World Soccer's Player of the Year

Fabio Cannavaro who skippered Italy to victory at the World Cup, was named World Soccer's World Player of the Year on Friday -- only the second defender to win the honour in the awards' 25-year history. Fabio Cannavaro also won the European Footballer of the Year ("Ballon d'Or") last month. Details of past winners for the Ballon d'Or are found here.

He got three times as many votes as Barcelona striker Samuel Eto'o of Cameroon and Frenchman Thierry Henry of Arsenal, who finished second and third respectively.

Other award winners were Marcello Lippi of Italy, who was named coach of the year while European champions Barcelona were named World Team of the Year. Lionel Messi of Barcelona and Argentina was named Young Player of the Year.
Tags: Sports, Football, Fabio Cannavaro, Samuel Eto'o, Thierry Henry, Marcello Lippi, Lionel Messi, World Soccer, Player of the Year

20 Years

My tribute to Sir Alex Ferguson, the current manager of my favourite football team, Manchester United, who has been in charge for 20 years now.
Nationality: Scotland
Manager From: 6 Nov 1986
Years as Manager: 20
Premier League Title: 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003
FA Cup: 1990, 1994, 1996, 1999, 2004
League Cup: 1992, 2006
UEFA Champions League: 1999
UEFA Cup Winners Cup: 1991
Inter-Continental Cup: 1999
FA Charity / Community Shield: 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2003 (Joint holders: 1990)
Tags: Sports, Football, Soccer, Sir Alex Ferguson, Manchester United, English Premier League, FA Cup, UEFA Champions League, Carling Cup

Man Utd to Malaysia - Summer 2007

Yahoooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!

My favourite team of last 24 years, Man Utd, will be making their way to Malaysia next year as announced in a press conference held yesterday. Summer 2007 means during the months of June/July/August. Hopefully I'll be in Kuala Lumpur then or will ensure that I'll be there to witness their matches. Their last trip to Malaysia in 2001 was excellent. A crowd of 67,000 watched them played the Malaysian national team (Man Utd won of course, by 6-0) in Kuala Lumpur. Even their training session was attended by about 20,000.

This Man Utd's travel in 2007 was made available via a club sponsor contract signed between Man Utd and Malaysia Tourism Minitry which is also in conjunction with Visit Malaysia Year 2007 and Malaysia's 50th Independence Anniversary.
David Gill was joined at the press conference by Sir Alex Ferguson, AirAsia chief executive Tony Fernandes and Malaysia's Minister of Tourism, Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor. Paul Scholes and Wayne Rooney also attended a photo-call.
Tags: Manchester United, David Gill, Sir Alex Ferguson, Paul Scholes, Wayne Rooney, Visit Malaysia Year 2007

Fantasy English Premier League

Was “forced” to participate by a colleague of mine. Registered a team for the Fantasy English Premier League new 2006/2007 season and named it Excalibur. In fact, I’m quite knowledgeable about English Premier League and had been watching English football since I was in primary school and started supporting Man Utd for last 24 years. Hopefully with the vast knowledge I could make good predictions too.

Following are my team members:-
Goalies: Shay Given (Newcastle), Andre Isaksson (Man City)
Defenders: John Terry (Chelsea), Rio Ferdinand (Man Utd), Pascal Chimbonda (Wigan), Michael Dawson (Tottenham), Sylvain Distin (Man City)
Midfielders: Michael Arteta (Everton), Scott Parker (Newcastle), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Lee Bowyer (West Ham), Gary O’Neil (Portsmouth)
Strikers: Louis Saha (Man Utd), Henri Camara (Wigan), Bobby Zamora (West Ham)

Have to work around with the above players due to limited funding provided in the game. Unlike what Chelsea has in the real world of football. Anyway, it’s just for the fun of it.
Tags: Fantasy English Premier League, Fantasy Football, Prediction

How People View Football Around The World!

Somalia
Two people are reported dead after Islamist gunmen in central Somalia opened fire in a cinema where people were watching a banned World Cup match.
The cinema owner and a young girl were reportedly killed by militia loyal to the Union of Islamic Courts, who seized control of parts of Somalia last month.
The courts have introduced Sharia law, including in some areas a World Cup broadcast ban.

India
Thailand
The picture showing the Thai temple actually has a figurine made for David Beckham. Believe it or not!








South Africa
It's their turn to host the next World Cup in year 2010. Is the nation ready to host the most watched game in the world?
Will the huge stadiums be filled? Will the nation suffer as a result of pumping billions to host the game while majority of the population is still languishing in poverty?
Tags: Sports, Football, Soccer, World Cup, Somalia, India, Thailand, South Africa, David Beckham, Union of Islamic Courts