Is Lionel Messi’s second goal (above) of his hat-trick against Real Zaragoza in Spain’s La Liga an early contender for Goal of the Century?
The goal will have to compete with one he scored another Spanish club, Getafe, last year:
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Month: March 2010
An African club is the first to enter into a formal partnership with the Professional Football Players Observatory in Switzerland. ASEC MIMOSAS of Abidjan (Ivory Coast) — a powerhouse of West Africa and past winner of the CAF Champions League — will work with the PFPO to identify leagues and clubs that offer the best career opportunities for young Ivorians trained at ASEC’s well-known MimoSifcom Academy. According to PFPO, Ivory Coast supplies the largest number of players to Europe’s Big 5 leagues. Is this latest collaboration a mutually beneficial deal or a form of neo-colonialism?
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Talking Football in KwaZulu-Natal
Thabo Dladla is a highly committed youth coach and former professional player with AmaZulu FC. His weekly ‘Talking Football’ column in a Pietermaritzburg newspaper focuses on the game at the grassroots, not on the 2010 World Cup or the PSL. ‘There is something wrong when a country with over 48 million people and a huge football budget cannot produce good players,’ writes Dladla this week.
‘I still believe that our country has some of the best talent at U12 level but poor leadership is letting the youth down. We have too many politicians and sports leaders who are more interested in the benefits that can be gained for themselves, than the sport itself.
‘Post 2010 South African youth deserve better than what they are getting now. The transformation of football should be felt at the lowest of levels. We can no longer allow a situation where a few get fatter while the players continue to suffer.’
The German shoe and sportswear company, Puma, sponsors at least 12 African national football teams–five of which qualified for the 2010 World Cup. To commemorate the World Cup year (and because it is good PR and to sell shirts), Puma commissioned artist Kehinde Wiley to create four new works of arts inspired by the footbal stars Samuel Eto’o of Cameroon, John Mensah of Ghana and Emmanuel Eboué of Ivory Coast. Wiley painted individual portraits of the players and a fourth painting (above) of the three players “symbolizing the united countries of Africa.” The players are wearing the “Unity” kit, a limited edition uniform designed to be a third kit (apart from home and away kits) shared by all African teams, symbolizing unity.
Here‘s a link to a video of Wiley at work on the project with Mensah, Eboue and Eto’o.
The paintings will be exhibited during the World Cup in South Africa.