A quick whizz round to pick out the picks of this weekend's viewing and it's an international football tournament frenzy!
Yes, the Oceania Nations Cup final is on Sunday! Now, since Australia decided to bunk up with the Asian Federation, this is basically New Zealand's tournament. They're the only side in there with any significant number of professionals. Qualification for the last four - the tournament run along the lines of the pre-1980 European Championships - is based on World Cup qualifying results and New Zealand duly topped their group ahead of the Solomon Islands, Fiji and Papua New Guinea. Tahiti won Group A from New Caledonia with Vanuatu and whipping boys Samoa trailing in behind. The finals are taking place in the Solomon Islands and the semis were in the wee hours of this morning. Tahiti beat the hosts 1-0, but New Zealand crashed spectacularly against the tiny French dependency of New Caledonia. The final then sees the current and former French colonies face off, Tahiti probably favourites, with New Zealand and the Solomons contesting third place. Both games are on Sunday in a double-header at Honiara.
World Cup qualification for Brazil is in full swing with matches all over the world. In Africa, it's the second round of fixtures in the second group stage. The picks here are Morocco v Cote d'Ivoire, Zambia v Ghana and South Africa v Botswana on Saturday Mali v Algeria on Sunday. Venezuela v Chile is the pick of the South Amercian qualifiers along with Uruguay v Peru, but most eyes will be on a friendly between Argentina and Brazil in New Jersey. Th third round of CONCACAF qualifying gets underway as well, the USA at home to Antigua and Barbuda in what, population-wise, is a total mismatch. Of the region's bigger players, Canada look to have the easier group and they start away to Cuba.
League action does continue and there are three games to go in the Argentine Clausura. Boca have opened up a three-point lead at the top and face rock bottom Banfield, without a win in five, this weekend. Tigre and Arsenal are the nearest challengers with the latter's game against Argentinos Juniors the pick of the round. In Brazil, champions Corinthians got their first point of the season in this morning's game against Figueirense, but it's Vasco da Gama leading the way with three from three so far. They're away to Bahia this week, but most eyes will be on Palmeiras against Atlético Mineiro where a certain Ronaldinho Gaucho will make his first appearance for Atlético-MR following his sensational sacking by Flamengo. His former employers are at home to Coritiba.
Sampdoria take a 3-2 lead into the second leg of the Serie B promotion play-off final with Varese. It's all all-square in the Segunda Division play-off semis in Spain where Hércules and Alcorcón are locked at 1-1 and Real Valladolid and Córdoba are goalless ahead of Sunday's return legs. Nacional take on Defensor Sporting, who finished top, in the Uruguayan Clausura final.
Finally, there's a tiny wee competition in Poland and the Ukraine you may have heard about that starts today. Pick of the weekend's fixtures are Spain v Italy on Sunday and Saturday's Group B fixtures. It is, statistically speaking, the most morbid group of death in international football history with Portugal ranked 10th in the world, Denmark 9th, Germany 3rd and the Netherlands 4th. Saturday sees Germany take on Portugal and the Dutch play Denmark.
That lot should keep you going.
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Showing posts with label Uruguay. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Uruguay. Show all posts
Friday, 8 June 2012
Monday, 28 May 2012
TW3 #14
For the second time in quick succession, Athletic were blown away in a cup final, this time by Barcelona in the Copa del Rey at the Vicente Calderon. This was Athletic 63rd game of the season, and it showed. Not that Barcelona haven't also had a lot of games, but their possession-based game doesn't place quite the same physical demands on players as Marcelo Bielsa's high-tempo pressing game. At the end of the first year of the Bielsa project, the players, quite frankly, look knackered. With Messi at his unplayable best and Iniesta pulling the strings, Barcelona took control early with Pedro beating Gorka Iraizoz at his near post. Twenty minutes later, Messi had doubled the lead and Pedro bagged a second - game over. Even the introduction of Euroballs favourite Toquero could get Athletic back into it.
So Pep Guardiola leaves with 14 trophies - from 19 contested - in his four years as Barcelona manager. Not bad, really. He leaves for a sabbatical and Tito Vilanova has the task of taking the side forward. Tough gig.
