We Have Moved!!!

Find us at a new location Joga Bonito Mundo

Hope to see you all there!

International Duty Ruins Domestic Races

Just when things are really heating up domestically, along comes the international break to squash all momentum that has been building the last few weeks. This is disappointing as the title race has been relatively stale up until now and was just becoming interesting.

Manchester United seems to be crumbling under the pressure and Liverpool are playing some inspired football and this could lead to one of the most exciting finishes to the English Premiership season for a long time.

The tension is palpable and fans all over the world are holding their breath in anticipation of what will happen. Unfortunately they will not be able to hold their breath for that long as we will all have to wait for two weeks as players go and play for their countries in the World Cup qualifiers. Fans have to stomach watching fierce rivals Ferdinand and Rooney and Gerrard and Carragher laugh and joke together as they play for the same England squad.

For the love of Pete you guys are supposed to hate each other!

This on top of the shockingly obvious fact that International football is utter rubbish makes for some awful football. Hopefully I am wrong and that the Premiership returns in two weeks time as if there wasn’t a long break but I have my doubts.

Play beautiful!

Gattuso Willing To Take Pay Cut

Gennaro Gattuso, AC Milan and Italy’s faithful servant has gone yet another step forward in showing that there are still athletes that put their team first. The hugely popular central midfielder said earlier this week that he would be willing to take a pay cut because of current economic circumstances:

”In times like this I’m in favour of an eventual salary reduction. If the club asks for a reduction from me, I’m ready.”

Gattuso has missed the season with a long-term knee injury that will keep him out for the rest of the campaign. But he has lead the way for players to sacrifice some of their massive salaries in lou of the economy and his newest teammate, David Beckham, has done his share as well.

The English international took a large salary cut in order to stay with the Rossoneri.

”I don’t know if Beckham will allow me to reveal it eventually…but it is incredible what he has done to stay at Milan,” chief executive Adriano Galliani told reporters on Saturday.

”Nothing like that has happened to me in 23 years as a club director. It more than stunned me.”
Galliani has added wood to the proverbial fire in calling for a salary cap in European football. He said that a “wind of crisis” is blowing through the top leagues in Europe and that the off season transfer market would hurt because of it.
”A weak, pale summer market awaits us, with player swaps but very little money movement,” he said. ”This is more than certain.”

Man United Slip Up

You would have been hard pressed to find someone who thought Manchester United would not have bounced back from their 4-1 defeat to Liverpool but it happened. United was a disorganized, shell of a team this morning in their second consecutive loss to Fulham.

There was not one redeeming part of the game for Man United who saw another two players sent off in their defeat. It started off with a strange 5-4-1 line-up formation by Sir Alex Ferguson with Rooney, Carrick, and Tevez sitting on the bench. It seemed like United’s boss underestimated Fulham and it cost his squad.

The entire game was marked by dissent and petulance from the United players who complained to referee Phil Dowd virtually every call he made. I have been very tough on the refs in the English Premier League this year, and rightfully so, but Phil Dowd had a brilliant game not putting up with Ronaldo’s antics and not being swayed by the United players who have had their way with the refs this campaign.

Before the twentieth minute Scholes was sent off for a handball in the box that stopped a sure goal. It was a reflex more then intentional but it was the right call and Fulham converted the penalty and were a man up from then on. The next sixty minutes were nervy with Man United pouring on the pressure but Fulham held on and grabbed another goal. The Red Devil’s poor performance was accentuated by Rooney’s send off for a second yellow. He threw the ball in disgust and Phil Dowd had little choice but to send him off.

With Vidic still serviing suspension for another 2 matches, Scholes out for 3 matches, and Rooney set to miss the next match it opens the way for Aston Villa to make it three losses on the trot but we will have to wait until April 5th to see.

Champions League Quarter Final Draw

Champions League Quarter Final draw was made this morning and there are some interesting matches to be had.

