Posted on Tuesday, 27th July 2010 by Ross Everett

Switzerland used a Gelson Fernandez goal in the 52nd minute to shock Spain 1-0 in perhaps the biggest upset of the opening round of World Cup play. Spain entered the competition as one of the favorites to win the entire tournament, but was shut down by a feisty Switzerland defense. Spain controlled possession throughout and outshot their opponents 25-9, but only 5 of their shots were ‘on goal’. It was the 5th consecutive World Cup shutout for the Swiss team, who made it through the entire 2006 World Cup without conceding a goal before being eliminated on penalty kicks in the quarterfinals.

Not surprisingly, the Switzerland victory also produced a hefty soccer betting payday for their financial supporters. The Swiss were a +1100 underdog to take three points from their opening game. Spain had been installed as a -400 favorite, with the odds on the draw priced at +400. And has become the common refrain during this very low scoring World Cup, the single goal scored went well UNDER the posted total of 2′.

Switzerland employs a ‘bend but don’t break’ defensive style, which allowed Spain to control possession and play but yielded very few significant scoring chances. For the game, Spain held a 74% to 26% time of possession advantage and outshot Switzerland 25-9. More significantly, however, Spain managed only 5 shots on goal. Spain’s passing game was beautiful-they completed 574 passes, which is the most so far in the 2010 tournament. That is small consolation to the Group H favorites who now find themselves without a point after one game.

After Gelson Fernandez scored on a rare Swiss counterattack, Spain wasn’t able to recover. After the game Fernandez seemed as shocked by his second goal in International play as anyone:

“To be fair, I’m not used to scoring goals, so I was a bit surprised. It was a bit of luck.”

Switzerland coach said that not playing Spain’s preferred style was the key to victory:

“These were three unexpected points. If you play an attacking game against Spain, you’ll lose and suffer one goal after the next.”

Spanish coach Vincente del Bosque was undeterred by the loss:

“Today wasn’t our day. We have two games ahead of us. We have to find a way to win them.”

Despite Spain’s #1 FIFA ranking and status as pre tournament favorites, they had a lot of history against them. Only two of the last eight reigning European champions have won their opening match in the World Cup, with the last being Germany in 1998.

None of this will help Honduras, who’ll have to face Spain in the second game of Group H play. Their undisciplined play combined with a formidable foe that needs to win will most likely produce a blowout result. Spain will have a more difficult time against a solid Chile side in their final Group H game. Switzerland will look to continue their defensive mastery of opponents on Saturday against Chile before they finish their group play schedule on June 25 against Honduras.

David Glisan is a widely published writer specializing in horse racing, soccer betting and three legged dog breeding. He is a contributing editor for several online sportsbook directory websites and a highly respected oenophile. He lives in Southern Nevada with his Asian houseboy, a retired racing wombat and a three legged dog named ‘Saucy Jack’.

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Posted on Tuesday, 27th July 2010 by admin

Most professional clubs have a manager and a coach, but do they always do the roles separately?

I always thought that managers should be able to coach and have interchanged the word without thinking about the actual roles they perform. Why should managers coach? To me they should coach because they can see the problems on the pitch and should have some knowledge of how to correct them by coaching.

However, managers also need to be able to motivate players and I’ve seen some managers who leave the coaching to the specialist coach but then motivate the players on match day.

At Brighton Gus Poyet has come through the coaching side and is now a manager. However, he takes a lot of the coaching sessions, he is a manager who likes to get involved.

You can see how much he thinks about coaching and playing when he talks about the young players at the club and how he wants to develop them.

This is what he has to say: “We will have the time to go out and watch the under-15s and under-14s and get them playing the same way we want the first team to be playing so, when they get to an age where they can get a professional contract, they are as ready as they can be.”

So the roles can be interchangeable and I know most of you coach and manage your teams – it can be done successfully as Poyet has proven.

Watch Poyet coaching at Brighton below:

Original post by soccercoachblog

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Posted on Tuesday, 27th July 2010 by admin

Often it’s that little bit of creativity or something different that gives your team the edge in winning matches. Allowing young players to do it is also part of your coaching learning experience. No you don’t want to see backheels when you’re defending the penalty area, and no you don’t want to see a fancy penalty that could go horribly wrong.

Or do you?

