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Anyone agree that David Beckham is the best soccer player ever?

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Beckham's Injury 3/14/10

If anyone wanted to see Beckham's injury from march 14 here it is:
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Beckham!

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Soccer's greatest in my opinion

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/spitzgogo/128162811/ photo by Spitzgogo_CHEN (Nokia 6230i) David beckham
http://www.flickr.com/photos/felix42/186270701/ photo by Felix42 contra la censura cannavaro
http://www.flickr.com/photos/whappen/2992262601/ by Wha'ppen kaka and messi
http://www.flickr.com/photos/magicroot/2218098587/ Magic Root™ ronaldo
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Liverpool's Torres Could Miss The Rest Of The Season And World Cup

This story was from the webpage: http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/85/england/2010/04/17/1883477/liverpools-torres-could-miss-the-rest-of-the-season-and

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez is fearful that star striker Fernando Torres could miss the rest of the Premier League season as surgery could be necessary to repair his knee injury.

The Spaniard has been unable to see his doctor in Barcelona due to the flight ban in Britain, but Liverpool’s medical staff think that an operation on the knee might be needed.

If the Spain international does indeed go under the knife he will certainly be unable to compete in the Reds Premier League and Europa League games, and could be unavailable for his country at the World Cup this summer.

“We are not sure whether he will play again this season,” Benitez told The Mirror.

“He needs to see the specialist and he will tell us whether Fernando needs an operation and when he will be back.”

There was some hope that Torres could be back against West Ham United on Monday night but t now there are fears that the Spaniard could be out for the considerable future.
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World Cup 2010: Ronaldinho Confident Of Being Selected For Brazil

This story was from the webpage: http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/67/world-cup/2010/04/20/1887598/world-cup-2010-ronaldinho-confident-of-being-selected-for

Ronaldinho claims he will make coach Dunga's final Brazil World Cup squad and take part in this year's tournament in South Africa.

The Milan playmaker has been constantly overlooked by Dunga this season, despite being the assist leader in Italy's top flight and improving over 600 places in the Castrol Rankings since September.

"I'll tell you a secret: I can't imagine a World Cup without Ronaldinho on the pitch," suggested 'Dinho in an interview with Chi.

"It seems impossible, even if I consider the risk of not being there I feel bad, very bad. Then I say with certainly I will honor my country at the next World Cup and I, along with my national team, will win."

Meanwhile, his club side are now third favorites for the Scudetto after falling behind Roma and Inter in the Serie A standings.

"The Scudetto? It's finished only when we are out mathematically," continued the former Barcelona man.

"I am compelled to believe in the championship. Each game will be a battle and I am ready."
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Top 10 World Cup Goalscorers Of All Time

This article was from the webpage: http://goal.com/en/news/2377/top-10/2010/03/23/1845772/top-10-world-cup-goalscorers-of-all-time

10) Teofilo Cubillas (Peru) – 10 goals (1970, 1978, 1982)

The greatest Peruvian of all time, Cubillas was the inspiration behind his country’s run to the quarter final in 1970. Scored a memorable goal against Scotland eight years later in Argentina.

9) Gary Lineker (England) – 10 goals (1986, 1990)

Top scorer at the 1986 World Cup with six goals. Also struck four times in 1990 as England finished fourth.

8) Gabriel Batistuta (Argentina) – 10 goals (1994, 1998, 2002)

Legendary Argentine striker with a bullet of a right foot. At his peak during the 1994 and 98 editions, but also scored as a veteran in Japan/South Korea.

7) Helmut Rahn (West Germany) – 10 goals (1954, 1958)

‘The Cannon from Essen’ is best remembered for scoring twice in the 1954 final against Hungary, but he was also a star four years later in Sweden. His 10 goals came from just nine games.

6) Jurgen Klinsmann (Germany) – 11 goals (1990, 1994, 1998)

Prolific striker who excelled in three straight World Cups and forged an impressive partnership with Rudi Voller.

5) Sandor Kocsis (Hungary) – 11 goals (1954)

Like Just Fontaine further down this list, Kocsis only played in one World Cup but was a key player in the magnificent Hungary team of 1954, scoring in every game apart from the shock final defeat to West Germany.

4) Pele (Brazil) – 12 goals (1958, 1962, 1966, 1970)

‘The King’ burst onto the scene as a 17-year-old in 1958, scoring twice in the final win over Sweden and hit the back of the net again in the final 12 years later during the 4-1 thumping of Italy.

