SOCCER NEWS

The Passion Of Brazil Soccer

noreply@blogger.com (Women Interest) — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 05:43:00 +0000

The Passion Of Brazil Soccer

by bowechaim

There are many different types of sports games being played in all parts of the world. Some of these games are more popular than others. The more popular games like basketball, baseball, football and soccer have made their way into the games of other countries. Soccer is one such game that is very significant in Brazil. Brazil soccer is more than just a game it is a national past time.

In Brazil the sport would be considered by some, to be a part of their heritage. Many of the young boys start learning the fundamentals of the game at a very young age. Not to mention that most see it everyday inside their family and on the streets of Brazil.

You will see that for many people in Brazil soccer is a game that does not need a lot of expensive equipment to play. All that is needed is a place to play the game, people who like to play soccer and a soccer ball. As compared to some of the other sports like football or baseball, which requires some expensive equipment. This is a game that can be played on the many Brazilian beaches, the streets and even on playing fields where there are no more soccer games being played.

Brazil soccer is also a way of life for many young Brazilian boys. They play this game in the hopes that they will someday become great soccer players like Pele', Zico, Ronaldo and many others. As these boys mature so does their skills, passion and drive for the game. The determination and discipline these world famous Brazil soccer players have shown is one of the reasons why soccer is very popular in the Brazilian society. This drive and determination has show to every boy growing up that it can be done.

Of course many of the young players also dream of becoming world class soccer players because of the money that can be earned from this game. Now when you watch a Brazil soccer game that is played by the children in the streets you can see many of the traits that propelled famous soccer players like Pele' into the international arena. These boys play for fun with energy, passion and a dream of one day being the best.

There is another reason why Brazil soccer flourishes in the streets of Brazil. The international Brazilian soccer players have decided each in their own way to present the youth of Brazil to soccer. They plant the seed that it is possible for them as well. This is seen by the integration that soccer has in the lives of the youth. Every child who learns to play Brazil soccer has the chance to lead a better life than many can imagine.

So the next time that you watch a game of Brazil soccer look at the faces of these young players. You will see a different kind of face, one that takes passion and love for the game to a whole new level. Somewhere in the game you might be seeing another international soccer participant like Zico or Ronaldo. It is from these humble beginnings that Brazil soccer shows just how good they are in the field of soccer.

Who would have ever though that Brazil soccer which can be played with any type of soccer ball, even one made with socks or soda lids can triumph in the world of soccer. It just goes to show that life can be passionate if you choose for it to be. It just takes a little bit of determination and a whole lot of hard work.

About the Author

Bowe provides free information on a variety of hot topics. Visit his Soccer site and Get some great free soccer information to get started on your soccer endeavors.

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English Soccer Latest News - Huckerby, a New Earthquake!

noreply@blogger.com (Women Interest) — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 02:37:00 +0000

English Soccer Latest News - Huckerby, a New Earthquake!
By John Escribar

Here is one of the English soccer latest news that can shake both soccer fans and opponents of San Jose Earthquakes, a Major League Soccer team.

The ex-Manchester City forward Darren Huckerby is now a member of the San Jose Earthquakes after signing an 18-month deal. The former has earlier discarded an offer laid down by Toronto FC. Huckerby will be joining his teammates the following week.

The only thing Huckerby is waiting right now is his work permit before he can start playing. Phil Smith, Huckerby's agent, reiterated that his man is very fit and is ready for action once his papers were released and confirmed.

Huckerby said in an interview that it doesn't mean that he don't like Toronto FC, he just liked the idea of playing with a totally different environment with players he didn't know much. He further noted that it is a bunch of a challenge for his career right now because as of the moment, his new team is on the tail list in the Western rank. The San Jose Earthquakes claimed no victory during their previous five bouts resulting in the low ranking of the team.

Huckerby is an ex-Newcastle and Coventry forward.

Whatever his career outcome is, Huckerby seems sure of his decision in joining San Jose Earthquakes. If he wanted challenge through a totally different environment and totally different teammates, at least he has proven to himself that he was just a few steps away from proving to himself what he wanted.

Huckerby's defection to another team is only one of a bunch of English soccer latest news this week. Keep reading more about the news everyday.

Learn more about English Soccer Latest News.

Watch Live Soccer on your PC.

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Soccer Transfer News Update - Hleb Joins Barca Ronaldinho Signs For Ac Milan

noreply@blogger.com (Women Interest) — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 02:31:00 +0000

Soccer Transfer News Update - Hleb Joins Barca Ronaldinho Signs For Ac Milan
By Abayomi Aje

The football transfer market came to live once again this week with spainish giants Barca announcing the capture of Arsenal's Midfielder Alexander Hleb and the release of Brazilian Ronaldinho to Ac Milan of Italy.

The Release of Ronaldinho is interesting because of the simple fact that his transfer means the end of an era at fc Barca and most importantly it makes the return to football of one of the greatest talents and personality in the game after a long time out due to injury, thirdly it leaves my dearest club ( yes I am a gunner fan ) Arsenal and we the fans wondering whats going on with our dear club , fourthly it ends Ac Milan's interest in Arsenal's Togolese striker Emmanuel Adebayor and also leaves Manchester City Fc ruing their miss after a long and interesting struggle for the signature of ever smiling Ronaldinho.

The capture of Ronaldinho by Ac Milan despite the fact that he has not seen action for a very long time due to injury confirms the fact that he is one of the best players to have ever played the game of football.

Ronaldinho 28, still look very young and on his way to greatness in the game of football ( Americans call it soccer ). Barcelona spotted and signed the then 23 year old from French giants PSG five years back. He was supposedly the number 2 to David Beckham before the Briton decided to join Barca's Arch rivals Real Madrid.

He joined Barca at a time when things was tough as they have just managed to qualify for the Uefa cup after finished 6 in the La Liga that year. He joined new coach Frank Rijkaard in the job of the transformation of the clubs dwinding fortunes.

Of course he succeeded in his mission as Barca finished second place behind Real Madrid the following season and went on to win back to back titles and the Uefa champions League beating Arsenal in the final a year after.

His feat did not go unnoticed as he was courted by Real Madrid and Fifa could also not ignore his brilliance as he was name the FIFA world footballer of the year.

But ever since things have gone from good to bad and from bad to worst for the Brazilian but now he has a great chance to start a revival of sort with Ac Milan.

As for Dear Arsenal, the news of the departure of Alexander Hleb adds to the growing list of the departees after Ac Milan had earlier stolen Mathieu Flamini right under our nose and the departure of Brazilian Gilberto Silva to Greece .

Although Hleb's transfer to Barca does not seem to surprise any one as it is very obvious but whats a surprise is why does the players who almost won the league for Arsenal in a breath taking way suddenly hate the club. It doesn't even end there as it is very possible that Emmanuel Adebayor may be also on his way out of the Emirates as he has declared his intention to join some other clubs if Arsenal can not agree to his ridiculous and selfish demands although one wonders if Milan who are the clear favorites to sign the Togolese will still be interested after the capture of Ronaldinho.

The capture of Ronaldinho leaves Adebayor hoping Barca will regnite their interest in him. But Unfortunately media reports has it that Barca have decide to abandon their pursuit of the Togolese preferring to sign Tottenham hotspur's Dimitav Berbatov instead. Barca's interest in Berbatov will sure be a thing of concern for Manchester United's Manager Sir Alex as he was also hoping to add the tall striker to his striking force.

With Gilberto also gone and Adebayor one leg in one leg out, it does confirms Arsene Wenger's concern earlier in the summer when he said his greatest concern was not to buy new players but to keep the ones he already has. It does also looks as though as he is losing the battle to keep his players as the players seem to look elsewhere for other challenges in their careers.

As for Manchester City FC and their new Manager Mark Hughes who were hoping to lure Ronaldinho to the eastland stadium are now shocked to know Ronladinho prefers to sign for Milan for a reason that is very obvious- Champions League football. Even though Milan will not be contesting in the Champions League this term but then they have a greater chance to qualify in the future than does Manchester City who can only struggle and hope for Uefa cup appearance.

Now that Ronaldinho has signed for Ac Milan, it will be interesting to know who Manchester City and their ever ambitious manager Mark Hughes will be signing with the £25 million that was rejected by Ronaldinho and Barca.

The transfer of Hleb and Ronaldinho to Barca and Ac Milan respectively could lead to a large scale moment of players from one club to another as it looks as though Milan and Barca mean business after the bad season the last time out. Hleb's transfer leaves Arsene Wenger with the headache of looking for a replacement for Hleb even though he has got Nasri and as for Manchester City it will be difficult to attract the kind of players who will get them breaking into the big four in the English Premiership in the coming season though they are ambitious but I still do not believe they will be attractive enough to get players of the capacity of Ronaldinho at least not for this season.

All football fans are invited to join one of the best and fastest growing football forum on the internet.for more soccer news update and forum discussion visit http://soccerfanbase.com/

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Updates On The World Soccer News

noreply@blogger.com (Women Interest) — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 04:01:00 +0000

Updates On The World Soccer News
By John Escribar

What are the updates on the world soccer news? Had there been happenings that would make a mark in world soccer history?

If you wanted to be in the know with regards to news on world soccer, all you have to do is tune into your favorite sports channel in your television or listen to the radio news or better yet, browse through the internet.

Numerous websites would cater you what you wanted to know about world soccer. The websites would tell you who are best players, the players you should watch for, tournaments and leagues schedules, the top players of soccer, the best teams and most importantly updated soccer news. All of the above mentioned information and a lot more you wanted to know about soccer will be given to you in details. In fact, you could even participate in forums and discuss events and happenings in world soccer.

More so, sports website masters see to it that they are updating all the information in their sites. They would not want to have a reputation of having old and obsolete news and information about soccer. Soccer enthusiasts and fans often visit these websites to get the freshest and latest information they could ever get. They would even brag about information if they have been ahead with regards to the latest news on soccer. These enthusiasts and die-hard fans would eat their hearts out and give anything for the latest scoop inside the soccer field and behind the scenes as well.

So, be able to get the latest on the world soccer news ahead of your friends and family and you are assured to be in the limelight.

Watch Videos about world soccer news.

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http://EzineArticles.com/?Updates-On-The-World-Soccer-News&id=1391134

Soccer - News from the Africa-Cup 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Women Interest) — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 04:07:00 +0000

Soccer - News from the Africa-Cup 2008
14th February 2008
Author: Emeli

The Africa-Cup, also known as Football-Africa-Championship, is organized from the African Football Association CAF and is held every two years. The Qualification Round for the Africa-Championship 2008 was held from September 2006 to September 2007. In total there were 132 qualification games whereby 46 nations were divided in twelve groups. Fifteen teams qualified for the final stage. The sixteenth’s position was assigned automatically to the host Ghana.

Ghana was chosen already in June 2004. This way the West African country is after 1963, 1978 and 2000 host for the fourth time. As venues for the three week’s tournament, the following four cities were selected: Accra, Kumasi, Sekondi-Takoradi and Tamale. The capital Accra is Ghana’s biggest city and is located at the Gulf of Guinea; therewith it is the most important commercial, manufacture and communication centre. The former British colony Ghana is also known as the Golden Coast. Ghana was the first black nation in the sub-Saharan Africa who could achieve the independence from colony rules.

The 26th Football Africa-Championship started on January 20th this year and will continue until February 10th. In October last year the sixteen qualified teams were at first drawn into four groups and will later play against each other in the final play-offs. In total 32 games will be held whereby the opening game and the Final are taking place in the capital.

The African Champion will qualify for the Confederation-Cup 2009 which will take place this time in South Africa. The Confederation-Cup is also known as Mini-World Cup which is organized by the FIFA since 1997. This Cup is contested by the Champions of the six Continental zones plus the reigning World Champion. Venue is always the host for the following World Cup. The reigning African Champion is Egypt who leads the Champion standings with five titles, followed by Ghana and Cameroon with four titles each.

Humiliatingly there appeared an instance of bribery at the actual African-Cup. Some German players had first-hand experience on this. Current Hamburg‘s defense player Collin Benjamin for example plays for the Namibian Team which was offered a six-digit amount if they would lose the last game of the group stage against Guinea. The game may not have been important for Namibia, since they occupy the last place in the group, but they did not respond to the offer and approached instead to the Association President John Muinjo who made the attempted manipulation public. "My players came directly to me and we have informed the CAF about the occurrence", said Muinjo.

Collin’s Coach Huub Stevens from Hamburg had never experienced an attempt of bribery in his whole career and is very upset: „I thought that those things do not happen anymore nowadays." This is not the first case but at least the second one at this year’s tournament. It can only be speculated if there were more attempts which were not of public domain. For the host of the World Cup 2010, South Africa, these occurrences were unfortunately everything else than successful promotion.

About the Author:
Emeli Dean is a high-ranking writer on sports for the sports betting industry.

Feel free to reprint this article in its whole on your site, make sure to leave all links in place and do not modify any of the content.

Has Kewell Or Galatasaray Taken More Of A Gamble?

noreply@blogger.com (Women Interest) — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 03:51:00 +0000

AC Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani has said that Chelsea have made an "astronomical bid" for Brazilian World Player of the Year Kaka and there is also interest in their Italian...

An Epic Final Match in Rio de Janeiro.

noreply@blogger.com (Women Interest) — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 03:15:00 +0000

16 June 2008

POLAND 0
CROATIA 1 (Klasnic 53)

The Poles created two chances inside the first ten minutes against Bilic's reserves. Saganowski flicked on a longball out of defence to Lobodzinski and Runje, under pressure from Krzynowek, bravely flew off his line to punch clear the wingers cross taking out one of his own defenders in the process. From the resulting corner Polish midfielder Dudka towered above the Croat defence but sent his header hopelessly wide. Rakitic, who has been linked with Juve, swung in a great free kick in from the right flank which Vejic sent bouncing wide of Boruc's left post. Klasnic played the PES classic lofted one-two pass with Petric and raced through on goal but was denied by the excellent, excellent Boruc. Rakitic missed an open goal on a rebound after Boruc dived to save at the feet of Klasnic.

Klasnic was bundled over on the edge of the box following a tremendous run by Rakitic but surprisingly the Croats didn't appeal as the ref waved play on, Pranjic gathered the loose ball, drove into the box and cut back for Klasnic to shoot first time into the bottom right corner. Great finish. Passport cheat Guerreiro had a chance to score an equaliser against the run of play after a slip by Simic (retire already) but dragged his shot wide.

