UEFA Champions League Draw - Last 16 in CL soccer

                

 

Quartet complete knockout cast list. The draw for the UEFA Champions League first knockout round will take place on Friday 15 December from 12.00CET after Manchester United FC, Arsenal FC, FC Porto and LOSC Lille M?tropole sealed the final four spots in the last 16 on Wednesday night. Fascinating ties Eight group winners and eight runners-up are divided into 2 groups.

But you already can bet on the WINNER of the Champions League, click here.

Ecobika soccer tips explain what is going on, what are the possible pairs in the Champions League knockout phase?

2006/07 UEFA Champions League. Round of 16 - to be played 20/21 February and 6/7 March

Group winners
A Chelsea FC (ENG)
B FC Bayern M?nchen (GER)
C Liverpool FC (ENG)
D Valencia CF (ESP)
E Olympique Lyonnais (FRA)
F Manchester United (ENG)
G Arsenal FC (ENG)
H AC Milan (ITA)

Group runners-up

A FC Barcelona (ESP)
B FC Internazionale Milano (ITA)
C PSV Eindhoven (NED)
D AS Roma (ITA)
E Real Madrid CF (ESP)
F Celtic FC (SCO)
G FC Porto (POR)
H LOSC Lille M?tropole (FRA)

But look at this draw conditions:

The draw respects the following principles: * Clubs from the same association must not be drawn against each other. * The winners and runners-up of the same group must not be drawn against each other. * Group winners must not be drawn against each other. * Group runners-up must not be drawn against each other. * All group runners-up will play their first-leg matches at home.

So can not play against each other the same nations, the same groupstage participiants. 1st in the groups against the 2nd teams in the groups. Home court advantage at group winners, the rematch will take place at their stadiums.

But not possible pairs:
- Valencia vs. Real Madrid, not possible.
- Valencia vs. barcelona not possible
- Lyon vs. Lille not possible
- Chelsea vs. Barcelona not possible
- Lyon vs. Real Madrid not possible
- Bayern vs. Inter not possible
- Liverpool vs. PSV. not possible
- Valencia vs. Roma not possible
- MU vs. Celtic not possible
- Arsenal vs. Porto not possible
- Milan vs. Lille not possible

Possible mathups:
- Chelsea can get any from the opponent from runners-up, except Barcelona
- Bayern can get any from the opponent from runners-up, except Inter
- Liverpool can get any from the opponent from runners-up, except PSV
- Valencia can get any from the opponent from runners-up, except Roma
- Lyon can get any from the opponent from runners-up, except Real Madrid
- MU can get any from the opponent from runners-up, except Celtic
- Arsenal can get any from the opponent from runners-up, except Porto
- Milan can get any from the opponent from runners-up, except Lille

Conclusion: very-very interesting...because only the obvious already group stage opponents can not meet each other...plus the same countries are respected, PLUS CHELSEA VS BARCELONA NOT POSSIBLE...

You can bet the possible draw, opponents, country of winner, you can see the lines and the odds: click here

Quartet complete knockout cast list. The draw for the UEFA Champions League first knockout round

Quiet Please - Soccer Game in Progress

                

 

Icy temperatures far below normal. Gale force winds. Stinging sheets of horizontal rain. Cascading rivers of mud.

This abnormal change in our weather patterns can only mean one thing. Somebody somewhere has scheduled a children?s soccer game.

My daughter had two games this weekend. Like every game before them -- it rained. Temperatures never got above 46 degrees unless you were lucky enough to spill coffee in your lap. I saw two four-year old girls selling shots of sambucca out of the back of their parent?s Suburban.

In spite of the inclement weather parents were there in force. This was an end of the season tournament and there were eleven fields, all of them filled with hard charging boys and girls and all of them lined with parents, siblings, spectators, coaches, assistant coaches, and the occasional European trainer, whose ubiquitous cries of ?Unlucky!? or ?Well done!? in English and Irish accents provided a little extra ambience in a ?Tom Brown?s School Days? sort of way.

While my daughter warmed up in preparation of warming up for her game, I took a walk along the line of soccer fields, stopping occasionally to watch the games for a moment or two. The ages of the children varied, as did the gender and the level of skill but nonetheless a similar pattern emerged and along with it a revelation. Some adults are just plain nuts.

