Robinho Admits Chelsea Interest

Written by Chelsea FC True Blue on May 23rd, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on Football-Player.

Friday Backpasses: Toulon Day 4

Group B was back in action today. Toulon the town was given another break as La Seyne was the site of today's matches.

Ivory Coast 1-0 USA
All you need to know about this match can be summed up in one stat. Ivory Coast had 10 corner kicks, while the USA had one. Ivory Coast was always on the attack while the Americans struggled to pass out of their own half. Full credit must go to Chris Seitz in the net. He stopped wave after wave of Ivorian attacks, looking much better than Cervi in the first match. In fact, where it not for the converted penalty, I think this game could have easily finished 0-0. That penalty came in the 70th minute when Tony Beltran took down Nassa Niangbo. Seitz guessed correctly on the kick, but Constant Djakpa powered the ball into the side netting. With 0 points from two matches, the USA is eliminated.

Italy 2-1 Turkey
This game was a war in midfield with neither team creating clear-cut chances for most of the match. In fact, both of the first two goals came from defensive giveaways. Italy were the first to score with Davide Lanzafame going near post on keeper Onur Kirvak. Turkey equalized shortly into the second half when Aydin Yilmaz took advantage and went far post on Italian keeper Enrica Alfonso. The game continued to stay in the center of the pitch, and the real fun began in the 68th minute. Tiberio Guarante was moving the ball through midfield when Turkish player Eren Gungor threw a hip check on him. As the referee was showing Gungor his second yellow, Guarante gave Gungor a couple of pokes in the back of the head. That set off a bunch of shoving on the pitch and the ref gave Guarante a straight red. Behind the play, one of the assistant referees spotted something, and told the referee who then gave Turkish player Caner Erkin a straight red as well. Italy finally put their 10 on 9 advantage to use in the 89th minute when Claudio Marchisio laced a left-footed half-volley into the net from 22 yards. With the win, Italy advance to the semifinals, while Turkey face Ivory Coast on Sunday for the other semi spot.

Saturday's matches see the conclusion of Group A, where all advancement spots are already decided. France and Netherlands to decide third place in the group, and Japan-Chile for first spot.

Backpass links after the jump.

TIET figures out why Didier slapped Nemanja [This is Extra Time]
Shaka Hislop. Hard to understand on TV. Surprisingly competent MLS beat writer [Guardian Blogs]
Michael Bradley was set to go to EPL until Birmingham got relegated [Birmingham Mail]
Hey Gambia, it might not be a good idea to hire that manager currently suspended for match-fixing (last item) [Reuters]
CL final set US viewing records [Soccer America Daily]
C. Ronaldo waffling on his commitment to Man U [Guardian]
English fans were right to think he was evil. Glazer has saddled Man U with £666million of debt [Daily Mail]
It's awesome when cops get drunk and deny everything in court [Scotsman]

Written by Darkvader on May 23rd, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on Backpasses and Toulon Tournament and ü75.

Robinho Admits Chelsea Interest

Robinho has admitted that he has an offer from Chelsea and A.C Milan. to Stamford Bridge, according to the player and his agent. Chelsea are prepared to pay £28million to bring Real Madrid star RobinhoRobinho’s agent has said,

“I met Peter Kenyon, Chelsea managing director, in London on Thursday. He told me that they (Chelsea) were considering making an offer of 35 million euros for Robinho.”

“What could happen is that I could go to Chelsea, as I have an offer from them,” Robinho added.

footballers is that when things are going well, they are fantastic. They party all day long but nobody complains about it. It is only when things don’t go according to plan that everything goes wrong. The whole team comes into the media spotlight for the wrong reasons. Stories which may not be true gets spread around. The best example of this can be Now, Robinho is a fantastic player, no doubt about that. But the thing with these brazilianRonaldinho and Adriano. Further is he really worth £28million. I doubt it. Maybe around £20m may be a fair evaluation.

On the positive note, he is truly a fantastic player with a lot of skills and pace. Plays in a similar position to Kalou. A good finisher. He is one of the few flair player who can fit into the 4-3-3 system that is in practice. Do you think he can be a success? I think so. But given the price there will be huge pressure on him.

Written by Chelsea FC True Blue on May 23rd, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on Football-Player.

Ballack Videos

Ballack and Samsung LCD TV Serie 6

TV-Spot Download

Making of Download

by Blackpearl

Written by Darkvader on May 23rd, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on ballack and videos.