Quarter-finals
Tuesday, April 7

Villarreal v Arsenal

Manchester United v FC Porto

Wednesday, April 8
Liverpool v Chelsea

Barcelona v Bayern Munich

Tuesday, April 14
Chelsea v Liverpool

Bayern Munich v Barcelona

Wednesday, April 15
Arsenal v Villarreal

FC Porto v Manchester United

Villarreal v Arsenal

This will be a very interesting game with Arsenal’s speed and attacking prowess against the tactical play of Villarreal. The last time these two sides met was back in Champions League semi-finals back in the 2005/06 season. Villarreal lost the leg on 1-0 aggregate after outplaying Arsenal who went on to lose to Barcelona in the Finals. The loss is still fresh in some player’s memories and Villarreal will be looking for sweet revenge.

Manchester United v FC Porto

Sir Alex’s men picked up the easiest draw of any team in the Quarter Finals but it is by no means going to be a walk in the park for the English side. Let the nights of nightmares begin for Alex Ferguson as he remembers back to 2004 when Costinha’s 90th minute marker sent Jose Mourinho racing down the touchline. Another upset, while unlikely, is possible as Man United has had problems with Portuguese teams in the past few years.

Liverpool v Chelsea

I do not know about you but I am bored of this matchup. The two English teams have met each other in the Champions League 5 times in the last 5 years not to mention countless other meetings in other competitions. It is a matchup that is hard to predict with both teams in good form.

Barcelona v Bayern Munich

This match promises some brilliant attacking football with the likes of Ribery, Messi, Toni, Henry, and Eto’o on the same field. Who knows, maybe Ribery is a future Barca player. It will be the draw of the Quarter Finals in my opinion.

Vancouver Awarded MLS Franchise

It has finally been announced. For all fans of the MLS and all us West Coast Canadian’s the wait is over… well in 2011 it will really be over but at least we know the Vancouver Whitecaps will be in the MLS.

An artist's rendering of B.C. Place stadium decked out to host a Whitecaps soccer game

The Vancouver Whitecaps will join Major League Soccer for the 2011 season, it was confirmed today, in what may be the worst-kept secret in Lower Mainland sports circles.

MLS commissioner Don Garber made the announcement, as the Whitecaps prepare to move from venerable Swangard Stadium in Burnaby to a renovated BC Place Stadium. The venue there is to undergo $365 million worth of improvements before the new MLS team takes to the field, improvements that will include a retractable roof.

“We are thrilled to welcome Vancouver into Major League Soccer for the 2011 season,” Garber said. “The ownership team of Greg Kerfoot, Steve Luczo, Jeff Mallett, and Steve Nash love the game and represent a new breed of ownership group. Our new Vancouver team also provides an attractive stadium plan and a market with a rich soccer tradition.”

The Whitecaps ownership group consists of Kerfoot, Luczo, Mallett two-time National Basketball Association MVP Nash, whose brother Martin is captain of the United Soccer Leagues First Division champion Whitecaps club.

Kerfoot is the owner of Vancouver Whitecaps FC and former CEO of Crystal Decisions Software. Luczo is president, CEO, and chairman of the board for Seagate Technology and part owner of the NBA’s Boston Celtics. Mallett is part owner of Major League Baseball’s San Francisco Giants and is the former president and COO of Yahoo! Nash — a guard for the NBAs Phoenix Suns — is a two-time NBA MVP, and along with Mallett, is an investor in women’s professional soccer.

Thursday marks the start of the 2009 MLS season and the long-awaited inaugural game for Seattle Sounders FC, who are a geographic rival for Vancouver.

Vancouver will have the second MLS team in Canada following the successful launch of Toronto FC in 2007. Toronto FC has sold out every home game, capped season tickets at 16,000, and has a season-ticket waiting list of over 14,000.

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

Arshavin Is Determined To Play

Andrei Arshavin

Arsenal’s major January signing, Andrei Arshavin had a great weekend and showed the world why so many top teams were after his signature. Not to toot my own whistle but I did not doubt that Arshavin would be successful wherever he ended up and as he is regaining his fitness he is proving all his critics wrong. It his determination and will to play that is coming to the fore now.

