Lorient 1-0 Le Mans
St Etienne 1-0 Grenoble
Lens 2-2 Rennes
Sochaux 1-0 Monaco
Boulogne 0-0 Auxerre
Nice 0-3 Montpellier
Lyon 3-1 Nancy
Toulouse 0-1 Valenciennes
PSG 3-0 Lille
Marseille 0-0 Bordeaux
With the top two unable to muster a goal between them, PSG made it a three-way tie at the top of Ligue 1 after they'd beaten neighbours Lille at Parc des Princes. Jeremy Clément gave the Parisians a half-time lead and second half goals from Pegguy Luyindula and Christophe Jallet sealed the deal. Later the same evening, Marseille and Bordeaux drew a blank though Brandao and Benoit Cheyrou both went close for the home side. Lyon are the third of the triumvirate that sit on top of the league after they had an easy time of it at home to Nancy. Again, the new signings were the headline grabbers, Bafetimbi Gomis, Lisandro Lopez and Michel Bastos all on target in a 3-1 win. Youssouf Hadji got Nancy's consolation, but Lyon look a more cohesive unit this time despite losing the undoubted talents of Juninho and Karim Benzema. Benzema attracted the sort of money any Ligue 1 club cannot turn down while Juninho's insistence that everything went through him had become a liability as his pace - never that great in the first place - deserted him over the last couple of years. They've now got younger, hungrier and quicker players and look a real force.
Montpellier are right up there after a comfortable win over Nice who ended with ten men. They were already three down by the time Onyekachi Apam was dismissed, Geoffrey Dernis, Victor Montano and Lilian Compan all having scored. Toulouse have made a poor start after a decent year last time, a late goal from Mamadou Samassa securing a win for Valenciennes, their first points of the season. St Etienne too got their first win, Christophe Landrin with the only goal against Grenoble. 1-0 was good enough for Lorient against Le Mans as well, Marama Vahirua with the winner, as it was for Sochaux against Monaco. Vaclav Sverkos converted a 20th minute penalty to give Les Lionceaux the win. Boulogne grabbed another point with a goalless draw at home to struggling Auxerre while Lens and Rennes shared four goals and two red cards at the Felix-Bollaert. Ismael Bangoura put Rennes ahead in the first minute, but Yohan Demont's penalty pegged it back twenty minutes later. Marco Ramos was sent off six minutes after half-time for Lens and was followed twenty minutes afterwards by Yann M'Vila for Rennes. Issam Jemaa put Lens in front shortly after, but Asamoah Gyan levelled matters in the last minute.
The home of football sarcasm
Monday, 31 August 2009
Robben and Ribéry make Bayern a force: Bundesliga reviews
Monchengladbach 2-0 Mainz
Schalke 0-1 Freiburg
Stuttgart 0-0 Nurnberg
Eintracht 1-1 Dortmund
Hannover 0-1 Hoffenheim
Leverkusen 2-1 Bochum
Bayern 3-0 Wolfsburg
Hertha 2-3 Bremen
Hamburg 3-1 Cologne
It's official. It takes €25m, or thereabouts, to turn a club from a complete farce into a genuine force. That's the price Bayern paid to Real Madrid for Arjen Robben, but that's only really half the story: Franck Ribéry is back as well. The value of the Frenchman to the club is enormous, as the performances without him have testified. Wolfsburg, on the other hand, just aren't clicking. Josué was out for this one and the team struggled to get Edin Dzeko involved, though the Bosnian came close twice, hitting the post with a superb shot on the the turn and forcing Hans-Jorg Butt - the veteran in for the ever more flappy Michael Rensing - into a brilliant reflex save. Mario Gomez had put the Bavarians ahead when Diego Benaglio couldn't hold Hamit Altintop's long range strike and spilled it at Gomez's feet, but the real difference opened up when Altintop was withdrawn at half-time and Robben was sent on. Bayern were a team transformed with attacks coming from all angles, totally overwhelming the Wolfsburg defence. With Anatoliy Tymoschuk providing defensive solidity in midfield, Ribéry and Robben had free rein and the former sent the latter away for Bayern's second, though the shot took a nasty deflection which took it away from Benaglio. The same two were involved for the third, Ribéry slipping a square ball in for the Dutchman who sent the defenders out for a paper with an outrageous dummy before slotting home. What a debut. They're back.
It's Hamburg who are top though after another impressive win, Paolo Guerrero bagging two more as Cologne, who slip to bottom place, were put away 3-1. Guerrero's first came courtesy of some slack defending, but the second was all quality, his low strike coming on the end of some slick football. Adil Chihi gave Cologne hope with quarter of an hour to go thanks to this 30-yard speculator, but Piotr Trochowski's late penalty ensured no dramas for the new league leaders. Leverkusen eased past Bochum to remain level with Hamburg, though they had to come from behind after Diego Klimovic put Bochum ahead. Manuel Friedrich levelled it and the in-form Stefan Kiessling won it for Leverkusen. Freiburg notched their first win away at Schalke, Du-Ri Cha with the only goal of the game while Stuttgart could only mamage a goalless draw with Nurnberg. Carlos Eduardo got Hoffenheim's only goal as they won their first game of the season away at Hannover while Eintracht came from behind to draw with Dortmund, Ioannis Amanatidis equalising Mohamed Zidan's opener.
Mainz could have gone top on Friday night, but Gladbach got goals in each half, Raul Bobadilla and Marco Reus the scorers, to end Mainz's little run of results. Hertha lost again, this time by the odd goal in five to Bremen. After a goalless first 45, Mesut Ozil and Tim Borowski put Bremen two up, Lukas Piszczek pulled one back before Naldo made the game safe with seven minutes to go. Patrick Ebert's last minute goal was just consolation.
