Search This Blog

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Real Madrid sack Pellegrini - planing to appoint Jose Mourinho

Real Madrid have sacked coach Manuel Pellegrini, paving the way for Jose Mourinho to take over.

The Spanish club's president Florentino Perez thinks the opportunity to bring Mourinho to the club was one that could not be missed as they look to become the dominant force in Europe once again.

Speaking at a press conference following a board meeting at the Bernabeu, Perez confirmed the widely-anticipated news that Madrid had sacked Pellegrini and intended to appoint Mourinho in his place.

But, Madrid will have to wait until Mourinho resolves his contract negotiations with Inter Milan, with whom he has a deal until June 2012.

Don't cry for me ... Argentina / Brazil / France / Holland

The World Cup is just a couple of weeks away - but already the shocks have started coming with some very big names being left out of squads going to the World Cup.

ARGENTINA and BRAZIL

Diego Maradona chose to omit the UEFA Champions League winner pair of Javier Zanetti and Esteban Cambiasso from the Argentinian roster, while neighbours Brazil will not be taking the AC Milan forward duo of Ronaldinho or Pato.

FRANCE and HOLLAND

French coach Domenech has decided to bring new blood into the French squad which means that players like Samir Nasri and Karim Benzema failed to make the cut ... while Netherlands superstar striker Ruud van Nistelrooy will also be left out of the Oranje squad.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Piss off Barca - you'll be bankrupt within two years anyway ...

If I have to put up with another bloody Barcelona player popping up and telling everybody how Cesc Fabregas should move to Barca ...

Everyday it's some ugly looking gnome popping up with a scripted opinion trying to agitate a move while also somehow depressing the price.

Look it's simple, Arsenal have Fabregas's signature on a contract that expires in 2014 (or some such date) - and he's currently Arsenal's captain - so we obviously rate him.

So if Barca REALLY want to get him playing for Barcelona sooner than that - then the broke Basque football club are going have to stump up with a sizable offer of €50m+ to do it.

Message to Barcelona - either pay up a fairly sizable transfer fee and add to your €460m debt - or PISS OFF !!

Saturday, May 22, 2010

UEFA Champions League Final : Inter Milan 2-0 Bayern Munich

Diego Milito inspired Inter Milan to Champions League glory against Bayern Munich at the Bernabeu with both goals of the game.

The first couple of minutes aside, when Inter hinted at an expansive approach, the Italian side's tactics were clearly to stay strong defensively and pounce on the counter attack.

For a long time, though, it played right into Bayern's hands. With Robben giving left-back Christian Chivu a torrid time and Mark van Bommel pulling the strings in midfield, the Germans almost completely dominated.

Milito set Inter Milan on their way against the run of play with a clipped finish just after the half-hour.

The Argentine completed the job on 70 minutes, when he collected Samuel Eto's pass, running at Mark van Buyten, turning the defender brilliantly and side-footing a sensational 30th goal of his season.

The goal was effectively game, set and match, Bayern's sting very much drawn and Inter allowed to coast to victory and become the first Italian side to win the treble.


Bayern Munich 0-2 Inter Milan FT (HT 0-1)
Milito 34
Milito 70

Blackpool beat Cardiff 3-2 to earn promotion to Premier League

Blackpool twice came from behind to defeat Cardiff and reach the Premier League for the first time after an engaging and, at times, breathtaking final at a sun-soaked Wembley.

The Tangerines won 3-2, with all the goals coming during an opening half of unbelievable excitement and occasionally awful defending.

Michael Chopra and Joe Ledley twice put Cardiff ahead with crisp strikes but a Charlie Adam free-kick and a close-range finish from Gary Taylor-Fletcher drew the Lancashire side level on each occasion - before Brett Ormerod struck the winner shortly before the interval with a low strike.

The result completes a remarkable season for Blackpool, who can now plan for the top-flight for the first time since the 1970-71 campaign.

Blackpool 3-2 Cardiff FT (HT 3-2)
Adam 13                 Chopra 9
Taylor-Fletcher 41       Ledley 37
Ormerod 45+1                      

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Sevilla 2-0 Atletico Madrid - Sevilla win Copa Del Ray

Sevilla beat the recently-crowned UEFA Europa League champions Atletico Madrid 2-0 to take the King's Cup here for the fifth time in their history and second in four years.

Sevilla lifted the Cup thanks to a fifth minute goal by diminutive winger Diego Capel and a second in time added on by Jesus Navas.

