Manchester United have announced that a testimonial game will be held on August 2nd 2008, to mark the end of the career of  the former striker, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The game will be held at Old Trafford against Espanyol and proceeds will go to help set up a charity aimed at building schools for impoverished African children ( Tickets are now on sale ).

Solskjaer, who has had a remarkable career for Man United, was forced to retire from the game last year due to a string of injuries. Since his retirement from football, the 35 year old has since joined the Man united coaching staff.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, affectionly known as the ‘baby faced assasin’, has become a fans favourite since joining united in 1995. Despite his struggles with injury problems he will still go down as one of the united greats, not least for his dramatic part in the 1999 champions league final, where he scored that infamous last minute winner against Bayern Munich!! Re-live the glorious moment here (probably not so glorious for non-man united fans but it was against the Germans so watch it anyway!).

If you want to show your support for the Norwegien legend, then tickets are now on sale through this link;  Solskjaer Testimonial Tickets . My advice is to get your hands on them quick because they will sell out fast!

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Dean

www.fullfootball.co.uk

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I have recently been researching an area of fitness training that seems increasingly popular among top sports trainers and fitness ‘gurus’. This is commonly known as Core Strength Training and it seems to be a vital method that is commonly overlooked by most sports coaches and players.

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By: Shane Wilson

Soccer has been around for decades but has only begun to catch on in recent times. More and more individuals are attracted to the fun and allure of the sport. With it’s fast paced action and fun game play, people are coming out of the woodwork to learn how to play soccer. LearNing how to play soccer is quick and easy and can be leared in a short period of time.

There are no preset rules that say you have to join a league or get involved in a club to play soccer. Soccer can be played with friends, family or on a team in your own backyard, if there’s room. Even though the regulation size of a team is 11 people, there is nothing stopping you from playing with just one other person. 2 people can simply play together and try and get past the opposing player and score a goal.

If you choose to gather a few friends and family or even start a team that will play in a league, then you’ll need 11 players. In soccer you have a standard lineup consisting of 4 Defenders, 4 mid fielders and two Strikers. The goalie is not counted in the basic lineup as he is always in the same position, guarding the goal.

On a standard field, the width is 64 meters and the length is 110 meters. Some fields vary but this is the standard. On either end of the field there is a goal box where the goalie resides during play. He can venture out of the box in some instances to defend but that is only out of necessity.

While playing soccer, only the goalie can use his hands and only when he is within the goalie box. The goalie box is about 16 meters deep from the goal line, or edge of the field, and is roughly 50 meters wide. He can use his hands anywhere within that box. If any other team member touches the ball with his hands either on purpose or accident, a penalty is called and the other team will take possession of the ball at the spot of the violation.

The main goal of soccer is to try and score on the opposing players goal. This can be done by dribbling the ball, passing the ball to fellow players and then actually shooting on goal. The team that is defending will try and stop the opposing team by dribbling, passing and clearing the ball. Clearing the ball is when the defending team retrieves possession of the ball and kicks it to the opposing teams side of the field.

One point is awared to each successful goal in soccer. The standard time for a regulation soccer game is 1 and a half hours consisting of two 45 minute halves. The team with the most points at the end of regulation wins. If both teams are tied then there will be a two overtime rounds of 15 minutes with the first team to score winning. If no team scores in the overtime period then comes what is called sudden death. In sudden death each team is given 5 free shots on goal to try and get the ball past the goalie for a score. This will continue until either team has outscored the opponent or the game is called as a tie by the officials.

Soccer can be enjoyed by people of all ages. It is a great sport for bonding with friends and family and building great teamwork skills. In addition, soccer is a fantastic way to get in and more importantly, stay in shape. Who would have guessed playing a simple game of soccer is a great way to get in shape

Article Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com

About the Author:
Shane Wilson is a prominent webmaster of Stompersoccer.com where he provides information on anything from Soccer Balls to Soccer Positions. For the latest soccer tutorials please visit Stompersoccer.com today.

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I was recently informed that it is fathers day this Sunday (15th June)!!!! and probably like you, I was struggling to come up with any ideas of what to get him.

