Posts Tagged ‘Soccer Player’

Mexican soccer was always known for producing quality players and it’s actually quite surprising that their best national team record is reaching the quarter-finals of a World Cup (on two occasions, 1970 and 1986, both of these World Cups being organized by Mexico). However, the Mexican national side has always been a constant presence in final tournaments and it’s regarded as a tough nut to crack, despite their lack of silverware.

Let’s take a short look at some of the players that made Mexico the strong soccer power that it is today.

-Famous Mexican Soccer Players – Antonio Carbajal

Nicknamed “El Cinco Copas”, or “Five Cups”, Antonio Carbajal was the first player to ever participate in 5 World Cups with his national team and has only been equaled in 1998, by German legend Lothar Matthaus. Carbajal played for Mexico in all the 5 World Cups that took place between 1950 and 1966.

-Famous Mexican Soccer Players – Hugo Sanchez

Hugo Sanchez was one of the first Mexico soccer players to play in Europe at the highest level. He was an iconic player for Real Madrid between 1985 and 1992; 7 years in which he scored no less than 253 goals in 283 matches, a goal/match ratio that can hardly be rivaled.

He also played for the Mexico national team on 60 occasions, scoring 29 goals and being an important player in the 1986 World Cup held by Mexico, in which his team managed to equal the quarter-final performance obtained initially in 1970. Hugo Sanchez is currently the manager and coach of the Mexican national squad.

-Famous Mexican Soccer Players – Jared Borgetti

Borgetti was of Italian and Mexican descent and as a striker, he combined the flair and power of Italian soccer with the passion and inventively of Mexican soccer. Although he is still an active soccer player at age 34, he spent most of his time playing in the Mexican league, with 7 years for Santos Laguna, a period of time in which he managed to score close to 200 goals in 300 matches.

But Borgetti’s goalscoring run doesn’t stop here, as he has also managed to come on top of the Mexican national side’s all time score sheet, with 43 goals in 87 matches. Currently, Borgetti is playing for Cruz Azul and although he decided to retire from the Mexican national side for the upcoming World Cup, he stated that he would love to play for his country one last time, during the CONCACAF Gold Cup tournament.

-Famous Mexican Soccer Players – Claudio Suarez

Unlike many other Mexican soccer players that get to celebrate New Years with a completely new club on their payroll, Claudio Suarez has only gone through 4 teams throughout his entire career: UNAM Pumas (1989-1996), Chivas de Guadalajara (1996-1999), UANL Tigres (1999-2005) and Chivas USA (2006). He made a strong impression for all of these clubs and many consider him one of the best Mexican defenders to have played for his country.

Although an extraordinary defender is currently contesting this title away from Claudio Suarez, namely Rafael Marquez of Barcelona, there’s one title that will hardly be touched by anyone for a long time: Claudio Suarez currently holds the record for international caps with the Mexican national team, with an amazing 178 appearances.

-Famous Mexican Soccer Players – Rafael Marquez

Rafael Marquez is probably the best-known Mexican soccer player of today, being one of the most important members of Spanish side FC Barcelona. Marquez’ ability to play as a central or right defender as well as a defensive midfielder earned him the aura of a “handyman”, being able to play wherever his coach would need him the most.

However, Marquez has recently steadied down as a central defender, playing on this position for the Mexican national side as well as for FC Barcelona in the last years. Age 28, Rafael Marquez is the captain of the Mexican national squad and is already being considered one of the best players in the country’s history, next to legendary names such as Hugo Sanchez or Claudio Suarez.

As an athlete and sports buff most of my life that I get sick of hearing people to a point outstanding athlete and say: “He has the genetic” or “He was born to play like that” . Really, to OJ Simpson who has suffered from being bowlegged because of deficiencies in vitamin is born to be one of the best running backs in American football?

The truth is that the only thing that makes every great athlete a great athlete is practical. Soccer is no different; greatest Pele, Ronaldo and Beckham all have this in common. They practiced constantly to the point of exhaustion and beyond. It is a practice that gives you both the competence and confidence to be able to make the passes and shots that make a difference in a match. If you want to be a great soccer player then you must commit to daily practice from now.

The aspect of being in excellent physical condition is another crucial element of soccer with aerobic conditioning to be the vanguard. If you are tired and can not be run at your peak for an entire game, then you need a better packaging. Soccer practice focuses on developing your skills and technology. Your competence is identified as your ability to execute techniques that are taught as a trap, throw or kick. It is a regimented and consistent practice that a player is able to develop skills and confidence to play at a higher level.

