Futbol in Argentina

One of the things people from argentina love the most is going to the soccer games. I would give anything to at least go to one soccer game and see my team play, I imagine when my dad tells me when he used to go, and sing there with all the people around him, all the people in the stadiums at the soccer games sing like theres no tomorrow, from the beginning, before the starts, until it ends. its so beautiful, all people around the world say that is fantastic, how you feel when you are there. And so I imagine that and the smell of hotdogs... the nasty smell of other peoples under arm, thats funny but thats what my dad told me! i think it would be the greatet daay of my life, and i see it coming in the future. Not the best stadium ever, but the love for one team is the thing that makes it great.

La Avenida 9 De Julio

Avenida 9 de Julio(9 of july) is an avenue in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Its name honors Argentina's Independence Day.

The avenue runs roughly one kilometer to the west of the Río de la Plata waterfront, from the Retiro district in the north to Constitución station in the south. The avenue has six lanes in each direction. its full of lights everywhere you go. its almos like the Dallas downtown. I remember going to the downtown with my dad alone, and sometimes my sister would come with us, but we tried to keeo her home because she was little at that time, and she cried about everything, cause she wanted everything she could see. There were tons of like stores! it was awesome, it was like a super giant mall from the united states.it was nice. also everytime we went with my dad, we used to eat at a pizzeria, or a restaurant that only sells pizza, oh my god those pizza were the best thing I have ever tried, and im not exaggerating. Only thinking about it and remember thats beatiful smell, my mouth gets all watery, and my stomach hurts because of the hunger!!

So yeah, if i was still living in Argentina, I would of go with my girlfriend and walk and feel the fresh air of the streets of la avenida 9 de julio.

Colectivos

A small public bus. Colectivos thats how they call it in argentina, as well as omnibus, or bondi. This is one way you can travel and enjoy all the views og the country. One thing, colectivos have some advantages and some disadvantages. the advantages are that is affordable traveling in one, maybe you can start talking to people and get along whith them, make friends, it dosen't have many advantages. The disadvantages are people stilling things from you, like purses, money, anything valuable. And also most of the time full of people! sometimes its nasty because they get alltogether, and sometimes people dont take a showers.

There are stops like here in the USA, I imagine its the same in all countries. Theyre distinguished for their color, most of them are colorful like in the picture shown. they're old looking, i hope they trade them for good looking modern ones.

Now What?

A 6-1 beating is not good, is the worst nightmare Argentina could have! Specially against Bolivia. No offense to any Bolivian, but Argentina is Argentina, they are one of the best soccer players in the world, like I have said in other blogs, and Bolivia is not a good national team, if anybody wants to argue, then go check out the soccer National team ranks, and then come talk to me. This are some lame excuses I have heard that took them to the loss; First the excuse about the heights. The Bolivian soccer field is at the top of a mountain, or is tall in height. That’s a good reason, but then why didn’t the coach Maradona took the whole team like a week before so they can get used to it and learn how to breathe up there? Uh? Can somebody tell me?
The second excuse I heard is that they stayed overnight many days celebrating because they have won to Venezuela 4-0. And that Maradona gave them some free days instead of putting them to practice. Can someone explain that? That’s crazy. Now that I know this I think this coach is not worth. The AFA should get another coach for the National team. A good one, with responsibility.

The new Puma V1.08 football boot

Puma launches the second generation of its lightweight v-Speed football product line these shoes are designed for speed and built to get you to the ball even faster.
The v.08 line includes the lightest and latest technology in footwear, apparel and accessories as Puma.

The evolution of the v1.08 football boot from its popular v1.06 predecessor is based on Puma’s unique AptoLast design, and includes several new advancements in technology, performance and durability.
Designed and engineered for the fastest players in the game, the v1.08 boot utilizes Puma’s cross-category UNI construction in which the upper is stitched (not glued or lasted) to the sole. Made from extra-thin lightweight materials with a second layer of microfibre for tactile characteristics, the v1.08 provides feel, grip and performance on the ball.

