FOOTY FAIR

Celebrate Canada's Birthday With Some Amazing Moments in Canadian Soccer History

2016-07-01T07:13:00.000-04:00

To all of our Canadian readers, Canadian football fans and Canadian football players around the world, we wish you a very happy and safe Canada Day. Here are some great moments in the history of Canadian football.

Canada's 1924 squad that would go on to play the first (official) international match in Canada's history, against Australia

Canada's first World Cup qualifying match (1957)

The old Varsity Stadium in Toronto where Canada played their first World Cup qualifying fixture

Canada wins the CONCACAF championship and qualifies to the World Cup for the very first time in 1985 against Honduras.

Canada's squad at the 1986 World Cup

Canada versus France. World Cup 1986

Canada versus USSR. World Cup 1986

Canada's women win the CONCACAF Championship in 1998

Canada's men win the CONCACAF Championship in 2000

Canada women win the CONCACAF championship for the second time (2009)

Canada Women's National Team at the 2012 summer Olympics in London, England

Canada's women win the bronze medal at the 2012 summer Olympics in London, England

Christine Sinclair in 2012. Most caps and goals for the Canadian Women's National Team.

Dwayne de Rosario. Most goals scored for the Canadian Men's National Team

Julian De Guzman. Most Caps for Canadian National mens team.

HAPPY CANADA DAY ALL

5 Fun Facts About the Copa América Centenario

2016-05-06T08:00:00.000-04:00

The month of June sees the United States play host to the Copa América Centenario which brings together the national sides of CONMEBOL (South America) and the best sides from CONCACAF (the football confederation for North and Central America and the Caribbean) in a special 16 team tournament.

Fans and organizers will be hoping for a brilliant festival of football, with stars like Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez set to take part this summer. But sadly Neymar won't be there as Brazil are sending a "C" team.

Here are five quick and fun facts about the tournament:

5.) Celebrating One Hundred Years With a Bit of Controversy

The competition is being staged as a celebration of the centenary of CONMEBOL and the Copa América, and will be hosted outside of South America for the first time.

One of the driving forces behind the staging of the tournmant was former CONMEBOL President Nicolás Leoz, who has since resigned his position under a cloud of controversy involving accepting bribes for television and World Cup hosting rights. One of the more outrageous claims against him is that the English bidding team for the 2018 World Cup refused his request that they rename the FA Cup after him and also arrange for him to receive a knighthood in order to sway him to vote for them in the shady 2018/2022 World Cup bidding fiasco. Leoz was not alone in his alleged dirty dealings and in fact the larger corruption case brought against CONMEBOL and CONCACAF over media rights almost caused this summer's Copa América to be cancelled.

There's also a bit of skepticism over this tournament being little more than a marketing tool for football and the MLS in America, rather than a legit edition of the Copa. But those would be negative or sceptical types that come out with stuff like that.

4.) Who is Going and Why

All ten teams from CONMEBOL and six teams from CONCACAF will participate in this summer's tournament. For the CONCACAF qualifiers, the United States qualified as hosts and Mexico qualified because... Errrr... They're a good team from a Spanish speaking country with a large population?

The other qualifiers were Costa Rica by virtue of winning the 2014 Copa Centroamericana, Jamaica as winners of the Winners of 2014 Caribbean Cup, and then Haiti and Panama who won playoff qualifiers against Trinidad and Tobago, and Panama respectively.

3.) Host Cities

The host cities include Chicago, Houston, Glendale, East Rutherford, Seattle, Foxborough, Santa Clara, Philadelphia, Passadena and Orlando. The final will be staged at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. A note for folks travelling to the final, if you're not an American citizen be sure to bring a passport with you if you're hoping to buy beer. The staff at the stadium can be absolute douchebags about what they will accept as proper identification needed to purchase alcohol, as I found out to my cost back in 2013. Thankfully like a shifty teen hanging outside a liquor store I was able to talk my friend Diane into buying booze for me during a very dull Chelsea vs Inter pre-season friendly. Thanks Diane!

2.) Music

The official songs of the tournament are "Somos Uno" by Puerto Rican singer Yandel, "Lighthouse" by Croatian singer Nina Kraljić and "In My City" by smoking hot Hindu-American actress and singer Priyanka Chopra. I haven't heard any of the songs yet, but I think that it's safe to assume that they're all utter garbage.

1.) You Won? So What!

Winners of the Copa América are typically granted automatic qualification for the FIFA Confederations Cup, but as the Copa América Centenario is purely a ceremonial tournament the winners will not receive an invite to the 2017 edition of that little World Cup dress rehearsal in Russia. Chile, as winners of the 2015 Copa América, have already clinched their spot at next years Confederations Cup.

