Tips Guides

With the new English football season upon us we’re sure to see some fantastic and breathtaking goals. Every season a handful of players pull out something magical and score a goal that you didn’t think was possible. Looking over the best goals from last season made me wonder, what would be the best goals ever scored? Well I’ve done some research and this is what I’ve come up with.

10. Geoff Hurst for England against Germany in the World Cup final in 1966. As an Englishman I think this one can almost go without saying any more. The goal that clinched the World Cup for England and secured our only international triumph to date has a special place for any football fan from the country where it was born. When you combine the goal with the black and white footage and unforgettable commentary from Kenneth Wolstenholme you get a classic moment for English football and one that hasn’t been replicated since.

9. Zinedine Zidane’s left foot volley in the Champions League final in 2002. Volleying a ball that drops from a height is one of the hardest skills to pull off in football. To volley it with such power and accuracy on his weaker foot is why Zidane was such a special player.

8. Carlos Alberto for Brazil against Italy in the 1970 World Cup. The Brazil team of 1970 have often been thought of as one of the greatest teams of all time, with this goal one of their crowning glories. It is a brilliant team goal involving the whole team and when Carlos Alberto bursts out of nowhere to provide the finishing touch you have a moment of World Cup history.

7. Trevor Sinclair’s bicycle kick for QPR in 1997. If volleying a ball was one of the hardest skills then an overhead kick must be the hardest skill to pull off. Sinclair’s overhead kick is the best one I’ve ever seen, hit with precision off a pacey cross with flawless technique, it is simply an amazing goal.

6. Roberto Carlos’ free kick for Brazil against France in 1997. Dubbed the banana kick, or the impossible goal the amount of swerve that Roberto Carlos managed with this kick is unreal. The flight of the ball completely fooled French keeper Fabian Barthez as kids all over the world spent the next day trying to replicate this jaw dropping piece of skill.

5. Tony Yeboah’s volley against Liverpool. Another volley, and this is a special one. Seemingly from nothing Yeboah smashes the ball against the underside of the bar to beat David James from 25 yards. Yeboah would score a similar goal the next week before fading away. Still, if you’re going to be remember for something you may as well be remembered for an outstanding goal.

4. Nayim against Arsenal in the Cup Winners Cup final. One of the first goals of its kind, Nayim’s audacious lob fooled everyone, David Seaman included. The vision to spot the goalkeeper off his line combined with the perfect execution is what makes this goal so good. Add it to the fact that it is in a major European final and you have one of the best goals ever scored.

3. George Weah for AC Milan against Verona. This is an absolutely amazing goal. Picking the ball up inside his own penalty area Weah beats four players on his own while running the length of the pitch to score. One of the best goals of all time no one has ever come close to scoring anything like it since.

2. Marco Van Basten for Holland against the USSR in 1988. This is the best volley ever scored. Hit from an impossible angle it is still unbelievable to watch the ball fly in, it is hard to think that a volley will ever beat this.

1. Diego Maradona against England in 1986. No, not the handball that should have been disallowed. The other goal. The one where Maradona beats five England players before calmly slotting the ball into the net. While not running as far as George Weah, Maradona didn’t just use pace to beat players, but ghosted past world-class English players like they weren’t there. If there ever was a one man team it was this Argentina team, and Maradona was their driving force. An incredible player and this was his best goal.

Well these were my favourite goals of all time. There are a lot I’ve left out, but search for these on YouTube and you’re sure to be amazed.

Patrick is an expert Research and Travel consultant. His current interest is in Birmingham Airport Hotels, Stansted Parking and Pink Elephant Stansted.

The Premier League format that emerged in England and that was later replicated in Scotland has been a resounding success. In 1992 the top tier of English football broke away from the Football League and has flourished with the backing of Sky TV. Scottish clubs followed suit in 1998 to form the Scottish Premier League (SPL), with Setanta Sports currently providing improved terms to extend their deal.

