httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vCIFx1oChQ
“There is a very strong emotional link between Maradona and Argentine society,” said Fortunato Mallimaci, a sociologist at the University of Buenos Aires. “He is an idol. But in this World Cup, there is a second idol: Messi. And there is a clash of two gods, the old and the new. But Messi still hasn’t fully won over Argentine society. If he plays well, there will be an explosion of sympathy for him and the team. But if Argentina doesn’t play well, they’ll both be in the mud and the idols will lose a lot of followers.”
0 – 1 Swiss)
#aus 
#bra 
#chi 
#civ 
#cmr 
#den 
#eng 
#esp #fra 
#ger 
#gre 
#hon 
#ita 
#jpn 
#kor 
#mex 
#ned 
#nga 
#par 
#por 
#prk 
#rsa 
#usa 
#worldcup 
Britain’s Sunday Times writes about the Rob Green (#eng vs #USA ) fumble “one disastrous spill the Yanks won’t complain about.” 🙂 #worldcup
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#Aus is getting raped by #Ger , 4-0, and what a chemistry between Klose, Podolski and Ozil! Here they come again. #worldcup
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This German team is gonna go a long way. Its all about Klosin 🙂 2-0 against Australia in first half.
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Vuvuzela (name in Zulu roughly translates to “making a lot of noise“) makes WC sound like Bhramaram soundtrack. Like a constant humming of a bee. I don’t find it annoying.
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My Brackets –
Brazil, France, England, Spain – Brazil
Cameroon, France, Argentina, Spain – Argentina
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SA losing would have been a dampener. Good fight against Mexico. Now with France tied with Uruguay, Thursday’s Group A match will be fun to watch. I’m guessing its gonna be France and Uruguay from Group A.
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Goal Blog in NYTimes is a great resource. Specifically the heat map.
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Watching games at company cafe, and ESPN3 live streaming.
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Kickoff!
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Hindu’s pick of all time greats of the game. Predictable.
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Good old Sportstar has one of their much hyped World cup posters for download, and a rant on top-down approach by FIFA.
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Mak sends in JP Morgan’s Quantitative Guide to the world cup which predicts England will win the world cup defeating Spain on July 11th, though Brazil is the strongest team.
“Whilst our model points towards Brazil as being the strongest team to take part in the World Cup, our World Cup Wall Chart indicates that thanks to the actual fixtures determined by the schedule, we believe England will be the winner of the 2010 World Cup,”
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Soccernet staff predictions tilt heavily towards Brazil, Spain, Argentina, England and Holland (in that order). Brazil and Spain are the favorites. We’ll see when the brackets lock in by tomorrow.
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I’m using ESPN’s bracket predictor this year, its much better than good old printouts and spreadsheets, and saves some trees in the process. Bracket closes by Friday US time, so create yours now. Online Bracket here and PDF download here.
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A good old story to kick things off…
A good old story to kick things off…
The men danced around the ball,pushing it,passing it,moving it inch by inch,feet by feet. They were peasants in crumpled hats and ragged coats, with their lively spirits keeping them warm in the damp,cold english winter. The rich lived inside their wooden abodes, in the comfort of crackling fires, wining, dining and contemplating with tall fences all around their estate to protect them. There was but one gap in the fence.The game was to put the ball through that gap.The players were human,mere mortals they had to move the ball with their legs but the gap in the fence was guarded by a Superman,he could break the law,he could touch the ball,use his hands to deflect the ball. the footballers danced around, sweating, laughing, swearing, to get the ball into the fence, that was the aim ““ the goal.the superman goalie held the goal post.Every goal celebrated the victory of the human spirit over the repressor and the dancers cried out at the top of their lungs ““ GOOOOAAAL !
ARGENTINA!