World Cup Footie Seedings

Originally posted by pip:
I got my application faxed in to US Soccer about an hour ago. I asked for a pair of tickets to US-Czech Republic and US-Italy. I'll be a little bit anxious until I hear back from them. They claim it's first come, first serve so I expect my chances are pretty good.

Thats impressive, my fax didn't go through until almost midnight PT.

I talked to my buddy at US Soccer, and he said that if you get your request in within the first week, you should get tickets.

Ghana plan Adu swoop
Piers Edwards
BBC Sport

Ghana are going to make a dramatic bid to lure teenage star Freddy Adu into representing them at next year's World Cup.

The 16-year-old currently plays for the United States at youth level but is Ghanaian by birth. Yet he can switch nationalities because Fifa allow a player to play for one team at youth level and another at senior level as long as he makes the change before the age of 21.

Now the Black Stars aim to convince the teenager to play for them at not only the World Cup but next month's Nations Cup as well.

"We have decided to contact Adu to ask him to decide whether he would like to play for Ghana or the United States," Black Stars coach Ratomir Dujkovic told BBC Sport.

"In the coming days, he will be contacted by the football association."

The Ghana Football Association is planning their raid despite the fact that Adu is reportedly unwilling to play for anyone other than the United States.

Earlier this year, the DC United star told the Washington Post newspaper that he would turn down a proposal from Ghana if they asked him to play at the World Cup.

"We have just over a month to persuade him to come," Dujkovic explained.

"I believe that if has sentiment for Ghana, he will play for the Black Stars."

"And playing at the World Cup would be a big opportunity for him to show the rest of the world, not just America, that he is a great footballer."

Ghana's bid to snatch Adu from America is audacious because the Americans are going to be one of their opponents at Germany 2006.

At last Friday's draw in Leipzig, the two teams were paired together in Group E along with Italy and the Czech Republic.

Adu's motherland will take on his adopted country on 22 June in Nuremberg.

The teenage prodigy was born in Ghana but left at the age of eight when his mother won an immigrant visa to America in the Green Card lottery.

Within a few years, he was playing for America's Under-17 team, helping them reach the quarter-finals of the World Championships in 2003.

Should Adu choose to play for Ghana at senior level, Fifa rules state that he would not be allowed to turn out for the U.S. ever again.

Originally posted by vansmack:

Originally posted by pip:
I got my application faxed in to US Soccer about an hour ago. I asked for a pair of tickets to US-Czech Republic and US-Italy. I'll be a little bit anxious until I hear back from them. They claim it's first come, first serve so I expect my chances are pretty good.

Thats impressive, my fax didn't go through until almost midnight PT.

I talked to my buddy at US Soccer, and he said that if you get your request in within the first week, you should get tickets.

That's good news! Unfortunately, I can't get to Germany in time to see either the Italians or the Czechs, so it's Ghana for me.

Originally posted by vansmack:
Ghana plan Adu swoop

I think the chances of Freddy playing for Ghana are tiny. It would cost him way too much in endorsement money, and Nike would never allow it. Still, you can't blame Ghana for trying.

Matthaus denies World Cup draw conspiracy theory
December 12, 2005

BERLIN (AFP) - West Germany's 1990 World Cup winning captain Lothar Matthaus has hit back at a report in Italy that he manipulated Friday's 2006 World Cup draw.

Matthaus had the task of drawing teams from Pot Four and Italian television channel Sky Italia reportedly accused him of picking up a ball for Italy's group before putting it back into the bowl to pull out another instead.

The television channel claimed prepared hot and cold balls allowed Matthaus to know who he was picking, as he pulled out the United States, seventh in the FIFA rankings, for Italy's group.

"The Italians are mad if they think that," former Inter Milan star Matthaus informed Bild daily.

"I had no idea which ball corresponded to which team. That is utter nonsense."

Italy were handed a tough draw for the 2006 World Cup finals, running from June 9 until July 9, with the Czech Republic, Ghana and the United States their three opponents in Group E.

