FOLLOWING GOD RIGHTLY

Marcelo ruled out of cup final

universal-gists.blogspot.com

Carlo Ancelotti believes that Sergio Ramos, who missed the Almería match with a neck injury, is in with a good chance of making it back for Wednesday's 'Copa del Rey' final at the Mestalla. At the same time, he ruled out Brazilian full-back Marcelo and said that there was no news on Cristiano Ronaldo.

"Ramos could play on Wednesday because he's only had a small neck problem that should heal quickly over the next few days. Marcelo is training alone and I don't think he'll be fit for Wednesday's match", Ancelotti revealed.

Lionel Messi:8 Insane Stats No One Talks About

Everyone knows about the ability of Lionel Messi. Even the most casual of football fans will be able to tell you how good a player he is, and how he can't fail to score goals.

Along with his astonishing strike rate, he seemingly sets new records every time he sets foot on the pitch.

The brilliant Argentine will no doubt continue to do so for the rest of his career—surpassing the achievements of those before him, legends of the game and some you've never heard of.

There are some statistics that we hear repeatedly and others that are rarely mentioned. This is a list detailing the latter.

Ranking the Top 20 Africans to Play in La Liga

La Liga doesn’t quite have a tradition of African players like the Premier League or Ligue 1 for example, however, several of the continent’s favourite sons have starred in the Spanish top flight.

This feature runs down the Top 20 African players to have played in La Liga. Largely, those mentioned are no longer playing in Spain, but there are a few that do and some who may be in line to make a return.

This article ranks players based on their contributions and achievements in Spain, rather than beyond. Therefore, star players such as Michael Essien—who made his name in foreign lands before arriving in Spain—have not been considered.

Japanese scientists launch face recognition-blocking glasses

Those concerned with online privacy may soon get another weapon to defend it. Two Japanese scientists have designed glasses that confuse face recognition technology without affecting one`s vision.

An associate professor at Tokyo's national Institute of Informatics, Isao Echizen, together with Professor Seiichi Gohshi from Kogakuin University, have created a pair of glasses preventing internet search engines, social networks and other services using face recognition technology from identifying photos of a wearer.

The device is equipped with near-infrared light sources which distort the features of one who wears the glasses for cameras and at the same time do not affect his or her vision.

The glasses are powered by a battery placed in the wearer’s pocket. But the researchers say they are working on an improved version of their ‘privacy visor’ which would not need a separate battery.

Some companies have already demonstrated interest in the device, the inventors said. When mass-produced the glasses are expected to be priced very reasonably, at about $1 a pair.

According to Professor Echizen, the essential goal of the technology is to protect “photographed subjects from the invasion of privacy caused by photographs taken in secret and unintentional capture in camera images."

The idea of the device came about as Echizen discovered that Google face recognition technology was able to recognize individuals wearing five different types of sunglasses from various angles.

Face recognition technology is extensively used by law enforcement services, internet search engines and social networks. The technology also has been adopted by shops to collect statistical data about their customers for better marketing.

Has Lionel Messi Changed?

Leo Messi is the topic of conversation of everyone in the pub these days. And in the media.

What’s happening to him? And in truth, what’s wrong? And what about the reported episodes of vomiting we are hearing about courtesy of the independent

