What you missed while they were firing up the Large Hadron Collider…

• Premier League PSA: today’s Wigan v. Bolton match has been postponed to a future date due to treacherous travel conditions in the northwest of England (and not due to the pitch at DW Stadium, which was deemed playable). Adjust your plans DVRs accordingly.
• Barcelona 2-1 Estudiantes (aet) in the Club World Cup final; this win gives Barcelona the only major trophy they’re eligible for that they haven’t yet won, and also probably means that Manchester United will stop wearing those obnoxious shields on their jerseys in European play.
• Javier Mascherano will serve a four match ban after being sent off against Portsmouth…but the joke’s on you, he screwed up his MCL and couldn’t play anyways! HA! If only Liverpool had a creative midfield player that could occupy Gerrard’s role while Gerrard was slotted back deeper in midfield…
• Oh, speaking of Aquilani: Gary Lineker has called him the worst buy of the season. Which is a little like saying that that book you bought is the worst book of the year because you never found the time to read it.
• Fulham 3 – 0 Manchester United. The only good thing about losing to Portsmouth is that Manchester United fans won’t be able to gloat this week.
• Mark Hughes claims he was given no warning that he was about to be sacked; this makes Mark Hughes the only person who didn’t see this coming.
• Meanwhile, Barcelona president Joan Laporta has said that he’s happy with Barca’s current squad and is no longer interested in rescuing purchasing Robinho from Man City.
• Jose Mourinho has congratulated Roberto Mancini on his appointment to Manchester City in an open letter that kind of reads like “Why the hell didn’t you ask ME to coach, Sheikh Mansour?”
• Manuel Almunia and Tal Ben Haim are whiners.
• How bad are things at Rangers? So bad that they’re assuring Damarcus Beasley that he’ll get playing time.
• J-League record scorer Masashi Nakayama, 42, is struggling to find a club. Liverpool said to be interested.
• DC United have brought midfielder Cristian Castillo, “one of the most talented players in El Salvador”, in on loan. Castillo previously played for Mexican second division side Leon FC.
• The Kansas City Wizards plan on moving to Kansas.

Champions of the World.

It’s a title that doesn’t quite fit a football club, despite FIFA’s efforts in marketing the FIFA Club World Cup. But in 2009, the title couldn’t be more apt when it comes to describing FC Barcelona.

The Catalonian giants finished an amazing year by winning their sixth title of 2009 (yes, sixth). That includes La Liga (the Spanish league), the King’s Cup (Spanish FA Cup), Spanish Supercopa, UEFA Supercup, Champions League, and the FIFA Club World Cup, not to mention a Ballon d’Or for their top scorer, Lionel Messi.

Read the rest of this post on skysport.co.nz

At the third time of asking FC Barcelona become World Club champions

It was a case of third time lucky for FC Barcelona as they sealed their maiden triumph in the FIFA Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Their opponents, Copa Libertadores champions Estudiantes de La Plata, were so close to winning the trophy themselves after leading the contest for so long. However the Catalans rounded off the final leg of an unprecedented “grand slam” of trophies by scoring late in reglaur time and rounding off the game in extra-time.

The first half of the game started with no real flow due to the number of fouls being committed on both sides. The first thirty minutes saw few real chances and it resembled the proverbial game of chess. However the deadlock was broken on 37 minutes as Mauro Boselli headed in a Juan Manual Diaz cross from the left to give “los Pincharatas” a 1-0 lead and they saw this lead through to half-time.

In the second half Estudiantes seemed determined to hold on to their lead allowing the European champions as much time and possession as they wished, with the Argentines hoping to break on the counter attack. For so long the rugged Estudiantes defence kept wave after wave of “Barça” attacks out of reach and their defensive tactics appeared to be paying off. However the breakthrough for Barcelona came very late. In the 88th minute Pedro managed to loop a header over goalkeeper Albil into the top right hand corner and the hoardes of Barcelona fans in the stadium were ecstatic.

Barcelona started the extra-time period in much the same fashion as they’d ended the regulation period. Ibrahimovic and Toure had shots blocked in the first period of fifteen minutes. It wasn’t until five minutes into the second half of extra-time until Lionel Messi was able to pop up with the game’s decisive moment. Dani Alves’ right sided cross was chested home by the Argentine superstar from close range and the Catalans could sense that their day had finally come after two previous disappointments in Club World Cup finals.

