Catching up with the pronunciation!

A lot of Football playing nations have a non-English official language. So, I never got their names right and it was always insulting when I pronounced Casillas as Casillas (duh!) or Arjen Robben as ARRRRjen Robben while talking to real Football fans! Why, I never properly closed in on Klose in fact. Hey, but it's not entirely my fault - check this: How on earth could I possibly know that Dirk Kuyt, the Liverpool and Dutch Winger should be called "Derk Kowt"?
So, here's a quick pronunciation guide.

Hey, but I'm not gonna tell you, not now, not ever, how this guy's name is pronounced - Ognjen Vukojevic

Actual Spelling	How it's pronounced?	Language	Who?
Iker Casillas	e-ker(not eikar) kasiyas	Spanish
Arjen Robben	aryen robben	Dutch
Miroslav Klose	meeroslaF klosa	German
Gerard Pique	gerar peekay	Spanish
Ciro Immobile	chiro immobeelay (no, he's not really immobile on field)	Italian
Steven Gerrard	Steven Gerrard	English - yay, happy scenario
Reza Ghoochannejhad	Don't know	Not sure

Well, "Does it matter?", one might ask. Not much, but I'd probably lol if a Cricket n00b comes to me and says "Nicky BoJe" with a "j". I'll for sure tell them that the letter 'j' is silent there but what if they then start talking about a mysterious guy named "Onty Rhodes?
Hey, btw, did you know that all the time you were uttering that club name "J"uventus, you were wrong? It's pronounced - 'YuventOs'.
And I almost forgot, that "HUBLOT" thing you see whenever there's a substitution or during the announcement of injury-time is actually pronounced "ooblo". It's a Swiss luxury-watch brand.

"Don't" #1
Pretending like you know Football really well, please don't ask a Brazilian national why greats like Kaka, Ronaldinho and others are not in the squad. I did it and got mocked. Apparently, it's like 2015 Cricket World Cup is going on and a South American randomly bumps and asks you why legends like Tendulkar and Dravid are not part of the Indian squad. Average career span of footballers is far lesser than that of cricketers.

"Don't #2
Avoid giving this suggestion: "Hey like in Cricket, FIFA should introduce a TV referee kinda guy. These wrong fouls, disallowed valid goals and such controversies could be easily avoided."
Seriously? Do you think it took you to come up with that idea!?! FIFA, the managers and coaches of a gazillion clubs and teams are thinking about things related to the sport 24x7. It's their full time job. Not that they haven't thought about it.
FIFA does not permit video evidence during matches, although it is permitted for subsequent disciplinary sanctions. This is FIFA's explanation:
"Players, coaches and referees all make mistakes. It's part of the game. It's what I would call the "first match". What you see after the fact on video simply doesn't come into it; that's the "second match", if you like. Video evidence is useful for disciplinary sanctions, but that's all. As we've always emphasised at FIFA, football's human element must be retained. It mirrors life itself and we have to protect it."

"Don't #3
When a country that you've never heard of is scoring and winning games, never say "Hey, wth! It's such a small,remote country and is doing this well!". I did this mistake and received the flak of my teammates! Fact is all real football fans would be knowing about that country and its footballers really well and you would stand as an odd man out. It's like a football fan starting to follow Cricket gets surprised because he witnesses a small, remote country he has never seen on the map before, Sri Lanka, wins a major tournament.

"Don't #4
Don't discuss offsides if you think referee made a mistake, because chances are mostly he was right having kept the flag down and you are dumb! Offside rule could be tricky and difficult to understand. While actually meant to avoid goal hanging, it could as well be a good defensive strategy which could also potentially backfire even with the slightest execution mistake. Despite its unpopularity, offside rule does make football more interesting.

Misconception 1
I've heard many saying Football is kinda boring and unhappening because in the whole match, only a couple of goals or so are scored. Well, indeed, it's very boring from the perspective of a fan of Hongkong Super-Sixes. I mean honestly, scoring a goal is a big deal. It requires complex coordination between many players, near perfect timing, a bit of luck and probably many other hidden factors. The beauty of football lies in the fact that scoring goals is tough, at least when two good teams are playing against each other. A true football fan loves every assertive tackle, every good assist. If you're still not satisfied with the answer, please watch some Baseball and Golf games and you'll surely be enlightened. Even in Cricket, a great match is a well balanced match. I'd prefer to see a match like that 1999 semi-finals between Aus and SA than that 434-438 insane hitting match between the same sides.

Misconception 2
The other misconception is some believe that only strikers and forwards become superstars in football because they get to score goals. Hello guru, because the only footballers you know are Messi, Neymar, Cristiano Ronaldo and Rooney, it doesn't mean other players don't enjoy the limelight. Everybody has a role to perform on field. Anybody that's good at what he's doing will be a star! In fact, defenders and mid-fielders like Gattuso, Zambrotta and Cannavaro are far more revered than their strikers in Italy. And sure as hell Buffon is their biggest star and he never tries to hit a goal. But he's incredible at what he's supposed to do - save goals. The argument is like saying opening batsmen become superstars because they get to score more runs (and hence centuries). Sure, Sehwag has scored more runs and centuries than Yuvraj, but Yuvraj was still good at delivering what was expected of him.

In this worldcup...
Goal Line Technology, provided by the German company GoalControl, is being used to detect ghost-goals.

Vanishing Foam, essentially composed of water, butane gas and surfactant has been approved by FIFA to be used in this World Cup at referee's discretion, to provide a temporary visual marker.

Cooling breaks have been introduced wherein Fifa's new rules allow a game to be stopped for three minutes to allow the players to rehydrate. If temperature exceeds 39 degree C ,FIFA Venue Medical Office will recommend cooling breaks. Three minutes will then be added to stoppage time at the end of each half. Well obviously, this "innovation" has been welcomed by commercial TV companies with rights to broadcast the competition - no points for guessing why.

Ok, now some trivia
These are those things that won't make you a quiz-champ if you know them, but would certainly make you look dumb if you dodn't know them!

• A player who is ejected for two yellow cards will get automatically banned for the next game.
• Brazil, the country you talk about once in four years, has in fact won the FIFA world cup most number of times - 5.
• Your favorite dude Messi's nation, Argentina, has won the FIFA WC twice. Their 1986 conquest was captained by Maradona.

Now some facts knowing which could potentially make you a football-guru in front of your friends!

• Because of FIFA Rule 3,if 5 on-field players are red-carded, the match ends!
• Any of the other players may change places with the goalkeeper provided the referee is informed BEFORE the match.
• Official ball for this World Cup, Adidas Brazuca, is manufactured in...wait for it again...hold your breath...PAKISTAN!