As rivalries go, the competition between Manchester City and Manchester United (lovingly known as Man. U by its fans, and by many other less affectionate name by rivals) is a strange one. Unlike Edinburgh’s Hearts and Hibs or Liverpool’s Everton and LFC, City and United’s fans aren’t known for being from two different sections of town.

No, in Manchester the divide is much simpler — Mancunians root for City, and everybody else? Well, they go nuts for United.

As some City fans like to say, Old Trafford (United’s famous home ground) isn’t actually within Manchester’s city limits — «and neither are 98% of United fans.»

Indeed, United has official supporters clubs spread far and wide, from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to Shanghai, China,  from Ottawa, Canada, to Sydney, Australia. Osama bin Laden was even rumoured to be a Man U  fan in his youth.

So where does the rivalry between the two originate, and what is it about the sides that makes their supporters go wild?

Part of the rivalry may stem from the different expectations that surround each of them. Founded as Newton Heath L&YR F.C. in 1878 as the works team of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway depot — two years before City — United boasts a world-wide reputation and is usually found in the top-5 teams in the English Premiership. Because of this, supporters from out-of-town (and out-of-country) fill Manchester hotels well in advance of games, chomping at the bit for the opportunity to watch excellent players who are famous the world over.

Conversely, fans of Man City — founded as St. Mark’s (West Gorton) in 1880 by Anna Connell and two churchwardens of St. Mark’s Church, in Gorton, east Manchester, and claimed to have early links to local Freemasonry — tend to be native Mancunians.

At local derby time it can turn into quite a production. For fully-booked hotels Manchester natives are not the customers to expect. Rather, they support City with enthusiasm.

What are the prospects for each team in the upcoming season? Manchester United has a strong team, but some of their players are looked at as being past their best playing days. Sir Alex Ferguson, who has managed the team since 1986, might need to push the players harder to have the same level of success Man U has enjoyed in previous years. Manchester City, with its more home-grown reputation, should perform to expectations in the upcoming season — but bear in mind that for many City fans, a season where they beat their rival neighbors and win bragging rights over out-of-town Man U fans can usually be considered a successful one.

In booking a trip to see either teams, it’s a good idea to plan ahead, especially when traveling to Manchester during a United game. This is when Manchester’s hotels fill up far in advance, especially those located around Old Trafford, and leaving your plans till the last minute can mean you (and anyone traveling with you to see the game) might be left out in the cold.

The 2009-2010 season promises to be an exciting one for both of Manchester’s Premier League teams. Who will come out next May with the better record and happier fans? Time will tell, but for many, the choice of who to support is already made.

Jo Nesbo was born in Norway 1960. He is an author and musician, but it has not always been like that. He grew up in a city named Molde, where he spent most of his time playing football. He grew up with the dream to become a professional player for Tottenham Hotspur FC in England. Unfortunately he suffered some very bad injuries in both hs knees and had to retire from football at a very young age.

Nesbo did not become a pro footballer, but he moved on with studies and graduated from Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration with a degree in Economics. After that he started working as freelance journalist, stockbroker and musician, and later moved on to writing books.

Nesbo is a multi talented guy who had great success in everything he do. As a songwriter and musician he have done very good in his home country. He made one album where he went solo, and 5 albums with the band Di Derre. As an author his books have been translated into almost 40 different languages.

Jo Nesbo, the author

Nesbo have written 14 books since his debut in 1997. The latest book «The Leopard» sold over 160 000 in the first week in his home country (less than 5 million inhabitants) and at in 2008 it was the fastest selling Norwegian novel ever. He sold a total of about 1,5 million books in total in Norwegian (Number from 2008). He won lots of prizes for his books and was even shortlisted for Crime Writers’ Associations Duncan Lawrie International Dagger 2007.

Harry Hole series.

Nesbo started out writing about Harry Hole, a tough detective working to solve crimes on the streets of Oslo. He takes on murderers, bank robbers, gangsters and the establishment. The series about Harry Hole is the best known and most sold books from the author.

