Getting Emotional!… World Cup Quarterfinals :0

Hello there!!

How is your World Cup going?… Mine is a bit too emotional ♥

We are in quarterfinals!! Yeyyy, mix emotions, first this is the stage when things gets  better and more nerve-racking than the round of 16, but also the feeling that this will be over soon starts to grow… Nooooo.

We had two days without World Cup, and I couldn’t remember what I used to watch before started, and you got that emptiness feeling… I know I am so dramatic but it’s all good, every four years I can be as dramatic as I want to, it’s the fricking World Cup! 😉

So yes, my prediction skills are not that accurate haha I kind of suck at it, but hey some teams were a complete surprise!

Thanks you Spain, Italy and Portugal for ruin my predictions, but I was happy that the USA messed up with what I have thought, yeah I didn’t see them coming alive of that group but good that they did, it didn’t last that long though but it was fun for sure!!

And of course I am more than happy that Costa Rica was beyond all predictions, they redefine the phrase “Anything can happen” and I couldn’t be more happy for them! Central America love ♥

Yes I didn’t learn the lesson, it’s so much fun to make predictions, think about possibilities and get them right or realizing that you were completely wrong!

Since the Internet is open and free I will give you my Quarterfinals predictions!!

Today’s matches:

The European clasico, I think France have looked more steady, some good matches, a bit of struggle vs Nigeria in RD of 16 but nothing major, on the other hand, I think Germany is always a favorite, but as usual they started great and then it was more like going downhill, but they are Germany, last match vs Algeria oh boy they suffered much more than expected and were close to say good-bye, but after that if they don’t come up with full determination and game they are going to make me look bad haha. Only because I think they cannot play worst than their last match I will give them the lead in this Europe head to head!

 

Later today it’s a South America Samba vs Cumbia, let’s see who will have the last dance.  We all saw the incredible pressure on the Brazilian team, they were so close to be out of this World Cup vs Chile, those penalties were a manicure in the making, I felt bad for them and their tears, the tension and pressure of being the host team and five time World Champions is kind of too much, but it is what it is I guess. They haven’t shown much game, but to be honest the Jogo Bonito was gone long time ago, I’ve been listened to the same complain since like two or something World Cups ago, I do agree that this team aside from Neymar don’t have anyone else that can step up, like other Brazilian teams had in the past. Anyhow I still believe that now it’s a matter of just get the result that’s why I give them the win. But I wouldn’t be surprise if Colombia knock them out :0, they have played the best football, very entertaining, happy and proposing in attack, I really like how they have played so far, I guess they have nothing to lose and all to win so, they might.  I will be happy to see them dance again, by far best celebration!!

As you can see my heart is a bit divided, I don’t know, it will be heartbreaking to see Brazil with all that have happened previous to the tournament and the whole country expecting them to advance, and not making it to the final, that would be hard to watch. But you have Colombia and they WC journey have been a fun and full of hope and football… Even though I picked Brazil, I will leave this to the Football gods hehe

 

Tomorrow we will have the second part of the Quarterfinals!

Argentina have been Messi and that’s it. They wouldn’t be in this stage if it wasn’t for him, they have a very good team but they have not shown what they can do, their last match was also bordering the drama, until Di Maria who I think aside from Messi is the one that has tried at least to do something in this tournament, the rest very intermittent. But they should advance, Belgium is not easy if you don’t agree ask Tim Howard and his 16  saves, they tried vs the USA and they couldn’t open the score as many times as they tried, but definitely there is a lot of potential and young and talented players, so this should be an interesting match.

 

Last match is The Netherlands vs Costa Rica, this is kind of David vs Goliath, The super Orange team, playing not their usual style but a more fast and result oriented one, taking advantage of the speed and talent of their best men on the pitch, Robben, Van Persie and Sneijder. Although is fair to say that Robben can add professional actor to his talents and resume, my God, it’s like if he is really trying to win the fricking Oscar or something, I won’t even talk much, I think he takes away the beauty if this sport with those actions when he doesn’t need them, he is very good and one of the best player we have seen. The team suffered a lot with Mexico, but in theory they should go through.

I would be sooooo soooo happy if Costa Rica can pull this one off, come on Ticos, Pura Vida! I have faith that they would be the surprise of this World Cup, I mean they are not matter what happen in this match, they are by far one of the best stories in this World Cup, and one of the most inspiring, but it would be so nice to see them advancing to SEMIFINALS! Big deal people, big deal :0 !!!

I know I messed up the Quaterfinal thing in the chart below it should read Quarterfinals,  I blame my emotional connection to this match hahaha

 

That’s how things are set up in this quarterfinals, I am nervous I won’t lie, I have many picks in this quarters that my heart is all over the place… I think the only easy one for my heart is Argentina- Belgium, sorry Belgium but this are things of the heart 🙂 ♥

Thank you for reading! I hope you have made your picks and good luck!! Let the nail biting begins hahaha

If you want to share your predictions or picks feel free to do it, we can compare or discuss opinions, or things of the heart ;)… Enjoy this matches and moments because we are getting close to the final oiii.

Besitos!♥

Pictures, I made them in Photoshop (not a master piece but hey they do the job!), I use the icons from http://flagspictures.org, gif from Google I don’t know who own it.

 

World Cup tales!… Surprises, dancing and goals!!

