2006 FIFA World Cup Soccer News and Blog

Watercooler Stories 
LONDON, May 31 (UPI) — A British workplace insurer recommends businesses show the upcoming World Cup soccer championships to keep employees on the job and off the booze.

Art, Culture And The Cup 
Germany Offers Great Tourism With World-Class Soccer Next Month BERLIN - Next month in Germany, more than a million visitors will marvel at world-class play during the World Cup soccer championship. They can also admire great art, stroll medieval town squares and savor some of the world’s best beer.

Reyna Is Injured as U.S. Loses to Morocco, 1-0 
The United States World Cup soccer team suffered a double blow Tuesday night when Claudio Reyna , the team’s captain, strained his right hamstring and left the game after only 16 minutes and the U.S. gave up a last-minute goal in a 1-0 loss to Morocco at Nashville.

Your ship may come in … all mine ever does is ‘list’ 
Don’t know how David Letterman does it each night … coming up with 10 answers for the “Top 10 List” segment of his TV show. Maybe it’s really easier than it looks. After all, he has about 547 writers on the payroll helping him come up with 10 of whatever.

Racism fears dog World Cup build-up 
Fears that visiting World Cup soccer fans may be the subject of racist attacks prompt German debate.

EM.TV Posts 1st-Quarter Loss on Write-Off for Auction Channel 
May 23 (Bloomberg) — EM.TV AG, the German owner of the merchandising rights for the 2006 World Cup soccer games, reported a first-quarter loss after a profit a year earlier as the company wrote off a minority stake in an auction channel.

Barreto hints at Bagan return 
The Mahindra United striker said he would move to Mohun Bagan next season to help the Kolkatan outfit end their drought of trophies.

Berlin Police to Step Up World Cup Security After Stabbings 
May 29 (Bloomberg) — Berlin police will step up security at next month’s World Cup soccer tournament after a knife-wielding attacker injured 36 people in the German capital last week.

German Consumer Optimism Rises as Growth Accelerates (Update1) 
May 29 (Bloomberg) — German consumer confidence rose to the highest in more than four years on optimism about stronger growth and declining unemployment in Europe’s largest economy.

GFA extends deadline for payment of tickets for World Cup 
Accra, May 1, GNA - The Ghana Football Association (GFA) has announced the extension for the payment deadline for tickets for the 2006 World Cup soccer fiesta to Friday, May 5.

New World Cup worm tries to score 
( InfoWorld ) - World Cup soccer fans should be aware of a new worm being circulated by e-mail with the German-language message “WM-Tickets” or “Weltmeisterschaft,” security vendor Sophos warned Wednesday. The e-mail contains an attachment, which, when opened, activates the W32/Zasran-A worm. The worm is programmed to send itself to addresses stored in Microsoft’s Outlook address book and

U.S. gets a rocking send-off 
Well, that was interesting: U.S. soccer players as rock stars. Never thought I’d live to see the day.

Cablemas 1Q06 Net Revenue and Adjusted EBITDA Up 27.7% and 27.9% YoY 
Cablemas, S.A. de C.V., , the second largest cable television operator in Mexico based on number of subscribers and homes passed, today announced results for the three-month period ending March 31, 2006.

German Stocks Advance, Led by ThyssenKrupp, MAN and E.ON Shares 
May 23 (Bloomberg) — German stocks rebounded from a four- month low. ThyssenKrupp AG and MAN AG paced the gain, paring last week’s losses. Shares of E.ON AG rose after Dexia Securities advised clients to buy the shares of the world’s largest utility.

Rogers and adidas Canada bring FIFA World Cup(TM) Soccer to Toronto 
Rogers Communications Inc. and adidas Canada, today announced they will host a free 2006 World Cup Soccer Celebration on Sunday July 9 at the Rogers Centre. The communities of Toronto, soccer fans and families alike, are invited to take part in an interactive soccer experience and watch the final game of the 2006 FIFA World Cup(TM) live on the Rogers Centre’s video board.

Aareal, Commerzbank, Deutsche Boerse: German Equity Preview 
May 23 (Bloomberg) — The following stocks may rise or fall in German markets today. Futures that track Germany’s benchmark DAX Index declined 2 percent to 5572 as of the 10 p.m. close Frankfurt time on Eurex AG, the world’s biggest futures market.

Barreto hints at Bagan return 
The Mahindra United striker said he would move to Mohun Bagan next season to help the Kolkatan outfit end their drought of trophies.

World Cup Soccer: U.S. team takes two setbacks 
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Less than three weeks before the World Cup, the U.S. soccer team opened its final warm-up series with a key injury and a loss. U.S. captain Claudio Reyna strained a hamstring early in Tuesday’s 1-0 defeat against Morocco, which got a 90th-minute goal from Mohamed Madihi after defender Steve Cherundolo lost the ball to Bouchaib El Moubarki. ”It’s close to the games.

England get World Cup lift with win over Hungary 
MANCHESTER: England ground out a 3-1 victory over Hungary in a World Cup soccer warm-up on Tuesday, with teenage striker Theo Walcott making history for the hosts.

Pogge takes home top goalie honours 
MONCTON — Justin Pogge was shut out of Canadian Hockey League player of the year honours last night but wound up with a nice consolation prize. The Maple Leafs prospect, who shone for the Calgary Hitmen of the Western Hockey League this season, was named the CHL’s goaltender of the year.

Police, protesters stop gay pride event 
Russia MOSCOW — Gay rights activists were pummeled by right-wing protesters and detained by police yesterday, preventing them from expressing gay pride in defiance of a city ban. Mayor Yuri Luzhkov said in a radio interview that gay parades “may be acceptable for some kind of progressive, in some sense, countries in the West, but it is absolutely unacceptable for …

Matsushita, Hitachi LCD JV to invest $713 mln 
TOKYO, May 31 (Reuters) - A liquid crystal display venture between Hitachi Ltd. and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. said on Wednesday it will invest about 80 billion yen ($712.9 million) to boost output amid growing LCD TV demand.

German unemployment falls, retail sales rise Wednesday, May 31, 2006 10:25:54 AM http://www.afxpress.com 
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World Cup Dining: Kaiserslautern Is Horse-Wurst Land (Correct) 
(Corrects name of restaurant in 10th paragraph. This is part of a series on going out in Germany’s World Cup soccer venues.) May 23 (Bloomberg) — Kaiserslautern, the smallest of the 12 German cities that will host World Cup matches, is not without charm. The challenge is in finding it.

Bob Houghton appointed as India’s football coach 
Englishman Bob Houghton was today appointed as India’s new football coach. Houghton will replace Syed Nayeemuddin, who was sacked after a string of poor performances earlier this year, and will take over the job from June 20 when he joins the national team for a training camp.

World Cup Preview: Argentina to avoid another nightmare in Group o f Death 
Two-time world champions Argentina, who suffered an early exit in Korea/Japan World Cup soccer finals four years ago, are determined to avoid a repeat of nightmare this summer in Germany, despite being drawn into the Group of Death again.

Berlin Police to Step Up World Cup Security After Stabbings 
May 29 (Bloomberg) — Berlin police will step up security at next month’s World Cup soccer tournament after a knife-wielding attacker injured 36 people in the German capital last week.

German Consumer Optimism Rises to Highest Since December 2001 
May 29 (Bloomberg) — German consumer confidence rose to the highest in more than 4 1/2 years on optimism about stronger growth and declining unemployment in Europe’s largest economy.

Man with knife wounds 25 in Berlin attack 
BERLIN (AP) - A knife-wielding man went on a rampage and attacked pedestrians as they left a Berlin celebration early Saturday, wounding 25 people, four seriously, police said. The 17-year-old suspected attacker was arrested.

Bravo’s slower ball not just one of its kind 
Dwayne Bravo says it is beyond the Indian batsmen to pick up his slower deliveries because he does not bowl just one of them.

Marty Fortier 
The date was May 25, 2006. The place: Spokane, Washington. At first I thought it was a Doug Clark column. But there was no sign of the omnipresent bespectacled humorist.

Spain ask permission to replace injured Del Horno
MADRID, May 30 - Spain have asked FIFA for permission to bring in another player to replace injured defender Asier del Horno, the Spanish Football Federation said on Tuesday…

Soccer fans to have free access to World Cup highlights on the Net (CP via Yahoo! Canada News)
ZURICH, Switzerland (AP) - Soccer fans will have access to free video highlights from all World Cup matches on FIFA’s website.

England get World Cup lift with win over Hungary (Stuff)
MANCHESTER: England ground out a 3-1 victory over Hungary in a World Cup soccer warm-up on Tuesday, with teenage striker Theo Walcott making history for the hosts.

Tektronix gains foothold in World Cup broadcast (BizJournals)
Tektronix Inc. will provide electronic equipment to a UK broadcasting company for use in televising soccer’s 2006 World Cup.

ComScore Reveals Nearly Six Million People Worldwide Visited the Yahoo! FIFA World Cup Site In April 2006 (SYS-CON Media)
ComScore Networks, the leader in digital media measurement, today announced the results of an analysis of the worldwide online audience for the official World Cup soccer tournament Web site hosted by Yahoo! at http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com .

Japan to Draw Most TV Viewers in Soccer World Cup, Report Says (Bloomberg.com)
May 30 (Bloomberg) — Japan’s soccer team will attract the biggest television audience during the first stage of next month’s World Cup, even though bookmakers favor the 2002 host to finish bottom of its four-team group, a report said today.

Soccer fans to have free access to World Cup highlights on the Net (Canada.com)
ZURICH, Switzerland (AP) - Soccer fans will have access to free video highlights from all World Cup matches on FIFA’s website. A two-minute video of every match at the June 9-July 9 tournament will be available within an hour of the final whistle at www.fifaworldcup.com.

Soccer-World-Unofficial World Cup goods can damage your health (Reuters via Yahoo! News)
People buying unofficial World Cup merchandise risk possible illness, injury or even death, top customs officials said on Tuesday.

U.S. soccer team wins last World Cup tuneup (San Diego Union-Tribune)
EAST HARTFORD, Conn., 12:57 a.m. May 29 (AP): For the U.S. soccer team, the prep matches are over. The next time the Americans take the field for a game before fans will be in their World Cup opener against the Czech Republic.

Park Combines Historical Lecture with World Cup Tournament
Park University, MO - May 26, 2006Prior to the Poland and Germany opening round 2006 World Cup soccer match on Wednesday, June 14, Park University will explore the historical rivalry between …

Samresh finishes 16th 
Samresh Jung came up with another lacklustre show and finished 16th in the 10m Air Pistol event at the ISSF Shooting World Cup in Munich. The 18th Commonwealth Games star managed a low 580 points and also lost another opportunity of grabbing a quota place for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

In Tomorrow’s Paper 
YOU’VE GOT TO BE KIDDING … Former All Blacks captain Tana Umaga struck international teammate Chris Masoe with a woman’s handbag, making him cry, in a barroom altercation after Saturday’s Super 14 rugby final in Christchurch, New Zealand, newspapers reported.

Berlin Police to Step Up World Cup Security After Stabbings 
May 29 (Bloomberg) — Berlin police will step up security at next month’s World Cup soccer tournament after a knife-wielding attacker injured 36 people in the German capital last week.

U.S. Poised to Begin World Cup Rehearsals 
Time to Play Games: United States Starts World Cup Soccer Rehearsals Against Morocco

Ahmadinejad wants Europe on his side 
Berlin/Tehran: Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was quoted yesterday as saying European nations should stand by his country in the dispute over its nuclear programme or suffer damages.