The excitement wasn’t quite over as an urgent Estudiantes side finally found some forward momentum to try and take the game into penalties. A free kick was won in the last minute of extra-time and Estudiantes had everybody in the penalty area including goalkeeper Albil. However Juan Sebastian Veron’s free-kick was headed just wide by defender Leandro Desabato and the last chance for Veron Jr. to emulate his father’s achievement of 1968 (see “FIFA Club World Cup – Preview” blog) was over. The final whistle was blown and Barcelona’s fans were rejoicing the completion of an unprecedented sextet of trophies: Spanish League, Spanish Cup, Spanish Super Cup, Champions League, European Super Cup and Club World Cup. In a little under eighteen months Barça coach Pep Guardiola, already much decorated as a player, had won everything there was to win as a coach. Already in his fledgling managerial career he will go down as one of the legends of the game for this remarkable achievement.

In the other two matches played to close the tournament Asian champions Pohang Steelers clinched third place beating North/Central American champions Atlante CF 4-3 on penalties after the game had finished 1-1 after 90 minutes (no extra-time in this contest). The South Koreans’ success means that the Asian representatives have finished third in the last three tournaments (Urawa Red Diamonds and Gamba Osaka also finished third in 2007 and 2008 resepectively). In the fifth/sixth place play-off, played on Wednesday December 16th, Oceania’s Auckland City continued their dream tournament by beating African champions TP Mazembe 3-2 securing the win with a last minute winner from Riki van Steeden. This ensured the best ever performance by an Oceanian team in the tournament’s history.

What you missed while finding out that jellyfish can survive in Antarctica…

• Your Champions League octofinal matches are as follows: Stuttgart v. Barcelona, Olympiakos v. Bordeaux, Internazionale v. Chelsea, Bayern Munich v. Fiorentina, CSKA Moscow v. Sevilla, Lyon v. Real Madrid, Porto v. Arsenal, AC Milan v. Manchester United.
• This draw sees David Beckham play against Manchester United and Jose Mourinho manage against Chelsea.
• Bayern Munich is exploring the possibility of signing Philippe Senderos away from Arsenal.
• Alan Wiley’s been assigned the Manchester United – Hull City match on December 27th…meaning he won’t even have time to lose all that extra holiday weight.
• Edwin van der Sar has gone to the Netherlands for a second opinion on his knee injury.
• Guus Hiddink’s agent claims that Manchester City approached his client regarding a management position.
• FIFA isn’t happy with the crowd sizes at the Club World Cup.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic started for Barcelona in their semi-final against Atlante of Mexico

The FIFA Club World Cup is well under way now in the United Arab Emirates and, as expected, there will be a showdown between European champions FC Barcelona and their South American equivalents Estudiantes de la Plata on Saturday, December 19th. Stoppage Time looks at the tournament so far.

The tournament kicked off in Abu Dhabi with the Oceania representatives Auckland City FC, who had previously participated in this tournament in 2006, winning the first match against host team Al Ahli FC 2-0 thanks to goals from Adam Dickinson and Chad Coombes. Thanks to that win the New Zealanders had already achieved their main goal which was to qualify for the quarter-finals, in which they played against North/Central America champions Atlante CF (Mexico). Alas they were unable to progress any further as the Mexicans cruised into the semi-finals winning the game 3-0 due to strikes from Daniel Arreola, Christian Bermudez and Lucas Silva. In the other quarter-final it was a Brazilian who helped Asian champions Pohang Steelers (South Korea) overcome a half-time deficit as Denilson’s two second half goals helped see off the challenge from African Champions League winners TP Mazembe (Congo DR) in a close match 2-1.

The big two of the tournament entered at the semi-final stage. First to play were Estudiantes (Argentina) against Pohang Steelers. Although the Argentines enjoyed twice the amount of possession and had nearly three times as many shots at goal as their opponents they were made to work hard by a Pohang side that were tough to break down. Leandro Benitez scored two minutes into first half stoppage time to give “the Students” the advantage at half-time and followed that with his second goal eight minutes into the second half. It was the Koreans’ own South American influence that brought them back into the game when Denilson pulled one back after 71 minutes. However their discipline, or lack of it, proved their undoing as they had three players sent off the pitch. Two of the players, Kim Jae Sung and goalkeeper Shin Hwa Yong, were sent off in the final eighteen minutes of the game and the numerical advantage allowed Estudiantes to cross the line in comfortable fashion and into their fourth Club World Cup final.

Barcelona’s campaign started with a tougher challenge against Atlante CF just four days after they had won their local derby against Espanyol 1-0 in La Liga. The scorer in the derby, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, was among the starters for Barça while Lionel Messi, newly crowned European Footballer of the Year winner, was on the substitutes’ bench. However the Mexicans hadn’t come to the Middle East to make up the numbers and they stunned their more illustrious opponents early on thanks to a Guillermo Rojas goal after five minutes. The game ebbed and flowed for the next thirty minutes until Barcelona equalized thanks to a Sergio Busquets strike and the half finished 1-1. However the second half was to be dominated by the “Blaugrana” as Pep Guardiola’s 52nd minute substitution bringing on Lionel Messi for Yaya Toure, proved a masterstroke as the little Argentine made an immediate impact, rounding the keeper to make it 2-1 on 55 minutes. From here the “Blaugrana” began to take charge and they were further rewarded on 67 minutes when some good work by Andres Iniesta was turned home by Pedro from close range making the score 3-1. The remainder of the game was played almost as a Barcelona training session as Atlante failed to trouble the scoresheet any further and it was the giants from Catalonia who sealed their place in Sunday’s final, their third final since 1992, against Estudiantes de la Plata.

What you missed while performing terribly on this Sporcle quiz…

• Mick McCarthy has defended his decision to rest ten of his starters against Manchester United, saying that it’s impossible to play two difficult games in four days. Manchester United appreciates the Christmas present, Mick.
• David Beckham is hoping AC Milan gets drawn against Manchester United in the Champions League.
• Tom Hicks is close to selling…the Texas Rangers. Damn.
• The U.S. men’s team will play a friendly against Honduras on January 23rd.
• Mark Hughes has no intention of making Joe Hart’s loan to Birmingham permanent.
• Estudiantes beat Pohang Steelers – who were reduced to eight men – 2-1 in the Club World Cup semifinal.
• English newspapers are giving the U.S. an edge over the English national team (which means that there’s clearly not enough CONCACAF coverage in England).
• Lionel Messi is feeling better after an hour-long workout on the beach.
• UEFA is investigating Bulgarian referee Anton Genov after suspicious betting patterns emerged during Macedonia’s 3-0 friendly win over Canada last month. Yes, you read that right: Canada lost to Macedonia.

What you missed while Rachel Goodyear was betraying her whole species with her artwork (SFW)…

• Champions League Wrap Up: Liverpool 1-2 Fiorentina, Lyon 4-0 Debrecen, Stuttgart 3-1 Unirea Urziceni, Sevilla 1-0 Rangers, Standard Liege 1-1 AZ Alkmaar, Olympiakos 1-0 Arsenal, Inter Milan 2-0 Rubin Kazan, Dynamo Kiev 1-2 Barcelona.
• Lionel Messi will probably miss Barcelona’s derby match against Espanyol on Saturday after picking up an ankle knock in the Ukraine.
• Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed that he “never in a million years” thought Mark Hughes would be successful as a manager. Seriously, how much does Mark Hughes hate Fergie?
• Between his torn hamstring and the African Cup of Nations, Michael Essien may not play for Chelsea again until February.
• Mexico’s Club America has shot down West Ham’s approach for Paraguayan striker Salvador Cabanas.
• Alberto Aquilani would like more matches. Duh.
• Colo Colo beat Universidad Catolica 4-2 (6-4 on aggregate) to become Chilean champions for the 29th time.
• Former New England assistant and English international Paul Mariner is the new manager of Plymouth Argyle; if this had happened two weeks ago, there could have been tons of awesome pilgrim jokes. (Fun fact: no mention of his time with the Revolution in the article)
• Suck it, St. Louis: MLS is considering an expansion team in Montreal.
• Auckland City beat hosts Al Ahli 2-0 in the opening match of the Club World Cup yesterday. But you already know that because you were glued to your TV set during the match, right?

