May 2007 Archives

Fabio Quagliarella's form is attracting lots of attention including that of Man Utd's. He may be on the trading block moving to a bigger Serie club like Inter or Milan.

The Italian Serie was littered with deadly striker tandems administering a one- two knockout punch over their opposition.

Juventus made it back to top flight action on the strength of Alessandro Del Piero and David Trezeguet combining for 34 goals.

Inter won the Scudetto with Crespo and Ibrahamovic contributing 29 goals. Lazio climbed to third place with Tommaso Rocchi and Goran Pandev scoring 27 goals. Fiorentina after its point deduction following Calciopoli finished strongly in the fifth position with Adrian Mutu and Luca Toni tearing down the opposing defenses with 32 goals. Atalanta's Cristiano Doni and Riccardo Zampagna and Udinese's Vincenzo Iaquinta and Antonio Di Natale combining for 24 and 25 goals, respectively, helping their clubs finish in the top ten.

In contrast, only Premiership champs Man Utd and to a lesser extent Tottenham enjoyed this sort of success. Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney's 31 goals scored almost a third of Man U's goals while Dimitar Berbatov and Robbie Keane combined for 23 goals securing Tottenham's UEFA spot. Arsenal's striker pair Henry and Van Persie in their limited appearance managed to score 21 goals but injuries curtailed their season. They were probably good for another 15 goals.

Chelsea's attack went through Drogba who finished with 20 goals just like Roma's went through Totti's 26 goals. Both clubs finished second in their leagues. Milan's goals just like Liverpool came from a contribution of a number of players.

Totti's two goals takes his tally to 26 and a possible European Golden boot award. Here is Totti's goal of the season against Sampdoria.

Blanco's free kick put America level with Pachuca but Juan Carlos Cacho capped his tremendous season with Pachuca's equalizer. Pachuca won the 2007 Clausura on goal aggregate. It was Blanco's last match in the Mexican primera. Chicago Fire fans should see him arrive very soon.

A wonder goal by Jan Kristiansen wins Nuremberg their first German silverware in 38 years.

This season is is really not going to be over until the fat lady sings...!
With two games to play a frenzied race to the title is still on. Real Madrid and Barcelona are level with 72 points each, and Sevilla is right behind them with 70 after this 3 -1 victory over Zaragoza.Meanwhile Barcelona are lodging desperate appeals to overturn the red card that Ronaldinho got the other day so that he would be around for their last two crunch games against Espanyol and Gimnastic Tarragona.

LA Galaxy have been told by FIFA to let Becks go.... if he is picked by McClaren for England's friendly internationals next season.
"The same rules apply for everybody - for all national associations, for any club, for any player," a FIFA spokesman said. "Players must be released for friendly or competitive games if they are on the international calendar and the required notice is given

Stephen Pearson's goal against West Brom which took Derby into the Premiership.The increased revenue will earn the club an estimated 50 million pounds.

Altitude. You heard right. In a bizarre ruling, FIFA has banned matches played in high altitude venues which they say not only gives an unfair advantage to the home country but also poses a health risk to the visiting players. Matches can now only be held at a maximum height of 8,200 feet above sea level. This means that La Paz, Bolivia's capital will not be able to host any qualifying matches because its elevation is 11,810 feet.

This ruling affects not only Bolivia but other South American countries like Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia, which have a number of venues higher than the FIFA limit. Quito, Ecuador is at 9,816 feet, Bogota, Colombia is 8,661 feet, and Cuzco in Peru is at 11,154 feet. In fact, the only venue that Bolivia can now safely use for international matches is Santa Cruz which is at 1,364 feet.

There is no doubt that playing in the rarified air of La Paz and Quito have helped Bolivia and Ecuador win an overwhelming number of matches. The record at La Paz in Bolivia's World Cup qualifiers since 1994 is 16 wins, 10 draws, and 4 losses. Ecuador's record at Quito is even more impressive, 20 wins, 9 draws, and just the one loss. But FIFA's decision is undoubtedly influenced by South American heavy hitters, Brazil and Argentina.

Brazil and Argentina since 1994 have only recorded 3 miserable wins while losing 7 matches when playing Bolivia and Ecuador away. Brazil was humiliated by Bolivia losing its first ever World Cup qualifier, 0-2 at La Paz on July 25, 1993. But Rob Hughes who wrote the article very rightly mentions that Brazil's draining domestic league and over scheduling of tournaments plus the Italian Serie's reluctance to part with their Brazilian imports left a savvy coach Alberto Carlos Parriera very little time for the acclimatization of the team.

Playing in thin air does have its risks just as playing in the hot sun can increase the chances of a heatstroke. Is FIFA going to ban qualifying matches in India where the temperatures can reach a sizzling 48-50 Celsius? The common sense precaution would be proper and adequate hydration. In the case of high altitude countries an adequate amount of time to acclimatize. The heat has not given India an entry into the World Cup and the Bolivians have not qualified since 1994. This is because you have to be a good team to win away games. Ecuador has done it because it wins enough away games against tough South American opposition to qualify for the two successive World Cups.

The Argentinians and Brazilians want a pass on this one as their players don't have time from their grueling and crowded domestic and European seasons to acclimatize in La Paz or Quito. Sepp Blatter just obliged them. Just add Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru to Kenya, Greece, Iran, Chile, and many other countries that make up the soccer have nots.

For those eagerly awaiting a long overdue update on this tournament - here it is.On Saturday, May 26, Rome's Olympic stadium hosted the final of the Clericus Cup between Pontifical Lateran University and Redemptoris Mater college .The match ended with accusations that a Costa Rican striker for Redemptoris Mater had dived in the box.The incident prompted a penalty which won the game for Redemptoris.There was also a flurry of blue cards, which were invented for the tournament and used to dispatch players to a temporary "sin bin".
"Priestly footballers? Worse than Materazzi," said the daily La Stampa.Video of some of the proceedings can be seen here..
In associated news here's an article on Kaka -more than two decades since God had a hand in a World Cup triumph- giving God the credit for his performances.Excerpt below....

"With heart on sleeve and slogan on chest, Kaka's post-match celebration in Athens on Wednesday night thrust his faith into the spotlight. "I belong to Jesus," the statement said. Liverpool fans shuddered, undone by an ineligible deity"

The trickle of cycling confessionals have recently became a deluge as the spigot is turned loose. Now it is Bjarne Riis confessing that he used doping substances to win the Tour De France in 1996. Erik Zabel, Floyd Landis, and Ivan Basso, have already confessed to using banned substances like EPO to improve performances.

Spain has been notorious as a paradise for providing athletes with performance enhancing drugs. Dr Eufemanio Fuentes, the physician responsible for the doping scandal was arrested for providing Jan Ullrich, the German cyclist with EPO. Fuentes and his partner in crime, Jose Luis Batres, were the targets of Spanish investigators conducting a wide sweep of these rogue practitioners under Operation Puerto. The doping scandal was confined mostly to cyclists but on December 8th, A Le Monde correspondent in an article wrote that documents revealed Dr Fuentes had also provided his services to four big Spanish soccer clubs including Barca and Real Madrid. He later denied ever making those allegations.

Le Monde is being sued for defamation and false statements by Real Madrid and has been joined by Barca

Mmmm.... that might explain why Beckham is playing better. Just kidding.

Cacho gets two goals and Blanco pulls one back through a penalty. Today's game is at the Hidalgo stadium. For those interested, Univision is televising the match.

There was no bigger goal in Fulham's season than Clint Dempsey's match winner against Liverpool. The win gave Fulham three points and saved them after Arsenal's shellacking the previous weekend doomed them to near relegation. Fulham live to fight another season in the Premiership. It was Dempsey's first goal and it could not have come at a more opportune moment.

Carlos Bocanegra had a breakout season and scored five goals, most of them coming from headers underscoring how invaluable he was as a powerful aerial target for Fulham's set pieces. Bocanegra was second in goal scoring in the Fulham squad, second to Brian McBride.

At 35 years of age, McBride continues to impress with his durability playing his second full season despite suffering numerous injuries throughout his career, notching 9 goals. He scored noteable matchwinners against Arsenal, Middlesborough, and Newcastle. He was named as Fulham's player of the year.

The 15 goals that the US contingent scored might not have saved manager Chris Coleman's job but it ensured Fulham's stay in the Premiership.

Dempsey and Bocanegra find themselves in the CONCACAF Gold Cup US squad. They will join other European leaguers DaMarcus Beasley (PSV Eindhoven), Tim Howard (Everton), Jonathan Spector (West Ham), Jay DeMerit (Watford), Frank Simek (Sheffield Wednesday), Onyewu Oguchi (Standard Liege), Kasey Keller (Borussia M'gladbach).

The 2007 CONCACAF tournament begins June 6th and the US meets Guatemala in their first match on June 7th.

Old memories die hard. After all the joyous celebrations following West Ham's escaping relegation comes the reality checks. Carlos Tevez is seeking his way out from West Ham after falling out with Alan Curbishley.

Tevez remembers Curbishley's initial indifference to him. According to sources he thinks Curbishley is a bad manager and will only play in West Ham under someone else.

Chelsea, Man Utd, and Liverpool are now in the Tevez sweepstakes. Why would Liverpool be the best club for Tevez? Simple. Instant impact. Liverpool's attack is sorely in need of resuscitation. Kuyt's limitations were revealed in the Champions League, Crouch does not fit into Rafa's plans, Bellamy has impulse control problems, Jermaine Pennant speeds down the flanks but his decision making is shoddy. Apart from Kuyt, the future of the other three in Liverpool are uncertain. A setting ripe for Tevez to take the attack by the scruff of the neck and become the holy terror around the goal that Liverpool so sorely need.

Rafa has a high regard for South American talent that seems to have largely escaped Sir Alex (apart from Veron) and Jose Mourinho (Alex and Alcides are still out on loan). Tevez has also probably taken note of the South American youth brigade that is descending on Anfield this season. Sebastian Leto from Lanus and Lucas Leiva from Gremio, two very highly rated prospects will join Emiliano Insua, already in as a 2006 transfer from Boca Juniors. Javier Mascherano, under Rafa is coming into his own and cementing his place on the first squad. He was easily the best player on the Liverpool team in the CL finals. One of Tevez's considerations is his development as a player. Benitez as manager of Valencia and Liverpool, has been exceptional in honing young talent like Pablo Aimar, Luis Garcia, Xabi Alonso, Mohammed Sissoko, Curro Torres, and Mista.

Tevez will bring to Anfield, not only his undoubted creativity and talent but also the essential Liverpudlian qualities of grit and tenacity, abundantly on display at West Ham. With Rafa demanding the keys to the bank, Tevez might also be an exceptionally wealthy man this summer.

Plenty of nerve racking excitement in the Spanish title chase as both Real Madrid and Barcelona are still tied on points.Barcelona beat Getafe 1- 0 thanks to an early goal from a Lionel Messi - Samuel Eto'o -Ronaldinho combination.Ronaldinho then got sent off for the first time this season for a foul on David Belenguer .Video of incident and subsequent melee below....

David Beckham inspires Real to a 3-1 win over Deportivo La Coruna.Sergio Ramos scored the first goal off a cross from Beckham ( it must be mentioned here that Nistelrooy too had a hand in the scoring of this goal - but the ref did not see him fisting the ball ..!) .Real's second goal also came off another Beckham cross and Nistelrooy completed the proceedings by scoring the third.

This says more about the dire straits of the English squad under Steve McLaren than any substantial change in tactics or vision. Remember how McLaren was going to set England down a different path from the Svennie days. It's Sven all over again except he looks a lot beefier and red faced.

David Bentley should get first squad action over Beckham. He has speed, runs wide, stretches out the defense, and is getting more judicious with his crosses down the right. Plus, he has a future. He was in impressive form providing two assists in England's B squad recent win over Albania.

Becks recall is a return to the piecemeal approach that has killed English football in recent years.

The Cuauhtemoc Blanco phenomenology. There is a wealth of doctoral dissertations which could attempt to deconstruct his goal celebrations. Certainly, the Univ of Chicago's sociology and anthropology department should come out and see his matches.

Mexican Clausura 2007 final

Club America vs Pachuca at the Azteca stadium

This weekend will be an emotional one for one of Mexico's stars as Cuauhtemoc Blanco bids farewell after 15 years in the Mexican Primera and gets ready to see his career out across the border for his new club, Chicago Fire.

