World Cup blog for soccer fans of all levels... Update: France sans Zidane

[persiafly]

Been working on a blog aimed at soccer fans and those new to the game. Unless you're a hardcore soccer fan, some of the stuff should be new to you. If you're just getting into soccer or want to for the first time this summer, I have posts on each team (still working on getting all 32), as well as some posts about basic World Cup rules and such. You won't have to go searching for info, and you'll be prepared for the tournament by the time it comes around.
Check the sig. 

 

[ValarMorghulis]

Sweet

 

[TheGift23]

You really didn't know about the company Joma before looking at Honduras's jersey???

 
[h2]

WC2010 Profiles: North Korea- Your Nukes Won’t Help Here

[/h2]

 

[shabooyah1124]

Added to my Google Reader.

 

[sundoobie]

Thanks. I am new to soccer however after getting the game FIFA 2010, soccer has become one of my favorite sports. The skill level of some of these players is just WOW.

 

[persiafly]

Originally Posted by TheGift23

You really didn't know about the company Joma before looking at Honduras's jersey???

 
[h2]

WC2010 Profiles: North Korea- Your Nukes Won’t Help Here

[/h2]

No, 

, never seen their stuff in the States. Maybe I have and I can't remember right now. Thanks for reading though. 

 

[carlos tevez]

I completely disagree with your assessment of North Korea. This team defends really well and will be extremely organized. They know that they'll be up against 3 teams than attack well. I dont see North Korea being humiliated and finishing as the worst team in this tournament. We've seen some really weak teams enter this tournament in the past and come out with decent results because they defended for 270 minutes. Just look at Angola and Trinidad's results back in 2006.

 

[persiafly]

Originally Posted by Carlos Tevez

I completely disagree with your assessment of North Korea. This team defends really well and will be extremely organized. They know that they'll be up against 3 teams than attack well. I dont see North Korea being humiliated and finishing as the worst team in this tournament. We've seen some really weak teams enter this tournament in the past and come out with decent results because they defended for 270 minutes. Just look at Angola and Trinidad's results back in 2006.

Fair enough, I knew there'd be something. 

 I'd be more inclined to agree with you if it wasn't for their draw. Had they ended up in almost any other group I think they'd have some sort of chance of a decent result, but I don't really see how they can hope to deal with Brazil and Ivory Coast defensively. Part of the reason is that they haven't had any experience playing against world-class offensive teams and talents. Yeah they shut out Saudi Arabia and Iran at home, but that's a loooooong way from being able to deal with Ronaldo, Drogba and Luis Fabiano in South America.
I think if they played New Zealand they'd win easily, but they were dealt a terrible hand. 

 

[vintage sole 737]

nice blog.  my girl is half honduran - half puerto rican but could care less about soccer.  hopefully i can use your blog to peak her interest.  haha.. maybe even get her to watch some games with me.

 

[brownin187]

solid idea persian....i'm thinking this world cup will push soccer over the the imaginary line of not being a major sport to being covered as regularly as the other majors in the united states.

the movement is moving.

 

[persiafly]

Thanks to everyone who read. Feel free to give me suggestions on what you'd like to see, or any questions you have about the World Cup that I could answer.

 

[juan baller]

You left out the most important aspect of World Cup soccer.

Magic spray.

 

[rothypejc]

Looking forward to what you have to say about the US

 

[marionthebarberian]

wet your skin and then use that spray feels so

 

[o fenomeno]

i love the magic spray

 

[carlos tevez]

The Ivory Coast are extremely over-rated and even a weak team like North Korea are capable of beating them. This is a country that can not defend, does not play together as a team and rely too much on one player. I think that hiring Sven was a good move for them because he'll teach those fools how to defend and his tactics will give them a better chance of getting some positive results. Still, I do not understand why the Ivory Coast receive so much hype.

North Korea will not finish as the worst team in this tourny and they wont get humiliated. I dont even think Brazil will get up for a match like that...they'll score a couple of goals and then call it a day. Brazil usually have a hard time getting up for matches against weak opponents. Portugal and CIV will have to go hard against North Korea because they'll both likely drop points against Brazil.

Question for my soccer heads. Is Ronaldinho going to get the call up? Like seriously Dunga, give us what we want.
I dont think he'll get a call-up which is a damn shame considering how well he's played this season. Come on Dunga, you dont even need to start Ronaldinho. Bring him on as a sub for Robinho or Kaka...the man would be a great sub for Brazil and is good enough to start if something were to happen to Robinho or Kaka. I'd like to hear Dunga's justification for leaving off Ronaldinho if AC Milan end up winning the league.

