Dynamo – Porto: Champions League Preview

November 5, 2008

It appears Dynamo drew the right Portugese club in the Champions League this time around. A year ago Sporting Lisbon beat Dynamo twice to end the Kiev side’s miserable European campaign. On Tuesday Sporting completed the “Ukrainian Sweep” with their second victory against Shakhtar Donetsk, leaving the Miners grasping for a UEFA Cup parachute. Today at Lobanovskiy Stadium Dynamo will attempt to pull a double of their own on Sporting’s more accomplished league rival, Porto. Three points would all but assure a berth in the knockout round for the UPL leaders.

Dynamo and Porto appear to be clubs heading in opposite directions. The Portuguese outfit followed their home defeat to Dynamo with two shocking league losses, which dropped the three-time defending champions to sixth in the table. Meanwhile Dynamo has not tasted defeat in any competition in over three months. The run of form has seen the Kiev club leap from 46th to 21st in the rather meaningless but still entertaining world club football rankings. While it would be tempting to install Dynamo as clear favorites in today’s match based on both teams’ recent performances, nothing can be taken for granted when a desperate side of Porto’s quality comes to town.

With two points separating the teams in Group G standings, today’s match will go a long way towards determining who goes to the knockout round and who has to settle for the UEFA Cup. While Dynamo players have been insisting that they will be looking for a win, in truth any result except a loss would strengthen their chances of advancing. With a home fixture against woeful Fenerbahce to follow, a conservative approach to this match would be the smart play. Which is why, despite having both Ismael Bangoura and Artem Milevskiy fully fit, I expect manager Yuri Semin to stick with the 4-5-1 variant he has employed so far in the Champions League. The availability of both strikers gives Semin the flexibility to change the team’s shape should they fall behind, but I just don’t see him opening up the field for Porto from the start.

On the injury front, Malkhaz Asatiani has been ruled out with a knock he sustained a week ago in the cup match against Zorya. Milos Ninkovic was left out on Saturday because of a fever, but should be ready to go. Still, I expect Badr El Kaddouri to make an appearance in the holding midfield role as he has against Fenerbahce and Karpaty. If he stays out of the referee’s book early on he will do just fine. As for the players recovering from long-term injuries, the reinforcements won’t arrive in time to help Dynamo in this match. Semin said Oleh Husyev and Carlos Correa have “no chance” of appearing against Porto, as the midfielders just have not had enough match practice.

For his efforts between the posts in October, Stanyslav Bohush has been named Dynamo’s player of the month by his teammates. As long his workload stays light today, the White-Blues should have no problem earning a result. Shutting down Cristian Rodriguez should be the number one priority for Dynamo’s defenders. The Uruguayan looked dangerous cutting in from the right in the previous meeting, and Ognjen Vukojevic should be there to greet him any time he strays from the flank.

Fearless Prediction: Porto will not be able to unlock Dynamo’s defense, Roman Eremenko will thrive on the counter, and the hosts will score from a set piece that fpr once will not be a direct effort from Oleksandr Aliyev. Dynamo 2 – 0 Porto.

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Tags: UEFA Cup

Osaka crush Adelaide´s hopes in AFC final first leg

November 5, 2008

OSAKA, Japan (AFP) – Gamba Osaka have one hand on the AFC Champions League trophy after trampling Adelaide United 3-0 in the first leg of the final Wednesday to leave the Australians with a daunting task.

The Japanese outfit dominated their opponents with ace Brazilian striker Lucas opening the scoring in the 37th minute before setting up the second for midfielder Yasuhito Endo six minutes later.

Michihiro Yasuda added a third for the home team in the 68th minute, leaving Adelaide with plenty to do in the second leg at Hindmarsh Stadium on November 12.

It could have been worse for Aurelio Vidmar’s men, with Endo having a goal disallowed from his curling freekick in the dying minutes with striker Roni adjudged offside.

Gamba coach Akira Nishino was more-than satisfied with the night’s work.