Schalke 0-1 Freiburg
Stuttgart 0-0 Nurnberg
Eintracht 1-1 Dortmund
Hannover 0-1 Hoffenheim
Leverkusen 2-1 Bochum
Bayern 3-0 Wolfsburg
Hertha 2-3 Bremen
Hamburg 3-1 Cologne
It's official. It takes €25m, or thereabouts, to turn a club from a complete farce into a genuine force. That's the price Bayern paid to Real Madrid for Arjen Robben, but that's only really half the story: Franck Ribéry is back as well. The value of the Frenchman to the club is enormous, as the performances without him have testified. Wolfsburg, on the other hand, just aren't clicking. Josué was out for this one and the team struggled to get Edin Dzeko involved, though the Bosnian came close twice, hitting the post with a superb shot on the the turn and forcing Hans-Jorg Butt - the veteran in for the ever more flappy Michael Rensing - into a brilliant reflex save. Mario Gomez had put the Bavarians ahead when Diego Benaglio couldn't hold Hamit Altintop's long range strike and spilled it at Gomez's feet, but the real difference opened up when Altintop was withdrawn at half-time and Robben was sent on. Bayern were a team transformed with attacks coming from all angles, totally overwhelming the Wolfsburg defence. With Anatoliy Tymoschuk providing defensive solidity in midfield, Ribéry and Robben had free rein and the former sent the latter away for Bayern's second, though the shot took a nasty deflection which took it away from Benaglio. The same two were involved for the third, Ribéry slipping a square ball in for the Dutchman who sent the defenders out for a paper with an outrageous dummy before slotting home. What a debut. They're back.
It's Hamburg who are top though after another impressive win, Paolo Guerrero bagging two more as Cologne, who slip to bottom place, were put away 3-1. Guerrero's first came courtesy of some slack defending, but the second was all quality, his low strike coming on the end of some slick football. Adil Chihi gave Cologne hope with quarter of an hour to go thanks to this 30-yard speculator, but Piotr Trochowski's late penalty ensured no dramas for the new league leaders. Leverkusen eased past Bochum to remain level with Hamburg, though they had to come from behind after Diego Klimovic put Bochum ahead. Manuel Friedrich levelled it and the in-form Stefan Kiessling won it for Leverkusen. Freiburg notched their first win away at Schalke, Du-Ri Cha with the only goal of the game while Stuttgart could only mamage a goalless draw with Nurnberg. Carlos Eduardo got Hoffenheim's only goal as they won their first game of the season away at Hannover while Eintracht came from behind to draw with Dortmund, Ioannis Amanatidis equalising Mohamed Zidan's opener.
Mainz could have gone top on Friday night, but Gladbach got goals in each half, Raul Bobadilla and Marco Reus the scorers, to end Mainz's little run of results. Hertha lost again, this time by the odd goal in five to Bremen. After a goalless first 45, Mesut Ozil and Tim Borowski put Bremen two up, Lukas Piszczek pulled one back before Naldo made the game safe with seven minutes to go. Patrick Ebert's last minute goal was just consolation.
AZ sneak in front: Eredivisie reviews
Roda 3-4 Vitesse
Waalwijk 0-2 Den Haag
NEC 1-1 VVV Venlo
AZ 2-1 Willem II
Utrecht 2-0 Sparta
Feyenoord 1-1 Twente
NAC 2-0 Heerenveen
Groningen 0-2 PSV
Heracles 0-3 Ajax
After losing their opening game of the season, perhaps the pressure was removed from AZ's shoulders. However they've quickly found their groove, if not the swagger that saw them breeze to the title last season. They were ahead in Saturday's game at home to Willem II within seven minutes, Brett Holman reacting quickest following Mounir El Hamdaoui's airshot, volleying left footed past Maikal Aerts. Slack marking at a corner half way through the first half saw Sergio Zijler, but AZ were back in front within a minute, the Tilburgers unable to deal with a corner this time and Hector Moreno shooting on the turn for 2-1. Twente should probably have gone back ahead of AZ on Sunday when they took on Feyenoord at De Kuip. Though Sander Boschker was responsible for keeping Twente in it early on and Steve McClaren was sent to the stands early in the second half, Nicky Kuipers put the Enschede side in front with quarter of an hour left, lashing homoe from the edge of the box as a Twente attack threatened to break down. Into stoppage time, and Jonathan De Guzman was upended on the edge of the Twente box and he took the free-kick himself which was handled by a defender in the wall. Roy Makaay stepped up to take the penalty, sent Boschker the wrong way to make it 1-1. Twente will be vulnerable to that sort of thing while they're not getting more than one or two goals per game.
Ajax hammered Heracles in Almelo, eventually. A dull opening 45 remained goalless, but Ajax cut loose after the break, Demy de Zeeuw's free-kick forcing a corner from which Toby Alderweireld headed in off the underside of the bar. Two late goals - Dario Cvitanich and Ismail Aissati - put a gloss on the scoreline. Danny Koevermans was on target for both of PSV's goals as they eased past Groningen, his first a free header from six yards, the second a super volley across the goal and inside the far post. Utrecht are still unbeaten and won again, 2-0 at home to Sparta, and Ton du Chatinier's side are playing some really good football. With no real stars - even Cedric van der Gun has moved on - it's more the collective team approach which has paid dividends for Twente and AZ as they broke the Big Three's hegemony last season. Jacob Lensky stepped through the defence to slot home the opener just after the hour and Gregoor van Dijk's penalty made the game safe after Jacob Mulenga was brought down. They are going well, but the small squad may scupper their chances of European qualification.
Another draw for VVV and, yes, Keisuke Honda was awesome again, setting up Sandro Calabro for the opener away at NEC. Ramon Zomer equalised in the second half making it five straight draws for the newcomers. Heerenveen's tough start to the season continued with defeat in Breda, Kees Kwakman and Matthew Amoah with two goals in the space of three second half minutes. Waalwijk are still without a win after Friday's defeat to Den Haag for whom Bogdan Milic and Wesley Verhoek struck either side of half-time. Vitesse are off the mark after coming from behind in Kerkrade. Vitesse were in front inside a minute through Lasse Nilsson and, though Mads Junker equalised, they went in ahead at half-time thanks to Nicky Hofs. A Franck van der Struijk own goal and Anouar Hadouir put Roda ahead with half an hour to go, but Sinan Kaloglu equalised on 75 minutes and a late, late winner from Santi Kolk ended a breathless game.
Waalwijk 0-2 Den Haag
NEC 1-1 VVV Venlo
AZ 2-1 Willem II
Utrecht 2-0 Sparta
Feyenoord 1-1 Twente
NAC 2-0 Heerenveen
Groningen 0-2 PSV
Heracles 0-3 Ajax
After losing their opening game of the season, perhaps the pressure was removed from AZ's shoulders. However they've quickly found their groove, if not the swagger that saw them breeze to the title last season. They were ahead in Saturday's game at home to Willem II within seven minutes, Brett Holman reacting quickest following Mounir El Hamdaoui's airshot, volleying left footed past Maikal Aerts. Slack marking at a corner half way through the first half saw Sergio Zijler, but AZ were back in front within a minute, the Tilburgers unable to deal with a corner this time and Hector Moreno shooting on the turn for 2-1. Twente should probably have gone back ahead of AZ on Sunday when they took on Feyenoord at De Kuip. Though Sander Boschker was responsible for keeping Twente in it early on and Steve McClaren was sent to the stands early in the second half, Nicky Kuipers put the Enschede side in front with quarter of an hour left, lashing homoe from the edge of the box as a Twente attack threatened to break down. Into stoppage time, and Jonathan De Guzman was upended on the edge of the Twente box and he took the free-kick himself which was handled by a defender in the wall. Roy Makaay stepped up to take the penalty, sent Boschker the wrong way to make it 1-1. Twente will be vulnerable to that sort of thing while they're not getting more than one or two goals per game.
Ajax hammered Heracles in Almelo, eventually. A dull opening 45 remained goalless, but Ajax cut loose after the break, Demy de Zeeuw's free-kick forcing a corner from which Toby Alderweireld headed in off the underside of the bar. Two late goals - Dario Cvitanich and Ismail Aissati - put a gloss on the scoreline. Danny Koevermans was on target for both of PSV's goals as they eased past Groningen, his first a free header from six yards, the second a super volley across the goal and inside the far post. Utrecht are still unbeaten and won again, 2-0 at home to Sparta, and Ton du Chatinier's side are playing some really good football. With no real stars - even Cedric van der Gun has moved on - it's more the collective team approach which has paid dividends for Twente and AZ as they broke the Big Three's hegemony last season. Jacob Lensky stepped through the defence to slot home the opener just after the hour and Gregoor van Dijk's penalty made the game safe after Jacob Mulenga was brought down. They are going well, but the small squad may scupper their chances of European qualification.
Another draw for VVV and, yes, Keisuke Honda was awesome again, setting up Sandro Calabro for the opener away at NEC. Ramon Zomer equalised in the second half making it five straight draws for the newcomers. Heerenveen's tough start to the season continued with defeat in Breda, Kees Kwakman and Matthew Amoah with two goals in the space of three second half minutes. Waalwijk are still without a win after Friday's defeat to Den Haag for whom Bogdan Milic and Wesley Verhoek struck either side of half-time. Vitesse are off the mark after coming from behind in Kerkrade. Vitesse were in front inside a minute through Lasse Nilsson and, though Mads Junker equalised, they went in ahead at half-time thanks to Nicky Hofs. A Franck van der Struijk own goal and Anouar Hadouir put Roda ahead with half an hour to go, but Sinan Kaloglu equalised on 75 minutes and a late, late winner from Santi Kolk ended a breathless game.
Friday, 28 August 2009
TV Listings to September 3rd
A look ahead to what's on this week for our UK readers.
| Day | Time | League | Game | Channel |
| Friday | 19:30 | Bundesliga | Monchengladbach v Mainz | ESPN Live |
| Friday | 21:30 | Serie A | Round up | ESPN |
| Saturday | 19:30 | Bundesliga | Bayern Munich v Wolfsburg | ESPN Live |
| Saturday | 19:00 | La Liga | Real Madrid v Deportivo La Coruna | SKY Sports 2 Live |
| Saturday | 19:45 | Serie A | AC Milan v Internazionale | ESPN Live |
| Saturday | 21:00 | La Liga | Real Zaragoza v Tenerife | SKY Sports 2 Live |
| Sunday | 17:00 | Serie A | Roma v Juventus | ESPN Live |
| Sunday | 18:00 | La Liga | Valancia v Sevilla | SKY Sports 2 Live |
| Monday | 11:00 | Eredivisie | Feyenoord v FC Twente | ESPN |
| Monday | 17:30 | Bundesliga | Hertha Berlin v Werder Bremen | ESPN |
| Monday | 21:00 | La Liga | Barcelona v Sporting Gijon | SKY Sports 2 |
| Monday | 21:30 | Bundesliga | Round Up Show | ESPN |
| Tuesday | 13:15 | Russian PL | Lokomotiv Moscow v Kuban | ESPN |
| Tuesday | 14:45 | Russian PL | Spartak Moscow v Rubin Kazan | ESPN |
| Tuesday | 18:00 | La Liga | Revista de La Liga | SKY Sports 1 |
| Tuesday | 21:00 | Serie A | Round Up Show | ESPN |
| Wednesday | 18:15 | Liga Sagres | PortuGol | ESPN |
Looking for your Brasileiro update?
With the continued coverage of everything Brazil and South America whilst the summer was on it filled a hole here at Euroballs. Now we're back underway in Europe the team here got the feeling that the South American updates were distracting from the main purpose and coverage of the major European leagues so we've done something about it and set up a new site.
For all your Campeonato Brasileiro Serié A updates, plus the Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana updates then please visit the new site at CONMEBalls where we continue from where we left off on here.
On there shortly, a look back at the catch up games in Brazil and a review of this weeks action in the Copa Nissan Sudamericana.
For all your Campeonato Brasileiro Serié A updates, plus the Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana updates then please visit the new site at CONMEBalls where we continue from where we left off on here.
On there shortly, a look back at the catch up games in Brazil and a review of this weeks action in the Copa Nissan Sudamericana.
Bundesliga round 4
Schalke v Freiburg
Stuttgart v Nurnberg
Eintracht v Dortmund
Hannover v Hoffenheim
Leverkusen v Bochum
Bayern v Wolfsburg
Hertha v Bremen
Hamburg v Cologne
Top game this week is at the AllianzArena where Bayern, perhaps with new signing Arjen Robben on board, face the champions Wolfsburg. The Wolves were undone by a rampant Hamburg a week ago and will be smarting. They hadn't played that badly for a long time and still came within an ace of getting something out of the game, so a trip to face the woefully out of sorts Bavarians won't hold any fears. The last time these clubs met, it was a virtual title decider and if that isn't an excuse to show Grafite's brilliant goal that made it 5-1, then what is? More of this please. ESPN viewers in the UK can see this one live.
Hamburg welcome Cologne to the NordbankArena as they look to continue their excellent and exhilarating start to the season. Bruno Labbadia has them playing with flair and confidence and Ze Roberto could easily be buy of the summer. He was outstanding as Hamburg stuck four past Wolfsburg a week ago and has freed up the midfield as he does the water-carrying. By contrast, Cologne look a poor side and Lukas Podolski had better start scoring soon before it's too late. He's unlikely to ever get a proper barracking from the fans that clearly love him, but at the moment he looks like an expensive luxury. Leverkusen sit on top and will probably stay there after beating Bochum, Schalke should have no problem against bottom club Freiburg and Stuttgart are too strong for Nurnberg.
Gladbach get the round underway on Friday night against Maniz who won so well last week in another game ESPN will be carrying, Eintracht host Dortmund, Hoffenheim are still looking for their first win of the campaign and go to Hannover and Bremen go to Berlin to face Hertha.
Stuttgart v Nurnberg
Eintracht v Dortmund
Hannover v Hoffenheim
Leverkusen v Bochum
Bayern v Wolfsburg
Hertha v Bremen
Hamburg v Cologne
Top game this week is at the AllianzArena where Bayern, perhaps with new signing Arjen Robben on board, face the champions Wolfsburg. The Wolves were undone by a rampant Hamburg a week ago and will be smarting. They hadn't played that badly for a long time and still came within an ace of getting something out of the game, so a trip to face the woefully out of sorts Bavarians won't hold any fears. The last time these clubs met, it was a virtual title decider and if that isn't an excuse to show Grafite's brilliant goal that made it 5-1, then what is? More of this please. ESPN viewers in the UK can see this one live.
Hamburg welcome Cologne to the NordbankArena as they look to continue their excellent and exhilarating start to the season. Bruno Labbadia has them playing with flair and confidence and Ze Roberto could easily be buy of the summer. He was outstanding as Hamburg stuck four past Wolfsburg a week ago and has freed up the midfield as he does the water-carrying. By contrast, Cologne look a poor side and Lukas Podolski had better start scoring soon before it's too late. He's unlikely to ever get a proper barracking from the fans that clearly love him, but at the moment he looks like an expensive luxury. Leverkusen sit on top and will probably stay there after beating Bochum, Schalke should have no problem against bottom club Freiburg and Stuttgart are too strong for Nurnberg.
Gladbach get the round underway on Friday night against Maniz who won so well last week in another game ESPN will be carrying, Eintracht host Dortmund, Hoffenheim are still looking for their first win of the campaign and go to Hannover and Bremen go to Berlin to face Hertha.
Ligue 1 round 4
Lorient v Le Mans
St Etienne v Grenoble
Lens v Rennes
Sochaux v Monaco
Boulogne v Auxerre
Nice v Montpellier
Lyon v Nancy
Toulouse v Valenciennes
PSG v Lille
Marseille v Bordeaux
Last season's top two go head-to-head on Sunday at the Vélodrome with erstwhile international colleagues Didier Deschamps and Laurent Blanc in charge of the sides. It's Blanc who sees his side sitting pretty atop the standings at this early stage with three wins from three, Deschamps' side a couple of points back, with the main difference between Bordeaux and the rest being that man Yoann Gourcuff. How and why Milan were prepared to let him go, especially once Kaka was on his way, becomes a bigger mystery by the minute. The two clubs had differing fortunes in the Champions League draw, with Bordeaux getting the comparatively easier ride with Bayern, Maccabi Haifa and Juventus in their group while Marseille got Milan, Real Madrid and FC Zurich. Marseille aren't invincible at home and I fancy Bordeaux to shade this one.
Local derby time at Parc des Princes where Lille are the visitors on the back of a good win in Europe having beaten Genk 4-2 on the night. Lyon also won well in Europe thanks to a Lisandro Lopez hat-trick and he's settled quickly into the vacant spot left by Karim Benzema. Lyon face Nancy this week who themselves have started well, though it's difficult to imagine Claude Puel's side having many problems here. Toulouse scraped through in Europe and will have to be better at home to Valenciennes.
Boulogne's decent start can very well continue at home to Auxerre who look clueless at the moment. Not as clueless as St Etienne though, at home to Grenoble this week and chasing Dutch striker Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink. I'm not sure if this is the big name signing the Geoffroy-Guichard faithful. It's derby time up north at Lorient where Le Mans are in town, and down south where Nice take a trip along the coast to Montpellier. Lens have started life back in the top flight pretty well and face Rennes at the Felix-Bollaert and Monaco go to Sochaux in indifferent form.
