Football Fanats 2014 - The year of World Cup

[CTG]

Today's matches:

Mexico vs Cameroon (donkeys vs monkeys*) can be a tight one, but in the worse meaning. I don't expect a high level game.
Spain vs Netherlands, well... both teams are significantly weaker than in 2010. Spain is getting more and more boring with the Messi-free tiki-taka, with an oldster Xavi, unmotivated Iniesta and overrated forwards (Villa, Torres); while the Dutch squad lacks team unity ("Aryan" Robben doesn't really like black people in the team ). It might be a card party.
Chile vs Australia is totally uninteresting for me. However, the South Americans seem to be significantly stronger.

*No, not because they are 'N'**, but because of their attitude (they didn't want to travel to Brasil, because the national football association offered too low premium for the World Cup results. That's quite a disgusting act from a pack of overpayed football "stars". But what do you expect from them, when their biggest name was hungry enough for money to play in Anzhi Makhachkala...

**I like Ivory Coast and Ghana. While Eto'o is a true monkey and a football whore, I think Drogba is a true icon.

[BonzaiJoe]

But Drogba played in some Chinese club 

[CTG]

But Drogba played in some Chinese club 

But you can't name any clubs being too proud of Eto'o - while Marseille and Chelsea fans still respect Drogba (remember the Galata-Chelsea CL matches). What's more, Eto'o played both in Barca and Real Madrid. I don't have say more...

His shirt from his only season at OM is also framed in the basilica of Marseille, Notre-Dame de la Garde, which he presented to the church before the 2004 UEFA Cup Final. Drogba remains a club legend in Marseille, despite playing only one season for the club.


In October 2012, he was voted by Chelsea supporters as the club's greatest ever player.


Drogba is credited with playing a vital role in bringing peace to his country. After the Ivory Coast qualified for the 2006 World Cup, Drogba made a desperate plea to the combatants, asking them to lay down their arms, a plea which was answered with a cease fire after five years of civil war. Drogba later helped move an African Cup of Nations qualifier to the rebel stronghold of Bouake; a move that helped confirm the peace process. On 24 January 2007, Drogba was appointed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as a Goodwill Ambassador. The UNDP were impressed with his previous charity work and believed that his high profile would help raise awareness on African issues. In September 2011, Drogba joined the Truth, Reconciliation and Dialogue Commission as a representative to help return peace to his home nation. His involvement in the peace process led to Drogba being named as one of the world's 100 most influential people by Time magazine for 2010. Drogba's charity work continued when, in late 2009, he announced he would be donating the £3 million signing on fee for his endorsement of Pepsi for the construction of a hospital in his hometown of Abidjan. This work was done through Drogba's recently created "Didier Drogba Foundation" and Chelsea announced they too would donate the fee for the deal toward the Foundation's project. Drogba decided on building the hospital after a recent trip to the Ivorian capital's other hospitals, saying "...I decided the Foundation's first project should be to build and fund a hospital giving people basic healthcare and a chance just to stay alive."

Levallois Sporting Club, the amateur club where Drogba began his career, used their percentage of his transfer fees  including £600,000 out of the £24 million paid when he joined Chelsea – first to ensure the club's surival, and then to improve their stadium to incorporate modern sports facilities for the benefit of the local community. They renamed the new stadium Stade Didier Drogba in his honour.

Years   Team   Apps†   (Gls)†
1998–2002   Le Mans   64   (12)
2002–2003   Guingamp   45   (20)
2003–2004   Marseille   35   (19)
2004–2012   Chelsea   226   (100)
2012–2013   Shanghai Shenhua   11   (8 )
2013–   Galatasaray   37   (15)

2002–   Ivory Coast   101   (65)

After Barcelona won the 2004–05 La Liga title, the team organized a festive party in the Camp Nou, during which Eto'o harangued the fans chanting, "Madrid, cabrón, saluda al campeón" (English: Madrid, bastards, salute the champions)... The head of the Real Madrid fan club federation remained unimpressed, however, stating, "This character is a fantastic player, but he leaves a lot to be desired as a person.