"I reckon the second match will be quite tough. But we got a good advantage and want to make good use of it," he said.

"Adelaide’s defence was not as tight as we had expected. I knew it would be a battle on the ground but we passed the ball well. We played a fine game of football.

"We have cleared half of our goal to become the champions by playing our brand of attacking football and we will play still better with a comfortable lead."

Vidmar admitted his side had a mountain to climb after what he called a "truly disappointing" defeat.

The deficit was "now very big … Mount Fuji, probably," quipped Vidmar.

"They were an extremely good side."

About the return leg at home, he added: "We will go there and give everything we can.

"That’s all I can ask for. I’m really happy with the way we played in the second half and put more pressure on them."

Vidmar vowed before the match that his team would rise to the occasion but their tactical discipline failed them with nerves evident in the biggest game in the club’s history.

Given their home advantage, Gamba was always going to be favourites and they started the better side, encamped in the Australian field for most of the first half with Tomokazu Myojin, Hideo Hashimoto, and Hayato Sasaki going close.

Adelaide’s best chance came after 26 minutes when Robert Cornthwaite let rip from 25 yards only to see his effort go wide.

The A-League side would have dearly loved to take an away goal into the second leg, but it was Gamba who opened the scoring in front of a paacked stadium.

Lucas fired a shot after latching onto a pass from Takahiro Futagawa from near the centre line and goalkeeper Angelo Costanzo could only watch it flash past him in the 37th minute.

The partisan crowd was ecstatic six minutes later when Diego won the ball and set free Lucas who then released Endo down the left with acres of space.

Defenders flocked to the Osaka star, but Endo fired in a lethal left-foot strike which hit the mark.

The second half saw Gamba continue their domination and they struck the killer blow in the 68th minute with Endo floating in a corner to Yasuda who unleashed a withering strike from 25 yards which pierced the Reds defence.

"We could have scored more if we were better skilled in finishing," said Endo.

"We want to keep up our motivation and play the same kind of football. I know the pressure will be more fierce away but we will try not to be outdone mentally."

Despite their loss, Adelaide are already guaranteed a place in the lucrative FIFA Club World Cup next month against continental champions including Manchester United.

Written by: AFP

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Tags: UEFA Champions League

Arsenal´s Adebayor out for three weeks

November 5, 2008

LONDON (AFP) – Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor will be out for three weeks after injuring his ankle in the weekend loss at Stoke, coach Arsene Wenger confirmed on Wednesday.

Wenger, who had Tuesday strongly criticised Stoke’s physical approach to the encounter at the Britannia Stadium, confirmed that "Adebayor will be (out) three weeks," while winger Theo Walcott will also face several days on the sidelines.

Adebayor picked up his injury in a heavy tackle by Stoke defender Ryan Shawcross, while Walcott picked up a shoulder injury and right back Bacary Sagna damaged an ankle.

On the plus side, skipper William Gallas was set to return for Wednesday’s Champions League match against Turkey’s Fenerbahce having not played since the 4-4 draw with Tottenham owing to a hamstring problem.

"Walcott could be days or weeks. It is the shoulder he had the surgery on. We don’t know about Gallas yet but Sagna will be back in the squad," Wenger said.

Wenger accused Stoke’s long throw-in menace Rory Delap of causing Walcott’s shoulder injury, which also makes the young England star a doubt for Saturday’s home league game with Manchester United.

And he accused Stoke’s Ryan Shawcross as going in too hard on Adebayor.

But Stoke manager Tony Pulis hit back Wednesday, noting that Gunners striker Robin van Persie was the only player sent off.

"In Stoke-on-Trent on Saturday evening, Mr Wenger talked openly about Arsenal’s encounter with Stoke as being a `typical English encounter’," Pulis told www.stokecityfc.co.uk.

"He commended my team’s organisation, my team’s commitment and confessed that on the day Stoke City thoroughly deserved to win the game. Very open and very honest.