Today in a battle for the best Mexican club, traditional powerhouse CF America take on the new kids on the block, Pachuca, the reigning Clausura champs. Pachuca in the last ten years has won 4 Mexican titles, the CONCACAF 2002 and 2007 titles, and the 2006 Copa Sudamericana.

On display will be Chicago Fire's summer signing, Cuauhtemoc Blanco, who they hope will provide the lift that Juan Pablo Angel is giving the NY Red Bulls. It will also be Blanco's final set of matches for America.

Blanco is in fine nick with 7 goals and along with Paraguayan striker Salvador Cabanas has scored 16 of America's 26 goals. But Pachuca's attack is far more potent with 36 goals and strikers Juan Carlos Cacho and Christian Jimenez have accounted for 17 goals of those goals.

For more Clausura coverage >>

So far the former Aston Villa striker has proved to be a godsend for the NY Red Bulls and his two goals resulted in a 3-0 NY Red Bulls win over the Chicago Fire. And he provided the assist for Altidore's opening goal after some neat footwork. The third goal was the result of a brilliant dummy by Angel. Last week the Red Bulls blanked Columbus Crew, 4-0 and Angel scored his first MLS goal.

3 games played: 3 goal scored with 2 assists. Talk about instant impact. He is making Bruce Arena look real good.

Coverage of NY Red Bulls with video >>

Boca Juniors reached the semi-finals of the Copa Libertadores beating Paraguay's Libertad, 2-0. Juan Roman Riquelme was instrumental in Boca's win scoring a brilliant goal after leaving defenders in his wake. He left his stamp on Boca's scintillating attack which had Libertad scrambling. Rodrigo Palacio found the net with his header as Boca put away their tough opponents.

Boca meet Colombian giant killers Cucuta Deportivo and Gremio meets Santos in an all Brazil semi-finals.

The Colombian team continued its magical run defeating Nacional of Uruguay on goal aggregate as they won the first leg, 2-0 and drew yesterday, 2-2. Joining them were Santos beating CF America, 2-1 and Gremio advancing over Defensor Sporting via a penalty shoot out, 4-2 after both teams tied in the goal aggregate.

The big game: Will Boca put away Libertad? They have the names: Riquelme, Palermo, Palacio, Ledesma, and Ibarra.

Sometimes this stuff is even better than the matches. Just google Arsene Wenger and you will find that he has come up with a secret plot to sell off Cesc Fabregas to Real. He was in Spain supposedly meeting up with Cesc's agent. He is also planning a backroom deal where Fernando Torres comes to the Emirates in exchange for Ljungberg and Hleb. And gimpy Michael Owen and Obafemi Martins are on Wenger's shopping list. It would be fantastic having another season where Owen can join Henry and Van Persie in a hot tub nursing their knee and groin injuries. And of course, Wenger's departure and Henry's transfer to Barca or Inter are staple fare by now.

A lot of the locus seems to be Patrick Vieira, perennial prestidigitator, who probably has little to do this summer since Inter won the title more than a month ago and is now out of the France squad with a knee injury which requires surgery. Yep, so expect to hear more from Vieira. His mouth will be busy.

Tottenham beat out Chelsea, Arsenal, and Man Utd for Gareth Bale, the coveted left back. £10m is the transfer fee. He joins a squad that is sorely in need of some defensive strength as Tottenham gave up 54 goals.

Scouting reports are that Bale and his deadly left foot and his recent goal scoring spree with his free kicks is inviting comparisons to Ryan Giggs. His weakness appears to be that he occasionally forgets that he is a full back, does not run back enough, and is a bit sloppy with his tackles. Not anything major that a good coach cannot fix. Martin Jol is obviously a happy camper.

It was hard to find a pulse in this match. But there were plenty of dives and fouls to be found. And Alessandro Nesta so ham handedly feigned an injury that even his medical staff could not be bothered to come to his rescue. Rafa Benitez seems to have gone back to what undid Liverpool in the beginning of the season, tinkering with the team. Wrong match to do it.

Milan won 2-1 against Liverpool and avenged their stunning 2005 loss but in this match, except for a couple of occasions, the vaunted Milan midfield went to sleep for huge chunks of time. It was little striker, Pippo Inzaghi who shouldered a ball in past Reina from a Pirlo freekick. Inzaghi's fortuitous deflection knocked the ball into the net when its original trajectory would have carried it safely into the hands of Reina. This happened just before halftime against the run of play because it was Liverpool that looked like it was getting on the board first.

Kaka was a shadow of the player we know but just before the end of the match he performed a bit of magic and threaded the ball into Inzaghi who side stepped Reina and angled the ball home. A pair for Inzaghi. Not bad for a man earning a living of poaching goals by beating the offside trap. He probably does not have too many fans outside of Milan but goals are what matters. Ancelotti put Inzaghi there for that very purpose, and Pippo delivered. But there was nothing magical about Milan. It was not the same team that came out and played Man Utd in those exhilarating semi-final encounters.

Most of what Milan played seemed to be a hail Mary type of long ball to Inzaghi. Gone was the smooth and anticipatory movement of the ball between the quick feet of Kaka, Seedorf, and Pirlo. Milan even had problems trapping the ball cleanly and coughed up the ball way too easily. The Milan defense was unable to clear the ball on numerous occasions and the Liverpool lads were far better than them in winning the 50/50 balls. All that pre match speculation of man to man marking on Kaka did not materialize because he rarely threatened. No one player had to police him.

The saving grace for Milan was that unlike 2005, Liverpool was not able to raise its game. Gerrard was off with his timing and the couple of occasions he came close to scoring goals, he rushed his shots, and Dida was able to come up with some fine saves. Alonso was ineffective and gave up far too many cheap fouls, one that led to the Pirlo freekick and the first Inzaghi goal. Zenden was not match fit and had a hard time keeping up with the pace of the game, resorting to a number of fouls too. Mascherano was the only solid midfielder and he looked good on both ends of the ball. But he was not going to win the game all by himself. Pennant had a good first half running Marek Janulovski ragged down the right flank. He created at few chances and gained Liverpool a couple of corners. Liverpool's finishing let them down. Alonso, Gerrard, and Riise did let a couple of good ones rip but their direction was off. Kewell and Crouch were introduced as late game substitutions but they were unable to do much as Liverpool ran out of time. Kuyt pulled one back in the last minute of the game but it was too little too late.

Not all CL finals were happy occasions. The 1985 finals at Heysel Stadium resulted in one of soccer's worst tragedies. Much of the reforms in stadium design and controlling hooliganism today is a direct consequence of that fateful day on May 29th as well as the 1989 Hillsborough disaster. This is a moving tribute to the 39 victims.

A feast of brilliant goalkeeping by Dida and Buffon as both teams go head to head in the penalty shootout. Juve blinked first. Dida was outstanding with his saves.

Phil Neal gets Liverpool on their way to a fourth CL title.

Rafael Nadal and Ronaldinho star in the ad which has Ronaldinho scoring into a basketball hoop at the end - making it look easy too....!

Phil Neal puts it away with his penalty for Liverpool's first CL title. First 35 seconds is an excruciating recap of Liverpool's 2005 win.

The last time Milan played in Greece in the CL finals was a happy occasion for them. They beat Barca, 4-0. Paolo Maldini was on that squad. Some outstanding names from both teams. Marcel Desailly, on 1998 France squad that won the World Cup, Ronald Koeman, coach for PSV Eindhoven, Roberto Donadoni, Italy's present national coach, Zvonimir Boban, captain of the overachieving Croatian squad that came third in the 1998 World Cup, Romario, recently scored his 1000th goal, Hristo Stoichkov, led Bulgaria that year to its best fourth place finish. Arguably the best player in the 1994 World Cup along with Romario.

What more can be said about this truly great player? Durability under duress. As he enters his fourth decade, Maldini maybe a bit slower but the fact that he can or cannot play for Milan makes the news. Milan is Maldini and Maldini is Milan. The name Maldini is an anagram of Di Milan ("of Milan"). One club, 23 years, 800+ games, 7 Serie titles, and 4 CL titles. Repeat after me.

Maldini has been struggling with a knee injury but coach Carlo Ancelotti has not ruled him out for the finals. It would be a sweet swansong for Maldini if Milan wins the CL title as he has indicated that this might be his final season.

If Maldini was a stock, then there would be no recession.

Liverpool's tradition of winning crucial CL games decided by penalties and penalty shootouts goes back to the time they won their first title in 1977.

Phil Neal was the full back who scored the game winning penalty that gave Liverpool their first title in 1977 beating Borussia Moenchengladbach, 3-1. He reminisces about that penalty kick.

That was a fantastic kind of night for our club. We were under a lot of pressure from Moenchengladbach. It´s Kevin's swansong night. He's going to Hamburg. We all wanted him to have a good send-off. When he gets brought down and points to the spot I thought 'bloody hell.' I got a long walk from right-back to pick the ball up. Ian Callaghan rarely says a thing but even he said: 'Nealy, put this in.' You got someone like Tommy Smith who said: 'Nealy, if you miss this I going to fucking break your back.' They were all under pressure. I hadn't even walked ten yards. Now I've got to pick the ball up. Wolfgang Knieb incidentally absolutely towered over Ray Clemence. He was big lanky boy so I thought I'll keep it low. My favourite side was the keeper's left. It's ironic how adrenaline can get to you. Thank goodness it went in off the post.

Liverpool won their fourth title in 1984 beating AS Roma in a penalty shootout. And Phil Neal was called on to make the PK as Steve Nicol missed the first one.

The other one is when Stevie Nicol jumped ahead in the European Cup final in 84. He jumped the gun and Souness said: 'Let him go. He's nervous, it's his first final. Le him go.' Other than me taking the first one as I was ordered to do by Joe. He misses it and they score their first. So I am taking our second. If this one doesn't go in, we are two down. I am conscious of that. It's even more important than the one against Moenchengladbach because we're going to be back in it or be way down the line. Conte and Graziani missed theirs. Isn't it ironic that Graziani in failing to score went into a mental institution? Pearcy misses for England and gets a contract with McDonalds for hundred grand. Graziani misses one and gets into a loony home.

Bob Paisley's and Joe Fagan's teams in the 70's and 80's won four CL titles and Phil Neal was a part of every single one of them. Neal's favourite player on the Liverpool squad is Steve Finnan. He sees a little bit of him in Finnan. And he obviously backs Liverpool to win the match against AC Milan .

Phil Neal made a career out of taking penalties and was very successful. And oddly enough, he seems to have enjoyed taking them. He is also an oil painter and a gourmand. Phil Neal unplugged.

Key: Can Milan play 90+ minutes without flagging because the CL final's is their's to lose.

If you were a soccer purist, there is only one team you would support, and that would be AC Milan. They are sublime because their players are far better than that of Liverpool. But if skill was the only criteria then Arsenal would be walking away with every Premiership. There is a little thing called heart. Which is what Liverpool has in plenty. This is the quandary that Milan faces, can they play 90+ minutes of soccer without fading or letting up? Because the lesson of 2005, is that there is no slacking off, as Liverpool will punish you. If it comes to a penalty shootout Liverpool would be odds on favourite to win. Thus, it is imperative for Milan to win in regulation time. Because the game swings Liverpool's way the longer it drags on.

The key is to stop the roving Steven Gerrard. And the achilles heel of Milan is the erratic Doni. Brilliant but extremely fallible. Look for Gerrard to test Doni with some well timed zingers. Milan is not as physical as Liverpool so look for some real physical jousting when Liverpool takes its set pieces, corners, or crosses from the flanks. This is when Liverpool will be at its best. Dida has to be careful not to have any of those mental lapses that have cost Milan matches in the past. Liverpool will win the 50/50 always. So Milan's main aim would be that it does not get punished for these lapses that will surely occur. Look for Gattuso who did an admirable job on Ronaldo in the CL semi-finals to police Gerrard and shut him down. In that case, look for long balls to Kuyt and Crouch/ Bellamy up front in the event that their speed and aerial ability can break down the Milan cordon.

