~*~*~Three of The Worlds Most Famous Soccer Players~*~*~

Soccer is undoubtedly one of the most popular sports in the world. Soccer has produced some of the greatest and most well known athletes. Below are three of the worlds most famous soccer players.

1)Pele (Brazilian soccer player)
* Full name: Edson Arantes do Nascimento
* Birthplace: 1940 in Brazil
* Began playing: 5 years old
* Main position in soccer: inside left forward
* Achievement:
a) The Brazilian national team, earned the title of national champions
in 1958, 1962, and 1970.
b) He scored about one goal per game, on average in international
matches.
c) In his entire career he scored 1,281 goals and was known for his
amazing ball control and great tactical ability.
* During retirement: - In 1971 he retired from the Brazilian national team but
continued to play with Santos.
- In 1974 he retired from Santos team and played in the U.S.
with the New York Cosmos (1975-1977).
* After retirement: became Brazil's ministers of sports in 1995 and stayed with this
job for four years until leaving the post in 1999.



"Pele, Brazilian." Bartleby.com. 2001-07
<http://www.bartleby.com/65/pe/Pele2.html>
"Pele." msn encarta.
<http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761570497/pelé.html>
"Pele." Expert Football.com.
<http://expertfootball.com/players/pele/>
"Pele Images." Google.com.
<http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=pele+soccer+player&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&resnum=1&ct=title>

2) Mia Hamm
- Full name: Mariel Margret Hamm( the famous women soccer player in U.S.)
- Birthplace: 1972 in Selma, Alabama
- Began playing: 15 years old (a youngest woman and to be a member of the U.S. National Team.)
- Main position in soccer: forward
- Achievement:
a) In 1996 she scored 19 goals and made 18 assists, leading her team.
b) In 1989 and 1990 Mia won gold medals in the Olympic Festivals and won silver in 1987.
c) As of 1999, she has scored in 13 different countries against 25 national teams.
d) She has scored over 110 goals in her career with the national team and has scored 18 goals in the U.S. Woman's Cup.
e) She scored 158 goals in international competition during her spectacle career.
f) In 1991 and 1999 she was instrumental in the World Cup victories and Olympic Gold Medals in 1996 and 2004.
- Others:
a) In the University of North Carolina, She was named American Soccer's Female Athlete of the Year for three years in a row.
b) She graduated with an all-time record for most conference goals 103, assists 72, and total points 278.

Resources:

"Mia Hamm." Where Soccer Legends Live. 2007 < http://www.soccerhall.org/Induction%20Weekend/2007/hamm_bio.htm>

"Mia Hamm." msn encarta. <http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_461510918/Mia_Hamm.html>

"Mia Hamm." Famous Soccer Players. <http://wp.barnhartschool.com/kedwards/famous%20soccer%20players.htm>

"Mia Hamm Images." Google.com. <http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=mia+hamm&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&resnum=1&ct=title>

3) Beckham(English soccer player)
+ Full name: David Robert Joseph Beckham
+ Birthplace: 2 May 1975 in Leytonstone, London
+ Began playing: 16 years old
+ Main position in soccer: midfielder
+ Achievement:
a) One of the few Beckham made 100 appearances or more in the
UEFA (United European Football Association) Champions League.
b) In 1999 Beckham’s career with Manchester reached its peak as his team won an unprecedented Treble of the Premiership(1996-2003), FA Cup(1996,1999) and the European Cup.
c) In 2000/2001, Beckham performed consistently at Manchester, winning the Premiership once more.
d) Beckham and his teammate won the Champions League in 1999, League Cup Finals in 2003 and 2004.
+ Others:
a) David's new haircuts and unverified disputes with United manager Ferguson caused far more interest to the public than his display on the field.
b) As a player, David Beckham is a wide midfielder with a predominant right foot. He's extremely precise on curving the ball with the inside of his foot.

"David Beckham." Expert Football.com. <http://expertfootball.com/players/beckham/>

"David Beckham-Pictures." <http://davidpics.hit.bg/>

The Origin and Development of Soccer

Soccer, a popular sport, has been prosperous for a long time. As a matter of fact, soccer can also be called “football.” Its name is diverse in different areas. For example, in American, people define “soccer” and “football” in different ways; however, in UK, these two terms have the same meaning. In this article, I prefer to use the term “football” instead of “soccer,” but what I am going to describe in the following contents is European definitions of soccer.

