cheated into the closing stages of the World Cup finals in 2002, at the expense of Italy. Byron Moreno, the referee of the match, wrongly disallowed a perfectly good Italian goal by Tommasi, and sent off an Italian player unjustly. The Italian coach at the time was one Giovanni Trappatoni. Moreno was later banned for 20 matches in his native Ecuador for playing excessive (13 minutes, after 6 had been signalled) extra time, thereby affecting the results of a match between Liga Deportiva Universitaria de Quito and Barcelona Sporting Club.

The seeding made half way through the 2009 World Cup qualifying competition was clearly designed to affect the results. In the days before the match, the French newspaper Le Figaro wrote that the seeding of the playoff draw had been deliberately loaded in favour of the ‘big’ teams; and they questioned the influence of Adidas, sponsors of the French team. Right from the start, the preference of the world governing body were clear. This put – even if no pressure other than this was exerted – a terrible strain on one of the key links between the fans and the never-never land of top level football. The referee.

On the night of the match the Swedish official Hansson decided to employ a conventional ‘left handed’ diagonal system of control to monitor and regulate play. This system basically breaks the pitch into four quadrants. At the time when the French got their ‘goal’, the first two quadrants were in the Irish half (Q1 was on Shay Givens right) and the other two were in the French half. The ref was diagonally patrolling from quadrant four to quadrant one, leaving his first assistant, Wittberg, quadrant 3 in the French half and a guy called Frederik Nilsson, the second assistant, quadrant 2 along the left side of the Irish touchline. From the endless replays, Nilsson seemed to be the only one with a clear view of the incident. It was his direct responsibility to spot that two French players were offside as the ball came in. He was standing in the correct position, directly in line with the last defender. Inexplicably, though, he missed both the handball and the offside. Nilsson, unlike Hansson, is not a full time ref. He is down on the FIFA site as a ‘foreman’.

When the Irish players protested, referee Martin Hansson made a gesture as if the ball was striking his chest and the side of his body. His message was; I saw it (or he saw it), it was a good goal, you are wrong to protest. He even booked Damien Duff for over-zealous complaints. Of course video evidence seconds later showed that it was the ref that was wrong. Blatantly wrong. Did he consult with his linesman via his audio link? Presumably. There have been incidents where the officials have ‘unofficially’ used the television replay to make a judgement.  [I have since been told by a Frenchman that they don't show the slow-mo in the Stade de France]. And in the minutes leading up to that replay, somehow Hansson got a completely wrong impression of what happened. Not no impression, mark you, but the WRONG one.

Anyway, Hansson made his decision, the game re-started, and that was that. The Irish played on. In fairness to him, Nilsson had – rightly – flagged an Italian ‘goal’ by Sidney Govou as offside in the 111th minute. The referee also denied Nicholas Anelka a penalty claim when the Frenchman dived. In general, fans agreed, the Swedish officials had a good game, until the lapse in the first half of extra time.

After the world wide post-match inquest began, the focus shifted away from Henry and the Swedish referees and on to the world body and its officials. FIFA were already in their bunker. A bland version of the match was described on their website, omitting for the first 24 hours any mention of the handball. They cited the rules of the game in their statement responding to the FAI call for a replay. The referee’s decision is final, they said, pointing to the rule book. Only – the referee’s decision is not final, it turns out. Uzbekistan and Bahrain had a game replayed under the stewardship of FIFA during the 2006 qualifiers, on the basis of a referee’s mistake.

And here, I would suggest, lies the greatest danger for Sepp Blatter and the suits in FIFA. As long as The Threads That Bind the true fans to the strange world of the booted gladiators hold, their position (and those of sponsors, etc.) is safe. But break that spell, and get half a million of them baying for blood and you can forget the deals. You can forget the massive edifice that is world football. Because, like the banking system, the entire thing works on the basis of confidence. World wrestling is fun, but no one believes it is real. If the paying football punters were to become as cynical as the players, not to mention the officers of the governing bodies, the world game would not last a wet week. Stay un-cynical, Ireland fans, and true fans everywhere. Believe, for as long as you can.

