The Best Comedy Moments in World Football for 2009

Nuno is a reader of World Football Commentaries from Portugal.

He sent me these interesting videos from TVGolo.com. They highlight the funnier side of world football during 2009.

Please enjoy the videos, along with the background music.

Muito obrigado, Nuno.






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Los Angeles Sol's Marta Selected as FIFA World Player of the Year by Rob Penner

Los Angeles Sol’s Marta Selected as FIFA World Player of the Year

WPS League MVP Wins Fourth-Consecutive FIFA World Player Award

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (December 21, 2009) – One year ago, Marta made history at the FIFA World Player Gala by publicly announcing her signing with the Los Angeles Sol of the new Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) league which kicked off in March 2009. One year later, the Brazilian arrived at the very same gala with her first season of WPS behind her and made history once again: this time by becoming the first player ever – male or female – to win the award for a record fourth-time as she was announced as the 2009 FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year at a gala in Zurich, Switzerland on Monday evening.

Marta Vieira da Silva: Simply the best.
She is the only footballer to win this prestigious
award four times on the trot.

“I want to thank God for everything that is happening to me in my life,” Marta said after winning the award. “I also want to thank my football colleagues in Los Angeles Sol, Santos and Brazil. This is an individual award, but without my colleagues, I could not win anything. I am very happy to be the first woman to have won the award for a fourth time and I hope it helps women's football to grow.”

Marta made an immediate impact on WPS during its inaugural season. She notched 10 goals and 3 assists during the year, winning the PUMA Golden Boot Award as the league’s top scorer. In the process, she lead the Los Angeles Sol to the WPS Regular Season title and a spot in the WPS Championship presented by MedImmune. For her season-long performance, she was selected by players, coaches, media and fans as the 2009 Michelle Akers Player of the Year, the official league MVP award. She was also a first-team WPS All-Star selection and scored a goal for the WPS All-Stars in their 4-2 victory over Swedish power Umeå IK in the 2009 WPS All-Star Game presented by U.S. Coast Guard.

Women’s Professional Soccer, the premier soccer league for women in the world, featured three of the five finalists for this year’s FIFA World Player Award, including Marta, her countrywoman Cristiane, who played for the Chicago Red Stars last season and England’s Kelly Smith, who plays for the Boston Breakers. The 2010 WPS Season kicks off April 10, 2010.

About Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS)

Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) is the premier women’s soccer league in the world and the global standard by which women’s professional sports are measured. The Inaugural Season kicked off in March 2009 with seven WPS teams based in the Bay Area, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New Jersey/New York, St. Louis, and Washington, D.C. The league’s eighth and nine franchises, Philadelphia and Atlanta, will begin play in the 2010 WPS Season, which begins April 2010. For more information, visit www.womensprosoccer.com.

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The Desmond and Leah Tutu Peace Choir by Don Mullan

Image courtesy of Don Mullan. All rights reserved.

Editor's Note

In 2008, I had the great pleasure and honor to interview Mr. Mullan for Keeper Skool. He was the author of "Gordon Banks: A Hero Who Could Fly."

With his kind permission, here is a description of a recent initiative.

President Obama presents Archbishop Desmond Tutu
with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

The Desmond and Leah Tutu Peace Choir

Dear Friends,

You may be interested in the following link to a wonderful choir in Nottinghamshire, England, who have been given the privilege of being named the first Desmond and Leah Tutu Peace Choir in the world.

This is a concept I have developed with the permission of Archbishop Tutu arising out of the Christmas Truce Project I am developing in Flanders.

Archbishop Tutu first encountered "Choir Invisible" in July 2008 when he came to Stoke-on-Trent to assist Pele unveil a monument to my boyhood hero, the legendary England goalkeeper, Gordon Banks. It was a privilege to witness the immediate and spontaneous rapport that developed between the choir and Archbishop Tutu.