Giving players licence to try something different is keeping the fun in the game. For sure they may get some feedback from their team mates if it goes wrong but you should allow the mistake and forget about it.

Take a look at Ezequiel Calvente playing for Spain’s u19s against Italy in the Uefa European U19 championship.

The Spaniard beats the Italian Goalkeeper after running up to seemingly hit the spot kick with his right foot only to surprise everyone by hitting with his left.

Watch carefully as he totally out-smarts the keeper and just about everyone when he switches very late with his shot.

Original post by soccercoachblog

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Posted on Monday, 26th July 2010 by Tom Doerr

Since the last world cup almost every household has the largest HD TV available, most bought it just to watch the football on but at a fraction of the cost of what they used to be. Many pubs offered the games in 3D and the market is emerging as the next big trend with televisions, undoubtedly we will all have these by the next world cup. This raises the question of what the future holds for the beautiful game, how will we enjoy it, how will they play it? There are a variety of theories that are perfectly plausible; the only question is how soon it will come. Here is a selection of theories of what football will be like in 2020.

Holograms:

A step up from 3D broadcasts is holographic projections; projecting of the game and players onto any coffee table or living room floor could provide a whole new viewing experience. In the same way, it could be used to project the players in real time onto another pitch the other side of the world. This could fill stadiums all over the world with millions of fans and give that real match experience. Depending on which advances quicker, augmented reality could be a quicker step as it already exists on mobile devices.

Interactive Stadiums:

With technology becoming cheaper it is likely that every seat in the stadium would be fitted with its own touch screen computer offering replays, stats, food, merchandise and more importantly; advertising. The only factor for this being worth while is advertising as it’s likely that every spectator will have access to the rest on their smartphone, it’s a reality now so things can only get better.

High-Tech Managers:

Managing future football teams will become much easier as managers will no longer need to rely on memory, instinct and gut feeling but instead use technology and even artificial intelligence to make decisions. A player’s performance within a game and across a season could be wirelessly monitored to deliver vital stats on their fitness and potential; this could help a manager decide who to keep on the bench and who to bring on in the final minutes. Some airports and secure facilities already use emotional monitoring systems and these could determine which players were getting aggravated and risked getting sent off or who needs encouraging. Analysing data and cross referencing it with that of an opposing team could allow a manager to choose players best suited against the other team, for example a stronger defence or strikers who have experience with a particular goalkeeper. Although such information is only factual it could provide a valuable back up to the manager while still allowing them to give the human touch.

Robo-pitch:

Human error and a history of bad decisions have plagued the profession of refereeing since football began and so the argument for pitch technology is very much alive. The technology is available but governing bodies are reluctant to remove the human element from the game despite the controversy it is known to cause. A series of microchips, GPS data and infra-red technology could determine everything from the exact location of the ball, the players and the pitch in order to accurately call a throw in, position a free kick and mark our 10 yards. This could be virtual information available only to the ref or projected visually onto the pitch.

A Helping Hand for the Ref:

Impact-sensitive kits, boots, balls and pitch could help the ref determine if a tackle was a foul and expose diving players; the same technology could also help position a free kick and assist on the decision of giving a card. Linesmen are likely to be replaced by technology as it is relatively simple to determine the position of players and the ball with lasers and camera replays.

Comms:

With relatively simple technology that is available today, players could wirelessly communicate with managers and each other. Currently the referees use this to communicate with each other and avoid holding up a game.

Nano-Technology:

Player’s kits could soon be fitted with nanotechnology to tend minor injuries with nutrient releasing fibres and also combat muscle fatigue and cramp. The same kits could also produce an array of colours or patterns to accommodate for changing light conditions and even virtual sponsor messages. This could be used to scroll through advertising messages like sideline billboards and increase ad revenue.

Hyper Human Players:

Athlete training would be infinitely advanced by technology; intelligent systems could develop a bespoke training regime depending on an individual players metabolic and nervous systems. High-tech training techniques could improve fitness and strength, cryotherapy and magnetic chambers could be used to reduce recovery times and allow players to train harder and more often. Bespoke supplements could offer a player the nutrients and energy they need to eliminate fatigue from depleted glycogen and keep them going for the whole 90 minutes. Improved training and diets will mean that players will run faster and further than today’s players while reducing injuries with gene therapy and the ability to monitor a player’s health. Controversial techniques such as stem cell banking and organ pets could allow players to have damaged skin, limbs or organs transplanted and regenerated in order to get them back to training as soon as possible. With this technology a broken leg could mean a player simply takes the next day off before coming back to training.

