Categoría: Última hora y Noticias sobre Fútbol

It could be argued that with a different manager, Inter Milan would have done better in the champions league, Roma would have been leading or at least on equal amount of points with Inter, Chelsea would have been in the FA cup final and Arsenal would not be as successful as they have been.

But nowhere is it more glaring than the top 2 sides in Spain, that a top quality manager is needed for the full potential of a squad of brilliant players to be realised.

The way Real Madrid and Barcelona have gone about this season has been massively disappointing and most of the blame should be put squarely on the shoulders of the respective managers as they have made so many baffling tactical decisions, it has stopped being amusing.

Neither team has been entirely convincing this season and it is only because of the lack of belief from the other sides in the league that Real Madrid is still leading the league.

Teams like Villareal, Athletico Madrid, Sevilla and Espanyol lack the inner belief that they could win the league and they seem to be content with qualifying for 4th position at the very most.

The decisions taken by Bernd Schuster this season when it comes to his starting line-up and also his substitutions have been mind boggling to say the least and on Saturday night against Mallorca, he was at it again.

It is puzzling that he thinks that Gonzalo Higuain is a better option than Robinho in the starting line-up and his insistence on starting with Marcello at left back no matter how many mistakes he continues to make is another strange issue.

It was going well very luckily for him when Real Madrid were leading by 1-0 through a Wesley Sneijder goal but then Sergio Ramos was harshly sent off and this is where Schuster displayed his lack of acumen by taking off Higuain (rightly) but bringing on Mahamadou Diarra in what turned out to be a disastrous decision.

Diarra is not a right back and Mallorca quickly capitalised on that and got the equaliser from ex Real Madrid player, Borja Valero. He then realised his error and brought on Miguel Torres who is a right back and should have been brought on in the 1st place to replace Sneijder.

Then in the most bizarre substitution of all he took off his leading scorer Raul and brought on Julio Baptista and really Mallorca should have won the game in the last minute when their leading scorer, Daniel Guiza missed an absolute sitter.

Would Barcelona take advantage of this loss of 2 points by Real Madrid? Of course not! Not while Frank Rijkaard keeps matching Schuster for ineptitude with his stranger decision to keep playing Thierry Henry on the left, Samuel Etoo on the right and Bojan Krkic in the middle.

Bojan is far away the smallest of the 3, the least experienced and the one with the least amount of goals but Rijkaard still persists in playing his as the centre forward.

Obviously Barcelona struggled to a 0-0 draw against a Getafe side that expended a lot of energy in their excellent 1-1 draw on Thursday against German giants, Bayern Munich in the UEFA cup.

It is no wonder that everyone seems bemused in the Barcelona squad when players are continually played out of position.

The saddest part is neither Real Madrid nor Barcelona were made to pay for their results as 2nd placed team, Villiareal lost at Sevilla by 2-0 with goals by Luis Fabiano and a Freddy Kanoute penalty.

Everton and Tottenham Hotspurs, last night joined a long list of English teams that have fallen by the way side through penalty shootout.

In an incredible and dramatic night of football, the 2 teams actually got the same reverse results that they suffered in the 1st leg.

Tottenham had lost at home to PSV Eindhoven by a goal to nil and needed to win in Holland to stand any chance of going through and they played very well, creating lots of chances but unfortunately could only take 1 of them.

They scored late in the second half through their talisman Dimitar Bebatov as he finished off a good cross with a crisp volley.

In the penalty shootout, Spurs only needed to score their 5th penalty to win the tie as they had scored their previous 4 whilst PSV’s Danko Lazovic had his penalty saved by Paul Robinson.

It then came down to Jermaine Jenas to put Spurs through but his penalty was too casual and a very good height for Huerelho Gomes to make the save. Paul Robinson did try his best to put PSV through as he kept on diving before the kick was even taken making it so easy for the penalty taker to score.It came down to sudden death and Pascal Chimbonda put his penalty wide to put PSV through to the ¼ finals.

