Viva Football - World Cup Special

Road to Brazil

The 2014 FIFA World Cup  kicks off in few hours. The 20th edition of the FIFA World Cup is all set to begin with host nation Brazil taking on Croatia in the competition's opening game. This year's edition of the World Cup features 32 nations fighting for that one crown which will make them better than the rest. The participating teams are from five different confederations from across the globe with 13 from Europe; 4 from the Asia; 4 from North America, Central America and the Caribbean; 6 from South America; and 5 representing the African continent.

From Cristiano Ronaldo to Lionel Messi, from Eden Hazard to Neymar, we look at the players who can take this World Cup by storm.

                                                                         Eden Hazard (Belgium):

 The Belgium winger is coming in the tournament after a sensational season for Chelsea in the EPL and will be one of the key men for his country in Brazil. He is generally deployed in a wide role keeping in mind his pace, trickery and good deliveries for the strikers. Hazard made nine appearances in the Red Devils' successful 2014 World Cup qualification campaign, scoring twice.

 Robin van Persie (Netherlands):

The 30 years old striker for Manchester United who is the captain of the Netherlands national team has scored 172 goals for the gunners. In spite of spending his first years as an attacking midfielder he is perhaps the world’s most complete striker. Van Persie ended the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign as top scorer in the UEFA section with 11 goals.

Wayne Rooney (England):

Rooney led his qualifying group with seven goals and will be the main man for England once again. With England in Group of Death, fans will rely on his all-round ability to help England through. In the past, Rooney has gone into the World Cup with injuries, but this time he has declared himself 100 per cent fit and will be looking to leave his mark on the most elite competition of the beautiful game. Rooney ended the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign as England's top scorer.


                                                                        Lionel Messi (Argentina):

It's been a struggle to get Lionel Messi to perform for Argentina despite his dominance at club level but this time around things can change. Playing on the turf of arch rivals Brazil, Argentine fans will be hoping that star attacker can be at his best in a month-long tournament. He will be given a free role as a striker by his national coach and that will allow him to dominate the opposition defenders. Considering he has won everything there is to win with Barcelona, he has not won anything with Argentina yet. Messi ended the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign as second-top scorer in the South American section with ten goals.

Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal):


 

2013 Ballon d'Or winner will be hoping to take the World Cup by storm. He has the ability to help his team win matches single-handedly, and keeping in mind his form for Real Madrid, the Portugal captain can give nightmares to the opposition defenders. A rasping long shot, pace, astonishing athletic presence and aerial ability make him a complete player in modern-day game. Ronaldo scored eight goals in Portugal's FIFA World Cup 2014 qualifying campaign. Ronaldo was hampered by thigh injuries towards the end of the 2013-14 season with Real Madrid and the Portuguese Football Association confirmed on 4 June 2014 that he had a "muscle injury on the back of his left thigh as well as left-leg patellar tendinitis."

Neymar (Brazil):

It has been a strange year for Neymar. He starred at the 2013 Confederations Cup, leading to Brazil on home soil & turned in a maiden campaign with Barcelona.  Brazil's newest hero will be expected to shoulder the expectations of millions this summer. Neymar operates in a free role for Brazil and keeping his pace and dribbling in mind he can be handful for the opposition. He will be seen as a match winner for Brazil. On 5 March 2014, Neymar scored his first international hat-trick in a friendly win against South Africa in Johannesburg.


                                                                         The Hot Favorites

Can Spain dominate other teams like they did in 2010 in South Africa? Will they be able to successfully defend their crown in Rio on July 13^th? On the other hand, the Germans, who are also seen as favorites, have advanced from the Group Stage in all but one of their prior World Cup appearances. Being the hosts of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Brazil is expected to lift their record 6th World Cup in front of the home crowd. Brazil showed a glimpse of their potential when they defeated Spain 3-0 in the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup but can they become the fourth host nation to win the World Cup? On the other hand, Brazil's arch rivals Argentina have been the favorites since the playing days of the great Maradona, but they have not lived up to their reputation since they claimed the World Cup in 1986. So can Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero, Angel di Maria and Gonzalo Higuain give them taste of their glory in their rivals backyard?

This year's World Cup will see 12 cities in Brazil hosting 62 games from June 12 to July 13. The 12 venues are Estadio do Maracana, Estadio Nacional, Arena de Sao Paulo, Estadio Castelao, Estadio Mineirao, Estadio Beira-Rio, Arena Fonte Nova, Arena Pernambuco, Arena Pantanal, Arena da Amazônia, Arena das Dunas and Arena da Baixada.

So surely the World Cup is going to be a carnival in Brazil and for football fans all around the world. Let the beautiful game begin.

! “VIVA FOOTBALL” !

Meet you next with another one – another day!

Viva Futbal !

