The Monday Morning Drip grinds up the footy fare from the weekend into a blend of the choicest bits from leagues all over the world.  It’s also a weekly opportunity to appeal to footy bloggers out there, who are looking for a new forum in which to display their wares.  So, if you enjoy blogging, want to reach new readers and are available to cover your favourite league or team, then just click Write For WFC!  

Meanwhile, open your laptop wide and say Ahhh.

Here’s this week’s Drip…

It’s amazing how much can change in a week.  Seven days ago, Manchester United and City were running away from the rest of the Premier League — from the world, to hear some talk — with no one to challenge them.  Two clubs from either side of the Alps changed that thinking during the week.  Bayern Munich put City in their place –as upstarts — with a 2-0 win at the Allianz Arena, which once again threw the lid off the contentious atmosphere in the City clubhouse.  Meanwhile Swiss side FC Basle nearly upended United at Old Trafford, with Ashley Young’s late effort rescuing a point for the English champions.  It took a bit of time for the two clubs to shake off the effects of those poor outings, both leaving it late to polish off their respective opponents, Norwich and Blackburn.

Yet, Sunday brought more disturbing news for the Mancunians, as Chelsea finally put in a complete performance, knocking off woeful Bolton, 5-1, at the Reebok.  It mattered not that the newly in-form Fernando Torres was suspended, as Frank Lampard proved that he is not nearly ready for the scrap heap, notching a hat trick.  Young Daniel Sturridge also quieted any worries that Torres might slip back into the doldrums after his ban ends, by supplying a brace himself.  After a moment of initial joy upon scoring his first, Sturridge also quieted his celebration, respectful of his recent spell with the Trotters.

There’s been a great deal of talk regarding the tenuous job security of the Steves, Bruce and Kean, at Sunderland and Blackburn, but the Wanderers’ brain trust must be considering their options, too.  While his side has faced all the big guns in the first two months of the season, with points unsurprisingly difficult to come by, the club has capitulated far too easily in recent games.  Owen Coyle‘s open attacking style is pleasing to the eye and has high paid dividends on low investment, but with confidence at an all-time low, it may be time for the club to get down and dirty to rediscover their swagger.  The question is whether the Scot is prepared to do that.

Speaking of job security, the knives may be out again for Arsene Wenger, after the Gunners went down to defeat in the North London Derby against Spurs at White Hart Lane.  Yet, this was a match which promised to be a tough test, even in the best of circumstances.  These two played to a 6-5 aggregate in their league tie last season, when Arsenal were still in the title picture.  Given the vast amount of changes and key personnel missing on Sunday, a 2-1 setback was neither an unexpected nor unacceptable result for the Gunners.

Another runaway race tightened up in Germany, this weekend.  Bayern’s joy at handling the Manchester City Billionaire’s Club with such aplomb was tempered when they were held to a goalless draw by Hoffenheim.  However, the second and third place sides, Werder Bremen and Borussia Mönchengladbach failed to take advantage, both taking it on the chin.

The flat performances from the top clubs allowed two dangerous sides to make up ground.  Bayer Leverkusen, after two rough outings, bounced back to dump Wolfsburg 3-1.  The win kept them level on thirteen points with Hoffenheim, Stuttgart and Borussia Dortmund.

BvB romped to a 4-0 victory over still winless Augsburg, thanks to a Robert Lewandowski three-bagger.  Mario Götze added the fourth and Jürgen Klopp’s defending champions are back in the Bundesliga frame, six points off hitherto rampant Bayern’s pace but holding down a European spot on goal difference.

Like the Mancunians, Jupp Heyncke’s Bavarians may be about to learn that nothing is ever easy.

Ajax?  Nope.  PSV, Twente or Feyenoord?  Pffft!  Suddenly the dominant side in Dutch football is AZ Alkmaar, back from the brink of financial ruin to wreak havoc on the big boys.  Their 3-1 victory over VVV Venlo was powered by goals from Robert ‘Dutch’ Elm, Adam Maher and Simon Poulsen.  

Meanwhile, Theo Janssen, Kolbein Sigthorsson and Siem de Jong were powerless to stop FC Groningen from claiming a 1-0 victory over the Eredivisie champions.  Feyenoord were handed a worse defeat, 3-0 at De Kuip against ADO Den Haag.  The Verhoeks, Wesley and John, as well as Tjaronn Chery, did the damage.  Darren Maatsen popped in a deuce for doormats Excelsior, leaving Luuk de Jong to steal a point for FC Twente in added time.  Only PSV Eindhoven matched AZ’s success; a 2-0 triumph over NEC Nijmegen at the Philips Stadion rocketing them into second place.

Frank de Boer’s struggling side, now in fourth, will have the first crack at breaking into AZ’s four point lead, when the two face off next Saturday at the Amsterdam ArenA.

If you thought Paris in springtime was pleasant, autumn is suddenly not too shabby, either.  Forget fashion, Roland Garros, and the Tour.  All one needs is a little Arab oil money and a few Serie A stars looking for new frontiers.  Thanks to Paris Saint-Germain, football is suddenly the trend across the City of Light.

For most of the first decade of the new millenium, Lyon was the standard-bearer in Ligue 1, but on Sunday, Les Parisiens reminded Les Gones who was from France’s first city and who from the second, cruising to a 2-0 win at the Parc des Princes.  Javier Pastore continued to return dividends on the Qatari Investment Authority’s €43 million roll of the dice, by scoring the opener just after the hour.  Then, Christophe Jallet killed off the match in added time, after coming on for Kevin Gameiro in the eighty-sixth minute.  PSG is now top of the table, with a three-point cushion on the three nearest clubs.

Montpellier‘s 2-2 Saturday draw at Bordeaux moved them ahead of Lyon and Toulouse, who lost badly at Sochaux, on goal difference.  Elsewhere, champions Lille continued to climb back into the race with a 2-0 victory over Stade Rennes at the Metropole, while Marseille slipped, held to a 1-1 draw in the Velodrome by Brest.

It’s not quite business as usual, yet, in La Liga.  Sure, Real Madrid are rolling again, after a 4-0 dismantling of Barcelona side Espanyol.  Not quite the real deal, but satisfying nonetheless, with Gonzalo Higuain picking up a hat trick on the road.  On the other hand, the real deal had their hands full with the club on the bottom rung of the ladder.  To be fair, Barcelona didn’t field their strongest eleven but were forced to rely upon Adriano’s twelfth minute goal, as host Sporting Gijon stubbornly held on to the match, hoping to find some chink in the champions armour.

However, the table still looks a little wonky, with Levante unbeaten in second place, possibly proving that self-hypnosis is effective, as they’ve apparently convinced themselves that they really are wearing Barcelona kits.  Malaga, the third tine in the Qatari trident which also includes PSG and Man City, is also changing the status quo, sitting in fourth, while the third unbeaten side in the La Primera Liga, Sevilla, lay sixth.

Give it time; it will all sort itself out.

The early campaign is as plain as black and white in Serie A.  The Bianconeri, not just Juventus, but Udinese, as well, top the table.  The Old Lady has scored two more goals but the Friuli have been exceptionally stingy, conceding just once in their opening five matches.  When you play that well defensively, it’s turns out to be Barcelona who miss Alexis Sánchez more.  Antonio di Natale seems unconcerned about who provides his service, having notched his fourth league goal and fifth in all competitions in a 2-0 victory over Bologna.  Likewise, Andrea Pirlo didn’t fret over putting the sword to his old side, Milan, forcing a big save out of Christian Abbiati as Juventus took a similar 2-0 decision, thanks to a Claudio Marchisio brace in the dying moments.

Despite the best efforts of Dagestan, the Russian Premier League has settled into its usual pattern:  the big city clubs at the top and the outlying sides chasing for scraps.  Prior to Anzhi Makhachkala‘s outrageous deal with Inter to acquire the services of Samuel Eto’o, the club was a cohesive unit capable of defeating anyone on any given day.  Since agreeing to pay the Cameroonian €350,000/week, the squad has come to rely almost exclusively upon him for goals.  He has produced regularly but it has become a case of as Samuel goes, so go Anzhi.  Of course, that’s a natural reaction when someone is paid such a disproportionate salary in comparison with his peers.

Regardless, Anzhi are well off the pace, twelve points behind Zenit St. Petersburg and five away from a European qualification, with CSKA, Dinamo, Lokomotiv and Spartak Moscow each claiming one of the remaining money slots.  For the big-spending outsiders, the balance sheet is beginning to turn an alarming shade of red.

After both Gamba Osaka and Kashiwa Reysol went down to defeat last week, the pair still managed to open a four and three-point gap, respectively, on the rest of the field, in the closing weeks of the J-League campaign — with a little help from lower standing sides.

Albirex Niigata moved away from the danger zone with a desperate performance, defeating fourth place Yokohama F Marinos 4-2.  Meanwhile, Shimizu S-Pulse consolidated their mid-table position by doubling up on third ranked Nagoya Grampus Eight, 2-1.

Neither Gamba nor Kashiwa were very stylish in returning to winning ways, grinding out 1-0 results against Urawa Diamonds and Kashima Antlers.  Kashiwa held on despite going down to ten men just before the break, when Park Dung-Hyuk was sent off for a second bookable offence shortly after Masatao Kudo had earned — shall we say plaudits? — for his game-winner on the half-hour.

What is wrong with Real Salt Lake?  The 2009 MLS Cup winners have dropped their last three in the midst of the stretch run; a period wherein they have become known for raising their game a notch.  The third defeat came at the hands of runaway league leaders LA Galaxy, with David Beckham – who has pointedly not cultivated that same reputation during his MLS tenure — playing a part in both goals.

After falling behind to Fab Espindola’s first half strike, the Galaxy rallied in front of the home crowd in the second frame.  Golden Balls fed Chad Barrett in the box as the hour mark approached, to level terms; a result visiting RSL would have been happy to accept and which they deserved until defender Nat Borchers knocked an errant ball into his own goal, from a Beckham set-piece on seventy-two minutes.

The former England captain then turned on the charm, noting that he “honestly enjoys the assists more than scoring.”  Aw, shucks.

On the other coast, or near enough, NY Red Bull continued to straddle the fence, settling for their sixteenth draw in thirty-one matches.  Thierry Henry salvaged the point with two minutes on the clock at Toronto FC’s BMO field, scoring his thirteenth goal of the season.  With three games remaining, Red Bull are clinging to the final play-off spot on goal-difference over expansion side Portland Timbers and two points over DC United, who are being led by erstwhile Red Bull Dwayne De Rosario‘s league leading fourteen goals.

No, a revival of Cats isn’t playing South of the Border.  But Pumas, Jaguares and Tigres are, in fact, topping the table two-thirds of the way through the Apertura mini-season.  All three are clawing to stay near the top, as well.

Pumas 1-0 victory over struggling América, on Saturday, lifted them top thanks to Jaguares Friday night 1-1 draw with Atlas, and Sunday’s like result against Tijuana’s Aztec Dogs for Tigres, the three opponents being the bottom squads in the top flight.  The tight competition in the Primera Division is further exemplified by the crowded play-off picture, with the clubs from third to thirteenth all within a single result of falling below or climbing above the cut line between the eighth and ninth rungs on the ladder.

In the battle of the week, in Brazil, Vasco de Gama clung desperately to first place as visiting Corinthians attempted to reclaim the top spot which they had held for most of the early doors in the National Championship.  Strangely, both Vasco goals came from defenders, with Dede’s header opening the scoring on the quarter-hour and Fagner’s first-half added time strike restoring the lead that Alex had cancelled out.  Danilo’s noggin-shot on sixty-six minutes split the points and kept the Paulistas two points adrift of the Rio giants.

On Saturday, Neymar‘s goal on the half-hour was wasted as Santos allowed Marcio Rosario to head home in added time for ten-man Fluminense.  The Copa Libertadores champions continue to struggle to get into the domestic race.

Boca Juniors consolidated their position at the top of the Primera Division de Argentina Apertura table with a 1-0 victory over surprising Tigre.  The fifth placed side might have split the points at La Bombonera had it not been for Diego Castaño’s own goal fourteen minutes into the match.  It was a hard-fought affair, with the official handing out eight cautions, split evenly between the sides.

Newly promoted Atletico Rafaella continued to lead the chasing pack, thanks to a 2-1 victory over Lanús.  Fabricio Fontanini and Federico Gonzalez scored less than five minutes apart, early in the second half, to overturn Mario Regueiro’s first half goal.  Regueiro was sent off shortly after Fontanini had leveled, and when Gonzalez put Rafaella in front, El Granate imploded, going down to nine men when Carlos Izquierdos was issued a second yellow.

The result will keep Juan Roman Riquelme and company on their toes, despite their comfortable margin, but Boca seem intent on making up some ground in the championship category, while rivals River languish in the second tier.

See you next Monday! 

The Monday Morning Drip grinds up the footy fare from the weekend into a blend of the choicest bits from leagues all over the world.  It’s also a weekly opportunity to appeal to footy bloggers out there, who are looking for a new forum in which to display their wares.  So, if you enjoy blogging, want to reach new readers and are available to cover your favourite league or team, then just click Write For WFC!  

Meanwhile, open your laptop wide and say Ahhh.

Here’s this week’s Drip…

Unlike last week, this Premier League Sunday was hardly an afterthought.  Instead, it rose up and smacked fans of Liverpool and Manchester City right between the eyes.  Then it delivered a blow to the mid-section of an unsuspecting Stoke City, and, for good measure, kicked Chelsea in the butt.

Spurs hammered Liverpool 4-0, while Kenny Dalglish fumed and referee Mike Jones did his best to keep a straight face as he sent off both Charlie Adam and Martin Skrtel, who will be having nightmares about Gareth Bale for weeks to come.  Dalglish at least has learnt to keep his remarks regarding officiating between himself and the men in black.  He had plenty to say to Jones in the tunnel at the half but absolutely nothing to the press after the match.  Meanwhile, Harry Redknapp was feeling like the Prince of the City, after Ex-Gunner Emmanuel Adebayor hit for a brace and Chelsea wannabe Luka Modric swallowed his pride and contributed the opener at White Hart Lane.

Stoke, who stole three points against the Reds, last week, learnt that there is no easy match in the Premier League, as Sunderland came off the bottom of the table to hit them up for another 4-0 shellacking.  The legendarily prolific trio of Titus Bramble, Craig Gardner and Sebastian Larsson were aided by an own goal from Jonathan Woodgate.  While Tony Pulis was tearing his hat to pieces in frustration, punters across the Northeast were doing the same with betting slips touting Steve Bruce to be the first manager sacked in 2010-11.

Manchester City failed to heed the lesson of the Blackburn/Arsenal match, wasting Sergio Kun Aguero‘s seventh and eighth goals for the club and letting struggling Fulham back into the match.  Goals from Bobby Zamora and captain Danny Murphy split the points and dropped the Billionaire’s Club further behind United’s Boys Club.

Fergie’s Fledglings made the most of their toughest test thus far.  Although Chelsea had their fair share of ascendancy, they did little with it.  Fernando Torres did score his second goal in six months for the club but then refused to increase his rate of production, circling a helpless David de Gea and sliding his shot wide of an unprotected goal.  Other than that, however, De Gea was the reason that United led 3-0 at the half, through Chris Smalling, Nani and Wayne Rooney, rather than trailing by the same score.  He had to rescue his teammates in the second half, as well, when Rooney pulled a John Terry, slipping as he struck a penalty kick which would have killed off the match.

The one worry to come out of the match, as United moved clear at the top of the table, was Ashley Cole’s nasty tackle on Javier Hernandez, who limped off under duress and may now become Tom Cleverley’s FIFA ’11 partner for the near future.

The question in Germany, this week, is has the country fallen in love with Ashton Kutcher and That ’70s Show in the same manner as they did with der Hasselhoff?  It seems as though they may have, with the table beginning to look much as it did in the Polyester Decade. Last year’s relegation survivors, Borussia Mönchengladbach, are suddenly flashing back to the days when they challenged Bayern for Bundesliga honours on a yearly basis.

Igor Camargo got his kick in minute sixty-six, to give M’gladbach a win over Hamburg and solidify their grip on third place, level on points but a goal behind Werder Bremen, whose application for three points was denied at the EasyCredit Stadion, leaving them with a 1-1 draw with hosts Nurnberg.  Both Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund continued their inconsistent starts, suffering defeats, 4-1 at home to Cologne and 2-1 away to Hannover, respectively.  Lukas Podolski picked up a double for Cologne.  Hoffenheim and Stuttgart also stayed near the top, with wins over Wolfsburg and Freiburg.  Hoffenheim’s 3-1 cruise over Felix Magath’s side, has the embattled boss considering petitioning the league to play Schalke every week.

The Royal Blues, who took it on the chin to their former manager, last week, were kicked by Bayern while they were down.  The league leaders opened some space on the chasing pack with a 2-0 victory in Gelsenkirchen.  Manuel Neuer had all the time in the world to count the ‘Judas’ signs sported by Schalke fans, as his new mates didn’t let his former ones anywhere near the goal.

If you’ve read David Winner’s Brilliant Orange, you know that Total Football was born out of the Dutch knack for coping with a lack of space.  No surprise then, that the Eredivisie table is gridlocked after week six.  Four clubs are grouped within a point of each other at the top, and the season is just getting warmed up.  

The key match was at the Philips Stadion, where PSV pushed Ajax to the limit but failed to close ground.  Neither did they give any away, so, on the whole, they won’t be complaining too much.  The 2-2 draw saw the Eindhoven side on the front foot for most of the match, with Tim Matavz’s second minute strike and Giorgio Wijnaldum’s penalty just before the hour eventually pegged back, in turn, by Kolburnn Sigthorsson’s leveller before the half-time whistle and Dmitry Bulykin’s point-splitter on seventy-nine minutes.

FC Twente and AZ Alkmaar each took advantage of the stalemate, moving into the top two slots, on fifteen points.  AZ had to work hard to get by new boys RKC 2-1, but Twente reclaimed the league lead with a resounding 5-2 win over ADO Den Haag.  Luuk de Jong was on the board twice in the Enschede romp.  Feyenoord‘s 4-0 pasting of de Graafschap, put them fourth.  Ironically, the Rotterdam giants, along with Ajax, are the only two unbeaten sides in the Eredivisie but are both looking up at the Champions League places.  Don’t you just love the early doors?

Elsewhere, disciplinarian John van den Brom may have finally driven the message home to his young charges at Vitesse.  After back-to-back 4-0 embarrassments, the Arnhem club drilled five past Roda JC, who had no answer.

Okay, here it comes:  my first official Evian pun.  I’m sure it’s been said elsewhere and more than once, but PSG, will tell you that whatever the newly promoted club have, they ought to bottle it.  The club is stubbornly hanging onto a place in the top half of the table, this week jumping out to an early two goal lead against the well-heeled Parisiens.  Javier Pastore paid off another installment in his €43 million price tag, by pegging a goal back, appropriately in the forty-third minute.  It was left to Mathieu Bodmer, who had come on with a quarter-hour remaining, to salvage a point for the Qatari-backed club.  It took him six minutes, but the job was done and PSG remain within shouting distance of the leaders.

That is no longer Montpellier, however.  The unlikely table topper could only manage a 2-2 draw at Brest, allowing Lyon to move top, after a battle of Olympian proportions with Marseille, won 2-0 at the Stade Gerland on goals from Bafetimbi Gomis and Michel Bastos.  The defeat won’t sit well with Didier Deschamps, who, less than two years removed from a championship is parked at the bottom of the table.

Were you beginning to think that Barcelona was mortal and that Real Madrid finally had the answer to the Catalans’ mastery?  Foolish human.  The Blaugrana got their feet under them in the third week of the Primera Liga campaign and dropped an eight spot on a ridiculously optimistic Osasuna.  Lionel Messi had a hat trick, David Villa a double, with Cesc Fabregas and Xavi also helping out.  Osasuna defender Roversio apparently thought the second letter in his name was an ‘e’, rather than an ‘o’, as he put the remaining tally into his own net.

Conversely, Real Madrid were reduced to ten men and fell to Levante 1-0, after Sami Khedira was sent off in the first half and Arouna Kone scored the only goal of the match in the sixty-eighth minute.  Given that the start of the season was delayed a week, and Levante’s kit is remarkably similar to Barça, I suppose it’s possible Los Blancos thought they were playing a much tougher match.

Meanwhile, there are two teams with perfect records but strange shirts at the top of the table.  Real Betis went into San Mames and, impressively, came away with a 3-2 win over Athletic Bilbao.  Likewise, Valencia won away at Sporting Gijon, albeit by a more subdued 1-0 score.

Although it’s only two matches into the Serie A season, and the table has yet to settle, there is a hint that the scoring race, at least, will be a repeat of last year’s heated competition.  Udinese and Napoli are two of the four teams with two victories in as many tries, and they are being led by their talismans, Antonio di Natale and Edinson Cavani.

Cavani hit a treble as the Neapolitans did away with Scudetto holders AC Milan.  Alberto Aquilani’s first goal for the Rossoneri went for nought, once the uruguayan cranked up his game.  For his part, Di Natale has now scored in both of his club’s 2-0 victories.  Even without Alexis Sanchez to feed him the ball, the veteran appears intent on keeping his golden boot for a third Serie A consecutive year.

Competition continues to be fierce in the Russian Premier League.  CSKA Moscow‘s 1-1 draw away to FK Rostov, languishing near the drop zone, was costly for the capital giants.  Zenit St. Petersburg refused to let up, themselves, away to the much tougher Rubin Kazan, and outlasted the recent champs 3-2, with Roman Shirokov’s opener and Danny’s brace providing maximum points.

Dinamo also took advantage of their neighbours recent slide.  After toppling CSKA 4-0, a week ago, Dinamo made Amkar Perm’ their third victim on the trot, with former Liverpool benchwarmer again sparking the victory.

Zenit now have a clear lead in the table, but Dinamo lay two back and CSKA three.  The weather may be cooling on the Steppes, but the race in the RPL is definitely heating up.

Last week, I wrote that Kashiwa Reysol have their groove back.  This week, they emphasised that fact in a major way, knocking off Vitesse Kobe, 4-0, to leapfrog Yokohama F Marinos and close to within a point of Gamba Osaka.

Rafinha continued his good run for the current leaders, as Gamba drew with Marinos, affording Reysol the opportunity to edge within reach of the top.  With eight matches left in the campaign, the J-League race is providing fans, who have been through a tragic 2011, a pleasant diversion from their daily travails.  Unfortunately, however, tragedy is refusing to take any time off in the Land of the Rising Sun.  Former Shimizu S-Pulse keeper Masanori Sanada, just forty-three, passed away from a heart attack early in the week.  He is the second Japanese footballer to be stricken by a coronary siezure this year, following defender Naoki Matsuda, who died in August.

With half a dozen matches left on the schedule, New York Red Bull have begun to be something other than indifferent about the MLS season.  A hard fought 1-0 victory on the road, against Western power FC Dallas has lifted the Red Bull, who have drawn half their matches, back into the play-off picture.  Former Notts County bad boy Luke Rodgers, making his first start after mising ten weeks with an injured heel, provided the only goal of the match.

Another side lagging behind their usual pace, Real Salt Lake, also notched a big win by halting the progress of Sporting KC.  Nat Borchers potted the lone strike, as RSL stayed ten points behind LA Galaxy, with two games in hand.

