Archive for April, 2009

From Mid August to Mid May my Saturday mornings always start off by watching The EPL on Fox Soccer Channel. I can hear you screaming at me, “ Get a life.”

My wife says the same thing too.

But hey this is my passion besides The NFL so what can I say, I’m nuts. Yes, I do have the papers to prove I’m crazy. 

Let’s get to it. The weekend has started off with a big bang for Stoke City when they scored a late goal to beat Blackburn 1-0 in battle for the relegation zone.

 Liam Lawrence scored on a perfectly placed ball right in front of the goal and all he had to do was find the back of the net. Lawrence did and that was all she wrote for Blackburn.

This victory moved Stoke City eight points clear of the relegation zone.

Blackburn is now in 16^thspot with 34 points. This is three points clear of Middlesbrough who is in 18^th spot with 31 points.

 Fulham failed to pick up maximum points today. Fulham and Middlesbrough kissed their sister with a nil, nil draw. This just about kills Fulham’s chances to compete for the final UEFA Cup spot.

Yes, I know I’m a dreamer to think Fulham has a realistic chance to make up nine points with five matches to go but as they say in Brasil desta maneira(that’s the way it is)

Sunderland picked up a badly needed with win by defeating Hull City 1-0.

According to ESPN Soccernet Djibril Cisse’s perfectly bounced header found the back of the net in the 45^thminute to lift Sunderland four points clear of the drop zone.

Sunderland is now in 15^th spot with 35 points.

Whew! That was a just what the doctor order. Way to go guys.

This is where we stand in the race for the relegation zone. Middlesbrough, Newcastle, and West Brom are the three bottom feeders.

Newcastle has a huge match with Tottenham this Sunday afternoon April 19^th.

Newcastle has 30 points and they are in 19^th place.

If the Magpies can win, they will move to the 18^th spot.

This will move Newcastle within one point of Hull City, who is in 17^th position with 34 points.

West Brom has a date with Manchester City as well too on Sunday April 19^th.

For West Brom to escape from getting the heave hoe a major miracle must take place.

They must win all of their final five matches and hope Newcastle, Middlesbrough, Hull City, Sunderland, and Blackburn have brain lapses and lose. Not in this lifetime.

So, that’s the wrap from The EPL drop zone.

Have a great weekend.

Some late breaking news Chelsea defeated Arsenal 2-1 in The FA Cup semifinal. Chelsea will take on the winner of the Manchester United- Everton match that will take place on this Sunday April 19th.

Didier Drogba scored the match winner in the 84th minute.

Arsenal scored first when Theo Walcott’s volley bounced off of Chelsea’s defender  Ashely Cole and thus fooled Bluse keeper Peter Cech. The bouncing ball touched the twines in the 18th minute to give Arsenal a 1-0 lead.

Florent Malouda scored the equalizer in the 33rd minute when he slipped past the Arsenal defender and Malouda fired the ball past the defenseless Arsenal keeper Fabianski.  

Arsenal and Chelsea battle this Sunday April 19^th  in the semifinals of The FA Cup. Chelsea’s super striker Didier Drogba was quoted by Associated Press that Luiz Felipe Scolari’s sacking was the turning point in both his and the Blues season.

I do have a problem with Drogba’s comment. It’s hip and cool to blame all your problems on the previous coach. Yes, it was true the Blues struggled mightily under former Brasilian nation coach and World Cup winning coach.

How much of it was a language problem? How much of it was a problem adjusting to a different style of futebol?

How much of the problem was due to the fact that Scolari could pick and choose the players he wanted at each position?

Being a national team coach, you have more control of the players you want and the style futebol you want to play.

At the club level, you have to deal with the day-to-day operations of the club, player shenanigans and egos, as well as a daily constant pressure from the owner and the fans to win. 

I don’t think Scolari was a good fit for Chelsea. In plain and simple terms, the choice was wrong. It was bad. It stunk.

Scolari does have a good track record as a national team coach but when you closely examine his record as a club coach you will find he has very limited success at the club level.