St Etienne v Grenoble
Lens v Rennes
Sochaux v Monaco
Boulogne v Auxerre
Nice v Montpellier
Lyon v Nancy
Toulouse v Valenciennes
PSG v Lille
Marseille v Bordeaux
Last season's top two go head-to-head on Sunday at the Vélodrome with erstwhile international colleagues Didier Deschamps and Laurent Blanc in charge of the sides. It's Blanc who sees his side sitting pretty atop the standings at this early stage with three wins from three, Deschamps' side a couple of points back, with the main difference between Bordeaux and the rest being that man Yoann Gourcuff. How and why Milan were prepared to let him go, especially once Kaka was on his way, becomes a bigger mystery by the minute. The two clubs had differing fortunes in the Champions League draw, with Bordeaux getting the comparatively easier ride with Bayern, Maccabi Haifa and Juventus in their group while Marseille got Milan, Real Madrid and FC Zurich. Marseille aren't invincible at home and I fancy Bordeaux to shade this one.
Local derby time at Parc des Princes where Lille are the visitors on the back of a good win in Europe having beaten Genk 4-2 on the night. Lyon also won well in Europe thanks to a Lisandro Lopez hat-trick and he's settled quickly into the vacant spot left by Karim Benzema. Lyon face Nancy this week who themselves have started well, though it's difficult to imagine Claude Puel's side having many problems here. Toulouse scraped through in Europe and will have to be better at home to Valenciennes.
Boulogne's decent start can very well continue at home to Auxerre who look clueless at the moment. Not as clueless as St Etienne though, at home to Grenoble this week and chasing Dutch striker Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink. I'm not sure if this is the big name signing the Geoffroy-Guichard faithful. It's derby time up north at Lorient where Le Mans are in town, and down south where Nice take a trip along the coast to Montpellier. Lens have started life back in the top flight pretty well and face Rennes at the Felix-Bollaert and Monaco go to Sochaux in indifferent form.
Eredivisie round 5
Roda v Vitesse
Waalwijk v Den Haag
NEC v VVV Venlo
AZ v Willem II
Utrecht v Sparta
Feyenoord v Twente
NAC v Heerenveen
Groningen v PSV
Heracles v Ajax
A month gone already in the Netherlands and already the top five is populated by the clubs you'd expect to be in there; the traditional Big Three plus latecomers AZ and Twente. This week's top game is at De Kuip where Feyenoord welcome Twente. Slipping under most radars (mine included: mea culpa), Feyenoord are top of the tree despite not changing personnel so much. The ageing strike force is still in place, but Jon Dahl Tomasson looks a man reborn under Mario Been who is leading a quiet revolution down in Rotterdam. The first thing he did was to trim the massive squad down to something more manageable and more drastic surgery on it may have to wait until some of the massive wages (Makaay, Tomasson, van Bronkhorst) come off the bill as contracts expire. Rumour has it that Chelsea fancy playmaker Jonathan de Guzman which would leave a creative black hole in the middle of the park for Feyenoord, but for now they're going OK. Steve McClaren is doing something similar in Enschede having lost two thirds of his three-man attack from last season. Unlike last term, Twente's football isn't getting many pulses racing, but they're so hard to break down and that's seen them to an unbeaten start to the season.
PSV, AZ and Ajax will all fancy to come away with wins from the weekend, though Heracles may fancy themselves at home to the Amsterdammers. Sparta took a point off them a week ago and they were less than impressive midweek against Slovan Bratislava, though that tie was done and dusted in the first leg. PSV's trip to Groningen and AZ's home game with Willem II both look pretty straightforward.
VVV are a good bet for a first win of the season away at NEC, Vitesse need a kick start to their season away in Kerkrade while Sparta go to Utrecht who are still unbeaten. Heerenveen won through in Europe on away goals midweek and are still struggling for form. Their trip to Breda will not be easy and Waalwijk look to get their season going with their easiest fixture to date, at least on paper, at home to Den Haag.
Waalwijk v Den Haag
NEC v VVV Venlo
AZ v Willem II
Utrecht v Sparta
Feyenoord v Twente
NAC v Heerenveen
Groningen v PSV
Heracles v Ajax
A month gone already in the Netherlands and already the top five is populated by the clubs you'd expect to be in there; the traditional Big Three plus latecomers AZ and Twente. This week's top game is at De Kuip where Feyenoord welcome Twente. Slipping under most radars (mine included: mea culpa), Feyenoord are top of the tree despite not changing personnel so much. The ageing strike force is still in place, but Jon Dahl Tomasson looks a man reborn under Mario Been who is leading a quiet revolution down in Rotterdam. The first thing he did was to trim the massive squad down to something more manageable and more drastic surgery on it may have to wait until some of the massive wages (Makaay, Tomasson, van Bronkhorst) come off the bill as contracts expire. Rumour has it that Chelsea fancy playmaker Jonathan de Guzman which would leave a creative black hole in the middle of the park for Feyenoord, but for now they're going OK. Steve McClaren is doing something similar in Enschede having lost two thirds of his three-man attack from last season. Unlike last term, Twente's football isn't getting many pulses racing, but they're so hard to break down and that's seen them to an unbeaten start to the season.
PSV, AZ and Ajax will all fancy to come away with wins from the weekend, though Heracles may fancy themselves at home to the Amsterdammers. Sparta took a point off them a week ago and they were less than impressive midweek against Slovan Bratislava, though that tie was done and dusted in the first leg. PSV's trip to Groningen and AZ's home game with Willem II both look pretty straightforward.
VVV are a good bet for a first win of the season away at NEC, Vitesse need a kick start to their season away in Kerkrade while Sparta go to Utrecht who are still unbeaten. Heerenveen won through in Europe on away goals midweek and are still struggling for form. Their trip to Breda will not be easy and Waalwijk look to get their season going with their easiest fixture to date, at least on paper, at home to Den Haag.
