The Dirtiest World Cup Final Ever

    I believe we should use modern technology to referee Sports matches from now on.  After watching the refereeing errors during the World Cup I am more and more convinced that this is the way we need to go.  This will take personal error and fraud out of the game.

worldphoto360.com. jpeg file

     On June 11th 2010, the world cup started in South Africa, it was the first world cup held on the continent of Africa.  As the world cup started the best teams in position to win it were Italy, the current winner, Brazil, for its history, Argentina, for their offense, Spain, current winner of the Euro cup and a 50 game strait win, Germany, for their improvement of their game, and England, for their great players.

     The first games came and Brazil, Argentina and Germany did their work. But Spain, Italy and England deceived everyone, at the same time as the United States, the Netherlands, and Uruguay amazed the world.  As the world cup went by Italy, France, and other great teams fell behind.  In round of 16  Argentina, the Netherlands, Brazil, Uruguay, Spain and especially Germany amazed everybody.

     In the semifinals Netherlands was facing Uruguay and Germany faced Spain. The Germany vs. Spain game was the best one in the world cup.  The two best teams up to now in the world cup were facing one another.  This game was the one that should have been the final game.  It was a gorgeous game where Spain won, and passed to the final.  The other game was won by the Netherlands, who were becoming famous for their dirty games and the referees that would not do anything about it.  At the same time Spain was becoming famous for their bad luck with their referees.  After  research by the FIFA it was found out that there were nine clear penalty kicks that were not  called in favor of Spain out of seven games.

     The final arrives, everyone is expecting a great game because it is the final and that no team is going to risks themselves by playing rudely.  But the game starts and it is disgusting, the Netherlands is playing dirty, and their objective is to injure some of the best players.  The referee, as the statistics said and as you could see, was in favor of the Netherlands.  The referee of the game was Howard Webb, from England, and he had refereed Spain’s first game which they lost because of a goal of Switzerland that was off-sides that he declared legal, and he also did not call two clear penalty kicks in favor of Spain.  So the entire country was mad already because FIFA, instead of choosing a non-european referee, chose the one that should of have been expelled ( after the game the FIFA expelled him).

elhappy.com.mx. jpeg file

     So as the game goes Netherlands player De Jong does a Kung-Fu kick on Spain’s player Xabi Alonso, right in his chest, that could have killed him ( he was not able to breath for a few seconds).  For this action De Jong only got a yellow card which is not enough because for lesser offenses there have been red cards.  I think it was the first time I was not enjoying a soccer game, it was so disgusting.  After this action there were two clear penalty kicks in favor of Spain that were not called.  At the same time, Spain’s player Iniesta was grabbed by three players and thrown to the ground.  Of course he got mad and while on the ground he kicked the Netherlands player. For that action he got a yellow card which is fair but not completely because the game should have been stopped before when he was being grabbed and thrown to the ground.

     But in the end almost as the game was finishing Iniesta got the victory goal for Spain.  Even still the Netherlands complained about the referee saying that he was in favor of Spain and that he had stolen the game from them.  I do not know how they were not embarrassed to say such a thing.   So all this leads me to say that with all this new technology that we have now, why use referees that can be bought, as has happened many times before.  Why not use, like in tennis, computers and cameras that are more precise than the human eye.  Because this game was not fun for anyone, and this does not only happens in soccer it happens in every sport.  I think we should move on with the technology now that we can and make sports better.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIE_RQHDwlg

A Soccer Game To Remember

One day when I was five years old, my uncle asked me “ do you want to come with me to a soccer game?” and I responded “ yes of course”.  It was the first time I went to a soccer game and it was a really good game because it faced Xerez versus Cadiz.  (Xerez is my home team)  It was, what is called in soccer, a “derbi” because it forced a confrontation between two  rivals.  So I was really excited about it.  I got in the car with my uncle and drove to the stadium.  As we were getting closer and closer to it, you could see groups of people dressed up with the team t-shirts, the scarfs, etc. all going to the match.

