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	<title>UNILAGfaces &#187; Soccer Fans</title>
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		<title>Football Equipment Guide:-Part I</title>
		<link>http://www.unilagfaces.com/2011/06/16/football-equipment-guide-part-i/</link>
		<comments>http://www.unilagfaces.com/2011/06/16/football-equipment-guide-part-i/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 16 Jun 2011 11:06:42 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Editor</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Soccer Fans]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Boots]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Football]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Soccer]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.unilagfaces.com/?p=2271</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It&#8217;s difficult to over emphasise the importance of having well fitted football boots. There is a huge variety of boots available at wildly varying prices, but the most expensive ones on the market won&#8217;t necessarily be the best ones for you, and they certainly won&#8217;t make you a better player. So when you&#8217;re choosing your [...]]]></description>
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<p><a href="http://www.unilagfaces.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Football-Equipment-Guide.gif"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-2272" title="Football Equipment  Guide" src="http://www.unilagfaces.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Football-Equipment-Guide-300x184.gif" alt="" width="168" height="103" /></a>It&#8217;s difficult to over emphasise the importance of having well fitted football boots.<br />
There is a huge variety of boots available at wildly varying prices, but the most expensive ones on the market won&#8217;t necessarily be the best ones for you, and they certainly won&#8217;t make you a better player.<br />
So when you&#8217;re choosing your next pair, forget style and think about practicality and comfort.<br />
Firstly, try and understand the shape of your feet and your running style.<br />
Also think about if you are flat-footed or have a high arch.<br />
Ideally, football boots will fit snugly, although during teenage years with feet still growing it is advisable to allow some room to compensate.<br />
So what&#8217;s the boot for you? Take a look at our guide and find out.</p>
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		<title>For Better or For Worse?</title>
		<link>http://www.unilagfaces.com/2010/07/12/for-better-or-for-worse/</link>
		<comments>http://www.unilagfaces.com/2010/07/12/for-better-or-for-worse/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 12 Jul 2010 21:21:26 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Zoe</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Soccer Fans]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[The 2010 World Cup has seen its share of failures and fairytales, and following each team&#8217;s elimination the futures of the managers have been under immediate scrutiny. Some nations exceeded expectations, while others failed to meet them &#8211; so which bosses live to fight another day? STAYING Fabio Capello will continue as England manager despite [...]]]></description>
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<p>The 2010 World Cup has seen its share of failures and fairytales, and following each team&#8217;s elimination the futures of the managers have been under immediate scrutiny. Some nations exceeded expectations, while others failed to meet them &#8211; so which bosses live to fight another day? </p>
<p><img src="http://soccernet-assets.espn.go.com/design05/images/2010/0702/fabiocapellopresser20100702_275x155.jpg" alt="Capello" /></p>
<p>STAYING</p>
<p>Fabio Capello will continue as England manager despite their second-round elimination in South Africa.</p>
<p>Netherlands &#8211; Bert van Marwijk &#8211; Final</p>
<p>Guiding Netherlands to their third World Cup final should be sufficient to secure Van Marwijk&#8217;s job, especially when you consider their 2-1 victory over five-time champions Brazil in the quarter-finals.</p>
<p>Spain &#8211; Vicente del Bosque &#8211; Final</p>
<p>Del Bosque has built on the success achieved by Luis Aragones and taken Spain to their first World Cup title. With a squad containing talents such as David Villa, Xavi and Andres Iniesta, the 59-year-old will be sitting pretty at the end of the tournament.</p>
<p>Uruguay &#8211; Oscar Tabarez &#8211; Semi-finals</p>
<p>As the surprise package of the 2010 World Cup, Tabarez&#8217;s Uruguay were narrowly beaten in the last four by the impressive Netherlands. Their quarter-final win over Ghana will live long in the memory, and Tabarez will take plenty of credit for his team&#8217;s gutsy performances.</p>
<p><span id="more-2224"></span>Paraguay &#8211; Gerardo Martino &#8211; Quarter-finals</p>
<p>After a respectable World Cup campaign, Martino&#8217;s contract expired, but after a week in which to consider his future he announced that he would staying on until the 2011 Copa America tournament.</p>
<p>England &#8211; Fabio Capello &#8211; Second round</p>
<p>His reputation was ripped apart by a dismal showing, but the FA&#8217;s decision to remove a get-out clause a week before the tournament means he will stay as it cannot afford the £12 million severance package</p>
<p>Serbia &#8211; Radomir Antic &#8211; Group stage</p>
