Why Rick Neuheisel Must Be Fired

By Paul Amico
Were they even trying? After last night's 50-0 stomping by cross town rival USC, UCLA Coach Rick Neuheisel's time in Los Angeles is numbered. Last night’s annihilation marks Neuheisel's 4th loss to USC in 4 years of being coach, and its biggest margin of defeat by USC since 1932.

Even though UCLA will be playing in the first ever PAC-12 championship against Oregon on Friday since USC is ineligible due to past violations, most if not all expect the same result next week: an uninspired team led by a coach who looks lost and confused about how to be competitive in a game.

You can defend Neuheisel as much as you want, but the fact of the matter is, when you’re the head coach of a prestigious team like UCLA, your expected to do two things: win and beat USC. Neuheisel has done neither while being in charge since the end of 2007.

UCLA is 21-28 under Neuheisel and has had a winning record only one year while he's been there (7-6), and has a 3-25 record against teams with a winning record at the end of the year. Plus, when it comes to playing their biggest rival USC, Neuheisel hasn't even been close in defeating them, losing by 21+ in 3 of the 4 years.

In years past, the UCLA-USC game was a cherished rivalry where people would be full of anxious anitcipation weeks before the game. Now, you’re lucky not to be asleep by the end of the first quarter. It may take 3, maybe even 4 or 5 more years until UCLA can take a step forward and be prominent again, but until they fire their mediocre coach, they will forever live in mediocrity.

Calcio Fiorentino - a Bruising, Anarchic and Exhilarating Spectacle of Sport.

Image Credit Flickr User TomStardust

Calcio Fiorentino – does that ring any bells in terms sports?  It is almost certainly not one you played at school but it has weathered the centuries well and is still played in its home town of Florence.   It has been played since the sixteenth century.  The game – Calcio for short – must be the original extreme sport.  And boy, oh boy – is it extreme.

Image Credit Flickr User cialis!!

Image Credit Flickr User lorZ

It is played by the sort of men who, if you met them in real life are probably real gentlemen.   Yet if you were to come across them on a dark night you would probably be forgiven for hurrying past them or turning tale and running.  These men look mean.   On the Calcio Fiorentino pitch they seem to be participating in a pitched battle, like something out of Highlander, Italian style.

Image Credit Flicrk User Lorenzo B

Image Credit Wikimedia

The game is a combination of football and rugby and is very much an archaic predecessor of the two.  Throw in some high powered martial arts and a fearlessness about being hurt that most professional soccer players would be dumbfounded by and you have a bruising, anarchic and exhilarating spectacle of sport.

Image Credit Flickr User lorZ

Image Credit Flickr User lorZ

If you are Italian then you already know where this sport originates but in the English speaking world we know the place as Florence.  The word calcio is the Italian verb to kick – and so the sport could translate as Florence Kick or Florence Kicking.  We like the term FK itself – it is short and sweet and there are two missing syllables in the middle that would otherwise make up a naughty word.  But you do want to exclaim F**K!!! when you see this sport in action.

Image Credit Flickr User taurie81

Funnily enough, kicking is one of the few forms of violence that is not countenanced on the Calcio Fiorentino pictch.   If a boot makes purposeful contact with a head that is considered a definite foul, as is sucker punching.

Image Credit Flcirk User lorZ

However, pretty much everything else is fair game.  Head butting – yes, why go ahead, sir!  Punching – as long as it is not of the sucker variety then that too is fine.  Elbowing – of course!  As for choking – go for it.  It seems at first sight that there is very little to avoid the local hospital in Florence being half full every time this game is played.  Yet there are some rules – otherwise this would not count as a sport.

Image Credit Flickr User TomStardust

Image Credit Flickr User taurie81

Like most ball sports the object of the exercise is to score more points than the opposition.  This is done by netting the ball in to the goal.  So far, so straightforward.  Yet the goal mouth runs the entire width of the field – a 100m x 50m sand pit.  You can see why there is such a melee with such a wide goal.

