Many people disagree with FIFA's recent decision to host the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. However, these people clearly lack knowledge of this wonderful country that undoubtedly deserves this honor. Qatar boasts sponsorship laws described as akin to modern-day slavery and eating, drinking, and smoking outdoors is not allowed during Ramadan. The Qatar Distribution Company remains the country's only importer and retailer for alcohol which is sure to supply the hordes of World Cup travelers with their alcoholic beverages of choice. Qatar's government is even kind enough to allow women to legally drive.
Qatar is located in the Middle East, currently one of the safest places in the world, over an unfathomable 4,416 square miles. The weather conditions in Qatar are also ideal for one of the world's greatest competitions. In June and July, the months during which the World Cup takes place, the average low temperatures are 81 and 84 degrees respectively and the average high temperatures are 106 and 115 degrees respectively. What better way to take the pitch than in 100 degree weather?
Qatar also has a rich soccer history deserving of this competition. Soccer is slightly ahead of cricket as the most popular sport in the country, displaying the undying passion for the sport. The country's soccer-filled past culminates with a second place showing by Qatar's under 20 national team placing second in the 1981 FIFA World Youth Championship after a nail-biting 4-0 loss to the Germans.
Qatar, a thirty-nine year old country, with a population the size of Connecticut at 1.7 million people, with fifty hotels and six airports (four of which are paved), temperatures north of 100 degrees, and oppresses women is the ideal location to host a worldwide tournament.
This guy could simply outrun opponents with the ball at his feet. Ronaldo said he never timed himself over 100 meters, but he did do tests over shorter distances of 20 to 30 meters with and without the ball. Amazingly, he says he recorded faster times with the ball at his feet! Ronaldo would pick up the ball anywhere on the pitch and run fearlessly into the defense challenging them to stop his slaloming runs.
9. Step overs
Ronaldo possesses many great talents and abilities, but the step overs became a trademark for him. Unlike many other players, Ronaldo actually uses the move to beat defenders. He was able to use step overs to create space for himself to get off a shot or take off toward goal. What is truly remarkable about the Brazilian is his ability to use step overs inside the box. Despite the tight, constricting confines of the box, Ronaldo beat defenders and the goalie with perfectly executed step overs.
8. Rounding Goalkeepers
Ronaldo was a goalkeepers worst nightmare. Streaking toward the goal with blazing speed R9 made a habit of dribbling around helpless goalkeepers. Ronaldo said he "loves to score goals after passing all the defenders as well as the keeper. That is not my specialty, but my habit."
7. Goal to Game Ratio
Ronaldo is just a pure goal scorer. He has produced goals at every club he has been a part of. In his career he has played in 511 games and netted 352 goals, an astonishing .682 goal to game ratio. Any player would dream to score goals with that regularity.
Ronaldo's great play was recognized everywhere he played by the tremendous amount of awards he won. Most notably Ronaldo was awarded the FIFA World Player of the year award an astounding three times including when he was twenty years old! Ronaldo and Zidane are the only two players to win the award three times. Ronaldo was also the recipient of the prestigious Ballon D'or award twice and was elected to the Brazilian National Hall of Fame in 2006. A complete list of Ronaldo's awards and accolades follows:
Goal.com : Player of a decade: Winner 2000-2010[34]
5. Injuries
Unfortunately, throughout Ronaldo's career he was plagued by knee problems that started in his young career while he was playing for PSV. At PSV Ronaldo had knee surgery to repair an overstretched ligament. The final of the 1998 World Cup in France marked the beginning of his very serious injuries. Ronaldo experienced some type of seizure hours before the World Cup final and was initially not in Brazil's starting lineup. However, by game time, Ronaldo was back, but it was a sad display as a ghost of Ronaldo helplessly roamed the field while Zidane and France walked away with the championship. Ronaldo played very little after the World Cup final and when he took the field in 2000 against Lazio, Ronaldo seriously injured his knee moments after subbing in. Doctor's gave the Brazilian a low chance of playing soccer again.
This was a dark time for Ronaldo, spending all his time in the hospital not knowing if would be able to play the game he loved so much again. Zidane was the only player to visit Ronaldo in the hospital during this time, an act that Ronaldo greatly appreciated and has noted in interviews.
Ronaldo did in fact recover from this injury and triumphed at the 2002 World Cup, helping Brazil to the title while scoring 8 goals and winning the Golden Boot. He then went on to have many solid seasons at Spanish powerhouse Real Madrid. Ronaldo would experience more injuries in his career, but his determination and will always lifted him to the top of the wonderful game of soccer.
Injuries are also the reason that Ronaldo put on weight at times during his career. Some started referring to him as "gordo" and poking fun at his weight, but he put on the extra weight because his injuries prevented him from practicing and staying fit. Despite what he was called, Ronaldo continued to score goals even when he was "fat."
4. Jose Mourinho's Praise
Legendary coach Jose Mourinho has praised Ronaldo as the greatest player his "eyes have ever seen." Mourinho was a translator for Barcelona when Ronaldo played for the club and fondly remembers how the Brazilian played.
3. Preparation
Ronaldo is a very unique player possessing many skills and talents. However, I can only smile when I found out about how the guy would prepare for games, and I'm not speaking about practice. Ronaldo said the secret to his success is he has to have sex before games. Not just any sex, it has to be the right kind. He says that the female has to do all the work so that he doesn't use up all his energy before the game. Ronaldo when he was with Real Madrid:
"Sex a couple of hours before a match is the key to my success. The man has to be passive and enjoy the experience. This relaxes him and gives him a load of energy. If the player is too active during sex, then he is wasting energy which he will lack during the match."