In the other tie involving an English side, Everton managed to claw back a 2 goal deficit from the 1st leg as they won by the exact score.

Everton knew they had to win by 2 clear goals or more and that is what they set out to do from the off. They were aided by an anaemic display from their guests as Fiorentina offered very little resistance in the middle of the pack and in forward positions leaving the defence to absorb so much pressure and to be fair Sebastian Frey, Alessandro Gamberini and to a lesser extent captain Dainelli did excel.

Andrew Johnson put the home side in front with a lucky deflection of his chest and in the 2nd half, Mikel Arteta made it 2-0 with a very good shot that cannoned of the post to go in.

Fiorentina created very little chances and it says more about the standard of the Italian league these days that a side like theirs that showed very little heart especially in the midfield can be 4th in the table.

Pablo Osvaldo and Giampaolo Pazzini were embarrassing in the striking positions as they just kept falling down with any hint of contact and their hold up play was just abysmal.

Everton are not the most creative side in the world and Arteta apart they have no creativity whatsoever but they still managed with very little effort to turn defence into attack with Fiorentina’s midfield being non-existent.

The game went to penalties and whilst Fiorentina scored all of theirs, Yakubu Aiyegbeni and Phil Jagielka missed and had his saved by Frey respectfully.

It remains to be seen if Bolton would go to Sporting Lisbon and draw 1-1 and then lose out on penalties.

In the other ties, Bayern Munich lost at home 2-1 to Anderlecht but won through 6-2 on aggregate. Bayer Leverkusen lost 3-2 to fellow Bundesliga side Hamburg but went through on away goals scored with the tie at 3-3. Zenith Petersburg defeated Marseilles 2-0 on the night and also went through on away goals scored with the tie at 3-3. Getafe beat Benfica 1-0 on the night and 3-1 on aggregate.

Outright Odds: 250/1

Group E Winners: 12/1

After winning four African Cup of Nations titles and producing players of the calibre of Abedi Pele and Tony Yeboah, the Black Stars have qualified for the World Cup finals for the first time in 10 attempts, stretching back to 1962.

Despite being a force in African football between the 1960s and 1980s, qualification for the World Cup was never a serious exercise and more recently the country suffered from poor management both on and off the pitch to scupper their attempts to reach the 1994, 1998 and 2002 finals.

However, this problem was eradicated under new manager Ratomir Dujkovic. The Serbian took over in December 2004 after Portuguese coach Mariano Barreto quit four months earlier. Dujkovic enjoyed success with Rwanda, leading a team dubbed as no hopers to their first African Cup of Nations finals in 2004.

His influence was clear as Ghana won four of their five remaining qualifying fixtures, including a 2-0 away victory over South Africa and eventually topping their group by five points at the expense of the Bafana Bafana.

Where Ghana excel is in midfield. Chelsea’s Michael Essien is a key player for his country and has also shone at club level, despite criticism of his £24.4 million price tag imposed by former club Lyon. They are captained by left-footed Stephen Appiah who now plys his trade at Turkish outfit Fenerbahce following eight seasons in Italy with Udinese, Parma, Brescia and Juventus. Sulley Muntari also brings with him Serie A experience as he is currently on the books at Udinese.

Ghana have been boosted in defence by the return of Roma centre half Samuel Kuffor. The former Bayern Munich defender was out of favour following a dispute with the coach but since apologising he is back in contention. Even without him Ghana boasted a mean defence, conceding just four goals in 10 qualifying matches, the least of any African nation.

Despite a strong setup, Ghana go into their World Cup group as the unfancied outsiders which could work to their advantage. They are pitted against one of the tournament favourites in Italy on their opening match so there is no real pressure for them. The team have gelled well under Dujkovic and are capable of causing an opening match upset.

Beyond that they could struggle as they lack players with a true cutting edge in attack. The responsibility will be on Vitesse’s Matthew Amoah and Modena’s 20-year old striker Gyan Asamoah.

Recommended Bet:

Ghana are capable of catching out slow-starters Italy in their first match and qualifying from the group would be a major success. Further tough games against the Czech Republic and USA could see the Black Stars narrowly miss out.

