Football Ramblings

These are the top 3 young talents in the world that have the potential to be the best: Hachim Mastour: Just 16 years of age, this young man has a low center of gravity, close control, pace, and some silky skills with the ball. He is an A.C. Milan player, and hopefully he can get some minutes under Inzaghi. He has impressed with the few minutes he has played in pre season, and well as showing off brilliant freestyle skills at halftime of the games. He was voted world's best talent, and I wouldn't be surprised if he becomes the best player in the world someday. Raheem Sterling: At the age of 19, the England man has already shown that he has the maturity that Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo showed at age 19. His pace, skills, and calmness in front of goal is what sets him apart from other young players. In Liverpool's fairy tale story last year, Sterling played a big part in helping the come within 2 points of the Premier League title. If you didn't know him la...

The great man is smiling again! He wouldn't have done that in the past few weeks. He was magnificent in the 40 minutes he got to play. He is back! Also, farewell to Deco, a legend. He was a big part in helping Messi become what he is now.I was privileged enough to watch him play a little for Barcelona and for Chelsea. I wish I could have seen some more of him, but good luck to him!

This is why Messi deserved the Golden Ball.

It was probably the saddest sight I have ever seen. Lionel Messi standing helpless at the final whistle of the World Cup Final, looking up at the heavens as if to say,"Why me?" He had a whole county's weight on his shoulders, but he couldn't bring a fitting end to this endless saga of the greatest player ever. He had his chance to end the debate in the 46th minute, but his shot whipped past the far post. It just wasn't supposed to be for Leo this time. He now still stands amongst the greats, just not above them. After years of non-stop babbling about Lionel Messi not being able to produce in the blue and white stripes of the Argentina kit, he did just that. He scored 4 goals in the group stage  ad got 1 assist in the round of 16 match against Switzerland. He was involved in some way in 7 of Argentina's 8 goals. Yet still, people aren't satisfied with him. They are blaming him because he did not perform in 1 match. They think a single man can win a World C...

Never has the footballing world seen such contrasting semi-finals. One, a German blitz on Brazil, and the other a very cautious tactical battle between the Netherlands and Argentina. Germany celebrated as if they just won a friendly match, whereas Argentina celebrated as if they had just won the World Cup. Argentina's dream continues, and now they are just one step away from crowning themselves world champions. They know that they will have to play a very organized and disciplined game, and they can not afford to have a repeat of the last two World Cups. The Germans will feel they deserve the trophy this time having reached the semi-finals in the past 4 World Cups, and once being runners up in the final. Will the 4th time be the charm, or will the Germans have another sad ending after being so close to the finish line? Germany is high on confidence after the 7-1 demolition of Brazil, but this could prove to be their downfall. They must know that Argentina will not be as disorganiz...

The World Cup has lost Neymar, who fractured his vertebra in a challenge with Zuńiga in the Brazil and Columbia quarterfinal. This is devastating news for the World Cup viewers, and more importantly, Brazilians. The 22 year old had a chance to carry his team all the way to glory in the Maracana. This is what he had to say in his emotional message after the injury. Now the team can't even win because they have been shocked 7-1 by Germany! That was unbelievable. This is the greatest result of this World Cup surely, but I might stress it more to be the most shocking result EVER. That is no exaggeration. Neymar's dream is over. Brazil's dream is over. It has gone horribly wrong for the host nation at the rear end of this World Cup. This is what Neymar had to say after

Round of 16 Brazil vs Chile  1-1 (3-2 on penalties) Columbia vs Uruguay  2-0 Netherlands vs Mexico  2-1 Costa Rica vs Greece 1-1 (5-3 on penalties) France vs Nigeria  2-0 Germany vs Algeria  2-1 Argentina vs Switzerland  1-0 Belgium vs USA  2-1 Quarterfinals Germany vs France  1-0 Brazil vs Columbia  2-1 Argentina vs Belgium 1-0 Netherlands vs Costa Rica 0-0 (4-3 on penalties) My Predictions: Semi-Finals Brazil vs Germany: Germany wins Argentina vs Netherlands: Argentina wins Third Place Brazil vs Netherlands: Netherlands win Final Argentina vs Germany: Argentina wins

The 24 year drought is over for Argentina! They have made it into the semi-finals ! Now they believe they can win. Things started off rather quickly, with Messi dragging two defenders towards him, laying it off to Di Maria, his deflected pass falling to Higuain, who smashed it past Courtois on the half-volley. From then on Argentina played it smart, letting Belgium have possession, defending magisterially  whenever  they got into dangerous areas. On the counter- attack, they wouldn't blaze forward like they normally would, rather slowing the game down and save their energy for the next round. However, things soured for Argentina, as Messi played a brilliant pass into Di Maria, who was one on one versus Kompany. Di Maria cut in, and took a shot, which was deflected. However as he took the shot, he hurt his quadriceps, and as he limped off, the whole nation sent prayers to the heavens that he would be fit for the semi-final with the Netherlands . However, if rumors are true, ...

