Unusual Facts About Soccer

The popularity of football makes FIFA World Cup the world’s most viewed sporting event. Football is being played in more than 200 nations. In an average, 250 million people play football across the globe all year round. Being both Olympic and Paralympic sport, football is quite famous in the online world as a fantasy football sport. 

Let us tell you some facts about soccer which will make your online fantasy football games more interesting: 

Read on the few facts:

The largest Football tournament saw no less than 5,098 teams. They competed in 1999 for the second Bangkok League Seven-a-Side Competition. Over 35,000 players participated. 

Based on video evidence, one of the fastest ever scored was in 2.8 seconds by Ricardo Olivera (Uruguay) in December 1998. 

The maximum number of goals scored by one player in a single Football match was 16. It scored by Stephan Stanis (France) playing for Racing Club de Lens in December 1942. 

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Football players run an average of 9.65 kms during every game. 

Football goalies didn’t have to wear different coloured shirts from their teammates until 1913. 

The World’s First Football Club was the English Sheffield Football Club. It was founded in 1857 by Colonel Nathaniel Cresswick and Major William Priest, two British Army officers. 

The very first game of basketball was played with a soccer ball. 

The highest scoring game was clocked 149-0. Stade Olympique de L’emyrne, a team from Madagascar scored their own goals. They did it as a form of protest for the unfair decision by referee in the previous game. 

European Teams have reached every World Cup final, except for the finals of 1930 and 1950.

Celestine Babayaro, Nigerian born Chelsea player injured his legs while celebrating his debut goal in a pre-season match, while Luigi Riva broke a spectator’s arm with his powerful shot. 

Ronaldinho came into limelight when scored 23 goals in a 23-0 game when he was only 

Pele was the first to call football “the beautiful game”. 

The first black football player was Arthur Wharton in the 1800s. 

Some more of them:

England came up with the word “soccer”. It’s a shortened version of “Association Football” that was changed to “Assoc Football”. This was changed to “Soccer”. In 19th century England, it was popular to add the “-er” sound to shortened words. 

Only Americans and Canadians call football “soccer”. 

In 1998, lightening killed an entire football team. The catastrophe occurred in Congo during a match between the villages of Bena Tshadi and nearby Basangana.  

In 1964, a referee’s call during a football match in Peru caused a riot that killed over 300 people. 

The Portuguese boast of scoring the world’s greatest goals to game ratio of 1.77. The team has found the net an incredible 331 times in just 187 games for Sporting Lisbon between 1937 and 1949 (compared to Messi’s 0.82 for Barcelona). 

ASEC Abidjan of Cote d’Ivoire was unbeaten for 108 games between 1989 and 1994. 

Neil Armstrong originally wanted to take a football to the moon – but NASA deemed it to be un-American. 

Globally, there are 27 professional football clubs that take a Beatles song as their nickname – Villarreal in Spain being the most famous (the Yellow Submarines). 

The ball used in professional football has remained exactly the same size and shape for 120 years – 28inches in circumference. 

Happy reading! 

Crickets Facts Which Will Leave You Spellbound

Be it a school-going kid or over a 60-year-old man, everyone is up to date about every cricket match being played around the world and with the latest trend of fantasy cricket they play the daily fantasy cricket. The craze is not bound to international matches alone but to domestic games too! We all follow them all but do we remember them? Do we see between the scorecards? 

Here are a few interesting and unknown facts of cricket which you might never have noticed. 

Birthday Charm 

Peter Siddle, Australian fast bowler, is the only cricketer to have picked up a hat-trick on his birthday. This was on 25th November 2010 against England at Brisbane. Additionally to the hat-trick, that day got him his career-best bowling figures of 6 for 54 as well. 

Duck Record 

Chris Gayle has been dismissed for a duck on the very first ball thrice in test matches. This exclusive duck record is shared by Conrad Hunte, Sunil Gavaskar and Sanath Jayasuriya as well. 

Won Every World Cup 

The only ICC cricket team is the Indian cricket team who has won World Cup in all formats. 60 overs World Cup (1983), 50 overs World Cup (2011) and 20 overs World Cup (2007)! 

Lost Every World Cup 

The only ICC cricket team is the England cricket team who has lost World Cup final in all formats. 60 overs World Cup (1979), 50 overs World Cup (1987, 1992) and 20 overs World Cup (2016)! 

Unbeaten Record 

Courtney Walsh, the former West Indian skipper holds the record for having the most number of not outs in test cricket matches. It is an unbeaten record of 61 times. 

Smith’s Ton 

The most successful Test Captain in the history of cricket is Graeme Smith. He has won 3 tests as a captain. He is the only skipper to have led the side for 100 tests as well. 

Nothing out of Asia 

MS Dhoni, who was formerly Indian cricket team captain is yet to score an ODI ton outside Asia. He has already played 250+ ODI scoring 9000+ runs at an average of 51 odd with just 10 tons scoring each of them inside Asia. 

On and On 

Allan Border, former Australian skipper has played 153 consecutive tests for Australia. It is the most by any cricketer. This seems to be a forever unbreakable record. 

Safe hands 

Ricky Ponting, who is debatably one of the top cricketers in the cricketing history and was former Australian captain, has taken 28 catches in the World cup. As he was not a wicket-keeper ever, this was the most by any non wicket-keeper. 

Matchless Ganguly 

The former Indian skipper, Sourav Ganguly is the only player to win four consecutive “Man of the Match” award in One Day Internationals. 

Enjoy reading and playing fantasy cricket!

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10 Amazing and Surprising Cricket Records to Note

In all sports, the players get famous for their playing style and records they make. Cricket is no exception. Furthermore, you tend to select your daily fantasy cricket team based on the records of the players and also on their performances.

There are some cricketers who will be forever remembered for their unusual records, whether these cricketers are in performance during recent times or you choose them for your fantasy cricket game. Let’s know them: 

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Cricket appearance in Olympics 

Cricket has only ever appeared in the Olympic Games twice. The first time was in 1896 in Athens; but, there had not enough teams to compete hence the competition never happened. Once again, in 1900, cricket reappears in the Paris Olympics but just 2 teams were able to compete. 

First face-off 

Geoff Boycott was the first cricketer to face a ball in the one day cricket history. The bowler was Graham McKenzie. 

Ill-tempered Sunil 

Sunil Gavaskar parents had to take him to a psychiatrist once for check-up for his ill temperament. It has stated that Sunil was very ill-tempered in the past. 

Century using a borrowed bat 

The epic 1996 37-ball century of Shahid Afridi, the fastest in one-day history at the time, actually scored off using the borrowed bat of Waqar Younis! 

Mankad madness 

A special style of dismissal is in trend at the cricket matches. The style is known as Mankad, named after Indian bowler Vinod Mankad. It involves the running out of the non-striking batsman when he leaves his crease by the bowler before the ball has been delivered. Vinod used this method often, instead of warning the batsman as was custom at the time, so the name stuck.  

TV wickets 

In 1992, Sachin Tendulkar turned to be the first ever batsman to be run out after the third umpire consulted TV replays–Jonty Rhodes was the fielder. The next day, in the same test match, Rhodes was run out in the precise same way by Sachin. 

Snail-slow Sunil 

In a World Cup match of 1975, Sunil Gavaskar batted through the 60 overs and scored just 36 runs. There is a huge doubt about this record ever getting broken. 

Long-lasting battery power 

West Indian fast bowler Courtney Walsh nicknamed Duracell for his ability to bowl very long spells. 

Sydney magic 

After scoring 277 runs at the SCG in 1993 vs. Australia Brian Lara named his own daughter Sydney! 

Stumped by a whacko wicket 

English shepherds, considered to be the first to discover cricket, used to play in front of a tree stump. So the origins of the term “stump.” As the game developed, they moved to sometimes playing in front of a wicket-gate, which led to the term “wicket” coined. 

Enjoy reading and playing online cricket! 

The star of two sports – Ellyse Perry

Ellyse Perry is making wave across the globe. Why? When you are a fan of fantasy sports, you are bound to stay updated about real sports. In the women’s Ashes Test match, Perry became the seventh batswoman to score a double century. Since then, social media is just talking about one name and that’s Perry. 

