iPod helps Manchester United win the Carling Cup

While the American football season has been over since the Pro Bowl, the rest of the world is still enjoying football -- or soccer as we Yanks refer to it.

A number of readers gave us a heads-up this morning on a story that is a huge PR win for Apple. Yesterday, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur were scoreless after 120 minutes of regulation play in the English League Cup Final, forcing the game to be decided on penalties.

United's goalkeeping coach Eric Steele promptly pulled out his iPod to show goalkeeper Ben Foster videos of Hotspur players taking penalty shots. The result? United won the game 4 - 1 in the penalty shootout that followed.

In an interview with BBC Sport, Foster noted "We went into the shoot-out as well prepared as possible. We have had things to look at over the last couple of days and before the shoot-out, you can see me looking at an iPod with Eric Steele. It had actual video on it and showed where players put things. Eric brought it when he came to the club. I have never seen anything like it. It is a fantastic tool for us."

Congratulations go out to Manchester United, and we at TUAW hope this means more iPods and iPhones will be seen on the sidelines at next year's World Cup in South Africa.

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Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/league_cup/7917973.…

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While the American football season has been over since the Pro Bowl, the rest of the world is still enjoying football -- or soccer as we...

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Jamie Giles

Windows mobile and google android? Where not talking about the iphone here. Its about the IPOD.

I P O D

Cheers...

March 02 2009 at 5:49 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Cary

Oh for Pete sake! Like Windows Mobile and Google Android couldn't have performed the same task! It never ceases to amaze me at the tactics folks will sink to in an attempt to promote something! In any case - My Red's have done it again.

Cheers...

March 02 2009 at 5:15 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

1 reply to Cary's comment

MARC

I know why would a website called "the Unofficial APPLE web log" talk about an APPLE product? Especially their best seller?

So weird!

March 02 2009 at 10:32 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

darkshark0159

Bah. Apple should refuse to sell iPods to the manchies (not that I like tottenham either).

March 02 2009 at 3:33 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Sherwin Zadeh

Check out this up-coming Penalty Kick game for the iPhone from True Athlete:

www.trueathlete.net

March 02 2009 at 1:51 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

shaun

Guys... most people in the UK hate Man United, just a heads up!

March 02 2009 at 1:42 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

1 reply to shaun's comment

sean

Incorrect.
United are the most popular football team in the UK and all over the world.
Also we're the English, European and World champions!!!

March 02 2009 at 3:16 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

smiling_jack

That is actually against the rules, but i would say that I was there and I am a Spurs fan ;)

March 02 2009 at 1:06 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Alan

Just FYI, it's highly likely that the video clips they were watching were generated in a sports video analysis program called Sportscode - a Mac only application that makes it easy to code and analyse games. Man United are users of the software.

As for the kindly gentleman who suggested South Africa won't be ready for 2010 - I have 2 words - Hamba Kahle.

March 02 2009 at 12:52 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Shane

Americans just kinda dont get it - the whole footie vibe. not an attack, i know f-ck all about baseball, basketball or american football, we're both as ignorant as each other :)

March 02 2009 at 12:41 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Karlo

I don't see what's new on it.
German goalkeeper, Lehmann, was the main resposible of Germany winning the 2006 World Cup match vs. Argentina in the penalties series.
And the beauty of his method was that he did it ony with notes written in a little piece of paper!!
:-P

March 02 2009 at 12:38 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Steve Rapport

"Hotspur players"? "The Hotspurs"? Are you all kidding? Come on, make
an effort. They're just called 'Spurs'. Although to most of us they
are the wankers from Shite Hart Lane. But no-one in their right mind
has ever called them "The Hotspurs." Ever.

Come on you Irons!

March 02 2009 at 12:36 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply