Futbol: Últimas noticias de Hoy

It came as a shock to many supporters of FC Barcelona when it looked as if Barça management was at loggerheads with their star goal keeper over an agreement to extend his contract beyond 2010, when it was due to expire.

Eventually negotiations between FC Barcelona and the manager of Victor Valdes broke down entirely, with the club’s president insisting that he would only speak to Valdes directly, with the aim of resolving the standoff.

Valdes is every inch Barcelona, and it is difficult to imagine the squad without him. Highly opinionated, he is a real force to be reckoned with both as goalie and as third team captain, behind Puyol and Xavi.

The good news is that the dispute is over and an extended contract agreed. Victor Valdes is now contracted to play for Barcelona until 2014, where he believes he will finish his playing career aged 32.

Valdes career as first team keeper is curious; brought up in the Barcelona youth system he had been in the main squad since 2002/03. He’d joined the club in 1992, although moved with his family to Tenerife for three years. Initially Barcelona had bought Rustu Recber as keeper for the 2003/04 season – the year that Laporta took over and brought in Frank Rijkaard as coach – but for a variety of reasons he was not up to the job and so it was Victor Valdes who played in goal for the 2003/04 season.

Valdes won the Zamora Trophy, awarded to the best goalkeeper in Spain, in 2004/05, but perhaps his real moment of glory was in the Champions League win of 2005/06 when he won a lot of fans thanks to two fantastic point-blank saves from Arsenal’s Thierry Henry.

Because there are so many excellent breweries in Germany (more than 1,300), it is quite difficult to say what the best German beer brands are. Foreigners undoubtedly are familiar with brands such as Lowenbrau and Becks; these are among the most exported German beers. Germans rather have favourite types of beer. They are more likely to order by style such as a Pils or a Doppelbock rather than by brand name like Bitburger or Krombacher. There are those however who distinguish between a Bitburger Pils and a Krombacher Pils, or a Schofferhofer Hefeweisen and a Paulaner HefeWeissen. It is these connoisseurs that hold the key to determining the best German beer brands.

5 of the Best German Beer Brands

There has been an ongoing survey as to what the best German beer brands are on the ToyTown Germany website since 2004. The respondents are people who live and work in Germany, both native Germans and many expats from around the world, who are regular beer drinkers. It is no surprise that hundreds of beers have been named, but there are five particular brands that are mentioned more than others. Following is a summary according to popularity of what local consumers consider to be the best brands of German beer.

Augustiner – This brand turned up more times than any other. Augustiner beer, like many great beers, is brewed and produced by monks, in this case the Augustinian Brotherhood in Munich. This brewery has been producing quality beer since 1328, so it’s no surprise that they might be pretty good at it by now. The Augustiner Brewery produces several types of beer of which Heller Bock, a light strong beer of 7% alcohol is a crowd favourite.

Lammsbrau – The Neumarkter Lammsbrau Brewery near Nuremberg sets exceedingly high standards for the ingredients to be used in its brews. In fact any ingredient used in a Lammsbräu must be from a certified and controlled organic grower. But their quality control doesn’t stop there. Aroma hops are used as opposed to the traditional bitter hops, thus giving the beer a more pungent aroma and a less bitter taste. Their water is sourced from a protected underground spring, and they produce their own malt and fresh yeast. The passion for quality control has indeed made this one of the best German beer brands.

Franziskaner – Another Bavarian brewery based in Munich, Franziskaner has been in operation since 1363. They specialize in producing only two types of wheat beer – a light and a dark. It is most likely because of this specialization that their beer is so highly rated among locals and expats alike. Franziskaner is also popular around the world and can be found on both the east and west coasts of America, in Asia, Australia, South America (Ecuador), and throughout Europe.

Erdinger – It is no wonder that another Bavarian brewery heads the list of best beer brands in Germany. Erdinger is based in the town of Erding, and has been producing quality brew since 1886. The most popular of their beers is the Erdinger Weissbrau, a fairly light wheat beer of 5.6% alcohol strength.

