Zlatan Ibrahimović is one of the most famous soccer players in the world. A fan favorite, he’s instantly recognizable, and people chant his name everywhere he goes. But for him, this is a problem. Not because he’s shy or unappreciative of his fans — but because there are over 800 million people around the world whose names should be chanted instead. Before the February 14, 2015 match between Paris Saint-German and Caen at Parc des Princes, he put the finishing touches on 50 names that are symbolic of a global crisis. During the game, he removed his jersey and brought these names to the forefront. What they represent will break you heart. To support the United Nations World Food Programme and Zlatan Ibrahimović’s fight against world hunger, make sure to donate here. This isn’t just a good cause. It’s an issue that, if solved, will help heal our entire planet. Read more: http://www.viralnova.com/millions-of-names/
Lionel Messi of Argentina got the Golden Ball for best player of the 2014 World Cup, which ended Sunday in Brazil. Dazzling newcomer James Rodriguez of Colombia won the Golden Boot for most goals. And Manuel Neuer of Germany got the Golden Glove for best goalkeeper (all protestations that it should have been Tim Howard aside). But surely, given how much diving or flopping has become a part of the sport whether we like it or not, there should also be an official “Golden Dive” award handed out after the final whistle? Now there is, kind of, courtesy of a YouTube channel that claims to belong to the Diving Is Cool Society. The group of soccer fans count down their pick of the top 5 dives of Brazil 2014 — starting with the infamous flop by Fred in Brazil’s opening match against Croatia, a dive that won the host country a crucial penalty. Seasoned soccer fans won’t be surprised that the award goes to Dutch star Arjen Robben, for dives too numerous and exquisite to select just one. Robben freely admitted that he dived in the first half of the Netherlands’ game against Mexico (although he didn’t admit the dive that won one more of those crucial penalties in the second half). “One of the moments in the first half was a dive,” he told the Dutch TV station NOS. “Sometimes you get kicked, but that was not the case at that particular moment.” He said he regretted his decision to dive and called it a “silly action.” Arjen Robben, may you treasure this award more than the Netherlands’ third-place medal. World Cup Awards #ThingsTimHowardCouldSave Ned Stark. pic.twitter.com/gk7fV9jmn4 — Arya Stark (@GoT_Arya) July 2, 2014 1. Best Meme: Tim Howard 2. Most delicious player: Giorgio Chiellini Luiz Suarez will agree. 3. Worst/Best hairdo: Rodrigo Palacio Image: Frank Augstein/Associated Press 4. Best goal celebration: Colombia 5. Coach most ready to go clubbing: Joachim Low Image: Thanassis Stavrakis/Associated Press 6. Tightest jerseys: Uruguay Image: Natacha Pisarenko/Associated Press 7. Internet’s most beloved coach: Miguel Herrera After World Cup ending defeat vs Colombia, Japan fans stayed after FT whistle to help clean up the stadium. Respect. pic.twitter.com/pfOXJtnbyJ — Natter Football (@NATTERFOOTBALL) June 25, 2014 8. Cutest fans: Japan for cleaning the stadium after losing Read more: http://mashable.com/2014/07/14/and-the-2014-golden-dive-award-goes-to/
If you’re going to get thrown off the field, you might as well go in style, right? This pants-less goal celebration definitely qualifies. It comes courtesy of Mario Djurovski, a Macedonian midfielder for Thai soccer club Muangthong United. After a sweet score, he drops trou, puts his shorts on top of his head and motions strangely toward the stands. The referee, as you’ll see, is not impressed, and hits Djurovski with a red card. The clip created a fair amount of befuddled buzz on the sports Internet this week, so check it out for yourself and let us know what you think in the comments. BONUS: 25 of YouTube’s Funniest Sports Fails Sports Fails 1. Golf Cart Fail This runaway vehicle wreaked minor on-field havoc following a high school football championship in Texas last December. But a heroic bystander hopped aboard and put on the brakes. No casualties occurred, and the clip immediately became Internet legend. 2. Penalty Kick Fail Watch out for the ricochet, goalie! This kid gets it in the right in the chops. 3. Mascot on Rollerblades Fail What happens when you put an inflatable dinosaur on rollerblades and ask it to skate down a flight of stairs? Amazingness, that’s what. 4. Flopping Fail In sports, to “flop” is to exaggerate the force of contact in hopes of drawing a favorable call from officials. But you’ve got to time it much, much better than this guy does. 5. Hockey Celebration Fail Apparently, if you hug a member of the opposite team after scoring a goal in hockey, you will get punched in the face. 6. Innocent Bystander Fail This kid is just in the wrong place at the wrong time…to the benefit of the rest of us. 7. Representing Your School Fail College football mascots are supposed to represent their schools in a fun, positive light — which doesn’t typically include picking fights. Here, the University of Oregon’s duck slams the University of Houston’s cougar. Bonus points for the sick elbow drop, though. 8. Weightlifting Fail Not saying we could successfully lift 432 pounds above our heads, but dang, that looks painful. German weightlifter Matthias Steiner dropped this massive barbell on his neck during the London Olympics this summer, but escaped serious injury. 9. Trampoline Dunk Fail Sometimes, when you fail, you actually win. 10. Hurdling Fail Why jump over hurdles when you could just RUN STRAIGHT THROUGH THEM? File under: Never, Ever Gets Old. 11. Paying Attention Fail After what could best be described as an “optimistic” shot attempt in a game last season, NBA center JaVale McGee showed some nice hustle getting back on defense. Only problem? His team still had the ball. 12. Judgment Fail But that wasn’t McGee’s only legendary moment. Here, he shows why it’s not a good idea to try dunking from the free throw line mid-game. 13. Olympic Promo Fail For some reason, London’s Olympic promotions this summer involved hanging Mayor Boris Johnson on a zipline while waving a pair […]
