This is a great commercial. Surprising that it was a web-only initiative, but really cool nonetheless:
This is horrible… from AP.org:
ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (AP) - Women fainted with grief and wailed in sorrow Monday outside a morgue in Abidjan where the bodies of 19 soccer fans killed in a weekend stadium stampede were being held.
Mothers and sisters of the dead sobbed as they held each other, while fathers and brothers stood, their eyes red with sorrow.
World soccer body FIFA demanded an investigation into Sunday’s tragedy and the prime minister of Ivory Coast convened an emergency Cabinet meeting Monday to look into the stampede that left 19 dead and at least 132 injured at a World Cup qualifying match.
Thousands of fans at the capital’s main Felix Houphouet-Boigny arena pushed against each other before Sunday’s game between Ivory Coast and Malawi, setting off a panic that led to the stampede, Interior Minister Desire Tagro said on state television.
The melee prompted security forces to fire tear gas, which witnesses say forced fans to hurl themselves toward the field, causing a wall to come down and setting off a stampede.
Tagro gave the death toll Sunday, but there was no immediate update Monday on the condition of the injured. The game took place despite the deaths and Ivory Coast won 5-0.
Sunday’ game drew tens of thousands because of the presence of Chelsea striker Didier Drogba, a native of Ivory Coast who is seen as superstar in his home country. Drogba scored twice in the victory.
At the downtown morgue, family members were told to come and identify the dead. The morgue showed reporters a list of 19 names - including two children, the youngest of whom was age 10.
Momodou Kamara, who waited outside the morgue, blamed police for his brother’s death. “My brother left to go to the stadium with his friends. At the entrance, they were attacked by security forces. That’s what set off the stampede,” he said.
Diarassouba Adama, who was inside the stadium at the time, also blamed police for the deadly tragedy.
“We saw people falling from the top bleachers. The stampede was provoked by the security forces who threw tear gas canisters at us. I don’t know why they fired on us,” he said as stood vigil outside the morgue.
State TV announced that Prime Minister Guillaume Soro was holding an emergency cabinet meeting later Monday to deal with the national tragedy. In Zurich, FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter offered his condolences and also demanded a full investigation into the stampede.
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From the Telegraph.co.uk:
“It [a deal for Ronaldo] is not possible. That matter is over,” Madrid president Ramon Calderon said. “We talked about that last season. Manchester decided they did not want to sell the player and we don’t want to do anything against a friendly club like Manchester.
“We accept that Ronaldo decided to stay at Manchester. It is forgotten. Not only for January but, I think, for ever.”
However, he maintained that should United put the 23-year-old up for sale, Real would consider coming in with an offer.
“Only if Manchester decided to sell will we be talking about it,” he said. “But I would like to say clearly that Madrid is not doing anything to disturb a nice and friendly club like Manchester.
“That is the final word and we are happy.”
Few will disagree with the United winger’s statement that he is the clear favourite to win both the Fifa World Player of the Year award and the Ballon d’Or but for him to state it so openly appears either a sign of arrogance or supreme confidence. Perhaps both.
“I am completely confident,” he told the Italian sports paper, Gazzetta dello Sport. “If you assess what I did over the course of the season; I think I did more than anyone. What more could I have done to win the Ballon d’Or and the Fifa award?”
The Ballon D’Or is better known by its former title of the European Footballer of the Year; an award that no Manchester United player has won since Denis Law, Sir Bobby Charlton and George Best were awarded it once each between 1964 and 1968. The last two Englishmen to win it were Michael Owen seven years ago and Kevin Keegan in 1979. Ronaldo was voted runner-up to AC Milan’s Kaka last year and has already been presented with the Golden Boot – as Europe’s leading marksman – in a ceremony in his home island of Madeira.
Ronaldo’s performances in a season in which he scored 42 times for Manchester United were even more remarkable because for the last two months of the campaign he played through the pain of an ankle injury.
“At times it was like having a knife in my ankle,” he said. “I had to grit my teeth but I don’t regret it because it was worth it. But mentally and physically it was torture.”
Having won his first European Cup – which earned him the award of Uefa’s Champions League player of the season – Ronaldo said he believed Manchester United were capable of retaining the trophy; something no team has achieved since AC Milan in 1990.
“I want a second Champions League,” he said. “Manchester United have everything it takes to do it. I don’t see anyone capable of rivalling us.”
Calderon also endorsed AC Milan’s interest in signing former Real midfielder David Beckham on loan from LA Galaxy.
“He is a very well-known player. He is a player who can give a lot to the club he signs for,” Calderon told Sky Sports News.
Beckham spent four seasons at the Bernabeu and Calderon added: “I have heard he is going to go to AC Milan.
“We wish David Beckham all the best. He performed fantastically. He decided to leave and now he has a new offer and it is up to him.
“He is a fantastic player, a nice person and we have a lot of good memories. The Real Madrid fans like him very much and he is always welcome at Real Madrid in any sense.”
From SI.com:
Brazil is in mourning after former Vasco de Gama player Thiago da Silva was brutally tortured and murdered, allegedly by hired assassins on the orders of his ex-girlfriend.
Da Silva, 25, who had been playing for second-division team Estacio de Sa Soccer Club, died in a Rio de Janeiro hospital Wednesday night, six days after being mortally shot in an attack by three men on a soccer field.
