Liverpool remains on the top of the league by defeating Bolton 3-0 at Anfield. Robbie Keane scored two goals in the second half to take his tally to 3 goals in two matches. Liverpool dominated the match and deserved to win. Chelsea played very professionally to defeat West Brom 2-0. Chelsea scored both goals in the first half. Manchester United overcame the jetlag to defeat Stoke 1-0. Tevez scored the winner in the 84th minute. But the turning of the match was sent off of Wilkinson. He needlessly fouled Ronaldo in the 72nd minute for his second yellow card. With this defeat Stroke moved into the relegation zone. It will be very difficult for them to move out of this zone.
Manchester City crushed Hull 5-1. Caicedo and Robinho scored twice. They were leading 4-0 at halftime. Manchester city have to be consistent to finish on the top. They moved out of the relegation zone. But Hull started to slip. This is their second consecutive big defeats. They now conceded 9 goals in last two matches after drawing 2-2 with Liverpool. It will not be easy for them to qualify for Europe if they do not improve.
Arsenal and Aston Villa played a thrilling 2-2 draw. Aston Villa should have won this match. They have hot the crossbar thrice in the first half. Aston Villa are now placed fourth whereas Arsenal is lying in the fifth position.
Everton moved quietly in the sixth position with a 1-0 victory over Middlesbrough. Middlesbrough is now lying 17th position. Tottenham who played a 0-0 draw with Fulham is in the 16th position. Middlesbrough, Tottenham, and Stroke all have 20 points. Sunderland played a 0-0 draw with Blackburn who is still in the relegation zone.
Wigan defeated Newcastle 2-1 and West Ham defeated Portsmouth 4-1 to register valuable win.
More excitement will be on Sunday. I will be more interested in the relegation zone battles.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Exciting Relegation Fight
Chelsea again missed the opportunity to go the top. They drew 0-0 with Everton. Chelsea played with 10 men for 55 minutes as their captain Terry was shown red card. Chelsea for the first time dropped points in an away match this season. Liverpool maintains their slender lead over Chelsea. They are now going for Boxing Day match as league leaders. Liverpool played 1-1 draw with Arsenal at emirates. Manchester United who won the World club championship will be most benefited team with the above results. They are now 7 points behind the leader Liverpool with 2 matches in hand.
The most intriguing fight this year will be the relegation fight. It is very difficult to say who will go down at this stage. Hull who is in the sixth position with 27 points is just 9 points away from the relegation zone. West Bromwich Albion is at the bottom with 15 points 1 point behind Blackburn Rovers. The two rounds in the Christmas time will determine who is going to down. Manchester City with 18 points is the third team in the danger zone. But I believe they will come out of this. Stroke who is lying fifteenth with 20 points will be the team most likely to be in the danger zone.
Will Liverpool able to maintain the lead in the half way stage or not we have to wait and see.
The most intriguing fight this year will be the relegation fight. It is very difficult to say who will go down at this stage. Hull who is in the sixth position with 27 points is just 9 points away from the relegation zone. West Bromwich Albion is at the bottom with 15 points 1 point behind Blackburn Rovers. The two rounds in the Christmas time will determine who is going to down. Manchester City with 18 points is the third team in the danger zone. But I believe they will come out of this. Stroke who is lying fifteenth with 20 points will be the team most likely to be in the danger zone.
Will Liverpool able to maintain the lead in the half way stage or not we have to wait and see.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Manchester United is English, European and World champions
Manchester United has defeated Liga de Quito of Ecuador1-0 in the final of World Club Cup. They become the second European club to win the championships. AC Milan defeated Boca Juniors in 2007 4-2 to become the first European winners of the FIFA Club World Cup Liverpool in 2005 and Barcelona in 2006 lost in the final to the South American opponents.
Manchester United played with 10 men for most part of the second half as Nemanja Vidic is shown a straight red for an elbow aimed at Claudio Bieler. Rooney scored the winner with a brilliant strike in the 73rd minute. With this strike Manchester United crowned champions of England, champions of Europe and champions of the world.
Manchester United played with 10 men for most part of the second half as Nemanja Vidic is shown a straight red for an elbow aimed at Claudio Bieler. Rooney scored the winner with a brilliant strike in the 73rd minute. With this strike Manchester United crowned champions of England, champions of Europe and champions of the world.
What a draw?
There will be some mouth watering ties in the Champions league. The ties will be played in the last week of February and second week of March. But as a fan it is really hard to wait for so long. Some of the matches will be real cracker. It is very difficult to say who will win in these ties.
Chelsea will have to improve their home form against Juventus if they want to progress to the quarterfinal. Juventus won both their match against Real Madrid. Chelsea on the other hand had struggled to qualify. But it will be a superb match to watch. But I believe Chelsea can make it last eight.
The most interesting match will be Manchester United against Inter Milan. This match is popularly known as Mourhinho versus Ferguson. Mourhinho wanted an English club before the draw. So he may have something on his mind. It will be very difficult to predict the winner for this match. Inter is going great guns in Seria A way ahead of its rival Juventus and AC Milan. On the other hand Manchester United is having an average season so far. They are lying third in the EPL. Inter Milan is favorite in this match for me.
Arsenal will have a difficult time against Roma. It will be a tricky match. Though Arsenal played some superb matches especially against bigger opponents but they lacked consistency. Arsenal has to play brilliantly to win this tie. Roma who started the season disastrously has made an excellent recovery. Roma will start as favorite for this match.
Liverpool will start as favorite against Real Madrid. Ramos will eager to proof that his failure with Spurs is just one off incident in his career. Rafa Benitez should guide his team to last eight of the Champions league.
The above four matches have taken so much attention that people will hardly notice there are four more matches to be played. For me the tournament favorite Barcelona will cruise easily to the last eight. Lyon may not able to put any real challenge to them. Atletico Madrid, Bayern Munich, and Villarreal should win their respective ties against FC Porto, Sporting Lisbon, and Panathinaikos respectively.
Chelsea will have to improve their home form against Juventus if they want to progress to the quarterfinal. Juventus won both their match against Real Madrid. Chelsea on the other hand had struggled to qualify. But it will be a superb match to watch. But I believe Chelsea can make it last eight.
The most interesting match will be Manchester United against Inter Milan. This match is popularly known as Mourhinho versus Ferguson. Mourhinho wanted an English club before the draw. So he may have something on his mind. It will be very difficult to predict the winner for this match. Inter is going great guns in Seria A way ahead of its rival Juventus and AC Milan. On the other hand Manchester United is having an average season so far. They are lying third in the EPL. Inter Milan is favorite in this match for me.
Arsenal will have a difficult time against Roma. It will be a tricky match. Though Arsenal played some superb matches especially against bigger opponents but they lacked consistency. Arsenal has to play brilliantly to win this tie. Roma who started the season disastrously has made an excellent recovery. Roma will start as favorite for this match.
Liverpool will start as favorite against Real Madrid. Ramos will eager to proof that his failure with Spurs is just one off incident in his career. Rafa Benitez should guide his team to last eight of the Champions league.
The above four matches have taken so much attention that people will hardly notice there are four more matches to be played. For me the tournament favorite Barcelona will cruise easily to the last eight. Lyon may not able to put any real challenge to them. Atletico Madrid, Bayern Munich, and Villarreal should win their respective ties against FC Porto, Sporting Lisbon, and Panathinaikos respectively.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Liverpool Leads ...
Big guns in EPL win this week to create a gap with the other teams. All the big guns struggled to script a victory. Liverpool win 3-1 against Blackburn to ease the nerve of the fans. They drew 0-0 in their last two home matches. Arsenal recorded 1-0 win over Wigan but they played very poorly in the second half. Arsenal time and again showing their inconsistency in the field. They played superbly against Chelsea last week.
Manchester United dominated the match against Sunderland but could score only in the 91st minute. Chelsea survived the storm of Bolton in the second half to win 2-0. Hull city continues to impress and recorded 2-1 win over Middlesbrough. All the goals were scored in the last quarter of the match.
Newcastle squandered their winning changes by surrendering their 2-0 advantage against Stroke city. Owen scored both the goals in the first half for Newcastle. Ab Faye scored in the injury time to give Stroke a point. Manchester United drew 1-1 draw with Fulham and they are very much in the relegation fight. They are just 3 points away from the relegation zone.
In Spain, Barcelona is breaking free from others. Their emphatic 4-0 win at home to third-place Valencia. Henry scored a hattrick. Barcelona has opened up a 6 points lead over second place Villarreal who drew 3-3 with Getafe.
In Germany, Bayern Munich registered a 2-1 win over league leaders TSG Hoffenheim. Bayern now are level in points with TSG Hoffenheim who has a better goal difference. The two teams are 3 points ahead of Bayer Leverkusen who registered an emphatic 3-1 victory over Borussia M'gladbach.
In Italy, Inter Milan is racing away towards the title. They defeated Lazio 3-0 to open a 9 point lead over Juventus and AC Milan. Both Juventus and AC Milan have a match in hand. Roma continues to fight back with a 1-0 win over bottom placed Chievo.
Manchester United dominated the match against Sunderland but could score only in the 91st minute. Chelsea survived the storm of Bolton in the second half to win 2-0. Hull city continues to impress and recorded 2-1 win over Middlesbrough. All the goals were scored in the last quarter of the match.
Newcastle squandered their winning changes by surrendering their 2-0 advantage against Stroke city. Owen scored both the goals in the first half for Newcastle. Ab Faye scored in the injury time to give Stroke a point. Manchester United drew 1-1 draw with Fulham and they are very much in the relegation fight. They are just 3 points away from the relegation zone.
In Spain, Barcelona is breaking free from others. Their emphatic 4-0 win at home to third-place Valencia. Henry scored a hattrick. Barcelona has opened up a 6 points lead over second place Villarreal who drew 3-3 with Getafe.
In Germany, Bayern Munich registered a 2-1 win over league leaders TSG Hoffenheim. Bayern now are level in points with TSG Hoffenheim who has a better goal difference. The two teams are 3 points ahead of Bayer Leverkusen who registered an emphatic 3-1 victory over Borussia M'gladbach.
