Tag Futebol

Shane Long struck nine minutes from time to secure a well deserved point for West Brom after QPR looked to have secured only their second win at Loftus Road this season.

The Republic of Ireland international was on hand to covert substitute Peter Odemwingie’s cross to claim a vital point for Roy Hodgson’s side and provide a substantial buffer between them and the Premier League relegation zone. For long periods it looked as if Rangers would be collecting only their second three point haul at home after Heidar Helguson had put them into a 20th minute lead. Chances came and went for both sides with Shaun Wright-Phillips seeing his effort disallowed for offside whilst Albion thought they should have had a penalty for a foul on James Morison. Neil Warnock will be disappointed his side once again failed to turn their chances into goals in what turned out to be a miserable afternoon for the R’s boss who turned 63 on Thursday. Despite dropping two points he will have been purring over the performance of captain Joey Barton who returned from suspension to turn in an inspirational display.

It was the former Newcastle midfielder who provided the cross leading the first goal sending a superbly weighted ball into Helguson who made no mistake from six-yards heading past Ben Foster for his fourth goal in as many games at Loftus Road. The home side were well on top and Wright-Phillips thought he had doubled their lead four minutes later lashing the ball into the top corner only for the goal to be chalked off due to the assistant referees flag. Replays showed the goal should have stood and ultimately it proved crucial as QPR went on to spurn a series of chances that would have made the game safe. The visitors were missing the creative influence of the injured Zoltan Gera but went close through Morison and Jerome Thomas although both failed to test goalkeeper Radek Cerny.

Wright-Phillips then went close again only to see his header beat Foster but sail agonisingly wide of the post and Rangers were made to rue another missed chance. The Baggies were still spoiling after being denied a penalty for Daniel Gabbidon’s foul on Morison as they desperately sought an equaliser. They’d have to wait until the 81st minute for their salvation with Long display the predatory nature that persuaded Hodgson to spend a club record £7.5 million on him in the summer turning Odemwingies cross in from six-yards to seal a vital point.

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There is no competition in club football more special than the UEFA Champions League. Just ask Steve McManaman and Christian Karembeu. Both players have great memories of the competition and indeed won the coveted trophy whilst at Real Madrid. They now work as ambassadors for UEFA at the Heineken-sponsored UEFA Champions League Trophy Tour.

Speaking on the Bangkok leg of the tour, McManaman, who scored a magnificent volley in the 2000 Final against Valencia, said: “The Champions League means everything to me. One of the reasons I actually left Liverpool was to play in the Champions League.

“Whilst I was there, only the domestic champions got to play in the competition and I wanted to test myself against the very best in the world. You have to test yourself against the best teams in Europe, that is what it is all about. And because I joined such an illustrious club with such great players, I was fortunate enough to win the Champions League the first year I got to play in it and that was fantastic!”

Karembeu was an unused substitute in the 2000 Final, but started in 1998 when a solitary Pedrag Mijatovic strike was enough to sink Juventus at the Amsterdam Arena. In that same summer, the 53-times-capped French international lifted the World Cup in Paris and although he remembers both occasions very fondly, he is unable to compare one to the other.

Karembeu said: “The Champions League is the first title that I won as a player so it means a lot me. It was also the first time in 32 years that Real Madrid had won the trophy and that made it extra special because the club were missing it. Both for me personally, and for the club it was genuinely a dream come true. It was one of the best moments of my life without question.

“But to then go on and win the World Cup in your home country is something else. You can multiply any feeling or emotion that you have by ten because you know that the whole country is with you every step of the way. I suppose looking back it is almost idealistic the way that I won those titles but I could not have done it without my teammates. I could not compare winning one trophy to the other because it was two different experiences with two different sets of people and I will cherish both memories for the rest of my life.”

