What you missed while jellyfish were ruining the Coogee Island Swim…

• Arsenal beat Liverpool 2-1 thanks to a) Glen Johnson sucking b) Superior use of the ball during possession c) Arsene Wenger screaming at them during halftime d) All of the above.
• When your team’s vice-captain is saying that all he can do is  “pray to God that at the end of the season there will be something worthwhile for what we’ve gone through”, than you may be in it deeper than you want to admit.
• The first title in history has arrived at Banfield; even though this is about an Argentine team, Liverpool fans can probably squint and pretend.
• The short list of people made angry by referees this weekend includes Sir Alex Ferguson, Rafa Benitez, and Mark Hughes.
• Petr Cech was surprised that Chelsea fans booed him at Stamford Bridge during the 3-3 draw with Everton Saturday.
• Manchester United might have to face Wolves without Ryan Giggs.
• Algerian national team manager center back (Edited; thanks, Dave Foster!) Madjid Bougherra thinks Algeria can beat England because England lack heart and evidently every sporting event plays out exactly like “The Mighty Ducks” in Algeria.
• Andres Iniesta calls the World Cup “the most important title”; it’s also the only one he hasn’t won. Yet.
• Lionel Messi (ankle, indifference) is doubtful for Wednesday’s Club World Cup semifinal.
• Yaya Toure, Samuel Eto’o, Seydou Keita, Michael Essien, and Didier Drogba have all been shortlisted for the African Player of the Year award.
• Virginia beat Akron on penalty kicks to win the NCAA College Cup.
• The LA Galaxy claim that Everton isn’t the only club interested in Landon Donovan; the loan deal is still being finalized.

Valencia 1-1 Mallorca

Sporting Gijon 1-0 Villareal

Sevilla 2-2 Malaga

Ver Tabla de Goleo

Ver Tabla de Posiciones de los Equipos

Photography: Maciej Kucia; Styling: Junya Hayashida; Hair: Mina (The Salon); Make-up: Yoshiko Kawashima

Set Design: Przemek Sobocki

Script written by Gozi Ochonogor of UMI-1

Models: Guil (Exiles), Kent (Evviva)
Natio (Satoru), Milo, Tiola

inspirations: photos by Malick Sidibe

Well, it’s the morning after Halloween and I will assume that many of you, like myself, are nursing wicked hangovers. Therefore I’ll try to keep it simple – bright lights and big words are the enemies right now.

Football:

If this sight makes you drool, you might be a Scouser.

Fulham 3-1 Liverpool – Well, it seems that the scousers are back in the soup (see lobscouse), having been roundly trounced at Craven Cottage by ultra-defensive enemies of everyone, Fulham. Diomansy ‘Yes that is his name’ Kamara gave the home side an early lead on 24′, which Fernando Torres would cancel out (by virtue of a terrific volley) just before the half. The second half would begin inauspiciously, but in the final 20 minutes it all began to unravel for the visiting Reds. Substitute Erik Nevland restored the Cottagers’ lead on 73′, and Liverpool’s efforts to first back to level terms took a couple of swift successive blows when Jamie Carragher and Phillip Degen were sent off within two minutes of eachother. If that wasn’t enough, the killing blow would come on 87′, when Clint Dempsey netted again to put Fulham two up and send Scousers everywhere into fits of despair. Is it time to begin a Rafa Benitez unemployment countdown?

Arsenal 3-0 Tottenham Hotspur – Well, the Spurs have made a positive enough start to this season under Harry Redknapp, but they weren’t good enough to beat an in-form Arsenal side at the Emirates Stadium in the North London derby this weekend. Robin van Persie bagged a brace, one on either side of the half (42′, 60′), while captain Cesc Fàbregas added his own goal just after the Dutchman’s first on 43′. Tottenham simply had no answer for the Gunner’s swift, fluid football – especially since they were missing the important trio of Aaron Lennon, Luka Modric and Jermain Defoe. Not a result that will much please ‘Arry, but at least Arsene Wenger had a banner evening; besides putting Arsenal right at the heels of United in the table, it was also the Frenchman’s 1000th point as a Premiership manager.

Chelsea 4-0 Bolton – Déjà vu, much? Yesterday’s victory was the second time in one week that the high-flying Blues have absolutely dismantled Bolton by a score of 4-0. Carlo Ancelotti’s side haven’t been scored upon since they dropped points against Aston Villa several weeks hence, but their opponents’ nets have been absolutely overflowing. Chelsea have established something of a rhythm of starting late, and stayed true to that form: Frank Lampard opened the scoring two minutes into first-half added time, and even then only on a spot kick after Jlloyd Samuel hauled down Didier Drogba in the penalty area. However, Chelsea would come to life in the second half, and the Wanderers were helpless to watch as Deco, then their own man Zat Knight and the finally Didier Drogba all found the back of the home side’s net. What utter destruction – next weekend’s fixture against Manchester United should be one to watch.

Manchester Utd 2-0 Blackburn – The Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov were on target for United as Ferguson’s men blew past the Rovers this weekend. It’s nice to see the oft-invisible Bulgarian show up for a match every once in a while, and he made his presence known early in the second half with a strike that put the Red Devils ahead on 55′. That lead would be enough to see them through to the dying moments of the game, when Wayne Rooney would add his name to the scoresheet and simply put the game out of the Rovers’ grasp.

Futbol:

Barcelona 1-1 Osasuna – If the last couple of weeks have shown us anything, it’s that Barcelona and Real Madrid, the Giants of Spanish football, are anything but invincible. Barcelona faltered yesterday in their quest for La Liga dominance, drawing away at Osasuna. The match was a fairly sparse affair with Seydou Keita only opening the scoring in the 72nd minute after some extended and very Barca-esque build-up. However, the night was not to be Barcelona’s, as deep into injury time Javier Camunas raced up the left flank and launched a low, hard cross across the mouth of the net. Gerard Piqué, rushing back to defend his goal, inadvertently collided with the end of the cross, deflecting the ball past a scrambling Victor Valdés and into the back of his own net. A hugely disappointing result for Barcelona, who seemed well on their way to 3 points until the unfortunate, and costly, error. Piqué’s couldn’t do much about it, and shouldn’t really be held responsible – but lord knows he will.

Higuain would make the difference for Madrid at the Bernabéu.

Real Madrid 2-0 Getafe – It is remarkable that despite every match being (at least) 90 minutes, and every match (starting, at least) with 22 players on the pitch, often it only takes one player and a very short spanse of time to completely change the course of a match. Such was the case in Real Madrid’s victory over Getafe at the Bernabéu, in which Gonzalo Higuaín scored twice in the span of 3 minutes to give his side a commanding lead over their visitors. Los Blancos were forced to play for the majority of the match with only 10 men after defender Raúl Albiol brought down Getafe striker Soldado on the edge of the penalty area. However, Higuaín’s efforts ensured that the 10-man Galacticos would nevertheless come away with 3 points – with Barcelona’s misfortune, Manuel Pellegrini’s men now trail by only 1 point.

Calcio:

Mazzarri's comeback kids celebrate their namesake.

Napoli 3-2 Juventus – Forget Partenopei. Forget Vesuviani. Forget Azzurri. Walter Mazzarri’s Napoli are the comeback kids. Behind Juventus 2-0 in Torino, with 30 minutes left in the game, most teams would simply lose hope – give up, close up shop and try not to concede any more goals. Not Napoli – or at least, not this reincarnated Napoli. A pair of goals from David Trezeguet and Sebastian Giovinco had seen Juventus get ahead of their visitors in the first hour of the encounter. Defensive errors had proven costly for the Southerners, as it was Matteo Contini’s mistake that provided Juventus with their second goal. However, the substitution of Jesús Alberto Dátolo for Hugo Campagnaro would revitalize Mazzarri’s side, and in the span of 6 minutes, the deadly combination of Marek Hamsik and Dátolo were able to draw their side level with La Vecchia Signora with 25 minutes left to play. This sudden leveling of scores seemed to have Ciro Ferrara’s men reeling, and they were very much on their back heels as they wondered what had happened to their comfortable lead – the tactician’s solution was to bring on Amauri, who did so well in i Bianconeri’s dismantling of Sampdoria in midweek. Unbelievably, it would be Napoli who would break the deadlock with just 9 minutes left in the match – it would be Hamsik who would grab his second of the evening, crashing a poorly cleared ball into the roof of the net and all but securing victory for his side. Juventus would come back to life in stoppage time, and seemed on the verge of undermining Napoli’s glorious comeback, but ultimately the only thing they would come away with would be a red card for their Caveman Brazilian striker Amauri, who went crashing headlong into Napoli keeper Morgan De Sanctis in hopes of equalizing, only to boot the netminder in the face and be sent off. A result which should have Napoli fans absolutely rapturous and should shut up Juventini quite nicely for the time being. Che bella partita!

