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Sylvinho returns to England

August 24th, 2009

Brazilian defender Sylvinho, who helped Barcelona clinch the Treble last year has agreed to play for Manchester City this year. Although it’s a free transfer, and the contract is for only a year, signing Sylvinho gives City the much needed experience in their defense. City had already signed the likes of Tevez from Manchester United, Adebayor and Toure from Arsenal and Gareth Barry from Aston Villa. These signings makes City’s attack dangerous but this wasn’t enough until they add some experience in their defense, and Sylvinho certainly fits in perfectly.

The last match Sylvinho played for Barca was the Champions League final against English champions Manchester United. Sylvinho played the full 90 minutes of the game and saw him tackling the likes of Ronaldo, Rooney, Berbatov and Tevez effectively. Sylvinho has already played in England. In 1999 he joined Arsenal, and became the first Brazilian to do so. He did well the first season but eventually lost his place to Ashley Cole, the next season. This made him leave the club in 2001 for a Spanish second division Celta Di Vigo before joining Barcelona in 2004.

Manchester City now looks a complete team which has a mix of creativity and experience in their players. It all depends on Mark Hughes now to get the best out of his players and ensure that Sylvinhos addition is used to optimum. Everyone will be waiting to see how well the team gets along now and what newer moves they can try having signed on a strong name in defense.

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Posted in Arsenal, Barcelona, Champions League, Manchester City, Premier League

Arsenal v Celtic – Champions League Play-off 2nd Leg

August 24th, 2009

Arsenal host Scottish Premier League giants Celtic at the Emirates Stadium this coming Wednesday evening for the second leg of their Champions League play-off match, with the Gunners enjoying a two goal advantage from the first leg.

This so-called “Battle of Britain” play-off tie had all the ingredients laid out for a tasty treat, but the first leg at Celtic Park in Glasgow last week turned out anything but. Although it took two rather fortuitous goals for the London side to earn their victory, the Scots never really offered anything in return, bar a couple of half-hearted chances.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was rightly delighted with the way his team coped with the intimidating Celtic Park atmosphere at the start of the match, reducing the Glasgow din to a mere murmur the longer the game progressed.

In the lead up to this coming Wednesday evening’s game, both Arsenal and Celtic enjoyed convincing victories in their domestic league campaigns – Arsenal dispatching Portsmouth 4-1 at the Emirates, while Celtic saw off hapless St. Johnstone 5-2 at Celtic Park. With Arsenal also facing Manchester United in the league next weekend, Arsene Wenger will be sweating over the fitness of captain Cesc Fabregas who failed to return for the second half of the Pompey game due to a hamstring problem.

His participation on Wednesday evening’s game against Celtic is in serious doubt but apart from that the team have no other worries. Celtic manager Tony Mowbray has no injury worries ahead of the game in London.

Watch The Match Live!

Click Here To Watch Arsenal v Celtic Live

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Posted in Arsenal, Celtic, Champions League, Football Fixtures, Football Pre Match Review, General

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Christiano Ronaldo: Bernabeu going to be his next stop ?

June 22nd, 2008

After a long debate over the future of Manchester United winger Christiano Ronaldo, it was revealed by him that he made a decision to move from the ‘Stadium of Dreams’ even before the final of Champions League to the Bernabeu. However, he did not reveal it so that the preparation of his side for the big game was not hampered.

According to a report in The Sun, it was confirmed that the Portuguese Star made his decision for realizing the dream of Dolores, his mother, who wanted her son to play in the Los Merengues, before the Red Devils defeated Chelsea for the crown.

Most experts feel that this will be a huge loss to the Red Devils, if and when he decides to move to Real Madrid. However, after yesterday’s comments on their refusal for putting him up for sale, this statement of Ronaldo could throw disappointment for his Scottish Coach Sir Alex Ferguson and his men. Sources even told that that the Scot and the Portuguese winger were going to have a meeting (one-on-one confrontation) in a short time for discussing his future with the club.

During an interview after Portuguese loss to the Germans, Ronaldo said that it was his national coach Scolari, who advised him to move to Madrid when he was playing an international friendly for his country. However, he cleared that although he will release a statement in a couple of days time in Old Trafford (where he will be having a surgery on his foot) about his personal viewpoint, his future is in the hand of others rather then his own.

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Posted in Champions League, Football Transfer Market, General, Man U, Real Madrid, UEFA Cup

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EURO 2008 | Greece Vs Spain

June 20th, 2008

 Greece Vs Spain: Another last minute goal wins it for Spain

June 18 2008. EURO 2008 has been studded with teams showing attacking instincts for overpowering others and marching into the quarters. The one team, which lacked that instinct and eventually failed to qualify for the next stage, was the Champions from the previous edition of European Championships, Greece.

With defeats against Sweden and Russia, they were already knocked out of the competition and looking to salvage some pride in their final league game against Group D leader, Spain. Spanish side was riding on a majority of changes with only one player, Andres Iniesta, in the playing eleven, who played in the ties against Swedes and the Russians. Again, Greek Coach, Otto Rehhagel, also came up with a new look side from their previous two games.