Paulaner – Paulaner is a partner of FC Bayern Munich, and like its football club companion, it is also a champion among its peers. Based in Munich, as you have noticed that most of the best beers are, Paulaner was also initially brewed by monks beginning in 1634. Paulaner is also exported to more than 70 countries around the world. Their Original Münchner Hell, a premium lager, seemingly the most popular.

The English Premier League is the most-watched League in the entire world, with an estimated following of over 100 million viewers world-wide and an annual turnover exceeding £2billion. The English Premier League which officially kicked off on the 15th of August 1992 has remained the pace-setters in terms of players transfer fees, players’ monthly wages and bonuses.

In Africa, Super sports were the sole proprietorship owner of Premier League matches with coverage area limited to the shores of Africa. There have been a steady influx of African and non-British footballers into the Premier League over the past ten years. The present figure of non-British footballers stands at over 260. Africa presently has over 40 players in the top flight Premier League and a significant number in the lower division of the English League.

John Mikel Obi(Nigeria)

This Chelsea Midfielder has become an integral part of Chelsea’s first team with some sterling performance over the past four seasons.

Benoit Assou-Ekotto(Cameroon)

He plays for Tottenham Hotspur in the top flight English Premier League. A left full back of immense talent and experience, he has remain a regular in Tottenham Champions League Campaign in 2010.

Alexandre Song(Cameroon)

Alexandre Song is a midfielder with Arsenal Football Club under the tutelage of Arsene Wenger. He has improved in terms of goal-scoring and work-rate over the past two seasons.

Christopher Samba(Congo)

This big Congolese center back has been the secret behind Blackburn Rovers success over the years. He is very strong in the air and has scored a couple of goals from dead ball situations.

Michael Essien(Ghana)

The Ghanaian captain who plays in the defensive midfield position for Chelsea has become a super-regular in Carlo Ancelloti’s side this season. He has excellent defensive and attacking skills.

Bejani Mwaruwari(Zimbabwe)

This prolific striker whose speed and persistence remains his key asset remains a solid performer whenever he is given the opportunity to play. He presently plies his trade with Blackburn Rovers.

Emmanuel Adebayor(Togo)

The gangling Togolese striker has seen his appearance under Coach Roberto Mancini dwindle tremendously. He has however proved to be a lethal finisher in front of goal in the Europa League. He plays for title hopefuls- Manchester City.

Steven Pienaar(South Africa)

Steven Pienaar has had to endure an injury prone season in the color of Everton F.C in the English top flight league. He is an attacking midfielder of repute, scoring crucial goals for the Toffees.

Ronaldo de Assis Moreira is a famous Brazilian football player who is better known as Ronaldinho Gaúcho. His name Ronaldinho was used to distinguish him from a fellow Brazilian football celebrity whose name is also Ronaldo. Gaúcho was used when the existing Ronaldo was also known as Ronaldinho.

He was born on March 21, 1980 in Porto Alegre, Brazil. He is the youngest among the three siblings. Miguelina, his mother, was a sales woman who soon decided to take up nursing. João, his father was a worker in the shipyard and a football player for Cruzeiro. He died due to a heart attack when Ronaldinho was at the age of 8. Ronaldinho’s brother Roberto was also a professional football player for Grêmio. But his career ended too soon due to his injuries. And now he manages Ronaldinho. His sister, Deisi, is his press manager.

During Ronaldinho’s childhood days, his interest in football was already evident. He started playing futsal and beach football which later lead into his passion for a more established football game. His character as a football player developed in his early years.

His career as a skilled football player started when he joined the youth team in Porto Alegre club Grêmio. His extraordinary ball control and capability to score was rapidly displayed which lead him to fame. Many clubs from all over the world attempted to get him to be part of their teams. Eventually Ronaldinho signed a 5-year contract with Paris Saint-Germain which he joined at the start of the new season.

