The oldest international rugby venue in the world, Lansdowne Road, and its brand new 51,700 all-seater Aviva Stadium opened its doors to the world on Saturday 31 July 2010. Here is my virtual tour as I sat in awe of this wonderful new stadium. Continue reading ‘A Virtual Tour of the Newest Stadium in the Oldest Venue’
Archive for the 'Football' Category
He missed 3 penalties playing for Argentina against Colombia. He scored a goal in the next game. He broke his leg while celebrating a goal for Villa Real. He scored a goal from inside his own half. His injuries kept him out of football twice for 6 month periods. His 200th goal for Boca Juniors was a 40 yard header which won the game. He scored the last minute winner to put Argentina into the 2010 World Cup. Though he’s only a sub, this 36 year old came last night and scored. His name, Martin Palermo. Never give up what you really believe in, particularly if you believe in your own ability.
Continue reading ‘He missed 3 penalties in one match but never gave up.’
(Continued from Part 1 where a wonderful BBC World Cup short documentary revealed why football is so important in South Africa). As the Robben Island prisoners’ football league, the Makana Football Association, blossomed, the imprisoned players realised how important football was to them (for reasons that will surprise you).
Continue reading ‘We knew we were part of the universe of footballers (Part 2)’
The World Cup is up and running. Teams are swapping shirts, shaking hands and some nice celebrations (so far the South African’s opening goal celebration is top of the ‘joyous goal scoring celebrations chart’). So far so good. Just a few divers who were publicly shamed in front of worldwide tv audiences as the referees gave them their nice shiney yellow cards. Germany’s Mesut Ozil getting the first yellow card for diving in the opening minutes (8th minute) of their opening game with Australia.
Continue reading ‘We knew we were part of the universe of footballers (part 1)’
As hundreds of millions of us sit down to a feast of football, who will stand out as a real champion of football? Who will light up the World Cup with a smile (remember Pele’s smile) instead of a raging roar of aggression? Or maybe a dance (Peter Crouch’s Robot Dance or the 42 year old Cameroonian Roger Milla’s samba with the corner flag)? Or perhaps the unbridled joy of youth will let Nigeria’s 19 year old revelation, Haruna Lukman, simply celebrate the fun, excitement and joy of playing in the world’s best competition?
Continue reading ‘Where Are The World Cup Sportsmanship Heroes?’
Frenchman and Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger, says “France should offer a replay – which I support personally. We want to beat Ireland properly.” French captain Thierry Henry says a replay of the World Cup play-off with the Republic of Ireland would “be the fairest solution”. France’s former superstar, David Ginola, said “there is no pride in this win”.
Continue reading ’3 Wise Frenchmen Ask for Replay’
I came across this lovely article by Ethan Armstrong about swapping shirts after an intense battle. He was amazed by the ritual and thought it so special that he wrote about in on his blog.
Continue reading ‘Suspending Animosity: The Football Shirt Swap’
I was personally thrilled to see the Lions win the third and final test match with the Springboks. And mathematically ………..
Continue reading ‘Lions Tour Ends Honourably’
I had a great chat with Eamonn Holmes and was delighted to hear his story about how the Real Madrid fans gave Liverpool’s Steve Gerard a standing ovation as he left the field.
Continue reading ‘Real Madrid Magic BBC 5 Live Interview…’
I mentioned during my BBC Nottingham interview, that local hero Brian Clough and arguably, the most successful football manager in Europe, never allowed any of his players to challenge the referee’s decisions.
Continue reading ‘Brian Clough sportsman BBC Nottingham interview…’