The footage of the choir singing 'Our Children' was taken on my Nokia N95 mobile phone on December 4 at Southwell Minster, Nottinghamshire, at the launch of the Desmond and Leah Tutu Peace Choirs. It is hoped the initiative will spread throughout several counties in the next two to three years. Each choir will have the privilege and responsibility of representing and spreading the message of Justice, Peace, Reconciliation and Healing which have characterised the life and commitment of Archbishop and Mrs Tutu. Proceeds from concerts held by the Peace Choirs will be sent to South Africa to help support the work of Archbishop Tutu.

I hope you enjoy the recording. I must admit, I am very impressed by the quality of the sound recording, bearing in mind this was shot on a Nokia mobile phone. I would be grateful if you could pass on this link to people who might be interested.

Best wishes,

Don Mullan

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WPS Features Three Finalists for FIFA World Player of the Year Award by Rob Penner

WPS Features Three Finalists for FIFA World Player of the Year Award

Two Brazilians and one English among Group

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (December 7, 2009) – Five weeks after announcing the nominees, FIFA announced the finalists for the 2009 FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year Award from its headquarters in Zurich on Monday with three of the five finalists for the award having played in WPS during the Inaugural Season. Finalists who played in WPS, all of them selected as 2009 WPS All-Stars, include (country/2009 team):

Cristiane, BRA/Chicago Red Stars – The only player in WPS to notch a hat trick this season, her incredible long-range strike against FC Gold Pride in mid-July was one of the goals of the year this season in WPS. Finished with seven goals, fourth-best in WPS.

Marta, BRA/Los Angeles Sol – Winner of the 2009 Michelle Akers Player of the Year Award as the league MVP, Marta notched 10 goals and 3 assists to lead the Los Angeles Sol to the WPS Regular Season title and a spot in the WPS Championship game.

Kelly Smith, ENG/Boston Breakers – Tallied six goals in just 15 games in WPS this year to lead the Boston Breakers early charge to start the season as one of the best teams in WPS and winning WPS Player of the Month honors for April. Finished among the top five in WPS in goals and was a consistent threat in the offensive third with her dangerous left foot.

The other two finalists come from 2009 European Champions, Germany: Inka Grings and Birgit Prinz. Both Marta and Prinz have won the award three times and each is looking to win for the record fourth-time. The winner will be announced at the FIFA World Player Gala scheduled for December 21 in Zurich, Switzerland.

About Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS)

Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) is the premier women’s soccer league in the world and the global standard by which women’s professional sports are measured. The Inaugural Season kicked off in March 2009 with seven WPS teams based in the Bay Area, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New Jersey/New York, St. Louis, and Washington, D.C. The league’s eighth and nine franchises, Philadelphia and Atlanta, will begin play in the 2010 WPS Season, which begins March 2010. For more information, visit www.womensprosoccer.com.

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2009/2010 UEFA Champions League Matchday 6: "It is a real final for us and them." Ciro Ferrara of Juventus

Image courtesy of UEFA.

The premier world football club competition kicked-off on 15 September. The defending champion is FC Barcelona, and the final will take place on 22 May 2010 from el Estadio Bernabeu in Madrid. Matchday 6 will be the last set of fixtures in the group phase of the competition.

Key Matches for Italian Football

For fans of Italian calcio, Juventus, AC Milan, and Internazionale Milano all face key matches that will determine their collective fate. Either qualification to the Champions League elimination round early next year, or a ticket into the new Europa League.

"Matchday 1 takes place on 15/16 September, with fixtures continuing on 29/30 September, 20/21 October, 3/4 November, 24/25 November and 8/9 December. The top two sides from each section will progress to the first knockout round draw on 18 December, which will be held at 12.00 CET in Nyon, while those finishing third will enter the UEFA Europa League Round of 32."

Source: UEFA.com

Former Juventus legend, Ciro Ferrara,
leads the Old Lady in their crunch match against
FC Bayern Muncheon on Tuesday night in Torino. As
a player, he won the UEFA Champions League in 1996.

