November 2007 Archives

The deadly Drogba took Chelsea into the knockout phase as group B winners last night, scoring two early goals. Alex and Joe Cole scored the others to finish the game against Rosenborg at 4 - 0 .Highlights below.

Harry Redknapp was arrested by anti corruption police as the investigation by their economic crimes unit into alleged bungs swung into overdrive.

Redknapp confirmed that he had been arrested and said: 'They have to arrest you to talk to you, for you to be in the police station. I think that's the end of it, it didn't directly concern me.'

No, Harry the police don't have to arrest you to talk to you. Not unless they feel that you are withholding information and they want you to sing like a canary.

Also arrested were the chief executive of Portsmouth, Peter Storrie, and Milan Mandaric, the Serbian businessman who owned Portsmouth until September last year and is now chairman of Leicester City. A total of five individuals were arrested by the police. The multiple arrests follow Tottenham defender Pascal Chimbonda being taken in for questioning on similar conspiracy to defraud and false accounting matters in September.

Redknapp was in the running for the England job but with the prosecutors planning to indict him it will essentially rule him out of the race. Anyways, just as well because I don't see anyone other than Jose Mourinho doing justice as England's manager.

Rafa came a bit closer in answering the call of Liverpool's owners as his squad out away Porto FC with two goals from Fernando Torres. He should just give up his rotational policy which really unsettles his team and just go with his best offensive weapons right from the start, who at this point are Torres and Andrei Voronin.

Great news for Boca Juniors as Juan Roman Riquelme is set for a return from Villareal. They really need the services of Riquelme who led them to the Copa Libertadores title last year. Boca has looked like a shadow of a club this season. With Riquelme in their ranks they can look forward to the Clausura.

Riquelme fell out of favour with Villareal manager Manuel Pellegrini last December and has not played with the club since his return.

The Asian FC awarded Iraq as the best national team which was a no brainer. But they did not give any official recognition to Jorvan Vieira, the coach that took Iraq to the winners podium in the Asia Cup. The best coach award went to Rauf Inileev of Uzbekistan.

The award is reserved exclusively for Asian nationals but Vieira's achievement should have been honoured on par with Lennart Johnson's service to Asian soccer, who received the Diamond of Asia. To take up a coaching job that many had quit or were forced out of because of the unrelenting violence and nepotism, daily death threats to Viera's life and to the players, train in Syria in makeshift conditions, and in such an abbreviated time to bring together a disparate group of Iraqis with their different sectarian affiliations, and instill a sense of pride in all of Iraq in the achievements of their soccer team, was a remarkable feat against the most adverse of conditions. The AFC could have relaxed its rules just this once and no one would have begrudged Vieira his recognition. I really can't think of too many achievements in Asian soccer other than Iraq's victory that captured the imagination of the people around the world. It was the one bright spot in George Bush's miserable and entirely concocted report card on Iraq.

Jorvan Vieira's accomplishment should be recognized and not just by the Iraqi soccer federation or the Iraqi people, it should be recognized by the organization entrusted with raising the standards of Asian soccer. I think it is a silly rule to limit the coaching award to Asian nationals and it becomes even sillier when you consider the context of Vieira's achievements.

Lanus on the strength of its striker Jose Sand, youthful midfield led by Lautaro Acosta, Matias Fritzler, Daniel Valeri, and veteran defenders Rodolfo Graieb, Walter Ribonetto, and ex-Argentine goalie Carlos Bossio could win it all by taking care of lowly Gimnasia de Plata today.

Lanus success is being hailed as a victory for their small but passionate group of members who have boosted the club finances through periods of near bankruptcy and their stellar youth academy that has churned out future Argentine squaddies including 1995 U20 World Champions Ariel Ibagaza and Gaston Coyote. The present squad has Lautaro Acosta, already a star in the U20 Argentine squad that won this years World Cup in Canada and Daniel Valeri, another exciting prospects in Argentine soccer. Under Ramon Cabrero, Lanus has seen a resurgence in its fortunes. Cabrero after promoting several promising youngsters from the club's youth sides, led his squad to runners-up spot in the 2006 Clausura. As well as securing a berth in the 2008 Copa Libertadores, Lanus figured prominently in the destination of that year's Apertura, defeating Boca on the final matchday to hand eventual champions Estudiantes a league-title play-off with the Xeneizes.

With Lanus, Tigre, and Arsenal di Sarandi making huge strides, the Argentine league is being shaken up and traditional powerhouses Boca Juniors and River Plate can no longer take titles as guaranteed.

Mark Ogden writing in the Telegraph compares Cristiano Ronaldo to Eric Cantona after he scored this amazing injury time freekick to take Manchester United to a 2 -1 victory over Sporting Lisbon.Ronaldo's post goal celebration was "pure Cantona" - the knowing look and the shrug of the shoulders.The only thing missing was the upturned collar.Take a look at the goal and Ronaldo's Cantona impersonation and compare it to the real thing in this youtube clip here.. showing the original Cantona celebrating a goal.

Alex McLeish resigned from the Scotland's managers job leaving the Scottish FA in shock. He is on his way to Birmingham City who were looking to fill the void created by Steve Bruce's exit to Wigan.

Well, it makes for a great Birmingham vs Aston Villa derby as McLeish was the manager of Rangers at the same time Martin O'Neill managed the Celtics and there was some great matches played between them when these two headed the Old Firm rivalry. In a dramatic last day turnaround, Rangers pipped Celtics for the 2005 SPL title.

McLeish's first order of business is to keep Birmingham promoted. The Blues have lost six of their last seven games and have struggled to score. They are fighting with Middlesborough and Sunderland to avoid relegation.

Alas..
They went down 3 -1 to Sevilla in a Champions League encounter - their first loss in about seven months.Goals below.Report.

Anyone following the imbroglio at Liverpool between Rafa and the owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillette will be amazed at how quickly their relationship has soured.

Hello! Liverpool. Welcome to America. Where you are only as good as your last title and the bottom line is - show me the money. Rafa, what were you expecting with Tom Hicks? The man whose name is practically synonymous with leveraged buyouts. A grace period?

Rafa has been mortally wounded and it is not because he has been rebuffed in his attempts at getting meaningful winter transfers, it is because the owners, especially Tom Hicks in their response, have questioned in a pointed manner whether he is the right person to lead them to a Premiership given the players he has, which of course makes the question of future transfers moot. They are questioning Rafa's competence, and there lies the sine qua non of the imbroglio.

In recent days, Rafa has toned down his criticism and has made overtures to the owners but he like Martin Jol has been effectively stripped of transfer decisions which are now being handled by Rick Parry, the chief executive. He is no longer the manager. And this will not sit well with Rafa when he sees his opposite number, Sir Alex demanding and getting his way with transfers, most recently making a permanent bid for Carlos Tevez. Rafa's desperation at getting the best transfers that money can buy is not sitting well with Liverpool's new owners who want to see what they are getting for the money that they have already put down. It took all of four years for Roman Abramovich to get to the same mindset. And once that happened Jose Mourinho was on his way out.

Economic considerations make transfer money for expensive players virtually impossible and there maybe other reasons for Tom Hicks go slow approach. As the owner of the Texas Rangers, he was notorious for making the most expensive blunder in sporting trade history, the $252 m acquisition of Alex Rodriguez who turned out to be a bust. He was ridiculed mercilessly by every sporting pundit and fan, a reputation he wants to keep a lid on in the UK.

Liverpool fans should not look to Tom Hicks own money to bail out their club. With the real estate industry, one of his major financial holdings, in retreat, coupled with the devalued dollar, money available for expensive players is harder to come by. With banks demanding more money up front, a recent attempt at refinancing their Liverpool buyout, a £298m loan collapsed. And it looks like major cost escalations and escalating interest rates to finance their loan and find construction money for Liverpool's new stadium will severely deplete money for the transfer budget. Rafa has to live with the reality that the new owners have essentially put him on notice with the players that they have given him.

Rafa of course does not want to be forced out as is being widely seen but I think his recent exercise in diplomacy is a prequel to his leaving on his own terms. Even as he licks his wounds, I am pretty sure Rafa is diagramming an exit strategy. And even as this fracas boils over, look for Rafa to leave at the end of the season. He will go to the La Liga or the Serie where it is harder to buy clubs and business families who own them look on it as a tradition, not necessarily as an investment.

Here is Soccerblog's look at Tom Hicks, a hard nosed businessman with some real ethical issues >>

Beckham scores one of his famous free kicks somewhere in the middle of this clip.Never mind about LA Galaxy losing the exhibition game against Sydney FC by 5 goals to 3.

The Apertura champion maybe decided in the final clash between little known Lanus and powerhouses Boca Juniors on December 2nd. And should they fail then Tigre may benefit and become the champions pipping both Lanus and Boca at the post.

Boca Juniors were dealt a rude blow to their title chances when they were beaten by Arsenal di Sarandi, 1-2. League leaders Lanus moved four points clear of third placed Boca in a goal less draw with Argentinos Juniors. In second place is Tigre who are three points adrift.

The title maybe decided on Wednesday if Lanus beats bottom dwellers Gimnasia La Plata and if Boca beats Tigre. A win for Lanus will move them 4 and 6 points clear of Boca and Tigre, respectively. The only way for Boca to win outright would be if they win both their matches against Tigre and Lanus.

You know if the MLS really wants to keep attracting quality players then you should also should make an effort, even a token one to praise the player that has generated the most impact on the league and that player at the end of the season was not David Beckham, it was Cuauahtemoc Blanco.

In the state of the league speech Don Garber did not just single out Beckham for praise but gave him a big fat wet kiss. Blanco got a passing mention along with Juan Pablo Angel.

'The signing of David Beckham delivered on our expectations in every measure,' Garber said. 'The exposure we got because of David Beckham, regardless of how many games he played, was fantastic.'

Lets put this in prespective. Beckham sold jerseys and many at that. 250,000 and counting. Adidas made its money and so did AEG. But Beckham rarely played and the LA Galaxy missed the playoffs. But it was Blanco that got the crowd to come watch the Chicago Fire play, led them to the playoffs, and scored some quality goals. Attendance for the Fire games rose 60% to 16,000 the highest rate of increase for any club as the Fire made the playoffs after looking like their season was falling apart. Blanco was the catalyst and with Mexican Americans rallying behind him, the former Club America star has the backing of the fastest growing segment of soccer fans. There are quite a few reasons why Blanco should keep attracting a wider audience than David Beckham and it has nothing to do with the stature of Beckham, it has to do with the changing demographics of the sport.

On the other hand, the durability of Beckham will always be in question. He is 33 years old with chronic ankle injuries complicated by recent knee injuries which has severely curtailed his playing time. According to David Carter at USC, Beckham largely escaped the wrath of the fans because of his injuries. Their goodwill will be severely tested if Beckham does not get off to a fast start next season and prove that his freshman year was an anomaly.

As for the gushing Don Garber on Beckham.

'He is an absolute gentlemen,' Garber said. 'Everything we asked David to do, he did.

Yes, everything except play. Including just signing a $40m endorsement deal with Giorgio Armani which will include, you guessed it, underwear ads.

The big hoopla about bringing David Beckham and Cuauhtemoc Blanco to the MLS was to raise its profile by changing the perception that it is at best, a retirement league.

The other way to dispel this notion is to become an incubator of young talent. Nothing can be more satisfying than a homegrown talent such as Altidore being approached by major European clubs because of his impressive development as a player. Of course, the question is not if, it is when? When would be a good time to leave? There are those including Ivan Galarcep who feel that Altidore benefits from staying on to mature as a player.

My contention is if Freddy Adu is reaping the benefits playing for Benfica after spending some very indifferent seasons at the MLS then I can assure you that Altidore has very little to learn hanging out with Juan Pablo Angel and the NY Red Bulls even for another season. If rumours are right, then Real should be his next stop and the sooner the better. He will have much more to learn from Bernd Schuster and Ruud Van Nistelrooy even though his playing time might be limited initially.

Ryan Nelsen, a central figure in Blackburn's resurgence in the Premiership and Clint Dempsey, one of the bright sparks in the Fulham attack spent a number of seasons in the MLS. Their success overseas in the big European leagues have made recruiters more eager to take a chance earlier in the development of talented MLS players. Altidore has all the building blocks in place for a manager like Bernd Schuster whose player development credentials are impeccable, to hone his skills. Schuster has taken Marcelo, the talented 19 year old Brazilian midfielder under his wing giving him more playing minutes and with talents like Drenthe, Gago, and Gonzalo Higuain already playing regularly, Real seems to be finally divesting itself of its laborious Galacticos image nurtured under the Florentino Perez era.

With increasing familiarity about the time spent developing in big clubs, MLS players are also becoming savvy figuring out whether they will get serious playing minutes. And Altidore seems to have his head on his shoulders.

"That's the way I see it now," Altidore said. "The quicker you can get there, the better. Even if it starts off tough, you can always adjust to it, especially if it's a team that needs you. It's all about timing."

So go forth Jozy Altidore and follow your dreams. Don't waste another season with the NY Red Bulls.

David James latest article in the Guardian: "Don't blame Carson - the real gaffe was exposing him to such pressure" has an introductory blurb which reads:

The weight of qualification for Euro 2008 should never have been on Scott Carson's shoulders.

Its a bit bombastic to say that this was a singular responsibility and not a collective one. But James makes a very good point by saying that the goalkeepers on the bench never seriously challenged the number one goalie causing less pressure on turning in a better performance. This continued even after Robinson was ridiculed for his performance against Croatia. McLaren started him in every match even after that. With a series of wins it seems that his faith in Robinson was vindicated.

So it seemed odd that McLaren would give an inexperienced lad like Carson the nod. But lets scratch the surface. I think the problem with McLaren was that he decided to become a last minute shrink. With Robinson's gaffe prone goalkeeping against Croatia in the last encounter weighing heavily on his mind and David James reputation for momentary lapses of reason, he chose Scott Carson. It is not unreasonable and had this gamble worked, he would have been hailed as a thinking man's coach and Carson as a hero. Except that he should have played shrink right after the Croatia game and benched Robinson and brought in Scott Carson, Robert Green, or Ben Foster to put pressure on Paul Robinson and to give the goalies some much needed experience. But for the big game he should have brought back Paul Robinson.

Leo Beenhakker benched Jerzy Dudek after his lapses cost Poland their opening match against Finland. The instinctive thing would have been to bring experienced Celtic and World Cup standout Artur Boruc. Or even Arsenal's Lukas Fabianksi and Man Utd's Tomas Kuszczak. Instead, he chose to show that reputation would not be enough and called on 30 year old Wojciech Kowalewski of Spartak Moscow with very little international experience. Kowaleswski who has been outstanding at Spartak and has a reputation as an excellent penalty saver came through for them in the next three matches including Poland's crucial win against Portugal's. Only when Kowalewski was sidelined with injuries was Artur Boruc called up to start. It would be safe to say that Kowalewski would have continued if not for his injuries and it is safe to say that Kowalewski's start put Boruc on notice. Of course, when you have the depth in goalkeeping talent that Poland has, such problems become easier to tackle. But Beenhakker's tactic of benching Dudek and bringing in a lesser known goalie paid off.

But erring goalies are nothing new. The England story should be more about the players who took the field and did very little on it in the biggest game that counted. IMO, Joe Cole was the only player who with his creativity and industry sought to lift the game from the tedium of the one dimensional Wayne Bridge to Peter Crouch long ball.

No, it wasn't the Scott Carson mistake, Steve McLaren's insipid coaching, the incessant Wayne Bridge long balls to Crouch's noggin, or even the torn up Wembley pitch that undid England, it was Tory Henry's rendition of the Croatian national team that got them all fired up.

He should have sung 'Mila kuda si planina' (which roughly means 'You know my dear how we love your mountains').

But he instead sang 'Mila kura si planina' which can be interpreted as 'My dear, my penis is a mountain'.

Now which soccer player would not love that, you tell me. Anyways, it appears the correct word for penis in Croatian is kurac (kooratz) but Tory Henry's effort was much appreciated by the Croatian fans in attendance.

His agent Douglas Gillespie had this to say:

"He did sing it very well and made a very, very small mistake for someone doing his best and singing in a language that is alien to him. If you've ever tried to speak Croatian, it's very difficult.

"The Croatians think it's great, and they've invited him to come over and sing at Euro 2008, and asked if he will be their mascot."

Here is the You tube clip >>

Nicholas Anelka scores a goal for Bolton as Sir Alex is undone by another foreign player, the ones responsible for the demise of the English game. In another unrelated development, Scott Carson's third cousin twice removed looked vaguely Croatian.

Blatter unveiled the official poster of the world cup 2010 and managed to cause confusion almost immediately by implying that the face on the poster was that of Eto'o.
“You have the face here of one of the most popular and well-known players of this continent. He is still playing. He is playing actually in Europe, one of the big clubs,” He added that the player was also from Cameroon. The official statement from local organisers about the face was....
“The face represents every single African supporter” from Morocco to South Africa and from Gambia to Somalia." However this report on the BBC says that it is supposed to represent Eto'o after all.So maybe Blatter was right for a change.It's a good poster anyway.

For the second time this month Gallas scored a vital late goal.That goal took Arsenal three points ahead of Manchester United.Gallas' headed goal against Wigan came seven minutes from time and Tomas Rosicky made sure of the victory soon after by making it 2 - 0.
Arsenal are now on 28 games in a row without a loss.

The goal he scored against Croatia off a great Beckham pass.Towering over the rest of his team in more ways than one.

And here's another great goal.This one is by Steven Gerrard against Newcastle a little while ago.Video
Too bad he couldn't score one like that against Croatia.The latest FIFA rankings are out and England is down to the 12th spot.This means that they will be out of the running for a place among the top European seeds in the World Cup 2010 draw on sunday.

Fabio Cannavaro reached another important milestone in Italy's 3-1 win over the Faroe Islands - his 113th cap.He surpassed goalkeeper Dino Zoff. Now only Paolo Maldini, who retired after 126 caps, is ahead of him.Also - the third goal of the game came off like a rocket from the foot of Giorgio Chiellini- an absolute stunner.It was the first goal he has ever scored for his national team so that's also a record of sorts .Take a look.

Looks like Adu's move to Benfica is paying off. Here he sneaks in on the blind side to score the winning goal and put Benfica in second place in their league.

I'm thinking that Adu is finally coming into his own. Let's see if he gets a few more chances to prove it on the US team in the months ahead... 2010!

Ivory Coast - preparing for the 2008 African Nations Cup hammered Qatar 6 -1 in a friendly.Drogba had an off day and failed to fire .Abdulkader Keita scored a brace and Kone Arouna scored a brace.Kalou Salomon scored the fifth and one goal came off a defender.
Qatar are gearing up for the third round of Asia’s 2010 World Cup qualifiers which kick off in February.

India starts a new professional league with an eye on emulating the J league, the most successful soccer start up masterminded by Saburo Kawabuchi, the man responsible for Japan's renaissance as a soccer power.

True to form, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) chief, Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi delays the inaugural match by a day as he is too busy fulfilling his duties as India's Information, Broadcasting, and Parliamentary Affairs (IBPA) minister inaugurating the International Film Festival of India (IFFI).

Between the number of acronyms that this very important bureaucrat has to juggle and the number of junkets that this man undertakes, India has slipped to 145th in the FIFA rankings. That's right folks, we still play in the subterranean depths where the spotlight is diffuse and accomplishments are fuzzy and hard to find. Its been a long time and just like success, failure is a habit forming creature.

In its period of mourning, if English soccer ever needs to feel good, it only has to look to India which has not qualified for the Asian Cup since 1984. Its only recent highpoint to date is winning the Nehru Cup this year, the first time in tournament history since its resumption after a decade. Its a beginning but don't look to the new professional league for the answers to India's problems. Its only fitting that we have the minister of propaganda as our soccer chief to put the very best spin on bad news.

Nice. I think the NY Giants vs Miami Dolphins game played at Wembley should be singled out for the sorry state of English soccer. How can you allow 300 lb linebackers to trample the turf into trenches such that only Peter Crouch's head is visible?

"Let's not just blame the weather for the outcome, though. Let's also blame the NFL. It hardly helped that the Wembley pitch had recently been churned to a puree by a bunch of American heavies in helmets. The more it rained, the more the gridiron lines began to emerge beneath the grass. Suddenly it was second and down at the Croatia 20-yard line. Say what you like about the wisdom of playing Peter Crouch on his own up front, but he rushed an impressive 45 yards in that first quarter, bringing his career total in Wednesday night football to 126 yards." _ Times of London writer Giles Smith.

More reactions to the England loss >>

And Nico Kovac says he could beat England with one foot tied.

The best soccer is being played east of the Danube. Romania, Croatia, Poland, Czech Republic have all qualified for Euro 2008 and they have done so in style topping their groups.

POLAND

A group of veterans put Poland through. Jerzy Dudek, Wojciech Kowalewski, Jacek Bak, Jacek Kryznowek, Michal Zewlakow, Grzegorz Rasiak, and Maciej Zurawski got the call by Leo Beenhakker and were instrumental in getting the job done.

Poland found goalscorers at opportune moments whether it was Radoslaw Matusiak in the early stages, or Jacek Krzynowek scoring a huge equalizer in the Portugal return match, before Ebi Smolarek capped their campaign by reeling off the last five goals which put Poland into the Euro finals. Poland was helped immensely by the injury free Krzynowek who put behind his poor performance in World Cup 2006.

Ebi Smolarek was the toast of the Polish squad with his nine goals. The Borussia Dortmund midfielder recently transfered to Racing Santander, scored a brace against Belgium leading them to their first Euro final in their tenth attempt. Smolarek also send Portugal to their first defeat in the qualifiers by scoring another brace. They topped Group A which saw tough Serbian and Finnish opposition comprising players plying their trade in the bigger European leagues. Serbia had a slim chance of securing the second spot needing a win against Poland yesterday but they managed a draw after Maciej Zurawski and Radoslaw Matusiak put their team ahead ending their hopes.

It was less than an ideal start as Poland lost to Finland and drew with Serbia. It was only when manager Leo Beenhakker started Ebi Smolarek and Grzegorz Rasiak that Poland's attack got off to a winning start. They won against Kazakhstan with Smolarek scoring the winning goal. Beenhakker also rotated his goalie corp as he had the luxury of having Artur Boruc, Lukacz Fabianski, Tomas Kuszczak, and Jerzy Dudek who are or have played in the top English and Scottish clubs.

Poland under Leo Beenhakker look like they have shaken off their World Cup hangover and will be a tough team to beat when the group stages begin in June 2008.

Poland's march to the Euro 2008 video >>
Classic moment: Radoslaw Matusiak hustling past Daniel Van Buyten of Belgium to score a goal.

So the brief but disastrous Steve McLaren fling is over. And now the soul searching for what ails English soccer begins.

But first things first, if England wants to get back on track to soccer respectability then it needs a manager that commands respect from the English Premier cartel of managers, coaches, administrators, and players who call the shots on everything from player development to player availability. I have rarely seen the national game so cravenly beholden to a league. Every other country seems to have arrived at a balance quite nicely be it through serendipity or design.

It says very poorly of a national team that churns out autobiographies more than it does titles. Rio Ferdinand, Wayne Rooney, Ashley Cole, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, and David Beckham have made million dollar book deals documenting their shopping habits, drunken orgies, and pet peeves against club and country managers. Most of them are sloppily written but they feed the need for a tabloid press more impressed with their lifestyle than their accomplishments on the field. We know so much about them through these voyeuristic excursions yet when they take the field they look like a group of lost individuals thrown together for the first time. Each and every time we know less and less of them. And we think less and less of them.

I really believe that no English coach can stand up to these pressures. He must come from outside but have an intimate knowledge of how the English system works having worked in it himself. He should be opinionated and egotistical enough to stand up to Sir Alex and tell him to sod off if he opens his mouth about the damage done by too many foreign players or whines about national commitments. He should be a micro-manager who demands player loyalty and adherence to a tactical vision. He should be someone familiar with the media bottom feeders in England, being a target of their unflattering eye in the past. And of course, he should be wildly successful with every undertaking in the past.

I am talking of Jose Mourinho. Woo him. Promise him a knighthood. But if there is anyone who can whip these preening English players beyond their obsession with yachts, hair gel, and their bacchanalian pursuits and actually get them to perform, it would have to be the Special One.

Leo Messi scores first for Argentina as he takes on three defenders. This after the Albiceleste are reduced to 10 men following Tevez's ejection. Colombia equalizes with a goal by Ruben Bustos and then goes ahead for good with Walter Moreno's goal.

Sebastian Abreu opens for Uruguay before Brazil storms back with a brace scored by Luis Fabiano. Dunga gets booed by the fans and then singles out the Argentinians for praise.

We celebrate the day when Manhattan was sold by the American Indians in exchange for goods worth $24. They now live in reservations and build casinos so that white folk can assuage their guilt by losing money.

If Vedran Corluka had scored an own goal and put England into the Euro finals then the shifting narrative taking shape in coaching circles which singles out foreign players as doing untold damage to English soccer would have most likely ended.

But even if Corluka by happenstance scored that goal what would have prevented England from chucking it all away if today's match was any indication? Or for that matter any amount of own goals because England would have found yet another way of defeating itself. It would have been best if Russia had ended England's Euro debacle in Ramat Gan a few days ago because we would not have had to hear another story of how England controlled its fate.

England's problems are the result of a number of fallacies:

English Premier league quality and the performance of the national squad are correlated

The problem is that too often players and the English public equate the quality of the Premier League with the English national team. These distinctions almost always get blurred. Yes, you get the best talent and unbelievable match play. The marketing and the saturation TV coverage make it the most watched league. And the pay off is tremendous enough to keep clubs affording those world class players. It leads to a simple minded belief that somehow all of this translates into a superior national squad. How many times do we hear whether this foreign player will be able to keep up with the pace and the intensity of the English league. We always belittle the Bundesliga and its relatively low level intensity but the pace at which the new look German team performs shocks us. As it is a jet lagged English squad barely rose above itself to defeat Ecuador and labored to beat T&T in the 2006 World Cup. Only to see it fall to Portugal. But that enervated performance was not an exception, it seems to have become a rule.

