soccer and football mania

Michael Owen Will Sign For Manchester United Pending A Medical - Report

2009-07-03T22:22:00.000-07:00

The crocked striker's career could be back on track if a shock move to Old Trafford goes through...

Michael Owen has been heavily linked with a shock move to Manchester United according to The Guardian.

It is said that the injury prone striker has had his services called upon to provide goals for the Red Devils in the wake of the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez - all pending a medical at Old Trafford.

Reports say that Owen is currently holding talks with the Premier League champions as both parties move to complete one of the most unexpected transfers in English football history.

The 29-year-old's glittering career looked to be all but over as previous transfer speculation had linked him to teams in the lower half of the league, but the former England international's luck seems to have changed.

The transfer is likely to spark much controversy amongst United fans, however, a footballing figurehead such as Sir Alex Ferguson is sure to be unfazed as he looks to rebuild his attacking force.

Stephen Crawford, Goal.com

Messi Maradona Imitation

2009-07-02T23:08:00.000-07:00

Messi embarrases Getafe as he mazes through them like Maradona and scores. He really is quite a special player and so young.

In 1987, a year and two days after Argentina's Diego Maradona scored what would later be voted as the best goal in World Cup history, Lionel Messi was born. The Barcelona striker and fellow Argentine has been named by Maradona as his successor, and on Wednesday, two months shy of his 20th birthday, Mr. Messi paid homage. His goal for Barcelona in the semifinals of the Spanish Cup against Getafe was an astonishing bit of mimicry, hewing closely to the lofty standard set by Maradona as he scored the quarterfinal's clincher en route to a World Cup triumph.

"The two players, both left-footed, short, stocky and deceptively quick, traced virtually the same course across two of the world's most emblematic football fields -- Maradona at Mexico City's Aztec Stadium, Messi at Barcelona's Nou Camp," Sid Lowe writes in the Daily Telegraph. After pausing to note that, yes, the Spanish Cup is a far cry from the World Cup, Mr. Lowe adds, "Both men ran for just over 10 seconds, Maradona covering 62 metres, Messi 60, both touched the ball 13 times and beat six rivals, dashing past five of them and shooting home past the sixth."

The Times of London remarks, "Twenty-one years on, the similarity of the scintillating slalom, the replica brilliance and balance, was remarkable."

No wonder all four of Spain's major sports daily newspapers (too bad the U.S. no longer has one of these) headlined the feat, "Messi scores Maradona's goal."

The Daily Telegraph asks fans to comment on which goal was better. Not surprisingly, several commenters on the British newspaper's online forum say neither can top a memorable 1999 goal by Ryan Giggs for Manchester United. Read more...

Top Soccer Players Weekly Salaries

2009-07-02T12:46:00.000-07:00

Yes, these are weekly salaries believe it or not. Don't think they're getting paid enough. More to come as the summer transfers continue and new signings take place across Europe. Is there someone we are missing, please send in their salary if you have it.

Cristiano Ronaldo at Real Madrid: $298,548
Zlatan Ibrahimovic at Inter Milan: $275,377
Kaka at Real Madrid: $275,377
John Terry at Chelsea: $273,253
Robinho at Manchester City: $265,424
Lionel Messi at Barcelona: $258,788
Frank Lampard at Chelsea: $231,588
Samuel Etoo at Barcelona: $228,279
Thierry Henry at Barcelona: $228,279
Franck Ribery at Chelsea: $207,362
Ronaldinho at AC Milan: $198,504
Rio Ferdinand at Manchester United: $198,504
Steven Gerrard at Liverpool: $198,504
Michael Ballack at Chelsea: $198,504
Andrei Shevchenko at AC Milan: $198,504
Raul Gonzalez at Real Madrid: $195,195
Ruud van Nistelrooy at Real Madrid: $195,195
Iker Casillas at Real Madrid: $181,962
Frederic Kanoute at Sevilla FC: $181,962
Wayne Rooney at Manchester United: $181,962
Michael Owen at Newcastle United: $181,962
Fabio Cannavaro at Real Madrid: $176,132 (retured to Juventus)
Francesco Totti at AS Roma: $166,256
Luca Toni at Bayern at Munich: $166,256
Arjen Robben at Real Madrid: $166,256
Ashley Cole at Chelsea FC: $166,256
Deco at Chelsea FC: $166,256
Fernando Torres at Liverpool FC: $166,256
Carlos Tevez at Manchester United: $156,379
Adriano at Inter Milan: $152,186 (not longer plays at Inter)
Patrick Vieira at Inter Milan: $152,186
Charles Puyol at Barcelona: $152,186
Andres Iniesta at Barcelona: $152,186
Xavi at Barcelona: $152,186
Sergio Aguero at Atletico Madrid: $152,186
Gianluigi Buffon at Juventus: $152,186
Willy Sagnol at Bayern Munich: $152,186
Dimitar Berbatov at Manchester United: $148,149
Andrei Arshavin at Arsenal FC: $148,149
Didier Drogba at Chelsea FC: $148,149
Nicolas Anelka at Chelsea FC: $148,149
Paul Scholes at Manchester United: $148,149
Alessandro Del Piero at Juventus: $144,856
Karim Benzema at Olympique Lyon: $144,856
Frank Ribery at Bayern Munich: $144,856 (now at Chelsea)
Joe Cole at Chelsea FC: $139,918
Ryan Giggs at Manchester United: $139,918
Xabi Alonso at Liverpool FC: $139,918
Jamie Carragher at Liverpool FC: $139,918
David Beckham at AC Milan: $136,626
Juninho at Olympique Lyon: $136,626
David Trezeguet at Juventus: $136,626
Craig Bellamy at West Ham United: $132,168