<p>Antic believes his team&#8217;s 1-0 victory over Germany should ensure he keeps his job. Although he may wish to continue as Serbia coach, he may be forced to accept a cut in his £1.2 million salary.</p>
<p>Slovenia &#8211; Matjaz Kek &#8211; Group stage</p>
<p>Kek&#8217;s side came within seconds of advancing to the second round only to be denied by USA&#8217;s last-gasp winner against Algeria. Despite their disappointment, Slovenia far from disgraced themselves in South Africa and Kek&#8217;s position should be secure.</p>
<p>Switzerland &#8211; Ottmar Hitzfeld &#8211; Group stage</p>
<p>Hitzfeld has confirmed he will stay as Swiss coach, as long as he is wanted by the fans. After a shock win over Spain, defeat to Chile and a limp goalless draw with Honduras, opinion will be well and truly divided on his future.</p>
<p>Honduras- Reinaldo Rueda &#8211; Group stage</p>
<p>After defeats to Chile and Spain, Honduras avoided the shame of heading home without a point after a goalless draw with Switzerland. Expectations were low heading into the tournament, and they were duly met. Rueda should be safe.</p>
<p>GOING/GONE</p>
<p>Dunga came under heavy pressure for his conservative tactics<br />
Brazil &#8211; Dunga &#8211; Quarter-finals</p>
<p>Unpopular before the tournament, anything but bringing the trophy back to Brazil would&#8217;ve been a failure for Dunga. After their quarter-final exit at the hands of Netherlands, the writing was on the wall for the Seleção&#8217;s former captain. But he had always said he would quit.</p>
<p>South Korea &#8211; Huh Jung-Moo &#8211; Second round</p>
<p>Following Huh&#8217;s announcement prior to the tournament that he was to step aside as coach, South Korea have had time to plan for his departure. A shortlist has now been drawn up of a dozen Koreans who could potentially take his place.</p>
<p>Mexico &#8211; Javier Aguirre &#8211; Second round</p>
<p>Aguirre resigned as Mexico boss following his team&#8217;s failure to reach the last eight in South Africa, saying it was, &#8220;the most honest thing to do.&#8221; Mexico are now looking for their sixth coach in four years.</p>
<p>Japan &#8211; Takeshi Okada &#8211; Second round</p>
<p>Okada announced before the World Cup he would be leaving his position and retiring to become a farmer. Having watched his team play their way to the second round, Okada can plough his fields content in the knowledge he performed his duties adequately.</p>
<p>Ivory Coast &#8211; Sven-Goran Eriksson &#8211; Group stage</p>
<p>Hardly value for money &#8211; $3 million for ten weeks in charge and three poor matches &#8211; Eriksson has walked away with his bank balance yet again enriched without achieving anything to shout about.</p>
<p>South Africa &#8211; Carlos Alberto Parreira &#8211; Group stage</p>
<p>When his contract expires at the end of July, Parreira will head back to Brazil to consider his future. After managing the first host nation to be knocked out in the first round of a World Cup, he is unlikely to return as Bafana Bafana coach.</p>
<p>Greece &#8211; Otto Rehhagel &#8211; Group stage</p>
<p>Rehhagel ended his nine-year spell as Greece coach by resigning after their elimination. After leaving South Africa on a low, the German coach can always look back on the unbelievable highs of Greece&#8217;s Euro 2004 triumph.</p>
<p>Italy &#8211; Marcello Lippi &#8211; Group stage</p>
<p>Entering the tournament as champions, Italy left South Africa having finished bottom of a group containing New Zealand. With the Azzurri&#8217;s ageing squad failing so dismally, Lippi stepped down and former Fiorentina boss Cesare Prandelli has stepped into the breach to lead a much-needed overhaul. </p>
<p>Cameroon &#8211; Paul Le Guen &#8211; Group stage</p>
<p>Simply put, Cameroon had a torrid time in South Africa. Defeated in all three games, Le Guen also made the baffling decision to play Samuel Eto&#8217;o on the right wing. After such a poor campaign, Le Guen was bound to be Le Gone.</p>
<p>Australia &#8211; Pim Verbeek &#8211; Group stage</p>
<p>Verbeek will leave his post and will do so after a disappointing tournament. Publicly criticised by Socceroos&#8217; striker Josh Kennedy, his reign has ended on a sour note and he leaves to take up the role of national youth technical director for Morocco.</p>
<p>UNCERTAIN</p>
<p>Germany &#8211; Joachim Low &#8211; Semi-finals</p>
<p>Low&#8217;s team were far and away the most entertaining team in South Africa and he has been awarded the German Federal Cross of Merit for his side&#8217;s achievement. But he has said that he needs a few days off to consider whether to continue with Die Mannschaft and as previous negotiations have been tricky, Germany fans won&#8217;t be counting their chickens just yet.</p>
<p>Argentina &#8211; Diego Maradona &#8211; Quarter-finals</p>
<p>It has been announced Maradona will be the man to decide whether or not he continues as Argentina coach. After his squad flattered to deceive in a limp quarter-final exit to Germany, will El Diego have the heart to give it another go?</p>
<p>Ghana &#8211; Milovan Rajevac &#8211; Quarter-finals</p>
<p>Rajevac will look back on this World Cup with pride having led Ghana to within a penalty kick of the semi-finals. With rumours of a lucrative offer from Al Sadd in Qatar, the Black Stars will struggle to hold onto their Serbian coach.</p>
<p>Portugal &#8211; Carlos Queiroz &#8211; Second round</p>