Think about it, you must have found Ellyse Perry’s name in your fantasy football as well as fantasy cricket matches while making the team. 

That is because she is one of those women sportsperson who has participated and won in ICC Women’s World Cup and the World T20 and also participated FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2011 and scored goal against Sweden. And mind that the goal was a spectacular one. 

play fantasy cricket online games

So let’s know a few facts about this 27 years old Australian young lady: 

Perry became the youngest Australian in International Cricket at the age of just 16 in July 2017. 

She has played for Australia in 2008 Olympic qualifiers. 

Ellyse Perry is the 1st Australian citizen to represent her country in both cricket and football world cup. 

Ellyse Perry was the first signing and captain of the Sydney Sixers side at Women’s Big Bash League during the inaugural season. 

She is named as Wisden Women Cricketer of the year in 2016. 

Ellyse Perry’s 213 not out is the highest test score for Australian women, which she scored on November 11, 2017. 

Ellyse Perry’s marvellous achievements as a woman sportsperson make for remarkable reading. She has achieved enormous success at peak level across both football and cricket. 

Enjoy knowing her and play fantasy sports! 

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Famous Nicknames of the Footballer and their Tales

Soccer or football is the most popular sport in the world so essentially a lot of people play fantasy football leagues! 

Fantasy football permits a soccer fan to act like a real manager, predict the form of a footballer, match outcomes and enhance your sports skill and knowledge. Building your online football team needs you select from the available list of players. 

These players have these nicknames sometimes because of their playing style and at times because of their personal style.

Let’s take a look at some of the Footballer Player’s nickname. 

Chicharito:

Javier Hernandez, the famous Mexican footballer has this nickname. Short with 5 feet and 7 inches and given the nickname Chicharito which means little pea. Though, short height not the actual reason behind his nickname, he has the name as his father also looked like him. 

Hulk:

Givanildo Vieira de Sousa has the nickname of hulk because of his powerful and big feature. His father called him Hulk starting from his childhood as he was huge, strong and powerful and hence, after hestarted playing football, he had this name. 

Dave:

Cesar Azpilicueta got his name for a slip of tongue and for the difficulty in pronouncing his name. Once, Cesar accidentally answered to one of his teammates when he was calling for Dave, the bus driver. Chelsea fan picked up the accident rather quick and started calling his name as Dave. 

The Divine Ponytail: 

Roberto Baggio II, the famous Italian attacker known for his goal scoring capabilities and got his nickname from there. 

The Baby Faced Assassin:

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s baby face got his nickname but this former player of Manchester was killer in the ground and scored goal distinctly. 

The Flea/O.A.T:

Lionel Messi has these two nicknames. This Argentinean footballer plays with the nerves of the opponent team and defines his strength by scoring goals in critical times. 

La Pulga:

Messi has the nickname as La Pulga in his own country Argentina. 

The Bank of Naples:

Hans Jeppson is a Swedish player has the nickname, also one of the most expensive transfers in the history of the football. 

The Butcher of Bilbao: 

Andoni Goikoetxea, a Spanish footballer known as the buther of bilbao who attempted to assassinate the career of Diego Maradona. 

One Size:

Fitz hall was a one size fits all English defender who was best known for his football career.

Tarzan: 

Carles puyol, a Spanish player known as Tarzan and he is a legendary icon. 

Rhino:

Keith Stevens has earned the nicknames because of his fearless tackling and the nose size. 

The Architect:

Andrea Pirlo has the nickname that was the Italian mid-fielder and has always set a rhythm for his team. 

Maestro/ Mozart/The Professor/The Metronome:

Because of his un-matched skills Andrea Pirlo was given these nicknames. 

Fenomeno:

Fenomeno means then phenomenon and was the nickname of Brazilian forward player who is a legend and famous for his score impeccable playing style. 

Real Ronaldo:

As the name suggest, the nickname is of Ronaldo. 

The Kaiser/The Emperor:

German player Franz Beckenbauer was known as the Kaiser because of his inspirational leadership. 

The King: 

Edson Arantes do Nascimento is the living Brazilian football legend who was the all-time best player. 

