Quick Report: Egypt 3-1 Cameroon

January 26, 2010

Defending champions Egypt progressed to the Africa Cup of Nations semi-finals by beating Cameroon 3-1, after extra-time.

Egyptian captain Ahmed Hassan scored on both sides of the pitch as normal time saw only two goals from the same player.

An Achille Emana corner saw the Egyptian veteran Hassan head the ball into his own net.

But the skipper redeemed himself by scoring from a long range effort, deceiving the Cameroon goalkeeper Carlos Kameni.

However, at the end of normal time Egypt came on top in the first half of extra time as Hassan struck the winner with a disputed free-kick, after Mohamed Gedo punished Geremi for a sloppy back-pass.

Tags: achille emana, Africa, africa cup of nations, ahmed hassan, cameroon, carlos kameni, Cup, Egypt, egypt 3, emana, extra time, free kick, geremi, mohamed, pitch, semi finals, skipper, time egypt

Carragher: ‘It will only get tougher for Liverpool now’

January 14, 2010

Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has apologised for the embarrasing performances of his club. The elimination in the FA Cup, by Championship minnows Reading, is the latest setback in a disappointing season for the Reds.

“It was a very bad night for Liverpool,” Carragher told the Liverpool Echo. “we can’t disguise that – we had to do more against a side from a lower league.

““We have to apologise for the way we performed. We have to give credit to Reading, hold our hands up. We all like to win but when you don’t, you have to be a good loser.

“We have to accept they deserved it. But, at the same time, we have got to look at ourselves and the way we performed was not acceptable.

“We’ve got a massive game coming up against Stoke now. It will be very tough, as we played extra time and we have got to show enormous character to come back.

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Algeria, on the ropes: coach

January 14, 2010

World Cup qualifiers Algeria must win their next two Africa Cup of Nations matches to ensure qualification for the quarter-finals, coach Rabah Saadane has insisted.

Algeria, who are drawn in the same group as England in South Africa 2010, were never at the races in their shock 3-0 opening loss to Malawi here on Monday.

Saadane is now looking for a positive reaction, starting with Mali on Thursday, and again against hosts Angola next Monday to seal their last eight place.

Saadane put much of the blame on Algeria’s error strewn and lacklustre performance on the hot and humid mid-afternoon conditions in which they played Malawi – Thursday’s game is later, at 1700 local time (1600GMT), and he reckons that will be a major plus.

“We have to take revenge on ourselves after our defeat to Malawi,” he told media here.

“We’ll be starting at 1700, that’s a good thing for us, it’ll be less hot than at 1500 (the time of Monday’’s kick-off).”

He added: “We’re aiming at taking six points from the games against Mali and Angola which should guarantee our path to the quarter-finals.

“We have to win both matches, it’s not going to be easy, but we’ll be doing our best.”

Mali international Frederic Kanoute, who was among the scorers in his side’s remarkable comeback from four goals down to snatch a draw against Angola last Sunday, says his team can’t afford to make any mistakes on Thursday.

“It’s a big game which could open the doors for us to the second round,” said the Sevilla striker and 2007 African Footballer of the Year.

“It’ll be tough against a good Algerian side invigorated by their status as World Cup qualifiers, but that won’t put us off getting a good result.”

Looking back on Sunday’s fightback in which Mali hadn’t scored one goal by the 76th minute Kanoute said: “Mentally we responded well, but it wasn’t sufficient for a Mali team that is capable of much better.

“Our start was catastrophic, but we’ll have sorted ourselves out by the time we face Algeria.”

LUANDA (AFP)

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Stoke reveal Ruud interest

January 11, 2010

Stoke City chairman Peter Coates has revealed that the Premier League club are making enquiries about the availability of Real Madrid striker Ruud van Nistelrooy.

The former Manchester United man hopes to be a part of Netherlands’ World Cup squad for the finals in South Africa this summer.

But the 33-year-old has struggled to hold down a regular place in the starting XI at the Bernabeu and the club are believed to be willing to sanction a move.

Stoke are looking to secure a third successive season in the Premier League and manager Tony Pulis has said he is looking to strengthen his squad during the January transfer window.

Coates admitted he was unsure how likely a deal for the prolific striker would be, but confirmed their interest had been lodged.

He said: “It may be a long shot but we’ve made enquiries and we’ll see what comes from them.

“It depends on him wanting games to make sure he goes to the World Cup. We’re too far away from it to know how realistic the chances are of it happening.”

The Dutchman scored 150 times for United in all competitions during his five seasons at Old Trafford, where he won the Premier League, FA Cup and League Cup before an £11million move to the Spanish giants in 2006.

After initial success at Real, his time at the club has been dogged by injuries and he now hopes to impress Netherlands coach Bert van Marwijk to take part in what would surely be his last World Cup finals.

Tags: bernabeu, bert van, bert van marwijk, city chairman, competitions, Cup, dutchman, FA Cup, five seasons, initial success, manager, Manchester, manchester united, Nistelrooy, old trafford, peter coates, place, premier league, real madrid, ruud van nistelrooy, South Africa, striker, Trafford, world cup finals, world cup squad

League Cup semi falls victim to winter freeze

January 5, 2010

Blackburn’s League Cup semi-final first leg against Aston Villa, which had been due to be played here on Tuesday, has been postponed due to adverse weather conditions, the club announced.

With much of the northwest of England covered by a thick blanket of snow and evening temperatures set to fall well below freezing, it was decided that fans would be unable to get to the ground safely.

BLACKBURN, England (AFP)

Tags: adverse weather conditions, Aston, blackburn, blanket, Cup, England, evening temperatures, freezing, League, semi, victim, winter, winter freeze

UEFA probes 40 match-fixing cases

September 26, 2009

European football’s governing body UEFA are investigating some 40 cases of suspected match-fixing involving games in the Champions League and UEFA Cup.

Peter Limacher, UEFA’s head of disciplinary services, told a conference here that most of the cases were from eastern Europe and involved the early qualifying rounds of the Champions League and UEFA Cup.

Limacher said: “It is mainly clubs from eastern Europe that are being investigated.”

A year ago the number of games being investigated was 25, and UEFA announced they were to set up a six-man special investigation unit to examine corruption in their competitions.

Limacher told the World Sports Law Report conference that there were now 40 games where suspicious betting patterns had been identified, 15 of those in the last two years.

Macedonian club FK Pobeda were banned from European competition for eight years by UEFA in April after being found guilty of match-fixing against Armenian side FC Pyunik in 2004 – they lost 3-1 at home in a Champions League first qualifying round.

FK Pobeda’s president Aleksandar Zabrcanec was banned for life from any football-related activity, as was the player Nikolce Zdraveski.

LONDON (AFP)

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Barcelona to up offer for Shakhtar´s Chygrynskiy

August 26, 2009

Barcelona are set to offer Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk 25 million euros for their central defender Dmitro Chygrynskiy, according to reports Wednesday.

Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola has kept a close eye on the 22-year-old Ukrainian as he bids to reinforce his squad before the transfer deadline on August 31.

“He knows how to play football, and we need to sign him,” Guardiola told Catalan television channel TV3 earlier this week.

Shakhtar are currently unwilling to sell but Catalan sports daily Mundo Deportivo claimed Wednesday Barcelona have “pulled out all the stops” in a bid to sign Chygrynskiy.

After winning the Spanish Super Cup last weekend Barcelona could pick up their second trophy of the season when they face Shakhtar in the final of the European Super Cup, which pits last season’s Champions League winners against the UEFA Cup champions.

Barcelona became the first Spanish club to achieve the treble of the Spanish league, King’s Cup and Champions League titles last season.

This season they could theoretically aim for another five trophies, following their most recent success, in the league, Cup, Champions League, European Super Cup and the Club World Cup being held in December in the United Arab Emirates.

BARCELONA (AFP)

Tags: Barcelona, central defender, Champions, champions league, Chygrynskiy, club world cup, Cup, cup champions, European, league titles, league winners, mundo deportivo, pep guardiola, shakhtar, spanish club, spanish league, television channel, transfer deadline, treble, trophies, trophy, tv3, uefa, UEFA Cup, united arab emirates

Hecking quits as Hanover coach

August 20, 2009

Dieter Hecking on Wednesday tendered his resignation as coach of struggling Bundesliga club Hanover 96, who have claimed just one point from two league games.

The 44-year-old’s position was already under threat when the club finished just 11th last season and were eliminated from the German Cup by third division Treves.

Hecking becomes the second Bundesliga coach to leave this month after Norwegian Jorn Andersen became the first ever top flight coach to be sacked prior to the beginning of the season by newly-promoted Mainz.

A former German second division player, Hecking made his name as a coach by helping his former club Aachan return to the top flight in May 2006.

He left Aachan in September 2006 to join Hanover.

The club finished eighth in the 2007-2008 season.

HANOVER, Germany (AFP)

Tags: andersen, Bundesliga, coach, Cup, dieter hecking, German, german cup, Germany, Hanover, hanover 96, hanover germany, jorn, league games, mainz, norwegian, resignation, target, top flight

Angulo wants to leave Mestalla

August 5, 2009

Valencia veteran Miguel Angel Angulo is open to a move away from the Mestalla, and is hoping that the club understands his decision.

The attacking midfielder, who can also play as a winger or right back, has spent the last 14 years with Los Che, having joined Los Che as a promising teenager in 1995 from Sporting Gijon.

While, Angulo has gone on to make over 300 appearances for the club, picking up two league titles and a UEFA Cup success along the way, he feels that the time is right for him to make a move to revive his career.

The 32-year-old has also won 11 caps for Spain and was a part of the Spanish contingent that won the silver medal at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.

But in recent times, Angulo has slipped down the pecking order at the Mestalla, with the low point being his axing from the squad by former manager Ronald Koeman.

However, his agent, Jose Luis Tamargo, believes an agreement will be reached and he expects Angulo to be released from his contract in the next few days,

“He has been in Valencia for many years and I believe this solution is favourable for everyone,” he said.

Angulo is reported to have already opened talks with Bolton regarding a move to England, with a contract awaiting him at the Reebok Stadium.

However, Blackburn are also believed to be keen, while Tenerife would offer the experienced playmaker the opportunity to remain in his homeland.

Abhimanyu Rajput