3) Just Fontaine (France) – 13 goals (1958)

The striker only ever played in one World Cup, but remains to this day the top-scorer in a single tournament with 13 as France finished third in 1958.

2) Gerd Muller (West Germany) – 14 goals (1970, 1974)

Arguably the best penalty box striker of all time, Muller hit 10 as West Germany finished third in 1970, and then four in 1974 as Holland were defeated in the final.

1) Ronaldo (Brazil) – 15 goals (1994, 1998, 2002, 2006)

Legendary Brazilian, who is best remembered for his exploits at the 2002 World Cup where his eight goals, including two in the final, led the Selecao to glory.
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Top 10 Players To Miss The World Cup Through Injury

This article was from the webpage: http://goal.com/en/news/2377/top-10/2010/03/21/1842735/top-10-players-to-miss-the-world-cup-through-injury

10) David Beckham (2010)
Barring a miracle England's most capped outfield player will have to be content
with 'just' the three World Cup appearances as he pulled up with an Achilles
tendon injury playing for Milan. He played through the pain barrier in 2002 when he clearly wasn't fully fit after breaking his second metatarsal, coining the name 'Beckham bone' and he limped off during England's eventual quarter-final defeat to Portugal in 2006.

9) Santiago Canizares (2002)
Bizarre. After years of playing second fiddle to Andoni Zubizarreta the Valencia shot-stopper was given the number one shirt for 2002. Then he encountered a bottle of aftershave, which, in uncharacteristic style, he dropped against his bathroom sink, with a shard of glass severing a tendon in his big toe. He was rushed to hospital and missed the entire tournament, giving rookie keeper Iker Casillas a chance to make a name for himself with two saves in the penalty shoot-out against the Republic of Ireland in the second round.

8) Emerson (2002)
Got his break when Romario was omitted in 1998 and four years later he was
Brazil's skipper for the ultimately successful Japan/Korea campaign. However it was Cafu and not the then Roma midfielder who lifted the trophy as Emerson
dislocated his shoulder mucking around playing in goal in a practice match just
prior to the tournament, ensuring he was a spectator as Big Phil Scolari led his
unfancied outfit to a fifth World Cup.

7) Kenny Dalglish (1986)
It's fair to say that fellow Scots Kenny Dalglish and Sir Alex Ferguson aren't on
each other's Christmas card lists. Having inspired Liverpool to a memorable
double in his first season as player/manager the gifted forward was, even at 35, by far his country's best player. A mysterious ligament injury forced 'King
Kenny' to ring Fergie on the eve of the tournament saying he couldn't play,
infuriating the future Manchester United manager so much so that relations
between them are arctic 24 years on. Rumours persist that Kenny was angered that his close friend Alan Hansen had been dropped from the final squad but he has always maintained that he wasn't 100 per cent fit.

6) Rene Bliard (1958)
The history books declare that Just Fontaine holds the record of the most goals
in a single World Cup with a whopping 13 in Sweden 1958. Fontaine only got his break after his Stade Reims striking partner Rene Bliard hurt his ankle in
training before a ball was kicked in anger, meaning he was forced to return to
France for treatment as Fontaine scored goals for fun, including four against
holders West Germany. Ouch!

5) Marco van Basten (1994)
Milan's devastating striker put himself through hell to try to play a part in Holland's 1994 World Cup in America. Having last played competitively a year earlier in the Champions League final, van Basten underwent countless operations to try to be ready for Johan Cruyff's team of stars. By March of 1994 he had given up the ghost on medical advice, saying: "I know that I will never play soccer again without pain but I also know the day of my comeback is getting nearer." Tragically he was wrong and quit for good in 1995.

4) Roberto Bettega (1982)
Italy may have won in style back in Espana 1982 but they did so without one of their talismanic players - Roberto Bettega. An outstanding forward with Juventus, he picked up a knee ligament injury in a European match - ruling him out of the tournament where the once disgraced Paolo Rossi grabbed all the headlines and the Azzurri won a third World Cup.

3) Alfredo di Stefano (1962)
Perhaps the greatest player to never play in a World Cup finals, di Stefano
represented three different countries but his best chance came in 1962 with his adopted Spain. The Real Madrid legend helped La Roja qualify for the tournament but his last shot at glory was ruled out as he picked up a muscular injury during preparations, making him a reluctant spectator once again at football's global showpiece.