A crowded midfield gives better options

The Steve McLaren thinking is to bottle up the midfield with players who are perceived to bring something to the table. What remains unclear is what exactly do they bring? There are distinctions of course but Barry, Gerrard, and Lampard to a large extent are iterations. Barry might have a more withdrawn role but they all clog up the middle.

At this point England lacks a true number 10. I have seen pundits touting Lampard as a playmaker but it really does not say much for his abilities when his own club manager and the owner are thinking of bringing Luka Modric on a winter transfer. Gerrard has been a shadow of himself since the CL final against AC Milan and has done no favours with his captaincy either. And if Beckham is an option then this does not augur well for the future of the English game.

In a level playing field the only player who would merit a place in the starting squads of Italy, France, and Germany would be Joe Cole. This talented player with his quick feet and great passing ability in the hands of a coach like Marcelo Lippi would have been transformed into a quality holding player. The other way to do this is to develop a midfield that is parallel and consensual and does not depend on just one player as witnessed in Arsenal's game. There is no hierarchy. Unfortunately in England player development becomes subservient to club interests.

Steve McLaren is all to blame

Steve McLaren is complicit as any in making muddled and poor choices and playing players not suited to a team fit. But he is not the only one who is responsible for England's mess.

The FA seems to have become this special interest organization whose primary responsibility seems to be acting as the chief apologist of some special coaches. Or giving credence to yet another fallacy that foreign players are responsible for the decline of the English game on the recommendation of those special coaches. But Brian Barwick has proven to be quite the clown. The FA screwed up with Big Phil and Guus Hiddink last year and in the end bowed to the pressure of pundits who wanted an 'English manager', by making a disastrous choice in Steve McLaren, a middling manager, who never took Boro out of the doldrums.

In the end unreal expectations, mediocrity in the national squad (with a few exceptions), the FA's shortsightedness, and McLaren's blunders cost England dear.

Even though Slaven Bilic's chief scout said that England's only real threat comes from David Beckham's ability to cross the ball Steve McClaren has taken the decision to drop both Becks and Paul Robinson from his squad for the decisive final qualifying fixture against Croatia.

The fifth edition of the Match Against Poverty organised by Zidane and Ronaldo as part of their work with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) ended in a 2 -2 draw.The goals were scored by Zidane,Roque Junior, Julios Dos Santos and Negredo.

Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite scored an amazing goal for Brazil - a 30-metre shot which dipped and swerved away from Peru goalkeeper Diego Penny but Peru equalised through a goal from Juan Vargas.More on the game here..

Remember this:

Alan Curbishley:
14 March 2006 - "I want the England job. I have no idea what will happen next or even where I now stand"

And now:

18 November 2007 -" I'm ruling myself out entirely. This is where I want to be and this is where I want to be successful, so I've got no intention of leaving the club."

Looks like Curbs has seen the light.

The New England Revolutions are in danger of becoming the Buffalo Bills of soccer as they lost their third MLS final in a row. The Houston Dynamo again had the edge when it came to crunch time. Last year, Brian Ching came through in extra time with the equalizer within a minute of Twellman's go ahead goal for the Revs.

This year, the Revs mercifully did not have to wait that long to be done in as Dwayne De Rosario sealed it in regulation time scoring the winning goal through a bullet of a header of a cross by Brad Davis. He managed it while marked by Jay Heaps. Twellman started the Revs in great fashion scoring a goal in the 20th minute off a perfectly placed Steve Ralston cross which he headed into the right hand corner of the goal. Joseph Ngwanya scored the equalizer from a De Rosario cross from the left flank in the 61st minute and 13 minutes later it was De Rosario's turn to score the match winner.

The match report >>

And go here if you want to watch the Goals of the Year. Some fantastic stuff by Blanco, Altidore, Angel, Luciano, and Dichio.

Roberto Donadoni had this to say about the Scottish fans whose exemplary behavior belied the heartbreak they must have felt at losing to Italy on a stoppage time goal by Christian Panucci, the result of an Andrea Pirlo free kick awarded for a dubious foul on Girgio Chellini.

"Scotland's fans showed how to behave and get behind a team. Their correctness gives us all something we can learn from."

The world watched at the horrific turn of events taking place in the Serie last week. Donadoni spoke from the heart when he appealed to the Italian soccer fraternity to control the situation.

"Totally crazy what happened in Bergamo and then in Rome. Something that makes you nauseous and you just want to get it all out."

Indeed. You can show you support and pride for your team whether it is club or country by means other than violence. By praising the Scottish fans, Donadoni was drawing a distinction between how they handled frustration and the recent violence in the Italian league. But before this becomes a tract in EO Wilson's innateness, it is fair to say that Scottish fans have themselves seen quite a bit of violence associated with the legendary Old Firm rivalry with its popular distinction between the Rangers and its Protestant base against the Celtics and their predominantly Catholic hue. Much of the rivalry is reflected in the sectarian nature of their songs but in the past has occasionally spilled into bloodshed. Of course, these distinctions are more nuanced. But if a US president does not do nuance well while sober then large masses of chanting fans fueled by alcohol and bawdy songs should be cut some slack.

However since 2001 there has been no such major outbreaks of violence because of initiatives taken up organizations like Nil by Mouth following Mark Scott's murder in 1995, legislative amendments recognizing sectarianism as a crime, the recording of sectarian offenses, and effective law and order measures to deal with them. In Italy, the security aspect is handled by stewards who are unable to handle large crowds when they riot. The police by default resorts to heavy handed punitive methods that are reactionary which only exacerbates the violence. Whatever the reason whether it is sectarianism or the Ultras that drive soccer violence, preventive law and order measures should be effective in stopping them. The first step in rehabilitating soccer in Italy is to recognize you have a problem which is what Scotland seems to have acknowledged and is now developing secondary and tertiary methods of dealing with it.

As Donadoni put it, "I think that we are hostages of this violence, but we cannot be slaves like this."

"An absolutely magnificent finish. It gets better and better. The magic continues.The gloom is about to be lifted from Winter Park." It was truly a delectable bit of soccer skill shown by David Healy. And yes, the commentators themselves were very entertaining with their comments and their gusts of hysterical laughter.

Steve McLaren praises the Israeli team:

"I would like to pay tribute to Israel for the professional way they went about their job. They showed what a proud nation they are and they deserve a lot of praise for their efforts."

And to dispel the notion that Gordon Brown and company were not paying attention to just any sporting event, this was what David Miliband had to say.

"I want to say thank you very very much to the Israeli football team," Foreign Secretary David Miliband said at a meeting with Israel's defense minister, Ehud Barak. "Now every Englishman is cheering the Israeli nation for their great service to help us."

And an old fashioned bribe.... errr... incentive seems to have worked. Omer Golan who scored the match winner is set to receive English millionaire Fred Done's £50,000 Mercedes as a reward for his goal. On Friday, Done, founder of BetFred.com, offered his prized possession to any Israel player who scored the winner in the game.

Meanwhile Yossi Melman half jokingly conjectures that the win would dampen Israel Russia relations.

"The game against Israel has become a national craze," Israeli Ambassador to Moscow Anna Azari said this weekend. "In the media and on the street the game is the only topic."

Senior officials hinted jokingly to her that if Israel wanted to improve relations with Russia, especially concerning the delicate subject of Iran's nuclear program, it would have done well to see that the game ended with the appropriate score.

It seems everyone and anyone concerned with Russian politics and business was at Ramat Gan to watch the match.

Kommersant befitting its image as the newspaper of the oligarchs was crowing about the GDP of the fans watching the Russia vs Israel match. Their total worth over $150m Amidst them were such moneybags as Roman Abramovich, Mikhail Prokhorov, Leonid Fedun, Lev Levaev, Arkady Gaidamak. The names of other rich and famed are the top secret yet.

But in the end Israel did itself no favours. And Shlomi Barzel gives Dror Kashtan and Israel a reality check.

"If Kashtan continues for another term as national team coach, don't expect any positive answers."

A magnificient 2 goal scoring performance by Juan Román Riquelme took Argentina to a 3 -0 win over Bolivia.Their third successive victory.

Meanwhile Ecuador coach Luis Fernando Suarez called it a day after his side got a 5 - 1 battering (video) from Paraguay.It was Ecuador's third straight defeat and his team was without any points and in the last place.

Israel beat Russia 2 -1 and McClaren has a glimmer of hope.

Captain Steve Ralston has been a New England Rev since 2002 and made three trips to the MLS finals only to lose all of them. Tomorrow he will play in his fourth. During this time he has become the MLS leader in games played, minutes played, and the all time assist leader breaking Carlos Valderrama's record.

For Steve Ralston there probably would be very little that would be sweeter than finally winning the elusive MLS title other than providing the assist for the match winning goal.