A bunch of part-time footballers have just made New Zealand history with a 2-0 win over a fancied  - and stunned – Arab football side.

Auckland City – so they’re Aucklanders, already – have just beaten UAE club champions Al Alhi in the FIFA Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi.

They became the first Kiwis to win a match at the tournament and they’ll go on to play a virutal quarter final against Mexican champs Atlante on Sunday.

Adam Dickinson opened the scoring just before the end of a patchy first half with a deft right-foot flick from a probing right cross.

Chad Coombes secured the game with a rocket from well outside the penalty box about 20 minutes from time, pitching his team into a long period of spirited defence.

The official commentary couldn’t believe a team of football enthusiasts was poised to beat a UAE side chock-full of well-paid professionals.

And neither could the crowd. As the commentator rattled off the jobs of the Aucklanders (jobs like sparky and interior designer) the home supporters filed silently from the stadium.

The arena was all but empty when the final whistle blew, sending the lads into the sort of jubilation we saw when the All Whites qualified for the World Cup last month.

Their lap of honour was a jog past empty seats, but there was nothing hollow about their historic victory.

If they win their next match they’ll be playing Barcelona.

Barcelona, for God’s sake. They’re the European champs.

It’s never a slow news cycle with FIFA. Today, just when we’ve collectively started to accept the interlull, FIFA has prepared a present for us: The Club World Cup draw.

Okay, so it’s not a great gift; on a soccer scale, this is somewhere above “fruitcake” and somewhere below “ugly sweater without a gift receipt”. Not that many fans really get worked up about the Club World Cup; it’s usually limited to “people who live near the stadiums”. This year’s not much different, really…but they did the draw today, there’s not much else happening, and I can throw a brief non-sequitir about some of the silly seating policies at the end. Bear with me, guys; the interlull’s hard on everyone.

First off, here’s the draw.

MATCH #1 (Playoff) – 12/9/09
Auckland City (AUS) v. Al-Ahli (UAE)

MATCH #2 (Quarterfinal) – 12/11/09
TP Mazembe (COD) v. Pohang Steelers (KOR)

MATCH #3 (Quarterfinal) – 12/12/09
(Winner of Match #1) v. Atlante F.C. (MEX)

MATCH #4 (Semifinal) – 12/15/09
(Winner of Match #2) v. Estudiantes (ARG)

MATCH #5 (Semifinal) – 12/16/09
(Winner of Match #3) v. Barcelona (SPA)

MATCH #6 (Final) – 12/19/09
(Winner of Match #4) v. (Winner of Match #5)

The most likely matchup in the final, of course, is Estudiantes v. Barcelona; in fact, in every year but one, the final has been UEFA against CONMEBOL. The oddball year, 2000, featured two CONMEBOL teams (Vasco de Gama and Corinthians) because the tournament was in Brazil and the home country gets an automatic bid (this year’s home side is Al-Alhi; don’t look for them past the opening round).

Truth be told, this tournament is not terribly exciting. Perhaps more interesting is the ticketing structure. If you are a woman and wish to attend, you can – if you so choose – voluntarily segregate yourself in a special “Female Only Seating” section. The tickets are at the highest pricing tier, but if the prospect of sitting with other women and not with your husband, that option is available to you.

