Soccer and Politics

Top Photos of the Day

Argentina's national soccer team coach Diego Maradona, left, and Argentina's President Cristina Fernandez pose for pictures during the opening ceremony of a shopping center in Buenos Aires, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2008. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

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Valuev and Holyf... Russian WBA heavyweight champion Nikolai Valuev, left, and Evander Holyfield from the United States exchange punches during their WBA heavyweight boxing world championships fight at the Hallenstadion venue in Zurich, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 20, 2008. (AP Photo/Keystone, Walter Bieri)
Anti-Terror Dril... Indonesian special forces soldiers with their sniffer dogs rappel down from a helicopter onto a hotel held up by terrorists during an anti-terror drill in Jakarta, Indonesia, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2008. Indonesian security forces stormed airports, glitzy hotels, passenger ships and the Jakarta Stock Exchange building Sunday in a massive anti-terrorism drill in the world's most populous Muslim nation. (AP Photo/Irwin Fedriansyah)
Silver Jubilee Students perform during a cultural programme on the occasion of the silver jubilee of their school in the northern Indian city of Chandigarh December 19, 2008. REUTERS/Ajay Verma
Colombia Exposho... A model wears body art by Ecuadorean John Vargas during the Colombia Exposhow New York 2009 in Cali, Colombia, Friday, Dec. 19, 2008. (AP Photo/Christian Escobar Mora)
President Bush l... U.S. President George W. Bush looks at his portrait, painted by Robert Anderson, during its unveiling at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington December 19, 2008. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
Near the Chapel ... Near the Chapel of Memories at Mississippi State University, Oxford-based sculptor Rod Moorhead surveys the view from his freshly installed angel sculpture. Whereas the sculpture was lifted and set into place within an hour on Friday Dec. 18, 2008, Moorhead said the process of creating the sculpture took about a year to complete. (AP Photo/Mississippi State University,Megan Bean)
10,000 Thai Budd... More than 10,000 Thai Buddhist monks gather near Lopburi, Thailand, Saturday, Dec. 20, 2008, to pray for peace. Thailand is still experiencing violence in the south while political tensions have eased with the formation of a new government. (AP Photo/David Longstreath)
Snow in Central ... A woman walks up a staircase in Central Park during a snowstorm in New York December 19, 2008. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
215 Points of Vi... Colin Christiansen, 17, of Kiel, Wis., looks at 215 Points of View by Jonathan Schipper, Nov. 7, 2008, part of Messages & Magic: 100 Years of Collage and Assemblage in American Art, running through Jan. 25 at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center in Sheboygan, Wis. (AP Photo/Carrie Antlfinger)
Australian Bboy ... Bboy Monsta performs a one handed freeze during the Australian Bboy Championships in Sydney December 13, 2008. You Witness News/Conan Whitehouse. Reuters.