I spent ages (a few minutes) of my precious time looking around my local shops to find him anything half decent. I found nothing. I would guess that also like me, you are probably pretty busy right now and have little time to go out and physically buy him anything! My finances are also pretty tight at the moment so I really needed to find a cheap fathers day present that he would like. Then it occured to me, there must be loads of great gifts available that would relate to his favourite thing….. Football!!

I then went on to spend hours finding the cheapest and best football gifts on the Internet. Eventually I found a few sites that fitted the bill perfectly and managed to buy my dad the best present from one of them.

Some of these sites were great and it seemed a shame to keep them to myself, so I thought I would share them with you!!…..

 These are just a few websites and ideas I came across (and the best), although there should be plenty enough here to get you going!! Good luck in your search and I hope you find your dad the perfect fathers day football gift!!

Devoted to Sport

In my search for a gift, I have recently found a great place to get personalised sports gifts, perfect for dads this fathers day!

Some of the gifts include signed football shirts, team calendars, team and player books, club shares, team photos, football games, personalised t-shirts and more………………….

Act quickly and you will get 10% off through the link below!!

Make sure you enter this promotional code when purchasing:  AF09

Devoted to sport   10% off Fathers Day Gifts

 Replica Football Shirts

Another great idea is a replica team shirt, maybe a shirt for his favourite club or even an international team to celebrate EURO 2008?

This website currently has a great promotion on all end of season premiership shirts!!

If you want to go a bit further you could also get them personalised with name and number!!

 If your undecided on what shirt to get him, gift vouchers are also available!

 Get a cheap football shirt now!

 Euro 2008 Tickets

If your budget is a little larger than most, or you’re just abit more generous than most sons (or daughters!), then you might want to splash out and get  your dad the ultimate fathers day present! 

This website is a great place to get tickets to all major football matches, including EURO 2008!! Yes, they still have tickets available for Euro 2008 matches, including semi final and final tickets!

Now I know England and all the other home nation countries are not there but think how great it would be to go and watch some top international football, it only comes around once every 4 years!!

If the Euros really aren’t your thing, they also have tickets for almost all major future football events.

Follow this link to get great deals on Euro 2008 Tickets and more!!

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The preface to presently all major soccer tournaments is the focal point of who’s team is out more than who is integrated in the tournament.
Subsequently in the tournament at Austria and Switzerland, there once more will be quite a few important players not participating, counting David Trezeguet and Raul Gonzalez.

Though Raul, who is the Spain’s all time leading scorer by means of 44 goals in 102 appearances, has never won a major international event title, but for the other side Trezeguet scored the Golden Goal to captured the Euro 2000 title with France.

"It’s an organizational choice," France coach Raymond Domenech said of Trezeguet after announcing his squad.

But if club soccer is any gauge, equally Trezeguet and Raul would be certain of having a place in their teams. For one side Raul made 18 goals and helped out Real Madrid to win its record 31st Spanish league title and Trezeguet attained 20 goals for his team Juventus.

"I look at players, not if their clubs are first, second or third in the standings," Spain coach Luis Aragones said of his selection process. "There are other players who, in terms of the minutes they have played, have scored more goals and they’re not going either."

The last game Raul played for Spain was again Northern Ireland in a classification loss of 3-2. Trezeguet for the other hand has attained 34 goals for his team-country France and has been substituted by more athletic players like Bafetimbi Gomis and Djibril Cisse. In the World Cup final two years ago, Trezeguet fail to spot France’s aperture penalty kick and loss again Italy.

Some other important players who are left out for the tournament are midfielder Pavel Nedved, midfielder Maniche, forward Filippo Inzaghi, midfielder Clarence Seedorf and forward Hakan Sukur.

For this season Inzaghi has made 11 goals in the Italian league and has attained 25 goals in 57 appearances for Italy.

"The choice doesn’t have to do with his age," Italy coach Roberto Donadoni said. "It was exclusively a technical choice."

Nedved played on the Czech Republic team that reached the 1996 final, however the 35-year-old Nedved retired from the national team after the 2006 World Cup.

For the other hand, Seedorf, who has attained 11 goals in 87 appearances for the Netherlands, didn’t want to participate in the tournament and disapprove of coach Marco van Basten for not giving him space to achieve his potential.

