Word: europeanizer
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Imagine most of baseball's Latin American sluggers returning home en masse to miss a full month of games midway through a regular season, and you'll get some idea of what European pro soccer is currently experiencing. Depleted squads; the general level of play noticeably weakened; and standings shaken up as teams surge or falter as a result of the exodus of so many star performers. The cause of the exodus? The African Cup of Nations, a biennial tournament that pitches the continent's 16 top national teams against one another in a mini-World Cup whose quality...
...European coaches may lament the rules set by the game's governing body that forces them to do without star players whose contracts cost tens of millions of dollars, but there's consolation for the fans: They, at least, can switch over to TV coverage of a tournament that showcases some of their favorite stars playing some of the most thrilling soccer on the planet - not least because of the sheer joy and exuberance exhibited by the players freed from the more restrictive patterns of their European pro teams...
...power, skill, speed and pure passion that have long been hallmarks of the African game have again been gloriously evident this year. More importantly, this year's tournament also confirms soccer-mad Africa's status as one of the major sources of top-flight talent for the European teams that dominate the global game today. Gone are the days when the African Cup boasted a couple of giants such as George Weah or Roger Milla, surrounded by a gaggle of talented but raw prospects. This year, 143 of the 368 players at CAN are drawn from elite European clubs, including...
...global TV audience for the tournament is close to 4 billion; international sports channel Eurosport - which is broadcasting all 32 CAN matches live to the 59 countries it serves - expects over 70 million unique viewers in a potential total audience of 240 million. Eurosport's coverage, of course, gives European franchises a second reason for cursing CAN: Not only has it robbed them of some of their top players for a month, the African tournament is also stealing TV viewers away from European club fixtures...
...majority in the Senate on Monday when Mastella announced that he was pulling out of the coalition following a magistrate's filing of influence-peddling charges against him and his local politician wife. Most expected Prodi to promptly submit his resignation, but the sometimes stubborn 68-year-old former European Union president challenged his fellow lawmakers to the individual oral vote on Thursday. After the vote, Prodi submitted his resignation to President of the Republic Giorgio Napolitano, who now has the task of either searching for Parliamentary support for a bipartisan caretaker government or calling snap elections. Berlusconi, his eyes...