World Cup 2006 Wallpaper

Official FIFA World Cup 2006 emblem wallpaper

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Official Site of FIFA world Cup 2006 Germany Wallpaper

GENERAL TICKET INFORMATION

One of the best experiences when visiting a foreign country is going to a football match. But when you're planning to go there, there is always this insecurity: "What if we won't be able to get tickets?"
This section is provided to give some general guidelines about how to get football tickets. You can find country-specific information at the specific country page.

There are many different ways to get football tickets. Although things differ much between countries there are some general things you can try:

- Always check out the official website of the club first. Many clubs offer very detailed ticket information on their websites. This information can include ticket prices, a stadium seating plan, telephone numbers (sometimes there is a special ticket hotline), pre-sale adresses and other relevant information. In some cases there is the possibility to order tickets on-line. British clubs offer the possibility to order tickets via a postal application. The information about the ticket sales is usually better in the Northern-Eruopean countries that in the Southern-European countries.

- When the club website does not provide some usuful information, just surf along some fansites of the club. In many cases some fan sites are better than the official site.

- When contacting a foreign club always remember that the communication can be really hard sometimes. First of all, many clubs don't answer any emails (service hasn't entered the world of football yet) and especially do not sell tickets via email, so don't put all your hopes on sending an email.
Contacting a club by phone can work out fine, especially when there is a special 'ticket hotline', but can be a disaster too. Club attendants don't speak English, are very rude and are not willing to help you. Of course there are many exceptions, but remember this.

- Some clubs offer online ticket sales via a intermediaries, like Ticketmaster (UK), Ticketone (Italy) or Billetnet.dk (Denmark). These are reliable companies. On the other hand there are many websites that offer football tickets for extremely high prices. At some matche this is your only chance to get tickets, but sometimes it is just as easy to buy tickets at the box-office at the stadium for only one fifth of the price. Use your common sense before buying at these websites.

- When this all has failed you have to put your hopes on getting the tickets in the country of destination. This isn't that hard as it might seem.

- First of all you can go to the stadium a couple of days before the match. There are often box offices at the stadium where you can buy tickets or you can buy tickets via the club office. This is a very easy way to get tickets and this is possible in almost all Western-European countries.

- Many clubs sell tickets via kiosks, tabacco shops, sport shops, restaurants, tourist offices, department stores or any other special outlet. There are often lists of these outlets on the official website of the club. This is the case in for example Germany & France.

- And finally there is the most easy way to get your ticekts. Just buy them at the box-office at the day of the match! This is possible at almost all countries as long as the match isn't sold out. Exceptions here are Belgium and partly the Netherlands where special 'club cards' are required to order tickets.

- Getting tickets can be a real problem when a match is (or will be) sold out. At some clubs all matches are sold out, at others only the big matches and the derbies. Use your common sense when planning to see a match.
When all matches of a club during the season are sold out contact the club before going to the match. There are often some tickets left for free sale.
When it's a big match or a derby don't expect to get tickets (although you can always try by contacting the clubs). It is nearly impossible to get Real Madrid-Atletico tickets for example. Then your last option is to buy a ticket at the black market (against a very high price). Since this is illegal I would never recommend to do this.

Good luck!

World Cup Stadium - Olympiastadion

Olympiastadion

STADIUM INFORMATION

Name: Olympiastadion Berlin
Inauguration: 1 August 1936
Renovations: 1974 & 2000-2004
Capacity: 74,200 seats
Pitch dimensions: 105*68
Floodlights: 1,500 lux.
Address: Olympischer Platz 3, 14053 Berlin (view map)

CLUB INFORMATION

Club: Hertha BSC
Inauguration: 25 July 1892
Club colours: Blue & White
Postal address:
Hanns-Braun-Strasse (Friesenhaus 2)
14053 Berlin
Tel: (0049) 30-300 928-0
Fax: (0049) 30-300 928-99

INTERNET

City:
Berlin.de
Berlin Information
Official Site:
Hertha BSC - Official Site

Picture 1: Stephen Lang


Picture 2 & 3: Hertha BSC - Official Site

DIRECTIONS

The stadium is located in the West of Berlin, app. 12km from the City Centre.

