"Wit is the lowest form of humor."Alexander Pope
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Is It Soccer Or Football And Where Did It Begin?
Of course, diehard fans of Manchester United will tell you that the modern version of football or soccer as it is called by many came into being in England, but others all over the world claim that the invention of the sports belongs to their ...
Soccer Goalkeeper's Skill, Techniques and Goalie Training
Soccer Goalkeeper training is a world of its own. Since it is the only position on the field that allows the ball to be touched by the hands and arms. The individual soccer goalie skills gives an advantage over all the other players on the field. This ...
Soccer The War Game! —Looking Back To Its Origin
Believe it or not, but the modern day soccer owes its origin to the barbarous war mongering nature of human beings.There is no proper documentation that can state the date and place of origination of the most popular modern day sport—Soccer. However, ...
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Do you remember the famous movie of the early 80s "the Blues Brothers" with Dan Aykroyd and the late John Belushi. The two heroes were able to overcome all the obstacles in their way and to avoid their pursuers until the last scene of the film. "They'll never get caught. They're on a mission from God" was the tagline of the film. The current Brazilian national soccer team, which plays at the World Cup in Germany, reminded me of the Blues Brothers. Although they prefer samba music to blues, they seem to be unstoppable and although they are not on a mission from God their religiosity is obvious.
The Brazilian players often pray and some of them wear T-shirts with religious slogans under their uniforms. Lucio, one of the team's best defenders was wearing a T-shirt with the message «Jesus loves you» in last World Cup's final game in Yokohama. Kaka, a talented midfielder wears similar T-shirts, while Ze Roberto another midfielder according to the Columbian newspaper "El Pais" plans to become a pastor of the Evangelical Church. Another Brazilian, Luis Felipe Scolari, who is the coach of the national team of Portugal, has chosen for his team a training center in Marienfeld close to a 12th-century monastery, in order for him to visit it every morning and pray.
Brazilians are not the only religious players in the World Cup. Saudi Arabian players, who have reduced their prayers from five to three during the first phase of the World Cup, have special stickers on the furniture of their rooms showing the direction to Mecca in order to motivate their prayers. They also celebrated their first goal against Tunisia with a short prayer to their God. The Iranian national team asked for a special room dedicated to prayer in their hotel in Friedrichshafen and to the dismay of their coach they gave up hours of sleep before their first game against Yugoslavia to participate in a long, late-night Islamic ceremony held to mourn a seventh-century Shiite Muslim saint.
The organizing committee locked the chapels that are located in the Olympiastadion in Berlin and in the Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen so as to avoid criticism for religious racism, but the question remains, "Does praying and strong belief affect the players' performance?" Legendary veteran player Pele, who won the Cup three times, straightens out the issue with his statement. "I never prayed to win a game or to score. My first care was to remain healthy and after that I was praying to God that a match shouldn't finish without a score (0-0)". Lucio, on the other hand, supports that "the team that gives God the utmost glory deserves to be the champion in the World Cup 2006". Time will tell which of this year's World Cup teams will make it to be the World Champion of 2006, but one thing is for sure. Soccer funs will have the opportunity to admire the world's best soccer players' score, regardless of their religious beliefs.
Written By: Kadence Buchanan
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Boys' soccer: Oakton loses goalkeeper, but wins gameWashington PostOakton goalkeeper Logan Cropper was sprawled on the grass inside his own 18-yard box, trainers around him holding his broken right leg steady. As sophomore goalkeeper Raphael Ortiz approached, Cropper looked up at him. “Don't ruin my senior year,” ...and more » |
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