Mourinho explains Balotelli row

February 4, 2010

Jose Mourinho has explained the reason behind last night’s shouting match with Mario Balotelli during Internazionale’s Coppa Italia match against Fiorentina (1-0).

The Portuguese manager commented on the cause of the touchline row. “He’s got to defend first, then focus on his problems.”

A furious Balotelli was substituted moments after the row and the youngster went straight into the tunnel, throwing his gloves on the ground and avoiding the Inter bench entirely.

“In my tactics the players must always defend first and foremost, even if they have a problem,” explained Mourinho on RAI television.

“I don’t care if they picked up an injury or lost their contact lenses. He’s got to defend first, then focus on his problems.”

Diego Milito produced the only goal in the first leg win at the Giuseppe Meazza while the second leg is in Florence on April 14.

“I liked the result more than the performance, especially in the second half,” added Mourinho.

“I expected more from my men, but the Viola controlled the tempo and forced me into certain changes.

“Only after the second leg will we know if this was a good result. It is already an advantage that we did not concede on home turf.

“Playing in Florence will not be easy and they’ll be eager to overturn this defeat.”

Tags: april 14, balotelli, bench, contact lenses, coppa italia, diego milito, Florence, giuseppe meazza, gloves, home turf, internazionale, Jose, jose mourinho, mario, Mario Balotelli, Rai, second half, shouting match, television, tempo, viola, youngster

Cruzeiro crush Potosi to advance to Libertadores group phase

February 4, 2010

Brazilian outfit Cruzeiro scored no less than seven goals in their home match with Real Potosi of Bolivia to secure a spot in the group phase of the Copa Libertadores.

Last week’s first leg in Bolivia ended in a 1-1 draw but at home, Cruzeiro were of a different class.

Marquinhos Parana put the Brazilians in the lead after 28 minutes, shortly followed by a goal from Thiago Ribeiro for 2-0. Kleber added a third in the 39th minute for a 3-0 half time score.

The second half began in exactly the same manner as the first half had ended as Cruzeiro continued to dominate and Jonathan made it 4-0 in the very first minute after the break.

The worst was yet to come for the visiting side as Eliandro (88), Bernardo (89) and Joffre Guerron (92) added late goals for a 7-0 final score.

The Bolivians were not helped either by two red cards. Argentinian Gerardo Yecerotte received a direct red card in the 46th minute and Gonzalo Galindo followed with a second yellow in the 74th.

In the group phase, Cruzeiro meet with Velez Sarsfield of Argentina, Nacional of Uruguay and Deportivo Cuenca of Ecuador.

Tags: Argentina, bolivia, bolivians, brazilians, copa libertadores, cuenca, Deportivo, deportivo cuenca, Ecuador, final score, galindo, gerardo, Gerardo Yecerotte, Gonzalo, group phase, half time, home match, jonathan, red cards, sarsfield, second half, Thiago Ribeiro, time score, uruguay

Top three win in Eredivisie

February 4, 2010

There were no surprises in the Dutch Eredivisie this Wednesday, as all of the top three teams won their home matches without particular difficulties.

Joint leaders PSV hosted FC Utrecht and went ahead through Ola Toivonen in the seventh minute. Sander Keller did level with six minutes to go until the break, but midfielder Orlando Engelaar went on to net the home side’s winner on the hour mark.

Utrecht goalscorer Keller was sent off with a second yellow card in the 77th minute.

Twente played a home match with fifth-placed Heracles and scored one goal in each half to beat their guests 2-0. Costa Rican Bryan Ruiz opened the scoring in minute 43, and Blaise N’Kufo doubled the advantage in the 66th.

Ajax forgot to score in the first half against Roda JC, but made up for it in the second. Luis Suarez scored two penalties, one in the 54th minute and one in the 69th, and went on to find the target again in the 79th and 86th minutes for a stunning total of four goals.

Roda played part of the second half with a man less, as Davy de Fauw collected his second yellow card in the 67th minute.

Tags: Ajax, Blaise, break, Bryan Ruiz, Davy, dutch eredivisie, fc utrecht, Heracles, home match, kufo, luis suarez, no surprises, PSV, Sander Keller, second, second half, six minutes, target, toivonen, twente, utrecht, yellow card

Mancini pleased as grief-stricken Adebayor scores

February 1, 2010

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini was pleased with his side’s 2-0 win over Portsmouth at Eastlands on Sunday but admitted his side had been distinctly under-par in what was a poor encounter.

First-half goals from Emmanuel Adebayor and Vincent Kompany secured the three points for City but there was precious little else to cheer about in a match that never really got off the ground.

Adebayor had not started for his club since returning home early from the African Cup of Nations last month following the terrifying gun assault on the Togo team bus in Cabinda that left two backroom staff dead.

However, he told City manager Roberto Mancini on Saturday that he felt mentally strong enough to start the match and rewarded his manager’s faith with a 40th minute opener while Kompany found a second with a header five minutes later.