Doctor Proctor series.

Follows the story of Doctor Proctor, a crazy professor who is waiting for his big break, his next-door neighbor Lise and her peculiar friend Bulle. The ruthless twins Truls and Trym Thrane sometime lurk in the background. This series is reminiscent of Roald Dahl’s books. It deals with the «importance of being who you are and the ability of human creativity and imagination to give you the courage to do so».

Nesbo have also written two stand alone novels, a documentary and collection of short stories in one book.

I would give the advice to try out the books from this great author.

Soccer song is a song which is basically composed for a particular soccer association. It is common to hear the crowd of fans singing songs or chants during the games. These songs are usually pop or rap and used for special team or event. Chants are also another type of song usually sung by fans or cheering squad during competitions in order to encourage their home team.

These songs are mostly based on hymns or famous pop songs. In some instances, these songs are sung by supporters aimed at the opposing team who are not playing very well or to a specific player who is not well known and also to the referee mostly when there is an unfavorable decision.

There are also songs exclusively for official cup tournaments for instance FA Cup, Football League Cup. The most popular song which is used for these matches is by the tune of the song popularized by Queen titled We Are the Champions.

Some teams have traditional songs which are known by majority of their fans such as West Ham United’s I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles and the Leeds United’s Marching on Together.

Some of these clubs have songs which are only known to small groups of fans. However, some of the most popular songs are so famous that most of the crowd knows how to sing it. These songs are sometimes played over loudspeakers.

These soccer songs add up some spice to the game and allow active participation from the crowd. These songs serve as a means to show the support of the fans to their favorite teams.

The North London derby between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur is one of the most eagerly-awaited events in the calendars of both sets of fans. The two clubs have faced one another in top-flight football 156 times since the 1900s, and each hotly-contested derby is accompanied by a crackling atmosphere throughout this populous corner of the city as Londoners exchange taunts, quips and largely good-natured banter about their predictions for the match.

The 156 clashes to date have produced 66 Arsenal wins, 49 Tottenham victories and 41 draws, and plenty of memorable moments. Who can forget the nine-goal thriller at White Hart Lane in 2004 – Noureddine Naybet opened the scoring for Spurs late in the first half, and despite his teammates Defoe, Ledley King and Kanoute joining him on the scoresheet they were at last out-Gunned with the match finishing 4-5 to Arsenal.

In 2006, the last derby ever to be hosted by Arsenal at the old Highbury ground was, again, full of excitement and controversy. Spurs were dominant, but when Robbie Keane capitalised by tapping in a brilliant cross from Edgar Davids in the second half, Gunners players complained that he should have stopped play because Emmanuel Eboue had been injured in a collision with teammate Gilberto. Managers Arsène Wenger and Martin Jol almost came to blows on the touchline over the incident and had to be kept apart by the fourth official, while Davids was eventually sent off and Thierry Henry saved face for his side with a typically stylish goal in the 84th minute leaving the teams with a point apiece.

The next derby will fall just before Christmas, on 22 December 2007, at Arsenal’s huge new Emirates stadium which is regularly filled to almost its capacity of 60, 432. It’s set to be a cracking game as the home side will want to defend their place at, or near, the top of the table and please fans with the stylish, flowing football that has become their trademark. They are having a brilliant season so far, shaking off concerns about how they would fare after the departure of the legendary Henry along with Freddy Ljungberg, Ashley Cole and Sol Campbell, to become unbeaten in all League and Champions League games as of mid-November.

The story at Tottenham couldn’t be more different – after a promising pre-season and transfers leaving Martin Jol apparently spoilt for choice with four world-class strikers, it’s been a shocking start with pitiful results plunging Spurs into the relegation zone in October and off-pitch drama leading the popular Jol to leave the club amid accusations and ugly rumours surfacing during an uninspiring UEFA cup match. Under new manager Juande Ramos, previously of Sevilla, Tottenham have started to find their feet, maintaining clean sheets in wins against Blackpool, Hapoel Tel-Aviv and Wigan.