In Italy, Inter Milan is racing away towards the title. They defeated Lazio 3-0 to open a 9 point lead over Juventus and AC Milan. Both Juventus and AC Milan have a match in hand. Roma continues to fight back with a 1-0 win over bottom placed Chievo.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Fustration for Liverpool
Frustration continues for Liverpool. Liverpool fans booed their team off the ground. I can understand their disappointment. This is their team second successive 0-0 draw. Against Fulham and West Ham they are supposed to win at home if they want to win the Premier League after 20 years. Torres is out so it is tough time for Liverpool ahead. They must win against Blackburn to regain their confidence. They started the season with a bang. Suddenly, their fighting spirit is seems vanishing. They are missing Torres very much. Keane I am not sure whether he alone can make a team champion. Liverpool needs to pull their socks up quickly to regain their confidence otherwise we may see another triumph by Chelsea or Manchester United.
Scolari are u there? What happened to your team? Just 1 point in their last two home matches. But still they have the ammunition to hold on their current position. Manchester United is coming strong now. They are just 6 points behind Liverpool with 1 match ion hand. Arsenal bumpy performance continues. But their win over Chelsea will do lot of good to their confidence. They have beaten Manchester United earlier. The young Arsenal guys have to show consistency if they want to end their trophy drought.
I can see the frustration of Robinho in Manchester City. He should have thought that before joining them. I am not sure how long he will survive their. He has to understand that money always do not bring success. Will Kaka join him? I have a doubt…
Scolari are u there? What happened to your team? Just 1 point in their last two home matches. But still they have the ammunition to hold on their current position. Manchester United is coming strong now. They are just 6 points behind Liverpool with 1 match ion hand. Arsenal bumpy performance continues. But their win over Chelsea will do lot of good to their confidence. They have beaten Manchester United earlier. The young Arsenal guys have to show consistency if they want to end their trophy drought.
I can see the frustration of Robinho in Manchester City. He should have thought that before joining them. I am not sure how long he will survive their. He has to understand that money always do not bring success. Will Kaka join him? I have a doubt…
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
13 out 16 spots sealed
Most of the favorites have reached the last 16. The teams ensured their qualification are Arsenal, Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, Juventus, Liverpool, Lyon, Manchester United, FC Porto, Real Madrid, Sporting Lisbon, and Villarreal. Three spots are still vacant. Chelsea is one of the big names yet to ensure qualification.
In Group A, Chelsea played a 1-1 draw with spirited Bordeaux. Lampard was sent off. Roma is now leading the group with a facile 3-1 win over CFR Cluj-Napoca. Chelsea fustrating season continues as they were held 0-0 by Newcastle in the premier league last Saturday. AS Roma, Chelsea and Bordeaux all have chance to qualify for the next round.
In Group B, Anorthosis Famagusta continues to surprise us. They are only themselves to blame after drawing 2-2 with Werder Bremen. Anorthosis Famagusta were leading 2-0 at one point of time. In another match Panathinaikos defeated Inter Milan 1-0 to keep their hope alive. Anorthosis Famagusta also has a chance to make to the next round.
In Group C, Shakhtar Donetsk blanked Basle 5-0 and Barcelona crushed Sporting Lisbon 5-2. Shakhtar Donetsk will surely qualify to the UEFA cup.
In Group D, Gerrard gave Liverpool a 1-0 victory over Marseille and helped them to qualify for the next round. Atletico Madrid also qualified after 2-1 victory over PSV Eindhoven.
In Group E, AaB Aalborg defeated Celtic 2-1 to join Shakhtar Donetsk in the UEFA cup. The two qualifiers Manchester United and Villarreal played a 0-0 draw.
In Group F, Klose scored twice to give Bayern Munich a 3-0 victory over Steaua Bucharest. Toni scored the other. Lyin defeated Fiorentina 2-1 to qualify for the next round along with Bayern Munich.
In Group G, Arsenal put behind their dismal show in the premier league where they lost 0-3 to Manchester City, to defeat Dynamo Kiev 1-0. FC Porto defeated Fenerbahce 2-1. Both arsenal and FC Porto qualified for the next round.
In Group H, Raul led Real Madrid to 1-0 win over BATE Borisov whereas Juventus played a 0-0 draw with Zenit St Petersburg. Real Madrid joined Juventus for the next round.
In Group A, Chelsea played a 1-1 draw with spirited Bordeaux. Lampard was sent off. Roma is now leading the group with a facile 3-1 win over CFR Cluj-Napoca. Chelsea fustrating season continues as they were held 0-0 by Newcastle in the premier league last Saturday. AS Roma, Chelsea and Bordeaux all have chance to qualify for the next round.
In Group B, Anorthosis Famagusta continues to surprise us. They are only themselves to blame after drawing 2-2 with Werder Bremen. Anorthosis Famagusta were leading 2-0 at one point of time. In another match Panathinaikos defeated Inter Milan 1-0 to keep their hope alive. Anorthosis Famagusta also has a chance to make to the next round.
In Group C, Shakhtar Donetsk blanked Basle 5-0 and Barcelona crushed Sporting Lisbon 5-2. Shakhtar Donetsk will surely qualify to the UEFA cup.
In Group D, Gerrard gave Liverpool a 1-0 victory over Marseille and helped them to qualify for the next round. Atletico Madrid also qualified after 2-1 victory over PSV Eindhoven.
In Group E, AaB Aalborg defeated Celtic 2-1 to join Shakhtar Donetsk in the UEFA cup. The two qualifiers Manchester United and Villarreal played a 0-0 draw.
In Group F, Klose scored twice to give Bayern Munich a 3-0 victory over Steaua Bucharest. Toni scored the other. Lyin defeated Fiorentina 2-1 to qualify for the next round along with Bayern Munich.
In Group G, Arsenal put behind their dismal show in the premier league where they lost 0-3 to Manchester City, to defeat Dynamo Kiev 1-0. FC Porto defeated Fenerbahce 2-1. Both arsenal and FC Porto qualified for the next round.
In Group H, Raul led Real Madrid to 1-0 win over BATE Borisov whereas Juventus played a 0-0 draw with Zenit St Petersburg. Real Madrid joined Juventus for the next round.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Arsenal and Tottenham brought down to earth
Tottenham’s golden run under Redknapp was ended by Fulham. They lost the match by 1-2. It all started with an awful error by Heurelho Gomes. He is very inconsistent. If he makes ten saves then he makes two awful mistakes. Though Tottenham played badly compared to their earlier matches under Redknapp and slipped back to relegation zone but it is temporary, they will finish between 8-12th place.
Arsenal is so unpredictable this season. They played superbly against Manchester United in the previous week to win 2-1 but played just the opposite against Villa this week. Villa won 2-0 though they missed a penalty. Aston Villa is lying in the fifth position with 23 points same as Arsenal who slipped to fourth position.
Manchester United thrashed Stroke City 5-0 to move in the third place with 24 points and one match in hand. Stroke defended awfully to gift goals to Manchester United. Ronaldo scored two goals both from free kicks. Chelsea and Liverpool played clinically to remain on the top. Chelsea and Liverpool defeated West Brom by 3-0 and Bolton by 2-0 respectively. Anelka scored twice and he has scored seven goals in last four premier league matches. Kuyt and Gerrard scored goals from header.
Newcastle missed a golden opportunity to win against 10 men Wigan. Bramble scored a dramatic equalizer in the last minute to deny victory to Newcastle. The match ended in 2-2 draw. Cisse scored the winner for Sunderland against Blackburn. Sunderland won 2-1. With this loss Blackburn moved into the relegation zone. Paul Ince now will be under tremendous pressure to give results. West Ham played a 0-0 draw with Portsmouth.
In Spain Valencia was surprised Sporting Gijon and Real Madrid was surprised by Valladolid. Sporting Gijon won the match by 3-2. Luis Moran, Barral and Diego Castro scored for Sporting Gijon whereas Villa and Mata scored for Valencia. Canobbio scored the winner for Valladolid. These results will help Barcelona and Villarreal who will play today.
In Italy Inter Milan defeated Palermo 2-0 to remain in the top.
Arsenal is so unpredictable this season. They played superbly against Manchester United in the previous week to win 2-1 but played just the opposite against Villa this week. Villa won 2-0 though they missed a penalty. Aston Villa is lying in the fifth position with 23 points same as Arsenal who slipped to fourth position.
Manchester United thrashed Stroke City 5-0 to move in the third place with 24 points and one match in hand. Stroke defended awfully to gift goals to Manchester United. Ronaldo scored two goals both from free kicks. Chelsea and Liverpool played clinically to remain on the top. Chelsea and Liverpool defeated West Brom by 3-0 and Bolton by 2-0 respectively. Anelka scored twice and he has scored seven goals in last four premier league matches. Kuyt and Gerrard scored goals from header.
Newcastle missed a golden opportunity to win against 10 men Wigan. Bramble scored a dramatic equalizer in the last minute to deny victory to Newcastle. The match ended in 2-2 draw. Cisse scored the winner for Sunderland against Blackburn. Sunderland won 2-1. With this loss Blackburn moved into the relegation zone. Paul Ince now will be under tremendous pressure to give results. West Ham played a 0-0 draw with Portsmouth.
In Spain Valencia was surprised Sporting Gijon and Real Madrid was surprised by Valladolid. Sporting Gijon won the match by 3-2. Luis Moran, Barral and Diego Castro scored for Sporting Gijon whereas Villa and Mata scored for Valencia. Canobbio scored the winner for Valladolid. These results will help Barcelona and Villarreal who will play today.
In Italy Inter Milan defeated Palermo 2-0 to remain in the top.
First FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup
Korea DPR wrote their name into football history today by becoming the first-ever winners of the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, coming from behind to beat USA 2-1. Germany took their place on the New Zealand 2008 podium with a comfortable 3-0 victory over England in a one-sided third-place play-off.
The Asians added the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup title to the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup crown they claimed in Russia in 2006, thus breaking a tradition that had seen beaten finalists USA win the inaugural FIFA Women's World Cup, FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup and Women's Olympic Football Tournament.
Mana Iwabuchi of Japan won the adidas Golden Ball and Dzsenifer Marozsan of Germany won the adidas Golden Shoe.
Courtesy: www.fifa.com
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Del Piero: Old is Gold
Del Piero again showed his class. This time he scored twice against Real Madrid. He is showing his class. He already scored 4 goals out of 7 that Juventus scored. Juventus is almost through to the second round. Real has to wait for the next round. They lost twice to Juventus. Zenit St Petersburg defeated BATE Borisov 2-0 in group H to keep their hope alive.