The thing about a split season is that a sudden run of form, good or bad, can quickly change a club’s fortunes.  Take Jaguares, for instance.  They were one of the worst teams in the recently completed Clausura, and when the Apertura opened, they didn’t seem much better.  However, a string of three victories, including an electric 5-3 triumph, on Saturday, against the suddenly hapless America.  Edgar Andrade‘s brace cancelled out Daniel Montenegro‘s and Christian Valdez’s tally did the same to Christian Benitez.  That left the two late goals, one in each half, from Franco Arizala and Jackson Martinez, respectlively to claw out the victory.

Puebla‘s stunning 4-1 victory away at the Estadio OmniLife against Chivas knocked the Goats from the top of the hill, with Cruz Azul also leapfrogging the Guadalajara side, after a road win of their own, 2-1 over Monterrey.  Tigres reversal to Atlante leaves them one point behind the three pacesetters.

Corinthians have slipped into a dangerous funk, dropping their last two matches and three of their last five.  Sunday’s hammering at the hands of Paulista rivals Santos, who won the match 3-1 despite Paolo Henrique Ganso seeing red, has cost them their place atop the National Championship table.  In fact, it has dropped them all the way to third, with the slide seeming more severe for the performances of the two clubs which overtook them.

Both Vasco de Gama and Sao Paolo recorded comprehensive 4-0 victories over Gremio and Ceara, respectively.  The two clubs each featured four different goal scorers, but it was pleasing to see old warhorse Rivaldo on the score sheet for the Paulistas.  Vasco now sit top, ahead of Sao Paolo by a single point.

Boca Juniors managed to stay a step ahead of giant killers Atletico Rafaella for a second week, with a 2-1 victory over Lanus.  Defender Juan Insurralde made the match closer than it was with an own goal just after the restart, but Walter Erviti’s strike, after the hour, restored the lead.

The Genovese will be looking nervously over their shoulder to see what Rafaella are up to next.  The upstarts took the lead with twenty minutes remaining against San Lorenzo, only to endure a mad frenzy at the end of the match.  Sebastian Gonzalez leveled a minute from time and then, in added time, Federico Gonzalez put Rafaella back in front.  Moments later, Nicolas Castro put the game to bed from the spot, after Bernardo Romeo saw red for the hosts.

With both clubs winning on the road and putting some distance between themselves and the pack, Argentina may be in for an unusual two-horse race in this year’s Apertura.  Circle Sunday October 30th on your calendar.  That’s when these two meet, at La Bombonera, perhaps to decide the title race once and for all.

See you next Monday! 

The Monday Morning Drip grinds up the footy fare from the weekend into a blend of the choicest bits from leagues all over the world.  It’s also a weekly opportunity to appeal to footy bloggers out there, who are looking for a new forum in which to display their wares.  So, if you enjoy blogging, want to reach new readers and are available to cover your favourite league or team, then just click Write For WFC!  

Meanwhile, open your laptop wide and say Ahhh.

Here’s this week’s Drip…

If your Sunday Morning Hangover extended all the way through the train ride to work this morning, don’t worry, Premier League fans.  You didn’t miss much.  Less, in fact, than James Vaughn, who was caught looking the wrong way by Gabriel Tamas’ elbow in Norwich’s 0-1 loss to West Brom.  Safe to say that the nasty blow, which naturally went unseen by the official, left Vaughn gaping at the pretty yellow canaries flying about his head in full song.  Unfortunately, it also left him with a gash that may require plastic surgery.  Oh well, can’t let the WAGs have all the fun, can we?

Nor will Vaughn have run into Tom Cleverley, as the United starlet received the comparatively good news that his foot injury, courtesy of Bolton captain Kevin Davies was ligament damage rather than a bone break.  As such, he’ll only miss three-four weeks, instead of the dreaded three-four months.

West Brom’s result, coupled with Fulham and Blackburn’s one-goal draw, meanwhile, had little effect on the table beyond pulling scoreless Swansea into the drop zone.

To wrap up the week’s matches, QPR will hand Joey Barton his Technicolor debut tonight, after several years of pulling on the black and white shirt at Newcastle.  Of course, he might still be at the head of the Toon Army if matters behind the scenes were as plain as the kit.  With Asamoah Gyan fleeing the Northeast as well, for the cash happy UAE, one has to wonder what the problem is on Wear and Tyneside?  Maybe it’s all the French players coming in.

The NFL season kicked off this weekend, so confused fans may be wondering who the quarterback is at Bayern Munich.  The Rekordmeister won by a touchdown over SC Freiburg on Saturday, with Mario Gomez hitting four in the 7-0 rout.  The Bundesliga giants have a record comparable to Man United, with twelve points and a plus fifteen goal difference.  However, they have conceded just the one goal, heading into their Champions League clash with Villareal at El Madrigal on Wednesday, whereas the Mancunians have permitted three.  Parity, it would seem, is out the window, this year, in the two leagues most famous for it.

Behind Bayern, Mainz’s fine early start was cut off abruptly by Hoffenheim, who overran the Coface Arena for a stunning 0-4 reversal.  Immediately after the match, Twitter suffered a nearly overwhelming rush themselves, as it was Ryan Babel‘s brace which killed off the match.  Elsewhere, Vfb Stuttgart cruised to a 3-0 home win over Hannover 96 at the Mercedes-Benz Arena and Werder Bremen consolidated their recently resumed place as official Bayern chasers, with Claudio Pizzaro taking two bites out of Hamburg.  Eat now, groan later.

It wasn’t as luxurious a ride at the Volkswagen arena, but after Raul put Schalke ahead before the quarter-hour, Mario Mandzukic took the wheel and delivered a double for Wolfsburg, driving home a little satisfaction for coach Felix Magath in a grudge match against his high-flying former side.

Roda JC delivered the upset of the week in Round 5 of the Eredivisie campaign.  The Kerkrade side upended the erstwhile table toppers 2-1.  Marc Janko’s thirty-fifth minute goal started Twente on the right foot but Ruud Vormer replied for Roda, just a minute later.  Then Mitchell Donald converted a cross just after the break.

The result tumbled the Enschede side all the way to third, as AZ Alkmaar continued to impress with a 4-0 first half romp over Vitesse.  Pontus Vernbloom had two before the half-hour and the match was killed off when Rasmus Elm converted a penalty just prior to the break.  With Wilfred Bony then being sent off with twenty minutes remaining, John van den Brom will not be happy with his club’s performance.

AZ hold an edge in goal difference over Twente but still trail champion Ajax by a point, as the Amsterdammers outwrestled Heracles on the strength of Siem de Jong‘s two goals.  Unlike Bayern, it looks to be a rough road ahead for Ajax, seeking to retain their title.

PSV failed to keep pace with the leaders, escaping with a 3-3 draw away to VVV Venlo, but Feyenoord, after consecutive draws of their own, moved ahead of the Eindhoven side, into fourth, with a solid 3-1 triumph over NAC Breda.

The money machine is starting to run smoothly at the Parc des Princes.  Five minutes after the hour, PSG gained a slight edge in the match, when Diego Lugano’s caution put the Parisiens in the book three times compared to just two for visiting Brest.  Three minutes after that, a little known player in Antoine Kombouare’s side, Argentine Javier Pastore, made good with fellow Serie A product, Jeremy Menez’s pass to score the only goal of the match.

The win was a positive step but probably didn’t seem so, with Lille, Lyon and Montpellier ahead of them, and Toulouse and Stade Rennes on their heels all collecting three points, themselves.

The one squad missing from the equation, Didier Deschamps’ Marseille, suffered their second consecutive loss, after opening the competition with three draws.  Their setback before the international break, in the battle of the last two champions carried over to Sunday, when Rennes, so good defensively until the end of last season, returned to their former stingy form, stealing a 1-0 victory at the Velodrome.  With PSG beginning to flex their financial muscle, this might not be the season to get off to a sluggish start.

Well, La Primera Liga is off to another typical start.  Real Betis and Valencia are keeping pace with Real Madrid, Barcelona is struggling along in fourth place and Villareal are hovering just above the drop zone.

Pardon?  What do you mean that’s not typical, at all? How do you expect Barcelona to hold down the top spot if they concede two goals to Real Sociedad, on the road or not?  The Catalans began Saturday in style, with Cesc Fabregas, Alexis Sánchez and Xavi combining on a tenth minute goal so pretty that they tried it again a moment later.  Sociedad were a bit wiser on the redux, but couldn’t prevent the former Gunner from applying the coup de grâce.   From there, it all went wrong.  Sánchez was carted off at the half hour and the home side scored two goals within sixty seconds, themselves, on the hour.  Pep Guardiola, who had hoped to rest Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta, threw them into the fray to no avail, as Sociedad hung on for a memorable point.

While Barça were taking Arsenal lessons from Cesc — dropping points needlessly — Jose Mourinho‘s Real Madrid were grinding out another of his patented 4-2 snoozers against a lightweight side.  Capital rivals Getafe gave Los Blancos a match, with Miku leveling Karim Benzema‘s opener, then pegging one back after Cristiano Ronaldo converted from the spot and Benzema contributed a second.  Then, Mourinho proved his tactical superiority over Guardiola by inserting Gonzalo Higuain with three minutes remaining and coolly examining his fingernails as the Argentine ran down the field and finished off the match.

In Serie A, powerhouses AC Milan and Lazio cranked up the star power in Friday’s opening match at San Siro.  The 2-2 draw saw Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Antonio Cassano reply to the questions asked by Miroslav Klose and Djibril ‘It’s Tuesday So It Must Be Orange’ Cisse.  Napoli then took over the show, on Saturday, knocking off Cesena, with Marek Hamsik and Ezequiel Lavezzi on the sheet.

But, it was Inter who struggled at the outset of their season.  Giampiero Gasperini may  love his options in attack but its madness to expect to come away from a shootout in Sicily with fewer holes in your scoresheet than the home side.  Fabricio Miccoli and Abel Hernandez had offset Diego Milito‘s brace in the first hour, before both sides dug in until a last furious exchange in the final five minutes.  Miccoli then connected for his second and Mauricio Ferreira Pinilla made Diego Forlan’s goal in added time cosmetic.

In Roma, new boss Luis Enrique started disgruntled captain Francesco Totti but the result was still negative.  Visiting Cagliari came away with a 2-1 victory made easier by Jose Angel’s devilish behaviour drawing a red card.

Thus it was Juventus, who stole the Sunday limelight, using an attack by committee to overwhelm Parma, although Antonio di Natale led Udinese to victory, as well, with some help from Dusan Basta, who must really love to hear opponents mutter his name after he bulges the twine.

The top of the Russian Premier League table became much more crowded over the weekend.  Joint leaders Zenit St. Petersburg and CSKA went down hard against Lokomotiv and Dinamo Moscow, respectively.  Dinamo’s comprehensive 0-4 victory at the Luzhniki Stadium was accomplished with significant help from players imported from points west.  Liverpool afterthought Andriy Voronin began the rout and Kevin Kuranyi and Brazilian Leandro also took a hand.   Lokomotiv adopted a similar strategy with Victor Obinna, Felipe Caicedo and Manuel da Costa, with two, leading the underdogs to a 4-2 triumph over Luciano Spaletti’s side.

Anzhi Makhachkala took advantage of the double team to move within six points of the leaders, and, yes, Samuel Eto’o got things started in the Dagestani club’s victory over stragglers Volga Novgorod.  With all the Western capitalist influence permeating the league, Lenin must be spinning in his tomb.

Kashiwa Reysol have their groove back.  After a prolonged hiccup which saw them slide well down the table from their perch atop the J-League, the club is finding its stride again.  Matched against defending champion Nagoya Grampus Eight, Kashiwa fell behind when Leandro had to take treatment on the sidelines after colliding with Marcus Tulio Tanaka.  Yet Kashiwa had a Tanaka up their sleeves, as well, with Janya leveling for the former league leaders.  Finally, Masakatsu Sawa capitalised on a moment of Grampus confusion to put his team ahead in the match and, with the final whistle,  in the standings, assuming the third position which the holders had been occupying.

The two squads in front of them aren’t making a recovery easy, however.  Leaders Gamba Osaka made short work of Omiya Ardija and Yokohama F Marinos squeezed past relegation bound Avispa Fukuoka.

Sporting KC continued their improbable run to the top of the Eastern Conference table, with a 3-0 victory over Houston Dynamo.  Teal Bunbury‘s brace did most of the damage, with CJ Sapong finishing off the scoring.  After struggling out of the gate, with ten consecutive away matches, as the finishing touches on their new LiveStrong Stadium, SKC have made the wait worthwhile, as they enjoy a healthy eight goal difference over Columbus Crew, although the Ohioans do have a game in hand.

Elsewhere, Juan Agudelo rescued ten man New York, at Red Bull Arena, leveling on sixty-nine minutes after Jan Gunnar Solli had been sent off just before the half.  The draw, Red Bull’s fifteenth in twenty-seven matches wasn’t enough to keep them on the playoff bubble, as Charlie Davies ended his summer slump in style, with a hat trick against Chivas USA that lifted the inaugural league champions, DC United into the post-season picture.

Humberto Suazo’s tenth minute strike had Monterrey in front away to Puebla, on Sunday.  Unfortunately, the Rayados didn’t find a second goal and the home side woke up in the final half hour.  Isaac Romo and Roberto Juarez both hit doubles for La Franja, which would have been more impressive and earned maximum points had one of Juarez’s tallies not been into his own net.  The gaffe allowed Luis Perez to save Monterrey’s blushes with an added time spot kick.  The dropped points were accompanied by a slide to fifth place for the defending Apertura champion.

Elsewhere, Monarcas got their floundering Apertura campaign into calmer waters with a 0-1 upset at Cruz Azul and Tigres‘ 5-0 thumping of hapless Pachuca moved them within a point of leaders Chivas, who drew away at Santos Laguna.  Hector Mancilla doubled his goal total in the competition with a treble in the rout of Pachuca, with the best defensive side in the just concluded Clausura suddenly an offensive juggernaut.

Flamengo did not have a good week.  In their Thursday match against table topper Corinthians, the Paulista side’s young prodigy, Liedson outdueled the Rio sensation Deivid, 2-1.  They followed that up with an identical scoreline against Athletico Paranaense.  This time Welington had the lone goal, with Heracles and Guerron doing the damage for the lower half club.  The upshot, to be oxymoronic, is that Flamengo have dropped down to fifth after nipping at the leader’s heels since early doors.

Okay, it’s only round six of the Argentine Apertura, but I just can’t get enough of Atletico Rafaella.  The side who knocked River Plate out of the top flight have actually made that a notable accomplishment, rather than an act of spite, by hovering near the top of the table since their Primera Division adventure began.  A scoreless draw against Newell’s Old Boys on Friday allowed Boca Juniors to slip past them into the top spot, by defeating another promoted side, San Martin de San Juan.  It’s somehow fitting that Rafaella take the deposed River’s place as Boca’s nearest rival, isn’t it?

If you’re a cynic and only want to hear about goals, well, Godoy Cruz will be more to your liking.  They romped to a 6-1 victory over All Boys, on Saturday, helped along by Ruben Ramirez‘s double.  For all that, they’re still four points off the pace set by Boca, in seventh.  So there.  One-nil or six-one, it’s always going to be three points.

See you next Monday! 

The Monday Morning Drip is a new column at WFC, grinding up the footy fare from the weekend into a blend of the choicest bits from leagues all over the world.  It’s also a weekly opportunity to appeal to footy bloggers out there, who are looking for a new forum in which to display their wares.  So, if you enjoy blogging, want to reach new readers and are available to cover your favourite league or team, then just click Write For WFC!  Meanwhile, open your laptop wide and say Ahhh.  Here’s this week’s Drip…

Best league in the world?  More competitive than La Liga?  More physical than the Bundesliga?  More ruthless than Serie A?  More French than Ligue 1?  The early Premier League season is not living up to that reputation.

After three weeks, the English top flight has been distilled down to a Mancunian blend of Blue and Red.  Roberto Mancini has the team he wants: Samir Nasri and David Silva pulling the strings, Edin Dzeko, Sergio Kun Aguero and (soon) Carlos Tevez finishing off the plays; Yaya Toure and Nigel de Jong finishing off any resistance and a back line marshaled by England number one Joe Hart minding the store.  Who stands a chance against the best side money can buy?

Sir Alex Ferguson’s Fledgling v.2, that’s who.  Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic may be injured; Edwin van der Sar, Gary Neville and Paul Scholes retired; John O’ Shea and Wes Brown sold to Sunderland; Ryan Giggs suddenly too slow to avoid the paparazzi and Dimitar Berbatov unhappily taking lessons in obsolescence from Michael Owen, but there’s a crop of youngsters surrounding Patrice Evra, Wayne Rooney, Nani and Anderson (?) who just reacted to City pounding Tottenham 5-1 at White Hart Lane by annihilating Arsenal 8-2.

The good news?  The Gunners scored their first two goals of the season and looked pretty decent offensively.  The fact that they had eight players missing from midfield and defence meant any points from this match were unlikely, but 8-2?  Holy shit is all that comes to mind.

The bad news?  United and City have a perfect record and a goal difference that matches or betters their point total, making Chelsea and Liverpool look like Toronto FC and River Plate (they’re relegated, don’t you know?).  Arsenal, meanwhile, are already seven points and eighteen goals behind.  But never fear, Arsene Wenger isn’t quitting!

Can you say Papiss Demba Cisse?  Wolfsburg players were repeating his name throughout their Sunday encounter, becoming so focused on the four-goal man that they allowed Oliver Barth, Erik Jendrisek and Cedric Makiadi to run up three goals against them.

Felix Magath’s second tenure at the Volkswagen Arena is not working out quite the same as the first, with a good deal of that down to the fact that Edin Dzeko is otherwise occupied — on Sunday he was busy knocking four goals into the Tottenham goal, in London.

If the stern tactician doesn’t right the ship quickly, he’ll be heading out of town.  A return to Schalke is out of the question, too.  Never mind that the Bundesliga isn’t a fancy version of Pong,  where a manager can bounce back and forth between clubs — that’s Serie A — Ralf Rangnick has the Gelsenkirchen side level on points with table topper Bayern Munich, thanks to an hour mark goal from the man who said no to Blackburn, Raul, which gave the Königsblauen a 1-0 victory over another fast starting squad, Borussia Mönchengladbach.

Bayern held on to first place thanks to a hat trick from Mario Gomez, which included a penalty miss, in a three-goal win over Kaiserslautern.  After the match, third time the charm coach Jupp Heynckes held forth that the Rekordmeister “would only get better.”  He’s obviously been dipping into the same sauce as Fergie and Mancini.

Gomez’ Saturday romp was overshadowed, though, by the collective efforts of Hamburg and Köln, with the visitors winning a 4-3 shootout.  Lukas Podolski came on at the half to break the 1-1 deadlock, setting up Milivoje Novakovic less than five minutes after the restart.  Hamburg jumped back out in front, scoring on either side of the hour, only for Köln to rise up in the final ten minutes, stealing all the points on goals from Christian Clemens and Kevin McKenna.

Either Heerenveen have gotten their act together or Feyenoord aren’t quite back to the level of Ajax and Twente.  After Ron Jans’ side dropped consecutive 5-1 decisions to the top pair, they escaped De Kuip with a 2-2 draw against Ronald Koeman’s young charges.  Bas Dost and Oussama Assaidi had the goals for the erstwhile bottom feeders.

Meanwhile, the yellow and black were put on their back both in Amsterdam and Enschede, as Ajax maintained pace with Twente, each running out 4-1 winners against Vitesse and VVV Venlo respectively.

PSV woke up, at last, after sleeping through their opening rounds.  A 6-1 mauling of new cellar dwellers Excelsior announced the Eindhoven club’s arrival in the title chase.  AZ Alkmaar are also still in the hunt, after a 3-0 victory over FC Groningen.

The madness may be coming to an end in France.  Seriously, Montpellier and Toulouse leading the pack?  It’s like Gordon Brown and George Bush in charge of Great Britain and the US; only bad things can happen.

Lyon took care of first place Montpellier, with a 2-1 victory on Saturday, bringing La Paillade back to the pack.  Miralem ‘No Need To’ Pjanic and Jeremy ‘Murdoch Got’ Pied put Les Gones in the driver’s seat, although Henri Bedimo pegged one back in added time, suggesting that the early league leaders still have some fight in them.

On Sunday, new money PSG toured the baronies, informing previously unbeaten Toulouse that it was time to take their name literally.  Kevin Gameiro had pegged back Etienne Capoue’s first half goal with a fifty-third minute tally, and the clubs seemed destined to split the points, only for Mevlut Erding and Jeremy Menez to both strike in time added on.  That’s the type of result that €100 million or so will buy you.

Apparently, Zaragoza is Spanish for ‘Madrid will kick our ass’.  Real took advantage of the fact that Barcelona were otherwise occupied in Monaco, knocking off Porto in the UEFA Super Cup, with Lionel Messi and Cesc Fabregas on the scoresheet, to open up a healthy lead in the table.  Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat trick but that was only half the story, as Marcelo, Xabi Alonso and Kaka also joined in the fun.

Five other sides also won in the opening matches, after a one-week wildcat strike over unpaid wages postponed the original opening week of the competition.  All of those results were of the one-goal variety, however, lending credence to the new theory that La Liga is just a poor imitation of the Premier League:  a two team competition without any tackling.

Speaking of poor imitations, Serie A players elected to strike, themselves, this week, over Lega Calcio’s attempt to force transfers upon players in the final year of their contracts and to ban them from training with the first team when they prefer to seek pastures new.

Of course, Samuel Eto’o wasn’t feeling any solidarity with his Italian brethren, as he negotiated a tidy arrangement for himself with Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala.  When you’re making €335,000 per week, the rest of your comrades can eat tiramisu.

Anzhi were muddling through a scoreless draw with FK Rostov on Saturday, when coach Ghadzi Ghadziev summoned Eto’o from his pitch side jacuzzi, on the hour mark.  While the Cameroonian was still towelling off, Timofey Kalachev put the hosts ahead.  Eto’o found his stride, though, and equalised with ten minutes remaining.  That’s one week’s pay in the bank.  Imagine what he might have done if Anzhi were paying him a cool half mil.

On Sunday, Zenit St. Petersburg blasted five goals past an impotent Kuban Krasnodar squad to put some distance between themselves and CSKA, who survived a heated 2-2 Moscow derby with Spartak.  Alexander Kerzhakov joined the weekend hat trick club, powering the rout, with Roman Shirokov and Danny also smoking the Kubans.

Dinamo’s 2-0 home victory over Spartak Nalchik kept them in the title chase, as well, six points off the pace.

Two weeks ago I ended the J-League section of the Drip by asking selfish European players to take note of the tireless efforts of Keisuke Honda and Shinji Kagawa, who played matches for their European clubs on either side of a midweek commute to Sapporo for an international friendly against South Korea.  I’m not sure what to think about the possibility that Freddie Ljungberg was the only player who took heed.

The ex-Gunner, Seattle Sounder, Chicago Fire and Celtic winger will be plying his trade with mid-table side Shimizu S-Pulse.

“I am so excited about playing in Japan.  I was inspired by the way the Japanese people dealt with the tragedy of March 11 earthquake and I really want to show support for them by playing football in Japan and for S-Pulse in particular.”

The diabetically sugar-coated statement, while par for the course in the game, and especially in the endlessly courteous Land of the Rising Sun, likely has Sounders’ fans choking on their Starbucks double latte ventes, given the Swede’s me-first attitude while in America.  It’s pleasant to think of how soon he’ll be heading back to the west if he tries that in Japan.

Meanwhile, season long leaders Kashiwa Reysol slipped to fourth after dropping a 2-0 decision to new table topper Gamba Osaka, in mid-week.  Champion Nagoya Grampus Eight are a point off the pace after picking up two wins during the week, as the J-League crams the matches in after a delayed start to the season caused by the tragic events in March.  Lundberg’s unsuspecting new teammates, S-Pulse, maintained their mid-table status by picking up a pair of draws.

Has Hell frozen over?  Major League Soccer wrapped up matches on Saturday, this weekend, permitting those players on international duty to get a jump on their European counterparts, as they jet out to link up with their national squads.  As well, the usually indifferent American league will only be playing two matches over the break.  Seriously, when did MLS start caring about international play?  I didn’t get the memo.

There were two matches of note over the weekend.  Jeff Cunningham converted a penalty as the hour approached in Seattle, making him the all-time MLS goal scorer, with one hundred and thirty-four tallies, surpassing Jaime Moreno.  Unfortunately, it was a bittersweet moment, as his Columbus Crew were already down four goals, at the time.  The final score was 6-2, and, yes, there was a hat trick, Lamar Neagle doing the honours.

In Kansas City, FC Dallas cooled off the hot Sporting KC, with a 3-2 road killing.  The home side was enjoying a two goal lead with twenty minutes remaining, when Ugo Ihemelu, Maicon Santos and Bobby Warshaw turned the match on its head.  As they have all season, the Hoops proved that losing a key player, such as the man who said yes to Blackburn, George John, is something they are prepared to handle.†

FCD and Sounders moved within range of the rampant but idle LA Galaxy with the wins.

†So, naturally, having written that, it is announced that Blackburn Rovers and John apparently cannot agree on terms, nixing the deal.  He’ll go back to an exciting FC Dallas club and Rovers will continue to lose.

Clausura champion UNAM Pumas continued their precipitous dip in form, with a 2-1 home defeat at the hands of crosstown rivals Cruz Azul.  Previously, the club had been stunned by mid-table Puebla and, in the CONCACAF Champions League, were held to a bore draw by Panamanians FC Tauro.  The slump sees Pumas in fifth place, still within the eight team playoff picture but hardly comfortable.

As Chivas also slipped to defeat at San Luis, on Saturday, the victory pushed Cruz Azul into the top spot in the league.  Monterrey corrected their own slide, with a 2-0 triumph over Santos, thanks to strikes from Luis Perez and bullet headed Chilean assassin Humberto Suarez.

In Brazil, there was a major upset, with Campeonato leaders Corinthians falling at Palmeiras, 2-1.  Emerson put the visitors up after eighteen minutes but Luan leveled ten minutes before the break and Fernandao put the hosts ahead just afterwards.

The damage wasn’t too severe, however, as closest rivals Flamengo, with Deivid and Ronaldhino both in the eleven, were held to a surprising goalless draw at home by Vasco de Gama.  Neymar, Ganso and their Santos teammates continued in their morass, falling in a Paulista derby, 0-1, to Sao Paolo.

River is dead, long live the new River!  Atletico Rafaella, the country bumpkins who consigned once mighty River Plate to the second division for the first time in their history, are now sitting atop the table in the Primera Division de Argentina. Leaving more pedigreed clubs, such as Boca Juniors, Racing Club and Velez Sarsfield in the blocks, the new boys have run off three victories in their first four matches to set the early pace.

The latest victim was a stunned Olimpo, who fell 3-1 on goals from Alexis Nicolas Castro, Dario Gaudin and Walter Omar Serrano.  Massive clubs with money to spare might have been the cream of this week’s Drip, but it’s a good feeling when the final sip at the bottom of the cup is just as sweet as the first, dregs or no.

See you next Monday! 

Welcome to the Monday Morning Drip.  This is a new column at WFC, grinding up the footy fare from the weekend into a blend of the choicest bits from leagues all over the world.  It’s also a weekly opportunity to appeal to footy bloggers out there, who are looking for a new forum in which to display their wares.

So, if you enjoy blogging, want to reach new readers and are available to cover your favourite league or team, then just click Write For WFC!

Meantime, here’s the drip for this week:

Round three of the Bundesliga was Leave Your Defence At Home Week.  Bayern slammed Hamburg for five goals at the Allianz Arena.  It was a communal effort, with Daniel van Buyten, Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben putting on a first half show and then Mario Gomez and Ivica Olic taking over after the intermission.  Unfortunately, Olic injured his hip on the final goal, clattering into Jeffrey Bruma.  Werder Bremen joined Bayern, notching their own quinella, although SC Freiburg made a game of it, scoring three themselves.  Papiss Demba Cisse doubled his early season tally for the Briesgau side, with a brace in a losing cause.

Hitting four goals were Borussia Mönchengladbach, who beat Wolfsburg 4-1 on Friday evening, and Schalke, who knocked off Mainz 4-2 on Sunday, making it a very bad weekend to be Felix Magath.  Marco Reus had a brace for M’gladbach and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar struck for Schalke, keeping pace with Papiss Demba Cisse on four strikes for the year.

Borussia Dortmund returned to winning ways, with a 2-0 victory over Nurnberg and Hoffenheim handed newcomers Augsburg their first defeat by an identical score.  Overall, thirty-three goals were scored in nine matches, with only four of eighteen clubs failing to get in on the fun.

Ajax fell too much in love with their headlines on Sunday, falling two goals behind VVV Venlo, courtesy of an Ahmed Muusab brace.  The champions snapped out of their reverie, though, with new signings Theo Janssen and Kolbein Sigthorsson bringing them back to split the points.  Feyenoord also drew on the day, 1-1, away to Heracles Almelo.

Those results left FC Twente as the only remaining side with a hundred percent record.  The Enschede club hammered Heerenveen 5-1, a repeat of the home side’s loss to Ajax, last week.  Luuk de Jong sparked the rout and Marc Janko contributed a double.  Despite scoring four goals in their opening three matches, Heerenveen are rooted to the bottom of the table, having had to pick the ball out of their own goal a dozen times.

Last week, I joked that PSG might consider hiring Rafa Benitez, if Antoine Koumbouare couldn’t get his squad in gear.  Well, speculation heated up during the week that the Parisiens were indeed in the market for a former Milanese manager, only it was Carlo Ancelotti who had allegedly crossed Technical Director Leonardo’s radar.  For the moment, at least, Koumbouare may have put the speculation on hold, as he coaxed a 2-1 victory over Valenciennes out of his lethargic squad.  Kevin Gameiro struck again and, after Remi Gomis equalised before the half, Nene put PSG ahead to stay, just beyond the hour.

There is ground to make up, though, as Montpellier are setting a torrid pace in the opening rounds.  Their 4-0 thumping of Stade Rennes has them top of the table with nine points, eight goals struck and one yielded.

Meanwhile, Lille finally put together a win in defence of their title, topping Caen 2-1.  Mathieu DeBuchy’s eighty-eight minute goal proved necessary, as Ludovic Obraniak experienced a mental cramp, handling in the box in added time.  Benjamin Nivet converted, but the goal only served to warn Lille that they still have some rust to shake off.

Anzhi Makhachkala have yet to land Samuel Eto’o, Neymar or any other fantastical signing, but the current squad managed to close the gap on third-placed Dinamo Moscow, with a 2-1 home victory.  The result created a gap between the chasing pack and the two early contenders for the title, Zenit St. Petersburg and CSKA Moscow.

Both top clubs had the look of champions on the weekend.  CSKA disposed of Tom’ Tomsk, 3-0, powered by a Seydou Doumbia brace and a strike from Japanese star Keisuke Honda.  Zenit traveled to Kryliya Sove, where Roman Shirokov exchanged doubles with Pavel Yakovlev.  The problem for the home side was that Shirokov had help from his friends, as Luciano Spaletti’s squad ran out 5-2 winners.  CSKA now sit on forty-five points and Zenit forty-three, with Dinamo another five off the pace.

Kashiwa Reysol aren’t going to go away easily.  After ceding the J-League lead to Nagoya Grampus Eight, last week, the side held off bottom feeders Avispa Fukuoka 3-2 to reclaim a share of first place.  It isn’t Grampus with whom they’re splitting the spoils, however.  Nagoya drew with Gamba Osaka in midweek and then succumbed to Vegalta Sendai on Saturday at home.  The lone point taken leaves them one behind the leaders and level with Yokohama F Marinos.

It’s Gamba Osaka who are now pacing Kashiwa, following up their midweek split with a thrilling 6-3 triumph over Kawasaki Frontale.  This coming Wednesday has proven the J-League schedule makers serendipitous, as the two leaders show down at Gamba’s Expo ’70 Stadium.  Should be fun!

The big news this weekend in the US was that Robbie Keane opened his MLS account with LA Galaxy in his first match, helping the league leaders to a 2-0 victory over San Jose Earthquakes.  I am still trying to unravel how a league with a transfer deadline and a very clear salary cap can allow the dominant club in the standings to ignore both rules to sign one high-profile player and trade another, without any of the other clubs raising much of a fuss.  Happily for Juan Pablo Angel, though, he is now playing for the more Latino friendly Angeleno club, Chivas USA, at least not having to make new living arrangements after being cast aside by the Galaxy.  The league PR machine couldn’t be happier, themselves, as Keane’s goal was supplied by David Beckham; just the combination they were hoping to exploit in the season run-in, and now, quite possibly next season, having given Becks a non-financial incentive to stay with the club.

There was a counterweight to the California love fest, however, as Thierry Henry’s New York Red Bull stumbled to their fourteenth draw in just twenty-six matches.  The all-square against the New England Revolution was their sixth by a 2-2 tally, and they’ve also played out a six-goal draw, suggesting that the club’s woes should not be laid at the feet of the Frenchman, but on a porous back four.  The result also dropped them to fifth in the East and tenth overall, leaving them holding down the final playoff spot, just a point ahead of DC United and the aforementioned Chivas.  Instead of the much coveted NY/LA final that the league and its sponsors were pining after, the two sides may meet in the opening round.  That is, if the New Yorkers can manage to hold on.

The Primera Division de Mexico saw a major upset on Sunday, as newly acquired American International DeMarcus Beasley potted the equaliser, which led to Alan Zamora’s winner, in Puebla’s incredible fight back triumph over erstwhile table toppers UNAM Pumas.  The match, which was an opportunity for Pumas to consolidate their lead in the Apertura tournament, was all the more stunning in that it allowed second-placed Chivas de Guadalajara to climb into first on the back of a 2-1 victory over defending Apertura champion, third-placed Monterrey.  Marco Fabian’s penalty erased Cesar Delgado’s twenty-fourth minute strike, less than five minutes after Monterrey had broken on top.  The sides remained level until Alberto ‘Funky Cold’ Medina claimed the winner with twelve minutes left in the match.

With the two current champions losing on the same day, the table has shifted dramatically.  Chivas are on top, with Pumas and Cruz Azul vying for second.  Tigres have crept into fourth and Monterrey are now in a three-way tie for fifth.  As fate would have it, another second v third battle is in the offing next weekend, when Pumas host crosstown rivals Cruz Azul.  That encounter has the same potential to create havoc as this week’s Chivas/Monterrey tilt rendered.

In Brazil, Copa Libertadores champion Santos continue to struggle domestically.  With two matches over the week, the club failed to come together against mid-table Coritiba.  The match was a referee’s nightmare with nine Coritiba players booked and six from Santos, including the temperamental Neymar.  Unfortunately for the home side, two of their players were sent off; Pará with a second offence and Edu with a straight red.  Down a man for the final quarter-hour, Borges’ brace was wasted when Santos capitulated an eighty-eighth minute winner to Leo Gago.

A 2-1 victory over Bahia on the weekend, featuring an early Neymar goal, was much better.  Still, if the Paulista side don’t build on that result, what is likely their last campaign with Ganso and Neymar in the line-up, may end up a lost one.

River who?  On Sunday night, Pablo Mouche broke open a scoreless affair between two of Argentina’s most historic clubs, Newell’s Old Boys and Boca Juniors, in the eighty-sixth minute.  The late goal pushed Boca to the top of the standings, ahead of Clausura champion Velez Sarsfield on goal difference.

On Friday, Velez had set the pace, when Guillermo Franco gave them an even later winner against Arsenal di Sarendi.  Amazingly, newly promoted Atletico Rafaella, who had put the relegation sword to River Plate, continue to impress.  After an opening minute goal from All Boys’ Mauro Matos had seemingly burst their bubble, two late goals from Federico Gonzalez and Walter Gaitan put them a point behind Velez and Juniors.

And they say the Premier League is competitive.

See you next Monday! 

________________________________________________________________________

After a week of International fare, club football takes over in earnest in the far reaches of the world.  In Russia it’s a battle royal for the top spot in the RPL, while in Japan, the J-League tries to put a heartbreaking spring behind it and bring a smile, if just for a moment, to their fans.  In the Americas, Major League Soccer heads into the middle part of its season, oblivious to losing its best players to the Gold Cup, while Chile and Argentina wrap up their Clausura campaigns and Brazil shrugs off the last bits of rust in the national championship.

England, Spain, Italy and Germany?  Who needs ‘em?

CSKA Moscow v Anzhi Makhachkala (Tuesday) – If you’re looking for some high-quality competitive football over the summer, you need look no further than the Russian Premier League.  This is the final full season of summer play and clubs are making the most of it before having to brave the frigid winter temperatures beginning with the 2012-13 season, just to make Sepp Blatter happy. At the moment, no less than six teams are within three points of the top spot.

Current leaders Anzhi Makhachkala, captained by Brasilian legend Roberto Carlos, face a tough challenge at the Luzhniki Stadium from fourth-placed side CSKA Moscow.  Jan Holenda is leading the club with three goals to date, but Roberto Carlos and Cameroon Benoit Angbwa each have a pair.

"Are you sure this is what FIFA wanted? La Liga is sounding real good right now!

The capital team’s star, Japanese World Cup sensei-tion Keisuke Honda has been linked with some top clubs in Europe, specifically in La Liga, but has publicly stated that he would be content to stay in Moscow as long as CSKA continue in the Champions League.

As well, goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev has been mooted as a possible fallback option should Manchester United’s courtship of David de Gea be rejected.  That would be a much more difficult loss to stand for the Russians, with Chilean World Cup starlet Mark Gonzalez waiting in the wings to replace Honda.  In five appearances, he has already notched a pair of goals.  Sergei Ignashevich, Seydou Doumbia and Tomas Necid have all found the mark three times.  That’s without counting long-serving Brazilian Vagner Love, who has yet to break his duck, this season.

One Japanese publication does attribute some very harsh quotes to Honda regarding alleged frustrations with the Russian club.  Yet, their tone seems so out of character as to be incredible, considering that Honda has tended to be a typically courteous Japanese.  As well, it’s difficult to believe that CSKA, with so many options in reserve, would refuse to capitalise on the interest in their player, if he truly wished to move on.  Whatever the truth of the matter, CSKA has continued to play well, coming off a 2-4 victory over Chechen club Terek Grozny.

Anzhi are also coming off a win, and neither side can afford to drop points, with the rest of the pack happy to leave them behind.  Both Dinamo Moscow and Zenit St. Petersburg can attest to that, after their 1-1 draw in mid-week saw them both slip down the table, the defending champions yielding their front-running position.

For the immediate future, those will be the facts of life in the RPL, however.  One minute, you’re the top dog; the next, you’re sniffing butt.  – Martin Palazzotto 

Gamba Osaka v Shimizu S-Pulse (Saturday) – I’ll be the first to admit that the J-League cannot be found on my world football map.  It’s definitely off in one of those empty spaces marked ‘Here There Be Monsters!‘   Yet, their World Cup match against the Danes was one of the most entertaining of the tournament, with two set-piece gems in the first half and the Blue Samurai holding off a Danish surge in the second forty-five.

In the interim, Mother Nature has put a major dent in Japan’s capacity to both endure and put on a joyous spectacle.  Thus it’s no surprise that traditional powers Kashima Antlers, Nagoya Grampus Eight and Urawa Red Diamonds are all languishing in the bottom half of the table in the early rounds of the delayed season.

Only Gamba Osaka are anywhere near the top, sitting in seventh place.  They are matched against Shimizu, six notches below them but capable of leveling matters through a victory in this encounter.   The Gamba squad is almost entirely home grown, excepting three Koreans and two Brazilians.  Afonso has yet to appear for the club but Martins Adriano is very much the go-to guy, with seven goals in the six matches the side has played.  Another player to keep an eye on, especially if you’re a Bayern Munich fan, is Takashi Usama.  Last year’s J-League Young Player of the Year has had a rocky start, with just three starts and a substitution but he has responded with a goal.  I may not know much about the nineteen-year-old but Christian Nerlinger seems to have had a decent eye for talent in his time with the Rekordmeister. — M.P.

"But Coach, I just had to grab myself a Snickers!

Philadelphia Union v Real Salt Lake (Saturday) – The sophomore Union have been the surprise of Major League Soccer in 2011, with Piotr Nowak’s side topping the Eastern Conference table.  If Nowak hopes to build a lead on the trailing NY Red Bull, who are missing five key players to Gold Cup rosters, his squad will have to hold off an RSL side which, despite losing two of its last three (both 2-1 setbacks on the road to top sides), is playing much better after a recent malaise brought on by losing the CONCACAF Champions League to Monterrey on their home ground.

Nowak may also have to start keeping a few candy bars in his pocket, after three players missed the flight home from their recent match against the defending champion Colorado Rapids.  After stopping off at an airport shop to ease the munchies, leading goal scorer Danny Mwanga, Keon Daniel and Sheanon Williams were not allowed to board the plane by a strict gate attendant, who may or may not have had a parochial school education.

For Salt Lake, the loss of Alvaro Saborio to the Costa Rican Gold Cup team was expected to sting but the pain has been eased by somewhat by a return to form for Argentine Fabian Espindola, who scored in the side’s 2-0 win against the expansion Vancouver Whitecaps.

RSL are nine points behind West leaders LA Galaxy but do have five games in hand on the Supporters Shield holders.  With both clubs very frugal in defence, Salt Lake especially have conceded just six goals thus far, you can expect this to be a hard-fought but low scoring affair with both sides being disappointed by anything other than a win. — M.P. 

Campeonato Brasileiro Fourth Round

Internacional v Palmeiras (Sunday) – Two teams with great history that have seen a difference in the past years. Inter has been succesful but failed in the crunch against African side TP Mazembe, in the Club World Cup.

Palmeiras is working to get back to the top, with the help of coach Big Phil Scolari.  Falcão – not that one – minds the bench for Internacional, keeping all the good names on the pitch.  The 2010 Libertadores champions are a team with a lot of creativity, featuring Oscar, Zé Roberto and Andrés D’Alessandro. On the other side Palmeiras is a team without a true star, beyond Chilean Jorge Valdivia, who, while very capable, is not among the elite in the South American game.  So, the side will rely heavily on the Big Phil Method, where defense is more important than offense.

It’s a clash of contrasting styles that promises a good, entertaining game. – Fab Presilli

Primera Division de Argentina, Penultimate Round – With two rounds remaining in the Argentine Clausura, it’s become a two-horse race.  Velez Sarsfield hold a slim one-point lead over pesky Lanus.  Both sides overcame difficult opposition last week, with Velez effectively knocking Godoy Cruz out of the running.  The third-placed side are still mathematically alive for the championship but two points from Velez or a win from Lanus will snuff out their hopes.

On Sunday, Velez will have a decided advantage heading into the day’s action.  They face second-from-bottom Huracan, while Lanus must deal with the league’s stingiest defenders, Argentinos Juniors.  Lanus’ one advantage is that they have the home ground while Velez must travel.

The other key factor in Argentine football, as the season nears its climax, is the relegation vigil for River Plate.  The Millionaros need points, especially after only managing a draw last week against Colon.  Their Sunday opponent is Estudiantes de la Plata.  With captain Juan Sebastian Veron lost for the season to an injured heel, the Apertura champions struggled to a scoreless draw against Argentinos in their last outing, offering their embattled foes some hope.  It’s a battle between fading Argentine powers but one that River absolutely need to win. – M.P.

Chilean League Apertura – Final Match

Universidad Catolica v Universidad de Chile (Sunday) – After winning the first leg, 2-0, the boys from Catolica are in poised to conquer their first double in the history of the club.  Both teams led the classification round and made it through the quarter and semi-finals with no problem. Now Catolica will protect the goals of wonder boy Lucas Pratto.  U de Chile (or just La U), however, has a true threat in Edson Puch. The final will be played in the National Stadium, a sacred place in Chilean football, having hosted the most important matches of the 1962 World Cup. – F.P.

Taça Libertadores Final – First Leg

Peñarol v Santos (Wednesday) – If the Chilean volcano whose ash cloud is being blown across the rest of the Southern Cone allows the game to kick off, we should see a compelling Libertadores final this week. Centenário Stadium will be packed for the first final involving a Montevideo club in twenty-four years.  That’s an endless age in football terms but barely seems a stitch in time to the raging Puyehue-Cordon Caulle.

Peñarol surprised favorites Velez Sarsfield, in the semi-final, playing a pragmatic game featuring plenty of players behind the ball and a lightning fast counter attack, led by Martinuccio (a player that probably is coming to Brazil after the tournament).

Santos will play the second leg at home, here in São Paulo, and feature two of the best players in the world, Paulo Henrique Ganso and Neymar (who may go to Chelsea after the tournament!).

It is crunch time and the pair will have to deliver to sew up another stitch in time.  If Santos are triumphant, it will secure their first continental title since the days of Pelé. – F.P.

See you next week!

It’s going to be a bit of bare bones over the next few weeks, as most of Europe is idle, Mexico is on their summer break, Argentina is winding down and Australia has yet to kick in their new campaign.  Still, there is the Russian Premier League, the Campeonato Brasileiro, Major League Soccer, the Women’s World Cup, Copa America and the Gold Cup to keep us occupied until full football service is restored in late August.  So, if you’re really jonesing for some footy, WFC will point you in the right direction.

England v Switzerland (Saturday) – According to Fabio Capello and John Terry, the awkward transition from Rio Ferdinand’s tenure as captain of the Three Lions has been resolved to everyone’s satisfaction.  The Italian describes his relationship with Rio as “perfect” and Terry has said that the center back pairing had been in contact and cleared the air from the get-go, just as was the case when the captaincy was taken from the Chelsea defender, prior to the World Cup.  Ferdinand hasn’t confirmed the claims of his colleague and manager but his professional approach to England duty has long been exemplary.

With a dearth of options in attack, the Three Lions will need the back line to function at optimum levels in order to stay in front of second-placed Montenegro in Group G of Euro 2012 qualifying.  In attack, Wayne Rooney is suspended for an accumulation of yellow cards and Jermaine Defoe has pulled out.  That leaves Darren Bent to partner with either Bobby Zamora, who, as the season progressed, gradually approached the level of play he enjoyed under Roy Hodgson, or Peter Crouch, who, as the season progressed, began to approach the level of play I enjoy on weekends at the local park.

