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Learn soccer tactics and strategies with The False 9
Soccer continues to grow in popularity in the United States especially amongst the younger generation. But I have found that very few Americans really know much about the tactics that big time teams use during their games. We all know about shotguns, pistol, and spread formations but very few can identify a 4-2-3-1 formation and its plusses and minuses. The False 9 app, a universal free app that runs on iOS 6.0 or later, provides a breakdown of a number of key strategies utilized by the major teams today. First a bit about the name. Traditionally soccer players who started the games were numbered from 1-11 starting with the goalkeeper at number 1. The number 9 player was traditionally the striker or chief goal scoring threat and when his team was attacking the opponents goal he was stationed closest to the scoring area in front of the net. When Pep Guardiola became the coach of Barcelona, he used Lionel Messi, the most prolific goal scorer in recent years, in a different role. Messi, Barcelona's 9 went deeper, away from the goal and picked up the ball further down the field and then attacked. So he was no longer the "true" number 9 and became known at the "false" 9 and soccer has not been the same since. Now lets look at what's available inside The False 9. You will find a focus on the top European club teams such as Arsenal, Manchester United and City, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, etc. Under each club the app goes into detail, some written and some by using videos to explore certain tactics and strategies used by that club along with stories about what is happening with that club right now. For example, with Real Madrid users will see a discussion with team manager Manual Pelligrini about his tactics along with a description of the rivalry between Real and Barcelona that dates back to the Spanish Civil War in the 30's. One of the sections is labeled Football Tactics for Beginners and is full of articles and videos that breakdown a variety of formations, how some teams started using three primary defenders instead of the traditional four, and three segments on How to Watch Football and what spectators should be looking at during the game in addition to following the ball up and down the pitch. I started following soccer much more closely when I worked in the UK in the late 90's and have followed the English Premier League and European competitions closely ever since. So my understanding of the game was fair to good compared to other Americans but I learned a great deal more from reading the articles and watching the videos on The False 9 app. I highly recommend it as a download if you want to learn more about the game your kids and grandkids are playing.
Three for 3D: ESPN 3D adds Home Run Derby, Sky 3D launches 4/3, AcTVila makes the jump this summer
Three continents, three more milestone announcements for 3D. First up is Sky TV, which, with or without 15,000 or so flat screens from LG, is officially launching its Sky 3D channel around the Man. U/Chelsea game on April 3. Already have a 3DTV and Sky's "top channels and HD pack?" Call the company with details for activation, while everyone else checks to see if their local pub is among the thousand plus already signed up to receive the six live 3D matches slated for this season (plus the Coca Cola league playoff finals) and demo reel for all non-footy hours of the day. Bringing the focus back home, ESPN 3D has scheduled the first event it will produce and air itself, the MLB Home Run Derby on July 12, a day after launching with the SA/Mexico World Cup game. Other events officially on deck (the plan for the first year is still about 85) include several college basketball tournaments and the ACC Championship football game in December. Last but not least is Japan, already home to at least one 3D network, which will soon have access to even more over the cross-manufacturer AcTVila video on-demand service. Clearly, the only logical thing to do is to keep that "3D will never take off" comment macro keyed up, it will be getting a lot of use over the next few months.
iPod helps Manchester United win the Carling Cup
While the American football season has been over since the Pro Bowl, the rest of the world is still enjoying football -- or soccer as we Yanks refer to it. A number of readers gave us a heads-up this morning on a story that is a huge PR win for Apple. Yesterday, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur were scoreless after 120 minutes of regulation play in the English League Cup Final, forcing the game to be decided on penalties.United's goalkeeping coach Eric Steele promptly pulled out his iPod to show goalkeeper Ben Foster videos of Hotspur players taking penalty shots. The result? United won the game 4 - 1 in the penalty shootout that followed.In an interview with BBC Sport, Foster noted "We went into the shoot-out as well prepared as possible. We have had things to look at over the last couple of days and before the shoot-out, you can see me looking at an iPod with Eric Steele. It had actual video on it and showed where players put things. Eric brought it when he came to the club. I have never seen anything like it. It is a fantastic tool for us."Congratulations go out to Manchester United, and we at TUAW hope this means more iPods and iPhones will be seen on the sidelines at next year's World Cup in South Africa.
Konami scores UEFA assets for Pro Evolution Soccer franchise
Electronic Arts has had the NFL completely monopolized since 2005, giving them exclusive rights to official league teams and players for their Madden franchise -- but did you also know that they've also traditionally had assets for most professional European soccer leagues tied up as well? (You did? Well aren't you awesome.) However, Konami recently released some details concerning the next installment in their Pro Evolution Soccer franchise -- chief among these being their new licensing deals with the UEFA, as well as the Manchester United and Liverpool football clubs.Assets from the UEFA as well as the two clubs will be included in Pro Evolution Soccer 2009. It's quite a coup for Konami, whose sales figures for PES titles have traditionally paled in comparison to those of EA's FIFA series. We anticipate EA's retaliation -- we hear they're in talks with various athletic leagues to purchase the exclusive rights for sports.