Soon fans might be able to buy a customised Arsenal football shirt and Nike football boots with the same technology as their favourite players, entirely customised to their needs.

Tags: action replay, FA, football, future, gadgets, science, soccer, technology, world cup
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Posted on Monday, 26th July 2010 by Andrew Dourdou

Essentially every tool kit contains a cordless screwdriver for it to be complete. Cordless screwdrivers are gradually taking over the tasks of ordinary screwdrivers since they’re just much simpler and more reliable to use. They are not only less hazardous, they enable you to definitely undertake a good deal more versatile jobs since they could easily typically go into more compact spots pertaining to those really hard to access locations.

Up to now cordless screwdrivers were looked at as holding limited functionality, and also small power functionality. These used to be thought as products that can basically be employed for really modest duties. Today, nevertheless, a cordless screwdriver could certainly manage heavy-duty tasks. Things are at present different because of the technology involving the batteries inside. They’re these days lighter in weight, smaller and can easily hold charge for for a prolonged time. Most of them could very well get recharged in just simply a few hours. Cordless screwdrivers at the moment have dynamic performance capabilities. It’s as a result of their abilities as well as their dimensions that they’re turning out to be popular, owing to the fact traditional screwdrivers are generally far too big and bulky to successfully carry out duties inside tricky to get to places.

Cordless screwdrivers happen to be manufactured by a lot of companies. These are readily available in numerous different measurements, styles, and amounts of torque and RPM (rotations per minute). You would want to take into account just what kind of work you’ll be performing whilst checking out what type of screwdriver to pick up.

In the event that you wish to acquire a screwdriver just for a handful of occasional jobs, perhaps you can escape by getting a screwdriver which doesn’t provide substantial torque force or RPM. The more compact models usually operate with replaceable AA size electric batteries. A screwdriver which contains close to 20 in/lbs of torque force and 130 RPM is normally just right for smaller tasks. Under no circumstances underrate these sorts mainly because these are formidable enough for a good number of household tasks. A few of these screwdrivers offer you a spindle locking mechanism meant for hand-operated application in the event that it’s called for.

If you utilize your screwdriver upon many circumstances, you should look at a far more strong tool. A screwdriver that will allow for both pistol hold and straight grip is pretty important. The handle must have a secure non-slip grip. When using a screwdriver quite often you need to select a rechargeable battery pack. A screwdriver with a greater power-to-weight proportion would help to make your jobs less difficult. An unit that features 44 in/lbs of torque force and not less than 200 RPM is normally most perfect pertaining to several different fastening purposes.

If you want to have a heavy-duty screwdriver, in that case you must think of choosing an unit that renders approximately 80 in/lbs of torque force and 400 - 500 RPM. Pertaining to these kinds of instances, it’s certainly essential to own a handle that switches quickly from pistol to straight hold. An adaptable speed function, reverse trigger, and an electrical braking system are required to be functions of a heavy-duty screwdriver. The 7 volt cordless screwdriver makes available sufficient torque force with respect to challenging works. The heavy-duty drivers tend to be in most cases sold with 2 electric batteries so that you can charge one battery even while you are working with the other one. This averts you from needing to set your task on hold, when you wait for your battery to get recharged.

Amongst the finest attributes of a cordless screwdriver is undoubtedly that you’ll not ever suffer blisters on your hands once more. Fastening jobs are today uncomplicated and pretty much effortless. A cordless screwdriver makes tedious jobs a bit more appealing considering that by making use of one of these great inventions you are able to save yourself quite a lot of time, discomfort, and also strain.

The cordless screwdriver has for sure progressed significantly and a lot of pro’s at present employ them. All these potent workplace tools pack a punch and each and every D.I.Y. fan, handyman, electrician, or specialist needs a cordless screwdriver.

M. T. Fritsch spends a calm and peaceful living with his family and enjoys doing work at home and Diy. His beloved instrument is a cordless screwdriver, which in the German language is named Akkuschrauber like a Metabo Akkuschrauber, because of to the versality of its utilization.

