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England's failed footballers should count themselves lucky that their ignominious World Cup exit was met with little more than a public mauling by the media. Their counterparts from North Korea, who lost all three of their group games, have been subjected to a six-hour excoriation for "betraying" the communist nation's ideological struggle, according to reports. There are even fears for the safety of the team coach, Kim Jung-hun, who was accused of betraying the son and heir of the regime's "dear leader," Kim Jong-il. Early this month the players were summoned to an auditorium at the working people's culture palace...

Seoul (AsiaNews) – North Korea’s football team were subjected to a six-hour public reprimand by 400 sports students and officials for betraying “the trust of Kim Jong-un” by losing all three of their World Cup matches. The coach was apparently sent to work on a construction site in the capital Pyongyang, but the players are thought to have been spared any specific punishment. The dressing down supposedly occurred on 2 July on a stage at the People's Palace of Culture in Pyongyang, three days after they returned from South Africa, sources told Radio Free Asia. The team's two Japanese-born players,...

FORMER Celtic star John Hartson wishes he had munched his greens instead of steak and chips during his playing days. The striker, who fought cancer, used to be teased about his weight by opposing fans and yesterday admitted his diet could have been better. The dad-of-four told how during his Arsenal days in the 90s manager Arsene Wenger ordered his players to eat healthy food like broccoli. Studies have suggested the chemical sulforaphane, found in broccoli, can ward off cancer and lessen the effects of tumours. Hartson, 35, said: "Arsene Wenger concentrated a lot on diet and fitness, whereas at...

If you were into the final minutes of watching a soccer match during South Africa's recent World Cup extravaganza and suddenly you had the overpowering urge to go out and kill somebody, blame the vuvuzela. ...When blown like a trumpet, the vuvuzela produces a loud monotone which musicologists say is pretty close to a B-flat, three octaves below middle C. ...Played by a bunch of rowdy soccer fans, however, a blast from the vuvuzela could strip the chrome off a trailer hitch. ...During the World Cup, TV audiences often heard only the sound of vuvuzelas. Networks examined the possibility of...

BERLIN - Some Germans are calling for a public roasting of the oracle octopus who correctly picked the winner of all six of their national soccer team's World Cup matches -- including a bitter defeat to Spain on Wednesday. Paul, a two-year-old octopus in a German aquarium, turned into a global celebrity for his uncanny ability to predict the winner of all Germany's matches -- even a group stage defeat to Serbia and an ousting by Spain in the semi-finals.... Not an ordinarily superstitious people, Germans became believers in Paul's possible psychic powers. The country was shocked and distraught when...

Paul the psychic octopus has become at the centre of an international bidding war, after Spanish businessmen offered 38,000 euros to bring him to Spain, following their World Cup success. The octopus has wowed the world with his run of correct World Cup predictions, including his tip that Spain would beat Holland in last night's World Cup final. Now, Spanish businessmen are launching an audacious bid to bring the octopus to Spain and rename him Paulo, using him as a mascot at a major food event...Paul's psychic powers have not gone down well with everyone though, with fans of Holland,...

In the end, it's Spain hoisting the 2010 FIFA World Cup trophy. It's the first World Cup championship for Spain, the pre-tournament favorite, which defeated Netherlands 1-0 in the World Cup final. Spain is the eighth country to win the World Cup, and the first first-time winner since France won in 1998 ...

Hey it's the third place game This applies to Germany and Uruguay, warning bad language.

THE former lover of a top Brazilian soccer player was allegedly strangled and fed to dogs. The BBC reported Eliza Samudio, 25, disappeared more than a month ago from a hotel in Rio de Janeiro. Police said she was taken by force and was strangled in the south-eastern city of Belo Horizonte. Samudio's remains have not yet been found, but police say her body was cut up and parts were fed to dogs. The rest of her corpse was allegedly buried under concrete. Samudio was a former girlfriend of footballer Bruno Fernandes das Dores de Souza, 25 - known to...

DURBAN, South Africa – Soccer fans were left heartbroken on Wednesday when air-traffic chaos allegedly caused by celebrity charter flights caused hundreds of supporters to miss the World Cup semifinal between Spain and Germany. Durban’s King Shaka International Airport was temporarily shut down in the hours leading up to Wednesday’s game due to an unplanned influx of air traffic traveling from Cape Town, where the first semifinal was held Tuesday night. The anger of fans was only intensified by claims that delays of more than five hours, plus redirected flights, were caused by the addition of specially chartered services for...

DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA -- For decades, Spain's soccer history has been marked by the extraordinary success of its club teams. Now, after perpetual disappointment on the sport's grandest stage, Spain will play for the World Cup championship. With a 1-0 victory over Germany on Wednesday in front of 60,960 at Moses Modhida Stadium, La Roja advanced to Sunday's final against the Netherlands in Johannesburg. After dominating possession and threatening throughout the deliberate match, Spain finally broke Germany's stout resistance in the 73rd minute. Veteran defender Carles Puyol, who had squandered a can't-miss chance in the opening moments, launched himself at...

After a hugely disappointing World Cup, England striker Wayne Rooney is unlikely to be cheered by his latest accolade: ugliest footballer on the planet. The Manchester United goal machine, who flopped after being hyped as a potential superstar in South Africa, heads the list of unattractive players on dating website BeautifulPeople.com. Most beautiful, according to online voters subscribing to the site, are Italy's Fabio Cannavaro, Fernando Torres and David Villa of Spain, US mainstay Landon Donavan and France's Thierry Henry.

/begin my translation RFA: N. Korea's Attempt to Boost Successor's Profile Ruined Lee Yong-soo 2010.07.07 Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported on Jul 6 that N. Korea tried hard to give Kim Jong-eun, the presumed successor, a boost by (producing good results at) World Cup Soccer Tournaments in S. Africa, but Kim Jong-il's botched advice on (game) strategy ruined it. N. Korea planned a massive propaganda efforts on 'Kim Jong-eun's Leadership on Advancing Sports' if N. Korean soccer team did have a win or better during the preliminary round. Quoting a source on N. Korea's sports program, RFA reported, "After watching...

German flags have sprouted like red, black and gold wildflowers across Berlin this summer. They're appearing on balconies, cars, bicycles, storefront windows, even painted on children's cheeks. Few can match Youssef Bassal's. Eager to show his enthusiasm for Germany's soccer team during the World Cup, Mr. Bassal, a 38-year old Lebanese immigrant, unfurled a 60-by-15-foot German flag a few weeks ago, on the facade of the building that houses his cell-phone store. Mr. Bassal knew his Fahne, as the Germans call it, would draw onlookers. What he didn't anticipate was the reaction—outrage. During the flag's first night on exhibit, Mr....

WHAT’S THE MATTER WITH MEXICO? If this what they do to their own for a game… Mexican fans attacked the players’ relatives after Mexico lost to Argentina last Sunday at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in Johannesburg, South Africa. ...the crowd became enraged after losing the match against Argentina and directed their frustration at the brother of Cuauhtemoc Blanco and the wife of Guillermo Franco, who were in the same box...

JOHANNESBURG (AP)—FIFA will look again at introducing video technology to assist referees after president Sepp Blatter apologized to England and Mexico for the officiating errors that helped eliminate them from the World Cup. Blatter said Tuesday that FIFA will reopen debate on high-tech methods to improve decision-making on the pitch following mistakes in Sunday’s matches in Bloemfontein and Johannesburg. “Naturally, we deplore when you see the evidence of referees’ mistakes,” said Blatter, adding it would be “a nonsense” for FIFA not to look again at goal-line technology with its rule-making panel. “After having witnessed such a situation,” Blatter said, referring...

After America’s heartbreaking 2-1 loss to Ghana Saturday afternoon many were wondering what caused the USA to come out so flat in the first half. A short, two-day turn around, the excitement of getting out of the group stage, and a pattern of not getting going early were all factors that most contributed to the slow start. However, ESPN soccer analyst Jurgen Klinsmann, who was an elite striker with Germany and won the World Cup in 1990, and a former German national team coach, had another thought. Klinsmann hypothesized that the cast of A-list celebrities, including former President Bill Clinton...