The screaming, the endless screaming. ?Go! To goal, to goal!? ?Watch number 3, watch number 3! Nooooooo!! I told you to watch number 3!? ?Shoot! Shoot! Now shoot! Now, now, now!? ?Take it up the side! The side, keep going, keep going!? ?Sarah?s in the middle, she?s in the middle! The middle, the middle! PASS! PASS!? ?Ohhhhhhh!!!!?

I stood mesmerized by a coach who stalked along the sidelines shouting detailed instructions to his players as if he were a human joystick that could control their physical movements with just the sound of his voice. ?Danny, move left.? ?Dribble right and go, right and go!? ?Take it left and cross. Cross! Aahh, for God?s sake! I said cross!?

Note to all parents and coaches who scream from the sidelines: Your kids can?t hear a word you say. Want to control your players every move? Get a foosball table. As much as you want your kids to score, there are kids on the other team who don?t want them to score. I?m surprised parents haven?t tried screaming at the kids on the opposing team. ?Hey number 11, stand still and do nothing!?

I heard a mother offer the following words of encouragement to her daughter as she waited for the second half to begin, ?Do it up right. Make me proud.? Do it up right? I was tempted to alert the referee, ?Mangled syntax on the field. Everyone take a knee.?

Can you imagine how parents who shout at their kids at soccer games would fare if they were subjected to the same treatment at work? Say they?re in the process of admitting an emergency room patient while the boss watches from across the room. ?Not the injury, the insurance card, check the insurance card first! We don?t take United Health anymore. Oxford, yes! Oxford! Quick, the copy machine?s free, the machine?s free. Hurry! Someone?s coming with a huge file, run! Run! Keep going! Oooooh!?

Years ago, I used to play little league baseball. Most game days, I slid my glove on the handlebars of my bike and rode over to the field by myself. My teammates did the same thing. Our parents came to watch if they had the time, if they were busy, they didn?t. Sometimes we won, sometimes we lost. Sometimes I got a couple of hits and caught a couple of balls and sometimes I didn?t. Big deal. It was summertime.

After the game, I?d ride back, put my bike in the garage and walk in the house. My father would ask me how we did, I?d tell him a little bit about how the game went and that would be it.

Two minutes of conversation at best --and in my mind-- still the perfect length of time to spend discussing any game between a bunch of nine-year-old kids.

John Hartnett is the owner of Early Bird Publishing, a manufacturer of all occasion humorous greeting cards (www.earlybirdpublishing.com). He is also the author of Now What?, an online blog at www.johnhartnett.blogspot.com

Learn The Basics Of The Game Of Soccer

                

 

The game of soccer is played in two halves, the lengths varying between age groups, but professionals, college and high school play two 45 minute halves. The most obvious rules to soccer are that the game is played between two teams, consisting of nine players and a goalie. The players on each team are divided into offense and defense, and are only allowed to play the soccer ball with their feet. The main objective in soccer is to kick the ball into the opposing teams? goal, scoring a point, or a goal. Only the goalie is allowed to use either his or her hands as well as feet.

Soccer players will often practice ?juggling?, which is a skill that consists of keeping the ball in the air through the use of the feet, knees, thighs, head, or chest, all legal places on the body to control the ball. The use of the hands or the arm will result in the opposing team taking possession of the ball.

When a player on one of the teams kicks or knocks the ball out of bounds on the two long sides of the soccer field, the opposing team them takes possession of ball by doing a ?throw-in?, in which both of the feet must remain on the ground while the player throws the soccer ball back into play. If the soccer ball is kicked out of bounds over the line of their own goal, it then results in a ?corner kick? where the opposite team takes the ball to the corresponding corner and kicks the ball back into play to one of their teammates. However, if the team kicks the ball out of bounds over the goal line of the opposing teams? goal, the play will then turn to a ?goal kick? taken by one of the defensive players of that team.

?Fouls? are called under a number of circumstances. A few of them are when a player touches the ball with his hand or arm, if a player slide tackles another player, excessive pushing, tripping or force, unsportsmanlike conduct, or off-sides (when the offense of one team is closer to the goal they are trying to score on than that teams? defense; unless the ball was there first). In these circumstances, the referee will generally call the ball dead in the spot where the foul occurred, and give the opposite team a ?free kick?.