On the other hand I would take Milan's midfield of Kaka, Seedorf, Ambrosini, and Pirlo anyday over Alonso, Gerrard, Zenden, and Mascherano, on the open field. The story of Milan's win will be their superior midfield. Liverpool's defense is tough to crack with Jamie Carragher and Daniel Agger and only a midfield like that of Milan can find holes.

Pirlo is due for a big game and he will shine. He is a big game player and through set pieces and/or well timed passes, Pirlo will test Liverpool as all the attention is drawn towards Kaka as Liverpool does its best to crowd him out.

Prediction: AC Milan 3 Liverpool 1. This time around Milan will make sure that the match does not slip away from them even as they prove once again that they are a far better team.

...in Mozambique.Angry fans attacked an unidentified man in a local league match between Lichinga FC and rivals Ferroviario de Nampula and killed him for celebrating Ferroviario's second goal.

A sequel to the earlier miracle video.Warning: The spellings are not that great...!

Remember the triumphant return of Mido to White Hart Lane in the beginning of the season as Martin Jol and fans hailed his permanent transfer from Roma. They remembered the Mido from the 2005-2006 season when on loan from Roma, he scored 11 goals and he and Robbie Keane became a inseparable tandem in attack, a potent 1-2, and booked the Spurs their UEFA Cup place. Mido himself was ecstatic to be back in a Spurs kit.

Well, the new Mido is now bitter about his move to the Spurs. In one of those inexplicable interludes in life, Dimitar Berbatov, the man who has scored 12 goals this season, led the Spurs back to the UEFA Cup, and established place his place in the first squad, has firmly supplanted himself as fan favourite. Berbatov's quality performances and Mido's injuries meant limited minutes on the field.

Mido spurned offers from Man City and Blackburn so that he could return to White Hart. He is on a four year deal with the Spurs but he is now looking for a way out and will leave if he gets a good offer. With Mido's slipping in the striker position behind Keane, Berbatov, and Defoe, his future looks bleak. Sometimes timing is everything.

Simple, the Blackburn striker who has had a most satisfying first season scoring 24 all purpose goals for his club leading them to the top ten in the Premiership and the FA Cup 6th round. All this for a paltry £2.5million fee. Naturally, he has attracted the attention of the big name clubs especially Chelsea.

But what really makes McCarthy attractive is that he has traditionally spurned national squad (South Africa) duty for his first priority, his club. This makes him very attractive because the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations takes place square in the second half of the Premiership when clubs are scrambling to cement their position in the league. Chelsea could lose Didier Drogba, Michael Essien, Solomon Kalou, and John Obi Mikel for three weeks. Other clubs like Arsenal will lose key players like Kolo Toure, Emmanuel Eboue, and Adebayor. Whereas, Liverpool except for losing Mohammed Sissoko and Man Utd, whose first squad presently has no African players are going to be untouched. In the scramble for top position, the Africa Cup is a critical factor, and clubs that are going to lose key first squad members will have to prepare for this contingency.

For Arsenal this means signing defenders like Gareth Bale or Micah Richards and strikers like Florent Malouda. For soccer purists, this is another continuing saga in how clubs are more important than representing your country. McCarthy has represented his country and is SA's joint top scorer (with Shaun Bartlett) but he has flitted in and out citing his responsibilities to his club. For SA, a country struggling to climb back to the top in African soccer, McCarthy's participation could make a huge difference.

Liverpool has been given the green light by co-owner Tom Hicks that he will match Roman Abramovich in money spent on big name players. Liverpool has already signed Andriy Voronin, the Bayer Leverkusen forward, plus Lucas Leiva and Sebastián Leto, two highly rated youngsters from South America. Next season Liverpool will sport a completely different look in midfield and in the attack. Robbie Fowler is gone, Harry Kewell's career cut short with numerous injuries, Mark Gonzalez an afterthought in the midfield. Andriy Voronin's hire could mean that Peter Crouch or Craig Bellamy could be on their way out.

Their potential replacements could be Daniel Alaves (Sevilla), Carlos Tevez (West Ham) and Morton Gamst Pedersen (Blackburn Rovers). The transfer of Carlos Tevez looks the most likely as his wish to play for a big name club will finally materialize and with it the dream of playing in the Champions League.

However the big target is Samuel Eto'o. The Barca striker will cost any club in the region of 40 million pounds. Rafa's priorities are reflected in this decision. Although he is under pressure to bring Liverpool its first Premiership title, he still thinks Champions League first.

Video of the Steven Gerrard inspired miracle win that Liverpool took from AC Milan in 2005. Liverpool will be looking for another one again.

...and for those following the Jose and his missing dog story - here's an update and some comments on the dog and the game from the man behind the name - Ruud Gullit.

One loses track. But Romario has scored many, many goals for sure.

A recent interview with Sir Alex indicates how much more cohesive the team became once Ruud Van Nistelrooy left Old Trafford. Team spirit was a huge factor in their regaining the Premiership. It was telling that Sir Alex did not single out a player pivotal to their success. However, there is a feeling that during the FA Cup final against Chelsea, with Ronaldo's pallid performance and Rooney's inability to toe-poke the ball into goal that Sir Alex must have looked back a couple of times to the past, if only for this match, and wished for the services of Ruud.

For Ruud is doing what Ruud does best, score goals. He has put Real in pole position with his league leading 22 goals. This too in his first season in a new league. He can rightfully put himself up there with Samuel Eto'o who also wasted no time in his first season at Barca scoring 24 goals but had the advantage of playing in the Liga for seven seasons prior. But Ruud excels in hitting the ground running. His first season at Man Utd produced 23 goals.

Ruud has dominated Real's scoring eclipsing Raul's seven and Robinho's six goals. At this point one man's individual contribution seems to be spurring on Real and if they go onto win the Liga, then one can be sure that Fabio Capello in his interview will not dwell on team spirit but single out the one player responsible for their success. One also might warn Capello that he should enjoy the next couple of seasons because Ruud also wears his welcome out very quickly. But for the moment, the player who everyone loves to hate, is having the last laugh.

Veteran Roberto Carlos came up with the winning goal as Real remained on top with a 3-2 win over Recreativo Huelva. Barca kept close with a 6-0 blitz over hapless Atletico Madrid (Video here). Real and Barca are both even with 69 points but the Galacticos have a better head to head record. Sevilla and Valencia also kept their title aspirations alive with wins over Coruna and Real Mallorca (Videos here and here). With only three games left, the La Liga title is coming down to the wire.

Riquelme missed a penalty. Osvaldo Martinez scored through a wickedly curling free kick and Martin Palermo evened the score through a last gasp equalizer.

"There will be a final on July 12th, it will have no soul, it will be Snickers versus Nike." A hilarious spoof on Eamonn Dunphy and the rest of the RTE pundits.

Abel Xavier, the journeyman midfielder from Middlesborough will join the LA Galaxy on a free transfer, the 15th of June. Xavier is known for his occasional talent but more so for his flamboyant hairdos and an infamous year long suspension for suspected steroid use.

Abel Xavier stats >>

Abe Xavier's hairdos on uglyfootballers.com

You could not ask for a better stage entrance than the one David Beckham will get when he finally arrives to play for the LA Galaxy. If you are asking how could one player impact a team's fortunes and turn around a season that is appearing more like a 'quagmire' then Beckham could not have asked for a better opportunity to silence his skeptics.

The Galaxy's season may be on life support and only Landon Donovan's performance seems to give it a pulse. One goal and 5 assists in a team lacking firepower and whose defense is porous against set pieces and crosses from the flanks. They lost to the Revs, 3-2 with all three Rev goals originating from crosses into the box. Today's match against Chivas fizzled out, a dreary 1-1 draw with not many scoring opportunities. The Galaxy occupy the cellar along with RSL in the Western conference.

Clint Mathis puts his bad hair days behind

Clint Mathis is producing the performances that he is capable of this season and he is already the NY Red Bulls top scorer with 4 goals. The Red Bulls are an impressive 22-0-5 when Mathis scores a goal. The last season Mathis did anything of note was in 2003 before his career dissolved into a series of brief stints with a bunch of teams, disputes with coaches and players, injuries, inconsistent play. This was before the unforgettable image of the player sporting a mohawk and his trademark ostrich celebration whose superlative performances for the Metrostars and the 2002 World Cup made him an instant soccer icon. Finally, US soccer had a bad ass.

Saturday's match saw the Red Bulls destroy the Columbus Crew, 4-0 as Mathis scored his fourth goal, and the team played without Claudio Reyna sitting it out with a groin strain. The Red Bulls so far have benefited from all their transfers this season. Juan Pablo Angel scored his first goal and he has had a hand in two others. Ronald Wattereus is solid in goal and has let in only one goal in 18 shot attempts. Dave van den Bergh has a goal and three assists. And Reyna has been quietly efficient in the midfield. The Red Bulls are second to the Revolution in the Eastern Division and only Taylor Twellman's cracking good form has made the difference.

Arjen Robben is transferring to Bayern Munich where he will team up with fellow Dutchman Roy Makaay and help resuscitate a Bayern season that went awry with poor performances and many injuries. Robben's transfer means that Sir Alex and Owen Hargreaves will both get their wish, to play for Man Utd. Hargreaves comes to Old Trafford for 18m quid.

Is it just me or does anyone else think that Hargreaves only qualifications are that he is an industrious player with a good work ethic but little else. What he will add to Man Utd's midfield that Michael Carrick is not already bringing is a mystery to me. Look for this transfer to go sour in the first season.

I can see the need for Dimitar Berbatov and Gareth Bale to augment Man Utd, considering Louis Saha is seeing less minutes and his future is uncertain and Gabriel Heinze after his injury appears over matched against faster and more physical strikers. Like Michael Ballack at Chelsea, Hargreaves will turn out to be more important to Bayern than to the Premiership champs.

Update: Arjen Robben's contract is being negotiated at Chelsea and all transfer speculations to Bayern are on hold at present. Thanks, Dan.

Carlos Vela returns to Arsenal this summer after his stint with Salamanca UD in the Spanish second division.. The starlet has been in great nick scoring 6 goals for Salamanca in 10 apperances. Vela led the Mexican team to a memorable 3-0 win over Brazil in the U-17 World Cup last year. His return along with Nicklas Bendtner should see both getting limited first squad minutes.

VfB's captain Fernando Meira celebrates the clubs win

The Mexican national team and their overseas transfers have helped win the Greek Championships, Eredivise, and now the Bundesliga. And when we say helped, it is by actual contributions becoming important members of the first team and pivotal in their club's success.

Ricardo Osorio and Pavel Pardo joined up VfB Stuttgart after showing impressive form in the 2006 World Cup. Osorio was outstanding in defense with his solid tackling and speedy clearances. I remember that he and team mate Carlos Salcido kept the potent Argentine attack at bay for lengthy periods of time, enough for Mexico to make some fruitful counterattacks, one of which led to captain Rafael Marquez's goal. The Mexico- Argentina match was one of the more entertaining matches with Mexico's defensive resilience spearheaded by Salcido, Osorio, and Torrado.

Osorio joined up VfB for 4m euros from Cruz Azul and has become an important member of the first team. He headlines a very strong VfB defense with Markus Babbel, Fernando Meira, and Matheiu Delpierre. Osorio started all 34 matches.

Pavel Pardo attracted VfB's attention with his skillful passes and potent free kicks. He transfered from Atlas for 1m euros. VfB's midfield with Pardo Thomas Hitzlsperger and Roberto Hilbert was outstanding. They supplied VfB's hungry striker corps led by Mario Gomez and Cacau with enough passes to tot up an impressive 31 goals. Pardo started all 34 games.

Carlos Salcido left for PSV from Chivas where he helped the Dutch team win its third Eredivisie title starting all 34 matches. He was probably one of the best defenders on display in the 2006 World Cup with the added threat of foraying upfront with quick counterattacks. Salcido along with team mates Manuel Da Costa and Alex formed an impressive back line that gave PSV its success in the Eredivisie and helped them reach the quarterfinals of the CL.

