World Cup

From the AP comes a curious item about the potential of Belize having its World Cup qualifier in LA or Houston:

Belize is working to stage its home World Cup qualifier in June against Mexico in either Los Angeles or Houston, the head of the country’s soccer federation said Wednesday.[…]

Belize doesn’t have a stadium that meets FIFA standards for the first leg of the two-match series on June 15, Mexico’s opener in qualifying for the 2010 World Cup.

I imagine getting tickets if it’s here in LA would be a smidgen difficult.

NBA championship just ending. World Cup in full effect. NHL Draft today with some great youthful direction by the new LA Kings leadership between picks and trades. Very soon, the Tour de France takes over the month of July. And all the while, the Dodgers are plugging away amid an optimistic struggle. And I hear tell there’s an American football league starting training camps.

My brain may well explode. :)

So much for that Bono-narrated advert about everything shutting down for the World Cup. ;)

LA Times: Germans Tighten Cup Security

BERLIN — The World Cup opened in Germany today as security forces prepared for potential threats from terrorism, racial attacks, hooligan violence and neo-Nazi rallies aimed at rousing the past and spoiling the nation’s image before a global audience.

The month-long soccer tournament will be played in 12 cities, creating a massive security grid of hundreds of thousands of police officers, surveillance equipment, bomb-sniffing dogs, intelligence operatives, fighter jets and the other anti-terror tactics of a post-Sept. 11 world.

Of course, that advert is a bit on the rose-colored-glasses side of things:

Washington Post: The Soccer Wars

The World Cup is coming, which means a flurry of desperate attempts by tournament promoters to excite Americans about an event that electrifies the rest of the world. This year is no different. ESPN, which will broadcast most of the games in the United States, is airing a series of ads with members of the rock band U2. In one, Bono says that the World Cup “closes the schools, closes the shops, closes a city and stops a war.”…

Does the World Cup really put a stop to war? Does soccer, known for its dangerously rowdy fans, have the conflict-reducing powers that ESPN and U2 proclaim? To be charitable to the World Cup, which this year will be held in Germany starting June 9, the evidence is mixed. It is undeniable that soccer has the power to unite — but its power to divide should not be underestimated.

In the LA Times: A Beginner’s Guide to the Tournament

There are things on which one can count at every World Cup. That Italy will start slow in group play and come on in the knockout rounds. Or that some African nation will surprise some established soccer power, that England will fail at the moment of truth, and Spain will fail before it gets to a moment of truth

Or maybe not.

To recognize the surprises at this year’s tournament in Germany, you have to know the norms. Here’s a World Cup primer to get you up to speed…

He’s Just Visiting

“Landon Donovan is back in Deutschland, hoping that his third visit will make up for his first two.

“Donovan’s speed, dribbling skills and vision, as well as his goal scoring, have made him one of the most accomplished soccer players the U.S. has ever produced.

“If the U.S. World Cup team is to survive its tough first-round matches, much of that burden will fall on the playmaking skills of 24-year-old Donovan. With 81 international appearances for the U.S. heading into this World Cup, he has matured significantly as a player since his national team debut in 2000.

“In California, he is top dog. Two Major League Soccer championships with the San Jose Earthquakes and another with the Galaxy prove that.

“But twice, Donovan left California to play for Bayer Leverkusen of the German Bundesliga. Twice he came home with — in a manner of speaking — his tail between his legs….”