In the case that the regulation time of the soccer runs out while the score is still tied, it will often result in a ?shootout? where the goalie of one team is up against a single player from the opposing team. The first one to score a goal wins the game.

Dana Bradley writes about Adidas Coupons,Florsheim Coupons and Shoes on sale.

Football, Soccer on PC Live for Free: The Truth about the Live Sport on Your PC and Other Claims

                

 

Now I?m not a mean guy (money-wise, anyway), but I see no point in throwing money away, so when I came across an advert offering ?Free Live Satellite TV on your PC?, I figured I?d give it a look.

On further investigation I found that several sites offered this ?Free TV on your Computer?, information. Whilst all sites provided the same facilities their ?FREE? prices ranged from one-off payments of $18 through to $99.95cents. Even so, I figured, if I could make one payment of even $99.95 and get my Satellite TV for free, then I?d be saving a considerable amount of dollars monthly on what I currently paid.

Like most things, I never got to checking it out for a while, then I came across the SAME facility with the advert targeted mainly at UK and European Soccer fans: It advertised ?Free Live Premiership Football on your Laptop?, and ?Live Soccer Scores on your PC for FREE?. In fact it provided all the other stuff the more expensive sites offered for a One-Time Payment of ?3.99p (about $7.50cents).

As I had a bit of spare time, and was happy to invest $7.50 and chance being robbed, I duly clicked the button which sent my money whisking electronically into some hopeful?s Paypal account. In seconds I received what I had paid for. Two minutes and a bit of experimenting later, I was watching Brazil and Argentina playing live football. Flicking through the channels I picked up all the current information on the UK league teams, and live scores as they came in. I even got to watch snatches of live games as I clicked through.

Later I picked up various Satellite channel News broadcasts; watched some Canadian hockey, a re-run of the Monza Grand Prix, and some ski stuff from Utah. There were several films showing and several Pop Music programs. All this I viewed in ?REAL PLAYER?, or WINDOWS MEDIA PLAYER?, though there were other options.

So what did I REALLY get for my huge dollar outlay? ? Well not a lot, and yet a hell of a lot really:

The ?THOUSANDS OF CHANNELS? proved to be rather optimistic. Hundreds would be a more honest description, and although you CAN receive them wherever you and your PC are in the world, the quality varies from the ?As good as on my TV? to the totally unwatchable.

There WAS some really good live stuff, including sport and normal terrestrial as well as satellite programs of all types. However, many of these and many of the films were from other than English-speaking countries and either had foreign subtitles or were broadcast in the native language.

If you are expecting to pay one single payment of under $10 and get the same quality and quantity of programs you currently would have to pay up to ?50 or $100 a month for, then you are living in cloud cuckoo land and going to be disillusioned.

HOWEVER, if you are prepared to accept you are getting a good bargain, and content to watch/listen in a ?window? whilst working on your desktop or laptop, then you CAN be kept up-to-date on sports information, and watch a fair amount of live stuff you may never get chance to see otherwise.

Bottom line is that ?3.99p is hardly going to break your bank, and if you get to watch the ?BIG MATCH? (football, soccer, boxing, baseball etc) for free when you would miss it any other way, then you have made a good investment.

Search around and pay what you like ? they are all much of a muchness. The cheapest I found which covered everything like the others, but advertised to soccer fans was: www.worldcupsoccersite.com

FANON is an internationally published author. He writes children's stories and books, together with adult material. And writes articles on writing and consumer reports. Samples of his work are available free at http://www.dotcomhorror.com or http://www.go-space.com and many other sites.

Training to Prevent ACL Injuries in Soccer

                

 

Soccer is enjoyed both competitively and recreationally by all ages. Participation in any sport however can potentially lead to injury. Injury to the ACL, or anterior cruciate ligament, is a common injury to those participating in soccer. Rehabilitation and treatment following an ACL injury is costly and will most likely result in significant loss in playing time for the athlete. Injury or rupture of the ACL can occur during contact or non-contact situations such as running and jumping. During running, injury most often occurs with quick directional changes, rapid decelerations and torsional or rotational movements. The landing phase of jumping with varus (outward) and valgus (inward) stresses at the knee accompanied by rotation also stress the ACL and can possibly result in injury. In an effort to decrease the incidence of ACL injuries, a preventative training program should include neuromuscular training. Traditional lower extremity strengthening programs have utilized machines to exercise the quads and hamstrings. These programs do little to improve dynamic strength and stability which are very important in knee joint control on the soccer field. Neuromuscular training involves challenging the proprioceptive system via various balance and stability activities. Through neuromuscular training, dynamic joint stability can be improved and hopefully decrease injury.

