Juve’s Diego remains positive

February 8, 2010

Diego insists Juventus are not far away from turning their season around despite another disappointing result against Livorno (1-1) on Saturday.

The Bianconeri haven’t won for more than a month and have yet to win under new manager Alberto Zaccheroni.

“I am optimistic. We have to be. I have seen signs of recovery,” Diego explained.

“As for me, I am missing goals, like the rest of the team. But I feel good, though. I am moving well with and without the ball, taking free-kicks and crossing.

“My job is that of making important assists for my team-mates and playing for the team.

“We had difficulty in the first half against Livorno, but things went better after the interval. It only takes one victory to turn things around, but in my opinion we aren’t lacking much.

“We have to continue doing what we have done in the last week, working hard with a smile on our faces. We have to be strong psychologically and not get disheartened,” Diego concluded.

Tags: Alberto Zaccheroni, bianconeri, Diego, disheartened, faces, interval, job, juve, juventus, livorno, signs, smile, team, team mates, week

Anderlecht beat Brugge in Belgian classic

February 4, 2010

RSC Anderlecht took a big step in the direction of the Belgian league trophy following a vital 3-2 win over nearest rivals Club Brugge on Wednesday.

It was a highly eventful match at Brussel’s Constant Vanden Stock stadium, a game that was meant to be played in December but was postponed due to bad pitch conditions.

Anderlecht took the lead through Roland Juhasz in the fifth minute, but Brugge’s Vadis Odjidja Ofoe equalised in the 17th and Dorge Kouemaha even put the visiting side ahead ten minutes after the interval.

But the home team did not give up and Nicolas Frutos made it 2-2 in the 74th minute, for Mbark Boussoufa to net the winner near the full time whistle.

Brugge substitute Ronald Vargas was sent off with a direct red card inthe 61st minute, just seven minutes after he had come on the pitch.

The win allows Anderlecht to extend their lead from six to nine points.

Tags: belgian league, Boussoufa, brugge, brussel, club brugge, full time, game, interval, league trophy, match, nicolas frutos, pitch conditions, rivals, roland juhasz, Ronald Vargas, rsc anderlecht, stock, vadis, vargas, whistle

PSV jump to top in Eredivisie

January 20, 2010

PSV Eindhoven are the new leaders in the Dutch Eredivisie following a narrow win at Roda JC on Tuesday.

As FC Twente dropped two points at FC Utrecht two days earlier, PSV knew that a win would allow them to jump into shared first place.

And Fred Rutten’s men needed just one goal to achieve just that, with Danny Koevermans netting the winner in the last minute before the interval.

PSV now have the same amount of points at Twente, but their goal record is significantly better.

Tags: danny koevermans, Dutch, dutch eredivisie, Eindhoven, Eredivisie, fc twente, fc utrecht, Fred Rutten, interval, last minute, new leaders, PSV, psv eindhoven, Roda, rutten, twente, utrecht

Australia held by Kuwait in Asian Cup qualifier

January 7, 2010

Australia’s hopes of qualifying for the 2011 Asian Cup were left hanging in the balance on Wednesday after being held to a 2-2 draw away to Kuwait in a qualifying match.

Luke Wilkshire fired the Socceroos in front after just four minutes on the volley from close range after he latched onto a loose ball in the area, and Dean Heffernan extended the advantage to 2-0 just two minutes later when he bundled home off a free kick.

It appeared that Australia would coast to victory in the game, but Kuwait pulled it back to level terms within a few minutes of half-time.

With 41 minutes played, Fayez al-Enezi darted through the Aussie defense and laced a shot beyond goalkeeper Eugene Galekovic to cut it to 2-1, and Youssef Nasser equalized on the stroke of the interval with a tap-in from point-blank range.

Both sides had chances at the winner in the second half, but they could not break through to secure qualification for the finals in Qatar.

Kuwait and Australia are atop qualifying Group B on eight points with one match to play. Australia host Indonesia in March while Kuwait travel to Oman, who are just a further point back.

