Monthly Archives: January 2014

An Iranian man has broken the world record for the number of years spent without bathing. He spent the last 60 years without a bath. The Iranian News Agency (IRNA) recently published pictures of the 80 year old man.

In its report, the agency noted that the man, Amoo Hadji, lives in the village of Dezhgah in the Dehram district of Fars province in Iran.

The man eats dead animals, and his most prized possession is his pipe, which is 3 inches in diameter, in which he smokes animal dung. Amoo Hadji lives in a stone shack built for him by his neighbours and he rests in a hole in the ground resembling a grave.

The news agency also noted that when he feels cold, he wears a helmet and lights up several cigarettes at a time.

Source: Al-Sharq.

Atletico Madrid’s captain Gabi, left, vies with Barcelona’s Cesc Fábregas during their goalless La Liga match. Photograph: Dani Pozo/AFP/Getty Images

Still they cannot be separated. For once, the game presented as a title decider in Spain was not the clásico, but it turned out not to be a title decider either. Not yet, at least. If there was a winner on Saturday night, it was Real Madrid. Atlético Madrid and Barcelona drew 0-0 at the Vicente Calderón and both sides reached the halfway stage of the season, when everyone has played everyone else, on 50 points. Real face Espanyol on Sunday night knowing a victory will take them to 47.

There was tension and by the end the pace was frenetic, a final dramatic twist seemingly drawing near. A roar greeted the full-time whistle that spoke of appreciation and maybe a little relief, but this was not the match that many had hoped for. It was committed, fast, and at times it was fascinating too, but there were just two shots on target for each side in a game that only occasionally opened up.

Lionel Messi and Neymar appeared only as second-half subs: the Argentinian has only just returned from eight weeks out injured, but the Brazilian’s late introduction was a pity for his team. He, like Turkey’s Arda Turan on the other side, brought something different to this game; they were the men who seemed most likely to break through. Instead, the draw means Barcelona finished the night as Spain’s winter champions. Who will be Spain’s actual champions remains to be seen but Atlético’s candidacy cannot be ignored.

Diego Simeone has built a team in his own image.”Atléti, aplasta,” ran the banner – Atlético, crush them – and to start with that appeared to be the plan. Diego Simeone had admitted that he did not expect his side to enjoy much possession and most anticipated a game in which Barcelona had the ball and Atlético waited for them. But Atlético pressured high, targeting Sergio Busquets, although it was Xavi who was dispossessed for the move that led to Atlético’s first dangerous approach after three minutes. Turan got behind Jordi Alba – and not for the last time – before pulling the ball back across the six-yard box.

The urgency and intensity was revealed in Simeone swiftly returning the ball for his side to take a quick throw-in but such a high rhythm was hard to maintain and slowly the game settled into a more familiar pattern. If Barcelona seemed content to move the ball without always seeking the final pass, they may have had half an eye on the bench and what might come later. Pedro was their greatest threat, Andrés Iniesta the focal point of their play. Alexis Sánchez barely saw the ball. Pedro headed over and Gerard Piqué almost caught out Thibaut Courtois from 30 yards. Meanwhile, at the other end, Villa’s experienced was much like Sánchez’s. The threat from the counterattack lingered but never materialised as a clear chance, not least because of Piqué, and the first half ended with few chances at either end.

The second half started with Messi on for  Iniesta, who had twice been hit hard and gone down in the opening 45 minutes. He was removed with a knock on the knee. Cesc Fábregas moved into midfield and Messi returned to the false 9 position. He headed one effort wide before Diego Costa’s only meaningful shot for Atlético, after Arda took the ball off Busquets and sprang forward, playing him in. Suddenly, Atlético were pressing again, high and intense; two more approaches followed immediately and Barcelona lost control. The noise in the Calderón rose, every challenge greeted with a roar, a bugle call for the counterattack.

Neymar was introduced soon after and the game opened up. Costa headed over from Filipe Luís, Turan’s volley was saved by Víctor Valdés, and then Courtois reached Messi shot as he scurried into the ear. In the 91st minute, Neymar almost got in after some more clever footwork. It was the last big moment of a frantic final 10 minutes. Barcelona remain top. So too do Atlético.