All English teams struggled this time. Liverpool is lucky to survive against Atletico Madrid. Gerrard scored in the 95th minute penalty to salvage 1 point. Both the teams are in 8 points and most likely to qualify for the next round from group D. Marseille defeated PSV Eindhoven 3-0 after losing to them 0-2 in the previous match.
Roma surprised many by defeating Chelsea 3-1. In another group A match Bordeaux defeated CFR Cluj-Napoca 2-1. Chelsea is leading the group by 7 points following by Roma and Bordeaux with 6 points. CFR Cluj-Napoca has 4 points and also has a chance to qualify.
Arsenal played a tame 0-0 draw with Fenerbahce in group G match. In another match Dynamo Kiev lost to FC Porto 1-2. Arsenal is leading the group with 8 points followed by FC Porto with 6 points and Dynamo Kiev with 5 points. Fenerbahce has only 2 points.
Manchester United was held to a 1-1 draw by brave Celtic. Celtic dominated the proceedings but failed to win. AaB Aalborg held Villarreal 2-2 in another match in group E. Manchester United and Villarreal are leading the group with 8 points followed by Celtic and AaB Aalborg with 2 points each.
Barcelona sealed their place in the 2nd round after drawing with Basle 1-1. Sporting Lisbon also qualified from group C after defeating Shakhtar Donetsk 1-0. Shakhtar Donetsk will fight it out with Basle to qualify for the UEFA Cup slot.
Anorthosis Famagusta continues their good run. They held Italy champions Inter Milan 3-3 in group B match. In another match of group B Panathinaikos shocked Werder Bremen 3-0. Inter leading the group with 8 points followed by Anorthosis Famagusta with 5 points. Panathinaikos with 4 points and Werder Bremen with 3 points can also qualify from this group.
In group A Lyon defeating Steaua Bucharest 2-0 to share the top slot with Bayern Munich who drew with Fiorentina 1-1 in group F. Both Lyon and Bayern Munich have 8 points. Fiorentina have 3 and Steaua Bucharest have 1 point.
All English teams struggled this time. Liverpool is lucky to survive against Atletico Madrid. Gerrard scored in the 95th minute penalty to salvage 1 point. Both the teams are in 8 points and most likely to qualify for the next round from group D. Marseille defeated PSV Eindhoven 3-0 after losing to them 0-2 in the previous match.
Roma surprised many by defeating Chelsea 3-1. In another group A match Bordeaux defeated CFR Cluj-Napoca 2-1. Chelsea is leading the group by 7 points following by Roma and Bordeaux with 6 points. CFR Cluj-Napoca has 4 points and also has a chance to qualify.
Arsenal played a tame 0-0 draw with Fenerbahce in group G match. In another match Dynamo Kiev lost to FC Porto 1-2. Arsenal is leading the group with 8 points followed by FC Porto with 6 points and Dynamo Kiev with 5 points. Fenerbahce has only 2 points.
Manchester United was held to a 1-1 draw by brave Celtic. Celtic dominated the proceedings but failed to win. AaB Aalborg held Villarreal 2-2 in another match in group E. Manchester United and Villarreal are leading the group with 8 points followed by Celtic and AaB Aalborg with 2 points each.
Barcelona sealed their place in the 2nd round after drawing with Basle 1-1. Sporting Lisbon also qualified from group C after defeating Shakhtar Donetsk 1-0. Shakhtar Donetsk will fight it out with Basle to qualify for the UEFA Cup slot.
Anorthosis Famagusta continues their good run. They held Italy champions Inter Milan 3-3 in group B match. In another match of group B Panathinaikos shocked Werder Bremen 3-0. Inter leading the group with 8 points followed by Anorthosis Famagusta with 5 points. Panathinaikos with 4 points and Werder Bremen with 3 points can also qualify from this group.
In group A Lyon defeating Steaua Bucharest 2-0 to share the top slot with Bayern Munich who drew with Fiorentina 1-1 in group F. Both Lyon and Bayern Munich have 8 points. Fiorentina have 3 and Steaua Bucharest have 1 point.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Newcastle and Tottenham fighting back
Tottenham continued their fight back to save relegation. They brilliantly came back to score two goals in the dying minutes to draw 4-4 with Arsenal. Like Spurs, Newcastle also fighting back. They defeated West Brom 2-0 to move out of relegation zone. Stroke City also moved out of danger zone with 1-0 win over Sunderland. Wigan and Bolton moved into the danger zone. Wigan lost to Fulham 0-2 and Bolton lost to 0-1 to Everton. This year the relegation fight will be very interesting but I believe Spurs and Newcastle will be out of it. Stroke, Fulham, West Brom, Wigan and Bolton will fight for the relegation.
On the top except Arsenal, other top clubs won their match. Chelsea and Manchester United scored facile victories against Hull and West Ham. Hull was clueless against Chelsea, who put their defeat against Liverpool behind to win comfortable 3-0. Manchester gave another professional display to win 2-0 against West Ham. Ronaldo scored both the goals.
Liverpool maintain their lead on the top after their hard fought victory against Portsmouth. Gerrard scored from a penalty in the 74th minute. Aston Villa moved to fourth position with 3-2 victory over Blackburn. In another match Middlesbrough defeated Manchester city 2-0.
This weekend the interesting ties will be Tottenhum vs Liverpool, Newcastle vs Aston Villa, Manchester United vs Hull, and Bolton vs Manchester City.
On the top except Arsenal, other top clubs won their match. Chelsea and Manchester United scored facile victories against Hull and West Ham. Hull was clueless against Chelsea, who put their defeat against Liverpool behind to win comfortable 3-0. Manchester gave another professional display to win 2-0 against West Ham. Ronaldo scored both the goals.
Liverpool maintain their lead on the top after their hard fought victory against Portsmouth. Gerrard scored from a penalty in the 74th minute. Aston Villa moved to fourth position with 3-2 victory over Blackburn. In another match Middlesbrough defeated Manchester city 2-0.
This weekend the interesting ties will be Tottenhum vs Liverpool, Newcastle vs Aston Villa, Manchester United vs Hull, and Bolton vs Manchester City.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Will Liverpool Succeed?
Liverpool is new identity this year. After long long time they are showing that they are real challengers for the EPL title. They are coming back again and again. Against Wigan they came back twice to win 3-2 but against Chelsea they showed their real quality. They didn’t allow Chelsea freedom to move. Chelsea had no clue on how to break the defensive wall of Liverpool. They meekly surrendered their 86 match unbeaten run at home over four years and eight months. Liverpool, after their win against Manchester United and Chelsea, has to be taken seriously for the title. Liverpool the only unbeaten team in the EPL, are leading by three points over Chelsea and surprised team Hull.
Manchester United also dropped two more points against Everton. They are lying in the sixth place currently but they are still a strong contender for the title. Arsenal has defeated West Ham 2-0 and Everton 3-1 to be back on the track. They have to consistent when they face the big three.
Aston villa and made a strong start. They defeated Wigan 4-0 to lie in the fifth position. But the most surprise package is Hull. They won against West Brom 3-0 and West Ham 1-0 to lie in the 3rd position. Hull is making lot of noise but can they keep this tempo up. Manchester city is becoming more and more dependent on Robinho. They have to play more as a team to make any serious impact in the game. Spurs started their revival under the new coach Rednapp. They won their first match against Bolton. But it is long way to go for them this season.
Elsewhere in Europe, AC Milan is slowly recovering. They are lying in the fourth position with 16 points and just one point behind the leaders. Udinese is the surprise leader at this stage. Barcelona is getting their awesome form back and is just one point behind the leaders. Real Madrid is in the third position having same points as Barcelona.
Manchester United also dropped two more points against Everton. They are lying in the sixth place currently but they are still a strong contender for the title. Arsenal has defeated West Ham 2-0 and Everton 3-1 to be back on the track. They have to consistent when they face the big three.
Aston villa and made a strong start. They defeated Wigan 4-0 to lie in the fifth position. But the most surprise package is Hull. They won against West Brom 3-0 and West Ham 1-0 to lie in the 3rd position. Hull is making lot of noise but can they keep this tempo up. Manchester city is becoming more and more dependent on Robinho. They have to play more as a team to make any serious impact in the game. Spurs started their revival under the new coach Rednapp. They won their first match against Bolton. But it is long way to go for them this season.
Elsewhere in Europe, AC Milan is slowly recovering. They are lying in the fourth position with 16 points and just one point behind the leaders. Udinese is the surprise leader at this stage. Barcelona is getting their awesome form back and is just one point behind the leaders. Real Madrid is in the third position having same points as Barcelona.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Brazil Champion
Brazil regained the Futsal World Cup after gap of 12 years. They defeated Spain in a thriller. Twice Spain equalizes but lost in the penalty shootout. This is sixth time Brazil played Spain in the World cup. They won 4 times. Last year they lost to Spain in the semifinal. Brazil in the whole tournament played like a champion. They won all the matches they played in this World Cup.
Italy finished third by defeating Russia 2-1. Italy played well throughout the tournament. They have really coming to the age. Russia and Iran is the revelation of the tournament. Russia scored 62 goals just 2 less than Brazil. Pula is the top scorer of the tournament with 16 goals. Iran deserved a place in the top 4. Mostafa Nazari was spectacular in all the matches. He is the best goalkeeper of the tournament. Iran drew 5-5 with Italy with Edgar Bertoni struck in the dying seconds.
We haven’t got a new winner this year also but we hope to get in the next edition.
Italy finished third by defeating Russia 2-1. Italy played well throughout the tournament. They have really coming to the age. Russia and Iran is the revelation of the tournament. Russia scored 62 goals just 2 less than Brazil. Pula is the top scorer of the tournament with 16 goals. Iran deserved a place in the top 4. Mostafa Nazari was spectacular in all the matches. He is the best goalkeeper of the tournament. Iran drew 5-5 with Italy with Edgar Bertoni struck in the dying seconds.
We haven’t got a new winner this year also but we hope to get in the next edition.