Neuromuscular control or stability relies upon the proprioceptive system. This system consists of proprioceptors or sensory receptors within the ACL and the other soft tissue structures within and around the knee joint. These receptors are located throughout or body and provide our brain with information of position sense and joint stresses so that our muscles may respond appropriately and protect our bodies from injury. A neuromuscular training program typically consists of balance exercises on the involved limb, dynamic joint stability exercises, plyometric exercises, agility drills and sports specific exercises. Balance training may include double or single leg stance on flat surfaces, a wobble board or even a trampoline. Dynamic joint stability training involves controlled balance movements such as lunges, balanced reaching activities with the upper or lower extremities, step-up and step-down exercises, squatting with or without weights on different surfaces and single leg squats. Plyometric or jump training involves quick and powerful movement involving pre-stretching of the muscle to produce a stronger muscular contraction. An example of a plyometric activity would involve jumping off of a box and then exploding up and over another obstacle. These exercises help to facilitate quick directional changes and control in landing and jumping activities. Jumping exercises using plyometric training might include two and one legged jumping on a trampoline, 180? turning jumps and vertical jumps.

Sports specific skills training activities include running, lateral running, backward running, shuttle runs and agility drills. Agility activities may include figure 8 running, quick directional changes which are not preplanned but rather directed by a coach or trainer, passing, kicking and throwing activities.

The training program should include enough exercise to induce muscular fatigue for the athlete and train the appropriate muscular responses. Proprioceptive deterioration can increase with muscle fatigue; therefore the training program needs to include enough repetitions to create some fatigue in the athlete. The training should also be performed throughout the ROM of the joint to stimulate and train different receptors at different angles of joint motion.

Beth Bartels is a Physical Therapist at Excel Physical Therapy in Nebraska. You can learn more about this topic and others by signing up for the FREE newsletter at www.excelpt.com

Soccer Camps And International Tours

                

 

Golden opportunity comes to young up and coming soccer players in the form of many national and international soccer camps and tours which gives them the opportunity to learn from retired professionals including former World Cup stars. It also allows talent scouts to view the next generation of players and pre-pick their future stars.

The most popular of these tours takes players to Brazil. Brazil is considered the leader in training professional soccer players due to their five consecutive World Cup wins. While the idea of sending their child to Brazil may strike fear in the hearts of many parents, they need not worry as their child is supervised 24 hours per day by their hosts, professional coaches, youth coaches, youth counselors and chaperones.

These camps and tours last from 7 days to 3 months. The longest give a solid introduction to the world of international soccer and enough time for improvement of skills. Other countries that provide excellent tours and camps are the United States, Germany, England, and Argentina.

These international camps are very different from their domestic counterparts. When one thinks of a ?soccer camp? often what comes to mind is the ideal version of a summer camp based around soccer. The international camps are run with the idea of creating professionals, this gives them a strictly boot camp atmosphere. While this design seems overdone to many a soccer Mom, it is a tested and proven method of turning out the best soccer players in world.

Some of the more elite soccer camps and tours may be prohibitive in their cost, but one can rest assured that not only are the players given the best instruction possible, most camps are all inclusive. These soccer filled weeks or months are often dreamed about and heartily welcomed days every young soccer player who wants to join the star studded international league imagines. There is also the chance that the player in your life can be picked up by one or more of the talent scouts and offered not only a position on a team, but also training with the very people who coach the World Cup teams.

Soccer aside, these camps offer a once in a lifetime opportunity for teenagers to experience the thrill of international travel while under the close eye of watchful adults who are there to help them grow as individuals and as athletes. http://SoccerGearDeals.com has a great selection of clothing for everyone.

Dana Bradley writes about NBA Coupons,NHL Coupons and Memorabilia Coupon

2010 World cup soccer - A property marketing opportunity for South Africa

                

 

After the euphoria of winning the bid to host the 2010 Soccer World Cup, South Africans in all sectors must now work together to ensure that this opportunity is fully utilized for the long-term benefit of the entire country.