Ciro Ferrara, Manager of Juventus FC

"Se la partita contro il Bayern è più importante dell'Inter? Ora ci si gioca la qualificazione, passare il turno è importantissimo per la squadra e la società. E' una finale vera e propria, per noi e per loro. Entrambe le squadre daranno tutto... Come caratteristiche di squadra non possiamo pensare di gestire un pareggio. Non è nella mentalità di una grande squadra come la Juve. Il Bayern ha un solo risultato, la vittoria. Ma ha giocatori che possono creare difficoltà. Non credo che scenderanno in campo spregiudicati dall'inizio. È una grande formazione, abituata a giocare ad alti livelli.".

"If the game against Bayern Munich is more important than the one on Saturday against Inter Milan? Now we are playing for the qualification.

To pass the turn is extremely important for the team and organization.

It is a real final for us and them. Both teams will give everything...

As a characteristic of the team, we can't think of playing for a tie. It is not in the mentality of a great team such as Juventus. Bayern Munich has only one result: the victory. But Bayern has players that can create problems. I don't believe that they will come on the pitch unbiased from the beginning.

They are a great side, and are accustomed to playing at the highest levels."

Italian Source: La Gazzetta dello Sport, 7 December 2009.

New Faces

There are 8 new teams, along with 16 domestic title holders.

Here are the 32 teams divided into 8 groups:

Group A

Bayern Munich (qualifed)
Juventus
Bordeaux (qualifed)
Maccabi Haifa

Group B

Manchester United (qualified)
CSKA Moscow (qualifed)
Besiktas
VFL Wolfsburg

Group C

AC Milan (qualifed)
Real Madrid CF (qualifed)
Olympique Marseille
FC Zurich

Group D

Chelsea FC (qualified)
FC Porto (qualified)
Atletico de Madrid
Apoel FC Nicosia

Group E

Liverpool
Olympique Lyon (qualified)
ACF Fiorentina (qualified)
Debreceni

Group F

FC Barcelona (qualified)
Internazionale Milano (qualified)
Dynamo Kiev
FC Rubin Kazan

Group G

Sevilla (qualifed)
Rangers Glasgow
Vfb Stuttgart (qualified)
AFC Unirea Urziceni

Group H

Arsenal (qualified)
AZ Alkmaar
Olimpiakos FC (qualified)
Standard de Leige

• UEFA Champions League Site

• UCL Statistics

UEFA Awards for 2008/2009

UEFA Club Goalkeeper of the Year: Erwin van der Saar of Manchester United.
UEFA Club Defender of the Year: John Terry of Chelsea FC.
UEFA Club Midfielder of the Year: Xavi Hernandez of FC Barcelona.
UEFA Club Striker of the Year: Lionel Messi of FC Barcelona.

Paolo Maldini of AC Milan received a Special Achievement Award from UEFA President, Michel Platini, during the draw ceremony in Monaco.

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Product Review: adidas Samba Millennium Soccer Shoes in White by SoccerPro.com

Image courtesy of SoccerPro.com.

The adidas Samba Millennium is part of a wide selection of soccer shoes at SoccerPro.com. This white version is one of the traditional indoor and training shoes worn by generations of players around the world.

Product Features

• Full grain leather upper
• Synthetic lining with EVA insole
  
• Midsole Torsion System for midfoot integrity. "This system helps protect and support the foot while still allowing it to function in a natural manner. It provides stability and lightweight arch support while allowing the forefoot and the rearfoot to move freely."
  
• Brushed nylon lining
• Full shell overlap
• Non-folding midlength synthetic tongue
• Manufactured in Vietnam.
  

Traditional Classic

I have worn this brand for years, and they never cease to impress. They fit like a glove directly out of the box. For comfort, durability, style, and above all, function, the Adidas Samba is a necessary accessory for any soccer player or fan of the beautiful game.

Available Sizes

• Men's and Women's 6 to 13

Shipping

Free UPS Ground on deliveries of US $50 or more.


This was a sponsored product review.

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