This World Cup has not been normal by any stretch of imagination, and the Round of 16 stage shows why. There were clear favorites to win the 8 matches played, but in all the matches, the underdogs showed great team spirit to make it difficult for the favorites.  Only the Belgium and US game is remaining, but the 7 games so far have had thrills, spills, and nail biting moments.  The round started with the host nation taking on Chile. Brazil were far from their best, and disappointing to say the least. The game ended 1-1 after 90 minutes, with the second half being the worst 45 minutes I have ever seen from Brazil. It went into extra time, with nothing changing there. On we went on to penalties, with Brazil ultimately winning the shootout with a score of 5-4.  The next game was Columbia and Uruguay. Uruguay were not settled from the beginning, and James Rodriguez produced the goal of the tournament to put Columbia ahead. A player with talent a month ago turned int...

Messi, a man who almost couldn’t play football because of his size, has now become the best soccer player in the world.It all started when he had to move to Barcelona because the club agreed to pay for his growth deficiency treatment. Barcelona saw something special in him, so they signed a deal with Jorge Messi on a napkin. Messi was put on the Barcelona youth team, then having some problems with his stamina and not being able to run for long periods of time. In time, that improved, and he burst onto the Barcelona A team. He scored his first ever Barcelona goal at age 17, becoming the youngest player ever to score for them. Since then, he has mesmerized us day in and day out. He has broken so many records, I have lost count. Winning 4 Ballon Dors , scoring 91 goals in a calendar year, and becoming Barcelona’s all time top goalscorer are just a few of his marvelous records. His style is perfection, based on simplicity and technique. That left foot is almost as deadly as a cobra. Messi...

Today was not a very productive day in the United States because citizens, and the whole world for that matter got the prospect of seeing the US get out of possibly the toughest group of the tournament and into the knockout stage of the World Cup. This group was the closest and intense group of the tournament, and from 9:00 to 11:00, I could not sit still. It was a sentimental game for coach  Jürge n Klinsmann  because he used to coach the German national team. Along with that, there were 5 German-Americans in the 23 picked by Klinsmann. Jermaine Jones had even played 3 friendlies for the German team before transferring to the USMNT. Both coaches said they were going out there to win, but in the first 10 minutes, I really doubted that the US was. They were just sitting back and parking the bus for the first 10 minutes, and when they did get the ball, they couldn't keep it for more than 5 seconds. As the first half wore on, they grew into the game a little bit more, with the defense...

On a day when everyone was talking about how the U.S. would perform against the Portuguese, fans were confident that the U.S. could beat Portugal and knock Portugal out of the World Cup, while also advancing to the round of 16. Those fans were silenced in the opening minutes of the match, with Geoff Cameron making a sliced clearance that fell to Nani, who blasted it home.  After that, it was U.S. all the way. They created opportunity after opportunity, with the main threat coming from Fabian Johnson down the right hand side. However, they were frustrated that they were doing everything but not getting the ball in the back of the net. It took a moment of magic from Jermaine Jones to equalize. He bended the ball into the far corner from about 30 yards out. It was a peach of a goal, with Beto thinking it was off target. U.S. didn’t back down then, with the U.S. searching for a winner. They brought DeAndre Yedlin on, who played right wing as oppose to right back. Then the moment happened. ...

Today, Brazil and Mexico went to the round of 16 in Group A with Brazil topping the group. Holland and Chile also went through in Group B, with Holland topping the group. These are my predictions for which teams we will see in the knockout phase of the World Cup.  Group C- Columbia and Ivory Coast with Columbia topping the group Group D- Costa Rica and Italy with Costa Rica topping the group Grou p E-France and Switzerland with France topping the group Group F- Argentina and Nigeria with Argentina topping the group Group G- Germany and U.S. with Germany topping the group Group H- Belgium and Algeria with Belgium topping the group These are my contenders to win it all at the Maracana and why. Italy- They have Andrea Pirlo, who at the tender age of 35, can change the game with one pass or set piece. They also have Balotelli, who can be frustrating at times, but when he is in the mood, can be a devastating player France- They have 3 of the world's brightest talents(Griezmann, Pogba, a...

