Showing posts with label Spain. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Spain. Show all posts
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Friday, June 25, 2010
Monday, June 21, 2010
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Predictions From Some Experts (and not-so experts)
Tomorrow you'll get our predictions. Today, we hear from others, experts and otherwise:
EA Sports 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa: Using the game - which apparently even measures for altitude -- Brazil wins it all, defeating Spain in the final. We have our doubts: The game also has England in the semis.
VIP Communications Customer Survey: 32.2% pick Brazil; 23.5% pick Spain; 12.3% pick England.
Rome Hartman, Executive Producer, BBC News America: Brazil to win.
Piers Edwards, BBC: Brazil over Argentina in the final. Also thinks the Dutch may do well.
For more, read here:
Grant Wahl, SI: Spain tops, Brazil 2nd, Netherlands 3rd in power rankings.
EA Sports 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa: Using the game - which apparently even measures for altitude -- Brazil wins it all, defeating Spain in the final. We have our doubts: The game also has England in the semis.
VIP Communications Customer Survey: 32.2% pick Brazil; 23.5% pick Spain; 12.3% pick England.
Rome Hartman, Executive Producer, BBC News America: Brazil to win.
Piers Edwards, BBC: Brazil over Argentina in the final. Also thinks the Dutch may do well.
For more, read here:
Grant Wahl, SI: Spain tops, Brazil 2nd, Netherlands 3rd in power rankings.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Could Countries With A Tradition of Racist Fans Underperform in South Africa?
It's been well-documented how extensive racism is in European soccer - with catcalls and "monkey chats" often directed at black players by fans. None of that is expected in South Africa to be sure. But it all raises an intriguing question: Could countries known for having trouble dealing with racism in soccer - most notably Spain, Italy, Slovakia, and Serbia - be more intimidated by playing in Africa and suffer as a result? It's not an outlandish conclusion.
Though Americans aren't exposed to it, racism sadly permeates world soccer. The black players on England's national teams have faced abuse in Croatia and Spain; Lazio's fans in Rome have been known to greet black players with "ooh, ooh" monkey chants whenever they touched the ball. This past year, Inter Milan's Mario Balotelli, born in Sicily to Ghanaian parents, has been greeted by opposing fans with the chant, "A Negro cannot be an Italian." In Russia, fans have turned on their own black players, shouting at them, "Russia for Russians" and throwing bananas on the field.
The reasons are complex why soccer stadiums can become Europe's "theaters of hatred," as one writer put it. Soccer crowds across Europe -- at least in the cheaper seats -- seem to include a disproportionate number of the supporters of the right-wing political parties that have sprung up across the continent.
To read more, go here:
Though Americans aren't exposed to it, racism sadly permeates world soccer. The black players on England's national teams have faced abuse in Croatia and Spain; Lazio's fans in Rome have been known to greet black players with "ooh, ooh" monkey chants whenever they touched the ball. This past year, Inter Milan's Mario Balotelli, born in Sicily to Ghanaian parents, has been greeted by opposing fans with the chant, "A Negro cannot be an Italian." In Russia, fans have turned on their own black players, shouting at them, "Russia for Russians" and throwing bananas on the field.
The reasons are complex why soccer stadiums can become Europe's "theaters of hatred," as one writer put it. Soccer crowds across Europe -- at least in the cheaper seats -- seem to include a disproportionate number of the supporters of the right-wing political parties that have sprung up across the continent.
To read more, go here:
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Surprise Selections (and other news) from Group H -- the Spanish Speakers (Plus Switzerland)
This is the Spanish-speaking group plus Switzerland, or the offensive-minded group, plus Switzerland, but no matter how you slice it or dice it, it's Spain with everybody else fighting for second. The latest news, in the approximate order of finish:
SPAIN
On paper, Spain is the favorite to win the whole tournament but Cup aficionados know that something always goes wrong for the Spanish and that subsequently they've never gone past the quarters. Historians tend to attribute the team's lack of good fortune to its traditional lack of unity, which reflects the nation's atomized regions. (Hence the European joke, "Three Spaniards, four opinions.")
The talk beforehand was that with a side dominated by Catalans, this wouldn't be as much of an issue this time. Think again: Pedro (Barcelona) is unhappy because he had to draw lots with Javi Martinez (Athletic Bilbao) as to who would get stuck with the unwanted Number 2 jersey and lost - not that anyone on the Spanish team is superstitious of course. Then coach Vincente Del Bosque cracked the whip and banned his players from Twitter and Facebook during the Cup, which leaves much of the team wondering what to do with all the time it now has on its hands. Other than squabbling, of course.
For more, read here:
SPAIN
On paper, Spain is the favorite to win the whole tournament but Cup aficionados know that something always goes wrong for the Spanish and that subsequently they've never gone past the quarters. Historians tend to attribute the team's lack of good fortune to its traditional lack of unity, which reflects the nation's atomized regions. (Hence the European joke, "Three Spaniards, four opinions.")
The talk beforehand was that with a side dominated by Catalans, this wouldn't be as much of an issue this time. Think again: Pedro (Barcelona) is unhappy because he had to draw lots with Javi Martinez (Athletic Bilbao) as to who would get stuck with the unwanted Number 2 jersey and lost - not that anyone on the Spanish team is superstitious of course. Then coach Vincente Del Bosque cracked the whip and banned his players from Twitter and Facebook during the Cup, which leaves much of the team wondering what to do with all the time it now has on its hands. Other than squabbling, of course.
For more, read here:
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