There is really only one result I care about this evening, and I reckon I’ll give it its own post – so you’ll have to excuse me if it seems like I’m phoning this one in.

Calcio:

Juventus 2-1 Inter (Derby D’Italia) – Perhaps the most important game either of teams have played yet this season, the Derby D’Italia is always a heated and highly-anticipated match between two of the peninsula’s largest teams. This match in particular had the potential to have an immediate effect upon the scudetto race; either consolidating Inter’s position atop the table or reviving Juventus’ flagging title hopes. What resulted was an intense and exciting match by which Juventus managed to steal a crucial 3 points from i Nerazzurri; ensurin that this year’s scudetto race is well, a race. La Vecchia Signora opened the scoring in the 20th minute on a set piece when Felipe Melo inadvertently volleyed a Giorgio Chiellini header past the fingertips of a flailing Julio Cesar and across the line. Jose Mourinho got himself sent to the stands after this play for sarcastically applauding the referee for awarding the free kick. It didn’t take long for the visitors to equalize though, with Samuel Eto’o leaping onto the end of a Dejan Stankovic cross to head past Gigi Buffon and restore parity in Torino. The sides went into halftime level and would remain that way until the 58th minute, when Claudio Marchisio scored what I wouldn’t doubt is the greatest goal we have seen from Juventus yet this season. Momo Sissokho fired a speculative long-range effort at Julio Cesar, who parried but couldn’t hold on to it. Enter Marchisio, who dashed to the loose ball, turned Walter Samuel inside-out with some slick footwork and then buried the ball neatly overtop of Cesar and into the back of the net. In the remaining half-hour of play, tempers flared, with Mario Balotelli elbowing Felipe Melo and then going to ground when the Brazilian retaliated, drawing the midfielder the red card. Balotelli’s ugly side showed through with the constant jeering from the Juventini and perhaps the crowning moment of the match for the home crowd was the young striker lining up to take a free kick and falling firmly upon his behind. Even Gigi Buffon, normally the most level-headed man in the Bianconeri shirt, allowed his temper to get the best of him at the match’s end, nearly getting into a quite physical altercation with Thiago Motta. In the end, Juventus grabbed the 3 points, while Jose’s men merely grabbed some added incentive for these sides’ next meeting at the San Siro.

Gigi descends from the heavens as Juve celebrate their Derby D'Italia win.

AC Milan 3-0 Sampdoria – Speaking of the San Siro, the Rossonero half of Milan were able to affirm themselves among the top of the table by drubbing Antonio Cassano & co. at Milan’s famous stadium this weekend. Marco Borriello, Clarence Seedorf and Alexandre Pato each found the back of the net to pile misery upon i Blucerchiati, who began the season in red-hot form but have fallen upon hard times lately. By cruising to this easy victory, il Diavolo rise to second place in the Serie A table, and with the favour done to them yesterday by Juventus, they are only 4 points adrift of the league leaders. A far cry from the Milan squad who struggled so profoundly at the beginning of this season – Leonardo and his men have grown into themselves as a consistent and dangerous squad – and it’s all because they beat Roma 2-1 a couple of months ago. Froci.

Fiorentina 2-0 Atalanta – The funny thing about calcio is that due to the nature of the language and the culture, sometimes two different teams will share the same nickname. Therefore, while one Nerazzurri squad tops the table, the other Nerazzurri are the league’s veritable whipping boys. Last week Atalanta fell at home to Roma (woo!) and this week they provided an easy three points for La Viola in Firenze. Juan Manuel Vargas and Alberto Gilardino provided the pair of goals that separated i Gigliati from their visitors – the Tuscans now sit in a 4-way tie for 5th place with Roma, Genoa and Sampdoria. They trail Parma by a point.

Football:

Manchester City 2-1 Chelsea – All good things must come to an end. Carlo Ancelotti’s men had been flying high in the Premiership, having sealed victories over each of their fellow ‘Big Four’ teams with a 3-0 victory over Arsenal last weekend. Who would’ve thought that it’d be the Citizens, who had not been able to do better than a draw in their previous 7 league fixtures, that would finally burst the Blues’ bubble and bring them back down to earth. However, things started off pretty well for the visitors in the Eastlands. Only 8 minutes into the match Frank Lampard fired on Shay Given’s goal only for the Irish keeper to deny him and then Nicolas Anelka; on the third rebound, however, Given’s parried ball struck the back of Emmanuel Adebayor, defending on the touchline, and this time the keeper was helpless to keep the ball out. 1-0 Chelsea. The big striker got the chance to atone for his sin just under half an hour later, however, when Shaun Wright-Phillips’ shot took a deflection in Chelsea’s box and fell at the Togolese hitman’s feet – this time he directed the ball into the right goal to make it all square at the City of Manchester Stadium. Things really started to go south for the visitors when Carlos Tevez’s rather tame free kick was able to beat the wall and Petr Cech to give the home side the lead on 56′. But the disaster was not complete yet. On 81′ Didier Drogba was fouled within City’s area – as always, Frank Lampard stepped up to the spot. By this time, however, tempers were flaring and Lamps was visibly unsettled as he took the kick. His effort, ultimately was poor, and Shay Given saved it quite easily. Manchester City went on to hold out for the remaining 10 or so minutes and Chelsea dropped three points that would have given them a commanding lead of the Premiership table. If there are two things that are costing Chelsea right now, they are: a) conceding on set pieces and b) failure to convert penalties. And believe it or not, those two factors are costing the team in a way that not even Roman Abramovich’s bottomless pockets can repair.

It was a battle of the big spenders, and who'd've thought that Chelsea would lose?

Manchester Utd 4-0 West Ham – While Chelsea were stumbling at the front of the pack, United smelled blood and were quick to capitalize on the league leaders’ mistakes. While the Blues were the City of Manchester Stadium, the Red Devils were completing a rout of Gianfranco Zola’s West Ham at Upton Park. Sir Alex Ferguson’s men knocked four goals past a sorry Hammers side, with Paul Scholes, Darron Gibson, Luis Antonio Valencia and Wayne Rooney each finding the back of the net to keep West Ham hovering just above the relegation zone and cut Chelsea’s lead to only 2 points.

Arsenal 2-0 Stoke City – Arsenal bounced back from last week’s defeat to Chelsea and a midweek loss to  Manchester City that saw them knocked out of the Carling Cup by defeating Stoke City 2-0 at the Emirates Stadium. The Gunners had a chance to take control of the match on 20′ when Andrei Arshavin was taken down in Stoke’s area, but Cesc Fábregas failed to convert the resulting penalty. Arshavin would nevertheless put his side ahead just a few minutes later, when on 26′ he completed and angled run into the box and slotted home low to beat Thomas Sorensen. The home side nearly doubled their lead minutes later when a shot from Fábregas rattled off the post. It would be substitute Aaron Ramsey who would finally put Arsenal two up in the 79th minute, again with a run into the box followed by a low shot to beat Sorensen. This victory sees Arsenal retain their 3rd place spot above Tottenham by a single point.

Liverpool 0-0 Blackburn – Liverpool failed once again to get themselves back into the Premiership race by drawing what is an admittedly difficult fixture away at Ewood Park. Sam Allardyce’s men were able to grab a valuable point off the visiting Merseysiders, with Paul Robinson playing the hero for the home side and rejecting the myriad chances that Liverpool were given to attack the Rovers’ goal. It’s difficult to say who provided the Reds’ best chance on the evening (though Daniel Agegr’s late 30 yard screamer is a contender), but easy to say that England-hopeful Robinson was at the very top of his game and simply would not be beaten. Seriously, Rafa Benitez unemployment watch?

Futbol:

Messi bagged a brace to secure victory for Barca

Barcelona 3-1 Deportivo – It was the Lionel Messi show as the Blaugrana dismantled Deportivo La Coruña away at the Riazor. The diminutive Argentine proved that they don’t hand out the Ballon D’Or for nothing by scoring twice and proving a menace to the home side’s backline. Messi opened the scoring on 26′ with a supreme individual effort before Deportivo were able to equalize after defensive errors saw Adrián through on goal. The deadlock would last until the 79th minute, when again it was the Ballon D’Or winner, this time scoring a strong header to put his side ahead once again. Zlatan Ibrahimovic would put the icing on the cake, blasting into the top corner of the net on 87′ to seal victory for Barcelona and secure their position atop the table.