Torino and Pescara are promoted to Serie A, Torino as champions. They drew with AlbinoLeffe while Pescara were beating Nocerina. With the better head-to-head record, Torino finish top. It's Sassuolo against Sampdoria and Hellas Verona v Varese in the play-offs. Deportivo La Coruna are promoted to the Primera Division in Spain, as champions, after coming from behind to beat Huesca. They're four clear of Celta Vigo with a game to go. Celta need a point in the last game to seal second, Valladolid's draw with Alcorcon giving them a bit of breathing space.
We're previously waxed lyrical about our love of the penalty shoot-out, and this week has seen the venerable institution make headlines again. First, Sepp Blatter wished to find a better way of resolving drawn games and then players on two continents show why that's a misguided notion. Two quarter-finals in the Copa Libertadores went to spot-kicks. Santos matched Vélez Sarsfield's 1-0 thanks to Alan Kardec before prevailing 4-2 on penalties while Universidad de Chile and Libertad drew 1-1 for the second time in the tie. La U won the shoot-out 5-2 to progress. It looked like Boca Juniors and Fluminense would go the same way as Flu led the second leg 1-0 heading into the dying moments, but Santiago Silva grabbed a stoppage time equaliser to send Boca through 2-1. In the final tie, Paulinho's goal was enough for a 1-0 aggregate win. Boca play La U in the semi-finals while the other tie is an all-Brazilian affair with Santos at home in the first leg to Corinthians.
The League 1 play-off final also went to penalties after a drab 0-0. Sheffield United's well-documented issues with forwards necessitated a change of approach and their flooding of the midfield blunted Huddersfield and the two sides cancelled each other out. Town missed their first three penalties, but in Alex Smithies they have a goalkeeper who is something of a 12-yard specialist. He saved two of United's first three before the players finally found their shooting boots. At 2-2 after five each, it went to sudden death, eventually coming down to the goalkeepers against one another with the 11th penalties. Smithies tucked his away, but Steve Simonsen sent his into the stands and Town are promoted. In League 2, Crewe were comfortable winners against Cheltenham.
Back in domestic action, three assists from Juan Roman Riquelme helped Boca to a 3-0 win over Godoy Cruz and, combined with Tigre's draw with Atlético Rafaela, opens up a three-point lead at the top with three games to go. Reigning Brazilian champions Corinthians lost their second game of the season and remain without a point. Atlético Mineiro were their conquerors, one of three sides with 2-0 records - Vasco da Gama and Botafogo the others. Colo Colo won their Chilean Apertura quarter-final against Deportes Iquique 5-4. A 3-3 draw on Thursday was followed by a 2-1 win on Saturday, Colo hanging on with ten men for the last ten minutes. Universidad Catolica are out, well beaten by Union Espanola, and O'Higgins progress after two wins over Union La Calera. Universidad de Chile are 2-0 up in their tie against Cobreloa ahead of the return in the small hours of Tuesday morning. Universidad Cesar Vallejo are Peruvian champions. They got the point they needed in a 0-0 draw with Universidad San Martin which rendered Real Atlético's 1-0 over Union Comercio academic. Defensor Sporting are Uruguayan champions with a round of fixtures remaining. A 3-0 win over El Tanque Sisley leaves them four points clear of Liverpool - 3-1 winners against Cerrito - with a game remaining. All done in the Colombian regular season and the top eight are now split into two groups of four, the winners of which will contest the final. Deportes Tolima finished top, seven clear of the field, and they're in group A and red-hot favourites.
In the international friendlies, an Eren Derdiyok hat-trick helped Switzerland beat Germany 5-3. Without their Bayern players, Germany were not anywhere near their best and this isn't representative of their chances in the Euros. The Dutch were beaten at home by Bulgaria, Joris Mathijsen taken off injured early on as well. The form of both Robin van Persie and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar has seen Bert van Marwijk try to play them together, going away from the 4-2-3-1 that served them so well previously.
And that'll do us for now. The Euros are just eleven days away now.
So Pep Guardiola leaves with 14 trophies - from 19 contested - in his four years as Barcelona manager. Not bad, really. He leaves for a sabbatical and Tito Vilanova has the task of taking the side forward. Tough gig.