Image Credit Flickr User lorZ

The game is played with no breaks, no time out and no substitutions over a period of fifty painful, agonising and emotional minutes.  Eight officials (is a main referee, six linesmen and a field master ) prevent complete anarchy from breaking out, which may seem like quite a number.  When you take in to account that there are twenty seven men on either side in this full throttle, high energy game then that doesn’t seem an inappropriate amount.

Image Credit Flickr user lorZ

As you can imagine the sport, while hugely popular and an immense draw for tourists, is rather too rough and tumble to play all year round without the players suffering too many injuries and concussions.  So, it is restricted to three matches each year in the gorgeous Piazza Santa Croce at the heart of Florence each year.

Image Credit Flickr User TomStardust

Image Credit Flickr User taurie81

As many as ten players from each team are simply there for the brawl (which is, after all, part of the game).  In other words they are there not for their skill with a ball but there skill to propel other players skywards, to the earth or in to oblivion.  Their job is to physically stop the other team from getting to their goal.   

Image Credit Flickr User cialis!!

Image Credit Flickr User Lorenzo B

The rest are generally football and rugby types whose skill and speed will hopefully help them avoid the clutches of the brawlers. It must be said though, that there is usually plenty of blood spilled in the fifty minute duration of a match and a number of unconscious players.  If you like your sports rough and ready, then this is the one for you.

Image Credit Flickr User Lorenzo B

The three games are played among four teams.  These are the Santa Croce who play in Blue and the Santa Maria Novella who play in red.  They are joined in competition by the Santo Spirito who wear white and the San Giovanni who play in green.

Image Credit Wikimedia

Originally the sport was devised for sons of the nobility but after a hiatus of a few hundred years it was brought back and now anyone can play. Plus there are no hard feelings at the end of the match.

Image Credit Flickr User TomStardust

The game originates in the sixteenth century and must have been going some time before the first rule book was published in 1580.  It must itself have been an evolution of the Roman sport of harpastum, which like calcio had a team of 27 on each side.  The impression from contemporary descriptions is of a game fairly similar to rugby.


There is much pomp and ceremony before the game starts, as you can see in the video above, which also includes a lot of action!

THANK YOU!
World in Sport would like to very much thanks the following Flickr users for giving us kind permission to reproduce their photographs here. Please visit their photostreams and websites by following the links below.

• Tommaso Baldovino known on Flickr as TomStardust
• Taurie81
• Paolo Corti known on Flickr as cialis!!
• Lorenzo Blangiardi known on Flickr as Lorenzo.B
•  Flickr user lorZ - additional information here.

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The Ultimate Opportunity to Make Your Dad Proud

By Matt Scott 
Paul Ince, the newly appointed Notts County manager, has recently signed his son, Tom, on loan from Liverpool. 

The young midfielder can now join an exclusive list of players, who have experienced the pleasure, or quite possibly the pain, of working for their father.

There are some famous names from way back in the past, but the current generation will be more familiar with the likes of Harry and Jamie Redknapp. They are the modern face of footballing fathers and sons. Jamie was given his professional debut at Bournemouth in 1989, who were then managed by Harry, before going on to be signed by Liverpool, a year and a half later.

Fast forward a few years and Harry had hit the managerial big time, with stints in charge of South Coast rivals, Portsmouth and Southampton. Jamie, was given the daunting task of facing these sides, managed by his dad, during his time at both Liverpool and Tottenham. The pair were days apart from being reunited again at Southampton during their struggle to stay in The Championship, but Harry had resigned in order to return to Portsmouth.

There have been rumours that Harry has asked Jamie to come in and help with coaching at his current club, Tottenham, ironically an ex-club of Jamie’s. Jamie is rather hesitant to enter the world of management, given the reputation his father has managed created for himself. He is enjoying his work as a pundit for the time being.

Manchester City starlet, Vladimir Weiss, who is currently on loan at Rangers, has also experienced playing under his dad’s management. His father, who has the same name, is in charge of the Slovakian national side. Vladimir Snr, who has been in charge of Slovakia since 2008, granted his son the honour of his first international cap in 2009. Because of this, Vladimir Snr was accused of favouritism as Vladimir Jnr had not broken through at Manchester City and barley had any real match experience under his belt. The only real professional experience he boasted were 8 Slovakian-U21 games.

During a loan spell at Bolton in 2010, Vladimir Jnr was still unable to force his way into the starting line up on a permanent basis, making only 13 appearances. Despite this, his father still called him up to the Slovakian squad for the World Cup in South Africa. People began to see what Vladimir Snr saw in his son, he impressed in the three appearances he made for the national side during the World Cup, as Slovakia made history and qualified for the last 16 after beating Italy.

The player dubbed, Mr Chelsea, Frank Lampard, has played under his dad during the start of his career. However, his dad, also Frank, was only the assistant manager at West Ham. Luckily for Frank Jnr, his dad wasn’t the only member of family in a position of power at West Ham.

The manager at the time when he was coming through the ranks was Harry Redknapp, who was his uncle. Harry gave Frank Jnr his big break and allowed him to establish himself as a key member of the London side.

Leeds United defender, Alex Bruce, is another player who was given his professional debut by his father. Steve, who was managing Birmingham City at the time, signed his son on a free transfer in January 2005.

Alex was unable to force his way into the first team. He ended up being sent out on loan to three different clubs, Oldham, Sheffield Wednesday and Tranmere, during 2005. In total, Alex only made six appearances for Birmingham and the combination of relegation to the Championship and accusations of nepotism led to the pair deciding it would be best if they parted ways.

Finally, a son who has not been scared to go on and become a manager, despite his dad being one of, if not the most, well known and successful managers in history. Darren Ferguson, is yet another player to be given his professional debut by his dad. Two years after his debut, Darren, was able to adequately fill the void left by Bryan Robson’s absence through injury, during the 1992-93 season.

Having made 15 appearances that season, he also qualified to receive a League winners medal after Manchester United claimed the title. He was very much a squad player throughout his time at United and after four years with the club, he was transferred to Wolves, in search of first team action. Immediately after hanging up his boots Darren decided to go into management.

His managerial career got off to a fairytale start, two back-to-back promotions in three seasons at Peterborough. Darren’s managerial career then began to stall, as his club were unable to cope with the demands of Championship football. Darren resigned in November 2009, leaving his former club bottom of the table. Now manager of Preston, Darren is using his relationship with his father to his advantage by signing some of Manchester United’s bright young talents on loan.

If there wasn’t already enough pressure on players to produce a certain level of performance for their club, then the added fear of disappointing your dad can’t help matters. Some players could be cursing their luck for having to play under their dad, having to take orders from him at home and at work, but most of the examples listed here have been given a big break by their dad, the chance to impress that has gone on to kick-start their career. It remains to be seen what impact Tom can make at MK Dons under the watchful eye of his father.

Maradona Turns 50: 50 Facts for Diego's Birthday

Everyone at the World in Sport wishes Diego Maradona a very happy 50th Birthday.  

To help celebrate this occasion we would like to present you with fify facts and quotes about the famous (and infamous in equal measure) Argentinean soccer player.

 Happy birthday Maradona!


1 - Diego Armando Maradona was born on 30 October 1960, three days after Muhammad Ali won his first professional boxing fight.

2 - There has always been a rivalry between Maradona and Pele.  Talking about Pele’s award for ‘Best Ever Player, Diego said "Pele should go back to the museum."

3 - Maradona’s first name has its origins in Greek and Hebrew despite being used largely in Italian and Spanish these days.  It means either a supplanter or a teacher.

4 - Maradona has two children – legally.  In a slightly ambivalent attitude towards fatherhood he once said: "My legitimate kids are Dalma and Giannina. The rest are a product of my money and mistakes."

5 - Maradona’s middle name is Armando – it means man in the army.  Perhaps if we take it as a metaphor for his soccer career, it is quite appropriate.

6 - He represented his country, Argentina 91 times (though to his opponents it must have seemed much more than that).

7 - During that time he scored 34 goals for Argentina.

8 - He represented Argentina in four World Cups, 82, 86, 90 and 94.

9 - He played for Boca Juniors, being instrumental in their rise to the League Championship in 1982 before he moved to Barcelona.

