Monday, October 22, 2007

The Race for The Golden Ball

France Football announced this morning the list of 50 candidates for the 2007 Golden Ball winner, which will be assigned on the 2nd of December in Paris. The recognition will be handed following the votes of a jury made up 96 newspapers, amongst which 8 Italian ones.

Milan is heading the list of Italian clubs with 6 nominations; these are the Rossoneri present in the list: Ricky Kakà, Rino Gattuso, Filippo Inzaghi, Paolo Maldini, Andrea Pirlo and Clarence Seedorf.
Ahead of Milan only Barcelona and Real Madrid, with 7 players per head, and behind the Rossoneri there are Chelsea (4), Bayern Munich (3) and Liverpool (2).

Therefore there are multiple and constant in time the recognitions which have gratified the Rossoneri at the start of the season.

Here are some examples:
- The list of 30 candidates for the “Fifa World Player 2007” sees four Rossoneri players, of which Milan is very proud: Gattuso, Nesta, Pirlo amongst the Italians, and Kaka with regards to the Brazilians. The winner will be elected on the 17th of December by the coaches and captains of all the national teams in the world. Amongst the nominations, Barcelona is the team which has the highest number of candidates (7), but Milan is the Italian team with most players in the run for the award.
- During the away game of Milan at Montecarlo for the European Super Cup Final, on the 30th of August, during the ceremony of the draw of the calendars for the Champions League 2007/08, three awards were handed out to three Rossoneri players for the past season in the Champions Leagues:
Paolo Maldini, best defender in the Champions League 2006/07;
Clarence Seedorf, best midfielder in the Champions League 2006/07;
Kaka, best attacker and best overall player in the Champions League 2006/07
- On the 1st of September, on the return from the victory in the European Super Cup at Montecarlo, Filippo Inzaghi received the ‘Gaetano Scirea Award’ to highlight the exemplary career of the Rossoneri’s player.
- On the 22nd of September, before the Milan-Parma game at San Siro, Carlo Ancelotti was elected best coach of the 2006/07 season by ESM which regroups the European Sports Magazines.
- On the 5th of October, at the Sports Centre of Milanello, the winners of the third edition of the FIFPro World XI Player Awards were announced. The awards were handed out thanks to the votes of the players’ syndicates around the world. There were almost 45,000 votes which arrived from 42 syndicates. Amongst the 55 nominates for the ideal 2006/07 formation, there were nine Rossoneri players: Maldini, Nesta, Maldini, Nesta, Gattuso, Pirlo, Inzaghi, Dida, Kakà, Seedorf and Ronaldo. Amongst the Rossoneri, Kaka won the best player award of 2006/07 and Alessandro Nesta, together with Kaka was named in the top 11 of the 2006/07 season.

Galliani Happy To See Dida Ban Cut

The Brazilian had been handed a two-match ban after over-reacting to an altercation with a fan during the Champions League clash with Celtic at Parkhead on October 3.

However after an appeal by Milan, UEFA's Appeals Body today decided to reduce the penalty to just one game.

This news came after Dida had offered a public apology at the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium before the Serie A match with Empoli yesterday afternoon. The 34-year-old repeatedly bowed to each section of the Milan crowd in an emotional gesture.

"Nelson was in Nyon with Cantamessa and I think that a one match suspension is right - it's ok like this," said Galliani.

"Two matches seemed too much, but Dida made a mistake so one match is correct. He made a mistake that did not bring any damage to anyone, neither to Celtic nor to any other player.

"Reading the rules, you understand that one match is right, but to have two, violence has to be involved, and that was not the case. At most Dida was a victim of violence.

"As far as his apology to San Siro go, Dida made a nice gesture that I think it helped fix the player's relationship with the fans. It was his own idea and the club did not suggest anything."

Jankulovski and Dida out of Shakhtar match

AC Milan were hit with a blow ahead of their crunch Champions League clash against Ukraine champions Shakhtar Donetsk as left-back Marek Jankulovski was ruled out.

The Czech player injured his knee in the dismal home defeat to Empoli on Saturday and Milan said Monday that he would not be fit for Wednesday.

Milan face a crisis having picked up only three points from four Serie A home games this season, leaving them trailing leaders Inter Milan by 10 points in the title race.

They also lost their last Champions League clash 2-1 at Celtic, after which goalkeeper Dida was hit with a one-match suspension for feigning injury.

