A Round-Up of 2014 World Cup Finals Commercials

The 2014 World Cup finals in Brasil start on Thursday, which means the World Cup related advertising campaigns have already started, so here's a look at some of the Brasil 2014 related commercials:

More after the jump

Your Friday Goals - February 1, 2013

Beckham is in Paris, Shea is in Stoke, Balotelli is in Milan, the transfer window is closed, it's the first day of a new month, and it's a Friday - time for some goals from the week that was, your Friday Goals:

More videos after the jump:

Your Friday Goals

Always good to unwind on Friday with some videos of goals:

More videos after the jump:

Neymar: The Brazilian Promise?

It's a slow Thursday morning, scouting the internet for something, came across these Neymar fan videos:

Neymar & Brazil Beat USA 4-1

Last night a crowd of 67,619 was on hand at FedEx Field in suburban D.C. to watch the United States host Brazil in a friendly, the second friendly for the US as it prepares for CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers. After a 5-1 drubbing of Scotland in Jacksonville on Saturday night, the US entered Wednesday's match with a little extra momentum, but Brazil is Brazil and they picked up two goals early in the first half, one of which was a penalty kick converted by Neymar in the 12th minute.

The US gained some ground at the end of the first half when Herculez Gomez, with some help from Michael Bradley and Fabian Johnson, scored for the US.

The US played strong in the second half, with numerous shots barely missing goal or being heroically saved by Brazil's keeper Rafael, but the US was not able to pick up another goal, let alone enough goals to beat Brazil. Brazil, which was primarily fielding a U-23 Olympic squad, managed to add two more goals thanks to Marcelo in the 52nd minute and Pato in the 87th minute.

While last night's match against Brazil marked the 16th time that the US has lost to the South American powerhouse, the US side acquitted itself well. The 4-1 loss to Brazil is a small stumble in the Juergen Klinsmann era, but Wednesday's match evidenced both growth and the further need for growth by the US national team. The never die, never quit attitude of last night's US side was refreshing to see and definitely sets this squad apart from the Bruce Arena side that played in Germany in 2006. On the other hand, the US needs to learn how to defend better against sides like Brazil and needs to learn how to finish some of those excellent goal scoring opportunities that they had last night.

One thing seems clear after last night, Michael Bradly and Herculez Gomez have secured national team roster spots for the foreseeable future.

Up next for the US is a friendly against Canada on Sunday June 3rd. Meanwhile, Brazil faces Mexico at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas, Texas on Sunday June 3rd.

Neymar in Ascendancy

So both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are now out of the UEFA Champions League . . . is it time for a skinny kid from Brazil to take center stage in Europe?

Neymar . . . Copa Libertadores . . . Enough Said

Once again that Brazilian wunderkind worked his magic for Santos in the Copa Libertadores, this time it was against Juan Aurich from Peru.

When Neymar is Neymar: He Scores a Copa Libertadores Hat Trick

There's probably no young South American talent that the big clubs in Europe are drooling over than Brazil's Neymar, and in last night's Copa Libertadores match between Neymar's Santos and Internacional he once again showed why this is the case. In Santos' 3-1 victory over Internacional, it was all Neymar as he picked up a hat trick, including the amazing second goal, which is shown in the first video below. Not only is much of the football world in awe of Neymar's performance, but even Neymar was a bit stunned:

"I cannot explain what I did tonight. I need to watch the TV to see what I did on the field. I knew I dribbled past a lot of rivals. That's the only thing I know," Neymar told Globo TV.

Via ESPN

Neymar Scores Wonderful Goal for Santos But Ronaldinho Wins the Night for Flamengo

On Wednesday night in Rio de Janeiro, Neymar once again showed why he's one of the most talked about young Brazilian football players thanks to this beauty of a goal in the 26th minute that gave Santos an early 3-0 lead over Flamengo. Unfortunately for Santos, they ended up losing this offensive battle 4-5, with Ronaldinho picking up a hat trick for the visiting Flamengo, which managed to score three goals in the first half too. This was only Flamengo's second win at Vila Belmiro Stadium since 1976.

See Also - When Neymar is Neymar: He Scores a Copa Libertadores Hat Trick

And See Also - Neymar . . . Copa Libertadores . . . Enough Said

[VIDEO] A Look at Some New Nike Soccer Commercials

Two Sending Offs that Are Stupid Because the Rules are Stupid

In Santos' recent Copa Libertadores match against Colo Colo, Neymar scored a goal in the 52nd minute and then proceeded to celebrate in a manner worthy of the NFL's Chad Ochocinco, he put on a paper mask of himself. The celebration resulted in Neymar getting sent off with a red card. Santos went on to win the match, which saw a total of 5 red cards, 3-2.

Meanwhile, in Wednesday night's MLS match between Vancouver and New England, Eric Hassli picked up his second yellow card of the night and was sent off for pulling off his jersey in a planned goal celebration. That match ended in a 1 all draw.

I know there's a certain stick in the mud, overly self-righteous, envious, and overly serious segment of sports fans that loathe goal celebrations, touchdown celebrations, and other celebrations by athletes. To that segment of sports fans I say, "Pull the stick out of your collective asses and learn to enjoy both sport and life for a change." Life is too short to live it without fun or comedy. There's nothing wrong with athletes celebrating their achievements and having some fun while doing so - it's a good way to release some of the stress and tension that builds up during competition.

Yes they got sent off, and that could have hurt the team, but did it really? Really? Accept it folks, its the rules that led to them getting sent off that are there real culprit here, instead of getting mad at Neymar or Hassli, get mad at the stupid rules created by sour old men who have no understanding or connection to the mind of the younger athlete. Sports are supposed to be fun, the athletes are supposed to be having fun, and the fans paying money to watch in the stands or on television aren't paying for a ballet or opera, which oddly enough seem to allow more expression of joy than allowed in professional sports these days.

For those of you who do enjoy goal celebrations, here Neymar's and Hassli's goal celebrations: