Xabi Alonso Formally Requested Liverpool for a Real Madrid Move

Spanish international Xabi Alonso has finally made a formal request to Liverpool authority asking for a move to Real Madrid in Summer. The midfielder has been linked with a move to the Spanish giant since last year when Rafael Benitez wanted to raise fund for landing Gareth Barry by selling Alonso. No doubt, Alonso has contributed a lot to the team’s success last season and Benitez does not want to lose the influential holding midfielder.

However, Alonso has earlier verbally expressed to Benitez that he is looking for a move away from Anfield this Summer. Real Madrid has already had a £24m bid rejected by the English club. Liverpool’s £30m valuation of the player has not matched with Real Madrid budget for the player.

Now that Alonso has formally handed in a transfer request, his move to La Liga seems pretty much imminent now. The issue is now up to the two clubs if they can come under a deal for the Alonso move. Here, one thing is pretty much certain that Liverpool would find it difficult to fill up the void left by Alonso in the holding midfield position, while Alonso could be a much-needed inclusion in the Real Madrid squad.

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ESPN Soccernet

Cesc Fabregas Eyeing for Arsenal Return against Manchester City

(This entry was originally posted on Saturday, February 21st, 2009?

Injured Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas is looking to come back in action against Manchester City on February 4. Spanish star has been sidelined since he picked up a ligament injury during the December 21 match against Liverpool. Cesc Fabregas was handed the Arsenal captaincy earlier this season after William Gallas was stripped off the Arsenal captaincy.

Cesc Fabregas has recently revealed that he needs about three more weeks to make his leg fit and he is hopeful to come back in action after five or six weeks. The Euro 2008 winning Spanish international’s injury is thought to be one of the big reasons behind Arsene Wenger’s quest for signing Russian playmaker Andrei Arshavin.

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Goal.com

Arsenal Striker Eduardo Sidelined with Hamstring Injury for 2 Weeks

(This entry was originally posted on Saturday, February 21st, 2009)

Arsenal striker Eduardo da Silva has once again been sidelined and this time with a hamstring injury. The injury he sustained was during Arsenal’s 4-0 win which marked Eduardo’s much-awaited return after recovering from a horrific broken leg injury that he suffered last year.

Well, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has confirmed that the recent injury blow is nothing series. It is a hamstring injury which he will require 2 two weeks to get over. Wenger said that the Ecuadorian international suffered the hamstring injury just two minutes before he was substituted during the match where he scored two goals, dismissing all the suspects regarding his form.

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CNN

India vs New Zealand 2009: Why India is the Favorite?

(This entry was originally posted on Friday, February 20th, 2009)

This is perhaps the first time that India is touring New Zealand and India is the hot favorite to win the ODI and Test series. For the last two decades, each time, India visited NZ, they suffered humiliating defeat at the hand of the home team. In fact, team India lost many matches in low scoring affairs. This thing made many fans back at home ashamed and angry. The main reason players like Ganguly, Dravid and Tendulkar suffered was that the pitch always supported fast bowlers and they are bad against playing pace attack.

This time, New Zealand team does not have any recognized fast bowler. Shane Bond is playing for ICL and that is why he is banned from the national team. In fact, New Zealand has a very weak team now and recently, when they came to Bangladesh they struggled a lot against Bangladesh cricket team.

Another thing that should go in the way of team India is that they are in excellent form lately. They have defatted Australia, England and even Sri Lanka in the last few months. That is why, most people now think that India is the hot favorite in New Zealand tour 2009.

Manchester United Eyeing for a Very Rare Quintuple in 2009

(This entry was originally posted on Friday, February 20th, 2009)

Manchester United’s recent 3-0 victory over Fulham has given them a five-point advantage at the top of the premier league table. United’s hope of defending the league title has received another boost with this victory and they are now eyeing for five trophies this season including premier league, FA Cup, Carling Cup, World Club Cup and Champions League.