But it remains to be seen how the struggling Spurs will fare against the really big boys of the Premier League and in the derby they’ll be looking to continue their sharp ascent of the table and show what they’re made of.

It’s definitely going to be one to watch and as a Saturday afternoon fixture (3pm) a few warming beverages will surely be called for afterwards. For traveling fans, the Emirates is easily accessible by train and Tube and there is a good selection of hotels in Kings Cross nearby so that the big match can be transformed into a Christmas city break – the centre of London’s not exactly short on attractive destinations for non-fanatical family members, too.

One of the most beloved aspects of attending a sports event is the unpredictability. As the old saying goes, «On any given Sunday, anything can happen.» However, one thing you’re always guaranteed to witness is a plethora of different and unique stadium flags and printed banners supporting one side or the other.

However, the Italian Football Club Tottenham Hotspur FC is cutting down on the stadium flags they’re allowing, publicly declaring that any fans bringing Israeli flags to their stadium will have them confiscated. The football club, which apparently has a very strong Jewish following, posted the following message on its official website: «police authorities have advised that those flags showing the Star of David will not be allowed access and may be confiscated. Please respect this request.»

That being said, the exact opposite may be what it takes to put a winning product on the field. During the 2010 NFL season, the San Francisco 49ers played against the Denver Broncos at Wembley Stadium in London, England. Once-a-year the NFL has been playing a single game in England, a move that has gotten criticism for a plethora of reasons, most notably that American football fans in London don’t have a specific team to support.

As a means for counteracting the games attendances unfamiliarity with the teams and lack of loyalty to one side, the National Football League put stadium flags with the 49ers symbol on every seat for fans to wave. These stadium flags gave the «Niners» an actual home-field advantage, and the support from the English did not go unnoticed by the San Francisco players.

«Oh my goodness,» cornerback Shawntae Spencer said when asked about the stadium flags. «We’ve got to get an NFL team over here. I’ll tell you what the energy was unbelievable.» «Oh, man, I had a ball,» said linebacker and 49ers team captain Takeo Spikes. «I wish I could play a game here every year.»

When asked about the stadium flags, San Francisco quarterback Troy Smith couldn’t stop raving about the English crowd. «The people here in London are incredible people — some of the most cordial people that you’ll ever meet,» Smith said. «I’ve done nothing but have a great time since I’ve been here.»

Undoubtedly there were likely a lot more factors other than the stadium flags that contributed to the enjoyment of the players visit to London. But they were impossible to ignore to anyone watching on television. Oh, and by the way, the 49ers won the game 24-16. San Francisco scored 21 of their points in the game’s final quarter, which gave the Londoners plenty of reason to wave those stadium flags.

FC Barcelona and Real Madrid are two of the most exciting teams in the world. The best players on the planet ply their trade in the Spanish Premiera Division and in mainly these two powerhouses.

Last year, Atletico Madrid got the better of both Barca and Real in the La Liga. Although they couldn’t snap up victory in the Champions League final against Carlo Ancelotti’s side, yet all over they had a great season.

The ten-time European champions, Real, have yet another target this season and it is to win the Champions League again. No club side has ever won back-to-back Champions League trophies. To compete for all the major trophies, the Spanish giants have added a few marquee signings. Toni Kroos is one of those and he has justified his value to be called-up by one of the most successful clubs in the world. Kroos was phenomenal for the German champions, Bayern Munich, and was among the best players in Brazil, 2014 World Cup, which his national side eventually won.

Real not only, grabbed the World Cup winner, but they also convinced the best player of the tournament to sign with them. James Rodriguez was the star in Brazil and he lead his team quite far in the tournament. His tally of 6 goals helped him win the Golden Boot. It will be quite interesting to see how he would do at the Santiago Bernabeu under Ancelotti, who describes James as the player who would be Real’s future. On the other hand, the outgoing players are Nuri Sahin and Morata.

It is quite possible that Real win more silverware than previous season as the Galacticos look more powerful than ever.

