Mansour
“On Friday, a glittering draw ceremony in Cape Town will unveil the opening rounds for the African continent’s first FIFA World Cup. When the tournament kicks off on June 11th, it will mark the culmination of a long journey for African nations to take part in sport’s biggest tournament on an equal footing with nations from North and South America, Asia, and Europe, continents which have all previously hosted the Finals. During the build-up to the draw, I thought I’d look at the history of African teams in the tournament, starting with the origins of the World Cup in the 1930s.” Currybet – The thirties, The wilderness years, The seventies, The eighties, The nineties, The noughties and beyond….

“One of my favorite Web site’s is Sports Illustrated’s SI Vault. If you’re not familiar with it, the SI Vault has every article ever published by Sports Illustrated; it’s a heavenly digital oasis for avid sports fans. A few weeks ago, on one of my endless surfing sessions of The Vault, I came across an intriguing feature story on an emerging young American soccer player in Germany named Landon Donovan.” (Intelligent Soccer)

“Fancy going to see the Boca Juniors v River Plate Superclásico in Argentina? Of course you do. It’s the one match every football fan must see before they die. Well, how about seeing that match and then staying on in Argentina to capture loads more fanatical fan behaviour on film before moving onto Brazil, South Korea, Serbia and pretty the rest of the free world watching football – sounds alright doesn’t it!?” (European Football Weekends)

Rivaldo
“The decade has witnessed all manner of great goals and sublime strikes. It may be faintly ridiculous to restrict a selection to ten, but such events demand a nice, neat list. Feel free to add your own favourites at the bottom of the page if they do not appear in this collection.” (ESPN)

“I’m more nervous about this Arsenal match than any other time I’ve awaited Liverpool taking on the Gunners. Well: outside of a European quarterfinal, anyway. It’s the context of this season that has me all wound up. The injuries. The results. The fall from the Champions League. With Liverpool following their best season in nearly two decades and with the series of heartbreaks that defines the current campaign, this match has become bigger than ever.” (EPL Talk)

ESPN – Dec. 12, Dec. 13
ESPN – Dec. 12
ESPN – Dec. 12