With five points lead at the top, Manchester United’s title hope in premier league is very much active, while they have already reached the final of Carling Cup where they will face Tottenham Hotspur. Manchester United will have to face an easy opponent (either Swansea City or Fulham) in the sixth round of FA Cup. However, Manchester Untied is expected to face a stiff challenge from Inter Milan when they will face the Italian giants in the last 16 of Champions League next week. That means, Manchester United is now eyeing for quintuple which is very rare in world football.

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Telegraph

Schedule of India vs New Zealand 2009 Series

(This entry was originally posted on Thursday, February 19th, 2009)

Following a successful tour of Sri Lanka, Indian cricket team is heading towards New Zealand for a full-fledged tour starting from 25 February. There will be 3 test, 5 ODI and 2 Twenty20 matches in the series. India will be full of confident to take on host New Zealand on the back of their excellent performance in the recent past. Since losing the Asia Cup final at the hands of Sri Lanka, India defeated Australia and England at home before pulling off a 4-1 ODI series victory in Sri Lanka recently. New Zealand also seems to be in good condition after their domination over world champion Australia in the recent ODI series held in Australia. Though the series ended up 2-2, New Zealand was considerably the better side in the series and they were unfortunate to not be able to retain the Chappell- Hadlee series. So, cricket fans of both sides are expecting an exciting series.

Stretching back to India’s last tour of New Zealand, I must say that Indian team struggled against the home side both in the test and ODI series. India even failed to show a little bit of resistance against the home side. As far as I can remember, most of the matches were low scoring. Star-studded Indian batting line up totally failed to live up to the expectation as New Zealand pacers utilized every bit offered by the pitch and condition. New Zealand wickets are always helpful to the pacers and offer lots of swing and movement.

Well, you might claim that Indian team is currently in good shape and has been winning matches consistently over the last few months. Yes, I agree with you and would like to put some optimism for Team India to do well in the upcoming New Zealand. Having said that, most of the current members of Indian cricket team have no previous experience of playing in New Zealand and are not acquainted with the New Zealand condition. For example, among the current Indian pacers, only Zaheer Khan played in their last tour to New Zealand. I think, this inexperience could definitely be decisive in the upcoming series.

For New Zealand, they always have an edge over the sub-continental teams whenever they face them at home. New Zealand always uses their home advantage to the fullest to outperform the visiting teams from sub-continent. Last time, they took on a sub-continental team at home was Bangladesh who totally failed to show any bit of resistance throughout the tour. Well, I know New Zealand’s domination over Bangladesh does not indicate anything significant considering the fact that Bangladesh is not a cricket power in world cricket. However, indicating Bangladesh’s tour, I want to show that New Zealand team, who were already depleted in the absence of some key players like Shane Bond, could successfully capitalized on the home condition and utilized everything offered by the wickets. This is something would be very crucial for New Zealand pacers in the upcoming series too if they want to continue their dominance over visiting teams from South Asia. There is no doubt that the current New Zealand team is nowhere close to the team they had even 2-3 years back, as they lost a number of key players like Shane Bond, Nathan Astle, Stephen Fleming, Chris Harris, Chris Cairns over the last couple of years. Still, they have a balanced squad that played excellently well in Australia.

Indian pacers especially Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma have built up a fearsome new-ball attack in the recent months. Both of them played a significant role behind India’s recent successes, while their opening pair comprising of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir has been showing considerable success with sheer consistency since last year’s tour of Sri Lanka. In the middle order, Yuvraj Singh will have a big role to play both in the test and ODI series, and there will be huge expectation among the Indian fans from the left hander, given his recent form as evidence. Captain Dhoni has been in excellent form too and has already become a reliable batsman in the middle order. Players like Sachin, Sehwag and Laxman have huge experience with them and are expected to help the young members in the squad.