Pele:

Pele was also nickname of Edson Arantes do Nascimento. 

The Invincible Wall:

Gilberto Silva was the invincible wall as he was unbeaten in the ground. 

The Lazy Wizard:

Juan Riquelme was given the nickname as he was un-athletic, lazy and moody footballer. 

The one man show:

Ronaldinho was named with the nickname for his magical performances on ground. 

El Nino:

El nino means the kid and was the nickname of Fernando Jose Torres Sanz who is the Spanish footballer and became the captain of Atletico Madrid at a very young age. 

CR7/ O Robo/ The Robot:

Cristiano Ronaldo is known by these nicknames as he plays stiff. 

El pibe de Oro/ Hand of God:

The nickname means the golden boy and is the nickname of Diego Maradona who was brilliant in the ground and is Argentina’s football legend. 

Shaggy/ Sicknote:

These are nicknames of Darren Anderton which he earned because of his appearance. He used to be injured always before he played any match. 

The Gentle Giant:

This is the nickname of great John Charles who was tall, respectful, and powerful and was never having any controversy throughout his career. 

Black Panther/ The Black Spider:

These are nicknames of soviet soccer player who was also awarded with the golden boot and his name is lev Yashin. 

Bomber/ The fat one:

Gerd Muller who is the greatest German soccer player is known as bomber because of his technique to shot goals. He has also earned the nickname of the fat one. 

The big baby:

Francesco Totti who is a famous Rome player is named as the big baby because of the provocation which cost him ban of three matches when he spat on the opponent player. 

The Galloping Major:

Ferenc puskas is famous for scoring goals for his national team Hungary and scored 83 goals in 84 matches. 

Psycho:

Stuart Pearce earned the nickname because of his playing style and was aggressive and unforgivable. 

El Gato:

El gato means the cat and is given to Iker Casillas who is exceptional in performance. He has made unbelievable saves which were considered as miracles. 

The Ginger Ninja:

Paul Scholes earned the nicknamed who played for Manchester United because of his hair color and fantastic passing capacities.. 

Le Sulk:

The French striker Nicolas Anelka has the nickname who never seemed to smile on the field. 

The non-flying Dutchman/ The Menace:

Dennis Bergkamp was having fear to fly and was given the name. 

El Tractor:

El tractor is the name of Javier Zanetti who had excellent stamina and always ran tirelessly. 

Spice Boy/Beck:

David Beckham, an English football player has the nickname because of his attractive looks and he has married to Spice girl Victoria. 

The Pit Bull:

Gennaro Gattuso who was Italian player and won world cup and two champion’s trophy for his respective teams. 

El Pirata:

Esteban Granero has the nickname because of his beard and curly hair. 

These were few of the nicknames we listed. 

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A Few Strategies to Get High Scores in Fantasy Football

If you think fantasy football is easy to win, you are wrong in your thoughts. You need to gather all your smart moves and sports knowledge to play the online football game. 

The whole point of playing fantasy football online is showcasing your sports skills; get involved with your favourite sport online when you cannot be a sportsperson for real. And in the process win some amazing prizes and get in the competition spirit with the other online fantasy sports fans. 

There are few strategies which can help you in the accumulating high scores in fantasy football. 

Think “goalkeeper” first 

Goalkeepers can make or break a fantasy football team. 

Think about it. The objective of fantasy football is to pick the outliers no one else thinks about to get that edge. Just like poker. 

There are less quality goalkeepers than outfield players. There are also more under-rated & therefore under-valued goalkeepers to choose from. 

If you get a great goalkeeper in an average team, you’ll be scoring high points because he’ll be forced to make a lot of saves. 

Look for players in odd positions 

This is more of an art than a science & depends on what online football game you’re playing. 

Changes in formations by managers & small tactical tinkers can leave some players in odd positions, but you can use this to your advantage if you know how the scoring system works. 

Think like a real manager 

You need to think like a real manager & understand the situation.  This gives you the chance to think wisely and choose your fantasy team. 

Most importantly, play for fun 

It is fun to be competitive and win games when creating the online football team. But finally, the league scoring should be determined by you and the rest of your fantasy league. 