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The Trophy Tour

The schedule of the 2011 UEFA Champions League Trophy Tour presented by Heineken is:

February 22 – 27: Kuala Lumpur

March 5 – 6: Penang

March 11 – 12: Kuala Lumpur

March 16 – 17: Bangkok

March 19 – 20: Chiang Mai

March 25 – 27: Kon Kaen

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April 6 – 9: Seoul

April 15 – 17: Hong Kong

There will me more to follow about the UEFA Champions League Trophy Tour presented by Heineken…

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Sunderland boss Steve Bruce slammed the inexperience of referee Anthony Taylor following his side's opening day 2-2 draw with Birmingham City.

The Black Cats threw away a two-goal lead as they were held to a stalemate at the Stadium of Light.

Darren Bent's penalty and an own goal from Stephen Carr had put the home side comfortably ahead.

However, midfielder Lee Cattermole was sent off just before half-time for a second bookable offence and afterwards Bruce was furious with the match official.

"Today, all the big decisions, in my opinion, he got them wrong," he said.

"I don't want to criticise referees but I think he's only been refereeing for four years and it looked like it.

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"For it to be in a Premier League game, when we've got (fourth official) Chris Foy standing there, one of the best officials, it doesn't make sense."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

Eden Hazard’s growing number of potential suitors has been bolstered by the news that Spurs have joined the chase for the 20 year Belgian international, according to the Metro.

North London rivals Arsenal have long tracked the rising star with Arsene Wenger hopeful of doing a deal next summer. However, recent developments have seen Manchester City and now Spurs join the race, with Barcelona and Real Madrid both watching on with interest in Spain.

Lille will not allow Hazard to leave on the cheap, and a bid of at least £30 million has been touted as the required fee for the playmaker. This may rule Arsenal out of the running with the clubs strict financial model, yet Spurs are allegedly ready to smash their transfer record in order to sign Hazard and challenge for the title.

Another Belgian courting interest from the capital is centre back Jan Vertonghen. The 24 year old Ajax stopper is likely to be available for around £10 million in January and both Arsenal and Spurs are considering making a move.

However, despite Arsenal’s long standing interest, the return of Thomas Vermaelen has quelled Wenger’s desire to move for a centre back in the immediate future.

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Porto, Benfica and Sporting Braga all progressed to the Europa League quarter-finals in a good evening for Portuguese sides on Thursday.The night was not so kind for British teams, with tournament favourites Manchester City, Liverpool and Glasgow Rangers all exiting continental competition far earlier than they would have liked.Porto, who are unbeaten in 32 league games and are 13 points clear of Benfica at the top of the Liga Sagres table, produced another excellent performance to defeat CSKA Moscow 2-1 at the Estadio Do Dragao.After they won the first leg in Moscow 1-0, Brazilian striker Hulk, who has 29 goals in all competitions, gave Porto the perfect start with a goal inside the first minute.Freddy Guarin doubled Porto’s advantage after 24 minutes and although Zoran Tosic scored five minutes later for CSKA, the Russian side was unable to take advantage of their chances and were knocked out of the competition.After a 2-1 victory at home, Benfica’s 1-1 draw in France against PSG secured their progression.Nicolas Gaitan’s 27th-minute goal put the Portuguese side two goals in front on aggregate and despite Mathieu Bodmer’s equalizer eight minutes later, Benfica progressed to the last eight where they will be joined by Sporting Braga who held on for a 0-0 draw at Anfield against Liverpool to give them a 1-0 aggregate triumph.Aleksandar Kolarov’s first-half strike was not enough for Manchester City, who despite defeating Dynamo Kiev 1-0, failed to progress after losing 2-1 on aggregate while Rangers also missed out by a goal, with Jeremain Lens’ 14th-minute away goal at Ibrox giving PSV a 1-0 win on the night and over the two legs.Villarreal knocked Bayer Leverkusen out of the competition after a 2-1 second-leg win at El Madigral.The fourth-placed La Liga outfit claimed a brilliant 3-2 away win in the first leg and booked their spot in the last eight with goals to Cazorla and Giuseppe Rossi, before Eren Derdiyok struck a late consolation for the Bundesliga side.Other results saw four-time European Cup winners Ajax Amsterdam knocked out after they were hammered 3-0 by Spartak Moscow, thanks to goals from Dmitri Kombarov, Welliton and Alex, which ensured they won 4-0 on aggregate.But Ajax’s Eredivisie rivals Twente had more luck, progressing despite a 2-0 defeat at Zenit St Petersburg.Twente won the first leg 3-0 but first-half strikes to Roman Shirokov and Alexander Kerzhakov made for an exciting second half, in which Zenit were unable to extend their advantage as the 2008 UEFA Cup winners exited the competition.