<p>Portugal limped through their World Cup qualifying campaign, and headed home having only managed to find the net in one game, against North Korea. Combined with Cristiano Ronaldo&#8217;s South Africa no-show, Queiroz will be lucky to get a second chance &#8211; although the signs are that he might.</p>
<p>Chile &#8211; Marcelo Bielsa &#8211; Second round</p>
<p>After seeing his side beaten by Brazil, Bielsa would not be drawn on his future as Chile coach. Their vibrant attacking football won them admirers during the group stage, and Bielsa will be keen to develop talents such as Alexis Sanchez, so he may stay.</p>
<p>USA &#8211; Bob Bradley &#8211; Second round</p>
<p>Bradley made the not-so-cryptic comment of saying he &#8220;always enjoys new challenges&#8221; following USA&#8217;s defeat to Ghana. He has been linked with a move to Fulham but having moulded the Stars and Stripes into a respected unit, fans will be hoping his new challenge is qualification for Brazil 2014.</p>
<p>Slovakia- Vladimir Weiss &#8211; Second round</p>
<p>Appearing in their first World Cup as an independent nation, Slovakia produced a major shock to defeat Italy and make it to the second round. Weiss has a promising batch of youngsters in his squad (including his son) and will surely want to see how they can develop over the next four years. </p>
<p>New Zealand &#8211; Ricki Herbert &#8211; Group stage</p>
<p>It seemed impossible prior to the tournament, but somehow New Zealand managed to leave South Africa unbeaten. Herbert may now face a choice between coaching the All Whites or continuing as the boss of A-League side Wellington Phoenix, as a dual role could be out of the question.</p>
<p>Nigeria &#8211; Lars Lagerback &#8211; Group stage</p>
<p>Nigerian football has been in turmoil since they were knocked out in South Africa. With the government attempting to stop the national team playing altogether, the Swede who oversaw their failure was offered a renewed two-year deal and is making his mind up.</p>
<p>North Korea &#8211; Kim Jong-Hun &#8211; Group stage</p>
<p>North Korea lost all three of their games in South Africa, although having been grouped with Brazil, Portugal and Ivory Coast this was hardly surprising. They may have been hammered 7-0 by Portugal, but a battling 2-1 defeat to Brazil could be enough to keep Kim Jong-Hun in the job.</p>
<p>Denmark &#8211; Morten Olsen &#8211; Group stage</p>
<p>After a decade in the Denmark hot seat, Morten Olsen may feel it&#8217;s finally time to relinquish his position. Denmark looked lively at times in South Africa, until they were soundly beaten by Japan and he has already said there must be improvements.</p>
<p>Algeria &#8211; Rabah Saadane &#8211; Group stage</p>
<p>Speaking after their defeat to USA, Saadane claimed a lot of people would like to see him leave. Having finished bottom of Group C, with one point and without scoring a goal, he might find himself leaving the post for the fifth time in his managerial career. </p>
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		<title>Viva Espana!</title>
		<link>http://www.unilagfaces.com/2010/07/11/viva-espana/</link>
		<comments>http://www.unilagfaces.com/2010/07/11/viva-espana/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 11 Jul 2010 22:54:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Zoe</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Soccer Fans]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.unilagfaces.com/2010/07/11/viva-espana/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[In claiming its first World Cup championship with a 1-0 win over a hardworking but ultimately overmatched Dutch team, Spain demonstrated that playing beautiful football isn&#8217;t a reward in itself. If you want the trophy, sometimes you&#8217;ve got to win a little ugly. And this game was no a piece of art. Spain was more [...]]]></description>
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<p><img src="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/48322000/jpg/_48322065_009789249-1.jpg" alt="D.Villa kisses the Cup" /><br />
In claiming its first World Cup championship with a 1-0 win over a hardworking but ultimately overmatched Dutch team, Spain demonstrated that playing beautiful football isn&#8217;t a reward in itself.  If you want the trophy, sometimes you&#8217;ve got to win a little ugly. And this game was no a piece of art. Spain was more than willing to play, but Holland was not going to allow it.<br />
<img src="http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2010/8729515.stm" alt="" />It was an understandable choice. In its earlier appearances in the finals of 1974 and 1978, Holland was considered soccer&#8217;s elite squad. This time those shoes were on Spanish feet, and Holland made no pretense about trying to copy the precious possession game that brought Spain the European championship in 2008. </p>
<p>It would all come down to one cross in a hundred that Holland couldn&#8217;t deal with. It was a just ending, ample reward for Spain&#8217;s skill and industry. This game had the potential to be tremendous, yet it was tremendously disappointing.</p>
<p>A thunderous roar erupted across the Spanish capital and fans danced in the streets and chanted &#8220;Viva Espana!&#8221; as the country&#8217;s first ever FIFA World Cup™ trophy sparked a nationwide fiesta. The centre of the capital was a sea of the red and gold national colours as Spain celebrated its agonising 1-0 extra-time win over the Netherlands on Sunday.</p>
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		<title>Spain unleash the PAIN</title>
		<link>http://www.unilagfaces.com/2010/07/01/spain-unleash-the-pain/</link>
