Real go top in Spain as Barca falter under strange circumstances.

The race for the La Liga title is gaining pace with Real Madrid coming back from a two goal deficit to beat Sevilla in a thrilling game. The victory saw Real ease past Barcelona by virtue of an improved goal difference. Ex-Liverpool ace Xabi Alonso was kind enough to give the visitors an early lead, putting the ball into his own net. Bernabeu was stunned into silence when a rare mistake from keeper Iker Casillas saw Ivica Dragutinovic's free-kick float into the top left corner as the Real defence looked on in dismay.
It was a rare site to see the white soccer uniforms go down the tunnel two goals behind at half time.

As was the case in many of the weekend fixtures in Europe, the second half told an entirely different story. Cristiano Ronaldo slammed the first nail into Sevilla's coffin when he coolly side-footed the ball home after a neat inter-passing move. The whites were level just four minutes later, with midfielder Sergio Ramos heading home powerfully from a corner. The pressure on Sevilla's goal was unrelenting with both Gutti and Higuain hitting the woodwork, and Raul getting in the way of a goal bound Ronaldo shot. The was fire in the eyes of the Madrid player's eyes as the pushed for victory and it came from a very late goal from substitute Rafael van der Vaart.

Real went into the game knowing that a victory, and even a narrow one, would take them to the peak of the table. In the early game champions Barca struggled slightly, away to Almeria. It was a very unbalanced game, marked by some strange refereeing decisions more than good football. Barca came back twice to equalize with both goals coming from Lionel Messi.

However Messi's star was eclipsed but not by any of the players, instead by referee Carlos Clos Gomez. First he sent Barca coach Pep Guardiola to the stands in the first half, and Swedish Zlatan Ibrahimovic to an early bath with half an hour to go.

Gomez also succeeded in upsetting everyone in the ground by delaying the match's kick off for around fifteen minutes. He apparently took exception to the Almeria player' soccer uniforms, which offered support to the people of Chile after the recent earthquake.
When the game eventually got under way Domingo Cisma had put the Almerians ahead after just 12 minutes, and leaving Barcelona on the lookout for an equalizer. It finally came three minutes before half-time, and again referee Gomez was involved in another controversial decision. This time he awarded a free kick for the visitors, which looked dubious in the extreme. A grateful Messi stepped up to beat keeper Alves with an exquisite free-kick.
That's how the score remained at the break, but Barca went behind soon after the match resumed. . Captain Carles Puyol feeling as generous as his counterpart Alonzo at Real, gifted the home side a really soft own-goal.
However Messi came up with the goods scrambling a late equalizer, to keep the champions in close sight of Real.
With the title race in La Liga finely poised, El Clasico on 11 April looks like being a bit of a league decider.

In Italy at the weekend Serie A leaders Inter Milan were surprisingly held to a stuffy goalless draw by Genoa away. Inter, and especially Jiao Mourinho were disappointed to lose the chance to pull further away from AC Milan who were also held to a no-score draw by Roma on Saturday. Read More!

Villa win it in Second

The last two games of the FA Cup quarter finals were played on Sunday with the most exciting game of the two being at Reading. The home team, struggling in the Championship had been having a great run in the cup, and it looked like continuing as they went in at the interval 2-0 ahead, with both goals coming from promising young striker, Shane Long. Things looked down and out for Aston Villa at the break, but they came out for the second half with a whole load of fresh vitality. Vitality that saw them shatter Reading' s hopes for a place in the semis with three goals in the space of ten minutes early in the half that saw Reading's lead disappear as fast as it had come. England World Cup Squad hopeful Ashley Young notched up the first, and then Villa's giant Norwegian born striker made his indelible mark on the game by scoring a rapid brace to put the amber and claret soccer uniforms very much in the driving seat. Villa's amazing comeback was sealed in stoppage time as Carew completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot after he had been fouled by Reading's Ingimarsson.

Villa are having a great season by their standards, in the Semi Finals as well as very much in the running for that highly important fourth place in this season's Premier League. March will be a very decisive month for them, and things are looking good for them. Yesterday's win was amazingly the first that the club had had in the month of March since Martin O'Neil became manager of the club in 2006.

The other semi saw John Terry and Chelsea taking on the less glamorous but hard working Stoke City side at Stamford Bridge. Terry has been very much in the headlines in the last few weeks and for all the wrong reasons. His performances on the field in the last few weeks have also been less than impressive, but yesterday he put in a solid performance and even scored the decisive second goal in Chelsea's relatively easy 2-0 win.