Barcelona too, haven’t done bad in this summer transfer window. The Catalonian giants seized the opportunity to sign probably the best striker in the world right now. Luis Suarez is a flawed genius and he definitely attracts controversy. He would be out till October 25th and might feature in the first El Clasico of this season. In addition to the ex-Liverpool man, Barca have brought in Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Claudio Bravo, Ivan Rakitic and Jeremy Mathieu. Alexis Sanchez and Bojan Krkic are the players who were not needed by the new manager at Camp Nou.

Barcelona appeared pale last season and they would look to get back their domination in world football. Leo Messi would again be key for the Blaugrana and would be assisted by Suarez, Neymar and Iniesta. We can’t predict which team would do better than the other because of the sheer quality in both the sides.

The Kenyan footballing season has come to an end and it in deed offered some very spectacular moments. The title race went down to the wire with the winners being decided on the last day of the season. Though Ulinzi got the bragging rights for the season by winning the title, Gor mahia fans were the engine that drove the enthusiasm of the premier league. Even though Gor mahia finished in second position, they really deserve praise for helping draw fans back to the stadiums. The league would have been even more spectacular if AFC leopards had joined the foray. However, the club has been embroiled in mismanagement of late and only managed a mid league standing. The two clubs in deed are the most closely followed. They are the country’s oldest clubs and they generate passion from the fans. They are also community clubs and hence fans have more allegiance to them. This is in contrast to the company clubs are a little more than CSR activities of the companies and hence can be done away should the company not have enough money to sustain them. Some corporate clubs have found themselves in financial troubles after their sponsors withdrew their budgets. This has even led to relegation of some due to mass exodus of star players.

Now that the fans are trooping back to the stadiums, the soccer authorities in the country should do more to improve the soccer situation in the country. The country has been on a free fall in the FIFA rankings in the recent past. The rampant corruption should be stopped if the country is to realize significant gains in soccer.Today, soccer is no longer just a passion, it is big business.

Denílson de Oliveira Araújo popularly known as Denilson is a Brazilian midfielder that rose to prominence for his display at Le Tournoi just before the 1998 world cup in France.

He was noted for his numerous step-overs and on account of this Real Betis saw it fit to splash out £21m for his services.

It turned out to be a huge waste of money as they actually managed to get relegated and he scored just 12 goals in 165 appearances for the club.

Joaquín Sánchez Rodríguez more commonly known as Joaquin is a very good right winger that plays for Valencia.

He is a very good player but his club, Valencia paid over the odds when they got him from his home town club Real Betis, for EUR25m.

Andriy Shevchenko is an excellent striker as his goals record would testify but Chelsea paid way too much when they forked out £30m for his services from AC Milan.

Charlton football club could not believe their lick when Tottenham Hotspurs came up with £17m for the services of Darren Bent.

Gianluigi Buffon is a great goalkeeper, he is possibly the best in the world and 1 of the best of all times but Juventus paid £33m for his services. When you consider that he does not score goals, it does seem a lot for a goalkeeper.

Rio Ferdinand cost Manchester United £30m from Leeds united and that seems a tad too excessive for a player of his ability.

Staying with Manchester United, Spurs, I am sure would not have believed their lick when United decided to offer them £18.6m for Michael Carrick. Then again they had paid £28m on Juan Sebastian Veron who then went to Chelsea for that same amount.

Chelsea are used to paying over the odds for players as they spent £21m on Shawn Wright-Phillips, £6m for the untested Glen Johnson from West Ham United and worst of all £12m on Paolo Ferreira from Porto.

Only Bobby Robson would know what he was thinking when he decided to splash out £6m on Titus Bramble from his old club Ipswich Town and even more bizarrely £8m on Carl Cort from Wimbledon.

Arsene Wenger is a very shrewd manager when it comes to spending money so it must have been an off day for him when he decided to pay out £8m for Francis Jeffers, no doubt listening to those that kept saying his team needed a jack-in-a-box type striker.