Hola! ♥

Day 8 of the World Cup is over.  Can we please agree that it feels like is going too fast??… It might be the schedule, its perfect don’t get me wrong, I don’t have to wake up early morning to watch games like last World Cup, but  it feels the day  just flies away,  maybe watching this type of quality football makes the day go even faster.

This is a great World Cup so far, these teams are playing at a high level, the style of game from most team is about proposing, creating and attacking which leave us with lots of goals and very exciting matches! I remember last World Cup I even said that the group stage was usually a bit boring and that things get better in the knock out stages, but not the case of this WC, it has been so different, a great tournament so far, emotional games, surprises all over the places and a very entertaining tournament.

Many things had happens, some still sensitive to talk about, yes I am looking at you Spain…. Can you believe it? I felt so bad for them, the first team to say good-bye to the World Cup, the defending Champions left the throne for someone else to take the reign. I Still can’t believe it but well let’s talk about it later when emotions are under control hehe… Hey they have been or were the best of the World for the past years, they re-defined the way football is play now and are the most successful national team of our generation, football soccer fans around the world,  we are totally allowed to feel the pain too.

I felt we went from day 2 to day 8 in a blink,  so I won’t do a day by day recap, review or look back whatever you want to call it, too many days and too few non football hours hehehe

First round of matches is over for all teams, so let’s recap or look back to some of the best shocking or more memorable moments… oiii

We covered day 2 and Spain debacle, yes it got worst by now let’s move on, we got a few more surprises during  first round of matches, here are some;

Colombia

It is true that group C is not as difficult as other groups might be, but as we have seeing in this World Cup anything can happen…

Congrats to Colombia, after 16 years  they are back in a World Cup with a team full of young players most of them playing at an international level and so far so good! Not only their first result beating Greece,  but also what they did today, it’s incredible, the way they are playing is very inspiring and very good, still some things to fix, but overall a great  and very promising performance something to look forward. What I love the most is the happiness they provide to the tournament, the dancing, best celebration in this World Cup by far!!

Keep dancing Colombia!!

The other teams in group C, also have played their first and second round matches too, Ivory Coast is one team with Didier Drogba and another one without him, the bad news for them is that he cannot play  all 90 minutes, he’s been getting in on second half, and even though he injects some energy to the team  sometimes it’s not enough, Yaya Toure is another star in this team but hasn’t shine the way a lot of people expected. I still think they can get out of the group stage, let’s see…

Uruguay

Big surprise on day three, when they were defeated by Costa Rica, the Central America team which in theory is less competitive, and they were the great surprise of that day, wining and playing good football, they not only took the three-point from Uruguay but also they made them look bad, slow and without ideas. Who would have thought Costa Rica would be at the Top of the table after their first game, I think no one, with all the respect their deserve, but Uruguay even though is not the same team that it was four years ago when they  finish in fourth place in 2010 World Cup, are still a good team and with quality players, yes Luis Suarez didn’t play first match but they had Cavani and Forlan and other good players. Costa Rica from CONCACAF which for many have not the same quality, well guess what it might be true but they played with no fear and went for it.

The good news for Uruguay, Luis Suarez is back and he showed it today in their second match vs England, he scored two goals and left the England team with very slim chances to advance to the next stage, an England team that was very promising in their first game vs Italy, yes they lost because Italy has a legend that controls Italy’s destiny Pirlo, he is just amazing at 35 years old, he is like a wine the older the better he gets, but the feelings left from the England team were very positive, today they couldn’t stop Uruguay and heir star Luis Suarez, the only good note for England was Wayne Rooney scoring his first goal in a World Cup. Let’s see if they can pull out a miracle, mates let’s start to pray? maybe that could help ;/

Italy still have to play their second match vs Costa Rica, we have yet to see if Los Ticos can hold on and at least get a tie, Gigi Buffon didn’t play the first match due to an ankle injury, but maybe he’ll be back for this one… It should be an interesting match, I still think Italy is the strongest in this group and one of the stronger in this tournament, playing not the usual catenaccio but a surprising kind of offensive good football. Very entertaining.

And this is how group D is unfolding… Let’s move on to more surprises.

France

France in group E, Benzema was a goal machine he officially had two in his tally, but it could have been three if the goal line technology wouldn’t have shown us that the second goal was a rebound from the keeper. Good for Benzema he didn’t score as much as he would have wanted toward the end of Real Madrid’s season and some were starting to question him. Best way to answer is always with goals!

Portugal

Germany vs Portugal in group G, oh my God, if we were surprise by the 5-1 that Spain got, this match was another surprise, less shocking but still surprising, Portugal actually started well, Critiano Ronaldo had two good chances in the first minutes, but then Germany started to level things out, and then the worst happened to Portugal, Pepe was sent-off with a red card, and left not only a bad image if this is possible I mean is Pepe, his reputation precedes him… We can argue that Muller felt very easy, that he didn’t headbutt him that hard, and that it should have been a yellow card, but it’s a World Cup and some referees won’t let these type of action go away so easy, my two cents, he should have known better, he is an elite type of player, so a red is a red, and he left his team in an awful condition, Portugal lost all the control, couldn’t find a way, Cristiano who many say is not at his best, looked desperate and couldn’t find options either and they had their worst lost in the history of the World Cup

Germany , on the other hand so far is one if not the best overall team in the tournament, they looked good as a team, collectively, the style of play was also good and they have Muller in great condition, scored the first hat-trick of the World Cup. And to think that some people didn’t consider then  as contenders, well so far they have proved them wrong. It’s early but they looked good. Something to say though  is that they have won their last four opening game scoring 4+ goals, and still they haven’t won the title in the last three World Cups.

