Anime Calendar
Countdown To My Birthday
FIFA World Cup 2010
Denmark:
Coach - Morten Olsen
Confederation - UEFA
FIFA Ranking (March 2010) - 34
Appearance - 3(1986, 1998, 2002)
Netherlands:
Coach - Bert van Marwijk
Confederation - UEFA
FIFA Ranking (March 2010) - 3
Appearance - 8(1934, 1938, 1974, 1978, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2006)
Cameroon:
Coach - Paul Le Guen
Confederation - CAF
FIFA Ranking (March 2010) - 20
Appearance - 5(1982, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002)
Japan:
Coach - Takeshi Okada
Confederation - AFC
FIFA Ranking (March 2010) - 45
Appearance - 3(1998, 2002, 2006)
Germany:
Coach - Joachim Loew
Confederation - UEFA
FIFA Ranking (March 2010) - 6
Appearance - 16(1954 winner, 1974 winner, 1990 winner, 1966, 1982, 1986, 2002, 1934, 1970, 2006)
Australia:
Coach - Pim Verbeek
Confederation - AFC
FIFA Ranking (March 2010) - 19
Appearance - 2(1974, 2006)
Serbia:
Coach - Radomir Antic
Confederation - UEFA
FIFA Ranking (March 2010) - 15
Appearance - First Time
Ghana:
Coach - Milovan Rajevac
Confederation - CAF
FIFA Ranking (March 2010) - 31
Appearance - 1(2006)
England:
Coach - Fabio Capello
Confederation - UEFA
FIFA Ranking (March 2010) - 7
Appearance - 12(1950, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1966 winner, 1970, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1998, 2002, 2006)
Algeria:
Coach - Rabah Saadane
Confederation - CAF
FIFA Ranking (March 2010) - 27
Appearance - 2(1982, 1986)
USA:
Coach - Bob Bradley
Confederation - CONCACAF
FIFA Ranking (March 2010) - 16
Appearance - 7(1930, 1950, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006)
Slovenia:
Coach - Matjaz Kek
Confederation - UEFA
FIFA Ranking (March 2010) - 29
Appearance - 1(2002)
South Korea:
Coach - Huh Jung-Moo
Confederation - AFC
FIFA Ranking (March 2010) - 49
Appearance - 7(1954, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006)
Argentina:
Coach - Diego Armando Maradona
Confederation - CONMEBOL
FIFA Ranking (March 2010) - 9
Appearance - 14(1930, 1934, 1958, 1962, 1966, 1974, 1978 winner, 1982, 1986 winner, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006)
Greece:
Coach - Otto Rehhagel
Confederation - UEFA
FIFA Ranking (March 2010) - 11
Appearance - 1(1994)
Nigeria:
Coach - Shualbu Amodu
Confederation - CAF
FIFA Ranking (March 2010) - 22
Appearance - 3(1994, 1998, 2002)
Uruguay:
Coach - Oscar Tabarez
Confederation - CONMEBOL
FIFA Ranking (March 2010) - 18
Appearance - 10(1930 winner, 1950 winner, 1954, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1974, 1986, 1990, 2002)
Mexico:
Coach - Javier Agulrre
Confederation - CONCACAF
FIFA Ranking (March 2010) - 15
Appearance - 13(1930, 1950, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1978, 1986, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006)
South Africa:
Coach - Carlos Alberto Parrelra
Confederation - CAF
FIFA Ranking (March 2010) - 85
Appearance - 2(1998, 2002)
France:
Coach - Raymond Domenech
Confederation - UEFA
FIFA Ranking (March 2010) - 8
Appearance - 12(1930, 1934, 1938, 1954, 1958, 1966, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1998 winner, 2002, 2006)
The 2010 FIFA World Cup will be the 19th FIFA World Cup, the premier international football tournament. It is scheduled to take place between 11 June and 11 July 2010 in South Africa. The 2010 FIFA World Cup will be the culmination of a qualification process that began in August 2007 and involved 204 of the 208 FIFA national teams. As such, it matches the 2008 Summer Olympics as the sports event with the most competing nations.
This will be the first time that the tournament has been hosted by an African nation, after South Africa beat Morocco and Egypt in an all-African bidding process. This decision left the Oceania Football Confederation as the only confederation yet to host the FIFA World Cup. Italy are the defending champions. The draw for the finals took place on 4 December 2009 in Cape Town.
Group A | Group B | Group C | Group D |
---|---|---|---|
South Africa | Argentina | England | Germany |
Mexico | Nigeria | United States | Australia |
Uruguay | Korea Republic | Algeria | Serbia |
France | Greece | Slovenia | Ghana |
Group E | Group F | Group G | Group H |
---|---|---|---|
Netherlands | Italy | Brazil | Spain |
Denmark | Paraguay | Korea DPR | Switzerland |
Japan | New Zealand | Côte d'Ivoire | Honduras |
Cameroon | Slovakia | Portugal | Chile |
The official mascot for the 2010 FIFA World Cup is Zakumi (born 16 June 1994 (1994-06-16) (age 15)), an anthropomorphised leopard with green hair, presented on 22 September 2008. His name comes from "ZA", the international abbreviation for South Africa, and "kumi", a word that means "ten" in various African languages. The mascot's colours reflect those of the host nation's playing strip – yellow and green.
Zakumi's birthdate coincides with a day known and celebrated as Youth Day in South Africa and their second group match. The year 1994 marks the first non-racial nationwide elections in South Africa. He will turn 16 in 2010. Andries Odendaal, from Cape Town, created the original character design.
