FOOTY FAIR

Cheating and Corruption in Football - Part 4 of 5: Luis Suarez Lends a Hand

2016-04-09T08:00:00.000-04:00

Leading the line for Barcelona as part of the lethal MSN attacking trio with Lionel Messi and Neymar, Luis Suarez has kept his nose clean as of late, and many are forgetting the colour run of misdemeanours he wracked up for both club and country over a torrid four year span.

But there are some who will never forgive some of the things the Uruguayan international got up to between, and including, the last two World Cups.

Before he racially abused Manchester United's Patrice Evra and bit not one but three different players, Suarez became a villain across large swathes of Africa when his cynical handball knocked Ghana out of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

After helping Uruguay through the first round group stage, Suarez scored both goals in a 2-1 round of 16 victory against South Korea with his second goal being particularly memorable. For his efforts he was named Man of the Match.

It would be in the Quarter-Final where he would make his most telling contribution to the tournament though.

With the score deadlocked at 1–1 at the end of regulation the match went into extra time where a tense thirty minutes witnessed one of the biggest talking points of that year's tournament.

Late in extra time, Ghana sent a free kick into the box that Stephen Appiah latched onto and sent goalwards. Suarez blocked the shot on the line, legally, but then when Dominic Adiyiah headed back what looked to be a sure fire winner he used both hands to keep it out.

Sent off as the result of his professional foul, the toothy Uruguayan marksman stuck around in the tunnel to see Asamoah Gyan hit the crossbar with the ensuing penalty kick to keep his country's hopes alive.

Suarez celebrated wildly, and did so again when his country later secured victory on penalties.

Although he saved the match for his side using illegal means and justifiably saw red, it was has slimy actions later in the tunnel and bullish taunts that he would do it again that didn't sit well with neutrals.

It would be the first controversial act of many for the talented, but controversial striker.

Some Interesting Facts About "That" Sad Brazilian Super Fan With the Moustache

2015-08-15T16:00:00.000-04:00

Surely most fans watching Brazil's embarrassing loss to eventual World Cup winners Germany in last year's tournament will remember the many sad Brazilian fans' faces. But none stood out more than that of the mustache wearing old man holding the shiny world cup trophy replica in his hand. After the loss sunk in and in a sight of true sportsmanship, the old man approached a German fan in the stadium and handed her his replica. But who is this "super fan" that has been seen in the stands during Brazil's matches for a number of years now?

Here are 5 interesting facts about "Gaúcho na Copa".

#5 - The man

The old man's name is Clovis Acosta Fernandes, also known as "Gaúcho na Copa". He's 60 years old and currently works as a real estate agent when not travelling around with that replica World Cup trophy. His hat, scarf and boots are actually traditional gaúcho attire, which earned him the nickname.

#4 - 1970, a dream is born

The 1970 FIFA World Cup was the first televised world cup tournament in Brazil. After seeing the competition on the telly Clovis was so amazed that he started planning his travels, saying "One day I will watch a World Cup 'live and in color'. If that's God's will, I will do it". But it would take him 20 years to realize his dream and in 1990 he attended the World Cup tournament in Italy.

#3 - No more pizza

Although now Mr. Fernandes is a real estate agent, back in 1990 he was the owner of a pizzeria in his hometown Porto Alegre. But once football became his passion, work was no longer on his mind and he even called himself irresponsible, saying "I've turned myself into an irresponsible person. I stopped seeing work as being the most important aspect of my life." He later sold his restaurant to his brother.

#2 - FIFA

In 2002 "Gaúcho na Copa" was selected by FIFA as the "Star Supporter" of the Brazilian national squad. Since 1990 he has attended 7 World Cups, 6 Copa Américas, 4 Confederation Cups and 1 Olympic Games. He has been to a total of 66 countries and 154 games! It's been theorized that after the game against Cameroon, he'd become the 12th player that wore the Brazilian shirt the most.

#1 - Car for a playstation

When the "Gaúcho" travels to a tournament he travels by air. But once on land he and his group of travel buddies rent cars. In 2002 in Japan this was an issue as his international driver's license wasn't enough for the Japanese company to insure his rental vehicle. As such, he purchased a car instead. Once the tournament was over and surely in good spirits as his native Brazil claimed their record fifth championship, Clovis traded the car in exchange for a PlayStation game console for his son.