World Cup 2010: Argentina lose Basile
In the two rounds of World Cup 2010 qualifying match again there was a mixed performance. In South American group Paraguay has opened up 6 points gap with others. They won both their matches against Columbia and Peru by the narrowest margin 1-0. Brazil played beautifully against Venezuela to win 4-0 but played very ugly against Columbia to draw 0-0 at home. Basile resigns as Argentina lost against Chile 0-1. Argentina defeated Uruguay 2-1 in the earlier match. Venezuela bounced back after going down to Brazil defeating Ecuador 3-1. Bolivia defeated Peru 3-0 and drew with Uruguay 2-2 to move up the ladder. Still eight rounds to go lot of action is left.
England continued their superb form and won both their matches. They defeated Kazakhstan 5-1 and Belarus 3-1 to top the Group 6 standing. In Group 5 Spain like England is maintaining their 100% record. They defeated Estonia 3-0 and Belgium 2-1 to lead the table with 12 points.
In Group 1 Portugal is struggling. They drew 0-0 with 10 men Albania and with Sweden. Hungary defeated Albania 2-0 and Malta 1-0 to move to the 2nd place. Denmark is leading the group with 7 points. In Group 2 Greece lost their 100% record when they went down to Switzerland 1-2 at home. Israel drew with Latvia 1-1 to be in second behind Greece. Switzerland is lying in the third position with 7 points. In Group 3 Slovakia defeated Poland 2-1 to lead the group with 9 points. Czech Republic defeated Slovenia 1-0 to register an important win after losing to Poland 2-1. Czech surprisingly lying in the 5th position with one match on hand. In Group 4 Germany registered two important wins against Russia (2-1) and Wales (1-0). They are on the top of the group with 10 points. Russia defeated Finland 3-0 to move to the 2nd place with one match on hand behind Germany.
Lithuania continues to surprise me with their performance despite losing to Serbia 3-0. They defeated Faroe Islands 1-0. They are jointly on top of the group along with Serbia. Serbia registered two big wins against Lithuania (3-0) and Austria (3-1). France continues their dismal run and drew with Romania 2-2. Faroe Islands drew with Austria 1-1. Italy and Netherlands is leading Group 8 and Group 9 respectively. Italy drew with Bulgaria 0-0 and defeated Montenegro 2-1. Republic of Ireland defeated Cyprus 1-0. Netherlands defeated Iceland 2-0 and Norway 1-0.
USA, Costa Rica and El Salvador qualified for the next round but Mexico is struggling in Group 2. Mexico lost to Jamaica 1-0 and then drew with Canada 2-2. Honduras defeated Canada 3-1 but lost to Jamaica 1-0 to open up the group. El Salvador drew with Haiti 0-0 and defeated Surinam 3-0. Costa Rica defeated Haiti 2-0 and Surinam 4-1 to qualify for the next round. Trinidad and Tobago defeated USA 2-1 and drew with Guatemala 0-0 to keep their qualifying hope alive.
In Asia Japan is struggling with their form. Japan drew with Uzbekistan 1-1. Australia defeated Qatar 4-0. Iran defeated North Korea 2-1 and South Korea defeated UAE 4-1.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Futsal World cup : Second Round participants identified
The 6th Futsal World cup is being played in Brazil. The tournament started in 1989 in Netherlands. The Dutch Football Federation was also celebrating their centenary in 1989, so the event was held in a doubly festive spirit. Sixteen teams took part, setting a trend that has been followed in all tournaments since: six European sides, three from South America, two from Africa, two Asian sides and two from CONCACAF joined the one representative from Oceania to compete for the world crown. Brazil won the tournament defeating host by 2-1 in the final. USA and Belgium finished third and fourth respectively.
The 2nd FIFA Futsal World Championship, held in Hong Kong in 1992, proved to be great success. As in the first tournament, sixteen nations took part: six from Europe, three from South America, three from Asia, two from CONCACAF, one from Africa and one from Oceania. Brazil won the tournament second successive time defeating USA 4-1 in the final. Spain and Iran finished third and fourth respectively. Iran is the biggest surprise in this tournament.
The 3rd FIFA Futsal World Championship was organized with great style by the Spanish Football Federation in 1996. It was a very popular with the fans. Sixteen nations travelled to Iberia in search of glory: six from Europe, three from South America, three from Asia, two from CONCACAF, one from Africa and one from Oceania. Brazil won the tournament for the third consecutive time. They defeated the host nation 6-4 in a thriller. Russia and Ukraine finished third and fourth respectively.
The 4th FIFA Futsal World Championship was organized by Guatemala in 2000. The tournament ended the domination of Brazil. They lost to Spain 3-4 in a thriller in the final. Brazil defeated the host 29-2 the biggest winning margin broken recently by Russia against Solomon Islands in 2008. Portugal and Russia finished third and fourth respectively.
Brazil failed to enter the final for the first time in the 5th FIFA Futsal World Championship. The tournament was hosted by Chinese Taipei in 2004. Spain continued their dominance ion the tournament. They won the final against Italy by 2-1. Spain defeated Brazil 5-4 in the penalty shootout. Brazil defeated Argentina 7-4 to finish third their worst performance in the history of the tournament.
The 6th edition of the Futsal has now reached the second stage. Brazil and Russia qualified from group A. Brazil won all their matches including defeated Russia 7-0. Brazil defeated Solomon Island 21-0, Japan 12-1, and Cuba 9-0 to enter the next round. But Russia responded with two bug wins against Solomon Islands and Japan. They broke the all time victory margin record by defeating Solomon Islands 31-2. They crushed Japan 9-1 and Cuba 10-5 to enter the second round. Italy and Paraguay entered the second round from Group B. Portugal, Paraguay, and Italy finished with 9 points. But Paraguay and Italy qualified for better goal difference. Paraguay defeated Italy 4-2, Thailand 8-0, and USA 5-0 before losing to Portugal 2-3. Italy defeated Thailand 1-0, Portugal 3-1, and USA 6-1. Favorites Spain and Iran qualified from Group D. Iran has held two time champion Spain 3-3 in the first match and then defeated Libya (4-2), Uruguay (4-2) and Czech Republic (3-2) to qualify for the next round. Spain defeated Libya (3-0), Czech Republic (4-0) and Uruguay (3-0) to qualify. Argentina and Ukraine qualified from Group C. Argentina defeated Guatemala 2-1, China 5-0, and Egypt 5-2 and drew with Ukraine 2-2. Ukraine defeated Guatemala 6-2, China 4-2, and Egypt 5-1.
The 2nd FIFA Futsal World Championship, held in Hong Kong in 1992, proved to be great success. As in the first tournament, sixteen nations took part: six from Europe, three from South America, three from Asia, two from CONCACAF, one from Africa and one from Oceania. Brazil won the tournament second successive time defeating USA 4-1 in the final. Spain and Iran finished third and fourth respectively. Iran is the biggest surprise in this tournament.
The 3rd FIFA Futsal World Championship was organized with great style by the Spanish Football Federation in 1996. It was a very popular with the fans. Sixteen nations travelled to Iberia in search of glory: six from Europe, three from South America, three from Asia, two from CONCACAF, one from Africa and one from Oceania. Brazil won the tournament for the third consecutive time. They defeated the host nation 6-4 in a thriller. Russia and Ukraine finished third and fourth respectively.
The 4th FIFA Futsal World Championship was organized by Guatemala in 2000. The tournament ended the domination of Brazil. They lost to Spain 3-4 in a thriller in the final. Brazil defeated the host 29-2 the biggest winning margin broken recently by Russia against Solomon Islands in 2008. Portugal and Russia finished third and fourth respectively.
Brazil failed to enter the final for the first time in the 5th FIFA Futsal World Championship. The tournament was hosted by Chinese Taipei in 2004. Spain continued their dominance ion the tournament. They won the final against Italy by 2-1. Spain defeated Brazil 5-4 in the penalty shootout. Brazil defeated Argentina 7-4 to finish third their worst performance in the history of the tournament.
The 6th edition of the Futsal has now reached the second stage. Brazil and Russia qualified from group A. Brazil won all their matches including defeated Russia 7-0. Brazil defeated Solomon Island 21-0, Japan 12-1, and Cuba 9-0 to enter the next round. But Russia responded with two bug wins against Solomon Islands and Japan. They broke the all time victory margin record by defeating Solomon Islands 31-2. They crushed Japan 9-1 and Cuba 10-5 to enter the second round. Italy and Paraguay entered the second round from Group B. Portugal, Paraguay, and Italy finished with 9 points. But Paraguay and Italy qualified for better goal difference. Paraguay defeated Italy 4-2, Thailand 8-0, and USA 5-0 before losing to Portugal 2-3. Italy defeated Thailand 1-0, Portugal 3-1, and USA 6-1. Favorites Spain and Iran qualified from Group D. Iran has held two time champion Spain 3-3 in the first match and then defeated Libya (4-2), Uruguay (4-2) and Czech Republic (3-2) to qualify for the next round. Spain defeated Libya (3-0), Czech Republic (4-0) and Uruguay (3-0) to qualify. Argentina and Ukraine qualified from Group C. Argentina defeated Guatemala 2-1, China 5-0, and Egypt 5-2 and drew with Ukraine 2-2. Ukraine defeated Guatemala 6-2, China 4-2, and Egypt 5-1.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Liverpool: New Character
Character, Never say die, Fight to the end … these are the words that are being associated with Liverpool this season. I have seen them to come back against AC Milan in Istanbul from 0-3 deficit. But they were not consistent in previous seasons. They are showing lot of character. What a match they played against Manchester City. Down and out at half time they came back strongly at half time. They put lot of pressure on City and scored three goals to be joint leaders with Chelsea. Torres and Kyut is just outstanding. Will they win English Premier League or not that is question only time will tell?
Chelsea and Manchester United played very professional football to register comfortable win against Aston Villa and Blackburn rovers. Manchester United is lucky to get the first goal for the second successive week but they deserved to win. They are catching up the top 3 fast. Chelsea played great soccer against high flying Aston Villa and showed the difference between the top four and rest in EPL.
Arsenal is losing ground fast. They have to consistent to win laurels. But Hull is maintaining their good run. They defeated Spurs 1-0 to move to third place alone. But Spurs and Newcastle have to climb the mountain to stay in upper league.
Next we will see the next round of Fifa World Cup matches. I will come back on that later.
Chelsea and Manchester United played very professional football to register comfortable win against Aston Villa and Blackburn rovers. Manchester United is lucky to get the first goal for the second successive week but they deserved to win. They are catching up the top 3 fast. Chelsea played great soccer against high flying Aston Villa and showed the difference between the top four and rest in EPL.