Nice to have you back!

AS Roma 2-1 Bologna – He’s back, and we’re back. For now. It seems that Mirko Vučinić has finally found his lost form – the Montenegrin put in a man of the match performance this afternoon to ensure that Roma snapped their losing streak and grabbed all 3 points against lowly Bologna. It seemed like a familiar story – Roma had the lion’s share of the early chances and dominated the game from the outset, but it was Bologna who took the first lead in the match when Marco Di Vaio got behind the Giallorosso defense and set up Adailton for an easy tap-in on 32′. We’ve got no Francesco Totti, no Daniele De Rossi (suspended) and, it seems, no hope. Here’s where the story changes though; Roma didn’t roll over and die, but rather equalized not 3 minutes later when Mirko Vučinić found himself, the ball and a golden opportunity, and (this time) duly buried it. It was the first time in recent memory that Vuči has been what he should always be (except in the presence of Er Pupone): the best player on the pitch. Boy, did it make a difference. Jérémy Menez also had a good match, though he was anonymous at times; it would be his shot that would rebound out of the arms of Emiliano Viviano and straight into the path of Simone Perrotta, who buried the sitter. That’s right, Perrotta, King of doing the exact opposite of that, buried a sitter. I’ll give you a moment to let that sink in. Anyways, we won the match, and should take heart from it – Vuči had a good one, Menez had a good one, Mexes had a good one, heck even Motta had a good one. Let’s just hope the next few can be good ones too.

AC Milan 2-0 Parma – Another man who found this form this weekend was Milan’s Ronaldinho, who ran Parma ragged and provided Marco Borriello with both of the goals that would separate their squad from what has been an impressive Parma side this season. The first game in only the 12th minute, as ‘Dinho executed a masterful zigzagging run before slotting the ball through to Borriello, who coolly finished. That lead would last most of the match, but the pair weren’t finished yet, and deep into second-half injury time, Ronaldinho would send an arcing cross through the penalty area; Borriello, having acres of space, met the end of the pass with a perfectly timed bicycle kick, completing his brace and a solid afternoon for i Rossoneri. AC Milan now moves up to 4th place and it seems that Leonardo, whose job looked so imperiled just a few short weeks ago, has finally gotten into the swing of things. Good for Milanisti, I suppose.

Inter 2-0 Livorno – Inter was able to do this weekend what Roma couldn’t on Wednesday – beat a team that is seemingly destined for relegation, and do it comfortably at that. Diego Milito and Maicon found the back of the net for i Nerazzurri, the former scoring his second goal in 2 games since returning from injury. Gotta make up for lost time, right? With this victory, Jose’s men sit 7 points clear atop the Serie A table – same old, same old.

Fußball:

Bayern München 0-0 VfB Stuttgart – Mario Gomez’s return to his old Bundesliga stomping ground was a quiet affair, a goalless draw marked by very even play, despite the home side firing on all cylinders early at the Mercedes-Benz Arena. Neither side created any clear-cut chances, and so neither side was able to best the other.

Un error fatal le ha costado al Barça dos puntos que tenía ganados a dos minutos del final. Hasta ese momento, el minuto 91 esperó Osasuna para asestar el golpe definitivo a los hombres de Guardiola, que una vez más sudaron sangre, sudor y lágrimas para dominar al conjunto ‘rojillo’. Hasta ese momento, hasta que Piqué introdujo el gol en su portería con la colaboración de Valdés, el Barça lo había conseguido.

Se habían adelantado los culés con otro gol, y ya lleva seis, de Keita bien avanzado la segunda mitad. El Barça supo madurar el partido y ponerse el mono de trabajo cuando tocó. El Osasuna fio toda su suerte a una presión agobiante que partía desde la propia línea de retaguardia azulgrana y así con un trabajo intachable llegaron fundidos a la segunda mitad.

Las dos caras del partido al final del encuentro

Todo resultó muy previsible. Osasuna mordía y el Barça intentaba amansar a la fiera desde el inicio. No se cansaban los de Guardiola de tocar y tocar, aunque no llegaban ni siquiera a pasar de su propio campo con fluidez en los primeros minutos. Y a pesar de ello, la primera ocasión fue culé. En un arranque eléctrico de Messi, el argentino tuvo el primer gol apenas habían transcurridos cuarenta segundos. La ‘Pulga’ se plantó sólo ante Ricardo pero éste le aguantó bien y le detuvo el balón.

La réplica fue de Aranda, el más inspirado de los rojillos hoy, pero le falló siempre la puntería. Para entonces Xavi e Iniesta estaban completamente amorzadados y solo las cabalgadas de Ibrahimovic por los extremos abrían huecos invisibles para los hombres de Guardiola. Solo los vio Busquets, uno de los mejores culés hoy en el Reyno,  que siempre buscó la espalda y las cosquillas rojillas. De hecho fue Ibra el que mandó el siguiente aviso a los vasallos del Reyno. Su latigazo en la jugada ensayada golpea en el brazo de Miguel Flaño pero el árbitro no quiso saber nada. Poco más en esta primera mitad, en la que Osasuna se vació simplemente para que el Barça no jugara.

El juego de sacrificio de los hombres de Camacho lo pagaron en la segunda mitad, cuando fundidos no pudieron seguir la velocidad de crucero del Barça. Los azulgrana comenzaron a poner cerco a la muralla rojilla. Abidal y Puyol abrían con asiduidad nuevas vías de penetración, mientras el ejército rojillo achicaba aguas. Messi e Iniesta comenzaron a asociarse,(hasta entonces habían pasado desapercibidos) y en una de esas todo encajó. Tras una larga jugada por la izquierda el balón llega hasta el costado opuesto donde Puyol aparece por sorpresa para poner un pase atrás que Keita hace bueno (0-1 min.72). Era el sexto gol del de Mali en la Liga y el Barça parecía que  daba la puntilla definitiva a Osasuna.

Pero los hombres de Guardiola no remataron a un Osasuna moribundo. Tuvieron varios mano a mano. Messi, Ibra e incluso Xavi lamieron el gol, pero dejaron escapar con vida a Osasuna y el premio y la sorpresa saltó en el minuto 91, cuando el partido ya agonizaba. Camuñas centró sin esperanza y Piqué pintó el centro de verde. Su desafortunado despeje se coló en la portería azulgrana antes de tocar en Valdés. La batalla y el dominio quedaba en el aire, aunque el Barça sigue líder con un punto de ventaja sobre el Real Madrid .

Seydou Keita had his best ever performance for the Blaugrana on Sunday

Seydou Keita of FC Barcelona is my World Player of the Week. The Malian international had his best game in a Barcelona shirt on Sunday. He was involved in one way or another in 4 of the 6 goals scored by Barcelona in their 6-1 thrashing of Real Zaragoza. The first goal came off a corner in which Lionel Messi took quickly and made a lovely little chipping cross which landed right on Seydou’s head for his and Barca’s first of the evening. His next goal came in the 41st minute with a little help from Zlatan Ibrahimović who laid a perfect ball across goal that Keita tapped in for his 2nd goal of the match making it 3-0 to Barcelona. 11 minutes into the 2nd half Seydou repaid Zlatan by providing a fantastic cross which Ibra promptly put away in typical Ibra fashion making it 4-0 to Barcelona. But Seydou wasn’t done. In the 86th minute Keita scored with his head yet again and in doing so completed his first ever hat trick in a Barcelona shirt.

Els de Guardiola han superat per un clar 6-1 el Saragossa amb tres gols de Keita, dos d’Ibrahimovic i un de Messi ! El Barça torna a ser líder destacat amb tres punts del seu perseguidor, el Reial Madrid.

El FC Barcelona, delante  mas de 75 000 espectadores, volvió a la senda de los grandes partidos y tras cuajar una gran actuación goleó al Zaragoza (6-1).

Seydou Keita marco tres goles, dos de Ibrahimovic y Messi uno. Todo el equipo de Pep Guardiola jugó a un alto nivel.

El Barça tiene ahora una brecha de tres puntos respecto al Madrid !!! Visca !!!

le FC Barcelone a remis les pendules à l’heure en faisant exploser Saragosse (6-1). Les Catalans, qui avaient vu le Real concéder un nul vierge de but à Gijon samedi, prennent trois points d’avance en tête de la Liga dont ils possèdent la meilleure attaque et la meilleure défense.

Seydou Keita a été excellent, mais il a surtout marqué un triplé et fait une passe décisive . Zlatan Ibrahimovic (2 buts) et Messi ( 1) complétent le score.

Le Barça a régalé ses supporters : la «Pep Team» a retrouvé le niveau qui l’avait quelque peu quitté ces dernières semaines.

