Football Worldwide

Australia forward Harry Kewell has admitted his dismay at the way his World Cup has gone so far after he was sent off for hand ball in the Socceroo’s 1-1 draw with Ghana on Saturday.
Kewell received the punishment for keeping a Ghana shot off the line using his arm but the Galatasaray player has denied that he did it on purpose and has criticised the referee for the decision, saying that the Italian ref “Killed my World Cup”.

“It’s just unfortunate that the ref saw something that probably everyone thought, ‘OK, fair enough it was a handball, but was it red card?’,” said Kewell.

“We’ve seen some decisions in this World Cup that haven’t been red cards, why is this one different? That’s why everyone gets confused, everyone gets frustrated with referees because one minute they’re are saying this and one minute they are saying that.

“He’s the referee at the end of the day. You can’t tell him what to do. He’s the judge jury and executioner.”
The former Leeds and Liverpool forward contested the decision vehemently but the referee ignored his calls before Asamoah Gyan slammed home the penalty to equalise for the Black Stars
“It’s a shame that it happened that way. But if you look at the situation, it’s hit my arm, but it wasn’t deliberate,” Kewell said.

“It was only that I was trying to get my shoulder there. I think the ref made a decision that he can only answer.

“Unless I actually detach my arm and put it somewhere else, there is no other way I can move my arm.
“I didn’t deliberately go for the hand, I didn’t try and handball it, I tried to use my chest. I was playing by the rules, but the ref saw it another way. He’s probably the only one who did.
“The guy has killed my World Cup.”

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Franck Ribéry is no stranger to football fans across the globe. Born April 7th, 1983 in Boulogne-sur-Mer, Pas-de-Calais, Ribéry is a well-known French football midfielder playing for Bayern Munich. His infamous passes are among the best you can find in the world of professional football, allowing him to act effectively as midfielder and provide potential attack opportunities for attacking players. He is also drafted as France National Team’s started for the 2010 World Cup, with Coach Raymond Domenech acknowledging his skills.

The French player started his senior career with Boulogne in 2000, scoring six goals in 29 appearances. His role as an effective midfielder was quickly recognized by Gheorghe Hagi after Ribéry played for Metz during the 2004-2005 season. Hagi then brought Ribéry to Galatasaray where the player shined as one of the world’s best midfielders. Ribéry contributed to the team’s achievement of winning the 2005 Turkish League — the Türkiye Kupası — scoring one goal and providing an assisting pass people will always remember.

Ribéry’s transfer to Marseille in 2005 wasn’t a smooth one, with a dispute against his old team brought to Court of Arbitration of Sport. CAS dismissed Galatasaray’s appeal against Ribéry’s move to Marseille, with FIFA re-ruling in Ribéry’s favor later on in July 2005. A spectacular €25 million deal brought Ribéry to Bayern Munich, where he played until today. Ribéry was named the 2007-08 German Footballer of the Year in June 2008, further proofing just how good he is as a midfielder and a football player.

The 2010 World Cup is looking very exciting with several strong teams competing for the World Cup trophy. Several fantastic teams are showing equally fantastic performances so far, so you can expect to see great matches and strong competitive aura when the grand football event of the world started in June. Italy is of course among the favorites, determined to defend their 2006 win with another solid win this year.

Italy’s football playing style is rather unique. You will not see long passes or strategical plays when you see Italy play a football match. Instead, you can surely see fast-paced game, short passes, and strong attacks right to the heart of opponent’s defensive line. What makes Italy’s playing style very interesting to watch is the team’s features and strong coordination. Players are also known to have strong stamina, allowing them to play extended matches and gain competitive advantages.

Award-winning goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon is guarding Italy’s goal this year. The captain-band remains in the possession of Fabio Cannavaro, Italy’s defensive player known for its amazing read and coordination skills. Gennaro Gattuso is inspiring the midfielders as well as attacking players to construct solid attacks and erratic movements that will tear apart enemy’s defense line in an instant. Alberto Gilardino will be ready to score some goals for the team at the front-end.

Italy is up against strong team before they can play at the World Cup final match to defend their trophy, but a lot of critiques are seeing Italy as one of the strongest contender in 2010 World Cup.

The Aston Villa F. C. or simply Aston Villa is among the oldest teams in British Premier League. Although the team is not showing its best performances over the past couple of years, it was no doubt one of the best teams there was back in the old days. Several great achievements were made by Aston Villa during their glory days.