Fan Spends 12 Days Outside Club's Stadium in Protest

2016-02-12T12:00:00.000-05:00

Walking out of the stadium 17 minutes before the completion of a match to protest ticket prices is one thing, but a fan of Mexican top tier club Dorados de Sinaloa has made Liverpool fans' recent protest look miniscule as he spent 12 days in a tent in front of his beloved club's stadium to protest recent poor results.

Sinaloa is not known as a powerhouse in Mexican football to begin with, but after finishing dead last in the league's opening championship (Apertura), the club began their Clausura campaign with five straight losses in their first five matches. Sitting with no points at the bottom of the table and facing relegation to Ascenso MX (the countries 2nd tier), a fan that calls himself the "Golden Boy" has decided to take matters into his own hands.

He himself does not seem to be sure as to how spending his days in front of the stadium in a tent will solve the club's performance issues, nonetheless, the die-hard supporter hopes that club officials will see his dedication and decide to change things around in a last ditch effort to keep the team in the first tier (which is at this point almost impossible by the way).

For your viewing pleasure I include an interview with "Golden Boy". Although the interview is in Spanish, the visual alone is pretty self explanatory.

TV Azteca Uses Trump Speach to Hype USA-Mexico Match (Video)

2015-09-10T12:00:00.001-04:00

Mexican television channel TV Azteca got creative with their advertisement for the upcoming USA versus Mexico football match on October 10th. Using American Presidential hopeful Donald Trump's speech, the advert mockingly hypes up the already existing rivalry.

We don't like to get political here at FootyFair, but this is some bad-ass shit talking!

Concepts: Redesigning FC Juárez

2015-07-28T12:00:00.000-04:00

Mexican graphic artist Jaime Espinoza has recently put together a concept proposal for second tier Mexican club Fútbol Club Juarez. Below is a reference to the current design used by the club, his own explanation of the project and of course the various design aspects as well.

Current Look

"Juárez Football Club, is better known as Juárez FC, or simply "Bravos", is a Mexican soccer team playing in the League of Ascent of Mexico. It is based at the border city of Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua. After the disaffiliation of 'Indios de Ciudad Juárez' in late 2011, Juárez F.C. was founded in 2015 as an initiative of a group of businessmen to give back to the city the sport of soccer league silver.

The main reason that I decided to structure a different graphic concept was due to serious identity problems were detected in actual image. Improper use of color, the deep cultural roots to ancestors teams like "Indios" or "Cobras", social unrest and excessive use of political symbols in the design, and especially the lack of a solid identity concept were some of the problems that they were detected in the company.

The proposed concept is not starting from scratch, since the main elements of the established identity are taken and implemented thoroughly and in detail. The new project, is itself a reinterpretation of the same symbols and elements taken to create a new design."

Panama's Footballers Voice Their Frustrations

2015-07-24T08:00:00.000-04:00

It should come as no surprise that a CONCACAF tournament at some point will have a few terrible calls that may or may not sway a match or two one way or another. After all, this region is exemplary to what bad refereeing is like on a national level.

Time and time again North and Central American and Caribbean refs have shown a lack of not only refereeing skill, but commonsense altogether and this time around Panama's national team was the one that felt it most.

I have watched American referee Mark Geiger many times call matches in the past; he is considered to be (at least by CONCACAF standards) a pretty decent rer. But even then, I've seen him make a variety of questionable calls both on the international and domestic levels. Calling the Panama versus Mexico showcased mister Geiger's incompetence yet again.

A questionable red card in the 24th minute and a penalty shot for the Mexicans to level the match up at 1-1 in the 88th minute had "controversy" written all over the match and the Panamanian players and staff couldn't hide their frustration, unlike many others who have been victims to brutal officiating in the CONCACAF region in the past.

The Panamanian footballers were photographed holding a sign that read "CONCACAF Ladrones, Corruptos, Corruptos, Corruptos", which translates to English as "CONCACAF Thieves, corrupt, corrupt, corrupt".

And Panamanian coach Hernan Dario Gomez was quoted going as far as to say that he wanted to retire from football when the call on the field was made in the 88th minute. (see the interview at ESPN: http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=intl:2533100)

But to make matters even more interesting, Mexican Andres Guardado who scored the penalty shot to tie the game at 1-1 said this post-match: "It was painful. Yes, for a minute, yes [I considered kicking it wide] but in the end, we are professionals and you think about the times you have been on the other side and the hearts of the other team's players aren't moved".

5 Finals, 5 Stories - USA vs Mexico Gold Cup Finals Illustrated (Gallery)

2015-07-10T12:00:00.000-04:00

Miguel Membreño is a freelance illustrator from San Salvador, El Salvador. He also has recently collaborated on a project for mlssoccer.com which depicts 5 ocassions when USA and Mexico have met in the CONCACAF Gold Cup Final match in tribute to the 2015 edition of the tournament which is under way right now.

Part of a five man team which also included Producers Mark McClure and Tom Youds, Copywriter Andrew Webe and Art Director Gabriel De Los Rios, the group has come up with five pieces of art that showcase these events in a spectacular way.