Thursday, 27 August 2009
La Liga 2009-10 Season Preview
For the first time in a number of years, La Liga has top billing in Europe. Real Madrid, due to Florentino Perez's transfer frenzy, spent enough money this summer to bail out a regional British Building Society and observers from Malaga to Moscow are anxious to see whether it will be enough to swing back the transfer of power from the all-conquering Barcelona team of the 2008-09 season, who won the hearts of so many neutrals with their smooth style.
In addition to the six new players (Kaka, some Portuguese bloke, Raul Albiol, Xabi Alonso, Karim Benzema and finally Alvaro Arbeloa, a bloke for whom the label of Galactico is frankly laughable but there he is nonetheless) El Real also have a new coach, the Chilean Manuel Pellegrini. The former Villarreal tactician did an admirable job with the Yellow Submarine but faces an entirely different task at the Bernabau, a club with the most demanding of fans and boardroom. It will be interesting to see how Pellegrini deals with a club full of superstars, considering that on the one occasion he has actually had to deal with one - Juan Riquelme at Villarreal - he fell out with him, cast him into the reserves and then packed him off back to Argentina. With so many internationals and massive egos to deal with, will he be able to keep everyone happy? One thing's for sure, it definitely won't be dull - Real Madrid never are. Pellegrini has an embarrassment of riches going forward, but it remains to be seen whether the additions of Spanish internationals Albiol and Arbeloa will be enough to patch up the leaky defence.
Barcelona, by comparison, have had a rather low-key summer. Of course, they had their limelight with the transfers last season, splashing out on Alves, Hleb and the like. This year, they decided to go toe-to-toe with their main rivals on the ridiculous spending front by getting completely done over by Inter for Zlatan Ibrahimovic. They were certainly keen on landing the big-headed Swede; So much so they exchanged €46m AND Samuel Eto'o for him. Madness. Clearly Pep Guardiola thinks he will take up the goal burden caused by the departure of Eto'o, and we can expect more of the same slick, attacking football from Messi, Iniesta & co, while Daniel Alves rampages up and down the right hand side like a crazed Duracell bunny.
The fight for the title of 'best of the rest' last season was won by Sevilla, and the Andalucians spent some serious dosh this summer by their standards, bringing in Alvaro Negredo for €14m (great move by Monchi, top drawer striker) and Didier Zokora for €10m (What on earth were you thinking?!). With Negredo coming in, there will hopefully be less reliance on the goals (and fitness) on Fredi Kanoute, at least while Luis Fabiano flutters his eyelids at Man City and AC Milan like a cheap Parisian prostitute. Sevilla are a balanced outfit who sometimes play functional football, but they prove more reliable than most. Its a season of transition for Villarreal - new coach (former Espanyol manager Ernesto Valverde, fresh from a successful season in Greece with Olympiakos), and a changed squad with Matias Fernandez, Guillermo Franco, Pascal Cygan (stop sniggering at the back) and Jozy Altidore all gone. Highly rated Brazilian striker Nilmar is the most high profile of the arrivals, while Spanish U21 defender Ivan Marcano arrives from Racing. Last season Villarreal flattered to deceive, and once again the top four may be beyond them.
Atletico Madrid have had a quiet summer with no major arrivals - Abel Resino is probably just pleased to a) still have a job and b) keep Kun Aguero and Diego Forlan. They have made it into the Champions League group stages but that famously porous defence will still be their downfall from challenging for major honours. Despite their financial situation, Valencia have so far managed to hold on to the holy trinity of Villa, Silva and Mata, so they are likely to mount a concerted top four challenge under the talented tutelage of Unai Emery. Espanyol's preparations were tragically disrupted by the death of captain Dani Jarque, so a top six finish may be beyond their reach from their new 40,000 seater stadium. They have made some interesting signings such as Shunshuke Nakamura and Joan Verdu and Mauricio Pochettino should cement his reputation as a well regarded coach.
Elsewhere, its a welcome return to the top flight for Real Zaragoza, the best-placed of the promoted sides to stay up; Osasuna should improve on last season, particularly after the bargain €1m acquisition of Javier Camunas from relegated Recreativo; Deportivo, Athletic and Malaga should all end mid-table; It will be seasons of struggle for Racing, Xerex, Tenerife, Valladolid and Sporting Gijon.
Round 1 Fixtures:
Real Madrid vs Deportivo
Zaragoza vs Tenerife
Athletic vs Espanyol
Malaga vs Atletico Madrid
Mallorca vs Xerex
Osasuna vs Villarreal
Racing vs Getafe
Valencia vs Sevilla
Almeria vs Valladolid
Barcelona vs Sporting Gijon
In addition to the six new players (Kaka, some Portuguese bloke, Raul Albiol, Xabi Alonso, Karim Benzema and finally Alvaro Arbeloa, a bloke for whom the label of Galactico is frankly laughable but there he is nonetheless) El Real also have a new coach, the Chilean Manuel Pellegrini. The former Villarreal tactician did an admirable job with the Yellow Submarine but faces an entirely different task at the Bernabau, a club with the most demanding of fans and boardroom. It will be interesting to see how Pellegrini deals with a club full of superstars, considering that on the one occasion he has actually had to deal with one - Juan Riquelme at Villarreal - he fell out with him, cast him into the reserves and then packed him off back to Argentina. With so many internationals and massive egos to deal with, will he be able to keep everyone happy? One thing's for sure, it definitely won't be dull - Real Madrid never are. Pellegrini has an embarrassment of riches going forward, but it remains to be seen whether the additions of Spanish internationals Albiol and Arbeloa will be enough to patch up the leaky defence.
