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Minnows Colmar stun Lille in French Cup

High-flying Lille crashed out of the French Cup in the round of 64 on Saturday after losing an epic penalty shootout 10-9 to 10-man Colmar of the Championnat de France Amateurs (fourth tier).

The game finished 0-0 after 90 minutes and Colmar, who play in the same division as Lille’s reserves, were forced to play extra time with 10 men after midfielder Cedric Faivre was shown a second yellow card for attempting to score with his hand.

The extra 30 minutes also failed to yield a goal and after each side scored four penalties in the shootout, sudden death ensued.

Lille captain Stephane Dumont, who scored his first penalty, drilled his side’s 11th spotkick against the post, enabling Salim Mezriche to put his team into the next round and dump Ligue 1’s third-placed side out of the competition.

It was Colmar’s second consecutive penalty shootout success in the tournament, after their victory over second-tier Metz in the previous round.

They will play Ligue 1 strugglers Boulogne-sur-Mer in the next round.

The top-flight’s bottom club Grenoble turned the tables on the season’s surprise package Montpellier, beating them 3-2 after extra time to join Colmar in the last 32.

The sides were drawing 1-1 at half-time and 2-2 at full-time, but Nassim Akrour struck just before the extra time interval to prolong Grenoble’s cup adventure.

“This qualification is a little ray of sunshine for us,” said Grenoble coach Mecha Bazdarevic, whose side are 13 points from safety in the league.

“It was a real cup tie in every sense.”

Earlier, Beauvais of the Championnat National (third tier) booked their place in the last 16 by beating nine-man Agen 3-0.

Rennes, last season’s beaten finalists, were the first side to qualify for the round of 16 when they won 4-0 at fifth-division Saumur on Friday evening.

Defending French champions and current league leaders Bordeaux take on Corsican Ligue 2 outfit Ajaccio later on Saturday.

PARIS (AFP)

Tags: Ajaccio, Bordeaux, Cedric Faivre, championnat de france, colmar, cup tie, drawing 1, extra time, France, france amateurs, french cup, Grenoble, league leaders, ligue 2, Lille, metz, minnows, Montpellier, PARIS, penalty shootout, ray of sunshine, Rennes, saumur, surprise package, time interval, yellow card

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Rangers left counting cost of Accies shock

Rangers were left with an unexpected replay and fresh injury headaches after the Scottish Cup holders were held to an extraordinary 3-3 draw by Hamilton Academical.

Steven Davis and top goalscorer Kenny Miller both suffered injuries as Scottish Premier League leaders Rangers were pushed all the way by top-flight strugglers Hamilton at New Douglas Park on Sunday.

Rangers were cruising at 2-0 up in the 30th minute after goals from Steven Whittaker and Miller.

But Hamilton hit back with three goals in an astonishing 10 minute burst at the end of the first-half, Simon Mensing starting the recovery from the penalty spot before Marco Paixao and Mickael Antoine-Curier stunned the visitors.

However, Miller’s controversial penalty just after the hour mark brought the score back to 3-3 as Hamilton played out the final 10 minutes a man down following Richie Hastings’s red card.

The result left the teams facing a replay at Ibrox with the winners up against St Mirren in the last 16.

Meanwhile Rangers assistant manager Ally McCoist said the Glasgow giants could have done without the setbacks suffered by Davis and Miller.

“Injuries are part and parcel of football,” said McCoist. “We could do without them but hopefully they are not long-term.

“Davis has a dead leg and with his style of play, mobility is important for him and we had to get him off.”

“Kenny has been feeling his groin for a couple of weeks and I don’t think the cold weather helped him.

“Hopefully we got him off in time.

“It’s been a little niggle and the conditions probably played a part today. We could’ve done without injuries but they had no bearing on the goals we lost.

“We won’t know the full extent until the next 48 hours – but the squad is certainly being put to the test over the coming weeks.

“I would be lying if said it was not a concern but we have to handle it.”

