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The Wales national football team don’t have the greatest history as a far football is concerned, they have only qualified for one World Cup Finals in 1958, where they were beaten 1-0 in the quarter finals, by the eventual winners Brazil.

In 1977 Wales played Scotland in a World Cup qualifying match, which, had they won, would have seen Wales reach the World Cup Finals in Argentina in 1978. A hand ball by Joe Jordan was to prove a decisive factor in the game, which Scotland won.

Even before the game, Wales were to lose their home ‘advantage’ when the fixture was re-scheduled to be played at Anfield, England, rather than in Wales at Wrexham’s Racecourse Ground. This followed the Football Association of Wales’ decision to move the game to secure a larger crowd and to make more money. A huge number of Scottish fans attended the game, far more than would ever have been possible at Wrexham, which created a very hostile atmosphere for the Welsh players who were also playing on an unfamiliar pitch.

The game itself remained goalless until, in the 78th minute, came the fateful moment for Wales following an incident with Scotland’s Joe Jordan

The Scotland striker, Jordan, jumped with Wales defender David Jones to challenge for a long throw-in into the Welsh penalty area, with Jordan then deliberately punching the ball towards the Welsh goal, to the astonishment of the Welsh fans and players, the French referee Robert Wurtz awarded a penalty. Television replays clearly showed it was Jordan’s and not Jones’ hand that had touched the ball, but the referee had made his decision.

Scotland’s Don Masson scored the penalty, which broke Wale’s hearts, and with minutes remaining as Wales pushed forward in search of an equalising goal, Kenny Dalglish scored a second goal and the Wales dream was over and it was Scotland who would go to the World Cup finals.

Prior to the game everyone in the Wales was talking about Argentina and the World Cup finals and many still feel upset about the incident to this day.

To rub salt into the Welsh wounds, Joe Jordan refuses to own up to his handball and has never apologised.

Diego Maradona was famously involved in a handball incident in the 1986 World Cup when he scored a goal against England, and then claimed it was the ‘hand of God’ that had intervened.

More recent ‘handball’ incidents include that of Thierry Henry in the qualifying game against Ireland for the 2010 World Cup Finals, which have now eclipsed Wales’ injustice, and while Joe Jordan has made never made any claims of divine intervention, he will be fortunate to find any Wales supporters who will forgive him easily.

Football and controversy are best friends. And they continued to be friends throughout 2010. Here are the best seven football controversies we wrote about during the year:

1. Maradona Vs Pele: A Perennial Rivalry

When Argentina had beaten Nigeria and were about to take on South Korea, Maradona decided to stake everything on his team winning the World Cup. With the conviction of a man who already had the World Cup securely locked in his cupboard, Maradona decided to settle scores with Pele and Platini who had questioned his coaching skills. To begin with, he said that Pele belonged in a museum…

2. Are The Brazil Holland Match-Fixing Rumours True?

There are conspiracy theories doing the rounds, about the World Cup. A popular one is that the Brazil Holland quarter-final was ‘fixed’…

3. Lampard’s Disallowed Goal At FIFA World Cup 2010

Uruguayan referee, Larrionda, might have actually done the football world a favour with his disallowing of Lampard’s goal in the England-Germany match at the World Cup…

4. Holland Unhappy With Referee Webb

Holland coach Bert van Merwyjk spoke out against referee Howard Webb after his side’s 1-0 loss to Spain in the final of FIFA World Cup 2010…

5. Jambulani Ball: Adidas Lets Out The Secret

Adidas, the manufacturer of the Jambulani Ball, has revealed the real reason why teams who received the ball in February failed to get used to the Jambulani…

6. Referee Scores Winning Goal

Football referees are human too. Like us fans, they want to see goals scored in games. And like us, again, they are bored when they are forced to officiate in goalless draws.

7. Referee Beats Up Players

Everyone goes to a football game to watch a good fight. And the fight becomes even more interesting when it’s between players and referees.

His full name is Hernán Jorge Crespo. He was born 5 July 1975. Crespo is an Argentine soccer player who now plays for Genoa in Italian Serie A. He was given the nickname of «El Polaco» for the reason that his Grandma was from Poland. But Fans accustomed to call Crespo «Valdanito» for the reason that his looks, build and running style recall 1986 World Cup winning forward Jorge Valdano.

Before playing for the club he joined now, Crespo experienced joining with some big clubs such as River Plate (Argentina), AC Parma (Italy), SS Lazio (Italy), Inter Milan (Italy), Chelsea (England), and AC Milan (Italy).

Hernan Crespo began his career as a footballer in River Plate as long as 1993/1994 season and making contribution with 13 goals in 25 league appearances. After that in 1996 he moved to Parma and at 1999 in this club he won both the Italian Cup and UEFA Cup. In 2000 he left to Lazio and be the top scorer with 26 goals in 2000/2001 Serie A season. In 2002 he moved to Inter Milan and 2003 sign to Chelsea but he moved again in 2004 loaned out to Milan.

With national team of Argentina Crespo has 64 caps and 35 goals. In February 1995 he won his first cap in a friendly match in opposition to Bulgaria. Crespo was called up to the final roster for the 1998, 2002, and 2006 FIFA World Cups.

