Sports Blog-News,reviews and lots more

The news regarding the retirement of Warne and Mcgrath would have come as a shock to some. I’ll get you my views on the topic a little later

And PS- I might be in Durban to catch the second test.

Aston Villa 0-3 Manchester United ( Ronaldo*2, Scholes)

Impressive game from United again.

Fulham 0-0 West Ham  

Former Charlton fullback Paul Konchesky gets sent off

 Liverpool 2-0 Watford ( Bellamy, Alonso)

3 Points for the Reds, but they are still far away from the leaders.

Manchester City 0-2 Bolton ( Nicolas Anelka*2) 

France striker Anelka scores a brace against his former employers.

Arsenal 6-2 Blackburn ( Gilberto, Hleb, Adebayor, Van Persie*2,  Flamini/ Shabani Nonda*2) 

8 goals- an unprecendented high scoring game this season. 3 of the 6 came in the last give minutes.

Middlesbrough 2-0 Charlton ( Yakubu, Julio Arca) 

A battle between two teams not really in the running for top honours, and Boro win this one.

Newcastle 3-1 Tottenham ( Dyer, Martins, Parker/ Murphy) 

Tottenham’s dismal form away continues as they lose to Glenn Roeder’s men after taking the lead.

Portsmouth 3-1 Sheffield United ( Kozluk OG, Campbell, Pamarot/ Hulse)

3 points in the bag for Pompey

Reading 0-2 Everton ( Johnson, McFadden) 

Good win for the Toffees after that heartbreaking loss against Chelsea.

Wigan 2-3 Chelsea ( Emile Heskey*2/ Lampard, Kalou, Robben) 

Chelsea seem to have taken lessons from Harry Houdini it seems, and games featuring the Blues always seem to have a dramatic finish- a far cry from the team which used to win 1-0. Arjen Robben’s late strike rescues Jose Mourinho’s side, and breaks Wigan hearts.

Italy and Real Madrid defender Fabio Cannavaro has become the first defender to win the FIFA world player of the year. The ” Berlin Wall” polled 498 votes to bag the award ahead of Zinedine Zidane ( 445) and Barcelona forward Ronaldinho ( 380).

Cannavaro also won the European player of the year in 2006 and this award caps what has been an excellent year for the former Parma, Juve and Inter Milan fullback.

Brazilian Marta won the womens’ award for the same..

Internacional have won the FIFA world club Championship after beating favourites Barcelona. Adriano ( Do not confuse him with the guy who plies his trade at the Giuseppe Meazza) scored in the 82nd minute. Barcelona had loads of opportunities and dominated the game, but were unable to find the back of the net.

Spanish giants and favourites Barcelona booked their spot in the final of the Club World Championship by defeating CONMEBOL champions Club America ( Mex) 4-0 in Yokohama.

The game was dominated by Barcelona and although the Catalans did appear a bit ragged, they weren’t given too much trouble by the Mexicans. CAM spurned some glorious opportunities though. They lacked the cutting edge in front of goal. Nothing like that from Barcelona who established a two goal within half an hour of the game kicking off. Eidur Gudjohnsen slotted one past Ochoa after picking up a fine Iniesta pass, which was set up by a beautiful Ronaldinho back heel. Rafael Marquez put his countrymen two behind when he headed home unmarked from a Deco corner.

Desperate to find a way back in the game, CAM’s coach brought on Cuauhtemoc Blanco for Cabanas. Cuevas and Lopez tried their best to pull one back, but couldn’t. Barca enjoyed good possession and made most of the space available to them in the centre and the wings. The Mexicans sat deep for most of the game, and one could say that they accorded their opponents a little more respect than what they deserved.

Anyway Ronnie added a third and then set up Deco for a stunning fourth to complete the last rites. A subtle Ronnie chip hit the post and CAM were rather relieved when the final whistle blew.

So it will be Barcelona vs Internacional in the final while CAM face Al Ahly in the third place playoff.