Cold weather hit... Darlene Tucker waits for a downtown bus as cold weather hit Houston Monday, Dec. 15, 2008. (AP Photo/Houston Chronicle, Eric Kayne)
Parapsychologist... Parapsychologist Fernando Nogueira performs a communication with the spirits on one of his patients in Fafe. Surrounded by clean hospital beds in his new Occult Sciences Centre in northern Portugal, Nogueira makes exorcism sound almost mundane. A metal plaque above one door says, matter-of-factly, "Exorcism room". Inside, a pale, female patient lies under a blanket, a crucifix hangs on the wall alongside dozens of newspaper clips about Nogueira's paranormal abilities. REUTERS/Jose Manuel Ribeiro
Afghani Boys War... Afghan boys warm their hands over a fire in the Darul Aman's palace damaged during the civil war of 1992 in the city of Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday Dec. 19, 2008. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)
Russian ship in ... Russia's ship Admiral Chabanenko arrives to Havana bay, Friday, Dec. 19, 2008. Three warships from Russia's northern fleet arrived for the Russian Navy's first visit to Cuba since the Cold War. (AP Photo/Javier Galeano)
Ice Swimmers Clu... Members of a local ice swimmers club roll around in snow after taking a dive in the Yenisei river in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, December 14, 2008. REUTERS/Ilya Naymushin
Foul Ball Charlotte Bobcats forward Emeka Okafor (50) is fouled by Chicago Bulls forward Tyrus Thomas, right, during the second half of the Bobcats' 110-101 win in an NBA basketball game in Charlotte, N.C., Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2008. (AP Photo)
Tomb of the unkn... An Evzone, Greek presidential guard, marches at the tomb of the unknown soldier in Athens, Wednesday Dec. 17, 2008. Protesters hung two giant banners off the Acropolis on Wednesday, with slogans calling for mass demonstrations across Europe and "resistance," after days of violent protests sparked by the fatal police shooting of a teenager in Athens. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
Shoe Fallout Children play with shoes owned by Iraqi journalist Muntadar al-Zeidi outside his apartment in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, Dec. 15, 2008. The children are neighbors to al-Zeidi who threw his shoes at President George W. Bush during a press conference in Baghdad on Sunday, while yelling in Arabic.(AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
'Lightpia' festi... Trees and stone walls of the imperial moat are illuminated during the year end "Lightpia" light-up festivity in Tokyo, Japan, Friday, Dec. 19, 2008.(AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye)
Celebrating Socc... Tigre's fans celebrate at the end of an Argentina's first division soccer match against Banfield in Buenos Aires, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2008. Tigre won 1-0. (AP Photo/ Gabriel Piko)
The Video Game A... Host Jack Black is seen at the sixth annual Video Game Awards at Sony Picture Studios in Culver City, Calif., on Sunday Dec. 14, 2008. (AP Photo)
Flooding in Tiju... A flooded street is seen in a poor neighborhood of Tijuana, Mexico, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2008. Heavy winter rains hit northern Mexico causing floods. (AP Photo/Guillermo Arias)
Swooning Fans New England Patriots cornerback Ellis Hobbs III, left, is hugged by fan Rachel Nichols after Hobbs' 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown during the first half on an NFL football game in Oakland, Calif., Sunday, Dec. 14, 2008. (AP Photo)
Riots in Greece ... Youths clash with police outside the main court complex in the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki, Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2008. The clashes followed a court ruling that convicted eight police officers of brutality against a student following riots in 2006. As violence flared up in Greece again after a two-day lull, masked youths in Athens attacked the riot police headquarters with petrol bombs and stones, damaging eight vehicles. No injuries were reported. Protesters also briefly occupied a state NET television news studio. Greece's worst riots in decades followed the Dec. 6 fatal police shooting of a 15-year-old boy in Athens. (AP Photo/Nikolas Giakoumidis)
Tassos Papadopou... Mourners file past the coffin of former Cyprus President Tassos Papadopoulos to pay their last respects during his funeral service in the Cypriot capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Monday, Dec. 15, 2008. Papadopoulos, who in 2004 ushered Cyprus into the European Union after rallying Greek Cypriots to reject a U.N.-drafted deal to reunify the war-divided island, died Dec. 12 from cancer.(AP Photo/Philippos Christou)
President Bush w... U.S. President George W. Bush, center right, walks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, center left, on the arrival at the presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan on Monday, Dec. 15, 2008. President George W. Bush got a firsthand look Monday at the deteriorating situation in the seven-year-old Afghanistan war, as his administration prepares to hand over a strategy overhaul to his successor including significantly increasing the U.S. troop presence. (AP Photo/Musadeq Sadeq, Pool)