Source: The Guardian

Μπορεί εκ πρώτης όψεως να είναι δύσκολο να διακρίνει κανείς πως πρόκειται για τα χέρια ενός ανθρώπου, όμως αυτή είναι η σημερινή εικόνα του Amoo Hadji, ο οποίος δεν έχει πλυθεί εδώ και 60 χρόνια.

O 80χρονος, σύμφωνα με τους ισχυρισμούς, άνδρας ζει μια πολύ απλή ζωή στο χωριό Dezhgah του Ιράν, με το πιο πολύτιμο αντικείμενο που έχει στην κατοχή του να είναι μια μεταλλική πίπα με την οποία καπνίζει κοπριά ζώων.

A superb first half from Adelaide United and a towering injury-time header was enough to see off the 10-man Brisbane Roar 2-1 at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Jeronimo Neumann had put the visitors deservedly ahead in the first term, following through on a penalty which he had initially failed to score, before substitute Besart Berisha netted a slickly-worked equaliser with 10 minutes remaining.

Deep into injury time, with Brisbane pushing for a winner, a fabulous header from Adelaide sub Jordan Elsey secured a thrilling upset win for Josep Gombau’s side.

Brisbane right-back Diogo Ferreira received his marching orders in the 40th minute after notching his second yellow card to leave his struggling side with plenty of work to do.

In the early stages it was clear Adelaide had put an imprecise Brisbane off their game, and their superiority was rewarded when they won a penalty in the 20th minute.

Jeronimo exploited a lapse in concentration from a dawdling Shane Stefanutto to snatch the ball with just clear space and Theo in front of him.

The Brisbane goalkeeper slid in and caught the Argentinean with a trailing leg to concede a penalty and earn a yellow card, which could well have been red as he appeared to be the last defender.

Theo did well to save Jeronimo’s penalty kick with his legs, but he was unable to prevent the ball rolling just out of his reach, and the Adelaide attacker darted in to poke the ball into the net for the opening goal.

Minutes later, Theo raced out of his box dangerously to snuff out another United raid, managing to just shepherd the ball away from Steven Lustica.
As the half wore on, the Roar mounted something of a fightback, with Henrique creating an excellent chance for Thomas Broich when he slipped into the box and cut the ball back, but the German shot wide from close range.

The Reds found themselves a man up as well five minutes before the break when Brisbane right back Ferreira was sent off for committing a second yellow-card offence on Zullo, whose pace advantage had proved too much to handle.

After the interval, Adelaide used their numerical advantage to take control of possession to a greater extent than most visiting teams enjoy at Suncorp Stadium.

Roar coach Mike Mulvey reacted by bringing on star striker Berisha in the 56th minute, hoping that the Albanian, who was returning from injury, could provide the spark to unsettle the Reds defence.

While the home team saw more of the ball as the second half wore on, clear chances were few and far between until Berisha brilliantly levelled the score.

A flowing move on the edge of the box passed through Broich and Matt McKay before the Albanian slammed a left-footed shot into the top of the net.

As Brisbane pushed for a winner, the lively Zullo curled in a sublime cross from the left for Elsey to nod past Theo into the far corner of the goal.

Brisbane Roar 1 (Berisha 80)
Adelaide United 2 (Neumann 21, Elsey 90+2)

Crowd: 17,593 @ Suncorp Stadium

Source: footballaustralia.com.au

A goal to substitute Brendan Santalab four minutes from full time has handed Western Sydney a dramatic 1-0 win over fierce rivals Sydney FC on Saturday night.

A pulsating derby looked headed for a draw as neither side were able to make the most of their few clear-cut chances in front of more than 18,000 fans at a raucous Pirtek Stadium.

But just as it appeared the Sky Blues would keep their unbeaten record at Parramatta intact, Santalab had the final say.

Youssouf Hersi managed to skew a cross over from the right which found its way through to Santalab at the far post.