He scored twice in Argentina’s 3-1 World Cup qualifying win over archrivals Brazil in Buenos Aires in June 2005, which made him Argentina’s career scoring leader in World Cup qualifiers. He ended the 2006 tournament as the Silver Shoe Award winner.

Some of honors that he ever got are:

1996 Copa Libertadores winner (River Plate)

1999 UEFA Cup winner (Parme AC)

1995 Argentina League Champions (River Plate)

1999 Italian Cup winner (Parme AC)

When you travel to Argentina, you’ll notice that the cultural heredity is mostly European which is clearly reflected in their literature, music, architecture and lifestyle. Argentina vacations offer extreme cultural activity as seen through their festivities, night clubs, expositions, cinemas, theater and concerts held in major cities. Buenos Aires, the capital city, is the most popular of all travel to Argentina; this is the heart that shows off lively streets, impressive avenues, old time cafes and stylish restaurants.

Buenos Aries is the vibrant cosmopolitan capital where people who live there are known for their elegance and cockiness even in times of difficulty. Buenos Aires is prominent for its tango heritage and between February and early March they celebrate the Buenos Aires Tango, a festival which draws world class dancers and musicians. The performances are held in venues that are both large and intimate all over the city.

During the month of April, there is an annual book fair that lures over a million book fans in the city, known as the Feria del Libro. Latin American literature is the most widely denoted here. It is held at the extensive Centro Municipal de Exposicions.

Arte BA is an art fair that features exhibitions from hundreds of art galleries, institutions and organizations showing a variety of influences from Argentina and around the world. This fair usually takes place in mid May.

Every 24th of June, locals of Buenos Aires celebrate the death anniversary of Carlos Gardel, the man who brought tango to the world. To mark the occasion many of the events takes place around the city and the singer’s tomb at Charita shows like a temple full of crowd.

And if you are fascinated with Argentina’s traditional cowboy heritage, the Campeonato Abierto Argentino de Pato during the month of December is held. This is the competition play off of the Pato crown.

If your Argentina vacation takes you to Buenos Aires, there is only one interest that you can master in the city and it is, without hesitation, dancing. Tango, flamenco, salsa and folk dancing lessons are commonly offered. If you see someone dancing the tango, you will see the real essence of Buenos Aires.

This city has so much to offer from a world class zoo and botanical garden to a number of landscaped parks and squares. You’ll want to take a peek at their churches and places of worships which are all architectural noteworthy.

Buenos Aires is unfairly described as a grimy Paris when in fact this is a smart, contemporary city that is full of life bursting with energy. The spirit of tango is still living and the gaucho heritage is still celebrated even in the midst of a more modern economy.

The Argentines have a steadfast spirit and lust for life that is communicable and this passion excels through their great love of football, food and partying. Tourists are beginning to discover the opportunities and excitement that Argentina can offer. The country’s tourism deserves to be explored and experienced.

There are a couple of resorts offered at tremendous prices (from $298 to $799) for 7 nights and 8 days right in Buenos Aries through a highly sought after lifetime travel club membership.

Revenge is a strong motivating factor for a young Germany squad who are seeking to excel in their semi-final against Spain, at Durban, tonight.

Before the tournament began, nobody gave Germany much chance of doing well, after their captain Ballack opted out owing to injury. The team was seen as an inexperienced outfit that would find it hard to survive amongst more experienced teams such as England and Argentina.

The credit for the fact that Germany have proved their naysayers wrong at this years event must go to a football training program launched 20 years ago to develop young talent. And before the end of this tournament the team has already thrown up several stars of the future who likely to dominate the football horizon in the decade to come.

That said, Germany sprang something of a surprise, in respect of both England and Argentina. Both these latter teams might have been better served by a tactical defensive game rather than trying to match the speed of the young Germans on the run.

Germany lost 1-0 to Spain in the Euro 2008 final at Vienna, with Fernando Torres scoring the winning goal. While Spain have a fairly unchanged side from the one that won the Euro 2008 championship, Germany has since had an infusion of young talent in Oezil, Mueller and Khedira, to name the most prominent. The current German team is much more aggressive, and they have scored 4 goals each against Australia, England and Argentina at this World Cup, to underscore that aggression.

Germany coach Loew feels his team is very fluid now, and his Spain counterpart, Del Bosque agrees. But Loew respects Spain and concedes that they have many star players, whom he compares with the likes of Argentina’s Messi. According to Loew, midfielders Xavi and Iniesta are the most dangerous Spaniards, but he thinks, Germany have the skills to deal with them.

Loew credits the great coordination in the Spain team to the fact that many of the players are from Barcelona and already combined well before coming into the national team. The German coach believes that his side have what it takes to beat Spain and advance to the final.

The German coach says that in 2008, no European team could compare with Spain, but the equation had since changed. But he conceded that his team would miss Muller, out through suspension. He had special praise for the backline under the watch of centre-backs Per Metersacker and Arne Friedrich, especially their organized showing in the Argentina match.