USA-Japan, a Record Breaking 7 Goal Thriller

2015-07-06T16:00:00.000-04:00

Yesterday's Women's World Cup final match between the United States of America and defending champions Japan at BC Place in Vancouver, Canada was not only the highest scoring Women's final in the history of the competition, but it also became just the third major senior international final (both men and women) in which 7 goals were scored.

It may seem strange that in no other tournament final but two a 4-3, 5-2, 6-1 or a 7-0 score was previously registered, but it's true.

Sweden 1958

The first major international final that had 7 goals scored between the two teams was the 1958 FIFA World Cup final played between Brazil and hosts Sweden at the now demolished Råsunda Stadium. The score was identical to that of yesterday's women's final; a 5-2 final win for Brazil.

Unlike USA and Japan however, the match on June 29, 1958 did not start favorably for the eventual winners Brazil. It was in fact the hosts that took charge of the match early after going 1-0 up in just the 4th minute. But the Brazilians would answer quickly and often, first tying the match up at 1-1 after 5 minutes and then scoring three more goals before the home side could muster their 2nd and only other goal of the finals.

Mexico 1999

The only other 7 goal final to date was that of the FIFA Confederation Cup Final in 1999 hosted by Mexico. After finishing a top of their respective groups, both the hosts Mexico and previous year's FIFA World Cup finalist Brazil came into the final at the legendary Estadio Azteca full of confidence. The hosts started strong, scoring twice before the 30 minute mark, with the Brazilians managing one before the half with Mexico leading 2-1 after 45 minutes. After the restart Brazil would tie the game up after just 2 minutes, but the Mexicans would score twice more before Brazil's third goal and would go on to win by a 4-3 final.

Highest scores in other tournament finals

No other major tournament final has been able to produce a final that featured more than 6 goals. The previous highest score at the Women's World Cup final was the four goal 2-2 final that led to a penalty shootouts between Japan and the United States last time around in Germany four years ago.

The men's World Cup featured a 6 goal final on three occasions, all ending in identical 4-2 scores. The first ever World Cup in Uruguay 1930 saw the hosts defeat Argentina by a 4-2 final. Eight years later in France, the Italians won against Hungary by the same score, and England's only World Cup title in 1966 was also won by a 4-2 final, although the match actually ended at 2-2 before Three Lions' Geoff Hurst managed to score twice in extra-time.

The oldest international tournament the Copa America has never produced a final with more than 4 total goals between the two contenders, although this is likely more due to the fact that between 1916 and 1967 the winning team was that which finished first overall, without a proper final being played.

In the CONCACAF gold cup the highest scoring final was that between Mexico and USA in 2009, although a "thriller" would probably not be a correct description for that particular 5-0 Mexico victory.

As with the South American tournament, the Euros' and Asian Cup's highest scoring finals also featured a maximum of 4 goals. A 1976 2-2 European final between Czechoslovakia and West Germany saw the Czechs win their first and only final after a 5-3 penalty kick triumph. The other was the most recent final in 2012 hosted in Ukraine, with Spain's thrashing of Italy by a 4-0 final score. As far as Asia goes, their tournament managed a 4 goal final just once, that in 2004 with Japan defeating hosts China by a 3-1 final.

The Africa Cup of Nations has produced a 6 goal thriller once, which was quite similar to England's World Cup winning final in 1966. Four years before England's triumph, Ethiopia and the United Arab Republic (today's Egypt) also drew their final match at 2-2, before the hosts (Ethiopia) would go on to score twice in the extra frame and win by a 4-2 final.

Last but not least, Oceania's largest victory margin in a tournament final was 6 goals on three occasions (kind of). The first and only clear cut 6 goal final came in 1980 when Australia defeated Tahiti by a 4-2 final score. The second and third were both victories in a finals format that featured a two-legged affair for the tournament final. In 1996 Australia defeated Tahiti by a 6-0 margin, eventually winning the final with an 11-0 aggregate score, and in 2004 it was the Socceroos once more this time defeating Solomon Islands by a 6-0 final in the second leg of the OFC Nations Cup final after having won the first 5-1.

NFL to Liga MX by Marcelo Landois (Gallery)

2015-02-01T16:00:00.000-05:00

It's Superbowl Sunday and what better way to celebrate one of the biggest sporting events in the world than with these awesome designs combining Mexican soccer league crests with those of every NFL team designed by Marcelo Landois from Monterrey, Mexico.

Ronaldinho Going AWOL and When Fake News Fails

2014-12-29T20:00:00.000-05:00

Every Friday on this very site we run a piece called 'FFN' which, SPOILERS, stands for 'Friday Fake News'. These FFN stories are of course false and typically have a humorous slant to them.

