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Soccer leagues throughout Europe have provided endless entertainment for soccer fans for yet another weekend. The soccer action is non-stop, so let us take a look at the matches that have already taken place this past Saturday and those coming up this Sunday. There is excitement for everybody no matter which part of the contintent one happens to live.

In the Premiership, Arsenal had no pity for Manchester United taking home a well deserved 2-1 victory. The game was intense and provided London fans with a great spectacle worthy the historic names of the two clubs. Liverpool defeated West Brom to make a return to victories while Chelsea hope for a return to the top of the table with a victory over Blackburn rovers on Sunday. Luiz Felipe Scolari’s side wants to make an emphatic return to victories after losing to Roma last Wednesday for Champions League.

In Spain, Real Madrid and Barcelona won their games on Saturday to remain at the top of the La Liga table. Real Madrid struggled to earn the 3 points at home whereas Barcelona having Eto in great day dominate the lowly Real Valladolid with a 6-0 decision. Eto scored 4 goals to lead his team to victory. Real Madrid fell behind in score 3 times but thanks to a 4-goal game by Gonzalo Higuain managed to earn the 3 points necessary to keep them in the title game; the final 4-3 score tells the whole story.

In Greek soccer everyone is awaiting with anticipation the big match between Olympiakos and Panathinaikos at the Olympic stadium. Olympiakos is currently in first place in the Greek Superleague 5 points ahead of Panathinaikos. Panathinaikos are coming off two great away victories away from home one against Greek club Panionios and another against the German Werder Bremen for the Champions League. Both teams have expressed their desire for victory in a game that is considered a classic derby for Greek soccer. In Saturday action, PAOK climbed to first place along with Olympiacos after an emphatic 2-0 victory over Panionios. PAOK remains the only undefeated team in Greek soccer this year and after 10 games.

Today, a popular colour of soccer jersey is the green and gold; this is the colours of Australian Socceroos. The Australian Socceroos are the national team of Australia governed by the Football Federation Australia and is under the Federation Internationale de Football Association or FIFA. The Socceroos obtained this popularity back in the grand stage of football known as the World Cup in 2006. Football wasn’t a popular sport in Australia and was considered a place where football was dying. This was changed however by the FFA and Socceroos. After that, they became a popular team especially among their own countrymen. Football or soccer was no longer a dying sport in Australia; it was revived by the Soccerroos. This gave them their popularity and the Soccerroos jersey of green and gold is a colour to watch.

Whether its known as soccer or football this game is the world’s most popular. It is arguably the most popular team sport as it is played by millions of people and watched by billions. Soccer is one of the most popular sports in the world. How come it became so popular? Even Australia has their Australian Socceroos.

Mainly there are two reasons for the game’s popularity. The show of fit young men running across the field appeals to many fans of soccer. It is a continuous, fast paced, action packed game which is very fun to watch. The other reason can be attributed to the simplicity of the game. In playing the game, players primarily use their feet to control the ball and score a goal. In order to score a goal, a player needs to knock the ball into the goal cage. In the end of the game, the team with the most goals are declared the winner. Playing soccer needs little equipment, the goal and the ball which can even be make shift. The game is played on a level patch of land. A player’s complete uniform would include spiked shoes, long socks sometimes with shin guards underneath, shorts and a jersey.

With the premier European football clubs ready to do battle again, fans who watch live online streaming UEFA Champions League football matches will be eager to find out who has the best chance of winning the trophy. The usual suspects are all there again. Manchester United, who won last season’s title, will be among the favorites again. Chelsea, last season’s finalist with the Manchurians, will also figure prominently. With their pedigree in the competition, Liverpool will also be many fans’ sentimental favorite. But perhaps the fiercest challengers to the English trio of clubs will come from their traditional rivals in Spain.

There are three Spanish La Liga teams that will be there when the dust settles. They include Real Madrid, Barcelona and dark horses Villareal. Last season was a disappointing one for the Spanish representatives in the Champions League. Real Madrid were dumped out in the first knockout stages by their Italian rivals AS Roma, while Barcelona left with their tails between their legs, whimpering all the way to their Catalan home. While Spain’s national team won the European Championships in July, their football clubs were floundering in European club football. The summer that followed was one of restructuring and consolidation, with a strong emphasis on teamwork by coaches at all three clubs.

The result has been strong early season form by the three leading clubs in the Spanish La Liga. Real Madrid in their live streaming Spanish La Liga football matches, have successfully melded style with substance, as they climb the league table and close in on the current leaders Valencia. Despite some poor results at the beginning of the season, Barcelona are now coming to terms with manager Pep Guardiola's on-field strategies. The defence is now more resolute, while midfield star Lionel Messi continues to wreck havoc on all opponents. Villareal are currently leading the league with Valencia, and this despite not being in the limelight as often as the other two giants of Spanish football.

With such imperious form shown by all three clubs, there is strong optimism from the country that they will fly the flag of Spanish football high. Comparing the strengths and weaknesses of each team, Manchester United might have their toughest challengers in Real Madrid and Villareal. Barcelona might suffer from the lack of managerial experience that is evident on Guardiola’s resume, and their style continues to take precedence over solidity at times.

Real Madrid has a coach of German descent and tactical nous at the helm. Bernd Schuster has created a team in his own image, and as they mature, Real Madrid could regain their place in Europe’s elite. Villareal does not buy into the concept of the individual star, and are based more on a complete team ethic. They have even drawn with Manchester United at Old Trafford during the group stages. The result was achieved without having to sit back and defend, which is the strategy that lesser teams would adopt when playing the current European club football champions.

