Showing posts with label World Cup. Show all posts
Showing posts with label World Cup. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 08, 2014

1-7

Brazil’s Cup
Neymar Injury
Brazil All The Way
My July 4th Weekend Plans: World Cup Soccer
FIFA Retweeted Me, Twice

This was not Brazil versus Germany. This was Brazil versus FIFA and FIFA lost. Big.








































A 7-1 Rout of World Cup Hosts That Felt Even Worse Than That
World Cup Records Fall as Germany Advances to Eighth Final
7-Goal Scoring Spree Stuns Even Germany
Three key points: Why Brazil went down in flames
Brazil cries and Twitter laughs as Germany wins 7-1
Netherlands wears black hat into World Cup semifinal vs. Argentina
World Cup pre-game: Netherlands vs. Argentina
Voyager 1 hears 'sounds of space' as solar tsunami sweeps past




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Sunday, July 06, 2014

Brazil’s Cup

The Unisphere, built for the 1964 New York Wor...
The Unisphere, built for the 1964 New York World's Fair, in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens, New York City (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Brazil-Colombia has been the most intense game in the World Cup so far, with Germany-Algeria a pretty close second. Messi deserves a Cup to join the all time greats of the game, but Brazil is the most exciting team. Neymar’s injury and ouster aside, I think the home team has a clear shot at the Cup. Half the world is watching live.

James (Ha-mez) of Colombia crying after losing to Brazil made my eyes wet. A Brazilian took off his shirt and gave it to James. That was perhaps the most beautiful sight of the entire tournament.

The ugliest happened only moments before that. The attack on Neymar was a knee to backbone deliberate, premeditated attack. It was an immediate red card. This was criminal behavior. The whole world saw, but the referee did not. There was not even a foul called.

Messi is methodical when slow, and magical when fast. When he is about to score, the pace of the game quickens.

Politics is my sports to watch. But I do watch World Cup Soccer, not even the Olympics so much. Brazil is the team I root for by default. It can be argued I am still rooting for Pele, the undisputed all time great.

Soccer is to Brazil that cricket is to India. It is like religion. It is such a big part of the country’s culture.

The US team to make it to the round of 16: it has come a long way. It might even win the cup by 2030. An entire generation of Americans will have to embrace the game if the country is to have a shot at the Cup. It does not come easy. You sure can not throw money at it and make it happen.

Soccer is the simplest game. You just need a ball. You can play it anywhere.

Although refereeing will have to go high tech. You can’t let a crime watched by half the world go unpunished. That sends bad signals.

There are not enough cameras in the stadium. There are not enough cameras looking at the fans. It is fun to watch people watch soccer. There are not enough cameras following the ball, and the teams. World Cup viewing is still in the age of television. It is like the Internet has not arrived yet. World Cup viewing has to be taken to the age of the Internet. The age of mishmashing of videos has arrived.

FIFA needs to brought to the 21st century. Its ways are still archaic. There is not enough fluidity at the top levels of the organization. More dynamism would help.

During the Brazil-Colombia game, the Brazilian team gave an outstanding performance. The team was liquid, especially in the first half. I don’t remember seeing soccer that good the last time. It helped that I was at a bar that seemed to have collected what felt like 1,000 Colombians. I was rooting for Brazil, but was quiet about it.

World Cup Soccer is the ultimate festival on the planet. These are movie stars dancing on our TV screens. The all time greats are still alive and kicking. Kind of like the village in Gabriel Garcia Marquez’ One Hundred Years Of Solitude where no one has died yet.

Sometimes when I watch I get flashbacks in my mind of my average soccer skills during high school days. I made it into the teams but was not a star player. I played defense. The idea would be to kick the ball hard in the other direction. That is rudimentary. You have to possess the ball, you have to pass the ball.

By now I play mental soccer. I try to think like the stars. I try to imagine scenarios.I try to stratetize. I think there is room for that.

Watching the World Cup can also give you energy for your own simple workouts. I bought a soccer ball and made a few trips to the Flushing Meadows Corona Park just to be able to dribble around. The giant globe in the park is apt metaphor for the global appeal of the game.

I hear soccer is religion in Brazil.

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Saturday, July 05, 2014

Neymar Injury



This was a knee to backbone deliberate premeditated attack. This was an immediate red card. This was criminal behavior.