It's just a bit of harmless fun to end the week with, and we always close these pieces by stating that 'none of the above article is true.' However this hasn't stopped some of our readers from being fooled, if they've just read the headline and skimmed through the piece. We have, on occasion, received a "What the hell?" comment to a FFN story that we've posted.

The people we have tricked with one of our articles typically just laugh when they realize the story is bogus.

One Mexican newspaper, called Récord, took some major heat for a fake news piece they ran this week though. It involved the mercurial Brazilian forward Ronaldinho going AWOL on his club Queretaro.

The paper said that he had gone back to Brazil without the club's permission to celebrate New Years in style, but in a move to get him to come back Queretaro's directors were building him a luxury mansion.

Ronaldinho's imaginary dream home, that the paper printed plans for, featured an in-house casino, a cinema, an indoor five-a-side pitch, a pool, and a table dancing area.

As his clubs fans lost their minds, the editors of Récord were forced to admit that the story was false. The club was not building Ronaldinho a mansion and the buck tooth magician had reported into training as scheduled last Friday.

Throwback Thursdays: DC United and the 1998 CONCACAF Champions' Cup

2014-10-23T15:00:00.000-04:00

With the CONCACAF Champions League group stage drawing to a close this week, fans of the remaining MLS sides in the competition will be wondering if one of their clubs can finally break the nine year stranglehold that Mexican sides have on the trophy.
One of the MLS sides still in contention is none other than DC United, who have a special place in the history of this competition.

When the MLS began play in 1996, it was the first major professional soccer league in North America since the end of the storied NASL in 1984. With the United States hosting the World Cup in 1994 one of the requirements set out by FIFA, when the Americans successfully won the right to host the tournament, was the formation of professional domestic league and the MLS was the result.

The first few seasons of MLS play were dominated by Bruce Arena's DC United. A side containing top domestic players such as Jeff Agoos, Roy Lassiter and John Harkes, to go along with international stars Marco Etcheverry, Raúl Díaz Arce and Jaime Moreno, played some terrific attacking football and remarkably swept to the first domestic double in American soccer since 1932.

In a thrilling MLS Cup Final, Arena's side recovered from a 2-0 deficit to the LA Galaxy to storm back with a 3-2 extra time victory. The double was completed with a 3-0 win over Rochester in the US Open Cup Final.

After repeating as MLS Cup Winners in 1997, the club surprised North American soccer fans by reaching the final of the then named CONCACAF Champions' Cup in 1998.

The CONCACAF showpiece event that year was a much different tournament to the one we have now. Rather than a season long affair that features home and away matches right across North and Central America, and the Caribbean, the cup was awarded to the winner of an eight team straight knockout tournament, hosted in one city, that followed a round of qualifying for some of the sides.

As the tournament host, and reigning MLS Cup winners, DC United did not have to qualify for the Champions' Cup and went straight into the Quarterfinal round.

After a dispatching Trinidad's Joe Public by a score of 8-0, with Lassiter finding the net four times, DC found themselves up against a strong Mexican side in Club León in the Semi Final.

Unbowed, Lassiter again was the hero as his two goals sent DC United through to the final.

In their way stood another Mexican side in Deportivo Toluca F.C., one of the most successful sides in Liga MX history.

Although they were playing at home in Washington's RFK Stadium, DC United were certainly underdogs heading into the final. Coming from a league that was only two years old and with the knowledge that no American club had ever won this competition, history was not on their side.

Against the odds, long time USMNT defender Eddie Pope put DC ahead in the 41st minute and despite Toluca's best efforts, they would hold on to win the cup.

Despite this remarkable achievement, the significance of the final was lost on a lot of the Washington DC area fans as only 12,607 people attended the final. Those that were there though witnessed a historic moment for US Soccer.

Incredibly, the LA Galaxy would win the CONCACAF Champions' Cup themselves two years later, with an exciting 3-2 win over Honduran side Club Deportivo Olimpia, but since 2000 no MLS side has been able to get their hands back on the cup.

Of the last thirteen Champions League tournaments, an incredible eleven have been won by sides from Mexico. Will this be the year that an MLS side returns to the summit or will Liga MX's dominance continue?

Watch this space.

1994 Mexico National Team Caricatures by Mike Estrada (Gallery)

2014-10-20T09:00:00.000-04:00

Mike Estrada has created a collection of caricatures of the 1994 Mexico national team.

This is a great collection of illustrations from this incredibly talented artist.

Liga MX Concept Kits by Nerea Palacios (Gallery)

2014-10-13T09:00:00.000-04:00

Nerea Palacios continues to create incredible concept kits with Nike as her inspiration.

This time she has chosen to work on kits from clubs playing in the Mexican league. These are some of her newest designs.

Ronaldinho Takes Head Shots at His Friends

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

Ronaldinho has always been a free spirit and known for his outgoing personality. That has not changed now that he has move to Mexico to play in the Mexican league.

His quality has not diminished with time and his ability to enjoy himself during his time off has only increased.