Ghana to beat Italy @ 5/1

Peter Schmeichel was born on November 18, 1963 in Gladsaxe, Denmark. He retired from playing football in April 2003.

Schmeichel is Denmark’s most capped player, with 129, retiring from international football in April 2001. At his peak he was arguably the world’s best goalkeeper. A charismatic keeper with presence and excellent shot-stopping skills, Schmeichel was one of the key members of the Danish national team which won Euro Cup 1992. He also represented his country at Euro Cup 1996, World Cup 1998 and Euro Cup 2000.

Schmeichel’s first played professionally for Hvidovre IF. He subsequently signed for Brondby. Manchester United bought him in 1991 for 550,000 pounds and he played for them for the most part of his career which he enjoyed great success. With United, Schmeichel won 5 FA Premier League titles, 3 FA Cups, the UEFA Champions League, and a League Cup. Well known for frequently shouting at defenders, especially Steve Bruce, although the two remain firm friends till now.

Peter Schmeichel’s finest moment came in 1999, when he won the Treble (the Premier League title, FA Cup and Champions League), while captaining the team in the Champions League final on May 26, 1999 against Bayern Munich, which turns out to be his last game for the club. Schmeichel later moved to Sporting Lisbon, where he won the Portuguese league title in 1999/2000, then returned to the Premiership to Aston Villa in 2001/2. His last season was for Manchester City during the 2002/3 season.

He has a son, Kasper Schmeichel, who also plays as goalkeeper for Manchester City and was called up for the Danish U-19 squad in August 2003. Today Peter has a career working as a pundit for the BBC.

Mark Hughes was born 1 November 1963 in Ruabon, Wrexham, Wales. He joined Manchester United at the age of 14 and made his debut for the Old Trafford club as a substitute in a 2-0 home win against Port Vale in October 1983. In 1985, he finished as top scorer with 25 goals in 55 appearances as well as helping United to win the FA Cup with a narrow 1-0 win over Everton.

After spending six years with Manchester United, Mark Hughes decided to move on to the continent signing for Catalan club Barcelona for £2 million. However, he was a disappointment in his only season at Barcelona and was subsequently loaned out to Bayern Munich for the 1987-88 season. In May 1988, the Wales international returned to Man Utd for a fee of £1.8 million and once again he proved to be a reliable marksman. He found the back of the net on two occasions as the Reds drew 3-3 with Crystal Palace in the 1990 FA Cup final, before a brilliant goal from Lee Martin in the replay gave Alex Ferguson his first major trophy since he was appointed manager at Manchester United in 1986.

The following season Mark Hughes got his own back as he scored both goals against former club Barcelona when United won the 1991 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup. Having netted 119 times in 345 appearances for United, Hughes eventually joined Chelsea in a £1.5 million deal in 1995. He also starred for Southampton, Everton and Blackburn Rovers before he finally announced his retirement in 2002. A natural entertainer, he made 72 appearances and scored 16 goals for his native country. While remaining a full time player, Mark Hughes was appointed as Wales manager in 1999 and carried out his duties until 2004 when he took charge of Blackburn Rovers.

«It can be difficult to pinpoint who would make it as a manager. For instance, nobody here thought Mark Hughes would become a manager, never in a million years, and we all thought Bryan Robson was a certainty to be a top manager.»

Manchester United Manager Sir Alex Ferguson

With the World Cup now having been and gone we could have expected an influx of summer performers to the Premier League clubs as has happened following recent World Cups and European Championships. This summer though, movement has been slow. The highest profile move to a Premier League club thus far was the recent announcement that Chelsea’s Joe Cole is transferring to Liverpool. Whilst Cole fits the criteria of a World Cup performer this move was likely to have been initiated before the World Cup and based on reputation rather than World Cup matches.