If Wayne Rooney wasn’t a footballer, he’d probably be a fisherman. But the only way he wouldn’t be a footballer is if the clones took over. Nike’s latest ad, “The Last Game,” in support of World Cup fever takes on a similar premise to the latest dystopian sci-fi movie. It pits man vs. the “perfect” clone — a soccer player that performs like a machine and is, supposedly, unbeatable. But they’re missing one thing: heart (or, as Nike puts it, the willingness to take risks). It’s sort of like a Gattaca that substitutes soccer for space travel. The best players unite to challenge the clones. We won’t spoil the ending, but lets just say it’s clear is Nike is reminding you that winning players are willing to take risks. Risk makes the game worth watching. Yay risk. All the 2014 World Cup action starts up on Thursday, June 12. BONUS: Six Apps to Fuel Your World Cup Fever Apps to Follow the World Cup ESPN FC Soccer & World Cup ESPN’s app for the World Cup featues in-depth analysis and commentary from their team of experts. Customize the experience by choosing your favorite teams to follow and set detailed alerts for everything from in-game substitutions to sore updates to team stats. Users in the U.S. can also see exclusive video highlights from the games. The free app is available for iOS and Android. Image: ESPN FIFA ’14 Fans of EA’s FIFA series for Xbox and PlayStation will appreciate the company’s latest World Cup iOS offering. In FIFA ’14 players can compete in their own World Cup brackets and customize their team’s lineup to compete with their ideal fantasy team. Those who want to make it more competitive can challenge friends and other online player’s in the game’s multiplayer mode. The free app is available for iOS. Image: Electronic Arts FIFA Official FIFA Official provides comprehensive profiles of each team, player and coach detailing the past national and World Cup history of each organization. The app has a daily live blog that provides a constantly-refreshed stream of updates from the matches and exclusive photos and videos from the tournament. Super fans can also play games, vote on each game’s “Man of the Match” and sign up for a shot at winning kick-off balls used during the actual games. The free app is available for iOS and Android. Image: FIFA Onefootball Brasil Choose your favorite teams and get up to the minute updates from both on and off the field. Listen to live commentary from matches and chat with your fellow fans when you connect the app to your Facebook account. The app also has in-depth pre and post-game videos of press conference, interviews and analysis. The free app is available for iOS, Android and Windows Phone. Image: Motain GmbH Travel Portuguese Futebol Edition For those actually traveling to Brazil to watch the games, Travel Portuguese Futebol Edition from Rosetta Stone will give you a crash-course in essential Portuguese to help you […]
Man in the middle: ESPN commentator Jon Champion prepares to call the USA-Azerbaijan soccer match at Candlestick Park in San Francisco on May 27, 2014. Image: Sam Laird, Mashable With any luck, the lasting sound of this summer’s World Cup won’t be the massively commercialized event’s official (and inexplicable) “song” from alleged musician Pitbull. No, a much better soundtrack to have rattling around your head for the next several months would be the measured tones of Jon Champion, ESPN‘s newest commentator, who will make his debut for the American World Cup audience this summer. The only catch? Champion hopes you don’t remember him — at least not that much. “It’s a bit like being a referee,” Champion told Mashable in a phone interview earlier this month. “In a sense, if I get noticed too much then I’m not doing my job — which is to caption the picture and not dominate the proceedings.” Champion says this approach was instilled in him when he got his broadcasting start at the BBC more than 20 years ago. He’s since commentated on soccer for a range of TV and radio programs in the United Kingdom — including ESPN’s UK version — and covered six World Cups. But this June marks his first time calling the biggest event in sports for an American audience. ESPN executives believe that Champion can endear himself to American viewers similar to how another English commentator, Ian Darke, did during the 2010 World Cup. “We were familiar with Jon from his time with ESPN UK, and we have always been impressed with his work and his knowledge of the game,” Jed Drake, an ESPN senior vice president and executive producer, told Mashable via email. “He calls a match in a very sincere, straightforward manner, and he gives you more than just play-by-play. He provides context and perspective, which is similar to Ian. We believe fans will embrace Jon during this World Cup, and he will call some big matches for us.” Champion will call nine group-stage games, as well as several more once the World Cup moves on to its elimination stage. It’s the same sport he’s been covering for years, but Champions says his new audience will require a slightly different approach. “I’m going to have to think about it a bit more, and I welcome that as a broadcaster,” Champion says. “It’s good to challenge yourself as a broadcaster.” Much of that challenge lies in the USA’s booming — but still-fledgling — interest in soccer. Many American fans possess enough passion and knowledge of the game to rival anyone across the pond, but the American audience is also rife with more casual fans who couldn’t pick legendary Italian midfielder Andrea Pirlo out of a police lineup. The trick, according to Champion, will be serving both groups of American fans who will make up ESPN’s massive Stateside audience. “I’ll have to find a balance between explaining enough and not explaining too much,” he says. “It’s up to me […]
