The world cup played in Germany in 1974 was the first one in which teams competed for the FIFA cup instead of the Jules Rimet cup. This cup having been won by Brazil for keeps in Mexico 1970 when they beat Italy in the final by 4-1. The world cup 74 in Germany was also the first in which teams getting to the final would be required to play seven games as opposed to the six they had played in the previous world cups.

The world cup of Italia 90 is the one which will perhaps be mostly remembered for very defensive play that produced the lowest goal scoring average per game of any previous tournament. This being to the extent that much would be changed for the next world cup as to not have a repeat of such defensive minded football.

It is crucial to understand that rules in soccer are really decisions taken by the IFAB under relevant laws of the game. There are really basic laws of soccer- 17 of them. To get a good idea of soccer, one only needs to peruse a few fundamental laws of the game. The soccer field must be rectangular, between 45 and 90 metres in width and between 90 and 120 metres in length. It has designated markings that denote certain areas such as the corners, penalty area and goal area. A soccer field must be properly marked in order for a match to occur.

Are you a little perplexed by different soccer positions and the jargon you hear out on the field? Do you spend most of the game wondering exactly what every player is supposed to be doing?

The English have always prided themselves in having the best domestic cup competition in the world but until this season there has been very little evidence of that claim. But this season alone we have seen a non-league side like Havant and Waterlooville go to Anfield and take the lead against the mighty Liverpool before eventually losing gallantly by 5-2.

Barcelona get back to winning ways, Valencia lose again, Real Madrid are unimpressive against Real Murcia. Just some of the happenings in Spain this weekend…

Despite being a sport with roots reaching out to medieval and even ancient times, soccer was never really played under a set of strict rules until 1863. On 26 October, 1863 several amateur and semi-professional clubs from England gathered up in London and formed up the Football Association and devised a “constitution” for the game, including a set of standardized soccer. Let’s take a look at some of the official soccer rules of today…

One of the thirteen teams to take part in the very first World Cup Championship in 1930, Argentina has certainly enjoyed its share of success and agonized in some serious slumps in the decades since. They’ve tasted the ultimate victory and been handed some very cruel defeats.

This makes Tevez doubly dangerous as he is a striker who is made of a fatal combination of Latin American flair, Hard work and unselfishness. Let’s hope he stays in WestHam for next season(i.e they are not relegated). There is soccer players of different kind – One with flair, One with Grit, One who struggles and then there is the Tevez type.

Lionel Messi is an Argentinian footballing sensation, who is currently setting the world alight with Spanish club FC Barcelona, prompting some people to place him in the Pele and Maradona bracket of greatest players of all time. But does he live up to the hype?

Leo Messi speaks about the current season and his team. Among other things he reserves special praise for his teammate – Daniel Alves.

Argentina manager Diego Maradona’s dream of winning the World Cup both as a manager and player ended, for now, in Cape Town on Saturday afternoon as his side were thrashed 4-0 by a ruthless Germany in the quarter-finals. In the rematch of the 2006 World Cup match at the same stage, which Germany won on penalties, Germany outclassed the South Americans from start to finish and rarely let Argentina’s star studded forwards get a sniff of goal.

Going on forever, a conclusive answer as to who the best player in the history of the game is remains elusive, regardless of the exhaustive statistical comparisons conducted by soccer analysts. Though many have advanced arguments for one over the other, there is indeed no doubt that both have dazzled us with their abundant talent and stand as Soccer Gods, head and shoulders above numerous highly-talented predecessors and successors.

When most people think of Argentina and their FIFA World Cup achievements the first name that comes to mind is the immortal Diego Maradona and his glittering, if often controversial performances on the world soccer stage in the eighties. That dazzling run ended in 1994 when he was sent home from the USA in disgrace after failing a drug test during the group phase.

He’s one of the greatest players in the world and has now taken over as coach of the Argentinean national team. The legendary wearer of the number 10 soccer shirt, Maradona, is back in action for this country. He dreams of winning the FIFA World Cup one more time – this time from the sidelines as he steers his team to victory and makes soccer history.

Maradona has often vied to be considered the best footballer in history with Pele. However most people agree that while Maradona had prodigious talents his behaviour off the field often left a lot to be desired,and his constant battle against drug addiction made him far from the comparatively “squeaky clean” character that Pele was during and after his twenty plus years at the top of the game during the fifties, sixties and seventies. Like Pele, Maradona came from a very humble background in the slums of Buenos Aires.