Frank Lampard, who is hitting some pretty good form as the season progresses, opened the scoring for Chelsea, hammering in a powerful drive form more than twenty yards. Chelsea created a number of chances, some of which they should have taken advantage of before Terry sealed the victory with a typical header from Lampard's corner. Stoke rarely threatened, with the only real chance coming from one of Rory Delap's famous long range throw ins. Ex-Chelsea player Robert Huth's headed it on, and Mamady Sidibe flicked his header in from close range when it looked easier to score. What was obvious to all in attendance is that Chelsea have a real problem with their replacement keeper Hilario, in for the injured Peter Cech. Better teams will give this Portuguese veteran a really difficult time, and one of them will surely be Aston Villa who will meet Chelsea at Wembley in the first semi-final. Portsmouth will play either Tottenham of Fulham in the other.

There was also some Premier league action yesterday with Everton pushing Hull below the red line with a crushing 5-1 home win. Spanish star Mikel Arteta marked his recent return from injury by scoring two goals for the Toffees. Other scorers for the Goodson Park Club were American Land on Donovan, and promising young player Jack Rodwell. Hull's Richard Garcia also chipped in with an own goal for the blues, while teenager Tom Cairney scored Hull's solitary effort at the right end of the park, equalizing with a superb volley Read More!

United go top in England as "the Carrot Top" scores his hundredth.

United go top in England as "the Carrot Top" scores his hundredth.

Paul Scholes, one of the three remaining "wonder babes of the nineties" of Old Trafford, has never been known as a loud or outgoing personality,
Yet he seemed to be turning more and pinker yesterday at the Moulineux stadium in Wolverhampton, as he danced along, celebrating his hundredth Premier League goal. Scholes, who normally shuns interviews, said after the game the his goal, and the resultant 1-0 victory against Wolves, could be the one that will make United the Premier League champs for the fourth successive campaign. Wolves put up a tremendous struggle and a draw was looking very much on the cards till Scholes got on target in the 73rd minute when he met a deflected cross from Nani to nudge the ball home. Yet Wolves could have still snatched a draw in the dying seconds of the game, had not
Sam Vokes missed a tremendous chance to score than not but blasted well over the top. Very conspicuous by his absence was Wayne Rooney, while Berbatov continues to flatter to deceive. With Rooney looking doubtful for Wednesday's return match against Milan in midweek, the realization seemed to cause Sir Alex Ferguson's face to gradually become the same colour as the United soccer uniforms.

Earlier in the day, Arsenal provided their usual display of wonderful football, without the ability to take their chances , This time among the spectators were struggling Burnley, who could only look on in dismay as Arsenal squandered chance after chance to go ahead. Particularly at fault was Nicholas Bentdner who missed a barrowload of chances, before being substituted to the relieved cheers and applause of the Emirates crowd. Arsenal appeared to have the points in the bag, as Cesc Fabregas put them in the lead with a typical double passing move with Samir Nasri. That appeared to be that, as Burnley, whose away record is the worst in the Premier League, never looked like coming back. But come back they did, with a fine equalizing strike from David Nugent. However the Gunners stepped up a gear after that and won the game with two late goals from Walcott and Arshavin. Wenger was left with some worries as principal playmaker Fabregas limped off with a recurrence of a hamstring injury. With Porto in midweek in the Champions League, Arsenal will sorely miss their midfield dynamo.

Elsewhere in the Premier League, Bolton succeeding in pulling away slightly from the relegation zone. They did so with a deserved 2-1 victory against the under-achieving West Ham in London. South Korean midfielder Lee Chung-young and Jack Wilshere got the goals for Bolton, while Alessando Diamanti pulled a goal back for West Ham late on, and even later Junior Stanislas hit a shot off the woodwork, as the referee was looking to blow the final whistle.

It was also cup day in England yesterday, and Portsmouth, who have bigger problems off the field that on it these caused a bit of a shock by beating the Birmingham 2-0 in the first of the quarter final games played. Portsmouth victory was sealed by two excellent goals, both coming in rapid succession, late in the game; they came from Frederic Piquionne, who is proving to be a shrewd loan signing by manager Avram Grant. The other tie, between Fulham and Tottenham, ended in a tight goalless draw, meaning a replay at White Hart Lane in about ten days time. Read More!

Will the Italian Invasion of England succeed?

