Best news of the day! Scheduled for the next friendly game of the Auriverdes against Ghana in London on September 5. Ronaldinho was for a while the top scorer in the Brazilian league this year and can still be decisive against any team. Let’s see if Ronaldinho can make his dream come true of participating in the next World Cup. I wish him all the best!
Maracanazos are fans of comebacks!
The preliminary draw has finally marked the beginning of the long journey to the next World Cup. Some groups look very tough – like Ivory Coast and Morocco in African Group C or Spain and France in European Group I. 203 countries are competing for the 32 qualifying seats, a record so far in World Cup history. How many underdogs will make it this time?
Here are 3 of the less obvious reasons for which a team qualifies for a World Cup:
Remember, I promised my children that we would be in the Maracana for the 2014 World Cup final. Here is a small tribute to Sergio Mendes, the 1966 album, a year which was not the most stellar performance of a Brazilian team in a World Cup though!
Maracanazos like Sergio Mendes!
What a debut Suarez has had with Liverpool! The best part so far is his dribbling of 4 Man Utd players in this Sunday’s Premier League game. Kuyt could have left the ball roll in…. With El Matador and the great Forlan, Uruguay could well do better than 4th in World Cup 2014!
Maracanazos are already looking ahead to World Cup 2014!
That is the question I have been asking myself following the curious way the FIFA has in handling the 2022 Qatar World Cup. After the idea of co-hosting the competition with neighboring countries, it also seems that the Cup could now be held during winter to avoid the scorching heat during June/July. The problem is that the Winter Olympics are also held at the same time. Perhaps FIFA should ask the CIO to organize the winter games during the summer?? I find it strange that the bid for a World Cup involving so much time and money is so dismally unprepared.
Maracanazos are saddened by such amateurism.
A good friend of mine introduced me to the Homeless World Cup a few days ago. My passion for football resonates with the incredible project that Mel Young has grown from scratch in 2001. This blog is often centered on the underdog as you know. Don’t we often see homeless people as bound to loose? Mel and the people behind his project prove the opposite. The Homeless World Cup brings people around the world together under one roof, the one true football provides. The slogan of my blog is “Football is the universal sport because it is the closest to human nature.” Football can bring the best and the worst. Mel Young’s dedication sheds light on our sport.
Maracanazos will back this project.
Franz Beckenbauer said he would shortly leave FIFA following his dissapointment at the publicity made on the votes for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. I had already shared my puzzlement about the choice of Qatar and the Kaiser’s decision to quit only reinforces my doubts on how the votes were organized.
Another troubling element is that it is now apparent that other countries could co-host the 2022 World Cup along with Qatar. I don’t get it. Either a host country’s project is fully detailed and the voting is based on its completeness or it isn’t. In the latter case, how can can you cast your vote on an incomplete picture?
Maracanazos would have liked to known who Monsieur Jules Rimet would have voted for.
Today the FIFA designated the host countries for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. Why did the FIFA accelerate the process and award 2 World Cups at the same time, a first in World Cup history. I don’t want to know about the underground dealings here, but several points come to mind :
I’m perplexed by the choice of Qatar, a country who has never been on the radar map of football history. Why not give the 2026 World Cup to The Faroe Islands? That would be an idea M. Blatter!
Anyway, I still have to make sure I deliver on my promise to be in the Maracana for the 2014 World Cup final in now just over 1286 days!
Maracanazos are puzzled by FIFA choices.
One of the best; where the underdog upsets one of the best Auriverde teams ever.
Maracanazos love classics.
This guest post is brought to you by Bruno from Les Voyages en Ballon who can also be found on this Facebook page.
Today is the story of a flamboyant looser’s shirt, namely Johan Cruijff’s one in the 1974 World Cup. Instead of Adidas’s 3 stripes, Cruijff’s shirt and short displayed only 2. Why? Adidas was the official sponsor of the Dutch team but Cruijff, who was under contract with Puma at the time, refused to be associated with the 3 striped brand and demanded to have his own customised outfit. Total craze. The rest of the Dutch team had the reglementary 3 stripes. Total football. Franz Beckenbauer, who was also wearing 3 stripes, didn’t seem to mind when he lifted the World Cup trophy under Cruijff’s nose.
Maracanazos like rebels.