"In London 48 hours later and 150 miles away from Stoke-on-Trent, Mr Wenger changed tack and has tried to rewrite history.

"Remember there was only one red card on Saturday and the last time I watched the game it certainly was not a Stoke City player who received it," said Pulis, who insisted his players would never deliberately injure opponents.

Following Tuesday’s training session Wenger had lauded the bravery of his team.

"The one who is tackling is not the brave one. For me the brave one is the player who is trying to play football," said Wenger, charging that his players "have been injured deliberately."

The Stoke loss has seen Arsenal drop to fourth in the English Premiership, six points behind leaders Chelsea.

Written by: AFP

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Ashley Young till 2012? Yes please!

November 5, 2008

Villa’s star winger, Ashley Young, yesterday signed a new contract to keep him at the club until 2012, during which he will earn a reported £70,000 a week. Not a bad rate of pay to you and me, but in the world of ridiculous footballer’s wages (by comparison) he deserves it. Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t agree with the ludicrous amount of money footballers earn (whilst the rest of us down here have to scrimp and save and shop at Netto through the credit crunch!), but Ashley is a superb player and if we don’t reward him, some other club will. Come the summer, I think there would’ve been significant interest from one of the big boys or Man City. Hopefully we should have him nailed now.

Talking to local rag, the Sunday Mercury, Young said:

“Am I happy to commit myself to Villa? Definitely.

“I am an ambitious person and I can achieve what I want to at Villa. I have a lot of things I want to do in my career and Villa will help me do that.

“I wouldn’t have come here if I didn’t think I could make myself a better player. The coaches have brought my game on leaps and bounds.”

When he came to Villa he was a good striker, who had shone out in a poor Watford side. The transfer fee was widely regarded as way too much, but Martin O’Neill clearly saw a lot of potential in him and fought against other clubs as his pricetag rose and eventually secured Young’s signature. Since joining Villa, Young was turned from a good player into a great player, making the left wing his new home and adapting to the role very quickly.

Also in the Mercury, Martin O’Neill commented:

“Ashley has three years left to run on his contract and while we paid Watford an awful lot of money for him, we didn’t pay a lot to him.

“After what he has done over the past 18 months, I felt we should change that. He has earned it.”

The young attacker’s England prospects are still anticipated by all Villa fans, the upcoming friendly against Germany being a perfect opportunity to see if Fabio Capello has finally realised what a talent he is.

Fair play to Ashley, but also to Martin O’Neill for such a shrewd purchase.

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Tags: English Premier League

HAND OF GOD: Messi v. Maradona

November 5, 2008

Saw this video earlier today and felt like sharing it with you.

Check out two Bostero legends highlighting their prowess in conceiling illegal goals . . .

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Tags: Argentina, Video

Arsenal v Fenerbahçe Preview

November 5, 2008

Greetings, and it’s Matchday 4 today. A big one in London with the Turks coming to town, and they’ll be gunning for us. With a 5-2 win in Istanbul a few weeks ago, they’ll no doubt be seeking revenge. It’s something of a must-win game with two poor results setting things back in the league.

A win tonight would be huge to ensure qualification to the next round, something that would be encouraging for a struggling club. The manager sums it up best:

“That is why for us, it is important to qualify as quickly as possible, especially as we didn’t win our last game. We had two bad experiences recently so we want to come back to winning ways and qualify.”

With Man United on the weekend, it’s vital to build any kind of momentum going in. Injury news isn’t great, with Walcott, Gallas, Eboue, and Adebayor all out. The Togolese striker is set to miss the next few weeks, which is a huge blow. There is probably not a worse time to see him out, especially with Van Persie out for the next few matches with his likely red card ban.

Tune in today to see what happens. I’m planning a liveblog, but check back later to see if it is up and running.