In 2004 Boston became only the second city after Pittsburgh to win two major sporting titles when the New England Patriots won the Super Bowl followed by the Boston Red Sox finally laying the Curse of the Bambino to rest. Previously, Pittsburgh in 1979 recorded the first double when the Pittsburgh Steelers won Super Bowl XIV and the Pirates won the World Series.

Boston might get its second major title this year as the New England Revolution take on the Houston Dynamo tomorrow. The Boston Red Sox swept the Colorado Rockies in emphatic fashion on their way to winning this year's World Series. So will mainstream sports pundits sit up and take notice of this rare honour if it does take place.

Not likely. Not when you have Tom Brady and the Pats waiting to take over the Super Bowl as predicted. And in the unlikely event (as unlikely as Dan Quayle developing a brain) that does not happen, then there is the high flying Boston Celtics led by Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce who look unstoppable in their quest to bring the NBA title home after many years. They are the only unbeaten team left. If the Pats and the Celtics can't do it then we still have the Bruins who are struggling a bit in the NHL but are still good enough to head for the playoffs and might morph into the 2005 giant killing Carolina Hurricanes. As per the mainstream sporting media (the MSSM) the real deal is set to happen in 2008.

Be that as it may, if you are a New England Rev fan, it will be a huge event if New England does win and ends its years of futility trying to win the MLS. This is the third year in a row and the fourth time since 2002, New England has made it to the finals and in 2005 they lost to the LA Galaxy and last year they were beaten by the Houston Dynamo.

David Healy's 80th minute goal won Northern Ireland its match against Denmark keeping their hopes alive against group leaders Spain and Sweden. He also scored his 13th goal which set an Euro record breaking Davor Suker's 12 goals established in the 1996 Euro qualifying campaign.

NI's win keep alive their slim chances of qualifying for the Euro. Sweden can get through with a draw against Latvia while NI faces the unenviable task of meeting Spain in its last encounter although their record against the league leaders has been very good with a 3-2 win against Spain and a 2-1 win against Sweden.

If there is one seminal moment that NI will look back with regret in their campaign if they fail in their Euro campaign it will have to be the Keith Gillespie own goal with a minute left in the return match against Iceland that they lost 1-2. A draw would have put them in a great position to challenge Sweden for the second spot. Iceland also proved to be their Achilles heel as Eidur Gudjohnsen put on the performance of his lifetime to beat NI 3-0 at Belfast in their opening encounter.

Christian Panucci celebrates his match winner

Scotland's dreams are dashed as Italy advance to Euro 2008.

If you are the Azzurri the best thing for your team's fortune is to have a crisis in your country involving match fixing or riots which leads to giving of their best. It sounds morbid but with Calcipoli contributing to the Machiavellian nature of the domestic league leading to the tragic attempted suicide of Juventus manager of Gianluca Pessotto and their future livelihood in disarray, the Italian team found itself fielding more questions for its off field activities than for their performances but they soldiered on and under Marcelo Lippi won their fifth Wordl Cup.

In beating the Tartans today, the Azurri were coping with another crisis that brewed in the aftermath of Gabriele Sandri's death. One which has many foreign stars like Kaka and Clarence Seedorf questioning whether the Serie would recover its standing in the world.

Whatever it maybe the Azurri put together an exciting display of attacking soccer with Luca Toni scoring early. Scotland equalized through a Barry Ferguson goal but just as Omer Golan's last gasp goal dashed Russian hopes as a Christian Panucci header in the 91st minute brought Scotland's Euro campaign to a crashing halt.

Steve McLaren can breathe a little easier now as Omer Golan put away the match winning goal in the 91st minute to give Israel one of its most memorable win in its soccer history as they beat a Russian team that looked like Arsenal in its combination play and pinpoint passing but like the Gunners of last season were unable to finish off their chances. One wondered why Aleksandr Kerzhakov was on the bench. On the other hand the Israel squad capitalized on their few chances by mounting effective counterattacks led by Barak Itzhaki and Gal Alberman.

Be that as it may, the win puts England in control of its destiny with a win or even a draw over Croatia at home sealing the second qualifying spot in Group E. For Russia it just got harder as they are behind England in goal differential and tie breaker advantage.

The Israeli squad came out to give its best and it can finish its Euro campaign with its head held high as they play Macedonia in its last fixture. Their squad proved that they were much more than Yossi Benayoun or Roberto Colautti. Dudu Awat again proved to be a bit quicker on the draw than the Russian forwards led by Andriy Arshavin, Roman Pavlyuchenko, and Dmitri Sychev.

One thing the match did was to lay to rest the conspiracy theory that Israel was paid off by Roman Abramovich who virtually underwrites Russian soccer nowadays, to lose the match. He did not look as if he had lost much sleep wondering about that controversy as he watched the match from the stands.

Abramovich must have been displeased by the Russian loss but heartened by the stout display of Tal Ben Haim and starlet Ben Sahar on loan to QPR. Both featured prominently in Israel's win as Ben Haim kept Pavlyuchenko off stride and Sahar had some highlight moments against the Russian defence. As Chelsea's owner Abramovich, enjoys deep ties to the Israeli soccer establishment with Avram Grant the former national coach now Chelsea's coach and Israeli soccer super agent Pini Zahavi a special friend, responsible for introducing Grant to Abramovich Abramovich also sponsors the annual Channel One tournament which last January featured Israeli, Russian, and Ukrainian clubs. With today's display he might want to take a closer look at Maor Bezoglu and Barak Itzakhi for the Chelsea squad.

Japan's coach Ivica Osim is in serious condition following a stroke suffered Friday morning. He is presently in intensive care >>

Roberto Colautti, Argentine born Israeli striker is his team's top scorer

Get ready for a nail biter today as Russia meet Israel in Ramat Gan which can decide not oly Russia's fate but that of England too. Steve McLaren and the English squad will be following this match very closely.

Israeli captain Yossi Benayoun is going to miss this most crucial Group E encounter due to a adductor injury. On this match rests England's sputtering hopes to qualify for Euro 2008. Croatia has already qualified and Russia with its win against England is favoured to win the second spot. England have an outside chance if Russia loses today.

Benayoun's absence means that Israel is missing their talismanic playmaker. At Liverpool, Rafa quickly found out that Benayoun gives the immobile Liverpool midfield a spark of creativity as seen in the match against Wigan, Besiktas, and Fulham recently. In a team that has seen Torres injured and out for protracted spells it has been Benayoun that kept them scoring as exemplified in his splendid solo effort against Wigan.

Benayoun's cohesive play has kept the Israel team going forward even though his statistics might be less than impressive. Idan Tal has stepped up with his match play. Coach Dror Kashtan's team will be boosted by the return of Roberto Colautti back from injury. The Ligal Ha'al's top scorer two seasons ago has been in great nick having scored 6 goals in the last 7 Euro matches. But Kashtan's problems are not the midfield or the attack as he has Ben Sahar and Amit Ben Sushan who have all scored goals. The young striker duo along with Toto Tamuz are part of a strong Israeli nucleus. Kashtan has also called on the services of Bnai Sakhnin's midfielder, Maor Buzaglo. Israel has scored more goals than Russia, 17 to 16.

Israel's bane has been the mistake prone defence that cost them both the matches against Croatia and the embarrassing blow out against England. The defense has given up 11 goals which is more than twice as many as Russia. Shimon Gershon, the experienced central defender is out with an injury and so Kashtan will start Dekel Keinan with Tal Ben Haim in central defense.

Dudu Awat in goal had a phenomenal match against Russia in their previous encounter keeping Andrei Arshavin and Pavel Pogrebnyak at bay. But Sevilla's Aleksandr Kerzakhov has been having a very good run with five goals and Hiddink can also call on super sub Roman Pavlyuchenko who broke English hearts by scoring both goals that gave Russia a come from behind victory. With regular goalie Igor Akinfeev back to bolster the back four of Ignasevich, Anyukov, and the Berezutskiy twins, the Israeli attack will need to be at its most potent to score goals against a rock solid defense that has given up just five goals.

...a player I mean.Michael Owen went out of the friendly against Austria with a strained thigh and will stay out for a month.More bad news for McClaren and England have to face Croatia now without Owen and Wayne Rooney.Here's a look at how some of the players fared in the game against Austria

Video highlights of the game that led to Daniel Passarella quitting as River Plate coach.Modest Argentine side Arsenal Sarandi reached their first international final after beating favourites River Plate on penalties in the Copa Sudamericana.

Another high powered name has fallen victim to this year's topsy turvy Argentine league which sees lesser lights Lanus and Tigre atop the Apertura standings as Daniel Passarella announced that he is quitting as River Plate's coach following their shock defeat at the hands of Arsenal di Sarandi in the Copa Sudamericana. This follows the resignation of Ricardo La Volpe as he saw Velez Sarsfield also fail in its bid to improve its position.

