It's funny how it works. I thought Genoa had advance to the next edition of the Champions League on virtue of having a better goal-difference than Fiorentina (both finished behind the Big 3 on 69 points, but Genoa had a +17 to Fiorentina's +15), but since in Italy, everything has to be complicated (otherwise it wouldn't be Italy), it looks like Fiorentina will advance to the Champions League because they defeated Genoa (1-0) at home and managed to get a draw away (3-3), and that is the main tie-breaker.
That's why Juventus clinched second place despite having a worse goal-difference than AC Milan.
A stupid system if you ask me. Teams achieve their final league position once you take into account the points they have gathered against every team in the tournament. The main tie-breaker has always been goal-difference and then, if things remained levelled, you could take the results between the teams in question as the decisive factor.
It wasn't to be this time. Genoa will have a spot in the Europa League (the new name given to the UEFA Cup) as a consolation prize.
It wasn't to be for Diego MILITO either. He finished with 24 goals (31 appearances) and tied for second place in the top-scoring charts with Bologna's Marco DI VAIO (38 games). The two of them were only 9 minutes from sharing the capocannoniere title with Inter's Zlatan IBRAHIMOVIC (who also scored two on Sunday to finish with 25 in 35 matches).
Now MILITO is on his way to Inter (will Zlatan stay?) and he will have his deserved place in a Champions League side, but first, I'm sure the only thing on Diego's mind is to earn himself a place in MARADONA's Argentina.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
MILITO doubles again, finish one goal short of IBRA
The Perfect Goodbye From Milito For Genoa
The Serie A season concluded today with the champions Inter signing off with a dramatic 4-3 win over Atalanta. Both Esteban CAMBIASSO and Hernan CRESPO played a pivotal role in securing this finale victory for Jose MOURINHO’s side.
With the scoreline tied at 1-1 after 10 minutes, Esteban CAMBIASSO won Inter a penalty two minutes later from which Zlatan IBRAHIMOVIC scored from the spot. However the reigning champion were down 2-3 with 10 minutes left to play.
CAMBIASSO, was arguably the best player on the pith, fired the equalizer from the edge to level the score 3-3. Just a minute, Hernan CRESPO gave Inter fans a fine farewell when he set up IBRAHIMOVIC for the winner.
While CRESPO will be moving to Genoa for next season, coming from the other way was non other than Diego MILITO. Like CRESPO he gave Genoa fans the perfect goodbye by scoring two goals in their 4-1 win over against relegated Lecce.
Before that, he set up a goal for Domenico CRISCITO who gave Genoa the lead in the 52nd minute. Four minutes later, he fired a low shot from the edge of the box to put them 3-1 up and then wrapping it up with another superb finish in the 67th minute.
With these two goals, MILITO’s tally this season adds up to 24 goals, just one goal shy of the Golden boot award behind IBRAHIMOVIC and Marco DI VAIO of Bologna. Now all that is left is for the bigger Diego (MARADONA that is) to give this Diego a reasonable chance to play for the National Team against Colombia and Ecuador.
After all, didn’t we argued about the need for a No.9 & out-and-out striker for the Albiceleste. Well with what he has achieved this season, I firmly believe that MILITO can be the right man for that role.
Here’s hoping to see that MILITO will continue his goals scoring exploit next season for the Nerrazurri in both the domestic and European competition. Also, lets hope that we will see the return of CRESPO back to his best and continue the Albiceleste goal scoring tradition for Rossublu as well.
With the scoreline tied at 1-1 after 10 minutes, Esteban CAMBIASSO won Inter a penalty two minutes later from which Zlatan IBRAHIMOVIC scored from the spot. However the reigning champion were down 2-3 with 10 minutes left to play.
CAMBIASSO, was arguably the best player on the pith, fired the equalizer from the edge to level the score 3-3. Just a minute, Hernan CRESPO gave Inter fans a fine farewell when he set up IBRAHIMOVIC for the winner.
While CRESPO will be moving to Genoa for next season, coming from the other way was non other than Diego MILITO. Like CRESPO he gave Genoa fans the perfect goodbye by scoring two goals in their 4-1 win over against relegated Lecce.
Before that, he set up a goal for Domenico CRISCITO who gave Genoa the lead in the 52nd minute. Four minutes later, he fired a low shot from the edge of the box to put them 3-1 up and then wrapping it up with another superb finish in the 67th minute.
With these two goals, MILITO’s tally this season adds up to 24 goals, just one goal shy of the Golden boot award behind IBRAHIMOVIC and Marco DI VAIO of Bologna. Now all that is left is for the bigger Diego (MARADONA that is) to give this Diego a reasonable chance to play for the National Team against Colombia and Ecuador.
After all, didn’t we argued about the need for a No.9 & out-and-out striker for the Albiceleste. Well with what he has achieved this season, I firmly believe that MILITO can be the right man for that role.
Here’s hoping to see that MILITO will continue his goals scoring exploit next season for the Nerrazurri in both the domestic and European competition. Also, lets hope that we will see the return of CRESPO back to his best and continue the Albiceleste goal scoring tradition for Rossublu as well.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Kun helps Atletico qualify for the Champions League...AGAIN
All Atletico Madrid needed to do on Saturday was beat Almería at home. A task that didn't look very difficult, but fans at the Vicente Calderón know better than to take things for granted.
We are talking about one of the clubs with the longest history of constant suffering and major heartbreaks in history. One of the clubs, however, that can proudly say their supporters are amongst the most loyal in their country and perhaps, the whole world.
No matter how much they suffered in the past, Atletico fans have plenty of reasons to smile these days. Ever since Kun AGÜERO signed for the Colchoneros, they have been on the up. The former Independiente striker helped them qualify for the Champions League for the first time in 11 years with 19 goals and 7 assists last season.
Yes, they crashed out of the competition in the eight-finals with their elimination at the hands of Porto (2-2 on aggregate but lost on the away-goal rule) after an impressive campaign in the group stages (only trailing Liverpool in a group that included PSV Eindhoven and Olympique Marseille).
But thanks in part to the fantastic goal scored by the son-in-law of MARADONA, an assist by Maxi RODRIGUEZ in their second goal and yet another goal from Uruguayan Diego FORLAN (who ended the season with 32 and the Pichichi award), there will be Champions League football at the Vicente Calderón again next season.
Kun finished this season at Atletico with a tally of 17 goals and 8 assists and he said after their win over Almería that he wants to stay at Atletico but only if they can put up a challenge to win important titles.
Right now, it's time for Kun to travel to Buenos Aires and join Argentina for their trainings thinking of the matches against Colombia and Ecuador.
I'm pretty sure we'll all be happy if he does with Argentina anything similar to the goal in the video above!
Well done, Kun!
CaveGol La Champion of France.
Fernando CAVENAGHI becomes the latest Albiceleste player in Europe to win a League title; following the footstep of Lionel MESSI (Spain), Carlos TEVEZ (England), Lisandro LOPEZ, Lucho GONZALEZ (both Portugal), Javier ZANETTI, Esteban CAMBIASSO, Nicolas BURDISSO, Walter SAMUEL, Hernan CRESPO and Julio CRUZ (all in Italy).
The French League was once describe as the “World Most Unpredictable League” (six different winners between 1994-2001). Since then Olympique Lyon rose to the occasion to become one of the most dominant team of the continent for the next 7 years.
Today that reign has come to an end as Bordeaux secured the Ligue 1 title with a 1-0 away win to Caen. Part of this campaign was due to the goal scoring effort of CAVENAGHI. He finishes off the season as the club joint top scorer with 13 goals from 23 appearance.
I’m still hopeful to see him making a comeback with the National Team as he does has the potential to become a truly No.9 type of player. Like Gonzalo HIGUAIN, his goal scoring exploit in the French league for the past two season is something that Diego should capitalize on.
In the meantime congratulation Cavegol!
The French League was once describe as the “World Most Unpredictable League” (six different winners between 1994-2001). Since then Olympique Lyon rose to the occasion to become one of the most dominant team of the continent for the next 7 years.
Today that reign has come to an end as Bordeaux secured the Ligue 1 title with a 1-0 away win to Caen. Part of this campaign was due to the goal scoring effort of CAVENAGHI. He finishes off the season as the club joint top scorer with 13 goals from 23 appearance.
I’m still hopeful to see him making a comeback with the National Team as he does has the potential to become a truly No.9 type of player. Like Gonzalo HIGUAIN, his goal scoring exploit in the French league for the past two season is something that Diego should capitalize on.
In the meantime congratulation Cavegol!
2009 Rolland Garros - Del Porto The Sole Survivor
Juan Martin DEL POTROo continued his solid play at this year’s French Open, comfortably defeating dangerous Russian Igor ANDREEV 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 on Saturday to advance to the fourth round.
Despite struggling some with his serve and not feeling at ease with the court conditions, DEL POTRO proved to be too steady from the baseline for his Russian opponent, who has one of the best forehands in tennis but struggles on the backhand side.
“I was not very comfortable during 80 percent of my match, and then the court. I didn’t feel very comfortable, either. It was very dry, very fast. He is a very hard hitter. He hits his ball very hard, and sometimes it’s difficult to return,” he said.
The 6-foot, 6-inch Argentine struck six aces for the match and won 82 percent of his first serve points, but he also threw in five double faults. The world No. 5 also hit 37 winners to just 27 for ANDREEV.
In the fourth round, he will have a much tougher proposition as he will be up against the crowd when takes on local hero Jo-Wilfried TSONGA. DEL POTRO is the only Albiceleste remaining in the French Open as Maximo GONZALEZ was defeated 4-6, 7-5, 6-1, 6-0 by Spain’s Tommy ROBREDO.
Despite struggling some with his serve and not feeling at ease with the court conditions, DEL POTRO proved to be too steady from the baseline for his Russian opponent, who has one of the best forehands in tennis but struggles on the backhand side.
“I was not very comfortable during 80 percent of my match, and then the court. I didn’t feel very comfortable, either. It was very dry, very fast. He is a very hard hitter. He hits his ball very hard, and sometimes it’s difficult to return,” he said.
The 6-foot, 6-inch Argentine struck six aces for the match and won 82 percent of his first serve points, but he also threw in five double faults. The world No. 5 also hit 37 winners to just 27 for ANDREEV.
In the fourth round, he will have a much tougher proposition as he will be up against the crowd when takes on local hero Jo-Wilfried TSONGA. DEL POTRO is the only Albiceleste remaining in the French Open as Maximo GONZALEZ was defeated 4-6, 7-5, 6-1, 6-0 by Spain’s Tommy ROBREDO.
A drunk MESSI!
He's human after all! Following Barcelona's 2-0 victory over Manchester United in the UEFA Champions League Final on Wednesday, the Barcelona team went back to Barcelona to celebrate... And MESSI had a bit too much "champagne"!
The story behind the first video is that the red truck/van behind them is full of girls and MESSI wanted to jump onto the truck and get in. But his teammates wouldn't let him.
The second video is MESSI really letting loose and having some fun!
The story behind the first video is that the red truck/van behind them is full of girls and MESSI wanted to jump onto the truck and get in. But his teammates wouldn't let him.
The second video is MESSI really letting loose and having some fun!
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
MESSI, from top of his head to the top of the world
Lionel MESSI adds a second Champions League winners' medal to his cabinet after FC Barcelona defeated Manchester United 2-0 at the Stadio Olimpico of Rome on Wednesday.
Back in 2006, though, it was RONALDINHO who was calling the shots and who was the owner of the team, while MESSI had to watch it from the stands after picking up an injury during the eight-finals.
Not this time. This time Lionel was up for it. He knew this was perhaps the most important match of his entire career and he raised to the occasion.
And boy he did raise!
After a rampant start from Manchester United, with four shots (only one on goal) by Cristiano RONALDO in the first eight minutes, Barcelona went ahead courtesy of a brilliant move by Samuel ETO'O when the match reached its 10th minute.
From then on, it was all Blaugrana. The Catalan giants started to enjoy possession and though they couldn't translate that into the score-sheet, they looked very comfortable with the lead and were rarely bothered by Manchester United.
During some early stages in the second half, Barcelona lost some of the possession and just when it looked like we were heading towards a nervy ending, XAVI saw MESSI inside the box and the Flea became an unidentifiable flying object who stayed suspended in mid-air for an eternity. He leaned back and coolly headed the ball over VAN DER SAR to make it 2-0 and to seal the fate of the final and to give Barcelona the Treble. The first time in Spanish football history that a team wins La Liga, La Copa del Rey and the Champions League.
MESSI won the duel against Cristiano RONALDO and if he doesn't get the Best Player of the Year Award, then I don't know where the world is heading to.
TEVEZ played the entire second half, but he couldn't manage to make an impact in what very well could have been his last match in a United shirt. He tasted the glory last season.
Now is the time for MESSI to enjoy it and for us to enjoy his football and dream with all the potential he has.
Please, MESSI haters, don't even bother to write and come here and say bad things about him. Nobody will take you seriously.
(A special mention goes to Gabriel MILITO who missed this magical season due to injury but deserves his medal).
Champions League final: TEVEZ on the bench
It's official. Carlos TEVEZ will start from the bench. Sir Alex FERGUSON gives Ryan GIGGS a start.
For Barcelona, Lionel MESSI will be joined by recovered Thierry HENRY and Andrés INIESTA.
We are minutes away from kick-off.
Join the debate on our chat room if you're watching and want to share your vies with us.
For Barcelona, Lionel MESSI will be joined by recovered Thierry HENRY and Andrés INIESTA.
We are minutes away from kick-off.
Join the debate on our chat room if you're watching and want to share your vies with us.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Carlitos vs. Lionel - 2008 UEFA Champions League Final Preview
Its time for the ultimate finale of the season in European football. The place to be is the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. Already there has been so many pre-match talks about this final. I have to agree with the majority, this has to be the best in a long time (though we may not know the result).
There is no doubt that both Manchester United and FC Barcelona are the best of the pack in this season campaign (some of you may disagree with me on this but I will stand with this statement). Both teams are filled with world class talent and play such an attractive football.
But for most of us here, our main focus will be on two particular character in this galactic encounter.
TEVEZ Last Hurrah For The Devils?
Growing up in Malaysia in the 90‘s, there is no way you can escape from not being associated with Manchester United. It’s either you’re with them or against them. I was proud to be part of the large contingent anti-MU followers. I just hated them so much back in those days.
However much of my opinion on this has changed in recent times. As they say, youth and wisdom don’t always mixed together.
When Carlos TEVEZ arrived in England three years ago, I firmly believe that this is the player that will change all the EPL fanatics opinion here in Malaysia about Argentina’s football. I’m glad I was right on this.
On his debut season with West Ham, he was a hit and became an instant legend at Upton Park. He received that same love when he moved to Old Trafford the following season. Then again, this is not something new for him. He was loved by those at Boca, even the Brazilians supporters of Corinthians applause him.
His work ethics and passion for the game is something I’ve never seen before this. The word “Give Up” does not exist in his dictionary. You can always constantly see him battling for the ball, troubling defenders, helping his teammate and scoring crucial goal.
From his humble background in Fort Apache, he came, he saw and he conquered them all. And I’m sure come this Wednesday, TEVEZ will be prepared to do it all over again, even though this could be his last match for the Red Devils.
Already Sir Alex has announced that TEVEZ will start from the bench for the final (Shame on you Fergie!). This is a hard pill to swallow indeed. And I’m sure in time of desperation, the Scotsmen will know who to call upon to save United’s day.
The Stage Is Set For MESSI
When it comes to Spanish football, I’ve always had a soft spot FC Barcelona. I was simply blown away by Johan CRUYFF’s Dream Team in the early 90’s. They were truly a majestic side in their own ways. Another reason is because unlike the over hype Real Madrid, Barca has always been the monumental team of the people.
However throughout their entire history, there hasn’t been an Albiceleste player that has shine up to the expectation from the Nou Camp faithful. From Diego MARADONA to Javier SAVIOLA to Roman RIQUELME, most only had mediocre success.
All that changed when the new MESSI-ah of football arrived in 2005.
When Lionel MESSI burst into the football scene, it was like how Nirvana crashed into the pop music scene in 1991. He became an overnight sensation and people were mesmerized by his natural gift and talent.
Like many in 2006, I was extremely upset for not being able to see Lionel in action for Barca against Arsenal. Nevertheless fast forward three years, we have seen how Lionel progress from a young boy to a young man.
The departure of RONALDHINO from the Nou Camp last year did not go down well with many football critics. Some where left to wonder whether or not they will ever return to the form side during the years from 2004 to 2006.
But I was very positive that this was the right moment for Lionel to seize the opportunity to fully command Pep GUORDIOLA’s side. While it is easy to say that Barcelona do have other great talent but every movement on the pitch from this team revolves around the Atomic Flea.
This season alone, he has inspire the Blaugrana to the Copa del Rey and La Liga and now he is on the verge to help them to achieve the unprecedented treble. I believe this final, in what will the biggest match of his career, was perfectly made for him to grace.
So Who Will Lift the Trophy?
If there is one thing that both TEVEZ and MESSI has something in common (besides being Olympic gold medalist), is that they never fail to amaze the critics. Just as when you think you’ve seen everything, there’s always another trick in the bag from them.
I’m finding hard to stick to one of them because I love both of them very much. One side of me is dreaming to see Carlitos scoring the winning goal and give United the title so that he can blow sarcastic goodbye kiss towards Fergie. The other part of me, also wants to see Lionel to play the game of his life and finally winning over the critics that he finally deserves the World Player of the Year title.
Let me tell you this, I still haven’t made my mind yet on for who I’ll be cheering on come Wednesday though I’m pretty sure most likely it’s going to be……
Well I’ll just leave it as it is for the time being. For now, let’s just hope that we will see a spectacular final.
VAMOS CARLITOS!!! VAMOS LEO!!!
There is no doubt that both Manchester United and FC Barcelona are the best of the pack in this season campaign (some of you may disagree with me on this but I will stand with this statement). Both teams are filled with world class talent and play such an attractive football.
But for most of us here, our main focus will be on two particular character in this galactic encounter.
TEVEZ Last Hurrah For The Devils?
Growing up in Malaysia in the 90‘s, there is no way you can escape from not being associated with Manchester United. It’s either you’re with them or against them. I was proud to be part of the large contingent anti-MU followers. I just hated them so much back in those days.
However much of my opinion on this has changed in recent times. As they say, youth and wisdom don’t always mixed together.
When Carlos TEVEZ arrived in England three years ago, I firmly believe that this is the player that will change all the EPL fanatics opinion here in Malaysia about Argentina’s football. I’m glad I was right on this.
On his debut season with West Ham, he was a hit and became an instant legend at Upton Park. He received that same love when he moved to Old Trafford the following season. Then again, this is not something new for him. He was loved by those at Boca, even the Brazilians supporters of Corinthians applause him.
His work ethics and passion for the game is something I’ve never seen before this. The word “Give Up” does not exist in his dictionary. You can always constantly see him battling for the ball, troubling defenders, helping his teammate and scoring crucial goal.
From his humble background in Fort Apache, he came, he saw and he conquered them all. And I’m sure come this Wednesday, TEVEZ will be prepared to do it all over again, even though this could be his last match for the Red Devils.
Already Sir Alex has announced that TEVEZ will start from the bench for the final (Shame on you Fergie!). This is a hard pill to swallow indeed. And I’m sure in time of desperation, the Scotsmen will know who to call upon to save United’s day.
The Stage Is Set For MESSI
When it comes to Spanish football, I’ve always had a soft spot FC Barcelona. I was simply blown away by Johan CRUYFF’s Dream Team in the early 90’s. They were truly a majestic side in their own ways. Another reason is because unlike the over hype Real Madrid, Barca has always been the monumental team of the people.
However throughout their entire history, there hasn’t been an Albiceleste player that has shine up to the expectation from the Nou Camp faithful. From Diego MARADONA to Javier SAVIOLA to Roman RIQUELME, most only had mediocre success.
All that changed when the new MESSI-ah of football arrived in 2005.
When Lionel MESSI burst into the football scene, it was like how Nirvana crashed into the pop music scene in 1991. He became an overnight sensation and people were mesmerized by his natural gift and talent.
Like many in 2006, I was extremely upset for not being able to see Lionel in action for Barca against Arsenal. Nevertheless fast forward three years, we have seen how Lionel progress from a young boy to a young man.
The departure of RONALDHINO from the Nou Camp last year did not go down well with many football critics. Some where left to wonder whether or not they will ever return to the form side during the years from 2004 to 2006.
But I was very positive that this was the right moment for Lionel to seize the opportunity to fully command Pep GUORDIOLA’s side. While it is easy to say that Barcelona do have other great talent but every movement on the pitch from this team revolves around the Atomic Flea.
This season alone, he has inspire the Blaugrana to the Copa del Rey and La Liga and now he is on the verge to help them to achieve the unprecedented treble. I believe this final, in what will the biggest match of his career, was perfectly made for him to grace.
So Who Will Lift the Trophy?
If there is one thing that both TEVEZ and MESSI has something in common (besides being Olympic gold medalist), is that they never fail to amaze the critics. Just as when you think you’ve seen everything, there’s always another trick in the bag from them.
I’m finding hard to stick to one of them because I love both of them very much. One side of me is dreaming to see Carlitos scoring the winning goal and give United the title so that he can blow sarcastic goodbye kiss towards Fergie. The other part of me, also wants to see Lionel to play the game of his life and finally winning over the critics that he finally deserves the World Player of the Year title.
Let me tell you this, I still haven’t made my mind yet on for who I’ll be cheering on come Wednesday though I’m pretty sure most likely it’s going to be……
Well I’ll just leave it as it is for the time being. For now, let’s just hope that we will see a spectacular final.
VAMOS CARLITOS!!! VAMOS LEO!!!
2009 Rolland Garros - DEL POTRO Cruised Past LLORDA
Juan Martin DEL POTRO had no trouble in his opening game as he away with a comfortable 6-3 6-3 6-1 winner over France's Michael LLORDA on Court One, but the inclement Paris weather would have tested his patience. Fifth seed Juan Martin DEL POTRO had to endure two stoppages for rain before sealing his place in the second round of the French Open on Tuesday.