According to reports from the local police, the instigator of the crime is da Silva’s former girlfriend.
Before he passed away, da Silva was able to tell the police that he had fallen into a trap last Thursday evening, shortly after discussing the end of his relationship with his girlfriend, Alyne Padula.
The former Vasco player was overwhelmed by three people (including a member of the military police), all of whom are friends of the girl’s aunt.
He was handcuffed, beaten and tortured. When he tried to flee he was hit by three bullets.
Both the former girlfriend and her aunt, Marcia Padula Viana, were arrested on Sunday as instigators of the crime, and accused of hiring the assassins to kill da Silva.
You have to respect Sir Alex Ferguson, he manages to push back the Spaniards (Real Madrid) and tell off Londoners, too.
From CNN:
After extracting a pledge of loyalty from Ronaldo for the coming season, Ferguson suggested it was a matter of personal pride not losing his prized asset to the Spanish champion.
“I can’t deny it was an important issue — there are very few players who left me against my will,” Ferguson said Friday.
“(Madrid) now know they are dealing with a different animal and Cristiano will settle down and enjoy his career here.
“He has got four years left on his contract and at some point hopefully we would like to extend it.”
Ronaldo, who is due to be out until October after ankle surgery, returned to United’s training ground on Friday for the first time since winning the Champions League in May.
Ronaldo spent the summer hinting at a desire to join Real Madrid, but Ferguson adamantly refused to sell his most prized asset, scorer of 42 goals last season.
Ronaldo finally conceded defeat Wednesday in his quest to move to the Spanish champion — for the coming season at least.
“We’re happy he has explained himself perfectly from my perspective and the matter is closed, he is a Manchester United player,” Ferguson said.
“The player is happy to be a Manchester United player, he has always been happy to be here. It’s just the unfortunate participation of Real Madrid in the boy’s life has made it difficult for him.
“The important thing is we ended all this stuff about Real Madrid. As he gets older he will appreciate being here more and more because that happens with players the longer they stay here and they don’t ever want to leave.”
Ronaldo said he thought the world record-breaking transfer fee offered by Real Madrid and rejected by United would have been fair compensation for his departure. The 23-year-old also said he wanted to live closer to his family.
But Ferguson told him that London-raised defender Rio Ferdinand was an example of a player who gradually adapted to a different culture in northern England.
“He’s now a real Manchester United person and he comes from another country — he comes from London, he comes from a different world,” Ferguson said.
“It’s not very different leaving London, leaving Portugal to live in Manchester. He came north to a colder climate, a wetter climate, but to a real football city.”
It appears that Bayern will be the team to beat. The only major change to the side has seen Oliver Kahn’s long-time backup Michael Rensing take over the No.1 jersey after the retirement of the veteran international keeper.
Will Berder Bremen give champions Bayern Munich a run for their money?
This is an interesting development with far reaching repercussions:
World soccer’s governing body FIFA has told clubs they must release any players aged under 23 selected for next month’s Beijing Olympics after rejecting a protest by three European teams.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, FIFA said Players’ Status Committee member Slim Aloulou had ruled as a single judge that the release of players was mandatory for all clubs.
German Bundesliga sides Werder Bremen and Schalke, and Spain’s Barcelona had argued against the need to release players because the Olympics were not included on FIFA’s international match calendar.
“The single judge determined that the international match calendar is not of relevance in establishing whether clubs are obliged to release players,” FIFA said in its statement.
“In view of the longstanding and undisputed practice (since 1988, clubs have always accepted the release of Under-23 players for the competition), he deemed that recourse to customary law is justified.”
The statement added that the Olympic Games was a “unique opportunity” for all athletes “and that it would not be justifiable to prevent any player younger than 23 from participating in such an event”.
Werder and Schalke have already filed complaints with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) following the call-ups of Schalke defender Rafinha and Werder playmaker Diego into Brazil’s Olympic squad.
Read more.
It’s been a couple of weeks since the end of Euro 2008, and still no word on whether or not Cristiano Ronaldo will head to Real Madrid, or stay back in Manchester.
The great Pele says “please don’t go“.
One man who blazed the trail - David Becker - has a surprising piece of advice for the young Portuguese.
Fitting, then, that Real Madrid’s own players are rolling out the red carpet for him?
Time will tell… but time to run the credits on this soap opera.
Michael Ballack might not play for the Germans, while Spain won’t have leading scorer David Villa for sure.
I think the game will be amazing nonetheless.
Yikes. These are potentially damaging allegations to the Beautiful Game’s biggest spectacle.
Joao Havelange, who was FIFA President from 1974 until 1998 is certain to have further fuelled these conspiracy theories by openly stating that the 1966 and ’74 World Cups were fixed.
“In the three matches that the Brazilian national team played in 1966, of the three referees and six linesmen, seven were British and two were Germans,” Havelange told Folha de Sao Paulo.
“Brazil went out, Pele ‘exited’ through injury [following some rough defensive play], and England and Germany entered into the final, just as the Englishman Sir Stanley Rous, who was the President of FIFA at the time, had wanted.
“In Germany in 1974 the same thing happened. During the Brazil-Holland match, the referee was German, we lost 2-0 and Germany won the title,” said Havelange.
“We were the best in the world, and had the same team that had won the World Cup in 1962 in Chile and 1970 in Mexico, but it was planned for the host countries to win.”
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