Torino and Pescara are promoted to Serie A, Torino as champions. They drew with AlbinoLeffe while Pescara were beating Nocerina. With the better head-to-head record, Torino finish top. It's Sassuolo against Sampdoria and Hellas Verona v Varese in the play-offs. Deportivo La Coruna are promoted to the Primera Division in Spain, as champions, after coming from behind to beat Huesca. They're four clear of Celta Vigo with a game to go. Celta need a point in the last game to seal second, Valladolid's draw with Alcorcon giving them a bit of breathing space.
We're previously waxed lyrical about our love of the penalty shoot-out, and this week has seen the venerable institution make headlines again. First, Sepp Blatter wished to find a better way of resolving drawn games and then players on two continents show why that's a misguided notion. Two quarter-finals in the Copa Libertadores went to spot-kicks. Santos matched Vélez Sarsfield's 1-0 thanks to Alan Kardec before prevailing 4-2 on penalties while Universidad de Chile and Libertad drew 1-1 for the second time in the tie. La U won the shoot-out 5-2 to progress. It looked like Boca Juniors and Fluminense would go the same way as Flu led the second leg 1-0 heading into the dying moments, but Santiago Silva grabbed a stoppage time equaliser to send Boca through 2-1. In the final tie, Paulinho's goal was enough for a 1-0 aggregate win. Boca play La U in the semi-finals while the other tie is an all-Brazilian affair with Santos at home in the first leg to Corinthians.
The League 1 play-off final also went to penalties after a drab 0-0. Sheffield United's well-documented issues with forwards necessitated a change of approach and their flooding of the midfield blunted Huddersfield and the two sides cancelled each other out. Town missed their first three penalties, but in Alex Smithies they have a goalkeeper who is something of a 12-yard specialist. He saved two of United's first three before the players finally found their shooting boots. At 2-2 after five each, it went to sudden death, eventually coming down to the goalkeepers against one another with the 11th penalties. Smithies tucked his away, but Steve Simonsen sent his into the stands and Town are promoted. In League 2, Crewe were comfortable winners against Cheltenham.
Back in domestic action, three assists from Juan Roman Riquelme helped Boca to a 3-0 win over Godoy Cruz and, combined with Tigre's draw with Atlético Rafaela, opens up a three-point lead at the top with three games to go. Reigning Brazilian champions Corinthians lost their second game of the season and remain without a point. Atlético Mineiro were their conquerors, one of three sides with 2-0 records - Vasco da Gama and Botafogo the others. Colo Colo won their Chilean Apertura quarter-final against Deportes Iquique 5-4. A 3-3 draw on Thursday was followed by a 2-1 win on Saturday, Colo hanging on with ten men for the last ten minutes. Universidad Catolica are out, well beaten by Union Espanola, and O'Higgins progress after two wins over Union La Calera. Universidad de Chile are 2-0 up in their tie against Cobreloa ahead of the return in the small hours of Tuesday morning. Universidad Cesar Vallejo are Peruvian champions. They got the point they needed in a 0-0 draw with Universidad San Martin which rendered Real Atlético's 1-0 over Union Comercio academic. Defensor Sporting are Uruguayan champions with a round of fixtures remaining. A 3-0 win over El Tanque Sisley leaves them four points clear of Liverpool - 3-1 winners against Cerrito - with a game remaining. All done in the Colombian regular season and the top eight are now split into two groups of four, the winners of which will contest the final. Deportes Tolima finished top, seven clear of the field, and they're in group A and red-hot favourites.
In the international friendlies, an Eren Derdiyok hat-trick helped Switzerland beat Germany 5-3. Without their Bayern players, Germany were not anywhere near their best and this isn't representative of their chances in the Euros. The Dutch were beaten at home by Bulgaria, Joris Mathijsen taken off injured early on as well. The form of both Robin van Persie and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar has seen Bert van Marwijk try to play them together, going away from the 4-2-3-1 that served them so well previously.
And that'll do us for now. The Euros are just eleven days away now.
Friday, 11 May 2012
Marking your card #8
The major leagues of Europe are winding down now and play-offs for everything are in full swing. There are some issues still to be resolved though, but it's time to start looking a little further afield for footballing kicks. Here's what we'll be keeping an eye on this weekend.