The latest video to be posted on Youtube has Ronaldinho with friends at his house enjoying the day. What better way to enjoy yourself but to get a game going and use your friend’s heads as a target.

It is very clear in the video that his ability to put the ball exactly where he wants it hasn't changed at all.

Kits: You Get What You Pay For

2014-09-26T21:00:00.000-04:00

What's there not to like about a brand new football kit hanging in your closet?

At around $90US a pop, kits of most of the major sides around the world certainly aren't cheap, but my god do they look gorgeous when you get them home.

I have a friend that is like the Imelda Marcos of football kit collectors. You can't move in his apartment without tripping over a box full of J-League Division 2 third jerseys and I can't help but be a little envious.

Of course when you wear your 2007/2008 kit to work on Dress Down Fridays, your casual soccer following co-workers won't know that your kit falls in that dreaded zone between being a cool retro number, and being a dated shirt that is thread bare and that you desperately need to upgrade. But you'll know though, and it'll burn at your soul.

Most clubs used to have a kit for two seasons before changing them, but in the new mega dollars world of football the greedy bastards change kits every season and damn if we aren't peer pressured into upgrading.

I thought I had found a solution two years back when one of my co-writers on this very site came across a Chinese website that was selling football kits at markdown prices.

"If you can't trust a Chinese Counterfeiting Syndicate to create jerseys properly, who can you trust?" I thought to myself.

The first one I ordered was a black Borussia Dortmund away kit. Now before you scream, "fucking hipster" at me, I ordered this particular number because all of my kits are either red or white and I needed a black kit for a big kick about that a buddy of mine hosts in Drayton, Ontario every September. The Dortmund kit just happened to be the coolest looking black kit on this slightly shady website.

So the kit arrived and it was the absolute bees knees. It looked, felt, and smelled legit. Even the shorts that came with it, a striking yellow, were terrific. The kit held together well and I still wear it to this day.

The other kit I ordered around the same time was a Euro 2012 blue England kit with Rooney on it, and that's when things took a turn for the worse. The Euro patches on it were obviously low grade knockoffs and after two washes the goddamn name and numbers peeled off the back. For $22 though, I guess this is to be expected.

The next time I placed an order it was for a 2013/2014 Manchester United kit with no badges or number, because I figured if I kept it basic they wouldn't mess it up. Sadly, I overestimated their quality control system as my $23 jersey ended up with shitty knock off EPL badges sewn into it and the AON sponsors logo started peeling off after two washes. It was like a metaphor for United's dreadful season under Moyes.

You really get what you pay for with jerseys though, about ten years ago I was in Mexico and I bought my brother one of those epic, Aztec inspired Mexico jerseys for $15US at a market and would you believe it, after one wash the bloody arms fell off.

People take no pride in their work these days.

Mexican Club Refunds Fans After Loss

2014-09-25T06:00:00.000-04:00

In a world where money and greed seem to be the driving forces, a second division Mexican club decided to refund their fans after losing another match this past weekend.

The Mexican club Irapuato from the second division lost at home 1-0 against the Correcaminos, leaving them two places from the bottom of the Liga de Ascenso.

Leading up to the match they had advertised that if 8,000 fans attended the game and they lost that they would refund the cost of the tickets. This was a marketing strategy aimed at boosting their attendance numbers which has been in declined due to the poor results. The attendance didn’t reach the 8,000 mark, only 2,467 people attended the game, but the club decided to honor the promise and will be refunding the cost of the tickets to those that were at the game.

A nice gesture from a club that perhaps needs that money almost as much as they need wins. Something that is not very common in football but I am sure it will be well received by the fans.

Living in Toronto, I can only imagine how much money Toronto FC would lose if they offered refunds after losses. Never mind losses, if they offered refunds only after embarrassing losses it would still be enough money to put a huge dent in their operating budgets. Knowing their track record for the last 7 years they are wise not to adopt this marketing strategy.

Many clubs from around the world are probably in that same boat, with miserable season after miserable season, and on top of that some embarrassing losses against smaller opposition or even hated rivals, offering a full refund would perhaps bankrupt the clubs, but it would be the ultimate putting your money where your mouth is.

I would like to see more clubs and ownership's taking this approach, even if only the odd time.

Twitter Announcement of the Refund

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

Mexican Politician Calls Ronaldinho a Monkey

2014-09-16T15:00:00.000-04:00

Carlos Manuel Treviño Núñez a local politician in Querétaro, Mexican city to which Ronaldinho has moved to, so he can represent the local football club, took to social media to voice his rage and called Ronaldinho a monkey in the process.

“I am trying to be tolerant, but I hate football, and the stupidity that causes in people. I hate it even more because people pack the streets and cause me to be 2 hours late on my way home. All of this to go see a monkey. Brazilian, but nevertheless a monkey. This is a ridiculous circus.” wrote the local politician on social media.