The origin of football, as scientific evidence showed, was an exercise, which could be traced back to the 2nd and 3rd centuries in Han Dynasty in China. Its original name in Han Dynasty was “Tsu Chu” that required certain skill to play. During that period, the ball people used was a leather ball filled with feathers and hair and measured 30 to 40 cm in width. Moreover, players were allowed to use their feet, chest, back and shoulders while trying to withstand the attacks of opponents; however, using of hands was forbidden. On the other hand, there were also some other original forms of football in other countries such as Greece and Rome. In Greece, the game was called “episkyros” which was much livelier, as was the game in Rome, ”Harpastum,” which was played by two teams on a rectangle field and the target of the game was to get the ball over the boundary lines of the opponents. However, the earliest form of football is believed to begin in China.

Even though the football flourished in diverse original forms, it glorified in its home, England, as people described. Nevertheless, during the long history of football, there were still lots of prohibitions against this sport. As record described, in 1314 the Lord Mayor of London issued a ban to forbid football in the city because of the rumpus it caused. King Edward III also issued a harsh censure to suppress football because he considered it as a public nuisance. What’s worse, there were still a lot of England kings who punished the practicing of football by law because they thought this entertainment would prevent them from carrying out military disciplines. However, the popularity of football didn’t diminish; on the contrary, it achieved exuberance in Elizabethan times. Though there were many prohibitions in football’s history, there were still some people who supported this sport such as Richard Mulcaster who pointed out the game had a positive value and it could make people strong and healthy. He also mentioned that all people had to do was to refine the football and give it new disciplines and manners.

Although football game was constantly suppressed for 500 years, people never lost their passion toward the game. In the beginning of 19th century when school football became the custom, people could make new refinements under this new circumstance and this was indeed a turning point for football game. Finally, the developments of football reached its climax in 1863. During the year of 1863, there were eleven London football clubs and schools that sent their representatives to hold a meeting and establish the fundamental rules for football, which could be accepted by every party. Moreover, this meeting also symbolized the birth of The Football Association. However, in the same year, football and rugby set apart because the meeting achieved the agreement forbidding any handling of the ball.

All in all, after the struggling of football in past years, the first competition, the FA Cup, was finally put on stage. What’s more, there were international competitions, which were held in Britain, and the first game was played by England and Scotland in 1872.The spread of football from Britain to the outside world also grew rapidly. Therefore, many other organizations of football sprang up in other countries. Today, FIFA has 204 members associations all over the world. On the other hand, FIFA also developed the World Cup Soccer Championship and the first world cup soccer match was held on July 13th, 1930. After that, the world game began its long and prosperous history.


World Cup 2006 - Ten Most Memorable Goals


Written by Jimmy

Resources:
“History of Soccer.” Ball History.com. 01 June, 2008. 19 June, 2008. <http://www.ballhistory.com/soccer.htm >
Dr. Wilfried Gerhardt. “Soccer History: More than 2000 Years of Football.” Soccer Training Info. 01 June, 2008. 19 June, 2008.

<http://www.soccer-training-info.com/history_of_soccer.asp>

The Characteristics of Four Famous Soccer teams in the World

The Characteristics of Four Famous Soccer teams in the World


Introduction

Soccer has been a popular and fashionable sport in the world, especially in the following four countries; their soccer teams are famous and strong. Because soccer is easily to combine with a country’s local tradition, therefore the four ones also have their own characterized soccer team.

A. The four popular soccer teams in the world

1. England
First is England. England is good at playing ”long ball”(from a long distance to kick the soccer heavily, making it easy to shot at the goal.) Besides, they pay much attention on their speed, and I think “speed” is also a very important factor to get the scores; another famous one is for its goalkeepers.

2. Brazil
The second on is Brazil. Brazil is famous for its personal techniques, their player is good at using different skills, it is not just a competition but much more like a splendid show. Also it’s no doubt that Brazil is the one of the strongest soccer teams the world. Their players are famous, too. Like Dida, the famous gatekeeper; or ‎Ronaldo, the effectious plyaer. Besides, Brazil also focusing on their attacks (varied and beautifully), and when they are playing soccer, the tempo is just like Samba. Their soccer is full of exotic atmosphere.