Car:
From Hamburg/Rostock:
Take the ring road toward Charlottenburg (A100), exit at Spandauer Damm and follow the signs to Olympiastadion.

From Munich/Nurenberg, Hannover/Magdeburg & Leipzig:
Take the Avus (A115) towards interchange Funkturm, exit at Messedamm (towards A100), right lane, turn right toward Deutschlandhalle, then take Jaffestrasse to Heerstrasse, turn left, straight ahead to Flatowallee, then right.

Nearest Airport:
Berlin-Schönefeld Airport (28km)
Berlin-Tegel Airport (7.5km)

TICKETS (Hertha BSC Games)

Prices:
Euro8.00 (standing places)-Euro43.00
Buy Tickets:
Tel: (0049) 1805-18 92 00

ESPN's (World) Cup Runneth Over

NEW YORK -- TV spots for ESPN's World Cup soccer coverage will roll out in June using voiceovers from each of the four members of Irish rock band U2.

The cable sports network and ABC Sports, both owned by Walt Disney, will broadcast English-language FIFA World Cup games from Germany from June 9 through July 9.

Music from U2 is also used in the campaign from Wieden + Kennedy, which carries the theme, "One game changes everything."

The first spot is voiced by lead singer Bono, and broke last week on ESPN properties. This execution and the other spots will also be in rotation off-channel.

"It's a simple thing. Just a ball and a goal," Bono says in the spot as U2's “City of Blinding Lights” plays throughout. "That simple thing ... closes the schools, closes the shops, closes a city and stops a war."

Each montage-style spot shows people throughout the world playing soccer, whether on a professional ball field or a dirt lot.

"Beautiful Day," plays throughout the spot, "Sick Days," in which guitarist The Edge notes that every four years during the month of June (when the World Cup is played), "sick days increase 300%. And yet not one employee is fired. Not one doctor's note is required. Not one important meeting is ruined. Because the bosses are out sick, too."

For "Tartan Army," bassist Adam Clayton tells how despite Scotland's failure to qualify for World Cup competition again this time around, "You can bet your life the Tartan Army will be there. Cheering for Scotland anyway." U2's "I Will Follow," is used in the spot.

Director Christian Loubek filmed the commercials in Scotland and South Africa and is shooting an additional spot featuring the U.S. National Team in North Carolina this month. That spot, titled "USA," will be voiced by U2 drummer Larry Mullen Jr., and may include the song "Pride (In the Name of Love)."

ESPN's senior vp of marketing Katie Lacey said in a statement, "Our goal with this campaign is to make World Cup soccer meaningful and relevant to American sports fans. We show the passion that fans around the world have through compelling stories that are set to the music of U2 and narrated by the band members themselves."

--Kathleen Sampey, Adweek
http://www.adweek.com/aw/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002503448

World Cup Tickets

As with any major international tournament, demand for tickets always exceeds supply. This section will help you track down tickets you need for the finals. Prices for tickets will be in 4 categories for the each of the 64 matches starting at
Euro35 right up to Euro600. Prices increases as the tournament progresses (the opening match is more expensive that the other group matches).

The latest round of ticket sales for the World Cup saw nearly 700,000 orders placed for over 6 million tickets. Only 250,000 tickets were available for this stage so there will be a lot of disappointed people. The vast majority of applications came from Europe with fans desperate for tickets to see their teams. This was the first round of sales after the draw for the groups was made. The application period for this round of sales is closed and a ballot will be drawn on 31st January and 2 further sales are planned:

1 May 2006 to 9th July 2006

Tickets are allocated to various groups of people including: Participating member associations, non-participating member associations, sponsors, and general sale. These groups are free to chose how they allocate tickets. Obviously, there will also be a huge black market both via the web and around the stadia on match days. If you chose to buy tickets from unofficial sources, please be aware there are no guarantees your tickets will be delivered or are even genuine. You could easily end up losing your money. If you want to risk purchasing tickets from unofficial sources, there are several internet based companies offering tickets which can easily be found on any search engine. In addition, individuals also sell tickets on auction websites such as EBay. Ticket prices have been incredibly high with games like Iran v Angola going for more than
Euro200 each. Higher profile games will cost even more with games like Sweden v England, a pair of tickets can easily cost
Euro2,000

Ticket Prices

Each match will have tickets in 4 different price categories (1 - 4, 1 being the highest). The price below is listed in Euros (Euro), includes VAT and free travel on public transport to the stadium. Please note, these are prices when tickets are purchased from FIFA or national Football Associations. They will also be subject to a additional handling fee.