Luckily for Terry and Ferdinand, the Swiss have even less experience in stock on their forward shelf than England.  Veterans Alex Frei and Marco Streller have retired, leaving coach Ottmar Hitzfeld, the man who ironically criticised Jose Mourinho’s negative tactics at Real Madrid earlier in the spring, with a handful of fresh-faced young forwards to baptise in the fire of Wembley.

With the resources at hand, Hitzfeld would dearly love to play for a typical Swiss scoreless draw but his side are already six points behind their hosts and Montenegro, forcing them to open up if they are to make up ground with only four matches remaining.  Capello, meanwhile has a full complement of wingers to choose from, with some pairing from Ashley Young, Stewart Downing, Theo Walcott, James Milner and Adam Johnson surely looking to combine with the forwards, as well as Glen Johnson and Ashley Cole, to exploit the inexperienced but desperate Swiss attack.

Switzerland’s best hope might be a season-ending hangover from the English squad.

Brazil v Netherlands (Saturday) — You read the heading correctly.  This is a home game for Brazil; a true one, which will take place in Goiás, rather than Dubai, Qatar or Arsenal’s Emirate’s stadium, their home away from home in Europe.  Eschewing financial gain in favour of stoking home support ahead of the Copa America, the Selecao also have the added incentive of gaining a measure of revenge against the country which ended their South African World Cup dream, no matter how strongly keeper Julio Cesar may deny it.

“It’s not a rematch. The World Cup is a unique competition. I felt a lot that defeat – we all did [but] this is a valuable match for us. It’s good for the new coach to watch the team. We have the Copa America ahead and as we won’t have the qualifiers this time for the next World Cup, it’s more difficult for [him] to build the team.”

One area to which Mano Manezes may pay particular attention is the forward line.  Youthful sensation Neymar is expected to be rested, as he has exhausted himself leading Santos to the Copa Libertadores Final.  In his place, expect Robinho to be paired with another young gun, Internacional’s Leandro Damaio.

L’Oranje will not be so interested in the outcome of the match and, with Wesley Sneijder already ruled out, Bert van Marwijk may look to bleed some youngsters so far from home, giving tired, jet lagged veterans a rest.  Robin van Persie, however, is eager to do his bit, as he hopes to convince a reluctant van Marwijk to stay on with the national side beyond next summer’s Euros.

USA v Spain (Saturday) – I do not speak, let alone read, Spanish.  As it is Friday afternoon at the writing and I am unable to find any information in English, anywhere on-line, regarding the US team’s set-up for a game occurring in less than twenty-four hours, against the World Cup holders no less, I now feel far less guilty about neglecting my MLS column over the last few weeks.  [In fact, guess what the next one will be about!]

Every great champion has a nemesis it just can't seem to beat. The US would love to be the country which has Spain's number.

The Americans are tuning up for the Gold Cup, which kicks off this coming week, and while a defeat against the best side in the world might not reinforce their confidence, the workout that Xavi, Andres Iniesta and company will put them through, as they chase after whatever scraps of possession the Spaniards let drop by the wayside, should raise the level of their game heading into the CONCACAF championship.

Clint Dempsey may still be adjusting his body clock to US time but Landon Donovan has been in a nice run of form lately for MLS club LA Galaxy.  Tim Howard, who finished the Premier League season strongly, with a clean sheet against Chelsea, knows it’s going to be a long ninety minutes against La Furia.  Yet can the experienced trio truly relate what it will be like to face Spain to the newer members of Bob Bradley’s squad?

While Vicente del Bosque will likely limit his tired veterans to cameo appearances, Spain, like Brazil, may be looking to settle a score, this one dating back to the 2009 Confederations Cup where the Americans stunned the European champions.

The US will face my Canadians on Tuesday, opening their Gold Cup schedule and I’m afraid it will be the Canucks who will be experiencing a bit of wrathful vengeance in the wake of this friendly.

Colorado Rapids v Philadelphia Union (Saturday) — The sophomore Philadelphia Union are now holding down first place in Major League Soccer’s Eastern Conference, a point ahead of the New York Red Bulls with a game in hand.  Their twenty point output in eleven games is all the more surprising given that, until last week’s 6-0 drubbing of Toronto FC – Stanley Cup Finals aside, it’s not a good week to be Canadian – they had scored just eight goals and conceded nine.  For New York, who have lost five players to Gold Cup squads for several weeks, drawing half their matches to date may prove costly.

The Union encounter the altitude of DSG Park at perhaps just the right time.  Colorado, the MLS Cup holders are in what can only be described as a holding pattern.  The Rapids have drawn their last five matches and six of their last seven.  The match in between was a victory over Houston Dynamo but the indecisive run follows a three-game losing streak.  Several players have contributed goals, with Jamie Smith and Jeff Larentowicz on three and Omar Cummings and Irish international Caleb Folan on two.  No one has truly stepped up to lead the line, though, and the lack of a creative mid-fielder is being felt, especially as Gary Smith’s side is yielding an unspectacular goal per game behind the indifferent attack.

Philly have been stalwart on defence but that will be tested during the final thirty minutes in the Mile High City.  Offensively, Carlos Ruiz and Danny Mwanga lead the line and last year’s goal source, Sebastian LeToux has turned provider, with three assists thus far.

The Union will look to put some distance between themselves and the Red Bulls before the New Yorkers’ stars return and Gary Smith will be demanding that his side shake off the doldrums and start racking up some points.  They are champions, after all.

Flamengo v Corinthians (Sunday) —  After an embarrassing failure for Corinthians in the qualifying stage of the Copa Libertadores, followed by a nasty demonstration from so-called supporters, two club legends have departed.  Ronaldo is in retirement, free to be as fat as he pleases.  Roberto Carlos is in Russia, captaining Anzhi Makhachkala to third place in the Premier League, level on points with leaders CSKA Moscow, as well as Zenit St. Petersburg and Dinamo Moscow in an incredibly tight race, featuring eight clubs all within a result of the top spot.  That leaves Portuguese International Liedson to lead the line.  Not a bad third option.

Flamengo are being captained, if you can believe it, by none other than Ronaldhino.  The hip-hop/Soca impresario has apparently put aside his musical aspirations to focus on leading the Rio de Janeiro side back to the fore of the national tournament.  It’s been an adventurous ride in the opening two matches, with seven goals scored and three conceded in a win and a draw.

The Paulista club haven’t been quite so prolific, managing a pair of 2-1 victories over Coritiba and Gremio. If, however, everyone desired style from our club rather than results, we’d all be Arsenal fans, wouldn’t we?

River Plate v Colon de Santa Fé (Sunday) – River are six points off the pace and Colon are nestled near the bottom of the table.  Yet, the young Millionaros are fighting a desperate battle against the relegation average.  The key for a River back line, which has conceded only eleven goals in the Clausura, will be to corral Colon’s dangerous Esteban Fuertes, third in the league with eight tallies.  Three points at home against a struggling club are absolutely vital towards staving off what would be an historic fall from grace.

Velez Sarsfield v Godoy Cruz (Monday) – With three games remaining in the Argentine Clausura – and no playoff, as in its Mexican counterpart – Velez are clinging to the lead by a single point over Lanus and two over Godoy.  The league title represents their lone hope for silverware on the year, after finishing second to Estudiantes in the Apertura and then conceding a fatal away goal to Penarol this week, in the second leg of the Copa Libertadores semi-final.

Smarting from the defeat, you can bet that Velez’ prolific midfield, consisting of David Ramirez (6 goals), Maxi Moralez (4) and Augusto Fernandez and Ricardo Alvarez (both with 3) will be supporting line leader Santiago Silva (6 goals, as well) with an unmatched intensity, lest their season suddenly slip from their grasp.

Godoy’s attack is led by the partnership of Alvaro Navarro (5 goals) and Ruben Ramirez (4).  Both the midfield and defence have seen a high rate of turnover throughout the campaign, which has resulted in a much higher concession of goals than their counterparts.  It will be difficult for Godoy to hold off Velez’ wide array of attacking weapons, especially at the Jose Amalfitani.

Independiente v Lanus (Monday) – Second-place side, Lanus, are on the road against the Copa Sud America champions.  Independiente must win all three of its final matches and pray for all sorts of help to make up their five-point deficit and pass four clubs.  This match, though, would be an excellent start.

Lanus have fought an amazing fight all season, thanks to the league’s third stingiest defence (behind Argentinos Juniors & River), just to keep rampant Velez within reach.  They will rely on their back four to hold off Independiente, so that seven-goal man Diego Valeri can strike at the opposite end.  It’s that time of year in Argentina, where victory is imperative and dropped points can prove deadly.

See you next week!

]]> http://worldfootballcolumns.com/2011/06/04/wfcs-weekend-catch-choice-fixtures-for-4-5-june-2011/feed/ 0 Bent & Rooney resulteditor Bent & Rooney World ball breakers uefa_logo World ball breakers FIFA logo Bradley, Onweyu, Bocanegra, Donovan US Ball Breakers MLS Logo Brazil Ball Breakers Brasileiro logo Argentina Ball Breakers Argentine FA logo World ball breakers http://worldfootballcolumns.com/2011/05/28/wfcs-weekend-catch-choice-matches-for-28-29-may-2011-including-the-champions-league-final/ http://worldfootballcolumns.com/2011/05/28/wfcs-weekend-catch-choice-matches-for-28-29-may-2011-including-the-champions-league-final/#comments Sat, 28 May 2011 00:30:44 +0000 The WFC Staff http://worldfootballcolumns.com/?p=17542 Continue reading »]]> ____________________________________________________________________

The Champions League Final casts a huge shadow over the weekend fixtures, so we’ll lead off with the match of matches, but there are some other important tilts lurking in the darkness.  Have a look!

Champions League Final – Manchester United v Barcelona (Saturday) – If this match doesn’t usher the new Wembley into the pantheon of legendary football venues, no contest ever will.  Last year, Barcelona came up short in their quest to defend their Champions League title in the stadium of bitter rivals Real Madrid.  On Saturday they must instead defeat the most prolific club in English history on the Three Lions home ground.

The Catalans certainly have a squad capable of pulling it off.  Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta will look to impose their typical control on the match and feed the ball to FIFA World Player of the Year Lionel Messi and Spanish World Cup hero David Villa.

Manchester United, however, are steeped in both ability and pride.   They will look to defend England’s honour and have the horses to do it.  With Rooney playing a very deep second striker, similarly to Messi, both tracking back and moving the ball forward, the opportunistic Javier Hernandez may prove a danger to a Blaugrana back four, all of whom enjoy pushing forward.  As well, Antonio Valencia’s service has been impeccable since his return from a broken ankle suffered against Glasgow Rangers in the autumn.

At the back, look for Michael Carrick and Ryan Giggs to help close off the front of the box in tandem with Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic.  Should Messi, Villa or the big game goal hunter, Iniesta, sneak through, Edwin van der Sar will be manning the pipes as though it was the last match he will ever play.

Both clubs love to attack but United are the more flexible club tactically.  Having had their egos deflated by Barça, two years ago in Rome, the Red Devils will be hell-bent on producing a better performance this time around.  Even if Barcelona get on the board first, don’t expect the Premier League Champions to go quietly.  This group wants nothing more than to watch their long serving keeper hoist one more trophy before he rides into the sunset.  – Martin Palazzotto

♦   ♦   ♦

EPL Promotion Final – Reading v Swansea @ Wembley (Monday) – It’s the so-called hundred million bazillion pound game – if you listen to Sky Sports.  Yet, money talks and this playoff final offers one side the opportunity to step up significantly in pay grade.  Even if the winner proves unable to hold their own with the best clubs in England, the parachute payments received, even for going straight back down, can offer financial stability for any club, if properly used.

Swansea are the “Barcelona” of the 2nd tier according to the latest hype.  They play the game the right way, featuring nice, expansive football.  Ex-Reading boss Brendan Rogers has certainly received much deserved praise for his team’s style but  the problem with cup finals is that they are not about aesthetics; winning is what matters.

Reading might not have the same style of play but they know how to win. In the last 20 games they have only lost twice and in Shane Long they will always have a potential match winner.  So, one goes up…one stays down.  Who will do what? – Andrew Gibney

♦   ♦   ♦

Valenciennes v Nice (Sunday) – It’s survival Sunday in France, as five teams can still be relegated to Ligue 2. OGC Nice travel north to the atmospheric Stade Nungesser and know that defeat away at Valenciennes could spell disaster. Defeat coupled with points for Caen, Nancy and a Monaco win would see Ligue 2 football at the Stade du Ray next season. Of course on the flip side a point for Nice would see them safe and drop Valenciennes right into the mire. In any event, they will both survive if Monaco can’t get past Lyon. However, that will not stop the nerves coursing through the fans of both sides. Valenciennes are unbeaten in four games, three of them draws. Nice only have two wins in their last seven and haven’t won away since the end of February. Still, it would be a great shame to the league to lose either side. Both clubs have excellent support and would be well missed in the division. — Andrew Gibney

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Coppa d’Italia – Inter v Palermo (Sunday) — Last year, Inter and Roma engaged in a vicious match, with the Nerazzurri taking what passed for honours on the strength of a beautiful Diego Milito strike late in the first half.  That goal may have convinced Diego Maradona, now coaching Dubai side Al Wasl, to include the youngster in his World Cup squad.  The goal was the lone bright spot in a cynical match capped off when Francesco Totti delivered a vicious charlie horse to Mario Balotelli.  This year, the club looks to Samuel Eto’o and Giampaolo Pazzini to lead the line but Milito, who has been a viable third option might be just the player to make the difference again.  Playmaker Wesley Sneijder will be grateful to last more than the five minutes he managed in the previous final, after injuring his leg before the match could even settle in.

For Palermo, coach Delio Rossi has the rare opportunity to lead a club to a championship later in the same season during which they sacked him.  He has irrational chairman Maurizio Zamparini to thank for that but on the pitch, Javier Pastore will have his first stellar opportunity to match the insane valuations that Zamparini has been announcing like a weekly stock ticker for most of the season.   As well, captain Fabrizio Miccoli will have to bull his way through a strong but erratic Inter defence.

The smart money says bet on Inter’s quality but Palermo may be up for giving their manager, who will be leaving permanently after this match, a proper sending off. – Martin Palazzotto

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Argentine Clausura – Round 16

Olimpo v River Plate (Sunday) – A turmoil has swept up the Millionarios.  The last couple of games have gone wasting and the team has fallen off the pace set by Velez Sarsfield and Godoy Cruz. After a loss in the derby against Boca Juniors, River drew at home versus San Lorenzo, thanks to a major error from netminder Juan Pablo Carrizo. The error led the goalie coach to resign and dropped the club much closer to an historic relegation. Olimpo from Bahia Blanca is an opponent in a similar situation; they need a win to remain in the first division. With only four matches remaining, both sides need every point on offer.  However, the minnows are having a much more consistent season than River and if they manage to keep their momentum in the battle between fourth and fifth placed sides, they will earn their deserved prize. – Fab Presilli

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Campeonato Brasileiro - Round 2

Cruzeiro v Palmeiras (Sunday) – The first few rounds here in Brazil are always a little empty. Some clubs don’t show the proper interest in the championship and others are attempting to keep their squad together in the middle of the transfer window. Palmeiras and Cruzeiro are two clubs that should start the championship well, not distracted after having made no major acquisitions and losses. Cruzeiro’s coach, Cuca, has three of the best players available in Brazil, Walter Montillo, Roger and Wallysson, the last a new and very good forward. Palmeiras have a strong, physical team, lacking in technique but always up for a fight.  The contrast between the two clubs should make for an entertaining match. – Fab Presilli

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Copa Libertadores - Semifinals

Cerro Porteño v Santos (Wednesday) & Velez Sarsfield v Peñarol (Thursday) – It’s a Mercosur finish for the Libertadores.

In Paraguay, visiting Brazilians Santos have the upper hand after their win in the first game. But Stadio Defensores del Chaco, one of the main arenas of South America, will be overflowing with Cerro’s fans to cheer on Fabbro and his mates. Neymar is a sure starter for Santos. The kid is playing so well that he seems one of the candidates to submit to FIFA for year-end awards.

In Argentina, Clausura leaders Velez will host the surprise side of the tournament, Peñarol. The Uruguayans won the first leg but Velez are heavy favorites at the Jose Amalfitani, with a good team and solid players who can overcome. Both contests have the key ingredients of a Libertadores battle: fanatical crowds and players prepared for a strong, hard and skilful game.

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Real Salt Lake v Seattle Sounders FC (Saturday) – The opening third of the MLS season has been all over the map with various clubs playing anywhere from eight (RSL and Sporting KC) games to fourteen (LA Galaxy).  The Galaxy’s heavy workload hasn’t interfered with David Beckham jetting off to London twice in a month, once for the Royal Wedding and, this week, for Gary Neville’s testimonial match at Old Trafford against Juventus.  If the Galaxy weren’t in New England to play the Revolution on Saturday, it wouldn’t have been a shock to see Golden Balls in the crowd at Wembley for the Champions League Final.

The key match of the weekend in MLS, though, features two clubs in the cluster of six sitting on seventeen points, for third best in the league.  Salt Lake need to get back into the groove after their Champions league final loss to Monterrey.  Perfect in the league before the setback, they have been a mediocre 1-2-1 in the four matches since.  Seattle have been equally inconsistent, with just a single victory in their last five.  South American connection Freddy Montero and Alvaro Fernandez have combined for a tepid five goals in the clubs thirteen matches but midfielder Brad Evans has already exceeded his best total as a Sounder and is just two off his career best (with Columbus), in leading the club with four goals.  Having a third option may be handy for Seattle, as RSL have surrendered just two goals in the campaign.  – Martin Palazzotto

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See you next week!

Much like AH-nold and Maria, most of European football has entered the End Of Days.  As the Devil is in the details, we’ll be featuring summaries, rather than individual matches for certain leagues.  If that makes you unhappy, keep it to yourself or, when you go to sleep, Gabriel Byrne will be under your bed!

The final Premier League Sunday is like a brand new diary.  The binding is set but everything between the covers has yet to be written.  First and twentieth are locked in; Manchester United are champions and West Ham United are going down.  From second to nineteenth, however, nothing is certain.

Chelsea could finish second or third, Arsenal could finish third or fourth and Manchester City will claim the one spot remaining of the three.  None of the trio have easy matches, all away to Everton, Fulham and Bolton respectively. Arsenal hold the short stick, at the moment, and if they can’t end their recent woeful form and get some help, their summer will be shortened by Champions League qualification.  Thankfully for the Gunners, Fulham will be more concerned with staying on the good side of the officials, rather than with putting the ball in the net, as the former offers them the best opportunity to reach Europe, via a fair play berth.

Turn the page and you’ll find Tottenham trying to hold off Liverpool for the more traditionally acquired Europa League place.   By virtue of their victory over the Reds last week, Spurs have a single point advantage but a home match against a desperate Birmingham club, perched on the brink of relegation.  Liverpool visit a potentially less interested Aston Villa, nestled comfortably in a thick, warm, mid-table duvet.

The next entry will fall to either Everton or Fulham.  A draw for the Toffees, in what might be Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti’s final match, will cement seventh place for David Moyes’ squad.  Not bad for a side which showed up for the Premier League party  three months late.

Eighth through fourteenth place will consist of some sequence involving Everton, Fulham, Stoke, Bolton, West Brom, Newcastle, Aston Villa and Sunderland.  The Goodison Park boys can’t sink any lower than eighth and the Black Cats can’t climb higher than ninth but otherwise, it’s a crapshoot.

Wolves and Rovers seemed destined to get in each other's way.

Then there is one of the most complicated final weekend relegation scenarios you’ll ever come across.  Five sides are contending to each be one of three survivors.  Heading into the  Sunday fixtures, Blackburn and Wolves are on forty points, with their destination in their own hands.  You have to hand it to the Fixture Gods for setting them against one another at the Molineux, then.  That encounter will be a desperate affair, as, while the odds are long that their pursuers will all claim victories, a draw could very well see both of these sides go down.

Long odds are understatement, as Birmingham have Chelsea, Blackpool face a Man United side which Sir Alex Ferguson has pledged will be well stocked with first teamers and Wigan, who last week stunned West Ham and put paid to Avram Grants tenure as Iron manager, with a thrilling 3-2 fight back, must journey to the Britannica to face a Stoke side still smarting from consecutive defeats to Man City.  All of them are on thirty-nine points with just a two goal margin between the trio.  Picking the two unlucky losers from this group is almost as difficult as picking the correct six numbers in the lottery.

Yet, the bookies will be happy to take your money.  Good luck! – Martin Palazzotto

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Swansea v Reading (Monday) –  The Battle of Cwm has been preempted for an episode of Old v New.  Brendan Rogers, who spent the formative years of both his playing and managerial careers with the Royals, until getting the sack and being replaced by current Reading boss Brian McDermott, will lead Swansea against his old side.  Neither sentiment nor thoughts of revenge will serve Rogers well, as his old club has proven eager to give the top flight another go.  It will take every bit of focus on the now for the Swans to break the Welsh barrier and earn a £60 million dollar place in the Premier League, as a shellshocked Cardiff found out earlier in the week.  Shane Long’s brace fronted a three-goal away barrage that ended the hopes of the one club with Premiership name recognition, in the form of one cap wonder Jay Bothroyd and nine-iron thunder Craig Bellamy.  If the Swans are to fly to the next level, they will certainly need to cut Long’s day short. – Martin Palazzotto

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Vfl Bochum v Borussia Mœnchengladbach (Wednesday) — The second leg of the Bundesliga relegation playoff takes place at Bochum’s rewirpowerStadion with the Bundesliga 2 side having their work cut out.  Mœnchengladbach enjoys a 1-0 lead in the tie, from an Igor de Camargo strike three minutes into stoppage time.  if Bochum can’t recover, they may reflect that their season came down to a single unfortunate bounce.  Andreas Luthe was able to separate de Camargo from the ball, in the box, only for it to carom back to the forward, who didn’t miss from four yards. – Martin Palazzotto

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Heracles v Groningen (Sunday) – Both Europa League playoffs have provided drama and two close victories for the home sides: ADO Den Haag and Heracles both winning. Whereas Roda’s 4-2 setback may present some difficulties, Groningen’s deficit is only one goal, as they held Peter Bosz’ Almelo side to three goals. In their three meetings this season, however, Groningen are yet to win against Heracles and have conceded ten goals while scoring an average of one per match. Yet, they have one more game to redeem themselves and book a place in the playoff final. In a league full of turnarounds and surprises this could be yet another. – Mohamed Moallim

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Sochaux v St-Etienne (Saturday) – The race for the final French Europa League spot is heating up. Sochaux, Lorient, Bordeaux and St-Etienne are all in with a chance.  Montpellier would need a minor miracle to be in with the slenderest of chances. So, with Saturday’s eight o’clock kick-offs, Les Lionceaux play host to Les Verts with the knowledge that a win for Sochaux would all but secure European football, while a win for St-Etienne would put the pair level on points, setting up a thrilling finale on the last day.  Sochaux need to back from their 1-0 defeat to Lille, in which they had a few opportunities to steal a point but could never make it anything but Lille’s night.  Meanwhile, Christophe Galtier’s side are looking to come back from their 2-1 home loss against Rennes, last week. It will be up to Dmitri Payet and Bakary Sako to carry the team into Europe. It’s Sochaux, though, who have the league leader in assists – Marvin Martin.  Should be a cracker. – Andrew Gibney

Montpellier v Monaco (Saturday) – Down at the bottom, Monaco face a battle for their survival as they travel to Montpellier.  It’s been four games since the side from the principality managed a victory and anything but three points could see them relegated should results go against them. Victory, however, would set up a pulsating final round matchup with Claude Puel’s Lyon. With two games remaining, it is possible for Monaco to catch any team up to the 10th placed Montpellier.  I’m sure Laurent Banide would be happy to just catch 17th.  On the other hand, Montpellier need to win their last two games and have everyone above them lose if they are to play in the Europa League, next season. Regardless, René Girard will be quite pleased with his season. A cup final and a mid-table finish give him something to build on for next year. The important question, though, is whether his opponents on Saturday be building for Ligue 1 or Ligue 2 in the summer? – A.G.

