to move up and down
Hundreds of protesters complaining against the high cost of staging the World Cup rallied in front of the National Stadium in Brasilia just hours before Brazil played Japan in the opening match of the Confederations Cup on Saturday.
Riot police were called up to keep demonstrators from getting too close to the stadium as thousands of fans arrived for the inaugural match in the nation’s capital. The protesters started chanting and marching about a kilometre away from the venue.
(Photo by Beto Brarata/AFP/Getty Images)
Children play soccer on the rooftops of a Favela at sunset on June 7, 2013 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo: Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
FIFA 14 gameplay trailer.
Because the beautiful game keeps getting beautiful-er.
Joe O’Connor: Sydney Leroux chose America, and struck at the heart of Canadian insecurity
Gerry Dobson is the dean of Canadian soccer broadcasting, a real pro, as is his partner in the broadcast booth, Craig Forrest who, once upon a time, was an actual soccer pro, toiling away in England.
This impeccably knowledgeable pair was calling a game on Sunday afternoon at BMO Field in Toronto, a so-called “friendly” match between the fiercest of international women’s soccer rivals, Canada and the United States. A record crowd was on hand. And all was going abysmally for the home team as the clocked ticked down.
The Americans led 2-0 when Sydney Leroux — the Surrey, B.C.-born and mostly Canadian-raised Sydney Leroux who had played for Canada as a junior — flashed past the Canadian defence. She deked the goalie. She booted home goal number three for her adopted homeland. (Ms. Leroux, a dual citizen, has an American father.)
It was a bitter slap, one made even worse after Ms. Leroux brandished the U.S. crest on her jersey, like a police badge, at the Canadian fans — before putting her fingers to her lips and shushing them. (Photo: Stanley Chou/Getty Images)
Neymar is already a hit in Barcelona: The Brazilian star arrived in Barcelona on Monday to complete his deal with the Catalan club, which will see him form a formidable attacking partnership with Lionel Messi.
Neymar travelled straight to Spain from Brazil’s friendly with England in Rio de Janeiro and is set to sign a five-year contract on Monday after choosing Barcelona over Real Madrid, bringing an end to an intense bidding war between the fierce rivals.
Neymar’s flight from Brazil arrived an hour behind schedule at around 1 p.m. local time. Decked out in solid black with sunglasses and a baseball cap, he headed straight to Camp Nou where he took his first photograph in front of the blue and burgundy club insignia with over a hundred fans waiting for him, some wearing his shirt and waving Brazilian flags. (Photo: Lluis Gene/AFP/Getty Images)
Eric Abidal, who fought back from a liver transplant to rejoin the team this season, went on to a standing ovation to play his final 14 minutes for Barcelona on Sunday after the club didn’t offer to prolong his six-year stint. (Photo by Lluis Gene/AFP/Getty Images)
The British media is having a great time with his gaffe. The Daily Mail said: “‘Big Willy’ had several attempts against former Manchester United and Fulham goalkeeper Edwin van Der Sar, but if you looked up either of them in the dictionary you would find them under ‘F’. ‘F’ for ‘Feeble’.”
Ouch. (Photo: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
Arjen Robben scored in the 89th minute Saturday to give Bayern Munich a 2-1 win over German rival Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League final, ending four years of frustration for his team in Europe’s biggest tournament.
Robben ran on to Franck Ribery’s backheeled flick-on in the area and calmly slotted the ball past goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller to give Bayern its first Champions League victory since 2001. The German team had lost two of the last three finals, including on penalties to Chelsea last year in its own stadium in Munich. (Photos: Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty Images, Andrew Yates/AFP/Getty Images)
Barcelona’s players celebrate during a ceremony at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona on May 19, 2013 after winning the Spanish League title. Barcelona celebrated lifting the La Liga trophy for a 22nd time with a 2-1 win over Valladolid. Photo: LLuis Gene/AFP/Getty Images)
