After years of renovations, the fabled Maracana Stadium has reopened in Rio de Janeiro. An exhibition match featuring teams led by former Brazilian stars Bebeto and Ronaldo played Saturday before a crowd of 25,000, many of them workers who have labored to modernize and upgrade the Maracana, site ofthe 1950 World Cup’s final match. A […]
World Cup Watch
Posted inStory, World Cup Watch
'Exceeding expectations' won't be hard
Last week was not a good week for Brazilian World Cup organizers. It became evident that Brazil would not meet FIFA’s deadline of Monday to have six World Cup stadiums ready for thissummer’s Confederations Cup. Forget the fact that FIFA’s deadline was actually last December, the famous Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro and Mane […]
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Brazilian soccer's place in a globalized world
By Francis Langbein Soccer greats Franz Beckenbauer and BobbyCharlton recounted old stories and discussed young players in the modern game at the recent Laureus Sports Awards. Always part of the conversation was the place of Brazilian soccer, back whenBeckenbauer and Charlton competed in the World Cup and looking ahead to next year’s World Cup Brazil […]
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Spain won't risk stars against France
Seven months remain in Europe’s World Cup qualifying, but defending champion Spain already finds itself in a deep hole. Consecutive home draws with France and Finland mean that Spainwill fall five points off the lead held by France if it loses to the Bleus Tuesday night at the Stade de France. With only the winner […]
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Serbia coach hopes for win-win situation
For no one does Friday’s Serbia-Croatia World Cup qualifier mean more to than Serbia coach Sinisa Mihajlovic, the son of a Croatian mother and Serbian fatherwho grew up in the Croatian river port of Vukovar, where 2,000 citizens were killed in the attack by Serbian forces during the Croatian War of Independence. Mihajlovic, who was […]
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Hexagonal Countdown: Snow shouldn't bother Ticos
The forecast is for light snow when the USA hosts Costa Rica on Friday night at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colo. You’d think such conditions would work against thevisitors from Costa Rica, where temperatures are in the mid-80s these days, but many of the Ticos are used to playing in cold weather. […]
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Spain on edge before key qualifiers
Winner of the last two European Championships and the 2010 World Cup, Spain finds itself in the unusual position of being on edge. Its 1-1 tie with France in Madrid — a match Francecould have won — has amped up the pressure of Vicente Del Bosque’s squad ahead of Tuesday’s World Cup qualifier at the […]
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Beckenbauer: Brazil will have huge advantage
Rio de Janeiro recently hosted the Laureus Sports Awards and provided a forum for World Cup legends to discuss the World Cup in 2014. Former Dutch captain RuudGullit, 1966 World Cup champion Bobby Charlton, Marcel Desailly of the 1998 French World Cup team and the GermanFranz Beckenbauer, World Cup winner as both a player and […]
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FIFA nervous about Maracana for Confederations Cup
Two days before Thursday’s scheduled visit to the famous Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke expressed about concernsabout it readiness to host Confederations Cup matches in June. “The city I’m traveling to in two days is the one which is causing FIFA the most concern,” he told reportersduring a trip […]
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Hexagonal: Honduran star Costly ready with 'knife between his teeth'
Carlo Costly knows what it’s like to play the United States. The 30-year-old forward is one of only three starters left from the Honduras team that playedthe USA in the 2009 Hexagonal. The Catrachos lost both games — the first after Costly put them ahead at Chicago’s Soldier Field in the 5th minute — and […]