Neymar Airlifted From Brazil's Training Camp
When the plane arrived in Rio early Saturday, teammates came one by one to embrace him as he sat in a wheelchair waiting to be taken into the ambulance...... The 22-year-old Neymar broke his third vertebra after being kneed in the back by Colombian player Juan Camillo Zuniga in the 86th minute at the Arena Castelao....... Doctors said he will not need surgery but is expected to be sidelined for at least four weeks. The player is wearing a strap to help keep his back immobilized........ Seeking its sixth world title, Brazil will play Germany in Tuesday's semifinal in Belo Horizonte. The final is next Sunday, with the third-place game a day earlier......Neymar was carried off the field in tears on a stretcher and "screamed in pain in the dressing room" before being taken to a hospital for tests, the Brazilian confederation said in a statement......Neymar had been one of the standout players of the World Cup, scoring four goals in the team's first three games.....Fans watching the Argentina vs. Belgium quarterfinal in Brasilia on Wednesday at times chanted "Neymar, Neymar."

Zuniga apologizes to Neymar for tackle
Colombia defender Camilo Zuniga has sent a letter of apology to Neymar, saying he is “deeply sorry and sad” for causing the injury that knocked the Brazil striker out of the World Cup......In a statement distributed Saturday by the Colombia team, Zuniga says “although I feel the situation was normal in a game, there was no bad intention, malice or negligence on my part.”
Neymar injury robs Brazil and the World Cup of its star attraction
Ronaldo spoke as he once played, speeding to his target. “It was a very violent, unlawful tackle,’’ Ronaldo said. “We all have to fight for football to have more fair play. We have to demand that sanctions to be given to violent players. I am in favour of very severe sanctions to those who don’t want to play football and just want to do such violent tackles. It was an evil tackle.’’ ........ The way that Zuniga leapt into Neymar, the speed, force and angle of the knee would suggest this was no normal sporting collision. As well as calling on Fifa to punish Zuniga, Ronaldo argued that the incident accelerated the arrival of video technology. “I’m in favour,’’ Ronaldo said. “We have goal-line technology brought in for this World Cup and it’s not been a hindrance.” ......Yet that was for issues of fact, of whether the ball has crossed the line. Establishing intent such as Zuniga’s was more difficult. “This debate about technology in football has to grow. We should use technology on behalf of football.” On protecting the stars. ...... Agreement came from Cannavaro, who gave a defender’s insight into the situation. The man who led Italy to 2006 World Cup glory was a defender of great stealth and timing, who used intelligence rather than belligerence in challenging for the ball. “I didn’t like that high knee,’’ Cannavaro said of Zuniga. “When Neymar had the ball, there was no possibility of his [Zuniga] getting the ball like this. Neymar is not transparent. It was a foul with intention to cause harm. It will be very hard for Fifa to accept such a challenge because it is very evident foul. Everybody who has ever played the game knows that.’’ ...... Ronaldo texted his stricken compatriot. “I sent Neymar a message, conveying my support and solidarity. I told him the whole country is proud of him and the team will win the World Cup and dedicate it to him. ...... “No German fan or player is happy with Neymar being injured. We want the spirit of fair play and that wasn’t there [by Zuniga]. But Brazil don’t just have 11 players. They have a very good squad. I think Dante will play instead of Thiago Silva and he’s used to pressure because he plays for Bayern Munich where there’s a constant obligation to perform. Thiago Silva is easily replaceable. To replace Neymar is just not possible. It could be Willian who is used to pressure, having played for Shakhtar and now for Chelsea.’’....... Ronaldo responded, issuing a rallying cry: “We are fearful and sad about out loss but if the German team believe they are going to come against weak, demoralised team because of the loss of Neymar, the Germans will be making an enormous mistake. Brazil are never made up of just one player. Pele got hurt in the 1962 World Cup [against Czechoslovakia] and Brazil still won. We’ve lost a very important figure, our main reference, but perhaps Fred may step up and become a more important player for Brazil......... “I believe we will win [against Germany] because I believe so much in our national team.”


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Wednesday, July 02, 2014

FIFA Retweeted Me, Twice

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Monday, June 30, 2014

James Rodríguez

James Rodríguez vs Uruguay (28/06/2014) WORLD CUP 720p by AmsCR7 from AmsComps on Vimeo.

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Thursday, June 12, 2014

Watching The World Cup In NYC



Watching the World’s Game, in the World’s City
Outside Brazil, there is no better place to experience the world’s sport than the world’s city. Passion for soccer runs deep in New York ..... In 2013 alone, nearly 900,000 Brazilians visited New York City ..... Tonic, a three-story sports bar in Times Square that has been the de facto headquarters for the Netherlands during World Cups past. .... Amsterdam Ale House 340 Amsterdam Avenue, Manhattan ..... To love Italian soccer is to suffer passionately. To follow the Azzurri is to be superstitious. ..... El Pequeño Coffee Shop 86-10 Roosevelt Avenue, Queens
The World Cup Takes New York
World Cup Fever in New York's Little Brazil
World Cup Fever
World Mug: Here are New York's Best Soccer Bars
The 20 best New York bars for watching the World Cup
Best Bars To Watch Soccer

New York Times: Full Coverage

Tonic
(212) 382-1059
727 7th Ave,
New York, NY, 10019

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Montauk


Montauk, maybe. But the World Cup first!
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Friday, May 30, 2014

Messi

I hope Messi picks up the World Cup this time.