I thought this was Croatia's best performance to date. Rakitic and not Modric, has been Croatia's standout player. I'm a big fan of Klasnic and see him as much more of a threat than the rubbish Ivica Olic.

Attendance : 30,000
Assist : Pranjic

AUSTRIA 0
GERMANY 1 (Ballack 49 fk)

Klose ran onto a throw in, accelerated past two defenders, turned inside Hiden and rolled a pass to Gomez who, standing a yard out, sliced the ball up in the air and didn't bother challenging Garics for the rebound. COMPLETE PUSSY. On 19 minutes there was a great chance for Jimmy Hoffa when Hiden chipped a diagonal ball into the box but Lehmann was alert to a wretched first touch and dived at the Austrian striker's feet to save. Podolski snapped a drive from 25 yards, drawing a great save from Macho. Hickersberger and Low were sent off on 40 minutes because Manuel Mejuto Gonzalez is a shit ref.

A tremendous run by Lahm deep into the Austria half was crudely ended by Ivanschitz (don't forget to wash you hands). Ballack took the resulting free kick about 30 yards from goal and sent a bullet of a right foot shot into the top corner, the first free kick goal of the tournament. Hoffa missed a chance to equalise when he turned onto Ivanschitz's miss-hit shot but fired wide. Lehmann found the wretched Neuville, on as a late sub for Podolski, with a monstrous 50 yard throw, as the Austrian defence backed off he shot wide from 16 yards.

A better defensive performance from Germany but they were only playing Austria who suck utterly. Gomez has been a complete failure. I'm not sure what Kuranyi has to do to get a chance.

Attendance : 50,000
Assist : Lahm (won fk)

13 June 2008

NETHERLANDS 4 (Kuyt 10, Van Persie 60, Robben 72, Sneijder 92)
FRANCE 1 (Henry 71)

Makelele should have been booked for a crude hit attack on Kuyt in the fourth minute. Kuyt got his revenge by heading the Dutch into the lead from a corner, taking advantage of ridiculous marking by Malouda, who seemed more interested in some man on man grappling. Kuyt almost punished a terrible mistake by Thuram but Evra bailed out his captain with a great block. Midway through the half the French suddenly sprang to life and wave upon wave of attack followed. Sagnol beat Van Bronckhorst on the right before driving in a centre, Govou recovered from an awful first to force VDS into a brilliant save at his near post. Makelele made sure Van der Vaart couldn't launch another counter attack after the French lost possession, with a right arm to the face earning himself a long overdue yellow card. Malouda juggled Thuram's clearing header away from Van der Vaart and Boulahrouz as they ran to close him down, he threaded a ball to Ribery who played a superb first time centre into the box, Evra cut the ball back to Henry who kicked fresh air and Govou broke into the box and shot straight at VDS. Makelele intercepted a pass deep in his half and drove forward, running through a sliding tackle before passing to Ribery, Ribery ran into the box and checked inside Ooijer and De Jong before striking a weak shot into Van der Sar's grateful arms. On the right flank Govou collected a throw in and held off two defenders before slipping a pass between their legs to Ribery, he flashing a centre across goal which Henry once again failed to meet. Such was France's dominance in midfield Makelele made another run deep into the opposition half before playing a ball into Henry who hit a shot on the turn wide of VDS's right post. To the relief of the Dutch the half time whistle soon followed.

Van Basten switched things around at half time. Substituting Engelaar for Robben and pushing Sneijder in support of RVN. The Dutch playing 4-4-2? That must be a first! The change had little effect as the French continued to dominate. Henry skinned Ooijer on the edge of the box and his deflected cross was kicked off Ribery's feet by Boulahrouz. Following a series of deflections from a free kick Henry lashed at shot at goal, Ooijer turned away and threw himself at the ball volleying it clear with his left hand but the ref waving away French appeals for a penalty. Henry missed France's clearest chance to equalise four minutes later. Malouda's overhead kick sent Henry in on goal but, just as Toni did in the opening match, he lobbed high over the bar. Shocking miss. Van Basten made a last throw of the dice, replacing the tireless Kuyt with Van Persie and switching to his nations classic 4-3-3 tactic. The move reaped instant dividends. Van der Vaart headed on a throw in to Van Nistelrooy who did a 360 degree Bergkamp style pirouette away from Makelele and Toulalan, with a brilliant first Robben took the ball away from Makelele and powered upfield leaving the French trailing in his wake, he put on the breaks, whipped the ball into the box and Van Persie volleyed through Coupet's hands. VDS punched out a deflected Ribery shot and Gomis, who looked terrible, smashed the rebound into the stands. The Dutch defence was finally breeched on 71 minutes. Sagnol ran over RVN as he tried to bring a goal kick under control, played a one-two with Govou and arched a centre to Henry who flicked the ball into the bottom left corner. Any hopes of a comeback were quickly dashed. While the replays were still being shown Sneijder rolled a pass inside Sagnol to Robben, he ran at Thuram and from the most improbable of angles fired a left foot missile into the roof of Coupet's net. Absolutely incredible. Five minutes later Henry made awful contact with a Ribery free kick as the fight, finally began to fade from a brave French side. Coupet's fingertip save denied Van Nistelrooy a second goal. In the last minute Van Nistelrooy held up possession, collecting a pass out of defence but instead of running to the corner flag checked inside Thuram before passed to De Jong, De Jong squared to Van Persie, he passed to Sneijder who with his back to goal turned away from Toulalan and hammered a right foot shot in off the underside of the crossbar.

Once against the Dutch were out-shot (23-16) but once again were stone cold killers in front of goal. The Dutch were battered either side of half time before Van Basten's switch to 4-3-3 gave them relief on the break. The man is showing signs of being as much of a genius on the bench as he was on the pitch. An absolutely breathless game of football, an all time classic. For the last half hour I was on my feet screaming as every goal went in. Are the Netherlands the Brazil of 1970 or the Brazil of 1982? Over the next fortnight we'll find out.

Van Basten is almost certainly gong to rest many of his key players ahead of the quarter-finals which could make France vs Italy one of most epic and, at the same time, anti-climatic games in the history of this tournament.

Attendance : 32,000
Assists : van der Vaart (ck), Robben, Sagnol, Sneijder, Van Persie

ITALY 1 (Panucci 56)
ROMANIA 1 (Mutu 54)

Constant pressure by the Italians forced the first of many, many chances. Del Piero was crowded out in the box as he brought a Camoranesi pass under control, Perotta cleverly chipped the ball back to him but Goian headed his goalbound header out for a corner. Toni missed an absolute sitter when Camoranesi and Grosso combined down the left, the Juve midfielder providing a superb cross. Panucci gave away possession with an overhit pass and a Romanian midfielder sent Mutu down the left, Chiellini tracked his former Juventus team-mate, forcing him to shoot from a wide angle drawing a brilliant save out of Buffon. Camoranesi brought down a Goian clearance on his chest before finding Grosso in acres of space on the left with a brilliant lofted pass, Grosso brought the ball under control, took a step back and measured a cross to the back post and once again Toni header wide. Buffon got down to parry a Tamas free kick struck from absolutely miles out and minutes later he was beaten all ends up from another Romania free kick when Chivu's drive was deflected onto a post by Panucci and Zambrotta hacked clear. There was an ugly clash of heads when Radoi and Rat challenged for the ball. Radoi was carted off and replaced by playmaker Dica. Toni chested down a Del Piero cross and just as Perrotta was about to pull the trigger Siena's Codrea denied him with a last ditch tackle. Italy won three consecutive corners, Lobont tipped over from Chiellini, made a miraculous save to push a Toni header against a post then bravely dived at the feet of Chiellini as he attacked a Toni header. In first half injury time Italy were hosed on another offside call. Camoranesi played a short corner to Zambrotta, the Romanian defence pushed up, Del Piero was standing in a (passive) offside position as Toni headed into the net but the goal was disallowed. The President of the FIGA (Italian FA) Giancarlo Abete was furious after the match:

"I think UEFA at the highest level wanted to confirm Ruud Van Nistelrooy's goal was valid, so they won't have a problem confirming that the errors today were indeed mistakes. It would be very strange to do otherwise."