Reflecting on the match, former Scotland striker McCoist said: “It was everything you would expect from a Scottish Cup tie; there was enough crammed into that game for a few cup ties.

“The first 45 (minutes) were a bit bizarre because we were 2-0 up without really playing well, I couldn’t see where it came from.

“But I also didn’t see Hamilton scoring three goals in 10 minutes. It was a strange feeling to go from being delighted to a little down and we had work to do at half-time.”

Hamilton kicked-off 28 points behind Rangers but manager Billy Reid insisted: “I thought over the 90 minutes we were the better side.

“We have taken a few doings over the last couple of seasons but there is progress being made at the club and that’s important.

“I just tell the players to believe in themselves. A lot will be made of Rangers not playing well but that’s a discredit to Hamilton – I thought we were brilliant.”

GLASGOW (AFP)

Tags: ally mccoist, Antoine-Curier, Billy Reid, cold weather, controversial penalty, cup tie, curier, dead leg, Douglas Park, Glasgow, Hamilton, hamilton academical, Kenny, kenny miller, league leaders, man down, Marco Paixao, mensing, Mickael, Miller, Richie Hastings, scotland, scottish cup, Scottish Premier League, setbacks, Simon Mensing, st mirren, Steven Davis, Steven Whittaker, top flight, whittaker

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Arsenal may swap Fabregas for Higuain: report

Arsenal may be ready to sell Cesc Fabregas to Real Madrid — if they get Argentine star Gonzalo Higuain in return, a Spanish sports newspaper said Thursday.

Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger “is only willing to part with his captain if Real includes Gonzalo Higuain in the deal,” said Marca, which did not indicate its sources.

It said Real would prefer to offer Dutch midfielder Rafael Van der Vaart to the London club, and would only release Higuain for 35 million euros, 10 million less than they would pay the Gunners for Fabregas, Marca said.

But competition for the 22-year-old Spanish international from bitter rivals Barcelona may force their hand, it said.

In comments on the UEFA website, Higuain said he would like to end his career at Real Madrid, “the team and the city are my second home, and it would be fantastic.”

Fabregas, Arsenal’s top scorer with 12 goals, is under contract with the Gunners until 2014 but his future has been the subject of much speculation this season.

The player himself last month played down talk of a move back to his native Spain, saying that his future lies in the English Premier League.

Fabregas began his career with Barcelona but was signed by Arsenal in September 2003.

The following month he became Arsenal’s youngest ever player in any competition when he appeared in a League Cup tie against Rotherham aged just 16 years and 177 days.

MADRID (AFP)

Tags: 10 million, Argentine, Barcelona, bitter rivals, coach, cup tie, English Premier League, euros 10, fabregas arsenal, gunners, london, london club, MADRID, marca, midfielder, premier league, Rafael van der, real madrid, Spain, spanish sports, speculation, top scorer, uefa, Wenger

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Babbel´s Stuttgart have all to play for

VfB Stuttgart coach Markus Babbel will take his team to second-division Greuther Fuerth for Tuesday’s German Cup tie with a place in the quarterfinals – and potentially his job – on the line.

Stuttgart’s 1-0 defeat to Hanover on Saturday was their fourth straight defeat and although he has been given a vote of confidence, Babbel can not afford to see his side dumped out of the cup as they struggle in the league.

“There is no debate over the coach, Markus Babbel will sit on the bench in Fuerth,” said Stuttgart manager Horst Heldt after Saturday’s Hanover defeat which leaves his side 14th in the league.

“We really need results now, things are difficult and after four defeats it is hard to talk about things improving.”

The words contradicted those of Babbel who moments before had talked about seeing signs of improvement from his side, with precious little evidence of a fighting spirit on the pitch.

“I was a fighter when I was a player and I would always want to fight,” said ex-Bayern Munich midfielder Babbel.

Stuttgart are in the last sixteen only by virtue by virtue of an extra-time win over fourth division Luebeck in the second round and Babbel needs a convincing win from his side to reach the last eight.