The 20-year-old has never gone further than the second round here but after a breakthrough summer in 2008, he has suddenly become a danger at Roland Garros. He has reached at least the quarter-finals in eight of his nine tournaments so far this year, including the Australian Open.
Beginning their match under grey skies, the players went off after 20 minutes of action - at 1130 local time - because of rain with DEL POTRO 3-1 ahead. He resumed two hours later to take the first two sets but went off for a short five-minute spell as another shower came and went.
DEL POTRO breezed through the third set to clinch a round-two clash with either Lukasz KUBOT or Viktor TROICKI.
The following are other results involving the Albiceleste from Day 2 & 3: -
Diego JUNQUEIRA defeats Paul CAPDEVILLE (CHI) - 3-6, 7-5-, 6-1 & 6-3
Martin Vassallo ARGUELLO defeats Thomaz BELLUCCI (BRA) - 4-6, 7-6 & 5-5 (BELLUCCI retires)
Sergio ROITMAN lost to Jurgen MELZER (AUST) - 4-6, 6-7 & 0-6
Eduardo SCHWANK lost to Guillaume RUFIN (FRA) - 1-6, 3-6 & 3-6
Jose ACASUSO defeats Santiago VENTURA (ESP) - 3-6, 7-6, 6-0 & 6-3
The 20-year-old has never gone further than the second round here but after a breakthrough summer in 2008, he has suddenly become a danger at Roland Garros. He has reached at least the quarter-finals in eight of his nine tournaments so far this year, including the Australian Open.
Beginning their match under grey skies, the players went off after 20 minutes of action - at 1130 local time - because of rain with DEL POTRO 3-1 ahead. He resumed two hours later to take the first two sets but went off for a short five-minute spell as another shower came and went.
DEL POTRO breezed through the third set to clinch a round-two clash with either Lukasz KUBOT or Viktor TROICKI.
The following are other results involving the Albiceleste from Day 2 & 3: -
Diego JUNQUEIRA defeats Paul CAPDEVILLE (CHI) - 3-6, 7-5-, 6-1 & 6-3
Martin Vassallo ARGUELLO defeats Thomaz BELLUCCI (BRA) - 4-6, 7-6 & 5-5 (BELLUCCI retires)
Sergio ROITMAN lost to Jurgen MELZER (AUST) - 4-6, 6-7 & 0-6
Eduardo SCHWANK lost to Guillaume RUFIN (FRA) - 1-6, 3-6 & 3-6
Jose ACASUSO defeats Santiago VENTURA (ESP) - 3-6, 7-6, 6-0 & 6-3
Monday, May 25, 2009
Happy Birthday To The Founder of Mundo Albiceleste!
It is a great pleasure for me to let everyone know that we celebrate the Founder of Mundo Albiceleste, Seba’s birthday on the 25th of May.
First a bit of history lesson here. Three years ago, I discovered this interesting place (back then it was known as Vamos Argentina) through my friend. The place which I’ve dreamt about for long time and finally it was reality. From there on, I became a reader to a commenter and later on being invited as a writer. This is the only place in the world where I can express my feelings about my most favourite subject; Argentina that is.
However non of this would have happened if it wasn’t for the initiative taken by Seba to start this blog. It was his effort that made it possible for all of us to gather, exchange opinions/views and make new friends at the same time.
And as a fan, I’ve always enjoyed his writing and articles. Most importantly for me & Roy, as a friend we’ve learned many things from him throughout our time here as a writer for Mundo Albiceleste.
Therefore I would to take this opportunity to be the first to wish him, Feliz Cumpleaños, Seba and many many happy returns of the day.
Just one small request from you, amigo; Please make sure you reserved that one important wish for all of us here when you blow those candles. That same wish that we all hope will become true sooner.
Have a good one and God bless you my friend.
First a bit of history lesson here. Three years ago, I discovered this interesting place (back then it was known as Vamos Argentina) through my friend. The place which I’ve dreamt about for long time and finally it was reality. From there on, I became a reader to a commenter and later on being invited as a writer. This is the only place in the world where I can express my feelings about my most favourite subject; Argentina that is.
However non of this would have happened if it wasn’t for the initiative taken by Seba to start this blog. It was his effort that made it possible for all of us to gather, exchange opinions/views and make new friends at the same time.
And as a fan, I’ve always enjoyed his writing and articles. Most importantly for me & Roy, as a friend we’ve learned many things from him throughout our time here as a writer for Mundo Albiceleste.
Therefore I would to take this opportunity to be the first to wish him, Feliz Cumpleaños, Seba and many many happy returns of the day.
Just one small request from you, amigo; Please make sure you reserved that one important wish for all of us here when you blow those candles. That same wish that we all hope will become true sooner.
Have a good one and God bless you my friend.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Diego MILITO keeps Genoa dreaming of Champions League
Another match for Genoa, another brace from Diego MILITO to help them stay with chances to qualify to the UEFA Champions League for next season.
MILITO opened the scoring converting a penalty kick against Torino and then scored the decisive game-winning goal in the last minute.
Unfortunately for him and his team, Fiorentina also scored in the dying seconds of their game against Lecce and the Viola are three points ahead of Genoa with only one game left.
Fiorentina will host AC Milan, whilst Genoa will entertain Lecce.
Diego MILITO, who will play for Internazionale next season, reached the 22-goal mark and he trails Zlatan IBRAHIMOVIC and Marco DI VAIO by only one goal.
2009 Rolland Garros Preview
It’s been a while since I’ve followed any tennis on the news or even on television. So now’s the time to do so with the second Grand Slam of the year already underway. The Rolland Garros (or more famously known as the French Open) is played on clay and will always represent our best chances of winning a Grand Slam.
The biggest disappointment about this year campaign is that we will not have David NALBANDIAN. Earlier this month he announced that he will undergo a hip surgery, resulting in not being able to continue for the rest of the season. By all means this has to be a big lost for us as he is still regarded in my opinion as one of our best.
So all Albiceleste hope will rest on the shoulder of Juan Martin DEL POTRO. The fifth seeded will face local hero Michael LLODRA in the first round. We all remember the last time he was action in the Grand Slam (Aussie Open) and how he was humble by Roger FEDERER. But a lot has changed since then as he has defeated Rafael NADAL and Fedex in a couple of ATP tournaments held during the last few months.
Another interesting tie will see 2004 winner Gaston GAUDIO taking on Radek STEPANEK. El Gato enters the tournament courtesy of a wild card entry. Juan Ignacio CHELA will have a tough tie when he takes on 3rd seeded Andy MURRAY.
Here are the rest of the first round fixtures: -
Diego JUNQUEIRA vs. Paul CAPDEVILLE (CHI)
Agustin CALLERI vs. Nicolas ALMAGRO (ESP)
Martin Vassallo ARGUELLO vs. Thomaz BELLUCCI (BRA)
Juan MONACO vs. Marcos BAGHDATIS (CYP)
Maximo GONZALEZ vs. Andres SEPPI (ITA)
Brian DABUL vs. Sergiy STAKHOVSKY (UKR)
Sergio ROITMAN vs. Jurgen MELZER (AUST)
Eduardo SCHWANK vs. Guillaume RUFIN (FRA)
Leonardo MAYER vs. James BLAKE (USA)
Jose ACASUSO vs. Santiago VENTURA (ESP)
Friday, May 22, 2009
Random Video: The 2002 Era...
With all the talk of World Cup Qualifiers and the list just being released, I present you with... Batigol, la Brujita, Juampi, El Burrito and more! It's Argentina's 2002 team!
Yes, it's time for Random Video of the Day(even though it's rare that we have them). I've been wanting to post this video for a few days now and finally had time. In the video, it's mostly goals by Argentina in the 2002 World Cup Qualifiers, along with some clips from friendlys around that time(1998-2002). Truly a great video and illustrates how unlucky we were in 2002.
Argentina beat Panama with a BERGESSIO brace
The video doesn't have the best image quality, but all the goals are there and there are extended highlights too.
Not much can be say about the team performance. These players have only been together for a few training sessions, only a handful of them played the entire 90 minutes and the opposition wasn't exactly world class.
What I did like was the performance Gonzalo BERGESSIO put up. He scored two and he even prompted MARADONA to tell him to stop running near the end of the match. Seriously. He did.
The first goal, from DEFEDERICO, was a beauty.
There were also good performances from PREDIGER and OTAMENDI, although him and the rest of the back three had some troubles, but that will always be the case when you have a very offensive-minded team and players barely know each other.
One thing was pretty clear to me...SAND and FUERTES are not national team standard. They may score tons of goals for Lanús and Colón, but they will never give world class defensive units a head-ache.
They could never cut it in Europe and they would struggle big time to score against World Cup contenders.
The list: No HIGUAÍN, no CAMBIASSO...
Maradona has just released his list for the next World Cup Qualifiers. The first match will take place in Buenos Aires against Colombia on June 6, while the other match takes place in Quito(at altitude) against Ecuador. Not much of a surprise, Gonzalo HIGUAÍN has NOT been called up along with Esteban CAMBIASSO, but public enemy #1 Gabriel HEINZE made the list.
Goalkeepers:
Juan Pablo CARRIZO (Lazio, Italia)
Mariano ANDÚJAR (Estudiantes LP)
Federico VILAR (Atlante, México)
Defenders:
Martín DEMICHELIS (Bayern Munich, Alemania)
Emiliano PAPA (Vélez Sársfield)
Gabriel HEINZE (Real Madrid, España)
Marcos ANGELERI (Estudiantes LP)
Javier ZANETTI (Internazionale, Italia)
Daniel DÍAZ (Getafe, España)
Nicolás BURDISSO (Internazionale, Italia)
Nicolás OTAMENDI (Vélez Sársfield)
Juan FORLÍN (Boca Juniors)
Midfielders:
Javier MASCHERANO (Liverpool, Inglaterra)
Fernando GAGO (Real Madrid, España)
Juan SEBASTIÁN VERÓN (Estudiantes LP)
Maximiliano RODRÍGUEZ (Atlético de Madrid, España)
Jonás GUTIÉRREZ (Newcastle, Inglaterra)
Sebastián BATTAGLIA (Boca Juniors)
Cristian GIMÉNEZ (Pachuca, México)
Daniel MONTENEGRO (Independiente)
Forwards:
Lionel MESSI (Barcelona, España)
Carlos TEVEZ (Manchester United, Inglaterra)
Sergio AGÜERO (Atlético de Madrid, España)
Lisandro LÓPEZ (Porto, Portugal)
Diego MILITO (Genoa, Italia)
Gonzalo BERGESSIO (San Lorenzo)
The exclusion of Gonzalo HIGUAÍN does not come as a surprise as MARADONA came out last week and said that he was not in his plans. However the exclusion of CAMBIASSO is mind-boggling. As to who made the list, after impressing in the 3-1 victory over Panama, Gonzalo BERGESSIO got a call-up. Angel DÍ MARÍA is suspended for 4 games which means he will not only miss this round, but the next round of Qualifiers as well. Argentina's public enemy #1 Gabriel HEINZE gets a call along with BURDISSO. Nicolás OTAMENDI(who played against Panama) also got called-up. No LAVEZZI and Lucho GONZALEZ due to injury.