		<comments>http://www.unilagfaces.com/2010/07/01/spain-unleash-the-pain/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 01 Jul 2010 07:51:37 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Zoe</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Soccer Fans]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[European champions Spain just keeps getting better and better. They survived a stern test from Portugal to book their place in the quarter-finals of the World Cup through David Villa&#8217;s goal. Two years to the day since they beat Germany to triumph at Euro 2008, Vicente del Bosque&#8217;s side showed their slick brand of passing [...]]]></description>
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<p><img src="http://img.timeinc.net/time/photoessays/2010/world_cup_0629/world_cup_0629_02.jpg" alt="Spain" /><br />
European champions Spain just keeps getting better and better. They survived a stern test from Portugal to book their place in the quarter-finals of the World Cup through David Villa&#8217;s goal. </p>
<p>Two years to the day since they beat Germany to triumph at Euro 2008, Vicente del Bosque&#8217;s side showed their slick brand of passing football is still just as effective by edging out their well-drilled Iberian rivals.</p>
<p>Cape Town&#8217;s stadium was seduced to oohs and aahs by a sublime Barcelona-style Spanish passing-and-pressing game, particularly in the second half, that had Ronaldo, and most of his Portuguese teammates reduced to ineffectual spectators. </p>
<p>Spain had to survive a succession of missed chances by the Portuguese in the first half but, once Villa broke the deadlock in the 63rd minute with his fourth goal of the tournament, they rarely looked threatened.</p>
<p><span id="more-2217"></span>Portugal, semi-finalists in Germany four years ago, had Ricardo Costa sent off for an off-the-ball clash with Joan Capdevila before the end but by then their fate already looked sealed.</p>
<p>The only concern for Spain, who play Paraguay in the last eight, is the continuing lack of form shown by striker Fernando Torres, who seems to still be feeling the after-effects of the knee operation he had in April.</p>
<p>Spain should have added to their lead before the end, with Eduardo saving from Ramos and Villa, while the impressive Llorente headed wide.</p>
<p>But one goal was enough for them to secure victory and they look in good shape to go past the last eight, which is as far as they have progressed at a World Cup since they finished fourth in Brazil in 1950.</p>
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		<title>Goodluck or Badluck?</title>
		<link>http://www.unilagfaces.com/2010/07/01/goodluck-or-badluck-2/</link>
		<comments>http://www.unilagfaces.com/2010/07/01/goodluck-or-badluck-2/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 01 Jul 2010 07:37:15 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Zoe</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Soccer Fans]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Nigeria lost its first two World Cup group stage matches but still came just one goal short of advancing with their draw against South Korea. As one of the more heavily favored African nations, the early elimination was certainly a disappointment. So how is Nigeria handling that disappointment? From the BBC: Nigeria&#8217;s president has suspended [...]]]></description>
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<p><img src="http://a323.yahoofs.com/ymg/ept_sports_sow_experts__9/ept_sports_sow_experts-230405309-1277908936.jpg?ymIvOYDDm886ZLP6" alt="Nigerian Misery" />Nigeria lost its first two World Cup group stage matches but still came just one goal short of advancing with their draw against South Korea. As one of the more heavily favored African nations, the early elimination was certainly a disappointment. So how is Nigeria handling that disappointment?</p>
<p>From the BBC: </p>
<p><em>Nigeria&#8217;s president has suspended his nation&#8217;s football team from international competition for two years after a poor showing at the World Cup.</p>
<p>Special presidential adviser Ima Niboro told reporters the decision by Goodluck Jonathan will &#8220;enable Nigeria to reorganize its football.&#8221; </em><br />
He said: &#8220;This directive became necessary following Nigeria&#8217;s poor performance in the ongoing World Cup.&#8221; </p>
<p>Of course. How do you improve an underachieving team? Ban it from competing for two whole years. Spur them on to playing better by not allowing them to play at all. Maybe England should try that.</p>
<p>Now, FIFA probably won&#8217;t like this given its distaste for government meddling in the national team, so maybe Nigeria should try suspending FIFA, too. It might work. I mean, how do you say no to a guy named Goodluck Jonathan?  </p>
<p>Rotimi Amaechi, head of a special presidential task force on the World Cup campaign, said Nigeria would write to football&#8217;s world governing body Fifa to explain its decision. </p>
<p>&#8220;We went to the World Cup and found all sorts of problems and we felt we should sit back and look inward,&#8221; Amaechi told reporters. </p>
<p>Under Fifa rules, government interference with national teams is strictly forbidden. </p>
<p>&#8220;At the time of writing, we have no official information on this matter,&#8221; a Fifa statement read.</p>
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		<title>How are the mighty fallen</title>
		<link>http://www.unilagfaces.com/2010/06/25/how-are-the-mighty-fallen/</link>