IVO

Han vuelto. La tormenta y los goles. El fútbol y la orquesta de Guardiola. Los artistas volvieron a afinarse hoy, cuando tras las últimas críticas recibidas, respondieron con clase y rabia a partes iguales. El Zaragoza de Marcelino sufrió el vendaval porque apenas pudo tenerse en pie en el Camp Nou. El Barça se reconoció rápidamente en el espejo, volvió a ser el de las grandes noches, el del Triplete.

Keita fue la sorpresa agradable de la noche

Abandarados por un recuperado Messi, por un inspirado Ibra y por la locomotora africana, Keita, que se marcó un partidazo con tres goles y  una asistencia a Ibrahimovic. Así el Barça ha recuperado el liderato de la Liga BBVA que perdió ayer provisionalmente en beneficio del Madrid, a los que ya sacan tres puntos.

Guardiola sabía lo que se jugaba y su único invento para ahuyentar los fantasmas de la crisis fue cambiar a casi toda la defensa que jugó el último partido ante  el Rubin. Sólo repitió Piqué, el mariscal de este equipo. Maxwell relevó a Abidal y Chygrynskiy a Márquez. Mientras Puyol volvió a demostrar su polivalencia en el lateral derecho. Pero la clave estuvo en el centro del campo. La inclusión de Sergio Busquets dio otro aire al equipo, el canterano aportó mayor fluidez y rapidez en el juego y por ahí creció muchisímo el Barça.

Con esa estrategia Xavi y sobre todo Keita se sintieron más libres y los culés comenzaron a disfrutar. La respuesta del Barça a las supuestas dudas generadas fue incontestable. El monológo de los de Guardiola duró hoy 90 minutos y avisó pronto de sus intenciones. Messi e Ibra pudieron abrir el marcador en los primeros compases del partido, pero por ahora Carrizo les ganaba la partida. Tuvo que ser Keita, la sorpresa de la noche quien abriera la lata. Fue tras una jugada ensayada del laboratorio Guardiola, mediante la que el de Mali remató de cabeza un medido centro de Messi.

Cinco minutos después, en el 29, llegó el zarpazo. Esta vez no fue un león, sino un mago el encargado de asestar el golpe definitivo al Zaragoza. El trallazo de Zlatan desde 35 metros sorprendió a propios y extraños. Entre estos últimos se encontraba Carrizo, el portero maño. Mucho se hablará estos días del chutazo del sueco y de sus similitudes con los zambombazos de Cristiano. Ajeno a ese debate, el Barça siguió a lo suyo remitiendo al Zaragoza al papel de marioneta. Nulos del medio campo en adelante el festín azulgrana continuó con el acierto de Keita quien se sumó con mucho acierto desde la segunda línea para rematar, en esta ocasión, una magnífica jugada de Ibra. Era el minuto 41 y el partido estaba sentenciado.

La tormenta no cesó tras el paso por los vestuarios. La ira de los azulgrana todavía no se había saciado y Zlatan lo demostró rápido. La primera que cazó se la anularon. Fue una jugada ‘made in Messi’ que Carrizo, que a pesar de todo fue de lo mejor del Zaragoza, evitó con una buena intervención un gol antológico de vaselina. El rechace cayó en los pies del ‘9′ azulgrana que se aprovechó de su posición ilegal. En la segunda que tuvo, Ibra no falló. El sueco ‘peinó’ con clase con el exterior de su bota derecha un medido centro de Keita que todavía no había redondeado su noche.Era el cuarto de la noche. El Zaragoza entre medias reclamó su minuto de gloria y en un contragolpe sorprendió al Barça. Jorge López metía el gol del honor maño tras tres intentos fallidos ante Valdés (4-1 min. 78).

La felicidad, a pesar de todo, no era completa en ‘Can Barça’ porque a Messi se le seguía negando el gol. El argentino, tras dos semanas alejado del ‘Virus Maradona’, volvía a recuperar la sonrisa pero no encontraba el gol. El Barça bailaba a su ritmo y el fútbol terminó siendo justo con él. Ahora sí, el argentino pudo superar a su compatriota Carrizo con una vaselina que llevaba persiguiendo toda la noche (5-1 min. 80).

La noche la completó Keita, el mismo que inició el vendaval. Era el minuto 85 y remataba su gran noche con un cabezazo picado que ponía la puntilla al Zaragoza y a la crisis. Crisis, What Crisis? que cantaba Supertramp se preguntarían los aficionados del Camp Nou tras finalizar el partido. Allí en Barcelona el sol brilla en todo lo alto, encabezando la tabla, a pesar de la tormenta de goles, fútbol y espectáculo que ha arreciado la Ciudad Condal esta noche. El Barça vuelve a ser previsible.

Barcelona had a prompt response to criticism after the two consecutive games without a victory (0-0 in Mestalla against Valencia and 1-2, at the Camp Nou against Rubin Kazan in CL). 

It was evening of Seydou Keita, who, although not consistently a first team player, entered the conveyor belt. Transferred from Seville, where he had managed only 4 goals in 31 games, the Mali midfielder has scored 14 times in a year for Barca. Today he scored a hat-trick.

After the failure in the 2010 World Cup preliminaries, ‘Ibracadabra’ returned in force to the club. Spared against Valencia, the swede returned to score a double against Zaragoza. Percentage of Zlatan in Barcelona shirt is sensational: the match and goal.

Valdes – Puyol, Pique(Rafa Marquez, 73), Chygrynskiy, Maxwell – Busquets – Xavi(Suarez, 83), Keita – Messi, Ibrahimovic (Bojan), Iniesta

Ugh… A good weekend for some, perhaps. As always, only the big games – ’cause no one gives a hoot how Sheffield Wednesday did (sorry, Sheffielders).

Football:

Vidic looks how United feels.

Liverpool 2-0 Manchester Utd – On friday night I sat in a pub with a friend of mine, who nursed his pint as he mourned his team’s downward spiral. He is, of course, a Liverpool fan. I told him not to worry – that they’d beat MUFC this weekend and they’d bounce back. I’m not sure exactly how much either of us believed what I was saying, but sure enough, the game rolled around and Liverpool came out on top at Anfield. The Scousers would survive a second minute scare when Wayne Rooney found the back of the net (only to be disallowed for offside) and would go ahead in the 65th minute thanks to a classy finish from Fernando Torres. Nemanja Vidic and Javier Mascherano would both be sent off in the dying minutes of the match and it would be the Frenchman David Ngog who would seal United’s fate in stopagge time, finding the net on 96′. So all you sad-eyed Scousers, rejoice! You’re back to winning – for now. And Rafa, Gillette and Hicks – you can breathe again too.

Chelsea 5-0 Blackburn – Rovers fans will not be rejoicing this weekend. Gaël Givet opened the scoring in Saturday’s match by deflecting Nicolas Anelka’s shot into the back of his own net on 20′. That would hold the Blues until the half, but on 48′ Didier Drogba won a spot kick for his side and Frank Lampard (despite a returning Joe Cole wanting it oh so badly) converted to double Chelsea’s lead. From that point on, the floodgates were opened: within the next 15 minutes Michael Essien buried another of his rare but famed long range efforts, Lampard bagged his brace, and Didier Drogba brought Chelsea’s tally to 5. Blackburn were completely overrun by the home side, who obviously wanted to show that last week’s defeat to Aston Villa was not a sign of futher weakness. Joe Cole also made a fantastic appearance, his first in the Premiership this year, running the visitors ragged and creating all sorts of chances for his side. In their last two fixtures the Blues have 9 goals for and 0 against. Not bad Carletto, not bad.

Arsenal 2-2 West Ham – Despite Arsene Wenger’s claim that the Gunners will pick up at least one trophy this year, his side were unable to pick up full points against cross-town rivals West Ham this weekend. First half goals from Robin van Persie and William Gallas looked like they might be enough to see the Gooners take full points, but late strikes from Carlton Cole and Italian substitute Alessandro Diamanti saw Gianfranco Zola’s side make a marvelous comeback – despite the sending off of Hammer midfielder Scott Parker. Seems like the trophies are still a long way away, Wenger.

Futbol:

Real's hopes rest upon this man's delicate ankles.

Real Madrid 0-0 Sporting de Gijon - Sans-CR9 Madrid were unable to bounce back from their midweek loss to AC Milan and gain a positive result domestically this weekend. Los Merengues were held to a draw at El Molinón by the midtable side, who were kept afloat largely through the heroic efforts of their netminder, Juan Pablo. Kaká once again failed to impress in the white shirt, and Manuel Pellegrini’s side dropped points in La Liga for only the second time this season to fall three points short of Barcelona. Not the result Los Blancos were looking for – one can only imagine that just about everyone involved in that club is virtually counting down the days until their most expensive signing is fit again. But not I!

