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Benfica held, Sporting lose in Portuguese league

It was not the best of Saturday’s for Lisbon’s top clubs as leaders Benfica were held to a draw at Vitoria Setubal while Sporting Lisbon lost their home match with Academica.

Benfica began the day with a two-points lead over Braga but risk having to share the top spot again following a 1-1 draw at Setubal.

The match at the Estadio do Bonfim was entirely decided by own goals. Marco Zoro first hit his own target to put Benfica ahead in the 14th minute, and David Luiz then helped the hosts level in minute 38.

Braga play an away match to Belenenses on Monday, and a win would leave them back in shared first place.

Fourth-placed Sporting Lisbon lost 1-2 to Academica de Coimbra who needed just two minutes for Orlando to score the opening goal.

Joao Moutinho equalised in minute 23 but Joao Ribeiro restored Academica’s lead in the 29th. His goal would turn out to be worth three points.

Tags: Academica, academica de coimbra, benfica, Braga, Coimbra, david luiz, home match, hosts, joao moutinho, joao ribeiro, Lisbon, Marco Zoro, Orlando, portuguese league, setubal, sporting lisbon, target, top clubs, Vitoria Setubal, zoro

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Benfica too strong for Uniao

Benfica successfully defended their position at the top of the Portuguese table with a 3-0 win over Uniao de Leiria on Wednesday.

Oscar Cardozo put the Lisbon outfit in the lead after 10 minutes at the Estadio da Luz, and Argentinian forward Javier Saviola doubled the advantage one minute after the hour mark.

A late goal from Ruben Amorim set the score to 3-0, which would also be the final result.

Benfica are now three points ahead of Sporting Braga, but the latter do have a game in hand.

Tags: amorim, benfica, Braga, estadio da luz, final result, game, Javier, leiria, Lisbon, oscar cardozo, Ruben Amorim, score, Sporting, sporting braga, uniao de leiria

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Sporting earn narrow win at Naval

One goal in the first half was enough for Sporting Lisbon to earn a narrow but valuable win at Naval 1o de Maio on Saturday.

Sporting, who suffered a dissapointing defeat to Uniao de Leiria last week, scored the only goal through Carlos Saleiro in the 35th minute.

The capital city side are currently in fourth place, but could end up back in sixth if the two Funchal teams (Nacional and Maritimo) do well on Sunday.

Sporting Braga played on Friday and successfully defended their top spot with a 0-1 win at Pacos de Ferreira. Meyong Ze netted the winner shortly before the break.

Tags: 1o, Braga, Carlos Saleiro, de maio, Funchal, leiria, Lisbon, Maio, Maritimo, Meyong, meyong ze, Naval, pacos de ferreira, Saturday, Sporting, sporting braga, sporting lisbon

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Five-star Gomez hoping to fire Bayern top

Germany striker Mario Gomez is hoping to score his sixth goal in seven games for Bayern Munich against Hertha Berlin on Saturday as his side aim to enter the winter break as Bundesliga leaders.

The 24-year-old started his purple patch in the 1-1 draw with league leaders Leverkusen on November 22.

Since then he has scored in all of the last three German league games plus a top class effort in the 4-1 win at Juventus which put Bayern in the last 16 of the Champions League.

Bayern have risen up the Bundesliga table from eighth and go into the weekend third in the league, just two points behind leaders Leverkusen.

A win over Hertha, who have failed to record a single league success since their victory on the opening day of the season, would give them a chance of finishing the year on top of the league.

Leverkusen would need to lose at Borussia Moenchengladbach and second-placed Schalke would have to fail to beat Mainz on Friday night, but Louis van Gaal-coached Bayern have a chance to claim the lead.

“I am not only scoring goals, I am creating them too,” said Gomez who is hoping for his sixth consecutive goal at Munich’s Allianz Arena.

“I had a chat with the coach (van Gaal) and he explained what he expects of me, since then everything has worked well and I feel liberated now.”

And for his partner up front Ivica Olic, who scored twice in last weekend’s 5-1 win over Bochum, Gomez is justifying the 30 million euros Bayern paid Stuttgart for him last summer.

“The combination works well,” said Olic. “I always have fun playing with a striker like Mario. He is showing why Bayern paid so much money for him.”

Bayern, who have gone 11 home games without a Bundesliga defeat, should have few problems against Hertha.

A 70th minute goal by Gojko Kacar was enough to see Berlin reach the last 32 of the newly-formed Europa League against Group D leaders Sporting Lisbon last week, but they are six points adrift at the foot of the Bundesliga.

Leverkusen have announced they will loan striker Theofanis Gekas to Hertha as they look to consolidate their place at the top of the table and victory at home to ‘Gladbach will see them finish the year on top.