Throwback Thursdays: Germany 7 - Brazil 1

2015-07-09T12:00:00.000-04:00

Yesterday marked the one year anniversary of what is undoubtedly the most seismic result in the 85 year history of the FIFA World Cup.

The result I'm referring to of course is Germany's earth-shattering 7-1 thrashing of Brazil in the 2014 World Cup semi-final, a result that will continue to jump out decades from now when football fans like myself pore over the scores from tournaments of the past.

It was a watershed moment for both German and Brazilian football, which felt dreamlike on the day. Brazil's heaviest defeat in a competitive fixture since their 6-0 loss to Uruguay in 1920 and undoubtedly the most humiliating elimination of a host side in the history of the World Cup.

For Germany it was the culmination of a little over a decade's worth of improving the standard of their youth development and the integration of these players into their full side.

The likes of Manuel Neuer, Jerome Boateng, Sami Khedira, Mats Hummels and Mesut Ozil had been on Germany's 2009 UEFA European U21 Championship winning squad and last summer's tournament in Brazil was when this great side reached their peak following impressive performances at senior level in the 2010 World Cup and 2012 European Championship.

For Brazil the result would prompt a lot of soul searching about the current state of football in a country that, to the outside world, seems to take it's greatness for granted. Almost spoiled by the staggering success of five World Cup wins, the Brazilian Football Confederation seems to have taken their eye off the fact that besides Neymar they have few players that can match the quality of their stars of old.

Even heading into the Semi-Final last summer with Germany there were warning signs that Brazil might be in trouble, as they weren't altogether impressive in advancing with seven points from a group containing Croatia, Mexico and a very sub par Cameroon side. They were in fact very fortunate to beat Croatia in the opener, due in no small part to a very dodgy penalty kick being awarded in their favour.

In the round of 16, their luck held out again as they were outplayed for long stretches by a vibrant Chile side, who almost won the match at the death before falling to the hosts on penalty kicks.

Colombia, the darlings of the tournament with their bright new star James Rodriguez, were seen off by a score of 2-1 in the Quarter-Finals in a bruising encounter which left Brazil without Neymar, who suffered a fractured vertebra, and Thiago Silva, who was suspended.

Germany on the other hand had gotten out of a difficult looking group containing Portugal, Ghana and the United States with seven points themselves before winning tight contests over Algeria and France in the knockout stages.

If neutrals were giving Germany a slight advantage heading into the Semi-Final, they still couldn't have expected what was to come.

The night of July 8, 2015 in Belo Horizonte had an odd feel to it from the start. With Julio Cesar and David Luiz holding the shirt of the injured Neymar during the national anthems as if the player had died, and with other Brazilian players seemingly on the verge of tears, the emotional state of the side should have been more of a concern to manager Luis Felipe Scolari.

After an even opening ten minutes, Thomas Muller shook off the hapless Luiz on a corner to open the scoring for Germany on 11 minutes and after a frantic attempt by Brazil to get back into the match the wheels dramatically fell off.

In the 23rd minute Miroslav Klose doubled Germany's lead, his 16th career World Cup goal which broke Ronaldo's mark, and then a further six minutes of madness saw Toni Kroos pot two goals and Sami Khedira help himself to one.

By the 29th minute Brazil were down 5-0 and had already, for all intents and purposes, been humiliated.

To compound their suffering, second half substitute Andre Schurrle added goals in the 69th and 79th minute, before Oscar scored the most meaningless consolation goal in the history of international football in the 90th minute.

To the Germans credit they had stopped celebrating their goals by the time of going four up, and could have probably scored more in the second half.

Brazil's play was so mistake ridden it became a mystery how they had managed to get to this stage at all.

Germany would go on to defeat Argentina 1-0 in extra-time in the final to cap their fourth World Cup win, while Brazil would lose 3-0 to the Netherlands in the third place play-off. Both of those results now seem immaterial in a sense after the Semi-Final that preceded it.

