Wooooooooot!!! My 100th post at last!! Man, I didn't know I blogged so little. But well, 100 is considered kinda mediocre if you compare it to other frequent bloggers. Anywayz, yesterday I finally managed to do the bulk of 1 video. Now, all I need is just Harry's interviews for everything as well as mine & Luis' for the second & third video. At least I felt some of the load lift off of my shoulders. Bleahz...this days, my mind is so full of stuff that my brain is even working when I'm asleep. Hell, I had a conversation with Mummy Alonso in my sleep for two days straight!!

At least that's what she told me. You think she'd tell me WHAT the real conversation was about?? Guhhh. I had a feeling I was blabbering about soccer. As usual, for me. I mean, what else do I usually talk about??

And speaking of which, I found the ultimate soccer quiz for die-hard soccer fans. Actually it's not that difficult to do, but anyone can try it out & see just how much you know about soccer. I did it yesterday & yeah, no surprise, my score was 10. Out of 10. There are other quizzes in here that are tryable; these quizzes are mostly info-ed & very general-knowledge based, unlike those quizzes from tickle.com where the quizzes are more entertainment-based. Luis, I STRONGLY recommend you to take this quiz. So, here's the link & see how many goals you can score with this quiz:

GOOOAAAAL! The Ultimate Soccer Quiz

And I also found an interesting article from the same site on all a soccer idiot or a soccer fan needs to know about the World Cup, since it's only a year away before the next World Cup tournament is held & Germany hosts it. So, I thought I'd provide a little information about the origins of the World Cup & how it evolved from there. Damn, I love soccer. For those who find this boring, please leave. NOW. It'll only further confirm your undesiring interest for soccer because I promise you, if you aren't a fan, you'll probably fall asleep reading this in 5 minutes. So, go now.


Introduction
World Cup (soccer), two international soccer tournaments, one for men and one for women, each held every four years. Both tournaments are the pinnacle of international competition in the sport.

The men’s World Cup is considered the most popular sporting event in the world and is followed with passionate interest around the globe—the final game of the 2002 tournament was played to a television audience of more than 1 billion viewers. Founded in 1930 with just 13 teams, the tournament now attracts entries from more than 200 countries. The teams must participate in elimination games within their own regions before qualifying to become one of the 32 nations participating in the final tournament.

The women’s World Cup was first played in 1991 and has gained popularity steadily since then. More than 90,000 fans attended the finals of the 1999 tournament—one of the largest crowds ever to witness a women’s sporting event. Nearly 100 nations attempted to qualify for the 2003 event, a 16-team elimination tournament.

Men's World Cup
In 1904 representatives from seven European soccer associations (France, Belgium, Denmark, The Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland) organized a governing body for soccer, called the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). At that first meeting, FIFA planned to organize a world championship, but 26 years passed before conditions were suitable. Among other considerations, FIFA determined that the level of play was sufficient outside of Europe to support a world championship. In addition, professional leagues had evolved so that the Olympic Games, then restricted to amateur athletes, no longer represented the highest level of competition in the world.

In 1930 the first World Cup tournament was held in Uruguay. It was won by the host nation with a victory over Argentina in the final. Despite being shunned by the stronger European nations, the tournament was a financial success and excited international interest.

By the mid-1930s, the major European countries had become interested—except for the British Isles. England, Scotland, and Wales, which field separate national soccer teams, were not members of FIFA and refused to take part in the World Cup. Italian dictator Benito Mussolini's fascist regime organized the 1934 tournament in Italy, which the host nation won. The World Cup proved so popular that 36 nations entered the 1938 tournament, and preliminary elimination games were played to decide the 16 finalists. France hosted the 1938 tournament, and Italy repeated as champion.

World War II (1939-1945) brought a halt to most international sporting activities, and the World Cup was not played again until 1950, in Brazil. England entered for the first time, but suffered the humiliation of losing 1-0 to the United States, and was eliminated in the first round. Uruguay again won the tournament, beating Brazil in the final. West Germany won the 1954 tournament in Switzerland, beating the heavily favored Hungarians who, until the final game, had been undefeated in international competition for four years.

By 1958 the world had become aware of the Brazilian team's technical abilities. The Brazilians displayed an ease with the soccer ball that the Europeans could not match. Although Brazil had qualified for every World Cup thus far, the country had yet to win. The Brazilians finally lived up to their potential at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, when they dazzled the competition and won the championship. The team's star was an astonishing 17-year-old, Edson Arantes do Nascimento, who was known worldwide by his nickname, Pelé. He went on to dominate world soccer for the next 12 years. Brazil won again at the 1962 tournament in Chile, even with an injured Pelé sitting on the sidelines for much of the event.