Dugong A dugong swims in the new Mermaid Lagoon display at the Sydney Aquarium in Sydney, Australia, Friday, Dec. 19, 2008 during the introduction of two dugongs. It is said that dugongs, an aboriginal word meaning young child, in olden times were mistakenly identified as mermaids to mariners that had been at sea for a long time. (AP Photo/Rob Griffith)
Thai Parliament Leader of Democrat Party Abhisit Vejjajiva, center, is supported by members of parliament after being nominated the country's new prime minsiter at parliament in Bangkok, Thailand Monday, Dec. 15, 2008. Parliament chose opposition party leader Abhisit as Thailand's prime minister Monday following months of political chaos, as supporters of the former government tried to blockade lawmakers in the building. (AP Photo/Apichart Weerawong)
Madonna Toughs i... Under pouring rain, U.S. singer Madonna, front, performs during a concert, part of her "Sticky and Sweet" tour, as an assistant holds up an umbrella over her at the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2008. (AP Photo/ Ricardo Moraes)
Rod Blagojevich Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich waves as he leaves a downtown office building Sunday, Dec. 14, 2008, in Chicago. Blagojevich was arrested this week on federal charges that he tried to sell President-elect Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
The Shoe Inciden... In this image from APTN video, US President George W. Bush, left, ducks as a man throws a shoe at him, during a news conference with Iraq Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2008, in Baghdad, Iraq. On an Iraq trip shrouded in secrecy and marred by dissent, President George W. Bush on Sunday hailed progress in the war that defines his presidency and got a size-10 reminder of his unpopularity when a man hurled two shoes at him during a news conference. (AP Photo)
Winter Frost Dried plants and trees covered with hoarfrost are seen in a forest near village Veragi, 30 km ( 19 miles ) north of Minsk, Belarus, Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2008. The temperatures in Belarus reached - 6 Celsius (21 degrees Fahrenheit). (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)
Bomb Alert in Pa... French Interior Minister Michele Alliot-Marie, center, arrives a Paris department store after a bomb alert Tuesday Dec.16 , 2008 in Paris. Police neutralized explosives discovered Tuesday in a prestigious Paris department store, and France's national news agency said it received a claim of responsibility from an Afghan group. (AP Photo/Jacques Brinon)
Hope for Cope Mosiuoa Lekota, a former defense minister and co-founder of Cope (Congress of the People), breakaway faction of South Africa's African National Congress, reacts, as he is named the leader of the new party, at the final session of Cope's three-day founding conference in Bloemfontein, South Africa, Tuesday Dec. 16, 2008. The president of the governing African National Congress is addressing a rally only hours before ANC rebels formally launch a splinter party in the same heartland South African town. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
Protest to Free ... A Palestinian man holds a shoe during a demonstration calling for the release of the Iraqi journalist Muntadar al-Zeidi, in Gaza City, Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2008. An Iraqi journalist Muntadar al-Zeidi threw his shoes at President George W. Bush during a press conference in Baghdad on Sunday, while yelling in Arabic: "This is a farewell kiss, you dog, this is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq." (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
Thailand's New P... Thailand's new Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, right, receives a bouquet of flowers from a Muslim female supporter at the Democrat Party headquarters Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2008, in Bangkok, Thailand. Abhisit faces the difficult task of unifying a country torn apart by months of violent anti-government protests, demonstrations that battered the key tourism industry just as the global economy was slipping into its worst crisis in decades. (AP Photo/Apichart Weerawong)
China's Economic... An elderly man sits while a woman walks past a huge photo showing the 1980's Chinese women wearing sun glasses on display in Beijing, China, Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2008. Dec. 18, China will celebrates 30th anniversary on economic reform. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Eritrean Refugee... Eritrean Refugees, wearing white masks, shout slogans as they protest in front of Israel's Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv, Israel, Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2008. The protesters are seeking refugee status in Israel after sneaking in from a county where the U.N. says men are often forced into military service for life. Israel has granted refugee status to people fleeing Darfur, but says it will deport all others who entered illegally. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