SOCCER AT ITS BEST

Sports is a way of life more than any habit or passion or some hobby. It’s a religion in its own way. FOOTBALL is one such sport which tends to get the best of countries and continent and one of the most prominent sport or religion on earth.
Soccer is a subject where just an article does not suffice. Cutting all the other edges and in a short, let’s come to the present times of soccer. The players, the goals, the managers, the leagues, the trophies, the champions & so on… This article would throw light on the mentioned and is meant to share The Distinctive and Wondrous World within S-O-C-C-E-R.

About the players, the list can begin with the Grand Dad of Football, Pele, passing on to Maradonna and the likes of Messi. Still, just to stick to the present times, here’s talking about Messi.

Record breaking Messi
Lionel Andrés Messi, the 26 years old Argentine footballer who plays as a forward for the Spanish cup FC BARCELONA is the first and only player to top-score in four consecutive Champions League campaigns, and also holds the record for the most hat-tricks scored in the history of the competition.

 In March 2012, Messi made Champions League history by becoming the first player to score five goals in one match. On 23 March 2014, with a hat-trick against Real Madrid, Messi became the player with most goals and most hat-tricks in the history of El Clásico leading his team to victory by 4-3. Who would have missed that super El Clásico?

 Messi  was nominated for the UEFA Best Player in Europe Award, along with Cristiano Ronaldo and Franck Ribéry, for a third consecutive year. Messi finished in second place with 14 votes, while Ronaldo finished in third-place with 3 votes.


Ronaldo’s emotional moment

Cristiano Ronaldo was the deserved winner of the Ballon d’Or in Zurich as he fought back tears, the Real Madrid wizard described it as “a very emotional moment.”
               

 Ronaldo scored an incredible 66 goals in 56 appearances for club and country during 2013, and picking up his second Ballon d’Or cement he said, “I have to say a great thanks to all of my team-mates, without all of their efforts all this would not have been possible”. He then choked back tears as he thanked his wife and son.
PFA player of the year


                  

Luis Suárez has been named the Professional Footballers' Association player of the year for 2013-14, becoming the first non-European to win the award, after an excellent season for Liverpool. Suárez beat his club-mates Steven Gerrard and Daniel Sturridge to the prize having scored 30 goals in the Premier League so far, including two hat-tricks and four in one match.

The Master Manager
The Portuguese football manager & former football player Jose Mourinho who is currently the manager of CHELSEA has impressed everyone with his tactics. After a great win at Anfield against Liverpool on 27 April ’14 he said,” "It was about winning. We deserved to win, no doubt about it. It's as simple as this."              

                      


 He looks forward to win the EPL title along with the Champions League. Jose Mourinho has reached the semifinals for the fifth straight season (the last four with Real Madrid). He is seeking to become the first coach to win the Champions League title with three different teams.

Manchester United fires David Moyes
Following Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement as Manchester United manager after 26 years in the position, Moyes was appointed his successor on a 6 year contract but he was sacked after 10 months due to poor results during his manager ship.

In December, Manchester United lost Premier League matches at home to Everton and Newcastle United in the space of four days, suffering back-to-back league defeats at Old Trafford for the first time since the 2001–02 season. Moyes said that he took "complete responsibility" for United's defeats but said he was confident his team would improve. After firing David Moyes, Ryan Giggs was named interim player-manager.



Thanks Tito Vilanova

Tito Vilanova, the coach who succeeded Pep Guardiola at Barcelona and won the Spanish league title in his only season in charge, died after a long battle with throat cancer at the age of 45. Vilanova, who has battled a recurring tumor in a saliva gland, was admitted to a Barcelona hospital last week. He reportedly had emergency surgery on Thursday.


                       


"It is with sadness that Barcelona must announce that Francesc 'Tito' Vilanova has died today at the age of 45," the club said on their website. "The death of our former coach occurred this afternoon when he could not overcome this disease which he had battled since 2011."


Premier league                                     


                                    


Liverpool's defeat against Chelsea has made Manchester City favorites for winning the premier league title, but who will win? Liverpool vs. Manchester city vs. Chelsea: A very tough decision to make out of the three with very few matches to go in the league.
La Liga title race hots up                       

                     
                                  

La Liga’s title race is going to the wire, as all three contenders claimed important victories yesterday. In recent weeks they seemed to have been taking it in turns to drop points, but it’s becoming increasingly difficult to predict who will claim the crown.

The Barcelona derby opened proceedings. Espanyol kept the match tight against their local rivals. It was a hard fought win for Barcelona, and a vital three points whereas a fifth La Liga win in succession keeps Atletico on top of the table by a point.

Seems I am almost nearing the end of the never ending article (since it’s my passion) so would only sum up saying, as it’s said in SPAIN,

! “VIVA FUTBALL” !

Meet you next with another one – another day!