We parked the car, and started to walk to the entrance of the stadium.  It was massive, well at least for me at that age, it raised from the ground to the air so high that it looked  like it was touching the sky.  As my uncle worked for the radio, we got great seats.  They where next to the booths of the game narrators.  I sat down, and as the players came out the entire stadium got up, while clapping and singing.

The game started after the “whistle” of the referee.  All the crowds in the stadium were roaring, clapping, etc. for the team, it was really amazing.  And it did not stop until, disgracefully for us, Cadiz got the first goal.  Then the entire stadium was silent for a few seconds, when everybody realised that even when you are losing you have to support the team, no matter what.  So then all of a sudden everyone in the stadium started roaring  “xerez!, xerez!...”  and because of this the players encourage themselves and “gooooooool!, goooool! ....” they got a goal!.  Now everybody was jumping and screaming from happiness.  Now the game was all tide up!.

furiaxerez.com, xerez cadiz scoreboard. 9/19/10
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When the first half was done, my uncle asked me if I wanted to go to the booths where the game narrators are, because his friend was narrating at the moment.  So of course I say yes, and it was weird to hear the same voice that talks on the radio talking to you.  It was the feeling that that voice did not belong to that man.  After talking to this man we went back to our seats to see the second half.  The game was very close, “uuuuuyyyyyy!” (almost) the fans said when the ball hit the post.  

By now the game was reaching the end and everyone was thinking that the game was going to end in a tie ( in soccer a game can end in a tie, each team gets one point ).  It is the last minute of the game and Xerez has the ball, the entire stadium was nervous, the centerfield has the ball he passes it to the striker, the striker shoots and..., a second of silence went by while everybody looked at the ball nervous to see where it was going to go, “goooool!, goooool!, goooool!”  The stadium looked like it was going to break with so many people jumping and screaming.  Now the crowed was even doing the “wave” around the stadium, everyone was happy Xerez had won the game.

That was my first experience watching live soccer, and I think it was a pretty good one.

Pedro M. De Trolio, Estadio de Chapin

First Assignment

Because my base of study was in Spain and there my studies were more based on science I was never really taught how to write good essays, so this is going to be a challenge for me. But I hope that by doing these essays I learn how to write properly, even though I hate to write I will try my best, and I hate this  because I do not know how to express my self, or how to write my thoughts so it makes it really difficult for me to write and more especially considering on the language disadvantage.  Not only do I hate and do not know how to write essays in spanish, I hate even more to write in english where I know even fewer words.

After reading the first chapter in Axelrod & Cooper ( 2011, 1-29 ) I am now begining to understand a little more how to write.  Because I am not a very comunicative person writing has never interested me. On page one of the introduction it says “ writing influences and changes the way you learn, enhances your chances of success, contributes to your personal development...” (Axelrod & Cooper’s 2011, page 1) after reading this I think I am starting to realise how writing can  be important to me.  Most comunicative people know that speaking to one and other is the way we exchange ideas.  On page two of the guide it is clear that most people comunicate using e-mail and the internet and so writing becomes much more important to comunicate.  “ it is easier now than ever before to connect with others via e-mail and the internet” ( Axelrod & Cooper’s 2011, page 2).

But it is not easy to learn how to write,  it takes time and hard work even for those who know how to write and to be a good writer you should be a good reader too.  Those who read a lot and like it are the ones that usually write better, and they use reading as a help to see how other people write and how can they make better their writings.  “ Most professional writers are avid readers who read not only for enjoyment and information but also to learn how other writers write”(Axelrod & Cooper’s 2011, page 3)

But to write you just cannot start writing what ever comes up into your mind, you have to  research for information about the subject you have to write so you are fully informed about what you have to write about, this way no mistakes can be made.  So in the end if you have to write about a certain subject you end up discovering new stuff about it that you would of never known if you had not written about it.  “ Writers obviously do not give birth to a text as a whole, but must work cumulatively, focusing first on one aspect, then on another”( Axelrod & Cooper’s 2011, page 6).

I think that after going through this class and after writing the essays that I have to write I will become a better writer even in english, even if I still hate writing.

 Photograph: from Google image search (pluma de escribir)