This is another perfect example of how having no filter in your brain and easy access to social media could be a dangerous thing for some people. Before the days of social media, these were only thoughts in the mind of an incredible ignorant person, which don’t make them any better, but at least it was kept inside his insane brain. Now with Facebook, Twitter and other social media outlets we have open the doors of the asylum and let all of the crazies out. This being the latest one, saying things that should be an embarrassment to him and the city he represents.

I just hope the local people of Querétaro, and more specifically those that he calls out in his rant have a long memory and remember this the next time he runs for public office. This sort of verbal/written blunder should not be forgotten by those people he insulted, never mind the fact he called Ronaldinho a monkey. So not only he shows that he cares about nobody other than himself and that he is also racist.

The fact that politicians care only about themselves shouldn’t be a surprise to anybody, but coming out and referring to Ronaldinho as a monkey is racism in its most natural form. Unfortunately this sort of behavior won’t be stopping anytime soon and comments like these will continue to plague the game we all love and enjoy.

You can have all the campaigns you want to stop racism, but it is as futile as having a campaign to stop stupidity.

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

Puebla - Training in Wolf Masks

2014-09-12T15:01:00.000-04:00

If you want your side to play with ferocity and swarm like a pack of wolves when trying to win the ball back, then why not train wearing wolf masks?

Before you put a call in to the men with white coats to drag me off to a mental health facility, this is exactly what happened at Pueblo FC this week as their mad genius of a manager Jose Luis Sanchez Sola, better known as Chelís, had his players don masks for training.

What rational reason would Chelis have for getting his side to do this you might ask?
Well, the former Chivas USA coach has encouraged his players to win the ball back in 8 seconds or less and has previously said that he expects his team to fight for everything. So perhaps he wants them to display the tenacity of a pack of wild dogs and tear into the opposition.

There is also the small matter of the club taking on Queretaro FC today, who include the legendary Brazilian Ronaldinho among their ranks. The former Barcelona star is known for his protruding chompers almost as much as he's known for his legendary dribbling, so Chelis could have been preparing his side for what it'll look like when someone with a big teethy grin is bearing down on them.

Perhaps he'll have half of his side dress up like Dracula if they're ever set to face a side with Luis Suarez in their ranks?

Speaking to the Mexican press, Chelis himself said that he had his Puebla FC players wear wolf masks as he wants "11 triumph hungry animals on the pitch".

"It's something that will perfectly communicate the idea, that we have to recover the ball like dogs." said the coach.
In the meantime, take a look at this video from the 1:47 mark for a look at Puebla's bizarre training session.

HOPDAYS: Dos Equis, the Jorge Campos!

2014-08-20T12:00:00.000-04:00

I don't always think of Mexican footballers, but when I do I think of Jorge Campos.

Perhaps neither the beer nor the player were ever among the best in their field on a global scale, but both Dos Equis (XX) and Jorge Campos are a two notable products of Mexico.

The beer comes in two varieties, the "Ambar" (amber) and the Lager, and Campos was infamous for being able to play two very different positions on the field. In some matches the small 5'6" goalkeepers would be substituted to play up front in the striker roll and has recorded 34 goals in his club career.

The Dos Equis brand has become popular worldwide after the launch of its "Most interesting man in the world campaign", featuring a narrator that describes a well-groomed "interesting" man with intriguing fact about him, such as: "His tears can cure cancer, too bad he never cries", "He is allowed to talk about the fight club" and "Once he ran a marathon because it was on the way", among many others.

Jorge Campos, just like "the most interesting man in the world" is also quite the character. Throughout his career Campos insisted on designing his own goalkeeper jerseys that he would then wear during matches. He was also noticeably very short to be a goalkeeper, but what he lacked in height he compensated in his incredible leaps. Perhaps his XX quote would be, "He made himself stop growing, so he could show off his jumping skills".

When it comes down to quality however, neither are world class. While interesting and intriguing, both Dos Equis and Jorge Campos were never leaders in the world of beer and football but are famous worldwide for their style and uniqueness. The beer is quite weak for the palette of a brew enthusiast, perhaps there are some citrus and grain qualities but although a bit better than some other Mexican beers such as Corona and Sol, Dos Equis presents very little in terms of challenging even the "mediocre" quality beverages from around the World. Campos was also just "OK", and although versatile and with a couple of good seasons to his name in the Mexican first tier, "El Brody" as he is known to some has never really caught the eye of clubs outside of the Americas.

Campos was enjoyable to watch when he was on the pitch, and a bottle of Dos Equis could potentially be quite refreshing as well if you're in Mexico...and it's 35 degrees Celsius outside...and the place you stopped at doesn't serve any imported beer.

10 Fat Footballers

2014-07-18T18:00:00.000-04:00

So, as if Newcastle United didn't have enough issues to deal with on and off the pitch, the club has now fined French winger Hatem Ben-Arfa for showing up after holidays looking a bit overweight. But being fat, while not at all the norm in football has been around for many years as the list below will prove.