The former Sky Blues attacker controlled on his thigh, before poking the ball under Vedran Janjetovic and into the net.

While the visitors enjoyed the better of the second half, it was a deserved victory for the Wanderers for their first-half effort which saw them hit the woodwork on four occasions.

The result means Tony Popovic’s side close the gap on league leaders Brisbane Roar to four points ahead of a clash with the Melbourne Victory on Tuesday night.

Sydney have now won just one of their last five games and have dropped out of the top six for the first time in two months.

The Wanderers had the better chances of an absorbing first half and started their string of finding the frame of the goal inside eight minutes.

Tomi Juric picked up a loose ball 25 metres out and was allowed to turn and drive a low shot which was fortunately tipped onto the post by Janjetovic.

The Sydney ‘keeper had the woodwork to thank again 10 minutes before the break as Mark Bridge’s effort across the face of goal skimmed the post on its way wide.

Then in a crazy end to the half the home side hit the crossbar twice in a matter of seconds.

First Hersi saw the ball bounce back off the crossbar after an audacious effort from 35 metres out had Janjetovic scrambling.

The rebound fell to Juric who took one touch to control on his chest before blasting another shot which cannoned off the bar.

The break offered some much-needed respite for the Sky Blues and they seemed to gain confidence from their lucky escapes.

Substitute Corey Gameiro, Terry McFlynn and Ranko Despotovic all went close to beating Ante Covic as the visitors dominated the first 20 minutes of the second half.

The match opened up in the closing stages as both sides tired and pushed for a winner, with Santalab popping up at the death to sink his former club.

Western Sydney Wanderers 1 (Santalab 86) Sydney FC 0

Crowd: 18,080 @ Pirtek Stadium

Source: footballaustralia.com.au

A depleted Melbourne Victory side did enough to hold the Newcastle Jets to an exciting 1-1 draw in at Hunter Stadium on Friday night.

The Jets held sway in the opening half and duly went ahead when Victory forward Mitch Nichols deflected a Craig Goodwin free kick into his own goal three minutes before the break.

Melbourne equalised shortly after the restart with a swift counter attack that saw Andrew Nabbout poke home.

Both sides had chances to win the contest but neither could find a decisive finish and had to be content with a point apiece.

The Jets enjoyed the majority of possession in the opening stages but their only real sights on goal came from Ruben Zadkovich with the former Derby County man blazing a couple of long-ranch opportunities over the bar.

The Victory played on the counter and had their first chance to open the scoring when Kosta Barbarouses broke the off-side trap and but couldn’t find a way past Jets goal-keeper Mark Birighitti.

Craig Goodwin then went close for Newcastle in the 38th minute when his low free-kick from 25 metres out went through the wall and forced a sharp diving save from Nathan Coe with the rebound hacked clear by Pablo Contreras.

The young winger’s next free kick proved to more pivotal with his dangerous cross into the box flicking off the head of an unfortunate Mitch Nichols who steered the ball into his own net to see the Jets take a 1-0 lead into the break.

The home side looked like they they might extend their lead early in the second half when James Brown was put into a prime scoring space after a swift counter attack but he sprayed his shot widely over the crossbar.

The Victory made their opponents pay immediately with Barbarouses breaking down the right before sending a lovely cross for Andrew Nabbout to poke it into the goal.

Gary van Egmond then brought on James Virgili for Brown and he almost had an immediate impact when he whipped in a dangerous cross to Goodwin but he skimmed what was a free header wide of the far post.

The game started to open up with both sides finding plenty of space in midfield with Barbarouses and James Triosi having half chances for the Victory while Nathan Burns and Zadkovich both saw good chances inside the box blocked by a desperate Melbourne defence.

The hosts finished the game the stronger with substitute Michael Bridges finding space to fire from an angle but Contreras deflected it wide.

Burns had a chance to win the contest four minutes from time when he streaked into the box but his blocked shot ballooned agonisingly over the crossbar.

