Watch Out Victoria Beckham, The Italian WAGs are After Your Man!

March 26, 2009

According to reports a group of Italian WAGs are running a £20,000 bet to see who can bed ‘baller David Beckham.

17th Annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Oscar Party - Red Carpet

Oh dear, oh dear! Mrs Beckham who is currently living away from her hubby in LA is not going to be best pleased about this.

A source from Grazia magazine said: ‘There is a group of about 20 girls who hang around the Milan nightclubs and bars where the Italian players go to relax.’

‘They have decided that the top prize is now David Beckham. Most of the girls have slept with several AC Milan players but no longer see them as a big deal.’ - how classy!

David, who was spotted at a charity event in Milan last week surrounded by female admirers, is said to be unaware of the bet. But come on, the ‘baller must be aware of his hearthrob status by now.

I would be on the next flight to Milan if I was Victoria, to sort those foreign WAGs out! Then again perhaps that’s a little paranoid!

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Tags: ac milan players, admirers, baller, charity event, David, David Beckham, girls, Grazia, hubby, Italian, italian players, Milan, Mrs Beckham, nbsp, nightclubs, rsquo, Victoria, victoria beckham, WAGS, Watch

Cambiasso extends Inter contract to 2014

March 24, 2009

ROME (AFP) – Argentinian defensive midfielder Esteban Cambiasso has extended his contract with Inter Milan until 2014, the Italian league leaders announced Monday.

Cambiasso, 28, arrived at Inter in 2004 after two years at Real Madrid.

This season, he has played 26 matches (2 goals) in Serie A and eight in the Champions League.

Written by: AFP

Tags: cambiasso, Champions, champions league, defensive midfielder, Esteban Cambiasso, inter milan, italian league, league leaders, MADRID, Monday, nbsp, real madrid, ROME, season, Serie, Serie A

Amii Grove Sells Engagement Ring on eBay

March 23, 2009

Jermaine Pennant’s former fiancee Amii Grove has put her engagement ring on eBay!

Screen Nation Film And Television Awards 2006

The model is auctioning the 2.05 carat diamond and platinum ring worth £35,000, after splitting with Pennant on new year’s eve.

Amii wanted at least £15,000 for the bling and last time we checked the bidding was up to £16,100, so it looks like she’s got her wish.

The ebay description says: ‘The ring was brought last November, and was worn for only a month and a half as the couple split on New Year’s Eve 2009.’

If you’re interested, the ring is open for bidding for another few days and part of the money is going to a charity set up for her brother who died last year.

Pennant moved on quickly and is now dating Hollyoaks star Jennifer Metcalfe. Typical, at least Amii’s making a little cash out of the relationship!

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Tags: Amii, bidding, brother, carat diamond, ebay, engagement, Eve, Grove, Grove Sells, jennifer metcalfe, last november, last time, money, month and a half, nbsp, new year, Pennant, Platinum, platinum ring, relationship, rsquo, split, splitting, star jennifer, WAGS

CONCACAF to get $10 million from FIFA for Central American, Caribbean league development

March 20, 2009

NEW YORK – CONCACAF will receive $10 million from FIFA for development initiatives in Central America and the Caribbean, with the aim to strengthen and enhance the infrastructure of 11 fledgling leagues in the region.

“Win in CONCACAF with CONCACAF” was approved by FIFA and CONCACAF President Jack Warner on Thursday. It will be administered by Keith Look Loy of Trinidad & Tobago and will get its full launch at the May 11 CONCACAF Executive Committee meeting in New York and the confederation Congress June 1 in the Bahamas.

The money will be targeted at helping the leagues in Barbados, Belize, El Salvador, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Panama, Suriname and Trinidad, seeking to bolster areas from youth and referee programs to coaching education.

Leagues will be required to establish long-term marketing and sponsorship programs, including television and new media rights distribution.

Similarly, participating clubs will be mandated to establish a constitution, submit annual reports and sustainable youth programs.

"This is a dream come true for 11 of our member countries,” Warner said. “It will surely help to lift the bar of football in these countries. My sincere hope is that the governments and business organisations join with us in this FIFA initiative that will take the sport to even greater heights".

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Tags: 10 million, annual reports, central america and the caribbean, coaching education, committee meeting, concacaf, CONCACAF Champions' Cup, confederation congress, development initiatives, executive committee, FIFA, Guyana, jack warner, launch, loy, member countries, nbsp, participating clubs, president jack, referee programs, sponsorship programs

Roque ruled out of Paraguay qualifiers

March 20, 2009

BLACKBURN (AFP) – Paraguay’s star striker, Roque Santa Cruz, will not be able to play in upcoming World Cup qualifiers despite being named in his country’s squad, Blackburn manager Sam Allardyce said on Friday.

Paraguay’s medical staff are due to visit Santa Cruz to assess the seriousness of a knee tendon problem which has forced him to miss Blackburn’s last two matches and will keep him out of Saturday’s clash with West Ham.

Allardyce however is adamant that there is no prospect of the 27-year-old recovering in time for matches against Uruguay on March 28 and Ecuador four days later.

"We will obviously tell them he is not capable of travelling," Allardyce said. "They are due to pay a visit, and we will have the discussion, but Roque is not fit to play any game of football until, at the very, very earliest, against Tottenham (on April 4).

"It could be beyond that, so I can’t see him going to Paraguay because he is not capable of playing."

Allardyce dismissed suggestions that Santa Cruz, who is expected to move to Manchester City at the end of the season and reunite with former Rovers manager Mark Hughes, may have played his last game for Blackburn.

"I think he’ll be back this season," Allardyce said. "He is responding to treatment, but a lot slower than we expected. He is a talented player, we all know that, but I’ve managed without him before as he was injured when I arrived."