Nery Castillo has long been a staple of Olympiacos and is a fan favourite. His nationality has been a subject of conjecture for many years being born in Mexico, raised in Uruguay, and having played in Greece for seven years, therefore eligible for citizenship. He flirted with the idea of playing for Greece but under Hugo Sanchez, Castillo's place in the Mexican national squad seems more assured. Castillo's talent has been undermined by having Rivaldo as a rival, streaks of bad luck, poor decisions, and a problematic attitude towards his coaches. But this year Castillo seems to have put all that aside, and has impressed leading Olympiacos to their 35th Greek championships. He and Rivaldo seemed to have formed quite a tandem with Rivaldo scoring first and thereafter Castillo. The last game against Kerkyra that Olympiacos won, 3-1 gave them the championship with Rivaldo scoring in the 3rd minute, bookended by Nery Castillo's 53' minute goal.

Chelsea score through who else...... Didier Drogba in extra time. Rooney had 4 good chances to win the game.

The best player in Germany never to play for the national team in the World Cup took his bow after 15 illustrous seasons with Bayern Munich. Mehmet Scholl won a record 8 titles with Bayern playing 392 matches and scoring 88 goals. Scholl on the strength of his performances would have been a shoo-in for the World cup squads in 1994, 1998, and 2002 but was overlooked and also suffered a number of injuries that limited his chances. In 2006, an online petition for Scholl's inclusion to the squad gathered thousands of signatures but ultimately Klinsmann went in for youth. Scholl played his last match today against FSV Mainz and scored a vintage goal in a 5-2 Bayern win.

Scholl does not have any concrete plans for the future. There is some talk of him joining the Bayern staff. However he says "'I'm going - and I'm going happily."

It all came down to the last match. It was a scene reminiscent of the Eredivisie as PSV Eindhoven pipped AZ Alkmaar and Ajax on the last day. To win its first title, Schalke needed an outright win against Armenia Bleifeld and a VfB loss to Energie Cottbus or in the event of a VfB draw with Cottbus, Schalke would have to beat Armenia Bleifeld by four goals.For about nine minutes Schalke were on top of the Bundesliga, as they went up two goals and VfB fell back with a Sergiu Radu strike.

But VfB roared back and equalized through Thomas Hitzlsperger and then took the lead for good through Sami Khedira. It was over for Schalke as they were once again the handmaidens of the Bundesliga.

Congratulations to VfB Stuttgart on a fantastic run in the Bundesliga to its fifth title >>

Macnelly Torres and then Blas Perez pour in the goals.

At one point in soccer history, this was unthinkable. The question was how far could Colombia go in the World Cup.

1994 was a watershed year in Colombian soccer history as the team assembled was favoured to go all the way to the semi-finals. On talent alone, Colombia matched Brazil and they were better than Argentina. They defeated Argentina, 2-1 and again humiliated them, 5-0 in a the qualifying rounds. A team that boasted players of the caliber of Carlos Valderrama, Freddi Rincon, Fasutino Asprilla, "El Tren" Valencia, and Leonel Alvarez. Unfortunately, the team came unglued in the tournament as Asprilla walked out in the group phase and defensive errors cost them the matches against Romania and the USA. They won their last match against Switzerland but failed to qualify for the second round. Their disappointing performance was further marred by the tragic death of defender Andres Escobar, gunned down in his hometown of Medellin, soon after the team's return. In 1998, Colombia met their nemesis Romania, losing again. They won against Tunisia but lost to England in their final group match. Once again, they failed to get to the second round. The last two World Cups have been no shows for Colombia as their path has been blocked by Ecuador and Paraguay.

But the new coach of the national team, Jorge Luis Pinto sees a lot of promise in his young players and promises an emphasis on "a dynamic, aggressive and frontal team." He has no doubt that Colombia will make it to the next World Cup. His approach appears to be a break from the "Paco" Maturana days in which Valderama was an integral part of a team used to playing at a settled pace with slow buildups deep in the field and reliant on pinpoint passes. Pinto sees the Colombian team as a mix of older, more experienced players like Mario Yepes, Luis Perea, and Ivan Cordoba, most of them who have played in European leagues and younger talents like Sergio Herrera, Cristian Zapata, Wason Renteria, and Aquivaldo Mosquera.

Pinto's work is cut out as he has to contend with a strong Uruguayan side with Alvaro Recoba (Inter) and Diego Forlan, having a fantastic couple of seasons with Villareal. A very young Chilean squad with deeply talented strikers in Humberto Suazo (Colo Colo) and Alexis Sanchez (Colo Colo) along with more familiar names like Mark Gonzalez (Liverpool) and Luis Jimenez (Lazio). A resurgent Peru whose talented strikers Jefferson Farfan (PSV Eindhoven), Jose Paulo Guerrero (Hamburger SV), and Claudio Pizarro (Bayern Munich) have all impacted their teams in the European leagues in significant ways. Plus, "Nobby" Solano at 32, is still playing and very much integral to the Peru national team as well as the fortunes of the Magpies. Ecuador's experienced core of Ivan Hurtado and Giovanny Espinoza, the best center back combination, with both Tenorios and Luis Valencia up front is still intact. Paraguay's team is a work in progress with many ageing players in their twilight but there is talent in Paraguay's next generation of players, a trio that plays in Europe, Julio Dos Santos (VfL Wolfsburg), Jose Montiel (Udinese), Nelson Valdes (Borussia Dortmund) and a Newell's Old Boys squad that has the sensational Oscar Cardoza, the top scorer for his club in the Argentine league.

The Copa America hosted in Venezuela between June 26th to July 15th will be a preview to Colombia's path to the World Cup and the changes that Jorge Luis Pinto has promised.

Jorge Luis Pinto interview >>

Blas Perez, Macnelly Torres leading Deportivo Cucuta's charge

Ronaldinho's old club, Gremio is fighting to continue on after being beaten by Defensor Sporting of Uruguay, 0-2 in the first leg of the Copa Libertadores. Boca Juniors were saved by a injury time Martin Palermo goal as star studded Boca drew with Paraguay's Libertad, 1-1. Now, they have to face Libertad in their hometown of Asuncion.

However it is Deportivo Cucuta from Colombia that is making news. Cucuta is not as well known as other Primera clubs like Millonarios, America de Cali, or Nacional but in 2006, Cucuta won its first Colombian Premier title beating Tolima. Their stars Blas Perez and Macnelly Torres are leading the way in the Copa Libertadores. Cucuta is poised to enter the semi-finals of the Copa beating Nacional of Uruguay, 2-0 in the first leg. The goals came from Blas Perez and Macnelly Torres. They also beat Mexican powerhouse Toluca on the way to the quarterfinals.

Dunga finds himself juggling with the legendary overheated Solanum tuberosum (potato) when faced with the problem of explaining why both Kaka and Ronaldinho are not willing to play in the Copa America...

Pele comments that Beckham's debut with the Los Angeles Galaxy is quite a bit like is own debut in America 3 decades ago."It's almost the same," he said.The game wasn't as popular (in the U.S.) when we came. The first year was rough. The league was a new league."More on that story here...

Statistics don't lie. Well, depending on the statistics you choose you can fudge or varnish the truth. But one thing is for certain, Reading's brilliant performance was because it was the best team in the league when it came to marksmanship. They were rarely off target.

Soccerblog went inside the numbers. We compared the raw data of the big four, Man Utd, Arsenal, Chelsea, and Liverpool with that of Reading.

Man Utd was unsurprisingly the most prolific team averaging 17 goal attempts, 9 on target, per match for a total of 349 shots on goal (SOG) scoring 83 goals in 38 matches. Liverpool averaged 16 goal attempts, 8 on target, per match for a total of 299 SOG scoring 57 goals in 38 matches. Chelsea averaged 14 goal attempts, 7 on target, per match for a total of 278 SOG scoring 64 goals in 38 matches. Arsenal averaged 15 goal attempts, 8 on target, per match for a total of 291 SOG scoring 63 goals.

Reading's numbers: 9 goal attempts, 4 on target, per match for a total of 170 SOG scoring 52 goals. Compared to Man Utd, Liverpool, Chelsea, and Arsenal, the Royals made significantly less number of goal attempts (p<.05, p= 2.64138E-08, 2.2533E-07, 2.34211E-05, 1.06699E-05), shots on goal (p<.05, p=7.59196E-08, 7.3007E-06, 0.000160425, 5.09063E-05), and scored almost as many goals as Liverpool, Arsenal, and Chelsea (statistically insignificant differences). Only Man Utd's total was significantly different than that of Reading (and Liverpool's).

Or put it in a different way. Man Utd took a little over 4 shots on goal to score a goal, Chelsea and Arsenal averaged 4.5 SOG, Liverpool over 5 SOG , compared to Reading's mere 3 SOG to score a goal. Reading was by far, a more deadly team than Man Utd, when it had scoring opportunities with snipers like Kevin Doyle, Leroy Lita, and Steve Sidwell. This is a statistically proven fact.

Raw data from the Guardian's match reports. I used paired two tailed T-tests as a statistic, p <.05.

Espanyol scored a late extra-time equaliser to tie the game 2-2 with Sevilla.They had to play with 10 men for almost an hour after midfielder Moises Hurtado was sent off.

Sevilla won the shoot-out thanks to the failure of Luis Garcia, Jonatas and Marc Torrejon to convert their efforts.History repeated itself for Espanyol.They also lost out on penalties in the 1988 final against Bayer Leverkusen.

Barton finds himself behind bars. The club that hires him next will have to pay his bail.

Meanwhile Jose Mourinho is dogged by another bad decision avoiding a dog-eared law. Who let his dog out? He did.

And only in England can you get such entries on the police blotter. Talk about self effacing.

"A 44-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of obstructing police and was taken to a west London police station," said a Scotland Yard spokesman today. "He subsequently received a caution for obstructing police."

"A 24-year-old man has been arrested in connection with a Section 20 assault following an incident when a 30-year-old man was assaulted at Carrington."

On Arsenal Mania's suggestion check out the goals and the goal celebrations, especially Adebayor's impromptu dance lesson to Henry on the sidelines. The best dance celebration.

Angel's opens his account with a well struck free kick for the NY Red Bulls against the LA Galaxy in the US Open cup. He also explains why it was time to move away from Aston Villa.

Gino Pariani a member of the 1950 World Cup US team that shocked England, 1-0 passed away last Wednesday. He and his team mates were part of a vastly under-rated US team that defeated a powerful English team that boasted players like Sir Alf Ramsey and Tom Finney. He was part of a group of players, five of them, from St. Louis in that squad.

Pariani and his team mates were made famous in the 2005 movie The Game of their Lives, which follows the 1950 US team.

There was little fanfare as Bob Bradley's position became permanent after all the song and dance of high flying European coaches showing up to take the US job. This is a good move because Bradley has been on a winning streak and the players respect him. There is plenty that needs to be done from now on till the World Cup in 2010. Bradley has a reputation for building teams from scratch and three years will be a long enough period for him to do exactly that.

Bradley's full time status will be tested when the US team meets China at San Jose on June 2, followed by the June 6-24 CONCACAF Gold Cup — a tournament Arena won in 2002 and 2005 — and the June 26-July 15 Copa America in Venezuela.

I think it all said and done a good thing that there is no big name that has taken over coaching the US team. This takes the focus off on us and we can concentrate on building the team without all the hype. The 2006 team did not do well on inflated expectations. Lets not go down that route again.

Greg Lalas has more >>

Dare you to disagree ........

Best goal. Van Persie's strike against Charlton. Ranks as the goal of the season with Drogba's against Liverpool and Essien's against Arsenal. (Compare here and here and here)

Best win. Arsenal vs Man Utd, 2-1. A superb game against the Premiership champs showing what two quality strikers could do with Arsenal's impeccable approach work. It was especially satisfying to see the absolute crushed look on Sir Alex's face. The match was also reportedly the most watched Premiership match in the world, emphasizing the global makeup of Arsenal's team. (Video here 9+ mins)

Best losing effort. The Carling Cup final with Chelsea playing a valiant Arsenal youth squad which played brilliantly in spells, falling to two Drogba goals, 2-1 after Walcott gave them the lead. This match was played with so much emotion with Terry was stretchered off, Adebayor suspended, Wenger fined, a team brawl ensued and three players sent off. The most discussed match this season. (Video here). 10 mins.

Best under rated player. Gael Clichy. He was a revelation, the speedy left full back loved to travel upfield, was good with his tackles, chased down balls, and showed he was a tough customer. (Video here)

Best comedy moment. Probably the comedic highlight of this season's Premiership. (Video here)

Best piece of acting. Eboue versus Wayne Rooney. (Video here).