Maybe the problem was that Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich decided to hire a big name manager instead of a proven club manager with a winning record. I believe this move was in response to all of the crap Abramovich received from the hiring and firing of Jose Mourinho. As well as the crap, Mourinho bestowed upon the owner and other clubs and their managers.

Jose Mourinho is good but he creates way too many problems for the club that hires him. In the short run Mourinho is a good fit but for the long term. NOT. 

This is just a guess.

Now let me take Drogba to task for his comments. First off dude it is your responsibility to play well. If you are hurt, take the proper time to rehabilitate your injury.

You’re a professional athlete so that means you are paid to perform at high level so don’t give me the excuse that the coach doesn’t have faith in you. BS my man. It is your responsibility to show him you are ready to perform at a top level.

Remember this one little phrase, when you point the finger at someone else, make sure you see the three fingers pointing back at you.

 Enough said on that subject.

The Chelsea-Arsenal FA Cup semifinal should be great match up between two top-level clubs.

My team Manchester United takes Everton in the other FA Cup match on Sunday April 19^th.

Manchester United now has two games in hand as we head down the final month and a half of  The EPL season.

With the big boys off this weekend due to FA Cup matches lets look at the race for the relegation zone.

There are three huge encounters on Saturday April 18^th   and Sunday April 19^th that will go a long way on who will get the thumbs up and stay and those who will get the heave hoe and you’re outta here.

First up Sunderland takes on Hull City. Sunderland is 17^th spot with 32 points. This is one step away from going down.

Hull City is in 15^th spot with 34 points. Two points separate these two clubs.

The loser will be in danger of dropping into the relegation zone.

West Brom takes on Manchester City. West Brom can win but I don’t think so even though Manchester City has been a major disappointment all season long. Man City has 38 points.

Middlesbrough battles Fulham. Fulham has 43 points and they are nine points shy of the sixth spot in The EPL table and with that goes a berth in The UEFA Cup.

Fulham has an outside chance to claim this final spot.

Fulham badly needs to win this match.

Newcastle has a tussle with Tottenham. The Magpies are two points behind Sunderland. If Sunderland losses on Saturday this means Newcastle will have a chance to move ahead of Sunderland in the table and out of the relegation zone.

Lot’s of fun stuff happening so we’ll keep ya updated with all the latest from The EPL, Brasil, and Argentina.

I was very surprised when Manchester United beat FC Porto 1-0 in Portugal. I didn’t think it was going to happen. I let the main stream sports media influence my thinking process. All those so-called pundits kept repeating the same mantra. “ FC Porto is unbeatable at home. They haven’t lost to an English squad at home in eleven matches in Champions League play.”

Guess what Man U had an answer. It was Rio Ferdinand. And his glorious return to his familiar center defense right position.

Ferdinand is the quarterback of the defense. He is in charge of calling all the  defensive formations when the opposing team is attacking. Rio Ferdinand has the uncanny ability and unquestionable defensive instincts to place his players in the right aliment and stop teams from scoring.

This was Manchester United’s first clean sheet since Mid-February.

If you remember, Manchester United went on a defensive rampage from Mid-November to Mid-February without giving up a goal. This goal less streak totaled fourteen straight games.

The key to that run was Rio Ferdinand.

When he went down with an injury Manchester United’s defense looked like the Keystone cops on LSD and they couldn’t stop my grandmother from scoring. She assumed room temperature thirty years ago.

In Man U’s last six matches without Ferdinand in the lineup The Red Devils gave up ten goals. And that doesn’t include Champions League goals only EPL goals.

That is bad folks. That stinks.

With Rio Ferdinand back in the lineup that will free up Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Carlos Tevez, and Dimitar Berbatov do what they do best. That’s score goals.

Manchester United will now have a real good shot at winning a Quadruple.

Manchester United has already been crowned Carling Cup Champs and now they have a great chance to win The Champions League, The EPL, and The FA Cup.

It could turn into being a great year for The Red Devils now that Rio Ferdinand is back calling the signals for the defense.

We can all take a big deep breath and breathe a little bit easier now that The Champions League has completed play until the semifinals begin in about a week or so. Not!

The Copa Libertadores is heating up in South America.