Real Madrid seal £30m Benzema signing

2009-07-02T12:04:00.000-07:00

Written by Russell Wall

During yesterday’s unveiling of Kaka, Real Madrid sporting director, Jorge Valdano, was questioned about the possibility of the Madrid club splurging for another big name this summer, after being linked with Franck Ribery and Karim Benzema, amongst others.

“We do not discard the possibility that in the next few hours, something could happen,” Valdano stated to a packed press room. It looks like he wasn’t kidding.

Just a few weeks removed from the announcement of Madrid’s swoop for Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo, the La Liga club is once again back in the headlines, splashing the cash and signing up another massive name for next season. That massive name is, of course, Lyon striker Karim Benzema.

Benzema, who wasn’t keen on a summer move until recently, gave his seal of approval to the transfer this afternoon in a move that’s rumoured to be worth £30m (the fee could rise to £35.2m). Lyon were adamant that the striker would only be leaving this summer if a “crazy offer” came their way. It only took Real Madrid a couple of days to come up with the funds for such an offer.

“We needed to make a quick decision and we decided to let Karim go where he wanted,” Lyon coach Claude Puel told reporters.

“It’s an important decision for him with a year to go before the World Cup,” Puel added. “We are losing a high quality player and we know how much Lyon owe him but he needed a new challenge and he is, I believe, strong enough to face it.”

The addition of another offensive threat means Real Madrid are officially the new Galáctico’s. There is still the rumour floating around that Madrid will take Ribery off the market in the coming weeks to end what would be considered the most unbelievable summer haul is football history. You could almost debate it’s the greatest in sports history even without the addition of Ribery.

The move also has implications for other clubs, most notably Manchester United, who were still chasing the striker for his signature this week. Benzema’s move now means Sir Alex Ferguson will have to look elsewhere for a young star to fill the void left by Ronaldo and Tevez.

We’re enemy No 1 for Fergie’s United, says Liverpool boss Rafa

2009-07-02T11:55:00.000-07:00

By eplblog

Rafa Benitez has underlined Liverpool’s growing credentials, by claiming his side have eclipsed Chelsea as the main threat to Manchester United’s dominance of English football.

United may be closing in on a hat-trick of Barclays Premier League titles, but Benitez is adamant his arch-rival Sir Alex Ferguson should be casting an anxious glance towards Anfield after Liverpool’s recent emergence.

Benitez insisted that increasing harmony off the pitch and progress on it, makes his side Ferguson’s biggest concern.

Reflecting on the fact that Chelsea are once more having to search for a new manager, Benitez said: ‘There is a stability about us now and the fact that the manager is staying is another positive message. I feel it is fair to say that we are now best equipped to challenge United.

‘We are better placed than the others and I have confidence we can still pip United for the league this season.

‘Even if we just fall short, the experience of going so close is going to be fantastic for the players and staff. Next season they will be going into games determined not to drop a single point.

‘It will be a different mentality, a titlewinning one, and it will keep us up at the top. United can be sure this season was no one-off.’

England Under 21’s Should Be Proud Win Or Lose Tonight

2009-06-30T02:18:00.000-07:00

by Paul Bestall on June 29, 2009 ·

Fresh from giving England fans palpitations after Fridays semi-final win against host nation Sweden, England’s young lions have a chance to win some silverware for the junior lions for the first time since 1993. England Under 18’s triumphed that year, riding a week long wave of growing optimism and support to beat Turkey 1-0 in front of 25,000 fans in Nottingham. Tonight’s Under-21 final pits England against its greatest rivals of the modern era, Germany, in a repeat of the final Group A game.