A sports marketing firm, Platinum One, has unveiled plans for an All-Ireland Premier League. This is an attempt to provide an upturn in the fortunes of the beautiful game in Ireland. Many clubs, on both sides of the border, are struggling to survive due to poor attendances and sponsorship. Recently, Sligo Rovers, Cobh Ramblers and Galway United have all revealed that they are suffering financial difficulties.

Most concerning is the current plight of Sligo Rovers. A club statement warned on July 15th that “It is a matter of fact that if Sligo Rovers Football Club do not raise substantial funds by the end of August 2008 the club will no longer exist in football.” This is a town that has previously boasted a passionate football tradition and a strong fan base. But club officials have resorted to admitting that they’re struggling to get paying fans through the gates, and if they don’t manage to conjure up a small fortune in the next month then Sligo Rovers will cease to exist as a football club.

It is important to consider that the financial problems being experienced by Irish football clubs are not peculiar to Ireland. The high profile demise of Gretna in the Scottish Premier League highlights a more global problem, with at least three clubs from the English leagues on the verge of extinction.

The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) recognises that the financial problems have been brought on by over-ambitious chairmen, who over-extend themselves financially in their bid to bring success to their club. In an attempt to rectify the situation, the FAI have brought in a cap on players’ wages, which should not exceed 65 per cent of a club’s income. The salary cap could have the potential to restore a more financially stable league, but can the clubs afford to wait a season or two to find that out?

A United Irish League would result in removing the running of domestic football at the top level from the FAI and the Irish Football Association (IFA). The proposals include running the league under a five year license, which would be granted by the FAI and IFA. The league would be funded through sponsorship and television deals. The propose that infrastructure of the clubs could also be improved by unlocking government grants for stadium improvements.

The FAI’s chief executive, John Delaney, recently declared that he was in favour of the idea in principle, but he felt it was “divisive” at the current time and said he remained committed to the association’s own plan to develop the League of Ireland in its present form. The IFA have refused to enter initial discussions and chief executive, Howard Wells, has stated that the timing would not be right as the IFA was currently revamping its own league.

The plans for a United Irish League were created by Fintan Drury, chairman of Paddy Power and director of Anglo Irish Bank. The league would run alongside the Premier Leagues in England and Scotland and consist of ten clubs- seven from the republic and three from the north. Drury has invited Bohemians, Drogheda United, St. Patrick’s Athletic, Galway United, Limerick 37, Cork City and Shamrock Rovers from the republic. Invites have also been issued to Linfield, Glentoran and Derry City from Northern Ireland. Drury sent a 62 page proposal to all the clubs and hopes the league could launch in August next year.

The SPL has the Old Firm derby, and the English Premiership has Sky’s Grand Slam Sunday, maybe the Irish United League would offer the traditional north/south rivalry which could capture the public’s imagination.

Patrick is an expert Research and Travel consultant. His current interest is in Dublin Airport Hotels and Southampton Cruise Parking.

Better known as Euro 2008, the UEFA European Football Championship was an exciting end to an eventful season. Qualification for the final began in August 2006 after the FIFA World Cup. Groups A, B, C and D, consisting of 16 teams, battled it out on the field to find out who would be going to Vienna for Euro 2008. Spain became the first team to win all matches in the group stage since France’s accomplishment in 1984.

In terms of international competitions, Germany is considered one of the most successful teams. They have won six distinguished titles, three World Cups and three European championships. Germany is also the only nation to have both men’s and women’s teams win World Cups.

In the Euro 2008 final, Spain and Germany faced off at the Ernst Happel Stadion in Vienna, Austria on June 29. Full of confidence and excitement, both teams were welcomed by grandstands full of cheering fans. In the final, Spain defeated Germany 1-0. Adidas produced the ball used in the final and named it Europass Gloria. Europass Gloria is a version of Europass which was the 14-panel match ball used during qualifying games.

Spain’s David Villa injured his right thigh muscle during the semi-final win over Russia and was unable to compete in Euro 2008. “I’m a little sad that I won’t be there to take part, but it’s better that a teammate who is fit plays instead of me, particularly as my injury has left me limping quite badly,” Villa said before the game.