Enjoy playing online football! 

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5 Tips for Fantasy Cricket Fans

We all know that cricket the religion and the most popular sport in India. This passion for sports has brought the trend of fantasy sports as it engages the ardent fans to their favourite sports. Online cricket games allow the fans to enjoy the matches in their television sets and also win prizes playing the games. 

Your team competes with others entered in the same tournament, contest or league, and those players with the highest points get awarded as per the fantasy rules. Here we have list down 5 tips for the fantasy cricket players: 

Ensure your player is playing on that day 

The last thing you want to do is select a team of players that aren’t even playing in the real game. Avoid players who have been benched all season and avoid players who are even slightly in doubt of playing that particular match, due to injury or whatever other reason. 

Don’t rely on merit 

One thing you should never forget is that you must choose FORM over REPUTATION. The likes of popular players have been brilliant picks always. The players at form in 2015 are not likely to perform so well in 2018. Why not select a lesser known person, who have been running on some brilliant form and can prove in the matches. 

Do a pitch report 

No, we’re not asking you to fly down to place to check the pitches everyday but do a little homework about the pitch before choosing your team. Some pitches have become fast-paced pitch as compared and some are spin-friendly pitch. Similarly, some are two-paced wicket aiding the slower bowlers. Hence, choose your teams accordingly! 

Select top order batsmen 

You don’t want to be selecting batsmen who won’t even get a chance to bat in the game. Select your batsmen in such an order so that they can play in the top four. It is no use if they can’t bat and because of that, you cannot get any point. 

Strike bowlers 

You don’t want to be picking bowlers who just have low economy rates. Pick wicket taking bowlers, even if they have a tendency of giving away more runs. Pick bowlers who may get hit for a six, but their wicket taking ability is much higher. 

Enjoy playing online cricket!

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Maradona Hand of God Scandal

Unlike fantasy football, the real football world is full of gossips and scandals. Play online fantasy football and enjoy one of the most engaging scandals in the history of soccer which links the world’s greatest footballer, Diego Maradona. 

In 22 June 1986, the destiny of at least three people changed forever. By scoring both goals in a 2-1 win against England in a World Cup quarter-final; Diego Maradona completely convinced the world audience he had a unique football gift which was touched by God. And also by the evil spirit. 

There have been few games in football World Cup history that has left more of a lasting impact on the sport than Argentina’s victory over England in the 1986 quarter finals in the Mexico City. 

The match took over by the greatest player of the planet, Argentina’s captain and No 10, Diego Maradona.   

The Goal 

Six minutes into the second-half, Maradona passed the ball to Jorge Valdano. And then sustained his run from the left into the England penalty area. 

The pass was interrupted by Steve Hodge but in attempting to clear the ball he skewed it into penalty area. It was where Maradona had continued his run and England goalkeeper Peter Shilton had emerged to meet it. 

Shilton was favourite to punch the ball clear, but, Maradona reached it first and with the outside of his left fist, knocked it beyond Shilton and into the net. Inexpert Tunisian referee Ali Bin Nasser and his linesman did not see the breach and the goal stood. Terry Fenwick and Glenn Hoddle chased Bin Nasser back to the centre circle, but their complaints fell on deaf ears. 

Maradona went from the ridiculous to the sublime as he put his team 2-0 up three minutes later. 

Getting the ball from Hector Enrique, just inside his own half, he went past five English defenders – Hodge, Peter Beardsley, Peter Reid, Terry Butcher and Fenwick – prior to rounding Shilton and sliding the ball in. Valdano was existing for a tap in but Maradona ended the move off alone for one of the greatest goals ever scored. 

Although Gary Lineker netted late on, Argentina held on for a 2-1 win. Tension had surrounded the match because it was the first time the teams had met since the Falklands War, and if the game’s characters were playing this down, the media definitely were not. 

Argentina went on to win the 1986 World Cup, beating West Germany 3-2 in the final, and Maradona was named Player of the Tournament. 

Enjoy reading and play online football!

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French History of Playing Football

FIFA World Cup Russia 2018 was thrilling and unpredictable this year and the trophy went to the French land. With the increase of online fantasy football fans, this year the football fans have also increased because of the thrilling matches this World Cup has offered. 