Good luck on that one. Just as chances dried up in the second half the wretched Zambrotta decided to give a helping hand to the Romanians. Zambrotta underhit a backpass, Mutu ran in on the blindside and slammed the ball into the roof of the net. Italy got a quick equaliser. Chiellini headed down a Del Piero corner and Panucci, standing between four Romanians, ran past them to poke the ball into the net. Del Grosso (twice) and De Rossi made last ditch tackles in the box. In the 80th minute to everyone's amazement the ref awarded a penalty to Romania. Replays showed Panucci had wrestled Niculae to the ground. A nervy Mutu stepped up and drilled his penalty down the middle, Buffon got a strong right hand to the ball then immediately kicked clear as the Italian fans erupted in celebration. Late on in their desperation Grosso and Toni went to ground looking for penalties.

Donadoni got his tactics right on this one but was let down by Toni's treacherous finishing. De Rossi, Chiellini and Grosso were fantastic as was Buffon who made up for a poor display against the Dutch. Why oh why didn't Donadoni play this formation in the first match? Toni should get no more than 45 minutes against the French. Borriello deserves a chance.

Attendance : 30,000
Assists : n/a, Chiellini

Chelsea Ladies sign Arsenal PairPower in the Premier League, ladies that is, may be shifting. Chelsea hasinked a pair of former Gunners, Lianne Sanderson and Anita Asante. Both were considered shock exits from Arsenal, which hasdominated the women's league for decades. Sanderson hasbeenthe Prem's top scorer the past two seasons."Anita and me have won everything at Arsenal and we wanted ...

Euro 2008 Semi-Finals Day One

noreply@blogger.com (Women Interest) — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 03:18:00 +0000

15 June 2008

SWITZERLAND 2 (Hakan Yakin 71, Hakan Yakin 83 Pen)
PORTUGAL 0

An absolutely pointless match. Scolari rested his star players. Muller intercepted a clearance and sent it back into the Portugal box towards Derdiyok who, with his back to play, volleyed a lovely pass into Hakan Yakin and smacked a half volley under Ricardo's legs. Barnetta bounced himself off Meira to win a penalty which Yakin slammed into the top left corner.

Attendance : 40,000
Assists : Derdiyok, Barnetta (won pen)

TURKEY 3 (Arda 75, Nihat 87, Nihat 89)
CZECH REPUBLIC 2 (Koller 34, Plasil 62)

Grygera got free on the right and swung a cross into the box which Koller headed under the crossbar. After a
dreadful first half in which Koller's goal was the only highlight you could never imagine what was in store in
the final 45 minutes.

At half time Terim pushed Tuncay, who started out on the right wing, up front instead of Semih Senturk and replaced him with Sabri Sarioglu. Koller broke through on the hour mark and did a Luca Toni, failing to hit the target when through on goal. Unlike Italy and France the Czechs weren't left to rue the miss because less than a minute later as the Turks were trying to substitute the injured Emre Gungor, Plasil made it 0-2 when he ran across Sabri to volley in Sionko's brilliant right wing cross. The Czechs were not content to sit on their lead and went looking for goal number three. Polak collected from a throw in and took out two Turks with a great reverse pass to Plasil, Plasil squared to Jarolim and he played a pass out wide to the excellent Sionko, Sionko let the ball roll into the box before centring to Plasil who slammed a first time shot against Volkan's right post, Emre Asik sliced the ball up into the air and almost beheaded Polak on the follow up. Three minutes later Arda gave the Turks a lifeline. On the half way line Altintop turned onto a pass, skipped over a tackle and flicked the ball out wide to Sabri, he made a diagonal run between two defenders onto Sabri's return pass and his centre rolled past six players before landing invitingly at Arda's feet, he struck a low first time shot which beat Cech at his near post, he should have tipped it out for a corner. Turkey won a throw in 20 yards from goal. Altintop thumped a cross into the box and Cech, under no pressure, jumped and tried to catch the ball but dropped it at Nihat's feet leaving him with an empty net. With the match headed for penalties Nihat scored a sensational winner. Tuncay flicked on an 80 yard Volkan goal kick, Ujfalusi only cleared as far as Altintop who played a great disguised pass between three defenders to Nihat, he spun onto the ball and as Cech advanced off his line whipped a fantastic right foot shot in off the underside of the crossbar. In injury time Ujfalusi launched a longball into the box, Volkan ran off his line and punched the ball away from Koller, quickly got to his feet and did enough to put off Vlcek, who headed wide of an empty net then got in Koller's face and pushed him in the chest and he rolled over in apparent agony in full view of referee Frojdfeldt who had no option but to send him off. Tuncay put on the gloves but the Czech didn't have time to mount another attack.

Low on quality, at least until the last half hour, high on drama. One of the all time great comebacks. Cech is the new Dida. The giant Brazilian never recovered from the infamous flare throwing incident just as Cech has never recovered from that disgraceful foul by that dirty bastard Stephen Hunt. Cech was at fault for Turkey's first two goals. The Turks will be more than happy at the prospect of facing Croatia instead of Germany even without their brilliant goalkeeper.

Attendance : 30,000
Red Card : Volkan 92 (Turkey)
Assists : Grygera, Sionko, Altintop, n/a, Altintop

Portugal Off To Winning Euro 2008 Start

noreply@blogger.com (Women Interest) — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 03:14:00 +0000

Last night's game against the Rapids had a little bit of everything in it. I'm not even sure where to begin.After establishing a 3-0 lead, and after two red card sendoffs at the end of the second half (Gordon, LA, and Erpen, Colorado), the Galaxy lost its defensive pressure and possession allowing the Rapids to score two of their ...

Poor John Terry. As if it wasn't bad enough being a triple loser this season as runner up in the English Premier League and a beaten finalist in the Carling...