		<comments>http://www.unilagfaces.com/2010/06/25/how-are-the-mighty-fallen/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 25 Jun 2010 07:26:30 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Zoe</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Soccer Fans]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[The unceremonious (and richly deserved) dumping of Italy and France out of World Cup 2010, and the travails of England, Germany and Spain &#8212; and arguably even Serbia and Denmark &#8212; are a sign that world soccer has gone multipolar. &#8220;Multipolarity&#8221; was a term coined by French foreign policy wonks fretting over the Bush Administration&#8217;s [...]]]></description>
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<p><img src="http://www.fifa.com/mm/photo/tournament/competition/01/25/72/38/1257238_full-lnd.jpg" alt="weeping boy" />The unceremonious (and richly deserved) dumping of Italy and France out of World Cup 2010, and the travails of England, Germany and Spain &#8212; and arguably even Serbia and Denmark &#8212; are a sign that world soccer has gone multipolar. &#8220;Multipolarity&#8221; was a term coined by French foreign policy wonks fretting over the Bush Administration&#8217;s brash unilateralism (&#8220;unipolarity&#8221;) following the bipolar days of the Cold War when, if you were not in Washington&#8217;s camp, you tended to be viewed as if you were in Moscow&#8217;s. The French resented the Bush Administration&#8217;s &#8220;for us or against us&#8221; approach, and posited a geopolitical order (that has, indeed, emerged in recent years) where U.S. influence is in relative decline, while power is increasingly diffuse and new centers of influence such as China, India, Brazil and Turkey have emerged. World Cup 2010 seems to have announced the end of world soccer&#8217;s established order, too. (Not that multipolarity in either realm has done much for the French.) </p>
<p>Les Bleus were trounced by Uruguay and South Africa, and plunged into a national crisis that required presidential intervention by their own implosion. Uruguay, refusing to accept the also-ran status accorded them in the established order went on to impudently win the group, and look destined for a quarterfinal spot after facing South Korea (another arriviste happy to claim the knockout round spot that most had assumed would go to Nigeria) The USA &#8212; very much the soccer equivalent of a BRIC country in the world economy &#8212; cheekily finished above England (kind of like the equivalent in world soccer of France in world politics, a country whose mantle of imagined greatness is decidedly shabby, if not a garment in the tradition of the emperor&#8217;s new clothes). That, of course, condemned England to face its nemesis, Germany, in a match that the smart money says England are unlikely to win. </p>
<p>Serbia were many pundits &#8220;dark horse&#8221; for the tournament, but neither Ghana nor Australia got that email, and both beat the Balkan favorites, Ghana going through to the group stage where they have an even chance against fellow arrivistes, the USA &#8212; one of those two will get to the last eight. Others who forgot to check their emails were Paraguay and Slovakia, both shutting Italy out of a place in the knockout stages they seem to regard as their due, simply for showing up. Even lowly New Zealand refused to succumb to the Azzuri, and would have beaten them were it not for a dodgy penalty. An international tournament in which the Kiwis return home unbeaten is, indeed, a world turned on its head. </p>
<p>Then there was Japan, having the temerity to not only beat Cameroon but to outplay one-time European champions Denmark with three goals that included an elegant, two-part tutorial for the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Didier Drogba on how to score from free kicks with this Jabulani ball &#8212; and in the process, earn second place in the group and a ticket to the last 16 that the Danes had pretty much assumed was waiting for them at the will-call window.</p>
<p>Chile, too, long-since a major player in Latin America, could deal Spain a horrible blow in their showdown tomorrow. Already, the unfancied Swiss showed the versatility in attack and defense of their army knives to inflict a shock 1-0 defeat over the Spanish team many had regarded as favorites. </p>
<p>So what do we learn from all of this? </p>
<p>The established teams that have fared best are those, like Brazil, Germany, Argentina and Holland that have embraced innovation and diversity, and a willingness to reinvent themselves and play in a style that can hardly be termed stereotypical of their game: For Brazil and Holland, that&#8217;s meant dispensing with a cavalier attacking flair that wins fans but rarely trophies, and organizing themselves around a solid defensive core that allows them to dominate the game and win it with a few flourishes of breathtaking skill and vision. For Argentina (and I&#8217;ll admit to remaining a little skeptical) it&#8217;s been almost the reverse, dispensing with caution and almost recklessly front-loading the team with a glittering array of talented strikers. Germany have eased off on the almost military style of unsmiling physical domination and athletic attacking of a generation ago, to incorporate a lot more flair and guile. A team whose stars have included the sublime midfielders Mesut Ozil and Sami Khedira and Brazilian striker Cacau is remarkable not only for its diversity, but also because the players seem to actually enjoy themselves on the field. </p>