The national league of French football is one of the most successful international teams in the world. Like the fantasy football has gained popularity now, similarly, the actual football sport has gained popularity in the nation after World War I. Soldiers played the game in the trenches during extended periods of downtime. They spread the game after returning home from the war. Football games occurred mainly in the army and prominent universities before World War I. 

World Champions 

The French national team played the final round of the World Cup for the first time in 1998 and turned out to be the seventh country to win the World Cup. That year the match took place at the Stade de France in Paris. Brazil experienced its worst world championship defeat, with a final score of 3-0. Zinedine Zidane led the team to victory, scoring two goals over Brazil. Zidane also won the FIFA World Player of the Year award that year. 

Popularity 

Football is the most popular sport in France. Football is 2.5 times more popular than the second most popular sport, tennis. French Olympic football federations received more sporting licenses than any other single-sport Olympic federation in the country in 2009. 

International Success 

The national football team in France won the UEFA Euro in 1984 and 2000. UEFA European Championship demonstrates the most talented teams in Europe and includes a qualifying match, playoffs and a final tournament. The French national football team won the FIFA Confederations Cup in 2001 and 2003. 

The Confederations Cup is an international football contest among eight teams in the year before an upcoming World Cup. Qualifiers comprise the previous World Cup champions and the national team that hosts the upcoming World Cup. The CAF Africa Cup of Nations, AFC Asian Cup, EUFA Euro Cup, CONCACAF Gold Cup, OFC Nations Cup and Copa America champions also partake in the Confederations Cup. 

French Football Federation 

The French Football Federation was founded in 1919. It oversees all aspects of professional and amateur football throughout France and French overseas territories. The Federation organizes, widens and monitors the manner football is taught and practised by establishing technical rules, gathering the national teams and issuing licenses. The Federation runs relationships with foreign football associations that are connected with the Federation Internationale de Football Association and other public or national authorities. 

Enjoy reading and playing online football!

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Significance of Sports Knowledge in Fantasy Cricket

Cricket is undoubtedly one of the most popular sports in the world. And when it comes to the Indian sub-continent, the love and passion for this sport simply know no bounds! While an onlooker may consider it to be a see ball – hit ball affair. But the enthusiast and followers of the game know that it goes far beyond just hitting the ball. Cricket is an exhilarating combination of strategies, calculations, skill, technique. In some cases even speculation, depending on the direction that given math headed towards. Hence, if you are willing to make your own cricket team for playing Daily Fantasy Cricket, you ought to know more than just the basic rules of the game. Let us take a look at what you need to know, and how exactly will it help you beat your competitors! 

Understanding Strategies 

For any cricket fan looking forward to making it big in the world of Fantasy Cricket, it is highly advisable that he watches as many old and new matches as possible. Not only will this small exercise help him understand the various strategies used by team captains, and other players to turn the game around. But it will also give him a fair idea of how a player acts or reacts to a given situation. Moreover, it will bring out each player’s strengths and weaknesses. The knowledge of which can be put to use while selecting the team. 

Understanding the Pitch and Weather Conditions 

In order to pick a winning side for a Fantasy Cricket Game, it is important for a cricket fan to understand the pitch that the match is supposed to be played on. If the pitch is fast, it may be helpful to have a good mix of fast bowlers. In case the pitch is flat, the chances of both teams to score high are far greater. Similarly, if the weather is windy, it can be a good idea to include more spinners in the team. However, selecting the team on the basis of pitch and weather conditions is easier said than done. An ardent follower of the game must pay attention to these details in every match that he watches to understand the nuances related to these aspects. 

Knowing the Players 

Every player has his own way of performing. There are some who play exceedingly well in the primary matches of a series, but crumble down when it comes to playing matches under pressure. Then there are batsmen who are better at chasing targets than creating them. It is only when one has the in-depth knowledge of each player’s style of playing, and his performance statistics with and without pressure, that he can truly pick a winning combination for a fantasy cricket match! 

Enjoy online cricket game! 

Read More:
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2. Crickets Facts Which Will Leave You Spellbound