Overall, considering the recent performances of the two sides, I think, the upcoming series will have some closely-fight matches and neither side would find it too easy to break the opposition. Here, I am giving the schedule of India’s tour of New Zealand from Cricinfo:

Date	Match	Competitive Teams	Time	Venue
25 Feb 2009 Wed (D/N)	1st T20	New Zealand vs India	Local 19:00 GMT 06:00	AMI Stadium, Christchurch
27 Feb 2009 Fri (D/N)	2nd T20	New Zealand vs India	Local 19:00 GMT 06:00	Westpac Stadium, Wellington
3 March 2009 Tue (D/N)	1st ODI	New Zealand vs India	Local 14:00 GMT 01:00	McLean Park, Napier
6 March 2009 Fri (D/N)	2nd ODI	New Zealand vs India	Local 14:00 GMT 01:00	Westpac Stadium, Wellington
8 March 2009 Sun (D/N)	3rd ODI	New Zealand vs India	Local 14:00 GMT 01:00	AMI Stadium, Christchurch
11 March 2009 Wed (D/N)	4th ODI	New Zealand vs India	Local 14:00 GMT 01:00	Seddon Park, Hamilton
14 March 2009 Sat (D/N)	5th ODI	New Zealand vs India	Local 14:00 GMT 01:00	Eden Park, Auckland
18-22 March 2009 Wed-Sun	1st Test	New Zealand vs India	Local 11:00 GMT 22:00	Seddon Park, Hamilton
26-30 March 2009 Thu-Mon	2nd Test	New Zealand vs India	Local 10:30 GMT 21:30	McLean Park, Napier
3-7 April 2009 Fri-Tue	3rd Test	New Zealand vs India	Local 10:30 GMT 21:30	Basin Reserve, Wellington

Edwin van der Sar on the Way to Make World Record

(This entry was originally posted on Wednesday, February 18th, 2009)

Manchester United goal keeper Edwin van der Sar has been in sparkling form so far this season and is now on the verge of an European league record for remaining unbeaten highest number of minutes. It has been 1,275 minutes since he last conceded a goal in premier league and in doing so, he has already broken the Football League record (1,103 mins), the Premier League record (1,025 mins) and the British league record (1,155 mins). However, the Dutch goalkeeper is still 178 minutes away to reach the mark of 1,390 minutes for the all time European record which is currently held by Verlinden who made this record for Club Brugge in 1990.

However, Edwin van der Sar is still far away from achieving the world record for league games which is held by Brazilian goalkeeper Mazaropi who achieved this distinction while playing for Vasco da Gama in 1977-78 season. That means, Manchester United keeper can not concede any goal for another 7 league matches to reach the world record mark. Manchester United will face Fulham and Blackburn Rovers.

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Telegraph

Ryan Giggs Showing his Best at Manchester United Now?

(This entry was originally posted on Wednesday, February 18th, 2009)

Manchester United midfielder Ryan Giggs has been handed a contract extension of one year by the Red Devils last week, given his excellent form of the current season as evidence. The way Giggs has been playing so far this season seems the Welshman is perhaps spending his best time at Old Trafford. Before the start of the season, there were many who thought that this veteran midfielder would call it a day at the end of the current season, but having seen his scintillating form, many people are now thinking that Giggs is playing his best ever at Manchester United.

Ryan Giggs holds the record for highest ever appearance for Manchester United and he has kept increasing his record day by day. In fact, there is no indicating of hanging his boot in the near future and if he can keep his current form going then I think he can really enjoy football for 2-3 more years for Manchester United. Giggs himself has also said that he is enjoying football at this moment. So, you can expect Giggs magic for few more years. Reports available in the media suggest that Ryan Giggs is running for Footballer of the Year award.