 USA USA USA

Last but no least team USA beat their nemesis, the team that sent them home the last two World Cups, Ghana. The U.S scored the fastest goal so far, Dempsey in less than 30 seconds, it was either at the 30 or 29 second mark, some mix information hehe. But that was fast, they suffered more than expected tho but at the 86th minute John Brooks scored the 2-1 for the red, white and blue, and they finally were able to defeat Ghana in a World Cup and on top of that they got the three precious points specially in a tough group like this one, the group of death… Well they are very alive, and in a country where soccer is not as big as it is in other places it was impressive to see the support and all the craziness that went after Brooks’ goal,  it was great, there are so many videos on vine, instagram and twitter that you think; Is it real that they don’t care much about football? It didn’t  look that way on the videos and many pictures. Anyhow things are changing and there are a lot of football soccer supporters, which is great because that match  was emotionally amazing!!

 

Other first round of matches notes;

• Argentina is not in a difficult group but, they looked nervous and  they didn’t have an easy win, the expectation of this match were so high everyone wanted to see Messi in the mythical Maracana, and I think at the end the expectations were higher than what we saw on the pitch. Messi is under a lot of pressure, but he scored his first goal in this World Cup and his second in all World Cups, and everyone breathe again… hehe
• Belgium is supposed to be the revelation of this tournament, they suffered more than expected too but at the end  they still can give the surprise, lot’s of well-known players even the substitutes can make the difference.
• Russia’s head coach Fabio Capello  has the best salary, they say 22 millions ;0… oiiiii so they better get out of the group stage, just saying!
• Iran vs Nigeria was the only boring game so far, I mean some other matches maybe had some boring lapses but this one was painfully boring, sorry for both teams, hopefully they will do better in the next match.

Some injuries news;

• Coentrao  from Portugal will miss the rest of the World Cup due to an injury.
• Altidore got injure in the USA vs Ghana match and he’ll miss next match, and it’s not sure when if he will be back.
• Dempsey broke his nose in the same USA match but he is expected to play with or without a mask.

I know I am probably missing so many more things and important moments, but this is already the longest post in this blog hahah so I don’t want to make it more impossible to read.

If you make it  here give your self a round of applauses!! You are amazing 😉 … I will try to make the next recap shorter, but in my defense so many good things and surprises are happening that it’s hard to make things shorter, or maybe it’s just me, I can let things goo…. Well it is what it is, I have to take some “to the point” classes.

Thanks for reading, I really appreciated and if you want to leave a comment, if you agree or disagree with something or just want to say something feel free to do it in the comment area.

This World Cup not only is giving us good surprises but also, good laugh, I leave you with some of the funniest one…

Besitos! ♥

Pictures thanks to  first worldsoccertalk.com, rest to FIFA.com, ESPN.com… Funny pictures random from twitter and ESPN.com

Let’s play… World Cup Predictions!!

Hello, what’s up? ♥

I am watching you Brazil!! It’s Prediction time 😉

I did this last World Cup and had a mix result, so let’s try this again, I don’t have the skills of Paul the octopus, all my respect for him and may he rest in peace, he was the star of last World Cup predictions, he did it right!

So here we go, I Know most of the groups have already played their first matches, so we  can say that I have recent  information, but I will be honest with you, the latest result have nothing to do with these predictions, even with the surprises that we have witnessed I am sticking to my original pick,  I will go with my original instincts. I’m scare because some of them are in trouble right now but well I will take the risk… Living the risky life!! 😉 hehe

Same as last World Cup, are based on what I know about the teams, what I expect or consider they are capable to do. So let do this…

Let’s Start

My Predictions in blue!! This time I doing it in detail, I’m  picking two countries, the one I think will qualify at the top and the one in second place.  By the way these are not the Countries I am  supporting, these are the ones I predict will get out of their groups.

Well there you have it, let’s see how well I will do this time,  last World Cup my results were a 50/50 kind of thing,  thank God that I don’t do this as a living…  Once the group stage is over, then it’s head to head predictions yeyyy!!

Thanks for reading, feel free to share your picks if you have, or what country you are supporting if is not your own.

Maybe later I’ll share the ones I am rooting for… Those ones I pick them with the heart! ♥ aw

Besitos.♥

Pictures from google and FIFA.com (these one I cropped them  and edited on Photoshop, I like to play with Photoshop some times… As you can see is not my forte ;0

Hand full… of emotions at the World Cup.

Hola!!♥

Sunday football!!!

The fourth day of actions at the World Cup has ended, so far it has been an incredible tournament, full of great football stunning moments and surprises. Overall great first days, and this is just  the beginning,

Group E and F made their debut this past Sunday, first it was Switzerland vs Ecuador, then France vs Honduras and we ended the day with  the marquee match of the day; Argentina vs Bosnia-Heregovina. And that led us to one of the big questions; Is Messi ready to be the star of this World Cup?

We would find out in the next four weeks! But before talking about Sunday’s games, it’s time to review some of the events of past days…

“Oh My God”, this is the expression that I’ve been using describe the past days. We already covered the Opening ceremony and first day of actions with Brazil wining their game, referee controversy included… So let’s move on.

This is how Day two went down:

If I try to find words that would describe  what happen on day two of the World Cup, these are very appropriate to what we witness: Incredible, Unbelievable and Surprising.