When it comes to spending money, no one does it better than Sven Goran Ericsson, who in the course of his managerial career has spent £70m on Christian Vieri and Hernan Crespo, £25m on Juan Veron from Parma, and at Manchester city he is spending big bucks on players like Valerie Bojinov and Rolando Bianchi.

Speaking of Lazio they seem to waste money on players from La Liga like the £28m they spent on Gaskiya Mendietta and the vast amounts spent on Claudio Lopez and Ivan De la Pena.

On a cold day while walking along the streets, I stumbled a couple of kids doing silky tricks while juggling with the ball. To my amazed, they can do tricks in different combinations or what they called as combo and link among themselves. The soccer tricks intrigued me that I began practicing a few of them, well at least one of them. So then I walked along the park to watch guys playing a nice friendly game on a cold hard rainy afternoon. Some of them particularly in the midfield outmaneuver the defenders with silky skills that left the defenders puzzled. Cool soccer tricks and skills. On my way back, I watched some videos on Youtube, usually I received a link from my friend via email and immediately I watched the video link and thought, » The guy’s insane to pull off those tricks!». I researched on these guys and found out that they’re definitely freestylers.

Cool and silky tricks in different combinations during juggling or dribbling are what freestyle soccer is all about. A new trend and relatively new to the world of soccer. It’s addictive and mouth-watering to watch that most people perceived freestyle as a hobby rather than a professional activity. Freestylers typically practice their soccer tricks and work on their combinations to showcase their skills to their friends and the world itself. Silky tricks and skills are recorded and edited to the video including slow motion and credits in order to upload to the streaming sites like Youtube. Freestylers even go one step ahead by performing in competitions and performances like advertisements and documentaries.

A couple of well-knowned freestylers like Billy Wingrove, Abbas Farid, Soufiane Touzani and Palle perform in competition and some of them even releases their very own DVD to teach the newbies in freestyle soccer. Other forms of soccer like beach soccer and five-a-side futsal have flourished in the last 10 years. So, can freestyler soccer follow the same footsteps to grow as a sport? I believe that freestyle soccer has the hidden potential that’s yet to be harnessed. Unless these potential actions are taken, freestyle soccer is prone to dullness. 5 factors that could impact on the world of freestyle soccer:

1. Making it a «Big» hit

Performing irresistible silky and cool soccer tricks in front of the audience on a live performance raise freestylers’ reputation and recognition worldwide. Profit-making companies play a huge role in promoting these outstanding individuals to a world stage like for instance, Nike in promoting top dog superstars such as Billy Wingrove and Abbas Farid. These freestylers often featured in Nike commercials along with soccer superstars like Ronaldinho, Edgar Davids, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Television programmes play a crucial role in promoting freestylers by broadcasting informative documentaries about their lifestyle for example, the BBC Match of the Day program featured a special section about Billy Wingrove and his lifestyle as a freestyler.

2. Engage freestyler with the club via a contract

A boring plain piece of paper that includes all the nitty gritty information on engagement between a freestyler and the club in order to validate their relationship for an agreed number of years. Freestyler’s role are explained in the contract including their wages, privileges with the club like access to the club’s stadium and training ground and travel with the club.

Billy Wingrove, a British freestyler, is contracted to his childhood club, Tottenham Hotspur which gives him the privileges to watch Tottenham’s matches at White Hart Lane, access to their training ground and meeting top players like Aaron Lennon.

3. Train and Travel with the Club

Under a contract, freestylers have the access to the club’s training ground to participate in five-a-side matches with the first team or even teach them some new soccer tricks to the players as Billy Wingrove did with Tottenham Hotspurs.

By training, freestylers have the privilege to travel with the club for away matches or continental championship like the Champions League. This allows them maximum exposure on different lifestyle and cultures on soccer and other things.

4. Coaching the Players

Freestylers have the option to coach whether on a part time basis or on a full time basis.

On a part time basis, a freestyler teaches soccer tricks to the players of the club as Billy Wingrove did with a former Tottenham player, Robbie Keane.

