Tag Archives: World Cup

Canada’s path to 2014 World Cup

The groups for the third round of CONCACAF qualifying have been set now that round two is in the books. Canada took first place in its round two qualifiers against St. Lucia (pop. 161 000), St. Kitts & Nevis (pop. … Continue reading

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Canucks playoff atmosphere…like Italia 90

In 1990 I went to the World Cup in Italy. My buddy Alex and I had tickets, courtesy of my uncle, to see a couple of Scotland’s round robin games in Genoa. It was a newly built stadium, still used … Continue reading

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“One day we will take it back.”

From Paul Hayward’s great article in the Guardian on Friday, Dec 3: What is the World Cup meant to mean? The shirts, the fascination with each country: the buttercup yellow of Brazil, the dark brilliance of Argentina, the new Spain, … Continue reading

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Zonal Marking interpret the FIFA World Cup technical report

4-2-3-1 was the buzz formation of the World Cup so you may see a big move to that formation on the field this season. It’s a difficult one to pull off with kids though. I played it for most of … Continue reading

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Puyol and Fab have a beer on the field after the game

Somehow I doubt they’ll be asked to apologize like the Canadian women’s ice hockey team were ridiculously made to after winning Olympic gold…

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The Final: keys for both teams

Quick post before the kickoff… For Holland: 1. Test Casillas. People keep insisting Casillas is still one of the best. I haven’t seen that. He’s rarely been tested and I blame him for the goal against the Swiss. You can’t … Continue reading

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Muller v Pique: tale of two yellows

It’s undeniable that referee calls heading into the Spain v Germany semi-final had a huge effect. Thomas Muller, Germany’s leading scorer, was given his second yellow card against Argentina. For this: Definitely one of the weakest yellow cards of the … Continue reading

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Jabulani: more on adidas relationship with FIFA

Awhile back, I posted this: Adidas relationship with FIFA All the talk about the Jabulani, from what I can see, is missing the bigger point. Adidas is a sponsor of FIFA. They pay money to have an association with the … Continue reading

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Vancouver Sun asks why we can’t qualify like NZ

Here’s the article It’s an interview with Tony Waiters on a variety of Canadian soccer issues. I agree with pretty much everything Tony says but it’s an oversimplification to assume that because a small country like New Zealand, where soccer … Continue reading

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Less (Ballack) is more (success) for Germany

In light of the comprehensive thrashing of Argentina this morning by Germany there’s a rush to plaudits for various German players and coaches. All well deserved. Schweinsteiger, Ozil, Podolski, Muller, Klose and several others were fantastic and stamped their authority … Continue reading

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