Haven’t you heard? Tuesday is the new Thursday in terms of weekly Photoshopping. I didn’t realise last week but from now we’ll be doing this on Tuesdays. This week the theme was Stephen Ireland. Then Thierry Henry decided to handball his way to becoming the worst human being in the history of mankind and thus the theme was changed by The Guardian.

I personally think it’s all a big much ado about nothing. Yes he cheated, but it hardly tarnishes a whole 16 year career. There’s been a distinct lack of perspective, and too many people in the media forgot that it was hardly a given that Ireland were going to World Cup. It was 1-1 on aggregate at the time after all. 

Also, as has been pointed out in many places, weren’t Ireland the beneficiaries of their own ridiculous handball decision in World Cup qualifying? Swings and roundabouts. Anyway, my internetless woes at home continue somewhat so it’s another simple entry this week.

What's all the fuss? Does no-one else remember Thierry winning the Golden Glove awards while at Arsenal?

The rest of this week’s gallery can be found here (some very funny stuff, especially the winner).

T.

Archive.

先日18日に行われた2010年ワールドカップ（Ｗ杯）の欧州予選プレーオフ、フランス対アイルランドの第2戦で、フランスが延長戦の末、ティエリ・アンリのハンドで得たゴールで1−1の引き分け、ワールドカップ行きのチケットを手に入れた件で、「正義感の強い」イギリスメディアは連日大騒ぎだ。スポーツ欄だけではなく、ニュース欄でも大きく取り上げている。このハンドはビデオで見ても明らかにハンドなのに、レフェリーが見逃した。アイルランドサッカー協会（IFA）は国際サッカー連盟（FIFA）に抗議、再試合を申請したが、FIFAは却下、フランスサッカー連盟（FFF）も拒否した。全て予想された結果だ。アイルランドも勝ち目なしと、早々に諦めたようだ。試合の後、インタビューを受けたフランス人ジャーナリストは、ワールドカップでは大きなお金が動くし経済効果も大きいので、FFFは絶対再試合を受け入れないと断言していた。その通りだった。これが逆の立場だったら、どうなっていただろうと思う。

当のアンリはハンドは認めてるけど、審判の責任だからと謝ってないし、「再試合がフェア」と言ってるけど、それもFIFAが再試合拒否の裁定を出してからだ。代表辞退も考えたらしいけど、結局辞めないし。自分のイメージ挽回のために、口先だけで適当に言い逃れて、ほとぼりが冷めるのを待ってるんだろう。

八百長とまでは言わないけれど、都合のいい結果を正そうとしないその後のFIFAの対応が、やはりスポーツも所詮ビジネス、影響力のあるサッカー強国に有利な世界なのねと思わせる一件だ。The Sunday TImesで、興味深い「陰謀説」記事を見つけた。元フランス代表のミシェル・プラティニ欧州サッカー連盟の会長の手引きによって、今回のプレーオフは、強国に有利になるように、くじ引きではなく、世界ランキングの高い国と弱い国が当たるシード方式を採用したと言われている。強国に有利になるようにしているのには、高額のテレビ契約料やスポンサーの思惑も絡んでいるのかもしれない。また、プラティニ会長もFIFAのジョセフ・ゼップ・ブラッター会長も、ビデオ判定導入には何故か消極的だ。確かに、偶然にしては、なんだかうさんくさい。

フランスとイギリスのメディアの論調の違いも面白い。フランスは自国チームのふがいなさを酷評しつつも、FIFAやFFFの決定には異議はないようだ。かたやイギリスメディアは、「Cheat（いかさま）」「Fallen Idol（堕ちたアイドル）」等と手厳しい。これはアングロサクソンとラテンの価値観の違いか。ルールや公正さを重視するアングロサクソンに比べ、ラテン人は自分が良ければ全て良し、「運も実力のうち」「神様の思し召し」「ラッキー♪」って感じだろう。

