Former City player jailed for assault

Former Manchester City player Kelvin Etuhu has been jailed for eight months after assaulting a man in a street brawl.

Etuhu knocked victim Owen Fitzpatrick to the ground with a punch before being caught on camera kicking him three times. The attack, which took place outside a Manchester casino in February 2010, left Fitzpatrick with a broken jaw.Etuhu was sentenced at Warrington Crown Court on Thursday after previously pleading guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm and affray.The 22-year-old began his career with City’s youth team in 2004, making 10 first-team appearances for the English Premier League club and going out on loan three times.He is the younger brother of Fulham midfielder Dickson Etuhu.

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Fitness For Soccer - How to Become a Fast and Fit Soccer Player

Soccer is one popular sport and many people - young and old are interested not only in watching the sport but in learning it as well. However, soccer is one very demanding sport, which is why it is important to learn some workouts that can improve your fitness for soccer.
If you have noticed the skills and strength needed in soccer, indeed, it is a sport that requires speed, agility, stamina, skill as well as strength as soccer players need to run, shoot (whether it is through a headshot or with a kick), and protect themselves from injuries.
If you want to play soccer or if you want to be a good soccer player, you have to develop skills and you need to be in good shape to do well and perform better with the sport. In this very demanding sport, skills would not be enough. You need to have the stamina throughout the game as well as the speed.
To learn fitness for soccer, here are some of the workouts and training that will help you improve your fitness to be a good, fast and fit player.
Aerobic exercises
To be a good soccer player and to learn fitness for soccer, you have to engage in aerobic exercises. Aerobic exercises allow you to take in oxygen and improve the efficiency of your heart as well as your cardiovascular system.
In playing soccer, you need to be in motion most of the time and aerobic fitness will help you develop that stamina for the sport. One aerobic exercise that is good for one who wants to do well in soccer is running. It helps in building your endurance as well as your speed especially if you run uphill and you do it regularly. Running is also important to improve your skill as well because soccer involves a lot of running throughout the game - whether they are sprints or long runs.
Anaerobic soccer fitness
Aside from aerobic exercises, anaerobic exercises are also very important in preparing yourself to meet the challenges of the sport. Soccer involves quick runs and at times longer runs and thus, to be able to cope up with these, anaerobic exercises are best. These exercises involve intense activity and rest at an interval, and these indeed help you condition your body to this type of activities during a soccer game.
Anaerobic exercises also help in correcting imbalances in the muscles for soccer players. Usually, soccer players tend to have stronger quads and anaerobic exercises help balance that with the strength of other muscles to avoid injury as well. One good workout you can do to improve your fitness for soccer is circuit training.
Although it is a general idea that fitness for soccer involves a good combination of aerobic and anaerobic exercises, it is also important to consider that every individual may require a different fitness and training needs. Of course, it may depend on your age, your abilities as well as the position you play in the game. Of course, your desire to train is also a consideration in your training as well.


Carolyn Anderson loves to share some resources to help you enjoy your sports especially soccer. If you want to be fit to play soccer, check out Total Soccer Fitness. Also check out Soccer Fitness for Juniors, if you are a young adult who wants to develop your skills and be fit to play and enjoy soccer.

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Soccer Gear For Every Soccer Player

Choosing the right soccer gear can be a difficult chore. It doesn't matter whether you are choosing youth soccer gear, or gear for adults. It doesn't have to be painful. But with so many choices available, you need to ensure that the gear is of good quality, and will last through the soccer wars.

Buying cheap soccer gear will sometimes have you buying that same item more times. That will make it more expensive in the long run. Many times it is best to spend a little more up front and buy longer lasting gear.

With my over 30 years in soccer I have made some good choices, and some bad choices when choosing soccer gear.

I have to laugh when I look in my gear bag and see a pair of turf shoes that I have had for over 20 years. Obviously I haven't played a lot of games on turf! But they were definitely a good choice. And I can actually still wear them!

Start at the Bottom!

Soccer footwear!Whatever position you play, it doesn't matter. You could be playing as a goalie, midfielder, defender, or striker. Sneakers are not the way to go! Unless you want to continually slip around and miss the ball because you can't get your foot planted. You will never improve your soccer game that way.

Indoor or outdoors?Indoor soccer shoes are flat bottomed and made of a material that is more firm than a standard sneaker.

Outdoor soccer shoes come in models made for hard fields, firm fields, or soft / wet fields. Some have removable cleats so you do not have to buy a new pair of cleats if one or two studs wear down early.

Soccer Shin Guards!Not only do they prevent injury, they are now a mandatory piece of soccer equipment. It only makes sense. Most of the action is in that area of your body.

Soccer Socks!Soccer socks are used to hold your shin guards in place and are part of a complete soccer uniform. They used to be so plain and boring. Red, blue, green, yellow. You get the picture. But with increased interest in soccer comes increased options for colors. Can you say Fuschia soccer socks?

Soccer Shorts!Baggy shorts are not soccer shorts. They may be in-style but that does not mean that they are good for the soccer field. The less restrictive your shorts are, the better it is for your game. They also have to fit your team's uniform and take the beating that sliding, diving, and falling down will give them.

Soccer Jerseys!Your soccer jersey will express the personality of your team. And of course it should blend well with your shorts and socks. However some people want to buy replica soccer jerseys to support their favorite soccer club. Those are available for every major soccer team in the world.

Soccer Goalkeeper Gear!Outfitting a soccer goalkeeper is the same as any player on the field, with a few differences:

Goalkeepers wear shorts or long pants with padding on the hips. This padding helps prevent injuries from the numerous times that they dive for a ball during a game.
Goalkeepers wear special goalkeeper gloves to give them a better grip on the ball.
A goalie jersey usually has padding on the elbows to reduce the impact on their bodies when they land.
With all that gear, a great choice to carry it all is a soccer backpack.

I actually still have some soccer uniforms from when I was 16. Go figure?

Wayne MacLean has over 30 years of experience in the game of soccer. As a soccer coach, soccer player, soccer referee, and all-around soccer fan, Wayne is now adding a new dimension to his love of soccer. He now writes many articles and creates soccer videos to help those that are involved in soccer, are new to soccer, or just want to know more about soccer. Check out my Soccer Gear for more great soccer information for yourself or your team.

The Soccer Drill Sargeant