Sevilla captain Andres Palop, who made several good saves during the match, said it was mission achieved for the season. "It was a difficult and extraordinary final," he said. "This is what we wanted, qualify for the Champions League and win the King's Cup. We are very happy."

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Inter Milan clinch fifth Serie A title in a row with 1-0 win at Siena

Siena 0-1 Inter Milan

Inter Milan clinched a fifth consecutive Serie A crown after a nervy 1-0 final-day victory at Siena.

Diego Milito scored the only goal in the second half of the match at Stadio Artemio Franchi as Inter finished the season two points clear of second-placed Roma, who were 2-0 winners at Chievo.

The win secures Inter's second title under coach Jose Mourinho, and guarantees the Nerazzurri a place in the record books as the first team to win five back-to-back league titles since Juventus achieved the feat in the 1930s.

Chievo 0-2 AS Roma

Roma were comfortable 2-0 winners at Chievo but their efforts were to no avail as Inter held on for victory.

Mirko Vucinic put Roma ahead in the 39th minute after Francesco Totti had earlier hit the post. Daniele De Rossi doubled Roma's lead on the stroke of half-time and the Giallorossi held on without major scares.

Sampdoria 1-0 Napoli

Sampdoria sealed their place in next season's Champions League with a win over Napoli which preserves their unbeaten home record this term.

A goal from Giampaolo Pazzini early in the second half sealed the points as Samp saw off the challenge of Palermo to join Inter, Roma and AC Milan in Europe's elite club competition.

Atalanta 1-2 Palermo

Palermo upheld their end of the bargain with a 2-1 win at Atalanta but it was not enough to take fourth.

Edinson Cavani opened the scoring for Palermo after 12 minutes before Fabio Ceravolo's 48th-minute leveller looked to have secured a draw for Atalanta but Cavani popped up with his second at the death to secure the win.

Top 8 Standings In Serie A

Team        Pl  W  D  L  Fr:Ag Pts 
Inter Milan 38 24 10  4  75:34  82 
AS Roma     38 24  8  6  68:41  80 
AC Milan    38 20 10  8  60:39  70 
Sampdoria   38 19 10  9  49:41  67 
Palermo     38 18 11  9  59:47  65 
Napoli      38 15 14  9  50:43  59 
Juventus    38 16  7 15  55:56  55 
Parma       38 14 10 14  46:51  52

Barcelona win Spanish La Liga Title

Barcelona 4-0 Valladolid

Barcelona retained their Primera Division crown as they thrashed Real Valladolid 4-0 at home amid a carnival atmosphere at the Nou Camp.

After an uncharacteristically rocky start from Barca, nerves were settled when Luis Prieto inexplicably turned the ball into his own net under no pressure in the 27th minute.

Pedro then doubled the Barca lead four minutes later, and a brace from Lionel Messi in the second capped the win and saw the brilliant Argentinian match Ronaldo's record of scoring 47 goals in all competitions, 34 of them coming in the league.

Malaga 1-1 Real Madrid

Real Madrid, who began the day only one point behind Barcelona, fell behind against Malaga as Sergio Duda scored in the ninth minute.

Rafael van der Vaart equalised early in the second half, but Real could not find a winner as they fell three points behind their arch-rivals.

LA Liga Final Standings

Team        Pl  W D  L  Fr:Ag Pts 
Barcelona   38 31 6  1  98:24  99 
Real Madrid 38 31 3  4 102:35  96 
Valencia    38 21 8  9  59:40  71 
Sevilla     38 19 6 13  65:49  63 
Mallorca    38 18 8 12  59:44  62 
Getafe      38 17 7 14  58:48  58 

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Atletico Madrid beat Fulham 2-1 in Europa League Final

Diego Forlan scored with just four minutes of extra time remaining to give Atletico Madrid a 2-1 win over Fulham in today's Europa League final.

Forlan got his second goal of the game when he flicked Sergio Aguero's cross under his standing leg, the ball rolling past goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer via a deflection off Fulham defender Brede Hangeland.

Man-of-the-match Forlan, who also hit the post and put Atletico ahead in the 32nd minute, was the only Atletico player not to celebrate at the final whistle as the club won its first trophy since the Spanish league and cup double in 1996.

The Uruguay international instead shook hands with the exhausted Fulham players, who had been trying to clinch the west London club's first major title.

Goals :
Atletico Madrid - Forlan 32, 116
Fulham ---------- Davies 37

See 30 seconds of video highlights from the game at UEFA.com website

Sunday, May 09, 2010

Lille beat Marseille in race for 2nd CL spot in FRance

Lille 3-2 Marseille

A dramatic late comeback boosted Lille's hopes of competing in the Champions League again next season.