Villareal 2-1 Malaga – Unlike his current side, Manuel Pellegrini’s former squad were able to bounce back after a midweek European defeat to Rome’s other team and grab their first domestic win of the season. El Submarino Amarillo took the lead on 27′ thanks to the Brazilian Nilmar, only for Malaga’s Luque to equalize in the dying seconds of the first half. However, it wouldn’t take long after the break to restore that lead, as defender Capdevila found the back of the net on 54′ – his goal would be enough to see the home side grab all 3 points and that much-needed first victory. Finally, something (however little) to celebrate at El Madrigal.

Barcelona 6-1 Real Zaragoza – Unlike their arch-rivals, Barcelona showed that they weren’t too worried about their midweek loss to Rubin Kazan with a 6-goal thrashing of Real Zaragoza. Bullies. Seydou Keita bagged a treble, Zlatan Ibrahimovic bagged a brace and Lionel Messi bagged one of his own in a comfortable victory for the Catalan side. Jorge López pulled one back for his side on 77′, but it was little more than consolation as the Blaugrana ran rampant in the Camp Nou. I suppose the rest of us have now been warned…

Calcio:

Pictured: Milan's best player.

AC Milan 2-1 Chievo Verona - In keeping with the theme of last-gasp comebacks and goal-scoring defenders, AC Milan were able to grab their second straight Serie A win after Alessandro Nesta, of all people, scored twice in the last 10 minutes of the match to earn his club all 3 points against the Flying Donkeys. Nesta’s heroic efforts cancelled out the 7th minute lead which Giampiero Pinzi had afforded his side and which had stood for the better part of the match. It seems that Leonardo’s men are finally finding their legs to stand on after a more-than-shaky start to the season this year – it’s about time, Rossoneri; it’s about time.

Inter 2-1 Catania - i Nerazzurri were able to reassert their position atop Serie A with a comfortable win over a struggling Sicilian side at the San Siro on Saturday (ooh, alliterative!). Catania fell behind early in the game as first-half goals from Sulley Muntari and Wesley Sneijder seemed to put the match well out of reach. However, their lead would be halved when keeper Julio Cesar erred and was forced to give up a penalty on 83′; which Giuseppe Mascara duly converted. Though Catania would pour forward after that in hopes of finding their equalizer, Inter afforded no clear-cut chances to their visitors and were able to secure victory, reasserting themselves atop the Serie A table after being usurped earlier that day. Speaking of which…

Sampdoria 4-1 Bologna – Call it the Antonio Cassano show. Call it the Daniele Mannini show. Call it whatever you want, but know that Sampdoria mean business. Sure, Bologna are relegation fodder and aren’t exactly the stiffest test Serie A have to offer, but then, neither are Catania. The visitors wasted no time, with Giampaolo Pazzini scoring on 7′, Daniele Mannini adding two of his own, and Reto Ziegler rounding it out to 4-0 within the next 30 minutes. Marco Di Vaio, easily Bologna’s best player, picked up a red card early on – however Pablo Osvaldo would find a late consolation goal for the home side. Though Fanantonio didn’t get his name on the scoresheet, he had a hand in two of his side’s goals and his creativity was, as ever, the driving force behind Sampdoria’s potent attack. After Saturday’s blowout, i Blucerchiati enjoyed a short time at the summit of Italian calcio, before Inter reasserted themselves later that afternoon. Another seriously impressive performance from the upstart side from Genova – the only question that remains is just how long they can keep this up.

That about sums it up.

Livorno 1-0 AS Roma - I have only one thing to say: this team needs to learn how to play without Totti. After last weekend’s loss to Milan and the midweek draw at Fulham, it appears that Claudio Ranieri’s honeymoon with AS Roma has come to an abrupt end. The team is now forced to face a harsh reality: Totti is out and they are expected to win anyways. Livorno are absolute bottom of the table and they just sacked their coach – today was Serse Cosmi’s debut as manager of the struggling side. For i Giallorossi to lose to this side at the Olimpico is nothing short of disastrous and the 1-goal lead afforded to the visitors by Francesco Tavano should have been easily overcome. Jérémy Menez and Mirko Vucinic proved ineffectual up front and while Daniele De Rossi looked solid while defending, perhaps it should be he who steps up to provide an offensive threat in the absence of Er Pupone. Of course, I’m being ridiculous – one of DDR’s problems is that he already tries to do too much at once. Stefano Guberti once again looked strong, bringing immediate life to the side after he replaced Menez at the half, and even Julio Baptista was thrown into the match in a last-ditch effort to quiet the boos resounding throughout the Olimpico. In the end, nothing worked and i Lupi are left to ponder another defeat to another weaker side. We need to snap out of this and fast.

Bari 2-0 Lazio – Misery loves company. Luckily for Romanisti, Laziali know little else. We weren’t the only team (not even the only team in Rome) to face defeat against a newly-promoted side this weekend – Lazio’s winless streak extends to 7 games as they were defeated handily by i Galletti, who put in a mighty performance at the Stadio San Nicola this evening. Bari went ahead on only 11′ thanks to Paulo Barreto, though they wouldn’t improve upon that lead until the second half, when Riccardo Meggiorini ran onto a ball from Vitaly Kutuzov and shot top corner on 69′. Lazio struggled throughout the manage and did not look capable of bringing themselves back into it – their fate was sealed with just 7 minutes to go when substitute Ousmane Dabo was sent off. Hey Romanisti, at least we’re not Lazio!

Juventus 1-0 Siena – Today Juve once again failed to live up to their billing of Scudetto contenders. With Livorno’s victory over you-know-who, Siena sit absolute rock-bottom in Serie A – yet it took La Vecchia Signora 72 minutes to break down the home side. It would be Brazilian hitman Amauri who finally found the back of the net for a side that doesn’t look nearly good enough to mount a proper Scudetto challenge. All in all, not impressive fare from Ciro Ferrara’s men, but I’m sure they’ll happily take home the 3 points.

Fußball:

Bayern München 2-1 Eintracht – Die Roten were spared embarrassment after a pair of late goals made up for the concession of a surprise lead. Though Louis van Gaal’s side were the more dangerous looking out of the gate, neither side were able to capitalize upon their first-half chances (ever-reliable Luca Toni struck woodwork yet again) and it would be the visiting side who would take the lead on 60′ at the Allianz-Arena when Alexander Meier cut behind Phillip Lahm and finished coolly. It would be substitutions that made the difference for Bayern, with the not-quite-fit Arjen Robben coming on to tap home the equalizer on 70′ and defenseman Daniel Van Buyten sealing victory on 88′ after being subbed on for the struggling Toni. The last-gasp victory should go a ways towards erasing midweek memories of Bordeaux and sees Bayern take 5th place in the Bundesliga.

Incredible, Seydou Keita just scored 3 goals tonight. And Barcelona won comfortably 6-1 against Zaragoza, and now leads the La Liga with three points to Real Madrid!

Fuente: diario As

¡Hola a todos!

Tendrán que inventarse una nueva los ideólogos del Nuevo Imperio Galáctico. Tras el ‘cangelo’, el ‘cagómetro’ y el ‘villarato’, ayer quedó enterrado el ‘cambio de ciclo’. En un partido excelso de Ibrahimovic y Keita, el Barça desarboló al Real Zaragoza (6-1) y volvió a consolidar su liderato con tres puntos respecto al Real Madrid y seis al Sevilla.

BOBADAS Así catalogó Xavi Hernández la última campaña lanzada desde el entorno merengue. Algunos iluminados aseguraban que el Real Madrid era un equipo en construcción -hasta aquí estamos de acuerdo, aunque parece la Sagrada Familia- y el Barça un conjunto en decadencia por el accidente frente al Rubin de Kazán (0-1). Al vestuario blaugrana le sentó como una patada en las gónadas semejante provocación cuando era la primera derrota en trece partidos y seguían líderes en la Liga y en la Champions, además de sumar la Supercopa de Europa y la de España. La realidad del fútbol hizo el resto. Mientras el Barça recuperó su mejor juego y toda su efectividad, el Real Madrid encadenó un 2-3 y un 0-0 para regodeo de sus rivales y escarnio de su parroquia.

IBRACADABRA Josep Guardiola introdujo algunos retoques tácticos, en parte por obligación -lesión de Alves- en parte para darle una vuelta de tuerca al sistema. Mano de santo. Puyol al lateral derecho, Chygrynskiy al eje -Márquez no está para ser titular y volvió al banquillo- y Maxwell a la izquierda. El brasileño jugó sus mejores minutos como blaugrana. En el eje, Busquets por Touré e Iniesta al extremo izquierdo. Keita realizó un encuentro excelso, combinando, llegando al área y marcando nada menos que un ‘hat trick’, el primero de su ya dilatada carrera. Su progresión de un año a otro es descomunal. En cuanto a Ibrahimovic: Marcó goles, le anularon más goles y regaló alguno más. Soberbio. Ya suma siete en la Liga y confirma, partido tras partido, que el cambio por Eto’o fue un gran acierto.