Don’t Forget Vegas

Just a quick reminder, if any of our 12 readers are going to be in Vegas over the next week, keep an eye out for Shrek Wayne Rooney and his crew. Wazza is there for his bachelor party. Any inside info would be much appreciated.

Written by Darkvader on May 23rd, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on Bachelor Party and The Fan's Attic and wayne rooney.

Drogba and the Champions League Final

As one of Africa's greatest stars, Didier Drogba certainly demands our respect.

Not only is he a world-class athlete, but he's also a champion of human causes, specifically in his native Ivory Cooast.

It's with this in mind that I find what Drogba did on Wednesday's Champions League final so bemusing.

For those that don't know, Drogba was red-carded in extra time of the final for lightly slapping Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidic in the face. As Henry Winter of the Daily Telegraph puts it,

If a night crammed with heroes offered up one villain it had to be Didier Drogba, deservedly expelled for slapping Nemanja Vidic. If this brilliant target-man does now exit the Bridge of sighs, he leaves with his head held low. His act of stupidity robbed Chelsea of a regular penalty-taker, so ushering Terry into the firing line.

The rest, as we all know, is history. Terry slipped, the ball sailed wide. Manchester United celebrated European glory.

Today's goal.com features a wonderful editorial from regular writer Oliver Peterson which touches on some of Drogba's issues.

Many think the Ivorian's time at Stamford Bridge is done. Jose Mourinho could come calling soon and we all know of the affection Drogba has for the 'Special One'.

While some question Drogba's abilities for his incessant whining and play-diving, it's duly noted that when he wants to, he can be one of the more prolific strikers in the world.

So why sully that during the biggest game of your career and add fuel to the fire by slapping a rival player?

The red card was deserved. Now what happens to Drogba? Here's an excerpt from the article. To see the original, please click here.

No one doubts his ability. He is more than a handful. No centre back sees Drogba’s name on an opposition teamsheet and is filled with glee. His footballing ability is not the issue here.But why cheat? And yes, it is cheating. Even today. Even in this day an age where players of bygone eras would turn in their graves at what is deemed a yellow card. At the reaction of a top class player to his fellow professionals. At the win at all costs “it’s a business, not a sport” mentality which has infested our wonderful game - now so global and deep in talent. It’s because he can. If, in the era of cameras covering every angle of the game - a player can get away with constantly (in almost every game) acting, pretending and wining, then we are in trouble. The system is at fault. Players like Drogba would be suppressed in their attempts to sway referees by their misdemeanours if only the system would be tweaked in order to extend harsh punishments on these wrongdoers. ...

If, as is widely expected, Drogba takes his big ego and his pouting lip away from Britain, and into Spain or Italy, then so be it. Most real fans within these shores wouldn’t miss him. His followers are those who condone his actions. Not true football fans.

Written by Darkvader on May 23rd, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on Champions League and Didier Drogba.

Robinho may be a Chav!!

Robinho is a player that plenty of Gooners would like at the club.

But that dream could be over after he has confirmed that the Chavs are preparing a deal. It's been said that his agent is in London.

Well this confirms it.

I've no doubt that for football terms, Robinho would prefer to join us. But there is no chance that we could compete with Chelski in a bidding war.

Figures being bandied about are 35 million Euro's!!!!

Oh well.

Keep it Goonerish.........

Written by Wrighty7 on May 23rd, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on Football-Player.

South African Violence

The anti-immigrant violence sweeping through South Africa has seen at least 42 people killed and more than 25,000 driven from their homes in 12 days of attacks.

The mobs causing the violence are accusing African migrants of taking jobs and fuelling crime.

Today, Danny Jordaan, the chief executive of the 2010 World Cup Local Organizing Committee, condemned anti-immigrant violence in South Africa. But he also insisted it would end before the tournament takes place. It better.

Jordaan said the level of scrutiny of South Africa after the recent violence was an inevitable result of hosting the World Cup.

"We can see the focus of attention on our country, for completely different reasons, both of them tragic," he said.

"Our standpoint is that this World Cup must be a celebration of Africa's humanity. Africa has too often been a continent of division, of wars, of humiliation. And certainly we condemn any situation that continues to inflict on African people humiliation, suffering, war, disease.

"So our position is crystal clear and we ask that every action must be taken to stop inflicting on displaced people further displacement. It's something that will pass ... South Africans are not xenophobic."

Jordaan reiterated his view that all the stadiums would be ready in time for the tournament.