According to my information, he is passing as well as usual (85.1 percent completion rate four years ago and now 83.1 percent), he has the same number of shots (3.47 to 3.67) and does more or less the same number of explosive runs into the area as usual (about five per game).
Cristiano Ronaldo has needed 173 shots to score 24 goals, whereas Messi has scored 15 goals in the league, with less shots than the Portuguese player, some 101. His effectiveness, almost equal to an in-form Ronaldo, is still extraordinary.
It’s just that these days he is running less than he used to, two kilometres per game in fact.
The psychological blow of his last injury, his age (26) and a more personalised approach to his training regime are linked to this statistic. But there is something much more important that is being forgotten.
Messi is running less than before because he is being relied on less than he used to be; he is touching the ball less than he did during the Pep Guardiola era (68.4 passes per game during the 2010-11 season compared to 53.5 this time around) and is receiving fewer passes from his team-mates during 90 minutes of a game (66.3 then compared to 51.1).
The team is playing more down the wings, away from the influential area of Messi. The full-backs are joining up with the wingers because they are not making the diagonal runs they used to in the past to create the space in the middle, which Messi would utilise to make use of his skillful one-twos and wall passes.
In the past, he had better players to do that than, say, Alexis. This way, Messi, without receiving the ball, finds himself out of the game, and his mind switches off out of frustration, and he has to track back in order to participate. Barcelona are keeping the ball away from their major star.As far as the vomiting is concerned, I mentioned in my book Messi that this often happened to him before games, or at times of tension.
One of the keys to understanding his mentality is to understand that he has a very low emotional threshold, and consequently this means he is affected less by pressure and criticism.
This helps him come out on to the pitch in a more liberated state of mind. But at times, this creates its own problems; this mental block translates into displays of vomiting.According to my sources, the latest offer from the Nou Camp club, that would see him earn less globally than before, has attracted their attention.
Not since the time Inter were on the point of convincing him to sign, a deal that was eventually stopped thanks to the intervention of former Barcelona president Joan Laporta, as reported by ESPN has his future been more confused.

‘Good night’ – last known words of Malaysian flight MH370 revealed

The last radio transmission from the cockpit of missing Malaysia Airlines flight 370 was “Alright, good night”, Kuala Lumpur’s ambassador to Beijing reportedly said Wednesday during a meeting with Chinese relatives.

Iskandar Sarudin was speaking to passengers’ relatives and friends at a Beijing hotel. A total of 153 of the 239 people on board the aircraft are Chinese.

The flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing disappeared from radar screens early on Saturday without making a distress call and no confirmed wreckage has been found, despite a vast search.

The “alright, good night” comment from one of the pilots came as the flight switched from Malaysian to Vietnamese airspace, Singapore’s Straits Times newspaper quoted the ambassador as saying.

As confusion deepens over the search area and whether Malaysian military radar tracked the aircraft, he said “now is not the time” to reveal what information the military had supplied civilian authorities.

He also defended the crew, after an Australian television report that co-pilot Fariq Abdul Hamid, 27, violated airline rules in 2011 by allowing two young South African women into their cockpit during a flight.

Relatives told AFP the event had been “orderly”, in contrast to a meeting with Chinese officials on Monday, when reports said family members hurled abuse at government representatives.

Some attacked Beijing’s own response as the crisis entered its fifth day.

“I think the Chinese government needs to be more active with this,” said a man surnamed Zhang, whose daughter was on board, coming back from a business trip.

“After all, this is happening to Chinese people,” he added.

Comments on China’s hugely popular weibo microblogs were also critical.

Chinese authorities have emphasised through state-run media that they are waging an “all-out effort” to locate the missing aircraft.

- Disgust -

Seven Chinese ships are taking part in the search, with an eighth due to arrive Wednesday, according to the official Xinhua news agency.

But web users lashed out at a Xinhua picture showing the chief of China’s maritime search and rescue centre sitting at a desk and speaking on the telephone.

“What decade is it, that they’re still taking these kinds of photos?! Is it to prove that the leaders are keeping busy?” asked one user.

“I have no other feeling but disgust,” wrote another.

Others expressed frustration with the search effort.

“It’s been nearly 96 hours since MH370 lost contact, and 10 countries have joined the search-and-rescue effort, but they still haven’t found any traces of the lost aircraft,” wrote one.

“The search continues, but if they ultimately don’t find any clues, what on earth do we call this incident?”

At the hotel, relatives said they were now ready to accept funds which the airline had earlier described as “comfort” money, provided during “difficult times”.

They had earlier asked for the terms to be reviewed, but one said: “I don’t think this is an issue any more for most of us.”

A copy of the acceptance form seen by AFP says: “The airline offers the money out of kindness and it will not offset any final compensation.”

Some of the family members have travelled to Malaysia to be closer to the search effort, but most have not.

“I am not sleeping or eating well,” said one. “I am not thinking of going to Malaysia. What can I do there? I would rather stay in my own country.”

source: vangaurd