What are your thoughts on the list and who you think should be in the Starting XI?
Goalkeepers:
Juan Pablo CARRIZO (Lazio, Italia)
Mariano ANDÚJAR (Estudiantes LP)
Federico VILAR (Atlante, México)
Defenders:
Martín DEMICHELIS (Bayern Munich, Alemania)
Emiliano PAPA (Vélez Sársfield)
Gabriel HEINZE (Real Madrid, España)
Marcos ANGELERI (Estudiantes LP)
Javier ZANETTI (Internazionale, Italia)
Daniel DÍAZ (Getafe, España)
Nicolás BURDISSO (Internazionale, Italia)
Nicolás OTAMENDI (Vélez Sársfield)
Juan FORLÍN (Boca Juniors)
Midfielders:
Javier MASCHERANO (Liverpool, Inglaterra)
Fernando GAGO (Real Madrid, España)
Juan SEBASTIÁN VERÓN (Estudiantes LP)
Maximiliano RODRÍGUEZ (Atlético de Madrid, España)
Jonás GUTIÉRREZ (Newcastle, Inglaterra)
Sebastián BATTAGLIA (Boca Juniors)
Cristian GIMÉNEZ (Pachuca, México)
Daniel MONTENEGRO (Independiente)
Forwards:
Lionel MESSI (Barcelona, España)
Carlos TEVEZ (Manchester United, Inglaterra)
Sergio AGÜERO (Atlético de Madrid, España)
Lisandro LÓPEZ (Porto, Portugal)
Diego MILITO (Genoa, Italia)
Gonzalo BERGESSIO (San Lorenzo)
The exclusion of Gonzalo HIGUAÍN does not come as a surprise as MARADONA came out last week and said that he was not in his plans. However the exclusion of CAMBIASSO is mind-boggling. As to who made the list, after impressing in the 3-1 victory over Panama, Gonzalo BERGESSIO got a call-up. Angel DÍ MARÍA is suspended for 4 games which means he will not only miss this round, but the next round of Qualifiers as well. Argentina's public enemy #1 Gabriel HEINZE gets a call along with BURDISSO. Nicolás OTAMENDI(who played against Panama) also got called-up. No LAVEZZI and Lucho GONZALEZ due to injury.
What are your thoughts on the list and who you think should be in the Starting XI?
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Argentina vs. Panama - Match Preview
The friendly against Panama is tomorrow(or today, depending on where you are!) and according to reports, this is the official line-up that MARADONA will put out.
Diego POZO, Matias CARUZZO, Nicolas OTAMENDI, Alexis FERRERO, Eduardo SALVIO, Hernan BERNADELLO, Fabian RINAUDO, Matias DE FEDERICO, Daniel MONTENEGRO, Jose SAND and Gonzalo BERGESSIO. Which would give us something like this.
------------------------POZO-----------------------------
---------FERRERO---CARUZZO---OTAMENDI----------
----BERNADELLO----RINAUDO-----DE FEDERICO-----
------------SALVIO--------MONTENEGRO--------------
------------SAND-----------------BERGESSIO-----------
At the moment, it is unknown whether Eduardo SALVIO will play beside MONTENEGRO or beside BERNADELLO. It also looks like MONTENEGRO will captain the team.
I've searched and I can't find out at what time the game will be played. So if anyone has some information, please, let us know!
Diego POZO, Matias CARUZZO, Nicolas OTAMENDI, Alexis FERRERO, Eduardo SALVIO, Hernan BERNADELLO, Fabian RINAUDO, Matias DE FEDERICO, Daniel MONTENEGRO, Jose SAND and Gonzalo BERGESSIO. Which would give us something like this.
------------------------POZO-----------------------------
---------FERRERO---CARUZZO---OTAMENDI----------
----BERNADELLO----RINAUDO-----DE FEDERICO-----
------------SALVIO--------MONTENEGRO--------------
------------SAND-----------------BERGESSIO-----------
At the moment, it is unknown whether Eduardo SALVIO will play beside MONTENEGRO or beside BERNADELLO. It also looks like MONTENEGRO will captain the team.
I've searched and I can't find out at what time the game will be played. So if anyone has some information, please, let us know!
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Celebration Without Playing In Italy
See if you could spot the Albiceleste Army in this video. Well Done and Congratulation to Javier ZANETTI & Co.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
MESSI and the Albicelestes at Inter: Champions without playing thanks to Saturday's results
Earlier on Sunday, we saw how Carlos TEVEZ's Manchester United played to a goal-less draw at Old Trafford against Arsenal to clinch the Premier League title.
It seems like a few of TEVEZ's fellow Argentines wanted to steal some of the headlines from the Apache and even without playing, they too have secured champions' medal.
Lionel MESSI must have been watching on TV as Villarreal defeated Real Madrid 3-2 (HIGUAIN on the scoresheet for La Casa Blanca) and gave Barcelona La Liga's title. This is Barcelona's 19th La Liga title and the second trophy they lift this week after they lifted the Copa del Rey on Wednesday and now they will be heading for Rome to try and clinch an unprecedented 'Treble' in the history of Spanish football.
In Italy, the Argentine Legion at Inter, celebrated the 17th Scudetto title for the club as Udinese, with a 2-1 win over AC Milan, guaranteed that no team will be able to surpass the Nerazzurri this season.
Besides captain Javier ZANETTI, the Argentines that are already celebrating the Serie A title are: Nicolás BURDISSO (1 goal), Walter SAMUEL (1 goal), Esteban CAMBIASSO (2 goals), Julio CRUZ (2 goals) and Hernan CRESPO (2 goals).
ZANETTI, CRUZ and CAMBIASSO have been there for Inter in all four of their consecutive league titles, whilst it's the third Scudetto for CRESPO, SAMUEL and BURDISSO.
Will they be able to finally challenge for the elusive Champions League trophy next season?
A big congratulations for all of these amazing ambassadors for Argentine football. Well done!
It seems like a few of TEVEZ's fellow Argentines wanted to steal some of the headlines from the Apache and even without playing, they too have secured champions' medal.
Lionel MESSI must have been watching on TV as Villarreal defeated Real Madrid 3-2 (HIGUAIN on the scoresheet for La Casa Blanca) and gave Barcelona La Liga's title. This is Barcelona's 19th La Liga title and the second trophy they lift this week after they lifted the Copa del Rey on Wednesday and now they will be heading for Rome to try and clinch an unprecedented 'Treble' in the history of Spanish football.
In Italy, the Argentine Legion at Inter, celebrated the 17th Scudetto title for the club as Udinese, with a 2-1 win over AC Milan, guaranteed that no team will be able to surpass the Nerazzurri this season.
Besides captain Javier ZANETTI, the Argentines that are already celebrating the Serie A title are: Nicolás BURDISSO (1 goal), Walter SAMUEL (1 goal), Esteban CAMBIASSO (2 goals), Julio CRUZ (2 goals) and Hernan CRESPO (2 goals).
ZANETTI, CRUZ and CAMBIASSO have been there for Inter in all four of their consecutive league titles, whilst it's the third Scudetto for CRESPO, SAMUEL and BURDISSO.
Will they be able to finally challenge for the elusive Champions League trophy next season?
A big congratulations for all of these amazing ambassadors for Argentine football. Well done!
Interview : TEVEZ
I'm taking the license to write here on this space so I keep this video up and I increase some information on this subject.
I'm reading in Olé (not the most reliable source after they have been discovered using a fake picture on their cover on Tuesday about a supposed flag at River's stadium that never existed), about an interview Carlos TEVEZ gave a TV show (InDirecto -TyC Sports-) on Friday.
Here's what TEVEZ said:
"I asked Kia (JOORABCHIAN -the owner of TEVEZ's rights-) not to talk to me about any offers at least until after the Champions League final. I want to focus only on that match. After that, I have one month to decide and choose where do I want to go".
"When you don't agree with your manager and the way things are run at the club..."
"I don't like many of the things that happen here. I've been here for two years and I never got to talk to the directors, I've never met with them. So, the best thing to do is to leave this club to avoid clashing with Sir Alex FERGUSON and the directors. I don't get why I'm not a regular first team starter".
"To remain in England is a possibility, because I think the Premier League is the best in the world. In Spain you have Barcelona and Real Madrid (a club I know that have an interest in me). In Italy there are Inter, AC Milan and Juve...but I believe that in the last few Champions League, the English teams have shown they're better. So I will think about what's best for me and my family".
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Enough said, don't you think?
TEVEZ champion again. Was it his last match at Old Trafford?
A little song from Manchester United fans dedicated to Carlos TEVEZ.
Once again, the Apache is lifting a trophy.
With a 0-0 result at home to Arsenal, Manchester United secured the title, which gives TEVEZ his fourteenth champion's medal in his career and his second consecutive Premier League title.
TEVEZ had a quiet game against Arsenal and got substituted after 66 minutes.
First, there was a thunderous booing from the home fans who didn't like the substitution. Then TEVEZ applauded them and wave at them in a gesture that hinted that he may be leaving Old Trafford at the end of the season.
That's still to be decided. In the meantime, congratulations to Carlos TEVEZ, making every Argentine football fan proud.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Who will play for Argentina's U-22 in Toulon?
No. I don't have many answers to that question.
The best I can do is to give you some general information about the tournament and some of the names that will travel to Toulon, France, with Sergio BATISTA to participate in an U22 Youth Festival to be played from 3 till 12 June, 2009.
Argentina will participate in Group A and will face Egypt, United Arab Emirates and Netherlands, whilst Chile, France, Portugal and Qatar will take part in Group B.
Speaking of Argentina, the first thing to know is that some Argentine clubs will not release some of the guys BATISTA called up.
The problem is the timing of this tournament. A few clubs are going to be playing decisive matches (some fighting for the title, some trying to avoid relegation) and since it is not an official FIFA tournament, I think the clubs have a point. It's not like they are not willing to release a player ahead of a Youth World Cup or a major tournament.
Big names - familiar faces playing in Europe?
Emiliano INSUA (Liverpool) was being considered but he should miss out on the tournament because of injury.
Ever BANEGA (Atl. Madrid)
Lautaro ACOSTA (Sevilla)
Argentine First Division established players?
Diego BUONANOTTE (River Plate - not confirmed, but with great chances to feature-).
Alejandro GOMEZ (San Lorenzo -former Arsenal de Sarandí-)
Exciting prospects?
Germán PACHECO (Atlético Madrid youth teams. He is 17 years old and he is scoring many goals in Spain. He left Velez Sarsfield when he was 15 and has been playing in Spain since then).
Guillermo BURDISSO (Nicolás' brother, playing at Rosario Central -doubtful because his team is struggling in the relegation fight and could not be released-).
Lucas TRECARICHI (Leganés -Spain-. A lot of great things are said about this youngster).
Other names:
Diego PEROTTI (Sevilla)
Gerardo BRUNA (Liverpool)
Matías MARTINEZ (Racing Club) was called up by BATISTA but Racing already told him they won't release him because MARTINEZ (top-scorer for Racing despite being a central defender) would miss a crucial match against Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata.