Substitute Archie Thompson almost snatched victory at the death when he engineered a vicious shot on the turn that forced a fantastic reflex save from Birighitti who dived full length to push the ball around the post and earn his side a share of the points.

Newcastle Jets 1
Nichols 42og
Melbourne Victory 1
Nabbout 50

Crowd 12,270 at Hunter Stadium
Source: footballaustralia.com.au

Melbourne Heart equalled an unwanted A-League record of 19 matches without a win after crashing to a 3-0 loss to Perth Glory at nib Stadium on Friday night.

A sensational goal from Adrian Zahra put the home side ahead in the 64th minute before the returning Shane Smeltz iced the win with a late brace.

Adding to Heart’s woes, substitute Dylan McAllister was sent off in his first match back from a hamstring injury after receiving two yellow cards during his 11 minutes on the pitch.

The undisciplined Heart copped five cautions as the Melbourne club failed to capitalise on a host of chances to snatch their first win of the season.

None came better than when Heart winger Mate Dugandzic found himself one-on-one with Glory goalkeeper Danny Vukovic late in the match, only to knock the ball wide of the goalmouth.

Perth’s second win in as many weeks under interim coach Kenny Lowe temporarily pushed the club back into the top six ahead of tough clashes against Brisbane Roar, Western Sydney and Melbourne Victory.

Zahra had no problems celebrating against his former club when he dribbled into the box from the left and hammered the ball past a hapless Adam Redmayne.

Smeltz scored his first two goals of an injury-interrupted season when he first outmuscled Aziz Behich and then was gifted a second from a Redmayne error.

Heart captain Harry Kewell had a game to forget after copping a yellow card for a handball before being substituted after 70 minutes, much to the delight of the parochial Perth crowd.

Kewell and besieged striker Michael Mifsud have scored just one goal between them this season and never really threatened Vukovic or the Glory defence.

Heart’s 19th match without a win equalled the record set by the now-defunct New Zealand Knights in the first two seasons of the A-League.

It was a disappointing end for the Heart after working their way back into the match following a fast start from Glory.

Perth controlled possession in the first 15 minutes until Zahra was forced off the pitch with a cut head after an aerial clash with Heart defender Patrick Gerhardt.

Glory played with 10 men for seven minutes while Zahra was treated and the on-field advantage seemed to spark the visitors.

Patrick Gerhardt almost scored a priceless goal for Heart with a sliding effort that forced Vukovic to make a reflex save with his legs.

Vukovic was called into action again moments later to make a diving save to deny a long-range attempt from Nick Kalmar.

By that stage, Heart was dominating the match and would have taken the lead if Iain Ramsay had not hit the crossbar.

But they couldn’t make their early pressure count and were made to pay for a Glory side who look like an invigorated unit under the tutelage of Lowe.

Source: footballaustralia.com.au

Το Σάββατο το μεγάλο ντέρμπι του Σίδνεϊ

Με τους αγώνες της 14ης αγωνιστικής θα συνεχίζεται σήμερα Παρασκευή, το Σάββατο και την Κυριακή το εθνικό πρωτάθλημα Αυστραλίας. Ένα πρωτάθλημα όπου η σούπερ ομάδα του Μπρίσμπαν δείχνει να είναι μακράν, η καλύτερη ομάδα του λιγκ, έχοντας ήδη εξασφαλίσει ένα προβάδισμα επτά βαθμών από την δεύτερη της βαθμολογίας, ομάδα του Δυτικού Σίδνεϊ.

Από εκεί και πέρα… μετριότητες – για να μην χρησιμοποιηθεί ο βαρύτατος χαρακτηρισμός του «χάους».

Η Βίκτορι έδειξε το περασμένη Σάββατο φοβερές αδυναμίες, οι Μάρινερς είναι αγνώριστοι, οι «ουρανί» της Σίδνεϊ Φ.Κ., έχουν γίνει πιο απρόβλεπτοι και από τον καιρό της Μελβούρνης, οπότε, «μέσα» θα είστε αν ποντάρετε από σήμερα τους βόρειους για πρωταθλητές.