10 - In 1985 he left Barcelona for Napoli where he contributed greatly to their winning two Series A titles – their only such title to date.

Image Credit Flickr User Mr.Boombust

11 - Maradona was skipper for Argentina sixteen times – this is the world record for the most appearances as skipper for a country in tat tournament.

12 - Maradona was only 15 when he started his professional career, making his debut for Argentinos Juniors on March

13 - He has really been in 5 World Cups.  He represented Argentina in their youth squad in 1979, winning the Youth World Cup in Japan.  The team won 3-1 against the Soviet Union.

14 - At 16 he made his international debut.  This was at the Bombonera stadium in Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina.  The match was against Hungary

15 - Che Guevara is one of his heroes.  He has a tattoo of the revolutionary on his right arm. He is also best mates with Fidel Castro. 

16 - Diego was a consistent target for dirty tricks in his international career.  During the 1986 World Cup in Mexico alone there were 53 fouls against him.

17 - 1986 was a good year for Maradona.  He captained his country to World Cup victory against West Germany, beating them three goals to two in the final.

18 - The same tournament gave England fans his most notorious moment.  In an infamous moment he scored against the English team in the quarter final – using his hand.  After the incident, which he would not live down in the English press for many a year, he said: “The goal was scored a little bit by the hand of God, a little by the head of Maradona.”

19 - After smashing a photographer’s camera for being intrusive, Diego said "I did it with the hand of reason."

20 - Maradona had a problem in the USA at the 1994 World Cup.  He played only two games ad scored only a single goal (against Greece).  The reason?  He failed a dope test and was sent home with his tail between his legs. In 1991 Maradona also left Napoli after he had failed a test for cocaine.

Image Credit Flickr User juaedc

21 - Maradona and Claudia Villafane married on November 7 1989.  They were married for fifteen years, divorcing in 2004.

22 - He left owing Napoli a little bit of money to the Italian tax man.  Officials said in 2009 that Maradona owed them €37 million. However, more than half of this is interest on the original debt.

23 - Despite their rivalry, when Maradona became a chat show host on Argentinian television in 2004, Pele was his very first guest.

24 - Maradona became manager of the Argentina’s international squad two years ago, in October 2008.

25 - The next month saw his team get off to a great start – beating Scotland 1-0 on 19 November.

26 - It hasn’t always been a bed of roses since then.  During the World Cup qualifiers the team lost by an astounding six goals to one against Bolivia. 

27 - Despite this terrible defeat the team managed to get through to the tournament.  To his critics (who were legion) Maradona retorted. "To those who did not believe: now suck my d**k - I'm sorry ladies for my words - and keep on sucking it. I am either white or black. I will never be grey in my life. You treated me as you did. Now keep on sucking d**ks. I am grateful to my players and to the Argentinean people. I thank no one but them. The rest, keep on sucking d**ks.”  Not one for revenge then.

28 - FIFA weren’t terribly happy about this foul mouthed outburst.  They slapped a two month ban on him.

29 - Maradona got his own verbal revenge against FIFA when he complained vociferously about the new ball to be used in the 2010 World Cup tournament in South Africa. "I would ask all Fifa directors to stop talking about me and to start working on having a proper football. This ball is useless. It's impossible to control."

30 - Back in 1998 he said, about the World Cup of that year. "The players have all got square feet. They are like Robocops, they have more need of lubricant than massage. I don't believe the tournament could be worse."

Image Credit Flickr User Diego 3336

31 - He will stick by his players.  When Lionel Messi failed to score a single goal in the 2010 tournament he said. “Anyone saying he didn't have a great World Cup is an idiot.”

32 - Yet some will stick the knife in.  A former team  mate, Valdano, said of him.  “He is someone many people want to emulate, a controversial figure, loved, hated, who stirs great upheaval, especially in Argentina... Stressing his personal life is a mistake. Maradona has no peers inside the pitch, but he has turned his life into a show, and is now living a personal ordeal that should not be imitated.”

33 - Such is his following back home, the Argentine Football Association asked FIFA to put his famous No 10 shirt in to retirement, in his honor.  Unsurprisingly, FIFA said, “No, niet, non”.

