09.11.06
EPL Weekend Recap
After a week off, the English Premier League returned with plenty of action and comical goalkeeping. Everton, Portsmouth and Manchester United all went top after their respective matches.
However, this was not a weekend in which everyone would escape unharmed. In a weekend where a player died in a Conference North match and another suffered cardiac arrest in a Scottish First Division tie, Jimmy Bullard’s knee injury, no matter how severe it looked, was far from life-threatening.
09.08.06
Today’s News: September 8
Jim Brennan becomes the first player to sign for Toronto FC [TSN]
Didier Agathe has been offered a place to bring his pace and, uh, his pace by Aston Villa. [The Mirror]
Thomas Gravesen fails to realize that people are able to watch games featuring Real Madrid in other countries. [Sporting Life]
William Gallas continues to upset Chelsea by saying he is willing to play left back for Arsenal. [Sky Sports]
I will be ready to buy those tickets for the 3004/05 season at Liverpool’s new stadium. [Soccernet]
5 Intriguing Matches This Weekend
Atletico Madrid v. Valencia – Two teams expected to contend for the title battle it out at the Vicente Calderon. Sergio Aguero picked up an injury in training this week and will be on the bench, while Mista looks to get revenge on the team that thought he was not good enough after scoring 19 goals for Valencia three seasons ago. Joaquin and Maniche could make their debuts for the visitors. One would expect a few goals in this match.
Derby County v. Sunderland -Â Roy Keane makes his managerial debut at Pride Park. Only Dwight Yorke out of his six late signings will not make their debut against the Rams as Sunderland looks to escape the relegation zone in the Championship.
Fiorentina v. Inter Milan – The Nerazzuri begin their defense of the Scudetto against strugglers Fiorentina. Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Hernan Crespo should be among the Inter players making their debuts, while Adrian Mutu will partner Luca Toni in attack for the Viola.
Rimini v. Juventus – The long road back to Serie A begins for strugglers Juventus. They are already many, many points behind their newly-promoted hosts Rimini. At least the Bianconeri get to start in one of the most scenic locations in world football.
Nacional v. Tacuary – The Tricolor get to defend the Unofficial World Club Championship against an unpredictable Tacuary side. The sides sit 5th and 4th respectively in the Apertura table, so it could go either way.
EPL Preview Weekend 3
The third weekend of matches in the English Premier League is, quite frankly, filled with plenty of matches of little interest for the neutral fan. Of course the Merseyside derby and Manchester United hosting Spurs should keep matters somewhat interesting.
Read the rest of this entry »
09.07.06
Utter Humiliation
Forgotten in the midst of Euro 2008 qualifiers were qualifiers for next year’s Asian Cup, which will be hosted by four seperate countries.
Now the title of this post refers to an Australian team at almost full strength being dominated by the 96th ranked team in the world, Kuwait. The 2-0 win for the Gulf nation was a modest scoreline, but it puts them on the verge of qualification.
The Gulf seemed to be home to all sorts of humbling last night. Iraq’s 2-2 draw kept them top of Group E, but it was against Palestine. China could have overtaken them, but they could not breakthrough against Singapore.
Qatar qualified for the finals with a 3-0 over Bangladesh, while Hong Kong and Uzbekistan will continue to battle for second in Group F after a 0-0 draw.
The United Arab Emirates are qualified after their scoreless draw with Jordan, and Oman’s 5-0 destruction of Pakistan put them on the verge of qualification in Group C.
Group B, not so competitive. South Korea laid the hammer down on Chinese Taipei 8-0 with a hat-trick from Jung Jo-Gook, while Seol Hi-Kyeon and Choe Jae-Jin contributed two goals a piece. Iran, meanwhile, beat Syria 2-0.
In Group A, India made the mistake of taking the early lead in Saudi Arabia and fell to a 7-1 defeat which put the Saudis through. Japan were nearly held by Yemen, but they advanced thanks to a stoppage time goal from Okinawan Kazuki Ganaha.
Today’s News: September 7
After beating Spain, Northern Ireland manager Lawrie Sanchez may decide to he has had enough with the local press. [The Irish Times]
Pedro Mendes thought about quitting after being on the receiving end of a Ben Thatcher Elbow of Mass Destruction™. [BBC]
Steeeeeeeed Malbranque has celebrated leaving Fulham by going under the knife. [Sporting Life]
Frank Lampard is getting tired of people criticizing him because he is not scoring enough deflected goals for England. [The Daily Telegraph]
Torino have sacked Gianni De Biasi, despite the fact the Serie A season has not yet begun. [Sky Sports]
09.06.06
Midweek Euro 2008 Qualifying Recap
On a night in which a mountain top in Italy was destroyed to the tune of 13-0 by Germany, there were actually interesting games being played.
Ten-man Portugal escaped with a point in Helsinki, while Alexei Eremenko came on as a sub despite hating Finland.
Daniel Van Buyten’s goal four minutes before halftime was enough to give Belgium a 1-0 win over Armenia.
In Group B action, Ukraine came from a goal down to beat Georgia 3-2. While Scotland continued their good start with a 2-1 win over Lithuania.
In Group C, Norway won their second match in the group over Moldova, while Hungary handily beat ten-man Bosnia 3-1.
Peter Crouch’s 11th international goal in ten matches was enough for England to see off Macedonia. While Andorra actually scored a goal…in a 4-1 defeat to Israel.
The two most surprising results of the night were surprising for different reasons. Sidney Govou inspired France to a 3-1 win over Italy with a brace, with Thierry Henry adding a third. Although it is early days, Italy may now face a struggle to qualify.
The most shocking result was Northern Ireland’s 3-2 triumph over Spain. David Healy scored a sensational hat-trick at Windsor Park to leave the Spanish stunned.
Today’s News: September 6
After an impressive showing in the FIFI Wild Cup, Gibraltar hopes to attain UEFA membership in January. [BBC]
Sevilla striker Fredi Kanoute will only wear a sponsorless shirt, as endorsing a gambling company would contradict his religious beliefs. [Daily Mirror]
Gilberto has never heard of Brazilian prospect Denilson. [Sky Sports]
Bamber Bridge hates football. [Leyland Today]
The Portuguese Football Federation wants to be above the law to keep their teams in Europe. [International Herald Tribune]
09.05.06
The New Zealand Knights, Now 600% Better
A late Malik Buari strike provided the home side with something more than a win, confidence that they belonged in the two-year old league.
With just two rounds gone, the New Zealand Knights have already shattered their record for home wins in a season, which now stands at one. Adelaide United were the first visiting team to lose in A-League action at North Harbour Stadium; a landmark they will surely not want to be remembered for.
The Knights now sit third in the A-League table with twice as many points taken at home (four) than they took all of last season (two) in ten matches, and they now sit on pace for 42 points.
Next up for the Knights are the Melbourne Victory, and hopefully more than 4,100 fans show up to the fortress North Harbour Stadium.
Today’s News: September 5
A dodgy transfer of a player moving to Europe from another continent; who guessed Hibs would be involved? Anyone? [BBC]
Reknowned slave trader Raymond Domenech has defended his property (William Gallas) from Chelsea’s accusations. [Soccernet]
Macedonia are already being threatened with sanctions for racism ahead of their match with England. This is going to end badly. [FOXSports.com]
Diego Tristan is considering a move to the Premiership, but he may be having second thoughts once he knows who is interested. [Sky Sports]
After helping Finland beat Poland, Alexei Eremenko announces that he hates Finland and wished he chose to play for Russia. [The Guardian]