"Since my return to the national team, the right conditions have not been created to let me perform at my best and to effectively excel as the team member I always strive to be," the 32-year-old Seedorf said. "We have seen from the past that some negative issues with the national team and players are recurring."

Moreover Maniche played a vital role in Portugal’s classification to the Euro 2004 final and the 2006 World Cup semifinals. Though, Maniche has frequently been on the bench at Inter Milan. In addition Sukur who is the all-time leading scorer for Turkey with 51 goals, was put out of the list by coach Fatih Terim

All this great players are the typical example that by playing in great way and helping the team doesn’t mean that always they will have the opportunity to be in their national teams.

Article Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com

About the Author:
Ally White is a top senior copy writer for the EURO 2008 games as well as the sports betting industry. Feel free to reprint this article in its entirety on your site, make sure to leave all links in place and do not modify any of the content.

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First up we took a look at the groups and the opportunities for an outright win in the group.

Group A
This looks like a 2 horse race with Portugal (12/10) and the Czech Republic (22/10) topping this group comfortably. The methodical Swiss are at 4/1 and the slightly unpredictable Turkish side are 7/1

I don’t think you can look beyond Portugal here. – no real money to be made either way for an outright winner. HOWEVER I do have a sneaky suspicion that Turkey might be the surprise package here if they get going which would put mean the Czech Republic might lose out.

Group B
Germany tops this group at 7/10 with Croatia marked down at 22/10. One can’t see either Poland (8/1) or Austria (16/1) even getting out of the starting blocks.

Germany will probably pip Croatia but the betting is also pretty close so not much to be made here. Germany and Croatia to go through.

Group C
Groups C and D are where all the action is. Italy top the betting at 16/10 with France (2/1) and the Netherlands (5/2) with Romania at 10/1.

I’ll be honest – I expect the Netherlands to surprise here and finish top of their group with Italy coming in second place and France losing out. Expect plenty of fireworks here.

Group D
Spain are the obvious favourites at 9/10 but the rest of the group is pretty open with Sweden at 4/1, Greece at 9/2/ and Russia at 11/2.

Spain is notoriously unpredictable. If they get going they are unstoppable. But it is time for them to deliver. If they stumble then I like Sweden for a few bucks.

Outright winner
Neither Germany (4/1) nor Italy (7/1) hold much interest for me.

However Portugal at 7/1 and the Netherlands at 11/1. If the Netherlands can get through the group stage then watch the support come in for them.

I always throw in a complete “Dark horse” for those with some money to blow. Going long Sweden (33/1) for this tournament – doubt they have the firepower but every now and then a methodical side comes along and they throw all the dramatic and explosive high-stakes sides out of kilter.

Article Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com

About the Author:
About the author: The Betting Hub (www.bettinghub.iblog.co.za) is a South African blog providing gambling tips and strategies as well as sports betting picks, news and information. For sports and other associated information please visit the Sports Mongrel blog (www.sportsmongrel.iblog.co.za)

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Thus Portugal classified

During the qualification phase Portugal entered Group A only losing one game and managing the second place after a very exciting match against Finland. The Finns needed a triumph in Oporto while for the Portuguese a draw was sufficient. At the end, the scoreboard remained 0-0 and the team coach by Filipe Scolari moved forward to the next round.

On the other hand, Poland dominated the group achieving the supreme position being the only team that won over Portugal from the group. There is also the worth seeing clash between Portugal and Serbia in the city of Lisbon…a mix of action, aggression and Coach Scolari’s 3-game suspension after an intent of aggression to Dragutinovic

During the Portuguese’s last game they obtained their best qualification throughout the team’s history; despite having lost the final against Greece. To this match Portugal came in with surprises especially as they had played a stronger rivals only a few weeks before; Spain, Holland and England were defeated against a host team that seemed to have all in favor.

Luis Felipe Scolari – The Coach

Scolari can be defined as the best Portuguese football coach during the entire history of Portugal.

The Brazilian coach has helped Portugal enjoy the glory arriving at the EURO 2004 final and to the semifinals of the past FIFA World Football Championship, matching the best record of the Portuguese national team in this competition something they had not experienced since 1966.