Good Vibes

Mexico left good vibes in their first match, a lot of people expected them to struggle more base on the awful qualifying process they had, remember they made it to play-off only thanks to that U.S goal, and barely made it to Brazil’s plane. Miguel Herrera Mexico’s head coach has done a great job, the team not only  looked good on the pitch but they also score and won their game, even when the referees had a different plan for them. Two disallowed goals for the Mexican team, both were legal and should have counted in the final score.  Well the good thing for Mexico was that they didn’t let those bad calls impact their game and concentration, into the second half Oribe Peralta scored the 1-0 for them and somehow fix the embarrassment that were the referees decisions.  Final result. Mexico 1-0 Cameroon and the 3 points. They closed Group A actions.

This is how this Group looks after first Matches.

The Debacle;

Later that day it was time for the defending champions to take the pitch in the debut of Group B,  and Ohh. My. God!!!!  You wouldn’t believe what was happening unless you were watching it, it was like being in a parallel world.  Spain vs The Netherlands, a rematch of 2010 World Cup final, Holland a chance of revenge from their  2010 final defeat.  People say revenge is better served on a cold plate, well that’s how the whole Spanish team and country felt after the final whistle, Frozen, and not we couldn’t Let it Go… 😉

Spain started well, playing like Spain, they were controlling the midfield, the pace and possession, they were awarded with a penalty kick after Costa felt inside the box, a bit controversial nonetheless but anyhow Xabi Alonso scored to put La Roja up 1-0 and at that moment it was business as usual and nobody even imagined what was coming; the Debacle… It all started with Robin Van Persie’s flying header, a play that has earned him a new nickname “The Flying Dutch” 😉 hehe… It was an incredible goal, and so far the best in the tournament, and on top of that it was a game changer for The Netherlands.  We went into half time thinking oh boy Van Persie and Van Gaal needed to practice the high-five, or avoid it at all…

Fail High-Five hehe

The teams came back to the pitch to start the second half and then the most surprising thing happened; The Spanish Meltdown, it was hard to watch, first Robben scored a nice goal and left the Spanish defense in confusion, and apparently they couldn’t get out of that stage, what a revenge from Robben, we all remember he missed two good chances in last World Cup final, and one of those misses could have given them the championship, a hard feeling to overcome, but I guess four years kind of give you the time to not only overcome those moments but to come back and crush your  rivals.

The third  goal was the beginning of Iker Casillas’ nightmare and worst performance in his career, the goal came from a fault that Stefan Vrij finish with a header,  he missed  it on the air, ok we can argue he was fault by Van Persie which I think he was, but anyway Vrij scored, then the fourth was an awful mistake, those that you never thought Casillas was capable of doing, but he is human…

I meant he made a hugh error in the Champions League final , we all saw it, it was bad but it was kind of bad decision to go on the air, but the fourth goal in this match, he just gave the ball to Van Persie, completely out of focus and bizarre, like one of those football bloopers we have seeing before from other less experience goalkeepers, I felt so bad, I am softy and he has been an incredible goalkeeper, for many years he was the best and his resume is more than impressive, so seeing him in that .situation was so  sad and incredible weird. Robben made the fifth goal to kill the Spanish team, Worst lost of a current Champion in World Cup history.

 Spain have been in this situation before, they lost their first game on 2010 World Cup, but this time was different, not only they lost the match but they lost it  by five goals and the way they play that second half it just impossible to explain, they couldn’t respond when they were down and couldn’t find an answer or a way to come back, awful defense, Ramos and Pique were completely lost, and the whole team was slow and without that hunger to fight until the last-minute.

All the media in Spain are still trying to find out the answer to the million dollar question, what happened?

Some of those answers go from this is the end of an era, it’s time to renew the team and make some big changes, some players already hit their national team clock, or they have won everything that they might not have the same desire to keep wining, to the less football relate answers like it was the climate, training in a cold weather and playing in hot conditions, among other not relate answers.

The truth is that they play bad football (soccer) in that second half,  lack concentration, tiredness, less hunger or whatever you want to called it, it was a humiliating lost for them and it would be interesting to see if they can comeback from this defeat, I certainly would like to see it, for the good of their legacy, you can’t end an era in such an awful way.

On the other hand, The Netherlands got their revenge even if they said they didn’t want that, you can see it, they really wanted to change the image they left in that final (I called them ninjas in my 2010 World Cup final post) and well…. Mission accomplished, they left a good impression, very organized, great strategy from Van Gaal and great performance from their team powerful players, Van Persie, Robben, Sneijder and company.

As expected, not so much;

Last match of day two, was Chile vs Australia, the result was according to what people expected but it wasn’t an easy win for Chile,  the Socceroos as the Australia national team are known, gave them a good fight, Tim Cahill who plays for the NY Red Bulls scores the goal that equalized the match before Chile took the advantage, not before struggling with some plays from the Australian team. Final score Chile 3-1 Australia, wasn’t as easy as the result might reflect. This match closed the actions of group B.

This is how Group B looks after first match.