LA CHISPA El Real Zaragoza suele jugar ‘apretado’ en el Camp Nou. Pero eso no quita méritos a un Barça que recuperó su buena dinámica, con una mejor circulación de balón. Ibrahimovic y Messi se entendieron a la perfección a la hora de intercambiar posiciones y generar espacios y el sueco y el argentino combinaron como nunca. Carrizo evitó que el resultado llegara a niveles de escándalo pero hasta Leo, que ya parece desintoxicado del ‘efecto Maradona’, volvió a marcar. Ya suma nueve. En cuanto a Xavi, el segundo capitán volvió por sus fueros y se llevó una ovación de gala en la segunda parte.

EL MADRID Del Real Madrid, ¿qué se puede decir que no esté dicho ya ? Esos que vaticinaron un cambio de ciclo tras la derrota del Barça frente al Rubin Kazán, tendrán que hacer un nuevo ejercicio de voluntarismo e inventarse otra parida. Comprendo que anden un punto desesperados porque su Madrid sigue sin estilo y sin rumbo. 300 millones después siguen en Chamartín a vueltas con el ‘cuadrado mágico’- y los menos corajudos ya se ven venir otro año para olvidar. Manuel Pellegrini pide tranquilidad y tiempo escudándose en las muchas bajas que arrastra. Mientras que a Florentino no le entren las prisas, los demás estamos muy tranquilos…

EL RESTO Meritorio el empate del Espanyol en el Sánchez Pizjuán. Por muchas bajas que tuviera el Sevilla, la trayectoria de los blanquiazules es muy meritoria -cinco partidos sin perder- pese al ‘terremoto Tamudo’. En cambio, el conjunto de Manolo Jiménez parece llevar muy mal las resacas europeas, y eso que en la Champions es imparable. En su línea el Atlético de Madrid pese al cambio de Abel Resino por Quique Sánchez Flores. Nuevo ridículo, esta vez contra el Real Mallorca, pese a salvar un punto. Y reacción del Villarreal que ya gana, aunque sea pidiendo la hora. Veremos si a partir de ahora irá hacia arriba aunque ha perdido mucho terreno en Europa y en la Liga.

¡Hasta Luego!

Más de Fútbol y Barça en Baytardix’s Weblog

FICHA TÉCNICA:

FC Barcelona: Valdés, Puyol, Piqué (Márquez, min.71), Chygrynskiy, Maxwell, Busquets, Xavi (Jeffren, min.82) , Keita, Messi, Ibrahimovic (Bojan, min. 71) e Iniesta.

Real Zaragoza: Carrizo; Pulido, Pablo Amo, Pavon, Paredes, Gabi, Abel Aguilar, Pennant (Lafita, min. 60), Jorge López, Ander Herrera (Franck Songo’o, min.78) yArizmendi (Ewerthon, min. 67).

Árbitro: José Luis Paradas Romero (Comité andaluz). Mostró tarjetas amarillas a Gabi (min. 28) y Abel Aguilar (min. 38).

Goles: 1-0 (min.24) Keita. 2-0 (min.29) Ibrahimovic. 3-0 (min.41) Keita. 4-0 (min.55) Ibrahimovic. 4-1 (min. 77) Jorge López. 5-1 (min. 80) Messi. 6-1 (min. 85) Keita.

Estadio: Camp Nou, 70.000 espectadores. Octava jornada de la Liga española.

Resultados de la Octava Jornada:

Racing 1 – 1 Osasuna
Getafe 2 – 0 Athletic Club
Valladolid 4 – 0 Deportivo
Tenerife 1 – 0 Xerez
Villarreal 2 – 1 Málaga
Almería 0 – 3 Valencia
FC Barcelona 6 – 1 Zaragoza
At. Madrid 1 – 1 Mallorca
Sporting 0 – 0 Real Madrid
Sevilla 0 – 0 Espanyol

Today, let’s start with Seydou Keita, I first acknowleged  his photography work while i was doing a review for an african art exhibition in Brussels.One of his pictures really caught my attention, the picture seemed less to belong to the 60s than a cover for Details magazine in NYC.Young Seydou became fascinated when once his uncles brought him back a camera from a trip Senegal, he started photographing his relatives and fell truly in love for this art.He spent more and more time with Pierre Garnier- a french photographer- who has his own studio.Up until then, whites had had a lot of trouble convincing local population to have their pictures taken, because they were so afraid to lose their identity.This drives him to open his own studio in 1948. With Keita, it’s different: he is one ofthem and permits them to choose their own picture that will be left for the close family.Slowly he develops his own style, in which one finds accents of Mountaga Kouyaté\’s work, an intellectual that fought a bitter personal battle for the independence of Soedan.If we look beyond the aesthetics of the black-and-white pictures, Seydou shows us a portrait of Malinese society in full transition.

Click to see more pictures

]]> http://kiyansobhani.com/2009/09/22/exigency/ Tue, 22 Sep 2009 01:54:01 +0000 kiyansobhani.wordpress.com http://kiyansobhani.com/2009/09/22/exigency/

16 goals for and 2 goals against in 4 games. Yet, it is not good enough. Real Madrid has always been a club with tremendous pressure on their backs. It’s a club where results are not good enough. Games have to be won with absolute style. Following Real Madrid’s 5-0 win over Xerez yesterday coach Pellegrini had this to say about the team’s performance:

“We didn’t play well as a team, especially in the first 20 minutes. Perhaps we were too confident after the first goal”

“I am happy because we won 5-0 but leaving aside the result we did not play well,” he told Marca.

“We must keep improving. Every game is different. We had a good end to the first half but maybe we were too confident after the first goal.

“We improved in the second half and got the goals but we should have been better in possession,” Pellegrini added.

Pellegrini gets to play against his former club on Wednesday when ‘Los Merengues’ travel to El Madrigal to play against Villareal. For the rest of this post I have collected some nice stuff for you from the weekend. Highlights of the Real Madrid game, highlights of Atletico Madrid getting their annual ass-whopping from Barca, and highlights from the crazy Manchester derby:

Barcelona 5-2 Atletico Madrid

And this is the incredible finish in the Manchester derby on the weekend. From the 89th minute on. Sorry about the poor quality, but it’s about as much as youtube has on right now. It’s a must watch:

i

I’m just going to get right into it today:

Calcio:

Juventus 2-0 AS Livorno – Four in a row for Juve – Ciro Ferrara’s men just keep on rolling, and newly-promoted Livorno couldn’t do anything to stop it. That’s not to say that l’Amaranto were helpless in Saturday’s match in Torino, but two first-half goals and another superhuman performance from Gianluigi Buffon were enough to see Juventus take three points away from the fixture. Vincenzo Iaquinta and Claudio Marchisio both appeared on the scoresheet for i Bianconeri, who now sit tied atop the table and two points clear of bitter rivals Inter.

Inter 2-1 Cagliari – Speaking of Inter, the reigning scudetto champions came from behind to win away at Cagliari this evening, largely thanks to a certain Argentine. I Nerazzurri went behind early in the match after Maicon got a little rough in the box with Alessandro Matri and Jeda converted the ensuing spot kick on 16′. Gli Isolani managed to hold their lead for the better part of an hour, but in the 52nd minute a gross defensive error saw the tides turn as Diego Milito capitalized on Cagliari’s mistake. Just four minutes later, Cagliari’s luck would worsen as the Argentine took advantage of a long ball and beat Federico Marchetti once more to put his side ahead. The slim lead would prove to be enough for La Beneamata (and I use that nickname with all due sarcasm) who take three points home to Milan this evening. However, it was not all smooth sailing for Jose Mourinho’s side, as Cagliari regained their confidence midway through the second half and youngster Daniele Dessena should have equalized on two seperate occasions. Mourinho himself had a mixed bag of a night, celebrating wildly upon Milito’s second goal but being sent off the bench just minutes later for complaining about a decision regarding Mario Balotelli – he would watch the remainder of the game from the stands. All in all, not an overly convincing victory for Inter – but a victory nonetheless.

AC Milan 1-0 Bologna – It seems that all of Milano will be celebrating tonight, as the Rossoneri managed to grab a late win at home in the San Siro this evening. Despite starting the match positively enough and retaining possession for the majority of the play, it took Milan 75 minutes to finally break down Bologna and take a deserved lead. That lead came via Clarence Seedorf, who once again proved that old dogs don’t need to learn new tricks – just be really good at the ones they know. The (flying?) Dutchman came barrelling up the wing, and finding no one to pass to, instead turned defender Andrea Raggi inside out and fired home himself. Bologna looked close to a late equalizer on a 30-yard bullet from Nicola Mingazzini in the 87th minute, but a spectacular save from Marco Storari ensured that Milan got the three points they were due.