Stuttgart coach Christian Gross will be without banned Germany goalkeeper Jens Lehmann who picked up a three-match ban after being sent off in the 1-1 draw against Mainz last Sunday.

Gross replaced Markus Babbel as coach earlier this month, but is still chasing his first Bundesliga success since taking over at Stuttgart as his side, who are 15th in the table, host Hoffenheim on Saturday.

Friday

Schalke 04 v Mainz 05

Saturday

Bayern Munich v Hertha Berlin, Borussia Dortmund v Freiburg, Bayer Leverkusen v Borussia M’gladbach, Hanover 96 v VfL Bochum, Eintracht Frankfurt v VfL Wolfsburg, VfB Stuttgart v Hoffenheim

Sunday

Hamburg v Werder Bremen, Cologne v Nuremberg

BERLIN (AFP)

Tags: allianz arena, Bayern, bayern munich, class effort, FRANKFURT, german league, Germany, Hamburg, Hanover, hertha berlin, home games, ivica olic, jens lehmann, kacar, league games, league leaders, Lisbon, louis van gaal, mario gomez, markus babbel, minute goal, Munich, nuremberg, purple patch, scoring goals, seven games, six points, sixth goal, sporting lisbon, winter break

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Lisbon sides drop points in Portuguese league

It was a bad day for Lisbon football in the Portuguese league, as Benfica were held to a 2-2 draw at Olhanense while Sporting lost 0-1 to Uniao de Leiria.

Relegation candidates Olhanense gave Benfica much more trouble than expected, and were very close to even winning the match.

Carlos Fernandes’ opening goal for Olhanense in the 10th minute was cancelled out by Argentinian Javier Saviola in the 29th, but Toy’s goal in minute 33 seemed to be enough for the hosts to secure the three points.

Benfica had the final say though, as Nuno Gomes made it 2-2 in the very last minute.

Olhanense had Djalmir sent off in the 25th minute, and Miguel Garcia followed near the full time whistle. Angel Di Maria was red-carded for Benfica in the 42nd minute.

Sporting Lisbon once again disappointed with a 0-1 defeat by Uniao de Leiria, who scored the only goal of the match through Paulo Vinicius in the 27th minute.

Tags: angel, Angel Di Maria, bad day, benfica, carlos fernandes, full time, gomes, hosts, javier saviola, leiria, Lisbon, match, Miguel Garcia, Paulo, portuguese league, sporting lisbon, uniao de leiria, vinicius, whistle

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Funkel sees change in fortunes after Bayer draw

Hertha BSC Berlin may have surged to an impressive 4th position in the Bundesliga last term, but a disastrous start to the season has seen them lying at bottom of the table after 16 Rounds of the 2009/10 season.

With high flying league leaders Bayer Leverkusen visiting the Olympic Stadium on Friday night, things looked bleak for the Berliners especially for coach Friedhelm Funkel.

Berlin seemed to be heading for their 13th defeat of the season when Burak Kaplan put Leverkusen 2-1 up going into stoppage time, but Adrian Ramos equalised with almost the final touch of the game to earn a point.

And all of this came to fruition in front of the home crowd when the Blue-Whites were down to ten men, it seems luck has turned good for a struggling side that was full of promise before the start of the season.

At least Funkel believes that his sides’ fortunes have changed.

“I hope that we have managed to win back a bit of fortune with that deserved equaliser in the 92nd minute,” said Funkel.

“We need it if we want to start our recovery in January.”

Berlin still lie six points adrift at the bottom of the table with one game remaining before the midway stage of the season is reached.

Leverkusen extended their lead at the top of the table to four points and their coach Jupp Heynckes had no complaints about dropping two points at the death.

“Hertha deserved the draw with their 92nd-minute equaliser,” he said.

“The game shows that it is not easy when you are the leaders playing against the bottom club.”

Berlin require a similar result against Sporting Lisbon in midweek to secure their passage to the last 32 of the UEFA Europa League before ending the year with a trip to Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga.

Leverkusen’s final task of 2009 comes against Borussia Monchengladbach next Saturday when a win would clinch the unofficial title of autumn champions.

Tags: Adrian Ramos, Bayern, bayern munich, berlin, berliners, bottom club, bundesliga leverkusen, equaliser, Friedhelm Funkel, fruition, hertha bsc berlin, home crowd, jupp heynckes, league leaders, Lisbon, midweek, monchengladbach, olympic stadium, sporting lisbon, stoppage time, unofficial title

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Benfica back on top in Portugal

After spending several weeks in second place, Benfica are back in shared first following a convincing 4-0 win over Academica on Sunday.

Benfica needed a win to move back to the top of the Portuguese league as Sporting Braga dropped two points at Leixoes a day earlier.

And Coimbra-based Academica were no match from the start. Oscar Cardozo was particularly influential for Benfica, scoring in the 6th, 55th and 69th minutes. Argentinian Javiar Saviola found the target in minute 32.