Argentina were poor on the day against Iran, but in the end, a shining star emerged in a very messy team. Argentina, with each minute passing by, with each opportunity missing the target, were getting more and more frustrated. Iran, with all 11 men behind the ball at all times, produced a very admirable performance, and it would have been one for the ages.  Would have are the key words here. They had held Argentina at bay for 91 minutes before the magic of Messi broke down Iran to tears. In the first half, Argentina missed many chances from set pieces as well as some brilliant saves from the Iranian goalkeeper. In the second half, Iran by far had the better of the chances on the counter attack. Reza headed straight at Romero in the 53rd minute. Then, Iran was wrongly disallowed a penalty, after Zabaleta took down Dejagah in the box, after those 2 were chasing a loose ball. The Argentinians showed glimpses of what they could do after that, but they couldn't put the ball in the bac...

The decline of the Spanish empire has been one of the most shocking events of this legendary World Cup. 2 years ago, after their Euros win against Italy, they were speculated to be the best international team in the history of the beautiful game. Even a year ago, they got to the Confederations Cup final, where they got easily beaten by Brazil 3-0. That may have been a sign for the whole planet, bu t no one took it seriously. The Barcelona players of Spain had an average season based on their very high standard. This may have been a big blow on their confidence and team spirit. The Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid players of the Spanish team ended their season late because of the Champions League Final. The final was May 24, which was just 13 days from the start of the World Cup. I don't think the team had enough time to get together and recover from the long season that preceded it. Along with those issues, they had some problems with the team selection. I don't know why Del Bos...

We finally got revenge for all the pain and suffering Ghana has caused us over the past 8 years. When I finished eating lunch and went back to my room to watch the game, the U.S. had already scored. Dempsey and Jermaine Jones combined. Dempsey drove past a defender, and he struck a low left footed shot to the far post. This was the fastest U.S. goal in world cup history, with an official time of 3 4 seconds After that, it was all Ghana. They had the ball a lot of the time after the goal, with Atsu providing the main threat down the right hand side. The U.S. then lost a vital player for them with a strained hamstring. It was Jozy Altidore, the man who was just getting back into form after a torrid season with Sunderland. Aaron Johaansen was then brought on. At half time, Besler came off after hurting his hamstring a little bit. The U.S. bench said it was just precautionary, but it was still a worry for them. John Brooks then came on. The second half was then controlled by Ghana, who fin...

Day 5 of the World Cup was a day full of thrills, spills, and quite a lot of goals. The morning game was one of the most anticipated games of the group stage part of the tournament. It was a mouthwatering clash for me because I wanted to see how Ronaldo would do in a big game on the big stage. The truth is that he was outclassed by the German team as a whole. A single man cannot win a game by hims elf, and this was a perfect example. The Portuguese were disorganized defensively, and were not in sync in the middle of the park or in the attacking third. Ronaldo had a couple chances in the opening 10 minutes, but he didn't take advantage of them. After that, it went downhill for Portugal. It all started with the penalty that Mario Gotze won, and Thomas Muller buried it. The Germans took control from there. Control of the midfield, and control of the ball. When Portugal lost the ball in the attacking third, Germany powered forward on the break each and every time. Hummels then scored a...

Yesterday was an a great day in the World Cup. All the teams I wanted to win won. Switzerland got a stoppage time winner to make it 2-1, and France won 3-0 comfortably. Goal line technology was used for the first ever time in World Cup history on the own goal. There was a lot of controversy with that goal as to whether it should be an own goal or Benzema's goal. Eventually, he got 2 goals, but in  my opinion, he should have had a hat trick because of that goal. The game I want to talk about is the Argentina and Bosnia game. I want Argentina to go all the way. Sabella started with a 5-3-2 formation. Argentina will not win if they keep playing with this formation. It takes Messi out of the game completely. Messi was terrible in the first half. In the second half, Sabella brought on Gago and Higuain. They changed to a 4-3-3 formation, which brought Messi into the game a lot more. He scored a magical goal to seal the points for Argentina after a own goal 3 minutes in from a Messi freek...

The World Cup has had ridiculous calls, huge upsets, and lots of goals. Brazil got of to a great start as host nation, but Spain, not so much. Brazil shouldn't have won, but got lucky with some ridiculous calls. Spain's performance was horrendous, but more so, Iker Casillas. He said that it was his worst performance of his career. Costa Rica pulled off a huge upset as well, beating Uruguay 3-1. It is now Day 4, with the matches yet to start. Today, I want Switzerland, France, and Argentina to win their respective games. I want Argentina to go all the way to Rio in the final, and win the World Cup. This will be a great World Cup.