The financial climate of the Premier League has changed considerably with public records of large leveraged debt at Manchester United and Liverpool, Arsenal have never been traditional big spenders under manager Arsene Wenger and the situation at Chelsea is uncertain but it is clear that Roman Abramovich has slowed his spending in the last two seasons. This leaves Manchester city has the obvious candidates to spend big on World Cup stars whilst Spurs may want to consolidate there new standing as a top four side with some new faces.

With many of the fancied players (Kaka, Messi, Drogba, Rooney, Ronaldo) relatively under performing this summer the World Cup the hottest property is Germany’s Mesut Ozil. The speedy 21 year old is contracted to Bundesliga side Werder Bremen. With Michael Ballack gone from the Chelsea midfield they may see his replacement at International level this summer as the man to fill the gap at Stamford Bridge, however Chelsea interest in a player is likely to stir attention at Manchester City who have so far spent big money on Spain’s David Silva, Germany’s Jerome Boateng and Ivory Coasts Yaya Toure. However Ozil is likely to attract interest from mainland Europe too. Whilst he may not fit into the Barcelona midfield with their interest firmly on Fabregas he may be a target for fellow giants Real Madrid or closer to home Bayern Munich.

Uruguay surprised many this summer with the stand out performers being strikers Luis Suarez and Diego Forlan. Forlan is tried and tested in the Premier League when he found life tough to cope with at Manchester United scoring just 17 goals in near 100 appearances, he may get a second chance with another club if he can be tempted to leave the Spanish league that seems to suit his style of play. Suarez netted a phenomenal 49 goals for Dutch side Ajax and should Ajax manager Martin Jol make the rumoured switch to Fulham then don’t be surprised to see his star striker follow him to Craven Cottage.

World Cup’s gone by have been an opportunity for African players to showcase their talents to the watching football world, however this time around with the exception of Ghana, African performances were subdued so a minority of players are likely to have stirred Premier League interest. Of course, a large majority of Ghana’s squad already feature in European leagues so are likely to carry the inflated price tags that has Premier League chairman running scared of.

So to conclude, a slow start to the transfer window (with the obvious exception of Manchester City) and don’t expect things to change too quickly, it is likely to be a pre-season of consolidation and looking within teams own youth ranks rather than a vast period of recruitment.

I’m not saying that one is better than the other, just that there is an important difference.

What is the difference between the two?

Well, it’s in the words. A fan likes something, a supporter actively supports it. A regular fan wouldn’t drive 5 hours to support the FC Bayern Amateure in the cold March rain.

What do Supporters do differently?

Passion. Dedication. Loyalty.

Take a club like Bayern Munich for example. We have by far the most fans in Germany, but only a small group of true Supporters. The fans buy lots of merchandise and visit the home matches, and usually refer to the team, not the club. The fan idolizes players, but often knows little about the club’s history. When a club doesn’t do well, more and more seats will be empty, whereas the section of the Supporters is as full as ever.

The Mindest

A Supporter loves the club, not the team and its players. Those are mercenaries who do not identify with the club and will transfer as soon as more money is offered.

To a Supporter, it’s all about the club, not the team.

A fan sees this as a hobby or casual entertainment. But Supporters take it seriously. No matter where or when the club plays, or how important the match is, the Supporter is there. A lot of times this means sacrificing other aspects of his life – work, school, family, friends. That’s because words like loyalty and honor still have meaning. A Supporter will defend the club’s name if necessary, without getting it into trouble.
To the Supporter the club is a lifestyle.

The Supporter supports the team throughout the entire match, regardless of the score or the performance. Because the team needs the support the most when things are not going well. That is not to say that displeasure can’t be voiced. But the support of the team always comes first.

Simply singing or shouting is not enough. Every word uttered and every song sung has to be filled with all of the Supporter’s energy and passion. Even if the players on the field don’t care, it is done for the club’s honor and for all of the Supporter’s honor.

Sing until your lungs burn and you are ready to puke.

Supporters looks at everything the club does objectively and is not afraid to be critical. It is up them to protect the club’s values and integrity and to carry them on with their actions.

Should a decision of the club clashes with the Supporter’s believes, but benefits the club in the long run, the Supporter has to put his own interest aside.