While most football fans will expect English teams to be present in the final stages, their Spanish counterparts will also weigh in heavily on the destiny of the trophy. With such a diverse mix of different soccer styles, expect even more twists and turns as the competition unfolds this season with more live Manchester United Champions League football matches.

This weekend will feature many more World Cup 2010 qualifiers, and fans all over the world will be eager to find out the next development in each countries' campaign. Nowhere will this be brought to the fore more so than in Africa, where the reputations and qualifying hopes of many major nations could be destroyed even before they have proceeded to the second stage. With the high possibility of a slew of upsets happening this weekend, South Africa and the world might see a new group of African countries involved in 2010 instead.

While the hosts South Africa might end up bottom of their group, they are exempted from having to qualify for the tournament. But their disastrous campaign means that they will now miss the African Nations Cup in the same year, for which the qualifying process is based on the same World Cup setup. It is a complicated and confusing system which perhaps only FIFA can explain, but the countries will comply just the same. It has also exposed the deficiencies in quality and standard in the South Africans, who must now undergo a drastic improvement within two years if they hope to avoid humiliation in front of their own fans.

Giants of African football that are on the brink of elimination this weekend include Angola, Ghana, Algeria, Senegal, and Morocco. Perhaps the countries most in danger are Angola and Senegal, with the former having fallen from grace in such drastic pace. Just two World Cups ago, Angola was considered one of the strongest African footballing nations, with many notable star players gracing some of the most famous clubs around the year 2006. They qualified for the World Cup in 2006, but four years on, Angola are on the verge of a first round knockout in the qualifiers. With insufficient points to boost their claims this weekend, Angola will need to prepare for the next edition in 2014.

Senegal will always be remembered for their defeat of world and European champions France in the opening game of World Cup 2002. It was a sensational result that was based on a group of honest players who were hardly heard of outside the country, in stark contrast to the numerous household names in the French team, most notably Zinedine Zidane. While they conquered their former colonial masters on the sporting field, Senegal will look back at the past and present French teams to imagine what might have been. Several French football stars have their roots in Senegal, choosing to represent France instead. This has robbed the African nation of many natural talents, which perhaps partly explains their current decline. While Senegal might still qualify for the next round after this weekend, it speaks volumes of the lack of talent development that they are struggling in a group which includes Gambia and Liberia.

With the potential of major upsets lurking round the corner in the qualifiers this weekend, the world of football will be watching the many live online streaming World Cup football matches as fans keep scores. Who will join the likes of Ivory Coast, Cameroon and African champions Egypt in the next intriguing qualifying round, and who will have to start from scratch and plan for 2014 next? Fans of football cannot wait to find out what happens next.

Fall is the best time of year. No not because of the cooler weather and the leaves on the ground, but because it is now football season.

The college football season is awesome because after two weeks of almost nothing on television as far as sports, suddenly you are drenched with plenty of games every Saturday and Sunday. A baseball game is great live, but sitting and watching it on TV puts a man to sleep. At least the 2008 Olympics provided some sports action this summer.

I love both the college and the National Football League games for different reasons. The excitement involved in the college game is like nothing else. Every weekend, thousands of screaming supporters fill up local stadiums in an effort to help the home team to victory. With the increase of network TV contracts, there are often good games on every Thursday and Saturday night as well. While I don’t really like the BCS system that is in place in the college game, one benefit to the setup is that every regular season game really matters. A college team could get away with one loss during the year, but if they want a shot at the BCS championship, then they can’t afford to lose more than once.

The National Football League is a different beast, but just as good in my book. Again the passion is amazing, especially in the great NFL cities like Dallas, Oakland, Green Bay, and Kansas City. What makes the NFL interesting for many fans is the advent of fantasy football. Sure some guys go a little overboard, in that they spend all of their free time evaluating their roster and proposing ridiculous trades to the other owners in the league. Just get started with the right set of guys and gals, then fantasy football makes all of the matchups much more interesting.

This season I had to re-evaluate my television service, as Bright House cable continued to disappoint me as far at their service and pricing. Fortunately, I had a couple of choices, as UVerse service is now in my area, as well as satellite TV. After checking into my options, I found there are great satellite TV deals going on currently. So then it became the old Direct TV vs DISH Network debate Being the football fan that I am, I just couldn’t pass up the NFL Sunday Ticket package that they offer. On top of that, they offer new college football packages, including the ESPN Gameplan. Overall, there is just more for your money when comparing DirecTV to Comcast.

My wife may not like that selection, but of course she will know where to find me, right in front of the television this fall!

All Blacks winger Scott Hamilton is working hard to regain top form after being recalled to the Crusaders for the Super 14 semi-final against the Hurricanes.”

Departing Blues coach David Nucifora, who is returning to his native Australia, expects to be able to confirm his rugby future “within the next week or so”.”

Waratahs hooker Adam Freier has some sympathy for departing coach Ewen McKenzie but said his team are playing for themselves rather than their coach as they head into the Super 14 semi-finals.”

The Super 14’s top qualfiers, the Crusaders, will host the Hurricanes in next weekend’s first semi-final and the Waratahs - who finished the regular season second after a 18-11 win over the Reds - will host the Sharks in the other semi-final.”

Teenage flyer Afusipa Taumoepeau is set to make his run-on debut for the Brumbies against the Bulls in Pretoria on Friday.”