River Plate is now in its sixth year without a major title and the club's primary attack comes from Fernando Belluschi who teamed up with evergreen Ariel Ortega to provide the Apertura with the most potent attack. The most disappointing aspect of River Plate's season so far has been its porous defence that has given up 25 goals that is just three less than cellar dwellers Rosario Central.

This is surprising when you consider that Passarella is possibly Argentina's best known defender, who no quarter was asked of nor did he give any. Captain of the 1978 Argentina World Cup winning squad, he was known for his ferocious tackles, sharp elbows, and attacking capabilities.

Photo of Gabriele Sandri - the disc Jockey from Rome and Lazio fan who was shot in the neck by a police officer when he was sitting in a car that had stopped at a highway rest area near Arezzo in Tuscany.
....and while thousands of mourners turned up for his funeral on wednesday the debate on what must be done to stop soccer violence in Italy rages on.

Barcelona have not won away from home since late September and they finally found a place where they could win.Barcelona beat third-division Alcoyano in the Spanish Cup on Tuesday. It won 3-0.More here...

Wherever Ricardo La Volpe coaches appears to leave a bitter taste in the mouth for that national team or that club. In the 2006 World Cup it was the Mexican national team and La Volpe's bitter feud with Blanco that created a controversy. Last season Boca saw their season implode when all they needed was a win finally losing to Estudiantes. And this time sees La Volpe exiting Velez Sarsfield after they suffered a 0-4 defeat to Boca.

Of course, as his want, La Volpe made himself thoroughly unpopular with the Velez team, criticizing the reserve team which prompted the reserve coach, Omar Asad to fire back, "No one here supports La Volpe, there's no relationship with him."

Watching the Napoli Palermo match on FSC with all its breathtaking up and down soccer and a beauty of a goal scored by Giovanni Tedesco, it appeared that the Serie was humming along very nicely. The only jarring note was the commentator's convoluted British accent. I was looking forward to the Lazio Inter match when the ticker below flashed the information that the match had been called off due to riots following the shooting death of Lazio supporter, Gabriele Sandri, by a policeman. A sense of deja vu settled in.

This is becoming all too commonplace in Italy. With the stench of Calciopoli barely over, Italian soccer has gone through upheavals of violence and each time the authorities have promised that it would never happen again. The violence in Italy appears to be all the more disturbing and out of synch when the rest of Europe is relatively quiet. However the measures have never amounted to enough. The Romano Prodi government and the Italian FA are at loggerheads on how to tackle the problem. The government believes the FA is being too soft suspending Serie B and C matches for just a week.

Last season, Fillipo Raciti, a police officer was killed in riots following a game between Palermo and Catania in Sicily. Under new anti-violence measures this season, some fans have been barred from travelling to games. Fans from Roma and Man Utd turned their CL semi final match into a full fledged brawl with the police beating and bloodying the fans.

In 2005, AC Milan's Brazilian goalkeeper Dida is hit by a flare thrown from the stands in a Champions League match against cross-town rival Inter Milan. The game was called off, the win awarded to AC Milan.

In 2004, the match between AS Roma and Lazio was suspended three minutes into the second half when a false rumour spread through the stadium that police had killed a boy outside the stadium, sparking riots.

It is even more disquieting because the Serie still attracts the best players and even with the ascendancy of the Premiership, many top flight players prefer the Serie for its superior match play. It is little wonder that AC Milan won the CL final beating the top English clubs. However, the recent spate of violence has some of the Serie stars openly talking of how damaging this is for the future of soccer in Italy.

Milan's Brazilian midfielder Kaka said in a newspaper interview yesterday that Italian football was "losing credibility" as a result of the weekend rioting, last year's match-fixing scandal and the death of a policeman in a riot in February. Cannavaro, a Real Madrid defender, added: "We continue to have a less than beautiful image abroad."

But Clarence Seedorf, MIlan's midfielder believes that soccer is being scapegoated and that the malaise is deeper than that. "The people are not happy. They are coming to the stadiums to express their feelings and their feelings are not positive. ... The whole country lacks leadership."

Many believe that the problem lies in the club's patronage of the ultras, a small group of hard core fans, many who get tickets directly from the chairman. Clubs like Lazio and Roma have a long history of racism and violence associated with ultras. Their right wing tendencies were fostered in the time of Benito Mussolini, who saw success in soccer as propaganda to extol the virtues of his dictatorship.

AC Milan prides itself in having a relatively peaceful fan base but in 1995 a Milan supporter knifed Vincenzo Spagnolo, a Genoa supporter. Spagnolo's death sparked a national crisis as riots broke out. At that time, Milan had some of the most rabid ultras called Tiger Commandos or the Red and Black Brigades, who owed allegiance to Silvio Berlusconi, the recently deposed Prime Minister and Milan's owner. The violence was believed to have been an outcome of the deep social and political uncertainty facing Italy in those days, mired in recession and high unemployment rates.

"Last Sunday's spectacle is a snapshot of the general discontent and the distorted conception we have of values and human relationships," wrote the political commentator, Enzo Biagi, in the Corriere della Sera. And with Spagnolo's death, Gazzetta dello Sport, Italy's leading sports daily, urged clubs to cut all ties with the hard-line fan clubs and accused such groups of fostering a climate of hate. "Let's break all links with them {the ultras} and chase them out of the stadiums," it wrote. They both could easily have been talking about the latest outbreak of violence following Sandri's death, twelve years later.

Twelve years later Atalanta's chairman, Ivan Ruggeri wants to do the same and shut down the Ultra section in his stadium. But time and time again, Ultras have proven that they are part and parcel of Italian soccer and in the transient nature of Italian politics with its power vacuum that exists, proven adept at creating another center of power, which they use to draw attention to themselves.

Arsenal go to 27 unbeaten matches with a 3 - 1 victory over Reading.

Rijkaard needs to figure out a solution to this soon. In three games the combined forces of Messi, Thierry Henry and Ronaldinho have failed to score.They managed just one shot between the three of them against Getafe and then two of them were substituted in the second half.The Barca fans are baying for blood and want Jose Mourinho to take over.Goals of Barcelona's 2 - 0 loss to Getafe below.

Seven goals in the game in all but Real Madrid got four out of the seven and that was enough to keep their lead at the head of the pack.Robinho scored two out of the four.Goals below.

Gone in 90 seconds.That's what happened to Blackburn after Ronaldo scored the following two goals.More about the game and what Alex Ferguson was saying etc here..

This brilliant header from Drogba should have been enough to give Chelsea a win over Everton but Cahill brought off a magnificient equaliser with this bicycle kick.[Surely a contender for this week's prize.....! ]

....what that headline is supposed to mean is that they scored 6 goals less than they scored in their last game.Take a look at them beating Fulham 2 - 0

For those who want to look at a more high scoring game here's a video of West Ham giving Derby County a 5 - 0 beating.

...goes to Julio Cruz.It was Inter Milan's third goal against CSKA Moscow.Chivu's left wing corner was flicked into the area by Julio Cruz and Cambiasso thumped the ball past the goalkeeper.Video here..

Etoile Sahel of Tunisia produced a massive upset with a 3-1 away win over holders Al Ahly to win a first African Champions League title on Friday.It was a bitter blow for Al Ahly - they were so near to a record six titles.

Taylor Twellman of New England Revolution scored this against Chicago Fire.The video can be viewed here.A pretty good bicycle kick- the goalie didn't have a chance and one of the defenders almost got his head kicked off as well.That's a good goal and surely worthy of the bicycle kick of the week prize.Ryan Babel of Liverpool also scored two interesting goals this week - namely the two goals he scored against Besiktas - one was a back heel and for the other he didn't use the heel at all,he just used his back...!

McLaren recently paid a visit to Becks and Posh's lavish Hollywood estate. No words were exchanged as McLaren observed Becks playing a game of Twister with Posh. His ankle looked fine. In the afternoon McLaren watched Posh's cocker spaniels getting a manicure and then enjoyed a wine cooler basking on their sun deck.

In the evening he drove Becks SUV to O'Conell's and watched the LA Galaxy play a charity match against Hollywood United. A cam monitored Becks ankle constantly. It looked fine. McLaren had three flagons of Newcastle ale and chicken wings. It cost him 10 quid.

How about that ankle injury?

"I checked on hish injury, the injury ish fine" said McClaren.

More on the match. Beckham's performance was very encouraging as he scored two goals and assisted in three others. In between he took a hefty swipe at 38 year old Frank Lebouef and argued vehemently with the referee against a penalty call. He played 80 minutes which was 67 minutes above average for him against a team whose average age approached 40 years. He showed he was match ready against the likes of Anthony La Paglia who looked very hard nosed in goal. A hawk eyed make up man checked constantly for nose hairs and beads of sweat. Cobi Jones and Landon Donovan played too and Becks gamboled with them looking like a dewy eyed school kid.