Luis Aragones Spanish Side started the game with their usual flair and attack, as they dominated the early part of the game with the ball sitting in Greek half. However, the former Champions struck back with a spirited performance and it was three minutes from the first half when Charisteas went past Spanish Keeper on the night, Jose Reina, to hand his team with a 1-0 lead going into the second half.

Aragones resisted the temptation of bringing in his star players with his side a goal behind and his players on the field did him justice. Xabi Alonso, skipper for the night, came close of equalizing, as he hit the bar just after resuming. However, the equalizer came from De La Red, who shot past Nikopolidis (playing his last game). After a scintillating second half, the winner came from leading scorer of La Liga, Dani Guiza, who headed a goal just couple of minutes from the end making it 2-1 for Spain and ending any hopes of retribution for Greek Side.

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Posted in Champions League, EURO 2008, General, UEFA Cup

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EURO2008 – Sweden Vs Russia

June 19th, 2008

 Sweden Vs Russia: Dutchman Hiddinks side set for a faceoff against Dutch in EURO Quarters

June 18 2008. The final major encounter in the group stages of EURO 2008 was going to be another slobber knocker, as Russians faced off against the Swedish side. With a narrow victory against group leaders Spain last time around, Sweden only needed a point to prove and a draw world have been enough for them to qualify. Simultaneously, with a win over European Champions Greece, Russia was all set to put yet another determined effort for booking their own place in the quarters.

Russians were on top of their game from the onset. They used a similar strategy with Roman Pavluychenko, which got them past the defense of resilient English side last October in the European Qualifiers. Striker, Pavluychenko, opened the scoring for Russians early in the first half with a goal in the 24th minute missing the efforts of Swedish keeper Andreas Isaksson. Although there were efforts from Ibrahimovic & Ljunberg, still the first half belonged to the Russians with side being a goal ahead

It felt like a mismatch in most part of the game with Russians running away with the tie and looked to end it in the first half only. It was only to some brilliance from Isaksson that Hiddink’s men were not able to score more than a brace. However within five minutes of the restart, Arshavin, who returned to the side after a suspension, scored the second goal for the Russians and ended it for the Swedes. Russian attack was so promising on the night that they could have scored more than the final score line 2-0. It was only the woodwork that saved them from scoring in the final minute.

Now, Dutchman Hiddink’s Russian side will face off against the might of Van Basten’s Netherlands in what is going to be an eagerly anticipated match of the tournament.

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Posted in Champions League, EURO 2008, General, UEFA Cup

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2008 UEFA Champions League Final – Manchester united vs Chelsea: Match of the Year

June 9th, 2008

2008 UEFA Champions League Final – Manchester united vs Chelsea: Match of the Year

UEFA Champions League is believed to be the greatest football tournament of Europe with the best clubs of all European countries fighting it out for claiming the top spot in the continent. This year, two of the best clubs in UK and probably Europe, Manchester United and Chelsea, fought in the final at Moscow.

This was yet another enthralling encounter between these two giants, who had saw each other thrice before this match and were even on all grounds. With the Premier League in their pocket and an impressive outing in the Champions, Manchester United had the advantage. Still, Chelsea was not going to surrender easy

Manchester United dominated the first half with Christiano Ronaldo scoring within 30 minutes. However, Chelsea struck back with a goal from Frank Lampard going pass the outstretched hands of Edwin Van der Sar in the late moments.

Second half saw the United defense tumbling and the tide turned towards Chelsea for most parts. There were many opportunities missed by the latter, which could have sealed the game. However, the game moved into extra time with both teams tied 1-1.

It was visible that the situation was tensed in extra time and when Carlos Tevez through the ball out of hands, situation went out of hand. In a heated confrontation, Didier Drogba, star Chelsea striker, slapped Nemanja Vidic and was sent off. This was the probable turning point of the game, as he had been responsible for a late strike in another encounter between the two.

With no result possible even in extra time, the match went down to penalty shootouts and when Christiano Ronaldo missed a penalty, it spelled doom for United. However, with courageous goalkeeping by Van der Sar, who saved shots from John Terry, Mr. Chelsea, and Nicholas Anelka, along with brilliant penalties taken from United players, they did the inevitable and became the Champions of both UK and Europe.

Although United won, football, as a sport, was victorious. There is no doubt that until now, it is the ‘Match of the Year’.

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Posted in Champions League, Chelsea FC, EURO 2008, General, Man U, UEFA Cup

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Euro 2008 Update

June 8th, 2008

 Euro 2008 Update

On a day of efficient rather than all out cavalier soccer, Portugal and Czech Republic took a large step towards securing their places in the knockout stages of the Euro 2008 championships. At the end of matchday1, Portugal and the Czech Republic lead Group A with a victory each and they will be hoping to continue that form over the reminder of this footballing extravaganza.

 

The first match of the Euro 2008 championships saw the Switzerland soccer outfit put up a strong fight against the Czech Republic only to lose out to a Sverkos goal in the second half. After losing Alexander Frei to injury in the first half, the large Swiss home crowd must have expected the worse as the Czech Republic poured into attack from all sides. However, a strong rearguard action from Switzerland took the match all the way to the wire and despite losing the clash, there are plenty of positives that the Swiss national team can pick up as they look to enter into the knockout stages of the European championships for the first time in history.