Udinese 0-0 Napoli – Another case of the scoreline not telling the full story as both sides created more than their fair share of chances in highly spirited match at the Stadio San Paolo. Perhaps the closest of all of these was Antonio Di Natales’s wrongly disallowed goal (he was definitely on-side), doubly notable because the striker showed his class by not celebrating (he didn’t realize it had been disallowed) out of respect to his Neapolitan heritage. In truth, Napoli looked the stronger side going forward, but were unable to beat Samir Handanovic, who worked miracles between the uprights for le Zebrette. All in all an entertaining draw – neither side should be overly disappointed with the result as both could have gone behind on innumerable spurned chances from the other.

AS Roma 3-1 Fiorentina – Oh no, no, no – this one gets its own article.

Football:

The next Maradona? Somehow, I doubt it.

Arsenal 4-0 Wigan Athletic – Arsenal have bounced back from last week’s loss away in Manchester to trounce Wigan in an impressive performance at the Emirates. The home side’s four goals came from Eduardo and Cesc Fabregas, who netted one apiece, and Thomas Vermaelen who bagged a brace and put in a man-of-the-match performance. However, none of these goals could compete with what was undoubtedly the most memorable event in the match – Emmanuel Eboue’s Diego Maradona impression. Eboue was booked for deliberately striking the ball with his hand in attempt to score a Maradona-esque goal for the home side – an attempt which has some outraged (though not the Gunner support, who applauded him off the pitch after he was substituted in the 73rd minute). It’s not the first time the Ivorian has been booked for actions of an unsportsmanlike manner, as he was booked earlier in the season for diving when Arsenal faced Manchester United. What the game means for Arsenal is clear – three points – but what it means for Eboue is a little less certain. Cheatin’ bastard.

Manchester Utd 4-3 Manchester City - This, friends, is what a derby should be. It was truly one for the ages; a goal-fest in which the two teams competed as equals for perhaps the first time, Carlos Tevez was roundly booed by the Old Trafford faithful, and United’s winning goal was scored by a former Liverpool legend. Wayne Rooney gave his side an early lead on 2′, Gareth Barry equalized on 16′, Darren Fletcher twice gave his side the lead only to have Craig Bellamy twice equalize minutes later (including a 90th minute equalizer), and Michael Owen played the unlikely role of hero for United with a goal that came in the 95th minute of play. Sir Alex Ferguson and Mark Hughes have been engaged in a sort of war of words lately, and while Fergie will no doubt be happy to rub the loss in his opposite’s face, Hughes shouldn’t be too displeased with his side, who proved to be more-than-worthy opponents for the reigning EPL champions even without the suspended Emmanuel Adebayor. A derby to remember, and (though City fans will beg to differ) a good day for United and City fans alike.

Chelsea 3-0 Tottenham Hotspur – Judgement day for the Spurs – it was a second chance after losing to United, an opportunity to test their mettle against Champions League-level competitors and see if they could beat Chelsea at home for the first time in 20 years (give or take). Spoiler alert: They couldn’t. Tottenham went on the attack early, with Wilson Palacios and Jermaine Jena attempting to test Petr Cech early from range, but their efforts proved fruitless. Chelsea’s retaliation was swift, as Jose Bosingwa and Nicolas Anelka poured on the pressure down the right flank – though the opening goal would eventually come from the left, as Didier Drogba’s cross found the head of Ashley Cole and beat Carlo Cudicini. Chelsea would go into the half up one goal – but they weren’t done yet. When the two teams returned, Michael Ballack and Didier Drogba would double and triple Chelsea’s lead, respectively, in a furious span of 5 minutes. The Spurs would be unable to fight their way back into it, and while Carlo Ancelotti will be pleased with his players’ performance, one can be sure that Harry Redknapp’s men will be getting an earful as they return to the Lilywhite half of London tonight.

Liverpool 3-2 West Ham – Liverpool came out on top of a hotly contested match that saw West Ham twice come from behind to equalize and Fernando Torres twice give his side the lead with a brace that would ultimately win the game for the Scousers. Dirk Kuyt also netted for the Reds, while Carlton Cole and new signing Alessandro Diamanti each netted for West Ham. The first half of the match was energetic and fast-paced, with West Ham’s Zavon Hines impressing – though he should have put his side ahead early after Jamie Carragher committed a calamitous error – essentially offering the ball up on the edge of the ‘Pool box. In the second half the tempo slowed inevitably, though it remained a closely-fought match and Liverpool will feel happy (and perhaps a bit fortunate) to have won it.

Fußball:

VfL Wolfsburg 2-1 Schalke 04 – A brace from Edin Dzeko saw the reigning Bundesliga champs rise above hopeful contenders Schalke and the manager who took them to the title – Felix Magath. Magath left Wolfsburg last year for greener pastures after the club was crowned German football champions for the first time in its history. The scoring didn’t open until the 55th minute, when and unmarked Dzeko headed a perfect cross from Sascha Riether into the net. Magath’s side thought they had equalized in the 80th minute thanks to a strike from Benedikt Höwedes – only for Dzeko to restore the lead less than a minute later, finishing superbly on another well-placed cross. Wolfsburg parked the bus for the last nine minutes of the game, ensuring that Schalke could not get back into it and grab a share of the points.

Choupo-Moting - sounds German, right?

Bayern Münich 2-1 Nürnberg – Die Roten continued their fiery run of form, although the first half that didn’t really get started until 20 minutes in and Bayern did not really hit their stride until the half-hour mark. However, the second half would produce more results, as Ivica Olic game the home side the lead on 55′ minutes. After scoring the opener just Bayern maintained control of possession, but did not apply overt amounts of pressure on the Nürnberg goal. After falling behind, the visitors introduced German U-21 star Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting to instant effect, as the youngster caused Bayern’s back line all sorts of trouble, and showed a knack for getting behind defenses – he would equalize for his side on 73′ after doing just that. However, Bayern weren’t going to settle for anything less than a win, and it would be Daniel van Buyten who would put his side ahead less than ten minutes later (with less than ten minutes left). His effort would be enough to see his side take full points at the Allianz-Arena and keep their winning streak – and their confidence in the title race – intact.

Futbol:

Barcelona 5-2 Atlético Madrid – Barcelona beat los Colchoneros by a wide margin despite strikes from the deadly duo of Diego Forlan and Sergio Aguero. Unfortunately for Atléti, the entirety of Barca’s squad seemed deadly last night, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Daniel Alves, Seydou Keita and Lionel Messi all appearing on the scoresheet. It was never an even match, as Barca went up 4-0 before Aguero and Forlan would pull two back for their side. Messi’s extra time goal in the 93rd minute would finish his brace and finish Atlético, who simply could not withstand the might of the Spanish champions.

Real Madrid 5-0 Xerez – Madrid’s other team fared much better this weekend, with Los Merengues stomping all over Andalucian squad Xerez – who are appearing in La Liga’s Primera division for the first time in their club’s history. Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring for his side in the first minute – though they would not improve upon their one-goal lead until the 74th minute, when CR9 would net again. This opened the floodgate for Los Blancos, with Guti, Karim Benzema and Ruud van Nistelrooy all joining Ronaldo on the scoresheet in the game’s final minutes. This was clearly a case of a little fish in a big pond – a pond called the Bernabéu in which little fish are caught, gutted, and fried.

Fuente: Diario SPORT

¡Hola a todos!

Misión cumplida del Barça frente al Sporting con un triunfo holgado (3-0) tras una faena de aliño. El conjunto blaugrana no deslumbró pero sí que dominó el duelo de cabo a rabo y, por encima de todo cumplió con el objetivo: sumar los tres puntos cuando existía el peligro de tropezar por el cansancio y la relajación.

OTRO NIVEL El ‘Pep team’ no ofreció el nivel de juego de otras noches. Ausencias como las de Messi e Iniesta son demasiado importantes como para que el equipo demuestre la coordinación y el ritmo de circulación de pelota que le caracterizan. Sin embargo, el tricampeón demostró una vez más que mientras recupera la precisión y la espectacularidad, mantiene intactas la capacidad de trabajo y la pegada. Tumbó a un ilusionado Sporting en dos jugadas de estrategia, sendos córners.

LO MEJOR El aspecto más positivo de la victoria fue que Ibrahimovic, por fin, acertó con la portería rival. Zlatan pareció un poco más acelerado que en otras ocasiones, un tanto obsesionado con marcar y complacer a la afición. Es lo peor que le puede pasar a un delantero. Seguro que a partir de ahora, paulatinamente, acabará de acoplarse. El mejor ejemplo, Bojan. Se pasó casi toda la pasada campaña penando hasta que volvió a golear. Lo consiguió en la recta final y ha empezado este curso de la mejor manera. Y el otro destacado: Seydou Keita. Espectacular partido el suyo, desplegándose por todo el campo y desequilibrando arriba. Asistió el primero, marcó el segundo y aún envió otro remate al poste.