Tags: asian cup, Australia, cup qualifier, Dean Heffernan, Eugene, few minutes, four minutes, free kick, Goalkeeper, hanging in the balance, heffernan, Indonesia, interval, kuwait, loose ball, luke wilkshire, Oman, point blank range, Qatar, qatar kuwait, qualifying group, socceroos, two minutes, volley, youssef

Nigeria, Switzerland to meet in Under-17 World Cup final

November 13, 2009

Hosts Nigeria will take on Switzerland in the Under-17 World Cup final on Sunday at the Abuja National Stadium after both teams won their respective semi-finals on Thursday.

Defending champions Nigeria defeated Spain 3-1 while Switzerland trounced Colombia 4-0.

Spain were seeking revenge against Nigeria, who stopped them on penalties in the final of the tournament two years ago in Seoul to win their third Under-17 world championship.

But Stanley Okoro put Nigeria in front after half an hour when he dashed behind the Spanish defence before stroking home from close range.

Striker Sani Emmanuel came off the bench to net a brace for Nigeria and bring his goals tally to five so far at this tournament. Spain pulled a consolation goal back through big striker Borja on 83 minutes.

Switzerland stopped 10-man Colombia with Nassem Ben Khalifa and Haris Seferovic on target in the first half before Bruno Martignoni and Ricardo Rodriguez also scored after the interval.

LAGOS (AFP)

Tags: abuja national stadium, bench, borja, Bruno Martignoni, colombia, consolation, Emmanuel, interval, LAGOS, martignoni, nigeria, okoro, Ricardo Rodriguez, Sani Emmanuel, seoul, Spain, Stanley Okoro, tally, target, World Cup

Mourinho hails Inter’s victory

November 5, 2009

Jose Mourinho hailed Internazionale’s ‘heart, desire and unity’ after they took a major step towards qualifying for the last 16 of the Champions League with a 2-1 victory over Dynamo Kiev.

The Italian champions have jumped from the bottom to the top of Group F after after their first group stage win of the season in difficult conditions in Ukraine.

The Nerazzurri went behind midway through the first half, when Andriy Shevchenko put the hosts ahead, however two very late goals to Diego Milito and Wesley Sneijder proved to be enough for the Italians.

“It was a fantastic performance full of heart, desire, emotion and unity,” said the Inter boss to Sky after goals from Diego Milito and Wesley Sneijder.

“This was a victory that we truly deserved, and now we can set our sights on qualifying from our next couple of games.

I think in the second half, we changed the character and personality of the team. I made some changes, but the team responded well to the message I gave them at the interval.

They achieved this result by fighting tooth and nail for it, and they all played with their hearts on their sleeves as well. We deserved to win,” affirms Mourinho.

Although the reigning Italian champions are now top of their group after four rounds of matches, the race to progress is still well and truly up for grabs.

“However, we need more. I think nine points are enough to go through, so we need three from the next two matches against Barcelona and Rubin.

“Tonight with a draw or a defeat it still would’ve been possible but very complicated.

“We stepped into this stadium last and left at the top,” concludes Inter’s coach

Anurada Bhat

Tags: andriy shevchenko, bottom to the top, champions league, diego milito, dynamo kiev, emotion, grabs, group stage, heart desire, internazionale, interval, italians, jose mourinho, personality, second half, tooth and nail, unity, victory, Wesley Sneijder

Hoeness: “That’s the way I want it”

October 29, 2009

The 4-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt for the German Cup gave Bayern Munich an important confidence boost ahead of Saturday’s Bundesliga clash with rivals VFB Stuttgart. Coach Louis van Gaal and team manager Uli Hoeness were pleased by the way Bayern took care of things.

Bayern defeated Frankfurt in the dying seconds last weekend (2-1) but yesterday it was a different story. Der Rekordmeister settled the issue nice and early during their midweek Cup match (0-4 win). Louis van Gaal’s men led by 3-0 after thirty minutes and added another after the interval to progress smoothly to the DFB Cup quarter-finals.

“I’m very pleased with that display,” said Dutch coach Van Gaal. “We kept our shape and discipline right through to the 75th minute. It was a little easier for us today, because Frankfurt set out to attack. And we also played extremely well.”

“Every win makes us more confident. It’s important to us to stay in contention in the cup.”

Team manager Hoeness was also delighted the way Bayern played: “We were extremely good, which is why Eintracht never stood a chance. That’s the way I want it.’

Both Van Gaal as Hoeness will hope their team can hang on to their good form as they travel to Stuttgart to face plagued coach Markus Babbel’s squad, on Saturday.

Paul Haring

Tags: Bayern, bayern munich, Bundesliga, clash, confidence, contention, dfb cup, different story, discipline, eintracht frankfurt, FRANKFURT, german cup, interval, Louis, louis van gaal, markus babbel, Paul Haring, quarter finals, rivals, stuttgart, uli hoeness, Van Gaal

Rubin clinch vital win at FK Rostov

October 26, 2009

Rubin Kazan jumped back into first place in the Russian Eredivisie following a 1-2 win at FK Rostov na Donu on Sunday.

On Saturday, Rubin had lost their top spot to Spartak Moscow who had two points more after their 0-3 victory at FK Khimki.

Alejandro Domiguez scored the opening goal in Rubin’s favor, after 16 minutes at Rostov. Cristian Analdi doubled the gap shortly before the break.

Mersudin Ahmetovic pulled one back in the second minute after the interval, but Rubin held on to their lead to secure the three points. As such, the defending champions remain in first place with four matches to go.

Zenit St Petersburg are no longer a realistic candidate for the title, following a 2-2 draw with Spartak Nalchik. Vladimir Bystrov and Fatih Tekke scored for Zenit, David Siradze and Leandro did so for the guests.

Jonathan Roorda

Tags: Alejandro Domiguez, Cristian Analdi, David Siradze, Eredivisie, fatih tekke, gap, interval, jonathan, Jonathan Roorda, khimki, Moscow, Petersburg, roorda, rostov, rubin kazan, spartak moscow, spartak nalchik, victory, vladimir bystrov

Argentina: Velez Sarsfield lose to Boca Juniors

October 5, 2009

Velez Sarsfield wasted the chance to take the lead in the Argentinian Primera Division, losing 3-2 to Boca Juniors on Sunday.

Leandro Caruso opened the score for Velez after just six minutes at La Bombonera, but Sebastian Battaglia equalized with ten minutes left before the break.

Caruso again put the visitors ahead in the second minute after the interval, but this time it was Juan Roman Riquelme himself to level the score in the 64th.

The winning goal came from Martin Palermo in the 73rd minute.

Velez remain in fourth place, at two points from leaders Estudiantes. Boca Juniors are in 12th place, now having ended a three-match losing streak.

River Plate dropped to 16th place due to a 2-1 defeat by San Lorenzo. Diego Buonanotte first put River ahead in the first half, but late goals from Leandro Romagnoli and Bernardo Romeo turned things around for the hosts.

Jonathan Roorda

Tags: Argentina, bernardo romeo, boca juniors, buonanotte, caruso, Diego Buonanotte, hosts, interval, Juan, juan roman, la bombonera, losing streak, martin palermo, match, river plate, romeo, roorda, San, san lorenzo, sebastian battaglia, six minutes, take the lead

Korea advance to second round, USA’s fate uncertain

October 3, 2009

South Korea secured second place in Group C of the World Youth Championship in Egypt thanks to a 3-0 win over the United States. The latter finish in third place.

After their win over Cameroon, a lot was expected from the USA as they took on South Korea at As-Suwais stadium in Suez.

But the Asians were the much better side and took the lead through Young-Gwon Kim in the 23rd minute. Name-sake Bo-Kyung Kim doubled the gap three minutes before the interval.

A penalty goal from Ja-Cheol Koo set the score to 3-0 in the 75th minute. Ike Opara, who caused the spot kick, was given a second yellow card for his offense.

The USA finish in third place with three points and a -3 goal record, which makes them the third-best number three of the groups that have finished so far (Group A to D).

Jonathan Roorda