Everything the Supporter does has to be in the club’s best interest.

All of these traits are vital. I have known people who went to every FC Bayern match, but didn’t support. There were those who sang passionately, but only cherry-picked a few matches a year. Not to mention the ones that were too drunk to even make it into the stadium, or those who only want to fight.

Unfortunately there seems to be a war going on against the Supporters/Ultras across Germany. The clubs want to replace us with customers who will shell out money without asking questions or criticizing. The clubs’ identities are slowly taken away. But this is for another article.

In every football-playing country, there is a league system. The most competent clubs play in the top division league. The sport being the most popular one in the world, top-tier football leagues are watched by the crazy fans from all over the globe. In fact, the most exciting league matches find the highest number of viewers. These five leagues are as follows:

· Barclays Premier League

· Spanish League or La Liga

· Italian League or Serie A

· German League or Bundesliga

· French League or Ligue 1

Among these five leagues, Barclays Premier League is considered the most exciting one. A decade ago or so, Serie A was widely considered the most competitive league in the world. However, things have changed over the last few years since Manchester United lost their monopoly. The Red Devils – Man U are often referred to as their famous nickname – were simply unstoppable under the tutelage of Sir Alex Ferguson. Once their golden era is over, Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal are some of the big names dominating the English Premier League landscape.

This 2015-16 season, Leicester City have emerged as the Premier League champions. Premier League is no longer predictable like what we have been watching in Serie A or Bundesliga where Juventus and Bayern Munich have been champions for several years in a row. In addition to the above-specified names, Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool and Southampton are other big names in the first-division English League. Tottenham have finished their campaign second on the league table. Chelsea have suffered a lot and failed to make a great start to the last campaign. It led to sacking of their manager Jose Mourinho.

Chelsea or the Blues managed to drive themselves back from their woeful run under manager Guus Hiddink but due to their earlier drop, they failed to break into the top four. According to reports, Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea are among the 20 wealthiest clubs in the world. These leagues are most televised in a number of countries. The TV rights earn the clubs millions of pound. The prize money earned by the league winner is the best in any country. The players earn the most attractive wages that can be offered in any league.

History of English League

English League has become the giant one after starting as a small one in the 19th century. They have also earned success in the European competition. Years ago, the star players from Brazil and Argentina used to prefer playing in the Serie A or La Liga. They did not think twice to snub offers from Premier League in order to show their skill in other countries. The story is completely different now. Both the Brazilian and Argentinean players now love to ply their trade in the Premier League. In fact, the star players from several football-playing countries are now eager to prove themselves in England.

English football league is marked by both pace and skill. Every year, a new club wins the Premier League title and that makes the charm of watching the league alive.

The draw for this season’s UEFA Champions League last 16 has taken place and it certainly produced some mouthwatering encounters to look forward to. These games will take place on February 24th & 25th with the return legs two weeks later on March 10th & 11th. Here is the full draw as it was drawn in Nyon, Switzerland:

Chelsea v Juventus

Villarreal v Panathinaikos

Sporting Lisbon v Bayern Munich

Atletico Madrid v FC Porto

Lyon v Barcelona

Real Madrid v Liverpool

Arsenal v Roma

Inter Milan v Manchester United

The current champions Manchester United and Sir Alex Ferguson face their old friend, the former Chelsea manager, Jose Mourinho and his Inter Milan side who were knocked out by Liverpool last year at the same stage. Mourinho had made it clear he wanted to draw one of the English «big four» clubs and he certainly got his wish, with the first leg to be played at the San Siro. The game at Old Trafford will no doubt revive memories of Mourinho’s famous celebration, as he ran down the touchline back in March 2004 when his Porto side scored a last minute equaliser that sent United crashing out of the Champions League. Of course Mourinho and Porto went on the lift the trophy that season beating Monaco in the final.

