Did Hugo Sanchez ever play against Diego Maradona during their time as football players?

Video Clip would be nice.

Farewell Ronaldo – The Greatest Finisher Of All Time

Farewell Ronaldo – The Greatest Finisher Of All Time
As Ronaldo departs Corinthians there are probably some fans who are glad to see the back of him. Supporters daubed graffiti on the club’s training ground walls last week, condemning the 34-year-old as a ’shameless fatty’.

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Best soccer goals of all time – Must see

Great Soccer goals from around the world

The All Time Greatest Soccer Player

The sport of soccer, known as football to most of the world, has produced some great soccer players over the past years. Perhaps the most famous of all is Pelé, who amazed the world with his incredible ability to maneuver the ball in a way it hadn’t been done before. Pelé retired more than twenty five years ago but he is still a household name on the lips of soccer players and fans around the world. His story of rising from poverty in Brazil to soccer superstar is a source of inspiration for young soccer players everywhere.

Another soccer great is Pavel Nedved. Pavel is well known both in his homeland of the Czech Republic and around the world as one of the youngest soccer players of all time to make a lasting impression. Pavel played for Sparta in the 1990’s and scored many goals for the team from 1992 to 1995.

The world has seen many players who have been the focus of extreme soccer skills, but none so well known as Zinedine Zidane. Zidane was born in Algeria in 1972 and after struggling in school for several years he decided that soccer was his main interest. He was spotted at the age of sixteen by a soccer scout and very quickly found himself in Cannes. Shortly after that Zidane was playing for the French Division, scoring goal after goal and becoming the star of the team.

Today one of the most popular soccer players is David Beckham, who is the star of Great Britain when it comes to the game. At sixteen Beckham was playing for Manchester United team and was already attracting the attention of soccer scouts around the world. Beckham’s incredible talent found him on England’s World Cup Team in 1997. His handsome looks and boyish attitude make him one of Britain’s favorite celebrities.

The world of soccer continues to give us up and coming stars, but none can ever rival the status that the above players have earned.

10 Greatest football players of all time

The list of the greatest footballers has been made after research of number of internet websites related to football. One of the ways how to find out the answer was the survey!

So here they are – the greatest of the greatest.

1. Pele

Edson Arantes Do Nascimento (Pele)

Brazil

1940 – Present day

Clubs: Santos, New York Cosmos

Major Honours:

World Cup (1958, 62, 70)

World Club Championship (1962, 63)

Sao Paulo State Championship (1958, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969 and 1973)

FIFA World Cup Golden Ball (Best Player) 1970

2. Diego Maradona

Diego Armando Maradona

Argentina

1960 – Present day

Clubs: Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors, Barcelona, Napoli, Seville, Newell’s Old Boys

Major Honours:

Argentine championship, 1981

Spanish Cup, 1983

Italian championship, 1987, 90

Italian Cup, 1987

UEFA Cup, 1989

FIFA World Youth Championship, 1979

FIFA World Cup, 1986

South American Footballer of the Year, 1979, 86, 89, 90, 92

European Footballer of the Year, 1986

Argentine Sports Writers’ Sportsman of the Century, 1999

3. Johan Cruyff

Johann Cruyff

Holland

1947 – Present day

Clubs: Ajax, Barcelona, Los Angeles Aztecs, Washington Diplomats, Levante, Feyenoord

Major Honours:

World Club Championship (1972)

European Cup (1971, 72, 73)

Dutch Championship (1966, 67, 68, 72, 73, 82, 84)

Dutch Cup (1967, 70, 71, 72, 83)

Spanish Championship (1974)

Spanish Cup (1978)

European Footballer of the Year (1971, 73, 74)

4. Franz Beckenbauer

Franz Beckenbauer

Germany

1945 – Present day

Clubs:Bayern Munich, New York Cosmos, SV Hamburg

Major Honours:

World Cup: 1974

European Championship: 1972

European Cup: 1974, 75, 76

Cup Winners: Cup: 1967

World Club Championships: 1976

Bundersliga: 1969, 72, 73, 74.

West German Cup: 1966, 67, 69, 71.

European Footballer of the Year: 1972, 76

5. Zinedine Zidane

Zinedine Yazid Zidane

France

1972 – Present Day

Clubs :Cannes, Bordeaux, Juventus, Real Madrid

Major Honours:

UEFA Intertoto Cup: 1995,1999

European Super Cup: 1996,2002

Intercontinental Cup: 1996, 2002

Italian Super Cup: 1997

Italia Serie A: 1996-97, 1997-98

UEFA Champions League: 2001-02

Spanish La Liga: 2002-03

Spanish Super Cup: 2001, 2003

FIFA World Cup: 1998,

UEFA European Championship: 2000

UEFA Champions League Best Midfielder – 1998

UEFA Euro Player of the Tournament – 2000

Serie A Foreign Footballer of the Year – 1997, 2001

Serie A Footballer of the Year – 2001

French Player of the Year – 1998, 2002

FIFA World Player of the Year – 1998, 2000, 2003

FIFA World Cup Golden Ball – 2006

Full list is in Ivoland/10 greatest football players

Ten Best Soccer Goals Of All Time

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The best time to improve soccer skills

The best time to improve soccer skills

The season is over and summer is almost upon us.  It’s break time for players, coaches and also for parents. No hectic schedule for midweek practices and weekend games. No worrying about winning the championship or even winning the next game.  Everything is on hold until next season.

Breaks are important in that they give us much needed time to relax and rest our bodies and minds.  It’s also time for reflection on the right and wrong of what transpired during the season and how we can improve.  We have time to take assessment of our own personal role in the team’s performance.  How can we make ourselves more valuable to our team next season?  From a coaching standpoint we can learn new training methods, observe how successful teams achieved their success, and encourage our players to continue to improve their individual skill levels during the off season.  You might also work on our own ball skills so you can be a better demonstrator of skills to your players.  Players respect the coaches’ skills very much and will try to imitate to earn praise.

Actually the off season is the best time to develop individual ball skills.  During the season the most important thing on the team’s mind is usually winning the championship, whatever it takes to win. Team tactics usually take priority in training sessions with some time given to technique and conditioning at each practice.  During the stress of making the starting lineup and performing under pressure is not the best time to improve your individual skills.  The best time to improve your individual technique is when your mind is relaxed and fresh and you can focus on improving your skills.  Knowing your strengths and weaknesses is the starting point.  Always try to improve your strengths but pay special attention to your weaknesses such as improving your weak foot and areas that always need improving such as running with the ball keeping your head up, playing on your toes, improving touch on the ball and keeping it close to your body as you dribble and of course your quickness, strength and speed.  These are things you can do at home or in your own back yard.

Practicing in the offseason can be fun especially when you see improvement.  Improving individual skills is a great way to build self-esteem and self-confidence not only in soccer but in life in general. As you build your individual skills you raise the bar for other players on your team to reach and in doing so help make your team better. You will be surprised in how quickly you will improve once you make a personal commitment and spend some time every day to work on your skills.  Remember once you master the skills they are yours for life.  Of course you can always refine them but they will be with you forever and dramatically raise the satisfaction you get from playing this beautiful game

By Richard Moore – Inventor of

The Kick Coach

www.thekickcoach.com

How can I get good at soccer in a short time period?

I’m 15 years old and I’m going to be a sophomore. I’m thinking of trying out for the soccer team. I’m not trying to get on varsity or junior varsity, but I don’t want to look like an idiot on the field. I just want to know how to get better at soccer over this summer. I have a soccer goal in my backyard. Just some passing routines and running routines will be fine.