Eto'o refused to come on as a substitute in a league match against Racing de Santander on 11 February 2007. Barcelona manager Frank Rijkaard said after the match, "He did not want to come on; I don't know why."


On 1 June 2008, Eto'o headbutted reporter Philippe Bony, following an incident at a press conference. Bony suffered an injury, but Eto'o later apologized for the altercation, offering to pay Bony's medical expenses.


On his first press-conference in Milan, he declared that he was where he wanted to be... [comment: how typical from a football whore]


On 23 August 2011, Anzhi Makhachkala reached an agreement with Inter Milan to sign Eto'o in a three-year deal that made him the world's highest paid player, with a salary of €20 million (after taxes) per season.


On 27 August 2012, Eto'o was in the squad to face Cape Verde in the first leg of a qualification play-off for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, but the striker refused to play, as a protest against what he described as the "amateurish and poorly organised" national team set-up.

Years   Team   Apps†   (Gls)†
1997–2000   Real Madrid   3   (0)
1997–1998   ? Leganés (loan)   30   (4)
1999   ? Espanyol (loan)   0   (0)
2000   ? Mallorca (loan)   19   (6)
2000–2004   Mallorca   120   (48)
2004–2009   Barcelona   145   (108)
2009–2011   Internazionale   67   (33)
2011–2013   Anzhi Makhachkala   53   (25)
2013–2014   Chelsea   21   (9)

1997–   Cameroon   117   (56)

[CTG]

Addition:

"Cameroon's players — which include Europe-based stars like Chelsea's Samuel Eto'o and Barcelona's Alex Song — have been in dispute with federation officials since last month, when the team threatened to boycott a training session at a pre-tournament preparation camp in Austria because the World Cup bonuses promised weren't enough."

[BonzaiJoe]

It should be an interesting match today. Really weak-looking Mexico team who only barely scraped into the World Cup vs an unmotivated and complaining Cameroon team.
This group should be easy for Croatia, but it could be a factor that Cameroon vs Croatia will be played in the jungle in Manaus. Cameroon should be better suited for the extreme tropical climate.

[alanrotoi]

It depends where mexicans are used to play in Mexico.

[CTG]

It should be an interesting match today. Really weak-looking Mexico team who only barely scraped into the World Cup vs an unmotivated and complaining Cameroon team.
This group should be easy for Croatia, but it could be a factor that Cameroon vs Croatia will be played in the jungle in Manaus. Cameroon should be better suited for the extreme tropical climate.

The weak versus the unmotivated sounds rather boring. I don't remember my tip, but I guess it's 0-0 (or maybe 1-1).

[CTG]

Sad news for today: Gyula Grosics, goalkeeper of the legendary Hungarian Golden Team died at age 88. Now only a single member - Jenö Buzánszky - is still alive from the best national team of the 50s.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Team

[BonzaiJoe]

It depends where mexicans are used to play in Mexico.

It's Cameroon's game vs Croatia that will be played in Manaus. I assure you no part of Croatia is reminiscent of the Amazon rain forest.

[CTG]

For today: I hope all the spanish teams will win.

[CTG]

Oh my God, this is a whitewash, reminding me on last year's Barca - Bayern duel... Spain will have no chance versus Chile with this impotent style.

[Akoss Poo a.k.a. Zorromeister]

What a surprise... but at least Ildi - a Dutch fan - is happy...

[CTG]

What a surprise... but at least Ildi - a Dutch fan - is happy...

skid YOU ILDI!!!

(or YOU skid ILDI )

[Duplode]

Oh my God, this is a whitewash, reminding me on last year's Barca - Bayern duel... Spain will have no chance versus Chile with this impotent style.

Spain being defeated was on the cards, but surely not so comprehensively! I can't see them getting back on track after that.

[BonzaiJoe]

What a result. They also lost the first game in 2010, don't forget. But of course that game was very different.