Things did not look good for Lille as champions Marseille led 2-1 at the Stadium Lille-Metropole. But an 80th-minute goal from substitute Vinicius De Melo and a last-gasp Mathieu Debuchy winner sealed a 3-2 win .

Auxerre 0-0 Lens

Auxerre, were held to a goalless draw by Lens, and are now two points behind in the race for second place - with only one match remaining.

Valenciennes 2-2 Lyon

Lyon looked like they were going to be the real beneficiaries of the results, but they had to settle for a point from a 2-2 draw at Valenciennes.

Team        Pl  W  D  L Fr Ag Pts 
Marseille   37 22  9  6 67:36  75 
Lille       37 21  7  9 71:38  70 
Auxerre     37 19 11  7 40:28  68 
Lyon        36 18 12  6 59:38  66
Montpellier 37 19  9  9 47:39  66
Bordeaux    37 19  7 11 55:36  64 

The top two teams will qualify directly for the group stages, while the 3rd placed side will take part in an early season "play-off" round.

Bayern Munich celebrate Bundesliga title


Bayern Munich wrapped up the Bundesliga title with a 3-1 victory over already-relegated Hertha Berlin at the Olympic Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Louis van Gaal's men had been all but home and dry, leading Schalke by three points and 17 goals going into the final day of the season, and duly completed the job thanks to Arjen Robben's second-half double.

Ivica Olic opened the scoring for Bayern - who have a DFB Pokal and Champions League final still to come - in the 20th minute before Gustavo Ramos levelled on the hour mark.

But Robben, who has been superb in his first season at the Allianz Arena, struck in the 74th and 87th minutes as Bayern won the title for the first time since 2008 and Hertha bowed out of the top flight with a defeat.

Monday, May 03, 2010

Bayern Munich are champions of German Bundesliga again

Bayern Munich secured their 22nd Bundesliga title with a 3-0 win over Bochum at the Allianz Arena thanks to a hat-trick from Thomas Muller.

Muller scored two goals in as many first-half minutes to put Bayern in the driving seat and, as news filtered through that Schalke were losing to Werder Bremen, he added his third to leave the Bavarians three points clear at the top of the table with one game remaining.

---

Schalke's title challenge ended with a 2-0 defeat at home to Bremen.

Mesut Ozil put Bremen ahead against the run of play early in the second half, before Hugo Almeida added the second to cement Bremen's third place with one game of the season remaining.

German Bundesliga Standings

While mathematical pedants will point out that Bayern Munich could be caught with a pair of extra-ordinary results, the facts are that with a 3-point lead and a +17 goal advantage over Schalke - Bayern Munich are German Champions again!
Team              Pl  W  D L Fr Ag  GD Pts 
Bayern Munich     33 19 10 4 69 30 +39  67 
Schalke 04        33 19  7 7 53 31 +22  64 
Werder Bremen     33 17  9 7 70 39 +31  60 
Bayer Leverkusen  33 15 13 5 64 37 +27  58 
Borussia Dortmund 33 16  9 8 53 39 +14  57 
VfB Stuttgart     33 15  9 9 50 40 +10  54 

Chelsea and Manchester United win to head into final round

Chelsea and Manchester United both won on Sunday to take the battle for the Premier League title to the final day of the season.

Chelsea remain in pole position after Steven Gerrard's astonishing blunder allowed them to take a giant stride towards the crown with a 2-0 victory over Liverpool at Anfield.

Gerrard was left with his head in his hands in the 33rd minute after his attempted backpass to Reina was seized upon by Didier Drogba, with the Ivory Coast international rounding goalkeeper Petr Cech before slotting home.

Chelsea doubled their advantage after the interval with Frank Lampard sliding the ball home from close range after Nicolas Anelka's low cross from the right.

----
Manchester United kept their nerve at the Stadium of Light in Sunday's late game to take the title race to the final day with a 1-0 win over Sunderland.

It was Nani who settled United's nerves as he scored the only goal of the game just shy of the half hour mark.

Short passes on the edge of Sunderland's box between Ryan Giggs, Dimitar Berbatov, Wayne Rooney and Darren Fletcher and Nani angled a sumptuous low drive beyond Craig Gordon.

---
Chelsea host Wigan on the final day of the campaign next Sunday with a one-point advantage at the summit. United face Stoke at Old Trafford knowing only a win will put pressure on the Blues.