LO PEOR Por supuesto, las lesiones de Maxwell y Bojan. La plantilla es excelente en cuanto a calidad pero un tanto corta en número de efectivos y acumular dos bajas más cuando acaba de arrancar la Liga es un mal negocio. El parón de selecciones, esta vez, le irá bien a Pep Guardiola para acabar de recuperar a Iniesta y Márquez y para que no afecten en gran medida las lesiones de Bojan y Maxwell. Pero es un problema a vigilar.

EL DETALLE De Guardiola, impecable. El Sporting se ofreció a hacerle el pasillo al Barça por los dos títulos conquistados la pasada semana. Pep dijo que ‘nanai’, que esto acaba de empezar para andarse a estas alturas con homenajes. Nadie podrá decir que en el vestuario de Can Barça se permite la autocomplacencia. Ahora, que regresen todos de las selecciones de una pieza.

¡Hasta luego!

Ficha técnica:

FC Barcelona: Valdés, Alves, Puyol, Piqué (Fontàs, Min. 83), Maxwell (Abidal, Min. 56), Busquets, Xavi, Keita, Pedro, Ibrahimovic y Bojan (Jeffren, Min.80).

Sporting: Juan Pablo, Sastre, Botía, Gregory, Canella, De las Cuevas (Maldonado, Min. 71), Míchel, D. Camacho (Clic, Min. 57), D. Castro (José Angel, Min. 76), Rivera y Barral.

Arbitro: Ramírez Domínguez (Andaluz). Mostró tarjetas a Barral (Min. 26) y Rivera (Min. 76).

Goles: 1-0, Min. 17, Bojan. 2-0, Min. 42, Keita. 3-0, Min. 82, Ibrahimovic.

Estadio: Camp Nou. 71.993 espectadores. Partido correspondiente a la primera jornada de la Liga española.

Acaba de empezar la pretemporada y creo que el vigente campeón se merece una entrada. Aunque sea el máximo rival del Madrid, un triplete no se ve todos los días.

Bueno para empezar, diremos que gran parte del mérito es debido al entrenador Pep Guardiola que al principio levanto sus dudas que posteriormente serían aplacadas contundentemente.

Empezando con la copa de S.M. el Rey que gracias a las buenas rotaciones que hizo Pep el Barcelona ganó sin armar mucho revuelo.
La liga se desarrollo de forma muy interesante. Solo “peligró” al final y lo pongo entre comillas por la reducción de puntos que luego volvió a incrementarse hasta quedar en nueve punto.
La última competición fue la champions con una final rara para mi, pero con un final feliz para los culés.

Me gustaría destacar sobre todo el conjunto que formó el Barcelona para conseguir este logro deportivo, con fichajes buenos y baratos (no todos) aunque la suma no es excesiva. De los fichajes los más rentables fueron Daniel Alves, Seydou Keita y Gerard Piqué. El primero indispensable para el engranaje del proyecto como escudero de Messi, el segundo como un recambio que puede ocupar cualquier posición en el centro del campo y el último sufrió una gran transición debido a la cantidad de minutos que obtuvo debido a las lesiones de sus compañeros.
Los peores fichajes fueron Cáceres y Hleb, el primero por la imposibilidad de contar con minutos y continuidad. El segundo no entendí para que lo trajeron, para colmo fue eclipsado totalmente por dos supuestos secundarios que iban detrás de él en las rotaciones como eran Keita y Sergio Busquets. A este último me gustaría remarcarlo, ya que espero que espero que forme parte importante como principal suplente tanto de Xabi como de Iniesta.

Bueno, como último punto me gustaría destacar la actualidad del Barcelona. Con dos salidas como la de Sylvinho y Gudjohnsen el Barcelona ha reforzado la banda izquierda con Maxwell y el centro del campo permanecerá como el año pasado.
El intercambio de Ibrahimovic por Eto’o refuerza la dirección en el banquillo de Guardiola que deseaba fuera al camerunés desde el año pasado.
Personalmente prefiero a Samuel ya que es un jugador que posee una gran velocidad y una explosividad que pocos tienen. El futuro dictará si el traspaso del Barcelona fue acertado o no.

Espero que les guste y que opinen del tema, Saludos.

Everytime I review Seydou Keita’s work (link on the right), I pause for a moment in this particular image (left), one of the many portraits taken by Mali’s most famous photographer who worked during his country’s ‘late colonial period’. Keita made available to his customers a variety of props, clothes and background cloths, creating beautiful black and white portraits such as this. The African boy stands straight up, serious, hands on bike, looking solemnly into the camera while his image is frozen in time. The French beret, stripped shirt, the bike, all give the little boy that stereotypical French look, denouncing whose colonial possession Mali was. But it’s on the boy’s legs that my eyes end up always focusing. Dusty, they catch the spectator’s attention as if revealing that unexpected instance that Roland Barthes called the punctum, a detail that bruises and is poignant to the observer. A photographer’s accident? An indicator of this little spectrum’s boyhood? Or simply, a detail left to remind us of the condition of subalternity that, regardless of the European attirement, this boy’s skin colour had destined him to?

///

Sempre que revejo o trabalho de Seytou Keita (ver link a direita), paro por alguns instantes nesta imagem (acima), um dos muitos retratos do mais famoso fotógrafo do Mali, que trabalhou no ‘período colonial tardio’ do seu país. Keita disponibilizava para seus clientes uma variedade de props, roupas e panos de fundo, criando belissímos retratos a preto e branco como este. O garoto Africano posa em sentido, sério, mãos na bicicleta, olhando solenemente para a câmara, enquanto a sua imagem é gravada para a posteridade. Boina Francesa, t-shirt às riscas, bicicleta, tudo dá a este garoto o ar estereotipado atribuído ao Francês, denunciando quem era o possessor colonial do Mali. Mas são as pernas do garoto que sempre atraem meu olhar. Empoeiradas, elas captam a atenção como que revelando aquele instante inesperado a que Roland Barthes chamou de punctum, um detalhe que fere e aguça os sentidos do observador. Um acidente do fotógrafo? Um indicator da ‘rapazice’ deste pequeno espectro? Ou simlesmente um detalhe que não nos deixa esquecer a condição subalterna à qual, apesar da vestimenta, este garoto foi destinado pela cor de sua pele?

I will be spending the next five weeks in Sarasota, Florida where I will be holding an internship at a local newspaper, The Observer (www.yourobserver.com). Throughout my time in Sarasota, I will also be conducting a first round of interviews which will be the beginning of my field research and which will, as I foresee it at this point, constitute a large part of my project. I call these interviews, but I hope that what they will really be is conversations. I will be speaking with residents of the Sarasota, Florida community about many ideas, specifically the concepts of community and their personal perceptions regarding their own communities, country, and the continent of Africa.

I will also be presenting a few photographs to the people that I speak with in order to deepen the conversation and in order to gain responses to different visual images. The photographs that I have selected are intended to, on some level, represent or reflect an aspect of a certain culture or community, specifically “Africa” and “America.” I have posted the photographs that I have selected below along with a little information about each of the photographers who created the images. Because much of my project focuses on the different perspectives of both “looking in” and “looking out,” I decided to choose two different photographers for each community/culture—one who is a part of that community or culture and one who is not. I am very interested to see if this difference between the artists has any effect on my research or the conversations that I have with the people that I speak with.

It is my hope that through these conversations I will begin to understand and form an idea of what constitutes community—in this case, by geographic location and what this location creates or implies for its residents. By learning more about community and by using Sarasota as a case study for this research, I will be able to further my research and personal experience with the concepts of perspective, community connection, and the ideas of “looking out” and “looking in.”

Because this summer is the first time that I will be conversing with anyone as part of my field research and because these are the first images that I have selected, I really have no idea how things may go. I chose these specific photographs because I think that they vary greatly and will evoke a wide range of thoughts, ideas, responses, and emotions. Some of them are fairly loaded in terms of the symbols that are included (i.e. the gun in “Morton, Mississippi” and the American flag in “Fourth of July”) and depending on the responses that I get from the people that I speak with, this may be positive, negative or both. I have the option of changing which photographs I present to future participants in my research and will have to gauge this depending on how this first round of interviews goes.

I have posted these photographs so that you can see what work I will be doing, but also so that you can reply with your own responses to the images. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE do so!! I am so interested to hear what you have to say about the images that I have selected because the more voices, the better and because this can greatly help me in determining which direction I take my interviews in, in the future. I have numbered the photographs so feel free to refer to them by either number or title. Each photograph is a link to more information about the respective photographer–some are just Wikipedia pages, but it’s a start to a brief introduction.