The match wasn't a freak, but a perfect double helix-like coming together of a German side on the rise and a Brazilian side in decline.

Any Given Sunday: 4 Events That Marked 2014

2015-01-04T08:00:00.000-05:00

As we start a new year and leave behind the old one, it is perhaps time to look back at what were some of the events that marked world football in 2014.

As I started to think of the four events that I will remember for years to come that took place in 2014 it wasn’t hard to pick my favorite four. Having said that I am sure everyone will have their own, depending on what team they follow and what league they watch, so I have decided to go as broad as possible and leave my own bias coach seat and make a more all-inclusive list.

Here is my list of four events that marked 2014.

Brazil 1-7 Germany (World Cup)

If this game doesn’t go down in history as one of the biggest upsets and crushing defeats in World Cup history and in the history of the game of football I am not sure which one will.

For as good as the Germans had been up to that point in the tournament, nobody could have foreseen the hosts losing the semi-final game to Germany, but more so in the way in which they lost. They didn’t just lose the game; they were humiliated in front of their fans and families.

I don’t think anybody will ever forget this game and how surreal it was; even as I watched I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was a defining moment of the World Cup, and one of the most shocking moments in world football, not only of 2014 but of the history of the game.

Suarez Bites Chiellini

Suarez has a history of biting and doing things that would not cross a normal persons mind, but when he bit Chiellini during the World Cup match between Uruguay and Italy, he took his insanity to a whole new level.

For years to come people may have forgotten about who scored the winning goal in the 2014 World Cup but nobody will forget the Suarez for the incident between him and Chiellini. That bite has travelled around the world at least twice, and has marked the legacy of Suarez as a footballer.

Regardless of what he achieves as a player that bite will be what he will always be remembered for. This is sad, but true.

Atletico Madrid wins La Liga

In a league that has two heavy contenders every year fighting to be the top dog, to see Atletico Madrid win the title was refreshing. While the winning of the La Liga title by Atletico Madrid is not earth shattering it is one of the highlights of the 2014 football season. The added fact that they reached the Champions League final is another great added bonus to an incredible season that I am sure while some won’t remember, Atletico Madrid fans will not soon forget.

Indian Super League gets underway

As the game of football grows around the world it was only a matter of time before one of the highest populated nations and starving fans of football would get their own professional league. India in 2014 saw the start of the Indian Super League and most fans hope that this is just the beginning.

Using MLS as a baseline and a model, the ISL is moving into 2015 with a strong solid starting point. Franchises have been able to attract famous footballers, most of them in the decline of their careers but they are still household names that will bring media and popular attention to a league looking at taking their first steps.

It will be some time before the league can grow in competitiveness and quality but everything needs to have a starting point, and this would be it. 2014 is the birth year, and we will see where this league will go in years to come.

5 Best Own Goals of 2014

2014-12-31T12:00:00.000-05:00

As 2014 comes to a close we could give you a list of the best footballers of this past year, or perhaps a montage of 2014's best goals. Instead, in true FootyFair fashion we will instead entertain our fans with one of the most embarrassing aspect of playing football, the own goal. Here are our top 5 "balls in the back of your own net" moments of this year.

#5 - Kolo Toure's clearance

Earlier in the year (EPL's 2013-14 season) we saw Liverpool center-back try to clear the ball from a rather weak Fulham cross into the box. The result was odd.

#4 - Marcelo opens 2014 World Cup scoring in his own net

Perhaps it's not a horrible own-goal and Brazilian defender Marcelo had very little options but to put the ball into his own net as he saw the Brazuca very late as it hit his leg. However, His own goal marked the first goal of the 2014 FIFA World Cup that was coincidentally hosted in Brazil, with Brazil probably being the favorite to win the entire tournament. If you watched the match live you know exactly how shocking a beggining this was to the tournament.

#3 - Vergini's super finish

As if the eventual 8-0 loss at the hands of Southampton was not enough for Sunderland this past October, on loan Argentinian defender Santiago Vergini produced one very impressive own-goal to add to his side's struggles on the day.

