El Clasico-FIFA '12 Correlation

El Clasico is nothing more than a bad FIFA '12 dream for Real Madrid.

Ramos receiving his marching orders after jumping near Messi

Ever play a crunch match in FIFA where you know you are better than your opponent? With the buzz of your 360 in the background, you dominate the first half, cause constant pressure, and have a bundle of goal-scoring chances. You're play is so flawless that it's only a matter of time before you score.

But then, you don't. Shots rifle off the post and your striker for some reason doesn't convert a chance he would nine times out of ten. Doubt creeps in your mind. It's going to be "one of those games," where this jerk I'm playing, who is a cheese team like Barcelona, pulls one back against the run of play. And then before half-time that exactly happens. Bam, Messi does something and somehow the balls in the back of the net. Then to compound this misery, a ridiculous strike from nowhere is scored leaving you to say: I hate this game. It's 2-0, it's Barca, there's no way back.

Nothing is more unnerving. This is El Clasico for Real Madrid. Things simply do not go their way. They deserved to win yesterday, the other day, and usually. They pounded Barca in the first half and wound up two nil down. This logically means Barcelona are so good they're cheap. They are the left trigger + Y pass to a fast player move in FIFA: downright annoying.

I could care less about La Liga, Barcelona, or Real Madrid, but watching highlights of last nights game screamed to me FIFA '12 injustice! Disagree or not, the scenario that happened to Madrid last night has happened to you while playing FIFA online or with friends.

Perhaps I'm playing too much FIFA '12?



Photo Credit:
EA Sports

FIFA World Cup Qualifying Draw

Since I am American and have little to look forward to in terms of international competition over the next few years, here is a recap of the recent qualifying draw for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil:

Brazilian legend Ronaldo displaying an unfavorable fortune cookie message

African Zone Draw 

Group A: South Africa, Botswana, Central African Republic, Somalia or Ethiopia 

Group B: Tunisia, Cape Verde Islands, Sierra Leone, Equatorial Guinea or Madagascar
Group C: Côte d'Ivoire, Morocco, Gambia, Chad or Tanzania
Group D: Ghana, Zambia, Sudan, Lesotho or Burundi
Group E: Burkina Faso, Gabon, Niger, Sao Tome e Principe or Congo
Group F: Nigeria, Malawi, Seychelles or Kenya, Djibouti or Namibia
Group G: Egypt, Guinea, Zimbabwe, Comoros or Mozambique
Group H: Algeria, Mali, Benin, Eritrea or Rwanda
Group I: Cameroon, Libya, Guinea-Bissau or Togo, Swaziland or Congo DR
Group J: Senegal, Uganda, Angola, Mauritius or Liberia

Asian Zone Draw 

Group A: China, Jordan, Iraq, Singapore
Group B: Korea Republic, Kuwait, UAE, Lebanon
Group C: Japan, Uzbekistan, Syria, Korea DPR
Group D: Australia, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Thailand
Group E: Iran, Qatar, Bahrain, Indonesia

North, Central America and the Caribbean Zone Draw (Round Two) 

Group A: El Salvador, Surinam, Cayman Islands, Dominican Republic
Group B: Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Barbados, Bermuda
Group C: Panama, Dominica, Nicaragua, Bahamas
Group D: Canada, St. Kitts and Nevis, Puerto Rico, St Lucia
Group E: Grenada, Guatemala, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize
Group F: Haiti, Antigua and Barbuda, Curacao, US Virgin Islands

North, Central America and the Caribbean Zone Draw (Round Three) 

Group A: USA, Jamaica, Winner of R2 Grp E, Winner of R2 Grp F
Group B: Mexico, Costa Rica, Winner of R2 Grp A, Winner of R2 Grp B
Group C: Honduras, Cuba, Winner of R2 Grp D, Winner of R2 Grp C

Oceanian Zone Draw

Group A: Vanuatu, New Caledonia, American Samoa/Cook Islands/Samoa or Tonga, Tahiti
Group B: Fiji, New Zealand, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea

European Zone Draw 

Group A: Croatia, Serbia, Belgium, Scotland, Macedonia, Wales
Group B: Italy, Denmark, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Armenia, Malta.
Group C: Germany, Sweden, Republic of Ireland, Austria, Faroe Islands, Kazakhstan.
Group D: Netherlands, Turkey, Hungary, Romania, Estonia, Andorra.
Group E: Norway, Slovenia, Switzerland, Albania, Cyprus, Iceland.
Group F: Portugal, Russia, Israel, Northern Ireland, Azerbaijan, Luxembourg
Group G: Greece, Slovakia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Lithuania, Latvia, Lichtenstein
Group H: England, Montenegro, Ukraine, Poland, Moldova, San Marino
Group I: Spain, France, Belarus, Georgia, Finland

Intercontinental play-offs
Asia – South America
North, Central America and the Caribbean - Oceania

Source: FIFA

More in depth reviews to come, with the possibility of some outside commentary. Stay tuned, amici.

Ballon d'Or (Part 2): Disappointment Brewed Bitterly

In part one of my Ballon d'Or post, Disappointment is Brewing, I expressed extreme outrage over the process regarding this year's award. Just when I thought my disgust for FIFA's player selections was at it's peak, Lionel Messi was chosen as the 2010 FIFA Ballon d'Or winner. This decision has enraged me.

Lionel Messi: 2010 Ballon d'Or Winner

I have nothing against Messi - he is one of the best footballers in the world and had a wonderful 2010 (49 goals in 58 games). Regardlessly, I would argue that there were three players who were better than him in 2010: Wesley Sneijder, Andres Iniesta, and Xavi. All three deserved to win this award over Messi. Moreover, I feel that Sneijder, given his excellent club and country form last year, should have been lifting this trophy, yet failed to feature in the three-man shortlist. Sneijder did more with less, in a more competitive league (La Liga is being hailed as a 'two-horse' race, as we speak) and was unbelievably left out in the cold. So, from the get-go today, my distaste for this award was elevated.

Given Sneijder's omission, I would have accepted Iniesta or Xavi winning this award. Both had a championship winning year at Barcelona and were the heartbeat of Spain's triumph at the World Cup this summer. The Spanish duo ooze excellence and are worthy candidates for this award. To top it off, their prowess in the midfield for Barcelona surely can be linked to Messi's incredible 2010 goal tally. How in the world did Iniesta or Xavi not win this award? They were as good as Messi during the season and pipped his efforts at the World Cup. I want answers, people! And by answers, I do not mean comments to the effect of "Messi had so many goals in 2010" or "Messi is the best player ever". Those are not sound arguments, they are simple assertions attempting to explain the improbable.

Iniesta and Xavi during their triumph in South Africa

To sum it up, there were four things I found unbelievable about the 2010 Ballon d'Or process:

1) Diego Alberto Milito not being named on the 23-man shortlist.

2) Wesley Sneijder not winning the award or being named on the three-man shortlist.

3) Given the above circumstance, Andres Iniesta or Xavi not winning the award.

4) Lionel Messi winning the award, even to his amazement. 

Some journalists and pundits are simply shrugging off this decision, admitting they could care less who wins the footballer of the year award. This makes me question their role in the voting of such an award. The way I see it, the misappropriation of this award justifies beliefs that FIFA is flying blindly. Be it bad leadership or bad politics, FIFA has made several aggravating decisions over the past few months (i.e. Qatar 2022............) that has put it's fairness in question. FIFA's mystifying actions make the soccer governing body seem like a secret society of sorts, as hardly anyone in the public domain can understand their decision-making process. Obviously, the slew of votes for the Ballon d'Or comes from captains, coaches, and the media (see this year's voting stats here), but I still hold FIFA at fault for not giving the best footballer of the year his recognition. The award is the FIFA Ballon d'Or, after all. They have the power to do what's right, and unfortunately I believe that Messi winning this award was wrong! I have nothing against the magical Argentine who will continue to write history, but 2009 was his year, not 2010. Sneijder, Iniesta, and Xavi have been unjustly done by this decision.

Please share your thoughts with me and stay tuned for my next post, which slide tackles the issue of "Ronaldo vs. Messi" and how the media's comparison of them is getting very old. I swear, I don't hate Messi!