Arsenal is losing ground fast. They have to consistent to win laurels. But Hull is maintaining their good run. They defeated Spurs 1-0 to move to third place alone. But Spurs and Newcastle have to climb the mountain to stay in upper league.
Next we will see the next round of Fifa World Cup matches. I will come back on that later.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
New Sun on Horizon: CFR Cluj-Napoca
English clubs are flying in the champions league. They are registering big wins in Europe. Liverpool started with a bang. They started with two facile wins against Marseille and PSV Eindhoven. They are lying second in the group D behind Atletico Madrid due to goal difference. Gerrard scored two magnificent goals in two matches. He has scored 100th goal for Liverpool.
Arsenal is playing entertaining football this season. I am not sure whether they can win any trophies or not but they very pleasant to watch. They destroyed FC Proto 4-0 on Tuesday with brilliant skill football. They have to be more consistent. Manchester United and Chelsea continued their run. Chelsea though was surprisingly held to a 0-0 draw against little known CFR Cluj-Napoca. CFR Cluj-Napoca from Romania is the surprise of all. They defeated Roma in Italy and now at home they held Chelsea. This is the team to watch who played third division six tears back. They are lying second in group A behind Chelsea due to goal difference.
Another surprising club is Anorthosis Famagusta from Cyprus. They are top of Group B along with Inter Milan. They crushed Panathinaikos 3-1 and drew with Werder Bremen 0-0. Like CFR Cluj-Napoca watch this team also.
Spanish giants are also having 100% record. Barcelona defeated Sporting Lisbon 3-1 and Shakhtar Donetsk 2-1. Real Madrid defeated BATE Borisov 2-0 and Zenit St Petersburg 2-1. Another team performing beyond expectation is BATE Borisov of Belarus. They almost snatched victory against Juventus.
I am disappointed with Zenit St Petersburg. They lost both their matches. I expected them to do much better. Still four rounds left and lot of things can happen. Let’s wait and see
Arsenal is playing entertaining football this season. I am not sure whether they can win any trophies or not but they very pleasant to watch. They destroyed FC Proto 4-0 on Tuesday with brilliant skill football. They have to be more consistent. Manchester United and Chelsea continued their run. Chelsea though was surprisingly held to a 0-0 draw against little known CFR Cluj-Napoca. CFR Cluj-Napoca from Romania is the surprise of all. They defeated Roma in Italy and now at home they held Chelsea. This is the team to watch who played third division six tears back. They are lying second in group A behind Chelsea due to goal difference.
Another surprising club is Anorthosis Famagusta from Cyprus. They are top of Group B along with Inter Milan. They crushed Panathinaikos 3-1 and drew with Werder Bremen 0-0. Like CFR Cluj-Napoca watch this team also.
Spanish giants are also having 100% record. Barcelona defeated Sporting Lisbon 3-1 and Shakhtar Donetsk 2-1. Real Madrid defeated BATE Borisov 2-0 and Zenit St Petersburg 2-1. Another team performing beyond expectation is BATE Borisov of Belarus. They almost snatched victory against Juventus.
I am disappointed with Zenit St Petersburg. They lost both their matches. I expected them to do much better. Still four rounds left and lot of things can happen. Let’s wait and see
Sunday, September 28, 2008
European Leagues
European leagues are in full swing. There are few surprises but mostly the leagues are going as predicted. In English Premier League, Chelsea is at the top along with Liverpool. Aston Villa is just one point behind the leaders. Arsenal is playing the most dazzling soccer on this season. But the most surprise package is Hull. They upset the free flowing Arsenal in Arsenal’s den. Hull also played a 2-2 draw with Everton after faltering against Wigan 0-5. This is most surprise result so far in EPL. Manchester City’s 6-0 win over Portsmouth is another surprising result.
Liverpool started the season with a bang. Their 2-1 win over Manchester United is the high point of the season till now. But they could not beat lowly Stroke at home. The match ended 0-0. Chelsea has usual start. They mean business and they are playing professionally. Of the top four, Manchester United has a slow start. But I believe they will bounce back. They are one of the best club team in the world.
Surprisingly, Newcastle and Tottenham are lying in the bottom of the table. Newcastle is looking vey awful in the start of the season. I am not sure what the future is for this club.
Referring is really very bad in some of the matches. Yesterday it was for Manchester United and today it was Wigan who benefited by the bad decisions.
Liverpool started the season with a bang. Their 2-1 win over Manchester United is the high point of the season till now. But they could not beat lowly Stroke at home. The match ended 0-0. Chelsea has usual start. They mean business and they are playing professionally. Of the top four, Manchester United has a slow start. But I believe they will bounce back. They are one of the best club team in the world.
Surprisingly, Newcastle and Tottenham are lying in the bottom of the table. Newcastle is looking vey awful in the start of the season. I am not sure what the future is for this club.
Referring is really very bad in some of the matches. Yesterday it was for Manchester United and today it was Wigan who benefited by the bad decisions.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
World Cup 2010:Excitement Started
In the two rounds of World Cup 2010 qualifying match most of the big guns struggle. In South American group Paraguay is marching ahead of others. They drew with Argentina 1-1 and defeated Venezuela 2-0 to lead the group with 17 points. Surprisingly, Argentina is struggling in the group. They started well with three consecutive win but now they failed to win in five consecutive matches. Brazil continued their struggling when they failed to defeat 10 men Bolivia at home. Brazil though moved into second position in the group with 3-0 win over Chile. The picture will be clearer with 2 rounds of matches in November. Chile bounced back with 4-0 win over lackluster Columbia.
England surprised everybody including themselves when they defeated Croatia 4-1 in an away match. Earlier they were very lethargic in 2-0 win over Albania. France was crushed by Austria 3-1 though they bounced back to defeat Serbia 2-1. For me Lithuania was the most surprise package this week. They won both their matches. They defeated Austria 2-0 and Romania 3-0. They are at top of their group which includes France. Italy and Spain won both their matches. Italy won 2-0 against Georgia and 2-1 against Cyprus. Spain won 4-0 against Armenia and Bosnia-Herzegovina 1-0. Germany drew 3-3 with Finland. Portugal surprisingly lost 2-3 to Denmark in their second match. But the most surprising result in the European leg is Switzerland’s defeat at the hand of Luxembourg at home (1-2).
New Zealand qualified for the next stage when they defeated New Caledonia twice (3-1, 3-0). They will play play-off with the fifth-placed Asian side in 2009 for a berth in World Cup.
Nigeria continued their 100% record. They defeated South Africa 1-0. They have already qualified for the final round of qualifying. Cameroon and Benin also joined Nigeria in the next round. Cameroon defeated Cape Verde Islands 2-1. Benin qualified by defeating Angola 3-2.
In Asia two Koreans played 0-0 draw. Uzbekistan and UAE both lost two consecutive matches. It is long way to go. But with start of the European leg the excitement is fully on.
England surprised everybody including themselves when they defeated Croatia 4-1 in an away match. Earlier they were very lethargic in 2-0 win over Albania. France was crushed by Austria 3-1 though they bounced back to defeat Serbia 2-1. For me Lithuania was the most surprise package this week. They won both their matches. They defeated Austria 2-0 and Romania 3-0. They are at top of their group which includes France. Italy and Spain won both their matches. Italy won 2-0 against Georgia and 2-1 against Cyprus. Spain won 4-0 against Armenia and Bosnia-Herzegovina 1-0. Germany drew 3-3 with Finland. Portugal surprisingly lost 2-3 to Denmark in their second match. But the most surprising result in the European leg is Switzerland’s defeat at the hand of Luxembourg at home (1-2).
New Zealand qualified for the next stage when they defeated New Caledonia twice (3-1, 3-0). They will play play-off with the fifth-placed Asian side in 2009 for a berth in World Cup.
Nigeria continued their 100% record. They defeated South Africa 1-0. They have already qualified for the final round of qualifying. Cameroon and Benin also joined Nigeria in the next round. Cameroon defeated Cape Verde Islands 2-1. Benin qualified by defeating Angola 3-2.
In Asia two Koreans played 0-0 draw. Uzbekistan and UAE both lost two consecutive matches. It is long way to go. But with start of the European leg the excitement is fully on.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Argentina deserved winners
Messi guides Argentina to Olympic title. Argentina defeated Nigeria 1-0 in the final. Angel Di Maria scored the winner in the 58th minute. Nigeria should be happy with the silver medal. They played gloriously to loose in the final. In my blog dated July 12, 2008, “Olympic Football 2008: Argentina and Nigeria are favorites”, I mentioned that these two teams are favorites. I am happy that it matched.
Argentina is the deserved winners. They played beautifully in the whole tournament. Nigeria started slowly but in the knockout stage they were superb. Argentina mesmerizes Brazil in the semifinal and Nigeria did the same thing with Belgium. Brazil played very poorly in the semifinal.
Brazil though defeated Belgium 3-0 to finish third they do not deserved a place in the final. I think we had a final between the best two teams. This is Argentina’s second Olympic title. They won these consecutive in 2004 and 2008. Great Britain (1908 and 1912) and Hungary (1964 and 1968) achieve the same feat. Yugoslovia is the only team who played 4 consecutive finals from 1948 to 1960. But they won only in 1960. Hungary played three consecutive finals from 1964 to 1972.
Argentina is the deserved winners. They played beautifully in the whole tournament. Nigeria started slowly but in the knockout stage they were superb. Argentina mesmerizes Brazil in the semifinal and Nigeria did the same thing with Belgium. Brazil played very poorly in the semifinal.
Brazil though defeated Belgium 3-0 to finish third they do not deserved a place in the final. I think we had a final between the best two teams. This is Argentina’s second Olympic title. They won these consecutive in 2004 and 2008. Great Britain (1908 and 1912) and Hungary (1964 and 1968) achieve the same feat. Yugoslovia is the only team who played 4 consecutive finals from 1948 to 1960. But they won only in 1960. Hungary played three consecutive finals from 1964 to 1972.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Match of the titans
What a mouth watering semifinal we are going to have in the semifinal. Argentina vs Brazil or Ronaldinho vs Messi. Whatever you say football will be the winner. Both the teams required extra time to defeat their opponents. Defending champion Argentina rode on Messi to defeat Netherland 2-1. Brazil defeated former champion Cameroon 2-0. They avenged their defeat at the hands of Cameroon at Sydney Olympics in 2000. Messi was brilliant in the other game. Netherland fought their heart out but still could not save the game.