Julio Grondona has been in charge of the AFA from 1979, and is a past master in the politics of sports. He found a way of getting rid of Maradona without appearing to do so…

Argentina’s match against Mexico got off much in the same way Germany’s against England did, with both teams going at each other’s goal. It, in fact being Mexico who created the first situation of danger when Argentine goalkeeper, Romero was late to react to a long range effort which struck the crossbar of his goal. Argentina would come back with a similar shot by Messi which was saved by Mexican goalkeeper, Perez in what started off as being an even match.

Argentina in a game they did not really have to win either to qualify to the next round or to do so in first place won by 2-0 over Greece. This in a match which in all truth; they were faced by a very solid Greek defense which did not break down till 77 minutes into the match when defender, Demichelis scored Argentina’s first and long awaited goal. A few minutes later Messi would hit the post which easily could have made the score 2-0 yet this would have to wait for veteran Martin Palermo to enter the field….

Diego Maradona, the Coach of the Argentine national team, crashed his team out of the 2010 FIFA world cup at the quarter finals stage, losing to Germany in such a scandalous way. His highly rated team lost by a whopping 4-0 to the Germany soccer machines, putting an abrupt end to his bragging and utter display of disrespect to other coaches and legends of the game of soccer.

Maradona’s Argentina beat Nigeria by the score of 1-0 with a goal scored by defender Heinze in the 6th minute of the game to give Argentina’s (ex-great player) current coach his first win in a world cup. This in a way being a coincidence since it was Nigeria back…

After attending FC Barcelona match vs. Mallorca, Diego Armando Maradona met Josep Guardiola for the first time. The meeting took place at Camp Nou facilities during official training.

Diego Armando Maradona invented this very soccer trick in the early 1980s in one of the Argentine Clausura soccer matches at half time. He combines a set of juggling soccer skills starting from left foot to right foot, then left knee to right knee, then left shoulder to right shoulder and finally heading the ball to complete the whole sequence.

His complete name is Diego Armando Maradona. He was born 30 October 1960 in Lanus, Buenos Aires. Maradona is an ex- Argentine soccer player, and now manager for team of Argentine national. He is regarded as a lot of people as the greatest soccer player of all time. His nickname is The King Pibe de Oro Golden Boy. He was chosen the greatest FIFA soccer player of the 20th century (an honor he shares with Pele).

If you are a soccer fan, you know that Argentina is one of the biggest national team in the world. You also know that Argentina has not won a major championship for a long time and that they won their last world cup in 1986 thanks to one of the greatest soccer player of all time. Now if you are up to date you know that this soccer player is now the head coach of Argentina national team. This soccer player is Diego Armando Maradona also known as “El Pibe de Oro”. What is the situation today?

The Argentina Football Association (AFA) plans to offer Diego Maradona a new contract that would see him at the helm of the country’s football team upto the 2014 World Cup to be hosted by Brazil. Under Maradona, Argentina reachedthe quarter-finals of the World Cup in South Africa, and the renewed contract will see him in charge in the 2014 World Cup as well, assuming that the team qualify. Julio Grondona, the AFA president, plans to meet Maradona, next week, with the proposed offer.

When Argentina had beaten Nigeria and were about to take on South Korea, Maradona decided to stake everything on his team winning the World Cup. With the conviction of a man who already had the World Cup securely locked in his cupboard, Maradona decided to settle scores with Pele and Platini who had questioned his coaching skills. He said Pele belonged to a museum, and sought to reduce Platini’s credibility by drawing attention to the fact that he was a Frenchman, and by inference, a know-it-all.

Many people never believed they would actually see that happen, but Argentina’s new coach is here to show everyone that he still has the hand of God, and is able to straighten his team during the World Cup, despite the negative forecasts and the instability of some of his players. Maradona is certainly the greatest legend of Argentina, who has got into a mess in 2008 when he decided to accept the challenge of dealing with the frustration and excitement of the country fans.

An outstanding Lionel Messi saved the El-Classico for the catalans and most importantly made sure that the difference between Sevilla and the defending champions will be only 3 points. Don’t be surprised if yesterday’s El-Classico will be remembered as Lionel Messi’s ElClassico.

One of the brightest stars FC Barcelona, a team with no shortage of world-class talent, is a young Argentinean player who has played with Barcelona’s youth team since his early teens.