Not many people know this, but Aston Villa is a proud 7 times FA Cup winner. The team won the FA Cup in 1887, 1895, 1897, 1905, 1913, 1920, and 1957. Although the achievements were made a long time ago, it showed just how good this team can be. Aside from the FA Cup wins, Aston Villa also won the League Cup in 1961, 1975, 1977, 1994, and 1996 as well as the Charity Shield in 1981. The Charity Shield was shared with Tottenham Hotspur at the time.

Aside from the mentioned wins, Aston Villa was also a great team in the European competitions. They have won the European Cup in 1982, along with European super Cup in 1982-1983. Their latest great achievements were winning the InterToto Cup in 2001 and 2008. In the domestic league, Aston Villa collected no less than 7 First Division Champions’ trophies.

Although the team’s last major win was in 1996, there is no doubt that fans and management of the team are still expecting a nice comeback. The team is improving, adding quality players and improving the used strategies; expect a lot of surprises from the team real soon.

City of Manchester Stadium, also known as COMS or Eastlands, is the home of Manchester City. The team is competing against larger teams such as Manchester United, showing great performances and amazing developments. It is safe to say that City of Manchester Stadium is a worthy stadium for this developing team, featuring several great aspects and interesting history.

The City of Manchester Stadium was built for the 2002 Commonwealth Games. The total cost needed to build this stadium was £110 million, which was a staggering amount at the time. Manchester City moved to this stadium just one year after, signing a cool 250-year lease and calling this stadium their home.

It is no surprise at all that this stadium is the fourth largest stadium in the FA Premier League and the 12th biggest in the United Kingdom. With over £100 million used to build it, the City of Manchester Stadium can hold up to 47,726 people — fully seated — with the groundbreaking record of attendance now at 47,348.

The City of Manchester Stadium was first designed back in 1990. The original plan was to build a stadium that can hold up to 80,000 people for the 2000 Summer Olympics. After the 2000 Summer Olympics were awarded to Australia, the Manchester City Council made a successful bid for the 2002 Commonwealth Games and began building the stadium in 1999. Most of the required funding was provided by Sport England.

City of Manchester Stadium has one of the highest league average attendances for the past couple of years, and it is among the best stadium in the country.

Barcelona FC or simply Barcelona is among the strongest team in the world. The team is now leading the Spanish League superbly, with Real Madrid several points behind. The La Liga is a tough competition to play in with several strong teams competing for the championship title; it is obvious that Barcelona has a strong competitive advantage against other team. When you take a closer look on the team, you will certainly notice that Barcelona do have more than amazing players on their current squad.

Goalkeeper Víctor Valdés is the man responsible of keeping Barcelona’s last defense line safely guarded. Valdés is showing superb performances the past couple of matches, so it is safe to say that the goalkeeper will continue to block any ball being shot to his direction. To make scoring a goal through Barcelona’s defense line even harder, Éric Abidal, Carles Puyol, and Rafael Márquez along with several other defensive players are forming a solid line in front of the penalty area.

In the midfield, you can see amazing players such as Andrés Iniesta, Xavi Hernández, and Seydou Keita constructing attacks and breaking barriers of opponents’ defense line. Barcelona’s midfielders are known to be fearsome even under pressure.

Thierry Henry, Lionel Messi, Zlatan Ibrahimović, and tons of other sharp attackers are scoring goals for the team. These players are very smart in making good use of every opportunity they have to score a goal, making Barcelona a very sharp team in terms of attack and defense alike.

France was the champion of 1998 FIFA World Cup, but the team is not showing steady performances afterwards. After being eliminated early during the 2002 World Cup, France is looking pretty solid for the 2010 World Cup. Will they be the team that will take down this year’s grand championship?

Zinedine Zidane, Fabien Barthez, Claude Makelele and Lilian Thuram — all start players of the team in 1998 — are all officially retired, so this year’s France is being backed by strong young players along with experienced Thierry Henry leading as the team’s captain. Still we can expect to see great players such as the defensive William Gallas, Jeremy Toulalan, Yoann Gourcuff, and of course Franck Ribery as well as another experienced player Nicolas Anelka along with several other quality players should be more than enough to construct a strong team for the championship.

Raymond Domenech, the team’s coach, is highly motivated to succeed in this year’s World Cup, especially after performing poorly at the 2008 UEFA Euro. The team is hungry for a win indeed, with formations and strategies working out well. French is up for a strong start, but the competition is nothing to be considered light at all. Aside from 2010 World Cup host, South Africa, France is up against Mexico and Uruguay.

Will this year be France’s year? Will they be the next World Cup champion? Only time will tell. With the 2010 World Cup just around the corner, France is a strong contender for sure.