<p>These are teams that have embraced globalization both in their composition and style, adapting to best practices learned elsewhere. Germany and Switzerland are teams full of immigrants; the ethnically homogenous Italians have struggled. (Then again, France&#8217;s squad was predominantly of immigrant stock, and that didn&#8217;t help them.) Success may have more to do with embracing innovation and applying skills and organizational principles learned in the global soccer &#8220;economy&#8221; &#8212; the success of Uruguay and Mexico, even Ghana, can be partly attributed to the large number of their players now based at European clubs. </p>
<p>The point becomes more clear in reverse: The teams that performed below expectations are those most stuck in old ways; there was a staleness and familiarity to the styles of play and even the personnel of Italy and even England. France appeared hamstrung first and foremost by a sclerotic bureaucracy unable to effectively harness the abundance of resources at its disposal. Nigeria &#8212; let&#8217;s not even go there, beyond to observe that the malaise of a country that isn&#8217;t really sure if it&#8217;s a nation is well reflected in a chaotic soccer system.</p>
<p>But enough with the generalities &#8212; there is no general theory of football and globalization, just in case you thought I was suggesting one. I&#8217;m simply marveling at the fact that as things stand, the last eight teams at World Cup 2010 will include Uruguay (or, less likely, South Korea); either the USA or Ghana; Paraguay or Japan; and possibly Chile &#8212; but will not see Italy, France, and either England or Germany, and could possibly even lose Spain or Brazil. At least half of the quarter finalists are likely to be teams deemed outsiders. And that&#8217;s a sure sign that the wry quip by former England striker Gary Lineker &#8212; &#8220;Football is a simple game; 22 men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans always win&#8221; &#8212; is unlikely to make any sense to fans who&#8217;ve begun to follow the game in the current century. </p>
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		<title>SUPER EAGLES SUPER CHICKENS</title>
		<link>http://www.unilagfaces.com/2010/06/24/super-eagles-super-chickens-3/</link>
		<comments>http://www.unilagfaces.com/2010/06/24/super-eagles-super-chickens-3/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 24 Jun 2010 10:53:47 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Zoe</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Soccer Fans]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[I wonder what the eagles were doing when their fellow counterparts from Brazil requested for heated-up swimming pools when Argentina asked for nutritious meals, when the Americans requested for game rooms just to reduce the tension. I guess the Eagles, sorry the Chickens had lots of home videos to reduce the tension. Who is to [...]]]></description>
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<p><img src="http://http://timenewsfeed.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/picture-389.png?w=390" alt="official logo of the 2010 World Cup" />I wonder what the eagles were doing when their fellow counterparts from Brazil requested for heated-up swimming pools when Argentina asked for nutritious meals, when the Americans requested for game rooms just to reduce the tension.<br />
I guess the Eagles, sorry the Chickens had lots of home videos to reduce the tension.<br />
Who is to blame? Some say Lagerback. I say no. Its NFF that i blame.<br />
Why blame the Gaffer? Why not Yakubu or Shittu.<br />
I guess the happiest man in the world is Shuaibu Amodu. He may not have made any difference but we would have saved the cash.</p>
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		<title>The Albiceleste</title>
		<link>http://www.unilagfaces.com/2010/06/18/the-albiceleste-2/</link>
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		<pubDate>Fri, 18 Jun 2010 08:47:45 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Zoe</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Soccer Fans]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Maradona]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[South America]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Diego Armando Maradona is a total legend. He lights up the world cup on and off the pitch. The truth is, the world cup needed him as much as he needed the world cup. Heinze&#8217;s goal vs Nigeria was straight off the training ground, something Maradona had worked on tirelessly with his players. Careful who [...]]]></description>
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<p><img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/48102000/jpg/_48102624_argentina_still640.jpg" alt="Diego Maradonna" width="524" height="293" /><em></em></p>
<p><em>Diego Armando Maradona is a total legend. He lights up the world cup on and off the pitch.<br />
The truth is, the world cup needed him as much as he needed the world cup.<br />
Heinze&#8217;s goal vs Nigeria was straight off the training ground, something Maradona had worked on tirelessly with his players.</em></p>
<p>Careful who you say this to in South America, but something strange seems to have happened at the start of this World Cup: Argentina have become the new Brazil.</p>
<p>We are still early in the tournament, but one thing has become startlingly clear from their first two games in South Africa &#8211; Argentina have come to entertain, as well as to try to win the World Cup.</p>