Tom Cruise at th... Actor Tom Cruise attends the world premiere of 'Valkyrie' at the Time Warner Center on Monday, Dec. 15, 2008 in New York. (AP Photo/Evan Agostini)
Food Riots One of 49 Egyptians, who were arrested for participating in deadly food riots in April, cries at the court in the northern provincial capital of Tanta, 55 miles (90 kilometers) north of Cairo, Egypt on Monday Dec. 15, 2008. An Egyptian court has convicted 22 people for participating in food riots in northern Egypt last April and sentenced them to between three and five years in prison. (AP Photo/Mahmoud al Saeed)
Peaceful Youth P... Youths dance traditional Greek dances in front of the Greek parliament during a peaceful protest in central Athens, Monday Dec. 15, 2008. Greece has seen its worst riots in decades after 15-year-old Alexandros Grigoropoulos died Dec. 6 in a police shooting. The riots quickly spread from Athens to more than a dozen cities and for a week, youths smashed and burned stores and cars, and hurled petrol bombs and rocks at riot police, who responded with stun grenades and large amounts of tear gas. Dozens of people were injured in the rioting, while hundreds of stores were damaged or looted and more than 200 people were arrested.(AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)
Earning a Living... A Jordanian man hawks his load of sweet cotton candy, along a street in Amman, Jordan, Wednesday Dec. 17, 2008. (AP Photo / Mohammad abu Ghosh)
A New Rule Leader of Democrat Party Abhisit Vejjajiva knees down and greets as he receives King Bhumibol Adulyadej's command appointing him new Thailand's Prime Minister at a ceremony at party's headquarters in Bangkok, Thailand Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2008. Abhisit, the 44-year-old, Oxford-educated was voted by Parliament on Monday, promised Wednesday to put together a competent Cabinet to revive the country's economy battered by months of violent anti-government protests. (AP Photo/Pool)
Voting in Kashmi... Kashmiri Muslims wait to cast their vote outside a polling station in Veeri some 47 kilometers (29 miles) south of Srinagar, India, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2008. Voters headed to the polls in dozens of towns in Indian Kashmir on Wednesday as security forces lined the roads and Muslim protesters boycotted the elections.(AP Photo/Dar Yasin)
Honda Execs Take... Honda Motor Co. President Takeo Fukui listens to a reporter's question during a news conference at Honda headquarters in Tokyo Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2008. The Japan's second-biggest automaker slashed its profit forecast for the fiscal year Wednesday and announced that managers will take a 10 percent pay cut amid a global downturn in the auto industry. (AP Photo/Katsumi Kasahara)
Picassos Visitor looks at works by Spanish artist Pablo Picasso as they are reflected at glass and displayed at Bulgarian National Gallery of Foreign Art in the Bulgarian capital Sofia, Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2008. The exhibition titled "I don't search for. I find: Pablo Picasso" opens on December 17. (AP Photo/Petar Petov)
Haiti's Ousted P... Supporters of ousted Haiti's President Jean-Bertrand Aristide march past a painting of him during a demonstration to demand his return in Port-au-Prince Port-au-Prince, Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2008. Aristide fled Haiti amid an uprising in 2004 and is living in exile in South Africa. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
Arne Duncan President-elect Barack Obama, center, flanked by Education Secretary-designate Arne Duncan, right, and Vice President-elect Joe Biden, visit students at the Dodge Renaissance Academy in Chicago, Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2008. (AP Photo)
Rhinoceros Betty... Rhinoceros Betty and her youngster Manjula hang out in their outdoor enclosure at the Tierpark in Berlin, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2008. (AP Photo/Franka Bruns)
Icicles Icicles are seen above a creek in Orueti in the canton of Zurich in Switzerland, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2008. (AP Photo/Keystone, Steffen Schmidt)
Nouri al-Maliki Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki waves during the re-opening of the Mutanabi Street in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2008. The Mutanabi Street, also known as Baghdad's Book Market, was largely destroyed in several large bombings in the past years. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
Israeli Tanks Ta... An Israeli tank drives near the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2008. Israeli fighter jets were deployed for the first time in six months, overnight to Thursday morning destroying unmanned targets in Gaza, and Israeli defense officials said the airstrikes were meant to send a strong message to Hamas. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)