Pick it up, throw it in the air and feel the weight. Or lack of it. Just 200 grams of weight is achieved as a result of the two-piece outsole construction, carbon fiber forefoot and removable chassis. Looking through the see-through sole, you can check out for yourself the shoe’s double-density, carbon fiber forefoot and advanced design. Lastly, the Puma Cat branding and v1.08 logo on the tongue are complemented by asymmetric speed lacing with special lace loops for a modern on-field look. this incredible boots cost $199.99. some day i would love to have them... soon. they come in different color. my preference is white red and black like those picture showed above.

Will Argentina be better off without Riquelme?

No more Riquelme in the National team? Its kind of awkward asking that question. Why? riquelme missed two practices since Maradona started as a coach because of club commitments Boca Juniors. Too often his temperament lets him down. Many feel he is over-sensitive to criticism and it took only a inoffensive comment from Maradona in a television last week to dent his pride.
“We don’t think the same way,” said Riquelme with an expression resembling a sad puppy whose favourite bone has just been taken away.

“We don’t share the same codes of ethics. While he is the coach of the national team, we can’t work together.”

“Sometimes, it seems like I’m a disaster and can’t make a single pass,” he added, referring to criticism of his recent performances with Boca Juniors. some people say that The national team its going to work better without him, because his style as a player is too slow, and plays going backwards isntead of going forward and attack. I think that Riquelme is a great soccer player, his skills are great! in my own opinion he is great, and its sad that a player with that magnitude leaves the Argentina's National team.

Will Argentina do better without him? Let's see...

Andean Mountain Cats

One of the world's rarest cats is also one of its least known. The Andean mountain cat, sometimes called the "snow leopard" of the Andes, is an elusive species found only at high elevations of the Andean region in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile and Peru (elevations of 5,100 meters.) Little is known about its ecology and behavior. While the species is known to be rare, no one knows how many individuals survive in the wild. This cat specie is the size of a domestic cat, it appears larger because of its long tail and silvery-gray, striped and spotted long fur. The body length is about 60 cm (24 in), the tail length is 42 cm (17 in), the shoulder height is 36 cm (14 in) and the body weight is 5.5 kg (12 lbs). It is one of the least known and rarest of all felines; almost all that is known about it comes from a few observations in the wild and from skins.

Mate

The many colourful packets of yerba-mate are one product that stand out as being a bit different. Mate is the national drink and there is a huge variety of different brands and blends of yerba to suit any Argentinian's taste.
Many of the locals buy their yerba with palo - small bits of stem are mixed in with the semi-ground dried leaves in order to create a milder taste, but packets of yerba sin palo are also available, along with packets mixed with a multitude of herbs and other flavourings. This taste is something similar to the tea. Something you have to try in your life. Delicious mate.

Victory!

The Argentineans defeated France in Marseille yesterday and it was Maradona's 100th day on the job as the team's coach. Goals from Jonas Gutiérrez and Messi (of course he had to score!) ensured a 2-0 victory in front of the packed stadium yesterday. "My guys played well," Maradona said in an interview at the end of the game. “I am very glad. I am happy with their performance.” This brings comfort to all the Argentine people. Now we believe again. I think that we played better without the importan player Riquelme whom his shirt reads number 10 on the back, but maybe im wrong, maybe we could of won by more goals, nobody knows for sure. Everybody played good against the powerful france. France is pretty good, they got second place in 06 world cup, plus they have very skillful players, like Rivery, Henry, Abidal and more. And the vicroty is secondary, what comes first is how the players we have feel the love and passion for the jersey.

