After a few days off, the World Cup returns tomorrow with a ferocity that no other sporting event can rival.  Over the weekend we saw Germany systematically annihilate Argentina by 4 goals to none and Spain get lucky against Paraguay.  Neither of those results should have been surprising to anyone, unless you are a Messi-faithful, in which case you failed to see the problems in the Argentine squad that were not exposed earlier because they hadn't faced a side as organized and disciplined as the Germans.  Without further adu here are my predictions for the semi final showdowns.

Netherlands v Uruguay

Prediction: Netherlands 3-1 Uruguay

Why:  The Netherlands have been my pick to win the entire tournament and everyone did not believe me.  A few posts back I mentioned my friend saying that history did not favor them, but I think that issue no longer applies and here's why.  They have earned their stripes: they defeated Brazil fair and square.  The Brazilians have shown the most quality as a squad so far in my opinion and the Netherlands found a way to come back from an early deficit to beat them.  They succeeded in tiring out the Brazilians (which was a very intelligent tactical move by van Marwijk) and made them lose their shape and composure towards the end of the game.  That was fun to watch.

As far as Uruguay is concerned, much responsibility will be placed on Diego Forlan's shoulders since Suarez's "Hand of God" in the QF against Ghana sees him performing a Hudini disappearing act in the Semi's.  Suarez has 3 of the 8 goals scored by Uruguay in the entire tournament. That's one hell of a loss for them.  The Dutch on the other hand don't have a "go-to" striker and share the responsibility pretty evenly.  This goes to show a more composed approach to the game that has been successful so far with the Oranje winning every single game they have played so far.  However, Heitinga will have to keep tabs on Forlan the entire game and Van Bommel will be key in the middle of the park.

Spain v Germany

Prediction:  Germany 3-2 Spain

Why: This will be a test of tactics and discipline.  Whoever can be the most composed and the most disciplined will win this game.  I presume this will be the Germans because they have been very consistent in their sonning of teams in this World Cup.  Spain has also been very impressive, but too much goal-scoring responsibility has been placed on David Villa's shoulders.  I believe that Germany will have no problems keeping tabs on the striker.  Germany has managed to amass 13 goals in 5 matches, averaging out to 2.6 goals a game.  Spain has only scored 6 goals so far with David Villa being responsible for 5 and Iniesta for the other one.  Hardly the showing of a complete squad.  If you have watched Spain play, only the goal against Portugal was a result of great one-two passing between Iniesta, Xavi and finally Villa.  The others have been moments of sheer brilliance from Villa.  At this stage in the World Cup, and in this era of futbol, great teams tend to be more successful than individual players (if you get me).  David Villa can not single-handedly beat Germany. Thus, I'm touting the Germans to win this one.  Keep your eye out for the Kloser to shut the door on Spain's hopes for their first World Cup.

So it looks like we will be witnessing an all European final once again. I'll predict the final once I see the Semi's, but I'm still sticking with the Netherlands to go all the way even though Germany is very teasing.

What are your predictions? I presume that at this stage in the tournament it is almost impossible to be wrong if you've been keeping up with the tournament.

Enjoy the games tomorrow and the next day.  Thanks for reading and please follow us on twitter @LiveBrtheFutbol.

What's up guys. I'm really excited about what I have to show you guys, which you probably see above this post. What that is is a 40 second teaser/trailer for the full Live Breathe Futbol commercial/advert that is coming very soon.

Why the phrase? When I examined what I wanted to do with Live Breathe Futbol as a brand I realized that all the shirts and every design is centered around one specific moment that has occurred in futbol or one specific moment that we as fans of the game can all relate to.  For me and I'm sure for you all that's one of the things we love about the game of futbol.  Those moments that change everything; the moments that change history.  I won't speak too much on that in this post, but we witnessed that today in the QF match between Ghana and Uruguay.  Epic stuff.

Love to hear what you guys think about the video! Leave a comment and catch us on twitter: @LiveBrtheFutbol as we ramble about futbol and other nonsense!!

P.S. I'm considering doing a video-blog (vlog?) series of posts, what do you guys think? Would you rather read or watch a video? Let me know what you think in the comments!

The World Cup continues in the a.m. Germany v Argentina and then Spain v Paraguay. Great stuff!