Written by: AFP

Tags: april 4, blackburn, clash, Ecuador, game of football, knee tendon, last game, manchester city, Mark Hughes, medical staff, nbsp, paraguay, roque santa cruz, Sam, sam allardyce, santa cruz, seriousness, star striker, talented player, tottenham, uruguay, west ham, World Cup, world cup qualifiers

Liverpool to play Chelsea again — your views

March 20, 2009

So, here we go again. For the fifth successive season, Liverpool will face Chelsea in the Champions League.

Quarter-finals:

Villarreal v Arsenal

Manchester United v Porto

Liverpool v Chelsea

Barcelona v Bayern Munich

Semi-finals:

Manchester United or Porto v Villarreal or Arsenal

Barcelona or Bayern Munich v Liverpool or Chelsea

Liverpool will perhaps be marginal favourites in the all-English quarter-final after knocking Chelsea out at the semi-final stage in 2005 and 2007 but their fans will need no reminding that last season, when Chelsea got to play the second leg at home, it was the Londoners who came through.

This year? Once again, Chelsea will be at home for the second leg. Will that make the difference again?

Otherwise, Man Utd must be pretty pleased with a draw that pits the holders against Porto in the quarter-finals, with a possible semi-final to come against Villarreal or Arsenal (and Arsenal will be pretty pleased as well, you’d think … at least with the first bit).

All those expecting an all-English final, watch out for Barcelona, who should have too much for Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals, with a clash against Liverpool or Chelsea up for grabs.

Barcelona v Man Utd in the final?

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Tags: arsenal, Barcelona, Bayern, bayern munich, champions league, CHELSEA, Chelsea Barcelona, Chelsea Liverpool, clash, english quarter, favourites, grabs, Liverpool, londoners, man utd, Manchester, manchester united, nbsp, PORTO, porto liverpool, quarter finals, semi finals, UEFA Champions League, United

Gary Neville Shows his Loyalty to Man Utd Through a Hedge!

March 19, 2009

Gary Neville has had a huge hedge cut into the initials ‘MUFC’ outside his mansion to show love for his football club.

Gary Neville And Emma Hadfield - Wedding

The hedge stands outside the front gates of the Man Utd captain’s home in Bolton.

Although the hedge is fairly small at the moment, but when it grows it will be visible on Google Earth for all to see.

We wonder what WAG Emma Neville makes of the hedge tribute?!

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Tags: Bolton, earth, emma, Emma Neville, football club, gary neville, Gary Neville Shows, gates, google, home, initials, love, loyalty, man, man utd, mansion, moment, MUFC, nbsp, rsquo, Source, tribute, wag, WAGS, wonder

Latin American complexities – Part Four: Ecuador

March 12, 2009

This is the final instalment in our look at the peculiarities of Latin American championships, after an introduction, a tour through Peru, and on to Uruguay and Mexico.

And so to Ecuador.

With three stages, bonus points and a two-leg final, Ecuador’s championship is a brave attempt to keep as many teams in with a chance of winning the title for as long as possible. In fact, getting knocked out takes some doing.

In the first stage, the 12 teams play each other twice and the top four qualify for the third (repeat third) stage. They also carry through bonus points — three for the winners, two for the second-placed side and one for the third-placed side.

If a team happens to finish bottom of the first stage, there’s no need to fret because there’s still the second stage to come.

This time, teams are divided into two groups of six and the top two in each also qualify for the third stage (joining the four teams from the first stage). Should one of these four teams have also finished in the top four of the first stage, the next-best team will also go through. One bonus point is awarded for the winner of each group.

The bottom two teams over the first two stages combined are relegated.

Meanwhile, the lucky eight who reached the third stage are divided into two groups of four and the winners of each group meet in a two-leg final.

There are several drawbacks to this system. A team which qualifies for the third stage in the first stage will have little to play for in the second stage, apart from one measly bonus point. And it’s quite possible for the eighth-best team over the first two stages to win the title.

As with Peru, it does avoid the possibility of one team running away with the tournament, though.

PHOTO: Deportivo Quito’s Oswaldo Ibarra celebrates after his team scored against Universitario de Deportes during their Copa Sudamericana soccer match in Quito August 5, 2008. REUTERS/Guillermo Granja

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Tags: american championships, bonus point, bonus points, brave attempt, complexities, Ecuador, Guillermo Granja, Ibarra, instalment, measly, Mexico, MLS, nbsp, oswaldo ibarra, peculiarities, peru, Photo, Quito, reuters, rsquo, second stage, third stage, time teams, winning the title

Galaxy rewarded by playing hard ball over Beckham

March 9, 2009

So often in the past we have seen transfer deals go through simply because the player asks to leave. Clubs fear the players won’t play to their full potential if their wish is denied so they cave in and take the transfer fee.

But recently, some clubs have started fighting back against player power and have been rewarded.

David Beckham asked to stay at AC Milan permanently but Los Angeles Galaxy were having none of it, especially when the Italians first offered a low sum the Americans said was “ridiculous”.

Galaxy stuck to their guns and have managed to get Beckham back for at least July until November.

A similar story happened last year when fellow England midfielder Gareth Barry wanted to go to Liverpool but Aston Villa would not budge on their asking price. He is still at Villa and could stay for good if they make the Champions League this season.

Are we seeing a new hard ball approach from selling clubs?

PHOTO: AC Milan’s David Beckham controls the ball against Al-Sadd during the Jafal Rashed testimonial soccer match at the Jassim Bin Hamad stadium in Doha March 4, 2009. REUTERS/Fadi Al-Assaad

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