RETURN OF THE VUVUZELA

Thankfully with no games for the last couple of days I have been able to rest..on two fronts. Firstly, I have been able to rest my aging body. It is not easy getting up night after night and my body has enjoyed the coupe of days rest. Thankfully it has also given me a chance of getting that dreaded hum of the vuvuvzela out of my mind.   With games beginning in a day or so perhaps it is time to get back into the vuvuzela spirit.

http://www.youtube.com/v/z-Ln_rqPpPk&feature

England Robbed in South Africa

England's disallowed goal

The talk prior to the FIFA WORLD CUP had been about South African security at the World Cup. South Africa is a crime ridden country and many people had expressed their concerns of crime on the streets and in the alleys. Already a TVNZ crew has had some audiovisual gear stolen from their hotel and now in the England soccer team has been robbed in broad daylight. The robbery actually happened right on the field of play where the 3 Lions were denied an obvious goal in their important game against Germany.

While nobody has been charge with the offense, many people have finger pointed the referee J Larrionda from Uraguay. From what I know about Uragauy this wouldn’t surprise me!! CCTV footage has shown that his accomplices were two linesmen whose identities have been kept quiet by FIFA

Fortunately due to technology the we have managed to find this picture of the robbery in progress. What do you think??

Ozy Mandias Virtual World Cup Competition

Dear Football enthusiast,

You are cordially invited to take part in the Ozy Mandias Warning Virtual World Cup Competition 2010.

While the All Whites will be flying the New Zealand flag at the World Cup you also have the chance to be part of the action. All that you need to do is accurately predict the result of each game in the World Cup. The person with the most points following the Final will be crowned Ozy Mandias Virtual World Cup Football Champion and receive the converted gold medal.

To sign up all you need to do is email the following details to this email – ozymandiaswarning@gmail.com

Name:

Username:

Email:

and an image that represents you. Once your registration has been processed you will receive a confirmation email. After that you can begin in predicting games and inputting scores.

Full details of the event can be found on www.ozymandiaswarning.com and either follow the link in the top navigation bar or the advert on the left.

However, for those that cant wait the rules are below.

OFFICIAL OZY MANDIAS VIRTUAL WORLD CUP RULES

For each game you predict the exact scoreline. You will get the following points according to the accuracy of your prediction.

 Points for correct score – 10  For example predict 3-0 and the result is 3-0 award 10 points
This includes the penalties in the knockout stage if applicable

Points for guessing a draw – 4  For example predict 2-2 and the result is 1-1 award 4 points 

Wrong score but predicted a win – 6 For example predict 1-0 and the result is 2-0 award 6 points
This includes the penalties in the knockout stage if applicable

Points above are not cumulative, for example predict 2-2 and the result is 2-2, you gain 10 points, NOT 14 points

Bonus Points

Points for correct number of goals 2 For example predict 3-0 and the result is 3-1 award extra 2 points.

Points for correct goal difference 2 For example predict 5-3 and the result is 3-1 award extra 2 points

Bonus points are cumulative

Don’t delay and miss out on this once in a lifetime opportunity. The first game begins next weekend so get your email sent off and start predicting.

All the best,

Your friend Ozy Mandias

All White's Song – Rubbish

With the Football World Cup only months away preparation is underway in all aspects of society. One of the main events of any major sporting occasion is the adopting of a song. Prior to the All White’s qualification we had a handmade ‘One Shot for Glory’ number which was perfect for a local game against Bahrain. However, with the step up to the main draw of the World Cup New Zealand Soccer had to step up their musical ability and have decided upon a cover version of the Feller’s song, Stand Up. New Zealand Soccer, chief Michael Glading said “Lyrically, the song captures everything this campaign is about,” Sadly he obviously didn’t listen to the tune of the song as it is appalling.

http://www.youtube.com/v/nmXFgy5Anxc

A sporting song must excite a nation and get everyone enthused. It should be able to be sung in a pub late at night but also have a little  style to it as well. Sadly, this song does everything but. New Zealand has had such a long history of classic sporting songs. From the ‘Sailing Away’ hit which launched our love affair with yachting to the All Whites 1982 “Heading for the Top”. Are there any others that spring to mind???

http://www.youtube.com/v/UQ82q2wNehohttp://www.youtube.com/v/DuBAViqPkEs

 While New Zealand have decided on a song it has been decided that the England team may do an offical world cup song this year. For me this is a shame because if there is one nation that does this well it is the English.

Football’s coming home – 1970

http://www.youtube.com/v/K9SmXz5E1R4

World in Motion – 1990

http://www.youtube.com/v/8eY2tuRj0v8

 Three Lions – 1998

http://www.youtube.com/v/14NQOGOhR0g

We’re on the Ball –

http://www.youtube.com/v/P4NzmMycZIM

This Time – 1982

http://www.youtube.com/v/t0kgg5tWhY8

 It is my hope that this song isn’t a reflection of what we are going to see on the field from our boys. Lets just hope we have got all our bad decisions out of our system before kick off.