England of course, will be missing three players. Joe Hart has failed in an appeal to get his second booking recinded after shadow boxing one of the Swedish players in the penalty shoot out. Agbonlahor also picked up a second booking and Campbell was sent off in extra time after receiving two bookings. Normally, that would be a big blow for any side, but with Theo Walcott desperate to finally get his tournament going, and a straight choice between Scott Loach or the very highly rated Joe Lewis, Pearce has the talent to fill the gaps.

It also seems to put a bit of a mockery on the claims that English youth football is suffering due to the influx of foriegn players. Pearce has led this side to the semi finals of the last two tournaments, with players such as Mark Noble, Gabriel Agbonlahor, James Milner and Theo Walcott at his disposal. These are not just players desperately thrown in to fill gaps, these are quality players, with plenty of Premiership experience between them.

Can they win tonight? Of course they can, the reserve team drew with the German side a week ago, so they will have not given anything away to their opponents. I’ve also seen that the Germans have changed their kit to red tonight to give them a psychological advantage which oddly means they’ve completely forgotten about Englands 5-1 destruction of Germany in Munich in September 2001. That night, the Senior side tried the same trick to stop England wearing red, but ultimately it blew up in their faces.

Of course the crucial thing here is not to put too much pressure on the side and the players if they can win tonight. England Under 21’s had a golden period in the early 1980’s, winning the competition twice in a row, 1982 and 1984. Those players perhaps didn’t move onwards as much apart from Trevor Steven and Mark Hateley perhaps but Howard Gayle, Paul Walsh and Mel Sterland never really made the step up.

There’s no doubt that the England Under 21’s side have shown that their are some positives for the future of English football, despite the doomongers and pessimists that worry constantly about the lack of English players at the Big 4. Of course we’d like to see more English talent given a chance, but Manchester United have always championed English talent, Liverpool have 2 or 3 outstanding prospects coming through also.

Pearce will be looking to bring the trophy home tonight from Malmo and improve his fast rising reputation in the England set up. His passion and pride for his country can never be questioned and before the team leave the dressing rooms tonight, Pearce will instill them just what winning this tournament will mean for these players.

The Latest EPL Transfer News

2009-06-30T02:10:00.000-07:00

With the opening of the new EPL season just around the corner here is a look at some of the latest transfer news in England.

Chelsea still trying to land Robinho
Nothing has been completed as of yet but Chelsea is still hopeful of landing the Real Madrid attacker. Supposedly, the only thing standing in the way of this move is the ability of Real Madrid to secure a replacement ofr Robinho.

Robbie Keane to Liverpool
A very controversial transfer as Tottenham accused Liverpool of doing business under the table. The deal has been done though and the Liverpool-Tottenham matches this season should be real crackers. Expect Keane to be paired with Torres up top in a frightening duo for opposing defenses.

Peter Crouch to Portsmouth
Portsmouth landed the tall Liverpool striker who was looking for more playing time. He'll get that at Portsmouth and expect a breakout year with the newfound confidence.

David Bentley to Tottenham from Blackburn
Expect this move to really bolster Tottenhams midfield, but a stronger midfield will be needed following the departure of Robbie Keane.

Adebayor to stay at Arsenal
After all the offseason speculation, it seems Emmanuel Adebayor will remain at Arsenal and sign a new deal. Both Barcelona and AC Milan were long-rumoured targets of the striker this summer.

Chelsea appeal UEFA bans for Drogba & Bosingwa

2009-06-29T12:37:00.000-07:00

Chelsea today revealed their determination to stand toe-to-toe with UEFA over the punishments which followed their rancorous response to Champions League defeat at the hands of Barcelona.

Precisely a week after European football's governing body confirmed the Londoners would fight the bans handed out to striker Didier Drogba and right-back Jose Bosingwa, as well as an £85,000 club fine, the Blues revealed the reasoning behind their appeal.
A statement read: "We have today lodged an appeal against the UEFA bans given to Didier Drogba and Jose Bosingwa, and the fine imposed against the club.
"We believe these punishments are unnecessarily harsh given the circumstances.
"We would reiterate that the players and the club are acutely aware of our responsibilities towards setting a good example as role models and upholding the values of the game.
"That is why honest and sincere apologies were made swiftly after these regrettable incidents occurred.''
On June 17, Drogba was given a six-match ban - the last two suspended for two years - for his foul-mouthed confrontation with referee Tom Henning Ovrebo at the end of Chelsea's 1-1 Champions League semi-final second-leg draw with Barcelona on May 6 - a result which sent the English side out on away goals..
UEFA's control and disciplinary body also handed a four-match ban - the last game suspended for two years - to right-back Jose Bosingwa.
The Portugal defender labelled Ovrebo a "thief'' after the same game, while the club received a fine of £85,000 for the improper conduct of their players and for the throwing of missiles by their supporters.
It all followed a controversial clash in which Ovrebo turned down a number of strong penalty appeals by Chelsea, which may have proved decisive before Andres Iniesta's injury-time decider for the Catalans.
A date for an appeal hearing has yet to be revealed by UEFA.