In the round’s other ties, Bundesliga sides Cologne and Borussia Dortmund must also avoid potential banana-skins at minnows Eintracht Trier and third division VfL Osnabrueck respectively on Tuesday.

Osbnabrueck were the talk of the second round after they knocked out Hamburg on penalties and the minnows will be keen to claim another Bundesliga scalp.

On Wednesday, Schalke 04 travel down to the Allianz Arena to play second-divion 1860 Munich who knocked out Bundesliga bottom side Hertha Berlin on penalties in the second round.

Cup holders Werder Bremen host former top-tier side Kaiserslautern while German giants Bayern Munich are at Eintracht Frankfurt in the only all-Bundesliga tie of the round.

Louis van Gaal-coached Bayern warmed-up for Wednesday’s game with a 2-1 win over Frankfurt in the German league last Saturday so the sides will know all about each other when they square off again.

Tuesday

Greuther Fuerth v VfB Stuttgart

Eintracht Trier v Cologne

VfL Osnabrueck v Borussia Dortmund

Augsburg v MSV Duisburg

Wednesday

1860 Munich v Schalke 04

Werder Bremen v Kaiserslautern

Hoffenheim v TuS Koblenz

Eintracht Frankfurt v Bayern Munich

BERLIN (AFP)

Tags: 1860 munich, allianz arena, banana skins, Bayern, bayern munich, berlin, Borussia, borussia dortmund, Bremen, cologne, cup tie, eintracht trier, extra time, fighting spirit, FRANKFURT, Hamburg, Hanover, Horst Heldt, Louis, louis van gaal, markus babbel, Munich, quarterfinals, schalke 04, straight defeat, stuttgart, vote of confidence

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Zurich as ´yes we can´ outsiders in Group C

Zurich’s shock defeat of AC Milan in the Champions League has thrust the Swiss team into the unlikely role of “yes we can” outsiders against the Italian champions, Real Madrid and Marseille in Group C.

Zurich stand second with three points, ahead of Milan on goal difference and of twice-defeated Marseille ahead of their tie against the French team on Wednesday.

“If we can win here, we can win anywhere,” defender Alain Rochat said after the victory at Milan’s San Siro stadium.

But Zurich coach Bernard Challandes is acutely aware that his side’s jubilation is based on little more than a single match against the ailing Milanese and a goal snatched with a cheeky heeled flick by Finnish defender Hannu Tihinen.

Challandes doesn’t mention the moment they were overwhelmed 5-2 at home by Real Madrid in their first Group C tie, but he does not want to dampen his side’s new found European confidence either.

The then unfancied Swiss managed to string together a 20 minute period just after half-time when they scared the galacticos by pulling two goals back to 3-2.

“We had self-confidence after the game against Madrid, we thought ‘yes we can do’ something in the Champions League,” midfielder Xavier Margairaz said.

But Challandes underlines the fact that the reigning Swiss champions are half way down their domestic league, one of Europe’s weakest, and 16 points adrift of the leaders.

“We’ve had some bad experiences recently, that means everything for the Champions League, not enough for the Swiss championship,” commented Challandes, as the team lined up for a cup tie against Locarno, who are languishing in the bottom third of the Swiss second division.

“When a player plays badly against Locarno then he might not have a chance against Marseille either,” he remarked.

Zurich thrashed Locarno 7-0 on Saturday, with two goals from striker Alexandre Alphonse, but only after a goal-less first half that illustrated one of their problems this season and a talking to from Challandes at half time.

Zurich, who have traditionally been in the shadows of their better known cross-town rivals Grasshopper as well as Basel in recent decades, have won three of the last four Swiss league titles.

They owe the first two to coach Lucien Favre before he left for Hertha Berlin in 2007.

The down-to-earth Challandes, a successful former Swiss national under-21 team coach, has since crafted his side around Margairaz in midfield.