Boca Juniors have already communicate they won't release Facundo RONCAGLIA and Nicolás GAITAN but they have no problem with goalkeeper Josué AYALA joining BATISTA's team.
I guess we should keep an eye on this and see how the list finally shapes up. BATISTA said the list will be completed with players from the U18 and the U17. Remember the U17 just secured their ticket for the World Cup when they reached the final (lost on penalties to Brazil) in the South American tournament played in Chile.
This won't be the first time Argentina take places in this Toulon tournament. In 1975, under the guidance of César Luis MENOTTI, Argentina defeated France 1-0 in the final. Amongst our players were Daniel PASSARELLA, Américo GALLEGO and Jorge VALDANO.
In 1998, Argentina obtained their second title (beating France 2-0 in the final with goals from Francisco GUERRERO and Walter SAMUEL). Juan Román RIQUELME was elected best player of the tournament.
Here's the list of first round fixtures with dates and kick-off times (local time)
Wednesday, 3 June:
20:45 - Argentina v. Netherlands.
Friday, 5 June:
20:45 - Argentina v. Egypt
Sunday, 7 June:
19:00 - Argentina v. United Arab Emirates
The best I can do is to give you some general information about the tournament and some of the names that will travel to Toulon, France, with Sergio BATISTA to participate in an U22 Youth Festival to be played from 3 till 12 June, 2009.
Argentina will participate in Group A and will face Egypt, United Arab Emirates and Netherlands, whilst Chile, France, Portugal and Qatar will take part in Group B.
Speaking of Argentina, the first thing to know is that some Argentine clubs will not release some of the guys BATISTA called up.
The problem is the timing of this tournament. A few clubs are going to be playing decisive matches (some fighting for the title, some trying to avoid relegation) and since it is not an official FIFA tournament, I think the clubs have a point. It's not like they are not willing to release a player ahead of a Youth World Cup or a major tournament.
Big names - familiar faces playing in Europe?
Emiliano INSUA (Liverpool) was being considered but he should miss out on the tournament because of injury.
Ever BANEGA (Atl. Madrid)
Lautaro ACOSTA (Sevilla)
Argentine First Division established players?
Diego BUONANOTTE (River Plate - not confirmed, but with great chances to feature-).
Alejandro GOMEZ (San Lorenzo -former Arsenal de Sarandí-)
Exciting prospects?
Germán PACHECO (Atlético Madrid youth teams. He is 17 years old and he is scoring many goals in Spain. He left Velez Sarsfield when he was 15 and has been playing in Spain since then).
Guillermo BURDISSO (Nicolás' brother, playing at Rosario Central -doubtful because his team is struggling in the relegation fight and could not be released-).
Lucas TRECARICHI (Leganés -Spain-. A lot of great things are said about this youngster).
Other names:
Diego PEROTTI (Sevilla)
Gerardo BRUNA (Liverpool)
Matías MARTINEZ (Racing Club) was called up by BATISTA but Racing already told him they won't release him because MARTINEZ (top-scorer for Racing despite being a central defender) would miss a crucial match against Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata.
Boca Juniors have already communicate they won't release Facundo RONCAGLIA and Nicolás GAITAN but they have no problem with goalkeeper Josué AYALA joining BATISTA's team.
I guess we should keep an eye on this and see how the list finally shapes up. BATISTA said the list will be completed with players from the U18 and the U17. Remember the U17 just secured their ticket for the World Cup when they reached the final (lost on penalties to Brazil) in the South American tournament played in Chile.
This won't be the first time Argentina take places in this Toulon tournament. In 1975, under the guidance of César Luis MENOTTI, Argentina defeated France 1-0 in the final. Amongst our players were Daniel PASSARELLA, Américo GALLEGO and Jorge VALDANO.
In 1998, Argentina obtained their second title (beating France 2-0 in the final with goals from Francisco GUERRERO and Walter SAMUEL). Juan Román RIQUELME was elected best player of the tournament.
Here's the list of first round fixtures with dates and kick-off times (local time)
Wednesday, 3 June:
20:45 - Argentina v. Netherlands.
Friday, 5 June:
20:45 - Argentina v. Egypt
Sunday, 7 June:
19:00 - Argentina v. United Arab Emirates
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
MESSI wins Copa Del Rey, ZARATE wins Coppa Italia and TEVEZ's magic touch lifts United!
MESSI's goal.
Barcelona still fighting for the treble had the chance to lift the first trophy of the season as they met Athletic Bilbao in the Copa Del Rey final. With the score tied 1-1 in the 55th minute(after an amazing run by Toure YAYA), MESSI picked up on a loose ball and struck it behind a few players to give Barcelona the lead. Two minutes later, MESSI delivered a sublime pass to BOJAN who scored the third goal for Barcelona. And finally at the 64th minute, XAVI made it 4-1 with a fantastic free kick to put the game beyond Bilbao's reach as Barcelona won their first title of the season.
The Copa Del Rey final wasn't the only final being played, as Mauro ZARATE'S Lazio took on Sampdoria in the Coppa Italia final. With just under 5 minutes played, ZARATE beat 2 players and beat the goalkeeper with a thunderous shot from outside the box as he gave Lazio the lead. With the score tied 1-1, the match went to penalties. Argentina man(though uncapped), Cristian Ledesma took the first penalty for Lazio and converted it to give his team the lead(CASSANO had missed for Sampdoria already). ZARATE was the 5th shooter for Lazio and like LEDESMA scored. It went to 7 shooters and it was CAMPAGNARO who missed for Sampdoria and DABO who sealed the Coppa Italia for Lazio as he scored. Lazio won the match 6-5. Juan Pablo CARRIZO was an un-used substitute for Lazio.
ZARATE's goal.
Penalties.
Moving to the English Premier League, it was league leaders Manchester United who took on Wigan. Carloes TEVEZ started the match on the bench, as he saw his team fall behind 1-0 after 28 minutes. Having been brought on as a substitute in the 58th minute, it took him only 3 minutes to find the back of the net after a beautiful back-flick to beat the goalkeeper. Michael CARRICK later scored the game winner in the 86th minute.
TEVEZ's goal.
In other news, Hernan CRESPO sustained a strain of a muscle in his right thigh, which means that he will miss the rest of the season. Angel DI MARIA is unhappy at Benfica and is seeking a new club. He's been used mostly as a substitute, barely getting any minutes at all. If you'll remember, Real Madrid were interested in signing him at the winter transfer window back in January. Angel DI MARIA is not the only one that seems to be on the move as Javier SAVIOLA is likely to leave Real Madrid in the summer. His agent came out and said that clubs in England and Italy have contacted them. According to reports, the English clubs interested in the "Little Rabit" are Everton, West Ham and Aston Villa, where in Italy it's Lazio and Sampdoria that are interested in him. With the TEVEZ saga already going on, you can now add CRESPO, DI MARIA and SAVIOLA to the list of players that will more likely move.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
CRESPO, TEVEZ, AGUERO and more!
The Carlos TEVEZ saga continues, this time it's good news for TEVEZ as he scored a fantastic goal for Manchester United in the Manchester derby. With the score 1-0 for United, Dimitar BERBATOV passed the ball to Carlos TEVEZ who had a man on him but still managed to send in a great shot that kissed the post and in. Manchester United won the match 2-0. The play starts at the 45 second mark.
Finding life difficult under Jose Mourinho, Hernan CRESPO was given a rare start this season against Chievo. It took 3 minutes for Valdanito to find the back of the net as Inter led the game 0-1. Serbian International Dejan STANKOVIC crossed the ball into Chievo's box which landed infront of Esteban CAMBIASSO who fired a shot towards the keeper. The goalkeeper gave the rebound and CRESPO being the great "#9" that he is scored from close range. Javier ZANETTI, Hernan CRESPO, Esteban CAMBIASSO and Walter SAMUEL all started for the Italian League champions. In the 57th minute, CRESPO came off for fellow Argentine Julio CRUZ and in the 67th minute, Sulley MUNTARI came off for another Argentina man, Nicolas BURDISSO.
Moving to Spain, Atletico Madrid took on a rejuvenated Espanyol side. With the score 2-1 for Espanyol, Sergio "Kun" Aguero tied the game for the home side in another sort of "#9" goal. The ball was sent into the box and AGUERO just tapped it into the net, ala Hernan CRESPO during his prime. Sergio AGUERO, Maxi RODRIGUEZ and Leo FRANCO all started the match for Atletico Madrid and Ever BANEGA came on at the 72nd minute. Olympic Gold Medalist, Nicolas PAREJA played the full 90 minutes for Espanyol. Atletico Madrid won the match 3-2 thanks to a 90th minute goal by Uruguayin Diego FORLAN. The cross is sent in at 1:12.
Pablo PIATTI scored in the 90th minute for Almeria as they defeated Sporting Gijon, 3-1(he scored the third goal in the 90th minute).
Don't forget to vote for the Mundo Albiceleste and Hasta El Gol Siempre award for the best Argentine Player Abroad (2008-2009).
Click here to vote.
Saturday, May 09, 2009
Argentina shines for Bayern
Battling for top spot in the Bundesliga, Bayern Munich took on relegation bound Energie Cottbus. Both Martin DEMICHELIS and Jose Ernesto SOSA started for Bayern and scored 2 of the 3 goals. Jose SOSA opened the scoring in the 23rd minute to give the visitors the lead. The ball was crossed onto Luca TONI who headed the ball into SOSA's direction and a volley sent the ball into the top corner.
Heading into the dressing room it was 1-1 until the 62nd minute where Martin DEMICHELIS or "MICHO" as they call him, scored an AYALA like goal, using his head off a corner kick. 4 minutes later, Germany International Lukas PODOLSKI scored to seal the win for Germany.
Don't forget to vote for the Mundo Albiceleste and Hasta El Gol Siempre award for the best Argentine Player Abroad (2008-2009).
Click here to vote.
Heading into the dressing room it was 1-1 until the 62nd minute where Martin DEMICHELIS or "MICHO" as they call him, scored an AYALA like goal, using his head off a corner kick. 4 minutes later, Germany International Lukas PODOLSKI scored to seal the win for Germany.
Don't forget to vote for the Mundo Albiceleste and Hasta El Gol Siempre award for the best Argentine Player Abroad (2008-2009).
Click here to vote.
Thursday, May 07, 2009
Mundo Albiceleste and Hasta El Gol Siempre team-up to let you vote for the best Argentine Player Abroad (2008-2009)
It's our pleasure to announce the nomination period for the annual award our very good friend Sam at Hasta El Gol Siempre gives away to the Best Argentine Abroad.
This time, we have teamed-up to give this voting process a little bit more exposure and, most importantly, to give every Mundo Albiceleste's loyal reader the chance to cast their votes and have a saying in the results.
But first, we need to nominate the players that will be fighting for this award.
In order to do that, you should first read the following basic explanation on how the process works.
You can either read it here below, or visit the excellent Hasta El Gol Siempre, a website devoted mostly to the domestic Argentine league and Argentine football in general.
Nominations for the 2009 HEGS award for Best Argentine Abroad (formerly known as Best Argentine In A Foreign League) are now open. This year the award is being run in conjunction with Seba, John and Roy at the wonderful Mundo Albiceleste, so hopefully we’ll have more voters than ever before.