Rooney vows to replace Tevez and Ronaldo

2009-06-29T12:07:00.000-07:00

Manchester United might have lost forward pair Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez this summer, but Wayne Rooney is vowing to step up and fulfil his attacking potential next season in an effort to lessen the blow.

After admitting he has not been given the chance to shine so far at Old Trafford, Rooney believes he can compensate for the summer exodus of attacking talent from Manchester United and ensure the reigning Premier League Champions retain their title.
''We've lost two key players and obviously I hope we can get a few players in,'' Rooney told The Times.
''Between them Cristiano and Carlos scored a lot of goals for us last season and the season before, but I would like to think I'm capable of filling that gap.
''I've said before that, if I can play in my right position, I'm capable of doing that.''
Rooney has often been asked to operate out wide by manager Sir Alex Ferguson since joining from Everton.
The 23-year-old is adamant that has prevented him from showing his best form on a consistent basis, and believes the time is right to make a permanent switch to the centre.
''I want to play in the position where I feel I'm best,'' he said. ''A lot of people think I'm best as a centre forward.
''To play in a Champions League final and to play week in, week out for Manchester United is a privilege and it's something I'm very lucky to be doing, but I don't think playing on the wing I can express myself as much as I like to.''

Barcelona midfielder Xavi Hernandez hopes Samuel Eto'o rejects Manchester City's overtures and opts to stay at the Camp Nou.

2009-06-29T10:35:00.000-07:00

Barcelona midfielder Xavi Hernandez hopes Samuel Eto'o rejects Manchester City's overtures and opts to stay at the Camp Nou. City are believed to have made a £25million offer for the Cameroon international and are reportedly willing to pay him a staggering £250,000-a-week wage. Barcelona president Joan Laporta had revealed at the weekend that City had made a 'stratospheric offer' for the 28-year-old although Eto'o's agent, Josep Maria Mesalles, insists his client wants to stay at the Nou Camp. Xavi told Sport: "Fortunately there are intelligent people at the club. Last season everything was sorted out well. "We know that he is capable of and this season we have had so much from him, he is a vital player. "I do not know what will happen, but if it was down to the players we would consider him to be the number one priority." Eto'o's agent, Josep Maria Mesalles, had earlier said on ONA FM: "If there is not a 180-degree turnaround then he will stay with Barcelona."

Nike Soccer Commercial - Good vs. Evil

2009-06-29T03:22:00.000-07:00

Beaten but unbowed Bradley hails improving U.S.

2009-06-29T02:50:00.000-07:00

USA coach Bob Bradley saw his side throw away a two-goal lead over Brazil in Sunday night's Confederations Cup final - but then warned the world that his men are becoming genuine contenders on the global stage.

The South Americans were in all sorts of trouble less than half an hour into the final at Johannesburg's Ellis Park thanks to goals from Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan, and went into half-time trailing 2-0.
But Luis Fabiano halved the deficit almost immediately after the break and then drew his side level with 16 minutes to play, before a late header from Lucio broke American hearts.
''The feeling is of great disappointment, but also of great pride. When we get past the disappointment, we know we are making progress,'' said Bradley.
''We will learn from these kinds of experiences and these kind of games, but it doesn't make it any easier on the night. It's been a experience for our team, playing the teams we played and to get to the final.
''But beyond that, the experience for our players in South Africa has been very special. It's something we'll remember and give us motivation to be back here next year for the World Cup.''
Brazil coach Dunga never doubted his side could stage a rousing comeback.
''To overcome a 2-0 deficit is never easy, but if you have committed players that never give up, you always have a chance and we showed that tonight,'' Dunga said after his team successfully defended the title they won in Germany four years ago.
''I think all the players were still focussed on what needed to be done. Being two goals down after 27 minutes, they were still sure of themselves. We were very determined and simply wanted to win.
''The US has always had a competitive team. They are a very tactical team, very disciplined and very physical team. It's always difficult to beat them.''
Asked about his half-time team-talk, the 45-year-old continued: ''I said to them at half-time that something was lacking. A lack of good positioning, so we corrected that and we started pressurising our opponents, with the reward of a goal by Luis Fabiano.
''I brought on two faster players and we also brought on Elano, a very tactical player, and went forward making use of the wings better and scored.''
Man of the match and player of the tournament, Kaka, was modest after receiving his awards, saying that praise should be given to the whole team.
He said: ''The most important thing as I've always said is to win as a unit. All of that happened and Brazil was the champion.
''If it hadn't been for the team I wouldn't have been the best player or the man of the match.''