Portsmouth have confirmed that David James is on the verge of leaving the club after they withdrew a fresh contract offer to keep him at Fratton Park.

England's veteran World Cup goalkeeper looks set to move to Scottish Premier League giants Celtic and chief executive David Lampitt and manager Steve Cotterill have reluctantly decided against offering him new terms.

"It was a tricky situation. Steve Cotterill and I discussed it at length," Lampitt told The Portsmouth News.

"From my point of view, we did our absolute best in trying to keep him. I would have loved for him to stay at the club.

"We had various meetings with him and the process went on for quite a long time. The difficulty for us is that we have got to resolve our goalkeeping situation.

"It got to a point where we needed to have some certainty with only three weeks to go until the new season and we need to look at other options.

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"We kept the offer open for as long as we reasonably could to try to give us the best opportunity of retaining him. Unfortunately, that hasn't happened."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere has stated that he will give £3,000 to charity if Tottenham finish higher in the league than his side, and has challenged the White Hart Lane faithful to donate to a good cause also.

Spurs’ 2-0 win over Aston Villa on Monday night lifts Harry Redknapp’s men up to third place, three points ahead of The Gunners with an extra game to play.

The England midfielder feels that talk of Spurs finishing above Arsenal is premature, and has issued a challenge to his rival fans on Twitter.

“All Spurs fans buzzing that they are ahead of us in the league (for once). Its a marathon, not a sprint!

“I tell you what; at the end of the season if Spurs finish above Arsenal I will give £3,000 to charity and if Arsenal finish above Spurs every Spurs fan that follows me must send me a pound each and I will give it to the Jack Marshall charity,” he stated on the social networking site.

Wilshere has been sidelined for the entire campaign due to injury, but is expected to return to action for Arsene Wenger’s side towards the end of the year.

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By Gareth McKnight

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West Ham capped off a great week with their second win in seven days, as they followed up the impressive victory against Liverpool to cruise past Stoke 3-0 at Upton Park and in turn move out of the Premier League relegation zone.

It has to be said that Avram Grant’s men were gifted the opener by Stoke, as Demba Ba capitalised on a defensive mix-up to give the Hammers the lead after 20 minutes. 10 minutes later it was 2-0 thanks to a Manuel Da Costa header, a two-goal cushion that West Ham took into the break. They were tested more after the break, but managed to keep a clean sheet and Thomas Hitzlsperger continued his good form since his return from injury with a trademark strike to put the icing on the cake.

So what FIVE things did we learn about West Ham today?

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Bolton Wanderers boss Owen Coyle believes that central defender Gary Cahill has a big future on the international stage.

The 24-year-old missed out on selection for the World Cup finals this summer, but is expected to be called up by coach Fabio Capello if the Italian decides to make changes following England's dismal performances in South Africa.

Coyle told the Bolton News:"I still think he was very unlucky not to be in that squad for the World Cup. Michael Dawson and Ledley King are great players, but I would also put Gary in that bracket.

"He showed such guts to get over his injury and get back to top form. I know people will accuse me of bias or whatever, but from a purely footballing view I would definitely have given him a shot.

"Regardless of whether there are major changes, or people hanging up their boots, I honestly think that Gary will go on and earn international caps for England.

"He's good enough right now, it's not as if we're talking about whether he will improve and mature in the future.