 

[jerome in the house]

The magic spray seems to come out a lot more during the world cup.


Question for my soccer heads. Is Ronaldinho going to get the call up? Like seriously Dunga, give us what we want.

 

[jerome in the house]

Originally Posted by PersiaFly

Thanks to everyone who read. Feel free to give me suggestions on what you'd like to see, or any questions you have about the World Cup that I could answer.

A suggestion for your blog Persia. You should do a  couple shorts on players on the brink or are fighting to make their respective world cup squads. Like Ronaldinho, Joe Cole, Mario Balottelli, Ashley Young, James Milner, Theo Wallcott and whoever I missed.

 

[superofficial]

Nice work. I added it to my reader as well. I definitely fit your demographic... I'm always happy to watch something other than baseball.

 

[rothypejc]

Some info on players to watch that are less well known might be interesting.

 

[brownin187]

Originally Posted by Carlos Tevez

The Ivory Coast are extremely over-rated and even a weak team like North Korea are capable of beating them. This is a country that can not defend, does not play together as a team and rely too much on one player. I think that hiring Sven was a good move for them because he'll teach those fools how to defend and his tactics will give them a better chance of getting some positive results. Still, I do not understand why the Ivory Coast receive so much hype.

North Korea will not finish as the worst team in this tourny and they wont get humiliated. I dont even think Brazil will get up for a match like that...they'll score a couple of goals and then call it a day. Brazil usually have a hard time getting up for matches against weak opponents. Portugal and CIV will have to go hard against North Korea because they'll both likely drop points against Brazil.

Question for my soccer heads. Is Ronaldinho going to get the call up? Like seriously Dunga, give us what we want.

I dont think he'll get a call-up which is a damn shame considering how well he's played this season. Come on Dunga, you dont even need to start Ronaldinho. Bring him on as a sub for Robinho or Kaka...the man would be a great sub for Brazil and is good enough to start if something were to happen to Robinho or Kaka. I'd like to hear Dunga's justification for leaving off Ronaldinho if AC Milan end up winning the league.

Dunga thinks Dinho's party-hard lifestyle is a bad influence for the team.  He's probably right but he's been more than solid this season.

 

[persiafly]

Originally Posted by Carlos Tevez

The Ivory Coast are extremely over-rated and even a weak team like North Korea are capable of beating them. This is a country that can not defend, does not play together as a team and rely too much on one player. I think that hiring Sven was a good move for them because he'll teach those fools how to defend and his tactics will give them a better chance of getting some positive results. Still, I do not understand why the Ivory Coast receive so much hype.

North Korea will not finish as the worst team in this tourny and they wont get humiliated. I dont even think Brazil will get up for a match like that...they'll score a couple of goals and then call it a day. Brazil usually have a hard time getting up for matches against weak opponents. Portugal and CIV will have to go hard against North Korea because they'll both likely drop points against Brazil.

Question for my soccer heads. Is Ronaldinho going to get the call up? Like seriously Dunga, give us what we want.

I dont think he'll get a call-up which is a damn shame considering how well he's played this season. Come on Dunga, you dont even need to start Ronaldinho. Bring him on as a sub for Robinho or Kaka...the man would be a great sub for Brazil and is good enough to start if something were to happen to Robinho or Kaka. I'd like to hear Dunga's justification for leaving off Ronaldinho if AC Milan end up winning the league.

I can't believe you just went on record saying North Korea could beat Ivory Coast. This is the same team that fought hard against Argentina and Holland before losing in 2006. I know they have huge chemistry problems, but we're talking about North Korea here. They are a totally anonymous team with zero world-class players that advanced to the World Cup because Iran and Saudi Arabia choked on it in qualifying. I think the Ivory Coast will come together in time for the Cup, and even if they don't Drogba should be able to break down the North Koreans more or less by himself. Whether or not Brazil gets up for this game is more debatable, but I have a hard time believing that Dunga will let them sleep-walk after what happened in 2006. 

Question for my soccer heads. Is Ronaldinho going to get the call up? Like seriously Dunga, give us what we want.

