Watch World Cup 2010 Online – http://worldcup2010videos.com
The World Cup is just a corner away!

Keeping up with all the matches, goals, highlights, and news may be overwhelming on TV.
Thats why “Watch World Cup 2010 Online” provides free streaming videos online so you don’t miss a thing!

They currently have a list of friendlies, cool videos, and are preparing to post the match highlights for the World Cup 2010 commencing in June 11th 2010.

Make sure you check out their website at:
http://worldcup2010videos.com

Subscribe to their Facebook Fan Page:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=129756973717902&v=wall

I’m looking at adding a forum, connect with SNS services, etc – so we can make this website interactive and we can all help each other towards our common goal – getting SICK at soccer and doing SICK soccer moves.

Look forward to future posts.

Retirement for Professional Athletes in General
This is something I found about average retirement age for athletes:

The average world class athlete retires from his sport at the age of 33. Incredibly, the average NFL player is retired by the age of 28, the average world class wrestler by 24, and the average elite gymnast by 19.

I suddenly became anxious when I read this. I was expecting to compete till 40…but the average looks pretty young. But then I realized something very important:

• American Football emphasizes more on physical demands than soccer
• Wrestling injuries, especially in the neck, can put a stop to one’s career pretty quickly
• Romario, at 44, still plays for a professional team to this day!
• In soccer, intellect is a much more valuable asset than physical ability

Why do some soccer players retire early then?
It’s stupid to come up with a single reason why some players retire earlier than others. There’s a multitude of reasons.
However in this analysis, I will be comparing 3 groups:

Power Players
Adriano, Christian Vieri, Gabriel Batistuta

Speedy Players
Michael Owen, Ronaldo (Original)

Technical Players (or players with an asset you can’t take away)
Zidane, Zola, Maldini, Alan Shearer, Pele

My Personal Analysis
Let’s investigate the “peak age” where these players played their best:

Power Players: Vieri (24~29), Batistuta (22~31), Adriano (20~24)
Speedy Players: Owen (18~23), Ronaldo (18~29)
Technical/Intelligent Players: Zola (?~34), Maldini (?~36), Shearer (22~35), Zidane (23~33), Pele (~34)
According to my analysis (whether you agree or not), do you see the trend between Power/Speed players against Technical Players? The players in the technical group tends to play much longer than the players in the other groups.
Not saying the other players are stupid. They just relied more upon physical attributes which diminish greater over time than technical and intelligence attributes.

This is one of the reasons why Owen’s peak was past at 23, even though Maldini was playing consistently til 40!
It’s very important for a team to have players like Michael Owen who can blaze past players with his speed to reach the end of the ball. But if you put yourself in Owen’s shoes, it hurts to see fresh young players who have greater physical abilities than him – because that’s what he relied on to produce results.

Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi realized this early. He’s one of my favorite players.

When he was 19~21, he used to dribble all the time. He dribbled past 5 players for f*ck sakes!

However, now it’s like he’s a different player. As of February 15th 2010, Messi has the highest assist rate (8 assists) this season. Incredible. Even if he tears his Achilles Tendon which will make him slower than my grandma, he’ll still keep on playing way over his 30’s. Why? Because he’s developed intelligence. He relies much less upon his physical abilities.

It’s not the dribbling that astonishes me – it’s his positioning, how he connect the passes, and the brilliant assists he does to help the team thrive. On the surface, he has a brand: a great dribbler. But now he’s developed an asset that no-one can take away – elegance and intelligence.

You can say the same for Cristiano Ronaldo. He used to suck balls when he came to Man Utd. Look how effective he’s become now.

Beckham? If you take away his passing, crossing, and decision making abilities, I can beat his lilly ass any day.

That’s all he has – and that’s all he needs! He’s slow, doesn’t run at all, and his left foot is a flop. At 34 he’s playing for AC Milan – one of the best in the world.

Let’s not forget Romario. He was still at his peak bagging goals like crazy at 36! He had an innate ability to finish, and insane technique. I’m probably stronger than him physically and I’d beat him in a 100m spring now. But the difference between him and me boils down to intelligence and technique. Here’s a video to remind you of this monster:

So how do you develop intelligence?
To be honest, demographics plays an important role. When I used to live in England and Australia, the emphasis was all on physique, not intelligence. The technical/intelligence level of players there were very low compared to the rest of the world.

After talking to people who understand intelligence,  I learned that soccer’s not about running back and forth. It’s not  about “sticking to your man like glue.” It’s not just about pumping up and motivating yourself. It’s a game of elegance. It’s using your intelligence. If I take one good look at a player, I can tell immediately whether he’s intelligent or not. And it doesn’t come overnight. But if you have a system in place that makes intelligence as important or even more than your physical training, you’ll see the difference in no time!

The purpose of this article was just to give you an awareness that intelligence is important.

But I’ll give you a short tip:

Watch professional soccer matches and analyze it

If you’re going to analyze a match however, you’ll need to take a very different stand-point, a fresh new perspective on the game of soccer.

Changing your perspective
What do you see here? A cheap old 30 cent light bulb you’d find anywhere.

Dig Deeper…

What do you see now? I see a state of the art piece of technology which took decades of hard-work, trial-and-error, changing strategies, experimenting, constant inspiration, and the burning desire to persevere until one succeeds.