Hosting this major sporting event will be a massive boost to our economy and it is expected that almost R 30 billion will flow into South Africa, spurring economic growth to between 5 and 6 percent, while creating an estimated 150 000 jobs. The impact on the property market will be enormous.

South Africa is currently enjoying a strong position and consumer confidence is buoyant. International buyers, locals and expatriates are major buyers of South African properties.

The property market will do well to use the 2010 Soccer World Cup as a platform to aggressively market property in South Africa, which is still undervalued in global terms and offer exceptional value for money.

South African property is likely to receive a major boost from 2010 - if the World Cup is a success. Paris "France" property prices escalated by as much as 55% over a one year period before and after the 2002 Word Cup and property across the city made astronomical gains with the prices of apartments close to some of the stadiums rocketing by over 100% over the same period.

Some neglected neighborhoods in Paris were completely rejuvenated. The same will happen in South Africa, because although we have had a good run, in global terms our property is still undervalued and the macroeconomic outlook is very favorable.

Hosting an Olympic Games or World Cup encourages urban regeneration and is usually accompanied by an improvement in facilities, transport links and overall infrastructure. Yet, a closer look at the lessons of the Olympic Games hosted in Athens means a lot of work needs to be done - especially in marketing South Africa as a destination.

There is a lot to be learned from the Greek Olympic experience on how best to sell South Africa as a desirable country and etch ourselves into the minds of tourists and investors for a long time to come. Greece did not fully capitalize on the Olympics to promote itself and its property market to the extent that former Olympic host cities Barcelona and Sydney did - and lost out on some of the benefits of hosting a major international event.

Perhaps they were a bit complacent and thought just because they?d secure an event like the Olympics people would come running. The key learning is that Barcelona and Sydney went out of there way to make themselves outsider and investor friendly and strongly promote themselves through a fantastic marketing effort as a great place to buy a second home. And the Spanish in particular are probably the best in the world at selling their own property and the sensual and relaxed Spanish lifestyle. This has translated into massive job creation and social upliftment through increased tourism and a very favorable country perception. Around 60 000 UK citizens bought a home in Spain in 2003.

Just think if South Africa could increase its visitors by tens of millions a year to get close to the number of people who visit Span each year. We would have an incredible success story for job and wealth creation. When Sydney hosted the Olympic Games in 2000, they pushed not just Sydney as a city but the howl of Australia as a desirable place to tour, live and own property. There was a unified strategy between the government, the tourist board and the property industry.

In South Africa we can?t afford to just promote the cities that will host World Cup Soccer games. We also need to promote the true spirit of South Africa as a highly desirable investment friendly and stable country. Well planned government expenditure aimed at local regeneration will give impetus to host cities in creating a more suitable and attractive inner-city environment - that?s because public infrastructure that would otherwise have taken years to complete due to red tape will now be fast-tracked.

For example, the R 20-billion Gautrain high-speed service between Johannesburg and Pretoria will certainly be completed in time for the 2010 World Cup, creating a wealth corridor and increased property values across both cities.

Other projects that stand to benefit from the event include Coega?s giant "signature bridge", the Statue of freedom in Port Elizabeth and Durban?s new international airport at La Mercy, North of Durban. All of these will be fast-tracked into reality by 2010. In Cape Town , the N2 Gateway Project has been launched by the Housing Minister, Lindiwe Sisulu, in an attempt to replace the tin and cardboard shacks along the highway to improve the quality of life for hundreds of thousands of locals and remove an embarrassing eyesore before the influx of millions of tourists into the Mother City for the World Cup Soccer finals in 2010.

2010 is also having an effect on building costs. Many building contractors are holding out for money spinning 2010 World Cup contracts, creating a shortage of builders. Stadiums must be build, renovated and expanded in time for this major event. Many stadiums are also being build especially for the event like Nelspruit?s Mbombela stadium scheduled for completion in 2007, at a cost of R 350 million.

However, most of the benefits from hosting this event come in the form of multiplier effects of each rand spent on all goods and services in the economy leading up to, during and after the event. The increased health of the economy will have the biggest overall effect on property prices.

International property investment specialist: Jannie Botha is an independent sales consultant (property broker) based in tropical Amanzimtoti, Kwazulu Natal, South Africa.