Today, Wednesday, October 10th, 2007, a list of players have been released by FIFA. Over 30 players are on the list. Every single one of them, are up for the biggest award an individual footballer can win... the FIFA World Player of the Year award. Here is the list of the 30 players, that can win this glorious award:

Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus FC - Italy)
Fabio Cannavaro (Real Madrid CF - Italy)
Petr Čech (Chelsea FC - Czech Republic)
Deco (FC Barcelona - Portugal)
Didier Drogba  (Chelsea FC - Cote d'Iviore)
Michael Essien (Chelsea FC - Ghana)
Samuel Eto'o (FC Barcelona - Cameroon)
Gennaro Gattuso  (AC Milan - Italy)
Steven Gerrard (Liverpool FC - England)
Thierry Henry (FC Barcelona - France)
Juninho (Olympique Lyonnais - Brazil)
Kaká (AC Milan - Brazil)
Miroslav Klose (FC Bayern Munich - Germany)
Philipp Lahm (FC Bayern Munich - Germany)
Frank Lampard  (Chelsea FC - England)
Rafael Márquez (FC Barcelona - Mexico)
Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona - Argentina)
Alessandro Nesta (AC Milan - Italy)
Andrea Pirlo (AC Milan - Italy)
Franck Ribéry (FC Bayen Munich - France)
Juan Román Riquelme (Villarreal CF - Argentina)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United FC - Portugal)
Ronaldinho (FC Barcelona - Brazil)
Wayne Rooney (Manchester United FC - England)
John Terry  (Chelsea FC - England)
Carlos Tévez (Manchester United FC - Argentina)
Lilian Thuram (FC Barcelona - France)
Fernando Torres (Liverpool FC - Spain)
Ruud Van Nistelrooy (Real Madrid CF - Netherlands)
Patrick Vieira (FC Internazionale Milano - France)

What does managers, trainers, support personnel, 30+ leagues and 15,000 players have in common?

They are all part of the 20% extra you get in this year’s FIFA Soccer 2008. Don’t worry EA Sports FIFA Soccer 2008 is the American title. Basically, everywhere else, it will still be FIFA Football 2008. We all know there can be only one football!

The Shot

The FIFA series is improving with every release and it is no different this year. In the previous version we’ve seen an improvement in ball movement and player animation. The focus in 08 is - the shot. The difference between success and failure of a shot will depend on air resistance, backspin, player skill and the force you apply to the ball. Now you can expect to see different shots from the player’s foot depending on the situation. If you are dribbling at full speed it will be tougher to score if you just stop, turn and shoot the ball, where as a player that has a wide open straight lane to the net, will find it easier. The player dribbling at full speed will have his shooting meter fill up faster, than the player moving slowly, but again it all depends on the player’s skills. In other words - tougher shots will fill up the meter faster.

Be a Pro

A new feature in the series, is the “Be a Pro” mode. Some people might already know it from the NFL-series (Superstar mode). You will play the position of any one player from striker to sweeper during the entire match. You are responsible for his assignments and roles, with helpful arrows on the pitch, that shows you, your area of responsibility and which members of the opposite team you’re assigned to mark. The camera will follow you on the pitch, with the Gears of War-inspired chase cam, when you break into full sprint with the ball. At halftime you get feedback on your progress and you’ll be ranked at the end of the match depending on how much you contributed. This is tied in to the Xbox360 achievement system.

The “Be a Pro” mode is only available offline, but in a few years, it is EA Sports’ goal of having 11 different people, from anywhere in the world, play 11 different people from another part of the world, online!!

What else is new?

The trick system is improved. FIFA 08 has borrowed a bit from NBA Street HomeCourt, but do not expect any un-realistic double backflips and a scissor kick. As previously mentioned there is a new camera angle, inspired by the Gears-of-War’s chase cam, every time you sprint. Running at top speed will also make you less agile and skillful. Of course, the player detail is improved, yet again. In FIFA 07, Wayne Rooney looked more like Shrek, than what he does in real life. In 08, Wayne Rooney looks like Wayne Rooney.

Also, there are supposed to be 30 leagues confirmed in the game. In FIFA 07, there was only 27. The FAI Premier League of Ireland, has already been established in FIFA 08. So, what are the other three? Rumour has it, that the Australian A-league and Czech Gambrinus League will be the other two new ones. This has sparked a lively discussion on many forums, since a lot of FIFA fans believe their local league belongs in the FIFA series. Especially, the South Americans. They really hoped the Argentinian league would be featured in FIFA 08. They argue that the English Football League One and Two should be removed and replaced by the Argentinian and the Chilean football leagues.

But, as always expect FIFA 2008 to be out before Christmas. It is scheduled to be released this fall for all platforms, Xbox360, Nintendo Wii and DS, Playstation 2 and 3, PSP and PC.

If you want to know more, then please visit FIFA 2008 News to get the latest news.

I only have one thing to say. Brazilians all over the world better be thanking 3 things. God, the goalpost, and, what my Uruguayan friend calls, some "crooked" referees.

          First off, if God wasn't watching over the Brazilians, they probably wouldn't have advanced. Secondly, if it wasn't for the goalpost, yes, the Brazilians wouldn't have made it to the final.

         When Pablo Garcia, the former Madrid player, struck the ball for his penalty, I thought Uruguay had knocked off Brazil and made it to the final. But, thanks to the goalkeeper's best friend, they didn't. 

       And when the last pk was taken by a Uruguayan, who had to make the penalty in order to keep his country alive, AS Roma goalkeeper, Doni, had taken at least 3 steps out of his goal, before the ball was kicked.

      That is a no-no, according to FIFA rules and regulations. So, I thought that Uruguay would have to retake the penalty, but the head ref said no. That moment, reminded me of the 2005 Champions League Final between Liverpool FC and AC Milan. One of Milan's players had a to take a penal, but, then Liv'pool keeper, Jerzy Dudek, had also taken 3 steps off his goal-line to block the penalty taker and make Liverpool the Champions of Europe for 2005.

What are your thoughts on this whole situation?