Italy the most impressive team in the group stages were stunned by Belgium. They played with 10 men for most of the game but still managed to win the thriller 3-2. They came from behind twice. They will meet 1996 champion Nigeria. Nigeria easily defeated Côte d'Ivoire 2-0. Both the semifinals will be thrilling to watch.
Italy the most impressive team in the group stages were stunned by Belgium. They played with 10 men for most of the game but still managed to win the thriller 3-2. They came from behind twice. They will meet 1996 champion Nigeria. Nigeria easily defeated Côte d'Ivoire 2-0. Both the semifinals will be thrilling to watch.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Big Guns Firing
Ronaldinho started his comeback. He enthralled the Chinese crowd with two goals. Brazil defeated New Zealand 5-0 to enter the quarterfinals. This is Brazil’s second consecutive win. Pato, Anderson and Sobis are the other scorer. Belgium defeated China 2-0 to keep their hopes alive.
Argentina and Italy also enter the quarterfinal. Argentina defeated Australia 1-0 to register their second win in as many matches. In another group A match Côte d'Ivoire defeated Serbia 4-2 in a thrilling match.
Italy registered another fluent victory. They crushed Korea 3-0. This is their second 3-0 victory in group D match. Cameroon scrapes past Honduras 1-0 in another group D match.
Nigeria defeated Japan 2-1 in a group B match. Netherlands scored in a last minute to hold USA 2-2. USA and Nigeria are leading the group with 4 points. Netherland with 2 points is also in the fray for a quarterfinal berth.
Argentina and Italy also enter the quarterfinal. Argentina defeated Australia 1-0 to register their second win in as many matches. In another group A match Côte d'Ivoire defeated Serbia 4-2 in a thrilling match.
Italy registered another fluent victory. They crushed Korea 3-0. This is their second 3-0 victory in group D match. Cameroon scrapes past Honduras 1-0 in another group D match.
Nigeria defeated Japan 2-1 in a group B match. Netherlands scored in a last minute to hold USA 2-2. USA and Nigeria are leading the group with 4 points. Netherland with 2 points is also in the fray for a quarterfinal berth.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Brazil, Italy and Argentina started with a Win
Brazil struggled to beat 9 men Belgium in their opening match in group C. Hernanes scored a magnificent goal in the 79th minute for Brazil. Brazil struggled for most of the part of the match. In another match of group C host China drew 1-1 with New Zealand.
Messi was the star for Argentina. He helped Argentina to register 2-1 win over brilliant Ivory Coast in group A. Messi scored a goal and also assist the second. Australia drew with Serbia 1-1.
USA defeated Japan 1-0 in their opening match. Italy registered a easy 3-0 win over Honduras. Cameroon drew 1-1 with Korea and Nigeria drew 0-0 with Netherlands.
CAS Ruling
I am very disappointed with CAS ruling. According to me a player should give more priority for his country than club. I do not understand why one should not be playing as he likes.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Brazil The Champion
Brazil won the FIFA Beach Soccer world cup for third consecutive time. Brazil defeated Italy 5-3 in the final. They actually owe it to their team game. They didn’t depend on any individual player, they played as a team. Daniel was the hero in the quarterfinal match whereas Andre bailed them out in the semifinal. Italy was 0-5 down before recovering in the third period to score three times. But that was not enough to stop Brazil for third win.
Madjer the scorer
Madjer for the third time won the Golden shoe. He scored 13 goals. Amarelle of Spain won the Golden Ball and Roberto Valeiro of Spain won the Golden glove. Amarelle also won the Silver ball award. Russia won the fair play award.
Portugal won the third position by defeating Spain 5-4. Portugal had a very good tournament. They are really improving year by year. Spain depended on Amarelle too much. Italy was the surprise team of the tournament.
Madjer the scorer
Madjer for the third time won the Golden shoe. He scored 13 goals. Amarelle of Spain won the Golden Ball and Roberto Valeiro of Spain won the Golden glove. Amarelle also won the Silver ball award. Russia won the fair play award.
Portugal won the third position by defeating Spain 5-4. Portugal had a very good tournament. They are really improving year by year. Spain depended on Amarelle too much. Italy was the surprise team of the tournament.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Great comebacks in the Semifinals
Brazil thrice came back from behind to score 5-4 win over favorites Portugal. This will be third consecutive final for Brazil. They will meet Italy who defeated Spain 1-0 in the penalty shootout. They also came back thrice against Spain. The game ended 4-4 in the scheduled time. This is first final for Italy. Portugal will meet Spain in the third place playoff. Belchior and Majder scored their 10th goal of the tournament.
Will Italy become the first team in three years to defeat Brazil?
Friday, July 25, 2008
All European Final?
The semifinal lineup is finalized, Portugal to meet Brazil and Spain to Italy. For the first time in FIFA Beach Soccer World cup three European teams have entered the semifinal. Will this year be all European final after 2005? Spain is having a great year in sports. Will they go all the way here or Portugal will have the last laugh? Don't forget we have Brazil also.
The best quarterfinal was between Brazil and Russia. Russia twice taken the lead, 2-0, 3-2 but failed to keep them. Daniel was the hero for Brazil, scoring a hattrick in 6-4 win. Buru was shown the red card and will miss the semifinal. It is a bog blow to Brazil.
Portugal continued their good form against Uruguay. They won 6-3. Madjer scored his 50th goal. But the star of Portugal is Belchior. He is top scorer with 9 goals along with Madjer. Belchior is frontrunner for both golden ball and golden shoe. He will be the main threat against Brazil.
Spain played a very tactical game against Argentina in their 2-0 win. This is the fourth occasion in this world cup where a team failed to score. Nico scored two goals for Spain. Argentina again failed to break the jinx of the quarterfinal. Italy defeated the host, France, 5-2 to enter the semifinal for the first time. We have seen that most of the teams are defensively very strong. So we may have less number of goals. FIFA this year introducing a new award Golden glove for the best goalkeeper. Roberto Valeiro of Spain, Andrey Bukhlitskiy of Russia, Marcelo Salgueiro of Argentina and Luis Rodas of El Salvador are vying for the award.
Portugal and Spain should be in the final. Without Buru Brazil will be a weak team though Benjamin is playing well. Benjamin along with Belchior is the frontrunner for golden ball. Portugal is the last country to beat Brazil in world cup. Portugal so far scored 32 goals and Brazil 24 goals. Spain should win easily against Italy. For me Portugal and Spain are favorites.
The best quarterfinal was between Brazil and Russia. Russia twice taken the lead, 2-0, 3-2 but failed to keep them. Daniel was the hero for Brazil, scoring a hattrick in 6-4 win. Buru was shown the red card and will miss the semifinal. It is a bog blow to Brazil.
Portugal continued their good form against Uruguay. They won 6-3. Madjer scored his 50th goal. But the star of Portugal is Belchior. He is top scorer with 9 goals along with Madjer. Belchior is frontrunner for both golden ball and golden shoe. He will be the main threat against Brazil.
Spain played a very tactical game against Argentina in their 2-0 win. This is the fourth occasion in this world cup where a team failed to score. Nico scored two goals for Spain. Argentina again failed to break the jinx of the quarterfinal. Italy defeated the host, France, 5-2 to enter the semifinal for the first time. We have seen that most of the teams are defensively very strong. So we may have less number of goals. FIFA this year introducing a new award Golden glove for the best goalkeeper. Roberto Valeiro of Spain, Andrey Bukhlitskiy of Russia, Marcelo Salgueiro of Argentina and Luis Rodas of El Salvador are vying for the award.
Portugal and Spain should be in the final. Without Buru Brazil will be a weak team though Benjamin is playing well. Benjamin along with Belchior is the frontrunner for golden ball. Portugal is the last country to beat Brazil in world cup. Portugal so far scored 32 goals and Brazil 24 goals. Spain should win easily against Italy. For me Portugal and Spain are favorites.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Russia creates history
Russia created history by keeping clean sheet in two consecutive matches. They defeated UAE 5-0 to enter the quarterfinal. In the previous match they defeated Cameroon 4-0. They now have the meanest defence in the tournament. Spain and Brazil entered the quarterfinal from group D. Brazil defeated Mexico 7-1. Argentina also kept a clean sheet. They defeated Cameroon 3-0.
We will have some interesting match in the quarterfinal. The quarterfinal line up is: Portugal vs Uruguay, Argentina vs Spain, France vs Italy and Brazil vs Russia. We may see Portugal, Spain, France and Brazil in the semifinal.
We will have some interesting match in the quarterfinal. The quarterfinal line up is: Portugal vs Uruguay, Argentina vs Spain, France vs Italy and Brazil vs Russia. We may see Portugal, Spain, France and Brazil in the semifinal.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Big Guns through to Quaterfinals
Uruguay, Portugal, Argentina, and Italy reached the quarter final. Madjer scored 5 goals to take his tally to 7 in this world cup. What an amazing goal scorer he is. He has scored 48 goals in four World cup. Portugal defeated Solomon Island 13-4. Spain and Russia scored important wins. Spain defeated Mexico 2-1 in a close match to stay alive in the tournament. Russia defeated Cameroon 4-0. This is the first time in this tournament a side could keep a clean sheet. This is third time in the history of Beach World cup a team could keep clean sheet. Portugal in 2005 against Japan (4-0) and Canada in 2006 against Spain (4-0) France continues to struggle. They scrape past Iran in penalty shootout. Uruguay defeated Senegal 8-7 in extra time. Pape Koukpaki of Senegal scored 4 times but still ended in the losing side. Brazil registered their second win in as many matches. They crushed Japan 8-1 in style. Banjamin played wonderfully.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Fifa Beach Soccer 2008: Close matches
In the first round of 4th FIFA Beach soccer tournament in France, most of the results were on the expected line. There are few surprises as the host nation fumbled against Senegal. Italy, Portugal, Uruguay registered a comfortable victory on the first day. The only surprise was Senegal's victory over the host nation in a thriller. Senegal was leading 3-0 and 5-3 at one point of time. France came back strongly with Didier SAMOUN equalizing in the last minute. Senegal ultimately prevailing over France in the penalty shootout.