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"Hopefully, he can hit the ground running this summer and get back into the England squad. Once he gets his chance, I'm positive he'll take it."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

So, it’s derby week. Everyone loves derby week. What self-respecting City fan doesn’t want to read endless articles by ex-United players (and current ones too) telling us how you can’t buy history or class or how the match doesn’t matter to them, and on and on and on, all merely a warm up until Alex Fergurson starts his legendary mind games.

Align this with Paul Scholes’s autobiography being out and I expect we won’t be able to shut up the notoriously shy and private family man in the lead up to Sunday. Oh Paul, how I yearn to hear your views on City’s emergence, it really will complete my week. Not that it’s all one-sided of course.

So we are treated to five days of tiresome, banal interviews with ex-players, ex-managers, or current players talking PR-fed nonsense and endless clichés like it being another game at the end of the day and the lads are over the moon at the thought of winning and sick as a parrot with the thought of defeat and so on. Sky Sports News will wheel out some fancy new graphics with accompanying bombastic music and the charade is complete.

It started on Wednesday with a laughable Daily Mail article, by that notoriously shy “Sportsmail Reporter” who is too modest to put his name to the endless guff he, or they produce. The article claimed that Anders Lindegaard had claimed that the Manchester derby was not that important – a complete lie, he said nothing of the sort, simply pointing out the obvious- that it won’t decide anything at this stage of the season. Sadly Nigel de Jong was soon being quoted saying City were the top dogs now – I didn’t open the article, he probably said nothing of the sort, merely mentioning the league table. Inevitably one of the old guard had to have a word or two, and it was Ryan Giggs who broke ranks first, making some laughable comments about Mario Balotelli:

“He is a little strange….. god knows how many fines he has received in England! No one except Manchester City fans really like him. ..”

If only he could cheat on his wife or girlfriend with a succession of women like most footballers do, and stop embarrassing himself by getting the odd parking ticket instead (which was a made-up story anyway). And if Giggs had the remotest idea of what football fans in this country think, he might be aware that Mr Balotelli seems rather popular with many opposition fans, due to being two pepperonis short of a pizza.

It has always been thus. Before the derby that fell close to the 50th anniversary of the Munich Air Disaster, Paul Scholes had plenty to say, as fears rose that the minute’s silence may be disrupted:

“There is always that few who might cause problems. It would reflect badly on their club but that’s not stopped them over the years.”

Rick Boardman of the band Delphic said in a recent interview, talking about City fans before a derby:

“They care more about us losing than winning games themselves – I just don’t get that. It could all change but I’ve got confidence in our club. And whatever happens, we’ll always have the history. “

Today we see Mario Balotelli proclaiming the Manchester derby will soon be the biggest in the world, Chris Smalling discussing Aguero, Micah Richards claiming United are frightened of City and various other fascinating insights (such as some tactical advice for City on Sunday from Robbie Savage – cheers Robbie).

The media don’t help. After all, Sky Sports News will hype up anything. If the intensity of a Norwich v Ipswich match can be compared to the last days of Rome, then a Manchester derby is perfect fodder for them, especially if it falls into one of their Grand Slam Sundays, Super Sundays, Magnificent Mondays, Showdown Showcase Specials or World War Wednesdays.(I may have made a couple of them up). What’s more, as the internet has taken over the world, papers have more room to fill, with as much news available as they’ve always had.

Of course it’s not all bad – derby week can offer the odd nugget of gold, such as positive in-depth interviews with managers and players (there are ones with Balotelli, Young and Mancini this week), but please spare us Lou Macari’s views on City’s money. Every man has his breaking point.

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But the last word should go to the The Daily Telegraph’s pointless feature about Wayne Rooney’s bicycle-kick goal against City last season. Fans and players commented on WHERE THEY WERE at that historic moment, but the go-to man must be David Prosperi, the vice-president of Aon Global PR.

“Not only was the Aon logo extremely visible throughout the multiple global TV replays and photo images when it happened, but years from now, when the goal against Manchester City is shown time and again as perhaps one of the greatest of all time, you will still see the Aon name. That one image epitomised the value of Aon’s relationship with Manchester United.”

Roll on Monday.

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