2) Romario (1998)
The Ro-Ro partnership with Ronaldo made Brazil the red-hot favourites to retain their crown in France. Coach Mario Zagallo dropped a bombshell when he left controversial striker Romario at home on the eve of the tournament citing a muscular injury as his reason, which enraged the Brazilian nation. The striker stressed the knock was minor and he would recover in time, but that cut no slack with Zagallo, the two enjoying a feisty falling out.

1) Daniel Passarella (1986)
Argentina's inspirational captain from 1978 was a mysterious absence from the victorious playing squad eight years later. No fan of Diego Maradona, he was hurt the captaincy was passed over to the number 10 and left the training camp in Mexico with the reason for his absence rumoured to be diarrhoea or a strange virus which made him lose a large amount of weight. Still a member of the squad, he remained on the sidelines with 'injury' the official version as El Diego ran riot and emulated Passarella's achievement of 1978.
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World Cup 2010: Anything Is Possible For Denmark - Soren Larsen

This article was from the webpage: http://goal.com/en/news/1863/world-cup-2010/2010/03/22/1844011/world-cup-2010-anything-is-possible-for-denmark-soren-larsen

Denmark qualified for the 2010 World Cup by finishing ahead of teams such as Portugal, Sweden and Hungary in their qualifying group, but the Danes are still only seen as underdogs at this summer's showpiece.

Striker Soren Larsen is confident that his side have what it takes to survive the group stage and has pointed out that Denmark are a side to be reckoned with this summer.

"Anything is possible. If we can pick up a point against both the Netherlands and Cameroon and beat Japan, then that would give us five points and I think that would be enough to see us through," said Larsen to fifa.com.

"It's our goal to make it past the group stage. We drew 1-1 in the Netherlands a year ago and I've no doubt that we can do the same again. We have a good side too.

"Our main strength is our team spirit. We keep things tight and try to get forward with plenty of passing down the flanks. It's very similar to the Netherlands really but not quite at the same level. We fight for one another, so if someone makes a mistake, we run the extra 100 metres to help them out.

"We had a lot of injuries to deal with during qualifying, but we still managed to grind out some good results. That shows the character of the squad, but we can play some decent football too. It's not going to be easy playing against us."
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World Cup 2010: Germany Are Contenders For The Trophy - Lukas Podolski, Podolski is full of confidence that Germany can go all the way...


This article was from the webpage: http://goal.com/en/news/1863/world-cup-2010/2010/03/22/1844436/world-cup-2010-germany-are-contenders-for-the-trophy-lukas The photo was created by erjkprunczyk

Germany qualified for the 2010 World Cup without any notable problems and are one of the favourites to win the trophy this summer. Striker Lukas Podolski is full of confidence ahead of the tournament in South Africa and has stated that the Nationalelf could go far.

"It’s far from being an easy group with opponents such as Serbia, Ghana and Australia. The first job is to stand your ground against all these teams," said Podolski to fifa.com.

"There are no easy opponents these days, and especially not at the World Cup. But I’m convinced that if we play to our potential, we’ll qualify from our group and could go far.

"As I’ve said, if we play to our potential and work hard as a team, we’re contenders for the trophy. But form on the day is a factor, and you always need a little bit of luck. There are a number of teams to watch.

"I actually don’t think there’s one country you can call favourites. There are several teams with real potential: Spain, Brazil, Argentina and France too."
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World Cup 2010: South African Goalkeeper Emile Baron's Injury Is Not Serious

This article was from the website: http://goal.com/en/news/1863/world-cup-2010/2010/03/22/1844003/world-cup-2010-south-african-goalkeeper-emile-barons-injury

SuperSport United goalkeeper Emille Baron believes that his dream of a World Cup appearance is still on after being told by his doctor that his shoulder injury is not serious and will not take long to heal.

"I went to see the specialist on Friday and the good news is that I will only be out of action for four to five weeks.

"It's just a minor injury that I picked up during the league game against Santos and then aggravated in Brazil. I will be visiting the gym and doing a lot of cycling and I am confident that I will be wearing my gloves again in four weeks time," the keeper said, according to Kickoff.com.