34 - Maradona has a stadium named after him – the team Argentinos Juniors honored him by naming their ground Estadio Diego Armando Maradona.

35 - Politics are something upon which Maradona has been more than willing to comment.  After the 1986 Hand of God incident he said about England: “It was as if we had beaten a country, more than just a football team."  The two countries had been at war for real only four years previously.

36 - Maradona has had his own personal problems with drugs.  Interviewed in 1996 he said: "I was, I am and I always will be a drug addict. A person who gets involved in drugs has to fight it every day."

37 - The new millennium came and FIFA in their wisdom decided to award a player of the century title.  They couldn’t make their minds up and in the end awarded it to Maradona and Pele jointly.  Maradona said: "The people voted for me. Now they want me to share the prize with Pele. I'm not going to share the prize with anybody."

38 - In 1990 he was held in such high esteem that when asked which players he was putting on the pitch the Argentinean Manager Carlos Billardo famously replied: “Maradona – and ten others.”

39 - Although Maradona has not done a Cantona and acted in movies he was the subject of a documentary by the Serbian Filmmaker Kusturica.  It made its world premier at Cannes in 2008.

40 - Sir Bobby Robson said of the player in 1986: "With Maradona, Arsenal could have won the World Cup." Bob Wilson said of Maradona: “a flawed genius who has now become a genius who is flawed.”

Image Credit Flickr User Paulo Camera

41 - FIFA have called his 1986 goal against England the Goal of the Century.  No, not the Hand of God goal – the one which happened four minutes afters when he dribbled past desultory defenders to put one past England goalie Peter Shilton.  That made the score 2-0.

42 - In 2006 at the World Cup in Germany Maradona fell out of his pram about Pele – again.  He refused to go to the tournament’s opening ceremony, saying "I'm not here to look at bloody Pele walking around."

43 - Pele got his own back.  This year, reflecting on Maradona’s tenure as Manager of the Argentinean National Squad, Pele said: “But it isn't Maradona's fault. It is the fault of whoever put him in charge.”

44 - Maradona’s average goal-per-game in domestic club competitions is 0.526

45 - After only Batistuta and Crespo he is the third highest goal scorer for Argentina – ever.

46 - Ever since 1986, it is common for Argentines abroad to hear Maradona's name as a token of recognition, even in remote places.

47 - Psychologists have even got in to the scramble to say things about the famous player.  Pyschologist Gustavo Bernstein has said: “Maradona is our maximum term of reference. No one embodies our essence better. No one bears our emblem more nobly. To no other, in the last twenty years, have we offered up so much passion. Argentina is Maradona, Maradona is Argentina.”

48 - Maradona’s fans are famous for being the ultimate devotees.  In 1998 they started the Church of Maradona in Argentina.  So this 2- October this year is actually 50 DD (Despues de Diego or After Diego).

49 - For all his ups and downs, Maradona remains one of the best player the world has ever seen.

50 - There is little doubt that everyone wishes him another very happy fifty years!

The Taylor Report and its Effect on Football

Image Credit Wikimedia

  By Billy Adams

The Taylor report was the final report written in January 1990 by the Rt Hon Lord Justice Taylor about his inquiry after the Hillsborough stadium disaster which claimed 96 lives and caused over 700 injuries.  The report deals with many subjects such as, the cause of the disaster, how to prevent future disasters and hooligans which to be very clear was not the cause of this disaster.   

The effect this report has had on football and other sports over the last twenty years is immense. The big effect is that all major sports grounds must be all seater stadiums, is means that the old fashioned football terraces had to be abolished by 1994. One reason for this was so that a game could never oversell again and also that each fan had a bit of room to move. By taking such actions it would also cut down on hooligans who as a general rule were in the terraces largely due to the fact that they were the cheapest area in the stadium.

It’s clear to see that hooliganism has died down long since the 80’s and this could be linked to decline of standing areas. There are little or no acts of hooliganism in modern domestic football, with the exemption of major rival games such as the example recently shown at West Ham v Millwall in 2009.