#2 - Sociedad's Copa Del Rey howler

In early 2014 in the first leg of the Copa Del Rey semi-final between Barcelona and Real Sociedad, the visitors from Basque Country would prove that even Barcelona sometimes gets lucky, as the away team would produce a bizzare own goal around the 60th minute mark to give the home side a 2-0 victory. While the goal was officially registered as an own goal by Sociedad's goalkeeper Eñaut Zubikarai, it's pretty clear to see that the shot stopper had very little with the insane incident.

#1 - Kramer's beauty

By far the most epic of all own goals on the year was that of German international and Borussia Mönchengladbach midfielder Christopher Kramer against Borussia Dortmund. A moment of both brilliance and madness all roled into one goal as Kramer so simply put the ball in the back of his own net from nearly the half-way line.

10 Best Quotes of the 2014 World Cup

2014-12-30T12:00:00.000-05:00

As we wrap up 2014 I have decided to look back into this summer’s World Cup and put together the 10 best sound bites that we had during this summer’s tournament.

It was a good tournament, and one that used all spectrums of social media. It had a direct impact on the fans and viewers and gave us a different outlook on the games and emotions that the participants were feeling.

Here are my ten favorite quotes from this year’s World Cup.

"I didn’t like Brazil from the start, but I didn’t think Germany were going to be so imposing, so devastating, so decisive." – Diego Maradona

"Messi could be the best player in the world - if he was human." – Carlos Queiroz

"As amazing as it sounds, the ball hit my mustache, It was a mustache goal" – Fred

"If I had played this way I would have been destroyed by the Belgian press," said Wilmots, "we were not impressed by the Argentines, absolutely not, it’s just an ordinary team." – Marc Wilmots

"If we beat Costa Rica I want a kiss, obviously on the cheek, from the UK Queen." – Mario Balotelli

"The truth is that my colleague Giorgio Chiellini suffered the physical result of a bite in the collision he suffered with me" – Luis Suarez

"He (Suarez) should go for a treatment." – FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke

"Everyone knows what they’ve done to Luis. They wanted him out of the World Cup. Perfect, they did it. They chucked him out of there like a dog." – Suarez grandmother

"It was a very violent, unlawful tackle. It was an evil tackle." – Ronaldo

"I taught Romero how to save penalties, so yes - it hurts." – Louis van Gaal

Sunday Trivia - Spot The Ball - WC 2014 Edition

2014-12-28T12:00:00.000-05:00

This week on Sunday Trivia we decided to change things up a bit from our usual Faceless Players to bring you a very old concept of football trivia called "Spot the Ball". Play along by guessing which square the ball is in the original photo. Comment below, to our Twitter account or our Facebook page.

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Arjen Robben: No Longer a Symbol of Selfishness

2014-12-27T20:00:00.000-05:00

If you've ever played football even once in your life, be it at the professional level, for your school team, or simply with a bunch of friends in a parking lot I can almost guarantee that you've played with a selfish player.

A selfish player or a ball hog, is someone who tries to take on five players every time they have the ball and will only pass if they have absolutely no other option.

They likely wear bright neon pink boots and have an unhealthy whiff of arrogance about them.

For every great goal they score, there are at least six other times that they screw up a promising attack with their selfishness.

Arjen Robben, as gifted and talented as he undoubtedly has been, fell into this category up until about two seasons ago. Sure, he scored a few great goals from midfield and had the innate ability to ghost past defenders, but he had the frustrating habit of always cutting to the middle from the right and either taking on one player too many or blazing the ball over the top of the goal.

Frustration with him among some Bayern Munich supporters peaked after he missed a crucial penalty in the 2012 Champions League Final, that the club would lose on their own pitch to Chelsea.

The Dutch international has dramatically improved in the seasons following that traumatic defeat and after terrific performances for club and country is now considered to be among the best players in the world.

Redeeming himself with the winning goal in the 2013 Champions League Final, along with playing a big role in Bayern's domestic dominance, he also enjoyed a memorable World Cup in 2014 with the Netherlands as he helped his country to a berth in the Semi Final.

