Mario Balotelli has always been in the news whether he is playing for Manchester City or for his native club AC Milan. Earlier, he used to come into the limelight for his nasty behaviors; perhaps his former EPL club usually called him rather an indiscipline player, and now, he has become a worthy asset for Italian club AC Milan. Causes of his transformation from a ‘bad’ player to an excellent performer is not easily understandable, but it is clearly evident that infamous striker is touching the sky ever since he left the City for Milan back in January. Italian club finished on the third place in just concluded Confederation Cup and its forward striking lineup has been the main contributor for their brilliant performance. Especially, Balotelli left an impact across the board by firing 12 fantastic goals in 13 played match, in fact, he could not play in the semis coz of his injury, still, his team fought till the end and lost only in the penalty shootout - that too - firing six perfect … [Read more...]
Brazil gains on FIFA rankings after Confederation win
Brazil is the hailing ruler of soccer these days by making an impressive progress everywhere. After winning Confederation cup, especially five consecutive games in the world event, it has gained thirteen places on FIFA’s just released rankings. The ranking are based on team’s performance in the last month and some of the significant gainers in them are US, who won perfect four matches in the month of June; similarly, England is now out of top 10 best teams in the world after miserable performance in both world cup qualifiers and confederation Cup; perhaps they are out of top 10 for the first time since 2008 when they failed in Euro qualification campaign. Despite losing in the confederation cup final, Spain is still on the top followed by Germany. Third place is taken over by first timer Colombia who has achieved its highest position till date while third and four confederation cup finishers Italy and Uruguay are on six and twelve spots respectively. Argentina and Netherland are … [Read more...]
Brazil hails Spain in Confederation Cup final
3 - 0 Brazil hails its sovereignty in Confederation Cup by defeating its closest rival Spain by a comprehensive 3-0 margin. It was a magnificent show of brilliant soccer by whole Brazilian team where their defense never let Spanish strikers equalize their lead. Notably, Fred was the man to watch for coz he scored first goal of the match in just 90 seconds of the game. It was third consecutive confederation cup for Latin Americans and they almost crushed Spain who was unbeaten for last 29 matches. Neymar also shined in front of eighty thousands applauded spectators by scoring his brilliant left foot goal in forty fourth minute of the game. Spain got some good chances but it could not capitalize on any of those, in fact, a sure shot penalty shot was missed by Sergio Ramos that made his team’s position even more miserable. Fred fired again in the early moments of the second half by scoring his second goal of the match in forty seventh minute. In fact, the whole Maracana stadium echoed … [Read more...]
Stage is set for mega Confederation Cup Final
Two finest soccer teams are finally here at Maracana to face each other in the Confederation cup 2013 final. Brazil is the host and probably would enjoy more fan support than their European rivals, but we should not forget Spain is the same team who has defeated them in many crucial matches off late and they are also the defending world champions, so it is rather practical to say that stage is all set to see two finest contemporary soccer teams facing each other. Maracana stadium, which is also known as the true cathedrals of the sport, has a capacity of around 80000 spectators along with more than one hundred ground staff personnel, but the match would also be joined by thousands of protesters who are showing their grief on rising prices of daily essentials while government is spending billions of dollars on hosting a sporting event. Actually, protests are being held in various parts of the country to blame mounting world cup hosting bills and their necessity in recessive Brazilian … [Read more...]
Mega showdown lined up between Spain and Brazil in Confederation Cup
In a power pack display of brilliant soccer, Spain beat their close rival Italy by 7-6 in the penalty shootout in the Confederation cup semifinal. The game was a nail biting affair for both the teams, though Italian team was enjoying more fan support than Spanish team for obvious reasons. This is the fourth time Spain could make it to the final of a big international event in last five years which shows how dominating they are in global panorama. Match entered into the penalty shootout when no team could find the post in allotted plus extra time, and even in penalty shootout, first six attempts were also all perfect; it was Jesus Navas who made it a cheering day for Spanish team while Bonucci named himself as the perpetrator for Blues by missing penalty shootout. The whole stadium was jam packed either by spectators or by security personnel coz antigovernment protests have been on peak during the finals, in fact, Sunday final is also expected to face one of the widest nationwide … [Read more...]