Merry Merry Christmas Football Frenzies!

"For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour which is Christ the Lord!" -Luke 2:11

It's Christmas time... Snow flakes covering our windows, while we sit by the fireplace! Lights are all shiney and gifts are laid neatly under the Christmas tree! Decorations are all up, while the delicacies are ready to be out of the oven! Could there be any better signs, for it's Christmas time...

Thank God for Christ the Saviour and for Football...

 

To all of you out there... Have yourself a Football-y Christmas!

Based on seasons the nature around you changes, and so does the commodity market! Here are some top soccer club ornaments for the fans...

Manchester United:



FC Barcelona:

 

 

Chelsea Club:

 

Neymar Jr. gunning to be the next Ronaldinho?

Atleast that's what the photo evidences say!

Team Barcelona had their group photo clicked on Thursday, 30th October 2014. Everybody wear in their jerseys and posing in formal positions, either standing straight or sitting on the bench with their hands on their knees or fingers intertwined. But one person catches our eyes, Neymar Jr.!



Team FC Barcelona 2014

Check out Neymar Jr. (fourth from the left in the bottom tier). What exactly is he trying to do? Is it some hand sign? Well, the answer is NO!

The next image will give some insight on to what exactly Neymar Jr is doing. He sure does catches our attention amongst all the strips.

Then & Now of FC Barcelona Team Photo

I guess the picture speaks for itself. Looks like Neymar Jr. did his homework and knows exactly what his target is!

All the best to him for the road to reach his dream. And the form he is in now, no record seems too difficult to achieve.

Other Photos from the photoshoot:

P.S: For more photos check out http://www.fcbarcelona.com/football/first-team/detail/article/inside-view-first-team-photo-shoot

Photo-graphy Gone Wrong For Derry City F.C.

Who doesn't likes to be photographed? The players were high spirited about the click, but the bench gave in with a clank!

Coach Peter Hutton can't blame this on the photographer nor the players... Blame it on the wood!



Derry City F.C.

I bet they had quite a laugh... What makes me wonder is that the guy on the utter left is he laughing or did he fall on his face?
This reminds me why I preferred to stand during class photos in school! A video would have been much hilarious... heheh

At the end of the day, they did manage to get a decent picture! Second times a charm...

 

Safety First- New UEFA Concussion Procedure

I like the fact that UEFA has come on a decision as to how to treat players who had a head blow or injury to the spin during the game. It was terrifying to watch a number of players get hurt badly during FIFA. Remember the case of Neymar Jr. To refresh your memory check the linkhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMlISkwn39M

Neymar Jr sustains a spine injury during World Cup match against Colombia

According to the new rules, the match will be stop by the referee for three minutes in which time the doctors will assess the condition of the player, and only after the doctors have given the 'go, signal that the player will be allowed to continue with the game, or else he will be escorted out of the field for further assistance or will be taken to hospital if needed.

This way atleast we fans don't have to panic!

Germany midfielder Christoph Kramer’s head injury in the World Cup final

 "We have to protect the health of players above everything. The Executive Committee has taken note of a report of the Medical Committee and has taken the decision that in cases of concussion in matches, the referee stops the game for three minutes to give the team doctor a chance to come and check the player, and analyse if the player is fit to resume the game or not. And in the end, it will be the responsibility and the duty of the team doctor, and only the team doctor, to decide whether a player can get back on the pitch, and whether a player can play or whether a player can be substituted. It is very important to safeguard the health of the players, so this will be applied with immediate effect in all of our competitions."

-Gianni Infantino, UEFA General Secretary

(As reported by uefa.org)

 

Micheal Ballack on his 38th birthday

Micheal Ballack, the German footballer has every reason to celebrate his 38th birthday with pride as he is the true achiever.

He has been a part of a number of teams starting from Chemnitzer FC (1995-1997), FC Kaiserslautern (1997-1998), Bayer Leverkusen (1999-2002), Bayern Munich (2002-2006), Chelsea (2006-2010), and returned back to Bayer Leverkusen (2010-2012). He has been involved in international games during the period from 1999-2010.


He was considered as a boy with extraordinary talent from a very young age. He is equally competent in using both his right and left foot. He earned the title "Little Kaiser".

He was a midfielder who was known for his perfect pass and shots. He earned ample of titles to the teams that he played for and won many honours, including the German player of the year award on three occasions- 2002, 2003, 2005.

He always wore number 13 jersey in all the teams that he played for, even in his national team. I'll let the images do the talking.

Talking about his personal life, he was married to his longtime girlfriend Simone Lambe from
 2008 to 2012. they have three children- Louis (2001), Emilio (2002) and Jordi (2005).
They divorced in 2012.

He announced his retirement in 2012, holding a record of top goal scorer of German national team with 42 international goals.

He now works for ESPN as Soccer Analyst.

 

 

Ballack has seen his fair share of controversies:

1. When Michael Ballack's agent  Michael Becker allegedly referred to certain players in the German national team as 'bunch of gays'.
2. The verbal wrangling over passing the captaincy to Philip Lahm in 2010 world cup games.
3. The slap gate between Ballack and Kevin Prince Boateng followed by a tackle by Boating which left Ballack injured. See the tackle https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CrGFqHL5T4

Informally speaking the thought just crossed my mind, doesn't Michael Ballack look a lot like Matt Demon?

 

I'll leave you be the judge of it!

"It is one of those goals that is like a stamp. He put in a great effort to play a good game. He was exactly like the team - didn't play well in the first half, but played very well in the second half."

-Jose Mourinho,Chelsea coach

(after Michael Ballack goal lead to a 2-1 win over Porto in UEFA Champions league)

 

 

Life is Soccer

I started this blog after a friend suggested that I should. My love for soccer started in 2010, which was rejuvenated again during FIFA2014. This forum will be used to post my vies and comments on the events of soccer world and sometimes on other things that inspire me.

Please don't hesitate to comment and correct me if I put up something that's not the reality of how the event unfolded.

Enjoy, read, comment and share

"The ball is round, the game lasts ninety minutes,
and everything else is just theory."
Josef “Sepp” Herberger
(1897-1977: German football player and manager)

 

 

"Five days shalt thou labour, as the Bible says.

The seventh day is the Lord thy God’s.
The sixth day is for football."

John Anthony Burgess Wilson
(1917-1993: better known as Anthony Burgess, English writer)