Always have a plan to achieve the goals you want to meet before starting your practice sessions. Having an exact format and plan your time to stop wasting time and not knowing what to do next. Have objectives to be achieved, once you reach all the highest. It is better to have a friend or someone who shares your zeal for the sport to practice with you, especially when you try to improve your technique of kicking. If you are unable to find someone to practice with you focus kicking a specific area of the ball and make it where you want. You can also hit the ball in a particular place on a wall if you do not have a buddy to kick.

Another important aspect of soccer is control. A good way to practice ball is put in place cones and zigzag through the dribble the ball and try not to stop or even slow down. This exercise will help you when it comes to having to dribble a soccer pitch in a real game where you dodge other players.

As with any sport, you can also learn a lot by watching other players closely. If you have a preferred position, watching a game and focus on this player and learn how he executes his technique. Follow these tips and you’ll be well on your way to become a great soccer player.

Watch live soccer online or offline and enjoy the real time action as it is fed through various television networks live not only on television but on the internet as well. By watching these games online you get to have the exclusive seat right in front of your own computer and enjoy the game as if you were at the stadiums yourself along with the masses of people who went there to watch their favorite soccer team play. This can be availed of for free and live so it is very convenient as it serves itself to be a great watching experience, especially for the avid soccer fan.

Indeed soccer has become one of the most patronized group sports all over the world since history could have remembered it, right up there next to basketball, football and baseball. Although the more heated and popular soccer games and teams, athletes and players originated and can be found on the European areas, soccer games and events elsewhere are relatively as sought after in other countries, especially when it comes to watching soccer matches live.

If you want to watch those games but don’t have the time or resource to go out and get tickets, just watch live soccer online. You even get to watch those earlier matches that you might have missed way back because they might be available on the website archives where you are watching the most recent match. All these are available and more at a low cost, if not for free, right on the internet and on the convenience of your computer.

On the other hand, many people who like all sorts of sports like soccer fans really love to watch soccer offline, which is literally live. This is because to any soccer enthusiast, there’s nothing like the experience of being able to sit at some part of the benches of a real live stadium where you can watch you favorite team or favorite soccer player and root for them while they play in a heated match against really good opponents that come from all over the world. The feeling of seeing real people play is totally different and way beyond the instance of sitting on your living room couch and watching a replay on the television at the comfort of your own home. Although some sports events are being covered by spots networks live, it’s really different from actually being there in person. You might even get the chance to get an autograph from your favorite player or some other thing you just can’t get through the television screen.

Unfortunately, the methods above are the only ways to watch soccer live. You certainly can’t find them on the internet, since most uploaded footage on soccer games that you will find are recorded, hence usually not live. Even if you go to prominent sports news networks that cater to the world audience you still won’t be able to find live footage that will show you events in real time as they occur. Anyway these recordings are as real as any other, which can be the next best thing if you just can’t score tickets to that soccer game.

Soccer fitness is a curious beast. Until the last few decades, one did not have to have an especially athletic build to make it as a pro soccer player. Now, though, players at the top level – and even some semi-pro soccer players – have strict training regimens, and the physiques to match. It’s fair to say that in soccer fitness is now more important than ever, so here are some tips to help you get in the right condition for 90 minutes of action.

First of all, you need to know your soccer position, or at least your style of play, so that you know what to work on the most. Players who operate as soccer wingers will need to be pacy and posses great balance; centre-backs need to work on their aerial abilities, so a jumping skill is an absolute must. Those in the centre of midfield require upper-body strength and an ability to slide in for tackles, while goal-getting strikers need a burst of speed to break free of their marker. Once you know where you should be focusing, you can tailor a soccer fitness regimen to your needs.

That said, there are plenty of important lessons that all soccer players – even goalkeepers – can bear in mind in a bid to stay fit.

First off is basic general aerobic fitness. The pros can cover well in excess of 4.5 miles per game on the field, and although you may not go quite that far, you do need to be ready to go the distance. So, work on aerobics.

Anaerobic fitness is almost as important. This is the ‘hardcore’ fitness test, and it applies when you’re sprinting. So, as well as doing endurance running, do some sprint drills to ensure that you can meet the pace when required.

And, although it doesn’t relate precisely to fitness, don’t forget some ball work. Practising soccer drills is a great way to break the tedium of running, and if you can combine the two – for example running while dribbling the ball for 50 yards – you’ll become a better player, too.

Then, on gameday, always warm up correctly. This is key for fitness as a proper soccer warm-up will decrease the likelihood of injury . To warmup for soccer, start with some basic muscle stretches in all the major groups, and then partake of some sprint drills. Combine these with static turns, especially if you run with the ball a lot, and also do brief runs with a jumping header motion in the middle of them to get your neck ready for action!