またイングランド人には、この1件が、1986年ワールドカップ準々決勝で、マラドーナの「神の手」ゴールで、イングランドがアルゼンチンに敗れた悪夢を思い起こさせる。自国のことでないのに今回の大騒ぎは、このことも多いに関係してるのだと思う。

フランスは、対戦相手が多少なりとも自制心のあるアイルランドで良かったと胸を撫で下ろしてるだろう。これがエジプトやアルジェリアが相手だと大変なことになっていたかもしれない。サッカーの世界での権力のなさでワールドカップ行きを逃した、アイルランドチームが本当に気の毒だ。

There has been a huge media frenzy in UK about the Thierry Henry’s ‘Hand Of God’ during Ireland vs France World Cup 2010 play-off on November 18th and it’s aftermath: since France won a ticket to South Africa with 1-1, thanks to Henry’s ‘cheating’ act. UK media with “strong sense of mission to pursue justice” have been putting up big articles about  this incident, not only in sports sections but also in general sections, everyday since then. You can see clearly that it was handball, but the referee missed to see this crucial foul or chance to correct the mistake. Irish Football Association (IFA) demanded a rematch, but FIFA and the French Football Federation (FFF) said ‘NO’ – but it is all expected. IFA seems to give up already because they know that it is a fight they will never win. After the game, a French journalist who was interviewed by BBC said that FFF would never accept a replay, because big money and industries involved and economic effect would be enormous. He was right. But what it would happen, if France lost with Irish footballer’s  handball – would FIFA give the same judgement?

Henry admitted his handball but never say sorry. He said that replay would be fair for Ireland but AFTER FIFA and FFF refused a rematch. It was reported that he considered quitting “Les Bleus” but he decided to stay anyway – all talks doesn’t convince me if he is truly remorseful, but I believe he is saying whatever to repair his image and just waiting for everyone to forget about his ‘mistake’

I don’t call it setup, but FIFA and FFF’s reluctance  to correct their convenient result is truly disappointing, and now I strengthen my belief that soccer is just another business, and always a stronger with bigger political power wins – fair play is a mere myth for important games like this. I read an interesting article by the Sunday Times “Conspiracy or coque up?” The play-offs were seeded on the basis of world rankings in favour of the bigger nations, and it was reported that the proposal to introduce seeding had come from UEFA (president is former French player Michel Platini). Why? Could it be related to the advance long-term television contracts, or the influence by one of a big sponsor which will possibly gain huge profit if France win? For some reason, Platini and FIFA president Sepp Blatter are said to be reluctant to introduce video technology, which can bring fairer judgement – why? Maybe a coincidence, but all these things sound pretty dubious.

Also it is very interesting to see the different stances between British and French media. Though French media criticizes their team done terrible in the game but they don’t attack the FIFA and the FFF of their judgement. On the other hand, British media is harsh on Henry as ‘cheat’ or “fallen idol,’ as well as on the FIFA. Probably this is due to the difference in Anglo-Saxons and Latins mentality: in compare to Anglo-Saxons’ values in fairness and justice, Latins would just think, “luck is also a part of his ability” “miracle” “godsend” – they would never criticize someone who give them a jackpot, even though from a devil.

In addition, for English, this incident reminds them of the nightmarish Hand of God goal, scored by footballer Diego Maradona during the 1986 FIFA World Cup quarter final Argentina vs England – probably it explains why British media is so obsessed with this incident which is not related to their own team.

French must be happy that the opponent was Ireland – if it was Egypt or Algeria, it would be a huge riot!

I am extremely sorry for Ireland who lost a chance to go to World Cup, due to a lack of political power in football world, rather than their lack of ability. Shame on Henry, shame on France, and shame on FIFA!