During his years with PSG, there were still much larger offers from different clubs, but he opted to stay with the team. But after some time he decided to leave the team after their many unsuccessful attempts to qualify for any European competitions. This caused a bidding war among the many clubs. Finally, the bidding ended up with FC Barcelona as the winning club for Ronaldinho’s services. They acquired him for £18 million. He was a very high paid player in Barcelona. He has had his terrible times in his career but his many achievements was far more overflowing than that. He had also joined the Brazilan National team.

Ronaldinho is one of the most successful football players in the world. He had so many achievements in his arena which includes the FIFA World Player of the Year wherein he was awarded in 2 consecutive years (2004-2005), the European Footballer of the Year award and the FIFPro World Player of the Year award which was also awarded to him in 2 successive years (2005-2006).

Professional football as a competitive sport has had its unfair share of tragedies over the years. Apart from tragedies on the field of play, spectators have not been spared also.

Africa’s darkest day in soccer, perhaps remains the plane crash of April 27, 1993, when 18 members of the Zambian national team and 12 technical and crew members perished when their plane plunged into the sea off the coast of Gabon.

Tragedy cuts across continents, and that fact was confirmed during a League match between Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirate. A stampede at Ellis Park stadium in Johannesburg resulted in the deaths of 43 people, the worst disaster in South Africa’s sporting history.

Africa again witnessed another sporting tragedy when a local League match between Lupopo and TP Mazembe on the 30th of April 2001, led to the death of 14 people during a stampede following crowd trouble at a major league match at city of Lubumbashi in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Nigerian sporting family witnessed one of the most horrific football tragedies on the 23rd of December 2008, when nine female amateur footballers and two coaches were burnt to death in an auto crash on their way from Jos, Plateau state.

The tears of sorrow had hardly dried up, when 15 members of an amateur team, F.C Jimeta from Adamawa state, Nigeria, died in another auto crash on the 26th of January 2009.

Twelve of the dead were players, while the remaining three were trainers.

Severe heat and overcrowding resulted in the death of 4 football fans at a Ghanaian League match between Asante Kotoko and Hearts of Oaks in Kumasi on Sunday 8th February, 2009.

On the 21st of February 2009, 13 Football supporters of Nigeria Premier League side Ocean Boys F.C of Yenegoa were killed by persons suspected to be cultist, on their way to attending a premier league match involving their team and Bayelsa United at the Ughelli Township Stadium in Delta State, Nigeria.

Tragedy struck at the Stade Felix Houphout-Boigny stadium in Abidjan, when Cote d’ivoire played host to Malawi, as 22 football fans were crushed to death when a fence collapsed as they tried to gain entry into the already jammed packed stadium, during a 2010 World Cup Qualifier.

Footballers are not also spared of these tragedies, which oftentimes occur either on or off the field of play.

Below is a list of African footballers who have died on the field of play.

• Samuel Okwaraji(Nigeria)- died of heart attack on August 12, 1989
• Amir Angwe(Nigeria)- died of heart attack on October 29, 1995
• George Iginewari(Nigeria)- died of gunshot wound in 1995
• Tunde Charity(Nigeria)- died of head injury in 1997
• Emmanuel Nwanegbo(Nigeria)- died of heart failure on August 30, 1997
• Shamo Quaye(Ghana)- died while training with team on November 30, 1997
• John Ikoroma(Nigeria)- died of heart attack on February 2000
• Charles Esheko(Nigeria)- died of cardiac arrest on July 14, 2001
• Marc-Vivien Fo(Cameroon)- died of heart attack on June 26, 2003
• Sam Okoye(Nigeria)- died after a brief illness on August 2005
• Chaswe Nsofwa(Zambia)- died of heart failure on August 29, 2007
• Guy Tchingoma(Congo DR)- died of heart related ailment on February 9, 2009
• George Katete(Congo DR)- died of heart attack on March 5th 2009
• Orobosa Adun(Nigeria)- slumped and died on May 26, 2009
• Endurance Idahor(Nigeria)- died of attack on March 13, 2010