It’s like the game of soccer, what’s on the surface is Steven Gerrard’s dynamic long-shot, and Ronaldo’s dribble past 3 players to score a brilliant goal. However, don’t make that your primary focus. Study the build up to the goals, the positioning of the players off the ball (especially in YOUR position – ie: Forward, Wing, Left-Back). Look at how players create space and how their team-mates run into that space to receive the ball. Study instead how Steven Gerrard was able to get into that space which allowed him to do the long-shot. Study the positioning of his feet next to the ball, how much he pulls back his legs when shooting, and where he lands after he shoots.

The quality is in the details.
At first it may be difficult but do it consistently and that intelligence I’m talking about will come extremely quickly!
Best of luck training!

Side note
I was on my Mac over an hour looking at ways to increase your sports career as an elite athlete. I was originally trying to find ways to keep you young physically, but this article turned out to be a blast!
I’ll get to more on reducing cell oxidation and using supplements as a way of extending your sports career physically. Stay tuned & feel free to comment!

The objective of this article is to learn how much calories you need as a soccer player depending on your level of output and training frequency. I will also teach you the optimal way to increase those calories and the source you should be eating it from.

I’m a maniac when it comes to proper nutrition.
You can’t eat poorly and expect to perform well.
Becoming a world-class football requires you to become a manager for your own body. It’s not just about going out to kick a ball.

I’ve been looking through several websites to find out how much food (fuel) you actually need to perform at your best.

The calories you need depends on your output and personal goals
There isn’t a “set” amount of calories that you need to take. That’s just stupid.

The amount of calories you need depends largely on 3 things:

1. Current Physical Status
   Your age, height, and weight (age can be trivial because it’s not absolute – it’s relative. I’m 23 but I feel like 16 so that’s the number I use)
2. Level of Activity
   Do you exercise once a week or every single day? Is your exercise vigorous (soccer) or light (jogging)? How consistent are you?
   Obviously vigorous exercise like soccer requires more calories than jogging because in soccer you require more energy.
   If you exercise frequently then again, you’ll need higher calories.
3. Weight Goal
   I currently weight 58kg (=127lb). Yes I’m Asian. Yes I’m skinny. And yes I want to increase my weight, so I take more calories.
   How about you? Overweight? Eat less. Underweight? Dig in! Do you love your weight? Then maintain it!
   Read the Slow Gains section below to see how much you should be gaining per week.

Ok, Give it to me baby, how much do I need!?
I’ve tried many calorie counters but most of them underestimate the amount you need to keep you growing, and help you recover quickly.
Calories per hour is your place to find out!

Slow Gains
On the calorie website, you can choose to gain: 1lb, 1.5lb, 2lb per week. I strongly recommend 1lb per week if you’re looking to gain weight. It’s healthier to let your body adjust itself to the weight, and if you become too heavy too quickly, it could adversely affect your soccer performance. Imagine suddenly placing a 0.5g weight strap on your legs – you’ll feel heavier and your performance is sure to drop! But if you instead place 0.1grams the first day, 0.2grams the next…your body will adjust to the weight and your performance will be consistent.

*Don’t be such a bitch about it!
One of the most important tips to keep you motivated and out of stress! When I first found out the amount of calories I need, I wanted to exactly meet that goal. I wanted perfection.
Guess what happened? I was overwhelmed and unhappy because I wouldn’t be able to meet my goal all the time.

Then I remembered my 80-20 rule. If you’re 80% on target, FUCKING GREAT JOB! For example, I need 3600 calories according to the website above.
If I consume 3000 cals/day, I’m a winner. If I consume 4000 cals, I’m still a winner.
I understand it takes time to adjust to a new diet so I learned to take it easy on myself.

In the longer-term I know I’ll be closer to my goal of 3600 calories per day on a consistent basis and I’m getting better at it.

The source of your calories
I’ll get to more on this in the future. Just remember that when you eat Carbs like bread, rice, and pasta – get it from wholemeal sources with a Low GI.

People at many times are so obsessed about calories (especially here in Japan!) that they are ignorant about other factors which come into play! I’ll help you out:
Avoid/Eliminate: High GI food, Trans fat, highly saturated fat, excess alcohol, eating less than 3 hours before bed (bad on your digestive system), sugary foods (milk chocolate/coke), etc
Eat: 5-7 servings of fruits+veggies (raw/steamed is best to retain vitamins), lots of purified/filtered water, organic (preferably), etc.

Commit to following 1 or 2 tips above and slowly build up. You’ll feel the energy

Quick Calories
I found it extremely hard to increase my calorie intake to 3600 kcal. So I decided to eat foods with high calories (but it still has to be Grade A food!)

• Wholemeal/Wholegrain bread: 70
• Bananas: 100+
• Avocados: 200~300
• Handful of Almonds: 100+
• Veggies: they have very little calories yet you NEED to eat them to perform. MINIMUM 5 cups+ per day (mainly green vegetables)

(Reference: http://caloriecount.about.com/)

Personal Goals
Personally regarding my physical body, I’m doing extremely poorly. I made a big mistake going on a vegetarian/vegan diet (on and off) for a year. As a result, I lost 4~5kg and my body fat % is down to 6% (the latter I don’t mind)!
My current weight is 58kg. My goal is roughly 65~68kg with a body fat of 6~8%.

A vegetarian diet was great for energy. But in soccer, you need dynamic power and strength, and the aggression to win over your opponents. Meat will provide you with the energy you get from Vitamin B12 (which lacks in a veggie diet) and the proteins to repair and build your body. At the moment, I only eat meat from Chicken (breast), Fish (blue fishes like sardines with high DHA), and Plant sources to cut down on saturated fat.