Now that the furore surrounding Thierry Henry’s handball against Ireland has calmed down I thought that my thoughts could be finally be heard.

Firstly, I don’t blame Henry. Whether he meant it or not it doesn’t matter. The only moment when Henry would have had the clarity of thought to admit to what he had done, intentionally or not, was after Gallas had peeled off in celebration.

Can we blame Henry for not admitting it? No, of course not. If Ireland had gone on to win (they weren’t winning at the time) then Henry would be hated by his country and teammates alike. The French public forgave Zidane, they wouldn’t forgive Henry.

Henry can regret not speaking up at the time but he had approximately 5 seconds to make the decision. Furthermore, if he does own up it is not a guarantee that the correct decision would be made (see Robbie Fowler penalty versus Arsenal).

Thierry Henry has been called a cheater by a lot of people. I would extend this list to almost every footballer, professional or not. We have all gained a free kick or throw in which we know should have gone the other way. I would immediately throw Roy Carroll into this bracket (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/4130167.stm). Note the poll on the right of the screen.

Let’s categorise Slaven Bilic in that list (http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/internationals/croatian-rocker-who-wants-to-roll-over-rooney-419478.html)

It could go on.

For this whole shambles I blame FIFA and the referees. How the linesman missed the handball I’ll never know. They should be banned from going to the World Cup as punishment for a calamitous error.

FIFA should have long introduced video technology for the fourth official. The rule in using it should be as follows: “If the fourth official recognises an incident which is conclusive beyond all doubt which the referee and his team have not seen then it is his duty to inform them of the incident in question.”

This denies the fourth official the license to rule on penalty decisions, all of which have an element of doubt, off-sides, unless obviously wrong, or general fouls. However, the Henry incident, the Bilic incident, the Carroll incident, the Rivaldo incident and the Zidane incident would be irradiated without any controversy.

I do not subscribe to the view that it will delay the game due to the melee which always ensues after an ‘incident’; there will always be sufficient time for the odd replay. Also, the argument that the beauty of football is that the same game can be played anywhere and introducing video at the highest level would distort that does not sit well either. Cricket and Rugby have not been harmed by the introduction at the highest level only. Also, the games which have extensive enough video coverage tend to be the ones that matter the most, including play-off games for all leagues and any Cup final.

Now is the time to use the technology at our disposal to remove things which referees can’t see or fail to see.

Oh Thierry Henry, what did you have to go and do that for? You, of all people. Despite being a life-long Spurs supporter, I have always been a great fan of yours; you were one of those rare and special footballers it was always such a pleasure to watch, no matter which team you played for. One of those players who, despite all the greed and arrogance in modern football, made me remember why I fell in love with the Beautiful Game in the first place.

But then, in a crucial World Cup qualifier against the Republic of Ireland last week, you did a Maradona, and the poor old Republic unfairly went crashing out after neither referee nor linesmen spotted your blatant handball. And blatant it was too. Quite ridiculously so. You even compounded the offence with your comments after the game: “It was necessary to exploit what was exploitable”, you said, as if that somehow justified what was, without question, cheating. How could you?

However, Henry’s out-of-character double handball is not the first instance of blatant cheating in sport this year. In some cases, this cheating has just been childishly sad, as with the deliberate F1 crashes, while in others it has veered towards out-and-out fraud, as with the outrageous and notorious Harlequins ‘Bloodgate’ incident (and what with Quins being the rugby union side I support, this scandal made me particularly angry), and the recent Champions League match fixing arrests.

It is difficult to know how to remedy such examples of dishonesty, because if sportsmen and women – as with pretty much anyone else in any walk of life, unfortunately – think that there is the slightest possibility they might get away with it, they’ll try to do just that.