30 Years of Refo... A Chinese paramilitary police yawns and his colleagues sleep while President Hu Jintao, unseen, delivers a speech on a celebration to mark the 30th anniversary of China's reform held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2008. Thirty years ago this month, China's communist leaders launched an economic revolution, opening the door to free market reforms and foreign trade though not to political change. The party marked the anniversary Thursday with a ceremony in the Great Hall of the People, opening with a speech from Hu Jintao, general secretary of the party and China's president. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
The Spirit Gabriel Macht, star of "The Spirit," poses alongside his character's image at the premiere of the film in Los Angeles, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2008. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
Sandwich Los Angeles Kings defenseman Peter Harrold, middle, is sandwiched between New York Rangers center Blair Betts, left, and right wing Colton Orr as they go for the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Los Angeles, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2008. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
Caroline Kennedy Caroline Kennedy waves as she leaves city hall where she visited with Mayor Matt Driscoll in Syracuse, N.Y., Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2008. Kennedy is interested in the Senate seat vacated by Hillary Clinton. (AP Photo/Kevin Rivoli)
Rod Blagojevich ... Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich talks to the media at his home before jogging in Chicago, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2008. Blagojevich said Wednesday he is ready to tell his side of the political scandal to the people of Illinois and that he would do so no later than Thursday. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)
Bernard Madoff Bernard Madoff enters his house through a crowd of cameras in New York, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2008. The judge in Madoff's fraud case has set new conditions for his bail, including a curfew and ankle-monitoring bracelet for the disgraced investor. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Farmers Protest ... Tractors are seen in front of the golden domed Alexander Nevski Cathedral during a farmers protest in the Bulgarian capital Sofia, Friday, Dec. 19, 2008, calling for farming subsidies to be paid for last year and over agreements for next year. Bulgarian grain farmers from across the country are staging the protest rally in Sofia over what they claim are unpaid subsidies by the government, driving some 600 tractors through the capital's main streets and bringing busy pre-Christmas traffic to a standstill. (AP Photo/Petar Petrov)
Alois Mannichl Alois Mannichl leaves the hospital in Passau, southern Germany, on Friday, Dec. 19, 2008, after six days medical care. Passau's police chief Mannichl was wounded in a stabbing in front of his home Saturday. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
Soccer and Polit... Argentina's national soccer team coach Diego Maradona, left, and Argentina's President Cristina Fernandez pose for pictures during the opening ceremony of a shopping center in Buenos Aires, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2008. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Caroline Kennedy... The Rev. Al Sharpton, center, stands beside Caroline Kennedy as they field questions during a news conference outside the famed soul food restaurant Sylvia's in Harlem, New York, Thursday Dec. 18, 2008. The late President John F. Kennedy's daughter acknowledged Wednesday that she is seeking to be appointed to the Senate seat held by Hillary Rodham Clinton, who has been nominated by President-elect Barack Obama to be secretary of state. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)
President Bush President George W. Bush reacts to a question as he speaks at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank, in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2008. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
Riots in Greece Silhouetted protesters throws stones at riot police during clashes outside Athens University, central Athens as smoke from fires rises on Thursday, Dec. 18, 2008. The protesters broke away from a peaceful rally and hurled rocks and firebombs at police and buildings near parliament, overturned a car and set fire to trash bins. Police responded with tear gas. Thursday's clashes were the latest outbreak of violence after the police's fatal shooting Dec. 6 of 15-year-old Alexandros Grigoropoulos. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
The Match Wayne Rooney (10) of England's Manchester United is celebrated by teammates, from left, Nani, Ryan Giggs, Cristiano Ronaldo and Darren Fletcher, after scoring a goal against Japan's Gamba Osaka in the second half of their semi-final match at the FIFA Club World Cup soccer tournament in Yokohama, Japan, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2008. Manchester United won 5-3. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi)