R.I.P Pele

 Pele is a soccer/football legend. Perhaps the best player to ever play the game. He won the 1958 World Cup with Brazil and was named the tournament's second-best player not bad for a 17-year-old.  Brazil won again in 1962 but Pele was injured in the second game. Pele and Brazil would win the World Cup in 1970 and Pele was named the top player. 

Below is a compilation of Pele's World Cup highlights...

Pele will be missed by soccer/football fans across the world, he will be missed by Brazil, and of course his family and friends.

Blogging from A to Z Challenge 2022: X is for Xavi

 Xavi is perhaps the greatest midfielder to kick a soccer ball. He was on the 2010 World Cup winning team representing Spain. 

Xavi scored 82 goals and enjoyed a long playing career. 

Blogging from A to Z Challenge 2022: R is for Ronaldo

 Cristiano Ronaldo is considered to be one of the top players, if not the best player in soccer.  He has scored 800 goals in 1100 games in typically low scoring sport. He has enjoyed hoisting 32 trophies in his career,

Above a list of his top 10 goals. Below more...

Is Ronoldo the best? Is his rival Mesi better? Where would you rank him all-time?

             

Blogging from A to Z Challenge 2022: M is for Mia Hamm

 Switching sports to soccer or the other football. Let's switch gears even further by choosing our first female athlete. Mia Hamm perhaps the greatest woman's soccer player of all time. She won four NCAA Championships at North Carolina. She was on World Cup Champion teams in 1991 and 1999. In 1995 Team USA finished in third place and also in 2003. 

                                            Here is a commercial with Michael Jordan...

Besides the World Cup she was on tow Gold Medal Olympic Teams 1996 and 2004. In 2000 she was on a Silver Medal Team. She also won a championship in a professional league.

Her top 10 goals...

Is there a better female soccer player than Mia Hamm? Stay tuned for a new athlete or team for N.

R.I.P Diego Maradona

 One of the greatest, perhaps the greatest soccer player of all time Diego Maradona has passed away at the age of 60. The superstar footballer lead Argentina to one World Cup Championship and one runner up  in four World Cups. 

Highlights from the 1986 World Cup.....

Below more of his highlights...

The man had his controversy, battled his demons,  and died to soon. However, what he could do on the field defined him as a legend. May he rest in peace!

My heart is with Paris and Allah weeps tonight

My heart, prayers and positive vibes are with the people in Paris. Over 10 dozen music lovers massacred in a music club. If you have followed my blog for anytime you have probably realized I am a music fan. This could have happened almost anywhere. It could have been a club that I was at enjoying a band. It could easily have happened to a friend of mine or a love one. Perhaps that is why this tragedy is laying heavy on my heart.

Perhaps it is laying heavy on my heart because so many people died! So many people were injured! So many people have been scarred for life.  The band, Eagles of Death Metal, what a terrible thing to happen at a show.

More attacks happened at a restaurant. I eat out more than I should. I have many foodie friends. Again this could have been me, a friend or family member.

Another at a stadium. I like sports. You get my point.These are all places I could be, a friend or a love one could be,

CNN reports a witness heard the gunman shout "Allah Akbar" (Allahu Akbar) which means God is great or God is greatest.

I have met Muslims. I have worked with them, formed relationships with, and even broken bread with some. The ones I have met have been great people. I say that because these terrorists have a backlash on their communities.

I say Allah weeps! These murderers are not heroes. I am sure the Allah my friends worship weeps over these attacks just like my God weeps.

Peace and healing is needed. I urge the Muslim leaders and community to denounce these events and other events! We can coexist on this planet. You can worship who you want and your neighbor can worship what they like and believe it or not we can live in peace.

These attacks won't bring peace. As I started this post I pray for peace, healing, for Paris. I send them prayers and positive vibes. A city storied in love, now filled with tears. 

Congrats TEAM USA Woman's World Cup 2016 Champions

The United States Woman's Soccer team defeated Japan 5-2 to win the World Cup. The U.S. Woman's team dominated the game and left no doubt they were the best team in the Tournament.

Highlights here...

It is a great victory for soccer, woman, and girls in the United States. 

Congrats to Germany, World Cup Champions

I thought Argentina was going to win the World Cup from the start. I became nervous about my pick when Germany destroyed Brazil 7-1 in the semi-finals.

But Argentina had Messi, so I thought they had a chance...

In the end Germany defeated Argentina 1-0

Germany won the World Cup. Championships are won on the field. Germany made it through the tournament and won the championship.

World Cup, Soccer, Football..

Soccer is the world's sport but it is not Merica's sport. Wanted to make a distinction between the United States of America and the two continents of America. Soccer could be the sport in central and South America. Soccer doesn't need to be the sport in the United States, but soccer would like to be successful in this country.

I played a season or so of youth soccer. I was a fan watching NASL soccer games and then ASL games in the 70s as a youth in Jacksonville rooting on the Tea Men. College football was king in the city and the city had dreams of an NFL team. Pro soccer is what we had. Leagues, teams folded and were forgotten. No one remembers the Jacksonville Tea Men now.