Originally posted by pip:

Originally posted by vansmack:
Ghana plan Adu swoop

I think the chances of Freddy playing for Ghana are tiny. It would cost him way too much in endorsement money, and Nike would never allow it. Still, you can't blame Ghana for trying.

You never know….Giggsy chose Wales when he could've played for England! ;)

Originally posted by pip:
Italy were handed a tough draw for the 2006 World Cup finals, running from June 9 until July 9, with the Czech Republic, Ghana and the United States their three opponents in Group E.

How far have we come if the Italians are considering drawing the US a tough draw?

Originally posted by Roadbike Mankie:
You never know….Giggsy chose Wales when he could've played for England! ;)

Giggs said: `I'd rather go through my entire career without qualifying for a major championships than play for a country where I wasn't born and neither I or either of my parents had anything to do with. That's just stupid.'

`The problem came because I played for England Schoolboys. But that was because I went to school in England, no other reason, that was the criteria for selection, not where you were born.

`What has bugged me more than anything in my career is to keep on hearing people say I chose to play for Wales. I still hear it, people discussing it on the radio even now, it's very, very annoying for me.

`It's the question that has bugged me most for the last 10 years or so. I am Welsh, 100 percent. End of story. Both my parents and all my grandparents are Welsh. It's as simple as that, it's impossible for me to play for England.'

Originally posted by vansmack:

Originally posted by Roadbike Mankie:
You never know….Giggsy chose Wales when he could've played for England! ;)

Giggs said: `I'd rather go through my entire career without qualifying for a major championships than play for a country where I wasn't born and neither I or either of my parents had anything to do with. That's just stupid.'

`The problem came because I played for England Schoolboys. But that was because I went to school in England, no other reason, that was the criteria for selection, not where you were born.

`What has bugged me more than anything in my career is to keep on hearing people say I chose to play for Wales. I still hear it, people discussing it on the radio even now, it's very, very annoying for me.

`It's the question that has bugged me most for the last 10 years or so. I am Welsh, 100 percent. End of story. Both my parents and all my grandparents are Welsh. It's as simple as that, it's impossible for me to play for England.'

err smackie…what do you think the ;) was for?

Originally posted by Roadbike Mankie:
;)

I always assumed that meant that you were drinking while typing that message.

Keano signs for Celtic until June 2007!

I for one wish him well in the Mickey MacMouse league.

CHELSEA v Barcelona
Real Madrid v ARSENAL
Werder Bremen v Juventus
Bayern Munich v AC Milan
PSV Eindhoven v Lyon
Ajax v Inter Milan
Benfica v LIVERPOOL
RANGERS v Villarreal

Bye bye chelski…bye bye arseholes

I would like to see Ajax go all the way, but Barca deserve it being the best Europe has to offer. Liverscum will never repeat the fluke they did last year and Real Madrid are the only team in Europe more eff'd up as an organization than Man Utd.

Originally posted by Roadbike Mankie:
CHELSEA v Barcelona
Real Madrid v ARSENAL
Werder Bremen v Juventus
Bayern Munich v AC Milan
PSV Eindhoven v Lyon
Ajax v Inter Milan
Benfica v LIVERPOOL
RANGERS v Villarreal

Bye bye chelski…bye bye arseholes

I would like to see Ajax go all the way, but Barca deserve it being the best Europe has to offer. Liverscum will never repeat the fluke they did last year and Real Madrid are the only team in Europe more eff'd up as an organization than Man Utd.

You know as much about football as you do music. Liverpool is going for number 6!!!!!!

Happy Christmas anyway. :)

Originally posted by Mr Dodgy Slapper:

Originally posted by Roadbike Mankie:
CHELSEA v Barcelona
Real Madrid v ARSENAL
Werder Bremen v Juventus
Bayern Munich v AC Milan
PSV Eindhoven v Lyon
Ajax v Inter Milan
Benfica v LIVERPOOL
RANGERS v Villarreal

Bye bye chelski…bye bye arseholes

I would like to see Ajax go all the way, but Barca deserve it being the best Europe has to offer. Liverscum will never repeat the fluke they did last year and Real Madrid are the only team in Europe more eff'd up as an organization than Man Utd.