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Tags: UEFA Champions League

Wednesday Milan Musings, SC Braga On Deck

November 5, 2008

The UEFA Cup has not been as much of a curse as everyone has made it out to be. The real curse of being a fan of a big club in the UEFA Cup is that information on opponents is very hard to find, and a scouting report is even more difficult. Milan’s next opponent, SC Braga of the Portuguese league, is no exception. What is even more frustrating is that even UEFA.com does not preview these games in a proper fashion. For a group wanting to change and tout the UEFA Cup they do not do a very good job promoting it, while we are inundated with all things Champions League, any type of UEFA Cup news is nonexistent.

As fans of the Rossoneri we have taken for granted our clubs status as a not only a Champions League winner, but a perennial contender. As we all know last season did not go as planned and we are now being given an opportunity to see how the rest of Europe’s second tier elite lives in the UEFA Cup. As I mentioned earlier it has not been all bleak and dark as once imagined, but it is certainly a tournament taking place in the shadows and in the background. We can only hope that if Milan does find success in this tournament that they raise prominence to the Cup and also to some coverage. I don’t know much about SC Braga, but I am hoping that Carletto does. Calling for Carletto’s head is a distant memory, and his tactical moves and player choices have either been pure luck or a better understanding of how his squad operates. He has also fallen into the “this is my Serie A squad” and “this is my UEFA Cup squad.” The latter having names like Antonini, Sheva, and at times even Old Man

Emerson. But Emerson has featured in quite a few games lately and he may not be available for a few weeks considering his last few performances. Dida has even made his presence known in these matches, which all and all makes projecting this match or even Carletto’s lineup.

If I had to venture a guess, I would figure to see Dida, Bonera, Kaladze, Favalli, Antonini, Flamini, Emerson, Ambrosini, Dinho, Pippo and Sheva. Regardless of the lineup the best thing for this squad as a whole is to continue winning. As many a great coach has said winning is contagious and builds a culture of confidence that is tough to shake no matter the competition. Plus being tops in the group is never a bad thing.

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Tags: Serie A, UEFA Cup

We’re MOVIN’ ON!!! Champions League Recap: Sporting 1 – 0 Shaq D

November 5, 2008

No bullshit build up necessary…

Sporting Starting XI

Postiga – Liedson
João Moutinho – Rochemback – Izmailov
Miguel Veloso
Grimi – Polga – Caneira – Abel
Rui Patrício

It’s been well documented at this point how I feel about Rochemback and Veloso starting together. At least he didn’t have Veloso playing left back this time around. I wasn’t thrilled about the lineup but I wasn’t in a “what the fuck” state of mind this time around. Maybe I had a good feeling about this one…

First Half Analysis / Notes
Thoroughly cautious. Shaq D wanted to press the issue but we gave enough danger on a few counter attacks that they couldn’t push too many men forward. A few half chances for both teams but nothing too crazy. Rochemback played his role of disruption in the midfield brilliantly and Polga put a stop to about five bazillion runs into the box. Brandão led the Shaq D diving squad with a bunch of bitch dives and made me hate the majority of players on the Ukranian side for their constant hurry to hit the canvas. It shows how bad their simulation was if a supporter of a Portuguese team is complaining about the dives.

Intermission changes / Thoughts
We needed to ramp up the attack. We were handling whatever it was they could throw at us but were not getting to the final level and making the counter attacks… count…

Second Half Analysis / Notes
The push became heavier from the outset of the half. We looked somewhat more crisp and had a number of chances that went begging only by inches. We managed to keep the dangerous free kicks to a minimum and when they were conceded, we handled them brilliantly. Bento brought on Derlei for Postiga around the 70th minute and four minutes later, pure ecstasy….

I still get chills watching the ball hit the back of the net… The Ukranians never really looked like troubling too much in the final minutes and there it was: knockout stages for the first time ever. Amazing.

Individual Player Rankings:
Goalkeeper
Rui Patrício: 7.75 – Wasn’t troubled too much, but handled the free kicks intelligently and confidently. Picked a good time to pull his head out of his ass and have a solid match.

