Sports Then and Now

Football (soccer) brings out the passion in fans like no other sport. That’s why it’s called “The Beautiful Game”. However, very few stadiums around the world can match the atmosphere and history these iconic stadiums create. If you consider yourself a football fanatic, it’s REQUIRED that you visit these stadiums before you head to the great stadium in the sky.

Anfield – Liverpool

There’s no other club in the Premier League that can match the passion Liverpool fans have for their club. In recent years, the atmosphere created at the stadium has diminished sharply, but come derby day there’s nothing more chilling to the other side and fans than 40,000+ spectators singing “You’ll Never Walk Alone”. If the Signal Iduna Park can be renowned for its Yellow Wall, let Anfield be remembered for its European nights and Bill Shankly days.

Estadio Maracana – Flamengo

On July 16, 1950, over 170,000 fans packed into the Mecca of Football. It was Brazil vs Uruguay for the World Cup trophy. The Brazilians were going into the match as heavy favorites and all they needed to do was not lose to win their first World Cup ever and do it on home soil.

90 minutes later, what was once a loud and boisterous crowd was silenced as Uruguay ran home with the trophy, 2-1 winners on the day in a game etched into the minds of Brazilians to this day as a national tragedy, forever known as the “Maracanazo”.

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The FIFA World Cup is one of the world’s most exciting sporting events. Every country in the world has the opportunity to send their team to this elite competition, making it every professional player’s dream to represent their nation on the world stage.

This equal opportunity gives perennial favorites and little known squads an equal chance at glory and produces some of the most memorable moments in sporting history. The 2002 World Cup is only one example of an exciting moment in sports history. Let’s take a look at some of the unlikely upsets that took place during the 2002 World Cup.

Republic of Korea

Perhaps the most admirable performance of the competition was that of South Korea. The South Koreans found themselves pitted against Portugal, the United States and Poland in a group that led many people to immediately write them off. Despite their poor odds of advancing to the knockout stage, the South Korean team went undefeated and won their group in stunning fashion. This included an upset victory over Portugal that knocked the Portuguese out of the competition and sealed Korea’s place in the final 16.

The momentum continued for South Korea as they shocked Italy in the round of 16 and advanced to a quarterfinal match up with the Spanish giants. Their victory over Italy came in exciting fashion as the host nation won the game with a golden goal in extra time. Both the manner of the victory and the pedigree of the Italian team make this win one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history, as cited by Bleacher Report.

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The 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup gets underway in Berlin on June 26th and it looks like a three-way battle for glory.

Sixteen teams in total are battling for the biggest prize in women’s football (soccer) and Brazil, who can boast Marta – the biggest star in the women’s game with five consecutive FIFA World Player of the Year awards – will take some beating.

Brazil are a creative side who have struggled to win big tournaments and will be looking to change that in Germany. The hosts could be one side likely to challenge the Brazilians for glory in the World Cup as they look to defend their title and the football predictions (soccer) reflect this.

As usual, Germany are a solid unit and they have a great goalscoring threat of their own in Birgit Prinz. With a passionate home support behind them Germany could fancy a third consecutive World Cup title.

The third big team in the tournament is the United States, who won the World Cups of 1991 and 1999. Never have the US finished outside the top three in any World Cup and, despite under-performing in qualifying, they should be there or thereabouts in the competition.
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Players from Brazil's National Team including Marta, Cristiane and Fabiana have impacted WPS play.

With the announcement by FIFA naming Brazil’s Marta as their Women’s World Player of the Year for the fourth consecutive year, I hurried to my virtual Rolo-dex in an attempt to try to score a Brazilian perspective on the award.

Amongst the thousands of names which have found their way into my growing list of connections, I didn’t expect to find too many who make the land of Carnival their home since the Brazilian population in my rural town of Winchendon, MA can probably be counted on one hand.

Then I remembered a gentleman I had met at my first WPS Breaker’s game last spring. I tried desperately to jump start my memory to recall his name. After scurrying through every letter from A to R, I came upon the name “Marcus Santos” and knew I had struck pay dirt.

Santos and his band Bloco Afro-Brazil, had entertained the crowd of Breakers fans playing their Brazilian styled beat from the end zone of historic Harvard Stadium. They added a Brazilian flare to the game reminiscent of the World Cup and created an excitement which would become synonymous with Breaker brand soccer as the season went on. Read the rest of this entry →