Warming down is just as important: not many fans will be able to tell you that, as they’ve long since left the stadium by the time this takes place. But it’s vital that all players at least jog, skip, and stretch. It may be the last thing you want to do after an exhausting (but thrilling) 90 minutes – but you have to if you want to be a fit soccer player long-term. Well, that, and a soccer diet – eat healthily, sleep well, and take on enough carbs before a game to last the distance.

The internet is a great source for watching soccer, specifically international soccer. Watch soccer online for free with tips from a soccer coach in this free video on soccer. Expert: Guillermo Gomez Bio: Guillermo Gomez is a soccer coach and lifelong soccer player that played collegiately in Oxford, England, at Linacre College-Oxford University. Filmmaker: MAKE | MEDIA

Soccer warm up exercises are the most frequent in pre match situations and training. there’s no other type of exercise that a soccer player will spend more time with then with warm up. Professional teams usually spend around 30 minutes of their training sessions on a quality warm up, because this has three major effects on players, effects that we will discuss in the following paragraphs.

-Soccer Pre game Warm up – Avoiding Injuries

Our muscles and tendons can easily cause problems if they are used at their fullest without a proper series of soccer warm up drills. The muscles work on the same principle as an elastic string would. Pull it slowly and the elastic will be able to stretch without problems, but if you pull it in one quick motion, there’s a risk it might snap. Ok, your muscles won’t just “snap” if you use them intensely without the proper warm up, but there’s a good chance you might strain them or develop other injuries.

That’s why a good part of soccer warm up drills includes stretching exercises, which slowly get your muscles used to the effort.

- The Importance of Soccer Pre game Warm up – Higher Performance

It’s not called warming up for nothing: when performing these exercises, you actually warm your muscles and entire body, allowing it to be ready for effort. By performing soccer pre game warm up exercises, you set your muscles, heart rate and breathing to the same levels you will be using in the match, so you can easily accommodate to the variables that the match brings.

Try this very simple exercise to test this theory: warm up for 30 minutes thoroughly, using a wide range of soccer warm up drills that work with your entire body, not just your legs. After you’re done, do 5-10 sprints on the width of the soccer pitch and measure your heart rate and the general difficulty of each sprint.

Now, come back in another day, do a couple of stretching exercises so you don’t develop any injuries and simply start sprinting (the same number of sprints as the day before), without getting a proper warm up beforehand. You will notice that you will have harder time breathing throughout and between the sprints, they will be harder to perform and at the end, your heart rate will be much higher than yesterday, meaning that your body had a harder time adjusting to the high level of effort.

- The Importance of Soccer Pre game Warm up – Concentration

This is strictly related to the other two benefits of a quality warm up. Knowing that you’re fully prepared for the match/training session and that there’s no risk of injury, you will be a lot more focused on the game and on doing your job right. Soccer warm up exercises will also get your body ready for the effort as I explained above and this has a positive effect on concentration. When you’re not focusing on having to breathe right or stopping to catch your breath, you can, again, concentrate on your job.

These should be enough reasons to convince you of the importance of soccer warm up exercises. If you’re a player that wants to give his or her best on the soccer pitch, your first concern will be giving your best in the soccer pre game warm up drills.

Chipping a soccer ball is passing the ball over a defender’s head without hitting it. Chip a soccer ball with tips from a youth soccer coach in this free video on soccer. Expert: Guillermo Gomez Bio: Guillermo Gomez is a soccer coach and lifelong soccer player that played collegiately in Oxford, England, at Linacre College-Oxford University. Filmmaker: MAKE | MEDIA

Throughout time, Holland gave out some truly outstanding soccer players, most of them surpassing the status of Holland soccer stars and becoming famous on an international level. Give me 5 minutes of your time and I’ll give you an overview of Holland’s all-time soccer stars that includes players such as Dennis Bergkamp, Johan Cruyff, Ruud Gullit, Frank Rijkaard or Marco Van Basten, players that have changed the way the game is played and marked their name in the international hall of fame. But enough blabber, let’s get down to business:

Holland Soccer Stars – Johan Cruyff

Cruyff is considered THE most important Dutch soccer player of all times and he gained legendary status wherever he played, be it for Ajax Amsterdam, FC Barcelona or even Feyenoord. Cruyff is also considered third in a list of the best all times soccer players, following Pele and Maradona closely (some even say he was over Maradona, as Maradona had feats of brilliance combined with poor games, whereas Cruyff kept a high standard for himself all throughout his career). He redefined modern soccer as we know it with his game style and vision on the pitch and many football specialists agree that Johan Cruyff was one of the smartest and most calculated players ever to feel the grass of a soccer stadium.