Quarterfinals

Auckland City 0-2 AL Ahly ( Flavio, Aboutrika)

Club America 1-0 Chonbuk Motors ( Ricardo Rojas)S

Semifinals

Al Ahly 1-2 Internacional ( Flavio/ Alexandre Pato, Luiz Adriano)

Barcelona 4-0 Club America ( Gudjohnsen, Marquez, Ronaldinho, Deco) 

England head Steve Mclaren has hinted that Joey Barton could be in line for an England call up.

Barton is reportedly among 50 Premiership players whom Mclaren has shortlisted to keep an eye on. The Manchester City midfielder has had displicinary problems in the past, but Mclaren has said that they wouldn’t come in his way. Barton was also a player Mclaren was interested in when he was managed at the Riverside. City had also rejected a verbal offer for the tenacious midfielder from Boro in January 2006.

The midfield for England is great on paper, but they have failed to click as a team. It could be for this reason, that Mclaren has been forced to look ou for people who can deliver on a consistent basis and Barton could figure in his plans.

It was always on the cards, given the Hammers’ abysmal run this season. And finally, the West Ham board have lost patience with the man who guided them back to the Premiership- Alan Pardew.

West Ham had a great season last time around, but this season the London club has struggled - despite signing big names like Mascherano and Tevez. The club has also been  takenover by  Eggert Magnusson.

Pardew’s greatest achievements at Upton Park remain

1.) Guiding em to the top flight and keepin em there.

2.) Reaching the FA final where they lost to Steven Gerrard and Jose Reina.

Who will replace Pardew?? Several options that come up are

1.) Alan Curbishley

2.) Erikkson

3.) The caretaker manager they had when Roeder was sacked- Trevor Brooking.

Manchester United 3-1 Manchester City ( Wayne Rooney, Louis Saha, Cristiano Ronaldo/ Hatem Trabelsi)

This one was the big Manchester derby and the red half prevailed yesterday. City have only themselves to blame, with defensive errors responsible for all three goals. Trabelsi, Thomas Cook player of the month in November, pulled one back for City. Stuart Pearce’s boys need to work on their defence on their travels.

Liverpool 4-0 Fulham ( Steven Gerrard, Luis Garcia, Mark Gonzalez, Jamie Carragher)

Liverpool continued their excellent home form when they thrashed Fulham 4-0. Chris Coleman’s side lost the plot in about 20 after the second half started after keeping the hosts goalless in the first half. Rare one for Jamie too :D. The Reds now move to fourth in the table.

Portsmouth 2-0 Everton ( Matthew Taylor, Kanu)

Two goals which deserved to be on the winning side at the final whistle and so they were. Taylor sent in an audacious volley from 45 yards out to leave Tim Howard stunned. Kanu’s clinical left foot finish guaranteed them three points.

Tottenham 5-1 Charlton ( Dimitar Berbatov*2, Teemu Tainio, Jermaine Defoe, Steed Malbranque, Michael Dawson OG)

Charlton started off things well, but were two goals behind when Spurs struck a double blow just minutes after the half an hour mark. Dawson conceded an own goal to revive Charlton hopes, but Spurs put in a classy performance on the other side of the lemon break to equal United’s 5-1 battering of Fulham. Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, who has an excellent record against Spurs, was on the bench, and even when he came on, he had too much to do. Defoe’s goal was an absolute cracker, and Malbranque’s volley turned the game in the favour of Jol’s boys.

Bolton 4-0 West Ham ( Kevin Davies, Nicolas Anelka, Diouf)

More troubles for West Ham and Pardew.

Blackburn 1-3 Newcastle ( Morten Gamst Pedersen/ Martins*2, Steven Taylor)

Blackburn who lost to Charlton before coming into this one, were subdued by two Martins goals and one from Steven Taylor. Although Pedersen struck a fine goal, it was little more than false hope after Newcastle had gone 2-0 up in the first half.

Middlesbrough 1-1 Wigan ( Camara, Yakubu)

Some great saves from Schwarzer and a draw is a result Boro will certainly settle for.

Watford 0-0 Reading

Battle between two promoted teams, one in the top half currently and the other in relegation troubles- the game however goalless.

