July 23, 2006
July 12, 2006
World Cup posts (4)
The World Cup is over, and I plan this to be my final piece on football (that is, soccer) for a while. The first post discussed whether football is Islamic and various predictions. The second post argued that football might not go well with the American way of life because the better team may not always win. From this, you might expect that football would have more upsets. But the third post noted that, contrary to expectations, football is dominated by a few big teams, whether at club or international level. So, what gives? (more…)
July 4, 2006
World Cup posts (3)
So football is unpredictable, and with so many countries playing, it is likely that many more teams will be successful at the World Cup football than in other sports. And at first glance, this looks to be true. A team can nearly win the semi-final in one tournament and then fail to qualify in the next, another can be the champion today and wait for eight years to score a goal (Netherlands and France respectively, both in 1998). Does this happen in say cricket? Probably not. There are less than dozen countries (at most, being charitable to some weaker teams) that make the pool of potential winners. (more…)
June 28, 2006
World Cup posts (2)
It’s so bloody unfair, that’s what fans of losing sides are likely to yell at the World Cup. Americans and Australians will tell you that their teams were forced out because of questionable penalties. Adriano’s goal against Ghana was while off side. Koreans had been denied a penalty against Switzerland, while a Swiss goal against them was from off side. (more…)
June 20, 2006
World Cup posts
Is Osama Bin Laden watching the World Cup? If he is, was he saddened by the thrashing Saudi Arabia got yesterday? Or does he think football is a homosexual abomination? Did the Taleban ban football? I am pretty sure there is no Tradition of the Prophet or his Companions playing football. (more…)