Real Madrid 4-2 Almeria – Both Real Madrid and Cristiano Ronaldo had a bit of a rollercoaster night at the Bernabéu on Saturday. After Sergio Ramos opened the scoring for the home side on 30′, Almeria were able to respond with Soriano and Kalu Uche scoring twice in the span of 5 minutes to put their side ahead of Los Galacticos. Ten minutes later, a goal from Higuaín assured the home crowd that Manuel Pellegrini’s men were not finished yet. Near the 80th minute, Madrid were offered the chance to get ahead again when Cristiano Ronaldo was downed by keeper Diego Alves. CR9 stepped up to the spot, but failed to convert the penalty, and in a display of poor showmanship was seen to be sulking even after Karim Benzema tapped in the rebound to put his side ahead. Ronaldo would make up for his error on 85′ when a beautiful play from Higuaín gave him the perfect opportunity to put his side up 4-2. The game wouldn’t end on a high note for Ronnie, however, as he was sent off just minutes later for his second yellow of the match. As I always say, all’s well that ends badly for Cristiano Ronaldo.

Fußball:

Bayern München 2-1 Mönchengladbach – Mario Gomez and Holger Badstuber were able to provide the difference for Bayern as they worked back to their winning ways at the Allianz-Arena on Friday evening. Gomez gave his side the lead on 19′ with a well-executed turn and shot into the bottom corner of the visitors’ net. However, Roel Brouwer would equalize for die Fohlen less than 10 minutes later, when a bad defensive mistake allowed Michael Bradley’s pass to slip through the Bayern backline; Brouwer only had to slot home past Hans Jörg-Butt. Butt was Bayern’s best man on the pitch for large stretches of the evening, pulling off a string of incredible saves to stop the likes of Juan Arango and Jean-Sébastien Jaurès. Arjen Robben made a substitute appearance in the second half and was immediately effective; his daring runs won a free kick for the home side just outside the 18-yard box which Holger Badstuber duly launched into the back of the net on 75′. Friday’s victory sees Bayern at 4th in the Bundesliga standings and finally starting to gain ground on the leaders after a dismal start to the season from die Roten.

]]> http://corradom.wordpress.com/2009/12/02/della-nazionale-di-calcio-dellitalia-e-di-come-sia-divenuta-un-club-per-pochi-eletti/ Wed, 02 Dec 2009 17:00:00 +0000 Corrado http://corradom.wordpress.com/2009/12/02/della-nazionale-di-calcio-dellitalia-e-di-come-sia-divenuta-un-club-per-pochi-eletti/

Immaginate di chiamarvi Alberto Gilardino, buono e regolare goleador da ormai un certo un numero di anni (infortuni e crisetta milanista esclusi), che viene spesso e volentieri convocato da Marcello Lippi per indossare la maglia azzurra; immaginate inoltre di aver giocato, su tredici partite ufficiali degli ultimi due anni, otto volte con quattro reti all’attivo (il gol della qualificazione ai mondiali più una tripletta ad evitare una figuraccia epocale contro Cipro a Parma) e di non avere colpe rilevanti nella pessima prestazione di Confederations Cup, a differenza di qualche senatore.

Immaginato tutto questo, in vista del torneo in SudAfrica potreste trovarvi nella seguente situazione: nel reparto offensivo della nazionale azzurra ci sarebbero degli attacanti snelli, quelli nani, da mettere sulla fascia e che magari hanno buoni mezzi tecnici, tipo Totò Di Natale e Giuseppe Rossi; ci sarebbe un’ottima ala o mezzala che è Mauro Camoranesi; poi il signor Vincenzo Iaquinta, insostituibile per la sua capacità di essere prima punta, seconda punta, terzino, picchiatore, autista, ferrotranviere, capocomico e via dicendo, col pregio della maglia bianconera sulle spalle; troverebbe spazio il brasiliano Amauri, proveniente da due mezzi campionati deludenti ma ultrasponsorizzato da Lippi, che quindi ora che arriva il passaporto non può non convocarlo e addirittura non farlo giocare titolare; ci sarebbe, infine, er pupone, quello che diceva di non poter giocare nella nazionale di Donadoni per insormontabili problemi fisici, e ora voglioso di partecipare alla spedizione africana di quella attuale (con tanto di campagna di stampa a proposito). Considerate, infine, la presenza del bomber Pazzini: cosa vi rimane? Un bel posto in panchina dietro l’asino brasiliano? Un’estate di critiche e pressioni dalla stampa, poichè non si hanno santi in paradiso come i colleghi bianconeri?

Sono strani i criteri di selezione di Marcello Lippi: Antonio Cassano  no, e vabbè, Massimo Ambrosini no, e già va bene di meno, perchè poi si convoca il Gattuso al quale ha allegramente soffiato il posto nel Milan (fatto avvenuto solo negli ultimi mesi per via delle disavventure fisiche del pesarese) – lo stesso Gattuso che per fare l’uomo vero combina pasticci nell’ultimo derby di Milano, oppure rompe la serenità dello spogliatoio del suo club. Infine, se proprio bisogna convocare un oriundo, si convochi un Thiago Motta, che di esperienza in campo internazionale ne ha certo di più del discontinuo Montolivo e di Palombo. Visto il Fabio Cannavaro degli ultimi due anni, inoltre, sarebbe meglio spingere sul ritorno Alessandro Nesta, che tuttavia, con coerenza, vuole restare fuori.

Così dovrebbero andare le cose. Il pianeta azzurro, però, pare funzionare in maniera differente.

Ennesima delusione europea per l’Inter. La squadra di Mourinho pareggia in casa per 2-2 contro la Dinamo Kiev di Andriy Shevchenko. Al 5’ ospiti subito in vantaggio: respinta goffa di Zanetti che fa carambolare la palla sui piedi di Mikhalik, il quale con un rasoterra infila Julio Cesar. L’Inter è in bambola, non riesce a reagire e rischia il tracollo quando Shevchenko manca il raddoppio con un colpo di testa che esce di poco. A dare la sveglia ci pensa ormai da un pò Stankovic al 35’: contropiede nerazzurro, uscita disperata del portiere e goal del centrocampista. Passano solo 5’ e Lucio sugli sviluppi di un corner va in goal con un colpo di testa: peccato che la porta è quella sbagliata. San Siro ammutolisce. Mourinho cambia le carte ed inserisce Suazo. Al 3’ Samuel di testa acciuffa il pareggio su corner di Sneijder. I nerazzurri si trasformano: Eto’o sfiora il vantaggio, Suazo spreca clamorosamente. Nonostante tutto la Dinamo si rende pericolosa in un paio d’occasioni con Shevchenko, costringendo i difensori di casa agli straordinari. Mourinho prova la mossa della disperazione inserendo Materazzi centravanti al posto di un esausto Stankovic, ma il risultato non cambia. L’Inter in europa non sa più vincere.Tutt’altra cosa la Fiorentina. I viola s’impongono per 4-3 sul campo del Debreceni. Al 2’ subito in vantaggio i padroni di casa con Czvitkovics. Poi inizia il Mutu show: il romeno prima pareggia su cross di Dainelli, poi serve il vantaggio a Gilardino, ed infine sigla il terzo goal con un missile da fuori area. Rudolf fa il 2-3 con un gran goal, ma poi Santana poco dopo chiude la partita. Nel secondo tempo il ritmo cala, ed i viola controllano tranquillamente la partita. Nel finale goal di Coulibaly che sancisce il 3-4 definitivo.Per quanto riguarda gli altri risultati della serata, è crisi nera per il Liverpool che perde 2-1 in casa contro il Lione: a Benayoun (42’) rispondono Delgado (47’) e Gonalons (28’ 2t). Incredibile sconfitta del Barcellona in casa contro il Rubin Kazan. Ryazantsef al 3’ porta in vantaggio gli ospiti. Gli risponde Ibra al 4’ del secondo tempo. Vittoria finale degli ospiti con Gokdeniz al 29’ della ripresa.Crollano i Rangers in casa con l’Uzriceni per 1-4: autorete di Gomes Vilana per i padroni di casa, poi autorete di McCulloch, Lafferty, Brandàn e Bilasco per gli ospiti.Pareggio tra Az Alkmaar e Arsenal per 1-1 con reti di Mendes da Silva (49’ 2t) e Fabregas (37’ 1t). Stoltidis e Mitroglou danno la vittoria all’Olympiakos per 2-1 sullo Standard Liegi (Camargo).Infine vittoria del Siviglia sul campo dello Stoccarda per 3-1: reti di Elson per i padroni di casa,  Jesus Navas e doppietta di Squillaci per gli ospiti.

di Francesco Marchetti

Pictured: Made-up Sandwich facts.

Rubin Kazan 2-1 Barcelona – Rubin Kazan. Champions of Russia. The team so good they named a sandwich after them. Kinda. Okay, I admit it. I have no idea who Rubin are besides the fact that they’re Russian and they’re apparently good because they’ve just beaten Barcelona at the Camp Nou. That’s right, the mighty Barcelona, Champions of Europe, defeated in what will be an historic victory for the Tatarstan side. Rubin went ahead very early in the match as Alexander Ryazantsev beat Valdes from range with a mighty strike on 2′, but a bit of Ibracadabra magic from Zlatan Ibrahimovic made it all level just after the half. Barca, however, could not seem to get ahead and it would be Rubin who would emerge victors in Catalonia; with Gökdeniz Karadeniz sealing victory for his side on 72′. Expect shockwaves to rattle the Spanish press in the next couple of days – this one’s a doozy. Oh, and the year of the Underdog continueeesss!

Inter 2-2 Dynamo Kiev – I think there might be some sort of gene defect in the blue half of Milan that prevents them from succeeding in the Champions League. Despite putting in the most impressive performance of their Serie A campaign so far on Saturday against Genoa (though I’m sure their 4-0 victory over AC Milan is held dearer to their hearts), the Italian giants simply could not get ahead of Andriy Shevchenko & Co. Like their Russian cousins, Dynamo would go ahead early, with Tarras Mikhalik giving his side on 4′. It would take Inter just over half an hour to pull one back, with Dejan Stankovic equalizing for i Nerazzurri. However, a dreadful own-goal from Lucio (who otherwise put in a rock-solid performance tonight) saw the visiting Ukrainians go into the half with a 1-goal advantage. Inter would start the second half on the right foot though, with Walter Samuel equalizing swiftly on 47′. From that point on it was anybody’s game, with the strike pair of Shevchenko and Artem Milevsky causing Inter’s backline all sorts of trouble; Wesley Sneijder and Estebian Cambiasso linked up in the the centre for Inter to provide creative and often-dangerous play. The best chance of the night came to substitute David Suazo, who had the goal at his mercy from about 5 yards but somehow managed to fire wide. He put the ball into the back of the net in added time, but was flagged for offside. A disappointing performance from the Honduran, who seems likely to be shown the door in January, but also a disappointing performance from Inter as a whole. Jose Mourinho’s side has extended its winless streak in Champions League to 8 games – not a record that Moratti & Co. will be too happy about.

Olympique Lyonnais 2-1 Liverpool - Oh, the scousers. I have a feeling that when Liverpool supporters look back in June this week is going to seem like the one that simply undid all of their dreams. First they lost to Sunderland this weekend when Darren Bent’s strike was deflected by a LFC beachball (a fact which the referee failed to note) and now they have been undone by a last-ditch Lyon. Yossi Benayoun, who has been one of the few bright points in the Reds’ season so far, put his side ahead just before the halftime break. However, Liverpool also suffered a demoralizing loss before the break, as captain Steven Gerrard limped out (again) with injury. The ‘Pool held their lead at Anfield until the 72nd minute, when Maxime Gonalons headed a rebounded shot past Pepe Reina. At that point the momentum of the game started to switch, and César Fabián Delgado would strike in stoppage upset the Reds and seriously damage their Champions League hopes with a second straight loss.

Fiorentina 4-3 Debrecen – Peter Czvitkovics scores – 2′. Debrecen take an early lead. Adrian Mutu equalizes – 6′. Alberto Gilardino scores -10′. Fiorentina up 2-1. Mutu scores again – 20′. 3-1. Gergely Rudolf pulls one back for the home side – 28′. Mario Alberto Santana responds for la Viola - 37′. Fiorentina would hold their two goal lead until 88′ – when Adamo Coulibaly would pull one back to make the final score 4-3. And so ended a fantastic match in Budapest this evening – one that sees Fiorentina continue their blistering run of form in European competition. So far la Viola are the only Italian side holding their weight in the Champions League, with both Milan sides and Juventus so grossly underachieving at the moment. If Fiorentina continue to rack up victories in this style, they may outlast all of Calcio’s big three in this year’s European Competition.

BOOM! Viola!

Arsenal 1-1 AZ Alkmaar – Liverpool were not the only English side to be undone by late goals tonight. Arsene Wenger’s men took a first-half lead over the reigning Dutch Champions via a 36th minute Cesc Fàbregas strike. The Gooners held on to that precious lead for the remainder of the 90 minutes, and looked to be on course to take 3 points home from their trip to DSB Stadion, but were forced to settle for a single point when David Mendes Da Silva found the back of the Londoners’ net. A result that gives the Dutch side only their second point of the group stage, while preventing Arsenal from taking a commanding lead at the top of Group H.

And so, it would appear that the year of the Underdog is alive and well. Rubin beat Barcelona, Lyon beat Liverpool, AZ Alkmaar tied Arsenal and Fiorentina, arguably outsiders in Serie A and certainly not Scudetto favourites this year, continue to light up the European Competition. More Champions League tomorrow – but it will be hard-pressed to live up to today’s excitement.

Well, International week has come again. The qualification stage for South Africa 2010 is soon coming to an end (and good riddance to it); although yesterday saw several dramatic matches and the final qualification matches on Wednesday should also prove exciting. As of yesterday, the following nations have qualified for the World Cup: Serbia, Germany, Denmark, England, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, South Africa, Australia, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, the USA, Mexico, Brazil, Paraguay and Chile. Notable exceptions include France, Argentina and Portugal – all three of these footballing powers have struggled greatly on the road to South Africa, but all three will be heartened by the results they achieved yesterday. Oh, and the fact that FIFA has decided to seed the qualification play-offs and destroy football in the process. But I digress – let’s get down to it:

Argentina 2-1 Peru – Man oh man, did Diego Maradona ever need this. Argentina’s nightmarish qualification campaign was almost drawn to a premature close yesterday but for the heroic last-ditch efforts of Martin Palermo. Palermo’s goal on 92′ cancelled out the last-ditch heroics of Peruvian substitute Hernan Rengifo, who thought he had sealed a draw for his side with his headed goal in the 89th minute. Argentina had gone ahead earlier in the game on a strike from Higuan just after the break, but Peru had thought they were going to keep the Albicelestes (who needed the win) out of the World Cup with Rengifo’s late header in the torrential downpour of Buenos Aires. However, Argentina was not willing to say die, and when the ball flashed across the mouth of the Peruvian goal just 3 minutes later, Palermo was there to bury it. A win that keeps alive both Argentina’s hopes of getting to the World Cup and Maradona’s hopes of keeping his job.

Gilardino plays last minute hero for Italia.

Italy 2-2 Republic of Ireland - Keeping with the theme of last-minute heroics are the Azzurri, who played to a 2-2 draw against Ireland in front of a crowd of over 70,000 in Dublin’s Croke Park yesterday. The Boys in Green took the lead twice in the game, and twice Italy equalized. Ireland took an early lead on 7′, with a schoolyard free kick that caught the defending Italians with their pants down and left Gigi Buffon dumbfounded. Liam Lawrence appeared to be taking the kick from out on the wing, but instead teed up an onrushing Glenn Whelan in the middle, who, unchallenged, beat Buffon with an unstoppable swerving kick. It was a beauty of a goal and a wake-up call for Lippi’s men. However, Mauro Camoranesi would make it equal on 26′ with a goal of his own, a bullet header that beat Shay Given off the end of a perfectly-placed corner kick from Andrea Pirlo. The game would remain level until 88′, when the Irish took the lead once more (on another poorly-defended set piece) with Sean St. Ledger scoring a dramatic diving header. Giovanni Trapattoni’s men thought they had the game in the bag with their 2-1 lead, but the Italians weren’t done yet, and two minutes into extra time substitute Alberto Gilardino put a slow-rolling ball past Shay Given to seal automatic qualification and send the Azzurri to South Africa next summer.

Bolivia 2-1 Brazil – Well, the Bolivians have slain another Giant. The Seleção needed only a victory in today’s match to cement their place atop the CONMEBOL standings, but Dunga’s men seemed uninterested in pursuing that goal. Instead, they started the game at a jogging pace, wary of the effects that the altitude of La Paz can have on a squad. This slow start backfired though, when the home side took the advantage in the 9th minute on a strike from Edgar Olivares. The atmospheric made possible fantastical long-range strikes, and both teams tested the other with attempts from over 30 yards. On 31′ Marcelo Martins Moreno would, incredibly, double Bolivia’s lead with a swerving strike from 25 yards that Julio Cesar was powerless to stop. In the second half the Brazilians came to life, and Nilmar would halve the home side’s lead on 70′, but the game belonged to the Bolivians. In the end it was the side who have already been eliminated from World Cup qualification that would handily defeat a squad who have long looked like probable World Cup favourites. Good Job, Bolivia!

Fair enough Cesc, fair enough.