New Euro 2008 Trophy Style

The new trophy awarded to the winning team was almost an exact replica of the original that was designed by Arthus-Bertrand. The revised design no longer has the small figure juggling a ball on the back or the marble plinth. The new trophy is made of sterling silver, weighs 8 kilograms and is 60 centimeters tall. The silver base was enlarged, and the names of the winning countries were engraved on the back.

Euro 2008 Entertainment and Closing Ceremony

The championship’s closing ceremony featured Spanish singer Enrique Iglesias, who sang the tournament’s official song “Can You Hear Me” composed by Rollo Armstrong. Iglesias is a Madrid native with 18 No. 1 Spanish singles on the Billboard’s Hot Latin Tracks.

Some of the nearly 400 artists and performers included Shaggy, Christina Sturmer, Rawbau, The White Stripes and others. The German dance group Bellini performed after each goal scored during the competition. Euro 2008 official mascots were named Trix and Flix after the names won 36% of the vote.

Welcome Home Celebrations

The Euro 2008 champions Spain were greeted by thousands of still-excited fans as they returned home. The team was paraded through town in an open-top bus as fans lined the streets, cheering them on. Coach Luis Aragones describes his team as “the best team in the world.”

Euro 2008 was Spain’s first European championship since 1964. A fitting official end to the celebration, a rendition of “We Are The Champions” was played over loudspeakers while red and yellow confetti showered party-goers.

A series of informative guides for Spain are produced by Tribune Properties, and includes reviews for Barcelona hotels

They also have airport information and flights to Menorca and for those taking a trip to Menorca hotels in Menorca

The FIFA President and one of the most powerful men in soccer, Sepp Blatter, has again spoken out against what he calls ‘modern slavery’ in the beautiful game. Blatter is outraged at Manchester United’s apparent attempts to prevent their prize asset from ‘jumping ship’ and drew uncomfortable comparisons with the slave trade.

Celebrated abolitionist author Frederick Douglass stated that ‘I didn’t know I was a slave until I found out I couldn’t do the things I wanted.’ A century and a half later and Sepp Blatter is comparing Ronaldo’s difficulty in moving clubs to the slaves’ deprivation of personal freedom.

In an age where modern-day soccer players can earn as much as 150,000 pounds a week it seems ludicrous to make such bold statements. However, connotations of slavery have been prevalent before with the transfer of players as young as 13 from African countries like the Ivory Coast to Europe and the Middle East so soccer isn’t entirely innocent.

Sepp Blatter spoke out almost five years ago against Europe’s leading soccer teams committing ’social and economic rape’ by sending scouts to the developing world to grab their piece of the next big thing. Blatter labelled Europe’s leading clubs as ‘neo-colonialists’ motivated by greed and with no concept of integrity and dignity.

Every year, thousands of children of varying talents are snapped up by agents, clubs and corporations(evident in the Carlos Tevez saga of 2007). These players will either make the grade and become professional footballers or will fall by the wayside and be left with nothing. With the importance of success and money associated with 21st century soccer, this fickle business sees more and more players dropping out without a trace.

The term ‘football slavery’ was penned to describe the situation many footballers found themselves in when paid low salaries and miles from home. This is clearly a long way from Ronaldo’s predicament where he is being paid in the region of 100,000 pounds a week and playing for the champions of Europe.

The two types of slavery that Blatter describes are so far removed from each other that the use of the term ’slavery’ in both is offensive. Ronaldo may have every right to expect his ‘dream move’ to Real Madrid, but he signed a new five year contract at Manchester United just a year ago. This is a long distance from the issues of unlicensed football academies and agents in Africa offering pipe dreams to impoverished families.

Look at the most successful teams in England, France and Spain and you will notice an increasing trend in investing in African soccer players. Arsenal’s squad consists of a multitude of Africans including Alex Song (Cameroon), Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Eboue (Ivory Coast), Emmanuel Adebayor (Togo). Adebayor even used his own success to attempt to inspire African youth by calling his success a ‘journey of hope’.