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Tuesday, April 05, 2011

2,000 Squats

New York UniversityImage via WikipediaI just did 2,000 squats. Don't get too impressed. I did it 50 at a time. But do get impressed. I think I could have done 1,000 more.

This is my way of getting into the mood for StartUp Week. I did not even know it existed. I was aware of Social Media Week. I was aware of Internet Week. But StartUp Week? Well, it exists. And I am going to all events. I am showing up in my ninja outfit.

StartUp Week At NYU April 6-15

April 6, Wednesday, 6-9 PM, NYU Stern, Kaufman Management Center (44 W 4th St), Room 2-60
April 7, Thursday, 6-8:30 PM, NYU Law School (Vanderbilt Hall), Tishman Auditorium, 40 Washington Square South
April 11, Monday, 5-9 PM, Kaufman Management Center Room M1-100
April 12, Tuesday, 6-8:30 PM, Room M1-100
April 13, Wednesday, 5-7 PM, The Courant Institute 251 Mercer Street, Room 109
April 14, Thursday, 6-8 PM, NYU Tisch Hall, Paulson Auditorium (UC-50), 40 W. 4th Street
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Sunday, July 11, 2010

World Cup: Spain Deserved To Win





2010 FIFA World CupImage via Wikipedia

For once I was not going to take my chances. I was wrong about Brazil, I was wrong about Argentina, and I was wrong about Germany. When you can't beat them, join them. For the World Cup Final, I was throwing my hat for whichever team Paul The Octopus had picked, and Paul had picked Spain, so I was for Spain. But then I show up and during the first 10 minutes of the game it was so very obvious Spain was dominating the game.

Someone once asked me a long time ago, can we call you Paul? P for Paul, P for Paramendra. No, you can't call me Paul, I remember saying. What did I know?

This was the roughest game of the entire World Cup. There were so many fouls, countless yellow cards. The most brazen foul of the entire  Cup happened in this game. It was an out and out flying kick. That is a martial arts term. Bam, you hit the other person in the chest and he falls like a tree trunk. That dude was still holding his chest 60 minutes later.

The first 10 minutes or so Spain dominated. Then the game got rough all the way to half time. Then Spain dominated, and there was some rough play. But then the teams decided risking a red card was not worth it, and so there was some good play, and Spain dominated again.

By now I was all out for Spain. Forget the octopus, this team was good. Or maybe not forget the octopus. I was emotionally invested in Spain's success. During extra time I was pining for that one goal. And it happened. But before that someone on the Dutch team got a red card. That is how you give a game away. By getting a red card. 10 is a seriously small number on a soccer field. You end up with 10 players and the opposing team sees a big, gaping hole on the field, on your side.

I was scared it might go all the way to penalty kicks. Because then all bets are off. The team that dominated the game does not necessarily win the penalty kicks part. There it is pretty much a toss up.

But, thank God, the Spanish team scored.

After the goal, the goalkeeper started crying, more like bowling. And I am thinking, poor guy, he feels bad he lost the game for his team. But then I noticed the jersey. No, this was the Spanish goalkeeper. These were tears of joy. Another sign this was the team that deserved to win.

This should have been a 4-4 to extra time, not a 0-0 to extra time game. There were so many obvious misses by both sides.

But then the Spanish side scored one goal, and there were maybe three minutes left, and I was not worried for them. They were the superior team. They could hold the slim ground. And they did.

It is a new world order in World Cup Soccer. The superpowers of the previous decades all fell by the wayside. France, Italy, England, Brazil, Argentina, Germany. They all fell.

One reason this was such a rough game was because for the two teams this was very much a first. This was their one shot at glory, and they were going to kick balls and limbs, whatever got in the way. They might not even get into the Final next time. There was desperation.

The Spain-Germany game was the best game of World Cup 2010, and the Spain-Netherlands game was the most dramatic.

Can't wait for 2014. In 2014 I might want to watch the Group Stage games as a neutral observer before I pick my teams. Pick your teams at the onset of the Round Of 16. Ugh, my picks made me look like an amateur.

Spain: The Octopus Was Right, I Was Wrong
The Germans Called Me Robin Hood
Argentina Was Not A Team
Brazil: The Overconfidence Of A Soccer Superpower
Soccer And Latin America
Brazil
Walking On The Moon
Lionel Messi (2)
Lionel Messi
Young Folks
Walk In The Park
Freehand Exercise: 1,000 Push-Ups, 1,000 Squats, 1,000 Crunches
Brazil And Argentina: My Choices And Those Of My Favorite Actor
The Eyes Of Truth
Hey Now, Hey Now
Tomorrow
Samuel Eto'o

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