For the first time in history, three of the most pivotal roles in English soccer are being held by Italian soccer managers. And during the coming few months, their names may become embellished in the annals of soccer history. The question is whether they will achieve the tough goals that have been set for them, or they will unfortunately go the same way as their predecessors. Lots of potential but no awards. The three managers in question come with tremendous credentials and all have won awards both as players in their Italy as well as managers. In case you haven't guessed the three managers who will be under the spot lamp till the end of the summer are Roberto Mancini of Manchester City, Carlo Ancelotti of Chelsea and Fabio Capello, the England International team manager. While none of them ever played together or even outside Italy, all of them pulled on the national soccer uniform with considerable distinction.
Mancini comes up first, because he was the last to arrive on the English scene to manage Manchester City. He arrived somewhat under a cloud, not of his own making, after the acrimonious sacking of Mark Hughes. The appointment of Mancini initially looked like a good idea as City began to win games instead of drawing them, which they did with remarkable regularity. Roberto started well with a few wins, but City's form has slipped recently, and they were ousted from the FA cup by lowly Stoke City. City's and Mancini's only hope for glory remaining this season is to book that hard fought for fourth place in the Premier League and with it a ticket to next season's Champions league. Competition will be tough, with Liverpool, Aston Villa and Tottenham all in with a chance. If Mancini succeeds in steering City into fourth place, he will surely be around to guide them next season, and even if he doesn't him might well still be.
Also feeling the pressure just now will be Carlo Ancelotti of Chelsea. Chelsea go into action tomorrow in what will be a very significant month for them, and one which may well decide if Carlo will make it past his first season. Which is something of an achievement at a club who has gone through five managers in the last three seasons (if you count Butch Wilkins who managed them for a single game)? Carlo's and Chelsea's challenge begins tomorrow with a cup game against Stoke at home. A week on Tuesday, Chelsea face Inter Milan in the second leg of their Uefa Champions League at home. They will have to overcome a 2-1 away defeat as well as the mind games of their former iconic manager José Mourinho. The crunch time for Chelsea's season draws to an end on the third of April when they head to Old Trafford for what could well be the Premier League Championship decider. Depending on how Chelsea fare in the coming month, and even more so in the following one, will determine whether Ancelotti's stay in England will be considered a success or not. Lifting the Champions League Trophy at the Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid in May might be the only real guarantee that the Carlo will become the first Chelsea manager in years to keep his job for more than one season.
Looking down on his two younger colleagues from above is Fabio Capello, the England team manager. Capello has worked wonders in reshaping the England team squad and restoring their somewhat faded prestige. He led them to South Africa with a lot of class and aplomb, and a relatively easy draw should see them through the group stages, after that, it's all down to the luck of the draw,
What's for sure is that the next few months are going to be hot for these sons of Italy and for all of England. Read More!

Is there an Arsenal injury curse?

It's no secret that Arsenal are not everyone's favorite football team, which is difficult to understand as they play some very attractive football, and their manager Arsene Wenger is one of the most respected and knowledgeable in the game. His ability to spot a young talent to don the famous red and white soccer uniform and nurture them to greatness is renowned. At the helm at Arsenal since 1996, Wenger has recognized talent in many players and his current squad bears witness to his ability. Despite the fact that Arsenal was up there and winning trophies up till 2005, they have won nothing since and not even got close in the UK. They did have the distinction of being the first London club to reach a European Champions league final, losing out to Barcelona in 2006
Since the (some say) premature departure of Thierry Henry to Barcelona in 2007, Arsenal appears to have lost their edge in the last third of the pitch. To watch them play some times can be very frustrating as they have some really skilful players, and a creative gem in Cest Fabregas, but they just don't seem to score enough goals, especially against the other members of the big four ( Chelsea, ManUtd. or maybe Liverpool)
Unfortunately where Arsenal does appear to lead the field is in the number of horrific injuries that their players have suffered over the last few years. Every team going through a tough season, and especially those who are playing a lot of games, are liable suffer injuries to their key players. However very few see their players being stretchered off with career threatening injuries the way Arsenal have, especially in the last few years.
The recent terrible injury blow that Arsenal suffered was with their young Welsh talent, Aaron Ramsey who was a victim of a studs up tackle by Stoke's Ryan Shawcross which left Ramsey with seemingly no less than six fractures to his shin. Shawcross left the field in tears, and the Arsenal and Stoke players were obviously shaken as nineteen year old Ramsey was stretchered of, and is not likely to feature again on a soccer pitch till 2011.
It must have been like déjà vu for Wenger as he recalled the day in February 2008, in a match against Birmingham City, where another one of his protégés, Croatian born Eduardo suffered a badly broken left fibula as well as an open dislocation to his left ankle. The injury was caused by an over the ball tackle by Birmingham's captain Martin Taylor, who was promptly sent off. It took Eduardo almost exactly one year to get back to proper match fitness.
As Arsenal's season continues and they still remain in contention for the two major trophies ( Premier League and Champions League) how will Ramsey's injury affect the rest of the players' ability to get stuck in around the opposition's penalty area when the tackles start to fly. Read More!

Mixed fortunes for World Cup teams in a night of International friendly action.