At half time in Arsenal’s 4-0 win against Blackburn Rovers Arshavin needed eight stitches to close a gash in his right foot but the Russian superstar played through it and netted a goal for the Gunners in the second half. He has been included in Wenger’s squad for today’s FA Cup match but it is a waiting game to see if he will start.

Arshavin did not practice with the team on Monday but he is desperate for a start. Arsenal need to watch out so as to not rely on his services too much they need to be able to play without him in the Champions League but when it comes to FA Cup and League he will be a great asset for the London side.

A Weekend to Remember

This weekend was a damn fine weekend for me. It started out with a bang with Manchester United’s destruction in their 4-1 loss to Liverpool and the rest of the weekend ran smoothly with all the right teams winning.

United suffered a shock defeat to Liverpool on Saturday. News that Alonso was injured convinced me that it would be another Manchester stroll but Torres and Gerrard, along with some calamitous defending by Man U’s backline made sure that United would suffer their third loss of the season.

Even 25 minutes into the game Man United looked like they were ready to dominate and they even scored first off of Ronaldo’s penalty but Fernando Torres made sure the lead was short lived when he outworked Vidic and placed a cool finish past Van der Saar, this was the turning point of the game and foreshadowed what an awful game NemanjaVidic would have. Torres was obviously playing the game in pain and there were a number of moments that I thought he would need to be replaced but he stayed on the field and showed the world why he is considered one of Europe’s top strikers.

Gerrard capitalized on his spot kick and made sure Liverpool were ahead by the half time whistle. The second half was accentuated by Vidic’s foul that lead to his sending off and a stunning free kick from Fabio Aurelio. The game was out of sight for Manchester United by that time and Dossena’s goal just added insult to injury. Can you tell how happy I am?

Arsenal put on an attacking clinic against Blackburn Rovers winning 4-0 and making a statement to the other teams in England and Europe that the Gunners are most definitely on the up. Add that to another goal fest in Italy where AC Milan routed Siena 5-1 and a impressive 2-0 win by Barcelona (with Eto’o and Henry being rested on the bench) then you have one of the best weekends of the campaign so far.

Play beautiful my friends.

Champions League Aftermath

The dust has settled after this week Champions League action and we know a few things now that we did not before.

Benzema

Benzema staying with Lyon.

First and foremost Benzema has pledged his immediate future to Lyon. This comes after months of rumors about big clubs signing him. He even said at one point that if Lyon didn’t beat Barcelona he would leave at the end of the season but he has now squashed all speculation by saying he will play another year with the French giants.

“I’m going to stay at Lyon,” he said, following a Lyon training session on Friday. “I feel really good at OL, I am surrounded by good people and I still have time. I shouldn’t have said I would make my decision after Barcelona.

“This decision will not be changed, whether or not we retain the title, whether or not France qualify for the next World Cup.

“At 21, I am still developing, I am going to get better and progress. At Lyon, I play regularly in big matches and I take part in the Champions League.”

Even if Benzema wanted to go, Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas slapped a price tag of 100m euros on his prize possession, a steep price for any player.

Trezeguet

Trezeguet, a petulant child?

After the Juventus – Chelsea tie Trezeguet complained about being substituted with 11 minutes to go for Brazilian striker Amauri. I think the striker has a right in this case. I have never understood coaches, who need goals to stay alive in a tournament, who make straight swaps; if you need a goal play with three strikers.

I understand that Juve were a man down already after Giorgio Chiellini was sent off but you still need two goals in order to go through to the next round. Amauri is more involved in the play usually but is there a better finisher in the 18 yard box than Trezeguet?

After the Frenchman complained, Ranieri hit back.

“I feel a bit betrayed by Trezeguet,” said Ranieri. “It was an inexplicable outburst, from a spoilt child, his words made me very angry.