 

The other clash in Group A saw Portugal put in an efficient performance to down fighting Turkey 2-0. Despite possessing some of the very best flair players in Cristiano Ronaldo, Simao, Deco and Nani, it took a wonder strike from Real Madrid central defender Pepe to help Portugal take a lead. Pepe had a goal ruled out earlier for offside and his performance will surely go a long way in securing him a permanent berth alongside Ricardo Carvalho at the heart of the Portuguese defence. Raul Meireless added a second one in the 81st minute to strike a dagger into the hearts of the Turkish players who now have a mountain to climb if they are to make it to the quarterfinals of the Euro 2008 finals.

 

The next round of matches sees Germany take on Poland while home outfit Austria take on promising Croatia.

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Posted in Champions League, EURO 2008, General, UEFA Cup

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Ronaldo ‘happy’ at Old Trafford: Manchester United

May 26th, 2008

 Ronaldo ‘happy’ at Old Trafford: Manchester United

In the summer transfer window, we found new story everyday about Manchester United, Cristiano Ronaldo and Real Madrid and everyday we get different news from different sources. Now today player himself as expressed his feelings and says he wants to stay at Manchester United football club. Cristiano Ronaldo has told reporters that he is happy at Manchester United and would love to continue playing at Old Trafford with Manchester United football club. After Sir Alex Ferguson’s words to the winger it looks like Alex convince Cristiano Ronaldo to stay with the club and play next season with Champions of Europe.

 

He has been linked with Real Madrid by the Spanish media for the last few weeks, as Manchester United enter the semifinals they not helped quell the speculation by reporting that he would make a decision on his future shortly and join Real Madrid. In an interview with Portuguese newspaper Publico, the 23-year-old confirmed again he would like to play in Spain one day but that he is happy with Manchester United and he is happy to play in England.

 

“There is nothing certain at the moment,” Ronaldo said. He also said that press always make stories about interest from other teams like Barcelona, Milan, etc not only from Real Madrid. He also told that “his head is with Manchester. Because it is the club that, at the moment, puts me in the best condition and that I’m happy at. So there is a no chance of me moving away from Manchester United football club. I can guarantee that I am happy at Manchester United and that I would love to continue.”

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Posted in Champions League, Football Transfer Market, General, Man U, Premiership

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Manchester United win on penalties

May 22nd, 2008

 Manchester United win on penalties

Manchester United won their 3rd UEFA Champions League after beating Chelsea on penalties after both team locked at 1-1 at the end of regular and extra time. Manchester United came here with impressive records with their and they maintain their records after winning the match. Take look records of Manchester United.

 

  • Manchester United never lost any finals in Europe and after the win they maintain this record.

  • Manchester United come here with unbeaten run without losing any matches and complete the season without defeat.

  • Manchester United was the home in team in Moscow and they came with record 12 consecutive home wins in the Champions League and they carry on their good run as home team.

 

Manchester United started well in first half and dominated Chelsea with excellent passing and attacks lead by their midfielders. Ronaldo took the lead for Manchester United in 26th minute from Wes Brown’s brilliant pass. Chelsea levels the match in last minute of first half and makes game alive for second half. Manchester United had a few good chances but Cech saved all of them.

 

Chelsea started well in second half and creates some decent chances and Lampard hitting the underside of the bar which was the best chance in second half. There was no goals in regular time and extra time then match goes in penalties where Manchester United won by 6-5. Drogba was red carded which cost Chelsea their first title because he is regular choice for penalty shootout. It was silly mistake by him.

 

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Posted in Champions League, Chelsea FC, General, Man U, UEFA Cup

Manchester United: Champions of Europe!

May 22nd, 2008

 Manchester United: Champions of Europe!

If you are Manchester United fan then it would be great news for you that Manchester United won UEFA Champions League title few hours ago. It was Manchester United’s 3rd UEFA Champions League title and they maintain their unbeaten run in UEFA Champions League final. They played 3 finals and won all of them. After winning his second UEFA Champions League Sir Alex told to press that trophy is prefect way to remember Manchester players who lost their life 50 years ago in Munich air disaster. United wait 9 years for win the league and Alex would be delight after his second title in the season and 2nd UEFA Champions League title which put them in world’s most successful manager.

 

Manchester United won the match in dramatic penalty shoot-out at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow after both teams locked at 1-1 in normal time and extra time. Manchester United was lucky when Ronaldo missed the his kick and Chelsea took the lead by 3-2 but John Terry slipped on the run up and missed the penalty which gives a hope to Manchester United and Nicolas Anelka’s penalty was saved by Manchester United Goal Keeper Van Der Sar which was enough for a 3rd title for Manchester United. Chelsea paid the price for red card of Drogba. Drogba was red carded for a slap on Nemanja Vidic in extra time.

 

It was one of the best final ever we seen in many years and both team played excellent football where Manchester United dominated first half, Chelsea dominated second half.

 

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Posted in Champions League, Chelsea FC, Man U