Best Jens Lehmann save. Incredible piece of goalkeeping against Solskjaer. (Video here)

Worst piece of defending. Kolo Toure against Nade. Just atrocious. (Video here).

Worst after match handshake. (Video here). The guy commenting is an absolute ass, so turn down the volume.

Worst loss. Arsenal's heartbreaking loss to West Ham at the Emirates. So many chances but Robert Green kept them away. It capped a miserable streak for the Gunners. (Video here)

Best Jens Lehmann comic routine. The Premiership's favourite stand up comic gives a virtuoso performance (Video here)

Best player. Cesc Fabregas. His genius kept Arsenal alive. (Video here)

And finally the Arsenal season is summed up here. (Video here)

Please feel free to contribute more categories and point to more video clips to the Gunners season ........

Chelsea's injuries are so extensive that there are only 15 fit players left in the squad. It has Mourinho seriously thinking of playing Hilario, the reserve goalie as a striker for the FA final against Man Utd this Saturday at Wembley.

Given that Hilario is quite the dud in goal, maybe this will be his big moment. I see him as scoring goals using the "hand of god " technique except it won't be as well disguised. He might be punching every long ball or corner, Van Der Saar's way.

Seriously, did anyone see that it would come to this? The team with the bottomless money pit with almost 300m pounds invested in players, is now thinking of playing the reserve goalie as striker.

Zaire's Mwepu Llunga had got mention on soccerblog in this post some months ago.He is happily remembered again in the viewing of this bit of comedy that occured in Norway between Lyn Olso and Aalesund when Aalesund defender Gustave Bahoken decided to use similar tactics to stop a free kick.

He is a hustler and spunky. Got a full head of steam, uses both feet to shoot, and he seems to relish having a go at goal. Unlike the present lot of Gunners who are pass happy but dither when it comes to pulling the trigger. Almost like "After you, sir!"

Florent Malouda wants out. He has had an outstanding season in the French Ligue and is a candidate for the PFA.

The Lyons winger is interested in the bigger clubs and has shown an interest in joining Arsenal. Malouda is a physical player with the strength of a Julio Bapista ( a big disappointment underscored by his dismal performance in his last game before he heads back to Spain) with tonnes more speed and skill. He would be a fantastic pick up. At 26 he has already had considerable match experience at the Ligue and national team level.

Other players that Arsenal should target is Franck Ribery, who has been talking about moving from OM. The only thing that can keep Ribery back is OM's entry to the big dance after years of mould. Meanwhile if I was Wenger I would be keeping a close eye on OM's midfield maestro, Samir Nasri. The man has been behind OM's resurgence and Wenger is the type of coach to nourish that talent. At 19, he might be too young but his temperament is that of a more mature player. There are question marks to the future moves of Reyes (who is most likely to be signed on by a Liga club), Flamini, Ljungberg, and even Hleb. So the Gunners midfield is a bit unsettled at this moment.

First things first. Arsenal has to make sure that Wenger stays on after this unsettling season and Peter Hill- Wood's words are encouraging in that regard. The big problem is that Wenger's relationship needs to be re-established with Dein's departure. Wenger's relationship has been complicated by the fact that his friend Dein was the one who encouraged F Stan Kroenke's hostile takeover. Dein was Wenger's inside man for so many years on Arsenal's board and they both enjoyed a harmonious relationship, so it is safe to say that Dein spoke for Wenger about everything to do with matters relating to the squad. An encouraging sign is that the Fabianski deal went through in the post-Dein era.

Wenger's philosophy has stood Arsenal in good stead in his ten years as manager and his way has been successful for a number of years. It is a matter of pride that they have been able to accomplish so much without the obvious financial benefits that takeovers have bestowed their competition. There is also the oft repeated mantra that the young Arsenal squad will be challenging for the title in a couple of seasons. Why panic? However I think that all that talent will get you to the top four but not the Premiership or the CL title. You don't necessarily need big named players like a Samuel Eto'o to break your bank on but experience like Malouda or Ribery's will be invaluable. Arsenal's defense has been porous at times and William Gallas has not been up to the mark even when fit. Plus, Gallas has been whining about the lack of respect he gets at the club. He might want to leave but the two good defenders that could replace him, Curtis Davis and Micah Richards are in multi-year contracts with their clubs. Gallas might settle down in his second season and live up to expectation which would be the best scenario.

Wenger will have a big meeting with the board to decide on how much cash to splash on the summer transfers. Gunner fans keep your fingers crossed and hope for a reasonable amount otherwise you will hear a lot more Kroenke rumours.

The litany of firings and resignations have begun. Paul Jewell at Wigan resigned even though his club escaped relegation and Stuart Pearce has been sacked. Pearce's sacking was inevitable. His club was dogged by under-performing players and disciplinary problems. Jewell has been replaced by Chris Hutchings, his assistant coach.

Meanwhile Allardyce is still talking to the Magpies and his coaching position might crystallize soon. However, there is a good chance that Big Sam could actually end up at Man City if Shinawatra's takeover bid is approved. The amount of cash the Thai consortium could potentially fork out for big name players could be a big draw in Allardyce's desire to compete with the big clubs. The Magpies just don't have the cash in hand and they are also paying huge amounts in debt servicing. Signing on big name players is going to be very tough for them.

Check the brilliant no-look flick by Berbatov that sets off the Keane goal and then his superb goal. Tottenham's 2-1 win over Man City gets them the 5th spot and a place in the UEFA cup. Berbatov is Tottenham's best signing in years. And he should be in White Hart Lane for a few more seasons if Martin Jol can keep him there.

Barcelona share of the top spot in the Spanish La Liga with Real Madrid after Real Betis scored in the 89th minute to force a 1-1 draw. (Highlights below)
Barcelona and Real Madrid both have 66 points with four weeks left in the season. Real Madrid holds the tiebreaker because of its better head-to-head record vs. Barcelona.

.....a golden one- for scoring his 20th league goal of the season and finishing as the Premiership's leading scorer.
His effort also extended Chelsea's unbeaten run in home league games to 63 - equalling the record set by Liverpool. The Blues had not lost at home since a 2-1 defeat against Arsenal in February 2004.

Carlos Tevez scored the goal that kept West Ham United in the Premiership as his team recorded an astonishing 1-0 victory over champions Manchester United on Sunday

Wigan avoided relegation thanks to a 2 -1 win (Video) over Sheffield United but Wigan chairman Dave Whelan is going ahead with the legal challenge to the Premier League's decision not to deduct points from West Ham for fielding the ineligible Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano.

How the mighty are fallen.

Eliminated from the competition and with only the Spanish League title to play for now here's a quote from Rijkaard "This is one of the hardest nights I've ever experienced. I had the feeling of being incapable of doing anything. We haven't got any excuses. We failed to react from the very first minute and we suffered a lot "

Before there was a Zizou there was an Enzo. The genius of Enzo Francescoli.

Ehud Olmert's reputation lies in tatters. Having been shredded by a commission that laid the blame on Olmert for the disastrous campaign last summer that killed thousands of Lebanese civilians without securing the release of the two soldiers that Hezbollah captured. Israelis have lost faith in Olmert's government to protect them with Dan Haluz, the air force general responsible for the conduct of the war resigning, and Amir Peretz, the defense minister indicating that he will step down soon.

While Olmert was on damage control mode blaming his former air force general and Ariel Sharon's stroke for the Lebanon disaster, the players and the fans of Betar Jerusalem were celebrating their 5th Israeli Premier League title, with their chairman Arkadi Gaydamak. His son Alexandre Gaydamak, is well known as the owner of Portsmouth FC, also enjoying a rejuvenation of sorts in the English Premiership.

Arkadi Gaydamak is quietly establishing himself as the most powerful man in Israel and a kingpin in its politics by using his purse strings. He set up a tent village in Nitzanim on the beaches of the Mediterranean, to host the thousands of refugees fleeing the north from the Kassam rocket attacks. He paid for a whole scale evacuation of the citizens of Sderot who were coming under relentless Kassam rocket fire from the Hezbollah, to Eilat. A gesture that angered the Olmert government who responded "Do we want to be depicted as a nation that flees from their homes…to five-star hotels? It looks like a declaration of defeat." However, Gaydamak with these measures, drove home the point that the Olmert government was impotent in protecting the Israeli civilian populace on its own.

Gaydamak recently established his party, Social Justice, dedicated to socio-economic causes. Although he has said that it is not a political party, it could become one very quickly in 'special circumstances'. He has aligned it with the Likud to strengthen the hand of Bibi Netanyahu. The party could win as many as 25 seats, and in Israel's coalition politics, this number could prove significant in Netanyahu forming the government. The thrust of Social Justice its its commitment to socio-economic issues benefiting a cross strata of the Israeli populace, as a countervail to Likud's hard right security platform. In doing so, Gaydamak dismantles the other power contender, Avigdor Lieberman, whose party Yisrael Beietenu seems to cater to Russian immigrants and security issues. In April 2007, he announced his intention to run for the mayorship of Jerusalem, fighting its incumbent Uri Lupolianski.

Many see this as a first step towards his eventual run for Prime Minister. In Israel, at present, there is a power vacuum with Ariel Sharon gone, and with the disillusionment with the present lot of corrupt weak kneed politicians, it creates the right circumstances for someone like Gaydamak, who has made his billions through gun running and money laundering, to be perceived as palatable to a number of Israelis. Gaydamak has been canny enough to put his billions to good use buying up Betar Jerusalem, with its rabidly nationalistic fans, constituting a very strong electoral base. He offset Beitar's distasteful racial politics highlighted by the Abbas Suan controversy by pumping money into Bnai Sakhnin, an Arab Israeli club playing in the first division, and creating goodwill in Israel's traditionally neglected constituents. Gaydamak has also contributed millions to social causes.

How all of this flies in Israel, a country that prides itself on its strong tradition of labour and social philanthropism, remains to be seen. There are many who really don't believe in Arkadi Gaydamak seeing an opportunist using his money to buy favours, as there are others who see him as a viable alternative in a fractured and moribund political climate.

Arsenal should be gunning for this man

Arsenal needs a goal poacher, a striker to consummate all that fantastic approach work of Fabregas, Hleb, Rosicky, and Adebayor, as they play ping pong with the ball. Enter Klaas Jan Huntelaar. His boyhood idol is Dennis Bergkamp, a man whose testimonial match he played in and scored a goal. Huntelaar is lethal having scored 37 goals in 48 appearances for Ajax. He has proven invaluable to Van Basten's team having pushed out RVN from the first squad.

Thierry Henry is being courted by Barca and they are offering Arsenal 15m. The undervaluation is because of Henry's frequent injuries, bouts of moodiness, and his dissatisfaction with Wenger and the Arsenal management. Maybe its time for Arsenal's top scorer to go to Barca and end his yearly flirtation with La Liga for good. A nice sum of 20m quid for Henry should free up some good cash for Arsenal to make a worthwhile splash for Huntelaar. It is not going to be easy, with Huntlelaar's talent, he has all the big clubs baying for him. Ajax has rejected Newcastle and fended of the big four Premiership clubs, as well as Juventus and Valencia.

Maybe Dennis the Menace can drop a few encouraging words of his golden years in Highbury which might help in making up Huntelaar's mind. A personal touch could make a difference.

Huntelaar and Van Persie up front. Just like Overmars and Bergkamp. That would be muy incredible.

OK. Time for the fantasy to end. Henry is not going anywhere and even with his injuries, he managed to score ten goals in 17 appearances. Patrick Vieira might think otherwise. Samuel Eto'o is too expensive for Man Utd. Barca is asking 40m quid for the striker and Man Utd have balked at that sum. So Eto'o and Henry stay put.

Arsenal has the future in mind as they sign on Lukasz Fabianski, the goalkeeper from Legia Warsaw. He is supposed to be a real talent and is Poland's fill in after Artur Boruc (one of the best goalkeepers in my opinion last World Cup). Fabianksi will challenge Lehmann for a place in the first squad. Wenger has high hopes for him.

Fabianski has great reflexes and he uses his height (6' 3") perfectly well as the clip shows.

Why is Wayne Rooney playing against Everton?

Tim Howard's non-appearance in the Man Utd vs Everton match raised many eyebrows particularly because his understudy Iain Turner let in some cheap goals and let Man Utd back in the game which they won 4-2. The win paved the way to their Premiership title. It turns out that Howard's contract while he on loan to Everton stated that he would not appear against Man Utd, the club that owned him. However, this arrangement is void if Howard's transfer to Everton was made permanent, which is what his status was when the two clubs met. It turns out that Man Utd attempted to violated league rules to insert an illegal clause in the contract stipulating Howard's non-appearance against his former club. It was only when Richard Scudamore, the PL's CEO intervened and threatened penalties that Man Utd backed down.

So why did Tim Howard not appear? It was part of a gentleman's agreement between the two clubs. Shades of West Ham and third party arrangements. However, unlike the West Ham arrangement, there would have been no material repercussion if Howard appeared "save for angering Sir Alex Ferguson."

I suppose Everton were so grateful to have a quality goalkeeper that they agreed not to play him against their benefactors. Which raises the question, what would have happened if Everton was in danger of relegation? And needed their best team on the field. Would they have placated Man Utd's desire to win the Premiership at the cost of their own relegation? To assuage Sir Alex's ego, would they endanger their existence in the Premiership? Maybe Wayne Rooney should not be playing Everton then? How about that? That to me would be a perfect 'gentleman's agreement'. You don't play your best goalie and we won't play our best striker because of their previous association with the respective clubs. Fair and square.

There is nothing illegal about this arrangement but there is everything wrong about this inequity between the more powerful clubs and the smaller clubs. Once a player's transfer is made permanent, the clubs should be free to play him against anyone, including his former club. Smaller clubs have to fight harder to stave of relegation or at best qualify for the UEFA. They should be in a position to field their best team, barring injury or disciplinary action.

Seems like the server is down. So you won't be able to access those great soccer clips.

Update: Hurrah! You Tube is back up again. So go check out Andres Vasquez's rabona again.

Definitely not to the Premiership. There are rumours that Houllier might be considering the Newcastle job. Houllier is reportedly dissatisfied in Lyons and is looking to leave. The only position that he would like to leave Lyons for is to become the technical director of the French soccer federation. Houllier's strength lies in developing youth players and his stint with player development did more to help France win the 1998 World Cup than anyone else. As a coach he seems to make poorer match and player decisions (Liverpool fans will agree) but his vision for country and club seem to yield benefits in the long run.

Meanwhile there are even more rumours that Houllier and Man Utd's assistant coach Carlos Quieroz are being tapped for the US coaching job replacing interim coach Bob Bradley.

Houllier's strength in developing player talent makes him an attractive choice for a technical and player development director and is what the US national team needs right now so that they can reap the benefits for the 2010 World Cup campaign. Sunil Gulati should pursue Houllier's employment in that role. However I think Bob Bradley should be made permanent as coach. He seems to be producing results.

The news is that Kasey Keller has been cut by relegation bound Borussia M'gladbach. His offer of playing for the second division was turned down by the club. At 37, Keller has too many annual rings for the rigorous European leagues where he might at most be a substitute goalie. My advice is that he should follow the footsteps of his US team mate Claudio Reyna and give the MLS a try. I am sure DC United who are bleeding goals would love to have him.

Can Schalke pull off the improbable? Win its first Bundesliga title since the league began 44 years ago. Schalke is on 65 points, VfB on 64, and Werder Bremen on 63. With two matches remaining anything can happen and the title might be decided on goal differential. Kuranyi kept Schalke's aspirations alive with his header against Nuremberg. However VfB kept their run alive with a 2-0 win against Mainz. They are further bolstered by the return of Mario Gomez into the line up after his knee injury. Meanwhile, Bremen's high octane offense destroyed Hertha, 4-1 with Markus Rosenberg scoring a hat trick.

One thing for sure Bundesliga juggernauts Bayern Munich in their worst showing in more than a decade is cutting loose their purse strings and are said to have an expensive wish list which includes Luca Toni and Mathieu Delpierre.

44: The number of consecutive seasons that Nantes played in the French first division.They were relegated on Wednesday night even though they won 1-0 at Bordeaux.(Goal video)
45: The number of years that Sevilla have waited to enter the final of the Copa Del Rey.A 2-0 win over Deportivo La Coruna on Wednesday gave them the long awaited opportunity.(Goal video)

White Hart Lane must be rejoicing at the news that Dimitar Berbatov will stay on for another season even though he is one of the most sought after players with Man Utd and Chelsea breathing down his neck.

There have been some quality transfers this season but none of the Chelsea ones count. These five players have contributed significantly to their team's fortunes.

Andy Johnson: His 11 goals has propelled Everton to 5th place and a spot in the UEFA Cup. Johnson's speed and lethal poaching ability have proved second to none.

Dirk Kuyt: 12 goals in 26 matches. Kuyt has top scored Liverpool and helped them recover to 3rd place in the Premiership after a very shaky start to their season. He fittingly scored the final penalty kick that put Liverpool in the CL finals against Milan.

Benni McCarthy; His 16 strikes have put Blackburn in a respectable 10th position. Another six goals in the FA helped them to the semi-finals of the FA Cup. His most important goal was the one that sent Arsenal packing from the FA Cup. He has admirably filled in for injured striker Shabani Nonda. McCarthy's transfer fee of £ 2.5 million is the best pound for goal deal this season and his attacking skills have bolstered a team known primarily for their defense.

Carlos Tevez: He came to the Hammers in dubious circumstances and took 20 games to score his first goal but luckily for West Ham, he has come to life at the right time and is leading the charge to get them out of relegation. His six goals might be the difference and would make the stiffest penalty in English soccer history easier to swallow.

Dimitar Berbatov: As important as the above mentioned players have been to their team, Berbatov is simply the the best transfer this season. Berbatov has spread his scoring wealth around in both domestic and international matches. His 11 goals helped Tottenham to the 6th position and back to challenge for the UEFA cup next season. In the FA Cup he scored 3 goals in 4 matches and helped them get to Round 6 of the FA Cup. His 7 goals in 8 matches in the UEFA Cup got Tottenham past Braga and to the quarterfinals before losing to Sevilla. But the story does not end with his scoring prowess. It is in the quality of the goals that he scores and the multifaceted dimensions that he brings to his game even when he does not score. This was amply seen in the game against Bolton in which he did everything else except score. The result, Bolton was decimated, 4-1.

Dimitar Berbatov eye candy below

enterthepitbull promises a fresh compilation on Berbatov in a few days.

Michael Ballack has the fragment of chipped bone from his ankle preserved in a glass jar to show Mourinho.This will be used by him as evidence to prove that he had no choice but to undergo surgery in Germany if he was to recover in time to play the FA Cup final.More on that story here....
Meanwhile Mourinho had a bone to pick with Graham Poll regarding the quality of his refereeing in Chelsea's goalless draw against Manchester United.

Inter Milan's hopes of lifting the Italian Cup for the third consecutive year received more than a major setback after a 6-2 drubbing by Roma in the first leg.Christian Panucci hit two goals and Francesco Totti, Daniele De Rossi, Simone Perrotta and Amantino Mancini scored one each .
Hernan Crespo scored both of Inter's goals.Goals below

South Africa's problem is not that it lacks the funds, the will, or the infrastructure to host the World Cup successfully, or to reduce the crime rate to ensure the safety of the 500,000 fans expected to watch the sporting greatest spectacle in the world. SA will prove its naysayers wrong emphatically.

However, as a soccer lover, one has to be concerned about the performance of the Bafana Bafana. SA's FIFA ranking is 61 and in Africa, SA is rated 13, behind Guinea, Burkina Faso, and Angola. The top five spots are claimed by Cameroun, Cote D"Ivoire, Nigeria, Ghana, and Egypt.In recent matches, SA has drawn against Congo, beaten Zambia and Chad. Only the win against Zambia by 1-0 in the CAN 2008 preliminary can be considered encouraging as its FIFA ranking is a comparable 69.

In World Cup 1994, hosts US crashed out of the World Cup in the first round. It was the quickest exit by a host country. Other countries traditionally not considered powerhouses, hosting the World Cup, have either lived up to or surpassed expectations. Chile in 1962 finished third, South Korea in 2002 finished fourth and Japan, the co-host reached the quarterfinals. Mexico, hosts in 1970 and 1986 also entered the quarterfinals. So SA, as the host country will be under a lot of pressure to do well. The question is does SA have the coach and the players to get to a more exalted position than a first round exit and improve on their 1998 and 2002 appearances?

Is Alberto Carlos Parreira the right person to coach SA? I have my doubts. Parriera is a stodgy coach given to playing by the book. His choice of players in the Brazilian squad reveals a defensive ideology and a bias towards age and experience. In the 2006 World Cup, he completely overlooked Robinho, the one player that gave zest and zing to a moribund attack. His poster boy is Dunga, an enforcer, who famously declared the death of the Tele Santana days. Dunga was Brazil's captain when Parreira coached them to their 1994 World Cup win. The win came after a downbeat Brazil completely eschewed their attacking flair throughout the tournament.

Parriera also lacks the charisma of a Klinsmann, who took a German team that lacked self confidence, made them believe in themselves, injected creativity and an attacking flair and shocked his countrymen when he took them to the semi-finals, a position that was thought impossible by 60% of Germans before the World Cup began. He has taken the UAE, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia to the World Cup but they failed to get past the first round. This invites the inevitable comparison to Guus Hiddink who moulded the South Korean team leading them to the 2002 World Cup semis and the 2006 Socceroos who were pipped by the Italians in the Round of 16. Hiddink famously took the Socceroos to their second World Cup when he was hired just four months before the qualifiers. He immediately turned them into a more versatile team with his defensive schemes. In this endeavour he was fortunate to be assisted by Johann Neeskens who played with the great Oranje teams of 1974 and 1978, and was steeped in the total football philosophy which changed the one dimensional Socceroos.

The fit between Parriera and SA seems to be open ended because the present team actually have players with very good defensive capabilities but they seem to lack versatility in the midfield and in attack. Both Aaron Mokoena and Naseef Morris are excellent defenders backed up by a bonafide star in Rowan Fernandes in goal, with Benni McCarthy as their only consistent striker. The midfield is anchored by the capable Steven Pienaar. Parreira has to do what he has never done before, focus on building the attack and create more options. This means developing and managing talent as strikers like McCarthy, Siyabonga Nomvethe, Shaun Bartlett, and Sibusiso Zuma are going to be well over 30 when the World Cup begins. A huge challenge, as Parriera woefully mismanaged the talent of Kaka and Robinho and over-relied on an ineffectual Ronaldinho and an out of shape Ronaldo in the last World Cup. Lebohang Mokoena is a rising talent at 20 and has already established himself as a top striker in the SA Premiership. Will he and Surprise Moriri flourish under Parriera? South Africa has to look to the CAF and friendlies for match practice, so unlike other World Cup qualifying countries, they have an abbreviated schedule. A variation of an infamous quote, " You go to the World Cup with the players you have, not the players you want." Parreira is more noted for doing far less with the talent at his disposal.

Carlos Alberto Parreira: World Cup record in 21 matches
Matches won: 9
Matches lost: 8
Matches drawn: 4
Goals for: 27
Goals against: 29

Guus Hiddink: World Cup record in 15 matches
Matches won: 8
Matches drawn: 3
Matches lost: 4
Goals for: 22
Goals against: 13

Correction: The US made it to the second round of the 1994 World Cup. H/t to Zach for drawing my attention. However, the point is that all World Cup hosts not considered top soccer playing countries have managed to get past embarrassing first round exits.

OLYMPOS Xylofagou FC striker Panagiotis Pontikos scored sixteen goals to help his side beat SEK Ayios Athanasios FC 24-3 on the final day of the season.
A write up in the Guardian confirms that his feat is indeed a world record.Unfortunately he has not broken the record but merely equalled it. Stephan Staniso also scored 16 goals for his side Racing Club in a French Cup match against Aubry Asturies in December 1942.
There is also an interesting reference to a game in which 149 goals were scored because the players were angry with the referee and so kept kicking the ball into their own goal...!

Rabona is a move in which a shot, pass or cross is performed by moving one leg behind the other (the one taking the player's weight) and kicking the ball forwards with the first – effectively with one's legs crossed.Andres Vasquez shows how to score a goal with a rabona without getting yourself tied up in a knot.The game was between his team Orebro and IFK Gothenburg in Sweden.

...and if that wasn't enough you can see another rabona goal made to look easy here....- this time scored with the other foot.

Correction: Andres Vasquez plays for IFK Gothenburg, not Orebro as many readers have pointed out.

Zidane's goal below which helped Real Madrid to win the Champions League final at Hampden in 2002 was voted the best goal in the tournament's history.

.... and for those who want more a compilation of Zidane top ten goals can be viewed here...

Real Madrid get closer to their eternal rivals Barcelona with a 3-2 victory over Sevilla

Christian Vieri scored this stunner in Atalanta's 3 -1 victory over Siena

Essien's valiant effort was not enough.In the end Chelsea were done in by the enemy within - disunity and lack of commitment- Manchester on the other hand were united in their chase of the title.

Heroic fightback by Chelsea fighting like wounded lions. Essien and Kalou did not give up. But Arsenal held on with Lehmann making the save of the match to deny Kalou. Arsenal should have put away the match with their fantastic approach work but they again lacked the finish and the Blues came back into it again.

Old Trafford must be going berserk with celebrations. Congratulations to Sir Alex and the Red Devils. They are deservedly the champions.

The emperor wears no clothes. Chelsea lies a half away from being dethroned from their title. They are a goal and a man down as Bouhlarouz brought down the Beast in the box. Gilberto converted the penalty.

Man Utd is on the verge of capturing their 9th Premiership. For Mourinho, the questions continue to roll. The CL and now the Premiership, have slipped away from his grasp. He looked forlorn and deflated as Bouhlarouz walked away from the field.

Lilian Thuram's recollection of a conversation with Nikolas Sarkozy could sway a number of voters who believe that France's immigrant populations will be marginalized if Sarkozy becomes the president in today's elections. Thuram recalls, Sarkozy while touring the riot stricken suburbs of Paris, "He told me, you know, it's the blacks and the Arabs who create the problems in the suburbs. "

Sarkozy has denied saying this. But anyone who is an ardent supporter of France's multi-hued soccer team knows that it is its immigrant players that have been the source of their considerable success. And by extension, they support the assimilation of its immigrants into French society.

Thuram added, ""[Mr Sarkozy] has a racial vision of issues and people."

Thuram's words should carry weight with this electorate. He is a supporter of Segolene Royal, the socialist candidate.

Carlos Tevez scored two goals - one off a fantastic free kick - and then fed Mark Noble a killer pass to score from to make it a 3-1 win for West Ham.Goals below.
Wigan went down by a (dubious) goal to Middlesbrough.(video)
More on the Wigan - WestHam - Carlos Tevez saga here....

Carlos Tevez was awarded the Hammer of the Year trophy before the game kicked off.
Elsewhere Manchester United and Everton are facing the likelihood of a Premier League inquiry - with possible point deductions - into their deal for keeping goalkeeper Tim Howard out of the last league game between the two teams.More on that here...
....and the highlights from Man U's one goal victory over Manchester City can be seen here

Dangerous times lie ahead of West Ham.

West Ham's stay and solvency in the Premiership might come down to downplaying Carlos Tevez's role in the Hammers recent surge and highlighting the other players.

However, questions of West Ham's stay and solvency in the Premiership started quite some time ago in August 2006 and it involves deciding to a precision, the selective amnesia of a certain Ms Purdon and the willful ignorance of a certain Mr Duxbury. This was the time when Kia Joorabchian and MSI were negotiating a takeover of the club.

Rule U18 states that "No club shall enter into a contract which enables any other party to that contract to acquire the ability materially to influence its policies or the performance of its teams in league matches or in any (other) competitions."

West Ham's legal director Mr Scott Duxbury had not heard of Rule U18. Ms Jane Purdon, the company secretary, responsible for the regulation the management of players to clubs in the Premiership, had heard of it, and according to her had informed Mr Duxbury when he called her to ask her if these third party contracts were legal in the context of the Premiership. Only thing is that she never did. Mr Duxbury, who one would have thought to be conversant with the rules of the game never bothered to read up on Rule U18. So deceit and ignorance lay at the heart of the West Ham contracts with Tevez and Mascherano. But all this pales in comparison to the outright lie that Paul Aldridge, West Ham's former CEO told Richard Scudamore, the Premiership CEO namely there was no documentation of whatever kind in respect of these players which the Premiership had not seen.

By lying Aldridge broke Rule B13 " in all matters and transactions relating to the league, each club shall behave towards each other club and the league with the utmost good faith." As the CEO, Aldridge is primarily responsible for West Ham's situation. In hindsight, the tribunal investigating West Ham suggests that Carlos Tevez's contract could have been legalized just as Javier Mascherano's contract was brought into compliance by Liverpool according to PL rules.

What gets West Ham off the hook from the more serious points deduction is the delay between the discovery of these violations in January and the investigation that took till April. West Ham is now making a concerted bid to escape relegation and the tribunal notes " the consequence is that a points deduction, say in January, whilst unwelcome, would have been somewhat easier to bear than a points deduction today which would have consigned the club to certain relegation."

The breach of Rule U18 is at the heart of the six clubs that are considering suing West Ham. The financial implications are enormous. It could bankrupt West Ham for decades. I personally think West Ham has gotten off easily. However, we must also look at the clubs accusing West Ham of perfidy. Most of them are near relegation so there is a vested interest in seeing West Ham slapped with a 3 point deduction. Dave Whelan's Wigan, who is leading the bandwagon, have had no wins in their last six, and Charlton just the one win. A lot of this brouhaha is calculated to distract from their own poor performances.

Read the proceedings of the tribunal. It makes for fascinating reading into how West Ham set out to dupe the PL >>

Two brilliant passes from Ronaldinho took the game away from Real Sociedad.Andres Iniesta and Samuel Eto'o scored off those passes to increase Barcelona's lead at the top of the Spanish League table.

....and gets shown one in return ..! Hilarious.

Impossible is nothing.Beckham's yellow card against Athletic Bilbao last weekend was overturned and he gets to play against Sevilla on Sunday.Sevilla coach Juande Ramos was critical of the double standards of the Spanish soccer federation .

Ousmane Dabo

Wear a visor if you are anywhere near Joey Barton, friends and foes alike. The man likes going after your eyes!

This is beyond wow! Jermaine Pennant is small potatoes compared to what City's Joey Barton has gone and done. After assaulting a team mate, Ousmane Dabo on the training grounds, Barton has fled England and is holed up at a golfing resort at the Algarve.

Barton is out of the City squad as he should be and Dabo is considering legal action against him. Barton's assault left Dabo unconscious and while lying on the ground, Barton reportedly used his fingers to try and gouge Dabo's eyes out, leaving him with two black eyes and a detached retina. Barton has a thing for gouging out eyes having tried the same thing with City player Jamie Tandy with a cigar at a Xmas party last year.

Barton's talent makes him a much sought after player and both Everton and Sunderland are keen on bagging him but this sort of stuff really makes you wonder. Do you really need a player with such a short fuse?

The Telegraph has more on the incident >>

Gaston Sessa kind of fits the description pretty well.Check video

His team - Velez Sarsfield have said that they are contemplating disciplinary action.They need to hurry up before he kills someone.

The Premiership has quite a few owners who have dabbled in shady business dealings before. Tom Hicks, co-owner of Liverpool has used his political patronage to leverage cozy business deals for him and his business partners. Roman Abramovich, Chelsea's owner and one of the original band of 23 oligarchs who benefited from their close connections with the late Boris Yeltsin and Anatoly Chubais, has been investigated by Swiss authorities for operating slush funds using IMF money. The investigations ended in tragic circumstances when the investigating magistrate was beaten unconscious in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Now Thaksin Shinawatra, the deposed PM of Thailand, who launched an unsuccessful bid for Liverpool three years ago, is favoured to takeover Manchester City. He is in exile, living in London. Shinawatra has been the target of many investigations into tax evasion and financial irregularities, many of them politically motivated and ultimately inconclusive.

However, there is a marked difference between a robber baron and being the head of a government responsible for extra judicial executions and the use of torture to intimidate protesters. Shinawatra's security forces have been responsible for brutally killing thousands in its 'War against Drugs' and in quelling an insurgency in southern Thailand. Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and Thailand's Human Rights Commission have documented their concerns and asked for opening investigations.

If Shinawatra is made the owner of Manchester City, the Premiership will have crossed a line. This is not a quaint story of a Bernard Tapie, a folk hero to many despite his economic wrongdoings, who became an emblem of OM's success and subsequent decline in the early 90's. This is a story of a man allegedly responsible for the tragic deaths of thousands, in exile from his country, and now potentially in charge of a Premiership club.

But I guess long suffering Man City fans heartily sick of bumbling manager Stuart Pearce, are welcoming Shinawatra's bounty, as long as he shows Pearce the door.

Thierry Henry makes the list of Time's most influential people of the year. Tony Parker, San Antonio Spurs guard, and a good buddy of Henry's writes the tribute >>

Other athletes and sports personalities who made it to the list were Roger Federer, Chien Ming Wang, Tiger Woods, Tony Dungy, and Garry Kasparov.

David Beckham did not make the list. I thought he might be there since he was touted as the messiah who would save MLS from obscurity. Just kidding. But he did write the tribute to Simon Fuller, the creator of American Idol, thereby responsible for inflicting Sanjaya Malakar on us, and the person who introduced Becks to Posh Spice.

Werder Bremen went down 2 -1 to Espanyol setting up an all spanish UEFA final on May 16 in Glasgow.Goals below.

On the other side Sevilla beat Osasuna 2 - 0. The goals can be seen here and here.
Apart from all that Sevilla's incredible bid at triple glory - to win the UEFA Cup, Spanish league and Spanish Cup - is also still on course.They trail champions and leaders Barcelona by a single point in the league and in the Cup they hold a 3-0 advantage over Deportivo La Coruna ahead of their semi-final second leg, at home.

...and an earlier prophetic kind of analysis here..

With hopes of the historic all english final in Athens down the drain one can look forward to an all spanish UEFA cup final provided Espanyol beat Werder Bremen in the second leg of the semis.They are holding a 3 - 0 lead from the first game but there is a historical precedent here that has to be overcome.
Espanyol also held a 3-0 lead over Bayer Leverkusen in the 1988 final but then lost 3-0 in the second leg and subsequently on penalties.
Some of the more superstitious among the Espanyol players are giving Ferran Corominas - the scorer of the third goal - a hard time.
"Some of my team-mates told me that I shouldn't have scored that goal," he said.
On a more optimistic note he adds "It sets up a possible repeat of that final all those years ago but this is an experienced side so let's hope we don't let the same thing happen this time."

In the meantime the policemen in Athens are probably heaving huge sighs of relief that its not an all english final.They have enough soccer hooligans of their own to deal with.Now they have less to worry about.

Gilardino!

Seedorf!

Kaka!

AC Milan 3 Man Utd 0. Milan wins on aggregate, 5-3.

If Man Utd is the best England has to offer then English football has a ways to go before it can catch up with the best of Europe. Man Utd is an overachieving team and has done magnificently well this season but their limitations were thoroughly exposed in this series with Milan. Come to think of it, Milan only lost the first leg because they took the pedal off and Dida made some terrible blunders. Not so in the return leg. Dida was rock solid and the injection of Gattuso made all the difference as he reduced Ronaldo into a petulant mess.

The Milan midfield purred smoothly and took advantage of a patchwork Man Utd defense that gave away the two opening goals. Seedorf's clever little flick with his head put the ball in Kaka's path who buried the volley into the far right hand corner past an onlooking Van Der Saar. Sublime.

Wes Brown looked like he had gotten out of the wrong side of the bed and Vidic was clearly not match fit. Heinze's momentary lapse of reason started a comedy of errors that saw Seedorf bury his shot in the back of the net for Milan's second goal. Ronaldo had to come back to help the beleaguered back four with some timely tackles. He had to defend a rampaging Massimo Oddo, Milan's right back who loves attacking down the right flank.

