The Republic of Ireland has just tied world champion and #1 ranked Brazil 0-0 in Dublin. The game was just a friendly, but Brazil did bring their full squad. Brazil's starting 11 were: Dida, Cafu, Lucio, Roque Junior, Roberto Carlos, Kleberson, Gilberto Silva, Ze Roberto; Ronaldinho, Kaka, and Ronaldo. Ireland was ranked #15 in the world as of this morning according to FIFA….
Jürgen Klinsmann officially joined the Los Angeles Galaxy yesterday as Technical Advisor. Jürgen has been working witht he Galaxy for some time, but the new title gives the Galaxy and Jürgen more recognition for their work together. One of Jürgen Klinsmann's new interests is how technology can be better used to promote soccer, and I hope to work with him on such projects in the future….
The Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits in Germany (yes, the MP3 and AAC people) is working on an RFID system for soccer balls and jerseys. The chip embedded in the ball has been worked down to the size of a fingernail. The biggest problem right now is suspending the chip in the middle of the ball to measure acceleration and protect against being pummeled as part of the outer skin. An article in German is available here, or you can use Google for the English translation. This technology would be a great coaching tool. Right now in pro soccer there…
The Anschutz Entertainment Group admits to a meeting with Manchester United officials, but no word whether a club purchase was discussed. Manchester has been unloading some big salary stars, which should make them more attractive for a takeover. Current market cap (MNU.L) is £488.4 million….