This time, we have teamed-up to give this voting process a little bit more exposure and, most importantly, to give every Mundo Albiceleste's loyal reader the chance to cast their votes and have a saying in the results.
But first, we need to nominate the players that will be fighting for this award.
In order to do that, you should first read the following basic explanation on how the process works.
You can either read it here below, or visit the excellent Hasta El Gol Siempre, a website devoted mostly to the domestic Argentine league and Argentine football in general.
Nominations for the 2009 HEGS award for Best Argentine Abroad (formerly known as Best Argentine In A Foreign League) are now open. This year the award is being run in conjunction with Seba, John and Roy at the wonderful Mundo Albiceleste, so hopefully we’ll have more voters than ever before.
The award looks to recognise the Argentine footballer who readers feel has performed most impressively for a foreign (that is, non-Argentine) club over the past season, and the previous winners were Lionel MESSI of Barcelona in 2007, and Manchester United’s Carlos TEVEZ last year. Any Argentine player you want to vote for is fair game in this first round of voting, but please only nominate one player. Once the deadline for nominations has passed, the five players with the most nominations will be posted up here on Mundo Albiceleste and over on HEGS, and voting will open again to decide the winner.
As with the previous two years it’s run, the only restrictions are that nominated players must have played for their current side for the whole (or near as dammit) of the 2008-2009 season, and that he’s got to be available for selection in Diego MARADONA’s national side – Darío CVITANICH, Mauro CAMORANESI et al don’t count as Argentine for our purposes! If a player’s at a side whose season doesn’t tie in with the ’standard’ western European season, but has been there for what you feel should be long enough, nominate him anyway – if he’s not eligible we’ll get back to you and allow you a second option.
So, if you think Gabriel HEINZE’s an absolute no-brainer due to his rock-solid performances at the heart of the Real Madrid backline, drop us a line. Perhaps you think Gonzalo HIGUAÍN – who’s outscored club legend Raúl this season – might be a better bet. Still can’t understand why Lucho GONZÁLEZ isn’t playing in Italy, England or Spain? Feel Lucas LOBOS deserves more recognition, or Luciano GALLETTI’s contribution at Olympiakos is overlooked?
Nominations should be emailed to awards@hastaelgolsiempre.com, and to make it easy to remember (and also because the previous two winners’ clubs will be in action that night), will close at midnight Argentine time (4am British Summer Time) on the night of the European Cup final.
So...start sending in those votes!
* Votes coming through the comments' boxes at both websites, will not count for the purpose of the award. We will only consider nominations coming via e-mail.
Future friendlies: Russia confirmed. Spain, Nigeria possible. Plus: A new name for Diego's "B Team"
Jack, one of our loyal readers, broke the news in the comments' box, so I'm here to increase on the information he gave us.
After checking with more than three sources, I can confirm that Argentina will play a friendly match against Russia in Moscow on 12 August.
Depending on how the World Cup Qualifying campaign goes from now on, and if Argentina seal their ticket to South Africa 2010 without having to face a CONCACAF team in a playoffs, there will be a further two friendly matches against high-profile opponents that Diego MARADONA could use to start the team's preparation for the World Cup.
If everything goes according to plans, MESSI will have another chance to shine at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium, only this time he'll have to play against Barcelona team-mates Xavi HERNANDEZ and Andres INIESTA as the reigning European champions, Spain, will host Argentina on 14 November.
A visit to Africa is also in the plans only four days after the friendly against Spain. Nigeria would be hosting Argentina in Lagos on 18 November.
These fixtures add up to the other confirmed friendly that will be played on 20 May in Santa Fé.
Guillermo TOFFONI, a FIFA agent working for the company World Eleven, who is in charge of organising friendlies from Argentina outside of their country, has confirmed the friendly against Russia and provided the information on the possibility of arranging the matches against Spain and Nigeria. He said he has nothing to do with the organization of the friendly against Panamá.
PREDIGER, ANOTHER LOCAL TALENT IN THE LIST TO FACE PANAMÁ
A concert in Montevideo, proved to paved the way for central midfielder Sebastián PREDIGER to be called up by Diego MARADONA to be a part of the Argentina squad, entirely formed by players competing in the local league, that will face Panamá on 20 May in Santa Fé, Argentina.
Why that concert had a saying in PREDIGER's destiny? Simple. Boca Juniors were scheduled to play today (Thursday, 7 May) against Defensor Sporting of Uruguay in their first leg of the Copa Libertadores' eight-finals round, but the Centenario Stadium was already booked by an Uruguayan duet called "Los Olimareños" and therefore, Defensor's authorities asked the CONMEBOL to postpone the match for one week in order to be able to use the Centenario Stadium and be able to cash in and sell more tickets.
Are you following? OK. There's more. Since Boca had four players called up in the original squad list MARADONA announced a few days ago and now they will be tied up with the second leg against Defensor Sporting being played at La Bombonera the day after Argentina face Panamá, Diego had to call up more players to make up the numbers.
Apart from the obvious case of Ezequiel MUÑOZ (injured), no Boca players will be able to make it for the Panamá friendly (MARADONA had called BATTAGLIA, PALERMO and FORLIN), but the Estudiantes footballers Diego called up (goalkeeper ANDUJAR, ANGELERI and VERON) will know their fate one their Copa Libertadores tie is decided. If they win, they won't be with Argentina. If they lose, they'll be available (because their second leg will be played on 14 May, one week before the friendly).
Martín PALERMO's fans will have to wait to see him back wearing the Albiceleste (unless he gets a red card in the first leg of the tie against Defensor. Hmmm...would that happen?).
Here's the list of 23 at the moment, that could be down to 20 if Estudiantes progress in the Copa Libertadores. In italic those players pending confirmation. Bold for those players added lately.
Goalkeepers:
Mariano ANDUJAR (Estudiantes de La Plata)
Cristian CAMPESTRINI (Arsenal -Sarandí-)
Diego POZO (Colón)
Defenders:
Emiliano PAPA (Vélez Sarsfield)
Matías CARUZZO (Argentinos Juniors)
Nicolás OTAMENDI (Vélez Sarsfield)
Alexis FERRERO (Colón)
Ignacio CANUTO (Argentinos Juniors)
Marcos ANGELERI (Estudiantes de La Plata)
Midfielders:
Hernán BERNARDELLO (Newell´s Old Boys)
Juan Sebastián VERÓN (Estudiantes de La Plata)
Sebastián BLANCO (Lanús)
Franco ZUCULINI (Racing Club)
Daniel MONTENEGRO (Independiente)
Matías DEFEDERICO (Huracán)
Fabián RINAUDO (Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata)
Sebastián PREDIGER (Colón de Santa Fé)
Forwards:
Mauro FORMICA (Newell´s Old Boys)
Maximiliano MORALEZ (Velez Sarsfield)
Milton CARAGLIO (Rosario Central)
Gonzalo BERGESSIO (San Lorenzo)
Eduardo SALVIO (Lanús)
José SAND (Lanús)
After checking with more than three sources, I can confirm that Argentina will play a friendly match against Russia in Moscow on 12 August.
Depending on how the World Cup Qualifying campaign goes from now on, and if Argentina seal their ticket to South Africa 2010 without having to face a CONCACAF team in a playoffs, there will be a further two friendly matches against high-profile opponents that Diego MARADONA could use to start the team's preparation for the World Cup.
If everything goes according to plans, MESSI will have another chance to shine at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium, only this time he'll have to play against Barcelona team-mates Xavi HERNANDEZ and Andres INIESTA as the reigning European champions, Spain, will host Argentina on 14 November.
A visit to Africa is also in the plans only four days after the friendly against Spain. Nigeria would be hosting Argentina in Lagos on 18 November.
These fixtures add up to the other confirmed friendly that will be played on 20 May in Santa Fé.
Guillermo TOFFONI, a FIFA agent working for the company World Eleven, who is in charge of organising friendlies from Argentina outside of their country, has confirmed the friendly against Russia and provided the information on the possibility of arranging the matches against Spain and Nigeria. He said he has nothing to do with the organization of the friendly against Panamá.
PREDIGER, ANOTHER LOCAL TALENT IN THE LIST TO FACE PANAMÁ
A concert in Montevideo, proved to paved the way for central midfielder Sebastián PREDIGER to be called up by Diego MARADONA to be a part of the Argentina squad, entirely formed by players competing in the local league, that will face Panamá on 20 May in Santa Fé, Argentina.
Why that concert had a saying in PREDIGER's destiny? Simple. Boca Juniors were scheduled to play today (Thursday, 7 May) against Defensor Sporting of Uruguay in their first leg of the Copa Libertadores' eight-finals round, but the Centenario Stadium was already booked by an Uruguayan duet called "Los Olimareños" and therefore, Defensor's authorities asked the CONMEBOL to postpone the match for one week in order to be able to use the Centenario Stadium and be able to cash in and sell more tickets.
Are you following? OK. There's more. Since Boca had four players called up in the original squad list MARADONA announced a few days ago and now they will be tied up with the second leg against Defensor Sporting being played at La Bombonera the day after Argentina face Panamá, Diego had to call up more players to make up the numbers.
Apart from the obvious case of Ezequiel MUÑOZ (injured), no Boca players will be able to make it for the Panamá friendly (MARADONA had called BATTAGLIA, PALERMO and FORLIN), but the Estudiantes footballers Diego called up (goalkeeper ANDUJAR, ANGELERI and VERON) will know their fate one their Copa Libertadores tie is decided. If they win, they won't be with Argentina. If they lose, they'll be available (because their second leg will be played on 14 May, one week before the friendly).
Martín PALERMO's fans will have to wait to see him back wearing the Albiceleste (unless he gets a red card in the first leg of the tie against Defensor. Hmmm...would that happen?).
Here's the list of 23 at the moment, that could be down to 20 if Estudiantes progress in the Copa Libertadores. In italic those players pending confirmation. Bold for those players added lately.
Goalkeepers:
Mariano ANDUJAR (Estudiantes de La Plata)
Cristian CAMPESTRINI (Arsenal -Sarandí-)
Diego POZO (Colón)
Defenders:
Emiliano PAPA (Vélez Sarsfield)
Matías CARUZZO (Argentinos Juniors)
Nicolás OTAMENDI (Vélez Sarsfield)
Alexis FERRERO (Colón)
Ignacio CANUTO (Argentinos Juniors)
Marcos ANGELERI (Estudiantes de La Plata)
Midfielders:
Hernán BERNARDELLO (Newell´s Old Boys)
Juan Sebastián VERÓN (Estudiantes de La Plata)
Sebastián BLANCO (Lanús)
Franco ZUCULINI (Racing Club)
Daniel MONTENEGRO (Independiente)
Matías DEFEDERICO (Huracán)
Fabián RINAUDO (Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata)
Sebastián PREDIGER (Colón de Santa Fé)
Forwards:
Mauro FORMICA (Newell´s Old Boys)
Maximiliano MORALEZ (Velez Sarsfield)
Milton CARAGLIO (Rosario Central)
Gonzalo BERGESSIO (San Lorenzo)
Eduardo SALVIO (Lanús)
José SAND (Lanús)
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
MESSI and TEVEZ, two gladiators going to Rome
TEVEZ saw from the bench on Tuesday how his (soon-to-be-former-club?) Manchester United reached their second consecutive Champions League.