But with situations like that of Thierry Henry last week, there is a solution. It’s just that the footballing authorities, as usual, aren’t interested in it, despite the fact that it has been proven to work in other sports. FIFA and UEFA have their collective fingers in their collective ears, and are loudly singing “LA LA LA LA I CAN’T HEAR YOU” at anyone who mentions it. And they’ve been doing this for years now.

The solution is really quite obvious, to me, anyway: use video technology. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy-schmancy, but had there been even basic video technology in place last week, the on-pitch referee could have quite simply stopped the game (and stopped the clock) when the Irish players protested, then asked the video referee to have a quick look at the incident. It would have taken a matter of moments to reach a decision before the goal was given or not, as the case may be.

There are those who would argue that introducing video refs into football would disrupt the flow of the game. I can understand their concern to an extent, but they’re wrong. Yes, football is a fast game, a game of movement, but video refereeing needn’t disrupt that. For a start, the vast majority of the incidents it would be used for would be goal-related, or foul-related, when the game stops anyway. No flow to stop there.

And it has been proven that video refereeing does not disrupt the flow of one of the fastest games around. Rugby League has used the video ref system for some years now, and it works. If you’ve ever been to a Rugby League game, you’ll have seen the system in action, and you’ll know that it takes just moments for the video ref to make a decision and communicate it to the referee on the pitch. In fact, the fans’ brief, breathless wait for the decision to be made and to flash up on the scoreboard is actually half the fun of it – I can see that going down a storm in football.

And it must also be pointed out that the same system works well in Rugby Union, a slower game with more natural stops and starts than football or Rugby League, and a game with a strong sense of tradition which is less accepting of change than many other sports. If the RU authorities can happily accept the video referee system, why can’t the football authorities?

It’s not as if cost is the issue either. Football is one of the richest sports in the world, and European football is particularly wealthy. The initial investment in the necessary video technology and training for referees would be easily affordable, but it’s not about that, is it? This is all about vested interests, about what the authorities want – not what’s good for the game.

This is all about the outdated attitudes of those who run football, and their arrogant belief that they are right and that they know best. This is all about a bunch of old men (and yes, they are old, and yes, they are all men) who don’t seem to get the value that technology could bring to the game, who don’t seem to get that technology could help prevent the kind of scandals and controversies (like last week’s Henry incident) which go a long way to adding to the dreadful reputation football already has. And maybe that’s in their interests? Or not…

Je t’applaudis des deux mains !

Tu as super bien crocheté la balle pour la remettre à Gallas, même si pour ça tu as du faire une légère faute de main…Puis c’était pas de ta faute mais celle de Malouda qui à certes super bien centré, mais qui a légèrement trop poussé le ballon, sans ton intervention nous aurions surement du aller aux tirs aux buts (  Lloris aurait surement sorti  un 900° backside triple flip arrière ) Donc MERCI de nous avoir qualifié…

Ce n’était qu’une simple faute, rien de plus…Si quelqu’un est à blâmer c’est l’arbitre qui a validé un but (VALABLE MARQUÉ DE LA TETE PAR GALLAS) sans avoir vu ta faute. Je sais pas si tu l’as déjà obtenu mais le président devrais te remettre la légion d’honneur pour défense de l’identité national. Grâce à toi nous serons présent lors de la compétition la plus importante au monde! Seule compétition capable de faire prendre +X% de PIB au pays gagnant (c’est la crise MA POV LUCETTE crache pas dessus) !! Qui réuni et uni tout les français de France et de St lazare sous la bannière tricolore faisant oublier les clivages et les différences. Déclenchant la plus grande expérience d’émotions communes et ressenties par tous les habitants d’un pays en même temps. Parce qu’on a beau dire mais c’est bien plus que du foot..Qui sait que nous sommes champion du monde  et champion olympique de handball…JE TE TAQUINE !!

Je te reproche seulement le fait que domenech n’ait pas pris la clé deschamps et qu’on ait l’or en blanc!

LES RÈGLES DE LA FIFA SONT CLAIRES ET PEU ABONDANTES !!!