No explanation need here, Ronaldo is the man.
2. World Cup goals
Ronaldo's 15 World Cup goals are the most in the history of the competition. Ronaldo is the best World Cup scorer for the World Cup's greatest nation, Brazil.
1. Barcelona season (1996-1997)
The one season Ronaldo spent at Barcelona was simply amazing. The way he carried the offense and flew toward the goal taking on entire defenses on his own was spectacular. He scored an unprecedented 47 goals in 49 matches across all competitions. This season was truly one of the greatest individual performances the beautiful game of futbol has ever witnessed.
Cristiano Ronaldo is arguably one of the best soccer players in the world today. However, he continually gets knocked for his tendency to dive and end up on the ground after very little contact. Without a doubt CR7 does dive, but what most people don't understand is why.
CR7 is not a wimp and can take contact just like any other player. He just plays soccer at a level beyond the comprehension of many viewers. With the suggestion of a friend, I have been paying more attention to CR7's matches and watched how he plays. In games where his team is leading by a comfortable margin, you will notice that he does not spend much time on the ground. In close games, I believe the amount of time he spends on the ground exponentially increases. Why? Because this man wants to win games. I do believe that he is a showboat and wants to score as many goals as he possibly can, but the simple matter is that he does want to win. However, there is definitely a correlation between the score and the amount of time that CR7 spends diving and rolling on the ground.
Even if you don't agree with me, CR7 will always look way better in a bathing suit than you anyways.
I thoroughly enjoy EA sports Fifa soccer franchise, but there are some things about it that endlessly annoy me. Having played Fifa 10 somewhat extensively and now getting a good taste of Fifa 11 I find myself wondering why every time I have possession of the ball there is a guy from the opposing team hauling ass at me in an ridiculous, hell-bent effort to steal the ball from me. I don't know about you, but in the soccer I've watched and played, this is hardly the case. No one has the stamina to relentlessly harass the ball carrier. This pisses me off because it seems so easy for the A.I. players on the other team to steal the ball from me. I also don't understand how Ronaldinho, who plays hardly, if any, defense in real life, can steal the ball from me and I can't steal the ball from anyone with my defenders. Apparently I should be signing Ronaldinho to play lock-down defense for my squad.
I was playing Fifa 11 earlier tonight and I have no idea how players on Real Salt Lake are pulling off spin moves and other skill maneuvers they cannot do. It was all topped off when Findley placed one perfectly in the far upper corner from a mesmerizing angle. First off, Findley has enough trouble putting the ball in the back of an open net, let alone pin-pointing a laser beam shot from the far end of the box.
Playing defense in Fifa is flat out frustrating to me. I hold the "A" button down to relentlessly charge my opponent who has the ball expecting to have the same success that it has against me. Much to my amazement, my opponent is able to hold off not only one defender, but as many as three as he effortlessly strolls down the pitch and puts a perfectly placed shot by my inept goalkeeper. I definitely believe that any person has the ability to run with the ball while using both arms to hold off people attempting to get the ball from them.
I'm convinced that the only reason legendary difficulty is hard is because of how much the game just screws the human player. All deflections go to the computer's team, the A.I. opponent somehow effortlessly walks through any defense, practically all my slide tackles result in cards, and anyone is capable of stealing the ball from me regardless of who I have controlling the ball or who is trying to steal it from me.
I really like the Fifa franchise, but I can't stand some of the game's dynamics because they are in no way like real soccer.
So the end of the semester is rapidly approaching now and I cannot help but perceive my cost accounting professor as one of the biggest frauds I have encountered thus far in my life. If I was aware that "teaching" was merely sitting at the front of the classroom reading off the answer sheet that is already available to students, then I would have embarked on a journey to be a teacher, let alone a college professor. I can honestly say I have learned absolutely nothing in this class and that I would have been much better off sleeping rather than getting up for this guy's sorry, pathetic excuse for a class at 8 a.m.
Instead of teaching, this guy tells us stories which I'm not sure are even true. Any time your professor claims he used to dunk from the foul line and bench upwards of 300 pounds, you have to be wondering why he isn't a professional athlete. Oh yeah, and the Big Guy (how Mr. Cost Accounting refers to himself) also taught Dr. J everything he knows....... about cost accounting.
We recently had a test in the Big Guy's class. I'm almost certain no one did well on it considering the wonderful direction he gives us in class. However, he was disappointed that only one student in one of his classes knew how to approach a particular problem. He was so disappointed that he told them they should be "shot and hung" for not knowing how to do it. I don't know about you, but I would love being told by a complete fraud that I should be killed for not knowing how to do something he never properly taught in the first place. As a matter of fact, I am positive that he would not be able to do any of the problems he assigns us without the answer sheet. The Big Guy told us the class before the test that if we had any questions we could call him because he would have the answer sheet with him. That made me feel so much better.
The Big Guy always tells us these stories about his wife and daughter, but recently I've come to the conclusion that he doesn't really have a family and he just makes up all these stories. Why, you might ask. I believe he's making up all these stories because I see him eating in the dining hall on a consistent basis everyday. He doesn't teach any classes on Monday, Wednesday, or Friday, but he's still at the dining hall. What family man would be eating dinner at the college dining hall on days he doesn't even need to be at school is beyond me.
I feel sorry for all the accounting majors here that have to suffer through the Big Guy's class. It's a complete waste of time and I can't say that I've learned much of anything in his class. About the only thing I recall him telling us is that you should sell all your operating assets before your statements are due because it will increase your ROI (return on investment) for the statements. Then you should buy the operating assets back the day after you prepare the statements. That's definitely ethical. Good thing I only have three more weeks of the Big Guy...