Spain 2-1 Armenia – The Spanish had qualified for South Africa long before this weekend – but that doesn’t mean they couldn’t pursue a perfect record in their qualification campaign. Cesc Fàbregas gave his side a first-half lead with a beautifully chipped goal on 33′ – after a long build-up in possession Xavi found the streaking Arsenal man, who beat the keeper with a light touch into the far corner of the net. However, the Armenians were equal to that, and on 57′ Robert Arzumanyan equalized with his head off of a free kick. The Armenians gave a spirited performance – perhaps ultimately too spirited, as Spain’s second goal would come from a spot kick after Juan Mata was clipped in the box by keeper Roman Berezovskiy. Ultimately, not a surprising win for the Spanish – but what was surprising was how hard they had to work to earn it.

Ukraine 1-0 England – Fabio Capello’s England was another national squad looking to continue their perfect qualification record yesterday as they visited Dnipropetrovsk, in the Ukraine. The Three Lions have looked dominant ever since the Italian took over, and suffered only the first defeat of their campaign yesterday. The Ukrainians should have taken the lead on 13′, when Robert Green was sent off for his tackle on Artem Milevsky, but Andriy Shevchenko missed the ensuing spot kick. The home side would take the lead eventually, with a 29th minute long-range strike from Serhiy Nazarenko. Though England started strong, play was interrupted early by flares thrown on the pitch, and the one-two punch of Green’s sending off and Nazarenko’s strike was enough for the Ukrainians to come away with a win. The victory means that the Ukraine will likely progress to the qualification play-offs (at the expense of Croatia), while Capello’s men will have to settle for a less-than-perfect qualification campaign.

France 5-0 Faroe Islands – The French, despite having a far less perfect campaign than the English, managed to achieve a far more positive result yesterday – sealing their play-off spot with a commanding victory at the Stade du Roudourou. To be fair, the Faroe Islands aren’t the most imposing of European competitors, and it was nothing short of expected that the French cruised to an easy victory yesterday. Gignac André-Pierre opened the scoring in the first half with a brace not five minutes apart, and William Gallas, Nicolas Anelka and Karim Benzema would all add their names to the scoresheet in the second. Despite the imbalance in the scoreline, Faroese keeper Jakup Mikkelsen put in a strong performance, and the final result would have been even more lopsided without the heroic efforts he made for his nation. The victory could not stop Serbia from clinching the top spot in Group 7, but nevertheless, Raymond Domenech’s men have ensured that their qualification campaign will not end prematurely with their match against Austria on Wednesday.

Seeding means more of this. Pure evil, I say.

Portugal 3-0 Hungary – Cristiano Ronaldo & Co. have progressed one step closer to a spot in the qualification play-offs with their commanding victory over Hungary yesterday. Portugal have long been underachievers in Group 1, and only recently have begun to look like a squad fit to participate in the World Cup. Portugal took the lead in the 17th minute as Simão buried a rebound after Hungarian keeper Gabor Babos intercepted Cristiano Ronaldo’s low cross but couldn’t hang on to it. Hungary had an opportunity to equalize on 39′, when Balazs Dzsudzsak cut in from the right flank to fire on goal – his low shot missed just wide of the goalpost. Liedson doubled Portugal’s lead on 73′ with a direct header that just barely beat Babos, who punched it away but couldn’t stop it from crossing the goal line. Simão returned just minutes later to bag his brace and seal Hungary’s doom with a classy volley that was borne out of a botched clearance. Portugal needs only defeat Malta on Wednesday to make the play-offs – and with FIFA implementing their new seeding policy for the play-off rounds, it looks like we will surely be seeing Cristiano Ronaldo in World Cup play next year.

The other Poulsen's still a douche, though.

Denmark 1-0 Sweden – It was a late goal from Jakob Poulsen which saw Denmark secure their place atop Group 1 and book their spot in South Africa next year. Sweden looked strong coming into the match, with Henrik Larsson and Zlatan Ibrahimovic causing all sorts of trouble for the Danish backline – but ultimately the Danes held their ground and Poulsen’s long-range strike on 78′ was enough to see them past the Swedes. Both Thomas Sorensen and Andreas Isaksson looked impressive between the uprights for their respective sides, and prevented the scoreline from being much more dramatic. Sweden will need to beat Albania and Portugal to lose or draw to Malta Wednesday if they are to keep their World Cup hopes alive.

Germany 1-0 Russia – Guus Hiddink’s men were looking to usurp Germany at the top of Group 4 yesterday at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. The Russians needed a win if they were to have even the opportunity to bypass the play-off round and qualify automatically for South Africa. Despite a hard-fought performance from the Russians, it would be Miroslav Klose’s lone goal on 34′ which ultimately separated the sides. Russia looked at times to be the better and more creative side, with Vladimir Bystrov and Andrei Arshavin creating many chances but ultimately failing to capitalize upon them – heroic efforts from German keeper Rene Adler didn’t help their cause. Jerome Boateng’s sending off on 69′ spelled trouble for Joachim Löw’s men, but they were able to hold off the home side for the last 20 minutes despite being down a man. Yesterday’s victory sees Die Mannschaft seal their position atop Group 4 and book their place via automatic qualification for next year’s World Cup.

Mission accomplished, Didier.

Côte d’Ivoire 1-1 Malawi – Les Éléphants became just the second African side (discluding South Africa) to qualify for the World Cup yesterday via a 1-1 draw with Southeast African side Malawi. Both goals in the match were scored within a brief period in the second half, with Jacob Ngwira giving his side the lead on 64′ and Didier Drogba equalizing on 67′. The Ivorians have reached the second consecutive World Cup in their history due largely to the strength of the Chelsea hitman.

Defending champion Italy did not win the match against Ireland, but a 2-2 draw was enough for them to qualify for the 2010 World Cup. Alberto Gilardino, the substitute striker, scored 90th minute equalizer that sealed Italy’s spot in the World Cup. It’s their 13th consecutive appearance in the World Cup. Since Italy is the four time champion of the World Cup, maybe it is not that surprising  to hear that Italy has qualified. But did they really play like a defending champion?

I must say that there are some things that Italy needs to improve based on the game against Ireland. One thing particularly, Italy lacks defense on set plays. Two goals that Italy allowed in this match was all from the set plays. Defense has always been the trade mark for Italy, known as “Catenaccio”, but today’s Italian national football team lacks strong defense.

Italy’s other problem comes from the center midfielder Andrea Pirlo. His vision, and accurate passes was the key for the Italy. However, the play maker’s speed and passing tempo is getting slow these days. Italy’s coach, Marcello Lippi, used Pirlo as an attacking midfielder in this game, but the change of the position did not improved Pirlo’s play. If Pirlo have played like what he did in the 2006 World Cup, Italy would not had a big difficulty through out the qualifications.

People say Italy is Italy. I know they have some skillful players and great coach. However, current Italian national football team is not playing like a defending champion. It will be interesting to see how Marcello Lippi will change its team in the near future.

See all the goals from Ireland vs. Italy match

Fiorentina striker Alberto Gilardino’s two match Champions League ban has been reduced on appeal by UEFA, meaning he will be able to play in match day three against Debrecen.

Gilardino initially received a two-game suspension after appearing to elbow Lyon’s Jeremy Toulalan in the 1-0 loss to Lyon last month. Fiorentina appealed, and they have been partly successful.

A statement on the club’s official website reads:

“Alberto Gilardino’s European suspension has been reduced to one match, and so he will be back to play in the Champions League on October 20 against Debrecen.

“Fiorentina had asked for a total reduction. Gilardino has already served his one-game ban against Liverpool.”

The decision will be welcomed in Florence as the team will be back to full strength, though ‘Gila’ was hardly missed against the Reds last week.

Goal

Come di seguito riportiamo le seguenti probabili formazioni di Fiorentina – Lazio. Diretta Mediaset Premium, Sky, Dahlia TV.

FIORENTINA(4-2-3-1): Frey; De Silvestri, Gamberini, Kroldrup, Pasqual; Zanetti, Donadel; Marchionni, Jovetic, Vargas; Gilardino. All Prandelli

LAZIO(4-3-1-2): Muslera; Lichtsteiner, Cribari, Radu, Del Nero; Baronio, Matuzalem, Mauri; Foggia; Rocchi, Zarate. All Ballardini

FIORENTINA: La Fiorentina che scenderà oggi in campo è la solita, con Prandelli che sceglie ancora una volta in campionato il 4-2-3-1. L’unica assenza che c’è, è quella del capitano Dario Dainelli in difesa, assente per squalifica, mentre invece vediamo giocare da titolare De Silvestri. L’unico ballottaggio, invece è quello fra Donadel e Montolivo, con il primo che sembra più favorito. Infine c’è il rebus Gila, che sembra non aver smaltito al 100% la febbre, ma cercherà di stringere i denti e se non c’è la farà ci sarà pronto Mutu.