There was a definite taste of the fast approaching World Cup finals in the air last night as the cream of the national teams were testing each other’s abilities across Europe and the globe. No less than 33 friendly internationals took place on Wednesday evening, with many of the countries who will be taking part in the finals in action, with some of them even playing against each other.
Last night, most eyes in the UK were on Wembley, and England’s friendly with African champions, Egypt. Before the action could begin, there had to be some kind of off-field drama. This time it was, how would the crowd greet recently deposed captain, John Terry and to everyone’s surprise, the reaction was subdued. England looked very smart in their World Cup winning red soccer uniforms.

On the field too, things were also pretty subdued, at least in the first half, Egypt showed why their second successive African cup of nations was not a fluke. They went down the half time tunnel leading 1-0 and justifiably too. If Sir Alex Ferguson has his effective “hair dryer” treatment, than Fabio Capello has his stony glare, which most people might find even more frightening. He must have been doing some glaring at half time, as England came out looking a different team in the second half. That most unlikely looking of soccer heroes Peter Crouch grabbed a brace and Sean Wright-Phillips slipped in a soft goal, to make for a fairly incisive 3-1 victory.

Elsewhere Scotland succeeded in winning 1-0 at Hampden against the Czech Republic. Neither team will be at the World Cup finals, and the only significant thing about the game was that it was new manager Craig Levien’s first in charge. Elsewhere Wales lost at home to Sweden and Northern Ireland had a very disappointing away defeat to lowly Albania.

Across the rest of Europe, there were some interesting matches taking place with probably most interest being in how Diego Maradona’s Argentina would fare against Germany. And they answer was that they did very well. In what will be their second last friendly before boarding the plane to SA, Argentina won 1-0 with a strike from Real Madrid’s Gonzalo Higuain. Argentina looked a lot stronger in all departments than the lack luster German side.

Probably the most significant game of the night took place in Paris, where World Cup 2006 runners up took on Spain, the Euro 2008 Champions. Spain took the spoils, with goals from David Villa and Sergio Ramos in Spain’s first away victory over France for more than forty years. The victory showed why the Iberian superstars have now won 42 out of their last 45 internationals and have to be taken very seriously in the summer in South Africa.

Elsewhere Netherlands won over the United States by two goals to one, while reigning World Champions Italy were held to a tame goalless draw at home to Cameroon.

Read More!

Real Madrid tops the money league as Man Utd fans get despondent about the Glazers

Whoever tells you that football is not big business will find it difficult today, with the release of figures showing the turnover of Europe's top clubs. For the fifth consecutive year, Real Madrid have won the title as being the World's richest club, which is about the only title that they have won during that period. The Madrid club, who are so hungry for glory actually made a profit of $525 million (£350 million, €385 million) for the 2008/09 season. However that was before they paid out no less than $475 million (€350 million, £318 million) on the cream of players from all over Europe to make a squad that would try and take some of the glory from their arch rivals Barcelona.

Barcelona had a great season last year, winning every competition that they took part in; including La Liga and the Champions League, leaving Real's trophy room completely bare. In third place was Manchester United who lost out in the Champions League final to Barcelona, but gained a healthy £55 million profit when they sold superstar Christiano Ronaldo. Christiano has now donned the famous all white of Real Madrid, one of the most well known soccer uniforms on the global stage. Filling his boots as the king pin of Manchester United these days is Wayne Rooney, who looks like he might be knocking both Christiano and Lionel Messi of their perch to become the World's top footballer.

Manchester's season seems to be moving into top gear just at the right time, and last Sunday's Carling Cup final win as again a fine display of not so silky football, played with a lot of grit. The icing on the cake was Wayne Rooney coming off the bench to score the winning goal with a header. While statistics are not readily available, soccer pundits are saying that Wayne has scored more goals with his head in the last month than in all the rest of his career put together.

While there are happy times on the field for Man-U these days, they certainly don't have their problems to seek off it. And it all comes down to money. The problems began in 2005, when the club was taken over by US billionaire Malcolm Glazer who had made his fortune running American football teams. Glazer paid out around $1.2 billion ( £800 million) for the club, which was largely financed by borrowing, meaning that huge amounts of interest has being paid out every year since then. According to the most recent accounts released in January, United's debt burdens have increased to around one billion dollars (£716.5 million) with close to $100 million (£68.5 million) paid out in interest during 2009 alone.


The fans say that these huge interest payments has begun to sap the club's ability to buy the top players that will keep them at the forefront, both at home as well as in Europe. Signs of the fan's dissatisfaction at the Glazer's running or the club have become increasingly apparent with many fans giving up wearing their favourite red soccer uniforms. Instead they have begun to wave green and gold scarves and banners, which were the colours of Newton Heath. Newton Heath was a simple football club who changed their name to Manchester United more than a century ago. United's fans are calling out for a return to the days where soccer was more a sport and less of a business. Let's hope they succeed! Read More!