Euro100 = US$119.53 (20 Oct 2005)

U2 World Cup Commercials Rock

The ESPN television network isn't especially renowned for its football coverage, but it does have a good record when it comes to commercials. The network recently launched a very cool campaign for the World Cup. Featuring the voices of the members of U2, there are four commercials that show how One Game Changes Everything. I especially like the Anthem commercial with Bono. I watched it a couple of times and it got me all fired up. Made me want to lace up the boots and play.

Belletti's Magical Moment

Ronaldinho said: "To win this title for Barcelona, a team with 106 years, is amazing. Its a dream come true for me. Absolutely a wonderful day in my career. When Belletti came into the game we got even more aggressive. He was decisive for the victory over such a strong team.
Belletti deserved to score. So many criticism, so many people saying a lot of thing, but here in Europe he is considered one of the best in his position and, to me, one of the best in the world, so my happiness is doubled today. To see him becoming part of the football history, in a competition of such importance was a great pleasure to me. He totally deserved it.

Belletti, soon after the game said that he was very happy with the recognition of the coach and the technical commission as well as the player's that told him he reserved it. "When the best player in the world comes to you and say that you deserved it, what else can you expect?"
He was asked about his absence in the World Cup: "I'm very happy today knowing I helped our team to get in the tournament".

I must be honest with you. I didn't know that Belletti was under criticism. I absolutely can't understand why, because in all the Barcelona's matches I saw, he made the team more aggressive and more worthy of scoring. This fact just made his goal even more tasty, more important and more exciting. It can be an inspiration for our other 'media/fans hunted' players like Ronaldo and Adriano.

http://brazil.worldcupblog.org/group-f/bellettis-magical-moment.html

Official Mascot of the 2006 FIFA World Cup

GOLEO VI: Official Mascot of the 2006 FIFA World Cup is strong as a lion

GOLEO VI the loveable lion is the Official Mascot of the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He is alive, talks and thinks. And naturally, he has his own opinions and point of view, as no-one is born just to be a mascot. GOLEO VI has set himself one overriding task and has made it his sole priority: he wants the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany to be one huge, joyful and unforgettable party, spending his time as the "King of Parties" celebrating, singing and dancing with fans from all over the world for four whole weeks. He's as cool as they come, an attribute he's likely to need as his fame and stardom inexorably increase.

This smartest of lions features on magazine covers, appears in shop windows and on screens, has a long list of appearances in front of him, and is even working hard on an album!.

GOLEO VI's constant companion, Pille the talking football, is always at his side. They are an unequal double-act, as Pille is a right chatterbox who wears his heart on his sleeve. The pals' shared interest in football, and the prospect of what GOLEO VI calls "the biggest party in the world," make them inseperable.

View Mascot Photo Gallery

Pille Worldcup2006 Mascot

Introducing Pille, the cheeky little football

Wherever GOLEO VI goes, Pille the talking football follows. They may be an unlikely pair but their shared love of sport makes them inseparable.

Where does Pille come from?
Pille is a true one-off. He was born on 22 August 2003 in the adidas football factory. Unlike most balls, he is not filled with air but with a mysterious gas which brings him to life. Instead of being sent for secret tests, Pille ended up as the match ball for the UEFA European Championship fixture between Portugal and England on 24 June 2004 – and promptly flew over the crossbar from David Beckham's penalty kick!

As Pille drifted high into the stand, he was caught by GOLEO VI who had somehow managed to sneak into the stadium without a ticket. Even today, he maintains that Pille deliberately flew into his arms – so he kept him. Pille still bitterly complains about what happened because he had hoped to prevent an English defeat (England lost on penalties).