Earlier today, I was working on this post on my mobile phone, had it finished and when I clicked to post, the 3G signal disappeared and somehow the mobile gods thought it'd be funny to make all my futbol prose disappear.  Anyhow, I will try my best to cover everything I had to say. Here we go.

Today we witnessed two epic matches between four well qualified teams.  England faced Germany and the Argentinians suited up in clashing blues against the Mexicans.  The games were both awesome, there is no denying that, but what tainted them, for me at least, was the two horrible calls made by the referees in both games in regards to goals.

In the England game, Frank Lampard scores a sweet goal that bounces off the crossbar and into the goal.  It is clearly two feet or so behind the line, but the referee disallows the goal.  This would've tied the game at 2-2 and it would've been, arguably, a different game.  Sure the Germans played a better overall game, but there's no denying the psychological effect of such a call on a struggling England side.  What ever happened to the striker getting the advantage in those situations? That's game one.

Game two.  Early in the Mexico/Argentina game Mexico played with a lot of confidence and had two great shots on goal that easily could've gone in and would've left the Maradona-faithful seeking a new deity.  However, Messi had other plans and played the ball into Tevez who heads it in, but is CLEARLY offside.  The referee lets the goal stand and the Mexican players swarm the linesman in fury.  After about a minute or so, the referee sends them back to the pitch and the goal stands.  My question is, if it was clearly a goal, why did the referee run over to the linesman after it had already been called a goal?  This was the paradigm shift in the game as it broke the Mexicans' momentum and it was all downhill from that moment forth.

Both calls will undoubtedly lead to the resurgence of the issue of goal line technology in futbol games.  If you remember correctly the issue was widely discussed after Thierry Henry's handball against Ireland that sent France to South Africa and the Irish back home.

Futbol is a modern game in a modern era and it is the biggest in the world.  Almost every other sport has some form of technology in place to aid officials in making the right calls during matches.  Why not futbol? ESPN as well as other broadcasting stations have cameras on the goal net for crying out loud, why can't FIFA? If you think about the dynamic of a futbol match where we see 1 or 2 goals on average/game, getting a call wrong in regards to a goal is a big deal.

I brought up the question to a smart guy I know and he is against goal line technology.  He says that it slows down the pace of the game and it is anti-futbol in the sense that it leaves us nothing to talk about after the game.  Goal line technology makes futbol a game of absolutes with no ambiguity and room for debate.  I see his point, but I disagree.  Billions of dollars/pounds/Euros/Yen/Pesos are invested in futbol and aside from the monetary aspect of it, we as fans want to see a fair game.  That's what goal line technology does; it makes the game fair.  Now, the issue becomes, if implemented, to what extent is the technology used?  My friend brought up a scenario that what if a foul is committed on the center of the pitch and everyone stops, but the referee lets the play go on and a goal is scored from that, will goal line technology review the foul and thus disallow the goal?  I think goal line technology should be used only in instances like we saw today.  Instances where the ball is over the line, but the referee isn't sure; instances where a player in the box is offside, or could be offside.  These moments won't slow down the game in my opinion.  I'm for goal line technology.  Horrible calls like we saw today taint the game for me and it is a shame that FIFA, or rather, Sepp Blatter, does not favor technology in futbol.  What are your thoughts on goal line technology? Are you for it? Are you against it? I'd love to hear what you think in the comments!! Thanks for reading and as always you can follow us on Twitter: @LiveBrtheFutbol

The Games continue in the a.m. !! Viva Futbol.

Another interesting day of futbol took place all over South Africa today.  Paraguay took on Slovakia, Italy faced New Zealand and the Brazilians faced Cote d'Ivoire.  The saga continues.  On to the reviews.

Italy v New Zealand

After a first round of games that saw most teams being understandably cautious I hoped we would see the defending champions come out gunning to secure three points against 78th ranked New Zealand.  Wait, I momentarily forgot that we are talking about Italy.   New Zealand's Shane Smeltz opens up the scoring in the 6th minute to give them a shock lead.  Daniele De Rossi DIVES in the box (yeah I said it) and earns the Azzuri a penalty that is tucked away by Vincenzo Iaquinta in the 28th minute.  1-1 draw.  After the second round of play the Italians are tied for second place with two points.  A dismal showing by the current World Champions.