3. German
The fourth is German. German is famous for its team spirit—they are energetic and focus on efficient ways of playing. They cooperate with each other, helping each other. Their whole soccer system is complete and has a positive attitude

4. Argentina
Last one is Argentina। Broodingly speaking, they are a romantic soccer team, they pass soccer beautifully--fast and nimble, they give different kind of attacks, I think it can satisfy the visual enjoyment of soccer fans. It’s a ideal soccer team.

written by Emmy

Why soccer becomes such a popular exercise

Why soccer becomes such a popular exercise
I think the most important reason is that soccer could combine with a country’s local cultures and become the impartial part in residents’ daily lives.
It’s easy to play and it doesn’t need any complicated tools; besides, it can be localized.
All we need is a ball, therefore; it is the cheapest one of all kinds of sports. Meanwhile, its’ rules are very simple, people can practice it easily; besides, its rules are not very serious, people could change the rules to match up their local cultures. For instance, in Africa, children play soccer on mud-ground; in Brazil, they play soccer on beach with the tempo of Samba; in Italy, kids play soccer on streets and in England, they play it in parks. The internationalization improves the charm of soccer; therefore it becomes not only a kind of sports but an international culture.


(Soccer is easy to play; it could be played on European grasslands, the beaches of South-America or the mud-grounds in Africa. )

Another important reason of the fashion of soccer is that many soccer fans, they might watch soccer games since they were children (they may go to a football game with their fathers.). The European fans emphasize their royalty to one soccer team; most people only support two soccer teams: one is professional soccer team; another is international team. Besides, no matter how bad the teams’ performance, they still support it. This is one of the characteristic of European soccer fans and the soccer clubs just like their second homes.


In my personal opinion, I think soccer competitions are an extension of wars. Human has the personality of competition and soccer just can meet the demand of human. On the other hand, although in nowadays, wars in the world are not very much, the enmities between countries still exist. Of course they won’t use wars to solve it, so they change a way; competing each other by sports. For example, in ww1 and2, Germany fought with French and England, so in their soccer games, England V.S Germany or French V.S Germany are still being violent games.

(Written by Emmy)

Football Tournaments< (i) FA Cup <(ii) FIFA World Cup

FA Cup






Approaching to FA Cup, let’s take a brief view

at the history of FA Cup.

The FA Cup is the acronym of the Football Association Challenge Cup, which is originally named and run by the Football Association (FA), commencing in the year 1871-1872 as the oldest football competition in the world. In similar words, it is first produced in England 9 years after the establishment of the oldest football association (1863) in the world.

Generally, we could divide FA Cup's relevant informations into 3 analyzing aspects: First, it is the representative of the nation of England; second, the occurrence of stolen FA Cup trophy; and third, the extension of the FA cup tournament founded on different venues as well as counties.

The FA Cup is known as a predominant English icon among 12 sport-related nominations, far more famous than its double-decker bus. In addition, it is addressed to "the world's most glamorous and domestic knock-out cup competition trophy." According to FA Chief Executive Brian Barwick,“The FA Cup has a unique place in English sporting culture and a magic all of its own. It has consistently generated some of the great stories and moments in sport and we are delighted that it has been recognised in this way.” Primarily, the FA invited all its belonging clubs' football teams to compete for this FA Cup costed £20. Therefore, the birth of the first season FA Cup competition was enthusiastically launched with 15 teams entered at first hand.


Nonetheless, while this trophy has become the core of eyes over the nations, it occurred that "Little Tin Idol"(the affectionate name of FA Cup) was stolen on 11st September, 1895. Aston Villa was lobbied by its fans to exhibit the Cup in public after winning in the final game with West Bromwich Albion,1-0. That night the cup was displayed at a local football outfitter, William Shillcock of 73 Newtown Row, in Birmingham, but was gone during the period 9.30pm~7a.m, without ever knowing who the criminal was. After some time, the twist in the tale of stolen cup was discussed; however, there were no exact results after the full investigation was launched by FA. Eventually, Villa was fined £25 to cover the cost of manufacturing new cup and the FA preceedingly awarded the victorous players with replica. Thus, the "Little Tin Idol" was lost mysteriously since then and was substituted by a similar new version of FA Cup trophy which is much bigger than the previous cup.

Little Tin Idol 1872 ------------------------------------ FA Cup 1895

======================>

The First Wembley FA Cup Final was held in Wembley Stadium, 1923. This stadium was costed for £750,000 and that has led it to becoming one of the English icons. The FA Cup final was annually played at Wembley (except for the war years until the year 2000.) In 1923, it was estimated that 200,000 Bolton Wanderers and West supporters had squeezed into Wembley and Cup Finals were made "all ticket", vastly exceeding Wembley’s capacity of 125,000. The rigorous fans had to be penned back to the sides of the pitch by mounted police, including one officer on a white horse(the horse was named "Billy"). Since then the 1923 final has been known as the “white horse” final. The result of the game was Bolton scored with 2-0, and David Jack and J.R. Smith were the main scorers of the whole play.