Since then, Pille has continually been at GOLEO VI's side. GOLEO VI has taken his trusty sidekick to more stadiums than a little ball could dream of, and Pille is now happy in the arms of his new friend. Of course, the prickly little character would never admit to this. Pille is sure he was a key factor in GOLEO VI being selected as the Official Mascot. But he would say that, wouldn't he?

What is Pille like?
Pille is much more high-spirited than GOLEO VI and tries really hard to be the star of the show. He loves the limelight and makes the most of the attention lavished on him. After all, he never knows when he might be left abandoned in an alleyway or end up floating towards the sea on some river. As a ball, you have to live every minute as if it was your last. Pille has an eye for the ladies and is keen to meet new people and experience new things.
Pille is a real control freak with an incredible interest in details. He always fears the worst and expects something to go wrong. He is the type of backseat driver who cannot stop dispensing unwelcome advice and would prefer to do everything himself – if only he could, because there are lots of things you can't do when you don't have arms or legs. Pille blurts out things that GOLEO VI and others would prefer to keep quiet but saves himself with his quick-witted humour.
Conscious of his diminutive stature, Pille tends to invent important-sounding titles for himself (such as "Count Corner Flag"). Oh, and one more thing, Pille is a Leo!

What does Pille like?
Pille's first loves are football (just like GOLEO VI), flying and women. He is also fanatical about anything that is round, astrology, star goalkeepers and penalty kicks. Pille is a secret admirer of the ball which elegantly hit the crossbar and bounced on the German goal line in the final of the FIFA World Cup 1966 between Germany and England. He's convinced that this famous ball was a forerunner of his generation and that it must have had a mind of its own just like Pille himself.

What doesn't Pille like?
Pille doesn't like it when goalkeepers punch him out of the box instead of catching him, but his pet hate is backpasses to the keeper. How boring! Surprisingly for a ball, Pille doesn't actually like being kicked! However, this is a necessary evil especially when he wants to fly far and away through the air - one of Pille's favourite experiences. Last of all, Pille can't stand cat hair – he's sure he is allergic to cats but has still to find a doctor who will examine a football!

What can Pille do?
Pille is a proud graduate of the Uwe Seeler school where he learned everything you need to know about balls – above all the basic principles of the key issue of BALListics! Pille is a great admirer of the true greats of the goalkeeping world who he regards as the only equals to the real stars of the beautiful game, the footballs themselves. Moreover, thanks to his amazing gas filling, he can even move by himself. But you'll have to keep your eyes peeled if you want to see him in action.

Germany 2006 Match Schedule

Complete match schedule

At its meeting in December 2003 in Frankfurt, the Organising Committee for the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany™ approved the match schedule for the final competition to be held from 9 June to 9 July 2006.

The committee acceded to the wishes of the local organising committee to stage the opening match in Munich and the final in Berlin. The two semi-finals will take place in Munich and Dortmund.

Eight venues will each host five matches, while Berlin, Dortmund, Munich and Stuttgart will each have the honour of an extra sixth match. Furthermore, in the group stage, no team will play in the same stadium twice, and there will also be at least two days in between matches in the same stadium. In addition, each venue will play host to two matches featuring one of the top-seeded teams.

The complete match schedule can be found by clicking here. The draw to decide the groups for the final competition will be held in Leipzig in December 2005.

World Cup Accommodation

Fans can already pre-book their hotel accommodation today.
The 2006 FIFA World Cup^TM Accommodation Service offers city specific bookings or team specific bookings. Team specific bookings enable you to reserve rooms to see your team - before you even know where they will be playing.
You can contact the 2006 FIFA World Cup^TM Accommodation Services on 0049 69 509586 400 or on accommodation@ok2006.de

10 reasons why Football is better than American Football

American football is America's favourite sport but with the World Cup looming, I just have to drop some knowledge on you people. The United States football team is currently 4th in the FIFA rankings, but I'm sure more Americans than not will have trouble naming even one player on the team. So my aim here is to illustrate just 10 of the many reasons why football is far superior to American football and thus encourage you to get with the proverbial program. And I speak here as a huge fan of both.