Paraguay v Slovakia

I didn't wake up in time to catch this game (working late sucks especially during the World Cup).  It ended 2-0 with Paraguay sitting at the top of Group F with 4 points.  Enrique Vera opens up the scoring in the 26th minute to put Paraguay ahead.  Cristian Riveros secures the 3 points in the 85th minute from an assist by Paulo da Silva.

Cote d'Ivoire v Brazil

This is probably the game the whole world was looking forward to.  Why? The strongest African side versus the Brazilians.  The stage was set for a game of epic proportions.  And it did not disappoint.  Except for the hideous, suffocatingly-tight jerseys donned by the Elephants.  But this isn't a fashion blog, so onto actual futbol commentary.  For the first twenty minutes I was very proud of the Elephants for holding onto the ball and more or less controlling the tempo of the game and pressing forward.  Unfortunately, my pride took a massive hit in the 24th minute when Luiz Fabiano decided that it was a good idea to score his first goal in a World Cup against the Ivory Coast.  The build up play was beautiful one touch futbol between Fabiano and Kaka to set up the goal.

Three minutes into the second half Fabiano, with his confidence peaking, scores a pretty nice goal that was preceded by what is, perhaps, the greatest display of patty cake ever.  In real time the goal was exceptional.  He made the Ivory Coast defense look like a volleyball net and then places the ball on his left food to guide it past Boubacar Barry.  However, thanks to the super duper slow-mo instant replay fancied by ESPN/ABC in this World Cup, it becomes evident that Fabiano's first touch was with his left arm and his "chest" touch to control the ball right before he fires it home was indeed his right bicep.  Rubbish.  What infuriated me the more, thanks again to the super slow mo, was the referee jogging back with Fabiano after the goal and touching his left bicep and smiling with Fabiano presumably saying "I saw your handball, but sick goal bro! I wasn't gonna disallow that!" Despicable.

Dindane is taken off and Gervinho comes on.  Why? After his exceptional display against Portugal in the first round of play why did he start their most important game on the bench?? I am seriously appalled at some of the decision making in regards to African sides so far.  The better players are either not played or are brought on when it is a little bit too late. Anyhow, the difference is immediately evident.  Gervinho presses forward and cuts through the Brazilian defense, but again the finish is just not there.  Then the lesson in Joga Bonito is completed by Kaka's beautiful pass into the box that Elano catches with his left foot and slices it past Barry to put the Brazilians up 3-0.  Game over.  Didier Drogba was a non-factor in this game until his header in the 78th minute from a beautiful cross from Yaya Toure.  It was a beautiful finish and I won't rag on Drogba too much.  It's tough playing with a broken arm.  I commend him for playing the entire game.

The fight.

We need to address (we meaning futbol fans and lovers of the sport and FIFA and the players) the issue of diving and hideous acting in futbol.  It's horrible and it's a disgrace.  You bump into Kaka, who's clearly just guarding himself, he hits you in the chest and you fall to the floor clutching your face. Stop it.  Perhaps the holiest and well-mannered player in all of futbol gets sent off for a bogus challenge. Why not give the diver a card?  It's all over though, the Brazilians already had the game in the bag and now Ivory Coast find themselves with only one point after two games.  Keep the faith boys, hopefully Portugal can draw agaisnt North Korea, get obliterated by Brazil and you can defeat the North Koreans.  I highly doubt it will happen like that, but again, you never know.

Enjoy the games.  The saga begins again tomorrow morning with Portugal taking on North Korea.  Thank you all for reading, drop a comment if you will or catch us on twitter: @LiveBrtheFutbol rambling on about futbol and other uselessness.  Until next time, joga bonito!!

Hey guys, just wanted to give you a taste of what is to come at LIVE BREATHE FUTBOL in the near future. 
We are still working hard on the World Cup designs, because we want to make it perfect.  As an African this World Cup is special to me and means a great deal to a lot of people, so we must get it right.  Anyhow, here's a new tee that will be available in the web store in the next few days. 

We appreciate your feedback.  Please leave us a comment, shoot us an email or follow us on twitter.  Thanks! and LIVE BREATHE FUTBOL!

So as custom to the World Cup we get a video to show how the World Cup unites the world. It starts off by showing everything that is wrong in the world today and how for one month all of that takes second stage to the dreams of seeing your country win the big game. What happens if your country didn't make it to the world cup?