Defenders
Abel: 7.25 – Got forward a bit and tried to kick start the offense but couldn’t manage to help the boys up front. Still, a solid effort.

Polga: 8 – Man of the Match – It’s way too easy to give Man of the Match to Derlei. For me, he simply completed the inevitable at that point. Every time I looked up, Polga was BEASTING someone off the ball. He played confident, intelligent defense and disrupted numerous attempts by Shaq D to breach the Sporting backline.

Marco Caneira: 6.75 – Somewhat sloppy at times. Had some wild challenges that if they didn’t pan out could have left the defense badly exposed. When Tonel comes back, he’s not a starter in my book.

Grimi: 7 – Played a similar match to Caneira at times: sloppy. When his number was called, he managed quite well.

Midfielders
Izmailov: 7 – Didn’t have quite the match or the impact that I thought he would, but can take the ball across the field like a frigging lightning bolt when needed.

João Moutinho: 7.25 – Probably the most prominent that I’ve seen him in any match this season.

Rochemback: 7.5 – Played a decent match. I’m not crazy about him and Veloso starting together (did I mention that 1489574218 times already?) as I’d rather have a more offensive minded type player like Romagnoli in his place, but he put in a competent performance.

Miguel Veloso: 7.75 – Was a defensive Izmailov. Up and down the field constantly, to support both the attack and defense simultaneously. Nice match.

Attack
Postiga: 6.5 – Got fouled quite a bit so he couldn’t really get much going. He needs to pull his ass off the pitch and get back to work after a hard tackle, not bitch and moan for fouls.

Liedson: 6.75 – Squandered a chance or two but created a few out of thin air as well.

Substitutes:
Derlei: (for Postiga 69′) 7.75 – Scored a historic match winner that will not be forgotten any time soon.

Bruno Pereirinha: (for Izmailov 93′) : Usual time waster – See his rating.

Conclusion:
We’re through to the knockout stages of the Champions League for the first time ever. Derlei has been quoted in the press as saying he wants first place. I love the enthusiasm and gall on the guy. In the end, I’m THRILLED we’ve made it.

Viva O Sporting!!!

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Um. Wow.

November 5, 2008

This is Bernardo Corradi. He plays for Reggina. (Click to embiggen.)

I don’t know if one is supposed to say such a thing about men, but he’s just got curves in all the right places, doesn’t he? Damn.

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Tags: Photo

Martino scores again; USA draws 1:1 with France to reach to U-17 Women’s World Cup quarterfinals

November 5, 2008

UCKLAND, New Zealand – Vicky DiMartino scored for a third straight game to give the United States a 1:1 draw with France on Wednesday and send it to the quarterfinals of the U-17 Women’s World Cup.

After a first half that saw both teams hit the crossbar, DiMartino took what looked like a harmless ball at the left top corner of the penalty area and launched a left-footed shot that arced over France goalkeeper Laetitia Philippe and off the underside of the bar in the 57th minute.

Lea Rubio replied for France with a 30-yard effort in the 72nd minute of a game that saw numerous chances by both teams, but USA goalkeeper Taylor Vancil repelled several late threats that put her side through to the final eight.

"This was our best performance by far and we’re hoping to keep improving game by game," Vancil said. "Our defense was solid and we’ve got the result we needed. But there’s a lot more to come from us and I’m sure you’ll see better from us in our next game." The USA finished with four points in Group C, edging out France on goal difference for second place, five points behind Japan – which completed its first round campaign with a 7:2 victory over Paraguay.

The Korea Republic defeated England 3:0 to win Group D, completing the quarterfinal field and setting up a knockout round meeting with the United States on Sunday. England finished second in the group and will face Japan.

Brazil drew 2:2 with Nigeria to squash the African side’s chances. Nigeria finished third in Group D, just ahead of the South Americans.

The United States’ advancement gives CONCACAF two teams in the quarterfinals, which will begin on Saturday with Canada facing European champion Germany, and Denmark opposing Korea DPR.

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