UCL 2007-2008 Final Statistics

noreply@blogger.com (Women Interest) — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 07:14:00 +0000

Top Scorers
8....Ronaldo (Manchester United)
6....Drogba (Chelsea)
6....Gerrard (Liverpool)
6....Messi (Barcelona)
5....Babel (Liverpool)
5....Deivid (Fenerbahce)
5....Ibrahimovic (Inter)
5....Kuyt (Liverpool)
5....Torres (Liverpool)

Assists Leaders
5....Kanoute (Sevilla)
4....Alex (Fenerbahce)
4....Djordjevic (Olympiakos)
4....Gerrard (Liverpool)
4....Govou (Lyon)
4....Hleb (Arsenal)
4....Robinho (Real Madrid)

Top Forwards....
10....Kanoute 5 goals & 5 assists
9....Ronaldo 8 goals & 1 assists
8....Messi 6 goals & 2 assists
8....Robinho 4 goals & 4 assists
7....Drogba 6 goals & 1 assists
7....Raul 5 goals & 2 assists
7....Van Nistelrooy 5 goals & 2 assists

Top Midfielders
10....Gerrard 6 goals & 4 assists
8....Robinho 4 goals & 4 assists

Most Goals From Open Play
6....Drogba
6....Ronaldo

Summary....
Champions - Manchester United
Top Scorer - Ronaldo (8 goals scored)
Assist Leader - Kanoute (5 assists)
Best Attack - Liverpool (29 goals scored) *
Worst Attack - Schalke (6 goals scored) *
Best Defence - Manchester United & Barcelona (6 goals conceded) *
Worst Defence - Fenerbahce (14 conceded) *
Yellow Cards - 455
Red Cards - 16
Goalless Draws - 10
Goals Per Game - 2.64

* = Last 16 teams

TOP SCORERS
21.... Del Piero (Juventus)
20.... Trezeguet (Juventus)
19.... Borriello (Genoa)
17.... Di Natale (Udinese)
17.... Ibrahimovic (Inter)
17.... Mutu (Fiorentina)

ASSIST LEADERS
15.... Pizarro (Roma)
13.... Ibrahimovic (Inter)

TOP FORWARDS
30.... Del Piero 21 goals & 9 assists
30.... Ibrahimovic 17 goals & 13 assists
27.... Borriello 19 goals & 8 assists
26.... Trezeguet 20 goals & 6 assists
25.... Mutu 17 goals & 8 assists
25.... Di Natale 17 goals & 8 assists

TOP MIDFIELDERS
27.... Kaka' 15 goals & 12 assists
17.... Doni 12 goals & 5 assists
16.... Maggio 9 goals & 7 assists
13.... Hamsik 9 goals & 4 assists

MOST GOALS FROM OPEN PLAY
18.... Trezeguet (Juventus)
16.... Del Piero (Juventus)
15.... Borriello (Genoa)
15.... Di Natale (Udinese)

MOST GOALS FROM PENALTIES
8.... Ibrahimovic (Inter)
6.... Kaka' (Milan)
6.... Mutu (Fiorentina)
5.... Domizzi (Napoli)

MOST GOALS FROM FREE KICKS
3.... Miccoli (Palermo)

MOST ASSISTS FROM OPEN PLAY
11.... Ibrahimovic (Inter)
11.... Kaka' (Milan)
9.... Pizarro (Roma)

MOST SET PIECE ASSISTS
4.... Miccoli (Palermo)
4.... Pirlo (Milan)
4.... Pizarro (Roma)

MOST PENALTIES & FREE KICKS WON
4.... Lavezzi (Napoli)
3.... Borriello (Genoa)
3.... Del Piero (Juventus)
3.... Gilardino (Milan)
3.... Mutu (Fiorentina)
3.... Nedved (Juventus)
3.... Vieri (Fiorentina)

SUMMARY
Champions - Inter (85 points)
Top Scorer - Del Piero (21 goals)
Assist Leader - Pizarro (15 assists)
Best Attacks - Juventus & Roma (72 goals scored)
Worst Attack - Empoli (29 goals scored)
Best Defence - Inter (26 goals conceded)
Worst Defence - Parma (62 goals)
Yellow Cards - 1044
Red Cards - 71
0-0 Draws - 31
Goals Per Game - 2.55

RIP Tommy Burns

noreply@blogger.com (Women Interest) — Thu, 22 May 2008 07:45:00 +0000

21 May 2008

MANCHESTER UNITED 1 (Ronaldo 26)
CHELSEA (Lampard 45)

Scholes and Brown pulled Lampard out of position after exchanging passes from a throw in deep in the Chelsea half, Brown floated a peach of cross to the back post and Ronaldo out jumped Essien with ease to direct his header inside Cech's right hand post. It took Chelsea 30 minutes to muster a shot on target, after they abandoned their pointless strategy of hitting long balls upto Drogba. Lampard out muscled Hargreaves on the left flank before cutting infield and lofting a cross towards Drogba at the back post, Drogba headed the ball across goal and Ferdinand, under pressure from Ballack, forced his goalkeeper into making a great one handed save. Rooney won the ball from the resulting corner and released Ronaldo with a glorious 60 yard crossfield pass, Ronaldo whipped a cross inside Ashley Cole towards Tevez, he headed straight at Cech who quickly got to his feet and denied Carrick on the follow-up with a fantastic two handed save. Chelsea equalised against the run of play. Essien's speculative shot took a couple of deflections before falling invitingly for Lampard to shoot past VDS.

Chelsea's superior midfield muscle told in the second half but the Man United defence repelled a string of corners and free kicks. Drogba took the defence out of the equation with a chilling strike from the edge of the box which thundered against the right post.

Kalou came on for Malouda at the start of the first period of extra time. He played back a throw-in to Ashley Cole, Cole dribbled into the box and passed to Ballack and as two Man United players ran in to tackle he quickly moved the ball onto Lampard who shot on the turn, the ball rebounded off the crossbar and big game bottler Joe Cole, Chelsea's player of the season my arse, volleyed into the athletics track. Nani, another extra time sub, ran onto a clearance, past Essien and Makelele and pulled the ball to Giggs forcing Terry into a neck
breaking clearance.

The only notable incident in the second period of extra time was Drogba's dismissal, for pushing Tevez in the face when the ball was out of play.

Penalty-Shoot Out

Tevez drills a shot inside the right post

Ballack strikes a poor penalty, at the perfect height for a 'keeper but it has too much pace for VDS

Carrick is the first to go left, Cech dives the wrong way as he scores ITV commentator Clive Tyldesley shouts 'Yes'. So much for impartiality, the bastard.

Belletti is the third to go right sending VDS the wrong way

Ronaldo takes a few steps, puts on the breaks, continues his run up and Cech dives left to save

Lampard shots low to the right, VDS gets a touch but it's not enough

Hargreaves is only half English and learned his football in Germany so obviously he wasn't going to miss. Slammed high left and the best penalty of the night

Ashley Cole fires low right again. Obviously Chelsea see this as VDS' weakness. He gets a touch but can't stop the ball hitting the back of the net

Nani shoots, yes to the left, Cech just fails to get a touch

Terry slips as he strikes the ball and it crashes off the post as VDS celebrates

Anderson drives the ball just right of centre, Cech is too quick and misses

Kalou maintains the policy of shooting right and you'd think by now VDS would be wise to their ploy but dives in the opposite direction

Giggs breaks from the Man United tradition and shoots low into the bottom right corner

Anelka is the first Chelsea player to shoot left and VDS saves

Manchester United win 6-5 on penalties.

Attendance : 69,552
Red Card : Drogba 116 (Chelsea)
Assists : Brown, n/a

Liverpool's Argentinian midfielder Javier Mascherano has decided that he wants to miss the start of next season's English Premier League season so he can pursue an Olympic gold medal as...