However he conceded that finishing a new stadium in Port Elizabeth in time for the Confederations Cup in July next year was "a challenge."

MY POV: Jordaan must be given kudos for keeping his eye on the positive ahead of the World Cup. But South Africa is doing itself no favors by showing this side of itself to the world.

With rising fuel prices and the world economy teetering on recession, how many people will want to spend their hard-earned money to travel all the way to a country where they might be hurt, mugged or worse yet, killed?

South Africa needs to get tough about the violence that occurs there ... and fast. Two years will come around much faster than we all think ...

Written by Darkvader on May 23rd, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on Danny Jordaan and South Africa.

Profile of Portuguese team for Euro 2008

Squad of Portugal’s team in Euro 2008:

Players from Portugal to watch out for in Euro 2008:

1)Cristiano Ronaldo: Ronaldo scored a total of 8 goals in Portugal’s UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying campaign. Expect him to continue his superb form during the European Championship. Ronaldo is the highest goals scorer for EPL 2007/08 and also Champions League 2008. Ronaldo is too a strong contender for this year’s Footballer of the year.

Previous records of Portugal in Euro Cup:

Played: 108 Won: 58 Lost: 26 Draw: 24 Goals in favor: 183 Goals against: 98

You can easily expect Portugal to qualify for the semi finals. But its placed in group A along with Turkey, Czech Republic and Switzerland and they can be tough opponents for Portuguese team.

Written by Sudip Kafle and Sujan Kafle on May 23rd, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on cristiano ronaldo and euro-cup 2008 and portugal.

Euro 2008 Previews: Croatia

We continue our Euro 2008 previews with Croatia. As an Arsenal fan, I was excited to see what Croatia could do this summer, and perhaps even regarded them as a semi darkhorse to go deep into the tournament. After all, they were one of the highest scoring teams in qualification, had humiliated England twice, and had blooming striker Eduardo to lead the line. Then came this. The clumsy tackling of Birmingham's Mark Taylor (enjoy the bus rides to Blackpool asshole!) managed to, at least on paper, KO two teams' chances at trophies. While Arsenal were never able to overcome losing Eduardo, Croatia has a shot. See why after the jump.




The manager pictured is one Slaven Bilic, who outwitted Second Choice Steve both times Croatia beat England, earning himself a pretty serious reputation amongst the Fleet Street hacks. As a result his name is getting some mention when big job vacancies open up. Bilic has Croaita playing an attacking 4-3-3 in the prototypical Dutch mold, and he will surely rely on runs from the midfielders to generate scoring opportunities.

Instead of Eduardo, the focus for Croatia will now be on Luca Modric, an old fashioned creative midfielder in the Riquelme mold. He's the sort of player I might like except that Spurs just bought him for a ridiculous $30 million, so now he's dead to me. Other notables include Nico Kranjcar of Pompey and Corluka of Citeh.

Croatia has a very good chance of finishing second in their group behind Germany. Their competition is Poland, as Austria are shit. And since the USA owns the Poles, I figure Croatia can handle them. But the Croats had better take the hosts seriously, as they have to play them in the opener in Vienna, and you would imagine the Austrians will be slightly pumped up. Although they suck so badly that there was a petition to have them removed from the tournament. In the second round, Croatia could definitely upset the Czechs or the pretty boys from Lisbon.

Goalkeepers: Stipe Pletikosa, Vedran Runje, Mario Galinovic

Defenders: Robert Kovac, Dario Simic, Danijel Pranjic, Dario Knezevic, Josip Simunic, Hrvoje Vejic, Vedran Corluka

Midfielders: Nikola Pokrivac, Niko Kranjcar, Luka Modric, Ivan Rakitic, Niko Kovac, Jerko Leko, Darijo Srna, Ognjen Vukojevic

Forwards: Ivan Klasnic, Igor Budan, Mladen Petric, Ivica Olic, Nikola Kalinic

(1) Could England beat this team? Haha, definitely not. They were embarrassed in qualifying.
(2) Can Croatia win Euro 2008? No. But they can upset someone in the later stages.
(3) What is their pre-made excuse for not winning Euro 2008? Edurado's broken leg. Hey if it worked for Arsenal, it can work for Croatia!
(4) What is the biggest question mark surrounding their team? Who is going to score goals?
(5) Who is their worst player? I have no idea, sorry.

Written by Darkvader on May 23rd, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on Can I have some cheese with my whine? and Croatia and Euro 2008.