In the second day the focus was on the group of death. True to its name, both the matches were very close. Brazil won 3-2 against Spain and Mexico won 4-3 against Japan. In group C Argentina defeated Russia 5-3 and UAE defeated Cameroon 10-4. All the matches were decided in the last period. UAE scored 5 times in the last period.
All total 72 goals have been scored in 8 matches with an average of 9 goals. Bakhit ALABADLA of UAE and Federico HILAIRE of Argentina are top scorer with 3 goals each. Buru of Brazil and Madjer of Portugal have scored 2 goals each. Madjer has taken his tally to 43 goals in the World Cup till now.
More excitement is stored for the next round of matches. The matches to watch are Senegal vs Uruguay, Brazil vs Japan, Argentina vs UAE and Spain vs Mexico.
In the second day the focus was on the group of death. True to its name, both the matches were very close. Brazil won 3-2 against Spain and Mexico won 4-3 against Japan. In group C Argentina defeated Russia 5-3 and UAE defeated Cameroon 10-4. All the matches were decided in the last period. UAE scored 5 times in the last period.
All total 72 goals have been scored in 8 matches with an average of 9 goals. Bakhit ALABADLA of UAE and Federico HILAIRE of Argentina are top scorer with 3 goals each. Buru of Brazil and Madjer of Portugal have scored 2 goals each. Madjer has taken his tally to 43 goals in the World Cup till now.
More excitement is stored for the next round of matches. The matches to watch are Senegal vs Uruguay, Brazil vs Japan, Argentina vs UAE and Spain vs Mexico.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup 2008: Curtain Raiser - 2
Majder – Legend in Beach Football
I am not sure how many people are aware of the name Majder. He is already a legend in the history of FIFA Beach football. He has twice (2005 and 2006) won the Golden Boot and Golden Shoe. He is the top soccer of the tournament history. I cannot recall if anybody has achieved the same feet in any other FIFA tournament including World cup. He has scored 41 goals in three tournaments. He is again going to a star attraction in this year edition.
Buru of Brazil has won the Golden Boot and Golden Shoe in 2007. He had scored 10 goals in the last edition. He will be one of the key players for Brazil. The other key players are Benjamin, Bruno, Sidney, Junior Negao and Bruno.
Brazil the favorites
Brazil has won the tournament twice, 2006 and 2007. They are one of the favorites in the tournament along with Spain, Portugal, and France. Brazil is the top scoring team in the tournament history. They have scored 134 goals followed by Portugal and France with 88 and 79 goals respectively. Spain the European champion this year will be another favorite. 2008 is turning out to be a great year for Spain. They won the European championship this year and Nadal won both the Wimbledon and French Open. We also have to wait and see
Goals Galore
Beach football sees lot of goals. In 2005, 164 goals were scored in 20 matches at an average of 8.2 goals. Brazil though failed to qualify for the final is the top scorer team with 39 goals. Portugal and France scored 27 and 26 goals respectively. Majder of Portugal was the top scorer with 12 goals.
In 2006, 286 goals were scored in 32 matches at an average of 8.9 goals. Brazil, the champion, is the top scorer team with 52 goals. Portugal and France scored 43 and 32 goals respectively. Majder of Portugal was the top scorer for the second time with 21 goals, which is a record till date.
In 2007, 261 goals were scored in 32 matches at an average of 8.1 goals. Brazil, the champion, is the top scorer team with 43 goals. Mexico and France scored 24 and 21 goals respectively. Buru of Brazil was the top scorer with 10 goals.
Tomorrow the tournament starts in France. We now start enjoying the action. Will the old guards dominate the tournament or a new surprise like Mexico (2007) will be there.
Reference: www.fifa.com
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Olympic Football 2008: Argentina and Nigeria are favorites
Argentina Hot Favorite
In my last article, I have written will Brazil win the elusive Olympic gold medal. They are taking a strong team no doubt. Now let us discuss about the prospect of other teams. Last time gold medalist Argentina is hot favorite. They have won the under-20 FIFA World cup in 2005 and 2007. They are bringing their U-20 stars along with Messi to challenge other teams. Argentina is placed in Group A along with Côte d'Ivoire, Australia and Serbia. They will face little challenge on their way to second round. They may face Netherlands or Nigeria in quarterfinal. There is mouth watering match can be a possible in semi final, Brazil vs Argentina. If it happens Olympic football will reach dizzy height with stars like Messi, Robinho and Ronaldinho will play.
Recently Africa teams are doing very well in Olympic football. Cameroon, Nigeria and Côte d'Ivoire will lead the African challenge. Nigeria which won the Under-17 2007 World cup will be another favorite. Nigeria should qualify for quarterfinal from group B. Their main challenger will be Netherlands. USA and Japan can cause few upsets here. Cameroon is placed in group D having Italy as the main challenger. Honduras and Korea are the other team. Côte d'Ivoire has to beat Australia and Serbia to qualify from this group along with Argentina.
European Challenge
Spain is the last European country to win gold medal in 1992. I doubt Italy, Belgium, Netherlands and Serbia will emulate Spain in this year tournament. Netherlands won bronze medal in 1908, 1912, and 1920. Italy won gold medal in 1936, and bronze in 1928 and 2004.
Kick off
The tournament starts on 7th Aug’08 with eight matches. We have two very interesting match. Argentina will meet Côte d'Ivoire and Nigeria will face Netherlands. In other notable matches Brazil meets Belgium, Cameroon meets Korea Republic, and Italy meets Honduras. So from the first day the tournament will be in top gear. I think teams will follow the attacking football seen in Euro 2008. Argentina , Brazil and Nigeria will lead the pack for attacking football.
In my last article, I have written will Brazil win the elusive Olympic gold medal. They are taking a strong team no doubt. Now let us discuss about the prospect of other teams. Last time gold medalist Argentina is hot favorite. They have won the under-20 FIFA World cup in 2005 and 2007. They are bringing their U-20 stars along with Messi to challenge other teams. Argentina is placed in Group A along with Côte d'Ivoire, Australia and Serbia. They will face little challenge on their way to second round. They may face Netherlands or Nigeria in quarterfinal. There is mouth watering match can be a possible in semi final, Brazil vs Argentina. If it happens Olympic football will reach dizzy height with stars like Messi, Robinho and Ronaldinho will play.
African Challenge
Recently Africa teams are doing very well in Olympic football. Cameroon, Nigeria and Côte d'Ivoire will lead the African challenge. Nigeria which won the Under-17 2007 World cup will be another favorite. Nigeria should qualify for quarterfinal from group B. Their main challenger will be Netherlands. USA and Japan can cause few upsets here. Cameroon is placed in group D having Italy as the main challenger. Honduras and Korea are the other team. Côte d'Ivoire has to beat Australia and Serbia to qualify from this group along with Argentina.
European Challenge
Spain is the last European country to win gold medal in 1992. I doubt Italy, Belgium, Netherlands and Serbia will emulate Spain in this year tournament. Netherlands won bronze medal in 1908, 1912, and 1920. Italy won gold medal in 1936, and bronze in 1928 and 2004.
Kick off
The tournament starts on 7th Aug’08 with eight matches. We have two very interesting match. Argentina will meet Côte d'Ivoire and Nigeria will face Netherlands. In other notable matches Brazil meets Belgium, Cameroon meets Korea Republic, and Italy meets Honduras. So from the first day the tournament will be in top gear. I think teams will follow the attacking football seen in Euro 2008. Argentina , Brazil and Nigeria will lead the pack for attacking football.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Olympic Football 2008: Will Brazil able to win the gold medal?
I thought I will not cover Olympic football in my blog. But after seeing the Brazil team I changed my mind. They are bringing a strong team no doubt. Ronaldinho (I believe Barcelona will leave him), Robinho, Diego will play for Brazil. Brazil wants to win the gold medal by any means. I sometimes failed to understand the mystery a team, winning 5 world cups, failed to win a gold medal. They have to wait until 1984 to win an Olympic medal.
In Olympic South American teams fared very badly. Brazil never won the gold medal. They won the silver in 1984 and in 1988 and bronze medal in 1996. They finished fourth in 1976. Only Uruguay (1928) and Argentina (2004) won gold medal from South America. Hungary is the most successful team in the Olympic. They won gold medal in 1952, 1964, and 1968, silver medal in 1972 and bronze in 1960. Of late African teams have done well in Olympic football. Cameroon won gold in 2000 and Nigeria in 1996. Germany like Brazil also failed to win Gold medal. East German won the gold medal in 1976.
Will Brazil win the gold medal? They are in Group C along with Belgium, China and New Zealand. Brazil should go through the next round. Watch this column for more update …..
In Olympic South American teams fared very badly. Brazil never won the gold medal. They won the silver in 1984 and in 1988 and bronze medal in 1996. They finished fourth in 1976. Only Uruguay (1928) and Argentina (2004) won gold medal from South America. Hungary is the most successful team in the Olympic. They won gold medal in 1952, 1964, and 1968, silver medal in 1972 and bronze in 1960. Of late African teams have done well in Olympic football. Cameroon won gold in 2000 and Nigeria in 1996. Germany like Brazil also failed to win Gold medal. East German won the gold medal in 1976.
Will Brazil win the gold medal? They are in Group C along with Belgium, China and New Zealand. Brazil should go through the next round. Watch this column for more update …..
Sunday, July 6, 2008
FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup 2008: Curtain Raiser - 1
The FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup 2008 will be held in Marseille between 17 and 27 July. France is holding the tournament for the first time. This is an annual tournament started in 1995. Brazil won the tournament 11 times. All the previous tournament were held in Brazil. In 2005 beach soccer became a part of the FIFA family. The first-ever FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup was staged on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro which was won by France.
Portugal is the first country to win cup other than Brazil in 2001. France won the tournament in 2005. Another interesting statistics was that Brazil never lost a final match. In 2001 and 2005 they failed to qualify for the finals. Uruguay finished runner up thrice.
Sixteen teams have qualified for this year tournament. The qualifiers are:
Africa (2 teams) Cameroon and Senegal
Asia (3 teams) Iran, Japan, and United Arab Emirates
Europe (5 teams) France, Italy, Spain. Portugal, and Russia
North and Central America (2 teams) EL Salvador and Mexico
Oceania ( 1 team) Solomon Islands
South America (3 teams) Argentina, Brazil , UruguayUruguay
The teams were divided into four groups. Group D is the group of death. 11 times Brazil will play European champion Spain, last year runners up Mexico and 2005 fourth place holder Japan. Spain was runner up in 2003 and 2004. Brazil and Spain should qualify from this group.