PSG v Lille (Saturday) – Deja-vu anyone? Yes, it’s a rematch of last week’s Coupe de France final and another trophy may be decided here. That’s because Lille come into the match off the back of a narrow (but fully deserved, Andrew) victory over Sochaux, one which leaves them 6 points clear of second-placed Marseille with two games left to play. After a season where no one seemed able to separate from the pack, Rudi Garcia’s side seems to have pushed on at just the right time, leaving them on the brink of a first title since 1954. Add in Lille’s far superior goal difference and this match is almost certainly a formality. PSG aren’t going through the motions, however. Les Parisiens are battling with Lyon and Rennes for third place, which would grant them entry into the Champions League. – Tapesh Patel

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La Liga still has a few issues to sort out even if the Champions League places are locked in and both Almeria and Hercules are headed to La Segunda Division.  

Atletico Madrid has the worst head-to-head record between the triumvirate contending for the two Europa League spots.  Gregory Manzano’s Sevilla are on top at the moment but face a very difficult final pairing, against eighth placed Espanyol.  Atleti face Mallorca and the Basques are at Racing Santander, two lower half sides.  

The final relegation place still threatens a half-dozen sides.  Levante is within three points of current danger squad Real Zaragoza but can’t fall into the bottom three because Getafe and Real Sociedad face each other.  yet, that still leaves Mallorca, Osasuna (who face Villareal) and Deportivo de la Coruna (matched with Valencia).  Zaragoza are pitted against the safe-on-a-technicality Levante.  So, maybe the Premier League relegation picture isn’t the most complicated, after all. – Martin Palazzotto

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As the curtain comes down on another Serie A season, the coveted fourth Champions League spot is still not decided. Udinese hold a two point advantage over Lazio going into the final weekend. Lazio travel to Lecce in what’s little more than a dead rubber game for the home side, after they secured their safety with a win at Bari, last weekend. Curiously, Lecce coach Luigi De Canio has announced ahead of time that he’ll leave the club after Sunday’s game and has already been linked with the vacant West Ham job – and no, I don’t have Luigi de confused with Paolo di. What might have just been a run out on a sunny day may now, in fact, be transformed into a testimonial for the man who kept them up by rousing them to one final mad dash.

Meanwhile, Udinese host champions Milan, knowing that a point will suffice. The Romans will be hoping that Milan can do a professional job and hand them a lucrative European payday in the process. Andrea Pirlo will play his final game after 10 years in a Milan jersey before leaving for pastures new. Also, veteran striker Pippo Inzaghi could play some part, after making a cameo last weekend, recovered from torn knee ligaments. Udinese goal machine Antonio di Natale has already been crowned top scorer. He needs just one more goal to equal last season’s tally of 29. He’ll probably think 30 is a good round number, as well, given that the two clubs fought to a 4-4 draw in the opposite leg of the tie.

Roma saw their faint Champions League hopes disappear when they lost at Catania last week. They’ll play in the Europa League provided they score a point at home to doomed Sampdoria. However, a Roma loss, coupled with a Juventus win at home to Napoli will see the Turin giants usurp the Romans.

Even without a tattoo or previous affiliation with the Hammers, Lecce's de Canio seems to have the inside track on Paolo di Canio.

Speaking of Sampdoria what a fall from grace! They were in the Champions League last August, and this August will be preparing to play second-tier Football. The writing was on the wall after a last-kick defeat to city rivals Genoa and last Sunday’s home reverse to Palermo. But, Roma will be in no mood for a pity party, after Samp won an ill-tempered game back in January and denied the Giallorossi the Scudetto last season with a dramatic final day victory on Olimpico turf.

Coppa Italia finalists Palermo will look to use their final home game against Chievo to build momentum for the showdown with Inter Milan. Speculation has already begun about where the Sicilian’s hotshot striker Javier Pastore will be playing his football next season, after his agent revealed “every player has a price.”

One player who has decided his future, though, is Edinson Cavani. The former Palermo hitman has pledged his future to Napoli by signing a new and improved five-year contract, netting him a cool €2 million per season. Nice work if you can get it! – Shaun Best

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Campeonato Brasileiro First Round

Grêmio v Corinthians (Sunday) – The first round of the National Championship is always a little empty. Some clubs are still on a hangover after wins or losses in the State Championships and others are involved in the latest rounds of the Libertadores or Copa do Brasil. Grêmio and Corinthians are in the hangover mode. However both have good teams with some stars. Corinthians trust that Liedson can get back to his best days. Grêmio has a fresh new player that should raise some eyebrows all over Brazil. Keep an eye on forward Júnior Viçosa. – Fab Presilli

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Taça Libertadores Semifinals

Velez Sarsfield v Peñarol (Thursday) – A good match here. The Argentinians are all around favorites. They have crushed all their opponents and lead their local tournament. Peñarol are back to the semis for the first time in 24 years, with a good team that could surprise the continent. The Uruguayans best player is midfielder Martinuccio, already lined up to come to Brazil and star for Palmeiras, after the tournament.  – Fab Presilli

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UNAM Pumas v Monarcas Morelia (Sunday) – The Clausura Liguilla Final second leg sees Pumas holding a slight advantage, after a 1-1 draw at the Morelos on Thursday evening.  Joao Rojas struck five minutes after Francisco Palencia in the second half, to give Pumas an away goal and keep matters on otherwise even terms.  Now, it’s in their hands to continue their Clausura success at the Olimpico Universitario and claim their second trophy in that competition in three years.  It might not be as easy as it looks, however, as Monarcas have been a far better side on the road than at home in the season’s second competition. – Martin Palazzotto

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FC Dallas v Real Salt Lake (Sunday) – If you want two sides with unresolved issues, this is the match in MLS to watch this weekend.  Last year, FC Dallas stunned RSL in a two-legged playoff, on their way to the MLS Cup Final.  Now, the two sides meet, again sitting second and third in the West, behind the LA Galaxy.  The difference in the situation, now, is that Landon Donovan, David Beckham and company have played two more matches than FCD and an incredible five more than Salt Lake, while only gaining a three and four point advantage, respectively, on the duo.  The Angelenos will be happy to see their pursuers fight to a draw but the combatants would both like to mark themselves as the prime threat to the Galaxy’s dominance.  – Martin Palazzotto  

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See you next week!

Strap yourself in for a global tour of the best weekend fixtures on offer.  Virgin Air has nothing on us!

Jude Ellery

Jude Ellery @Football Farrago

Newcastle v Fulham, Premier League>>>Saturday

Currently my eye is drawn to the unfashionable teams.  You know, those sides who find themselves peering up at the glistening glass ceiling of the Champions League places.  This time it’s the turn of Newcastle United, who face a Fulham side, the latter coming off an honest yet blunt showing against Arsenal in midweek.

United’s main threat to the opposition goal comes from the man everyone is talking about, Andy Carroll, whose devastating form has led him quite rightly to the verge of international recognition.  United’s main threat to the opposition’s health, which will be temporarily absent, is Joey Barton, who rather ironically asked that Carroll’s  private life be overlooked when considering his England selection.   This from a man who’s been booked more times by the constabulary than by officials and once stubbed out a cigarette in a youth player’s eye, while at Man City.

Our advocate for humanity will be sitting out after receiving a three match ban, for an unprovoked thump on Blackburn’s well-mannered Morten Gamst Pedersen.  Nevertheless, The Magpies have good depth in midfield including the potential signing of the season, Ivorian juggernaut Cheick Tiote.  A 2-1 home win shouldn’t be far wide of the mark.

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Andrew Gibney

Andrew Gibney @ The Gib Football Show

Rangers v Aberdeen, Scottish Premier League>>>Saturday

It’s an awful time to be an Aberdeen fan.  A  9-0 defeat to Celtic on the weekend was followed by a midweek 2-1 loss against local rivals Inverness. So, what does the fixture computer throw up for their next game?  Just another routine trip, back down to Glasgow to take on the Champions, Rangers. Mark McGhee’s job is on the line and if he can’t motivate his troops for the game on Saturday, then they may as well sack him.

It’s said that Aberdeen always raise their game for Rangers, so maybe a win isn’t necessary.  A strong performance is a must, however.  Rangers will want to bounce back from the shock 3-0 defeat to Hibs.  Not only do they want to stay ahead of Celtic, it’s important for the Glasgow side to get back on form before Man United come a’calling.  It’s difficult to look past a home victory but after this weeks games, who knows?

Lorient v Paris St-Germain, Ligue 1>>>Sunday

While it’s not a game you would instantly pick as a classic, the current nature of the French League means this game could see either PSG go top or Lorient climb from 9th to 2nd. The Brittany club are the form side right now; no other team is on a two game winning streak and a third will take the Hakes (think barracuda) up to the European places. Kevin Gameiro is in good form, with two goals last week and six on the season, which has lead to a call up to Laurent Blanc’s friendly squad for the England game.

PSG will be hoping to move into the pole position, after their victory over OM.  It has been a successful season so far.  Nene is playing out of his skin, Mevlut Erding and Guillaume Hoarau are rounding into form and the capital club are still fighting on three fronts, with a place in the Couple De La Ligue semi-finals and progression to the Europa League last 32 both imminent.  Most importantly, though, it is the league were Parisians want the team to progress.

Bursaspor v Trabzonspor, Turkish Super Lig>>>Saturday

This weekend sees the anticipated matchup of 1st v 2nd in the Turkish league. Bursaspor are struggling of late, as the pressures of getting something from the Champions League campaign and maintaining form in the league simultaneously are starting to get to them.  With only one win in five league games their early lead has slipped, whilst Trabzonspor have won five in a row, including major coups over Besiktas and Galatasaray, to take them top of the table,.

Trabzonspor’s goals have come from the poetically named Umut Bulut and Colombian Teofilo Gutierrez, mainly supplied by the creative Brazilian midfielder, Alanzinho.  With a trip to the Mestalla on the horizon, Bursapsor will gain some confidence if they can put their troubles behind them and capture a result against their league usurpers.

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Chris Mann

Chris Mann @ The Equaliser

Barcelona v Villarreal, La Liga>>>Saturday

It’s second versus third in La Liga this weekend, as Villarreal travel to the Camp Nou in what should be a fantastic game of football in the Catalan capital.

Barcelona, having comfortably beaten Getafe last weekend, are just a point behind league leaders Real Madrid after ten games, but will face a stern test on Saturday night. Juan Carlos Garrido’s Villarreal side have been playing some wonderful attacking football so far this season, undefeated since the opening day of the season and spearheaded by the prolific attack pairing of Giuseppe Rossi and Nilmar.

That said, Pep Guardiola relishes little more than a team that enjoys going toe to toe with his side and Villarreal will need to be careful that they don’t get dismantled by the Blaugrana’s lightning counter-attacks. Barca will clearly be expected to come out on top, but it won’t be easy for the reigning champions. Make sure you tune in at 9pm GMT on Saturday.  There should be plenty of goals.

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Geoff Edwards

Geoff Edwards’ Bundesliga Boünce

Borussia Dortmund v Hamburger SV>>>Friday

The highlight of a mouthwatering set of Bundesliga fixtures takes place at the Signal Iduna Park on Friday evening, as league leaders Borussia Dortmund host a Hamburg side dogged by injuries and inconsistency. Despite their hot and cold start to the season, Armin Veh’s Hamburg are firmly wedged into the pack of 6 clubs (plus Bayern Munich) clinging on to the coat tails of Mainz and Dortmund at the Bundesliga summit. The Red Shorts’ glut of injuries has afforded Mladen Petric a place back in the starting 11 and he’s been determined to hold onto it, notching 4 goals in his last 3 starts. The Croat has played down his return to his old club in the media this week, but if he and his team mates can help Die Rothosen to 3 points, it would be a hugely significant achievement.

Dortmund, on the other hand, will be buoyed by the recent call-ups of Mario Goetze, Kevin Grosskreutz, Mats Hummels and Marcel Schmelzer to the German national side for the upcoming friendly against Sweden. That’s not to say Die Schwarzgelben were in need of a psychological boost. A record-breaking start to the season has seen them sweep aside all but Leverkusen and Hoffenheim in a frenzy of high octane attacking football, driven on by the elegant promptings of the superb Nuri Sahin in midfield, and the elusive creativity of Mario Goetze and Shinji Kagawa, whilst their miserly defence shows no sign of buckling.

Hope for Veh’s men lies in the fact that the 4 points Die Borussen have contrived to drop have all occurred at home, and Hamburg have already beaten Dortmund’s fellow top 2 inhabitants Mainz on their own patch.  It’s all set up for a fantastic encounter.

* n.b. If, unlike me, you have a life and plan to do something crazy on Friday night like ‘going out’, fear not. Just tune in on Saturday  afternoon to catch lowly Bremen host high-flying Frankfurt, the Rhineland derby between the struggling Koeln and Borussia Moenchengladbach, and the visit of Felix Magath’s disappointing Schalke to Steve McClaren’s disappointing Wolfsburg. If that wasn’t enough, Sunday sees the derby go Bavarian, as Nuernberg head to the Allianz Arena in a bid to prolong FC Bayern’s mid-table agony.

**Editor’s note:  Sadly, yours truly is one of those who has a life (at least on this Friday) and the Catch did not go to press until the match had concluded.  Whose bright idea was it to schedule matches on Friday, anyway?  Apologies to Geoff and everyone else, too.

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Tapesh Patel

Tapesh Patel

AJ Auxerre vs Stade Rennes, Ligue 1>>>Sunday

Auxerre have largely disappointed this season, but their form has picked up of late.   They go into this encounter on a three-match winning streak, in all competitions.

High-flyers Rennes, on the other hand, have stalled recently, and with challenging fixtures against Brest, Lorient, Marseille and Bordeaux on the horizon, the Rouges et Noirs need something from this game to get their campaign back on track.

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Fab Presilli

Fab Presilli From The Latin

Campeonato Brasileiro

First Division – 35th round

Corinthians v Cruzeiro>>>Saturday

Everyone has been waiting for this one.  Second placed Corinthians are on a roll with three wins on the last four games, third placed Cruzeiro had their highs and lows over the last few rounds but trust in midfielder Walter Montillo, probably the best player of the tournament.

A win keeps one club in the chase, behind Fluminense and the other consigned to the third place.  With just three fixtures remaining, a draw may hand the competition to Fluminense.

Second Division – 36th round

Coritiba v Figueirense>>>Saturday

Both teams were in the first tier, some years ago, and Coritiba have already booked their return ticket and now look to clinch the title.

Figueirense, in second place, are no pushovers and are looking to secure the other berth to the First Division..

Bahia v Portuguesa>>>Saturday

Third versus fifth with three games to go is a very interesting match.  Bahia trust on the power of their supporters, who almost always fill the stadium in Salvador.

Portuguesa are a medium team in São Paulo, overshadowed by their bigger opponents.  Their forward, Dodo, has managed to survive by poaching more beautiful goals than soe better known names

Argentinian First Division

The biggest match of the year is the Superclássico.  River v Boca.   With the match on Tuesday, I won’t be able to review it for you, but catch it if you can.  Both teams are in crisis, with River changing their  coach this week and Boca unable to dream of the title anymore, even with Juan Roman Riquelme healthy and available.

Martin Palazzotto

Martin Palazzotto’s Fast Footy Diet

Burgers

There are just three matches remaining in the 2010 Major League Soccer Season.  Two of them are this weekend, with the Colorado Rapids hosting the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday and the Los Angeles Galaxy welcoming FC Dallas to the Home Depot Center on Sunday.  If you missed it the preview of those matches is right here.  The winners will face off at Toronto’s BMO Field on Sunday, 21 November, for the 2010 MLS Cup.  If you can squeeze them in, both of these matches are worth watching, with any technical deficiencies made up for with pace and exuberance.

Burritos

The final weekend of the Mexican Apertura is here, as well,  and there are four clubs vying for the two remaining berths into the playoff round.  Monterrey has already wrapped up  Group 1 and Cruz Azul are the Group 3 champions and overall leaders, regardless of their final result.

All that is left to resolve is the Group 2 winner and the at large entry, from amongst the three second place finishers.  As the football gods are nothing if not sadistic, the two clubs vying for Group 2, America, on 27 points and San Luis, with 26 face much tougher matches than Group 1 runner up Santos Laguna, also on 27 points and Group 3 bridesmaid Chiapas, clinging to hope with 24.

Santos host G1 cellar dwellers Tecos and Chiapas, who must win and hope that both Santos and America lose, visit G3 table-proppers Queratero.

Meanwhile, America must find a way past G3′s third place side, Pumas.  Happily, the match is in their massive home ground, the legendary Azteca.  For San Luis, the situation is very grim.  In a game they must take all 3 points from to have a realistic hope of advancing, they journey to the capital to take on the indomitable Cruz Azul.  Surely, their fingers are crossed that the league’s best side will be resting some of their better players, to avoid injury.  On top of that, the visitors must then look for help from other matches.  Unlike Chiapas, San Luis will be happy if just one, rather than both between America and Santos slip up.  Further, if either of their rivals merely draws, it will be enough to see them through, provided they achieve the near impossible themselves and overcome Los Cementeros.

Meatballs

Okay, so there’s really no good Italian fast food which starts with the letter B.  I blame Sesame Street.

Still, it’s an absolute no brainer if you’re looking for the Serie A match of the week.  It’s the Milan Derby, which, with the build up coming in, is the match of the week for the entire planet.

Internazionale v AC Milan>>>Sunday

Inter ‘host’ this edition of the Milan Derby with the home pitch therefore properly designated as the Giuseppe Meazza.  However, after five years of Nerrazzurri supremacy, Calcio is now focused on the goings on at the San Siro.

All omens in this match point towards the Rossoneri, except for one... a Charmed One.

It is the Rossoneri who are flying high atop the table, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic manning the guns and ably backed up by the Brazilian trio of Ronaldhino, Robinho and young Alexandre Pato.  As well, Andrea Pirlo may still look older than pal Keith Richards but he’s playing more like he’s found the fountain of youth.  Kevin-Prince Boateng has been a strong presence, too, and the only downside for Milan entering the match, is the loss of elder statesman Pippo Inzaghi for what may be the entire season.

Rafa Benitez’ admitted this week that he hadn’t expected managing Inter to be such a challenge.  As I’ve already had my rant on this, I’ll be content just to say I told you so in this space.  Rafa does have injury and illness to contend with, as Walter Samuel’s knee injury has ended his campaign and Wesley Sneijder is questionable with anemia.

Inter are only three points off the pace being set by Milan but math isn’t the concern in the blue half of the city.  With a domestic attack more anemic than his midfielder and the defense singlehandedly exposed in the Champions League by a certain young Welshman, the Spaniard needs to win this match or any remaining confidence in his capabilities in the eyes of supporters (and possibly Massimo Moratti) will be eroded.

On the other side of the pitch, the mui mucho en fuego Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been circling this date on his calendar, in blood red, since he arrived at the San Siro.  He will be champing at the bit to be let loose on his former club, Sunday, and if Pirlo, Seedorf and Ronaldinho thought he was a bit greedy for service in the past, they had better not pass him up in this one.

♦   ◊   ♦

That’s it for this week’s tour.  The shuttle has safely landed.  You may unfasten your seat belts and disembark in an orderly fashion.  We’ll see you on Monday for the return trip!

On Tuesday, the most brilliant performances came from a pair of Eastern European sides but the two English clubs also shone.  Others of the big boys found the going a bit tougher, however.

For Luiz Adriano and Shakhtar, there may be a rock but they've yet to be stuck in a hard place.

Groups G & H find Chelsea, 2-0 winners over Olympique de Marseille, and Arsenal, 3-1 victors at Partizan Belgrade, atop their respective tables but neither is alone in their perfection.  Shakhtar Donetsk traveled cross-continent, with their 3-0 manhandling of Braga making the trip worthwhile.  Luiz Adriano doubled for the Ukrainians.  Meanwhile, Spartak Moscow defended Luzhniki Stadium against the invasion of MSK Zilina, again by a 3-0 count.  It was Ari who had the brace in this one.  Who says Brazilians can’t play in the cold weather?

Spartak’s 6 point lead over OM may not be as healthy as it looks, however.  The Russians face back to back encounters with Chelsea, while the French champions will look to take out their early frustrations on the lowly Slovakians.  Spartak will find it much more difficult to steal a result at Stamford Bridge than they did at the Velodrome.

The good side and the bad, for Bayern. (You can tell who's who by the shoes)

In Group E, Bayern remained perfect, with a 2-1 victory over FC Basel.  The Bavarians did have to come from behind, on the back of Bastian Schweinsteiger’s brace, after Alexander Frei had put the Swiss champs in front, early in the match.  Roma, fresh from their win over Inter, handled CFR-Cluj by the same 2-1 score.  They left it late, though, peppering the Cluj goal but unable to break through until Phillipe Mexes finally beat a stalwart Nuno Claro, on 69 minutes.  Super-sub Marco Borrielo, then struck, just 2 minutes after Mexes, but Ionut Rada pegged one back, with a 12 minutes still on the clock, to make it a nervous finish for the Italians.

The Group of Legends, aka G, is promising to be one of intrigue.  Real Madrid have staked an early claim to the top place but still struggled to find the goal, on this particular night against AJ Auxerre.  Cristiano Ronaldo was denied twice and Gonzalo Higuain saw a defender  turn back his close range effort, which had a beleaguered Olivier Sorin beaten.  Finally, with less than 10 minutes remaining, Angel di Maria struck a left footed volley which, mercifully for the Spaniards, found the far corner, beyond Sorin’s reach.  Until Los Meringues begin to finish with regularity, however, questions will continue to be asked of them.

Perspective is a funny thing. Ibra didn't look such a giant with Barca.

The other match in the group was played out at the Amsterdam Arena.  Luis Suarez gave the AC Milan defence fits all evening but his wonderful play, splitting Alessandro Nesta’s wickets and then laying off for Mounir al Hamdaoui to finish, gave Ajax the early lead.  Robinho had two chances to put the Rossonerri on the board but failed to finish both times.  It was Zlatan Ibrahimovic, proving with every match that last year’s struggles at Barca weren’t down to him, who brought Milan even.  His finish was pure and graceful power, as he chested a wild Clarence Seedorf delivery and, when the ball refused to settle, leapt into the air, to thunder it home.

In the late going, Robinho would again misfire, denying his club what would have been an important victory.  Unlike Ibra, it’s beginning to look like the Brazilians problems at previous clubs are solely of his own making.