Jewish jewelry and Egyptian jewelry for your wedding

By : Ckint Jhonson

Unusual pieces of jewelry can be quite fascinating and many people look for special designs like those of Jewish jewelry and Egyptian jewelry. Such articles are not only beautiful artifacts, but they also give a feel of ancient times, when they were more than decorative objects and had magic and symbolic significance. Such was the case with antique Egyptian jewelry, whose motifs often had mystical connotations. Jewish wedding rings and Egyptian wedding rings, with beautiful designs and inscriptions are highly popular nowadays. The symbols and common motifs on both Jewish jewelry and Egyptian jewelry still have special significance for certain wearers, who are very familiar with Egyptian and Jewish jewelry meaning.

Wedding rings are very important items of jewelry, and you must look carefully before you choose the perfect Jewish wedding rings or Egyptian wedding rings. Such pieces of Jewish jewelry and Egyptian jewelry used to play a very important part in the wedding ceremony in days of yore. With most people, wedding rings still have an essential function, symbolizing the couple’s union. This is why they want the design their Jewish jewelry or Egyptian jewelry to include traditional motifs with appropriate symbolic connotations, according to the legendary Egyptian and Jewish jewelry meaning. Today’s artifacts are inspired by old models of Jewish and antique Egyptian jewelry.

If Jewish wedding rings and Egyptian wedding rings have their own cultural peculiarities, they also share a few common features. These articles of Jewish jewelry and Egyptian jewelry are usually made of gold, although silver models are also available. According to the traditional Egyptian and Jewish jewelry meaning, the rings exchanged by the couple symbolize continuity and perfection. Such pieces of Jewish jewelry and Egyptian jewelry are also thought to have protective properties, ensuring that the union is harmonious. A common symbol of life and fertility, often present in the design of antique Egyptian jewelry, including on wedding rings, is the Egyptian Cross, or the ankh.

Apart from their round shape, meant to symbolize continuity and the couple’s hope that their marriage will last forever, Jewish wedding rings and Egyptian wedding rings can include special motifs or inscriptions in their design, either suggested by the artisan who makes them or chosen by the customers themselves. For those interested in purchasing this type of Jewish jewelry or Egyptian jewelry, there is a variety of products available, similar to traditional Jewish and antique Egyptian jewelry. Special requests can easily be catered for and you can always ask for a particular inscription on your chosen wedding rings, with hieroglyphs or words of high importance within the general Egyptian and Jewish jewelry meaning.

In the past, both Jewish wedding rings and Egyptian wedding rings could be simple bands of gold, with no embellishments whatsoever. It is highly common now for those keen on Jewish jewelry and Egyptian jewelry to have design of their rings enriched with certain motifs or inscriptions thought to have particular significance within the general Egyptian and Jewish jewelry meaning. Both the motifs and inscriptions of holy words or hieroglyphs included in wedding ring designs are meant to bring good fortune, health and prosperity to the couple, as well as harmony and fertility. Some symbols are thought to have protective properties, keeping all evil away, like the scarab, present on many articles of antique Egyptian jewelry.

Apart from traditional motifs and phrases, both Jewish wedding rings and Egyptian wedding rings can be customized according to your special requirements regarding your chosen Jewish jewelry or Egyptian jewelry. There are couples who prefer to inscribe or raise their own names inside the rings, and this choice dates back to the faraway past, when inscriptions were made on amulets and on other pieces of traditional Jewish or antique Egyptian jewelry out of the common belief that the written word lasts forever. This is why the phrases inscribed were considered particularly important, with a strong positive influence on the wearer, according to the traditional Egyptian and Jewish jewelry meaning.

If jewelry is generally worn for esthetic purposes, it has to have a deeper meaning when it comes to wedding rings. Both Jewish wedding rings and Egyptian wedding rings are special among other types of jewelry, because they have high symbolic connotations. According to the old tradition regarding the Egyptian and Jewish jewelry meaning, these articles of Egyptian jewelry and Jewish jewelry both stand for and protect the couple’s union. Such is the case with most items whose designed is inspired from traditional Jewish and antique Egyptian jewelry. On the one hand, they are both beautiful objets d’art with an esthetic role; on the other hand, they have a symbolic function, much like the amulets worn in ancient times.

Online Commodity Trading - Learning to Trade Futures

by : Amar Mahallati

A futures contract is a commitment to buy a commodity with an inherent value at the date specified. It's used by the people who produce those commodities to regularize their income streams and protect themselves from excessive market volatility.


Examples of futures are oil futures, steel futures, agricultural futures like corn, soybeans, sugar and wheat, or pork bellies. Any kind of product that's produced in large quantities with regular production cycles, lead times of more than a month, seasonable variations in availability and price, and near constant demand for the raw material can be the subject of a futures contract.