Zakumi's official motto is: "Zakumi's game is Fair Play." The motto was seen in the digital advertisement boards during the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, and it will also appear at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
A contract for the manufacture of Zakumi figurines was awarded to a company owned Dr. Shiaan-Bin Huang, who is an ANC representative member in the South African parliament. The manufacture of the figurines was outsourced to Shanghai Fashion Plastic Products in the PRC. The value of the contract was in excess of USD 112 million. Due to concerns over the loss of jobs in the South African manufacturing sector, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) has suggested that more 2010 merchandise be sourced locally. Allegation of sweatshop conditions at the Shanghai Fashion Plastic Products factory led to an audit by Global Brands Group (master licensee of the Fifa World Cup 2010 brand), which revealed a number of non-compliance issues with GBC policies. The manufacturer denied the allegations of sweatshop conditions and claimed that the working conditions at the Shanghai Fashion Plastic Products factory were "very good"
The match ball for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, manufactured by Adidas, will be named the Jabulani, which means "bringing joy to everyone" in isiZulu. The number eleven plays a prominent role in the new technologically advanced ball: it is the eleventh World Cup match ball made by the German sports equipment maker; it features eleven colours, one for each player on the pitch; and there are eleven official languages in South Africa. The event will also start on the eleventh day of June and end on the eleventh day of July. A special match ball with gold panels will be used at the final held in Johannesburg.
The ball was also used as the match ball of the 2009 FIFA Club World Cup in the United Arab Emirates, and a special version of the ball, the Jabulani Angola, was the match ball of the 2010 African Cup of Nations. This ball is also used in the 2009/2010 season of South Africa's Premier Soccer League, as well as the country's 2010 Nedbank Cup, 2010 Clausura Tournament of Argentina as well as the 2010 MLS season in the USA in the league's colours of blue and green.
The ball is constructed using a new design, consisting of eight thermally-bonded, three-dimensional panels. These are spherically-moulded from ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) and thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU). The surface of the ball is textured with grooves, a technology developed by Adidas called GripnGroove that is intended to improve the ball's aerodynamics. The design has received considerable academic input, being developed in partnership with researchers from Loughborough University, United Kingdom.
The balls are made in China, using latex bladder made in India, thermoplastic polyurethane-elastomer from Taiwan, ethylene vinyl acetate, isotropic polyester/cotton fabric, glue and ink from China.
p/s : My favourite team is Spain...^^
As Gintoki grew older, he began to take note of the way that the country and the world was changing due to the continued invasion and infiltration of the Amanto.As the samurai continued to fight against the Amanto Gintoki joined the Joi faction, choosing to make a stand against the invaders. Gintoki continued to fight against them, being proclaimed a "God of War".
However, Gintoki eventually gave up fighting, tired of spilling blood in order to protect people and his realization that the Amanto were "gloomy foreigners". Shortly after, swords were banned with some of the Samurai turning to other causes and others turning into terrorists continuing to fight the Amanto threat. Gintoki chose to open a freelance business where he could handle matters his own way, while continuing to live by his own samurai code.
Gintoki Sakata is a former samurai living in an era where Aliens known as the Amanto have come to Earth, and the Samurai have been defeated. In the Joi war, he was known as the "White Demon" (白夜叉, Shiroyasha?) due to his silver hair and white coat he wore in battle, which, combined with his impressive capabilities as a swordsman, made him famous among his comrades and struck fear into Amanto. Gintoki now lives with Kagura and Shinpachi, taking on odd jobs.
Gintoki has naturally permed silver hair, which he blames for his lack of a love-life. He has a crush on the TV's news weather girl, Ketsuno Ana. Though several female characters have shown an interest in Gintoki, he usually does not show any response back and merely puts up with them as annoyances and even attacks the ninja Sarutobi Ayame who tends to stalk him.
Gintoki has a sweet tooth and obsession with sugary, sweet foods such as parfait, ice cream, strawberry milk and cake. However, Gintoki has been warned by his Doctor to control his sugar intake. He is also obsessed with reading the manga anthology magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump. Gintoki will go to great lengths to get the latest Jump issue, including reckless behavior. His Jump obsession makes him dream of having supernatural abilities from other Jump heroes.
Despite his appearance and initial behavior, Gintoki has a great amount of pride for the old bushido code. He takes it upon himself to rescue or avenge not only his comrades and friends but also people he barely knows. Despite being a fearsome fighter with nearly unmatched skills, he avoids needless bloodshed after suffering the loss of most of his friends and allies during the Joi war.
Gintoki is trained and versed in the ways of the samurai, including the code of bushido. During the war against the Amanto, Gintoki was known as Shiroyasha, "the White Demon." On the battlefield, his merciless abilities and savage swordsmanship were so notorious that the mere mention of his name is said to have once struck fear in the hearts of every Amanto. Although not much is known of his past, several characters who fought with him have observed that his swordplay is self-taught.
His main weapon of choice is a bokuto with the words "Lake Toya" inscribed on it. Supposedly, Gin bought the sword in Lake Toya during a class trip. In reality, the bokuto he wields is a Hoshikudaki (星砕, lit. star destroyer?), a bokuto created from a ten-thousand year old tree from another planet that cuts through anything. Whenever one breaks or is stolen, Gin replaces it by purchasing it through a TV shopping program, asking them to inscribe "Lake Toya" on it prior to delivery, therefore replacing his old sword. Using this sword, he is often seen cutting, smashing and basically destroying all kinds of strong objects such as a metal cannon. Occasionally, though, Gin has used other swords, including real ones, in combat when he needs to due to a tougher encounter.
During battle, he is known to have displayed unusual strength. Although he is more than capable of fighting evenly against powerful Amanto warriors and various other samurai, Gintoki will not hesitate to use tricks and manipulation if it means a quick and easy victory. He does not like to waste time fighting when using a little brains over brawn will yield a much quicker ending.