Overall it was a day full of emotions, believe me I was exhausted at the end and still in disbelief of what had happened to Spain but happy for an incredible tournament,  this is why we love the World Cup, crazy and surprising things can happen at any time, dreams are accomplish and sadly some are crush. To think that these are only the first matches is very promising and we all hope that the level of the competition will only  increase…

What do you think about Spain, what can the do to fix this, Del Bosque should bench Iker or what changes he needs to do, if you have any idea let me know in the comments, or on twitter @MonikJHerrera  I like to tweet a lot haha. ;0 my secret weakness…

Thanks for reading! I hope you are enjoying this World Cup as much as I am haha, I am loving it so far, a lot of quality, lots of goals, emotional games, celebration and colorful stadiums… we can not ask for more, or maybe 😉

I leave you with some of the curious, funny or weird pictures of the day two of the World Cup!

See you soon!

Besitos!♥

Pictures thanks to Marca.com, FIFA.com, and random pictures on Twitter and Tumblr.com

World Cup… Basic kit!

Hello hello!!♥

We are full World Cup mode ON…  For most of us Football soccer lovers, our lives revolve around the tournament, the talks, parties, BBQs, activities, jobs, our entire schedule is base on who is playing and at what time… Crazy I know but the good news is that it only happens every four years!! 😉

To be able to put our normal life on hold for a months we need to know the basic World Cup kit, in order to organized and schedule our life for the next month.

First the Groups.

After the play-off, we find out the latest teams that made it to Brazil, then we had the final draw ceremony, which increased our anxiety because it happened months before the opening ceremony, but it allowed us to prepare for kick-off time.

In between the draw ceremony and  the kick-off match we had the road to Brazil, those were the friendly matches that the national teams played to get ready for the tournament, toned up matches, I had the chance to go to three games!! Wohoo I will share my experience later, it will be like my throwback thursday or something like that.

Anyway the point is that we need to know the groups and  how the 32 countries were distributed meaning who plays who!!

Once we had the groups we identified the group of death just because if your  national team is part of that group you start to pray or prepare for any outcome, after all it’s called the group of death because it’s the hardest one…. But one thing we know is that in a World Cup anything and everything can happen!!

Groups notes:

• The group of death of 2014 is “Group G”…  Germany, Ghana, Portugal and USA. The  USA was eliminated last world cup by Ghana, who has advanced to the next stage or out of the group stage the last two World Cups, Portugal has Ronaldo as their star and a some important players Pepe, Coentrao and Nani, and Germany well even if you don’t follow football soccer you know that they usually are very good, base on history they are consider a super power team on the football world, another story is to see how good they will be in this tournament. Now we understand why all the media picked this group as the group of death.
• I think even if the others groups are not supposed to be as hard as group G, some are more complicated than others.
• Group A; Brazil wont have it easy we saw that Croatia wasn’t easy and let’s see if Mexico or Cameroon can complicate them, as well Spain in group B has Chile a tough one for them and well The Netherlands and you probably already know what happened, Group D is also a bit complicated, three out of the four have been World Cup Champions before, Uruguay, England and Italy.
• The rests of the groups are less complicated in most people opinions.

The Bracket

Once we know the ups and downs of the groups… We need a bracket, I am not used to fill in a bracket in advance like predictions for each match, I don’t do that, I use it more to follow-up results and to see who will face who in the next Stage, but if you want to fill them in, if you haven’t done that yet you still have time, we still have a lot of matches ahead.

Matches Schedule

Then we need to know the schedule, so we can decided which matches to watch, or as in my case to plan the non football relate activities I need to do ;). The one below is FIFA’s schedule that I really like, because I have the groups and their abbreviations to use when I’m tweeting and also I can see which teams play every day. But it’s in Brazil time zone, so for example here in New York we have one hour less than Brazil, so for me is still easy, but you just can look at your TV programing to find out about the hours.

Where to watch it.

I usually watch the games at home, I’m more comfortable and also I have wi-fi all the time haha… But for some matches I do like to go out and watch it with other soccer fans, so bars and viewing parties are perfect. I like to keep it simple, I wont spend all day in a bar but if you want to… 😉 hehe

Most probably a bars near you will have the tournament on theirs TVs but if not usually magazines or newspapers will give you ideas. In New York there a couple of list even with maps so you can decided depending where you live.

Other option is to search soccer supporters website to find out where they will meet and you can join them, just be careful and be safe if you don’t know them. Some MLS teams are having public viewing parties for certain matches in the U.S so check their websites too.

 Online/ Application Options

So if you don’t have access to a TV to watch the matches, nowday most probably the network that has the WC rights have an online streaming, or an application to download and follow all the action. In the U.S, Univision has free online streaming and applications for your phone, ESPN also has an application although I don’t remember if you need to subscribe or something, I’ll double-check and update. For other places check the networks online pages, they will have all information.

Twitter – I really  like twitter coverage of the World Cup, you find a lot of information with hashtags, follow journalist or people who are in Brazil, and also have fun with the falshtags, when you use a hashtag with the official FIFA country abbreviation a flag of the country will appear next to the letters, which is really cool, also they have other cool options like teams logos, or teams profile type of pictures. If you are using a computer results in real-time will appear on the side… see why I am kind of obsess with twitter specially during the world cup!

 

Google – They have some cool things, like statistics and schedule of matches, also quick search and other things like that. I love the World Cup Google doddles, they are so cute!!

I think these are the basics things to know what’s happening during the World Cup, probably you already knew this but just in case you just joined the soccer fever this is a good start.

Later we can look other things that make the whole World Cup experience more fun, like national teams Jerseys, Fashion, how to party and other type of essentials for the tournament.  At the end it’s all about having fun, enjoy and experience all about it. The serious things and the silly and funny things too.