In 1966 the World Cup was played in the sport's birthplace, when England hosted the event. England won the tournament, beating West Germany in an overtime final. The World Cup moved to Mexico in 1970. This was an era in which soccer—particularly in Europe—became increasingly defense-oriented. The Italians had developed a system of play called catenaccio, which featured a packed defense and relied on sudden counterattacks to score goals. However, they were comprehensively outplayed in the final by the more offense-minded Brazilians, who were led by the 29-year-old Pelé. With that victory, Brazil became the first team to win the trophy three times.

The Dutch rose to prominence in the 1970s when they developed a style known as Total Soccer, in which every player was required to be capable of attacking or defending as the occasion demanded. Led by captain and star Johan Cruyff, the Dutch played West Germany, the tournament host, in the 1974 final. The Germans, led by the renowned Franz Beckenbauer, won the game and became the new world champions. The Dutch again reached the final in 1978, and again they lost to the host team, falling to Argentina in the overtime final.

By 1982 the World Cup had become so popular that the number of finalists was increased from 16 to 24. The tournament was played in Spain, and Italy defeated West Germany in the final game to win the championship.

In 1986 Mexico became the first country to stage the World Cup twice. Argentina won the championship, largely on the strength of a masterful performance from the team's captain, Diego Maradona. The first of Maradona's two goals in Argentina's win over England became infamous when television replays revealed that he had punched the ball in with his hand; he later attributed the goal to divine intervention, claiming that “the hand of God” had scored the goal. Four minutes later Maradona dribbled half the length of the field to score one of the greatest goals in World Cup history. In the final, Argentina defeated West Germany, coached by its former star player, Beckenbauer.

West Germany had its revenge at the 1990 World Cup in Italy, beating Argentina 1-0 in the final. The low-scoring final characterized a disappointing tournament that had produced an average of only 2.2 goals per game, the lowest number in World Cup history.

FIFA scheduled the 1994 World Cup in the United States, hoping to increase the popularity of soccer in the one major country where it did not enjoy leading status. It proved a highly successful event, featuring capacity crowds at nine stadiums. For the first time in history, the final went to a penalty-kick shoot-out, in which Brazil became the first four-time World Cup champion with a victory over Italy.

France hosted the 1998 World Cup. The matches were held in ten different cities, and Brazil again advanced to the final, this time meeting France in the title match. France won, 3-0, with midfielder Zinedine Zidane scoring two of the goals. The victory was France's first World Cup championship.

The 2002 World Cup was awarded jointly to Japan and South Korea, the first time the World Cup was played in Asia and the first time it was hosted by two nations. The tournament featured a number of surprises, including the ouster of France in the first round, the United States reaching the quarterfinals, and host South Korea finishing fourth in the best showing ever by an Asian team. The final pitted traditional powers Brazil and Germany, two teams that had never faced each other in a World Cup match. The Brazilians atoned for their 1998 loss by defeating the Germans, 2-0, with striker Ronaldo scoring both goals. It was a record fifth World Cup title for Brazil.

Taken from Encarta.MSN.Com


Forza Futbol!! All hail the Beautiful Game. Ahahahakz!! Can't wait for the 2006 World Cup held in Germany. I'm already excited about the ongoing World Cup Qualifiers (WCQ) that are held a few months apart & even though I can't watch them because I DON'T HAVE CABLE!! Yeah, laugh, laugh. Shut up, lahh.

Another sport that's been going on for the last 12 days in Canada: XI FINA World Championships!!! Ohh, by the way, that's swimming. Not soccer. Surprised?? Why?? Can't a person like soccer & swimming at the same time?? Hmpf!! Anywayz, coming back to the topic at hand. Yeah, swimming. Well, the Games doesn't only include lap swimming. Diving, water polo & synchronized swimming are also included. But I only watch lap swimming. I can't be bothered with the rest.

Which means...MICHAEL PHELPS!!! Woooooot!! Brenden Hansen!! Ian Crocker!! Ryan Lochte!! Natalie Coughlin!! Caitlin Sandeno!! Oh, and I think there's a new guy called Scott Usher. Looks cute. Like, sorry if I only support the USA Swim Team. Their rivals are the Australians. Grant Hackett, Ian Thorpe, Liesel Jones, Lisbeth Lenton & so on. But surprisingly, Ian Thorpe didn't take part in any of the races. I think for the Aussies, the girls' team is better than the guys. *Shrugs*. Sorry!! The South African Team is getting pretty good, as well as the Italians & French.

The Dutch have somehow 'disappeared' from the swimming league, although during the '04 Olympics, Pieter Van Den Hoogenband & Inge De Bruin did bag some medals. Looks like the next Olympics will be a tight race between these power teams.

I guess this few months will be sports-filled. All the friendlies between clubs, the World Tours, the CL qualifiers between Liverpool & God knows what clubs, more swimming action from FINA World Champions. *SIghz*. Damn, don't I wish I have cable?? Grrrr...

Laterz...
Lenny JC