Even when the Man Utd midfield kept the occasionally lackadaisical Milan defense backpedaling in the second half, they rarely looked threatening. Man Utd could not get enough space to get clean shots off and when they did their timing was off. I must have counted at least ten shots that carromed of Milan defenders or were hit out. Rooney turned provider as Fletcher missed an absolute sitter. Giggs disappeared and Scholes was reduced to patrolling the half line.

Gattuso was the man of the match. He kept Ronaldo off his stride throughout the match. He was the Rossoneri's emotional leader. He looked like he was going to tear out Ronaldo's heart and have it for dinner. And he probably reminded Sir Alex of the days when tough blue collared players like Roy Keane and Denis Irwin ruled Man Utd. That was the last time Man Utd won the Champions Cup.

Match report >>

Cristiano Ronaldo vs Kaka. Round 2.

If the Liverpool vs Chelsea match was as a number of commentators put it, an advert for stifling and boring soccer and yet a true index of the battling English soul, here comes the real test of soccer supremacy, the English version vs the European one. Silky smooth Kaka vs human dynamo Cristiano Ronaldo.

Paolo Maldini will be out but in his absence Kakhabar Kaladze is likely to start. Kaladze has stepped in before for Maldini and performed admirably. For Man Utd, Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic's return will bolster the defense, providing options for Sir Alex to fill in the central defenders, which Heinze was out of depth last week, relocating in this match to his usual left back position.

Pirlo will hold the midfield letting Kaka roam and outrun the opposition with his acceleration or put the ball to lone striker, Fillipo Inzaghi, who can turn things around with his opportunism. The best news for Ancelotti is that Gattuso is match ready. Gattuso's strength is playing from the back and he and Massimo Oddo will have to be very active in cutting off the supply lanes to Rooney, who showed how lightning quick he can be in front of the ball. Ronaldo and Giggs will move outside to stretch the Milan defense rather than go through the center. The Man Utd attack is many headed.

Look for a fast moving match with plenty of attacks and counter attacks as both teams go on the offensive. I think Man Utd starts off red hot to put Milan on the defensive and score that all important first goal. Dida will have to be at his acrobatic best. But Milan should get back in the game and dictate the pace with its superior midfield. Kaka will be the difference. My theory is do all the spadework but also test Van Der Saar with some well struck shots. VDS tends to parry the ball ineffectively at times against piledrivers and both Roma and Portsmouth have scored goals off weak rebounds.

The San Siro will be rocking.

Prediction: AC Milan 2 Manchester United 1 (Milan enters the CL final on the away goal advantage)

Head-to-heads

AC Milan and Manchester United have met seven times before in European competition, United winning three and AC Milan the other four. Milan have won all three matches played in Italy, all without conceding a goal. The Italians have knocked United out each time they have met in Europe.

AC Milan have hosted English clubs on 11 previous occasions and are yet to lose, winning six and drawing five. Manchester United have visited Italy 12 times, winning just twice and losing nine times.

Liverpool, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea have all knocked AC Milan out of European competition. The last to do so over two legs was Manchester City in the 1978-79 Uefa Cup.

Sepp Blatter was interviewed on BBC's new sports programme "Inside Sports' and it turned out to be a fluffball. Blatter was not asked one question about the illicit payments or the ISL scandal that should soon see Blatter making court appearances in Switzerland. Inside Sports could have turned on the screws as Blatter started listing the flaws in soccer, diving, racism, fan violence, cheating, doping, all issues that Blatter could have done more to tackle but the Beeb let him off. Blatter is soccer's Alberto Gonzalez, incompetent, corrupt, and a survivor because of the patronage he enjoys from the establishment.

Meanwhile, Blatter continues to undermine South Africa's preparations by mentioning contingency plans to move the World Cup to Australia, England or Mexico should SA fail yet at the same time expressing full confidence in SA's ability to host the 2010 World Cup. Talk about bait and switch.

Blatter's statements already has Australia salivating at the prospect of getting the World Cup.

Danny Jordaan, CEO of the 2010 World Cup responds to Blatter's statements >>

With Chelsea out of the way the game between AC Milan and Manchester United will determine whether it is going to be an all English final or not.Richard Williams of the Guardian had written an interesting comparision of the glittering talents of Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo after the first leg of the Champion's League semifinal between the two teams.

"He and Kaka are the sort of players who prompt comparisons with other forms of art. Music, most obviously. Ronaldo's mode is allegro molto vivace, with a pronounced fondness for bursts of staccato phrasing via those quick-stepping feet, his unorthodoxy extending to the fearless introduction of techniques that others might unveil only in rehearsal, for the amusement of their colleagues. Kaka plays at a permanent andante cantabile, with a sweetly flowing grace, his devastating sprint a thing of seemingly unhurried beauty, his body swaying as one change of direction blends seamlessly into another."

For those among us who are not that up to date with the terminology of classical music here first is a sample of the music that represents Ronaldo.....

And a bit of the music that represents Kaka can be heard here or here

The rest of his article can be read here....

The Special One is now in the midst of lobbing verbal Molotov cocktails at Sir Alex and his prodigal son, Cristiano Ronaldo. Can you believe a coach who never throws caution to the wind when it comes to soccer doing so with his words? I have a feeling Mourinho is deliberately painting himself into a corner and when he does leave Stamford Bridge, can claim that the climate around him was so vitiated that he had no recourse but to flee to Real or to the next big European club.

Mourinho has no friends left. Friendship might be too much to ask for in the Premiership but cordiality and lip service well wishing amongst peers is usually the norm. But at this stage Sir Alex, Rafa, or Wenger may not even grant Mourinho that cushion. He has been uncharitable to all of them. Mourinho has been especially vituperative towards Ronaldo branding him a liar and then following up with "Maybe it's about a difficult childhood, no education." The statement can be read as a proxy on Sir Alex's own working class origins.

Shame on Mourinho for saying that. Soccer is a game that defies classist stereotypes. So many of Brazil's great players made it out of the favelas to add to their country's great tradition in soccer. They are not the scholar athletes found in Team USA but they play the game better and with as much integrity.

Chelsea did not endear itself to the English after Abramovich bestowed it with his limitless cash and Mourinho has not helped in mitigating that image with his arrogance, a strange phenomena for a PR savvy guy like Roman Abramovich, who takes his public persona very seriously. I would imagine these Mourinho statements are not flying too well with the governor of Chukotka and a friend of both Tony Blair and Vladimir Putin.

"They just can't keep their hands off it" the QOTD. Reina was magnificent in goal and the Blues were utterly rubbish in taking their penalties.

Agger's sweetly struck first timer leaves Cech stranded.

Liverpool wins! They are through to the CL final over Chelsea. The match came down to PKs and Liverpool prevailed. All the Liverpool players successfully converted their penalties with only Lampard managing to do so for Chelsea.

Quick notes: Alonso, Agger, and Kuyt stepped it up big time. Drogba was kept under a relatively tight leash with Agger and Carragher doing an outstanding job marking him. Pennant was a thorn in the Chelsea side right till his substitution. I though Kuyt was distinctly unlucky with his goal disallowed by a questionable off side call.

Did someone say Jose Mourinho's days are numbered? This was the big one and he missed out on it again. With his well documented tensions between Andriy Shevchenko, who never fit his role of withdrawn striker and now trouble brewing between Mourinho and Ballack, another player who has been in and out of the squad but mostly out with his injuries, Mourinho can be rightfully accused of under utilizing the talent at his disposal. It does not say much when the moderately successful Mikel is the only bright spot in this season's transfers. Sheva, Ballack, and Bouhlarouz for all the pre-season hype turned out to be big time busts.

Match report >>

PSV Eindhoven capture their third consecutive Eredivisie title beating Vitesse 5-1 through Jefferson Farfan and veteran Philip Cocu. It was nail biting till the end because the margin of victory was just one goal more than Ajax who beat Willem II, 2-0 at Tilburg. The video goes back and forth between both games. AZ Alkmaar were in pole position to claim the championship but lost to Excelsior, 2-3.

It has been a difficult year for Ronald Koeman who saw PSV slide in the second half of the Dutch championships after enjoying a 11 point lead midway. Koeman took over Hiddink's job and this victory is a vindication for him after very visible differences with the PSV board.

Congratulations to PSV and Ronald Koeman for pulling this one off. Jefferson Farfan cements his reputation as the most lethal striker in the Eredivisie.

With Derby beaten 0-2 by Crystal Palace, Birmingham City and Sunderland made it back to the Premiership.

Arsenal fans will see a whole group of young Gunners back in the top flight. The future is bright for Fabrice Muamba, Nicklas Bendtner, and Sebastian Larsson who form the nucleus of the Birmingham attack. Larsson, a talented midfielder signed on with Birmingham after his traineeship period with Arsenal. Bendtner and Muamba are loaners from Arsenal.

At Sunderland, Anthony Stokes has noticeably cooled off from his red hot Falkirk debut managing only one goal in 13 appearances.

Arturo Lupoli signed on with Fiorentina in February 2007 but continues to play for Derby till the end of the season as is Kerrea Gilbert with Cardiff City.

Stats on Fabrice Muamba, Nicklas Bendtner, Anthony Stokes, Sebastian Larsson, and Arturo Lupoli.

The Arsenal side is packed with talent and it might be difficult for Bendtner and Muamba to get regular first squad duty. Bendtner is the player with the best chance as he is a physically imposing player, very quick on his feet, and can play equally well in both halves.

Check out the Arsenal side that won against WBA in the Carling Cup QF.

Arsenal (4-4-2): Almunia; Connolly, Senderos, Djourou, Clichy; Walcott, Song, Denilson, Flamini; Adebayor (Traoré, 24), Aliadière. Substitutes not used: Poom (gk), O'Cearuill, Randall, Simpson.

The oldest is Almunia at 29. Aladiere is 23 and so is Adebayor. Djorou 20. Denilson 19, Connolly 19, Song 19, Walcott 18, and Traore 17. The average age 21 years.

No wonder Stan Kroenke's buyout is not flying with the Arsenal board.

Peter Crouch meets Michael Essien

Liverpool should throw caution to the winds. They need to get adventurous. Chelsea is coming from a gut wrencher weekend with Bolton and their confidence levels should be fairly low.

The best news for Liverpool is that Ricardo Carvalho, Chelsea's central defender is out and so the Reds can set Peter Crouch and his 6' 7" frame upon the Blues to win the aerial battle. Michael Essien who gives up many inches has the onerous task of defending Crouch. The danger is that it will reduce the Reds to the one option. Mourinho would love that.

To keep the Crouch threat real, the Reds need to go to the ground game with Bellamy or Kuyt running with speed. Gerrard and Alonso should unleash some of those 40 yard piledrivers to keep Cech and the Chelsea defense guessing. Alonso needs to get more aggressive than he was in the first leg and move up front to create chances with those neat little crosses and exploit the gaps.

In attack it is unfortunately not Didier Drogba who is injured but Shevchenko, doubtful for tomorrow's game. So who polices Drogba? My answer is Daniel Agger, who is speedier and stronger in the air than Jamie Carragher. The key is to cut off the supply to Drogba because once he gets the ball, he is a phenomenon. And someone should keep an eye on the industrious Joe Cole. He can be a handful down the left flank.

The Kop has the most passionate fans in the league and they should make Chelsea's journey to Anfield very interesting.

Prediction: Liverpool 2 Chelsea 0. Liverpool enters the CL final on aggregate.

Soccer fans: You know where to go to see the game on the sly

Armed only with a whistle a referee chased a lion off a soccer field.No this did not happen in Africa..!
The Reading mascot Kingsley -- a giant lion - was shown a red card by the referee for confusing him in the game between Reading and Newcastle United.
"I can see where the referee was getting confused, you know he does look like so many of my players," said Reading manager Steve Coppell.
The game also marked Michael Owen's return for Newcastle United- but Reading took the game 1- 0 thanks to a goal scored by Dave Kitson's in the 51st minute.....(without the help of the lion - because it had already been sent off the field by then...!)

Third-place Real Madrid stay in contention for its first title in four years with a 4-1 victory against Athletic Bilbao.The opening goal came off a Beckham free kick -headed into the goal by Ramos.Becks also picked up a yellow card for wasting time - which rules him out of the important game against Sevilla.

Meanwhile Barcelona maintained their slender 1 point lead with a 1- 0 victory over Levante. (Video)
Sevilla kept the second position with a 3 -1 victory over Espanyol. (video)