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Arsene Wenger Skeptical about Guus Hiddink’s Double Job with Russia and Chelsea for a Longer Period

(This entry was originally posted on Tuesday, February 17th, 2009)

Guus Hiddink has recently taken over the managerial job at Chelsea football club for a short time, without terminating his contract with Russian national team. That means, he has two jobs at hand at this moment and there are many who consider this as an impossible task to carry on for a longer period and in fact, Chelsea signed the Dutch manager for the remainder of the current season. Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes in the same way. He thinks that Guus Hiddink would not be able to carry on the two jobs simultaneously for a long time, even though he rates Hiddink very highly, indicating his successful coaching career. Wenger recollects from his experience as a manager at a top flight club, stating that managing a club is a daunting task. The Arsenal boss also slightly criticized Chelsea’s approach to sack high profile coaches shortly after a poor performance and recruit another high profile coach in the club. Chelsea recently sacked Brazilian coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, following a series of poor performance displayed by Chelsea.

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Dailymail

Alisher Usmanov Increased his Arsenal Stake to over 25%

(This entry was originally posted on Tuesday, February 17th, 2009)

Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov has recently increased his stake at Arsenal from 24.02% to more than 25%. Recently, Usmanov’s Red & White Holdings confirmed the news in a statement, saying that the company is a long-term investor and supporter of the club and is now in a protected position. Reports out in the media claim that the Russian businessman might want to continue to increase his Arsenal stake up to 29.9%, but he seems not to have any interest of taking over the club wholly. Apart from Alisher Usmanov, there are some other big investors like Stan Kroenke in Arsenal board. Many Arsenal fans do not like someone from Russia to have full takeover of the London club.

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Guardian

Eduardo da Silva Scored Twice on Arsenal Return against Cardiff City

(This entry was originally posted on Tuesday, February 17th, 2009)

Arsenal’s Croatian striker Eduardo da Silva has come back in the Arsenal pecking order with a strong performance against Championship side Cardiff City in the reply of fourth round FA Cup match. Having recovered from a horrific injury sustained during a premier league game last season, Eduardo was expected to come back into the Arsenal first team for the last few weeks. Finally manager Arsene Wenger handed him the chance to return to competitive football for his club during Arsenal’s 4-0 victory over Cardiff with which they ensured their fifth round spot in FA Cup. The Brazilian born Croatian international capitalized the chance scoring two goals in the match.

Scoring two goals was not the reason Arsenal fans were happy for; rather it was his mental strength and strong physicality, which very few could expect from a player coming back after 51 weeks following a serious injury, that once again proved his class and talent. Arsene Wenger is also happy to see him back with such a form and credited Tony Colbert, the club fitness coach, for Eduardo’s successful return to the Arsenal squad. Even Eduardo himself went to Arsenal bench to celebrate his first goal with Tony Colbert.

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Telegraph

Patrick Vieira: Arsenal or Hotspur?

Patrick Vieira is legend in Arsenal and he is now 33 years old. He does not play for Arsenal anymore. For the last three years he has been playing for Inter Milan. However, his condition in Inter Milan was not that good. It is expected that he will join any English club and at first everyone thought that he may join Tottenham Hotspur. Now, it seems that there is more possibility of returning to his old club Arsenal. If he comes back to London then all the supporters will be happy and we will welcome him. Arsenal really needs a quality player right now.

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Roger Johnson Confident ahead of FA Cup Fifth Round Arsenal Clash

(This entry was originally posted on Monday, February 16th, 2009)

Ahead of tonight’s high-profile FA Cup clash with Arsenal, Cardiff City defender Roger Johnson has said that he and his team mates are pretty much confident to get something out of the fourth round reply at the Emirates Stadium. Earlier, Cardiff City hosted Arsenal for a goalless draw at the Ninian Park. Roger Johnson thinks that they are going into the match with lots of confidence thanks to their inspirational performance against the same opponent before their home crowd. He also believes that if Cardiff City plays at their level best, they are capable of beating any side. However, Roger Johnson has also asserted that though FA Cup is a very important tournament, Cardiff City’s priority is to get promotion in the league at the end of this season. Now, let us see if Cardiff City can cause an upset by defeating Arsenal tonight to earn a fifth round berth in FA Cup tournament.

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Deco Unhappy as Chelsea Sacked Luiz Felipe Scolari

(This entry was originally posted on Thursday, February 12th, 2009)

Portuguese midfielder is known as a great admirer of Brazilian coach Luiz Felipe Scolari who helped him get the Portuguese nationality to play for Portugal in international football when Scolari was the coach of Portugal national team. It is believed that the Brazilian born footballer joined Chelsea mainly because of Scolari. Now that, Chelsea has sacked Scolari recently following a spate of poor performance, Deco has revealed his sadness over the matter.

Terming Scolari a great coach, Deco says that it was a shame that Scolari could not continue his job at Chelsea for a longer period. However, he accepts the matter, stating that in football this kind of things happen. With Scolari being sacked, many are now pessimistic about Deco’s future at Chelsea too. However, former Barcelona star has said that he is committed to play for Chelsea and is keen to prove that he deserves a place in the Chelsea squad. Saying that he was signed by Chelsea, not by Scolari, Deco thinks Chelsea is going through a tough time, but he is optimistic about Chelsea.

Most English clubs are now more worried about the economic recession rather than change of coach in Chelsea. Even Indian outsourcing companies have the same kind of worry.

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Ryan Giggs Singed One Year Extension Deal with Manchester United

(This entry was originally posted on Friday, February 13th, 2009)

Manchester United handed a one-year contract to its most decorated midfielder Ryan Giggs recently, dismissing all the rumors suggesting his retirement at the end of this season. By this deal, Ryan Giggs would remain at Old Trafford until Summer 2010. There were rumors that Giggs would retire at the end of this season and Manchester United would include him in his coaching staff.

There are many who believe that it is high time Ryan Giggs should hang his boots, but the midfielder has recently showed that he still has something to offer for Manchester United when he guided Manchester United to clinch a 3-0 victory over Chelsea last month. Ryan Giggs holds the record for highest appearance for Manchester United and has won 10 league titles, 4 FA Cup and 2 Champions League titles so far. Now, let us see if Giggs can add some more titles to his illustrious career at Manchester United.

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Telegraph

Emmanuel Adebayor Wins African Footballer of the Year Award

(This entry was originally posted on Wednesday, February 11th, 2009)

Togolese striker Emmanuel Adebayor has won the African Footballer of the Year award for his excellent performance in 2008 both for his club Arsenal and his country. Adebayor scored 30 goals in all competitions for the English club and has led Togo to the Africa Cup of Nations 2008 and the final round qualifying round of 2010 world cup football. He defeated Egyptian midfielder Mohamed Aboutrika and Chelsea’s Ghanaian star Michael Essien in a highly competitive race to become the best footballer in Africa.

Emmanuel Adebayor has become the first player from Togo to win this title. Naturally, he is very happy to win the award. Though he got the support of fellow star African players like Didier Drogba and Samuel Eto’o, there are some others who think that the award should have gone to star Egyptian midfielder Mohamed Aboutrika who was instrumental behind Egypt’s triumph in 2008 African Cup of Nations as he scored the winning goal in the final. Even in club level, he helped Al Ahly to win the domestic league as well as the African Champions League. However, there is no doubt that Emmanuel Adebayor was one of the best performers in world football last year.

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CNN

Japan vs Australia Live on Star Sports TV Channel: 11 February 2009

(This entry was originally posted on Wednesday, February 11th, 2009)

Asian football fans are now eagerly waiting for today’s (11 February 2009) high-profile AFC world cup qualifying match between Japan and Australia. Both the teams are favorite from AFC zone to qualify for the 2010 world cup final which will take place in South Africa. Australia and Japan are considered to be two football powers in AFC zone and they have a very successful past in world football compared to other AFC member countries.

Australia is currently leading the group A with 9 points having played 3 games, while Japan takes the second position in the group with 2 points adrift of leader Australia. That means, Japan can move to the first place in the group with a victory against Australia today. Japan will have home advantage as the match will take place at the International Stadium Yokohama, Japan. Australia, on the other hand, must pick up at least 1 point if they want to hold on to the top place in the group. A victory for either side would not ensure world cup qualification, but the winner of the match will definitely boost up their confidence level.

Japanese and Australian football fans are now excited with the match and want their favorite team to outperform the opposition. The match between Japan and Australia will be telecast live on Star Sports television channel. So, if you do not want to miss this seemingly exciting match then tune on to Star Sports television channel when the match resumes. The match kicks off at 09:45 GMT. Star Sports is one of the leading sports channel in Asia and it is available in almost every Asian countries. So, if you are currently in Asia and want to enjoy each and every action of the match, then you do not need to worry about it because you can watch the match live in Star Sports television channel.

Japan vs Australia World Cup Qualifying 2010: Preview & Live Score

(This entry was originally posted on Tuesday, February 10th, 2009)

It is indeed a match of epic proportion. Tomorrow, Japan is going to face Australia in a world cup qualifying Asian Zone Group A match. The match is going to take place at the International Stadium Yokohama. So, I do not need to remind you that it is an important match for both the team. Well, whoever wins tomorrow’s match is going to be sure of perhaps advancing to the final of world cup 2010 which will be held in South Africa.

Japan vs Australia

Date: Wednesday, 11th February (2009)

Kick Off Time: 10:20 GMT

Venue: International Stadium Yokohama

Live Score: Live Updates in Techtainment

Before anything, I would like you to look at the current standing of Group A in AFC zone. In Group A, five teams are playing and it seems that Bahrain and Uzbekistan are already out of the contention. Well, you have to remember that top two teams from the two groups will qualify for the world cup, while the third placed teams will fight against each other in the play-off and the winner of the play-off will play against Oceania champion New Zealand. The play-off match will decide if a fifth team from Asia will qualify for the world cup or the Oceania team New Zealand will qualify for the world cup.

Let us now turn our attention to tomorrow’s match. Australia is leading the group with nine points from 3 matches. This means that they have won all of their 3 matches and they are the favorite to advance to the world cup. On the other hand, Japan is in the second position with 7 points from 3 matches. They have won 2 matches and drawn one. On the other hand, Japan has plus 4 goal differences, whereas Australia has plus 6 goal differences. In the third position, it is Qatar with 4 points from 4 matches. So, this does not look very good for Qatar at the moment. There are still some matches to be played. So, it is perhaps too early to say that whether the winner of tomorrow’s winner will be assured of going to the final. Still, I think that it will be Australia and Japan considering their current form. After tomorrow’s match, Australia and Japan both will play another 4 matches.

The Australian team is in a much relaxed position, but Japan has one important advantage. Japan will play at home and you know that Japanese fans are very passionate about their football team. I remember that in 2002, Japanese supporters encouraged their players a lot during the 2002 world cup and Japan reached the second round of the tournament. So, this is something that Japan has very strong advantage in tomorrow’s match. Another important thing is that it is early February and it is very cold in Japan. I think that sometimes it snows. On the other hand, Australia is suffering from hot weather. I guess that you have already heard there has been bushfire in Australia from draught. So, Japan will have this big disadvantage of nature too. However, I want to remind you that some of the Australian players play in European league and in Europe, at this moment, it is very cold and even some countries are colder than Japan.

On the other hand, Australia has something to cheer about too. In this stage, Australia has not lost or even drawn a match. So, it is easily understand that they are in very strong form. Australian team loves to win and they have a very big challenge in front of them. If you have any idea about Australian sports then you must know that in this country most people are fan of Australian Rules football and cricket. Not too many people are addicted to soccer or what we call football. So, Australian players have to win every match impressively and they have to show their TV viewers that they are better than any Asian country. So, they will have some pressure, although Australian coach does not think that there will be any pressure on Australian players. I feel that there will be a lot of pressure and there is another important reason too. You know that Japan is a very important place for sponsorship of football. So, if some Australian players play well and can win the heart and mind of Japanese fans and the fans of Asia and South Asia and at the same time Japanese business companies, then some lucrative sponsorship deals can come. So, they will have something to play for besides just winning the match.

Before the match, Australian coach Pim Verbeek is playing mind game. He is saying different things about team selection. For example, it was thought that Tim Cahill would be at the front and he is a good striker. However, now Pim Verbeek is praising Josh Kennedy. Verbeek thinks that Josh Kennedy is very tall and he can be an aerial threat for Japanese defense. So, Australian coach is thinking of playing a mind game. Josh is 6 feet 5 inches tall and he is also good in heading. Now, the coach is saying that even he is not sure whether Tim Cahill will be in the first eleven or not. This is the way, he is trying to make the Japanese players some mentally afraid. We will see whether this strategy works. I think that Australian coach should be more focused on the match in stead of getting engaged into war of words kind of thing. Pim Verbeek is also very happy with Scott Chipperfield. Scott Chipperfield was a great player in defense in the past, but he has been suffering from injury for the last few months. So, he may have lack of match fitness. Still, the coach thinks that he will be a good player. Pim Verbeek is also very happy with his goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer. Of course, everyone in Australia is happy with this 36-year-old goalkeeper. He is in great form for the last few months for the national team. So, I think, this is one player that Pim Verbeek has placed in the right way.

On other hand, Japan will have serious problem in goalkeeping as their ace goalkeeper Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi is injured and will not be available for tomorrow’s match. Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi was captain of Japanese national team in the past and he is very good in saving penalties. Because of a superb performance, Japanese national team could have some great result in the last five years. So, Japanese fans and the players will surely miss his presence in the match tomorrow. However, Japan will have Shunsuke Nakamura who is perhaps their best player at the moment. Nakamura said earlier today that all the Japanese players are determined and they will try their best to get the win tomorrow. He also said that Japanese players are prepared to get ugly if needed as they are ready to try every way whatever they can do to win the match. Well, it is difficult for Japanese players as they will suffer a lot of mental pressure for tomorrow’s match.

One thing that both the teams and both the fans will support tomorrow is helping the bushfire victims in Australia. You know that many people dies in bushfire in Australia and they need a lot of support from everywhere. So, tomorrow special arrangement has been made so that fans can donate money to support the victim. I am really happy for this matter and I wish that all the football playing countries can learn from the example of Japan and Australia.

I am very happy to see that an Asian rivalry is gradually starting between Japan and Australia. Of course, Australia is not in Asian continent, but now, Australia is part of AFC and thus, in football world, at least Australia is part of Asia. In Europe, there is England vs Germany rivalry, in South America, there is Argentina vs Brazil rivalry. Many people are passionate about this kind of rivalry. I am happy to see similar kind of rivalry in Asian football is emerging between Australia and Japan. Supporters of these two countries are very passionate and they are very patriotic. So, it is an exciting prospect for Asian football.

Guus Hiddink in Charge of Chelsea Football Club?

(This entry was originally posted on Tuesday, February 10th, 2009)

Reports available in the media suggest that Guus Hiddink could be the next manager of English club Chelsea. Even though he is currently in charge of Russian national football team, Russian Football Union has already allowed the Dutch football coach to take charge of Chelsea without terminating his contract. Chelsea’s Russian owner Roman Abramovich is a close friend of Hiddink and it is expected that he will be appointed as Chelsea manager for a short time.

Chelsea recently sacked its Brazilian manager Luiz Felipe Scolari following a series of poor performance by the West London club. Chelsea has slipped to fourth place in the premier league and they are now struggling to keep their place in the top four.

Guus Hiddink is reputed coach in world football who guided South Korea to reach the semi final of 2002 world cup, and then successfully helped Australia to qualify for the 2006 football world cup. Under his guidance, Russia qualified for Euro 2008 tournament, and reached the semi final of the tournament. So, there is no question about the quality of Guus Hiddink as an excellent football coach.

Well, I think, it was a wrong decision to sack Scolari who started off well in the league. Chelsea should have given him at least a season to prove his worth as a world class coach. As a manager he guided Brazil to win the 2002 world cup and helped Portugal to reach the semi final of 2006 world cup. So, you must admit that he has something in him to offer. Chelsea’s problem is that they can not identify the main problem. They always set a radar on the coach as Real Madrid do. Chelsea sacked Avram Grant, whom Scolari succeeded, even though Grant took Chelsea to the final of Champions League.

If you closely look at the strength and depth of the current Chelsea squad then you cannot claim that Scolari’s overall performance was not bad at all since he took over Chelsea job last Summer. Since he took charge of Chelsea, the club sold some key players like Wayne Bridge, Shaun Wright-Phillips over the last 6-8 months, while key striker Didier Drogba never looked settled since the departure of former coach Mourinho. Earlier in the season, Chelsea was missing almost half the regular members through injury, but still, Chelsea kept winning matches under Scolari’s guidance. So, overall I think, Scolari has had a descent record with Chelsea.

I think, Chelsea should take lesson from Arsenal who have shown intense faith on their long-term manager Arsene Wenger, even though the club has not won any silverware in the last three seasons. Arsenal has had a very good young strategy and has a number of talent players in its youth side who would be the future star for the Gunners. In contrast, Chelsea failed to deliver a quality player from its youth system for a number of years now. So, Chelsea should focus on these internal things first before coming down hard on the coaches.

Now, let us see if Guus Hiddink can keep his good relationship with Abramovich in the years to come.

Wayne Rooney and Patrice Evra Ready for FA Cup Encounter with Derby County

(This entry was originally posted on Monday, February 9th, 2009)

Wayne Rooney and Patrice Evra were absent for Manchester United’s 1-0 victory at West Ham United on Sunday as both the players lacked match fitness. However, reports available in the media suggest that both Rooney and Evra could come back with Manchester United’s FA Cup fifth round showdown with Derby County next Sunday.

It was not that Rooney and Evra could not have become part of Manchester United squad that toured Upton Park. However, manager Sir Alex Ferguson was reluctant to risk two of his key players for a low profile premier league clash. Manchester United has been in excellent form recently as they have been in a winning run of eight games in premier league, apart from a run of 13 clean sheets in a row in premier league. As Rooney and Evra are waiting to return in action against Derby County, Manchester United is expected to get over the Derby County challenge pretty comfortably.

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Shahid Afridi Named Pakistan Captain for the Twenty20 against Sri Lanka

All rounder Shahid Afridi has been appointed as captain of Pakistan twenty20 team for the upcoming twenty20 match against Sri Lanka. Pakistan is now touring Sri Lanka in a full-fledged series. Pakistan’s regular captain Younis Khan retired from twenty20 format last month after leading Pakistan to clinch the Twenty20 world cup in England. PCB chairman Ijaz Butt requested Younis to change his decision, but the batsman decided not to change it.

So, PCB has named Afridi as Pakistan captain for the match against Sri Lanka. No doubt, it was a bit surprise for Afridi because he was preferred for the role when vice captain Misbah-ul-Haq was supposed to be given the chance. Afridi, one of the veteran members of Pakistan side, has said that he would love to lead Pakistan if Younis does not want to continue playing in the shortest format of the game. Hard-hitter batsman and an effective leg spinner, Afridi has represented Pakistan in 26 Tests, 273 ODI and 23 Twenty20 matches.

The ODI series between Sri Lanka and Pakistan kicks off on 30 July. Pakistan lost the test series 2-0. So, they are now eagerly waiting to make a strong come back in the ODI series, while Sri Lanka is keen to continue their winning run against Pakistan.