<p>Led by their flamboyant, controversial, larger-than-life coach Diego Maradona, the Albiceleste have so far produced two fine performances and attacked with a relentless gusto seldom seen elsewhere in a tournament that has flattered to deceive.</p>
<p>Now, before you skip to the end to post a comment accusing me of jumping on an all-too-obvious bandwagon, this Argentina team certainly have their weaknesses, with their defensive frailties summed up in the 4-1 win over South Korea by a moment of spectacular indecision from Martin Demichelis.</p>
<p>Centre-back is not the only area they might struggle, either. Rumour has it that the Newcastle manager Chris Hughton was &#8220;stunned&#8221; after Maradona picked hard-working midfielder Jonas Gutierrez at right-back in their 1-0 opening win over Nigeria, a selection he repeated at Soccer City on Thursday.</p>
<p>Doubts must also linger over goalkeeper Sergio Romero, with the eight-times capped 22-year-old yet to be put under any real pressure as Argentina have dominated possession in both their Group B outings.</p>
<p>But in the middle of a World Cup critically short of flair, intention and a willingness to gamble, Maradona&#8217;s Argentina might just lead us towards some light at the end of the tunnel.</p>
<p><img src="http://http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/48094000/jpg/_48094281_maradonastill.jpg" alt="The Albiceleste" />In the same way that Brazil coach Dunga picked a squad in his own image with a plethora of defensive-minded midfielders and solid, dependable footballers he knew would not let him down, Maradona flooded the Argentine 23 with goals.</p>
<p>In choosing six strikers who between them have plundered 170 goals in the last 12 months domestically, Maradona was sending a message to the other 31 competing nations that his team would not be afraid to play on the offensive.</p>
<p>The Argentine coach is lucky, because no other coach can rely on such a potent strikeforce, which includes the sublime skills of the world&#8217;s greatest footballer, Lionel Messi. So often criticised for his laboured displays for his country, Messi has started the World Cup like he means to win it with two peformances of dictatorial quality.</p>
<p>Maradona was severely criticised for not getting the best out of Messi in qualifying, but he has given his star man a roving role in South Africa and implored him to become the leader of the team in the same way he took on the mantle so successfully in Mexico in 1986.</p>
<p>The chemistry between the two has long been a subject of fascination, but so far at this World Cup their relationship has worked to perfection, with a jubilant Maradona lifting Messi into the air and then hugging him all the way down the tunnel after the final whistle on Thursday.</p>
<p>It was after the Nigeria game that Maradona, ever the dreamer, gave away his feelings on how he wants his team to function: &#8220;I want Messi to be very close to the ball. As long as he has fun, then we are all going to have fun. Football wouldn&#8217;t be beautiful unless Messi is touching the ball all the time.&#8221;</p>
<p>Every time Messi touched the ball at Soccer City against South Korea, there was a genuine buzz of excitement among the 82,174 present, even among the South Korean journalists standing nervously to my right. When the score reached 4-1, one of them even told me he wanted Messi to score, just so he could say he&#8217;d seen it happen.</p>
<p>With Messi starting alongside Carlos Tevez, hat-trick hero Gonzalo Higuain and Angel di Maria, Argentina&#8217;s attacking potential is frightening, especially when you consider they brought £35m-rated Sergio Aguero off the bench in the second half and left Inter Milan&#8217;s treble-winning hero Diego Milito on it for the duration.</p>
<p>But as impressive &#8211; and most certainly as important &#8211; as their world-class quality in the final third is the astonishing work-rate of Maradona&#8217;s team to close down spaces, win back possession when they lose it and panic the other team into making mistakes.</p>
<p>Led by the indefatigable Tevez, this was a frontline whose hard work and enterprise at times mirrored that of Messi&#8217;s other team, Barcelona. They might enjoy the majority of the possession in the majority of games they play, but watch them when they don&#8217;t have the ball &#8211; that&#8217;s when they really kill their opposition.</p>
<p><span id="more-2189"></span>That effort does not happen when a team is not playing for their manager. What is also only too clear when you watch them both on and off the pitch is that &#8211; after a difficult start during the qualifiers &#8211; these Argentina players not only adore their manager, but they trust him to make the right decisions as well.<br />
With South Korea piling pressure on in the second half at 2-1 down and with 15 minutes remaining, Maradona had a difficult decision to make. But he stayed true to his instincts and refused to retreat into a defensive shell, sending on Aguero for Tevez and keeping the shape of the side the same.</p>
<p>Two minutes later, Higuain had tapped in after Messi had struck the post and three minutes after that Higuain nodded in Aguero&#8217;s cross to wrap it up. Better to be a lucky coach than a good one, eh Diego?</p>