Yet apart from those goals, City looked shapeless and tired and Mancini admitted that Wednesday’s night’s 3-1 defeat to Manchester United in the League Cup semi-final second leg match had taken a toll on his players.

“Today (Sunday) was an important victory but we did not play well. Physically we played strong and very very well (against United) and probably today we were a bit tired because of that.

“We started the game very slowly but it was important in the end that we win.”

Mancini was particularly pleased to see Adebayor scoring again after his comeback from that harrowing incident but Mancini still expects it to take time for him to fully recover and insists there is more to come from him.

“I’m happy for him because he scored a good goal and an important goal,” he added.

“I know that it was a difficult game for him today. I think he needs to train next week and today he played well but I think he can improve.”

As City’s players left the pitch after a second half that was even duller than the first, three players – Nigel de Jong, Carlos Tevez and Stephen Ireland sported t-shirts with the slogan ‘Team Bridge’ on them.

These were in support of injured teammate Wayne Bridge after recent revelations that Bridge’s former Chelsea teammate and best friend John Terry has allegedly been cheating on his wife with Bridge’s ex-girlfriend, French lingerie model Vanessa Perroncel.

“The players are very close to Wayne,” Mancini said.

“He is a fantastic player and a good guy. It was a nice gesture. Wayne is a fantastic man and a very, very good guy and I think the players are very,very close to him.”

Portsmouth manager Avram Grant refused to meet the media after the match with a Portsmouth official citing that he wanted to wait for the transfer window to close on Monday before making his thoughts known about life at Fratton Park.

However, all is certainly not well with the players again paid late this month along with chief executive Peter Storrie revealing earlier this week that his role was becoming increasingly untenable because he did not know Portsmouth were trying to sell Younes Kaboul and Asmir Begovic.

Aligned to that situation is the fact they remain firmly rooted to the bottom of the Premier League on 15 points but life is not all bad according to assistant manager Paul Groves, who claims the Pompey players are still doing their best despite the off-the-field situation.

“You saw from the way the lads played today in terms of spirit and togetherness that they get on and do the job,” he said.

“We are in it to win football matches and get points. If we can get back to back points we can put some pressure on the teams around us.”

MANCHESTER, England (AFP)

Tags: african cup of nations, backroom staff, carlos tevez, CHELSEA, Eastlands, emmanuel adebayor, encounter, England, five minutes, Fratton Park, Manchester, manchester city, manchester united, nigel de jong, paul groves, Peter Storrie, pitch, Portsmouth, premier league, returning home, roberto mancini, second half, slogan, Stephen Ireland, team bus, vanessa perroncel, victory, Vincent, Wayne, wayne bridge

Nigeria beat Algeria to finish third in Africa Cup of Nations

January 30, 2010

Striker Obinna Nsofor’s second half goal gave Nigeria a 1-0 win over Algeria in the Africa Cup of Nations third-place playoff here on Saturday.

BENGUELA, Angola (AFP)

Tags: AFP, Africa, africa cup of nations, algeria, Angola, benguela, nigeria, obinna, second half, striker

Quick report: Nigeria 1-0 Algeria

January 30, 2010

Nigeria finished third at the 2010 African Cup of Nations following a 1-0 win over Algeria on Saturday.

The Nigerians, who lost their semi final encounter with Ghana, faced a rather different Algerian team that had to replace no less than three suspended players and left several others benched.

Nigeria also left some of their key players on the bench, although manager Amodu allowed some of his starts to come on in the second half.

The only goal of the match was scored after 56 minutes. Poor defending from Algeria allowed Victor Nsofor to collect the ball near the edge of the penalty area, after which he blasted it past keeper Zemmamouche for 1-0.

The final, which is to be played on Sunday, has Ghana challenge defending champions Egypt.

Tags: african cup of nations, algeria, bench, Egypt, final encounter, ghana, match, nigeria, nigerians, second half, Victor Nsofor

Nigeria defender Mohammed operated in South Africa

January 30, 2010

Nigeria defender Yusuf Mohammed underwent surgery at a Johannesburg clinic in South Africa on Saturday, according to an official statement by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).

The operation on the defender’s ruptured Achilles tendon took place at the Rose Bank Clinic in Johannesburg.

Nigeria team physiotherapist, Ekundayo Ogunkunle, who accompanied the player on the trip to South Africa from the Africa Cup of Nations in Angola, said the operation had been successful.

“The player is already wearing boots and they will manage him for three weeks or so before we come around to take him back to Nigeria,” he added.

The Nigeria Football Federation arranged for the 26-year-old Mohammed to be flown to South Africa after he ruptured his Achilles tendon in the second half of the Africa Cup of Nations semi-final against Ghana on Thursday.

BENGUELA, Angola (AFP)

Tags: achilles tendon, africa cup of nations, Angola, benguela, boots, football federation, ghana, johannesburg, mohammed, nigeria, nigeria football, nigeria team, Rose, second half, South Africa, team physiotherapist, Yusuf Mohammed

Quick report: Algeria 0-4 Egypt

January 29, 2010

Egypt are through to the final of the Africa Cup after a highly eventful 4-0 win over arch rivals Algeria in Thursday’s semi final.

