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Zenit beat Rangers to lift UEFA Cup

5/15/2008 12:17:41 PM - Posted by GFDb.com

Zenit beat Rangers to lift UEFA Cup

Russian champions Zenit St Petersburg won their first European silverware when second-half goals from Igor Denisov and Konstantin Zyrianov secured a 2-0 victory over Rangers in the UEFA Cup final on Wednesday.

Denisov slotted home after 72 minutes and fellow midfielder Zyrianov sealed victory with a close range effort in stoppage time at the City of Manchester stadium to secure the trophy for Zenit in their first European final.

It was the second UEFA Cup success by a Russian side in four seasons following CSKA Moscow's triumph in 2005.

"Winning a prize like this does not come often in your life," Zenit coach Dick Advocaat told a news conference. "We are very proud that Zenit won tonight and after the way we played in this tournament, we really deserved it."

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Video: Weak FC Barcelona lose 2-0 at Deportivo

4/27/2008 8:12:16 AM - Posted by GFDb.com

Video: Weak FC Barcelona lose 2-0 at Deportivo

A second-string Barcelona side were beaten 2-0 at Deportivo Coruna in the Primera Liga on Saturday.

Coach Frank Rijkaard was clearly focused on next week's Champions League semi-final second leg against Manchester United, retaining only three starters from Wednesday's 0-0 first-leg draw.

Juan Rodriguez and Pablo Amo took advantage of sloppy marking to put Depor in front in the second half as Barca effectively bowed out of the title race. The Catalans stay third on 61 points, one behind Villarreal who visit Real Betis on Sunday, and 11 adrift of leaders Real Madrid.

If Villarreal fail to beat Betis and Real win at home to Athletic Bilbao in Sunday's late game, Bernd Schuster's side will retain their league crown with four matches left to play.

Depor's sixth win in seven put them seventh, three points behind Sevilla, who missed out on a chance to close in on the Champions League places with a 0-0 draw at relegation-threatened Real Murcia in the late game.

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Real Madrid champions this weekend?

4/26/2008 1:21:12 PM - Posted by GFDb.com

Real Madrid champions this weekend?

Real Madrid will wrap up their 31st league title with four games to spare if they beat Athletic Bilbao at the Bernabeu on Sunday and both Villarreal and Barcelona fail to win their games this weekend.

Real went 10 points clear at the top after last week's 2-0 win over Racing Santander and are now within touching distance of another trophy.

"We took a giant step towards the title in Santander, and that is why we were so delighted with the win," skipper Raul told reporters this week.

"The title is now within our grasp and we depend on no one except ourselves, but we need to stay calm and finish the job."

Barcelona take on Deportivo Coruna on Saturday, while Villarreal play Real Betis earlier on Sunday in must-win games for the chasing pair.

Should they slip up, Real will take to the pitch against Bilbao at 1900 GMT knowing whether or not they can clinch the title in front of their own fans.

"A lot of things have to happen for it to occur and with second place up grabs neither Villarreal nor Barcelona will want to lose any points in their matches," said Raul.

"But we will have the advantage of knowing the other results when we play. We know that we are just a step away. I would like to win the league at the Bernabeu but wherever we do it, it will be a great success and we can celebrate it with our fans."

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Tevez saves the day for Manchester United

4/19/2008 10:18:36 PM - Posted by GFDb.com

Tevez saves the day for Manchester United

Leaders United were given a huge scare at Ewood Park where they trailed until the 88th minute.

Roque Santa Cruz put Blackburn ahead after 21 minutes and the visitors could find no way past an inspired Brad Friedel in the Rovers goal until Carlos Tevez flicked in a late header.

Friedel made superb stops from Tevez and John O'Shea as United mounted a desperate late siege in a bid to stay in the driving seat in the title race.

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Wenger: "worst week in 12 years"

4/19/2008 11:38:09 AM - Posted by GFDb.com

Wenger:

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said on Friday he had suffered his worst week in nearly 12 years at the club after seeing his Premier League and Champions League challenges end just days apart.

Wenger said his players had worked exceptionally hard this season to gain some reward and the disappointment was understandable.

"It has been a year of hard work and we have worked harder than ever this year," he said. "There are still 12 points to go for and we can still get them and that would be good progress. We worked for everything this year.

"The progress we made this year stagnated really when it mattered most due to various circumstances. We have to gain that little bit that makes you into winners."

Asked if he felt rivals and league leaders Manchester United were now the outstanding team in the country, he said: "Yes, they are. But Man Utd are there on points, now, and what matters is if they are still there at the end of the year."

Arsenal face Reading at home on Saturday, seeking their first win in five games this month and only their third win in 14 outings which has seen them slip from league leaders.

Wenger said his Spanish goalkeeper Manuel Almunia was out with a wrist injury and he would be replaced by German Jens Lehmann.

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What after Jose Mourinho?

9/25/2007 8:27:07 AM - Posted by GFDb.com

The ninth manager Chelsea manager over the last two decades to take on Sir Alex Ferguson was 'The Special One' in more ways than one. Not only did he guide the London club to two consecutive Premier League titles and a couple of Cup wins but he really got under the skin of Ferguson. Sir Alex was afraid that this little chap from Portugal could steal his thunder and no wonder that Ferguson will be the happiest man in England to hear of Jose's departure from Chelsea.

Which brings me to the main question ? What after Jose ? The current crop of players were picked by Jose personally and he had taken a lot of effort to groom them. Pivotal players like Lampard and Terry grew in stature under Jose Mourinho. Of course not all players blossomed under him. Scott Parker,Damien Duff, Eidur Gudjohnsen, Arjen Robben had to leave Chelsea for the want of first team football. But it was under Jose that players like Michael Essien, Ricardo Carvalho, Petr Cech stamped their authority on the English game and won back to back titles. The players , thus, had tremendous respect for Jose.

But a certain individual didn't seem to like Jose too much. And the problem was that he signed the paycheques. Roman Abramovic is synonymous with Chelsea football club. After all it was his money that transformed Chelsea from being 'decent also-rans' to a trophy winning outfit. Roman won all England had to offer in his first three seasons, but the coveted Champions League trophy seemed to elude him. Chelsea reached the semi-finals twice under Jose's leadership but it was as far as they could get and Abramovic desperately wanted the trophy.

Chelsea started their 2007-08 Champions League campaign at home against Rosenborg. And Stamford Bridge was half full. Worse was to follow. Lowly Rosenborg held the Blues to a 1-1 draw. And you could sense that it was the final nail in Jose's coffin. An emergency meeting later, it was announced that Jose's contract had been terminated by 'mutual agreement' , which I think is fast becoming an euphemism for 'getting the sack'.

Jose's position has been filled by a relatively unknown Israeli named Avram Grant who has a decent record of winning titles in Israel ! I do not think that he is a full-time replacement. In my opinion, he will be a caretaker manager till they find someone as reputed as Mourinho. Given the big names that Chelsea's squad boasts of, it will be extremely difficult for Grant to get them to respect him as a manager. As a Chelsea fan aptly put it ,"Put a red nose on him, the guy's a clown."

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The arrival of Sven Goran Eriksson at Manchester City

9/24/2007 3:01:26 AM - Posted by GFDb.com

With the arrival of Sven Goran Eriksson at Manchester City, came a host of big name players. All the players he bought were non-English and it was rumoured that he had seen them only on tape before splashing out millions. Seven games into the season all but one of his signings have played for City and here is what I make of the new City brigade:

Rolando Bianchi - City's first signing. He was bought for 8.8 million pounds from after scoring heavily in Serie A. Bianchi looks a very strong player. He is very good in the air and holds up the ball very well. He scored on his debut for City and has even opened his account in the Carling Cup. He needs to work a bit on his upper body strength. All in all, thumbs up !

Elano Blumer - He is the talisman of the City midfield. Often, he plays in the hole behind the strikers and has eyes at the back of his head. Excellent ball control and a huge repertoire of passes. He has set up most of City's goals and his defense splitting passes are to watch out for. He needs to shore up his long range shooting and that would make him a complete player.

Vedran Corluka - Corluka is still an enigma for me. Some days he plays really well while some days he is poor. He has excellent ball control for a defender and can walk the ball out of defence but his positioning sense leaves a lot to be desired.

Javi Garrido - Bought on the cheap from Sociedad , Garrido is yet to convince me at left back. Although he is more agile and nimble than Michael Ball, he doesn't look to be the long term solution at left back. City are rumoured to be interested in Wayne Bridge.

Geovanni Deiberson - Geovanni is a very clever player. His movement and off-the-ball runs are very difficult to track. Has a penchant for scoring in crucial games. And that makes him a real asset for City on the right side of midfield.

Martin Petrov - The Bulgarian had an indifferent start to the season. But now he is adjusting well to City's style of attack. Endowed with loads of pace, he is a shoot on sight player. He isn't afraid to take on full backs and has a thunderous left foot shot. His crosses normally don't clear the man on the near post - that is my only grouse.

Valeri Bojinov - The talented Bulgarian looked lively whenever he played for City before an horrendous ligament injury sidelined him for 5 months.

Gelson Fernandes - The Switzerland U-21 captain is set to fill Hamann's boots at City. A tenacious defensive midfielder, he is yet to make his League debut. He was mighty impressive in the pre-season and it would be interesting to see if he can convert his potential to performance.

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