His improved performances, and his reduced selfishness, have not gone unnoticed with his teammates as Bayern captain Phillip Lahm said this week to Jutarni, "Robben has changed a lot, he's no longer a symbol of selfishness."

I will have to remember that line, "a symbol of selfishness", and perhaps roll that out to one or two ball hogs at my next indoor 5-a-side match.

Football's 5 Wildest Moments of 2014

2014-12-26T16:00:00.000-05:00

As we prepare to bid farewell to 2014, with many football writers and fans focusing on the more memorable moments and standout players of the year, I preferred to focus on the instances of pure insanity in football this year and let me tell you I struggled to get it down to five.

5 - Steven Gerrard Slips Up

Carried by the inspirational play of Luis Suarez, who was aided by standout performances throughout the 2013/2014 season by Daniel Sturridge, Raheem Sterling and Steven Gerrard, it seemed almost certain that Liverpool's 24 year wait for a league championship was finally over. However it was not to be, as Gerrard disastrously slipped up against Chelsea at the end of April which allowed Demba Ba to race in and score to put his side ahead. Liverpool lost that match 2-0 and would never recover as Manchester City surged to the title.

4 - Faroe Islands Stun Greece

The Faroe Islands hadn't won a competitive fixture in three years, while Greece had only months before made it to the last 16 of the World Cup, but it mattered little as the European minnows upset the Greeks 1-0 in 2016 European Championship qualifying. This put an end to Claudio Ranieri' brief time in charge.

3 - Atletico Madrid Win La Liga

With La Liga appearing to be in danger of being completely dominated by only two sides for the foreseeable future, it was both a great shock and breath of fresh air that Diego Simeone's side became the first club other than Real Madrid or Barcelona to win the championship in Spain in ten years.

2 - Luis Suarez Bites Again

With Luis Suarez playing the football of his life in 2013/2014, and nearly dragging Liverpool to the title, an injury suffered prior to the 2014 World Cup was disappointing indeed. However the Uruguayan striker dragged himself back to fitness and stunned England with a two goal performance that effectively knocked the Three Lions out of the tournament. Against Italy though he would do something he had already been in trouble for twice before at club level as he sunk his teeth into Giorgio Chiellini and was later kicked out of the World Cup.

1 - Germany 7 - Brazil 1

It's not worth writing that much more than the score alone. In a friendly a score of this scale would be a shock, but in a World Cup semifinal? It was insane and not a result that Brazilian fans will forget for a very long time.

Germany 7 - Brazil 1: The Most Tweeted Event of the Year in the UK

2014-12-13T20:00:00.000-05:00

This summer in Brazil we witnessed a result for the ages as the German national team thoroughly humiliated a fragile host side 7-1 in the World Cup semi-final.

For the more cynical among us who had shaken their heads at Brazil's sense of footballing entitlement, pre-match crying and holding the injured Neymar's shirt aloft as if the Barcelona star had died or something, Germany's thrashing of the once great football nation was a breath of fresh air.

That said, no one could have predicted the ease in which the eventual World Champions would swat the hosts aside.

Such was the shock as goal after goal flew in, it's now been reported by The London Evening Standard that Germany's semi-final demolition job was the most tweeted about moment in the UK in 2014.

So forget David Cameron, ignore the Scottish referendum and turn a blind eye at that shitty X-Factor show the Brits love so much, it was old rivals Germany's rout of Brazil that won the Twitter league in Blighty this year.

The World Cup itself generated a whopping 672 million tweets, with the shocking Semi-Final registering more mentions than any other event or moment in 2014.

This shows not only the number of football mad people there are in the UK, but also the siesmic scale of this result.

Besides the shock of witnessing a result like this, there is a strange perversity in watching a side get absolutely spanked in the knockout stages of a tournament. I remember seeing an exciting Netherlands side take Yugoslavia behind the woodshed for a good old 6-1 thrashing in the Euro 2000 Quarter Finals, and that made for enjoyable viewing, unless you're from Yugoslavia, in which case it would have been shit. There was also Germany's 4-0 humiliation of Argentina in the 2010. But knockout matches generally don't go like this, and certainly not at the Semi Final stage, so this really was a shock of the highest order.

