Hey you on the couch! Isn't it time to cozy up to your favourite pitch battle? Yes, warm to such classics as "Birmingham vs. Wigan 94" or the great classic "Wolverhampton vs Luton 89". Yes, go back to a time when the game meant nothing and wearing ya Fila or Burberry was everything. & Who can forget those cheeky Tonge Moor Slashers, Mongoose Cuckoo Boys, and Billy Whiz Fan Club So, get out ya "Headhunters for life" pre-shrunk and free from animal testing tee, put the kids to bed, and relive those glory days of mindless violence from the comfort of your suburban semi-detached.
posted by Mr Bluesky on May 30, 2005 - 15 comments

Kick-off! With only five days to go to this year's main sports event (sorry, Athens!), it's time to get down to some serious preparation.
The excellent official Euro 2004 website has team news, video-on-demand, tournament history and - this is crucial - the official Euro 2004 spreadsheet. Because nothing beats a good "I told you so!"...
7 billion people worldwide is expected to tune in to the broadcasts from beautiful Cardoso-land. But if you won't have access to a tv, The Beeb is offering live audio commentary (and if your boss is cranky, The Guardian usually offers fast and witty SFW text-based play-by-plays). Vive o 2004!
posted by mr.marx on Jun 7, 2004 - 23 comments

Perhaps This Public Image/Persona Thing Has Gone Just A Little Too Far: Luís Campos Lopes, the manager of the Portuguese football team Vitoria de Setúbal has just been sacked for "projecting a negative image of the club". [Link in Portuguese, but please read on.] The reason? Just watch the photo-sequence in the main link. Luís Lopes had trouble putting on his Setúbal vest during a crucial game with Benfica! I.e. the powerful sports media in Portugal and Brazil have had a riot with the photographs and the poor widdle proprietors were embarrassed. So? He may not be a brilliant manager - but isn't this blatant lookism? Isn't "image" becoming much too big for its boots, as it were, in professional sports? [Here is the only English language reference I could find. Please scroll down to "Luís Campos".]
posted by MiguelCardoso on Mar 31, 2003 - 26 comments

Brazil vs. Germany. The 2002 FIFA World Cup has come to an end. History was made today.
posted by riffola on Jun 30, 2002 - 48 comments

Kicked Out Of The World Cup? Kick The Blues Away Now! Friday fun and consolation with a kicking little game under the expert supervision of kicked-out Italian striker Roberto Baggio. Fire away, losers!
posted by MiguelCardoso on Jun 21, 2002 - 8 comments

World Cup Conspiracy. Here's one for the X-Files. The Azurri believe they were the victims of a conspiracy to oust them from World Cup 2002.

Alessandro Del Piero broke his usual cool exterior as anger seeped through. "In ten years of my career I have never complained," said the Juventus star, "but in four games too many strange things have happened."
posted by percine on Jun 18, 2002 - 19 comments

Korea 2-1 Italy. A classic World Cup in the making? First it was Senegal dumping out the French, and then the Argies and the Portuguese were left biting the dust. Spain and Ireland fought out a nail-biting penalty shoot-out, Saudi Arabia got hit for eight, and now South Korea continue their miraculous journey by sending Italy home. Next on the cards: let's hope for another classic when England take on Brazil!
posted by arrowhead on Jun 18, 2002 - 39 comments

Check out this soccer/baseball stadium. You can fold the baseball field and roll in the soccer one. Animation here. Amazing.
posted by sikander on Jun 1, 2002 - 17 comments

I have a bad feeling about this. The UK government has urged employers to be leniant to staff who want to watch the World Cup when they should be working. Isn't this instantly discriminating against people who happen to like football (Soccer) all that much? For example, I'm sure I know what would happen if I broached the idea of turning up for work late on May 16th after I've been to the first showing of this thing.
posted by feelinglistless on Apr 29, 2002 - 15 comments

South Koreans replace Coke with dog meat juice at World Cup soccer stadium. Maybe I'm missing something in the translation. Related story on World Cup dog meat burgers here (in Japanese, sorry). Rough translation on FG.
posted by curiousg on Apr 26, 2002 - 19 comments

It's the Shperiks! Those wacky mascots for the upcoming FIFA World Cup Korea-Japan! I can't tell what the heck is going on here, and if it weren't for the upbeat BGM, I'd probably be scared to visit this site again. But it was an interesting little adventure...
posted by Bixby23 on Mar 26, 2002 - 6 comments

Preparing Asia for the World Cup.
posted by Spoon on Mar 15, 2002 - 1 comment

Celtic's Taliban? . Glasgow smeltic fans are a disgrace to Scotland
posted by hector on Oct 1, 2001 - 27 comments

stopping football holigans in the gambia security forces banned from football tourney - "the beating of some of the footballers, team officials and supporters of the opposing team which resulted in the admission to hospital of a footabller and the serious wounding of some supporters is a total violation of fair play and can no longer be entertained by the committee." well you've got to draw the line somewhere
posted by quarsan on Aug 26, 2001 - 7 comments

Go to a football match. Police arrive with tear gas and start a riot. 130 people die. I wonder if the police get some kind of bonus for killing innocent civilians...
posted by timbooker on May 10, 2001 - 16 comments

"Soccer" has been nominated for the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. No, really.

Any other suggestions for nominations?
posted by Avogadro on Jan 22, 2001 - 24 comments

I just don't understand soccer.
From the moment at which Dragoon did not press in the land deer, and one put in a defense in very passive zone, the party was totally of ADET.
[thanks Heather!]
posted by CrazyUncleJoe on Mar 9, 2000 - 3 comments