Thanks for reading, let me know if this is kind of helpful, or if you  have other ideas or basic information that we need to know to have more fun while enjoying the World Cup, feel free to leave a comment.

In honor to the host Country lest dance a little bit to celebrate all goals!!

 Have a great day!!

Besitos!♥

Pictures thanks to Google.com. fifa.com, 8by8mag.com, NYTimes.com, Twitter.

 

Game on! It’s the World Cup, time to shine!!

Hello!♥

 

The wait it’s over, no more counting days or hours, it was kick-off time in Brazil yesterday, Thursday June 12th. The emotions, the passion the excitement was over the top, four years in the making, waiting and finally the day arrived, we couldn’t be more happy!

During the next month the World’s eyes will be on Brazil, and the 32 countries that will compete, put all their effort and passion to achieve the most prestigious title, being the World Champion, all of them dream to lift the Cup, the beautiful trophy. But not all of them have the capabilities or the competitive level to lift it, but for the ones that have chances this is their ultimate dream, unfortunately or fortunately only one can be the Champion!

It’s official, The World Cup 2014 party begun with a simple and nice opening ceremony, for some people maybe too simple, they were expecting a bit more from Brazil a country well-known for their spectacular carnivals, but for some others it was just the perfect way to give the spotlight to the real show; The matches and the teams!

After all JLo did make it to Brazil, FIFA had already announced that she was not going to be part of the show, but at the end she made it and perform the official World Cup song along with Brazilian singer Claudia Leitte, and Pitbull. By the way I’m not a big fan of the song and for some reason every time they perform it sound out of sync… Bad lip-sync?…

After the opening ceremony it was time for what we have been waiting for so long, the real kick-off, the home team in an opening match in a stadium that was all yellow and green the colors of Brazil national team.

Brazil’s first opponent was Croatia at the all-new Itaquerao stadium, Brazilians wanted to see some “Jogo bonito” or “beautiful game” the way the world has recognized their national team style of play the game in the past.

No much of that “Jogo bonito” yesterday, it was more an ok Jogo… Brazil left a lot of doubt in their World Cup debut, they are at home, and are expected to be a real contender to win their six WC Title, but they were nervous, a bit sloppy on defense and they had a surprising opponent, I think nobody thought that Croatia was going to complicate Brazil the way they did, which was a good surprise, always nice to watch a team playing without fear and trying to get the best result with their resources.

Brazil was down on the board early, at the 11th minute Marcelo scored the first WC goal but not for Brazil, but for Croatia, was an own goal, tough way for Marcelo and Brazil to start the tournament in front of their fans. It was not Brazil best match but they were very effective, with Neymar scoring the goal that tied the game, bringing back the calm to all Brazilians hearts.

It was his way to respond to the pressure that everyone is talking about, he is supposed to be the big start of Brazil national team, yeap a lot to handle for a 22 years old man, well I guess he is doing good, scored two goals, was very involve in the match and showied that he can handle the pressure at least for now…

Of course the big controversy was the referee awarding a penalty to Brazil that never existed, but well that was an awful starting from the referee, made two bad calls that impacted the game, but the one everyone is talking the most is the penalty kick,  Neymar once again scored for Brazil, it was his second goal.

Brazil didn’t need the help from the referee and that has created a lot of doubts about the referees’ performance for future matches, let’s hope this was a one time kind of thing from their side. It’s a WC and they are humans and probably we will see more mistakes but as long as they don’t impact the result of the games or the outcome everything will be alright.

I think the good news today was Croatia, because they gave Brazil a good fight and as I said it before they complicated them more than once. Good for them and not so good for the rest of their group Mexico and Cameroon, now they know that Croatia has potential to get out of the group stages and give a fight to advance to the next stage. We will see…

Anyway it’s so fricking nice to talk about the World Cup, to dive into the whole experience. Today it’s Match day 2 action, we have three matches, Mexico – Cameroon (Group A). Later Group B will make their  tournament debut, first Spain – Netherlands a rematch of the 2010 World Cup final,  and then Chile – Australia. Busy day 😉

Which team do you think will win the World Cup?? or Which team are your supporting?  Let me know in the comments, if you want,  I have some countries in mind as my favorites since my country is not part of the 32 nations…  I will share my predictions with you next post, I did it last WC and I did kind of ok hehe  50/50 on the group stage, so let’s se how I will do this time,  this is fun!!!

Thank you for reading, feel free to share your thoughts, comments, question or whatever you want, this is the time to enjoy this beautiful event and the beautiful game!

Besitos!♥

P.S; I like to tweet, post pictures before, during and after the matches, if you want to join the conversation this is my twitter @MonicaJHerrera.

Pictures from FIFA.com, Facebook and ESPNfc.com

From the dream to the Reality of LA DECIMA!

   Hello hello! ♥

The day has arrived!! Wohoooo…. Yes you know what I am talking about, The World Cup,  just the freaking best tournament of the whole world!!

As you can see or read I am more than happy, thrill, excited… I can go on with all the emotions that every human being that love this sport is feeling at this moments. It’s a matter of hours and then Brazil will kick off!

But before getting into the most amazing tournament, I feel I have to close some open topics in this blog. First I am the worst blogger in the world (probably… I still love myself hehe) I’ve been absent from the blogosphere for a long time, I didn’t realize how long I haven’t written in my blogs until a couple of weeks ago, times flies people, specially when you are facing some challenges and some re-organization in your life… hand up that’s me.