The big one is in Turkey. Fenernahce v Galatasaray clashes are always tasty and Saturday sees the two clash at Fener's Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium in a winner-takes-all title decider. Any winner will take the title. A draw, and it's Gala's. Gala went into the play-off series as league leaders, but haven't been at their best once there having drawn two and lost one of their five games. Fener, meanwhile, have won four and lost one to draw within a point. You don't want gambling advice from us, but back the draw and Gala to take the title.
The big game in France sees Lille - in third place, five points off the lead - take the long trip south to Montpellier. A win for Lille will boost their hopes of retaining the championship, but could also play into the hands of rivals PSG who are away to Rennes this week and three points behind leaders MHSC. It's a pivotal week. At the bottom, Auxerre could be relegated if they lose and a series of results go against them, but it's so tight down there that it's likely to go to the final round.
It's the final round in Spain where Gijón will be relegated unless they can beat Málaga. Even then, a point for Rayo in their game against Granada - both those sides are in trouble and desperate for points - will send them to the Segunda. Zaragoza occupy the third relegation place, but are on a great run and play Getafe this week while Villarreal play Europa League winners Atlético Madrid. They'll be hoping the celebrations have been wilder than is professional. It's a little more clear-cut in Italy. If Genoa get a point, Lecce are gone with Novara and Siena no matter what. Genoa play Palermo at home, Lecce are away to Chievo.
And that's really that for the big leagues. The multitudinous play-offs are ongoing and we'll wrap that up later, but now it's time to look further afield.
We'll be keeping an eye on Scandinavia. The Danish league looks like a race between FC Kobenhavn and Nordsjælland, but nothing catches the eye this week. Elfsborg have started the Swedish league like a train and Rosenborg and Stromsgodset have set quite a pace in Norway.
There are six games to go in Argentina's Clausura and it is, typically, tight as a drum. Boca, defending champions, lead the way, but Arsenal in fifth are only three points behind. Vélez are fourth and play Boca this week at la Bombonera in the big game of the week. Estudiantes play Godoy Cruz, the last time Juan Sebastian Veron will take the field as a professional.
The Uruguayan Clausura is similarly tight, with Defensor Sporting leading by a point from Nacional and Liverpool. Serial trophy winners Peñarol are on the move though and their game away to Montevideo Wanderers is the pick of the week. Chile isn't quite as tight, but the clash between Universidad de Chile and Universidad Catolica is a mouth-watering one. U de Chile are away and clear at the top, but with the title decided on play-offs it's far from over. There's a real logjam to try and make that finals series with four clubs locked on 20 points. Two of those - Santiago Wanderers and Cobreloa - face off this weekend.
Finally, the MLS. In the Eastern Conference, Sporting KC are the class outfit, but two defeats in a row have allowed the field to close in, New York mainly. The Red Bulls take on Philadelphia Union this week and any New York/Phillie clash in any sport is normally tasty. It's high time football acted likewise. The West looks a three-way battle between Real Salt Lake, San Jose Earthquakes and Seattle, the latter of whom are on a tremendous run. The stand-out fixture sees RSL go to Seattle.
We, however, are off to Wembley. It's the FA Trophy final, the highlight of the British sporting calendar. It's York City against Newport County this year. Newport have the upper hand in the league clashes between the two this season, but York finished the league far higher. Let's just hopeYork football is the real winner.
The big one is in Turkey. Fenernahce v Galatasaray clashes are always tasty and Saturday sees the two clash at Fener's Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium in a winner-takes-all title decider. Any winner will take the title. A draw, and it's Gala's. Gala went into the play-off series as league leaders, but haven't been at their best once there having drawn two and lost one of their five games. Fener, meanwhile, have won four and lost one to draw within a point. You don't want gambling advice from us, but back the draw and Gala to take the title.
The big game in France sees Lille - in third place, five points off the lead - take the long trip south to Montpellier. A win for Lille will boost their hopes of retaining the championship, but could also play into the hands of rivals PSG who are away to Rennes this week and three points behind leaders MHSC. It's a pivotal week. At the bottom, Auxerre could be relegated if they lose and a series of results go against them, but it's so tight down there that it's likely to go to the final round.