NUL N’EST CENSÉ IGNORER LA LOI: On ne discute pas les décisions de l’arbitre!

Les politiciens : qui sont chargés de les voter et les imaginer.  Donc quand François Bayrou ( pour ne citer que lui) fait son bla-bli-blo tel un Ned Flander’s Andouille D’andouille de Flanders pour nous dire qu’il faut rejouer le match parce-que c’est Trop pas zuste ! Il dit : soyons Hors-loi, arrangeons nous des règles !

Les célébrités : Sous prétextes qu’ils passent devant une caméra et/ou micro,  ils se permettent de donner leurs avis ( sur n’importe quel sujet  du moment ) même si personne de leur a demandé si t’as pas suivi mon regard je parle de dechavanne  au Grand journal de canal+ ; donnant dans la démagogie proche  du peuple et de ses carambars toussa, sautant le coq et l’âne sans capote ( je tiens a féliciter Ali BADOU pour sa remarque) tout ça pour faire du politiquement correct bull shit me rappelant furieusement la scène du flim “nos jours heureux ” ou lors d’une veillé sans aucune raison une fille parle du racisme et dit que c’est pas bien

LES ANGLO-SAXON: ILS NOUS DÉTESTENT  NOUS SOMMES LEURS TETES DE TURCS rien a ajouter votre honneur

FÉDÉRATIONS DE FOOT: L’une ( l’Irlande) donne dans le populisme sachant pertinemment qu’on ne peut rejouer un match, ils le demandent qu’en même à la fifa.  L’autre a gardé un entraineur complétement nul à chier à cause du syndrome aimé jacquet

VOUS: vous-êtes les pires ! Paysans ! moutons! idiots ! ( cochez celui qui vous convient)  Vous-savez pertinemment qu’il est dans notre intérêt d’aller à la coupe du monde…Non, il faut absolument que vous parcouriez les forums, les sites d’actualités etc.  pour dire que c’est vilain honteux. Vous faites les vierges effarouchés sur l’art et la manière Toussa toussa, en un mot les Salopes.com ! QUE CELUI QUI N’A JAMAIS TRICHÉ LÈVE LA MAIN !

UN PEU DE CHAUVINISME BORDEL!!!

PASSONS AU PROCHAIN “BUZZ “

HANDBALL!!

The morning after the night before. Time seemed to be passing slower than normal. I kept looking at the clock on the bottom right hand corner of my screen. It was almost 11am. ‘What’s bloody taking them so long?’ I pondered. My Microsoft Outlook was in a state of constant refreshment. But, alas finally, they arrived. The first batch of Thierry Henry related e-mails landed in my inbox. After John Terry’s Moscow misery in May of 2008, there were a bucket-full of mails jeering Terry’s misfortune at 8:15am the following morning. Whatever the reason for the delay, we all chuckled heartily at the various images of Henry with giant hands, no hands, and his Wikipedia page being ‘updated’. However the reality was, Ireland were out of the World Cup. Or were they?

It has been a topic on everyone’s lips over the days since Henry’s blatant handball, set up the most controversial goal of the last 23 years. Many people whose interest in football would be considered fleeting at best decided this was a good opportunity to stick their oar in. Taoiseach Brian Cowen said he would discuss a possible replay with French President Nicolas Sarkozy. Today Fm DJ Ray Foley also pushed his weight behind a replay. Bandwagon jumpers of the highest order. Protests outside the French Embassy were in vain.  There was no way back.

Evra: Perspective

Pleads for a re-match were getting a bit embarrassing. French full-back Patrice Evra summed it up with this rather snide, yet humorous comment:

The replay, I’ll do it when you want on a PlayStation.

