The history of Spanish fútbol.
“Spain: Home of Picasso, Penelope Cruz, and, for some time, Fascism.”
Ahead of EURO 2012, The Guardian is doing a series of videos telling the stories of Europe’s most acclaimed national teams. Alongside some delightful animation, James Richardson shares Spain’s story, given that España is expected to win yet another trophy this summer. In their words, let’s go through “the history of the Spanish national side, from their refusal to play in the first World Cup to glory at last in 2008 and 2010, via penalty misery in England and plenty of political interference.” [posted by EB]
I’ve always wondered how national teams compared to clubs. My sense is that, while they have amazing talent, most national teams don’t have the time to develop the complex tactics or on-field awareness of a club team that can practice hundreds of times in a year. What do you think?
The Sun’s guide to saving money at Euro2012.
The world’s oldest soccer ball is now on display and available for fans to touch. It is over 500 years old.
(via BBC News - Get up close and personal with the world’s oldest football)
An alpaca predicts the winner of the Champions League final!
We present to you a Vuvuzealots remix of yesterday’s hilarious video of a Llama choosing the winner of the Champions League Final. Here is Gatsby, an alpaca (also a member of the camelid family) in Hopewell, NJ choosing his own winner. Guest appearance by Mama Vuvuzela. Narrated by Klaus Schnitzengruben, purveyor of ridiculous German accents.
Infographic: Bayern VS Chelsea: Can Chelsea Overcome The Odds
LA Story Part One: Chivas USA
“Chivas USA, to me, is a team that represents the American dream for all the immigrants, because Chivas USA represents the pueblo. El pueblo is like the main hardcore people of Los Angeles - which are people from Mexico, Puerto Rico… everybody – all the immigrants that come to the United States. Because that is what the name Chivas USA is telling you – we all came to live the American dream. Chivas USA represents all of those people, hard-working people, where the only thing we want is to succeed and to give our best to this country and honor Chivas in this league.”
Bayern Munich embrace anti-Nazi history after 80 years of silence
“Bayern were discredited as a Judenklub by the Nazis but resisted its cooptation. In 1934, Bayern players were involved in a brawl with Nazi brownshirts. Two years later, the Bayern winger Willy Simetsreiter made a point of having his picture taken with Jesse Owens, who enraged Hitler by winning four gold medals at the Berlin Olympics.”
A special spin on soccer’s big Sunday
Infographic: The Champions League Final 1956-2011
via @amadeus_ebay
Jan Metcalf: Euro 2012 Preview
“As a dramatic season comes to its conclusion in Munich next week, the eyes of the footballing world will turn its attention to Poland and Ukraine for the 2012 European Championships, as 16 of Europe’s elite go toe to toe in one of the fiercest international tournament’s in world football. With all the squads now announced, and preparations well under way, here is my preview of all 16 teams, including their chances of success, key men and rising stars who could make their name this summer.”
The Champions League - A Gamble That Paid Off Big - NYTimes.com
The business behind the creation of the UEFA Champions League, which kicks off this Saturday.
Why we follow football
“Few English fans are lifelong diehards. But nor are most glory hunters, who only watch winning teams. Rather, we found that most spectators go to watch a plausible team playing locally in a comfortable, safe stadium – winning matters less to them than having a pleasant experience.”
Why the Polish Ultras are against Euro 2012
I had in recent weeks, a number of people asking for some details and answers about why Polish Ultras really hate UEFA Euro 2012. I will give you some answers and information below. I will try to be concise but it is quite a complex issues and you can read all about how repressions from police and…
Nice promo by the Houston Dynamo. Nice stadium, too!
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