Thank you!

#1 "Morton, Mississippi," 1969--William Eggleston

found at artstor.org

#2 "Fourth of July," 1954--Robert Frank

found at arstor.org

#3 "Untitled #313," 1956-57--Seydou Keita

found at metmuseum.org

#4 "Hotel Afrique," Ethiopia, 2004--Stuart Franklin

found at artstor.org

]]> http://paulabauab.wordpress.com/2009/07/11/o-descobrimento-do-ja-descoberto/ Sat, 11 Jul 2009 23:16:46 +0000 Jelïza Röse http://paulabauab.wordpress.com/2009/07/11/o-descobrimento-do-ja-descoberto/

Recentemente descobri oq já foi descoberto faz tempo: a fotografia africana; mais precisamente a fotografia do Mali, de uma cidade que chama Bakamo.

Existem dois fotógrafos de lá que são praticamente da mesma época. Um é Seydou Keita (1921-2001), ele ganhou sua primeira câmera de seu tio e começou a fotografar. Ele teve contato com um dono de estúdio de fotografia que o emprestou a câmara escura e o ensinou a fazer tratamentos de imagens. Uma curiosidade é que em 1950 ele ainda não tinha tido nenhum contato com nenhum fotógrafo e  nenhuma fotografia a não ser a dele. Foi o primeiro a usar cenários e adereços nas suas fotografias.  É considerado um dos melhores retratistas p&b. Resolveu parar de fotografar quando a máquina assumiu o papel do fotógrafo.

Seydou Keita

O outro é Malick Sidibé (1936-  ), ele ainda esta vivo! E esta colhendo os frutos dos seus excelentes retratos agora. Acabou de ganhar o prêmio PhotoEspaña em 2008. Não achei muita coisa dele na internet, mas o que importa são as FOTOSSS!

Malick Sidibe

Bom dá pra perceber que eles tem muita coisa em comum, acho que pela época que as fotos foram feitas, afinal o Mali é de colonização francesa a partir dos anos 40 eles foram adquirindo as identidade dos seus colonizadores, ou seja, foram afrancesando de uma maneira africana. Eu realmente não sei se os fotógrafos se conheceram, pelo menos não encontrei relatos na internet. As fotos são realmente boas, vale a pena pesquisar mais.

                                                                                                                                                   ……………………………………..   ………………………Soundtrack: King Tubby

Manchester United and Barcelona will battle Wednesday for the UEFA Champions League trophy.

Cristiano Ronaldo vs. Lionel Messi seems to be leading the discussion in the build up to Wednesday’s UEFA Champions League Final, but there are so many interesting things to look at with this match up. We’re lucky as fans to see a match between two teams who have just been crowned champions of their domestic leagues and who have enjoyed a season where they’ve both won just about everything on offer.

Please, share your thoughts. Who do you think will win? Will the Ronaldo vs. Messi match up live up to the hype? If not, who or what will decide the game?

What startles me about this match is that I don’t expect it to be an offensive affair, a startling point given both teams’ attacking records. Despite the strength of Manchester United’s and Barcelona’s midfields and front lines, I think this game will be decided at the other end, as the old cliched championship winner, defense, comes into play once again.

Let’s be honest, after all: It’s just about impossible to choose between these two teams offensively. The speed and ball-handling skills of Cristiano Ronaldo is matched perfectly by Lionel Messi; Xavi and Andres Iniesta’s control over the midfield is mirrored by Paul Scholes and whoever partners him; Thierry Henry’s grace and finishing seems a reflection of Dimitar Berbatov’s, just as Wayne Rooney’s brute force and hunger up top is matched by Samuel Eto’o. As I look for an area where one team stands out over the other, the only part of the pitch I can point to is the defensive end.

It’s there that I believe Manchester United hold an edge over Barcelona, and it’s the composure of Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand that I think will tip the match to the Red Devils. Barcelona tomorrow will suffer from the absence of three regular defensive starters: Rafael Marquez is injured, and Dani Alves and Eric Abidal are suspended. Pep Guardiola’s defensive depth will be challenged at these spots Wednesday night, as I expect Sylvinho to take over at left back and Martin Caceras to stand in at right back. In the center, I expect Gerard Pique to start once again.

Sir Alex Ferguson, on the other hand, has to choose which defender to leave out. John O’Shea played very well against Arsenal, but he could find himself on the bench if Fergie opts for the pace of the young Rafael. Similarly, Jonathan Evans could capably take the place of Rio Ferdinand should the Englishman lose his race for fitness at the last hurdle.

Here’s a look at how I expect both teams to line up, and what I expect can be gained or lost by the lineup.

Manchester United

Goalkeeper: Edwin van der Sar
Defense (L-R): Patrice Evra, Nemanja Vidic, Rio Ferdinand, John O’Shea
Midfield (L-R): Ji Sung Park, Anderson, Paul Scholes, Michael Carrick, Cristiano Ronaldo
Forward: Wayne Rooney

I don’t expect Ferguson to go for the throat straight away against Barcelona. Last year, they beat them 1-0 over two legs in the Champions League by waiting patiently for their chances to come. I don’t think Ferguson’s side will shell up the way Chelsea did, but I look for them to launch quick counter attacks like they did against Arsenal. Ferguson’s side is clinical, and two or three good scoring chances can easily turn into two or three goals. Just ask Arsenal.

The choice of five midfielders will also help Manchester United limit Barcelona’s passing game. Barca are good at finding picking teams apart, but cluttering the midfield, especially with the combative Carrick, Anderson and Scholes will throw Xavi and Iniesta off their game, and that’s half the battle to shutting down Eto’o and Henry. Cristiano Ronaldo will be a winger on paper only, and I expect he’ll be all over the field as he typically is. This will lead to a lot of overlap down the right side as O’Shea and Carrick come forward to provide crosses into Barca’s penalty area. As for Park, Ferguson knows what to expect from the Korean, and I have no doubt that Park will play his heart out after being left out of last year’s final. Should United find itself behind, this midfield is flexible enough to change formations, as Ronaldo could move up top and Park or Anderson could be exchanged for an attacking player like Nani or a forward like Carlos Tevez or Berbatov.

It’s clear from United’s European approach the past couple seasons that Ferguson believes waiting for his chances is the best approach, and this lineup strongly promotes that ideal. The weakest link in it, I think, is John O’Shea, who could find himself lacking for pace should Messi find himself drifting to Barcelona’s left wing. Still, the contrast between the speed of Evra and the size of O’Shea could make the game very difficult for Barcelona’s pivotal Argentine.

Barcelona

Goalkeeper: Victor Valdes
Defense (L-R): Sylvinho, Gerard Pique, Carles Puyol, Martin Caceras
Midfield (L-R): Seydou Keita, Andres Iniesta, Xavi
Forwards (L-R): Thierry Henry, Samuel Eto’o, Lionel Messi

The attack-minded 4-3-3 has been Guardiola’s friend all year long, and his team has scored more than 100 goals in La Liga. Barcelona will need to do better to create shots on goal than they did against Chelsea, when it took 92 minutes to finally get one on target. If Manchester United packs the box on defense as I suspect they will, the burden will again fall on the midfield to hit long-range shots. If Barca can create some space to work in, this lineup has five people who could create a lot of trouble for van der Sar and Man U’s defense. Playing the left-footed Messi on the right and the right-footed Henry on the left could also create some trouble for Manchester United’s defense, as cuts inside put Barcelona’s wingers in prime position to either shoot or pass with their preferred foots.

Still, the most important issue for Barcelona is the makeshift defense’s ability to cope with Manchester United’s counter attacks. Sylvinho will have the unfortunate task of marking Ronaldo. By no means do I mean to imply that Barca’s defense is bad. In fact, it is the best in La Liga this season. Nonetheless, the Catalans will have to be perfect when they’re putting men behind the ball. Keep in mind, Barcelona essentially bunkered down at Stamford Bridge in the semifinals, gave up 13 shots and barely escaped. Pique is the weak link in the back to me, as Barcelona should have paid the price against Chelsea for some of his and Puyol’s poor play. I’m sure he’ll be excited to play against his old team on such a big stage, but I think that could also unsteady him.

Prediction

Despite how closely matched these teams are, I think Manchester United will win this match. To me, the Red Devils can control a match from the back moving forward far more effectively than Barcelona can. They have the ability to hit on quick counters in addition to being able to hold possession for long spells to build an attack. More than anything, though, I think Manchester United have the ability to fight back if it comes to it. If Ferguson’s men score first, I do believe the game will be over, but I can’t say the same for Barcelona. At the final whistle, I expect Barcelona to look back on a few great chances and rue not converting them.

Manchester United 1, Barcelona 0