Baron slammed media for predicting a bleak future regarding his chances of making it into the Bafana squad after picking up the injury.

"My dream for the World Cup is still on. I am very disappointed with some media reports saying my dream of playing in the World Cup is over and that's why I don't like to speak to the media."
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World Cup 2010 opening ceremony set for Johannesburg on June 10th

This article was from: http://www.worldcup2010southafrica.com/world-cup/2010-news/world-cup-2010-opening-ceremony-set-for-johannesburg-on-june-10th/

Shakira, John Legend, Angelique Kidjo, Alicia Keys and Black Eyed Peas will perform at a concert in South Africa that will officially open the 2010 World Cup in South Africa on June 10th.

The concert will take place in Johannesburg and will also feature musical performances by popular African artists and appearances by past and present football legends.

Proceeds from the concert will be used for 20 Centres for 2010, a charity campaign dedicated to building twenty Football for Hope Centres for public health, education and football across Africa.

The concert will start at 8:00 p.m. local time (GMT+2) at the newly-renovated Orlando Stadium in Soweto/Johannesburg.
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Carrick backs Beckham for World Cup role


This article was from http://soccernet.espn.go.com/world-cup/story/_/id/758070/ce/uk/&cc=5901?ver=us This picture is of David Beckham and it was by photoreti

Michael Carrick believes David Beckham's presence as a non-playing member of England's World Cup party would be welcomed throughout Fabio Capello's squad.

Beckham's Achilles injury has crushed his hopes of playing at a fourth World Cup, but he could still have a role to play in South Africa.

He sustained his injury during AC Milan's Serie A encounter with Chievo on Sunday and has already undergone surgery but will be out of action for several months according to his surgeon.

Beckham may take up a role within the England camp and Carrick would love to see him make the trip.

Carrick told Sky Sports News: "I think the manager has invited him along in some capacity and however he comes along I'm sure for the lads in the squad it will be good to see him.

"It will give the lads a big boost because he's just got that presence, and great players have that. He's got that all-round presence that people respond to.''

Carrick hopes Wayne Rooney can maintain the recent form he has shown for Manchester United.

As a team-mate for club and country, Carrick is ideally placed to judge how important Rooney is to the England side, and after topping 30 goals already this season the former Everton striker is the man most likely to fire the national team to glory.

"He's obviously the main man for United and England when he's playing like that,'' Carrick said. "He can lead teams and help them be successful and hopefully he's going to have a big few months.''

Midfielder Carrick is set to be involved at his second World Cup, having been a part of Sven-Goran Eriksson's squad in 2006, and the 28-year-old is hoping it can be a tournament to remember.

"It's not easy to get to the quarter-finals and once you get to the quarter-finals penalties have knocked us out,'' he said. "Little things can win you games at that level.

"It's easy for me to sit here now and say that we're going to try to win the World Cup. We've got to, but there's going to be obstacles along the way.''
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David Beckham Injury: Achilles Tendon TORN, World Cup in Doubt


This article and photo was from the website: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/14/david-beckham-injury-achi_n_498477.html

MILAN, Italy — David Beckham will miss the World Cup and most if not all the Los Angeles Galaxy season after tearing his left Achilles' tendon Sunday while playing for AC Milan.

His international career for England is all but over. It remains to be seen how much he'll have left for the Galaxy and Major League Soccer.

"He will miss the World Cup for sure," a person familiar with the injury told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity because an official announcement had not been made. The person said it was likely the 34-year-old midfielder will play again.

Beckham was injured without getting hit during AC Milan's 1-0 Italian League win over visiting Chievo Verona.

With only a few minutes remaining and the score 0-0, Beckham was by himself with the ball at his feet, shifted his weight and reached a hand down to his left heel. Beckham then stood up and snapped his wrists like he was breaking a twig in half in a gesture to show the AC Milan bench he knew the tendon was broken.

Visibly in pain and in tears, Beckham went to the sideline for medical attention, leaving Milan a man short because all three substitutes had been used.

"He felt the muscle begin to come up, which is a typical symptom when you break an Achilles' tendon," Milan coach Leonardo told Sky. "This is a real blow."

Sky reported that Beckham said, 'It's broken, it's broken," when he came off.

Club physician Jean Pierre Meersseman told Italy's Sky TV that Beckham will fly to Finland, where he will be treated by specialist surgeon Dr. Sakari Orava.
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