I have so many ideas and new projects but before come up with those I went thru  sickness back to health and  personal stuff that needed my attention and also distracted me for blogging… I felt the need to let you  know why this long absent.

Anyway back to what is important in this world; “Futbol” “Fpotball” ” Soccer”

Let’s start!

Pictures speak louder than words… or something like that haha

The picture below was posted on Iker Casillas’s official Facebook  on April 30, 2013, it represented the sentiment of that day, Real Madrid was left out of the biggest scenario at a Club level, they were eliminated from the UEFA Champions League in Semifinals for the fourth consecutive season.

The tears from Iker Casillas and Ramos from that day were of sadness and disappointment.  But then just a season later on May 24th 2014 ohh boy how things changed, in the pictures below the tears were of relief at first and then total happiness!!

Totally understandable after  the most crazy if not the craziest game in terms of emotions… The nerves were at the highest level,  Atletico de Madrid were wining the match  up until the 90 minute, even the players on the bench or at the stands were getting ready to celebrate, then  the referee added five more minute of stoppage time, which for a lot of people was too much,  for others was appropriated, but controversy aside, back into the game at the 2:50-3:00 minute mark the miracle for Real Madrid happened in the name or more to say in the head of Sergio Ramos, with an incredible header goal that brought Real Madrid back to life and allowed the game to go on extra time…

Half of the stadium went crazy, it was insane for Real Madrid fans who thought that La Decima was slipping away, but Ramos brought back  the most amazing feeling for a football (soccer) fan, insanely special happiness, they were alive again and they had 30 minutes to change the course of the match…

In the other side for Atletico was the worst that could happened to them, they were almost lifting the Cup and suddenly after all the effort it was now back to starting point, but  with tired bodies and legs and they just simple couldn’t keep it up…  The fans were in disbelief and the sadness, tears were starting to show up in some faces. The dream of accomplish an epic deed, two titles La Liga and The Champions League was now far way, from heaven to hell in one minute, once again the Champions League just couldn’t happen for them.

Real Madrid were obsess with La Decime even if they were trying to diminish the feeling everyone knew that being that close made it all more real and the obsession was at the highest, all Real Madrid fans had been dreaming for the past 12 years, yeap that’s the time between their last Champion League title. Most young people below let’s say 15 or 16 years had never celebrated a Champions League and for them it was  more like an urban story until that minute when Di Maria the best of the Match, hurtled into  Atletico’s penalty area and shoot but Thibaut Courtois palmed it to the back post where Gareth Bale was waiting to seal the deal with another almost impossible header to make. An at that moment the craziness in one side were over the top, La Decima was there in their hands it was going to be just about minutes to make it official.

Remember the summer transfer drama with Gareth Bale, Real Madrid paid millions, the most expensive player and this is how he made it all about football.

Base on how tired Atletico’s players were and what this goal meant for them we all knew it was over… Atletico just couldn’t hold it, the effort was huge during the 90 minutes and they just couldn’t answer at all, it was sad to see that side of a final the other team.

But for all Madridistas, all Real Madrid fans this was the dream, the obsession becoming a reality. Marcelo with a very emotional goal for him made it 3-1 and then Cristiano who after wining the Ballon D’Or had an incredible season, but with some difficulties at the end of the season due to an injury that kept him away from the pitch for a few games, but he wasn’t going to miss this game, he play and forced a penalty that he also converted in the fourth for Real Madrid, La Decima was a reality, minutes later the final whistle sounded and then tears of happiness and completely excitement was the emotions for the new Champions!

 

And yes ladies he had to take his jersey off.. why not it was the Champions League final, what the heck… and I can guess some of you were more than happy, I have to give it to Ronaldo 😉 haha

Finally after a long 12 years LA DECIMA was a reality. Watching Casillas lifting the cup was very interesting, after all the suffering and doubts he had at the beginning of the season,  as you probably remember he was the center of the other drama, he was benched by Mourinho in the previous season and it was a whole soup opera drama at it best, but this last season with Carlo Ancelotti everyone thought he was  going to be back to be the number one goalkeeper and then we learned that he was going to play only Copa Del Rey and the Champions League… Real Madrid lift both Cups and he still has that angel, that Santo level, it wasn’t his game during the final, he made an awful mistake that gave the first and only goal to Atletico, and later he made all Madridistas suffer with another close call type of mistake. But after all they wouldn’t have made it to the final if it wasn’t for his saves in that incredible road to Lisbon that they had.

Congrats to Real Madrid for wining the UEFA Champions League for the 10th time, La DECIMA!!

Then it was time to offer the Cup to the goddess La Cibeles

More on the celebration later. (Upcoming post)

Congrats to Atletico it was an amazing run for them, lots of effort and over all a great season, La Liga Champions, and Champions League finalist.

I leave you with this video, I think it kind of recap the feeling and atmosphere of the looker room! During Ancelotti press conference some members of the team led by Ramos and Marcelo interrupt Ancelotti to chant kiss their Coach, the Mister!

 

Thanks for ready I know it’s kind of out of time, but I like this recaps, and I relive the whole thing while doing it. hehe

Let me know your thought on Real Madrid’s 10th Champions League Title!! Fee free to leave a comment 🙂

 

Besitos! ♥

 

Pictures from Iker Casillas Facebook official page, and Real Madrid’s Facebook. Video from Skype on Youtube.