Sol Campbell

A great footballer earlier in his career, Sol Campbell was never a small guy. But by the time he hit the pitch with Newcastle United in 2010 in what was his last year as a professional footballer, Campbell had gained a few pounds and had lost quite a bit of speed. He played for the Magpies just seven times that season before retiring from football.

Ailton

Aílton Gonçalves da Silva, a big boy with a big name. Ailton as he is known to most was pretty much always on the chubby side. But the Brazilian striker does not let his weight get the better of him, and at 40 years of age still plays professional for BFV Hassia Bingen, a club in the German 5th tier.

Andy Reid

Currently with Nottingham Forrest, this Irish midfielder unlike most others on this list startd gaining weight early in his career. Pictured below in a Sunderland shirt, Reid spent time with the Black Cats when he was just 26-29 years old.

Collin Samuel

This Trinidad & Tobago striker for whatever reason has spent most of his career in Scotland. He did spend a little time in Canada with Toronto FC at which time I personally heard the home crowd sing "who ate all the pies?" at the big man. After two seasons at TFC Samuel went back to Scotland.

Mido

The Egyptian trouble maker was more than just a coach's headache because of his poor attitude. Mido started gaining weight in a very early "footballing age". Whether because he was fat, or maybe just because his magnificent football skills had just seemed to turn-off one day, he retired from football in 2013 at just 30 years old.

Miguel Herrera

Herrera was the face of the 2014 World Cup for a little while after the Mexican coach's celebrations, face expressions and yelling videos went viral over the internet. Sure he is pretty fat right now, but he wasn't very skinny when he played in the Mexican league and internationally for his country as well.

Neville Southall

The Welsh goalkeeper wasn't always as big as the photo below would suggest. He was a big guy in his 17 years with Everton, but not fat. In his later footballing years however Southalll gained the pounds quick.

Ronaldo

Probably the most famous fat footballer is Brazilian legend Ronaldo. After surpassing the all time scoring record in the World Cup, Ronaldo gained what seemed to be a pound per minute. Maybe now that Miroslav Klose had passed Ronaldo's scoring tally, the Brazilian can go on a diet and come out of international retirement.

Salvador Cabanas

The Paraguayan footballer had his days on and off the weight throughout his career. Some years he looked quite skinny while on other occasions he seemed more likely to be a boxer than a striker in the Mexican league.

Winston Bogarde

Dutch international defender Bogarde was pretty much always on the bigger side. But at one point while playing for Ajax in his native Netherlands he really gained the pounds. He did seem to manage to shed the weight with his later clubs AC Milan, Barcelona and Chelsea.

Throwback Thursdays – Brazil vs Italy, 20 Year Anniversary of the 1994 World Cup Final

2014-07-17T15:00:00.000-04:00

It was exactly 20 years ago to the day, when two international powerhouses Brazil and Italy took to the pitch in Pasadena, California, to battle out a World Cup final meeting that would crown the first ever nation to win four World Cup titles. Germany, who had also won this title on three previous occasions was eliminated by a surprising Bulgaria side in the quarter-finals.

The Road to the Final

Brazil’s road to the final ran quite smoothly, with group wins against Russia and Cameroon, along with a 1-1 draw against the Swedes, the South American qualified to the round of 16 as group winners. Italy on the other hand were on the brink of elimination during the group stages. After a shock 1-0 loss to Ireland, the Azzurri were barely able to defeat Norway 1-0, and drew their final group match against Mexico 1-1. With all four teams in Italy’s group tied on identical 4 points, the Italians finished third in their group, but managed to scrape through into the round of 16 as the fourth best 3rd placed team in the group stages. The 1994 World Cup format allowed for four of six best 3rd placed teams in the group stages to qualify to the round of 16. This meant that the Italians were practically the last and worst team to have qualified through.

In the round of 16 the Brazilians met with a resilient USA side, but after a tough fought match were able to move on with a 1-0 win. The Italians needed extra-time against Nigeria after the match score after 90 minutes was 1-1. Star striker Roberto Baggio converted from the spot in the 102nd minute to put his team through with a 2-1 final score victory.

In the quarter-finals the Azzurri had to rely on the Baggio name yet again when they met Spain. Dino Baggio opened the score for the Italians, and after the Spanish were able to tie things up, it was Roberto Baggio who came to the rescue again with his goal just two minutes from full-time. The Brazilians played a tough Dutch side. After going 2-0 up, Brazil saw their lead erased by two Dutch goals in a span of 12 minutes. But Gremio left-back Branco would score with less than 10 minutes on the clock to put Brazil through to the semis.