Before I begin, honestly, what the hell is soccer? It's a word used by two countries (including Canada) who really don't play the game themselves. So please, it's football.


(I) Football is Beautiful - There is art in football. The way a player eludes another or the way he runs with the ball, passes it to another or flicks it has no comparison in American football. It's an art, a dance even. Case in point: Pele. Or almost any Brazillian for that matter. And yes Maradona is great too, but not as great as Pele (sorry to all the rabid Argentine fans out there). But American football is all about precise actions. You need to throw the ball down the field in this exact spot with perfect timing. Or you need to run this route and look back at this exact moment. Yes there are instances of art sometimes in a running back here and there like a Walter Payton or a Marshall Falk, but on the whole there is no real comparison when it comes to the art of a football game. This art ensures that the NFL will never have a Pele or a Maradona.

Pele

(II)Pele - The world has seen no greater star than Pele who scored two goals to help Brazil win a World Cup at just 17. He is also the youngest player to ever be in a World Cup final and the youngest to ever score in a World Cup final. Pele scored over 1000 goals in his career and won three World Cups in his career. Forget Muhammed Ali or even Michael Jordan. The NFL, as I said, does not have and will never have a Pele. I once asked an American who is widely regarded as the best American football player to have ever played the game and he couldn't answer. And the reason I asked him was that I had never heard anyone being named as the best ever. To all those who have never seen a tape of Pele playing I say this to them: you have missed half your life. And I know some completely delusional rabid Argentine football fan is going to say that Maradona was better that Pele. In your dreams, I say, hombre.

(III)Longer Seasons - English Premiership is 38 games long meaning that a team plays all other 19 teams in the league twice. However in the NFL regular season, teams have a 16-game schedule. And even though there are 34 teams in the NFL, teams must play other teams in their divisions twice. So at the end of the Super Bowl, there will be many teams that will have never faced off. That alone is out of the ordinary.

Thanks to MattJ who reminded me also of the FA Cup, Carling Cup, UEFA Cup and the Champions League. There is so much football throughout the year. And please don't anyone tell me anything about college football (American). The BCS system in college football does nothing but rob good teams of a chance to play for the title.

Ed Hochuli

(IV) Get In, Get Out - There's hardly any starting and stopping and definitely no play clocks. Yes, the referee does blow his whistle every now and again and play is halted for a bit, but stoping the clock in football doesn't start yet another clock i.e. a play clock, that counts down till the next play must begin. There's 90 minutes of play plus a 15-minute half time plus (usually) less than 5 minutes of overtime per half. There is no three-hour game that American football is accustomed to. So no stupid yellow flags or 5-minute-long mantras from Ed Hochuli, who at times seems to like the camera more than the players do themselves.


(V) 50,000 Fewer Rules - I believe that football is a natural sport. Get the ball, avoid the other team's players and put the ball in their goal. Rinse and repeat. Of course there are a few other rules here and there, but for the most part a foul is a foul. How many rules does a sport really need? If it's not holding, it's play clock violation. If it's not that, it's pass interference or a false start or unsportsmanlike conduct, illegal pass, facemask, encroachment, ineligible receiver, roughing the kicker, roughing the quarterback, tripping, illegal contact, illegal formation....(you get my point)

What's the big deal?

(VI) NFL= No Fun League - Players are allowed to be human and even more importantly, group celebrations are not disallowed. It's not uncommon to see a player creep on all fours to the nearest corner flag and fake peeing on it. Surmise for the moment the magnitude of the fine that Paul Tagliabue would hand down. Remember that year when Randy Moss was fined $10,000 for only pretending to moon the Green Bay crowd? Just because you turn some summersaults or do the airplane with your entire team, this doesn't amount to taunting. I mean, are you five years old so you get pissed of when the other team shows how happy they are because they scored a goal? But everyone knows that when you take an overpaid, overly macho cry-baby and put him in a constricting spandex pants he ceases to be reasonable.

American Football's Origin?

(VII) Spandex - Spandex pants are for the ballet and for buffet day at Waffle House.