<p>Thousands of Argentines lingered at Soccer City for a long time after the final whistle, triumphantly singing and dancing in the aisles as they blew their vuvuzelas in ecstasy at what they had just seen. To their surprise, they were joined by scores of South Africans who had found the perfect therapy for Bafana Bafana&#8217;s devastating defeat at the hands of Uruguay on Wednesday.</p>
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		<title>Tit Bits from Sud du Afrique</title>
		<link>http://www.unilagfaces.com/2010/06/18/tit-bits-from-sud-du-afrique/</link>
		<comments>http://www.unilagfaces.com/2010/06/18/tit-bits-from-sud-du-afrique/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 18 Jun 2010 07:53:42 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Zoe</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Soccer Fans]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lagerback]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Zidane]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Former French captain Zinedine Zidane has criticised coach Raymond Domenech after the 2-0 defeat by Mexico which left Les Bleus on the brink of World Cup elimination. Zidane, a member of France&#8217;s 1998 World Cup-winning team, believes Domenech got his selection wrong by demoting Yoann Gourcuff to the bench, depriving the side of a creative [...]]]></description>
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<p><img src="http://img.timeinc.net/time/photoessays/2010/world_cup_0615/world_cup_0615_04.jpg" alt="FIFA Ref" />Former French captain Zinedine Zidane has criticised coach Raymond Domenech after the 2-0 defeat by Mexico which left Les Bleus on the brink of World Cup elimination.</p>
<p>Zidane, a member of France&#8217;s 1998 World Cup-winning team, believes Domenech got his selection wrong by demoting Yoann Gourcuff to the bench, depriving the side of a creative spark.</p>
<p>&#8220;The coach made the decision but I don&#8217;t agree with it,&#8221; Zidane told Mexican television station Televisa. &#8220;I am disappointed because France did not have a single shot on goal and that should be the least to be expected. Mexico were superior to France, especially physically.&#8221;</p>
<p>Captain Patrice Evra said it felt like France were a &#8220;small football nation &#8211; and it hurts&#8221; after Thursday&#8217;s defeat by Mexico.</p>
<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a catastrophe, that&#8217;s all we can say. We are not a great team,&#8221; said Evra, who was part of the side which suffered an early exit at Euro 2008. &#8220;When you are knocked out of the European Championship in the first round and you are also capable of being knocked out in the first round of the World Cup, you just don&#8217;t want to think about football after that.&#8221;</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Nigeria coach Lars Lagerback praised his side despite their 2-1 defeat by Greece which leaves them with only slim hopes of making the World Cup last 16.</p>
<p>The sending off of Nigeria midfielder Sani Kaita changed the game as Greece came back from a goal down to win.</p>
<p>&#8220;We started the match quite well, got the goal, then you have the sending off and we had problems,&#8221; said Lagerback.</p>
<p>&#8220;In the circumstances I&#8217;m proud of the attitude and the work that the players put into the second half.&#8221;</p>
<p>Despite the defeat the Super Eagles retain a mathematical chance of reaching the knockout stages, but would need to beat South Korea in their final game, hope that Argentina beat Greece and then it would come down to goal difference. </p>
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		<title>Its Day 5</title>
		<link>http://www.unilagfaces.com/2010/06/15/its-day-5/</link>
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		<pubDate>Tue, 15 Jun 2010 08:23:42 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Zoe</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Soccer Fans]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Africa]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FIFA]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[North Korea]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[South Africa 2010]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Trinidad And Tobago]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[World Cup]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Every World Cup needs its mystery team, usually a side of minnows few know very much about — in 2006, the &#8220;Soca Warriors&#8221; of Trinidad &#38; Tobago played that role with cuddly, heart-warming gusto. It&#8217;s a bit harder to attach that sort of sentiment to North Korea, whose dictatorial regime is one of the most [...]]]></description>
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<p><img src="http://img.timeinc.net/time/photoessays/2010/world_cup_0614/world_cup_04.jpg" alt="The Jabulani" />Every World Cup needs its mystery team, usually a side of minnows few know very much about — in 2006, the &#8220;Soca Warriors&#8221; of Trinidad &amp; Tobago played that role with cuddly, heart-warming gusto. It&#8217;s a bit harder to attach that sort of sentiment to North Korea, whose dictatorial regime is one of the most alienated and vilified in the world. Still, the country&#8217;s team — known as the Chollima, or winged-horses — could have hardly scripted a more enticing opening encounter: ranked 105th in the world, North Korea will line up against global giants Brazil in Johannesburg this evening.<br />
African teams have scored two goals in five games. Where does that leave the continent&#8217;s hopes?</p>
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