Croatia's Modric Signs For Spurs

noreply@blogger.com (Women Interest) — Thu, 08 May 2008 04:28:00 +0000

Brazilian goalscoring legend Romario has finally called time on his illustrious playing career at the age of 42 and in doing so has now made himself eligible for the About.com...

Koeman proud of Valencia Cup win

noreply@blogger.com (Women Interest) — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 07:21:00 +0000

Everton have announced they will sign South Africa midfielder Steven Pienaar on a permanent basis from Borussia Dortmund for a fee of just over 2million.

Bayern Munich have withdrawn the offer of a new contract to Philipp Lahm after failing to reach agreement with the 24-year-old Germany defender, who said separately on Tuesday he was eager to move abroad.

A goal and an assist for Landon Donovan's goal may seem like a pretty basic night at the office for LA Galaxy star David Beckham but after his torrid time...

Ashley Cole Should Have Been Sent Off, Mascherano Can Have No Complaints

noreply@blogger.com (Women Interest) — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 03:45:00 +0000

13 April 2008

INTER 2 (Cambiasso 55, Balotelli 62)
FIORENTINA 0

Frey ensured Fiorentina went in level at half time against his former club with World Class saves from Balotelli and Cruz. In a reversal of roles Maicon passed to Vieira who made a great run on the outside of Liverani in the box, his initial pass was charged down but he was first to the rebound and Cambiasso slammed in his centre. Cruz sent 'Super' Mario Balotelli clear of a Fiorentina defence that was keeping a high line, he angled his run onto the Argentinean's pass and as Frey advanced off his line he took one touch with the outside of his right foot before slotting the ball into the corner. A sensational finish for a player of such limited experience. He brought some sections of the Inter tifosi to their feet when he was substituted. He's one Italian that will be in Inter's starting XI for a long, long time.

Inter have taken maximum points from two of their three most potentially difficult remaining games (against Atalanta and Fiorentina) and with the exception of the Milan derby they're on easy street.

Attendance : 53,483
Assists : Vieira, Cruz

EMPOLI 1 (Giovinco 30)
PARMA 1 (Lucarelli 8)

Despite the presence of six Empoli players in the box Lucarelli got his head to Gasbarroni's cross and the ball took a deflection off a defender past Balli. Lucarelli almost made it 0-2 but his scissor kick rebounded off the base of a post. Giovinco, who has more than a passing resemblance to Joe Cole, gathered the ball 25 yards from goal and slalomed his way past two defenders before whipping a right foot shot inside the right post. Brilliant finish, brilliant prospect.

Attendance : 4,000
Assists : n/a, Abate

GENOA 3 (Di Vaio 52, Borriello 61, Sculli 69)
TORINO 0

Di Vaio gave Genoa a deserved lead seven minutes after coming on as a sub. Borriello clipped a pass between two Torino defenders, Fontana ran off his line and threw himself at the strikers feet, fortunately for him Di Vaio didn't return the favour but instead pushed the ball past him and tapped into an empty net. Genoa double their lead on the break. Di Vaio swung a cross to the back post, Di Loreto headed the ball to Borriello and he took one touch to open the angle before placing the ball into the bottom right corner. Sculli headed in Genoa's third from a Milanetto free kick.

Attendance : 35,000
Assists : Borriello, n/a, Milanetto (fk)

LAZIO 1 (Mutarelli 46)
SIENA 1 (Loria 88)

At the end of the first half Mutarelli ran onto a loose ball and hit one of those sweet strikes when both feet leave the ground on impact, the ball catching a post on it's way past Manninger. Siena equalised on the break. The approach play was good but Muslera's poor handling allowed Loria's grass cutter to beat him at his near post.

Attendance : 20,000
Assists : n/a, Locatelli

LIVORNO 1 (Galante 2)
CAGLIARI 2 (Acquafresca 10, 54)

Storari fumbled a centre and Galante slid the ball in at the far post. It didn't take long for Cagliari to draw level. Cossu stung Amelia's palms with a punishing drive and Acquafresca tapped in the rebound. After both teams created and missed a succession of chances Italy U21 striker (and Football Manager 2008 star) Robert Acquafresca gave relegation threatened Cagliari the decisive breakthrough in this six pointer. He cut in from the right, past Galante and fired low into the corner to score his eighth goal of the season which is a very good return for a 20 year old.

Acquafresca was owned by Inter but they let him join Cagliari as part of the Suazo transfer. I know it's easy to say in hindsight but boy was that a dumb move. With Pazzini (23), Montolivo (23), Rosina (23), Rossi (21), Cigarini (21), Acquafresca (20), Giovinco (20), Balotelli (17) and Paloschi (17) the Italian national side have a very bright future. Now if only they could produce some defenders. Coda (22, Udinese) is the only youngster getting playing time for a top side.

Attendance : 14,000
Assists : n/a, n/a, Biondini

NAPOLI 2 (Hamsik 62, Lavezzi 65)
ATALANTA 0

The Napoli squad have the worst collection of haircuts in Serie A and two of the main fashion criminals had a hand in their first goal. Sosa, who has a ridiculous mullet, back heeled a pass to Lavezzi as the Atalanta defence sprung their offside trap, Lavezzi's shot was saved and Hamsik (high spiked crest, like a parrot) tapped in the rebound. Lavezzi, who had been denied three times by Coppola, finally beat him by punching Sosa's cross in with his hand inevitably drawing comparisons with another famous Napoli cheat.

Attendance : 40,000
Assists : n/a, Sosa

REGGINA 1 (Brienza 35)
SAMPDORIA 0

Attendance : 10,000
Assist : Cozza

UDINESE 1 (Di Natale 52)
ROMA 3 (Vucinic 64, Taddei 70, Giuly 90)

Doni and Panucci got into a heated exchange after Panucci lost midget Di Natale on a cross and he beat the Brazilian at his near post. Pizarro ran at the massed ranks of the Udinese defence and suddenly checked his run, turned direction and clipped a fabulous pass through to Vucinic, he took the ball on his chest and rifled a volley past Handanovic. Six minutes later Taddei got a huge slice of luck when his speculative shot took a deflection off Coda and flew in off the underside of the crossbar. Pizarro, the most under-rated player in this Roma team, sent a long pass upto Vucinic, he back heeled to Totti, Totti hit a first time centre to Giuly, he controlled the ball with his right foot and shot past Handanovic with his left.

Great comeback victory for Roma but they're running out of games.

Attendance : 18,000
Assists : Dossena, Pizarro, n/a, Totti

12 April 2008

PALERMO 1 (Miccoli 83 fk)
CATANIA 0

Attendance : 24,811
Assist : Miccoli (won fk)

JUVENTUS 3 (Del Piero 12, Salihamidzic 45, Salihamidzic 80)
MILAN 2 (Inzaghi 14, Inzaghi 30)

Juve took the lead with a wonderfully worked move. Salihamidzic hit a pass into Trezeguet and the Frenchman flicked the ball out wide to Camoranesi, he vaulted over Favalli's sliding tackle and angled a pass to Del Piero who ran between Maldini and Simic and from a poor angle slotted into the bottom left corner. Pirlo sent Kaka' clear down Juve's right flank, he ran into the box, teased Chiellini before accelerating away and centred for Inzaghi to tap-in. Juve blew two chances to clear a corner, Bonera played a one-two with Ambrosini on the edge of the box, running onto his vice-captain's delightful lobbed pass, Buffon advanced off his line to close him down but Bonera kept his composure and squared for an offside Inzaghi to put Milan 1-2 up. Del Piero caught Maldini napping on the left touchline, tackling him from behind, the ball broke to Camoranesi, he hung a cross upto the back post and Kalac could only parry Trezeguet's point blank header against Salihamidzic.