It's the final round in Spain where Gijón will be relegated unless they can beat Málaga. Even then, a point for Rayo in their game against Granada - both those sides are in trouble and desperate for points - will send them to the Segunda. Zaragoza occupy the third relegation place, but are on a great run and play Getafe this week while Villarreal play Europa League winners Atlético Madrid. They'll be hoping the celebrations have been wilder than is professional. It's a little more clear-cut in Italy. If Genoa get a point, Lecce are gone with Novara and Siena no matter what. Genoa play Palermo at home, Lecce are away to Chievo.
And that's really that for the big leagues. The multitudinous play-offs are ongoing and we'll wrap that up later, but now it's time to look further afield.
We'll be keeping an eye on Scandinavia. The Danish league looks like a race between FC Kobenhavn and Nordsjælland, but nothing catches the eye this week. Elfsborg have started the Swedish league like a train and Rosenborg and Stromsgodset have set quite a pace in Norway.
There are six games to go in Argentina's Clausura and it is, typically, tight as a drum. Boca, defending champions, lead the way, but Arsenal in fifth are only three points behind. Vélez are fourth and play Boca this week at la Bombonera in the big game of the week. Estudiantes play Godoy Cruz, the last time Juan Sebastian Veron will take the field as a professional.
The Uruguayan Clausura is similarly tight, with Defensor Sporting leading by a point from Nacional and Liverpool. Serial trophy winners Peñarol are on the move though and their game away to Montevideo Wanderers is the pick of the week. Chile isn't quite as tight, but the clash between Universidad de Chile and Universidad Catolica is a mouth-watering one. U de Chile are away and clear at the top, but with the title decided on play-offs it's far from over. There's a real logjam to try and make that finals series with four clubs locked on 20 points. Two of those - Santiago Wanderers and Cobreloa - face off this weekend.
Finally, the MLS. In the Eastern Conference, Sporting KC are the class outfit, but two defeats in a row have allowed the field to close in, New York mainly. The Red Bulls take on Philadelphia Union this week and any New York/Phillie clash in any sport is normally tasty. It's high time football acted likewise. The West looks a three-way battle between Real Salt Lake, San Jose Earthquakes and Seattle, the latter of whom are on a tremendous run. The stand-out fixture sees RSL go to Seattle.
We, however, are off to Wembley. It's the FA Trophy final, the highlight of the British sporting calendar. It's York City against Newport County this year. Newport have the upper hand in the league clashes between the two this season, but York finished the league far higher. Let's just hope
Friday, 20 April 2012
Copa Libertadores heads to the knockout rounds
While Europe was in the grip of the Champions League semi-finals this week, South America's premier club competition finally reached the end of it's tortuous group stage.
Four of the eight groups were settled quite early on with two teams dominating throughout. Fluminense and Boca Juniors dominated Group 4 with Flu only losing in gameweek five, to Boca. The Argentine champions had a slow start with a draw against Zamora in Venezuela and a loss to Flu, but then won their final four games to secure second place behind the Brazilians. Back-to-back wins over Arsenal de Sarandi in the middle two weeks made all the difference both to Arsenal and to Boca. Zamora's only point came from that first game.
Libertad and Vasco da Gama dominated Group 5 in similar fashion ahead of Nacional and Alianza Lima and Group 6 was even more divided with Nacional Ascunsión and Deportivo Táchira only mustering one win between them. Corinthians and Cruz Azul progressed unruffled. And in Group 8 Universidad de Chile picked up their Copa Sudamericana-winning form to top the group from Atlético Nacional. Godoy Cruz and Peñarol won a game each.
The big drama came in Group 1 where Flamengo were dumped out in dramatic fashion. Lanús had secured top spot before the final round of matches, but the other three were all in with a shout. Fla had to win - they did, 3-0 against Lanús - to have a hope. Emelec and Olimpia were tied at 2-2 when the final whistle went at the Engenhão, but in stoppage time in Ascunsión, José Quinonez grabbed a winner for Emelec that sent them through instead. Ronaldinho's team were out.
Bolívar had to win on the final day of Group 3 to join Unión Española in the knockout stages and they did, 3-0 over Universidad Catolica. That rendered Junior's win over Unión academic. Vélez Sarsfield dominated Group 7 with a battle on between Deportivo Quito and Defensor Sporting to join them. Fortunately for Depor, they were playing group whipping boys Guadalajara on the final day and duly whipped them 5-0 which meant Defensor's win over Vélez counted for nothing.
Santos walked Group 1 and were joined by Internacional after a nervy final round. Needing a win to be certain of qualifying, Inter lose 1-0 in Peru to Juan Aurich. Fortunately for them, Santos did them a favour by beating Bolivians The Strongest in São Paulo by two goals to nil. Inter snuck through by a point.
And so to knockout football where no Uruguayan side appears for what feels like the first time in ages.
Corinthians take on Emelec where the altitude of Quito could be vital. Both sides will be looking for big home wins, Emelec to take advantage of the altitude and Corinthians to negate it's effect.
Fluminense and Internacional meet in an all-Brazilian tie whiole Brazilian champions Santos have to take on Bolívar and La Paz's rarefied atmosphere. Universidad de Chile, probably the most exciting team in world football at the moment, drew Deportivo Quito while Libertad have the long trip to Mexico to take on Cruz Azul. Boca Juniors play Unión Española, Lanús take on the might of Vasco da Gama and Atlético Nacional, Colombia's only representative in the last 16 with an attack led by group stage top-scorer Dorlan Pabón, will play Vélez Sarsfield.
The knockout round starts on March 30 and, as ever, it should be cracking.
Four of the eight groups were settled quite early on with two teams dominating throughout. Fluminense and Boca Juniors dominated Group 4 with Flu only losing in gameweek five, to Boca. The Argentine champions had a slow start with a draw against Zamora in Venezuela and a loss to Flu, but then won their final four games to secure second place behind the Brazilians. Back-to-back wins over Arsenal de Sarandi in the middle two weeks made all the difference both to Arsenal and to Boca. Zamora's only point came from that first game.
Libertad and Vasco da Gama dominated Group 5 in similar fashion ahead of Nacional and Alianza Lima and Group 6 was even more divided with Nacional Ascunsión and Deportivo Táchira only mustering one win between them. Corinthians and Cruz Azul progressed unruffled. And in Group 8 Universidad de Chile picked up their Copa Sudamericana-winning form to top the group from Atlético Nacional. Godoy Cruz and Peñarol won a game each.
The big drama came in Group 1 where Flamengo were dumped out in dramatic fashion. Lanús had secured top spot before the final round of matches, but the other three were all in with a shout. Fla had to win - they did, 3-0 against Lanús - to have a hope. Emelec and Olimpia were tied at 2-2 when the final whistle went at the Engenhão, but in stoppage time in Ascunsión, José Quinonez grabbed a winner for Emelec that sent them through instead. Ronaldinho's team were out.
Bolívar had to win on the final day of Group 3 to join Unión Española in the knockout stages and they did, 3-0 over Universidad Catolica. That rendered Junior's win over Unión academic. Vélez Sarsfield dominated Group 7 with a battle on between Deportivo Quito and Defensor Sporting to join them. Fortunately for Depor, they were playing group whipping boys Guadalajara on the final day and duly whipped them 5-0 which meant Defensor's win over Vélez counted for nothing.
Santos walked Group 1 and were joined by Internacional after a nervy final round. Needing a win to be certain of qualifying, Inter lose 1-0 in Peru to Juan Aurich. Fortunately for them, Santos did them a favour by beating Bolivians The Strongest in São Paulo by two goals to nil. Inter snuck through by a point.
And so to knockout football where no Uruguayan side appears for what feels like the first time in ages.
Corinthians take on Emelec where the altitude of Quito could be vital. Both sides will be looking for big home wins, Emelec to take advantage of the altitude and Corinthians to negate it's effect.
Fluminense and Internacional meet in an all-Brazilian tie whiole Brazilian champions Santos have to take on Bolívar and La Paz's rarefied atmosphere. Universidad de Chile, probably the most exciting team in world football at the moment, drew Deportivo Quito while Libertad have the long trip to Mexico to take on Cruz Azul. Boca Juniors play Unión Española, Lanús take on the might of Vasco da Gama and Atlético Nacional, Colombia's only representative in the last 16 with an attack led by group stage top-scorer Dorlan Pabón, will play Vélez Sarsfield.
The knockout round starts on March 30 and, as ever, it should be cracking.
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