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[font=Times, Helvetica, sans-serif]I have a feeling that Dunga will succumb to the pressure, but I don't think he should. Yes, Ronaldinho has recovered much of his form, but I'm not sure that Brazil needs him. They have a stacked squad as always, and they have been moving away from the "hang-loose"/Samba attitude that Ronaldinho personified, and going more for a balanced squad that pla[/font]ys hard in the image of Dunga. Considering the tear that Brazil has been lately, I don't see why you take a risk with a player like Ronalndinho. I agree with Tevez that he would be useful as a sub, but he might be too big a distraction to justify it. 




A suggestion for your blog Persia. You should do a  couple shorts on players on the brink or are fighting to make their respective world cup squads. Like Ronaldinho, Joe Cole, Mario Balottelli, Ashley Young, James Milner, Theo Wallcott and whoever I missed.

 For sure. 

 

Some info on players to watch that are less well known might be interesting.

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[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Good point. [/font]

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[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Sorry, don't know what's up with the fonts. [/font]

 

[persiafly]

BTW, South Korea profile is up. I hate their team with a passion so it was hard to write a somewhat objective profile.

 

[xtapolapacetl]

Question for my soccer heads. Is Ronaldinho going to get the call up? Like seriously Dunga, give us what we want.


Pretty sure he's preoccupied with winning the World Cup, and not entertaining some people if that's going to hurt his chances at winning.

A part of me is happy not to see Ronaldinho in the World Cup, because he deserves it. He thought that he was the king of the world and that he could do anything he pleased.

 

[carlos tevez]

I can't believe you just went on record saying North Korea could beatIvory Coast. This is the same team that fought hard against Argentinaand Holland before losing in 2006. I know they have huge chemistryproblems, but we're talking about North Korea here. They are a totallyanonymous team with zero world-class players that advanced to the WorldCup because Iran and Saudi Arabia choked on it in qualifying. I thinkthe Ivory Coast will come together in time for the Cup, and even ifthey don't Drogba should be able to break down the North Koreans moreor less by himself. Whether or not Brazil gets up for this game is moredebatable, but I have a hard time believing that Dunga will let themsleep-walk after what happened in 2006. 
This is the same Ivory Coast that routinely give up 2+ goals a match. The same team that gave up 6 goals in the 2006 WC, the same team that gave up 4-goals to Egypt in the 2008 ACN, the same team that gave up 3-goals to Algeria in 2010 ACN...the same team that lost 2-0 to South Korea in a friendly in March. The Ivory Coast are not that good. They are often times disorganized and lose the plot when the tide goes against them. I believe that Sven will improve them and they could very well come out of that group but I do not see how anyone can forecast that the CIV will perform well in this tournament when they haven't done anything of note in the last 4-years. It'd be like predicting ____________ will perform well because they have __________. An organized and hard-working North Korean team could beat the Ivory Coast. Is it likely? Probably not. But my point is that this CIV team is vulnerable and even a really weak squad could beat them. BTW, people keep talking about Drogba as if he's the only good player on this team. Watch out for Gervinho, this kid will be playing in one of the big-3 leagues in the near future. They have plenty of talent but they've never been able to bring it all together. 95% of their team plays in Europe. Talent has never been an issue with this team. A major weakness that they've had over the years is their goalkeeper Barry...this dude is a huge liability and he often makes a mess out of the most routine of shots.

Question for my soccer heads. Is Ronaldinho going to get the call up? Like seriously Dunga, give us what we want.

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[font=Times, Helvetica, sans-serif]Ihave a feeling that Dunga will succumb to the pressure, but I don'tthink he should. Yes, Ronaldinho has recovered much of his form, butI'm not sure that Brazil needs him. They have a stacked squad asalways, and they have been moving away from the "hang-loose"/Sambaattitude that Ronaldinho personified, and going more for a balancedsquad that pla[/font]yshard in the image of Dunga. Considering the tear that Brazil has beenlately, I don't see why you take a risk with a player like Ronalndinho.I agree with Tevez that he would be useful as a sub, but he might betoo big a distraction to justify it.


I dont buy the argument that Ronaldinho is left off just because of his partying. So then why are Robinho and Adriano on the team? Both of them are known to party as well. Ronaldinho lost his motivation 2-seasons ago and was half-assing it. This is a guy that loved playing the game and you got the sense that he'd play for free. We didn't see him smile as much as he did in the past. Ronaldinho is now once again motivated, plays hard and is a big reason why Milan are back in the title hunt. Ronaldinho does not have the speed he had 4-years ago but he still has the IQ and technical ability to be an impact player for Brazil. This shouldn't even be about Dunga 'succumbing to pressure'...Ronaldinho is performing well enough to be on the team.