Tags: Black and Decker, Bosch, Cordless Drill, Cordless Electric Screwdriver, Cordless Power Screwdriver, Cordless Screwdriver, Cordless Tools, drill, Football Tactics & Drills, Screwdriver, tools
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Posted on Thursday, 22nd July 2010 by Michael Daniels

During the World Cup qualifiers and the European Championships Spain produced goals like no team I’ve ever seen before. It was never a problem as they simply knew how to find the back of the net. However, in the 2010 World Cup Spain had trouble scoring in the finals against Netherlands.

It was just a matter of time before one of their chances went in. They had the momentum and all experts were saying Spain would do it as the game went on. Finally, a red-card was drawn and that played a big role in opening up some space for Spain.

Andres Iniesta was the man to secure the game in overtime. It took 116 minutes for Spain to put the ball in the old onion bag, but it was due to their persistent pressure they had against the Netherlands. It was only a matter of time before someone put one home.

Early on in the tournament it didn’t look like Spain would come out champions. They only scored 8 goals in the seven games they’ve played. However, they still maintained their composure and confidence it pulled through. It can get quite frustrating for a team when you miss as many chances as they did, but clearly they didn’t let it get to them.

Things could have been different if the Netherlands capitalized on some of their chances. Arjen Robben had two great chances, one in which some believe is a controversial no-call. If any of these opportunities went in, who knows what would have happened? Instead, they walk away with their 3rd loss in the World Cup finals.

Spain has made history. It’s a huge accomplishment to win the World Cup for any country, even if they’ve done if before. However, Spain has never done it before and they’ve won more than just the World Cup. They’ve won the Euro Cup and World Cup consecutively!

Many experts believe Spain was stronger at the Euro Cup two years ago, which makes their win even more impressive. They weren’t the best they’ve been and were still able to take home the title!

This team was extremely creative and kept the ball better than any other team. More importantly, they were the deepest squad in the tournament, which helped as fatigue kicked in. Having players like Torres and Fabregas off the bench is a dream come true and it showed in the finals when they came in late in the game.

Check out more of this author’s work about products including the outdoor basketball hoop and indoor basketball goals.

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Posted on Thursday, 22nd July 2010 by Tom Doerr

There has long been controversy of decisions made by referees in football matches and many claim that the introduction of technology to the decision making process would completely rule out any controversy and questionable results. In the recent world cup there were many examples, particularly when England scored against Germany a goal that what was witnessed by millions but unfortunately not the ref. Many fans claim that had this goal been counted the unfortunate outcome would have been much different.

Televised football matches have included multi-angle replays which can are meticulously analysed to clarify any decision made during the match; however these abilities have no impact on the outcome of the game. By analysing existing camera angles, experts can determine the precise position of a ball, the players and even whether a tackle was actually a foul or not.

In rugby, referees have been using technology for many years to assist in making decisions. They take around 30 seconds to examine video footage and confer with other officials to ensure the correct ruling on a decision too difficult to make given the referee’s view and speed of the game. Since the introduction of technology, decisions made by officials in a rugby game have never been questioned or argued but this can also be put down to the discipline of rugby players in the first place.

There have been many proposed methods that could speed up the decision making process by automatically indicating information to a referee using varying levels of technology. Most concepts involve placing a microchip inside the centre of a ball and laser detection across the line. Relatively simple technology could pin point the exact location of a ball on the pitch in relation to the goal and any of the players; this could also help determine whether a player is offside or out of bounds.

Although there is much evidence in favour of the use of on-pitch technology, every international institution has so far dismissed it and instead explored a variety of extra officials. International football body FIFA have so far dismissed it as an option but the UK’s FA are reportedly planning to begin talks with clubs at the beginning of October. Exploring technological possibilities would be welcomed by many players and particularly the fans that are known to hold grudges against bad decisions for decades.

Experts have said micro chips could easily be installed into a player’s Chelsea football shirt or Adidas football boots in order to track their position.

Tags: action replay, FA, football, gadgets, science, soccer, technology, world cup
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Posted on Tuesday, 20th July 2010 by admin

A lot of pre-season work is about fitness, but you also need to work on your touch and precision. Coming back from an injury is often the same, players need to get strength back but the all important creative touch that opens defences also needs work.