On Wednesday the fireworks went off in Group A, while in Group D, Barca fizzled.

The other half of that famous deal has stepped up, as well.

Earlier in the week, Rafa Benitez found himself assuring the panicky Italian media that there was no crisis at Inter, after the club lost to Roma.  For once, Rafa didn’t cite facts.  Had he done so, he’d have simply pointed out that last year he was plying his trade in Liverpool, so if you want to talk crisis, well, there’s a way to go yet at the Giuseppe Meazza. (Just give him time.) After Samuel Eto’o had bagged himself a hat trick and set up Wesley Sneijder, with a perfect through ball, for another in a 4-0 pasting of visiting Werder Bremen, the managerial deathwatch in the Serie A was forced to look elsewhere for a potential victim.

Tottenham had an equally prolific evening, although the wealth was spread around a bit more judiciously.  Harry Redknapp played it wide open from the start and after some early threats, FC Twente proved unable to take advantage of a loose Spurs defence.  Rafael van der Vaart had a rather schizophrenic evening, missing an early penalty, one of three on the night gifted to the home club, then making amends with a splendid left footed volley to put his side ahead, before taking a second yellow, after arriving late to a mid-air collision with Rosales Roberto.  Even a man down, however, Spurs were not to be denied, with Roman Pavlyuchenko making good on his pair of PKs, on either side of a Nacer Chadii strike for the visitors.  Gareth Bale would wrap things up, charging in from the left, on 85 minutes to blaze one past Nikolay Mihaylov.

Enyeama does a lot of this for both club and country. Oh, and did I mention he takes PK's as well as stopping them?

In Group B, Schalke took their time in breaking down Benfica, at the Veltins-Arena.  Raul was running rampant all evening but couldn’t find the finishing touch.  Finally, Jefferson Farfan did.  To the right of goal, in the 73rd minute, he buried his chance to put the Germans on top.  Unrelenting, Raul would lead one more charge, sending Klass-Jan Huntelaar in alone to insure the victory.  In Israel, Vincent Enyeami, the Nigerian keeper put in another yeoman effort but was unable to stem the tide for an overmatched Hapoel Tel-Aviv.   The 3-1 defeat to Lyon belied his efforts, especially considering one of his own defenders clattered into him as he came out to smother a loose ball, leading to the final French tally.  Whatever his contract status, if he continues this display throughout the group stage, after a splendid World Cup, he may find himself the subject of much courting in the January window.  Rumours have it Arsenal are looking for an alternative to Manuel Almunia.

Just in case 6 officials aren't sufficient, Little Pea indicates where he has placed the ball.

As the Spanish night wore on, it looked as though neither Valencia nor Manchester United would capitalise on any of a handful of chances and United would continue on their run of scoreless draws.  Then, in the late going substitutes Federico Macheda and Javier Hernandez combined.  Macheda driving from the right sent a pass skittering across the top of the box, which Chicharito ran onto and lashed back against the grain, to give United all three points and a share of the group lead.  Rangers struck much earlier at the Ibrox, with James Naismith running in to flick in a stunning half volley on 18 minutes.  Although, they never looked to be in much danger, the Glaswegians wasted too many chances to put the game beyond doubt.  Still, they share top billing in the group with United ahead of a home and home with the Spaniards.

In the biggest surprise of the competition, it’s FC Copenhagen who find themselves atop Group D, with a perfect record.  After sneaking by Rubin Kazan, in Denmark, the Danes came to Athens, unintimidated by the big names their opponents could boast.

Tzorvas' tirade against his line translates into "pot, kettle, black."

Dame N’Doye, not to be confused with Dames Helen Mirren or Judi Doench, chased down a long ball, just before the half hour, arriving well before an adventurous but misguided Alexandros Tzorvas, the Panathanaikos net-minder, who, for some reason, thought he could get there first.  A well struck chip, from N’Doye, curled over the sliding keeper and bounced happily into goal.  Not ten minutes had passed when Martin Vingaard scorched the turf with his free kick.  Somehow, it found its way under the wall and past a surprised Tzorvas.  His angry remonstrations brought him some cold looks from his defenders; no wonder, given his own gaffe, earlier.

Noboa and Rubin Kazan have the Catalans' number

Barcelona, meanwhile, will have work to do against the Danish champs, having once again failed to deal with Russian holders, Rubin Kazan.  Each side converted a penalty, like clockwork, Christian Noboa on the half hour and David Villa on the hour but no one stepped up at the death to decide this one.  Every Goliath has a David and for Barca it would seem to be Rubin Kazan.

Once again, time and space demand that we give the Europa League results the Siskel & Ebert treatment.  So without further ado…

Thumbs up to Lech Poznan (2-0 Red Bull Salzburg), topping Group A with 6 points, Juventus (1-1 at Man City), Sporting Lisbon (5-0 Levski Sofia), BATE Borisov (4-1 AZ Alkmaar), Zenit St. Petersburg (4-2 AEK Athens) and CSKA Moscow (3-0 Sparta Praha).

Thumbs down to Atletico Madrid (1-1 Bayer Leverkusen), a tough match to be sure but the holders needed to take all 3 points at home to get out of the cellar.  Also, were Liverpool (0-0 at FC Utrecht), Napoli (3-3 at Steaua Bucuresti), Getafe (0-2 at Young Boys) and Dynamo Kiev (0-2 at Sheriff Tirsapol).

And with that, on to the weekend fare:

Andrew Gibney

Andrew Gibney

Scottish Premier League

Hearts v Rangers

After a great European result midweek Rangers will look to continue their run when they visit Tynecastle for this weekend’s early kick-off. A win for Hearts could give their inconsistent season the kick start it needs. It’s been wo years since Hearts last routed an Edinburgh invasion by the Glasgow giants.  To do so, on Saturday, stopping Kenny Miller from adding to his ten league goals must be their priority.

St. Johnstone v Hibernian

John Hughes’ Hibs side travel to Perth, in what is a must win game for the underachieving Edinburgh side.  Anything but a win could see Hughes out of a job and his team languishing dangerously near the foot of the table. A decent performance against Celtic last week will give the Hibees hope.  St. Johnstone sit 11th in the league and in need of some hope of their own.  Three points would give them a healthy dose.  Last week’s defeat, to Dundee United, had followed a good run of two wins, both at McDiarmid Park, so the home crowd will be in full throat, to restore their side’s momentum.  English forward Sam Parkin will be looking to add to his two league goals and pile the pressure on John Hughes and the Hibernian board.

Chris Mann

Chris Mann

League One

Southampton v Bournemouth…Saturday

An underrated rivalry, passions will be running high when Southampton and Bournemouth meet at St Mary’s Stadium this weekend. Although Nigel Adkins’ side will start the game as favourites, The Saints have had an indifferent start to the campaign and, should Eddie Howe’s high-flying Bournemouth continue in the excellent fashion in which they’ve been playing, there’s no reason why they can’t take all three points. It will be a highly-charged game on the South Coast.

La Liga

Real Madrid v Deportivo La Coruna…Sunday

The pressure on Jose Mourinho has been ramped up in the last few days with a lacklustre 0-0 draw with Levante last weekend, a shaky 1-0 win over Auxerre in mid-week and an ugly spat with midfielder Pedro Leon, so the onus is on Madrid to produce a good performance against Deportivo on Sunday night. Depor, however, are in an even stickier situation than their illustrious opponents, languishing in 19th place and yet to register a win in the league despite a smattering of quality throughout the squad. Madrid should win this game, particularly at the Bernabeu, but should they somehow contrive to miss out on victory the pressure on their coach will reach torturous levels.

Fabricio Presilli

Fab Presilli

Campeonato Brasileiro 27th round

In Brazil most of the games will be played Saturday because we will have presidential elections Sunday.

Cruzeiro v Atlético Paranaense

Two smoking hot teams. Cruzeiro are trying to keep pace with leaders Fluminense and Corinthians, while Atlético needs a win to get closer to a top three spot.

Botafogo v Flamengo

A derby in Rio. Champion Flamengo is dangeroulsy close to the relegation zone, not a good season for them.  All year, they’ve struggled to find forwards. Botafogo is favoured but history shows they don’t usually deliver against rivals.

Argentina Apertura 9th Round

San Lorenzo v Estudiantes…Sunday

Estudiantes took the lead, in the table, with a win this week.  San Lorenzo are sitting third. If Juan Sebastian Veron’s club get the win they’ll be a confortable distance ahead of chasers Velez and River. At stake are places in the next Copa Libertadores.

Geoff Edwards

Geoff Edwards

Bundesliga

Borussia Dortmund v Bayern Munich…Sunday

At times, during their midweek Champions League victory at Basel, Bayern were unplayable, a shining example of high class, possession football. But the problem remains, Bayern are struggling to create enough chances to see off more limited opponents, and, when you have defenders prone to mishaps, that can prove very costly. It will be interesting to see how Louis van Gaal approaches the game. Will he stick with his trusted 4-2-3-1, or go with the 4-4-2 that brought about victory in Switzerland?

There are no such problems for van Gaal’s opposite number Juergen Klopp. Dortmund are settled in their system and personnel and are in top form. They will not be downhearted by their unlucky midweek defeat to Sevilla and, roared on as always by the ‘Yellow Wall,’ will prove a stern test for Bayern.

Martin Palazzotto

Martin Palazzotto

The MLS Weekend

As the US top flight enters the final month of the regular season, the top spots, in both the Eastern and Western Conferences are up for grabs.

In the east, on Sunday, the Red Bulls host the Kansas City Wizards.  KC, even if they can pull off the improbable, will need some help from Columbus, who welcome the San Jose Earthquakes to Crew Stadium.  The ‘Quakes sit in the last playoff spot, 6 points ahead of the Wizards but, more importantly, the home side are just 1 point ahead of the Red Bulls for the top seed in the east and can’t afford to slip up.  These two matches have the potential for being defining moments in the season for each of the clubs involved.

Champions Real Salt Lake journey to the Atlantic coast, on Sunday, to take on New England.  The down and out Revs’ pride might motivate them to put a dent in RSL’s plans for overtaking the Galaxy.  FC Dallas, still very much in the frame for top honours, host the slumping Chicago Fire.  The big money moves (by MLS standards) for Freddie Ljungberg and Nery Castillo haven’t paid immediate dividends and the Fire’s playoff aspirations have been smothered.  The Hoops aren’t the type to take wounded prey too lightly, however.

On Monday, it’s the Super Clasico.  The front running LA Galaxy are technically visitors, in their own stadium, as they take on Home Depot Center tenants, Chivas USA.  The Goats, in the ersatz relegation zone, will definitely be up to playing the spoiler role.

Mexican Apertura

Group 2 remains the main battleground in the Primera Division.  With one playoff berth available to three teams, there are no off weeks for the sides involved.

Santos Laguna v Toluca…Sunday

Los Diablos Rojos top the group but face a tough test against Santos, who have fallen into the wildcard spot, one point behind Monterrey.

Cruz Azul v Club America…Sunday

A capital city derby.  America will have an even larger challenge than Toluca, as Cruz Azul are running away with Group 3.  already a point behind their rivals, the Blue and Gold absolutely must get a result.

San Luis v Tigres…Sunday

The Gladiadores are hanging around, just two points behind Toluca, and have the easiest of the three matches this weekend.  As well, they’re the only ones at home.  Tigres may be out of the race in Group 1 but they aren’t pushovers, having 12 points to San Luis’ 13.

Serie A

Internazionale v Juventus…Sunday

Could there be any other match to highlight the Italian top flight this weekend?  Not only is this a fierce rivalry, furthered by the continuing investigation into the influencing of match officials, now focused on the Nerrazzurri.  Both sides are coming off big results in Europe, Juve drawing at Man City and Samuel Eto’o, enjoying the purest of form, personally dismantling Werder Bremen.  As well, Inter will be intent on returning to winning ways on the domestic front, after their Roman holiday, last week, turned sour.

Tapesh Patel

Tapesh Patel

The Premiership

Chelsea v Arsenal…Sunday

This one’s the pick of the bunch this weekend. Both sides have made solid starts to the season, and although the Chelsea bandwagon had more momentum a week ago, the brakes have been applied after defeats to Manchester City and Newcastle were followed by a stuttering win over a struggling Marseille outfit. The Gunners have also suffered in the league of late, having failed to complete a seemingly impossible comeback against West Brom.

Although it’s still early days, both sides know the importance of this one and, as such, this will be a tightly contested affair.  These two have scored 37 league goals between them this season, however, and with so much talent on show, it’s a match that shouldn’t be missed.

West Bromwich Albion v Bolton…Saturday

Strange things are happening at West Brom. Those in the know are mentioning the Midlands club in the same breath as ‘survival hopefuls.’ Manager Roberto di Matteo seems to have brought out the best in his squad at the moment, and striker Peter Odemwingie currently looks to be the Premiership goal-scorer that the Baggies have lacked in recent years.

Up at Bolton, Owen Coyle has changed the mentality of his side, and boasts a surprise striker himself, with Johan Elmander starting to justify his hefty transfer fee. The Trotters like to please the fans,  too, which should make this a good spectacle.

The Championship

Preston v Reading…Saturday

Preston have struggled mightily this season, but followed up a win against Coventry City, last weekend, with a remarkable 6-4 fight back against Leeds, on Tuesday, having been 4-1 down. North End will hope to maintain their goal-scoring threat against an in-form Reading side possessing a miserly defence; the Royals have kept four clean sheets in their last five games.

Ligue 1

St. Etienne v Marseille…Saturday

Marseille, having won the Ligue 1 title last season, are looking to repeat this time around. After a poor start to the season, they’ve managed to recover and are now unbeaten in five matches. Didier Deschamps takes the plaudits for this but, now, must attempt to reverse Tuesday’s poor display against Chelsea.

OM are up against a Saint-Etienne side sitting proudly atop the league, fresh off defeating local rivals Lyon, last weekend. They will certainly be a tough nut to crack if that match was anything to go by.  Dmitri Payet, whose stock is quickly rising in French football with seven goals in the first seven games, leads the way for Les Verts.

…

It’s certainly going to be a busy weekend, so catch what you can and join us back here on Tuesday to review whatever you missed.  In the meantime, here’s another quick lesson for the kids.  Soccer is played with a big round ball.  Keep your eye on it.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjvYj56JLow

And there’s a lesson for Alex Tzorvas.  Your teammates are your friends.  Sometimes an apology and a high five are more effective than screaming at them.

See you on Tuesday!

The Premier League absolutely went off on Saturday.  If you put some bob down on the underdogs, across the board, you should be able to take the missus out for dinner this week!

West Bromwich Albion went into the Emirates and came away with a stunning 3-2 victory.  Manuel Almunia was very shaky, definitely misplaying one goal that shouldn’t have been and not looking too well on another.  Although his manager and captain stand by him, others are calling for his head.  The Spaniard apparently took a knock on the elbow and won’t be available for the CL trip to Partizan Belgrade.  Instead, Lukasz Fabianski will be given a chance to state his case.

Robert Green demonstrates, to the Upton Park press box, the proper method for rolling up one's sleeve before putting on a goalkeeper's glove.

Another goalkeeper who’s been in a slump put in a stellar performance at Upton Park.  Robert Green absolutely stoned Tottenham, who dominated the run of play, and Frederic Piquionne  headed home the only goal of the match, on the half hour, handing Harry Redknapp his first loss against his former club.  The Hammers must keep banging away, however, to escape the relegation zone.  When all was said and done, Green let his feelings for the press be known, with a simple, if unkind, gesture.

Man City boss Roberto Mancini conceded the league title to visitors Chelsea on Friday, laying on a thick layer of syrup in commenting on his admiration for their squad, while lamenting his own injury troubles at the back.  His side then took the pitch at the Eastlands and proceeded to pancake the Blues on the strength of City captain Carlos Tevez’ trademark bull run punctuated by a thundering shot which escaped a diving Petr Cech.

On Sunday, Man United failed to take full advantage, faced with the opportunity to close the gap with Chelsea to a single point, if they could overcome Owen Coyle’s Bolton, on the road at the Stade de Reebok.  Unfortunately Wayne Rooney was still a pale version of the FIFA 11 Roo, which he’s been shilling in ubiquitous style, of late..  Dimitar Berbatov wasn’t able to duplicate his form from the Liverpool match, either, and it was left to Michael Owen to come on late and save a point for United.  As it stands, Chelsea remain a victory ahead of Fergie’s boys and Rooney has been ruled out of the CL  showdown at the Mestalla, against La Liga leaders Valencia.  He has an ankle injury and, with his form gone walkabout and the maelstrom surrounding his private life, it may be a good thing to let him sit for more than just the one match.  If Berbatov and Owen can continue to shine, it may be the fuel Rooney needs to rediscover the combativeness that has deserted him.

In Germany, Bayern lost at home to Mainz.  If you were told that, after the fixtures were played out, only one of the Bundesliga and Premier League’s pair of 100% clubs would maintain their record, would you have chosen the O-Fives?  Well, you can book’em, Danno!  Unless they’re now the O-sixes.  Meanwhile, Bayern president Karl-Heinz Rummenigge isn’t sweating the 10 point deficit the loss opened up for his club.  He promptly signed coach Louis van Gaal to a one year extension of his existing contract.  Rumminegge likes to do things his way.  Said the prez, “After a victory, anyone could renew a contract.”  Of course, I’m sure he informed van Gaal that he wouldn’t fire him should he go out and win a few matches.  He did do that, right?

In Spain, newly promoted Levante pulled off a scoreless draw against Jose Mourinho’s Madrid.  Sooner or later, Real will hit their stride and they have taken points from every match, this term.  Still, even 99% isn’t good enough at the Bernabeu.  Meanwhile, Sevilla went down to Hercules, 2-0.  When you think about it, they did no worse than Barcelona but that was no consolation to Antonio Alvarez, who was given his walking papers after the match.  Los Rojiblancos moved quickly to sign former Mallorca boss Gregorio Manzano, who did enough with the islanders, last year, to qualify them for Europe, had they been able to keep their finances in order.

To catch you up on the best of the rest of the weekend results, here’s the WFC gang:

Chris Mann

Chris Mann

Athletic Bilbao 1 – 3 Barcelona, La Liga

In the preview, I wrote that Bilbao could make things difficult for Barcelona, in the cauldron that is San Mames, and although the scoreline may not suggest so, Joaquin Caparros’ team gave a good account of themselves. An early red card, for centre-back Fernando Amorbieta, made things nigh on insurmountable for the hosts but they more than held their own for long periods of the game, Barca’s passing eventually (and somewhat inevitably) getting the better of them. After their blip against Hercules, Pep Guardiola’s side look to be hitting something approaching their stride.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DT3m1HqMdUY

Fabricio Presilli

Fab Presilli

Santos 4 – 1 Cruzeiro, Campeonato Brasileiro

A big statement by wonder-kid Neymar.  Santos’s third goal was stunning and the kid pounded Cruzeiro’s slow defense all night. At the last gasp, Neymar showed why he is now the owner of the team, latching onto the ball and dribbling through three defenders, to score the fourth goal.

Both teams are in the mix, now, for a top 5 finish.

..

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1VViDWOajo

Internacional 3 – 2 Corinthians, Campeonato Brasileiro

A remarkable win, through a lucky goal in injury time. Corinthians has the best all around team in the counry, right now.  Look for their midfield to be in the national team in a years time.  Elias and Jucilei are playing amazing football. However Inter also have some good players and showed why they still can be considered a contender, even with a trip to Abu Dhabi in the way, at season’s end.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5ijO936tZc

Geoff Edwards

Geoff Edwards

FC Bayern 1 – 2 FSV Mainz 05 — Bundesliga

Mainz amazingly kept up their 100% record with a fully deserved victory over the Bavarians. Despite Bayern expectedly dominating posession, they couldn’t penetrate often enough and went down to two beautifully worked goals from Sami Allagui and Adam Szalai. Mainz are now 1 win short of a Bundesliga record start to a season. If they can keep their squad fit, surely a European place is not beyond them.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIdpkYaqaHo

Werder Bremen 3 – 2 Hamburger SV — Bundesliga

A classic, end to end derby, at the Weserstadion, saw the home side run out victorious, with a late winner from Hugo Almeida. Bremen had gone 2-0 ahead before the break through a Guy Demel o.g. and Almeida, but Hamburg, driven on by substitute Jonathan Pitroipa, came out fighting in the 2nd half and levelled it up at 2-2. Then, in the dying minutes, Piotr Trochowski lost out in a challenge with Daniel Jensen, allowing Claudio Pizarro and Wesley’s combination to set up Almeida for the winner. That’s 2 defeats in a row now for Hamburg; they’ll be looking for a win next week, just to stay in touch with the leading pack. For Bremen, it was a great confidence booster before their midweek Champions League game at Inter.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOatfKGoGZE

Martin Palazzotto

Martin Palazzotto

LA Galaxy 0 – 2 NY Red Bull, MLS

The Home Depot Center was rocking for this match between the two marquee franchises in the league.  The Red Bull were without Thierry Henry and Chris Albright, through injury and the Galaxy missed Omar Gonzalez, who was suspended.  With the early success of Mehdi Ballouchy, Henry’s absence was not as significant as it might have been.  In the 35th minute, Dane Richards beat the Galaxy’s back side defender to a loose ball on the back post and put the visitor’s ahead.  It was all they would need, as keeper Bouna Coundoul was in tremendous form.  Just before the hour mark, though, Richards was pulled down in the box and captain Juan Pablo Angel buried the penalty to settle matters.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVKhqA1Rrto

The real fireworks came in the bowels of the Home Depot Centrer, after the match, however.  David Beckham, largely ineffective in his first start since recovering from an inured achilles tendon, confronted a fan, who had been heckling him over the allegations of infedility put forth in the media, by a prostitute.  Here’s the video, courtesy of Tiny Pic.  I have to say that I agree with Matchfit USA’s Jason Davis, who summed up the incident perfectly.

America 3 – 2  Santos Laguna, Mexican Apertura

The Azteca was rocking, in the first half, anyway.  Two of the best goalkeepers in Mexico, Memo Ochoa, of America, and Oswaldo Sanchez, of Santos, were between the posts for this clash but that didn’t stop the early onslaught.  Christian Benitez opened the scoring, for Santos, on 4 minutes.  Twenty minutes in, Vicente Sanchez equalised and then Vicente Vuoso’s brace, on either side of the half hour, put the hosts in front.  Fernando Arce pegged one back before the break but from then on the keepers showed their mettle.  Ochoa held off the opposition for a much needed 3 points, for Club America, in the table but Oswaldo Sanchez’ heroics at the other end kept Santos’ hopes of a spoiler result alive until the death.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88ZfvMf_ick

The most important question to ask of this match, though, was what was up with the fashion choices of the two managers?  Is it National Sopranos week in the Primera Liga?

AS Roma 1 – 0 Internazionale

Claudio Ranieri is still gainfully employed, mostly thanks to substitute Mirko Vucinic.  Why the dangerous Montenegran wasn’t on the pitch from the start of such an important match, I’m not sure, but he made his limited time count, in spades.  Having come on for a disgruntled Francesco Totti, Vucinic dashed into the box, outhustling two Inter defenders and launching himself like a missile, to head in a Daniele de Rossi cross.  The expression of disgust on Rafa Benitez’ face, when the ball found twine, was well worth the price of admission.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuCVajWPtOc

Totti, the Roma captain, was not on the sideline to see the goal, having gone directly into the dressing room, in a sulk.   On the one hand, his petulance doesn’t set a great example for the team he leads.  On the other, he has given his all for the only club at which he has ever played.  He is clearly on his last legs but his pride will not let him see it and his love and loyalty blinds the fans to it, as well.   Roma’s struggles are not all down to Totti, not by a mile, but Ranieri is still in a very difficult position.  He is the one who must make a very unpopular decision, if his captain won’t.