Both sides showed from the start that this match was simply one they had to win, but most of the game in the opening phase took place on Algeria’s half.

The Egyptians had their first big chance on 24 minutes with Algeria keeper Chaouchi doing well to parry a well-performed shot from Emad Moateb.

But if the match had not come to life yet, it surely did when Rafik Halliche brought down Motaeb in the 36th minute with a second yellow card and a penalty as result. Hosny Abd Rabbou took the spot kick and converted for 1-0.

The influential Moateb would not see the end of the match as he came off injured in the 52nd minute, Hossam Ghaly taking his place.

The second half featured a slightly less offensive Egypt at first as the defending African champions waited for a counter-attack. Such an attack occurred in the 65th minute and allowed Mohamed Zidan to strike past Chaouchi for 2-0.

Algeria went another man down five minutes later, when defender Nadid Belhadj fouled Abd Raddou and was handed a direct red card by referee Codjia.

Egypt went on to dominate Algeria and got their third goal in the 81st minute. Substitute Abdul-Shafi received a short pass from Zidan and slammed it into the net to make it 3 against 0.

To make matters worse for Algeria, they had keeper Chaouchi sent off late on. Reserve goalie Zemmamouche would take his place between the posts for the remaining few minutes, in which Algeria had only eight men left on the pitch.

Four minutes into added time, Egypt made it 4-0 as another substitute, Gedo, netted from about 14 meters.

Egypt, who also won the previous two editions of Africa’s most prestigious international tournament, now face Ghana in the final on Sunday. Algeria and Nigeria meet for third place a day earlier.

Tags: abd, Abdul, Abdul-Shafi, added time, Africa, africa cup, african champions, algeria, arch rivals, Chaouchi, Codjia, Egypt, egyptians, few minutes, five minutes, four minutes, ghana, Halliche, hossam ghaly, man down, minute substitute, mohamed, mohamed zidan, nigeria, pitch, place, rafik, referee, second half, time egypt, tournament, yellow card, Zemmamouche

Mourning Mancini: ‘We were unlucky’

January 29, 2010

On Wednesday night, Manchester City had a brilliant opportunity to book a first Wembley cup final appearance since 1981 but the mission of the Citizens failed dramatically.

A 2-1 lead on aggregrate out of the first match wasn’t enough for City who have now set their sights on the FA Cup. “I am very sorry because I thought we played very well,” said Roberto Mancini.

Again, the Italian manager saw Carlos Tevez netting a goal against his former club but this time without the desired result.

“We were under pressure for only 10 minutes,”stated Mancini. “We played well. We were unlucky.”

“For the rest of the game we played very, very well. I am very sorry for the players because tonight they played very well.”

Manchester United’s victory booked them a place in a record seventh final in this competition for Sir Alex Ferguson who praised United’s fans. “Our support was unbelievable. I’m very proud and I’m delighted for the fans.

“When they are like that you never want to let them down.”

Ferguson was also positive about the events on the pitch. “We missed a lot of chances,” he said. “Edwin van der Sar made one marvellous save (from a Micah Richards’ shot) after half-time but we produced a marvellous performance in the second half.

“We could have scored six or seven.”

Tags: appearance, carlos tevez, citizens, edwin van der sar, FA Cup, game, Manchester, manchester city, manchester united, match, micah richards, mourning, roberto mancini, second half, sir alex ferguson, van der sar, victory, wednesday night, Wembley, wembley cup

Sevilla, Racing Santander into Copa semis

January 28, 2010

Sevilla and Racing Santander booked their spots in the 2009-10 Copa del Rey semifinals on Wednesday with aggregate victories over Deportivo La Coruña and Osasuna, respectively.

Sevilla dropped a 1-0 result at home to the Galician side on Wednesday, but won 3-1 on aggregate thanks to a strong performance in last week’s opener at the Riazor.

Needing a strong performance to overcome the deficit, and they managed to open the scoring a minute before halftime as Rodolfo Bodipo got on the end of Pablo Álvarez’s cross for the finish past a helpless Javi Varas.

Bodipo missed another chance in the second half when the striker’s header missed the target, but he was forced off due to injury in the 67th minute, giving Depor no chance at the comeback.

While Sevilla coasted into the semis, Racing stormed into the last four with a 3-0 victory at Reyno de Navarra, completing a 5-1 aggregate thrashing of Osasuna.

Xisco bagged the opener after just six minutes when his sliding effort against Nacho Monreal beat goalkeeper Roberto.

The lead was doubled in the 23rd minute when Monreal was again beaten, this time by a Henrique header at the far post off a corner kick, and recent Real Madrid super signing Sergio Canales completed the rout with 12 minutes go with a phenomenal free kick.

Sevilla will play Mallorca or Getafe in the semifinal round, while Racing await the winner between Atlético Madrid and Celta de Vigo. The second legs of those quarterfinal ties take place on Thursday.