On Wednesday, Lionel MESSI had to endure almost 94 minutes of constant suffering before dishing out a cool assist for INIESTA to burn down Stamford Bridge and send FC Barcelona to the all important May 27 match at the Stadio Olimpico of Rome.
Two of the most iconic and popular Argentine players these days will meet up in what promises to be one of the most incredible Champions League finals in recent years.
TEVEZ is not enjoying a whole lot of starts for Manchester United this season. BERBATOV's arrival reduced TEVEZ's minutes to a minimum, but that probably wasn't the reason why Carlitos had to wait on the bench at the Emirates Stadium. Remember he played, and quite well, in the first leg against Arsenal at Old Trafford.
Sir Alex FERGUSON played TEVEZ from the start and the Apache successfully took the first penalty in the shoot-out against Chelsea.
My gut feeling is FERGUSON will play him again. FERGUSON knows better than anyone, that TEVEZ gives him an edge when it comes to play finals or important matches. That's a story to discuss in the next few days, not now.
Because what's fresh now is what happened in London on Wednesday night.
Chelsea made it clear from the game's first action, when one of their players (can't remember exactly who was that) kicked the ball high into the night and towards Víctor VALDES' box. They didn't care about being looked at as a negative team, playing negative football. They went for the result. They almost got away with it, when thanks to a lucky rebound in Yaya TOURE's leg, ESSIEN scored an incredible goal after the ball bounced off the bar.
From that moment on, I knew Barcelona were in trouble. No HENRY (injured). No PUYOL (suspended). No MARQUEZ (injured). GUARDIOLA had to move around some players and use TOURE as an improvised centre back (I wonder what grade his brother Kolo would give him for his performance!). INIESTA played almost as a left winger and youngster Sergio BUSQUETS had the difficult task of playing as a central midfielder.
Chelsea were superb at closing every avenue, every road and every little hole for Barcelona. I believe Chelsea started playing a little bit more after Eric ABIDAL saw the red card for a foul on ANELKA. I thought they were starting to deserve it a little bit more.
I remember at half-time thinking..."If I had the chance to write a script of how I want this 'movie' to be, I'd want Chelsea to start dominating clearly. To start wasting chances. I'd want Barcelona to be reduced to 10-men. I'd want them to stink the whole second half and then...when everything looked done and dusted, scored on injury time through a John TERRY's own goal".
Well...the only thing that didn't happen just as I imagined it was that TERRY didn't score past Petr CECH, but apart from that, everything seemed to be a part of that imaginary movie I pictured inside my head.
When Dani ALVES (who had a very bad game in my opinion) received the ball with injury-time ticking away, I even said to my self: "If Barcelona scores in this one, I'll shout as much as I shouted when Maxi RODRIGUEZ scored against Mexico on entra-time".
Then Bojan didn't quite reach the ball, ETO'O couldn't control it as he would have wanted to, ESSIEN failed to clear and the ball fell to MESSI. What did he do? As it's been a constant during the previous 180 minutes, he had three men on him. ESSIEN, ALEX and there was another, I think it was BOSINGWA. He controlled the ball, attracted all those men and calmly sent the ball towards INIESTA, who was waiting for an opportunity to shoot. And shoot he did! It was Barcelona's only shot on target in the evening and it meant the world to them.
It meant a lot to me too. Regardless of my feelings towards Barcelona and Chelsea, I was supporting Barcelona with all my energies because of the kind of football they represent. I was against Chelsea for having one of the richest squads in the world and refusing to play football.
Yes, the referee failed to see two clear penalties for Chelsea (and another one that was very dubious). Yes, Chelsea fans will start going on and on about that and the theory that Michel PLATINI doesn't want English teams to dominate like they are doing in recent years. They probably have a point in the first argument, not so much in the second (the way I see things).
I think the bottomline is they approached the game as if they were a team with no world-class players going against a superior side. I would accept that kind of approach from a lower league team or a relegation struggler when facing a big team. I even had no complaints when they went to the Camp Nou with a similar tactic. Tonight, they only showed some flashes of dominance when Barcelona were reduced to 10 men, but they failed to seal the result. One goal, against a team that scored more than 100 this season (only in La Liga), is not a safe margin and I think the team that wanted it the most, was the one who advanced.
I was rooting for a chance to see a Champions League final that would give us the chance to see MESSI and TEVEZ. To see another round in the fight between MESSI and Cristiano RONALDO to see who's the best in the world.
Now we will see it.
On Wednesday, Lionel MESSI had to endure almost 94 minutes of constant suffering before dishing out a cool assist for INIESTA to burn down Stamford Bridge and send FC Barcelona to the all important May 27 match at the Stadio Olimpico of Rome.
Two of the most iconic and popular Argentine players these days will meet up in what promises to be one of the most incredible Champions League finals in recent years.
TEVEZ is not enjoying a whole lot of starts for Manchester United this season. BERBATOV's arrival reduced TEVEZ's minutes to a minimum, but that probably wasn't the reason why Carlitos had to wait on the bench at the Emirates Stadium. Remember he played, and quite well, in the first leg against Arsenal at Old Trafford.
Sir Alex FERGUSON played TEVEZ from the start and the Apache successfully took the first penalty in the shoot-out against Chelsea.
My gut feeling is FERGUSON will play him again. FERGUSON knows better than anyone, that TEVEZ gives him an edge when it comes to play finals or important matches. That's a story to discuss in the next few days, not now.
Because what's fresh now is what happened in London on Wednesday night.
Chelsea made it clear from the game's first action, when one of their players (can't remember exactly who was that) kicked the ball high into the night and towards Víctor VALDES' box. They didn't care about being looked at as a negative team, playing negative football. They went for the result. They almost got away with it, when thanks to a lucky rebound in Yaya TOURE's leg, ESSIEN scored an incredible goal after the ball bounced off the bar.
From that moment on, I knew Barcelona were in trouble. No HENRY (injured). No PUYOL (suspended). No MARQUEZ (injured). GUARDIOLA had to move around some players and use TOURE as an improvised centre back (I wonder what grade his brother Kolo would give him for his performance!). INIESTA played almost as a left winger and youngster Sergio BUSQUETS had the difficult task of playing as a central midfielder.
Chelsea were superb at closing every avenue, every road and every little hole for Barcelona. I believe Chelsea started playing a little bit more after Eric ABIDAL saw the red card for a foul on ANELKA. I thought they were starting to deserve it a little bit more.
I remember at half-time thinking..."If I had the chance to write a script of how I want this 'movie' to be, I'd want Chelsea to start dominating clearly. To start wasting chances. I'd want Barcelona to be reduced to 10-men. I'd want them to stink the whole second half and then...when everything looked done and dusted, scored on injury time through a John TERRY's own goal".
Well...the only thing that didn't happen just as I imagined it was that TERRY didn't score past Petr CECH, but apart from that, everything seemed to be a part of that imaginary movie I pictured inside my head.
When Dani ALVES (who had a very bad game in my opinion) received the ball with injury-time ticking away, I even said to my self: "If Barcelona scores in this one, I'll shout as much as I shouted when Maxi RODRIGUEZ scored against Mexico on entra-time".
Then Bojan didn't quite reach the ball, ETO'O couldn't control it as he would have wanted to, ESSIEN failed to clear and the ball fell to MESSI. What did he do? As it's been a constant during the previous 180 minutes, he had three men on him. ESSIEN, ALEX and there was another, I think it was BOSINGWA. He controlled the ball, attracted all those men and calmly sent the ball towards INIESTA, who was waiting for an opportunity to shoot. And shoot he did! It was Barcelona's only shot on target in the evening and it meant the world to them.
It meant a lot to me too. Regardless of my feelings towards Barcelona and Chelsea, I was supporting Barcelona with all my energies because of the kind of football they represent. I was against Chelsea for having one of the richest squads in the world and refusing to play football.
Yes, the referee failed to see two clear penalties for Chelsea (and another one that was very dubious). Yes, Chelsea fans will start going on and on about that and the theory that Michel PLATINI doesn't want English teams to dominate like they are doing in recent years. They probably have a point in the first argument, not so much in the second (the way I see things).
I think the bottomline is they approached the game as if they were a team with no world-class players going against a superior side. I would accept that kind of approach from a lower league team or a relegation struggler when facing a big team. I even had no complaints when they went to the Camp Nou with a similar tactic. Tonight, they only showed some flashes of dominance when Barcelona were reduced to 10 men, but they failed to seal the result. One goal, against a team that scored more than 100 this season (only in La Liga), is not a safe margin and I think the team that wanted it the most, was the one who advanced.
I was rooting for a chance to see a Champions League final that would give us the chance to see MESSI and TEVEZ. To see another round in the fight between MESSI and Cristiano RONALDO to see who's the best in the world.
Now we will see it.
Monday, May 04, 2009
Mythical MILITO. What else does he needs to do?
I'm picking up on an interesting debate about our attacking options that has been going on in our comments' box.
The first thing I'd say is that I think Argentina are lucky to have such a strong lineup of forwards to choose from. That is way better than having only 2 solid options for your national team and having to depend on them and only them.
My views?
AGUERO and TEVEZ should be on the radar regardless of their current form. You can't find talent like theirs very often and you have to keep calling them. Eventually, they'll pay back your trust. They have to be ready to be benched, though. They shouldn't feel they have a starting role guaranteed as it could lead to complacency.
Not so much AGUERO, but TEVEZ is a player that even when he is not in his best form, he provides any team he plays for with an intangible factor. Something that perhaps won't be reflected on the scoresheet, but will help the team immensely. His intensity, the level of commitment...I'll be very sad and afraid of our chances if he is not ready to go to the next World Cup.
MESSI is out of the question. I can't see how there can be a single detractor.
HIGUAIN. I said that he proved he is ready for the big games because I think so. I remember when he scored two goals in a superclasico vs. Boca when he played for River. One of them was with a back-heel shot and the other came after he dribbled round the keeper. He was...what? 17, 18 at that time. You can't blame him for Madrid's complete capitulation on Saturday. How can you expect him to do more when the ball was in Barcelona's possession for 99% of the time. I find it incredible that a Madrid player even managed to score. HIGUAIN is ready and he should be going to the World Cup 2010 and 2014 too.
ZARATE: Not the kind of player I like. Too selfish (even for a striker). I just don't like him, even though I give him all the credit in the world for what he is doing for Lazio. In my opinion, he doesn't belong to the national team. He's got MESSI, AGUERO and TEVEZ before him and he is not in the other mould of tall striker we should be bringing to the WC together with the three little guys.
LAVEZZI: I prefer him to ZARATE because I think POCHO can link up well with a natural goal-scorer. POCHO can set up goals for others to score. ZARATE plays for himself.
DENIS: Not good enough. He is being benched for a below mid-table team in Italy and never quite proved to be as consistent as we need a striker to be.