Other notable areas that are blooming since the 90’s also include major sponsorship of football although this could be more down to the forming of the EPL. Football has also became more corporate and most stadiums now offer directors boxes. Reasons for this could again linked to the decline of hooliganism, as football of late has very little negativity by comparison making it favourable for advertising.  For example a company who sponsor a stadium such as Fly Emirates (Arsenal’s Emirates stadium) would rather have their name mentioned in a headline such as, “Arsenal win in flying style at the Emirates” as opposed to one such as “Fight breaks out at the Emirates”.

A copy of the Taylor report can be found HERE

Is Wayne Rooney Still a Role Model?

  By Billy Adams

Back in March Wayne Rooney was interviewed by the Guardian newspaper in the UK.  “The England squad must be better role models”, said the Manchester United star.  He went on to add. "It is difficult as a footballer because you know people look up to you. You are role models whether you like it or not.” He also added, not without irony now that footballers had to “try to do things well for kids to see.”

The Guardian article was written well before the England striker’s latest scandal, but it does show that he is aware of the fact that he is a role model, as are his fellow England team mates.   Yet how far has he strayed from his own ideals?  Is he still an acceptable role model for our children?

Wayne Rooney is (or perhaps was) a role model to many people, for various reasons around the globe. Should he have taken more care with his actions due to the fact he is such a major role model, or should he just live life how he wants to?

The public are not really asking for anything much from him or other any other sports stars for that matter, just professionalism. When a player such as Rooney is in the news many people tend to follow it.  This number would of course include the easily impressionable members of society, like children.

When children see their idols in the press and on the TV, they pay attention so if their idol is encouraging a positive action like telling them to work hard at school they may be inclined to do so. But on the downside they can also see how their role models can make bad decisions, those actions can affect them just as much.

Fame by association?  Image Credit Flickr User Gene Hunt

At times it can be quite worrying how little privacy our nation’s stars get, and it could be argued that sooner or later they are bound to get caught doing something immorally indefensible as many people have judged Rooney’s recent contract actions to be. However while this show that they are only human after all, does a huge salary mean that sports people like Rooney have to be beyond reproach at all time?

With a world so fixated on its celebrities, social networking has become a major pratfall for the famous with sites such as Twitter and Facebook feeding the world a never ending stream of tittle tattle and gossip.

It may be that a good role model is a thing of the past or at the very least a much harder thing to come by.    

Top Picture Credit Flickr User Malias
Image Credit Rooney and Ronaldo

Wayne Rooney Gets Back on the Old Trafford Bus

What do you do just before you sign a five year contract for £41.6m?  Apologise rather sheepishly if you are a certain Wayne Rooney who today did both.  He bowed his head and said sorry for causing offence to the fans, hurting the players’ feelings and causing Sir Alex his most recent press headache.

Then he was sent to the naughty step.  Well, not really but following this week’s events which would rival many a northern soap opera for their sheer ups and downs (hesitation, rancour, soul searching followed ultimately by compromise and resolution) Rooney should perhaps spend a minute or two there.

As U-turns go this was a fairly major one and now he is back on the Old Trafford Bus he can expect to earn £160K a week with incentives of probably another £40 or so at least.  We don’t expect he will be receiving Child Benefit for the kids when it becomes mean tested in a few years but if it was behaviour tested his mum would still be getting it.

At least Rooney, then, has something to celebrate on his 25th birthday on Sunday.  You can just imagine the metaphorical birthday feast.  Colleen forcing a smile, her parents clenching their fists and a group of fans like Tiny Tim (or at least a very fed up one) at the butcher boys window.   Not heard that one?  The police had to be called on Thursday to remove angry fans from outside chez Wayne.  To say he has one or two bridges to rebuild is to put it lightly.

Ian Holloway, the Manger of Blackpool certainly had something to say about football's authorities for allowing Wayne Rooney to manufacture his exit from the club.
 


If his contract is extended to 2015 you can only hope that the bruised feelings and hurt he has caused this week can heal before that.