It is the success stories of Adebayor, Didier Drogba and Samuel Eto’o that inspire the youth of Africa to strive for success as professional soccer players. However, the hopes of these children is being manipulated and abused by mercenaries looking to make quick money with little or no concerns about the well-being of their new ‘products’.

Examples of this way of thinking are rife in the Ivory Coast where Lebanese businessmen exploit the disenchanted youth. Explaining why he feels it acceptable, Lebanese football scout Mr Shalhoub spoke to the English newspaper, The Guardian. He claimed ‘Football slavery exists in Africa. But Africa has long been exploited for diamonds, for gold, for its people, so why should footballers be any different?’

Patrick is an expert Research and Travel consultant. His current interests include Luton Airport Parking, Heathrow Airport Parking and I have a travel blog site.

The gradual demise of Horwich RMI has been phased in since 1995, so it’s not surprising that not many people are aware of their demise. The final nail in their coffin has been applied more recently by a ‘visionary chairman,’ Dominic Speakman. In 1995 they were transformed into Leigh RMI and since June the club have been parading as Leigh Genesis. The launch of Genesis included terms such as “ideas of colour”, “core of the new brand”, “The alignment of football to fashion” and “a contemporary edge and is unique in the world of football”. This is the same visionary chairman that is planning on moving the club, with an average attendance of 250, to a 10,000 seater stadium.

Leigh are not the only town that have bought a football team. The Football League lost a lot of credibility when they allowed Wimbledon to relocate to Milton Keynes. The Football Association distanced themselves from the Wimbledon decision, with the then chief executive, Adam Crozier, describing the decision as ‘appalling’. MK Don’s first game in the Nationwide League drew an attendance of under 2,500. Disenchanted Wimbledon fans had formed a breakaway club, which attracted a crowd of over 4,500 in the Combined Counties League. It is important to note that MK Dons have done extremely well since the move and they are not really to blame- even if they did buy football league status.

Horwich RMI (Railway Mechanics Institute) were founded in 1986 at the locomotive building works in Horwich. RMI were a non-league club that was uprooted and moved seven miles south to Leigh back in 1995. Horwich’s traumatic move to Leigh involved a far greater leap than a mere seven-mile journey south west. Unsigned boundaries were crossed. Horwich is Bolton Wanderers and football; Leigh is Wigan and rugby league. The move included ground-sharing with Leigh Centurians rugby league team. This caused a decline in support from Horwich’s disassociated fans. After changing their name to Leigh RMI they were relegated in their first season.

Five years later, Leigh RMI climbed back to the summit of non-league football, the Conference. In 2005 Leigh RMI played the first ever game against FC United of Manchester, the team formed in reaction to the purchase of Manchester United by the Glazer family. Interestingly, Leigh RMI and FC United of Manchester had considered a merger, yet RMI supporters chairman, Peter Low, stated “It would seem hypocritical to some degree, in light of the Glazer events, if a team came into being by taking over another club”. Just like Leigh Genesis replacing Horwich RMI maybe?

It was inevitable that the Leigh would eventually drop the RMI (Railway Mechanics Institute) suffix. There isn’t even a train station in Leigh! Now the club are residing in the Northern Premier League and have been re-branded Leigh Genesis. However, in wiping out RMI they have erased any trace of Horwich RMI, the original team. The re-branding included changing, not only the name, but also the colour of the football kit. The process that started in 1995 has deleted the Horwich RMI team and replaced it with Speakman’s Leigh Genesis.

This is great news for Leigh as they have now got a new football team for the town and the prospect of a move to Leigh Sports Village and a 10,000 all-seater stadium, despite an average attendence of just 250. The ‘visionary’ also insisted on restricting a key income stream by not having a shirt sponsor in order to display ‘Genesis’, and spread the brand. They are also becoming full-time, which is unusual for the Northern Premier League. Two teams that attempted this were Grantham Town and Colne Dynamoes. Grantham have only just regained a sound financial footing a decade later, and Colne Dynamoes folded in 1990. Is the future bright? Only if they change their kit to orange.