MILITO: Well...what else should he do to be recognised and get at least two consecutive matches for Argentina? Someone said two of his three goals on Sunday were taps-in, well...check how many of RONALDO's record-breaking WC goals have been taps-in? And how many of his career goals? They play as Number 9. They have an obligation to score taps-in. MILITO scored a hat-trick yesterday against Genoa's bitter rivals in a big city derby against Sampdoria. Do you know what that means to that team? They are trailing Fiorentina by only one point in their quest to get to the Champions League. And we're talking Genoa, not AC Milan or Inter or Juve. What MILITO is doing, even getting injured in the process, is nothing short of amazing. Say what you want about him, he is a natural goal-scoring machine and he deserves to have a place in the team.
MESSI and TEVEZ to go with Diego MILITO is my choice. AGUERO to start on the bench (especially based on current form).
The first thing I'd say is that I think Argentina are lucky to have such a strong lineup of forwards to choose from. That is way better than having only 2 solid options for your national team and having to depend on them and only them.
My views?
AGUERO and TEVEZ should be on the radar regardless of their current form. You can't find talent like theirs very often and you have to keep calling them. Eventually, they'll pay back your trust. They have to be ready to be benched, though. They shouldn't feel they have a starting role guaranteed as it could lead to complacency.
Not so much AGUERO, but TEVEZ is a player that even when he is not in his best form, he provides any team he plays for with an intangible factor. Something that perhaps won't be reflected on the scoresheet, but will help the team immensely. His intensity, the level of commitment...I'll be very sad and afraid of our chances if he is not ready to go to the next World Cup.
MESSI is out of the question. I can't see how there can be a single detractor.
HIGUAIN. I said that he proved he is ready for the big games because I think so. I remember when he scored two goals in a superclasico vs. Boca when he played for River. One of them was with a back-heel shot and the other came after he dribbled round the keeper. He was...what? 17, 18 at that time. You can't blame him for Madrid's complete capitulation on Saturday. How can you expect him to do more when the ball was in Barcelona's possession for 99% of the time. I find it incredible that a Madrid player even managed to score. HIGUAIN is ready and he should be going to the World Cup 2010 and 2014 too.
ZARATE: Not the kind of player I like. Too selfish (even for a striker). I just don't like him, even though I give him all the credit in the world for what he is doing for Lazio. In my opinion, he doesn't belong to the national team. He's got MESSI, AGUERO and TEVEZ before him and he is not in the other mould of tall striker we should be bringing to the WC together with the three little guys.
LAVEZZI: I prefer him to ZARATE because I think POCHO can link up well with a natural goal-scorer. POCHO can set up goals for others to score. ZARATE plays for himself.
DENIS: Not good enough. He is being benched for a below mid-table team in Italy and never quite proved to be as consistent as we need a striker to be.
MILITO: Well...what else should he do to be recognised and get at least two consecutive matches for Argentina? Someone said two of his three goals on Sunday were taps-in, well...check how many of RONALDO's record-breaking WC goals have been taps-in? And how many of his career goals? They play as Number 9. They have an obligation to score taps-in. MILITO scored a hat-trick yesterday against Genoa's bitter rivals in a big city derby against Sampdoria. Do you know what that means to that team? They are trailing Fiorentina by only one point in their quest to get to the Champions League. And we're talking Genoa, not AC Milan or Inter or Juve. What MILITO is doing, even getting injured in the process, is nothing short of amazing. Say what you want about him, he is a natural goal-scoring machine and he deserves to have a place in the team.
MESSI and TEVEZ to go with Diego MILITO is my choice. AGUERO to start on the bench (especially based on current form).
Saturday, May 02, 2009
MESSI steals show from HIGUAIN and R. Madrid
Lionel MESSI scored two goals for Barcelona at the Bernabeu Stadium to practically clinch La Liga title for his team.
Thierry HENRY scored a brace and defenders PUYOL and PIQUE had one each for a Barcelona side that defeated Real Madrid 6-2 and took their lead up to seven points at the top of the standings.
Gonzalo HIGUAIN proved, if he needed to prove anything, that he is ready for the big games. He opened the scoring with a header inside the first 15 minutes and not even the most pessimistic Madrid supporter would have imagined what was about to come.
HENRY (assisted brilliantly by MESSI) and PUYOL turned the game around before the clock got to 20 minutes in the first half.
MESSI then received from Xavi HERNANDEZ (one day I'll rank the most intelligent players in the World. As a preview, I'd say Xavi ranks in the Top3) and Lionel burst into one of his trademark flashy runs to calmly finish with his left foot towards the far post of a helpless Iker CASILLAS.
Sergio RAMOS scored with a header to put Madrid back in the game in the start of the second half, but HENRY again, MESSI and PIQUE sent Barcelona out of reach again.
Very short videos from the clásico español:
HIGUAIN puts Real Madrid ahead:
Here's MESSI's first goal (3-1 to Barcelona):
This is MESSI's second goal (5-2):
Thierry HENRY scored a brace and defenders PUYOL and PIQUE had one each for a Barcelona side that defeated Real Madrid 6-2 and took their lead up to seven points at the top of the standings.
Gonzalo HIGUAIN proved, if he needed to prove anything, that he is ready for the big games. He opened the scoring with a header inside the first 15 minutes and not even the most pessimistic Madrid supporter would have imagined what was about to come.
HENRY (assisted brilliantly by MESSI) and PUYOL turned the game around before the clock got to 20 minutes in the first half.
MESSI then received from Xavi HERNANDEZ (one day I'll rank the most intelligent players in the World. As a preview, I'd say Xavi ranks in the Top3) and Lionel burst into one of his trademark flashy runs to calmly finish with his left foot towards the far post of a helpless Iker CASILLAS.
Sergio RAMOS scored with a header to put Madrid back in the game in the start of the second half, but HENRY again, MESSI and PIQUE sent Barcelona out of reach again.
Very short videos from the clásico español:
HIGUAIN puts Real Madrid ahead:
Here's MESSI's first goal (3-1 to Barcelona):
This is MESSI's second goal (5-2):
Friday, May 01, 2009
Argentina to face Van Halen...I mean: PA-NA-MA!
First, it was going to be Uruguay. Then, the candidate was Paraguay. Someone said: Perú, Costa Rica, Guatemala... A thousand different options were mentioned and in the end...our rival in a friendly match to be played on 20 May in Santa Fé, will be Panamá.
We already know only players competing in our domestic league will be representing Argentina in that friendly. And we know Diego MARADONA called up 26 players.
Over the last few days we've been getting more information and bigger certainties.
Let's see...
Out of the players from that list, we know that young Boca Juniors defender, Ezequiel MUÑOZ, is injured and will be sideline for a good few months.
Depending on how they fare at the Copa Libertadores, we could be also missing all the players from Estudiantes de La Plata and Boca Juniors.
The first leg of the Copa Libertadores quarter-finals starts exactly on May 20 and provided they advance from the eight-finals, both teams will meet the same day Argentina play Panamá.
If they get knocked out in the eight-finals round, they should be available, but the doubt remains because they'd be busy until a couple of days prior to the match, which would make things hard for Diego and for them to adapt to the new environment.
Therefore, there are doubts over the presence of ANDUJAR, ANGELERI, FORLIN, BATTAGLIA and most importantly, VERON and PALERMO.
The friendly match was officially announced by Ariel ALVARADO, the President of the Panama FA.
Hardly a fixture that could make us salivate in anticipation, Panama are not even playing in the final round of the CONCACAF World Cup Qualifiers.
The match will be played at Colón de Santa Fé stadium and Mundo Albiceleste will be giving all our readers more news when they start coming as the match approaches.
In the meantime...pump up that volume! Grow your big hairs and sing along!
We already know only players competing in our domestic league will be representing Argentina in that friendly. And we know Diego MARADONA called up 26 players.
Over the last few days we've been getting more information and bigger certainties.
Let's see...
Out of the players from that list, we know that young Boca Juniors defender, Ezequiel MUÑOZ, is injured and will be sideline for a good few months.
Depending on how they fare at the Copa Libertadores, we could be also missing all the players from Estudiantes de La Plata and Boca Juniors.
The first leg of the Copa Libertadores quarter-finals starts exactly on May 20 and provided they advance from the eight-finals, both teams will meet the same day Argentina play Panamá.
If they get knocked out in the eight-finals round, they should be available, but the doubt remains because they'd be busy until a couple of days prior to the match, which would make things hard for Diego and for them to adapt to the new environment.
Therefore, there are doubts over the presence of ANDUJAR, ANGELERI, FORLIN, BATTAGLIA and most importantly, VERON and PALERMO.
The friendly match was officially announced by Ariel ALVARADO, the President of the Panama FA.
Hardly a fixture that could make us salivate in anticipation, Panama are not even playing in the final round of the CONCACAF World Cup Qualifiers.
The match will be played at Colón de Santa Fé stadium and Mundo Albiceleste will be giving all our readers more news when they start coming as the match approaches.
In the meantime...pump up that volume! Grow your big hairs and sing along!
NBA Playoffs News - SCOLA & Rockets Ends Portland’s Trail
Sorry for not posting anything here as I’ve just recovered from a terrible illness. Feels good to be back by the way. Unfortunately there was no good news during these last few days. Both TEVEZ and MESSI firing blanks in the Champions League encounter.
Now back to the related article, as they say the JINX IS FINALLY LIFTED!!!!
The Houston Rockets responded after the defeat with a comfortable 92-76 win against the Portland Trail Blazers to close out the series 4-2. Tonight both Ron ARTEST and YAO Ming came out from their shell to contribute this win.
Luis SCOLA was quite tonight posting just 9 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal & 1 block shot. But clearly he was the series MVP. He was the only consistent force on the offensive end, especially in games three and four, when YAO had trouble getting the ball.
In Game Five, SCOLA scored 15 points in the first quarter, keeping them in the game, but it just wasn't enough. Check out this video on how the Blazers vent their emotions after they way Luis dismantle them in Game 3 & 4.
He only struggled in Game 6, but that was because the Blazers shifted their attention on him left Ron and YAO to do the damage. He scored 19, 12, 19, 17, 21, and 9 for the series, and was a constant factor on the boards and defense. He leads the series in terms of points with 16.2 ppg.
The Rockets would not have won this series without Luis SCOLA.
And just one more thing, Happy Birthday Luis!!!!!
Now back to the related article, as they say the JINX IS FINALLY LIFTED!!!!
The Houston Rockets responded after the defeat with a comfortable 92-76 win against the Portland Trail Blazers to close out the series 4-2. Tonight both Ron ARTEST and YAO Ming came out from their shell to contribute this win.
Luis SCOLA was quite tonight posting just 9 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal & 1 block shot. But clearly he was the series MVP. He was the only consistent force on the offensive end, especially in games three and four, when YAO had trouble getting the ball.
In Game Five, SCOLA scored 15 points in the first quarter, keeping them in the game, but it just wasn't enough. Check out this video on how the Blazers vent their emotions after they way Luis dismantle them in Game 3 & 4.
He only struggled in Game 6, but that was because the Blazers shifted their attention on him left Ron and YAO to do the damage. He scored 19, 12, 19, 17, 21, and 9 for the series, and was a constant factor on the boards and defense. He leads the series in terms of points with 16.2 ppg.
The Rockets would not have won this series without Luis SCOLA.
And just one more thing, Happy Birthday Luis!!!!!
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