Paris, Saint Denis, Marseille, Lyon, … All of these cities will welcome EURO confrontations between the most famous football teams.

France has been selected to host UEFA EURO 2016, the first UEFA European Football Championship final round to feature 24 teams.

It’s a good thing for us, I think this event will create some jobs and allow to watchs beautifuls matches in French stadiums, renovated for the European Football Championship. And I hope that we will relive joy as 1998, after the win of France against Brazil in the FIFA World Cup final.

France has previously hosted the FIFA World Cup in 1938 and 1998, winning the latter competition, having also triumphed on home soil at EURO ’84.

To conclude, this article is the last post which I publish, so I would like to thank you for reading and comments on my posts. In a few weeks, I hope that I will get engineer diploma. English blog is an innovative way to evaluate students.

See you soon (maybe on another blog).

Magic, amazing, fabulous, alien/extraterrestrial, ….

All of this word are using by press to describe the recent performance of Leo Messi, probably the best player this year. His team mates, Xavi Hernández, Víctor Valdés and Daniel Alves use words like “magnificent”, “superb” and “brilliant”.

Some journalists say that Messi is the best player ever in the world. Messi is still just 22 years old but such have been the manner of his goals and performances with FC Barcelona over the last two years that he is now seen as the heir of Pele, Maradona, Cruyff, …

Last month, Messi showed us that he is a great and complete player :

– Three goals against Saragosse (Liga, Spanish Championship)

– Four sublime goals, including a fabulous first-half hat-trick against Arsenal (Champion’s League)

– First goal during the “Clasico” against FC Real Madrid (Liga, Spanish Championship)

This year, he played 29 matches and he have hit … 27 goals in all competitions. Amazing !

Which player can stop he ? I think he doesn’t exist for the moment.

See you soon.

Lyon scuppered Real Madrid CF’s dream of reaching the UEFA Champions League final at their Santiago Bernabéu home. Wednesday, an only goal took Olympique Lyonnais into the quarter-finals at the expense of the nine-time European champions.

It’s the sixth time in succession that Real Madrid was eliminate in round of 16. It’s probably the most important achievement for Lyon in Europa cup.

I’m talking about this match because I’m very proud of the qualification of a french team against the world famous football club in the world, but also because some players and spanish press was soo confident before this match.

For example, Sergio Ramos said that “We will win 3-0”, and Cristiano Ronaldo added “Here, the Real is the boss”. The spanish press wrote that “Lyon will know hell at Bernabéu”. And we saw the result Wednesday night.

After the elimitation, Iker Casillas, Real Madrid and Sapin team goalkeeper, asked forgiveness.

I think this match shows that we mustn’t be soo uppity in sport and in life. It turns against us !

See you soon.

This week, UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying draw toke place in Warsaw (“Varsovie” in French, the capital of Poland).

This event will be organize by Ukraine and Poland in 2012. Spain, the actual European Champion, throw in his title with 16 opponents.

After a difficult campaign for the World Cup, French Team know this qualifying group now. And we can tell that they are very lucky.

To go in Poland and Ukraine, France must win against Romania, Bosnia, Belarus, Albania and Luxembourg.

Bosnia is probably the best team with France in this group. Bosnia have lost his ticket for South Africa after two defeats against Portugal in play-off.

Group D

France

Romania

Bosnia-Herzegovina

Belarus

Albania

Luxembourg

Brazil

Most of people would like to know which team will be the winner of the World Cup.

Today, I begin to introduce two teams which are the favorites for this event : Brazil and Spain.

Spain and Brazil are respectively first and second in the FIFA Men’s ranking, published in December 2009.

An impressive statistic to begin : Brazil has take part in all World Cup Finals. And they won 5 World Cup (a record).

They finished the qualification round at the first place in South America.

Spain

Spain has won all qualifying matches (10 matches, 10 successes) for the World Cup.

Recently, Spain became the European Champion, after the victory against Germany in 2008.

Spain has never won the World Cup. Now or never ?

And you, what is your favorite team ?

See you soon.

I know that Michel Platini, the UEFA president and, is disagree with videos in football. The Board, who guarantee football rules in competition, have the same opinion.

They want to experiment matches with 5 referees. Currently, there is 3 referees and they would like add two referees, behind each goal line. They think that these referees can see all events in the penalty area (injury, fault, handball, …).

Europa League apply this method to test this solution this year. If the solution have to resolve the injustice in-game, the 5-referees solution will be apply for all football matches.

In my opinion, 5-referees isn’t be enough, referees could be use videos to help us to fill the good decision. The Board must introduce videos, like in rugby. Of course, videos can’t fix all bad decision of referees, but the most of them, so we can avoid controversy, as the latest France-Ireland qualification match.

The following of this post is coming soon.

Maybe the most awesome goal of the year !

During the confrontation between Stoke City and Wigan (Premier League, England), Maynor Figueroa, a Honduran player of Wigan, score with a 60-yard wonder-strike.

Must see !

UPDATE : A new link to see this goal : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVd__hZfOQo

Figueroa’s stunning strike on Saturday was only his second goal in English football. But the second is just fantastic and some clubs, as Sunderland and Stoke City (Premier League, England), want to buy him next summer.

And you : What is your favorite goal of this year ? This one or another ? Express your opinion with comments.

See you soon.

Fifa has refused the Football Association of Ireland’s request for a replay of France’s World Cup play-off win over the Republic of Ireland.

French team will be officially present in South Africa. I am a French supporter but I understand Irish people reactions. At the end of the match, I’m not proud of the way we are qualified for the World Cup. For the Irish team and all Irish people, it’s a heartbreaking decision. Indeed, Irish team have to qualify for the World Cup, they deserve tickets for South Africa. They outclass french team on the overall play-off.

I think that all people have seen this sequence :

But I don’t think that Thierry Henry deserve all reactions we can read or listen.  In my opinion, he is an honest player, even if the second handball is intentional. But he shouldn’t have celebrate the French team’s goal. He is a great player and he never cheated before this event.

Hi !

Football is one of my favorite hobbies. I like play with my friend (not in a club i’m soo bad), even if I seldom kick a goal. Recently, I play less but I will try to play more after having my degree.

I often go to the stadium (the last one is France – Austria), especially in Paris, and I already went at Le Mans and Auxerre to see matches. I appreciate atmosphere we are found in a stadium, despite the wildness of some of “fans”.

I have memories of a match. One day, I was in the Stade de France for the contest of the Confederation Cup between Brazil and Cameroon. The atmosphere was very impressive and it was a great moment. This match was also one of the last of Marc Vivien Foé, a great Cameroon player, who dead on the field because of a hypertrophic cardiomyopathy a few day later.

I decide to devote this blog to football, but I probably write articles about something else, like IT.

See you soon.

Welcome back on my blog.

Football is one of my favorite hobbies. And the world cup is the most important sport event, with Olympic Games.

Today, I am going to talk about FIFA World Cup European qualifiers.

Wednesday, France will play against Ireland to stamp one of the last four tickets for South Africa. France gave themselves an excellent chance of prevailing in their tie with a 1-0 success in Dublin. To qualify for the world cup, France haven’t to win this match but they mustn’t loose.

Last month, I tried to buy some tickets for this match in Stade de France.  But this sale is an impressive success,  so tickets has been sold in few minutes. What a shame, I will invite my friend to see the match in front of my television. The atmosphere will be different 🙂

Citation
“It’s not finished yet. We’re capable of scoring in France as well. I’ve spent my life in football and I’ve seen a lot of situations get turned around.”

Giovanni Trapattoni, Republic of Ireland coach

“Allez les Bleus” … Hum … Let’s go France 😉

See you soon.