Futures can be thought of as agreements to sell or buy commodities at a specified price in the future, regardless of the market conditions. If you need the commodity in question, you may buy futures to hedge against a future rise in price. If you sell the commodity in question, you're buying futures to hedge against a decrease in price.

Buying and selling futures contracts allow people to buy and sell the commitments to buy products in respond to market pressures. Unlike stock portfolio or bond investing, you aren't buying a chunk of a corporation or a debt commitment to be paid back with interest, you're taking a gamble on the future price of a commodity.

Futures trading is risky, as is any kind of investment, but some of the risk can be ameliorated by taking on a diversified portfolio.

What Makes For A Good Futures Trader?

The personality type that thrives in futures trading is that of the professional gambler, the person who is certain that their instincts on the way commodities will flow will beat the market trends. (It is possible to take buy-and-hold positions with futures, but that tends to be less lucrative and less volatile. In general, it's also less sound than buy-and-hold strategies for stocks and bonds.).

Backing up that instinct is a lot of technical analysis. Futures traders watch all the news; for example, news about the weather directly impacts growing seasons for commodities such as corn, soybeans and sugar. News about port regulations impacts futures relating to delivery of durable goods and oil from overseas. News about increases in production capability at refineries, or improvements in oil extraction techniques can change the price of oil and often in counterintuitive directions!

There is a lot to learn to become a successful futures trader; you'll want a mentor, and a couple of classes to learn the terminology, the regulations, and how to spot market trends (and how to divorce yourself from your own analysis, so that you don't blind yourself to important trends because you're in love with your own ideas.)

Interestingly, while futures are contracts meant to reduce risk between producers and purchasers of commodities, the trading of futures is a high volatility market.

While there is risk, it can be (somewhat) ameliorated, and there are often trends that are easy to pick out that will help you avoid risk.

The key to being successful as a futures trader is knowing when to NOT gamble, when to take what you've got and call it a day with a reasonable return on your investment.

3 Reasons to Sell Your Business Now for Maximum Profit

by : Harvey Zemmel

Your business that you poured most of your time, energy, and money into it for what may seem like forever is something you've created. You've nurtured it since inception. And, you've watched it grow up into something beautiful.


To many entrepreneurs, selling your business is like selling your kid.

Now someone else has come along and they want to take that little baby from you, and not give it back.

No one said selling your business to another would be easy. It can entail your hardest move. But, it can also be your best move. Here's why…

Why You Should Sit Back, Sell Your Business and Let it Go Now

1. More Financial Independence -- As entrepreneurs, many of us dream of one day trading all of our hard work for a big fat paycheck from an acquiring company so you and your family can be secure for life. It's the stuff headlines are made of or the cover of a magazine showcasing me as a newly minted millionaire beaming with delight at my newfound wealth when I sold my assisted living center for an excess of thirty-five million dollars. Once you sell your business for maximum profit, the money is in the bank. Now, it can be invested wisely whether it's in stock market shares or just safe and secure in the bank earning 5%.

2. More Fun - Most people want to retire or at least semi-retire. They want to move on and fulfill their lives in other ways. And they want to travel and see the world. As business owners who spend most of their time and energy on developing and building their business, it's not very often where you'll be in a position where you can travel abroad for 6 months. Or, go abroad for a year. Or, go travel around the world. When you sell your business for maximum profit, you gain time, independence and freedom. These are critical words to go and enjoy the fruits of your hard earned labor.

3. More Emotional Freedom - As a business owner you will face disappointments in business. There are setbacks. Despite careful planning, things don't always happen when and how you want them to. You will suffer from feelings of frustration, fear and anxiety. I even know of business owners who have to drink Pepto Bismo, Mylanta or Maalox every morning and night to get rid of their nervous cramps and feeling of nausea. They live in constant terror of an uncertain future. They keep thinking although they've made great money in the last year, 3 years, 5 years or even 10 years but there is no guarantee about next month and upcoming years. Selling your business for maximum profit I one of the easiest ways to get rid off fears and anxieties brought on by the onset of owning your own business.

Now, the question is do you want to gain more financial independence, emotional freedom and have more fun?

If your answer is yes, then the time to start thinking about selling your business is NOW! You should not wait until you hit the magic age of 55, 60 or 65. The process starts way, way, way, way, way, way, way, way earlier than that. If you start early, you can get prepared. If your organized, selling your business can be a smooth transition.