His vigorous display impressed Steve McLaren who decided to choose Becks for the England squad against Croatia which puts him closer to the century mark in international caps. As per McLaren this has little to do with sentiment and more to do with form.

"David Beckham is an important player for England, always has been, and he will be again."

How about David Bentley's form?

"Yeah, I think he plays for Blackburn. Its in the north. You know its hard to keep up with young talent when you don't have Setanta or an Oyster Pass. Its a pity but the pound goes a long way across the pond.That's the way the cookie crumbles. He! He!"

F Stan Kroenke is probably feeling the pinch of the depreciated dollar which is now trading at about 2.1 USD per pound. It would make his monetary pitch for Arsenal all the more dearer. At this trading level a US investor would pay 2 billion USD for an outright sale for Man Utd and a smaller club like Birmingham City would be in the region of 400m USD. A year ago, these figures would have been halved.

Most US sports investors are less interested in tradition than they are in a quick turnaround in their investment. Premiership clubs have a huge following in South East Asia and China which is enjoying a boom and most likely money for clubs will come from that region. Or from Dubai where the investment arm of the government of Dubai was interested in acquiring Liverpool before it was sold to Tom Hicks and George Gillette.

So I expect that the US invasion of soccer clubs in England will slow down and the Chinese who are looking for investments in strong currencies will pick up the slack. They are already strong signals that the Chinese who have bought mountains of US debt in bonds are looking elsewhere for their money. Such worries drive the dollar down further.

On the other hand, English investors might want to think about buying a NFL or NBA team or two. A MLS club would be nice too but then overseas players would be expensive if you had to pay transfer fees in a dollar amount. David Beckham's transfer fee with the Euro almost trading at 1.5 USD would have been in the region of 15m.

One of the perks of being a living legend of the game is that you are allowed to have strong opinions.Here are a couple.Pele believes U.S. fans were misled about what David Beckham could bring to Major League Soccer.: 'They announced him [ to the American public] as a scorer of goals. He isn't a goalscorer - that was a mistake.'
Beckham's reply :" The Galaxy brought me in because I'm a football player. Everybody in the world knows I'm not a goal scorer.Everyone has their own opinion. Pele is a great player and a great ambassador for the game."

Pele also contends that England is too quick to blame its managers for underachieving - instead of admitting that the soccer-mad country is starved of talent."England has few very good players.When those players get injured in a tough, long tournament they don't have a player to replace them - that is the big problem in England.Unlike other countries, Brazil in particular, you don't have many choices when either players are off form or not playing well."

Ruud Gullit replaces Frank Yallop as LA Galaxy coach and Alexi Lalas had this to say "There certainly is interest in a high-profile, sexy kind of candidate," Lalas said, explaining what he meant by sexy as someone "with a personality, character, interesting, creative, innovative and that will bring something different to the Galaxy."

But if Ruud Gullit's life is any indication then he is more at ease fighting adversity and authority. It makes him a maverick. He has never been too comfortable with money or star power which accounts for his very short stints as player manager at Chelsea where he butted heads with the administration reportedly over compensation and was sacked without warning in his second season and then at Newcastle where he was at loggerheads with star players like Alan Shearer leaving him out of the starting squad. He resigned in his second season. He never established himself as a tactician relying more on his own personal charisma and strength of personality to achieve results.

One of his many admirers is the political activist and soccer writer Eduardo Galeano who lauded him for his principled stand combating racism and the obscene amounts of money corrupting the game. Gullit dedicated his 1987 Player of the Year award to Nelson Mandela and sang anti apartheid songs at concerts between matches. Gullit also suffered three potentially career ending knee surgeries and each time was written off except that he kept making comebacks because his desire to continue playing was so strong. Galeano points to a lifelong tendency of being headstrong and opinionated leading to frequent clashes with other players and managers.

One of the relationships that will be closely watched will be the one between Alexi Lalas, the bombastic and often combative GM of the LA Galaxy whose own tenure has been dogged by his over optimistic Beckham projections. Presently, Becks MLS career and 'damp squib' are synonymous. Lalas had a very intrusive relationship with Yallop which was marked with a lot of anxiety over Yallop's struggle with balancing out the rest of the no name team with the star power of Beckham.

Ruud Gullit is a strong personality who obviously cherishes his independence and Lalas and the AEG management will have to respect that. Any amount of perceived intrusion and the relationship will go south rapidly. Another factor is that Gullit's stature as a player was second to none and he remains a huge fan favourite in Netherlands and in Europe. He is used to receiving adulation and it will be interesting to see how his association with Beckham plays out. If history is any indicator then Becks will receive no favours.

All said and done, the LA Galaxy is now on steroids as one of the most recognized names in soccer and the progenitor of "sexy football" is the coach of a team that boasts one of the most recognized names on the planet. In a city whose paparazzi live on adrenaline drips and doses of never ending gossip. How does this translate to taking an average LA Galaxy out of the doldrums? Time will tell. For Alexi Lalas, one warning note- higher the climb, steeper the fall.

I don't think there are too many coaches that can really say that fealty to a player has proven to have cost them not once but twice. It does look like Bruce Arena like George Bush prizes loyalty rather than competence. Reyna proved to be Arena's undoing at the 2006 World Cup with his pallid form and insipid captaincy. Reyna already slowed down by multiple knee injuries left Man City. He retired from international soccer.

Arena was forced to resign as national coach after that disastrous World Cup campaign which unraveled very quickly against the Czech Republic with the Jan Koller goal and was bookended by a uninspired display against Ghana, summed up by Haminu Dramani's hustle sweeping the ball away from Reyna's feet, leaving him in the dust, and scoring Ghana's first goal. Reyna suffered a knee injury and had to be stretchered off.

Reyna then became the Red Bulls designated player joining Juan Pablo Angel another player with extensive Premiership experience. Whereas the Colombian became an instant catalyst for the New York attack, Reyna in his 21 games scored no goals and even worse, as a playmaker provided 3 assists. Compare this to Angel's 19 goals and 5 assists. We can make a case for Reyna providing the cohesion to the midfield but his frailty was always a sticking point.

There are many reasons given for Arena's departure including an almost indifferent preparation towards the New England playoffs but once again the player that he reposed most faith in Claudio Reyna in an eerie play out of the World Cup suffered a pulled hamstring within half an hour and had to be replaced by Mathis. Two crucial matches and Reyna comes up short through injury. Red Bulls once again fail to advance in the playoffs.

After yesterday's ignominous shellacking by Liverpool in the CL qualifiers, Besiktas who lost by a record 8 goals, suffered a controversial defeat to one of their fiercest rivals, Fenerbache. An injury time equalizer by Argentinian striker Higuain was disallowed because of a previous foul on a Fenerbache player. Replays showed that there was no foul. This was the first loss in 7 years in Kadikoy for Besiktas.

Besiktas is the oldest sporting club founded in 1902 and its most famous supporter is Kemal Attaturk, Turkey's founding father and it is claimed that its fans include Pervez Musharraf, the military ruler of Pakistan.

In another other development, Besiktas president Yildirim Demiroren stated that players could be axed following the record defeat by Liverpool.

Wow. Sir Alex and Sepp Blatter decide to support one another in their effort to curtail the number of foreign players in a league defying EU employment regulations. Sir Alex issued a BNP like statement when he said, "But, for the good of the game in England, it would be good to see more home-based players at the top clubs."

This high minded statement invoking nationalism and nostalgia seems to have been lost on Sir Alex in the off season when he went into panic mode to bolster his striker corps. Considering his statement "it would be good to see more home-based players at the top clubs" his obvious choice should have been Darren Bent who scored regularly for relegation bound Charlton Athletic. In reality, his two biggest targets were Carlos Tevez and Dimitar Berbatov. He is willing to pay 30m for a permanent transfer for Tevez who has become central to Man Utd's chances of lifting their tenth title just like Cristiano Ronaldo's form was instrumental in their success last season. As did Eric Cantona in 1992. Bent might have been home based but obviously he was not good enough for Sir Alex. In a roundabout way, Sir Alex's statement also ridicules home based players who might want to play for another club, like Gareth Bale who chose Spurs even as Man Utd pursued him and matched their offer.

Lets see where this statement stands. By "for the good of the game in England" it would mean long balls to a couple of players who by their dint of being a few inches taller could conceivably nod it into goal. Or is it England's last success at the 1966 World Cup when Sir Alf Ramsey employed wingers in a quaint 5-3-2 formation? Is Sir Alex asking English soccer to go back to those days? Or is it nostalgia for hooliganism? Or Lee Bowyer like racism? Maybe Sir Alex should have held back on throwing that shoe at Beckham? Or taught Ronaldo not to dive and play the game somewhat more upright for the good of the game in England?