During the World Championship Portugal won over teams such: Holland and England in quarterfinals and semifinals respectively, but lost to the French in the semifinals 1-0. After Scolari’s exceptional performance with the Portuguese team he was offered the position to coach England but he decided to remain with Portugal for two more years.

The Team

The side-midfields are Portugal’s strong potential as well as their main problem. The situation is strange in the Portuguese team as it has big side-midfielders in the attack as in the lateral defense…all are outstanding players and with clear preferences for the right side. Cristiano Ronaldo, Quaresma and Simao are three incredible players who play in the right side; Bosingwa and Miguel are excellent laterals who offer good performances with their local as well as national teams.

The only situation with Scolari has been his difficulty to close the left side gap and this has been seen in several occasions basically the 4-2-3-1 that he employs regularly instead of a new 3-4-3 game strategy with a very defensive player.

The Star Players

It is well known that Portugal has the new era young football Winner of the Golden Boot, Cristiano Ronaldo who is currently playing for the Manchester United. Ronaldo has it all…speed, strength, agility…but his weakness continues to be the lack solidarity in the game, although is also an error that is being worked on for him to become the "perfect player".

Also, there is Anderson Luiz de Souza ‘Deco’ who currently plays for the FC Barcelona where he enjoys great creativity and initiative in the game attacks, excellent game vision and strong shots. Without a doubt, Deco is one of the ’souls’ of the team spreading his winning character to all of his teammates.

Article Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com

About the Author:
About the Author Stephen Lars has been a prominent writer on daily EURO 2008 games, sports news and the online betting industry for many exceptional sport web sites.

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For many many decades soccer has been one of the most popular sports in the world yet there are still some who can’t even follow a game. Don’t be embarrassed, it’s not a big deal nor is it hard to learn what the game is about, how it’s played or what and who is involved. After reading this article you’ll be able to feel a lot more comfortable at your son or daughters soccer match.

First of all, the field in standard regulation might be a little bigger than you think. The length of the field can range from 100 to 130 yards. The width can range anywhere from 50 to 100 yards. The lines at the end of either side of the field are called goal lines, the lines running up the sides of the field are side lines and the line in the center of the field is called the mid field line. Simple enough right?

Now, the ball can come in 3 different sizes: 3,4 and 5. Size 3 soccer balls are for the little tykes ages 8 and under. Size 4 balls are for the 8-12 year olds and the size 5 ball is for the 13 and older crowd.

Next we have all the people on the field. Each team is allowed to have no more than 11 players each on the field at any given time. In a basic set up the player positions consist of a goalie, 4 defenders, 3 mid fielders and 3 forwards. Also on the field during game play is the referee along with his 2 assistants on either sideline.

Now, the game length can be a little long. In a typical regulation soccer match you’ll have 2 45 minute halves with a 15 minute break at half time. This can be extended by the referee if there are any prolonged injuries during game play that require a stoppage of time.

Scoring in the game of soccer is easy to follow. Each goal counts as 1 point. So, whenever the opposing team shoots a ball with anything other than their arms into the goal, they receive 1 point. If both teams are tied after regulation then their will be what’s called sudden death where the first team to score wins. Usually the will be 2 sudden death periods consisting of 15 minutes each. Now, if neither team scores, then both teams will take penalty kicks. In this scenario, each team selects 5 players to get one free shot on goal inside the penalty box where the goal keeper resides. This will go on until either team ends up with more goals.

So that’s the game of soccer in a nutshell. There are some other aspects but there self explanatory and you should be able to pick up on them while viewing your first game. So now the next time you take in a match you don’t have to look foolish asking to many questions

Article Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com

About the Author:
Shane Wilson is a successful webmaster at Stomper Soccer where he provides loads of information and videos on anything from soccer positions to soccer balls that you can research from your home or on the field at Stomper Soccer.

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Article Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com

About the Author:
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Karri Madelline is a local freelance journalist who used to work for a beauty model agency as a manchester catwalk model.

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About the Author

Nick Kershaw has been providing cutting edge soccer news for many years since falling in love with the sport. Not content with providing live soccer commentary on his private network, Nick is also a retailer of Cristiano Ronaldo jersey for sale.

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