LAZIO: Una Lazio un poco in emergenza quella che scenderà oggi al Franchi di Firenze, con Del Nero costretto  fare il terzino, e con le assenze di Ledesma e Pandev, alle prese ancora una volta con i problemi societari. Ballardini quindi ancora una volta non rinuncia al 4-3-1-2, nonostante alcune assenze.

Well well well. Champions League Matchday Two has kept my vague predictions about the Year of the Underdog alive and well (well well). Inter drew against Russian champions Rubin Kazan, and though the Tatarstans played well, it was not a particularly spectacular match and i Nerazzurri choking in the Champions League is frankly, old news. So let’s forget Inter – It is the match between Fiorentina and Liverpool which I am really interested in.

Now, I don’t really like La Viola. I’d say give me three good reasons to like them, but one could answer with a) Gabriel Batistuta, b) Nintendo, c) they are purple - and I would have to concede. Those are three ingredients for a pretty likable club. Nevertheless, there is something about ACF Fiorentina that irks me, and I will generally support other sides against them in Serie A. But Champions League is different. In the CL they are an Italian team; and when they are up against an English team of Liverpool’s calibre, Fiorentina undisputedly become the underdogs (especially when key man Alberto Gilardino is out on suspension). So I pull for them – especially if there is a chance that these purple underdogs will prove me right.

And they have.

BOOM! Striker Hair!

I suppose I should be thanking Stevan Jovetić (and his crazy striker hair) for keeping my assertions afloat – it was the young Montenegrin’s two first-half strikes which made the difference for his side in Fiorentina’s 2-0 win over Liverpool tonight. The funny-looking little guy even had a run through the Scouser defense that included two nutmegs, though he failed to capitalize a third time. A man of the match performance from Fiorentina’s youngest star that will give both teams’ managers plenty to think about.

La Viola walked all over their Merseyside counterparts in the first half, and probably could have been up 3-0 had Marco Marchionni been on target with a fantastical bicycle kick inside the ‘Pool area. The Tuscans had chance after chance, with Juan Manuel Vargas looking dangerous up the left flank and Jovetić causing absolute terror in the middle of the pitch. To their credit though, Liverpool pushed back after the break, and managed to turn the Fiorentina backline inside out on a couple of occasions – though Alessandro Gamberini nearly shut Torres completely out of the game and the Reds would ultimately not end up finding the back of the net tonight. The game was closely fought to the last minute as Liverpool looked to rally and save some face, but Sebastien Frey (who had what was probably the easiest first half of his CL career) came out in spades to keep La Viola well ahead of their opponents and to preserve his own clean sheet. All in all, a memorable Champions League victory for the Tuscan side, who came into the match looking to prove that they were worthy of a Champions League berth – and I can’t speak for the rest of you, but I’m ready to see what Fiorentina can do.

The player has been punished by UEFA for his elbowing offence against Olympique Lyonnais’ Jeremy Toulalan.

Fiorentina striker Alberto Gilardino has been handed a two-match Champions League ban for violent conduct.

The forward was sent-off as half-time approached when the Viola met Olympique Lyonnais in Matchday 1. He appeared to swing an elbow at home player Jeremy Toulalan, though supporters have questioned the intent in his action.

The decision means he will miss crucial matches against Liverpool at home next week and Hungarian side Debrecen two weeks later, kicking a further dent in the Viola’s Champions League hopes after they lost 1-0 in France.

A statement on the club’s official website reads, “UEFA’s disciplinary commission has given Alberto Gilardino a two-match suspension after his sending off against Lyon. The player will be able to play on November 4 at the Artemio Franchi against Debrecen.”

The decision will come as a major blow to coach Cesare Prandelli, who loses his star striker.

Goal

Két mérkőzésre szóló eltiltást kapott az Európai Labdarúgó Szövetségtől (UEFA) Alberto Gilardino, a Debrecennel azonos Bajnokok Ligája-csoportban szereplő olasz Fiorentina támadója. Ezt a firenzei klub közleményben jelentette be szerdán.

A válogatott csatár az után kapta a büntetést, hogy a múlt szerdai, Lyon ellen 1-0-ra elveszített BL-találkozón könyöklésért kiállította őt a játékvezető.

Gilardino emiatt nem léphet pályára a keddi, Liverpool elleni hazai összecsapáson, s nem játszhat majd október 20-án, a Puskás Ferenc Stadionban sem, amikor a DVSC-TEVA látja vendégül a Fiorentinát.

Az E csoportban jövő kedden a hajdúsági együttes az Olympique Lyon gárdáját fogadja Budapesten.

Forrás: telesport.hu/mti

What you missed while spending the last five years harvesting silk from golden orb spiders in Madagascar…

• After one disastrous match at Meadow Lane, Sol Campbell and Notts County have agreed to go their separate ways.
• Mark your calendars: Brazil will play England on November 14th in a friendly that will probably end up freaking everyone in England out. Chelsea coach Ray Wilkins, incidentally, believes that Joe Cole should feature for England in the World Cup; Cole has been out for eight months with a knee injury.
• Fiorentina striker Alberto Gilardino will miss two Champions League matches for his sending off against Lyon.
• Giovani dos Santos will feature for Spurs in their Carling Cup match against Preston North End today, while his brother Antonio dos Santos was selected for Mexico’s friendly with Colombia on September 30th.
• In other Carling Cup news, Javier Mascherano might be in trouble for maybe kinda sorta swinging a forearm at Leeds United striker Jermaine Beckford. If this were a Manchester United midfielder I’d be all for the ban, but it’s Liverpool so he probably didn’t mean it. Right? (Incidentally, in spite of what the URL says, the article never mentions Stoke City or racist abuse.)
• Stuart Holden bagged a brace in Houston’s CONCACAF Champions League tie with Panama’s Araba Unido; Houson won the match 5-1, putting them in a two-way tie with Araba Unido for second in the group.

Roma! Roma! Roma! Man, this feels good. AS Roma pulled off a fantastic win today at the Stadio Olimpico over AFC Fiorentina, who last year proved to be one of i Lupi’s strongest rivals for a spot in the Champions League and who ended up usurping Roma from said spot by finishing 4th in Serie A. Roma have been much maligned of late and have struggled to gain form – on Thursday they suffered an embarrassing defeat on the European stage to Swiss side FC Basel. The side were clearly struggling to adapt to playing in the style that Claudio Ranieri espouses – and frankly they have lately been a side that just didn’t get no respect. Hence, the Rodney Dangerfield Special – a club which hasn’t been able to gather any respect from anybody as of late but which has managed to reverse their fortunes and put forth a performance which maybe, just maybe, earns them a bit of grudging respect. Obviously, I’ve got a bit of a bias here.

However, I think it is a sign that a club is widely scorned when their own Ultras, the most fanatical of all their fans, refuse to come inside their home stadium and support their team – just as Roma’s Ultras did today, standing outside of the Olimpico in protest of club president Rosella Sensi. Personally, I love the Sensi family, and I think when they act they truly have Roma’s best interests at heart – but that’s neither here nor there. To give a bit of context, in their last match against Fiorentina i Giallorossi were handily defeated by la Viola by a score of 3-1; it was only fitting that Roma should have their revenge today to the tune of the exact same score.

Even without their Ultras to spur them on though, Roma hit the ground running and swiftly went on the aggressive, causing all kinds of problems for Fiorentina early in the half. The scoring would open on 27′ via, who else, Francesco Totti, who stepped up to the penalty spot and beat Sebastien Frei after Alessandro Gamberini gave up a handball in the box (the second of the game by Fiorentina, but the first to be called). Only seconds later Er Pupone thought he had doubled the lead and his goal tally, but was ruled offside. However, he got his chance to do just that in the 32nd minute as la Viola failed to mark him (most unwisely) on a corner kick and he smashed the ball home from near the penalty spot through the traffic in front of the net. At this point, the Ultras rushed into the Olimpico, clearly dismayed that they had missed Totti score not once but twice against the hapless Viola. Il Capitan wasn’t finished yet though, and on 40′ he set up his successor, Il Capitan Futuro, with a cross that Danielino duly headed into the back of the net to give Roma a 3-0 lead before halftime.

Sometimes it just takes two.

Thankfully Fiorentina decided it was best that they should show up in the second half, though they simply could not handle the furious attacking power and, perhaps more surprisingly, rock-solid defense that Roma embodied throughout the game. The return to starting fitness of Mirko Vucinic and Juan provided a great boost to both these aspects of i Giallorossi’s game. Though it was Totti and De Rossi who appeared on the scoresheet, Vucinic gave the visitors great difficulty in the final third of the pitch (and probably should have drawn a penalty on a handball by Dario Dainelli), and with Juan in the back line Roma for once actually seemed unshakeable. Both returning stars would be substituted in the second half over concerns about their fitness, replaced by Stefano Okaka and Philippe Mexes, respectively.