You know as much about football as you do music. Liverpool is going for number 6!!!!!!

Happy Christmas anyway. :)

errr…well done in that world club thing! :p

Happy christmas to you and yours too!

Chuck Norris doesn't understand why you should consult your doctor if your erection lasts for more than 4 hours. His erections have been known to last for up to 15 days.

Originally posted by Roadbike Mankie:
CHELSEA v Barcelona
Real Madrid v ARSENAL
Werder Bremen v Juventus
Bayern Munich v AC Milan
PSV Eindhoven v Lyon
Ajax v Inter Milan
Benfica v LIVERPOOL
RANGERS v Villarreal

Bye bye chelski…bye bye arseholes

I would like to see Ajax go all the way, but Barca deserve it being the best Europe has to offer. Liverscum will never repeat the fluke they did last year and Real Madrid are the only team in Europe more eff'd up as an organization than Man Utd.

I am scared about Chelsea. Mankie, did you see the game yesterday against Arsenal? Were they that superior? As for Manchester, you seem the only ones close enough to have chances of winning the premiership, good luck there.

<img src="http://spadespader.com/images2/chuck%20card.JPG" alt=" - " />

Chuck Norris recently had the idea to sell his urine as a canned beverage. We know this beverage as Red Bull.

Originally posted by Barcelona:

Originally posted by Roadbike Mankie:
CHELSEA v Barcelona
Real Madrid v ARSENAL
Werder Bremen v Juventus
Bayern Munich v AC Milan
PSV Eindhoven v Lyon
Ajax v Inter Milan
Benfica v LIVERPOOL
RANGERS v Villarreal

Bye bye chelski…bye bye arseholes

I would like to see Ajax go all the way, but Barca deserve it being the best Europe has to offer. Liverscum will never repeat the fluke they did last year and Real Madrid are the only team in Europe more eff'd up as an organization than Man Utd.

I am scared about Chelsea. Mankie, did you see the game yesterday against Arsenal? Were they that superior? As for Manchester, you seem the only ones close enough to have chances of winning the premiership, good luck there.

I didn't see the game yesterday, but it's very easy to beat Arseholes if you just play a more physical game because they are a bunch of french girlie-men. To beat chelski you simply give them no time on the ball or they'll kill you, not unlike the Spanish teams really. Tight man to man marking and chelski are f*ucked.

Barca will beat chelski, not easily, but they'll beat them. They can't go to a team like Barca and expect to win a low scoring game, which is their modus operandi in the premier league.

Someone sum up this thread for me: is soccer over yet?

Originally posted by Barcelona:

Originally posted by Roadbike Mankie:
CHELSEA v Barcelona
Real Madrid v ARSENAL
Werder Bremen v Juventus
Bayern Munich v AC Milan
PSV Eindhoven v Lyon
Ajax v Inter Milan
Benfica v LIVERPOOL
RANGERS v Villarreal

Bye bye chelski…bye bye arseholes

I would like to see Ajax go all the way, but Barca deserve it being the best Europe has to offer. Liverscum will never repeat the fluke they did last year and Real Madrid are the only team in Europe more eff'd up as an organization than Man Utd.

I am scared about Chelsea. Mankie, did you see the game yesterday against Arsenal? Were they that superior? As for Manchester, you seem the only ones close enough to have chances of winning the premiership, good luck there.

Mark my words, at the end of this season, Man B will be behind both Chelsea and Liverpool. Before the loss to Sao Paulo (if you saw the match, you know who the better team was on that day), Liverpool had 11 clean sheets in a row. Even a blind man can see that takes more than luck! Why do I think some of you on this board will be eating crow again? You must like the taste of it. :D