Patrick is an expert Research and Travel consultant. His current interest is in Birmingham Airport Parking, Birmingham Airparks.

Soccer players are gifted athletes with physical strength and agility that would put many other sportsmen and women to shame. The finely-tuned, committed professionals that we see playing in the World Cup Finals and in leagues across the globe have access to the most advanced designs of soccer shoe to enhance their performance. Since the first ever pair of soccer shoes were produced for King Henry VIII in 1526 for a cost of four shillings, this vital piece of a player’s equipment has evolved into a multi-billion dollar business.

In the late 1800s, the heavier boot style gradually became replaced with a more lightweight shoe as the game changed from hobby to sport. In 1891, a revision to the Laws of the Game allowed projection on the soles of the shoe for the first time. This pioneering move introduced studs and saw the first incarnation of the modern-day soccer shoe. Weighing half a kilogram, this thick leather ankle boot would not offer the most flexibility but offered much-needed progression from the steel-toe-capped work-boots.

The twentieth century saw a little progress and various soccer shoe manufacturers starting mass-production including Gola, Valsport and Hummel. In Germany, the industrious Dassler brothers introduced the interchangeable studs to give wearers the opportunity to adapt to different playing surfaces and conditions. This developed further in the 1950s when soccer shoes were equipped with screw-in metal or plastic studs.

The Dassler brothers were to play an even larger part in the evolution of the soccer shoe then their previous work suggested. After a bitter dispute the two separated and went on to form Adidas and Puma, now two of the leading names in soccer shoe manufacturing. In 1948 when the brothers split their business, Adi Dassler formally registered Adidas while Rudolph Dassler’s company would become Puma. These two companies were to become massive soccer shoe manufacturers producing classic designs like the adidas Copa Mondial (1979) and the Puma King (1968).

The 1960s and 1970s brought international superstars like Pele, George Best and Eusebio to the world’s attention - so soccer shoes evolved to accommodate the increasing pace and skill with which the sport was being played. Players began wearing a particular brand of boot, Pele and Eusebio performed at the world cup wearing Puma soccer shoes - however, shoe sponsorships would reach a much larger scale in the 80s and 90s. Shoes become lighter and more supple, made primarily from kangaroo skin and are designed specifically to accommodate hard, firm and soft ground.

The Copa Mondial, released by adidas in 1979, went on to become the best-selling soccer shoe with its synonymous three-stripe design and fold-down tongue. The Puma King continued to sell well as other sportswear companies entered the market including Umbro, Lotto and Diadora. But more was yet to come.

In 1994, adidas released the much-anticipated, revolutionary adidas Predator. This soccer shoe broke the mould, almost literally, with its ‘polymer extrusions’ and bladed studs. Designed by ex-Liverpool FC soccer player Craig Johnston, the adidas Predator took the soccer shoe world by storm as it claimed to increase swerve and power with the rubber moulds on the top of the boot. With player endorsements from such global stars as Zinedine Zidane, Paul ‘Gazza’ Gascoigne and David Beckham, the brand continues to develop and evolve the design with such releases as the Predator Precision (2000) and the Predator PowerSwerve (2007).

Nike were one of the last global super-brands to begin marketing its own soccer shoes but the company’s designs and player endorsements have forced Nike to the top of the soccer shoe ladder. Nike Total 90s and Mercurial are their biggest selling designs and have been advertised by players of the ilk of Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney as well as Brazil international Ronaldinho.

The turn of the millennium also saw the introduction of soccer shoes of various colours, with players often wearing designs that were colour coordinated with their team’s uniform. Various new designs have also been launched including the Craig Johnston P.I.G (Patented Interactive Grip) and the Lotto Zero Gravity laceless shoe but none has yet to make the impact of the Predator. However, it will only be a matter of time before a new style takes the world by storm, and the soccer shoe that Henry VIII ordered in 1526 becomes an even-more distant memory.

Patrick is an expert Research and Travel consultant. His current interest is in Heathrow Parking, Heathrow Hotels and I have a travel blog site.