Brazil had stumbled like a drunk after last call through the tournament to that point, but to see them beaten like this is definitely the main football story of the year, and perhaps not that surprisingly tops on Twitter in the UK.

Football Stampedes That Made Black Friday Shopping Seem Tame

2014-12-01T20:00:00.000-05:00

Black Friday shopping stampedes is a phenomenon I will likely never understand to the fullest. Hundreds, sometimes thousands of people fighting over what may or may not be "great deals" on electronics and other retail products is not something I can see myself participating in at any point in my life. Football however, I can relate to. And perhaps I can even relate to both the good and the bad, so with Black Friday in mind, I list some (not nearly all) of the innocent, bizarre, shocking and tragic stampedes in football.

Editor's note: This is not a list of football's worst tragedies, and I would hate to offend anyone by excluding some of the more heartbreaking and devastating events in football history such as the Ghana disaster at the Accra Sport Stadium, the Guatemala Disaster or the events at Ibrox. This is simply some events that were the first to pop into my head and ones I could find videos for.

Chinese go crazy over Beckham

When David Beckham visited a Chinese University in 2013, over 1000 fans gathered to see the English football icon. But the event was not as choreographed as a Chinese holiday parade routine as the majority of fans rushing to get closer to the star, in turn injuring about 7 people in the stampede.

Chileans in Brazil

Not every Chilean fan turned around and went to watch the Chile vs. Spain match in this summer's World Cup at a local bar after being told the venue has been sold out. Instead. about 100 Chile fans broke through a checkpoint and stormed into the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro creating chaos for the stadium's security team.

Ellis Park - South Africa

Many stadium tragedies have been due to overcrowding. But while in many parts of the world stadiums have never had such experience, for South Africa the Ellis park disaster came 10 years after another unfortunate football incident known as the Orkney disaster which saw 42 people die during a pre-season match. At Ellis park in 2001, it is said that there were 30,000 EXTRA tickets sold to a venue that could hold 60,000. With capacity at 150% the result was devastating as 43 spectators lost their lives due to the stampede.

Port Said, Egypt

Egypt is known around the world for its fierce football rivalries and violent clashes between rival supporters. But in 2012 the ugliest side of Egyptian football violence showed its face after home-side Al Masry fans attacked visiting Al-Ahly fans, player and staff even though Al Masry won the match 3-1. The result of the violent stampede which used knives, bats and other weapons was devastating. Over 1000 injuries and 79 deaths were recorded as a result of these events.

Hillsborough

While not officially the most tragic event in football as far as death toll is concerned, the Hillsborough disaster is perhaps the most storied and the one that is talked about more than any other. On April 15th, 1989 during a match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest 96 fans died after too many supporters were let into the Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield for this FA Cup semi-final match-up. The Hillsborough disaster marks to this day one of the saddest, most tragic and most devastating days in English football.

5 Facts About Clint Dempsey

2014-11-13T16:00:00.000-05:00

As the United States Men's National Team prepares for Friendlies this against Colombia and Ireland in the next week, one notable name will not be on the team sheet.
Long time international Clint Dempsey will be sitting out the two friendlies after USMNT boss Jurgen Klinsmann agreed that the Seattle forward could use a break after a grueling 2014 season.

Besides a full season with the Sounders, Dempsey also had a two month loan spell at Fulham last winter, and the World Cup this past summer in Brazil so he probably due for a rest.

So as the American talisman sits these two matches out, we thought we'd take a moment here at FootyFair to give a tip of the cap to him after a great year and present the following facts about his career so far:

Most Premier League Goals By An American

With 57 goals, Clint Dempsey holds the record for the most goals by an American player in the English top flight.

Most Premier League Goals for Fulham

Dempsey also holds the record for the most Premier League goals for a player of any nationality for Fulham with 50.

Led Spurs to a First Win at Old Trafford in Two Decades

Although he only spent one, somewhat frustrating, season with Tottenham Hotspur, he opening the scoring in Spurs first win over Manchester United at Old Trafford in 23 years.