Arsenal 1-1 Chelsea ( Mathieu Flamini/ Michael Essien) 

Another derby and Essien’s late goal saved Mourinho’s side the Blues. Chelsea are now 8 behind Manchester United with a game in hand.  And Cashley Cole got booked

Barclays player of the month : Cristiano Ronaldo ( Manchester United)

It is a first for Ronaldo. He has been in great form for United though, with some pundits calling him the best player in the world at this minute.

Barclays manager of the month : Steve Coppell ( Reading) 

It is the second time Coppell has bagged this award this season. Reading had three wins last month and look guaranteed to stay in the big league.

Spartak Moscow have reportedly agreed to release Fernando Cavenaghi in the off season.

I have high regard for this lad, but he hasn’t been able to live up to expectations in Russia. He made the switch from River Plate in July 2004 for an estimated fee of 6 and a half million pounds. He ‘has struggled to settle in the area’  ( using CM terminology ). That reminds me of Maniche too.

Cavenaghi is known to prefer a move to Italy or Spain and IMO quite a few clubs will be waiting to snap him up.

You can gauge his potential from this:

Former Chelsea legend Gianfranco Zola said that Cavenaghi was the only Argentine he would play to watch.

Today, I kinda feel in the mood to ask a question or two. Try and identify this person from the clues given below. I’ll give the answer tommorrow. And please, in the spirit of quizzing, DO not google, although I have no control over what you do

I’ll try to make it as ungooglable as possible.

1.) This player may be well known to some, but is unlikely to be known to all. He plays in a team which is managed by a legend of the beautiful game.

2.) That team shares part of its nickname with a club which is currently playing in the Championship.

3.) He has a hattrick against an English side ( currently in the top three in the Premiership) in the Champions League and wears a jersey number synonymous with great players. Needless to say, he is more of a forward.

4.) He is a player targetted by some big European clubs in CM 03-04.

Post your answers as comments.

Group A :

Chelsea 2-0 Levski Sofia ( Andriy Shevchenko, Shaun Wright Philips)

Barcelona 2-0 Werder Bremen ( Ronaldinho, Gudjohnsen)

Stunning free kick from Ronnie.

Group B:

Sporting Lisbon 1-3 Spartak Moscow

(Carlos Bueno/Roman Pavlyuchenko,Maxym Kalynychenko, Denis Boyarintsev)

Spartak bag a Uefa spot.

Group B:

Bayern 1-1 Inter ( Roy Makaay/ Patrick Vieira)

Last gasp goal from the French medio earns Inter a point in a game where Bayern squandered chances aplenty to kill the game.

Group C:

Galatarasay 3-2 Liverpool ( Necati Ates, Buruk Okan, Sasa Ilic/ Robbie Fowler*2.)

The Reds fielding an understrength side, lose on their return to Istanbul.

PSV 1-3 Bordeaux (Alex/ Julien Faubert,Stéphane Dalmat,Jean-Claude Darcheville)

The Dutch giants were already assured of a spot in the knockout stages.

Group D:

Olympiakos 1-1 Shakhtar Donetsk (Nery Alberto Castillo/ Matuzalem)

Shakhtar book a spot in the UEFA Cup.

Roma 1-0 Valencia  (Panucci)

Roma dash Shakhtar hopes of entering the KO stages with this win.

Wigan 0-4 Liverpool ( Craig Bellamy *2, Dirk Kuyt,  McCulloch OG)

Prec ious away points for the Merseysiders as they put in a classy performance to beat Wiga.

Arsenal 3-0 Tottenham ( Adebayor, Gilberto*2) 

Spurs haven’t been convincing on their travels and this win will boost the morale of the Gunners, especially as they were without Thierry Henry. The first penalty conceded by Chimbonda wasn’t a penalty, but a well timed tackle IMO. It killed the game for Spurs.

Reading 1-0 Bolton ( Kevin Doyle) 

4th successive league win for Steve Coppell’s men.