(VIII) One Team - In American football there is no offensive team and defensive team, special teams or brownie-making team for that matter . That adds up to a 53-man active roster when everyone's accounted for (not including the practice team). A 23-man squad can get any job done. How many serious football fans can name every member of their favourite team's squad? And having so many different teams on the field at the same time means that at no time are two quarterbacks on the field, or two kickers for that matter. It's a little odd to have starting players of opposing offensive teams never face-off for an entire game.

(IX) The World Cup - In its worst year the World Cup is better than any NFL season including the Super Bowl. It comes once every four years and there's nothing like anticipating a World Cup especially when you come from the smallest country ever to qualify.

(X) Sports on a World Stage - The World Cup is a worldwide phenomenon (And don't tell me anything about NFL Europe. NFL Europe is like the United States Cricket team - It might as well be non-existent. What, you didn't know there was a U.S. cricket team? That's my point exactly). When I say "worldwide" I don't mean in the same way that Super Bowl winners call themselves "World Champs". Canada doesn't even play in it and Mexico won't even bother, so how can you call yourself "world" anything. You're not even North American champs. But the worldwide phenomenon means that it's a known fact that workplace productivity takes a hit for the duration of the tournament.

Football is a worldwide game played by worldwide players even in the club stages. Football is the stage. This is the yardstick for sports supremacy. Not everyone plays American football, baseball, hockey or even curling, but everyone plays football; even the Americans. Think of this: when will we ever see the American football team playing another country in the Olympics? My team of statisticians says never.

All this ranting has got me thinking about American football though. I think I will have to post reasons on why American football is still a great sport.

Ten reasons Brazil won't win the World Cup?

Bobby McMahon of FoxSports wrote an article as to why Brazil might not win the World Cup. Here's his ten points:

1. Brazil does not win when the expectations back home are too high
Well, past performance is no indication for future outcomes.

2. The goalkeeping is suspect
Dida's been shaky this year but he can still bounce back until July. And if he doesn't, they still have Rogerio Ceni as a great replacement, no

3. The full backs are over-the-hill
Cafu has been injured for the most part of this season, but he's expected to return shortly and he's still got 2 months at his disposal to get back in shape. He's arguably the best right back in the world when on form. Plus, Brazil still has Cicinho as decent backup. As for Roberto Carlos, often relegated to a cameo role at free kicks for Real Madrid, is really a non-argument of him being “over-the-hill”.

4. Roque Junior
True that. Being a Milan fan, I fully concur with this one.

5. Coach Carlos Alberto Parreira has too many stars to choose from
Yeah, this'll really sink ‘em down.

6. Emerson isn't the force he was
But wait, I thought that 5. Coach Carlos Alberto Parreira has too many stars to choose from. Who cares if Emerson isn't the force he was?

7. Robinho, Kaka, Ronaldo, Adriano, Ronaldinho
Robinho hasn't done much lately, has he? It's quite unlikely for him to start. Ronaldo and Adriano upfront will be backed up from the midfield by Adriano and Ronaldinho.

8. Played in Europe
Superstitional BS based on past results.

9. The Ghost of 1994
No comment from me on this one.

10. Tournament format
I don't get this one either.

So there you are ten reasons why some country other than Brazil will be hoisting the World Cup on July 9. Convinced now? Good, because to be honest, I'm not.
Naturalisch, Mr. McMahon. Who would be?

http://worldcup.ambrossion.com/?p=61

First round groups for FIFA World Cup 2006

The Final Draw in Lepzig is over and eight first round groups for the FIFA World Cup 2006 in Germany are all set up.

Group A
Germany, Costa Rica, Poland, Ecuador

Group B
England, Paraguay, Trinidad and Tobago, Sweden

Group C
Argentina, Côte d’Ivoire, Serbia and Montenegro, Netherlands

Group D
Mexico, Iran, Angola, Portugal

Group E
Italy, Ghana, United States, Czech Republic

Group F
Brazil, Croatia, Australia, Japan

Group G
France, Switzerland, Korea Republic, Togo

Group H
Spain, Ukraine, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia