Wow Soccer – Page 7

OZIL IS READY

New Arsenal record signing Mesut Ozil has said that he is ready to win the Premier league title with the club. The German midfielder recently made the £ 42.5 million move to the Emirates stadium from Real Madrid. He comes with the reputation of being one of the best playmakers in the world right now. Only Lionel Messi has created more chances than him in the last four years. Boasting this incredible statistic, Ozil is ready to fire Arsenal to their first league title since 2004. The last Arsenal team that won the title went on an unbeaten run to the season.

This time, though, Arsenal have already lost a match and it came in the first match of the season. Since then, they have recovered to be in a challenging position in the last two encounters. Ozil is expected to make his Arsenal debut in the difficult away match against Sunderland. Winning this HGH encounter would put Arsenal on the top of the table. Olivier Giroud has started the season in sparkling form and is already the top scorer in the league.

Arsenal have broken their transfer record quite remarkably by managing to pay more than £ 40 million for the player on transfer deadline day. Wenger is hoping that this proves to be a shrewd investment.

‘When he first went to Madrid we were in touch. We wanted him then. His style of play will integrate him immediately. His movement, his ability and his creativity. He has the attributes of being one of the leaders in our team,’ said Wenger. ‘I want to play attacking and good football. ‘Attractive football is good but we need to be successful, too. I can’t promise we will win trophies but I can promise we will give our all,’ said the midfielder in his first press conference as an Arsenal player.

The Numbers Game

When he left Chelsea under somewhat mysterious circumstances back in 2008, many questioned just how successful a boss Jose Mourinho could be. He arrived at the Bridge on the back of a Champions League triumph with the unfancied FC Porto and led the blues to domestic honours before a “disagreement” with owner Roman Abramovich forced him out of the club.

A move to Inter Milan followed, as did further success – notably the Champions League – before another “disagreement” with the Italian media led to him leaving the San Siro for the Bernabeu and the Real Madrid job. More silverware followed here, but you always had the feeling that Mourinho was waiting for one particular job offer to arise… Continue reading The Numbers Game

JOSE HEADS HOME

José Mourinho recently brought an end to his three-year stay at Real Madrid by departing for his former club Chelsea. Even though there have been several reports that he did not get along well with the players at the club, several stars including such as Sergio Ramos have been paying tribute for the Portuguese. German internationals Sami Khedira and Mesut Ozil are the latest to pay tribute to the 50-year-old by saying that it was a privilege to work with him. Mourinho was responsible for bringing the two players to the Santiago Bernabeu after the end of the 2010 World Cup.

They have managed to establish themselves as important players in the Real Madrid squad. Both players have gone on to social networking site Facebook to express their gratitude for the former manager. During his time at Real Madrid, Mourinho managed to win the league title once. He also lifted the Copa del Rey as well, but many see him as a failed experiment by president Florentino Perez since he failed to win the Champions League. It has been more than a decade Real last lifted this famous trophy, which they have done nine times in the illustrious history.

Ozil has stated that he always thought that Mourinho was a great manager and the reputation has been strengthened even more after working with him.

“Dear Jose Mourinho. Three years ago you took me to Real. In those three years you have taught me a lot and given me a lot of confidence. For this, I would like to thank you and wish you all the best in the future,” said Ozil. “I want to thank him for the opportunity he gave me at Real. I want to thank him for the support he was given me. He has always had my back, especially when I was attracting criticism from the press,” said Khedira.

PEPE LEFT OUT

The Portuguese defender, Pepe, was recently left out of the starting line-up against the Turkish club Galatasaray in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. Pepe has established himself as one of the important members of the squad over the last few years, and it was a shock for many to see him out of the starting line-up in such a crucial match. However, manager José Mourinho has said that he left the defender out of the starting line-up because there was a high level of competition within the squad. He said that he was really gifted to have such a strong squad at his disposal.

Instead of the Portuguese defender, Mourinho decided to use the youngster Varane in partnership with Sergio Ramos at the back. The result of the match cannot bring Mourinho any criticism because they managed to win this crucial first leg encounter 3-0 with goals from Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, and Gonzalo Higuain. It has a thorough performance that almost puts Real Madrid in the semifinals of the competition. Pepe recently underwent an operation in order to recover from an injury problem.

Mourinho has confirmed that the player has indeed made a good recovery following this surgery. Mourinho has said that Pepe will certainly feel aggrieved because he has not been in this position before.

