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Tag: 2014 World Cup

  • World Cup 2014: Who Is James Rodriguez?

    World Cup 2014: Who Is James Rodriguez?

    Move over Messi! There’s a new football star rising courtesy of an outstanding World Cup performance.

    Meet James Rodriguez.

    The 22-year-old Colombian talent is gaining global recognition thanks in large part to his brilliant goals, well timed assists, and (of course) his adorable goal celebrations.

    The most wonderful thing about Rodriguez is that he seemingly came from nowhere.

    All anyone talked about going into the 2014 World Cup were the established stars.

    Host nation Brazil is toting young Neymar and Argentina of course has Lionel Messi.

    Both these major stars have been largely forgotten thanks to all the controversy surrounding Uruguayan badboy Luis Suarez.

    If anything, Rodriguez almost presents himself as an “Anti-Suarez”.

    He is the antidote to the negativity and shadow cast over the World Cup event both by Suarez’s bad behaviors and the subsequent debate over his ban.

    In James Rodriguez, we have a young handsome South American athlete who is both humble and non-offensive.

    He is happy to celebrate his goals with his team and fans through dancing that would make any choreographer proud.

    Colombia took on Uruguay earlier today, and it was very clear that the Uruguayans were desperately missing their troubled talisman Suarez.

    With no one to rely on, Uruguay was powerless to stop a dominant Colombian side, which advanced thanks to two goals by Rodriguez.

    One goal was so amazing that perhaps only Robin Van Persie’s brilliant header against Spain can top it.

    If Rodriguez continues to score goals like that, then upcoming opponent Brazil (which knocked out Chile, but only after a grueling penalty shootout) might be in trouble.

    It’s possible that the young Colombian talent just might establish himself as the new darling of international association football in the days ahead.

    The World Cup isn’t over and already there are rumors flying about what European club may be looking to snatch up the talented goal scorer.

    While gossip on the internet is largely unreliable, it is possible that Rodriguez’s World Cup performance could lead to a move to a big club in the near future.

    Image via YouTube

  • Mick Jagger: Brazilians Claim He Is A World Cup Jinx

    According to Brazilian soccer fans, Mick Jagger is a “pe-frio.” In the United States pe-frios are known as jinxed or cursed. Some would just call them bearers of bad luck. Brazilians may like the music of The Rolling Stones, but they don’t want Jagger to root for their team, because they don’t want his apparent horrid luck to ruin their chances of winning this year’s World Cup.

    Let’s look at some of the facts that support Brazil’s theory that Jagger is a jinx. At a concert in Rome last Saturday, Jagger predicted that Italy would defeat Uruguay and advance to the next round of play.

    That didn’t happen.

    Italy wound up losing their match, and now the nation that has typically been a powerhouse in the world of soccer, is going home after two losses in the first round.

    Was Italy’s loss Jagger’s fault?

    Let’s further explore this so called Jagger jinx. It allegedly all began for Brazilians during the 2010 World Cup quarter-finals, when Brazil was set to square off the Dutch. Jagger was seen rooting for Brazil. The team lost and was eliminated from the tournament by Holland in a final score of 2-1.

    Jagger was also spotted in 2010 cheering for the United States. The U.S. subsequently lost to Ghana. Of course, Jagger was also seen rooting for his native England. They were quickly crushed by the Germans 4-1.

    Perhaps this Jagger tweet on June 19 didn’t help England’s chances.

    Now Brazil is taking a stand. Fans are carrying signs and making their voices heard. They are begging Jagger not to root for their team. Brazil has already claimed a spot and advanced to the next stage of the tournament, the Round of 16, which is an elimination round. They are set to square off against Chile on Saturday, June 28 at 12 pm. We don’t know who Jagger will be pulling for, of course, the Brazilians are hoping it’s Chile.

    You can get all the latest information, scores, and upcoming schedules for the 2014 World Cup by clicking here. The United States will face Germany, Thursday at 12 pm looking for a tie or win in order to secure a spot in the Round of 16.

    Image via Mick Jagger, Twitter

  • Fanny Neguesha Says Yes to Mario Balotelli

    With the FIFA World Cup being played only once every four years, one can only imagine the pressure soccer’s greatest superstars are under to perform at their peak level for their respective nations. While Brazil is obviously under the most pressure to succeed this year (being the host country and whatnot), there are certain countries which are expected to win the cup every year. Italy, led by soccer stud Mario Balotelli, is one such country.

    Balotelli, a 24-year-old striker for the Italian national team, perhaps felt more pressure than most coming into the World Cup due to his high potential and athletic prowess. Therefore, Balotelli most likely made the right move in proposing to his girlfriend, Fanny Neguesha, days before the kickoff of the 2014 World Cup.

    Unlike most teams, Italy’s coach, Cesare Prandelli, has decided to open Italy’s training camp in Brazil to the girlfriends and wives of the players, allowing Balotelli and Neguesha much time together before Balotelli’s schedule becomes quite hectic.

    One should not let the happy nature of the Tweets and Instagram posts fool oneself, however. Balotelli and Neguesha’s relationship has been rocky, to say the least.

    In May of this year, Neguesha changed her relationship status on her Instagram account to single, making many think that she had finally decided to part ways with Balotelli. Shortly after Neguesha’s relationship status was made known, a bookie in Italy started taking bets as to who would be Balotelli’s next girlfriend.

    Their split supposedly came after Balotelli and his brother were rumored to have had a foursome with an Italian Playboy model.

    Obviously, the two have rectified their differences, however, and are eager to start their new lives together.

    The couple does not have long to celebrate, though, and Balotelli’s teammates were the first to remind him of his priorities: “He must have gone through a lot of emotions last night. But now we all need to focus on the World Cup,” stated teammate Claudio Marchisio.

    Balotelli’s Italian squad faces England Saturday. The other two teams in their group are Costa Rica and Uruguay.

    Image via Instagram