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)

Tags: africa cup of nations, african footballer of the year, algeria, Angola, big game, Cup, England, footballer of the year, frederic kanoute, invigorated, last sunday, lua, Luanda, Malawi, mali, mid afternoon, quarter finals, rabah saadane, remarkable comeback, SEVILLA, six points, South Africa, south africa 2010, striker, world cup qualifiers

Higuain keeps Real’s Galacticos on their toes

November 2, 2009

Gonzalo Higuain reminded Manuel Pellegrini of his worth at the weekend, scoring both goals for 10-man Real Madrid in their 2-0 victory over Getafe.

The Argentine youngster was Real’s top scorer with 22 league goals last season, but was making only his third start in nine league games on Saturday.

Higuain has found his chances limited with the arrival of president Florentino Perez and his new batch of Galacticos including Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka and Karim Benzema.

He also has to compete with the experienced heads of Raul and Ruud van Nistelrooy.

“We’ve had to integrate Benzema, Ronaldo and all the others into the team,” coach Manuel Pellegrini said after the Getafe game.

“I am sure that this season Higuain will have a major role to play again. For me he is a fundamental player.”

Higuain has pace, loves to run at defenders, and is not afraid of shooting from distance, but against Getafe he showed one of his most valuable assets which is a gutsy ability to score important goals in high-pressure situations.

The Getafe game was a tense affair at the Bernabeu where defeat could have signalled the end for Pellegrini, and the team had to endure a disgruntled home crowd after their humbling 4-0 King’s Cup defeat to third-tier Alcorcon.

Last season, in the same fixture, Higuain scored a screamer in time added on to give Real a 3-2 victory. His strike came as scuffles broke out all around him following Pepe’s spectacular loss of control that led to him getting a 10-match ban.

In 2008 he scored the goal that delivered Real’s 31st league title, when Bernd Schuster’s side came back with 10 men to beat Osasuna 2-1 away.

The year before that, he completed the remarkable comeback from 3-0 down against Espanyol, netting in the last minute for a 4-3 win that proved to be a psychological turning point in Fabio Capello’s title winning campaign.

After being overlooked by Argentina, Diego Maradona finally threw him on for his first cap against Peru last month and Higuain rose to the challenge scoring the first in a 2-1 win.

Higuain may not sell as many shirts around the world as the players in front of him at Real Madrid, but his fighting spirit should keep them on their toes.

PHOTO: Real Madrid’s Gonzalo Higuain (R) fights for the ball with Getafe’s Cata Diaz during their Spanish First Division soccer match at Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid October 31, 2009. REUTERS/Dani Cardona

Source

Tags: Argentina, Argentine, bernabeu, Bernd Schuster, cristiano ronaldo, diego maradona, Espanyol, fabio capello, first cap, florentino perez, home crowd, kaka, Karim Benzema, league games, league goals, MADRID, manuel pellegrini, peru, pressure situations, raul, real madrid, remarkable comeback, ronaldo, Ruud, ruud van nistelrooy, Santiago, screamer, team coach, top scorer

World Cup will survive without Messi and Ronaldo

September 8, 2009

“Ronaldo and Messi could miss the World Cup!” screamed the headlines after Portugal drew 1-1 in Denmark and Argentina were humiliated 3-1 at home to Brazil.

It sounds awful, doesn’t it? How will we ever manage without Cristiano and Leo, two of the poster boys for the elite, Masters of the Universe level of footballer we’ve come to know and love?

Leaving aside for a minute the fact that Argentina almost certainly will qualify, and Portugal are by no means out if it either, let’s get one thing clear: the World Cup will get along fine without them or any other individual players, should their countries get left behind.

Comparatively minor tournaments, such as soccer at the Olympics and regional championships outside Europe and South America, need glamour players from the big leagues to attract worldwide interest from media and sponsors. Domestic leagues need them to do overseas rights deals, the Champions League needs them to keep the money flowing but the World Cup is in a different category altogether.

The World Cup has always been bigger than any one player, or indeed any combination of them. It has consistently been a tournament that has created new stars rather than one that has simply allowed established ones to shine.

It’s striking, in fact, how many players have come into recent tournaments lavished with praise, and adorning the advertising posters of the boot manufacturers, only to find themselves upstaged.

Take France in 1998. I don’t remember anyone going to that tournament with the express intention of seeing Zinedine Zidane. He was certainly much admired, but he was not in the same league as Ronaldo, the FIFA World Player of the Year for 1997, and we all remember how the tournament turned out.