For Manchester United fans the season started with the news of fantasy team the local rivals Manchester City are trying to build with the money of their new billionaire owners. Christiano Ronaldo’s flirtation with Real Madrid and Manchester City’s attempt to hijack the year long chase for Berbatov’s signature made rounds in prominent news papers. Manchester United got an outcome they wished for in both the cases. Season started badly for Manchester United with an injury for Ronaldo and club dropping  points. Chelsea made a great start to the season with some attractive football under the leadership of new manager Luiz Felipe Scolari. After some point of time Manchester United found themselves trailing bitter rivals and surprise league leaders Liverpool. In the mean time Manchester United made a successful journey to Japan and won the Club World Cup. United youngsters including the likes of Danny Welbeck, Gibson etc fashioned thmeselves to a well deserved Carling Cup victory. United slowly climbed up the table and snatched the top spot from Liverpool. Van Der Sar and United Defense started to look magnanimous with a domestic clean sheet record. Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez recieved a lot of stick from media for his attempted mind games with Sir Alex Ferguson. By this time Chelsea became disillusioned and Guus Hiddink was called up to replace Scalari and revitalise the sleeping giant. For Arsenal youngsters it was familiar story of underachievement with Aston villa snapping their heels for the last Champion’s league spot. Media started to use new terms like quintuple in their football lexicon referrring to the possibility of Manchester United team winning all the five trophies and expectations grew sky high. Manchester City plans for building a dream team recieved a serious setback when Kaka rejected a 100M+ deal. Manchester United season touched its low point when they were thrashed 4-1 by Liverpool. Quintuple dreams were shattered when United youngsters were knocked out from FA cup on penalties by Everton. United held off challenge from Liverpool and a revitalised Chelsea side to seal third successful EPL crown. Future of Carlos Tevez became a topic of constant media speculation as Manchester United refused to meet the price tag set two years ago. Finally stage was set for an epic UEFA Champions League final with worthy rivals Barcelona. After all the media hype about the match, Manchester United were beaten comprehensively by Barcelona. The season althoughwas a success with Club World cup, Carling cup and EPL victories it fell short of ever rising expectations set by the club. As the new season is ready to unfold, it brings back the hope and more dreams are being weaved at the ‘Theatre of Dreams’ Old Trafford.

Manchester United know all too well just how much can change in a Premiership week. Seven days ago Sir Alex Ferguson’s side had an air of invincibility, able to drop players like Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Dimitar Berbatov from the line-up against Liverpool while bookies paid out on bets that Manchester United would win the Premiership title. Two slip-ups (admittedly both chronic) from their most consistent player of the season, a red card and four Liverpool goals later and all of a sudden the picture looks very different indeed. To win the much aspired to quintuple, Manchester United will have to overcome top four Premier League opposition in at least two competitions – with either Chelsea or Arsenal coming up in the FA Cup if United can edge past Everton, and Arsenal’s visit to Old Trafford still to come in the league. Manchester United will almost certainly have to lock horns with their domestic rivals in the Champions League to boot, with half of this year’s remaining contestants coming from the Premiership.

The problem is that against the rest of the Premiership top four, Manchester United have struggled this season – recording a solitary victory over Chelsea. The table below, looking at how the top four have performed against each other, clearly shows that Liverpool and Arsenal are laughing when it comes to seeing off similarly well-equipped opposition:

Manchester United avoided the big four en route to their Carling Cup and (of course) Club World Cup victories. And from the look things, that was a good thing too. But they definitely won’t be so lucky in the FA Cup, and more likely than not they won’t escape this year in the Champions League either. So what are the three big factors that could turn the 2008-2009 season into a year of missed opportunities for Fergie’s men?

1. Rafa’s new contract. A good week at Liverpool by any standards – four goals a game against Real Madrid and United, followed by manager Rafa Benítez finally signing on the dotted line to commit to the club’s long-term future. A repeat of their 2005 European triumph would just put the icing on the cake.

2. Essien’s back. Chelsea have lacked bite in midfield this season without Michael Essien, and Deco has proved no replacement. The Ghanaian scored at the weekend to issue a timely reminder to Chelsea’s rivals that the London club are a different proposition with him presiding over the centre of the pitch, and combined with Duth coach Guus Hiddink’s nous there should be no stopping Chelsea.

3. Arsenal have discovered a bit of mental fortitude. Arsène Wenger said it himself after the Roma match, but Arsenal have lacked the strength of mind to turn 0-0 draws into more meaningful results. Queue an epic penalty shoot-out victory against canny Italain opposition and a hard fought (literally fought) win over Hull and Wenger’s boys are back in action.

Read more here

• No quintuple, no retirement
• Done deal: Rafa signs on
• Essien causing a headache

I’ve been writing this blog now since January. And since the New Year, Manchester United have amassed 13 victories, scored 30 goals and kept 11 clean sheets. They are the reigning Premiership champions, the reigning European champions, the reigning Club World Cup champions and – now – the reigning Carling Cup champions. And I haven’t written about them once.