My wife and I were watching the crazy match between Palmeiras and Sport-Recife last night on Fox Soccer Espanol.

These two Brasilian futebol clubs are bitter rivals. They don’t like each other and that’s a huge understatement. Sport-Recife is known for its wild and crazy fans. The fans from Sport-Recife throw things on the pitch and yell obscenities at opposing players. Fights break out all the time between the fans of Sport-Recife and those of opposing teams. You get the picture.

Last night’s match was played in Sao Paulo, the home of Palmeiras. 

The match ended in a 1-1 draw. That’s the result but that’s not what I want to talk about. After Sport’s Wilson scored the equalizer on a beautifully placed shot he ran along the end line to celebrate the match tying goal. Wilson lifted his jersey over his head in celebration and the ref red carded him.

This is NUTS. No way, this should have been a red card. I have seen worse like the time when Corinthians Cristian scored the match winner and he flipped off the Sao Paulo fans and players. Or how about when a Brasilian Club coach Pedro Santilli threw a haymaker at one of the refs during a match.

 The other Brasilian squad Gremio defeated Universidad de Chile 2-0.

We watched that match too on Fox Soccer Espanol. With the victory, Gremio moves on to the next round of play.

Gremio kept the pressure up the entire match on Universidad de Chile.

The Chilean squad never had a chance.

Gremio’s Maximiliano Lopez scored both goals for Gremio.

 My wife’s team Sao Paulo of Brasil lost to Independiente Medellin of Columbia 2-1 in Columbia. Sao Paulo was without their top keeper Rogerio Ceni who broke his ankle on Tuesday in practice.

Even with the loss, Sao Paulo advances to the next round.

So there, you have it the wild and wacky world of futebol from The Copa Libertadores.

We’re underway in the second half at FC Porto.

The start of the second half saw a downpour of rain.

Manchester Untied and FC Porto have had a few good scoring opportunities but no one has connected with the back of the net.

We have another update from Emirates Stadium at Arsenal. Arsenal is up 3-0. Emmanuel Adebayor and Robin Van Persie found the back of the net. It’s almost over but the shouting for Villarreal.

There have been several close scoring chances for FC Porto but nothing so far.

Rio Ferdinand makes such a difference in the Manchester United defense when he is playing.

We’re in the final minutes of the match. Manchester United is attacking and that is good.

FC Porto has controlled the tempo of the second half.  

FC Porto has had several golden scoring opportunities but they have not found a winner.

It’s almost over.  Three minutes of injury time and that’s it.

We’ll see.

Cristiano Ronaldo just missed scoring another goal.

Tick, tick, tick, the clock is winding down.

Man U is up 1-0.

IT’S OVER MANCHESTER UNITED WINS 1-0 AND 3-2 ON AGGREGATE. IT’S ON TO THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SEMIFINALS. YES!

This marks the first win for an English side at FC Porto in twelve matches in Champions League play.

Manchester United’s defense was the key to The Red Devils advancing to The Champions League semifinals.

All the Manchester United fans are delirious that Rio Ferdinand returned to his familiar defensive position central defender right.

Rio is the quarterback of The Red Devils defense.

I am happy. I hope you are too.

Arsenal defeated Villarreal 3-0.

The semifinals are set.

Manchester United battles EPL rival Arsenal and Chelsea will take on Barcelona. This will assure that at least one-maybe two English squads will advance to The Champions League final.

We’re underway at FC Porto. Rio Ferdinand is playing for Manchester United. His presence will make a big difference.

Seven minutes into the match and Manchester United drew first blood. Cristiano Ronaldo fired a pinpoint shot from 25 yards out and the ball ripped the twines. FC Porto keeper Helton never had a chance.

Helton played the statute keeper defense. Ronaldo’s shot was a frozen rope into the back of the net.

Man U is up 1-0 and 3-2 on aggregate. Way to go guys. Yes, I want Manchester United to win.

They are looking good so far.

Ferdinand’s presence solidifies The Red Devils defense. They aren’t playing the Oh Lay defense.

Manchester United is dictating the play. Man U is attacking and that is good.