In the semi-finals Brazil would meet Sweden, the only team they were not able to beat in this tournament after their 1-1 draw in the group stages. With both teams struggling to score for a long time, Brazilian star forward Romario scored in the 80th minute to secure the 1-0 win and a passage to the World Cup final match. For Italy it was Roberto Baggio again, scoring both of Italy’s goals against the Bulgarians to secure his team’s progress to the final via a 2-1 win.

The Final

It was July 17, 1994 and a beautiful summer day in California. The Rose Bowl stadium, which was (and still is) home to the UCLA (University of California Los Angeles) American football team, saw over 91,000 people in attendance. A colorful choreographed display on the pitch greeted fans and players on a day that will crown a fourth time World Cup champion regardless of the outcome.

The match itself went on almost as expected, with the Brazilians using their South American flare to attack the Italian defense, while the Azzurri known for their defensive expertise, were knocking anything that came remotely close to their goalkeeper’s zone away. Brazil did have some scoring chances with Romario and Bebeto missing the goal from close range on a couple of occasions. But with the Brazilians unable to penetrate their opposition’s defense for the most part and the Italians not showcasing any kind of real threat with their offense, the match ended with a 0-0 draw at full-time.

In the additional half of an hour of play the strategy and gameplay was much the same as the first 90 minutes. The Brazilians, while great on the ball and on the break through the middle and flanks, were unable to pierce the Italian defense as the Europeans were standing their ground, challenging almost every Brazilian attack head on. As the Hungarian referee blew his final whistle, this match had become the first scoreless World Cup final and the first final to go to a penalty shootout in the history of the tournament.

Tension was building as the two sides prepared to take their shots from the spot. The non-kicking players along with the coaches stood with their hands on each other’s shoulders, some praying, some unable to watch the action at all, as it became apparent that any mistake at this stage could cost their side the most coveted trophy in the world of football.

The Penalty Kicks

Italy would shoot first. It was Italian captain Franco Baresi against Brazilian goalkeeper Claudio Taffarel. The Brazilian keeper guessed wrong going to his left, while Baresi’s shot sailing high over the bar, almost directly over the middle of the goal. Baresi fell to his knees, covering his face with the palm of his hands in disbelief.

In the same fashion a center-back took the first shot for the Italians, Brazilian Márcio Santos would be Brazil’s first penalty kicker. Santos facing Italian keeper Gianluca Pagliuca could not outwit the net-minder as the Italian guessed correctly to his right, to save the Brazilian’s shot and lift the spirit of his captain Baresi, whom he was consoling just moments earlier.

Next up for Italy was Demetrio Albertini. Making no mistake, the Italian midfielder slotted the ball high to Taffarel’s right, with the keeper going the other way. Brazil’s second shot was taken by none other than star-man Romario. The Brazilian shooting to his left managed to clip the inside of the post as it went into the goal. Pagliuca held his head as he realized that the Brazilian was inches from a miss.

The next two shooters would also score. For Italy it was 95th minute substitute Alberigo Evani who shot the ball hard into the middle of the net, past the goalkeeper who was leaping to his right. For Brazil it was full-back Branco, making the Italian keeper guess the wrong side while slotting a flat on the ground shot into the goal.

Italy’s fourth shot was taken by the first of the starting lineup’s two strikers, Daniele Massaro. Massaro’s shot to Taffarel’s left side was greeted by the goalkeeper’s palms as he guessed correctly, saving the penalty shot, pointing to the sky to thank a higher power.

To take an advantage they were unable to after Santos’s miss, the Brazilian captain was called upon to take their fourth shot. Dunga made no mistake, putting the ball into Pagliuca’s left corner as the keeper again went to his right.

3-2 advantage for the Brazilians after four shots apiece.

Italian’s last hope of staying in this match was Roberto Baggio, who almost single-handedly got Italy to the final match after his scoring heroics in the knockout stages. Baggio’s assignment was clear; score, and the pressure would go on the next Brazilian kicker to win the World Cup. Miss, and the Brazilians will be celebrating their fourth World Cup title right away.

Most football fans know exactly what happened next. Twenty years on and Italians all over the world still cringe when the name Roberto Baggio is mentioned. An Italian star and hero, who was instrumental to the Italian national team in the 90’s, would forever be remmberd most for what transpired in the next few seconds.

With the referee to his left and Brazilian keeper taffarel staring him down, Baggio prepared himself for the shot, standing outside of the penalty area, looking at the ball he was about to kick. After a few small steps, Baggio hit the ball, watching it sail above the crossbar. As the Brazilian players and coaching staff stormed the pitch, celebrating their fourth World Cup title, Baggio stood with his hands on his waist, staring at the goal in disbelief.

Brazilian captain Dunga ceremonially lifted the World Cup trophy, passing it on to his teammates. Brazil were World Cup champions again, and again at the expense of the Italians whom they defeated previously in the final match of the 1970 World Cup.

2014 World Cup: Best Memes (Gallery)

2014-07-15T06:00:00.000-04:00

Here are some of the best memes of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.