Winger Johannn Vonlanthen, who is fighting for a steady place in Switzerland’s national side, is top scorer with six league goals this season.

“We have one dream, we must do everything that we can to reach this second place, or third place,” in the Champions League, said Margairaz.

ZURICH (AFP)

Tags: ac milan, alain rochat, Alexandre Alphonse, alphonse, berlin, Bernard Challandes, C. Zurich, cup tie, Europe, galacticos, goal difference, italian champions, jubilation, locarno, MADRID, Marseille, Milan, milanese, minute period, real madrid, San, san siro stadium, self confidence, shock defeat, single match, swiss championship, swiss team, Switzerland, xavier margairaz, ZURICH

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Playoffs are the answer to spice up boring leagues

Forget about the 39th game. What about English Premier League playoffs to spice up the world’s most popular league and stop it becoming a boring four-horse race?

After watching the recent playoffs in the English lower leagues and witnessing the excitement surrounding the recent two-legged title decider in Belgium where I ply my trade, I reckon playoffs are the way forward for the top leagues, if not now, then possibly in the future.

Everybody loves the cup tie atmosphere, a nail-biting finale and a do or die decider.

But with the growth of the Premier League and top divisions in other countries, such as Spain and Italy, along with the popularity of the UEFA Champions League, the exhilaration of soccer seems to be dwindling.

Soccer’s governing bodies have admitted there is a real threat that the beautiful game is becoming boring.

My solution for the Premier League would be to have a four-team playoff for the title similar to that used in the Netherlands which proved successful.

This would prevent boredom should Manchester United run away with the title with a few games still to go. At the same time finishing fourth would have an added incentive for those teams battling to break into that coveted Champions League spot.

Breaking into the top four is hard enough for the likes of Everton or Aston Villa, but what about getting there and having a real chance of winning the title?

The ecstasy and heartbreak of Newcastle, Middlesborough, Sunderland and Hull on the final day shows a playoff at the bottom similar to those in the lower divisions is also more exciting than watching a club limp out of the top division weeks before the end of the season.

PHOTO: Burnley players celebrate after their English Championship playoff final victory over Sheffield United at Wembley Stadium in London May 25, 2009. REUTERS/Nigel Roddis

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Tags: added incentive, aston villa, beautiful game, burnley, cup tie, decider, English Premier League, exhilaration, final victory, governing bodies, heartbreak, horse race, Italy, league playoffs, london, Manchester, manchester united, middlesborough, NEWCASTLE, Nigel Roddis, season photo, sheffield united, Spain, Sunderland, the Netherlands, UEFA Champions League, wembley stadium, winning the title

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Mikel Obi out of Nigeria World Cup tie

LAGOS (AFP) – Chelsea midfielder Mikel John Obi has been ruled out of Nigeria’s World Cup qualifying tie against Mozambique on Sunday because of illness, officials have disclosed.

"He will be part of the squad to Maputo but he will not play," announced team official Idah Peterside.

Mikel earlier this week informed Nigeria coach Shuaibu Amodu that he is unwell and may therefore not be available for the Mozambique match.

Chelsea formally informed the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) that Mikel is suffering from a throat infection.

However, Nigeria officials ordered that he join up with the team in South Africa, where they have been training ahead of the match in Maputo.

Nigeria will be without several other players for this encounter as a result of injury.

Everton Joseph Yobo is nursing a hamstring injury while FC Sion defender Yusuf Mohammed is sidelined with a tendon complaint.

Tags: Amodu, CHELSEA, coach, cup tie, encounter, football federation, joseph yobo, LAGOS, Maputo, match, midfielder, Mikel, mikel john obi, Mikel Obi, mohammed, Mozambique, nff, nigeria, nigeria football, South Africa, tendon, throat infection, World Cup, Yusuf Mohammed

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Cole to play for Chelsea despite arrest

COBHAM, England (AFP) – England defender Ashley Cole will play in Chelsea’s FA Cup quarter-final at Coventry on Saturday despite his arrest for drunk and disorderly conduct outside a London restaurant earlier this week.

Cole was led away from South Kensington’s Collection restaurant in handcuffs early on Thursday morning after abusing police officers following a night out with Chelsea team-mates John Terry and Michael Mancienne.

The left-back, married to Girls Aloud singer Cheryl Cole, claimed he was being harrassed by photographers, who had reportedly taken pictures of him talking to a woman in the venue, and he was unhappy that police at the scene failed to help him.

Cole, who issued an apology for his behaviour, was given an 80 pounds fixed penalty by police.

The former Arsenal star didn’t escape the wrath of Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink, who gave Cole a stern talking to at the club’s Cobham training ground on Friday.

Hiddink also spoke to Terry and Mancienne to warn them about the responsibility to the club and their team-mates.

The Dutch coach hinted that Cole would be disciplined for breaking Chelsea’s code of conduct but Hiddink, who has lost full-back Paulo Ferreira to a cruciate ligament injury for the rest of the season, admitted he would not be left out of the squad for this weekend’s cup tie.

"Ashley Cole will be in the squad on Saturday. To be fair and open I’ve talked with him about the situation." We talked in private and he explained the details to me," Hiddink said a press conference on Friday.

"I’ve spoken firmly with him about his responsibility. There are rules inside this club regarding going out and also discipline. I had a firm talk with him and also the rest of the group about this.

"What is normal and good is he apologised for his abusive behaviour against the police officer. He over-reacted abusively. He went a little bit too far.

"At that moment they were outside the rules set by the club. I’ve spoken firmly with him, the captain and the vice-captain."

Hiddink has a well-earned reputation for ruling his teams with a rod of iron. The former Holland manager once sent Edgar Davids home from Euro 96 following a series of rows with team-mates that divided the squad on racial lines.

So it was little surprise that Hiddink was unhappy that Cole had dragged the club’s name through the mud with his latest controversy, but he is keen to draw a line under the incident now.

"Every case is different. You have to judge the circumstance. In his opinion he was harrassed a little bit and that is why he reacted. He went out of control and that is where we tackled him," Hiddink said.

"I’ve had things going on with big players 10 or 12 years ago. Everyone knows that was a situation with the Dutch national team.

"It was counter-productive to the relationships within the teams. When it is harming the relationship for productivity in the team that is when I will say enough."

With Cole’s scandal high on the agenda, Hiddink hardly fielded a single question about football during his pre-match briefing, but he did reveal that Ghana midfielder Michael Essien and Portugal defender Ricardo Carvalho will feature at Coventry.

Essien has been sidelined with a knee injury since September, while Carvalho has also been struggling with a knee problem.

Written by: AFP

Tags: abusive behaviour, apology, ashley cole, CHELSEA, cheryl cole, cobham, Cole, coventry, cruciate ligament injury, cup tie, disorderly conduct, Edgar Davids, England, English Premier League, fa cup quarter, ghana, handcuffs, harrassed, Holland, john terry, london, london restaurant, Michael Essien, Michael Mancienne, Paulo, paulo ferreira, portugal, ricardo carvalho, south kensington, team mates, Terry, thursday morning

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Southend shock could see off Scolari

LONDON (AFP) – Chelsea travel to Southend for an FA Cup replay on Wednesday where an upset win for the minnows would leave Roman Abramovich’s club in crisis and manager Luiz Felipe Scolari’s job in jeopardy.

Having just lost 3-0 to title rivals Manchester United in the Premier League these are tough times for a club that planned to dominate world football following the arrival of their Russian billionaire owner.

Chelsea justified that ambition when Abramovich appointed Jose Mourinho as manager and they won two league titles, two League Cups and an FA Cup during the Portuguese’s first few years in charge.

But last season Mourinho was sacked, replaced by Avram Grant, and Chelsea failed to win a single trophy despite reaching the Champions League Final in Moscow, where they lost on a penalty shootout to United.