Wembley Arena outside View :

Wembley Stadium integral view:

Resource:

“History of the FA Cup.” The FA.com. 16th January 2005. 26th May 2008. <http://www.thefa.com/TheFACup/TheFACup/History/Postings/2006/01/FACup_History.htm> “What the FA does.” The FA.com. 7th September 2007. 26th May 2008. <http://www.thefa.com/TheFA/TheOrganisation/Postings/2006/12/WhatTheFADoes_07.htm> “The FA Cup-English Icon.” The FA.com. 9th January 2006. 26th May 2008. <http://www.thefa.com/TheFACup/TheFACup/NewsAndFeatures/Postings/2006/01/FA_Cup_an_Icon.htm> “Oldest Surviving FA Cup Exhibition Officially Opened.” Northwest Regional Development Agency. 8th May 2006. 1st June 2008. <http://www.nwda.co.uk/news--events/press-releases/200601/oldest-surviving-fa-cup-exhibi.aspx>
“Stealing the FA Cup.” ICONS. 5th June 2008. <http://www.icons.org.uk/theicons/collection/fa-cup/features/fa-cup-theft>
“The first Wembley FA Cup final.” Wembley Stadium. 20th June 2008. <http://www.wembleystadium.com/StadiumHistory/greatmoments/1steverwembleyFACupFinal.htm>

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FIFA World Cup

FIFA WORLD CUP 2006 VIDEO~



<==========(2006 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony)

Have you ever known which institution has played a leading role in governing football internationally? Today, it is significant to know that FIFA, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (International Federation of Association Football), has created the most prestigious international football competition --FIFA World Cup which held every four years since 1930 (excepts for 1942 & 1946, WWII years).

Before having a thorough discussion about FIFA World Cup, one might be curious at the total figures of the players and clubs which are eligible to FIFA World Cup tournament. Thus, one might need to take a short view at these calculations, see “Big counts.” Furthermore, learning FIFA World Cup partners and sponsors will help one go far while organizing the figures he/she has seen.

Briefly talking, we can perorate that FIFA accepts 78 nations throughout the world within its affiliations, such as AFC (Asia), CAF (Africa), CONCACAF (North and Central America and Caribbean), CONMEBOL (South America), OFC (Oceania), and UEFA (Europe). Furthermore, it says that there are altogether 208 men's national teams which possess the qualification in participating international matches.

Nowadays, the worldwide football fans are addicted to FIFA World Cup as this match can be equalized to one nation's reputation. On the other hand, FIFA declared itself that it “has a huge responsibility to reach out and touch the world, using football as a symbol of hope and integration.” In this chapter, FIFA World Cup 2006, FIFA World Rankings, and the strongest team in FIFA are broadly discussed.

The finals tournament of 2006 FIFA World Cup was held in Munich, Germany during June 9th until June 24th. As the host of 2006 FIFA World Cup, Germany offered 12 stadiums with the respective capacity of lowest 40,000 based on the FIFA regulations.When there are success, there are inevitable disappointments too. Germany did not win the world cup in the game with Italy; but it announced with friendly signal to its opponent after losing in the game, rather than dwelling in failure.

4 out of 12 stadiums in Germany~ (with capacity from highest to low)

(1) Olympiastadion (2) Signal Iduna Park

(3) Allianz Arena

(4) Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion

Referring to the latest ranking chart of FIFA World Cup in June 2008, Argentina is labeled as the worldwide top hit football team which then followed by Brazil and Italy.


FIFA, an association governed by Swiss law founded in 1904 and based in Zurich.

Resources:

“FIFA.” Wikipedia. 21st June 2008. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIFA> “FIFA World Cup.” Wikipedia. 21st June 2008. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIFA_World_Cup> “Big Count.” FIFA.com. 21st June 2008. <http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/bigcount/index.html> “Officials Partner.” FIFA.com. 21st June 2008. <http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/organisation/partners/index.html> “FIFA World Rankings.” Wikipedia. 21st June 2008. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIFA_World_Rankings> “2006 FIFA World Cup Germany.” FIFA.com. 21st June 2008. <http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/germany2006/overview.html>

Work accomplished by Cylder. 23rd June 2008.