Grygera drew a great save from Kalac with a brilliant long range effort. Sissoko skipped over another despairing Favalli tackle and put in a great cross from the right but, with the goal at his mercy, Stendardo headed embarrassingly wide. Bonera was sent off for a criminal, leg breaking foul on Sissoko who miraculously wasn't hurt. An unmarked Salihamidzic headed in the winner from a Camoranesi free kick. Del Piero should have made it 4-2 but failed to punish a mistake by the wretched Simic, volleying straight at Kalac.

Dario bloody Simic epitomises everything wrong with the clubs transfer policy in recent years. This useless, injury prone 32 year old midget (for a centre back), rarely plays, is rubbish when he does yet had his contract extended in 2006 because like Cafu, Serginho, Favalli and Brocchi he's become part of the furniture. Galliani you are shit.

Attendance : 45,000
Assists : Camoranesi, Kaka', Bonera, n/a, Camoranesi (fk)

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9 April 2008

BARCELONA 1 (Toure 43)
SCHALKE

According to the stats both teams managed combined 38 shots but from what I saw this was a devastatingly poor game. Bordon sliced a Bojan centre high in the air, Krstajic made a fantastic goal-line clearance but Toure was on hand to send the rebound past Neuer.

I never thought I'd say this at this stage of the season but Barcelona are the poorest team left in the competition. When your best player is a child (Bojan) you know you've got problems.

Attendance : 88,000
Assist : n/a

MANCHESTER UNITED 1 (Tevez 70)
ROMA 0

Alex Ferguson was so worried about Roma's threat he left Ronaldo and Rooney on the bench and played Silvestre and Pique in defence. Park and Hargreaves wasted early chances. Tevez laid off a goalkick to Hargreaves and he hit a superb first time pass to Giggs at the back post forcing a great save from Doni. Roma looked to have won a soft penalty when Mancini theatrically went down in the box but replays showed Brown kicked out at him three times. De Rossi sent the ball into outer space.

Roma kept plugging away in the second half. VDS spilled a speculative effort from Vucinic but Cassetti botched the rebound. Silvestre made a great block tackle on Taddei and Juan should have scored from the resulting corner. Brown intercepted a stray pass and gave the ball to Tevez, he held off Mancini and passed to Hargreaves who had one again drifted out wide. Hargreaves checked his run, waited for Tevez to dart into the box and whipped a cross straight onto his head, 1-0. Brilliant. Gary Neville made his first appearance in 13 months as a late sub for the rubbish Anderson.

Roma are the Italian Arsenal i.e. cock teases. Without Totti they're hopeless and Vucinic clearly isn't good enough to play as the lone striker. Man United should have few problems beating Barca, Messi or no Messi.

Attendance : 74,423
Assist : Hargreaves

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This was an easy one to sort out after all. With a month or so of the current season still left to play and with Brazilian enigma Ronaldinho out injured...

Chelsea party-pooper Emile Heskey felt Wigan thoroughly deserved their 1-1 draw at Chelsea tonight.

Beitar Jerusalem Fans Celebrate Too Soon

noreply@blogger.com (Women Interest) — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 05:15:00 +0000

Chelsea 1-1 Wigan: Late Heskey heartbreaker

Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez put aside his off-field problems to hail the goalscorers who are driving the club towards Champions League success and European qualification.

He impressed the coaching staff in his short stay, but perhaps being a very large pond away from home couldnt be compensated for.Big Apple Soccer reports that Chris Innes is heading back to Scotland, perhaps in search of more familiar pastures. And where does that leave us?Well, with Jeff Parke coming in after his [...]

Sheff Wed 1-1 Plymouth: Spurr salvation

noreply@blogger.com (Women Interest) — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 03:45:00 +0000

AC Milan 'have an advantage' over their city rivals Inter in the negotiations to sign Barcelona star Ronaldinho, according to the player's agent and brother, Roberto de Assis.

Former Barcelona team mates Michael Laudrup and Ronald Koeman will be reunited on Wednesday when they lead out Getafe and Valencia respectively for the King's Cup final.

...

Spurs 1-1 Middlesbro': Downing makes his point

noreply@blogger.com (Women Interest) — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 00:30:00 +0000

Ronaldinho has agreed initial terms with AC Milan and the Serie A club will now speak toBarcelona about a deal, Milan and the player's agent have said.

On-loan Argentinian Mauro Zarate rescued a precious 1-1 draw for Birmingham with a stunning free-kick equaliser against Everton at St Andrews.

EPL Round 33 - Match Reports

noreply@blogger.com (Women Interest) — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 23:15:00 +0000

6 April 2008

EVERTON 1 (Osman 56)
DERBY 0

Everton kept their slim hopes of grabbing fourth place alive with a narrow win over relegated Derby. The only goal game early in the second half as a through ball from Manuel Fernandes found Leon Osman and he finished well with a shot inside the near post.

Attendance : 36,043
Assist : Fernandes

MIDDLESBROUGH 2 (Alves 35, Alves 56)
MANCHESTER UNITED 2 (Ronaldo 10, Rooney 74)

Man United go three points clear at the top despite being held at Middlesbrough. The Champions took an early lead when Michael Carrick's drilled cross was tapped in by Cristiano Ronaldo however Boro were level by the break when Jeremie Aliadiere set up Afonso Alves to clip in his first Prem goal. His second wasn't far behind as Aliadiere again sent him clear and he finished brilliantly with a curling shot inside the far post. United grabbed a draw after good work from Ji-Sung Park set up Wayne Rooney to score with a deflected effort from close range. Although the lead at the top is three points, United goal difference is +53 compared to +35 of Chelsea's, however the pair meet in three weeks at Stamford Bridge!

Attendance : 36,043
Assists : Carrick, Aliadiere, n/a, n/a

5 April 2008

ASTON VILLA 4 (Barry 9, Agbonlahor 56, Agbonlahor 60, Harewood 85)
BOLTON 0

Aston Villa ended their recent poor run with a crushing win against Bolton who remain four points from safety. Classic wing play set up the opening two goals as Ashley Young showed excellent skill before crossing for Gareth Barry to head in although the keeper almost kept it out and then Barry himself crossed for Gabriel Agbonlahor to guide in the second. Minutes later after Young's shot was blocked, Barry hammered home the third, aided by a big deflection and late on, Barry's free kick was headed in by Marlon Harewood.

Attendance : 37,773
Assists : Young, Barry, n/a, Barry (fk)

BLACKBURN 1 (Pedersen 30)
TOTTENHAM 1 (Berbatov 7)

Blackburn hopes of a UEFA Cup spot remain possible after coming from behind to draw at home to Spurs. The Londoners went ahead when Jermaine Jenas crossed for Dimitar Berbatov to take two touches to score from close range, however superb skill on the right from David Bentley saw his cross converted by Morten Gamst Pedersen.