A week in tech, May 22-26
iT News, Australia - May 25, 2006… 2003. SK Telecom announced that it has started a global roaming service in Germany ahead of the 2006 World Cup soccer finals. …

Volkswagen, Puma, Depfa, Merck KGaA: German Equity Preview
Bloomberg - Apr 27, 2006… EM.TV AG (EV4 GY): The owner of the merchandising rights for the 2006 World Cup soccer games plans to sell as much as 87.8 million euros of bonds that can be …

SK Telecom Releases 3G WCDMA Automatic Roaming Service in Germany
3G (press release), UK - May 28, 2006… to exceed 2.65 million in 2006, as the number of overseas travelers is expected to grow during the summer vacation and the 2006 World Cup Soccer Games in …

MediaSyndicate — Free Press Release, PR, IR, News Post & Media …
MediaSyndicate (press release) - May 24, 2006… online. http://fifa-world-cup2006.blogspot.com/. The 2006 World Cup Soccer tournament starts on 9 June 2006 in Munich, Germany. The …

2006 World Cup Soccer Odds To Win Group H - 05-23-06
Online Gambling Insider, South Africa - May 23, 2006May 8 - Part 8 of our World Cup soccer betting preview looks at the odds to win Group H. This is an interesting group from a sports betting perspective, and …

Terra to offer extensive interactive coverage of World Cup
Telecom Paper (subscription), Netherlands - May 24, 2006Latin American internet portal Terra will offer extensive interactive coverage of the 2006 World Cup soccer tournament, including near-live broadcasts of …

Ward In South Korea, Roots For World Cup Soccer Team
Pittsburgh Channel.com, PA - May 26, 2006… 2-year-old son. True to his word, the Super Bowl MVP joined in a rally for South Korea’s World Cup soccer squad. He called it a …

World of upsets: World Cup Soccer extras
Pittsburgh Post Gazette, PA - May 17, 20062002: South Korea hadn’t won a match in five World Cup appearances before co-hosting the tournament with Japan four years ago. Decked …

Latest World Cup soccer fashions displayed
Seattle Post Intelligencer - May 18, 2006By BRIAN TRUSDELL. NEW YORK — World Cup fans are accustomed to the yellow of Brazil, the blues of France and Italy and the stripes of Argentina and Paraguay. …

US Soccer Team Set for World Cup
Voice of America - May 3, 2006By Jim Stevenson. The final 23-man roster for the US World Cup soccer team has been unveiled. VOA’s Jim Stevenson reports the squad …

Let the Cup Countdown begin
Atlanta Journal Constitution (subscription),  USA - 10 hours ago… interminable Bonds melodrama perfectly: Baseball? Who cares? Let s get into some World Cup soccer!!! Well Maya (if that is …

Fort Wayne’s Beasley makes US World Cup soccer team
WANE, IN - May 3, 2006EINDHOVEN, Netherlands A 23-year-old soccer player from Fort Wayne has been named to the US World Cup team for a second time. Midfielder …

World Cup Soccer Betting - Odds To Win Group G - 05-23-06
Online Gambling Insider, South Africa - May 23, 2006Here are the latest World Cup soccer odds to win Group G, along with a preview of the four teams in that group. Group G is headed by France, the seeded team. …

US World Cup Soccer Team Announced
Wide Web of Sports, MD - May 3, 2006By James Clemenko. Head Coach Bruce Arena has picked the 23 men to represent the United States at the World Cup in Germany this summer. …

When you’re not watching soccer…
TVNZ, New Zealand - May 25, 2006Next month in Germany, more than a million visitors will marvel at world-class play during the World Cup soccer championship. They …

World Cup Soccer Notebook: Web site loaded with information
Pittsburgh Post Gazette, PA - May 6, 2006By Chris Lehourites, The Associated Press. Details on every player at the World Cup, schedules of games and statistics from past …