Holland Soccer Stars – Ruud Gullit

Gullit was one of the most important Holland soccer stars during the 80s and 90s and he was amongst the first to define the “complete midfielder”. That meant that he could play almost any position in midfield his coach would place him in, from a defensive role to a supporting playmaker or an attacking midfielder. Together with Marco Van Basten and Frank Rijkaard, he succeeded in bringing Holland their first international cup ever, winning the 1988 European Championship.

Holland Soccer Stars – Frank Rijkaard

Together with Gullit and van Basten, Rijkaard formed an internationally renowned midfield triangle for both his club, AC Milan and his national side. Based on this triangle, AC Milan had a tremendously successful period, winning the European Cup (today’s Champions League) twice and the Serie A championship on two editions. The same success soon came on at national level as well, as the Holland national soccer team won the 1988 European Championship with a team based on the three magnificent players. Although Frank Rijkaard didn’t stand out as much as Ruud Gullit or van Basten, since he had a more defensive role in the squad, but playing alongside his two “side-kicks” he would form an unstoppable midfield for any team.

Holland Soccer Stars – Marco Van Basten

Although no one can reach Johan Cruyff’s throne as the most important Holland soccer star of all time, van Basten came close enough and definitely closer than anyone else could. His tremendous career at Ajax and AC Milan as well as his goals for the Holland national soccer team made a lot of people see Cruyff’s successor in van Basten. Unfortunately, after several successful seasons with AC Milan and winning the European Championship with his home country in 1988, van Basten suffered a career-ending injury at one of his ankles, when he was just age 30.

Holland Soccer Stars – Dennis Bergkamp

Dennis Bergkamp was part of a particular group of strikers: those guys that seem harmless 85 minutes of the match, only to blast the other team into oblivion for the remaining 5. Bergkamp will probably remain known in the history book of soccer by three things: his fear of flight that didn’t allow him to join overseas matches, his incredible goals (fewer than many other strikers, but definitely more artful) and his loyalty for English side Arsenal London, for whom Bergkamp played for 11 seasons.

Women’s soccer never would have been the same if Mia Hamm hadn’t started up soccer when she was little. She had such an impact on women’s soccer that she is often thought to mean as much for it as Pele or Cruyff meant for men’s soccer. But before being a great soccer player and athlete that broke down almost every possible record at her level, Mia Hamm is a great person and I’d like you to meet the human behind the soccer god in this Mia Hamm biography.

If you’re like me, you’re probably wondering how and when did Mia Hamm start playing soccer and what events drove her to become a super star of women’s soccer. Mia Hamm’s childhood circled around sports and athleticism and as her brother recalled, she was faster and more athletic than most of the boys on the block, so she was able to play competitively with and against them.

After taking up youth soccer training at her school’s football team when she was only 12 years old, she learned the basics of soccer and started enjoying the sport more and more. Little did she know that three years later, when she was just 15, she would be called up for the United States national women’s soccer team, becoming the youngest player ever to play for her country at that level (one of her first broken records).

That was kind of a weird situation, since Mia Hamm was a soccer player for her national squad but didn’t have a fully professional playing contract with a club. But after seeing her performances, the North Carolina Tar Heels quickly signed her and they made quite a deal, since Mia Hamm stayed with the club for 4 seasons, scoring over 100 goals during her time here.

Probably one of Mia Hamm’s most important accomplishments is that she managed to bring women’s soccer to a level close to what men are playing. She is one of the two women named in Pele’s “List of 125 Best Soccer Players of All Times” and she is a symbol of women’s sports throughout the World.

She also holds two FIFA World Player of the Year awards, which she got in 2001 (the first year the trophy was given) and 2002. Unfortunately, she would have gotten a lot more of these awards, but with the World Player of the Year awards being granted for women when Mia Hamm was already nearing the end of her career, she didn’t really have a chance to widen her trophy room.

In numbers, Mia Hamm was the United States top goal scorer, with 158 goals in 275 matches, a remarkable record that will probably dust and rust before it is beaten. She scored more goals than any man or woman for her national team, although many soccer specialists will agree that the level of women’s soccer is still in an early grade and cannot be compared to men’s soccer yet.

She won the Women’s World Cup twice, in 1991 and 1999 and also put the US national team through a Gold Medal at the Olympic Games in 1996. All these titles, records and awards make Mia Hamm one of the most important players in women’s soccer and the fact that Pele considered to put her on the same list as legendary male players such as Maradona, Cruyff, Platini or Beckenbauer says a lot about the influence she had in the game.

Juggling a soccer ball helps improve timing and foot coordination in soccer. Juggle a soccer ball with tips from a youth soccer coach in this free video on soccer. Expert: Guillermo Gomez Bio: Guillermo Gomez is a soccer coach and lifelong soccer player that played collegiately in Oxford, England, at Linacre College-Oxford University. Filmmaker: MAKE | MEDIA