The ensuing departure of Grant, replaced by Scolari, was expected to return the London club to the path of ever-greater success.

Instead the Blues have been knocked out of the League Cup by lower division Burnley and dropped 14 points at home so far this season – including defeats by Arsenal and Liverpool.

Meanwhile their performance at Old Trafford on Sunday was of such mental fragility that many critics believe they are out of the title race already.

It has all left Scolari, a coach who won the World Cup with Brazil, under intense pressure ahead of a banana-skin Cup tie against a Southend team who play in English football’s third tier but who still managed a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge a fortnight ago.

It’s all a far cry from the Mourinho days and Scolari is further hampered by a new era of spending cuts.

The worldwide credit crunch is said to have hurt even Abramovich’s finances and the arrival of other wealthy foreign owners, including Sheikh Mansour at Manchester City, have left him unable to dominate the transfer market in the way he did when spending more than 50 million pounds on Andriy Schevchenko and Didier Drogba.

So far Scolari has been able to buy just one player – Deco from Barcelona – and, despite selling Wayne Bridge to Manchester City, he has been warned there is no money to spend in the January window.

There are other signs, too, of difficulties for the west London side.

Their worldwide scouting system has been scaled down; Abramovich no longer attends so many matches; their youth team has failed to provide a single first-team regular over the last five years; the defence leaks goals alarmingly from set pieces and Scolari appears unable to find a system which could accommodate both Drogba and top scorer Nicolas Anelka.

The club will argue, perhaps fairly, that some of those changes have less to do with a crisis and more to do with facing current realities. They are also in tune with the aim of making Chelsea a self-sufficient football giant.

But for fans living in the here-and-now it all adds up to a very uncomfortable transition and Scolari knows a slip-up at Roots Hall, the humble home of Southend that holds just 12,000 fans, will make the pressure almost unbearable for a club that boasted it would one day be regarded as the biggest in the world.

"We need to play there and we need to win." Scolari said. "Southend played a spirited game against us in the first game and their fans will be behind them. But we have to win."

To his credit, Scolari gave an honest assessment of Chelsea’s poor performance at Old Trafford and has already begun the process of rebuilding his side’s reputation by insisting they will improve, even if he is unable to strengthen the squad.

"Don’t think that because we have lost one game we are finished," he warned. "We have 17 games more in the league and we will fight until the last game.

"And I don’t want to sign more players. I have very good players already and I will go with them.

"Now is the time for me and the players to think about our future. We either lose everything or we are men and we make sure we improve."

If Chelsea’s players don’t respond to their manager’s call, Scolari may well find thinking about the future is a luxury he can no longer afford.

Written by: AFP

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Injured Nakamura set to miss Cup tie

GLASGOW (AFP) – Japan midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura is set to miss Celtic’s Scottish Cup match against Dundee because of a groin injury.

Nakamura suffered the problem during last weekend’s 2-2 Scottish Premier League draw against Dundee United and has now been withdrawn from the Hoops’s first team squad ahead of Saturday’s match.

He now hopes to return for next weekend’s league game against Aberdeen.

"The pain I felt at the weekend when I had to come off during the game against Dundee United is much better, and I’ll perhaps be able to train again with the team tomorrow (Thursday)," Nakamura told the Glasgow Evening Times.

"I am preparing for the game against Aberdeen, but I’ve been told the injury is in an unusual place and that there is the possibility it may come back if not treated properly."

Manager Gordon Strachan has indicated he could alter his line-up for the match against First Division Dundee at Parkhead and that could see a return for Aiden McGeady.

The Republic of Ireland midfielder is keen to put his row with Strachan behind him while fit-again defender Jean-Joel Perrier-Doumbe is also hoping for a taste of first-team action on Saturday.

"I have six months left on my contract and my aim is to fight my way into the first team and play as much as possible," the France-born Cameroon right-back said.

"I feel a lot fitter and I’ve played a few games for the reserves."

Written by: AFP

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