 An update from the Arsenal and Villarreal match at Emirates, Theo Walcott scored for Arsenal to make 1-0. Arsenal is ahead on aggregate 2-1.

There has been a slight shift in momentum. FC Porto has taken control of the match. FC Porto has pinned Manchester United in their end of the pitch.

Manchester United has seized control of the match again. Ryan Giggs has a shot on goal bit the shot hits the keeper Helton square in the chest.

Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney was nipped on his ankle when he made a beautiful run to the top of the box before the defender knocked the ball away. The defender clipped Rooney’s ankle. Rooney is a hurting puppy but he’s still fighting on.

Man U can’t afford to loose Rooney.

It was close call for Man U. FC Porto just missed connecting on header in box that just missed wide right. Whew! Everyone is breathing a sigh of relief.

It’s halftime and Manchester United is up 1-0 and 3-2 on aggregate.

If Manchester United wins at FC Porto, The Red Devils will record a first. FC Porto has not lost a Champions League match to an English side in the ten years.

This is getting really insane. Chelsea just scored on a cheap goal. Chelsea’s Drogba fired a ball at the goalmouth. The ball did a little dipsey doo and bounced off of Liverpool’s keeper Reina for a goal for Chelsea.

That goes in the books as an own goal for Liverpool. ESPN 2 has it as an own goal but ESPN soccernet calls it a goal for Drogba. Who cares. It was a gimme goal anyway. 

2-1 Liverpool but Chelsea now holds the advantage 4-3 on aggregate.

Liverpool needs to score twice and hold Chelsea at bay to advance to the semifinals of The Champions League.

Chelsea just scored on free kick. Alex fired the ball just above the wall and the keeper Reina never had a chance. It’s 2-2. Chelsea has the lead 5-3.

It looked like Reina had cement in shoes. He was frozen to the spot just left of goal center.

Stamford Bridge is in full throat.

Liverpool fans are crying.

It’s all over but the shouting now. Frank Lampard just scored on a beautiful run into the box and he tickled the twines to make 3-2 Chelsea.  The aggregate score is now 6-3 in favor of Chelsea.

This will make it twice in a row that Chelsea has knocked Liverpool out of The Champions League.

It’s not over yet. Liverpool just scored on a goal by Lucas to make it three all. It was one of those ricochet shots off of Chelsea defender Essian.  

This is the Twilight Zone. Kuyt just scored on beautiful header for Liverpool to make 4-3. That’s two goals for Liverpool in less than two minutes. 

Chelsea leads 6-5 on aggregate.

Hope springs eternal but Liverpool turned the ball over in their own end and Drogba hit Lampard with a beautiful pass and Lampard rammed the ball home for the goal. 

It’s 4-4 and 7-5 on aggregate.

It’s a wrap. Chelsea advances to The Champions League final.

Whew! Now we can all breath a little bit easier.

I’ve been waiting all morning for the match between Chelsea and Liverpool to begin. It has. I’m parked in front of TV. I’m watching it on ESPN2. Guess what? Liverpool got first blood when they scored on a free kick from thirty meters out by Fabio Aurelio. The ball slithered between the post and the keeper Peter Cech. It happened in 18th minute of the match.

You are not going to believe this! Liverpool just scored again on a penalty kick by Xabi Alonso to make it 2-0 at the 27 minute mark of the first half. That’s two goals made up in 27 minutes. What a crazy match!

The ref awarded a penalty kick to Liverpool on a dead ball foul by Chelsea’s Ivanovic on Liverpool’s Alonso in the box. The call was right. Ivanovic mugged him to the ground. This is futebol guys not WWF wrestling.

It’s all even 3-3 on aggregate goals but Chelsea has the advantage due to having one more away goal than Liverpool.

Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge is crazy right now. The entire joint is full shock at this turn of events so far. But all you Chelsea faithful hang in there. It’s only the first half.

Liverpool just missed two golden opportunities to level the match on aggregate.

It’s halftime. Thank God. 2-0 Liverpool.

Now it’s time to get down to the brass tacks at hand. Manchester United is faced with a daunting task of defeating FC Porto at home in Portugal. FC Porto has not and I repeat has not lost to an English squad in European competition in many a year.

