Sports
Background Info.
There are many different sports in Spain. The top sports in Spain are soccer, bullfighting, basketball, tennis, golf, skiing, and Formula One race car driving. People in Spain just adore these 7 sports. Kids from all ages like to play these sports. They start at a young age so that they are prepared for when high school comes and it gets really competitive.
Soccer- In Spain, soccer is known as futbol. The Spaniards consider soccer as a way of life. They eat, drink, and breathe soccer. La Liga is one of Spain's teams which is known as one of the best professional teams in the world. Their competition is FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. These Spanish soccer teams iare extremely competitive and feature many of the world's best players.
Bullfighting – March to October is the season that bullfighting takes place. The Traditional bullfight in Spain is known as “corrida de toros." In bullfighting, “bandilleros” are known as the flagmen. The flagmen are the people who trick the bull into running through the flag. There are three parts to bullfighting. The first thingpart in bullfighting is the “picadores” (lancers on horseback.) Second is the “bandilleros," the member of a matador's cuadrilla who is responsible for placing the banderillas during a bullfight. Third, the bull runs through the red cap and gets fooled. Ending the show, they wrap things up with a well-placed sword.
Basketball- ACB (Asocianion de clubs de Baloncesto) isn't the best league in Spain, but is considered to be one of the best in the world behind the NBA. This league has 18 different teams. One season of basketball has 34 games in total.
Tennis - Spain has stepped into the international tennis limelight, all because of players like Tommy Robredo, Fernando Verdasco, and Rafael Nadal. These professional tennis players are ranked very high. Rafael is ranked number 1, Tommy Robredo is ranked number 16th, and Fernando Verdasco is ranked number 7th, in the world.
Golf -Spain has a number of great golf courses. They have some of the finest in the world. You can play golf at any time of the year when you're there. Courses are all over Spain, even by the airport you can find one. So, you don't have to look that hard if you're in the mood for some golf.
Skiing - Spain is the second most mountainous country in Europe. There are 36 top-notch ski resorts over there. It's usually sunny which means you'll have great visability. Another thing is that they have comfortable temperatures, just right for skiing.
Formula One - It's an internaltional car racing competition. Also known as the world most popular sport. More than 200 countries tune in each week to watch the top drivers battle it out on the track. It's a very popular sport in Spain.
Person of interest- Fernando Torres
Fernando Torres is a Spanish soccer player.He's the team captain of the soccer team Liverpool. When he was just 16 he was in the championship in England in 2001 and his team won. The position he player is striker. His friends on the team made nicknames and they are El Nino and the Eagle. El Nino, they call him that because he's so young. Eagle, because he always has an eye on his opponents. This prodigy was born in Madrid, Spain on March 20, 1984. He's now 24 years old. His full name is Fernando Jose Torres Sanz. He has two last names because Torres was his father's last name and Sanz was his mother's maiden name.
Notable Place- New Anfield (Stanley Park)
This astonishing soccer field holds 61,000 seats. It's home to the soccer club Liverpool a nationally ranked team. It's one of many of Spain's greatest teams. It's also one of the world's most successful soccer clubs. This is the greatest soccer stadium in Europe. In a couple of years this stadium is going to be built to higher standards than it already is. They are going to increase its capacity to 73,000 seats. so, they are adding 12,000 more seats so more people can come and enjoy the game.
Symbolic object- Soccerball
In soccer the soccer ball is the main object in the game. Without it there would be no soccer. From U11 and up you use a size 5 soccer ball. So, depending on what age you are depends on the size ball you use. The first soccer ball was designed and built in 1855 by Charles Goodyear. It was made of vulcanized rubber panels glued at the seams. It looked similar to today's ball. You use this ball to score points for your team. You shoot this ball into the net. You may use your legs, chest, and head to score. You may not use your arms or hands to score with this ball.
