Word: soccers
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...every year. The optimistic citizens of Chengdu, such as Liu Xindi, couldn't imagine anything else. Liu, 33, has seen his income skyrocket 20-fold since he began working 15 years ago. Now Liu, who sells ads for the local Yellow Pages, can splurge whenever he wants on his soccer shoes, badminton racquets and biking gear. But he still thinks the good times are just starting to roll. "Of course, I think my life will be better in the future," Liu says confidently. "The economy of the city is growing, and it's not going to stop. There...
...brief, confetti-filled moment this summer, Italy had regained its rightful place atop the world of soccer. With stingy defense, elegant passing and icy shootout nerves - oh yes, and the little matter of French star Zinedine Zidane's timely late championship game headbutt (and ejection) - Italy's national team won its first World Cup since 1982. To a country that follows the sport of calcio more like popular religion than just a national pastime, it seemed like a sign from the gods...
...turned out, the confetti raining down and the golden trophy glowing above the head of captain Fabio Cannavaro was just a flickering interlude in what is turning out to be among the darkest periods ever for Italian soccer. The shadow had already been cast before the June-to-July victorious run in Germany, as a referee scandal consumed many of Italy's top league teams. Wire-tapped phone calls revealed that team officials orchestrated referee selection, and everyone from league bosses to politicians to television commentators had a foot in the alleged "system" of influence. The controversy eventually forced Juventus...
...from Catania, Sicily. Initial threats from the government to actually shut down the entire league until security could be guaranteed have given way to the less extreme measures, which turn out to be similar to bills approved by Parliament in the past, but subsequently not enforced. Violence at soccer games has been a weekly affair for the past decade. Fan organizations (known as Ultras) often at the center of riots against police and opposing supporters are known to intimidate team owners into giving them preferential treatment. While some politicians initially spoke of shutting down the league, a more honest, though...
...reason for its success. Nov. 2: After cruising through the Ivy League and drawing a number 10 seed in the NCAA tournament, NCAA Player of the Year Andre U. Akpan ’10 scores 10 goals in three games to lead the Crimson men’s soccer team to the Final Four. The squad bows out to number one seed (and eventual champion) Virginia, 2-1, in penalty kicks. The Virginia Cavaliers’ head coach calls the game, “the Game,” angering Yalies everywhere. From then on, Harvard will have two playings...