Back to Back MLS Cup Finalist

Prior to his move to Europe, Dempsey had three very successful seasons at the beginning of his career under Steve Nicol with New England Revolution. The club made the final of the 2005 and 2006 MLS Cup, but came up short both times to LA Galaxy and Houston Dynamo respectively.

First American to Score in Three World Cups

With his goal 30 seconds into the match against Ghana at the 2014 World Cup, Dempsey became the first USMNT player to scorer in three World Cup tournaments following his goals in the 2006 and 2010 finals.

Pennarello's Wonderful World Cup Posters (Gallery)

2014-11-11T20:00:00.000-05:00

British designer James Campbell Taylor, who displays his brilliant graphic design work on his site Pennarellodesign.com, has a particular knack for capturing the soul of the beautiful game.

Each of the images below captures the essence of a few of the selected World Cup host countries throughout the years and are arguably more memorable than the official FIFA posters issued for each tournament.

2014 World Cup Illustrations by Sakiroo Choi (Gallery)

2014-11-02T16:00:00.000-05:00

Although a bit creepy, Sakiroo Choi's illustration style is very impressive. In this 2014 World Cup collection Choi illustrates 5 footballers including the starting goalkeeper for all 32 teams that traveled to Brazil. Here are all 32 in alphabetical order.

Ghana World Cup Demands Turned into a Movie

2014-10-12T06:00:00.000-04:00

The Ghana players threaten their federation during this summer’s World Cup, that if their premiums weren’t paid they would not play against Portugal in the final group stage game.

The story was so intriguing and strange that it was only a matter of time before somebody would turn it into a Hollywood movie and there is already a star ready to take on the main role.

The president of the Ghana federation, John Dramani Mahama, flew to Brazil with 2,2 million euros in a suitcase. Once the president arrived the money was distributed to the players and the game went on as scheduled. Portugal won the game 2-1 and both teams were eliminated, but the result is not important for the purpose of the story, according to screenwriter Darryl Wharton-Rigby.

Darryl Wharton-Rigby sees the players demand for the money as the baseline of an incredible story, but the real story is the man who transported the money to Brazil, what would had happen if he hadn’t arrived on time? According to Wharton-Rigby this story is stranger than fiction, and he can imagine police cars transporting the money on an open highway, on their way to the national team camp. He goes as far as saying that he could see Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as the main character in the story coming in to save the day and deliver the money to its destination.

Darryl Wharton-Rigby sees this as more than a football story but rather an action movie that happens to involve football people.

I am sure someone in Hollywood will throw some money into this project and in a year or so we will be seeing the movie in our local neighborhood movie theatre. I will probably watch it, after all “The Rock” is in it, how you cannot watch a movie with him. My two bigger questions are who will play Muntari and Kevin Prince-Boateng?

All of our questions will be answered in due time, keep your eyes open folks.

Darryl Wharton-Rigby

2014 World Cup Stars Part 4 - Cartoons by Keuj Bardoux (Gallery)

2014-09-21T15:00:00.000-04:00

Keuj Bardoux is an incredible cartoon designer and he has put together a collection of cartoons representing most of the biggest stars that played at the 2014 World Cup.

In this part 4 gallery, I have put together the cartoons representing England, Greece, Sweeden, USA, Equador, Iran, Honduras, Australia, Korea, Algeria, Costa Rica, Ghana, Cameroon and Switzerland.

If you would like to check more of his work you can follow him on twitter at @Keuj_Bardoux

2014 World Cup Stars Part 3 - Cartoons by Keuj Bardoux (Gallery)

2014-09-18T09:00:00.000-04:00

Keuj Bardoux is an incredible cartoon designer and he has put together a collection of cartoons representing most of the biggest stars that played at the 2014 World Cup.

In this part 3 gallery, I have put together the cartoons representing Belgium, Ivory Coast, Spain, Croatia, Bosnia, Nigeria and Russia.

If you would like to check more of his work you can follow him on twitter at @Keuj_Bardoux

2014 World Cup Stars Part 2 - Cartoons by Keuj Bardoux (Gallery)

2014-09-14T15:00:00.000-04:00

Keuj Bardoux is an incredible cartoon designer and he has put together a collection of cartoons representing most of the biggest stars that played at the 2014 World Cup.