Lets further debunk the myth of Sir Alex further giving the nod to home based players. In the last 7 seasons the only home based transfers have been Luke Steele, Rio Ferdinand, Alan Smith, Wayne Rooney, Ben Foster, Michael Carrick, and Owen Hargreaves. Out of them only two start the Man Utd squad. The other 25 transfers are foreign based. It was all going swimmingly well for Sir Alex till the 2001-2002 season when Arsenal won and from thereon, it became an Arsenal and Chelsea show for the title. Not coincidentally that is when Sir Alex decided to jettison the home based players and open up to all the foreign transfers. He figured it would pay dividends and it did.

Much of what was good for the English game seems to be an abstraction. England was never very good in soccer and it really makes no difference even with all the foreign players in the league nowadays. English talent will find its way to the top even though Arsenal or Liverpool may take more foreign players. In the end it is Peter Crouch, Theo Walcott, and Paul Robinson playing in the English squad and not Didier Drogba, Nani, or Petr Cech.

But patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel. "For the good of the game in England" is a nice rallying cry to those clubs who genuinely can't afford the transfer fees of the foreign players but lets not get fooled, when push comes to shove, Sir Alex and Man Utd will be looking for their next high priced acquisition anywhere else except Old Blighty.

Juliano Belletti from Barcelona to Chelsea leads a group of attacking defenders

From Noe Pamarot's 30 yard screamer that initiated the thorough dismantling of Newcastle in the first 15 minutes of their match with Portsmouth to Luke Young's long range bullet that ripped the net, spoiling Juande Ramos debut for Tottenham, the Premiership is producing spectacular goals from stratospheric distances combining deadly power and a precision that often times has the goalie in the role of a helpless bystander.

There are indications that the quality of goals has much to do with the ball. This is the third season of the Nike Total 90 Aerow Premiership Ball and the manufacturers claim that it is designed to dramatically reduce drag, resulting in better accuracy and increased velocity, thanks to its "exclusive Geo Balanced Technology featuring six double-hex panels... The casing is hand-stitched with high performance PU materials with linear grooves for consistent sustained flight." In short, this ball flies and swerves if you know how to leash it.

Increasing familiarity with this type of ball has led to the realization that a toe tap could send it to the third row of the Emirates. An inveterate hoofer like John Arne Riise has come closer to the target as seen in the match against Arsenal rather than his usual NASA expedition. Even headers that have everything to do with placement seem to have a bullet like quality. Witness Clint Dempsey in the match against Spurs that sparked the Cottagers stirring comeback.

But a full realization of the capabilities of the ball only tells a partial story behind the spate of spectacular goals. Last years scoring by defenders was led by Matt Taylor and there is little doubt that he must have led the league in scoring long range blasts. He seemed to herald this season's scoring. Defenders are now scoring highlight goals on a regular basis. Alex opened his scoring for Chelsea against Boro with a booming free kick that swerved past Schwartzer. George McCartney scored his first goal in seven years with a sweetly struck side volley which put West Ham in the drivers seat against Bolton. It is not just that defenders are scoring but they are doing so with elan.

Defenders like Eboue, Arca, Koumas, Kaboul, Bale,and Belletti seem to have shrugged off the traditionally circumscribed roles that defenders play in the English league and are increasingly foraying up front playing an active role in developing and executing attacks. When defenders score, they come from set pieces like corners and Joleon Lescott, Martin Laursen, and Rio Ferdinand have been on target this season. Some of the execution is strategic as in Wenger's development of Eboue into a wingback following Thierry Henry's departure.

But goals like the one that Belletti scored against Wigan indicate an assertive group of defenders that seem to enjoy their time up front. Belletti's exceptional run deep in the midfield, accelerating past the Wigan defense, and then finishing off superbly with a powerful curling kick is similar to Gareth Bale's forays up front. In the same match in which Dempsey scored his header leading Fulham's charge, it was the Cottagers rocking back on their heels initially with an outstanding goal by Bale, an outcome of his teamwork with Keane and his desire to score. Glen Johnson at Portsmouth looked like Maradona sashaying his way through defenders on his way to scoring against Wigan. This is not the traditional route of a defender in an English club. He usually hands off the ball a few standard deviations past halfline.

This year's Premiership is open and exciting because clubs like Blackburn and Portsmouth are benefiting from defenses that provide additional heft to attackers like Roque Santa Cruz and Benjani. On a cautionary note, defenders need to do their job. The Spurs defense seem to have taken their attacking role to heart but have failed to keep the ball out of goal.

Besiktas are the champions of Turkey.Liverpool made them look like turkeys.The final score was 8- 0 in a game that was supposed to be make or break for Liverpool as far as staying in the CL was concerned.Goals below and a good writeup here..

Bruce Arena resigned as New York Red Bulls manager and sporting director Monday, two days after the team was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs for the second straight year - losing 1 -0 to the New England Revolution.

...A goal from Henry and two free kicks from Ronaldinho took Barcelona to one point behind the leaders Real Madrid.Goals below.

The goals of the game that keep Arsenal on course for the 49 game record. Ferguson was incredulous. “I can’t believe it, we played some lovely football and threw it away. They got out of jail.”

Zidane is the world ambassador the French company Danone which has tied up with Egypt's National Council for Childhood and Motherhood to provide handicapped and homeless children with shelter, health care and education.
Zidane was in Cairo on Thursday to launch a home for handicapped street children.Cairo has between 200,000 and one million street children, according to the UN's children agency UNICEF.
And that's not all.Apart from other things Zidane is also part of a programme for disadvantaged kids called the called Right To Play.

Well, I am back after spending a great deal of my life producing a play called The Leopard and The Fox. Its gotten rave reviews including a really good one from the New York Times. Tomorrow is the last show and I can truly tell you that I have missed blogging about my favourite passion.

But, tomorrow is the big game that everyone and anyone who follows these two teams is waiting for with bated breath. And it's not just the two best teams in the Premiership with a huge stake in winning it all, its two teams playing breathtaking soccer. Arsenal with their seamless passing game are finally finishing off chances (although watching Liverpool there were at least three occasions when the Gunners could have iced the game) and Man Utd have come alive with their explosive attack having obliterated their opposition in the last four games. But it is their stifling defence that has kept them alive through their goal drought.

In the not so recent past Arsenal Man Utd encounters have been testy and provocative affairs with personalities like RVN and Patrick Vieira squaring off adding to all the drama. Tomorrow's match does not have those sort of personalities although I do remember Eboue getting fresh with Rooney last season. Arsenal's game is defined by unassuming Cesc Fabregas' pinpoint passing and recent goal scoring prowess. Man Utd's man of the hour is Carlos Tevez, who with his pumping legs has turned into Rooney's provider as well as slotting some of his own.

So does Wenger go with a 4-4-2 with Eduardo pairing up with Adebayor or a 4-4-1-1 with Hleb playing just behind Adebayor? I prefer the latter because although Eduardo has been impressive in the CL games, he is still to find his Premiership legs and this match is just too important. Arsenal's chances noticeably improved after Theo Walcott's introduction in the Liverpool game and his speed down the right widens the game. He has been in very good nick and has become much more self confident. Tomas Rosicky's more direct approach has been a bit inconsistent and if he is to be substituted Wenger could consider versatile Abou Diaby taking his place too.

Arsenal's blown coverage led to the Gerrard goal and this time they will have to deal with Cristiano Ronaldo and the wily Ryan Giggs who can punish them with mistakes like that. Rio and Nemanja Vidic are the danger men on corner kicks so the Arsenal defense has to be extra vigilant in these circumstances. Without RVP, Man Utd enjoys an edge in set pieces.

Look for the Man Utd midfield and defence to scramble and run hard at Arsenal's superior open field play to disrupt their passing game and close down the lanes. I predict hard tackles, frayed tempers, and two very animated managers with Sir Alex's chewing down hard on a wad of gum and Wenger pacing the sidelines.

Hold onto your chairs as tomorrow's game promises to be one for the ages! As an Arsenal fan, I am going to go for a 2-1 verdict in favour of Arsenal. What's your bet?

While Real Madrid were making history beating Valencia by 5 goals Barcelona were making heavy weather of beating a very lowly Valladolid in the race for the Spanish Title.In fact Joseba Llorente scored first for Valladolid and Barca were eventually able to make it a one all draw thanks to a goal from Ronaldinho.Rijkaard had words to say to his team.[Not a very good] video below...

Arsenal began proceedings with a goal from Eduardo that went in like a bullet from a gun.They then dismantled Sheffield United 3 - 0.

Chelsea had to labour a bit for their win over Leicester City - who scored the first goal.But Lampard saved the day with a hat trick.Final score 4 -3 .

In the Serie A and in the La Liga respectively.[Just in case somebody was thinking they were playing each other...!].AC Milan set aside the stories of crises and desperate home form to thrash Sampdoria 5-0 away and Real Madrid bashed and embarrassed Valencia at home by beating them 5 -1 . The A C Milan goals can be seen here and the Real Madrid collection can be seen here.