Attendance : 24,592
Assists : Jenas, Bentley

FULHAM 1 (Healy 74)
SUNDERLAND 3 (Collins 45, Chopra 54, Jones 76)

Sunderland surely secured Premiership football next season after going ten points clear of the drop zone with their second away win in a row having gone all season previously without a single win on the road. Fulham were the hosts and are six points from safety as the Black Cats went ahead just before the break when Danny Collins nodded in a cross from Daryl Murphy. The lead was doubled when a header from Kenwyne Jones was lobbed first time over the keeper by Michael Chopra. Fulham gave themselves brief hope when Clint Dempsey set up David Healy to curl in a beauty from 25 yards but just two minutes later, Dean Whitehead's surging run resulted in his cutback being controlled and well finished by Jones.

Attendance : 25,053
Assists : Murphy, Jones, Davies, Whitehead

MANCHESTER CITY 0
CHELSEA 2 (Dunne 6 og, Kalou 53)

Chelsea move to within two minutes of leaders Man United who play on Sunderland with a comfortable win at Man City. They needed some luck to get started as Nik Anelka's cross was turned into his own net by Richard Dunne and the lead was doubled early in the second half as Michael Essien's through ball found Salomon Kalou who rounded the keeper and slotted into the empty net.

Attendance : 42,594
Assists : n/a, Essien

NEWCASTLE 3 (Martins 18, Owen 43, Viduka 58)
READING 0

Keegan is back at Newcastle with back to back wins after failing to win any of his first ten games since returning. Reading were firmly put to the sword started with a superb piece of coolness from Obafemi Martins who collected a pass from Nicky Butt and then took advantage of a slip from Liam Rosenior to weave into a shooting position before sliding the ball in. Habib Beye's chip then set up Michael Owen to hook the ball across goal and inside the far post before Beye set up Mark Viduka to thump in the third from close range.

Attendance : 52,179
Assists : Butt, Baye, Baye

WIGAN 2 (Taylor 15, Taylor 55)
BIRMINGHAM 0

Wigan boss Steve Bruce saw his new side beat his old one at the JJB. Birmingham star just four points above the drop zone after two goals from Ryan Taylor gave Wigan an eight point buffer, starting with a well controlled volley after excellent work from Antonio Valencia. He was also heavily involved in the second as his cross caused chaos and after both Emile Heskey and Taylor saw efforts saved, the ball bounced in off of the latter. In between the goals, Birmingham were reduced to ten men when Damien Johnson was red carded for a two footed 'jump in' tackle on Kevin Kilbane although the Wigan man did try and persuade the ref to keep Johnson on the pitch.

Attendance : 17,926
Red Card : Johnson 37 (Birmingham)
Assists : Valencia, n/a

ARSENAL 1 (Bendtner 54)
LIVERPOOL 1 (Crouch 42)

Arsenal are drifting out of the title race after the second 1-1 draw at home to Liverpool in four days. Unlike in midweek. Liverpool went ahead when Yossi Benayoun's lob found Peter Crouch and after beating his man he drilled a shot inside the near post from the edge of the area. The Gunners did level when Niklas Bendtner headed in a free kick from Cesc Fabregas at close range but they couldn't find a winner. The clubs meet again on Tuesday - defeat will probably mean end of season for the losers.

Attendance : 60,111
Assists : Benayoun, Fabregas (fk)

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Leeds United and Scotland and proud of it

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The Unofficial Premiership Site

Ligue 1: Lyon held at home by lowly Rennes

noreply@blogger.com (Women Interest) — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 03:45:00 +0000

Arsenal's recent meltdown has failed to convince manager Arsene Wenger he mustembark on a summer spending spree.

Get Ready Zebrette, Francescos In Tow

noreply@blogger.com (Women Interest) — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 01:30:00 +0000

England's international friendly against France last Wednesday night might have turned into something of a predictable damp squib football-wise but it was notable for the achievements of one player from...

UEFA president Michel Platini was in Belfast on Wednesday night to present Northern Ireland striker David Healy with a special UEFA award for his record of 13 goals in the...

Arsenal's recent meltdown has failed to convince manager Arsene Wenger he mustembark on a summer spending spree.

High-flying Racing Santander piled the pressure on struggling Valencia when a late Mohamed Tchite strike gave them a 2-1 win in the Primera Liga at the Mestalla on Saturday.

Dont @#$% With Stevie G

noreply@blogger.com (Women Interest) — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 04:00:00 +0000

Its not often we still get high quality, original videos of Il Capitano, but this ones quite nice. At least partly made by Ermes, who has to be at least the unofficial videographer for Roma at this point. From RomaTube.Now pray for his return over the weekend.

Dont forget, well, I might have forgotten to put the TV coverage and times on the original postings of these matches but lets pretend for a sec. Dont miss the Colo Colo vs. UA Maracaibo match that will be aired, live, on Fox Sports Espaol, coverage starts at 4pm PST. Read my preview of it [...]

UEFA president Michel Platini was in Belfast on Wednesday night to present Northern Ireland striker David Healy with a special UEFA award for his record of 13 goals in the...

Defensive worries cloud AC Milan's trip to Juve

noreply@blogger.com (Women Interest) — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 03:45:00 +0000

Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill has dismissed speculation linking skipper Gareth Barry with a move to Chelsea.

Birmingham boss Alex McLeish admits corruption probes have become 'part of football life' after his club were engulfed in off-the-field controversy.

Jean-Claude Darcheville fired Rangers another step closer to the UEFA Cup final by setting the ball rolling in a 2-0 win against Sporting Lisbon.

Dont @#$% With Stevie G

noreply@blogger.com (Women Interest) — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 09:15:00 +0000

On TV Today, Friendly Reminder.

noreply@blogger.com (Women Interest) — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 03:45:00 +0000

Bayern took on Getafe in the second leg of the UEFA cup match. Right away, twenty seconds in Klose set up a great opportunity for Toni, but he couldnt carry it through. Two minutes in Contra took a shot but it sailed high and went over the to of the bar so Kahn didnt [...]

Carlos Tevez capped an industrious display with the only goal to steer Manchester United into the semi-finals of the Champions League for a second successive season.

Fenerbahce coach Zico has called for an end to restrictions on the number of foreign players at Turkish clubs after Chelsea knocked his side out of the Champions League.

Word has leaked from sources in America that LA Galaxy star David Beckham has a clause in his contract which will allow him to buy a stake in an MLS...

Man Utd 1-0 Roma: Roma pay the penalty

noreply@blogger.com (Women Interest) — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 17:03:00 +0000

Frank Lampard has warned revenge could be a dangerous emotion as Chelsea seek to banish the heartache of their two Champions League semi-final defeats to Liverpool.

Barcelona on Wednesday refuted comments from a high-ranking club official that theyhave used injuries to hide the fact that a number of players have been sidelined for indiscipline.

West Ham boss Alan Curbishley admits he and his players could miss out on some decent bonuses if they fail to finish in the top half of the Premier League.

The Royal Crown Cola of European club competitions kicks off the second leg of its quarterfinal round this Thursday. Sporting, the last remaining Great Chop Hope in European competitions will welcome Rangers to the Estadio Jos Alvalade tomorrow afternoon. The first leg at Ibrox resulted in a nil-nil draw which obviously benefits Sporting. [...]