Four years later, Ronaldo staged that remarkable comeback from his career-threatening knee problems, at a time when many had written him off. The players expected to light up that tournament were Luis Figo of Portugal, Raul of Spain, Zidane again and England’s David Beckham yet their contributions were minimal, and were overshadowed completely by the remarkable feats of co-hosts South Korea.

As for 2006, that was supposed to be the tournament of Ronaldinho and Kaka, but an overhyped Brazil side made a premature exit, to no one’s great regret. And what did Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard or Zlatan Ibrahimovic do to justify their reputations?

If Messi, Ronaldo or any other member of the football royal family misses the World Cup, it will generate a lot of wailing and teeth-gnashing in the build-up — heck, I’ll be sorry myself — but I bet any absences will swiftly be forgotten once the tournament is underway.

Perhaps it will be another established star who takes South Africa by storm — Franck Ribery, Karim Benzema, Fernando Torres or David Villa, maybe — but we may also see someone quite unexpected come from nowhere to make an indelible mark on world football.

Jermain Defoe to score the winning goal in the final, anyone?

PHOTO: Argentina’s Lionel Messi (R) falls down next to Brazil’s Luisao during their World Cup qualifier in Rosario, September 5, 2009. REUTERS/Marcos Brindicci

Source

Tags: advertising posters, aga, boot manufacturers, champions league, fifa world player of the year, footballer, knee problems, luis figo, masters of the universe, messi, new stars, poster boys, regional championships, remarkable comeback, ronaldo, World Cup, world player of the year, worldwide interest, zinedine zidane

Santos ends Mexican week, rallies over Montreal to cap Champions League quarterfinals with drama

March 7, 2009

Not even the United Soccer Leagues could stop Mexico.

The USL’s Puerto Rico Islanders continued their magical run into the semifinals of the CONCACAF Champions League, eliminating Honduran side CD Marathon, but all the mysticism of the second-division North American league wasn’t enough to keep Santos Laguna out.

Santos rallied with three goals in the final 16 minutes, including two in injury time by Carlos Quintero, to cap a dramatic rally Thursday, just getting past the Montreal Impact 5-2 to prevail 5-4 on aggregate.

The late drama completed the semifinal field, sending Santos against fellow Mexican side Atlante, while the Islanders earned a series against Cruz Azul.

Santos will play the first leg of its semifinals series at home in Torreon against Atlante on Wednesday, March 18, a day after the Islanders begin at home against Cruz Azul.

Cruz Azul will open the return legs at home on Tuesday, April 7, with Atlante enjoying the familiar climes of Cancun for the second leg against Santos on Wednesday, April 8.

After a 1-0 first leg win, Puerto Rico needed only a draw against Marathon in San Pedro Sula to advance, and were clinging to that thread as time dwindled despite the Honduran side’s repeated offensive forays. Saul Martinez hit the crossbar in the 82nd as the Islanders’ defense bent near 90 degrees, but didn’t break.

Then, with Marathon pressing further even more, Nicholas Addlery scored his second goal 15 seconds into injury time to end the drama and assure Puerto Rico of a semifinal berth.

“We won at home and away,” Islanders coach Colin Clarke said. “Marathon pressed the entire time, but we took advantage of their gaps in the field.”

Montreal also took advantage of lapses by Santos, scoring two first-half goals and appearing to have guaranteed itself a semifinal berth by halftime.

With a 4-1 aggregate lead and two away goals, only a remarkable comeback by Santos could sink the Impact.

But Matias Vuoso converted a rebound of a shot by Walter Jimenez in the 54th to start the rally, and then scored a second in the 74th. That still left Montreal with a two-goal cushion as the end of the match approached. But Quintero, who entered the game as a 34th-minute substitute for Osmar Mares, scored in the third and fourth minutes of extra time to the delight of the energized crowd of 12,000 at Estadio Corona.

A home crowd couldn’t help Pumas, which remained unable to beat cross-town rival Cruz Azul for the eighth consecutive game. Despite being the away side and protecting a 1-0 first-leg lead, Cruz Azul had the better of possession and chances. And like Puerto Rico, los Cementeros’ sealed their advancement when Cristian Riveros scored his second goal of the tournament in the 86th minute.

Atlante didn’t need any late heroics against the Houston Dynamo, just Mexico’s curse over teams from Major League Soccer. Fernando Navarro and Rafael Marquez Lugo scored first-half goals and Giancarlo Maldonado capped Atlante’s effort with another in the 90th minute in a 3-0 victory over Houston.

The result continued Mexican teams’ dominance over their rivals north of the border, extending their unbeaten streak to 16 games, including 15 victories.

Go to Source