Image Credit Flickr User dullhunk

The History of Football

  By Billy Adams, WiS Scotland Correspondent

The first notable point when considering the history of football is that various forms have been played for thousands of years and due to this there could be an ever-lasting argument as to who created the first form due to poor record keeping and depreciation of documents.

However, rather then get dragged down in to who did what first, the focus should be on how we have the versions of football and in this instance soccer that we have today.  Next we must consider what elements our predecessors games had that could relate to our versions of football based games, which mainly are British football aka soccer, American football and rugby while there are also other noteworthy versions such as Gallic football.

Episkyros (Greece) 2000BC

Around 2000 BC, The Greeks developed a kicking/throwing game, called Episkyros.

It could be said that in this marble we can see many resemblances to the modern games of football.

We can see the man with the ball balancingit in much the same way modern player do.  This shows technical ability, a vital skill within soccer.

Also, consider that the younger male is looking up to the player. This shows one of two things - it could be that the player is teaching the younger male in the sport. It may also be that the boy is looking up to they player as an idol in a similar way to many males who hero worship footballers in modern times.


Cuju (China) 500BC

Cuju means "kick the ball with foot. It was a popular sport played by ancient Chinese

This game was played by both the public and the military. It was used in the military to help leg numbness from horse riding.

This game is based on kicking a small ball into a hole in a net.

This practise is still maintained to this day.  We see it often in the western world as a soccer training practise. We have both small sized footballs and goals with solid fronts with just a few small holes to aim at (much like a cuju goal) are sold most high streets in the UK. It could be said that this is the closest old sport to football.

It would seem that FIFA would agree with that statement as on July 15, 2004, Mr. Sepp Blatter, President of FIFA declared to the world at the Third China International Football Exposition that football originated from China.  Thus Linzi in Zibo of Shandong Province was officially recognized as the birthplace of football.

100 Greatest Sports Stars - Number 96 - Jonah Lomu

Jonah Lomu, (MNZM) is a New Zealand rugby union player. He had sixty-three caps as an All Black after debuting in 1994. He is generally regarded as the first true global superstar of rugby union. One of the sport's most intimidating players on the field, he has had a huge impact on the game. He was inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame on 9 October 2007.

Jonah Lomu All Blacks Legend:



Trivia about Lomu:

Jonah turned down a multi-million dollar offer to play American football.

Jonah is a giant New Zealand rugby player regarded as one of the world's best players ever. Bizarrely, Jonah plays as a winger - a position usually occupied by the lightest and smallest players. On his best form, it can take 4 or more players to bring Jonah down.

He was offered the role of the villain Gabor in the James Bond movie The World Is Not Enough (1999), however, he declined in order to concentrate fully on his rugby career. The role was then given to former Gladiator John Seru (a.k.a. 'Vulcan').

Jonah has a wax likeness of himself at Madame Tussauds in London.

Has the number 11 - which is his famous playing number - tattooed on his muscular chest.

Has his own Playstation game - "Jonah Lomu's Rugby"

He was awarded the M.N.Z.M. (Member of the Order of New Zealand) in the 2007 Queen's Birthday Honors List for his services to Rugby in Auckland, New Zealand.

The worlds greatest:



Lomu burst onto the international rugby scene during the 1994 Hong Kong Sevens tournament and was widely acknowledged to be the top player at the 1995 World Cup in South Africa even though New Zealand lost the championship game to the host Springboks. At one time Lomu was considered 'rugby union's biggest drawcard',swelling attendances at any match where he appeared. He has played for several provincial teams, in the Super Rugby and NPC competitions.

These included the Blues, Chiefs and Hurricanes, and Counties Manukau, Wellington and later North Harbour. He made a comeback after undergoing a kidney transplant in 2004. In 1996 he married South African Tanya Rutter; they officially divorced in 2000. He married Fiona Taylor in 2003 and divorced her in 2008. He is officially the Rugby World Cup all-time top try scorer with 15 tries.

Jonah retired from rugby in 2007, but was persuaded to play in the Help For Heroes charity match at Twickenham a year later, although had to withdraw after injuring his ankle in training.

However, in June 2009, the BBC claimed he was close to joining French third division club Marseille Vitrolles and was expected to start in the first match of the new season.