 

 

 

Brazil or not Brazil!

Hello there!

It’s all about to be or not to be, in this case Brazil or not Brazil, the second leg of the play-off  are taking place throughout the day, for many countries this is it. Today is their last chance to get a ticket to the most amazing Football tournament, the World Cup 2014.

You can add Ghana and Algeria in the Brazil qualified teams roster, 28 so far, they won their tickets early today.

France is 2-0 at this moment vs Ukraine, Les Bleus need to win this match, they lost they first leg match 0-2 vs Ukraine which left them out of Brazil,  Aggregate result is 2-2, all tie, France is alive and still with plenty of time, they need to win to qualify…

Sweden is 2-1 vs Portugal right now, this is an interesting game you have Cristiano Ronaldo in Portugal as their top player and you have Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the Sweden side, both player competing for the Ballon d’Or, aspiring to be recognized  as the best player of the world. One of them will make it to Brazil and unfortunately the other will have to watch it on TV… The result from the first leg match was Portugal 1-0 Sweden, let’s see how this one will unfold, dramaaa… As of now Portugal is in Brazil, but again there is still plenty of time,  Sweden needs to win this game.

The rest of the European play-off Croatia is 2 – 0 Iceland (Aggregate 2-0) and  Romania is 1-1 Greece (Aggregate 2-4)

Mexico and Uruguay will play tomorrow, El Tri have a very early morning game at least in my local time, 1:00 am haha… Both have a good advantage, both won their first leg game with a good margin.  Uruguay won 5-0 vs Jordan and Mexico 5-1 vs New Zeeland.

This is it, today we will know all teams that will be in Brazil 2014!

So who do you think will make it to Brazil, let me know your thoughts or comments!!

Thanks for reading!! I’m planning to make a full review of the results tomorrow, I usually do live tweeting during the games, so if you want you can follow me @MonickJHerrera, we can even talk about the games, it’s fun ;).

Besitos! ♥

P.S: I’m back! I was a bit missing in action… you know what they say, when it rains it pours… and I have learned to dance under the rain, but I just needed to get over with this pouring thing lol. I’m a great hitter, thanks God cause I’ve been getting some awful curveballs…

Pictures thanks to: worldsoccertalk.com, yahoo,com, goal.com, sport.terra.com, Sport.yahoo.com

El Clasico… Bring it on!

Hola Corazones! ♥

Now watching El Clasico, the first one of the season, there isn’t a better or bigger game than this one!

This is a classic match between Barcelona and Real Madrid, two old rivals, this is the game of the games, every time this two play against each other the whole world watch! It’s always amazing and unbelievable how indeed the whole world stop to watch El Clasico…

I will say it will be Barcelona 1-2 Real Madrid! This is my prediction hahaha let’s see how I do…

Enjoy this is exited and fun, always!!

Thanks for reading, feel free to follow my comments in twitter @MonikJHerrera and feel free to let me know what you think!

Besitos!♥

Pictures from Real Madrid official Facebook.

Brazil 2014 in the making!

Hello y’all!!

Brazil is shaping up!!

That is what I have to say today, and I am so happy  like a kid in a candy or an ice cream store lol…

Yeah today is World Cup Qualifying day, most countries will know or already know if they will pack their bags to Brazil or If they will have to make another stop in between and try it again in a play-off scenario and for some others this would be a “maybe for the next WC” I am so sorry for this last ones… I feel your pain!

At this moment 6:48 pm in New York City 18 counties have a beautiful and precious direct ticket to Brazil!!

So far here are the ones that already qualified;

Some Notes;

• Spain sealed their ticket today, they will try to keep the Cup for another four years, they are the current Champions, we will see if they can repeat the greatest achievement in football!
• England also got their ticket early today, with a bit of suspense before the game, but everyone expected them to win and qualify for Brazil!
• The eight top seeds in the next World Cup will be base on the latest FIFA rankings, so far for sure; Brazil, Spain, Germany, Argentina, Belgium and Switzerland, the last two seed spots are still yet to be determinate, we will have to wait until the results for the pending games to be play in our side of the pond!

But don’t get confuse we still have some drama…. Things are pretty much decided in Europe, some teams will have to go to a play-off draw and try to get a ticket there.

The European play-off;

•  Croatia, Portugal, Greece, Ukraine, France, Sweden, Romania, Iceland.

We have to wait to see who else from the Americas or other continents will have to go to play-off.

In our side of the continent, the drama is for Mexico who will find out today after all if they will have a chance to keep the hopes up for Brazil or If they will say good-bye, they have options, after wining their last game in El Azteca against Panama,  as of now they have a ticket to the play-off but we will have to wait.

The team is confident, they are playing vs Costa Rica, already qualified, Panama is still with options, it will be difficult for them but things are a bit open so we will have to wait, and yes maybe some nails biting  and some hair ripping in the process… not me, but if your country is still with options you might not be able to avoid the biting nails and hair thing hehe… don’t worried I can give you some tips to recover, I know about that ;/

Anyways, lets’ enjoy this journey again, this it’s almost done and we are going to be ready for Brazil 2014!!!!

Thanks for reading, I hope your team or country is moving on, if not, well, do what I do, pick a bunch of other countries and try your prediction skills lol… The good news is that we love this game!! Football or soccer whatever way you called it!

Besitos!♥

Pictures thanks to Google.com, FIFA.com and concacaf.com