Why? Because Manchester United are boring. Not boring like an Arsenal side who have gone four Premiership games (three at the Emirates) without scoring a goal. After all, this is a team oozing with quality. They’ve got Cristiano Ronaldo, Carlos Tévez, Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov up front without even accounting for players like Ryan Giggs, Anderson or Paul Scholes – and by the end of that roll call of attacking talent you’re half way through their team sheet.

Rather, Manchester United are boring like Roger Federer used to be boring. Predictable, relentless victory is the mark of the truly great in sport. But it isn’t half as fun as scraping a last minute victory against Wigan. For goodness sake, even Chelsea are more entertaining to watch these days, if for no other reason than at any point they might throw away the lead, sack their manager or decide to decamp to Moscow. Manchester United, by contrast, can field their youth team in an English cup final and still be so good that the opposition manager would back them over his own side: “I have to be honest,” says Tottenham manager Harry Rednapp, “we were not that confident with our penalty-takers really and you looked over there and they had very confident penalty-takers.”

Of course I am jealous of Manchester United. It’s not so long ago, supporting José Mourinho’s Chelsea, that I was more or less in the same boat. But I also remember all too well that look on the faces of United’s fans this morning. No joy. No linking arms and merrily dancing a jig. Barely even a half-hearted gloat throw the way of their Tottenham counterparts. Just a hunger for more. Ask Federer, or Chelsea fans, for that matter – winning trophy after trophy just makes the first one you lose harder to bear.

Read more here

• Ben Foster gives you a good excuse to listen to your iPod at work
• At least one fan still celebrates a Cup final the proper way
• Why the Carling Cup wasn’t boring

Wayne Rooney’s superb 73rd-minute strike gave 10-man Manchester United a 1-0 victory over Ecuador’s LDU in the Club World Cup final on Sunday.

United became the first British winners of the FIFA tournament following Liverpool’s failure in 2005 when they were ambushed by Brazil’s Sao Paulo.

The European champions overcame a moment of madness from defender Nemanja Vidic, sent off four minutes into the second half in Yokohama for elbowing LDU striker Claudio Bieler in the face.

‘The sending off made it difficult for us,’ United manager Alex Ferguson told reporters. ‘Half an hour to go is a long road with 10 men but Wayne scored a magnificent goal.

‘In 30 years you’ll look back and see Manchester United’s name on the trophy — although I won’t be around to enjoy it.’

Vidic’s red card is a major blow to United as he will miss United’s next European Champions League game, away to Inter Milan in February in the first leg of the last 16.

‘It’s a soft sending off but he swung an elbow,’ said Ferguson. ‘When you do that in front of the referee you’ve got no chance. He gave the referee no option.’

The Serb’s dismissal sparked Ferguson’s side into life and Rooney fired the winner with a clinical right-foot shot after a magical flick from Cristiano Ronaldo.

WORLD’S BEST

‘We’re the best team in the world,’ said Rooney, who was named player of the tournament after scoring twice in United’s 5-3 semi-final win over Japan’s Gamba Osaka.

‘It’s a great achievement for the team and something we’re all really proud of. It’s been a long road. To score the winning goal is a great feeling.’

Ronaldo, the victim of persistent rough treatment from Libertadores Cup holders LDU, was a constant threat as United dominated a match watched by almost 69,000 fans.

Rooney, Park Ji-sung and Carlos Tevez, who was immediately sacrificed for defender Jonny Evans after Vidic’s red card, all went close in a one-sided first half.

United still had to survive late LDU pressure, goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar forced into an excellent fingertip save from Alejandro Manso’s fierce drive in the 89th minute.

Ferguson’s side won the tournament’s forerunner, a one-off match between the champions of Europe and South America, with a 1-0 win over Brazilian side Palmeiras in 1999.

‘When Vidic was sent off we thought we could win,’ LDU’s Argentine coach Edgardo Bauza said. ‘We’re sad we lost but happy to have come this far.’

Manchester United won the 2008 Club world cup beating (1-0) Ecuador’s LDU Quito with a goal scored by Rooney toward the end of the match.