Fiorentina, to their credit, began to push their way back into the game, and on 53′ Riccardo Montolivo’s long-range effort forced a save from keeper Julio Sergio. Fiorentina would finally get onto the scoresheet when a defensive error from Simone Perotta gave Alberto Gilardino an opening in the box, and when Mexes failed to dispossess the hitman Gila duly buried the ball into the back of the net. Nevertheless, the goal would be little more than consolation for la Viola, coming as too little to late to turn the tides of the match – Roma would roll on to a confident 3-1 victory in a performance that, given their form as of late, was absolutely refreshing. Since this is a victory that might actually garner some praise for La Maggica and its manager, it can’t truly be a Rodney Dangerfield special, ’cause everyone knows Rodney never got no respect. However, its still great to see this team fight, and fight hard, to get the results they need and the respect that they (sometimes) deserve. I like to think that Rodney might approve.

It seems as though derby season is upon us; there have been quite a few this weekend and next weekend the most anticipated match in Roma’s season (and the greatest derby in Italy) gets underway. But, before we can start our countdown to a good Biancocelesti thrashing, we have to deal with all the derbies (and mundane regular matches) going down this weekend. Shall we?

Football:

Somebody get this guy a Red shirt.

Liverpool 2-0 Everton (The Merseyside Derby) – Well, the Scousers went head to head today as strugglers Everton took on strugglers Liverpool. It was a battle of the underachievers, with both Rafa Benitez and David Moyes’ sides badly needing the points and morale boost that come from a derby win. In a season when both sides have fared so poorly both in league and European competitions, it comes as no surprise that today’s match was decided not by a particularly heroic individual effort but by a particularly atrocious performance. A pair of grievous mistakes from Everton defender Joseph Yobo gifted the Reds a 2-0 victory, much to the dismay of the Toffeemakers’ fans at Goodison Park. Yobo put the visitors ahead in the 12th minute, putting his foot out and tipping a long-range effort from Javier Mascherano (which was veering well wide of the net, I might add) past Tim Howard and into the back of his own goal. It was a typically scrappy derby match, and Russian wiz Diniyar Bilyaletdinov nearly leveled the score 6 minutes later in the beginning of what was a very back-and-forth first half. Everton found the back of the net twice and were twice disallowed, but the home support were buoyed by their side’s performance and were left singing at the half despite the score remaining 1-0. However, they wouldn’t be singing at fulltime – their side failed to equalize in the second half with Pepe Reina denying the Blues over and over again, seemingly through sheer determination and a bit of luck. When it finally occurred on 81′, the second error from Joseph Yobo would all but put the game out of Everton’s reach. The Nigerian whiffed on an aerial clearance, leading to a shot from Albert Riera before Dirk Kuyt buried the rebound to make it 2-0. Ten minutes later, it was the away support who were singing as another Merseyside derby came to pass.

Manchester Utd 4-1 Portsmouth – Ah, our first non-derby match of the weekend. Still though, there is a bit of history here – the last time Avram Grant came up against Sir Alex Ferguson on the touchline was in the 2008 Champions League final, with Chelsea just one slip away from being crowned Champions of Europe. Despite being runners up in that competition and in the EPL, Grant was sacked as Chelsea manager, left to ponder what could have been. Yesterday he made his (unofficial) return to coaching, this time as manager of strugglers Portsmouth, who are looking to turn their fortunes around after going through 3 owners and 2 managers already this year. Fergie himself had to watch the match from the stands, as he is currently serving a touchline ban – luckily the match was quite a spectacle, abundant with soft penalties and controversy. On 25′ the visitors were awarded a somewhat questionable penalty which Wayne Rooney buried from the spot. The Fratton Park crowd could not complain too much, though, as 6 minutes later their side was awarded an even more inexplicable penalty which Kevin Prince Boateng was able to convert – apparently awarded for some rather run-of-the-mill shirt tugging by Nemanja Vidic. The teams went into the half level, but it would not take United much longer to find their stride. Within the first 8′ minutes of the second period Wayne Rooney would complete his hattrick with a low shot on 48′ and a second penalty on 53′. Ryan Giggs would top it all off on 87′ with the 100th Premiership goal of his career, making it 4-1 United and ensuring that Avram Grant will have Fergie-related nightmares for a while yet.

Tottenham 1-1 Aston Villa – It’s always difficult to come down after an incredible high. No, I’m not referring to my own struggles with substance abuse (fictional, I assure you), but rather the 9-1 victory which the Spurs were able to achieve over Wigan Athletic last weekend. Instead of repeating that incredible feat, the Lilywhites were held to an unremarkable draw at Villa Park. Gabriel Agbonlahor gave the home side an early lead on 10′, but Michael Dawson was able to level for Tottenham late in the match to earn his side a point and lift them to 3rd place in the English Premier League. Not an overly impressive performance from Harry Redknapp’s side, but they did just enough to keep themselves in the Premiership race.

Chelsea 3-0 Arsenal (The London Derby) – Realistically, there are more intense traditional rivalries in London town; historically Chelsea and Arsenal have been less concerned with each other than their other London neighbours. However, the rise of Chelsea into the big four of Premiership football means that in recent years these two sides have been forced into competition with one another at the top of the table and as a direct result their rivalry has become much more intense. Today’s London derby turned out to be an absolute rout from the Blues, who have been in tip-top form all season under Carlo Ancelotti, decimating Arsene Wenger’s depleted side who have been just shy of top form of late. It was another episode of the Didier Drogba show at the Emirates, with the big Ivorian grabbing the brace to all but destroy the Gunners and keep his fantastic record against Wenger’s side alive – Drogba has found the net in each of the last 9 matches played against Arsenal. Drogba opened the scoring on 41′, firing from close range into the top of Almunia’s net after some impeccable service from Ashley Cole. Just 4 minutes later Cole would again play the role of provider, but this time it was Arsenal man Thomas Vermaelen who turned the ball into his own net – giving the home side plenty to think about as they retired for the halftime interval. Just after the break Arsenal should have made it 2-1 when Andrei Arshavin blasted a rebound past Petr Cech and into the Blues’ net, but the goal was disallowed for an alleged foul on the Czech keeper by Gunners man Eduardo. Despite some dangerous efforts, Chelsea dominated play for much of the second half; their persistence paid off on 86′ when (guess who?) Didier Drogba struck again from a free kick just outside the area, blasting past the wall and away from Manuel Almunia into the back of the net. Ultimately, Ancelotti’s side would cruise to a relatively easy win, taking advantage of a depleted and demoralized Arsenal side to further their dominance atop the Premiership table. Chelsea have now recorded wins this season against all of their fellow big four sides – a positive omen if there ever was one.

Manchester City 1-1 Hull City – Oh, and City drew their 7th straight game after Shaun Wright-Phillips’ opener was cancelled out by a late penalty converted by Jimmy Bullard.

Calcio:

Inter 1-0 Fiorentina – Oh, Inter. I am growing to hate you so. In a game when Jose Mourinho’s side played poorly and were well-met by an organized outing from Cesare Prandelli’s men, it would be a penalty kick which separated the two sides in the end and allowed i Nerazzurri to go 8 points clear atop the Serie A table. It’s so typical of this side to underachieve thoroughly and then get by on the skin of their teeth that I shouldn’t be surprised, but yet I am disappointed each time a more deserving team outplays them and ultimately falls, especially due to this sort of misfortune. I’m not saying that the penalty wasn’t there, but had it not been for Gianluca Comotto’s hotheadedness, or had Alberto Gilardino buried his one-on-one chance against Julio Cesar instead of hitting the post just moments earlier, then Inter surely would have dropped points on the evening. In the end, Diego Milito’s penalty made the difference in a match full of could’ve-beens for La Viola that was perhaps ultimately a shouldn’t-have-been for La Beneamata.

Genoa 3-0 Sampdoria (il Derbi della Lanterna) – The Genovese derby, or il Derbi della Lanterna, as it is known, always produces some fireworks. This year’s was no different, as i Grifoni demolished i Blucerchiati in a game that had as many goals as it did red cards. Omar Milanetto opened the scoring for Genoa on 10′ with a spot kick after Reto Ziegler executed a clumsy tackle in the box. Genoa’s Giuseppe Biava was sent off for handling the ball as he fell to the ground, Sampdoria’s Marco Rossi received two yellows, and his teammate Fabrizio Cacciatore received a straight red late in the match. Meanwhile, Genoa’s Marco Rossi (yes, there are two of them) scored on 53′ and Raffaele Palladino capped off the victory with a spot kick on 75′. An eventful and exciting derby, and also a hard-fought one, which I’m sure an inspection of Antonio Cassano’s shins would tell you. They really don’t like that guy, eh? I bet Lippi calls up the whole team come June.

Cagliari 2-0 Juventus – La Vecchia Signora ha perso contro… gli Isolani? Cagliari managed to pull one (better yet, two) over on their visitors at the Stadio San’Elia today, snatching all three points from a rather toothless Old Lady. I think I’ve waited long enough to say this – Klaas-Jan Huntelaar has certainly been a huge flop at AC Milan this season, but realistically, what has Diego done for Juventus’ offense lately? I’ll tell you what he did today: not enough. Their confidence shattered by a midweek loss to Bordeaux, Juventus fell about play clumsily and were victimized by a sharp and determined performance from the Sardinians. The home side opened the scoring on 30′ when Nenê unleashed  35-yard screamer that blasted into Buffon’s top corner. Juventus struggled to respond, and with their own Brazilian Diego firing well-wide before the half, went into the break with a much-deserved 1-0 deficit. After the interval, Amauri thought he had grabbed a quick equalizer for his side, but the goal was correctly disallowed for offside, leaving Cagliari keeper Federico Marchetti more than happy to pick the ball out of the back of the net. Cagliari also had fair claim to a spot kick after Martin Cácares handled the ball in the area, but the referee adjudged it ball-to-hand and play continued. A late goal would come to pass, but it would not be the strike that Juventus needed: substitute Alessandro Matri turned Fabio Cannavaro absolutely inside-out before slotting past Gigi Buffon in the 89th minute. Both Diego and substitute Alessandro Del Piero would miss absolute sitters for the visitors in added time and Juventus were forced to swallow their second humbling defeat in 5 days, dropping to 8 points behind league-leaders Inter.

Vucigol had me praising the heavens with his 44th-minute header.

AS Roma 2-1 Atalanta – An ugly, nervy, but ultimately deserved away win. I couldn’t be happier. Though dominations at the Stadio Olimpico like the one last weekend over Bari are a joy to watch, they are expected – those are the games that we will always win, because the magic of the Olimpico rarely fails us. However, it is matches like today’s at the Stadio Atleti Azzurri D’Italia that are must-wins for i Giallorossi, because they are the ones where we so often lose our nerve and drop points against teams we would easily beat at home. It’s not called an advantage for nothing, you know. Luckily, Roma was able to pull out a comeback win against gli Orobici today after Fabio Ceravolo gave the home side the lead on 13′. Roma looked decidedly lackluster for huge spells during the first half, but were able to grab a set-piece goal just before the half as Mirko Vučinić nodded home a corner from David Pizarro on 44′. Simone Perrotta was able to give his side the lead 20 minutes later, ghosting into the box unnoticed to head home a cross from Vučinić. After gaining the lead, i Lupi simply fought to maintain it. The substitutions of Jérémy Ménez for Rodrigo Taddei and Roberto Acquafresca for Cristiano Doni changed the entire complexion of the game; suddenly Roma were on the backheel and fighting only to maintain their lead while the home side heaped on piles of offensive pressure. For the most part Roma held up nicely under the waves of attack; Riise almost scored an own-goal on 85′ but instead cleared the ball nicely, while Atalanta had a legitimate appeal for a penalty on Juan two minutes later which was happily waved off. Finally the fulltime whistle blew and Roma were able to take a much-needed 3 points home to Trigoria. We’ve finally cracked the top 10! Rejoice ironically – but only for a second. We have il Derbi della Capitale to think about.

Udinese 2-0 Livorno – The other Bianconeri were able to achieve a much better result this weekend than Juventus. A cracker of a free kick from Antonio Di Natale opened the scoring on 29′, bringing his total for the season to a round 10. 7 minutes later, Antonio Floro Flores doubled his side’s money, heading home after a build-up that was again largely the work of Di Natale. The one-two punch was more than enough to subdue the Tuscan visitors at the Stadio Friuli and le Zebrette ran away with the 2-goal win. I almost feel bad for Sersi Cosmi, fervent Romanista that he is, until I remember that it was his cursed side which sent us on the downward spiral earlier this season from which we are just now recovering (ie, getting Totti back). But then again, Udinese was a part of that spiral too… Aw, to hell with the both of them.

The Hunter finally found his gun!

AC Milan 2-0 Catania - AC Milan were given a golden opportunity to leapfrog Juventus in the standings this weekend, with i Bianconeri dropping points at Cagliari and i Rossoneri overcame Catania in Sicily to make the most of that chance. Leonardo’s side were held to a goalless draw by the Rossazzurri for 93 minutes, but Milan ‘flop’ Klaas-Jan Huntelaar finally made good on his promise to score an added time brace and catapult his side into second place. First the Dutchman sent a low strike in after some lovely control by Filippo Inzaghi, and then only seconds later after the restart he struck again, chipping Andújar beautifully to make it 2-0 for Milan. Well, the Hunter certainly took his time, but it seems that he has finally found his form for his new side – and his timing couldn’t have been better.

Futbol:

Ibra done good.

Barcelona 1-0 Real Madrid (El Clásico)- Well, it might be called El Clásico, but there was nothing ‘classic’ about Spain’s biggest derby this evening. Barcelona and Real Madrid played out a scrappy game in which neither truly came into their stride or were able to showcase their own particular brand of football. Despite injury concerns, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Zlatan Ibrahimovic were all able to feature in the game, but the big Swede would be the only one to make his mark on the match. The Camp Nou was buzzing with energy as 98,000 of los Culés welcomed their most hated rivals to their home ground. Madrid, however, were not daunted, and were the first to impress, with Xabi Alonso and Kaká putting in perhaps their most impressive performances in the shirt of Los Blancos to date. Cristiano Ronaldo played for a solid hour, but was clearly not at full fitness and unable to terrorize the Barcelona backline as he might have wished. Meanwhile, Lionel Messi caused all sorts of trouble but was ultimately kept fairly quiet by Real Madrid’s defense, who put in a surprisingly solid performance. It was the combination of the substitute Ibrahimovic and Dani Alves which would prove deadly, as the diminutive right-back put in an inch-perfect cross which Ibracadabra struck home with authority to put the home side ahead on 55′. However, that would be the only goal of the match, and besides red cards for both Sergi Busquets (63′) and Lassana Diarra (90′), there was not much other action to speak of. In fact, in light of the last Clásico, in which Barca drubbed Madrid 6-2, tonight’s match was a bit of a dud.

Sevilla 2-2 Málaga (Andalusian Derby) – Sevilla’s closest (and fiercest) rivals are Real Betis, against whom they contest the Derby of Seville. However, with Real Betis currently languishing in Segunda División, Sevilla’s closest rivals in the interestingly-named Autonomous Community of Andalucía are perhaps their neighbours in Málaga, who are currently languishing at the bottom of the Primera División. So, we have the Andalusian Derby; and while the rivalry might not be as intense as El Clásico, I personally found the game itself to be much more entertaining. At the Estadio Sánchez Pizjuán Sevilla were looking to bounce back from a 1-0 defeat in midweek to Romanian side Unirea Urziceni, but they certainly did not get off to a good start. Although in a bizarre incident Málaga substitute Albert Luque was shown the red card from the bench, it was still the visitors who took the early lead. Fernando opened up the scoring for the visitors on 22′, and Duda made it 2-0 just before the half after being set up by Fernando. It seemed as though Málaga were headed towards all three points, but a spectacular second-half performance from Luis Fabiano ensured that the spoils were shared in Seville this weekend. The Brazilian struck first on 58′, heading home past Gustavo Munúa, and then on 72′ struck again, smashing the ball into the lower corner of the net to bring his side level. Both sides fought hard for an equalizer, and Sevilla came closest right at the death with a point-blank header from Fernando Navarro that Munúa probably saved by accident. In the end, each team would come away with a single point in a 2-2 draw that was anything but uneventful.

Fußball:

Bayern München 3-0 Hannover 96 – Well, it seems that die Roten have finally regained their lost form, overcoming midtable side Hannover 96 with ease in a match that featured goals from two of their most talented young stars. Thomas Müller tapped in from close range on 19′ to open the scoring, but Bayern looked shaky at times and were not convincing in their possession of the ball. Constant Djakpa caused all sorts of trouble for Phillip Lahm up the flank, and drew a good save from Hans-Jörg Butt, but was unable to affect the scoreline before the stroke of halftime. Ivica Olic made sure that the visitors got off to a good start in the second half, rising at the far post to meet a Danijel Pranjic cross with his head and double Bayern’s lead. For the rest of the half the home side did everything they could do to reduce Bayern’s lead, but to no avail – it would ultimately be Mario Gomez who would get the last laugh, beating the offside trap on 90′ and slotting home to make it 3-0 for his side. This victory sees Bayern rise to 4th in the Bundesliga standings, while Hannover 96 sit at 12th.

Someone control this guy!

Bayer Leverkusen 4-0 VfB Stuttgart – Leverkusen exit this weekend sitting three point clear atop the Bundesliga table, and it can largely be contributed to one man: Stefan Kießling. The 25-year old striker has been absolutely on fire for his club of late and bagged a hattrick this weekend at the Bayarena to cement his place atop the German scoring charts as well. Kießling struck on 22′, 59′ and 87′, while Eren Derdiyok added a goal of his own on 38′ to complete a 4-0 drubbing of a lacklustre Stuttgart side.

Werder Bremen 2-2 VfL Wolfsburg – Edin Dzeko’s double was not enough for the reigning Bundesliga champions to grab all three points away at the Weserstadion. Each time the young Bosnian scored to give his side the lead, the home side were quick to equalize, and ultimately the two squads cancelled one another out and had to settle for a point apiece. Hugo Almeida and Per Mertesacker were on hand to restore parity for their side, with the latter scoring at the very death in the 91st minute of stoppage time. The sharing of points means that Werder Bremen now sit at 2nd place in the Bundesliga standings, while Wolfsburg remain 8th.

]]> http://killuminati2012.wordpress.com/2009/11/29/futbol-italiano-serie-a-112909/ Sun, 29 Nov 2009 19:04:27 +0000 killuminati2012 http://killuminati2012.wordpress.com/2009/11/29/futbol-italiano-serie-a-112909/

Futbol Italiano

Udinese 2-0 Livono

 

Genoa 3-0 Sampdoria

Parma 1 vs 1Napoli

VER POSICIONES DE LOS EQUIPOS

VER TABLA DE GOLEO

Italijos rinktinė.

“Fiorentina” žvaigždė Alberto Gilardino turi savo nuomonę, kas galėtų Italijos rinktinės trenerio poste pakeisti Marcello Lippi.

“C.Prandelli yra puikus treneris tiek aikštėje, tiek už jos ribų. Jei M.Lippi po pasaulio čempionato nuspręstų palikti nacionalinę komandą, būtent “Fiorentina” strategas galėtų sėkmingai pratęsti jo darbus”, – teigė puolėjas.

Better late than never, I suppose. Or at least, Jose Mourinho and Claude Puel will suppose. Hell, even Cesare Prandelli had to wait until the second half before his squad came to life. But I digress. Here’s what happened in CL business today:

"WTF HAXX"

Liverpool 1-1 Olympique Lyonnais – Another disappointing day in the life of a Reds fan. They fought and fought all night against Lyon, with Ryan Babel finally putting them ahead on 84′, only for Lisandro Lopez to rob them of all their hard work with a cheaply-had goal in extra time. Or so the story goes. But didn’t Lyon fight just as hard back to keep Liverpool scoreless for those 84 minutes? Don’t they deserve some credit for never saying die, even when it seemed Liverpool had already won the game at its last breath? I for one am not going to feel sorry for the Scousers – not this time – because this was a game that they knew they had to win, and the fact of the matter is that they didn’t do enough to win it. Sure Dirk Kuyt worked his ass off all game, but what good is hard work if you’re too exhausted to make sure you put in a quality performance in the final third of the pitch? That goes for you too, Javier Mascherano. Editor’s Note: This may not seem to make a whole lot of sense, but believe you me, it’s pure genius. I won’t say it wasn’t a disappointment for the ‘Pool – because it was – but I will say that that doesn’t mean they deserved it anymore than Lyon. The Benitez unemployment countdown continueesss!!

Marchionni is improving in leaps and bounds.

Fiorentina 5-2 Debrecen – I may have more than a healthy amount of bias, but I am becoming a believer in Fiorentina as a legitimate continental side. Sure, their defense leaks like a sieve at times, and the two goals scored against them this evening were borderline humourous (one can partially blame the absence of starting keeper Sébastien Frey for that), but la Viola have showed that they can bury them when it counts, as they did in a second-half goalfest this evening at the Stadio Artemio Franchi. I Gigliati took an early lead in the match when Adrian Mutu executed a diving header off of Marco Marchionni’s cross on 14′, and looked strong coming out of the starting gates, but they lost steam by the end of the first half and Debrecen were keen to take the wind from their sails as Gergely Rudolf equalized on 37′. The teams would go into the half level, but when they reemerged, it was all Fiorentina. Three goals in 10 minutes came from Dario Dainelli (51′), Riccardo Montolivo (58′) and Marco Marchionni (61′) to give la Viola a commanding 4-1 lead. I must give credit to Debrecen though, as they certainly did not say die. Substitute Adamo Coulibaly put his head onto the end of a pinpoint cross to pull one back for his side on 69′ and remind the jubilant Florentine supporters that the match was not over yet. However, Fiorentina were quick to assert their dominance; on 73′ Alberto Gilardino responded with a header of his own to restore his side’s 3-goal lead and the game pretty much ended there. Fiorentina repeated their first-half trick of gradually slowing the pace of the game, content to kick the ball around aimlessly with the comfort of their large lead. A victory in their next match (against Lyon) will see Fiorentina secure their passage to the first knockout round. Who would’ve thunk it?

The Barcelona bus doesn't even have snow tires!

Barcelona 0-0 Rubin Kazan – Picture this: You’re in Siberia, on a frozen tundra of snow and ice – the only way out is to score a goal on the net that is inexplicably situated in front of you. That’s already a pretty tall order, because you’re from Catalonia, and not exactly used to this very Russian weather. Oh, and then someone parks a bus between you and the goal. Ta-da! You’re Barcelona in Tatarstan this evening. Personally, I hate Russian weather. Editor’s Note: The author has never been to Russia. Chelsea lost their Champions League final match 2 years ago because some genius thought an open-air stadium in Moscow was a good idea – I’m sure Barcelona would agree with me tonight that an open-air stadium anywhere in Russia is just bad news. The Blaugrana were held by the Russian champions, unable to crack their 11-man defense or cope with the Russian cold. The best effort of the evening came on 2′, when Zlatan Ibrahimovic beat his markers only to hit the post. Both sides would trade a handful of chances throughout the remaining 88 minutes, but ultimately no one would be able to get ahead, and those sneaky Russians would steal another point from the reigning champions of Europe. Good on ya, Kazan!

Pictured: Enemy #1 of Inter Milan

Inter 2-1 Dynamo Kiev – If Jose Mourinho’s hair isn’t just a little more grey- I’m sorry, silver, after this evenings game, the man might be ageless. It seemed like the same old (hilarious) story – Inter dominate every week domestically, but go on to choke (and choke hard) in European play. The rest of us point and laugh, then realize they’re still 7 points clear of anybody else in the Scudetto race and go home to weep softly to ourselves. Well, I do, anyways. But I digress. It took only 21 minutes for Inter to fall behidn in the Ukrainian capital this evening – that old Nerazzurri nemesis, Andriy Shevchenko was back to haunt them once more and take the lead with a ridiculous left-footed volley from outside the 18-yard box. Inter had their world rocked, for a spell, but they would fight back, and fight back hard. I’m not exactly sure how it’s possible, but La Beneamata spurned a seemingly endless stream of chances throughout the remaining 69 minutes. No one was innocent; Samuel Eto’o, Mario Balotelli, Diego Milito, Lucio, Walter Samuel – each had a golden opportunity served up for them on a silver platter, and each duffed theirs in turn. In the 86th minute, Diego Milito would finally bring Inter level, latching on to the end of a spectacular low cross/throughball (?) from Wesley Sneijder and nudging it past Stanislav Bogush. Inter had been fighting for more than an hour to achieve that equalizer, and when that ball went in, Mourinho’s side roared to life. Just 3 minutes later, Wesley Sneijder would win the game for Inter and break Ukrainian hearts with just seconds to spare – Sulley Muntari launched a low shot at the Kiev net, and Diego Milito prevented the rebound from exiting play in order that Sneijder could run onto the ball and bury it – for once and for all. Inter take the lead in their group with this win, if only by a point, and break their barren winless spell in European play. Jesus guys, it took you long enough!

Arsenal 4-1 AZ Alkmaar – Today’s last relatively important match (which I for some reason feel obligated to mention) consisted of Arsenal handily defeating Dutch champions AZ Alkmaar at the Emirates Stadium. Cesc Fàbregas bagged a brace, Samir Nasri added a third, and Vassiriki Diaby made it 4 to complete a solid (and fairly routine) home rout. Jeremain Lens would pull back a consolation goal for his side with little time left in the match, but ultimately the Dutch simply could not contend with Arsene Wenger’s squad, who have hit their stride with a blistering run of form lately and are a danger to anyone they face.

These are th- Well, you get the point.