In this part 2 gallery, I have put together the cartoons representing Mexico, Uruguay, Portugal, Italy and Colombia.

If you would like to check more of his work you can follow him on twitter at @Keuj_Bardoux

2014 World Cup Caricatures by Gonza Rodriguez (Gallery)

2014-09-12T09:00:00.000-04:00

This is another incredible collection of caricatures made by Gonza Rodriguez.

These are some of the key players of this past summer 2014 World Cup. Gonza Rodriguez has really outdone himself in this one.

2014 World Cup Stars Part 1 - Cartoons by Keuj Bardoux (Gallery)

2014-09-11T09:00:00.000-04:00

Keuj Bardoux is an incredible cartoon designer and he has put together a collection of cartoons representing most of the biggest stars that played at the 2014 World Cup.

In this part 1 gallery, I have put together the cartoons representing Brazil, France, Argentina, Germany and Netherlands.

If you would like to check more of his work you can follow him on twitter at @Keuj_Bardoux

Colombia National Team Caricatures by Edgar Rozo (Gallery)

2014-09-03T09:00:00.000-04:00

Edgar Rozo has created a tribute to the Colombian national team that played in Brazil during this summer’s World Cup by designing caricatures of some of Colombia’s biggest stars.

These are incredible illustrations by this wonderful artist.

Colombian Lawyer Suing FIFA for Bad Refereeing

2014-08-15T21:00:00.000-04:00

A Colombian lawyer is suing FIFA for the bad refereeing at the World Cup causing him cardiac problems.

The refereeing at the World Cup was pretty horrendous, of that there can be little argument. But while the piss poor job done by FIFA's match official's caused most of us to just swear and curse at our screens, it proved a little more troubling for a Colombian man.

The 74 year old Aurelio Jimenez told the BBC World Service that after Brazil, quite literally, kicked Colombia out of the tournament:

“I felt very bad, I was heartbroken, my cardiac rhythm was altered and my relatives took me to the emergency room at the hospital.

“I was surrounded by my grandchildren who were crying a lot.”

“I decided to sue FIFA in the Colombian judiciary system because in the past world soccer championship in Brazil, there were many wrongdoings related to referees who damaged many countries and their selections, among them the Colombia team.”

“Moreover, FIFA’s referees caused big moral damages and distress to Chile, Uruguay, Colombia, England, Mexico and Costa Rica.”

I'm with you my Colombian friend. The refereeing at the World Cup was awful and few observers would disagree with him on that. What's more if he wins, Jimenez has promised to donate any money he receives to a children's charity.

What's more, he claims to have testimonies from Pele, Diego Maradona, James Rodriguez and several referees who commented on the leniency showed by Spanish referee Carlos Velasco Carballo during Colombia's Quarter Final exit.

Watch the space.

Moments of the World Cup - Illustrations by Dipanjan Biswas (Gallery)

2014-08-15T09:00:00.000-04:00

Dipanjan Biswas is an Illustrator from India and although it has been over a month since this summer's FIFA World Cup, we believe that his "Moments of The FIFA World Cup - Brazil 2014" project is very much worth checking out. You can also follow him on twitter @dzoneink

World Cup Ups & Downs - Posters by the Oraby Brothers (Gallery)

2014-08-03T15:00:00.000-04:00

It seems that a lot of good football artwork is coming out of Egypt and this set of posters is no different. Created by graphic artist brothers Monzer and Mohanad Oraby out of Cairo, this particular vintage style set showcases the stars and flops of this summer's World Cup in Brazil.

You can follow the brothers on twitter @MonzerOraby @il_Moo and check them out on Behance by clicking here

"Some showed their class, some didn't. Some made impressive performances, and some disappointed us, but at the end we had one of the greatest World Cups we have ever witnessed. A tribute to the players who made this World Cup unforgettable".

10 Amazing Photos of Indian Supporters During 2014 World Cup (Gallery)

2014-07-29T18:00:00.000-04:00

This is a collection of 10 incredible photos of Indian supporters during this year’s World Cup in Brazil. It just goes to show that football is a global game with no borders.