At Manchester United Nani has been working on getting his passing and accuracy back to top form. It is going to be one of his weapons from day one of the season so he needs to practice.

In this video clip you can see him taking a touch to settle the ball then hit a 30 yard pass right onto the marker he is aiming at.

Try it yourself, all you need is a cone from where you kick and a target area which can be as big or small as you like.

It’s a great pre-season skills test.

Original post by soccercoachblog

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Posted on Monday, 19th July 2010 by Michael Daniels

The World Cup has had no shortage of action this year. The tournament started off a little slow and goal scoring was few and far between, as were phantom calls by the referees, but all that has changed. At least the goal scoring part.

The following are some things we have learned from the most recent games. It only seems destined to get more interesting from here.

The Vuvuzelas have grown on me. In the beginning of the tournament, it was the general consensus of Americans that the Vuvuzelas had to go. At this point, however, I have embraced the annoying horns as part of the game, and it is almost white noise to me.

The countries of Africa have more heart than the rest of the pack. Even though Cameroon and Ivory Coast have been eliminated, both teams played like their lives were on the line. The Ivory Coast truly deserves to be one of the 16 teams remaining, however with Portugal and Brazil in their group, it couldn’t have been tougher to advance.

Tying is not the same as winning. A lot of fans seem to forget this and will celebrate when their team has a draw with an opponent. New Zealand technically did not lose a game (tied all three) and were eliminated.

When it comes to most impressive continent in this world cup, the winner is without a doubt South America. At this point in the tournament, Brazil is the favorite to win it all, but every South American team has been on cruise control to the second round. Yesterday, Argentina put on a dominant performance against Mexico.

Soccer is alive in the USA. The United States had what can only be called a tumultuous tourney. The refs made some terrible calls against them in two of the first three games and Landon Donovan had one of the best goals of the tournament before they were defeated by Ghana.

Finally, a note must be mentioned about how terrible France’s performance was. Since Henry’s handball in the qualifier, it had been nothing but turmoil for this team. They could not get it together at any point, and eventually threw in the towel, refusing to even practice prior to their last game. What happened to good sportsmanship?

The author additionally regularly publishes articles about products such as queen size futon covers and futons on sale.

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Posted on Sunday, 18th July 2010 by Tom Doerr

World Cup fever has taken the world by storm and a topic of huge controversy is the noisy South African instruments that have all but drowned out the crowds at every stadium. The lengthy horns are selling out at any shop that sells them and the droning noise once unique to South Africa is spreading like wildfire.

Supply and demand theory has dictated that although they are little more than cheap plastic tubes, wider at one end; they are selling at ridiculous prices often making the retailer more than 1000% profit. If you are on the side of the fence that enjoys the noise and appreciates the atmosphere it creates and you don’t want to fork out an arm and a leg for one, there are other ways of replicating the noise.

If you are the handy type, you can make your own with a few simple household items at a fraction of the cost. The cheapest option would be to use 10 toilet roll tubes, an A4 sheet of thin card, some tin foil and plenty of duct tape.

Slice each of the tubes lengthways and roll the first one in a thin conical shape with the smallest end around half the original circumference and secure with a strip of duct tape. Do this with each tube gradually getting wider each time and attach them all together to they make long tapered conical tube, similar to the shape of the horn, funnily enough. With the A4 sheet of card, fold it in on itself to create a large cone with an angle of around 45 degrees or more, cut out the centre to match then widest end of the toilet roll tubes. Secure to the tubes with tape and you’re good to go. You can protect your instrument from the elements with more duct tape, tin foil or anything else lying around the house.

Some people aren’t so keen on the noise and if you aren’t looking for any unwanted attention, there is another way of recreating that world cup atmosphere; you will need a balloon and some hex nuts. Insert several small hex nuts inside a balloon and blow it up to a decent size, tie off the end and begin to move the balloon in a circular motion to spin the nuts. The contact between the metal and the rubber will create a similar noise to that heard in the stadiums but when everyone turns around to see who to punch, there’s no horn in your hand!

There is no control over the production of Vuvuzelas and building your own wont infringe any copyrights, not quite the case if you try to sell knock off Umbro Speciali boots or fake Liverpool Football Shirts.

Tags: copyright, football, instrument, music, soccer, south africa, world cup
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