Tapesh Patel

Tapesh Patel

Lyon 0-1 Saint-Etienne, Ligue 1

Claude Puel’s Lyon huffed and puffed, but despite 28 shots on goal, they could not blow Saint-Etienne’s house down. On another day, they may well have taken all 3 points from this one. Les Gones dominated the play, and were denied three times by the woodwork and twice by goal line clearances from Dmitri Payet.

Incidentally, it was Payet who popped up with the winner with 75 minutes gone, curling a 25-yard free kick beyond Hugo Lloris to take his tally to seven goals in seven games, and give Les Verts their first victory in this derby for 17 long years.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6WkbqK6ugg

Leeds 1- 0 Sheffield United, The Championship

In the presence of a crowd that most Premiership sides would be proud of (33,622), this became a tight affair that neither side wanted to lose. The match really sprang to life in the last 10 minutes, though.

First, Bradley Johnson converted the pullback of Robert Snodgrass to put his side ahead. Snodgrass was then dismissed after receiving a second yellow card, which was harsh to say the least. There was more to come, however, as Johnny Ertl headed against the bar, for the Blades, well beyond the 90th minute and enough time remained for Jamie Ward to be sent off, afterwards.

Leeds have now climbed all the way to 5th in the table, right in the middle of the playoff race.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4kVTALZtKg

Matt & Roman

The Scouser Report w/ Matt Dalton & Roman

I’m pretty well known, round my way, for being an eternally optimistic soul, sometimes misguidedly so.  This weekend was another of those occasions, as both halves of Liverpool disappointed once more. It’s difficult to imagine a league table with Everton rooted to the foot and Liverpool hovering just above the relegation zone but that is exactly what we are confronted with.

With regards to Everton, I wouldn’t be particularly worried; they are well known for being slow starters and I am sure that none of the players will want to upset David Moyes for too long!  The red men of Liverpool however are offering up what can only be described as a worryingly poor sequence of results; it is not since the days of Graeme Souness that I have seen a side so lacking in inspiration and desire.

Both Everton and Liverpool drew this weekend, but I suspect that the Blues will be slightly happier with their point, at Craven Cottage against a resolute Fulham side, than their Red counterparts will be, with what will surely be seen as another two points dropped at home to Sunderland. Liverpool can count themselves very lucky to have gotten their point, after a farcical opening goal from Dirk Kuyt and a superbly taken Steven Gerrard header, from a deflection off Michael Turner, combined to cancel out Darren Bent’s double.

It’s not a time for crisis at either club, yet, but the longer the situation continues at Anfield, with the American owners, the more one must fear for their future.

..

And that’s that.  Keep an eye out, this week, for Fab Presilli’s take on the Neymar situation, at Santos, and for Eliot Rothwell’s second entry in the Wannabe Diary, as he takes behind the scenes at Bloomfield Road.  Talk about minefields, when you get Ian Holloway and Big Sam Allardyce in one place at the same time, things are bound to get combustible.

We’ll leave with a suggestion, from Chicago Fire fans, of what to do when your club is in the tank and you have to entertain yourself while at the stadium.  No word on what size batteries were required to operate the jumbo sized Gameboy.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epQdreYwO5s

See you at week’s end!

wrap it up

In England, several major clubs discovered trip wires on the pitch, when they ventured into Carling Cup action on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Manchester City took an early lead through Jo, at the Hawthorns, but fell 2-1 to West Brom and Everton went down at Brentford on penalty kicks.  Meanwhile, having received no telephone calls from Chelsea, Real Madrid or Inter Milan, Sam Allardyce led his Blackburn Rovers into Villa Park.  Considering that these two clubs met in the semi-finals of the competition, last season,  Big Sam had to be  both dismayed and wary at meeting Villa this early.  Those fears would be realised when the  sure (?) foot of Emile Heskey brought Gerard Houllier level in his first match as manager, after Gael Givet had gifted Rovers the lead.  Ashley Young would wrap the match up with a brace, although there was no joyful embrace like the one he offered the departing Kevin MacDonald in the Villans last outing.

Roy has found himself apologising so often, he must be glad he isn't Japanese.

The big bangs occurred at Anfield and Stamford Bridge.

Milan Jovanovic opened his Liverpool account against Northampton, on 9 minutes, but the Reds didn’t do much else.  Shortly after the restart, Billy McKay brought the Cobblers even and in the 98th minute Michael Jacobs made the upset look like a shoe-in.  David Ngog gave the Kop hope at the death, however, only for Nathan Ecclestone to miss from the spot, gifting Northampton the victory on penalties.

At Stamford Bridge, Chelsea’s breakneck momentum was brought to an abrupt halt by visiting Newcastle.  Patrick van Aanholt’s first Chelsea goal lost some of its glow when Nile Ranger and Ryan Taylor struck, 5 minutes apart, to put Toon in front going into the break.  Afterwards, Shola Amoebi’s brace cancelled out Nicolas Anelka’s but it was injury which did in the Blues. Having used two substitutes at the restart, Salomon Kalou’s hamstring pull, followed by Yossi Benayoun turning his ankle,  forced Chelsea into playing much of the half shorthanded and it ultimately cost them the match.

In Italy, Roma continued its dismal start losing 2-1 at Brescia and Napoli did likewise, crashing 1-3 at home to red hot Chievo.  Having read the press the riot act, last week, for pushing the panic button on Roma’s season, Claudio Ranieri may find himself perusing the want ads next, if he can’t get the Wolves back on the scent.

Bari went to the Guiseppe Meazza, on Wednesday, feeling pretty good about their own start.  Any delusions of grandeur quickly went up in smoke, however, as Inter blazed 4 goals past Jean Francois Gillet.  Samuel Eto’o remained in form, striking for two and his tallies were bookended by Diego Milito, setting straight the critics of his early season profligacy.

On Thursday, there was another upset, of sorts, as Palermo trounced Juve 3-1 for their first win of the season.  The Old Lady has only 4 points in as many matches and has conceded 10 goals already.  The only thing keeping Luigi Del Neri employed is a 4-0 pasting of bottom feeding Udinese.

The hair should have been the first clue.

In Brazil, the explosions came off the pitch.  Santos gave coach Dorival Junior the sack this week for refusing to back down on his suspension of teenaged star Neymar.  The youngster, who famously turned his back on a £23m bid from Chelsea, was piqued that Junior refused to allow him to take a penalty after being hauled down in the box.  He then turned his back on the successful effort of his teammate and proceeded to lace into his coach in front of the crowd, the press and television cameras.  The club’s board wanted their young star back on the pitch, with some important matches in the offing, and when the manager let it be known he felt his authority was being undermined, he duly found out that he was, in fact, correct.  If it’s any consolation to the departed, Junior’s opinion was echoed by national coach Mano Manezes, who left Neymar out of his squad for Brazil’s upcoming friendlies and was forthright about his reasons.

We’ve lived troubled moments in the past, and we want to keep problems out of the national team at this point. We believe it’s important to send this message out for everybody to have in mind the way we work. We want to leave clear the line we have chosen to manage this group. – Mano Manezes on Neymar’s disciplinary issues

Translation — We already have enough Ronaldinhos, Robinhos and Adrianos.  What we’re looking for is a few more Kakas and Lucios, kid.  So don’t call us, we’ll call you.

Since they seem to be of like mind on how young players should be brought along, one wonders if there’s room on Manezes’ staff for Dorival.  One also wonders what awaits down the road for Santos, now that their precocious youngster has had a taste of power.  Who will he turn his back on next?

The immediate question, though, is will there be more fireworks and nasty plot twists on the weekend?  The stage is set for some and our intrepid crew of WFC writers is here to tell you about them.

Chris Mann

Chris Mann

Athletic Bilbao v Barcelona, La Liga…Saturday

Barca’s unforeseen defeat to Hercules aside, both teams have enjoyed relatively painless starts to the season, sitting in sixth and third place respectively. Although Pep Guardiola’s side overcame Sporting Gijon on Wednesday, without the recently injured Lionel Messi, the Argentine’s absence could have more of a pronounced impact at San Mames on Saturday. With Athletic the top scorers during the season’s nascent stages and Fernando Llorente enjoying an excellent run of form, Barcelona will have to be at their best to overcome the strength of their hosts and the vibrant atmosphere that the Basque supporters always generate.

Fabricio Presilli

Fab Presilli

Campeonato Brasileiro – 25th round

Santos vs Cruzeiro…Saturday

After a tumultuous week, with the firing of coach Dorival Junior, for refusing to back off his disciplining of wonder kid Neymar, Santos’ boys faced a tough opponent.  With their club rising up the championship table, Cruzeiro’s Argetinian duo, Ernesto Farias and Walter Montillo, are making goals and headlines.

Internacional vs Corinthians…Sunday

The Libertadores Champions are still trying to get to the top of the table nationally, and Corinthians place is up for grabs with a shaky record on the road. Ronaldo is healthy and expected to play and fellow senior citizen Roberto Carlos has been one of Timão’s best players.

Geoff Edwards

Geoff Edwards

Bayern Munich v FSV Mainz 05, Bundesliga…Saturday

Who would have predicted FSV Mainz to be top of the table with 5 wins out of 5?  I certainly didn’t, but that’s where they are. Mainz coach Thomas Tuchel, not so long ago tending bar to fund his studies, now being hailed as the ‘German Mourinho,’ has given Mainz’s young team and its fans the chance to dream of bigger things.

What better place for those young dreams to be cruelly crushed than the Bayern’s Allianz Arena. The Bavarians have had a stuttering start to the season, struggling to break down opposing defenders. But, ominously, they are coming off the back of a trademark last-gasp win at Hoffenheim and will be confident of victory despite Franck Ribery’s month-long injury lay-off. It won’t be a cakewalk however. In Andre Schuerrle, Lewis Holtby and Marcel Risse, Mainz have a trio of in-form young forwards capable of inflicting real damage on Bayern’s sometimes dodgy defence.

Werder Bremen v Hamburger SV, Bundesliga…Saturday

The ‘Nordderby’ is one of the most eagerly awaited rivalries on the German football calendar. Bremen are in the middle of a small crisis, coming off the back of 2 abject defeats to Mainz and Hannover 96. With their defence reaching new levels of incompetence and the lack of rhytm in attack, following the loss of Mesut Ozil, Bremen will have to improve drastically to beat their great rivals who, despite their midweek loss at home to Wolfsburg, have had a decent start to the season.

Tapesh Patel

Tapesh Patel

Lyon vs. Saint-Etienne, Ligue 1…Saturday

You really couldn’t write this. Saint-Etienne finished in 17th place last season  and Olympique Lyonnais second. Yet now the minnows are topping the league with six games gone. The last time St. Etienne won the league was in 1981, when some fellow named Michel Platini led the side.  They may not win the league, but the foundations are set for a great season. Take Dmitri Payet for example, who has now scored six in six, continuing a fine run which may lead him into the national side.

Les Verts success has taken a lot of the customary attention away from local rivals Lyon. Les Gones will be desperately hoping for a win, as the ironic 16-place gap between the two sides almost looks larger than the 60km that separates them geographically. Manager Claude Puel may be fearing for his job if reports are to be believed. The best remedy for all of the negative press? A victory in the Rhône Derby. This one is perfectly poised.

Leeds United vs. Sheffield United, The Championship…Saturday

Another derby, this one in the colder climate of Yorkshire. A bumper crowd of 35,000 is expected to watch what should be a fiery encounter at Elland Road. Gary Speed returns to his former club as manager after the sacking of Kevin Blackwell last month.   The Blades will be optimistic for a win, in the absence of Leeds goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel.

Martin Palazzotto

Martin Palazzotto

Los Angeles Galaxy v New York Red Bull, MLS…Friday

Some gossip rag has run a story that David Beckham cheated on his wife all the way back in 2007.  It’s America, so naturally Becks is suing for libel.  He has a much better chance of winning here than he would at home.  That said, he also has a much better chance of winning on the pitch than he does in court.

It’s a battle between the two biggest clubs in the league, with the Galaxy sitting atop the table and New York, currently 5th.   The Red Bulls will be without Thierry Henry, who although legitimately injured, will probably be decorating his new $9M Manhattan penthouse, complete with its own bamboo forest.  Wow, isn’t American soccer beginning to sound more like the English game?

America v Santos Laguna, Mexican Apertura…Sunday

In Group 3, of the three group alignment in the Primera Division, Cruz Azul are in fact cruising, 10 points in front.  In Group 1, Monterrey and Santos share the lead at 18 points and are 5 points ahead of any second place club.  As long as they maintain their pace, one of them will take the wildcard spot in the playoffs.  Which means that the battle for Group 2 between Toluca (13), San Luis (13) and Club America (12) is the only current point of contention in the league.  Having given up the top spot to Toluca last week, America welcome Santos to the capital.  This is not the club you want to see coming out of the visitor’s clubhouse when you absolutely need a result.

AS Roma v Internazionale, Serie A…Saturday

Last season, these two clubs fought it out tooth and nail for both the Scudetto and Coppa d’Italia.  Inter took all the honours but the departure of Jose Mourinho left the Nerrazzurri in a state of flux and, as some (including yours truly) thought, vulnerability.  Rafa Benitez seems to have settled the side to his liking, however, with a 4-0 deconstruction of Bari, which saw Diego Milito finally find his scoring touch.  On the other hand, Roma is in chaos at the moment.  Claudio Ranieri is sniping at the press, his side can’t manufacture a result and there are rumors of a ghost in a toga, crowned with a laurel branch, wandering the bowels of Stadio Olimpico, playing a dirge on a violin.  This match may well define Roma’s season and a loss may end the Reign of Ranieri.

Matt and Roman

The Scouser Report with Matt Dalton & Roman

It’s been a pretty embarrassing week to be a Scouser, what with Everton and Liverpool both being royally embarrassed at the hands of Brentford and Northampton respectively. This weekend sees Everton travel to Craven Cottage to take on Mark Hughes’ Fulham, whilst Liverpool will be entertaining, and I use the term very lightly, Sunderland.

Both sides of Stanley Park will be desperate for not only points but convincing performances.  Normally, these would be clubs that they would fancy their chances against. No offence to Sunderland or Fulham, but they are not of the same quality as the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United and should provide a good opportunity to get some confidence back in times of trouble.  That is not to say that either will be an easy game.  Last season, a beachball proved how tricky it can be to face Sunderland and Fulham haven’t let anyone kick sand in their face for a while now.

After the complete disaster of midweek, I am going to put my neck on the line.  Things have to get better some time for both the Reds and the Blues of Merseyside and this is the weekend it will happen. Liverpool to win 2-0, Everton to scrape an injury time winner to take a 2-1 result back home.

..

Well, that about wraps it up.  If any of you are wondering where Eliot Rothwell is, after his big Premier league debut last week, he hasn’t ditched us just yet.  Instead of weighing in on Catch Them If You Can, Eliot will be treating us to an insider’s look at Premiership weekends, in his new series, Diary Of A Wannabe Journalist.  As well as a birds-eye view of a different match each week and the free food which comes with it, Eliot will be rubbing elbows, literally, if the seating in the press box at Goodison Park is consistent with the rest of the league, with the likes of Phil McNulty, Tony Barrett and whether he likes it or not, Henry Winter.  So keep a weather eye for Eliot’s entries each week!

See you after the weekend!

We’ll start off with some quick injury updates.

No, Arsene, we don't care what Pep says, they're not holding hands.

In the Premier League, Cesc Fabregas placed his shin directly in front of an attempted Sunderland clearance.  The good news: the ball caromed off the Catalan’s leg and into the goal to give the Gunners a temporary lead.  The bad news:  the impact caused a mild twinge in Cesc’s hammy, which will see him miss the next three matches.  First van Persie, now Fabregas… another Arsenal season following the usual script.

In Spain, a tense battle between Barcelona and Atleti almost turned ugly when los Colchoneros midfielder Tomas Ujfalusi stomped on Lionel Messi’s ankle.  That drew the offender a second yellow and an early trip into the bowels of the Vicente Calderon.  Reports out of Barcelona, today, are saying that it’s merely a light sprain and the Argentine will only miss two games.  Like as not, Pep Guardiola will be sending Messi back to London, to play a little backgammon with Cesc and remind him, for the 7,931st time, how he really should be playing at the Nou Camp.

Well, &%$@ing himself was an apt description.

Thankfully, Arsene Wenger has been distracted from losing his star player yet again, having been charged by the FA for spewing vitriol at the fourth official when Kenwyne Jones equalised at the death.  The Frenchman was incensed that the match was still running at 94:15 when only 4 minutes had been put up by Martin (don’t call me Bean) Atkinson.  On the one hand, it seems silly to quibble about 15 seconds but when you consider that United escaped a final attack-in-progress against the Toffees last week, when the ref , to the fury of David Moyes, blew his whistle exactly on the mark despite 2 goals having been scored in added time, Wenger does seem to have cause.  Ultimately though, the Gunners’ boss has been around long enough to know that Premier League referees have always applied the rules of the game with the consistency of a David Beckham hairstyle.

Bouncing back to Spain again, it turns out that Jose Mourinho will be devoting his full concentration to Real Madrid.  While FPF president Gilberto Madail did feel out the Special One, to see whether he’d be interested in helping out the national cause until a permanent replacement for the sacked Carlos Queiroz is found, he seemed unwilling to follow up with Real president Florentino Perez.  Mourinho was quoted as being honoured to be asked and willing to help out but morally incapable of asking the Real board for permission to moonlight, even temporarily.  Madrid, for its part released a statement indicating that, as neither the FPF nor Mourinho had approached them, as far as they were concerned the matter was closed.

So, if all accounts are to be believed, the Madail/Mourinho meeting went something like this:

Gilberto Madail:  I’m so glad you’re willing to help.  Do you think Senor Florentino Perez, your president,  will accommodate us?

The Special One:  I can’t say for certain, my friend.  You will have to ask him and get back to me.

GM (swallowing nervously):  Umm…. well, yes.  I was sorta, kinda, really hoping you would ask him.  He’s a very scary person.

The S1:  Well, I would really like to do that for you but it might undermine my position here, very badly.

The 300lb gorilla in the room.

GM: Yes, I can see that…( looks over his shoulder at a rather cross looking 300lb gorilla, standing there silently, wearing a sports coat with a Real crest and a name tag which reads El Prez)…but he really is very, very frightening.

The S1:  I’m am sorry you feel that way, my friend, but there is nothing I can do.

GM:  Yes, yes, I understand. Well I guess I should get back to Lisbon.   Thank you anyway.

Madail gets up and makes for the door, which the gorilla, now smiling, opens for him and then offers…

FP:  Let us get you a taxi, Senor.  Please come back to visit us any time, once you have found a new coach, of course.

And while a disappointed FPF president, still without a manager, makes his way home, let us fill you in on the best matches of the week.

We're happy Geoff is back from holiday but we hear he's already planning his next trip!

Geoff Edwards

Schalke 1 – 3 Borussia Dortmund — Bundesliga

Schalke were soundly beaten by a well organised and youthful Dortmund team, on Sunday, to heap even more pressure on boss Felix Magath. With Shinji Kagawa and Mario Goetze excellent in the 1st half, Dortmund dominated proceedings and cut open the Schalke defence at will. If it wasn’t for a Sven Bender goal incorrectly disallowed for offside, some poor finishing and a couple of good saves by Manuel Neuer, BvB could have gone in 5 or 6 goals to the good at half time.

As it was, Dortmund took just a 1 goal lead (through Kagawa) into the dressing room, leaving the door slightly ajar for Schalke to find a way back into the game. It was not to be however. They made a better fist of things in the second half, but the sending off of centre-back Nicolas Plestan and the concession of two more criminally soft goals meant Klaas-Jan Huntelaar’s first goal for the club was in vain.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlTjtrpLZKk

Has Felix Magath bitten off more than he can chew with his ‘revolving door’ summer transfer policy?

Eliot Rothwell

Eliot Rothwell

Everton 0 – 1 Newcastle — Premier League

The match itself was the usual high tempo, hot tempered affair that typifies northern Premier League football. The one moment of magic (on the pitch, anyway) came from Toon debutant Hatem Ben Arfa. The Frenchman collected the ball, around 30 yards out, and proceeded to unleash a devilish whack in the way of Tim Howard’s top right corner. Everton then spent the majority of the game contriving to either miss fantastic opportunities (I’m looking at you Mr. Fellaini) or squander countless percentages of possession (step forward Leon Osman.)

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikTF_65rdbU

I must admit, the main attraction for me came, not on the pitch, but in the press lounge and the press box. I found myself, on my debut as a Premier League journalist, conversing with the likes of Phil McNulty, chief football writer for the BBC and Tony Barrett, The Times’ man on Merseyside.  The subject of conversation? Anything from the attacking credentials of Yakubu to the excellent food available in the Goodison Park press lounge. Full time brought the mad rush back into the press lounge to await the arrival of the managers, David Moyes and Chris Hughton. As people plugged in their notebooks and collected yet another complimentary bottle of diet coke, Moyes walked in. Needless to say he was not happy with his team’s performance and left quite sharpish. Hughton, however, stayed a tad longer to offer us some soundbites, although his imagination didn’t exactly stretch far, repeatedly praising the “team performance” when asked about golden boy Ben Arfa.

Onwards and (sort of) upwards to Bloomfield Road for Blackpool v Blackburn next week. Expect more of the same.

Fabricio Presilli

Fab Presilli

Campeonato Brasileiro- 23rd round

Botafogo 2 – 2 Cruzeiro

Maybe the best game of the season so far, with both teams searching for the goal and a great display by Argentinian Walter Montillo, who has increased his bid to run for best player of the Championship. Uruguayan Sebastian “Loco” Abreu also gave a good effort, scoring a penalty kick goal.

..

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtDrHPFC7xo

São Paulo 2 – 0 Palmeiras

A cold Pacaembu saw the tricolor winning their first game after two losses.  Newcomer Lucas shone with a goal. Big Phil’s work might not be yielding points or wins but he is sure making headlines, after arguing with the refs and being expelled once again.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgROxLCCCDI

Another great game on Sunday was the Fla Flu in Rio, a 3 goal draw which allowed Corinthians (having beaten Prudente 3-0, on Saturday) to take over first place from Fluminense.  Flamengo, well out of the running, will take satisfaction from having a hand in unseating their rivals.

Tapesh Patel

Tapesh Patel

St. Etienne 3-0 Montpellier — Ligue 1

St. Etienne winger and Ligue 1 top scorer Dmitri Payet grabbed two goals to propel his team to victory, with promising youngster Emmanuel Riviere heading in the other. Les Verts now sit happily atop the table, which really just shows how bonkers French football can be sometimes!

Bordeaux 2-0 Lyon — Ligue 1

Yoann who?

Gourcuff, the former poster boy of Bordeaux, had little to no impact on this one and it showed on the scoresheet. Lyon never truly got themselves into the contest and duly paid the price. A glancing header from captain Alou Diarra gave Les Girondins a deserved advantage, and Jussie wrapped it up in stoppage time with a superb solo effort.

