It does look as if, at last, Nicholas Anelka is getting the sort of recognition his undoubted talent deserves and he is, finally, able to shake off the ‘Le Sulk’ image that has dominated his career. At 30 years of age, Anelka can now throw away that wild child tag once and for all!

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This article demonstrates the importance of ball control in developing a top soccer/futbol player. It goes through examples of Ronaldo and the like and shows why ball control is so important.

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Following in the footsteps of Dennis Bergkamp as Arsenal’s Dutch striker is an unenviable task. But, at the moment, Robin van Persie is making a good job of it.

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Carlton Cole - One of the most improved English players in the last year (thanks to the excellent tutoring of manager Gianfranco Zola) Carlton is an excellent striker with all of the attributes to become a great. Carlton possesses great strength and height, and is excellent at holding up the ball, making him a likely back-up for Emile Heskey.

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When looking for soccer lessons for your kid, group or team, make sure you know what you’re looking for. Those of you that do not know too much about the sport may fall prey to ‘trainers’ that do not know much (or do not care much) about their job.

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The game of soccer was rocked by scandal when it was unearthed that the results of 200 soccer games across nine countries in Europe were fixed! Law enforcement officials arrested the leaders of the gambling cartel, but they say that the rot is deeper.

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At last, we now know the 32 finalists for the 2010 World Cup at South Africa! For the final berths in the European Zone, France, Portugal, Slovenia and Greece won their play-offs against Republic of Ireland, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Russia and Ukraine. Let’s take a quick look at some of the excitement.

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Spain will travel to South Africa next summer as many people’s favourite for the tournament, and rightly so. The national side are currently untouchable and in the middle of an incredible run of internationals in which they have lost only one match in 43. The team ooze confidence with every touch and having dispatched of an Argentina side short on confidence but full of fight and quality, they will fear no-one. But what is the secret behind Spain’s winning formula? All will be explained as I give my ten reasons why Spain will win the World Cup.

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Having played 11 games for Galaxy this season, Becks tried to give it all he’s got in the final match against Real Salt Lake, in spite of an ankle injury that had him wincing in pain. But this may just cost him a shot at surpassing England’s international appearances record of 125 caps currently held by goalkeeper Peter Shilton.

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One of your jobs as a youth soccer coach is to learn what styles of play are most effective for your team. By adjusting your style of offense and defense you can take advantage of your opponents weaknesses.

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