As a youth I was a fan. It was what my city could offer and my parents cold afford to take me to the games. I moved to a more soccer friendly area but never  really got behind the DC United. The woman I got behind. They took advantage of international success and started a league. But it faded and petered out. I liked the girl's game.

Men's soccer needs World Cup success to make soccer successful here. Unfortunately the rest of the world is to talented than Team USA. Mediocre is how I would describe our World Cup appearance so far. A win over Ghana, a draw with Portugal, and a loss to Germany honestly is respectable. A win in the next round would give soccer a boost. A deep World Cup run could give soccer a much needed buzz here. A miracle championship could establish soccer here. It would be the best thing for soccer increasing the fan base, boosting interest, merchandise sales and it won't happen

I wish Team USA the best but watch out for the powerhouses!

My Top Five Athletes of the Past 10 years

An assignment I had for an article was to name the top five athletes of the past five years. You can read my article here. My explanations are in my article. Any list like this leaves off other athletes who could deserve to be on a list like mine. However, these are my choices but I enjoy the debates, the comments, suggestions after all an article like this should stir some up.

One thing I couldn't add to my article was highlights and videos. Hopefully, I can pick out some entertaining ones. So sit back and enjoy!

Lindsey Vonn

Usain Bolt

Lionel Messi

Peyton Manning

LeBron James

Check out my article. It appears I am writing some sports articles again. However, they are coming from a different angle so I hope you enjoy. Thanks for stopping by. Stay tuned for a special post soon!

Congrats to Lionel Messi

A sports blog today. I haven't dived into the wide world of sports lately so I am probably due for a sports blog. My blog today congratulates Lionel Messi on becoming Barcelona's leading scorer. He did it with grand style recording a hat trick. A fitting way to break a record that hasn't been passed since 1927.

In 2010 I wrote an article about Lionel Messi becoming Argentina's next Soccer Super Star which you can read here. Since hen he has become Barcelona's super star and perhaps soccer's biggest star. A true football star.

Here is CNN International's take on Messi's record breaking achieving. I echo their statement about Lionel Messi only being 26. I don't think it is scary unless your on an opposing team. I think it is an incredible stat for this footballer and the future of soccer. At 26 and if he stays healthy what more can he accomplish?

His past has been fantastic and his future looks to be magical! Congratulations on your milestone and I look forward to what Messi achieves in the future.

USA VS. Sweden WWC

USA and Sweden are both out to 2-0 starts in the 2011 Woman's World Cup. Both teams have qualified for the quarterfinals. Tomorrow the teams play each other. I hope USA continues to have success in the World Cup. It is good for the woman's pro league. It is good for soccer in general in America.

If Sweden wins, I am fine with that. Team USA can still have success. I have enough Swedish bloodlines running through me to root for Sweden. I wish both teams well. I wish for a great match.

World Cup: Congrats Spain

Spain and the Netherlands met in the World Cup Final and both countries were looking for their first World Cup title. Spain won the match 1-0 in overtime. The television ratings were up in the United States for this World Cup.

Soccer is the World's game and not really the United States game. It would change if we fielded championship quality teams. The country would watch before switching back to baseball, and soccer would never climb to the level of American football, the NBA, and would be hard pressed to catch the NHL. Soccer leagues have struggled in this country. We know defense whens  championships, but we like scoring.

However, the World Cup Championship is the biggest sporting event in the world and I did watch. On the plus side soccer moves very quickly. The pace of their football is very quick. The yellow cards were pretty exciting. Both teams played hard. Spain appeared to be more aggressive than the Netherlands. I think that is one of the reasons Spain won. However, it was a battle between both teams.

Spain beat Portugal 1-0, then beat Paraguay 1-0, and beat Germany 1-0 to reach the finals. I tip my hat to their defense, Germany had put up four goals in games against Argentina and England. Spain started the tournament with a 1-0 loss to Switzerland, followed by a 2-0 win over Honduras and a 2-1 win over Chile. Congratulations to Spain on their World Cup Championship. We will see who wins in 2014 in Brazil.

World Cup Soccer

I didn't get into all the hype for the USA soccer team in the 2010 World Cup. However, a tie with England is huge for the U.S. Team. However, team USA still needs to take care of business against the rest of the teams in their group. Yes. team USA will be favored to do so, however being favored and actually taking care of business is two different things. England was favored against team USA, however England didn't take care of business. That being said all is not bleak for England. England did not lose and is still favored to advance.

I did write a few World Cup related articles recently. One was on Lionel Messi who I heard one expert on the radio call one of the best players in international soccer if not the best. You can read my article on Messi here.

In a related article I wrote about the rich soccer history of Messi's team Argentina you can read that article here.

I also review the rich soccer, or football history of two more power houses. One was Brazil which can be read here. The other one was Italy which you can read here.

Hope you enjoy the World Cup action and I will blog about something else next time.