Barcelona, by comparison, have had a rather low-key summer. Of course, they had their limelight with the transfers last season, splashing out on Alves, Hleb and the like. This year, they decided to go toe-to-toe with their main rivals on the ridiculous spending front by getting completely done over by Inter for Zlatan Ibrahimovic. They were certainly keen on landing the big-headed Swede; So much so they exchanged €46m AND Samuel Eto'o for him. Madness. Clearly Pep Guardiola thinks he will take up the goal burden caused by the departure of Eto'o, and we can expect more of the same slick, attacking football from Messi, Iniesta & co, while Daniel Alves rampages up and down the right hand side like a crazed Duracell bunny.
The fight for the title of 'best of the rest' last season was won by Sevilla, and the Andalucians spent some serious dosh this summer by their standards, bringing in Alvaro Negredo for €14m (great move by Monchi, top drawer striker) and Didier Zokora for €10m (What on earth were you thinking?!). With Negredo coming in, there will hopefully be less reliance on the goals (and fitness) on Fredi Kanoute, at least while Luis Fabiano flutters his eyelids at Man City and AC Milan like a cheap Parisian prostitute. Sevilla are a balanced outfit who sometimes play functional football, but they prove more reliable than most. Its a season of transition for Villarreal - new coach (former Espanyol manager Ernesto Valverde, fresh from a successful season in Greece with Olympiakos), and a changed squad with Matias Fernandez, Guillermo Franco, Pascal Cygan (stop sniggering at the back) and Jozy Altidore all gone. Highly rated Brazilian striker Nilmar is the most high profile of the arrivals, while Spanish U21 defender Ivan Marcano arrives from Racing. Last season Villarreal flattered to deceive, and once again the top four may be beyond them.
Atletico Madrid have had a quiet summer with no major arrivals - Abel Resino is probably just pleased to a) still have a job and b) keep Kun Aguero and Diego Forlan. They have made it into the Champions League group stages but that famously porous defence will still be their downfall from challenging for major honours. Despite their financial situation, Valencia have so far managed to hold on to the holy trinity of Villa, Silva and Mata, so they are likely to mount a concerted top four challenge under the talented tutelage of Unai Emery. Espanyol's preparations were tragically disrupted by the death of captain Dani Jarque, so a top six finish may be beyond their reach from their new 40,000 seater stadium. They have made some interesting signings such as Shunshuke Nakamura and Joan Verdu and Mauricio Pochettino should cement his reputation as a well regarded coach.
Elsewhere, its a welcome return to the top flight for Real Zaragoza, the best-placed of the promoted sides to stay up; Osasuna should improve on last season, particularly after the bargain €1m acquisition of Javier Camunas from relegated Recreativo; Deportivo, Athletic and Malaga should all end mid-table; It will be seasons of struggle for Racing, Xerex, Tenerife, Valladolid and Sporting Gijon.
Round 1 Fixtures:
Real Madrid vs Deportivo
Zaragoza vs Tenerife
Athletic vs Espanyol
Malaga vs Atletico Madrid
Mallorca vs Xerex
Osasuna vs Villarreal
Racing vs Getafe
Valencia vs Sevilla
Almeria vs Valladolid
Barcelona vs Sporting Gijon
Monday, 24 August 2009
Campeonato Brasileiro Série A Week 21
Santo André 1-0 Coritiba
Palmeiras 2-1 Internacional
Sport Recife 2-0 Vitória
Grêmio 4-1 Atlético Miniero
Fluminense 0-0 Barueri
Corinthians 3-3 Botafogo
Atlético Paranaense 1-0 São Paulo
Avaí 3-0 Flamengo
Cruzeiro 4-2 Náutico
Goiás 2-1 Santos
Santo André made it two wins in a week after overcoming 10 man Coritiba. They visitors were down to 10 men inside 20 minutes, Rodrigo Pontes going for a second yellow card. Nunes won it for Santo André, heading home ummarked from 6 yards out 9 minutes before the break. Sport picked up their first win since 12 July after overcoming a Vitória side currently going through some patchy form. Andrade put Sport ahead on the quarter hour with a free kick that the goalkeeper might as well have thrown in the net with the effort made to attempt save. Fabiano Pereira doubled the advantage with a header after half an hour to lift Sport off the bottom of the table. Inconsistent Grêmio defeated inconsistent Atlético-MG in Porto Alegre. Réver headed Grêmio after 8 minutes and quick fire goals form Edixon Perea and Souza saw Grêmio go in three up at the break. Jonas extended the lead further on the hour before Evandro gain scant consolation for Atlético-MG with 12 minutes left.
Fluminense picked up a point against Barueri at the Maracaña and were lucky to do so. Joint Série A leading scorer Val Baiano guilty of missing chances. The visitors actually finished with 9 men, Diego and André Luís seeing red. Botafogo trailed Corinhtians three times but managed to escape with a point. Denthino put Corinthians ahead from the spot just before half time, but Reinaldo levelled just after the break. Marchino then put Corinthians ahead again only for Andre Lima to level things again. A second penalty from Denthino put the home side ahead again but Botafogo didn't give up and Lucio Flavio levelled things up for the last time with 11 minutes to go. São Paulo's 7 match winning run was snapped by Atlético-PR in Curitiba. Paulo Baier headed the only goal of the game with 4 minutes to go after beating a flapping Rogério Ceni to the ball.
Flamengo slumped to a third straight defeat against an Avaí side that now boasts the longest unbeated run in the league. Luis Ricardo had Avaí ahead inside 8 minutes and Leo Gago doubled the advantage after half an hour. Willians was sent off for Flamengo with 20 minutes to go and Fabinho Capixaba put the icing on the cake for Avaí with 11 minutes to go to leave them in a qualifying position for next years Libertadores. Cruzeiro made it 4 unbeaten after overcoming Náutico. Wellington Paulista was the start of the show for the home side after hitting a hat-trick. Fabricio got the other goal for Cruzeiro with Gilmar and Carlinhos Bala replying for Náutico. Goiás took advantage of the slip up by São Paulo to move into second. Vitor put Goiás ahead in the 19th minute with a rasping drive before Kléber Pereira levelled for Santos 10 minutes. Felipe edged Goiás ahead 5 minutes into the second half and they held on depite the dismissal of João Paulo 5 minutes from time.