Ipswich 2-0 Cardiff — The Championship

This was a good win for Ipswich against a depleted Cardiff outfit. The first goal will be the subject of nightmares for Cardiff’s Adam Matthews, who headed the ball clinically into his own net under no pressure. Despite all of the attacking talent boasted by the Welsh side, Town’s Connor Wickham (of England Under-17 fame) was the real star of the show and a constant thorn in the Bluebirds side. His fellow striker Jason Scotland sealed the three points, and the Tractor Boys move above Cardiff, into second place.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNbg2F4VRvQ

props out to Samuel DeCoy for the great highlight reel!

Martin Palazzotto

Martin Palazzotto

Toluca 2 – 1 America — Mexican Apertura

For a match with such a huge impact on the table (a win for Toluca would thrust them into the Apertura playoff picture atop Group B and knock America off that same perch, while a loss would put their season very much in doubt), neither side really seemed interested in getting after it.  Hector Raul Mancilla got Los Diablos off the mark on 24 minutes, turning and firing from just outside the box.  Lackadaisical marking, with the defender just waving a foot at Mancilla, rather than closing him down, was the primary reason for the goal, although it was the sort of powerful and accurate strike any forward would love to make when afforded time and space.  Just after the restart, Vicente Vuoso equalised for the Super Eagles, running under a perfectly lobbed cross and heading back it into the far corner.  Again, poor defending was to blame as his marker simply ran alongside, content to just admire the skill on display, rather than do anything about it.

The decider, from Zinha in the 76th minute, was a well struck set piece, it’s trajectory just too high for his forward to redirect, although the effort likely froze the keeper long enough for the ball to find the twine.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1jwJPYhKVs

Bari 0 – 0 Cagliari — Serie A

As well as Bari have been playing to begin the new campaign, this was just not their day.  They dominated possession and had many chances but simply couldn’t hit the target.  It’s a result but Giampiero Ventura is more likely to view this as two points lost than one gained.

Saturday’s 1-1 draw between AC Milan and Catania saw an absolutely brilliant strike, putting to shame Hatem Ben Arfa’s Newcastle winner, which required  several touches to get off, as Ciro Capuano‘s opener, from a similar distance was struck in mid-air.   Have a look!

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ae7ApKgvW-Y

Whether or not Inzhagi was onside for the equaliser, is debatable but there’s no good angle on offer, proving the trap was sprung properly.

Unfortunately, our own Chris Mann is one of those unfortunates who has found himself temporarily cut off from all satellite communication.  So, while he gets settled into his new flat and waits for the cable guy to show up, I’ll fill you in on the results of his weekend picks.

West Bromwich Albion 3 – 1 Birmingham City — Premier League

Chris was dead on with his assessment of the match.  While the Hawthorns’ crowd was mostly silent after the first 45, due to a Cameron Jerome goal which put the visitors ahead, they found their voice in the second stanza.  Under pressure, Blues defender Scott Dan conceded an own goal and then Peter Odemwengie, feeling much more at home in the Midlands than the Motherland, put the Baggies on top.  Jonas Olsson would seal the deal minutes later and, with the ink not yet dry on a contract extension for manager McLeish, Birmingham chairman Carson Yeung must be reaching for the antacid.

Elsewhere in England, there was apparently a rather heated and supposedly historic rivalry being played out once more at Old Trafford.  Dimitar Berbatov was the hero on the day, doubling his goal total for United, this season, with a hat trick.  The second middle goal of the trio was a sensational overhead bicycle thingy, which kicked Sir Alex Ferguson into full gloating mode.  Fergie was almost forced to eat crow when a penalty and then a free kick, both taken by Steven Gerrard drew the Reds level.  But Berbatov, apparently mindful of his final year at White Hart Lane, was not going to let glory slip him by on this day.  In very un-Berbic fashion, exhibiting unexpected grit, power and hustle, he rose up over Jamie Carragher and headed home a John O’Shea.  The result kept United within reach of still perfect Chelsea, who had themselves dispatched Ian Holloway’s Blackpool 4-0.

Atletico Madrid 1 -2 Barcelona

As easily as Barca have handled Real in the past two seasons, the have truly struggled at the Vicente Calderon, losing their last three matches there.  With their frorm on the rise and Atleti’s on the wane, based on their midweek continental adventures, this seemed the perfect time to rid themselves of that particular monkey.  Lionel Messi saw to that rather quickly, beating David de Gea in the 12th minute.  Raul Garcia’s header, from a Simao corner,  equalised for the Rojiblancos on 25 minutes but the Catalans were undeterred.  It was Messi again, delivering a perfect corner for Gerard Pique to chest down and smash home, at the far post.  Barca dominated the play from there, although they could not get past a fiercely determined de Gea from that point onward.  Ujfalusi’s frustration at the death may have dampened Pep Guardiola’s enthusiasm for the result, temporarily, but with Little Leo only out for two matches, Pep must be whistling while he works, today.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFhYWGj42iI

Elsewhere in La Liga, Michael Laudrup earned his first victory as manager of Real Mallorca, when the islanders dropped Osasuna 2-0, and in a Real battle, Madrid held off Sociedad, 2-1, during which Jose Mourinho had a small tantrum and chewed a large amount of gum.

Congratulations, Eliot!

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Before we leave, we have to admit that we gave a lot of stick to Eliot Rothwell, on Friday,over his ascendance into (possibly) paying journalism.  Still, he took it very well and his spirit remains unbounded.  We hope his fortunes and enthusiasm stay on the rise, even though that means we’ll be losing his services someday.

Before that happens, though, we’re happy to post a snapshot of his first Premier League press credential, a souvenir that he should hang onto for a long time, no matter how many more come his way over the years.

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See you on Friday!

Let me think about this for a second... They suspended and sacked the last guy for speaking his mind and now they want ME to step in?

First off, was the desperation of the FPF (Portuguese FA).  Having realised a bit too late that they’d fired an effective, if overly emotional manager, in the person of Carlos Queiroz, they’ve pushed the panic button.  In midweek,  Gilberto Madail, the FPF president, flew to Madrid to beg Real president, Florentino Perez for permission to grovel at the feet of Jose Mourinho.  Their hope is that he will be allowed to manage the national team for their next pair of matches.

In the face of  Queiroz’ six month ban, it was speculated his sacking was for monetary reasons.  One has to wonder how much of the FPF’s savings Madail will have to spend to convince first Perez and then the Special One to help them, and how he might sell it?

“Honestly, it’s just for the two matches… or until we find someone else. I swear on it, cross my heart and hope to die?

What’s that?

No, Senor Perez, I won’t stick a needle in my eye but here’s a big briefcase full of euros!

Yes, that is a lot of cash.  So, what do you think, can we borrow Jose?”

Is it okay to park here?

The other big happening, which actually didn’t, was the massive Adidas promotion in London, to have featured Lionel Messi.  How you publicise an event starring the reigning FIFA Footballer of the Year, in the biggest footballing city in the world, and underestimate the turnout is beyond me but Adidas managed it.  Fresh from orchestrating an almost note perfect 5-1 Barcelona symphony against Panathanaikos, in the Champions League, the miniature maestro was helicoptered to Hackney Marshes to participate in a friendly pick up game.

Unfortunately, the shoe giants didn’t account for the powerful reach of Facebook and posted some rather obvious clues as to the location of the Barca player’s cameo.  Naturally, he was mobbed upon landing and had to be whisked away to safety.  Apparently, their promotional department has made a slight change in the acronym we used to repeat as kids.  Now, Adidas would seem to stand for All-Day-I-Dream-About-Screwups.

Speaking of  the Champions League, it was a bit of a mixed bag on its opening week.

On Tuesday, the big clubs were rather pedestrian, except of course, for the aforementioned Catalans and fellow Spaniards Valencia, who journeyed to the Turkish coast to lay a 4-0 thrashing on Bursaspor.  An own goal by Diego Milito almost cost Inter in a big way, until Samuel Eto’o weaved a little magic to recue a point for the holders.  The inauspicious beginning to the Rafa Benitez era in Milan continues.  Tottenham were in Germany, thinking this whole thing was pretty easy, after Peter Crouch had forced an own goal and added a header to stake Spurs to an early lead over Werder Bremen.  The hosts battled back to split the spoils, however, and introduce Harry Redknapp’s bunch to continental realities.

Kirk Broadfoot gestures anxiously for assistance as Valencia lays prostrate on the pitch.

The low point of the day occurred at Old Trafford.  That a second string side couldn’t penetrate a stalwart Rangers defence might have been an acceptable outcome, with the Liverpool match looming, had Antonio Valencia not suffered a horrible break to his ankle as a result of an innocuous looking tackle from Kirk Broadfoot.  United have the troops to cover for the Ecuadorian but the loss is a blow, nonetheless.

Elsewhere, Benfica met some resistance from Hapoel Tel Aviv, mostly in the form of the Israeli club’s Nigerian keeper Vincent Enyeama.  He did concede two goals but spectacularly stopped nine others.  Expect similar stat lines from him as the group progresses.  In a goalkeeper’s duel, Hugo Lloris outdid Manuel Neuer, as Lyon defeated Schalke 1-0.

The day’s upset, a minor one, was Copenhagen’s victory over Russian champs, Rubin Kazan.   The stingy Kazan defence let up only one time and, as they’ve had trouble scoring all season, were painfully aware it was one time more than they could afford.

On Wednesday, the big clubs made far more definitive statements.  Arsenal stood out as Cesc Fabregas demonstrated why Messi and the rest of Barca want him so badly.  Two goals for himself and impeccable service leading to four others pained Braga manager Domingos Paciencia so much that you could see it on his face as he shook Arsene Wenger’s hand.  Appropriately enough, the Portuguese looked as though he’d just come from a visit to his proctologist.

Madrid and Milan were in control, running out 2-0 wins against Ajax and Auxerre respectively.  Gonzalo Higuain and Zlatan Ibrahimovic did the honours for their clubs.  Bayern did the same against what has been a pathetic AS Roma side, out of the gate.  Sergio Romero kept his side in the match until a sublime volley from Thomas Müller, off the outside of his foot, broke the deadlock.  Miro Klose would seal the deal shortly thereafter.

Lock him up? WFC is all for it!

Chelsea had little trouble with MSK Zilina, running out 4-1 winners, the clean sheet spoiled by a mix-up between Petr Cech and Branoslav Ivanovic.  The victory was further tainted by the handcuff celebration of Nicolas Anelka, a gesture towards the French FA.  The classless Anelka seems hellbent on proving that you can never go home again.

CFR-Cluj looked very good against FC Basel, garnering a 2-1 away victory but Shakhtar Donetsk had to fight a tough battle to find a way past Partizan Belgrade netminder, Vladimir Stojkovic, for a narrow but deseved 1-0 triumph.

The Wednesday shocker was a bit more electric than Tuesday’s.  All match long, Marseilles peppered the Spartak Moscow goal with shot after shot, yet Andrej Dykan made save after tremendous save.  Then, with less than ten minutes remaining, OM keeper Steve Mandanda was wrongfooted by his own defender, Cesar Azpilicueta, and the Muscovites escaped the French city, having committed the perfect crime — a three point heist.

On Thursday it was time for the also-rans, aka the Europa League, to get off the line.  Twenty-four matches is just too many to go into detail but here’s a quick synopsis of the night’s activities.

Thumbs up to Liverpool (4-1 v Steaua Bucharest), Man City (2-0 at Red Bull Salzburg), Bayer Leverkusen (3-0 v Rosenborg), CSKA Moscow (3-0 at Lausanne Sports), Zenit St. Petersburg (3-1 at Anderlecht), Stuttgart (3-0 v Young Boys), Porto (3-0 v Rapid Vienna) and especially Metalist Kharkiv (5-0 at Debrecen).

Thumbs down to Juventus (3-3 at home against minnows Lech Poznan), holders Atletico Madrid (0-1 at Aris Salonika), Villareal (0-2 at Dinamo Zagreb), Palermo (2-3 at Sparta Prague), Sevilla (0-1 at home to Paris St. Germain) and Napoli (0-0 v FC Utrecht).

The jury is still out on Borussia Dortmund (4-3? at Karpaty Lviv) and Dynamo Kiev (2-2 v BATE Borisov?).

As for the weekend, the WFC gang is here, naturally, to get you primed for all the fixtures worthy of your attention.

Solidariata, fratello!

Geoff Edwards

Editor’s note:  Geoff is still on vacation but he sent a picture postcard with his Bundesliga match of the week and sympathies for the oppressed players of the Serie A,who have declared their intent to strike next week.

Schalke 04 v Borussia Dortmund — Bundesliga ..Sunday

It’s another derby, a massive one this time: Schalke v Dortmund, the Ruhr derby. The fans hate each other with a passion. Schalke’s Christophe Metzelder  used to line up for Dortmund but the way he’s been playing recently, it’s unclear which set of fans hate him more.   As well, in one of the games last season, Schalke keeper Manuel Neuer pissed off the Dortmund fans.  If  I remember rightly he celebrated a win by waving a massive Schalke flag right in front of the Dortmund fans!

Eliot Rothwell

Eliot Rothwell

Everton v Newcastle — Premier League..Saturday

Partly through personal selfishness and party through the fact that I believe it will be a great game, I’ve gone for the Toffees against the Magpies.

The personal selfishness comes with the fact that this game sees my debut as a Premier League accredited journalist, making my way into the world of press lounges, post match press conferences and free food!

In pure footballing terms, the match features two classically physical Premier League sides. Everton, fresh from their rousing 3-3 draw with United take on the might of the Geordie giant, Andy Carroll. Tim Cahill and co. will be hoping to secure a win, to ease the temper of fiery manager David Moyes!

Fabricio Presilli

Fab Presilli

Campeonato Brasileiro – 23rd round
Botafogo v Cruzeiro ..Saturday

Both teams are doing quite well over the past few rounds.  Although Botafogo will try to pick up the pieces after a devastating loss to league bottom Goias last time out. Cruzeiro is flying high, especially newly acquired midfielder Walter Montillo.

Palmeiras v São Paulo ..Sunday

One of the derbies of São Paulo, maybe the one with the most passionate and demonstrative fans. Expect plenty of stories about violence in the stands and little about the game itself.

Tapesh Patel

Tapesh Patel

Ligue 1

St. Etienne v Montpellier.. Saturday

At present, Ligue 1 is almost completely upside-down, compared with pre-season predictions. These two sides illustrate this perfectly; St. Etienne narrowly avoided relegation last season, while Montpellier surprisingly managed 5th place (but were widely tipped to move down into mid-table mediocrity this season). With the teams in 3rd and 5th place respectively, this is anything but a relegation six-pointer and could be a thrilling encounter.  Even highly-rated Montpellier goalkeeper Geoffrey Jourdren may have problems keeping out current Ligue 1 top scorer Dmitri Payet.

Bordeaux v Lyon ..Sunday

Two seasons ago, this match was vital in terms of the title race. On Sunday, though, Bordeaux and Lyon will meet at the Stade Jacques Chaban-Delmas, each desperately needing a victory to kickstart their season, with the sides currently in 18th and 16th place respectively. Lyon are under particular scrutiny, having spent big bucks on the twinkle-toes of Jimmy Briand and Yoann Gourcuff, the latter of whom makes an early return to his former club.

The Championship

Ipswich Town v Cardiff City ..Saturday

This match sees 5th take on 2nd at Portman Road. Ipswich have made a very solid start to the season, but their form has dipped of late. Roy Keane will call upon all of his motivational skills to rally his troops against a rampant attack led by Craig Bellamy and Jay Bothroyd, provided both recover from injury in time, for the Welsh side.

Martin Palazzotto

Martin Palazzotto

Before I get into my picks, I want to cover a couple of the happenings on this side of the Atlantic.

First of all, we’ve got our own little mini-me version of the Champions League, courtesy of CONCACAF.  There’s just four groups of four and, as usual, there’s a Mexican side at the top of every one.  MLS sides aren’t completely without hope, however.  The Columbus Crew sit just a point behind Santos Laguna, having dropped a 1-0 decision to the leaders, with a little help from the officials, and Cruz Azul only lead Real Salt Lake on goal difference.

On the other hand, after having dropped their last two CCL matches and fading in the MLS table, Toronto FC fired their coach, Preki, and general manager, Mo Johnston, this week.  Rumours were that Preki had lost the respect of his star players, with his penchant for strong discipline running contrary to Dwayne DeRosario (especially) and Julian de Guzman’s idea of star treatment.

I’ve been a fan of Preki’s, both as a player and coach, and, at first, sympathised with him, given the short leash he had been on.  Then, unfortunately, he decided to speak to the press, saying,   ”It’s a couple of Canadian guys making those comments. That’s all I have to say about that.”

I’m a realist, so I’m fully aware The Great White North is not exactly a soccer hotbed.  We Canucks have as much chance of winning the World Cup as the Newcastle (UK) Vipers do of winning the Stanley Cup.  Still, it’s not nice to have it rubbed in your face by someone you admire.  It makes me want to serve him up a nice plate of scrambled eggs…

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-RO4r68H-8

That’s how Canadians deal with stress.  It’s very therapeutic.

On to my picks, then.

FC Dallas 2 – 2 NY Red Bull — MLS..(16 Sept.)

Technically, I’m breaking the rules here but the MLS game of the week took place on Thursday.  FC Dallas, hosting the New Yorkers, managed to extend their unbeaten streak to seventeen games.  Although they trail LA Galaxy by five points, their two losses are half that of the nearest competitor.

Thierry Henry piled more controversy upon himself, this time putting his foot in it.  Exhilirated by Mehdi Ballouchy’s goal at the half, Henry attempted to volley the ball back into the net. Instead, he drove the ball into the lower leg of Hoops’ keeper, Kevin Hartman. The impact caused damage to Hartman’s MCL and he will be out for some time.  Henry does come across as a likeable and intelligent guy but this trend of mishaps is becoming alarming.

Toluca v America — Mexican Apertura..Sunday

With Santos and Monterrey deadlocked at fifteen points atop Group A, a runnersup wildcard spot is virtually out of the question for Toluca,  on ten points.  This is, therefore, a must win match over their Group B rivals, so that they can leapfrog them into the playoff picture.

Bari v Cagliari — Serie A..Sunday

The Serie A table is topsy turvy in the early going.  Many of the big clubs are struggling, most notably Roma, Palermo and Napoli.  This match is between two sides, both sitting on 4 points after two rounds, who aren’t on the bookmakers’ lists to be in the same position come May.  Still, Bari look to have improved from their impressive first season back in the top flight and Cagliari will want to enjoy the fresh air at the top of the standings for as long as possible.

Chris Mann

Chris Mann

West Bromwich Albion v Birmingham City– Premier League ..Saturday

Roberto Di Matteo’s West Brom play an intelligent and aesthetic brand of football and look stronger than some of the incarnations of the team that have previously graced the Premier League. With Chris Brunt hitting form, Birmingham’s much-vaunted centre back partnership of Roger Johnson and Scott Dann will be in for a stern test in the first West Midlands derby of the season.

Atletico Madrid v Barcelona — La Liga..Sunday

Barca’s confidence may have taken a knock during their surprise 2-0 home defeat to Hercules last week, but their 5-1 win over Panathanaikos in mid-week seems to have brought things back to normal. Sunday’s game at the Vicente Calderon pits the reigning La Liga champions against the division’s early leaders and, with the likes of Diego Forlan, Kun Aguero, Leo Messi and David Villa on show, it should be some spectacle.

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Eliot Rothwell

Well, that about sums it up for this week.  Before we go, we’d like to congratulate WFC writer, Eliot Rothwell, on receiving his official Premier League press credentials.  We’ll be really impressed, however, if he can wrangle us some match highlights from the world’s most greedily guarded footy archives!

We apologise, too, for the mix up, in photos, which occurred earlier.  The picture to the right is what Eliot actually looks like.  The one above is of some fellow who applied to write for us, a while back.  We had to turn him down, though, as he had some rather strange views on things.  For instance, he thought that the Champions League should return to a pure draw, rather than a weighted one.  Seems he’d rather get that Chelsea/Real Madrid blockbuster out of the way in the fall, instead of waiting until the end of May.

A word to the wise in the press box at Goodison Park, this weekend, as well.  Post a guard next to the luncheon spread.  We put out some powdered donuts before a WFC editorial meeting, once, and, as things turned out, it wasn’t the best idea.  Our security camera recorded what happened when Eliot laid eyes on it…

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRuaq_KilzQ

It’s just not a pretty sight, is it?

See you on Monday!

A couple of reasons “helped” the competition along the way. São Paulo’s change in management and slow start gave the chance that rivals were waiting for over the last three years to finally end their winning streak.

Almost all teams changed coaches during the competition, giving some clubs the opportunity to regroup halfway through the tournament. Some clubs, like Palmeiras, Internacional and Grêmio learned São Paulos’s lesson and maintained the majority of their players from last year, with some important arrivals such as Vágner Love and D´Alessandro.

Palmeiras is at the top of the table. They hired Muricy after his dismissal from São Paulo, they have the best midfielders in Brazil (Cleiton Xavier and Diego Souza), a fierce defense and a couple of good strikers, not to mention their captain and most important player of all time protecting the goal: Marcos. Palmeiras is managing to get points even through the most difficult games, like some weeks ago when they got a victory in Santos and at Mineirão, over Cruzeiro.

Internacional had great expectations for this year. The Colorado side is having a season to forget though. And yet, they managed to hold a top 5 place at the table all year long.
This season surprises are Goiás and Atlético Mineiro (from the state of Minas Gerais), both teams were considered candidates for relegation and are fighting for a top 4 spot, a place that could give the club the classification to Libertadores next year.

Last decade’s downside has got to be the clubs from Rio de Janeiro. Fluminense and Botafogo are in the relegation zone, or real close to it, with Vasco already in the second division, comfortable to come back next year, and Flamengo always struggling politically. Maybe we will never see again rooters like the ones they had in the 80s, competing head to head with the greatest clubs in the country.

Nonetheless, this year’s championship remains one of the all-time greatest. Some intense rivalries, rallies for all important places and a fair amount of good players in the league.
Here are some games to keep an eye on, should you be able to catch them on TV or over the internet be aware that those dates can change:
17/10 – São Paulo x Atlético Mineiro
18/10 – Palmeiras x Flamengo
25/10 – Santos x São Paulo
25/10 – Internacional x Grêmio
25/10 – Botafogo x Flamengo
28/10 – São Paulo x Internacional
29/10 – Palmeiras x Goiás
31/10 – Flamengo x Santos
01/11 – Palmeiras x Corinthians
01/11 – Náutico x Sport
04/11 – Grêmio x São Paulo
08/11 – Atlético Mineiro x Flamengo
08/11 – Fluminense x Palmeiras
14/11 – Cruzeiro x Grêmio
14/11 – São Paulo x Vitória
22/11 – Grêmio x Palmeiras
22/11 – Flamengo x Goiás
22/11 – Botafogo x São Paulo
22/11 – Flamengo x Goiás
29/11 – Corinthians x Flamengo
29/11 – Palmeiras x Atlético Mineiro
29/11 – Goiás x São Paulo
06/12 – Flamengo x Grêmio

Picture by Rubens Chiri