Benfica and Braga share the top spot but the Lisbon outfit have a much better goal record.

Tags: benfica, Braga, Coimbra, Lisbon, match, oscar cardozo, portugal, portuguese league, sporting braga, target

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Portugal´s Conceicao hangs up his boots

Former Portuguese international Sergio Conceicao announced Saturday that he is retiring as a player.

“I want to announce today the end of my footballing career. When I look back I’m proud of what I achieved,” Conceicao told the Portuguese press.

The midfielder, who turns 35 on Sunday, will becoming sporting director of Greek club PAOK Salonica where he has played for the past two seasons.

During his career he played for major European clubs including FC Porto, Lazio, Parma, Inter Milan and Standard Liege.

He also notched up 56 caps and scored 13 goals for Portugal between 1996 and 2004. The highlight of his career was the clash against Germany in Euro 2000 when he scored a hattrick during their 3-0 victory.

LISBON (AFP)

Tags: boots, caps, clash, euro 2000, fc porto, Germany, greek club, hattrick, highlight, inter milan, lazio, Liege, Lisbon, midfielder, Milan, paok salonica, parma, PORTO, portugal, portuguese press, sergio conceicao, Standard, two seasons, victory

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Ronaldo hopes to play in ´clasico´

Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo said Thursday he was recovering well from his ankle injury and hopes to play in the “clasico” match at Barcelona on November 29.

“Everything is going very well, I have started running again and I think I will start training with the team next week,” the Portuguese winger told Spanish media at a ceremony at Real’s Bernebeu stadium.

“Of course, I want to play against Barcelona, but I want to play again before then,” including against Zurich in the Champions League on November 25.

Ronaldo injured his right ankle in Real’s 3-0 Champions League victory over Marseille at the end of September and aggravated the problem while playing for Portugal on October 10.

On Tuesday he was ruled out of his country’s crucial World Cup play-off matches against Bosnia-Herzegovina on November 14 and 18 after undergoing medical tests on the injury in Lisbon.

Both Portugal – World Cup semi-finalists in 2006 – and Real had been locked in a battle over Ronaldo with the club insisting that he was not fit enough to travel.

Ronaldo, bought from Manchester United last summer for a world record 94 million euros, is the top scorer in the Primera Liga with five goals and in the Champions League with four.

Spanish media have reported that Real coach Manuel Pellegrini’s job is in jeopardy after the team was eliminated from the Spanish Cup by third division minnows Alcorcon.

MADRID (AFP)

Tags: alcorcon madrid, ankle injury, Barcelona, champions league, cristiano ronaldo, jeopardy, league victory, Lisbon, MADRID, Manchester, manchester united, manuel pellegrini, Marseille, medical tests, november 14, portugal, primera liga, real madrid, ronaldo, semi finalists, spanish cup, spanish media, top scorer, winger, world record, ZURICH

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Cristiano Ronaldo ruled out of Portugal WC play-offs

Real Madrid winger Cristiano Ronaldo is officially ruled out the Portugal world cup play-off’s after further examination in Lisbon revealed him unfit to play due to his ankle injury.

Ronaldo, 24, had been called up by Portugal to play in next week’s World Cup play-offs against Bosnia, despite his club, Real Madrid, insisting that he was injured.

Real were upset that Portugal coach Carlos Queiroz had named the £80million winger in his squad for the double-header against Bosnia-Herzegovina as Ronaldo had not played for them since September with an ankle injury which he aggravated in the last round of international games.

However, Ronaldo travelled to Lisbon on Tuesday to undergo tests with the Portugal medical team, who subsequently ruled the player out of the tie.

Portugal’s football federation said on its official website, “After clinical evaluation and imaging, it was concluded that the player is not physically able to take part with the national team for these games.”

Portugal’s coach, Carlos Queiroz, defending his decision to ask Ronaldo to return to Portugal for assessment said, “Based on the rules and principles governing clubs and associations, we have put Cristiano in the squad.”

“Cristiano and everyone will be observed. Our medical team are competent and responsible, and you will see what happens. I do not understand the nervousness in some sectors. It is a decision that is non-negotiable, unavoidable, a decision that protects the interests of the player.

But this fact cannot compel me to put any club below or above the others. All clubs and players deserve equal treatment.”

Portugal were drawn to play Bosnia-Herzegovina in the play-off with the first leg to be played in Leiria on Saturday.

Anurada Bhat

Tags: ankle injury, bhat, Bosnia, Carlos Queiroz, clinical evaluation, club real madrid, cristiano ronaldo, double header, equal treatment, football federation, herzegovina, international games, leiria, Lisbon, MADRID, medical team, play offs, portugal, ronaldo, winger

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