The game of the weekend was at the Palestra Itália, where the Big Green of Palmeiras, in a retro Italian kit, took on Internacional. It was 1st v 4th in the standings. After going through what can only be descibed as a dodgy spell Palmeiras finally found some form to ensure they held onto top spot. Obina put Palmeiras ahead from the spot after a foul by Kleber. Paraguayan striker José Ortigoza doubled the lead two minutes into the second hald when a deflected shot ended up in his path. Giuliano ensured a tense finish when he got the goal of the game with three minutes left but Palmeiras held on to claim their first win the start of the month.
This week coming up, there is the second leg of the Fla-Flu in the Sudamericana plus a couple of catch up games which see Santos take on Internacional on Wednesday night and Botafogo entertain Cruzeiro on Thursday.
Round 22 also begins on Wednesday night when Barueri entertain Corinthians but the big game of the weekend is at the Morumbi for the derby between São Paulo and Palmeiras
Full Round 22 fixture list is
Barueri x Corinthians
Náutico x Atlético Paranaense
Coritiba x Avaí
Flamengo x Santo André
Santos x Fluminense
São Paulo x Palmeiras
Atlético Miniero x Sport Recife
Vitória x Cruzeiro
Internacional x Goiás
Botafogo x Grêmio
Palmeiras 2-1 Internacional
Sport Recife 2-0 Vitória
Grêmio 4-1 Atlético Miniero
Fluminense 0-0 Barueri
Corinthians 3-3 Botafogo
Atlético Paranaense 1-0 São Paulo
Avaí 3-0 Flamengo
Cruzeiro 4-2 Náutico
Goiás 2-1 Santos
Santo André made it two wins in a week after overcoming 10 man Coritiba. They visitors were down to 10 men inside 20 minutes, Rodrigo Pontes going for a second yellow card. Nunes won it for Santo André, heading home ummarked from 6 yards out 9 minutes before the break. Sport picked up their first win since 12 July after overcoming a Vitória side currently going through some patchy form. Andrade put Sport ahead on the quarter hour with a free kick that the goalkeeper might as well have thrown in the net with the effort made to attempt save. Fabiano Pereira doubled the advantage with a header after half an hour to lift Sport off the bottom of the table. Inconsistent Grêmio defeated inconsistent Atlético-MG in Porto Alegre. Réver headed Grêmio after 8 minutes and quick fire goals form Edixon Perea and Souza saw Grêmio go in three up at the break. Jonas extended the lead further on the hour before Evandro gain scant consolation for Atlético-MG with 12 minutes left.
Fluminense picked up a point against Barueri at the Maracaña and were lucky to do so. Joint Série A leading scorer Val Baiano guilty of missing chances. The visitors actually finished with 9 men, Diego and André Luís seeing red. Botafogo trailed Corinhtians three times but managed to escape with a point. Denthino put Corinthians ahead from the spot just before half time, but Reinaldo levelled just after the break. Marchino then put Corinthians ahead again only for Andre Lima to level things again. A second penalty from Denthino put the home side ahead again but Botafogo didn't give up and Lucio Flavio levelled things up for the last time with 11 minutes to go. São Paulo's 7 match winning run was snapped by Atlético-PR in Curitiba. Paulo Baier headed the only goal of the game with 4 minutes to go after beating a flapping Rogério Ceni to the ball.
Flamengo slumped to a third straight defeat against an Avaí side that now boasts the longest unbeated run in the league. Luis Ricardo had Avaí ahead inside 8 minutes and Leo Gago doubled the advantage after half an hour. Willians was sent off for Flamengo with 20 minutes to go and Fabinho Capixaba put the icing on the cake for Avaí with 11 minutes to go to leave them in a qualifying position for next years Libertadores. Cruzeiro made it 4 unbeaten after overcoming Náutico. Wellington Paulista was the start of the show for the home side after hitting a hat-trick. Fabricio got the other goal for Cruzeiro with Gilmar and Carlinhos Bala replying for Náutico. Goiás took advantage of the slip up by São Paulo to move into second. Vitor put Goiás ahead in the 19th minute with a rasping drive before Kléber Pereira levelled for Santos 10 minutes. Felipe edged Goiás ahead 5 minutes into the second half and they held on depite the dismissal of João Paulo 5 minutes from time.
The game of the weekend was at the Palestra Itália, where the Big Green of Palmeiras, in a retro Italian kit, took on Internacional. It was 1st v 4th in the standings. After going through what can only be descibed as a dodgy spell Palmeiras finally found some form to ensure they held onto top spot. Obina put Palmeiras ahead from the spot after a foul by Kleber. Paraguayan striker José Ortigoza doubled the lead two minutes into the second hald when a deflected shot ended up in his path. Giuliano ensured a tense finish when he got the goal of the game with three minutes left but Palmeiras held on to claim their first win the start of the month.
This week coming up, there is the second leg of the Fla-Flu in the Sudamericana plus a couple of catch up games which see Santos take on Internacional on Wednesday night and Botafogo entertain Cruzeiro on Thursday.
Round 22 also begins on Wednesday night when Barueri entertain Corinthians but the big game of the weekend is at the Morumbi for the derby between São Paulo and Palmeiras
Full Round 22 fixture list is
Barueri x Corinthians
Náutico x Atlético Paranaense
Coritiba x Avaí
Flamengo x Santo André
Santos x Fluminense
São Paulo x Palmeiras
Atlético Miniero x Sport Recife
Vitória x Cruzeiro
Internacional x Goiás
Botafogo x Grêmio
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