“They are things you say in the dressing room, he might also be right, but at that point it was as if we had nine men against Chelsea because he had touched the ball six times in the second half and few times in the first.

“So I tried to put Amauri on so that he could run with the others and play.”

Ranieri added: “We haven’t talked to each other, we’re doing it via the newspapers, seeing as that’s what he’s doing…

“I hoped that he would have gained confidence after his goal against Palermo and four months on the sidelines: I was giving him playing time and trust. I have always had the utmost respect for him.

“It’s obviously not the same on his part towards me.”

Trezeguet has been left out of tomorrow match which is too bad for Juve as they are missing Amauri for a month as he is out with a thigh injury.

Violence in Rome

UEFA has said that they will not take the Champions League final away from Rome even after more violence before and after the Arsenal – Roma clash. Not that it is really surprising, English and Italian fans are some of the worst hooligans in football and you put the two together and you are bound to have problems.

An Arsenal fan was stabbed when two groups of fans clashed before the game. Gunners fans were warned before the game to avoid certain areas of the city where Roma’s notorious hardcore fans, or “ultras” frequent but that did not stop confrontations from taking place.

Champions League – Round of 16 Recap

All four Premiership teams are through. Surprised? You shouldn’t be. You can be disappointed as I am but you would have to be living in a cave for the last few years to be surprised that they are through.

The eight teams that enter the Quarter Finals of the Champions League are:

Manchester United
Barcelona
Liverpool
Villareal
Arsenal
FC Porto
Chelsea
Bayern Munich

More mouth-watering matches to come by the looks of it but let us look at how we got here.

Manchester United were convincing, but not very entertaining, in their win. Inter Milan had a post and a crossbar but otherwise were disappointing. A goal for Man U in the first five minutes was the dream start and the Red Devils seemed to step off the gas and were content to run the remaining 85 minutes down rather than gunning for more goals.

They made another statement that their opponents have to be sharper defending set pieces with Vidic and Ronaldo both scoring off of headers. I feel that the makeshift back line for Inter, which did a commendable job, would have been stronger if they had any one of injured Chivu / Materazzi / Burdisso in the center of defense along with Walter Samuel but let us not cry over spilt milk.

Over in Turin, Chelsea and Juventus played in a great match with all the drama that a European night should have. Juve started brightly and it was obvious they were going to make a game of it but a red hot Drogba and the return of Essien was too much for an aging Juventus that lost Nedved early in the match.

Barca cruise through to the quarterfinals.

Barcelona put an exclamation point on their win at the Camp Nou and showed Europe that they are still one of the favourites for the Champions League with a 5-2 thrashing of Lyon. Henry began the show with two goals within five minutes of each other and then Messi and Eto’o both joined in the fun. The match was capped off by the sending off of Juninho and a fifth Barca goal by Keita.

Speaking of routes, Liverpool destroyed Real Madrid at Anfield on Tuesday. Torres was scintillating and Gerrard scored twice in a 5-0 route of the Spanish side. Real Madrid did not look interested and only produced one quality chance through a free kick. Not to take anything away from Rafa’s men who outplayed Madrid at every part of the pitch.

The Gunners win on penalties.

The Gunners were, in a word, lucky. Up against a Roma side decimated by injuries and suspension the London side were down a goal within 30 minutes in the first half and were outplayed for most of the game. I guess it is a testament to their staying power that they weathered the storm and came out to win the match in penalties. They will have to do better in the Quarter Finals though as they were facing a vastly weakened Roma side.

Bayern Munich completely embarrassed Sporting Lisbon again in the second leg. 7-1 thanks to two goals from Podolski. A final aggregate of 12-1 set a new record and first-time round of 16-ers Lisbon will be smarting for a long time after that.

Sporting Lisbon’s Portuguese cousins FC Porto shut out Atletico Madrid to go through on aggregate and Villareal beat Panathinaikos in Greece 2-1 which fills out the eight teams that go through to the Quarters.