“Pepe’s situation is the norm at clubs like Real Madrid, where competition for places is high. Players who come out of the team, due to injury or suspension, are replaced by others of high quality. This makes it difficult for them to then get back in the team. It makes it difficult for me now, because I’ve got a lot of players in good condition. It’s quite new experience for Pepe, because he will not feel his place is guaranteed,” said Mourinho.

Betting on MLS teams

If you are not familiar with the MLS, it is Major League Soccer which is the top level of soccer in North America. In total there are nineteen seams with three of the based in Canada and the rest in the US.

MLS is relatively new and began in 1993 though the first matches were not played until 1996. The regular season begins in March and runs until late December during which each team plays a total of 34 games. The top ten teams at the end of the season play in a series of play-offs which culminates in the final in which the two finalists compete for the MLS Cup. Continue reading Betting on MLS teams

PEARSON BACKS LEICESTER

The manager of Leicester City, Nigel Pearson, has backed his team even after their poor performance in the last few matches. Leicester hasn’t won even one out of the last three matches. The Foxes lost two consecutive matches and then, in their last match, they played goalless draw against Blackpool.

The Foxes were at no. 2 in the Championship points table last month and they were looking in a very good position to make it to the Premier League. But, their form deteriorated this month. They played poorly in three consecutive matches and as a result, they have moved down to no. 5 in the points table. Leicester currently has 54 points in 32 matches.

But, Pearson thinks that the performance of his team will improve and the team will get promoted to the Premier League.

When asked about Leicester’s below par performance in the last three games, Pearson said, “Yes, we have lost a bit of form off late. We should have played a lot better in the last few games. But, I still have full faith in the abilities of the boys. They will turn it around in the upcoming games.”

“When we had started the season, our main goal was to get promoted to the Premier League and we are still on course to achieve that target. We are not out of it.”

“We have an uphill task in front of us, but, we can do it. There is plenty of football still to be played in the Championship. The next few games are very important for us. Hopefully, we would perform well and would move up in the points table.”

Leicester City will face Blackburn Rovers in its next match. That match will be played on Tuesday at The King Power Stadium.

World Cup Fashion Face-Off: Round 4

For those of you fashionable footie fans out there who have been following the rather fantastic World Cup Fashion Face-Off over at Very.co.uk, you’ll be pleased to hear that the next round is now on – and this week it’s Netherlands vs. Japan.

So if you’re in the mood for a bit of light-hearted World Cup fun or need a bit of distraction from the drama on the pitch, then here’s the lowdown on the newest World Cup fashion looks.

As you might expect from the Netherlands their look is dominated by the floral pattern trend that’s been everywhere this season – but not a tulip in sight! There are a few key pieces in this look, namely the blue floral playsuit with a pale pink belt which is utterly gorgeous and very, very girly. There’s also a pink and black floral dress and a knee-length flared denim skirt with a floral printed hem.

The accessories for the Netherlands look are vintage inspired with cute cream and of course floral notes to add texture and colour. Of course, no Netherlands look would be complete without a pair of clogs – this pair is red and patent with stud detailing too!

So what are the Netherlands up against? Well, expect even more pink as this is definitely a super girly week in the World Cup fashion stakes because Japan are mixing up soft and bright pinks with cute character accessories.

The Japanese look is called ‘harajuku girls’ which is inspired by an area in Tokyo where young people come to show off the latest and most extreme fashions. The look for Japan is dominated by pink but as well as some bright pink features including a ruffle top dress and a pointelle cardigan (as well as the obligatory Hello Kitty tote bag), there are also some gorgeous pale pinks including a sheer ruffle front blouse and some absolutely awesome platform heels with six buckle straps.

Cute accessories like a bow headband and a bunny necklace add to that quirky cool nature of the look and showcase off the eclecticism of the Japanese nation.

This week is a bit like the Italy vs. New Zealand – hard to call and could have some unexpected surprises so get voting for your favourite Very World Cup looks over at Very.co.uk today!

FIFA 10 – "Army of Two" Online Co-op Goals Compilation

Never go into battle alone. Co-op is all about being innovative and coming up with new tactical plays that would never be possible in a standard game. Taking that extra player to your advantage, you can now build up much more advanced attacks and scoring has never been this fun! Ive already started on my next video