The truth hurts. Evra really put the whole circus surrounding the replay into perspective. In the real world, this was never going to happen. Rumours surfaced on Sunday morning that the French Football Federation had agreed to a replay, with Raymond Domenach the only stumbling block. And could you really blame him? Relief engulfed Domenach after the final whistle. Would he really want to put himself through a similar 2 hours like he endured last Wednesday night?

His classless reaction was a statement of the kind of individual Domenach is. There seemed to be no attempt to shake his opposing manager’s hand. Then behind the scenes, we saw him share an embrace with Gerard Houliller. The man who master-minded France’s World Cup win in 1998 and Liverpool’s stunning Champions League victory in 2005. Or so he likes to think. Rarely have 2 men so schooled in the art of bluffing been in such close proximity. Somehow, these images managed to infuriate me further after the earlier injustice

The blame for the incident has shifted on a daily, sometimes hourly basis. First Henry himself was the villain. Referee Martin Hansson was next. Then his linesman. Then people remembered the 4 clear-cut chances Ireland had missed in the 103 minutes that proceeded William Gallas heart-breaking equaliser. So Duff, Keane, Doyle and O’Shea were suddenly the guilty parties. Surely McShane should have cleared the ball, or at least noticed that Thierry Henry, he of 300+ career goals had run straight past him. And what of FIFA? Sure was it not their idea to have the draw for the play-offs seeded? And they never put officials behind the goal, like they have done in the Europa League. What is taking so long for themselves and UEFA to get off their arses and finally start using technology to assist referees in their decision making?

Then on Friday, Roy Keane’s weekly rant put a new spin on things: It was Shay Given’s fault. He wouldn’t stand for one of his goalkeepers leaving a ball bounce in the 6-yard box. Not even if there was a blatant offside, and 2 handballs. A classic move from a man who learned how to defect attention away from his own team from 2 old-hands: Alex Ferguson and Brain Clough. As it stands, Ipswich lie 2nd bottom in the Championship, with just 1 win in 17 league games. But nobody was talking about that following his stirring comments,

The answer? It’s possibly a combination of all of the above. It’s a pity that the whole fiasco took the spotlight off the Ireland team that played in Paris that night. They were immense. Not a single member of the starting XI let the side down. Kevin Kilbane has endured a wretched campaign for the most part, but it was his superbly weighted pass that released Damien Duff in behind the French defence to tee up Robbie Keane. Many presumed Kilbane had over-hit the pass. Myself included. It was a goal of great quality. Ireland worked the ball patiently from one side of the pitch to the other, before applying the killer touch. Had France scored a goal of such brilliance, it would have made headlines around the globe. For the right reasons.

Set-pieces were the expected source of Ireland’s goal-scoring threat. Alas, there was more than a hint of irony in the fact they were undone by one, however many infringements there may have been in the lead-up to the French goal. Ireland didn’t manage to win enough frees in dangerous areas over the 2 games to cause problems. John O’Shea’s swing and a miss early in the second half from a free-kick showed how suspect France were from set-pieces. It was certainly an area that could have been exploited more. However, such was goalkeeper Hugo Lloris’ handling and bravery when dealing with crosses and long-balls in the dying stages, it would have taken something special to beat the in-form Lyon stopper.

And what of Henry? Initial reactions reckoned he had ruined his reputation beyond repair. One could argue that one handball could be partially excused, but the second is clearly deliberate. It makes it all the more astonishing that the officials managed to miss it. After his splendidly diplomatic comments on Friday, when the chances of a replay had all but evapourated, he managed to save some face. But not a whole lot.

Henry and Dunne Share a Moment

Henry was at his most patronising best when he chose to sit on the pitch at the final whistle beside devastated Richard Dunne. Many wondered how Dunne had managed to refrain from punching Henry, or at the very least, ignoring him. But Dunne has been around long enough to know how football works. The French captain did what he had to do in order to do what is best for his team. In situations like this, all senses of morality, decency and fair-play go out the window. Winning is all that counts. What lessons must we take from this? Don’t hate the player, hate the game.