The fun begins in a full time basis. A freestyler coaches the players about freestyler soccer that’s integrated to the club’s training regime. He could influence on coaching decisions on their training regime like improving the team’s ball control and also travel with the club on away matches as well as watching home matches to monitor the team’s progress.

5. Half time Shows and Team Mascot

It’s a rarity in the world of soccer but more common in American sports like the NBA and NFL. But, half time shows evolved in the world of soccer quite recently thus an opportunity for freestylers to shine on the soccer pitch.

Maradona first did half time shows during his days at Boca Juniors. Similarly, Billy Wingrove did the same for the Premiership pre-match entertainment and for international friendlies involving England and Wales.

Freestylers also act as a mascot for the team to welcome new signings or as a pre-match entertainment. Recently, Abbas Farid and his friend did a pre-match entertainment about freestyle with Ronaldinho. The fact that Ronaldinho stares the whole time and giving ovation to those freestylers was a hilarious moment. So, I could conclude that freestylers are related but completely different to soccer.

Conclusion

There’s no doubt that a breathtaking sport embeds into freestyle soccer and the governing body, FIFA should harness to its full potential. An addictive hobby that can earn freestylers a lot of money for their uniqueness in producing exceptional combinations and awesome tricks that should be rewarded and why not. I believe that freestyle can rise to be as good as soccer if these factors or others are put into practice.

Hull City

Odds: 66/1

Last Five Seasons

2005/06 – 18 (Championship), 2004/05 – 2 (League One, Promoted), 2003/04 – 2 (League Two, Promoted), 2002/03 – 13 (League Two), 2001/02 – 11 (League Two).

2005/06 Cup Progress

FA Cup Third Round vs Aston Villa (h) – lost 1-0.

Carling Cup First Round vs Blackpool (a) – lost 2-1.

Top Goal Scorer 2005/06: Stuart Elliott (midfield) – 7 goals.

Players In

Michael Turner (Brentford – £350,000), Sam Ricketts (Swansea City – £300,000), Dean Marney (Tottenham Hotspur – Undisclosed),

Players Out

Leon Cort (Crystal Palace – £1,250,000), Kevin Ellison (Tranmere Rovers – Undisclosed), Robbie Stockdale (Tranmere Rovers – Free), Scott Wiseman (Rotherham United – Loan).

Hull City survived their first season in the Championship and will look to improve on last season’s eighteenth placed finish under new manager Phil Parkinson. Former employers Colchester United were not keen on him leaving following their own promotion to the division and even gained a temporary High Court injunction preventing him from leaving the club. However, the relented when Hull paid £400,000 compensation and accepted Parkinson’s resignation.

Parkinson will be without star defender Leon Cort who joined Crystal Palace for £1.25 million but has been busy in the transfer market strengthening the squad. Cort’s replacement is Brentford’s Michael Turner who joined in a £350,000 transfer. Turner began his career at Charlton Athletic before joining the Bees following a loan spell in 2004. He made 94 appearances and scored three goals during his 18 months at Griffin Park.

Taylor has also signed another defender in Welsh international Sam Ricketts from Swansea for £300,000. Play off losers Swansea were keen on keeping Ricketts, but Hull’s bid triggered a clause in his contract and the player was keen to move on. Ricketts joined Swansea from non league Telford in 2004 and was name in the League Two team of last season.

Tottenham Hotspur’s Dean Marney bolsters the midfield following his signing for an undisclosed fee. The 22 year old decided to join the Kingston Communications Stadium ahead of several other clubs in the Championship.

Hull have been boosted by the news that another former Tottenham player, Nick Barmby, has been given the go ahead to start pre-season training with the rest of the squad after he missed a large part of last season due to an injured hamstring.

Verdict

Hull survived the drop with 10 points to spare last season and this campaign is going to be just as tough. In Phil Parkinson, they have a manager who is able to get the best out of unfancied teams and they should do enough to preserve their Championship status next season.