According to Fox Soccernet No! English side has won in Porto. Period! End of discussion.

Can Man U win? I think stranger things have happened. If Rio Ferdinand can return this will help Manchester United’s leaky defense stop from becoming a sieve like it has been the last few weeks.

If Man U can stop making stupid defensive mistakes and find a way to put the ball in the back of the net on a consistent basis they will have a good chance to move on to the semi-finals of The Champions League.

I am pulling for the boys but I am not holding my breath.

For history is against them. According to ESPN Soccernet the last time a team repeated as Champions League king was 1992.

Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo must have great matches. Carlos Tevez needs to be in top form as well.

Manchester United is hoping that striker Dimitar Berbatov will return as well too, and that’s according to Fox Soccernet.

FC Porto has those two all important away goals and this forces Man U to go for broke and win. Man U has to score at least two goals to move on.

It will be nut-cutting time for Man U on Wednesday April 15^th.

Chelsea is in the driver seat against Liverpool. The Blues have three away goals in hand. Liverpool played like crap at Anfield. The Associated Press states the Liverpool has beaten Chelsea twice and completed a double over a   London Club for the first time in nineteen years.

It is very hard side to defeat the same opponent three times in one year. It can be done.   

Chelsea will be seeking a huge amount of revenge. This year Liverpool stopped dead cold Chelsea’s 86 match unbeaten streak at home.

The Blues will come out firing and looking to stop The Reds dead in their tracks.

The only draw back for Chelsea’s John Terry has to sit out Tuesday match because of a red card last week at Anfield.

The pressure is on Liverpool. They need to score at least three goals to advance or as my father used to tell me, you’re outta here.

Will history repeat itself? Will Chelsea knock out Liverpool for the second straight year?

We will see.

 Oh yeah before I forget Barcelona takes on Bayern Munich Tuesday April 14^th.  Arsenal battles with Villarreal at home in Emirates Stadium on Wednesday April 15^th.

I hope you had a wonderful Easter. Christ has risen and this is good news to everyone who believes in Jesus. We now have eternal life. God loved us so much that He sent His Son to die for our sins and then rose from the grave to prove the almighty power of a living and loving God.

In one the most classless and tasteless acts I have seen in sports in a long time happened yesterday in the semi-finals of the Paulista Futebol Championship. My wife and I were watching the match between Sao Paulo and Corinthians in GOL TV. Sao Paulo and Corinthians were engaged in a tough fought match. It was tied one all going into injury time. It was in the waning moments of injury time when Corinthians Cristian Elias fired a salvo from 60 meters. The ball just found its way between the post and Sao Paulo keeper Rogerio Ceni to cement the victory for Corinthians.

In his victory celebration, Cristian flipped off the Sao Paulo fans and players. If this had happened in The NHL, Cristian would have been leveled by one of the opposing players. It is one thing to dance, kiss the ground, or jump into the stands and celebrate with your fans but it is another to flip off the opposing fans.  

Cristian needs to be fined or suspended for his crass and tasteless actions.

Enough said in the subject.

My team Flamengo defeated Fluminense 1-0 to advance to the Carioca finals (Rio de Janeiro).  We were listening to the match on Radio Globo do Rio de Janeiro. Juan found the back of the net in 31^stminute of the first half to give Flamengo the win. Next up for Flamengo is Botafogo.

A big surprise happened in the Primera Division Futebol Argentina. Boca Juniors lost to Estudiantes 1-0. ESPN Soccernet reported that Gaston Fernandez scored the game winner in the 43^rdminute of the first half for bottom feeder Estudiantes. Estudiantes is 19^thplace in the Primera.

Boca Juniors is playing very well in the Copa Libertadores but they are struggling in the Primera League. Boca is 11^th place in a 20-team league.

Boca Juniors has 11 points in nine games. That is not good. But I think Boca is focusing on winning the Copa and they holding back their best players in Primera play. This is called the Clausura. This is the summer competition for the Primera teams in Argentina.

Velez Sarsfield is a top the Primera table with 19 points. Colon de Santa Fe is second place with 18 points.