Portsmouth 2-2 Aston Villa (  Matthew Taylo*2/ Gareth Barry, Juan Pablo Angel)

A game which burst to life in the second half, but the result was a fair one.

Blackburn 2-0 Fulham ( Mccarthy, Nonda)

2 long balls- 2 goals.

Sheffield United 2-1 Charlton ( Morgan, Keith Gillespie/ Andy Reid) 

Gillespie’s stunner at the end was worthy of winning any Premiership game.

Middlesbrough 1-2 Manchester United ( James Morrison/ Louis Saha, Darren Fletcher) 

United increase their lead at the top of the table to six points by beating their voodoo team 2-1.

Finally, India won something. It did not come easily though, and the match was won with just one ball to spare. It came at the same ground where the Aussies posted 359 in the 2003 World Cup final, the revered ground called the Wanderers in Johannesburg.

Graeme Smith seems to have diverted all his luck with the bat to the toss. He again won it and chose to bat first, as he has often done in this ODI series. Zaheer Khan’s 20-20 experience with Worcerstershire came in handy as the man from Serampur rattled the South African top order with figures of 2-15 from his 4 overs. He got Smith out again LBW. The South African skipper appears to have become his bunny. I’d think Darryl Cullinan will understand that feeling pretty well . Loots Bosman isn’t showing any glimpses of the powerful hitting that he is feared for in South Africa, atleast in this series.

Anyway, South Africa didn’t really get any partnership going and wickets tumbled at regular intervals. Ajit Agarkar limped off the pitch after bowling a maiden - only for the third time in the history of 20-20 has that occured. Albie Morkel is a man who I know more for his exploits in the Hong Kong super sixes. He started tentatively, but once he got into his stride, it was quite clear that he was the best South African batsman on display. He hit one huge six off Harbhajan which cleared the scoreboard and Pat Symcox remarked that he had seen nothing like that for quite a while. Morkel fell at a crucial stage when hsi partnership with Van der Wath was threatening to take the game away from India. Robin Peterson provided the comic moment of the innings when he got runout on a free hit. You could call it lack of knowledge of the rules, or simply forgetfulness. Either way, he had only himself to blame and the Indians couldn’t believe their luck.

South Africa troddled to 126/9, maybe some 20 runs short. Van der Wath and Langeveldt didn’t allow too much room for the Indians and Tendulkar after a couple of good shots, went back after dragging onto his stumps. Sehwag played well, and India were 75/3 in the 12th over. Mongia was out in the thirdlast over after facing an eventful three balss- the first a stumping which looked out, the second- he was beaten- the third -he holed out to long on. Van Der Wath conceded a crucial four in the penultimate over, and the scored read- 9 to win off three. Smith took a gamble by tossing the ball to Peterson. Dinesh Kartik displayed nerves to steel, and promptly dispatched one over the short square boundary. That sealed the game for India, and they won it with a ball to spare.

Tottenham are reportedly planning a 2.5 million pound bid for French midfielder Adel Taarabt. The medio is just 17 years old, and is being hailed as a future French football star.

Les Sang and Or officials have not denied the claim, according to rumours floating on the internet. Spurs have a knack for attracting quality youngsters and this might entice Taarabt to move to England. However he has just broken into the starting eleven of Lens, and I doubt he will be given that opportunity at White Hart Lane with the likes of Davids, Huddlestone, Jenas, Tainio, Ghaly and Zokora all there.

I think it may be in his interest to play first team football for Lens for a year or two, and then move to England. He recently made his debut against Sochaux.

I haven’t watched him at all, but he is said to be a technically gifted player.

EDIT- as on 2nd January, Tottenham have now signed him on loan from Lens, subject to clearance from the French football federation.

Taarabt has reportedly said that he chose Spurs over other interested clubs like Arsenal and Chelsea because he was promised that he would be given first team opportunities instead of spending time in the reserves.Taarabt has represented France at junior levels.

Spurs have not currently disclosed any details of the transfer. But they have an option to bring him permanently to white hart lane. Taarabt now joins Assou Ekotto, the left back who also joined from Lens at Tottenham.