He scores! Pandemonium breaks out in the stadium. The fans are ecstatic. His team-mates are absolutely joyous. And he decides to do what?
With the 2014 World Cup now over it is time to reflect on soccer in…
It’s about time goal-line technology will be implemented in professional soccer! For years teams have been eliminated from major tournaments because of disallowed goals or because goals were allowed that should not have been. Those results changed the points in the tables and as a result teams/countries ended their pursuit of championship glory. All of that is about to change.
Quite honestly, I’m tired of all the BS relating to soccer. The sport is constantly victim to match fixing, diving, hooliganism and bad officiating. Soccer is one of the most decorated and historic sports on earth, yet we constantly find ourselves talking about these useless topics.
Canadian author Declan Hill wrote in the Ottawa Citizen regarding the heavily publicized boxing match between Justin Trudeau and Patrick Brazeau which raised money for cancer research. Hill touches on a number of subjects that we see in professional sport and compares the behavior of boxers and soccer players.
In an earlier blog, Thought of the day: players are getting dumber, I talked about, well, players getting dumber. Now, I don’t want you to think I’m being primitive, nor do I want you to think I’m generalising, I just want to express my concern as a soccer player for the lack of role models and leaders in the game.
Over the past decade or so, professional soccer leagues have made it a requirement that prior to a games kickoff, the two teams are to walk out together, address the fans in a line, and then shake hands. I always thought it was too theatrical and senseless, really.
The expectations we’ve set for ourselves as a society have become unrealistic. In every aspect of our lives we demand immediate results. “Why the hell won’t this website load faster, I’ve been waiting 8 seconds”; “why haven’t I received your text message yet? It’s been 10 seconds!” Give it a second, it’s sending a signal to space you whining parasite. The same expectations have transferred into the realm of sports. We expect coaches to have immediate results, i.e. lead a team to a championship or nothing. This is not only impossible, but ineffective.
I recently watched a documentary produced by HBO called 24/7 Rangers/Flyers: Road to the Winter Classic. The intent of the documentary is to follow these two NHL teams around in their day-to-day duties showing a detailed behind the scene look at their lives. It’s a truly special opportunity to understand the life of a professional organization. Now, what I took away from the documentary might not be what HBO intended for me to take away.
A good friend of mine recently posted his thoughts on Facebook with respect to the December 10, 2011 match between Real Madrid and Barcelona (aka El Clasico). Boy are they bang on…
Random El Clasico thoughts:
1. Messi always delivers against madrid
2. How ever good messi plays against madrid, is usually how bad ronaldo plays against barca
3. I miss when kaka used to be a relevant footballer
4. Sergio ramos is a maniac
5. If madrid has no answer for iniesta, no one does, just amazing
There’s an age old adage that suggests winning ugly is still winning. However, many teams and athletes alike are obsessed with this idea of winning perfectly. Why is this?
It’s great to see players become more confident in trying new and creative ways to score from the penalty spot. Besides placing the ball in one of the corners, the chip shot has become the ultimate “ballsy” shot. You must be more confident than ever to attempt this shot. Not only that but you must practice this shot over and over otherwise it can end up backfiring you. However, there is a new shot that is arguably more daring and it’s called the “back flip shot.”