Η Βίκτορη της Μελβούρνης επέσπασε 1-1 ισσοπαλία από τους «Τζετς» στο Νιούκαστλ ενώ στις (9.45μμ.), οι «ερυθρόλευκοι» της Χαρτ, σε αναζήτηση της πρώτης τους νίκης, εδώ και πολύ καιρό, θα αντιμετωπίσουν στην Πέρθη την ανεβασμένη Γκλόρι.

Στα άλλα παιχνίδια της αγωνιστικής: -Σάββατο: Μπρίσμπαν-Αδελαΐδα (5.30μμ.), Δυτικό Σίδνεϊ-Σίδνεϊ Φ.Κ. (7.45μμ.). -Κυριακή: Φοίνικας-Μάρινερς (5.00μμ.).

ΣΕ αγώνες της 13ης αγωνιστικής είχαμε τα αποτελέσματα: Δυτικό Σίδνεϊ-Φοίνικας 1-3, Αδελαΐδα-Σίδνεϊ Φ.Κ. 2-2, Νιούκαστλ-Πέρθη 0-1, Βίκτορι-Μπρίσμπαν 0-3, Μάρινερς-Χαρτ 0-0.

ΒΑΘΜΟΛΟΓΙΑ: Μπρίσμπαν 30, Δυτικό Σίδνεϊ 23, Μάρινερς 20, Βίκτορι 19, Σίδνεϊ Φ.Κ. 19, Νιούκαστλ 18, Πέρθη 16, Αδελαΐδα 14, Φοίνικας 13, Χαρτ 5

Πηγή: Νέος Κόσμος

Κατηγορίες ότι η εταιρία διαγράφει εσκεμμένα τους Αβορίγινες.

Αλυσίδα σουπερμάρκετ της Αυστραλίας αποσύρει τη νέα κολεξιόν με μπλουζάκια, μετά το σάλο που ξέσπασε στη χώρα από πολλούς που τα κατηγορούν πως το μήνυμα που αναγράφουν πάνω τους είναι «ρατσιστικό». Η εταιρεία Aldi απέσυρε τα T-shirts με το λόγκο «Αυστραλία: έτος ίδρυσης 1788» μετά από παράπονα πολλών Αυστραλών ότι η εταιρεία ξεχνάει την ιστορία της χώρας και «διαγράφει» εσκεμμένα την παρουσία Αβοριγίνων στην ήπειρο πριν το έτος αυτό.

Η αποικία της Νέας Νότιας Ουαλίας ιδρύθηκε επισήμως στις 7 Φεβρουαρίου 1788, ωστόσο, όπως λένε οι εκφραστές των παραπόνων, παραβλέπεται εσκεμμένα το γεγονός ότι η Αυστραλία κατοικείτο από ιθαγενείς Αυστραλούς επί δεκάδες χιλιάδες χρόνια πριν από την ανακάλυψή της από Ολλανδούς εξερευνητές το 1606 και τον μετέπειτα εποικισμό της από Ευρωπαίους.

Σε σχόλια που αναρτήθηκαν σε ιστοσελίδες κοινωνικής δικτύωσης όπως το Twitter και το Facebook, πολλοί ανέφεραν ειρωνικά ότι το σλόγκαν «Αυστραλία, έτος ίδρυσης 1788» θα έπρεπε να αντικατασταθεί με το πιο ταιριαστό «Αυστραλία, έτος εισβολής 1788».

Η αλυσίδα Αldi ανακοίνωσε ότι απέσυρε την επίμαχη κολεξιόν λέγοντας χαρακτηριστικά πως «η απόφαση της απόσυρσης των T-shirts πάρθηκε μετά από σχόλια από μια περιορισμένη μερίδα καταναλωτών. Ωστόσο, η εταιρεία επιθυμεί να καταστεί σαφές πως γι’ αυτήν προτεραιότητα αποτελεί η επιθυμία του αγοραστικού κοινού και της αυστραλιανής κοινότητας».

Πηγή; Νέος Κόσμος