New Maradona

In the shanty towns of Buenos Aires they used to call him el pibe, Argentine slang for the little kid. But Diego Armando Maradona, the diminutive Argentine footballer whose ball skills are something you will never forget, became El Maestro with his imminent appointment as manager of the national team. I think the whole Argentina, every country, or maybe people that know about him wanted to see him coach for the national team. Because he still is the greates player ever existed. For you all that dont know him, he almost die in 2004 because he was getting too fat and because of that, he was getting some heart problems, poor Diego, his the best. I admire him very much. Since Maradona is the coach right now, he made some changes in the squad. like the captain, before, it was a defender named Javier Zanetti, he was the captain for many years, and now he gave the responsability to a defense midfielder, Javier Mascherano. He included five local-based players added to the squad on Tuesday. One of them is Juan Sebastian Veron, Maradona recall him to the National Team because Veron was voted Latin American Player of the Year in 2008. And because he had been watching Veron play. Now Argentina faces France on Feb. 11 in Marseille, their second game since Maradona was surprisingly named coach. In his first outing, Argentina beat Scotland 1-0 away in November.



The foreign-based players were named last week.


Goalkeepers: Juan Pablo Carrizo (Lazio), Sergio Romero (AZ Alkmaar)
Defenders: Javier Zanetti (Inter Milan), Martin Demichelis (Bayern Munich), Gabriel Heinze (Real Madrid), Daniel Diaz (Getafe), Nicolas Burdisso (Inter Milan), Walter Samuel (Inter Milan), Marcos Angeleri (Estudiantes), Emiliano Papa (Velez Sarsfield)



Midfielders: Javier Mascherano (Liverpool), Fernando Gago (Real Madrid), Maxi Rodriguez (Atletico Madrid), Jonas Gutierrez (Newcastle United), Luis Gonzalez (Porto), Juan Sebastian Veron (Estudiates), Daniel Montenegro (Independiente), Cristian Ledesma (San Lorenzo)



Forwards: Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Sergio Aguero (Atletico Madrid), Carlos Tevez (Manchester United), Ezequiel Lavezzi (Napoli), Lisandro Lopez (Porto), German Denis (Napoli), Angel Di Maria (Benfica).

Education

In Argentina all children between the ages of six and fourteen have to go to school, by law. these are the clases they teach; Science, Mathematics, Languages, Art, History, Sport and Geography. I am going to tell my side of my school stories, when I was living in Argentina, i went to school until my 6th grade. the teachers are very nice, like all of them, like anywhere in the world i guess, but the students, are horrible. They sometimes dont listen to the teachers, throw stuf and don really behave, not compared to the United States. here, you get in a lot of trouble, if you only talk back to the teacher. i mean, in Argentina you would be send to the office, and get into trouble, but its different. also drugs, there is a lot of drugs going on in Schools, i've seen it, people offered me and showed me. Since that day, I moved to another school. The subjects are harder than they are here. Things we are doing right know, they already did. people have told me that when you go to college, you cannot go outside with friends and spend some time, because all the study you will be doing. That is crazy! now i have to thin twie wether I want to go or stay, but I don't care about it, I preffer my country. Also the schools are not as good as we have it here on the USA. they are all messed up, like poor... some of them, not all, because I wento to some nice private schools, overall, my experience going to school there, in Argentina, when I was a little kid, it was nice.

El Ciclon(The cyclone)

This is my favorite soccer team, i go for them since i was born. My dad goes for San Lorenzo too, so is his fault that i cheer for them. I love this soccer team, they aren't great, but they don't suck either, they were champions of the Argentinian league in Clausura 2007, and almost champions in Clausura 2008. San Lorenzo is one of the best teams in Argentina soccer. San Lorenzo is my heart, my happines sand sadness. As a little kid I have seen this team play only one time, but i dont really remember because i was a little kid, and one of my dreams is to see them play in person. Thats my dream. I think Argentine soccer is the best that could happen in this world. I read on the Internet one day a list that things you should do before you die, and one thing was, go watch a Argentinian soccer game-BOCA JUNIORS v.s RIVER PLATE- Those are the strongest teams in Argentina, but as I say, nothing compared to my life, San Lorenzo de Almagro.