Sir Alex Ferguson is also looking forward to the tie as well. Ferguson believes it will be very interesting to come up against Mourinho as he has a character with a good personality. Contrary to what used to go on between the two when Mourinho managed Chelsea, Ferguson also said that he has always got on well with the now Inter Milan manager. It didn’t take long for Mourinho to also start the psychological word games by talking up Man Utd. He stated that he wanted to be drawn against the best and that he got the European champions. Man Utd could also be crowned World Club Champions in Japan this weekend too. Meanwhile another of the English teams, Liverpool, were drawn against the current Spanish champions Real Madrid and their new manager, ex Tottenham boss, Juande Ramos. The former Tottenham manager has only just taken over at the Bernabeu and will no doubt be looking forward to his return to England with the 9 times winners Real Madrid. Liverpool have the perceived advantage of the second leg at Anfield due to finishing their group on top. The tie is a repeat of the 1981 Paris final, which the English side won 1-0 thanks to a goal by defender Alan Kennedy. That was the last time these two giants of European football have met in a competitive game.

The draw also provided Italian coach Claudio Ranieri the chance of an emotional return to London and Stamford Bridge, against his former club Chelsea, last year’s beaten finalists. Ranieri is now the manager get Italian giants Juventus. Ranieri was a popular figure at Stamford Bridge before being replaced by non-other than Jose Mourinho in 2004. This despite Ranieri guiding them to the Champions League semi-final, where they lost to Monaco, who as mentioned above were then beaten by Mourinho and Porto. Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal will have the first leg at home as they take on AS Roma. The Arsenal manager believes the Gunners, just like every other team now left in the competition, has a good chance of lifting the trophy in Rome come May. Despite both those difficult ties for Arsenal and Chelsea, they will have breathed a huge sigh of relief as the draw was made as they could have been paired with the current favourites Barcelona. They will have been extremely happy to have avoided the Catalans however, as mentioned above both Arsenal and Chelsea face difficult ties against AS Roma and Juventus respectively.

The «unlucky» team to draw Barcelona were the French champions Lyon and looking ahead to the game, their sporting director Bernard Lacombe admitted that they were very worried. Lyon couldn’t have been handed a more difficult game.

The Spanish team Villareal, which finished second in the group stages behind Manchester Utd, were handed, what on paper at least, looks one of the easier ties. They will face the Greek side Panathinaikos which pipped Inter Milan to top stop in their Group. So, Panathinaikos will equally be relived they didn’t finish second, as Utd would have been awaiting them. Former champions, and I suspect a dark horse for this season’s cempetition, Bayern Munich, will play the Portuguese team Sporting Lisbon and in the final tie of the round another Portuguese team Porto will go head to head with another Spanish team, Athletico Madrid.

There truly are some great games to look forward to in early 2009. No doubt there will be plenty of drama and a few shocks, the UEFA Champions League never disappoints once it has entered the sudden death knock-out stages.

After weeks of dilly-dallying between Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, it is for certain now that Ruud Van Nistelrooy is moving to Real Madrid at an undisclosed amount. After Cannavaro and Brazilian midfielder Emerson, Nistelrooy is the third big signing for the Madrid squad.

Over the years the Dutchman had been a great acquisition for the Red Devils as he scored 150 goals in 219 games and second highest goal scoring tally in Champions’ league with almost one goal a game.

Sven Looking to buy Aston Villa

Former England manager Sven Ericcsson has decided to put his own money in an effort to buy Aston Villa Football Club. The club has been approached by a Swiss consortium with purchase offers after the sacking of club manager David O Leary and strike of the players.

John Terry or Gerrard – who should be captain of England football team

This week Steve Mclaren has to take the first major decision of his short English manager career, to hand out the captain’s armband. The contenders for now are John Terry ( Chelsea) and Steven Gerrard (Liverpool). Both of them are inspiration to their respective teams and are clear stand out leaders on the field.

Initial reports suggest that John Terry is the clear favorite for the task as Gerrard’s place in the starting eleven is not certain.

West Ham in no mood to sell Harewood

According to the latest news in ‘The Sun’, West Ham manager Alan Pardew has declared that his club’s prolific striker Harewood is not for sale at any price.