FIFA/Coca-Cola World Rankings

The list of all the nations ranked was released on Wednesday March 11th. To no ones surprise Spain was still leading the ranking with 1666 points. The points are accumulated from the teams show"Last four years, gradual decline in importance of results: 100%- 50% - 30% - 20%. " This is why it is no surprise that Spain is ranked number one due to their European Championship over the summer. At 300 points back is Germany followed by two other European nations at Netherlands at three and Italy at four, respectively. Brazil is the highest rated non European team, slightly ahead of rivals Argentina. Cameroon is the highest rated African nation at sixteen, while the United States of America are one slot behind. Cuba is ranked 99th out of the 207 nations.

The following information was taken from :http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/ranking/lastranking/gender=m/fullranking.html

Week review in the Champions League

Last week the field of the best sixteen teams in European club soccer were cut down to eight. The Champions League is a tournament which gathers the best team from each country's domestic league results of the past year. The most talked about match was that between defending champions Manchester United and Inter Milan. Two of the giants of football met in the round of sixteen, after a scorless draw in Milan, United scored two goals to move on to the next round. French Champions Lyon were ousted 6-3 on aggregate by Barcelona, while German Bayern Munich took care of the much lonely Sporting Lisbon of Portugal, 12-1. The remaing teams will later be drawn to their next opponent.

Dream Team

I have decided to make a dream team of the best players at each position. I believe this will someday become realistic. Owners such as Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al  Nayhan of Dubai, who recently purchased Manchester City in the Barclays Premier League, have shown a willingness to spend money to win. He recently offered 150$ million dollars for Kaka of A.C Milan. My allstar team would be headed by Guus Hiddick of the Netherlands. (Picture of Kaka on A.C Milan)

Julio Ceasar - Goalie - Brazil

Sergio Ramos - Left Back - Spain                Carlos Puyol - Centre Back - Spain    Nemanja Vidic - Right Back - Serbia

Rafa Marquiz Centre Back - Mexico

Cristiano Ronaldo - Left Mid - Portugal                  Kaka - Centre Mid - Brasil            Lional Messi - Right Mid - Argentina

Wesley Sneijder - Centre Mid - Netherlands

Fernado Torres - Striker - Spain      Mir0slov Klose - Striker - Germany

Soccer in America

Futbol, football, soccer, no matter how you call it, it is undoubtedly the most watched and played sport in the world. People are born in countries were soccer is the only sport that matters, they are brought up with teams like if its a religion, the major exception to this is the United States. There has been a movement to make soccer more mainstream over the past decade, but it will never be as popular as it is around the world. Sports are a game of tradition. Americans didn't grow up with a passion for soccer, that is why it is hard for them to embrace it. This is same as saying Europeans will never embrace a game like Baseball, which is "Americas pastime".When the United States plays a team from Latin America such as Mexico, there will be more fans in the stadium going for Mexico than the United States. The game is very popular amongst children, but they grow out of it because it is not a masculine sport. Hopefully it will come full circle and the United States can field an all-star lineup soon rather than later.

(Pictured is Landon Donovan- Captain of the American Soccer team)

World Cup 2010

The World Cup is the most watched sporting event on the planet. It takes place every four years to determine the best international soccer team in the world. This years tournament is going to take place in South Africa, it is the first time that it will be held in an African country. Three years ago Italy defeated France 5-3 in penalty kicks in front of an estimated 715 million viewers. A record of 204 nations have been attempting to qualify for one of the 32 spots in the tournament. They will continue to do so throughout the year. My prediction is that Argentina will win the World Cup. They have some of the best young talent in Lionel Messi and Carlos Tevez. They will be coached by the legendary Diego Maradona. Other teams with a good chance of making some noise are Spain who won the European championships in 2008, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Brazil, and England. African nations are always a tough competition, but never seem to gain traction in the tournament. The United States have a good chance to make the tournament as well, which is what I will talk about in my next post.