Group C consist of Argentina, Cameroon, Russia, and United Arab Emirates. This is relatively easy group. Argentina and Cameroon should qualify.
Group B consist of Portugal, Italy, El Salvador, and Solomon Islands. Portugal and Italy should qualify.
Group A consist of France, Uruguay, Senegal, and Iran. France and Uruguay should qualify.
The favorites of the tournament are Brazil, Spain, Portugal, and France……………..
Thursday, July 3, 2008
EURO 2008 Team of the Tournament
UEFA has announced the EURO 2008 Team of the Tournament on 30th June '08. It was dominated by Spanish players. There are as many as 9 players from Spain. But I felt two players should have made the team. One is Bastian Schweinsteiger from Germany and another is Arjen Robben from Netherlands. I felt that this two would have added more speed in the attack. Both of them scored magnificent goals in the tournament. Robben has scored an unbelievable against France. Roman Pavlyuchenko from Russia is a good striker but his conversion ratio is poor. Pepe is going to be a star, just watch him in the coming days.
I liked the choice of the best player. Xavi played exceptionally well in this tournament. I have mentioned that in my earlier blog.
UEFA EURO 2008 Team of the Tournament
Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Buffon (Italy), Iker Casillas (Spain), Edwin van der Sar (Netherlands).
Defenders: Bosingwa (Portugal), Philipp Lahm (Germany), Carlos Marchena (Spain), Pepe (Portugal), Carles Puyol (Spain), Yuri Zhirkov (Russia).
Midfielders: Hamit Altıntop (Turkey), Luka Modrić (Croatia), Marcos Senna (Spain), Xavi Hernández (Spain), Konstantin Zyryanov (Russia), Michael Ballack (Germany), Cesc Fàbregas (Spain), Andrés Iniesta (Spain), Lukas Podolski (Germany), Wesley Sneijder (Netherlands).
Forwards: Andrei Arshavin (Russia), Roman Pavlyuchenko (Russia), Fernando Torres (Spain), David Villa (Spain).
I liked the choice of the best player. Xavi played exceptionally well in this tournament. I have mentioned that in my earlier blog.
UEFA EURO 2008 Team of the Tournament
Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Buffon (Italy), Iker Casillas (Spain), Edwin van der Sar (Netherlands).
Defenders: Bosingwa (Portugal), Philipp Lahm (Germany), Carlos Marchena (Spain), Pepe (Portugal), Carles Puyol (Spain), Yuri Zhirkov (Russia).
Midfielders: Hamit Altıntop (Turkey), Luka Modrić (Croatia), Marcos Senna (Spain), Xavi Hernández (Spain), Konstantin Zyryanov (Russia), Michael Ballack (Germany), Cesc Fàbregas (Spain), Andrés Iniesta (Spain), Lukas Podolski (Germany), Wesley Sneijder (Netherlands).
Forwards: Andrei Arshavin (Russia), Roman Pavlyuchenko (Russia), Fernando Torres (Spain), David Villa (Spain).
Monday, June 30, 2008
Spain: Jinx Broken
At last Spain broke the ‘jinx’. They deserved to win this tournament. Their midfield was superb. Their passes were deadly. I was happy that my prediction matched. It is very difficult to match the prediction in football. This will really encourage me to write more in my blog.
I liked Xavi in the final. He really played well. The goal which Torres scored was magnificent. A very intelligent and well taken goal. These bunch of Spanish players are excellent. If guided properly, I think they can a force to reckon with in 2010 World Cup. They stopped Germans just with their skill.
The final match though was not the best match of the tournament. The Germans actually ran out of idea. In my preview I had said ‘Spain has to stop Schweinsteiger and Podolski if they want to stop Germans.’ And that what Spain did. Their two players, Schweinsteiger and Podolski were well marked. The supply line to Klose was stopped and Germans found wanting in the front.
Spain won the match with the help of their midfield. They have one of the strongest midfield in the World currently. They could have scored 2-3 more goals. Congratulations to their coach Aragonés for binding the team well. He put the team in very positive mind.
This Euro championship has brought back the attacking play which is very soothing to see. I will surely write more on these next time….
Congratulation Spain for winning second time…
I liked Xavi in the final. He really played well. The goal which Torres scored was magnificent. A very intelligent and well taken goal. These bunch of Spanish players are excellent. If guided properly, I think they can a force to reckon with in 2010 World Cup. They stopped Germans just with their skill.
The final match though was not the best match of the tournament. The Germans actually ran out of idea. In my preview I had said ‘Spain has to stop Schweinsteiger and Podolski if they want to stop Germans.’ And that what Spain did. Their two players, Schweinsteiger and Podolski were well marked. The supply line to Klose was stopped and Germans found wanting in the front.
Spain won the match with the help of their midfield. They have one of the strongest midfield in the World currently. They could have scored 2-3 more goals. Congratulations to their coach Aragonés for binding the team well. He put the team in very positive mind.
This Euro championship has brought back the attacking play which is very soothing to see. I will surely write more on these next time….
Congratulation Spain for winning second time…
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Euro Final 2008
As promised I am writing on my favorite sport football or soccer. It was a long dream of mine. I wanted to develop a Web site which will give analysis, results, discussion only on football. So I planned to dedicate this blog of mine to football. I will try to cover the World football scenario. To start with let’s talk about Euro 2008.
Germany will play Spain in the final. Germany is the most successful team in Euro history. This is their 6th final out of 13 European championships. They have won the championship three times, 1972 (Belgium), 1980 (Italy), and 1996 (England). They were runners in 1976 (Yugoslavia) and 1992 (Sweden). They lost in the semifinal in 1988 (Germany). We have to salute them for their fighting qualities. So many matches they have won just by their will power. Germany is going to meet Spain, better known as chokers. This is the third final for Spain. Spain has won the championship in 1964 (Spain). Interestingly that was their only success in a major football championship. They finishes runner up in 1984 (France). Spain never lost a semifinal match.
Germany started the tournament with a fluent 2-0 win over Poland. But they lost to Croatia by 1-2 in the very next match. They qualified to quarterfinal by defeating Austria 1-0. In the quarterfinal they played superbly to defeat Portugal 3-2. They showed their steel nerve against Turkey in the semifinal. They won 3-2. The players to watch for Germany are Bastian Schweinsteiger (7), Michael Ballack (13), Lukas Podolski (20), Miroslav Klose (11), Philipp Lahm (16), and Jens Lehmann (1). Their best player in this tournament is Lukas Podolski (20). Spain has to stop Schweinsteiger and Podolski if they want to stop Germans.
Spain had won all three matches in the group league. They defeated Russia 4-1, Sweden 2-1 and Greece 2-1. They were very disappointed against Italy which they won in try breaker. They were again at their very best in the semifinal against Russia. Their midfield is playing superbly. If spanish midfield plays well in the final then Germany may end up runners up. Germany led by Ballack has to counter Xavi, Senna, Fàbregas, Iniesta, and Torres. Puyol is marshalling the defense really well. This is best of Puyol I am watching in Spanish color. The players to watch for Spain are Iker Casillas (1), Sergio Ramos (15), Carles Puyol (5), Fernando Torres (9), Andrés Iniesta (6), Xavi Hernández (8), Marcos Senna (19), and Cesc Fàbregas (10).
I am sure if Spain plays their real game then they will not miss Villa much. German defense is the weak point in this tournament. I also like the way Casillas is playing in this tournament. He is very cool customer under the bar. Spain till now has scored 11 goals and conceded 3 whereas German has scored 10 goals and conceded 6.
For me Spain should win the final. I will come back with an update after the Euro final.
Watch my blog for more football statistics and data……..
Germany will play Spain in the final. Germany is the most successful team in Euro history. This is their 6th final out of 13 European championships. They have won the championship three times, 1972 (Belgium), 1980 (Italy), and 1996 (England). They were runners in 1976 (Yugoslavia) and 1992 (Sweden). They lost in the semifinal in 1988 (Germany). We have to salute them for their fighting qualities. So many matches they have won just by their will power. Germany is going to meet Spain, better known as chokers. This is the third final for Spain. Spain has won the championship in 1964 (Spain). Interestingly that was their only success in a major football championship. They finishes runner up in 1984 (France). Spain never lost a semifinal match.
Germany started the tournament with a fluent 2-0 win over Poland. But they lost to Croatia by 1-2 in the very next match. They qualified to quarterfinal by defeating Austria 1-0. In the quarterfinal they played superbly to defeat Portugal 3-2. They showed their steel nerve against Turkey in the semifinal. They won 3-2. The players to watch for Germany are Bastian Schweinsteiger (7), Michael Ballack (13), Lukas Podolski (20), Miroslav Klose (11), Philipp Lahm (16), and Jens Lehmann (1). Their best player in this tournament is Lukas Podolski (20). Spain has to stop Schweinsteiger and Podolski if they want to stop Germans.
Spain had won all three matches in the group league. They defeated Russia 4-1, Sweden 2-1 and Greece 2-1. They were very disappointed against Italy which they won in try breaker. They were again at their very best in the semifinal against Russia. Their midfield is playing superbly. If spanish midfield plays well in the final then Germany may end up runners up. Germany led by Ballack has to counter Xavi, Senna, Fàbregas, Iniesta, and Torres. Puyol is marshalling the defense really well. This is best of Puyol I am watching in Spanish color. The players to watch for Spain are Iker Casillas (1), Sergio Ramos (15), Carles Puyol (5), Fernando Torres (9), Andrés Iniesta (6), Xavi Hernández (8), Marcos Senna (19), and Cesc Fàbregas (10).
I am sure if Spain plays their real game then they will not miss Villa much. German defense is the weak point in this tournament. I also like the way Casillas is playing in this tournament. He is very cool customer under the bar. Spain till now has scored 11 goals and conceded 3 whereas German has scored 10 goals and conceded 6.
For me Spain should win the final. I will come back with an update after the Euro final.
Watch my blog for more football statistics and data……..
Monday, June 23, 2008
My First Day
How people find time to update their blog is amazing. But after going through lot of fields I think I will try to update my blog atleast weekly. I am currently staying in Delhi.
My first Day
This is the first day I am blogging. I have heard lot about blogging. But somehow didn't found any interest in it.
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