International friendly

The international friendly fixtures are in!
Sweden vs Germany
Northern Ireland vs Morocco
Republic of Ireland vs Norway
England vs France
Romania vs Italy
Portugal vs Spain
Argentina vs Brazil
Holland vs Turkey

The Blockbuster matches of the evening are of course the Euro Champs match against Portugal, Sweden against Germany, England versus France, and of course Argentina against Brazil (Brazil has a surprise!!) Do expect review of these blockbuster matches and as for other matches you can expect highlights as well the results in a matter of hours.

While waiting for the game, here are some pre-match review of the teams with quotes from the players.

Lets start our pre-game review with the biggest match this evening (in my  humble opinion of course) Portugal vs Spain!!

PORTUGAL VS SPAIN

This Exciting match is set to take place at  Lisbon, Portugal.
    Here is what Iker Cassilas told the media at the interview ahead of today's game. Cassilas Claims that Fernando Llorente gives the spanish team an extra element when he plays . An element that can't be offered by any other players as demonstrated during the World Cup match against Portugal. According to the spanish international team goalkeeper, "the game was close, he (Llorente) came off the bench, and the match was revolutionised."

     Barca Playmaker, Xavi might be playing in tonight's game according to Spain coach Vicente del Bosque but Xavi will only go as far as his physical condition allows him to. He WILL NOT go against his physical condition.
      As for Fernando Torres and Sergio Ramos,  the duo did not train with the rest of the team yesterday but both will travel to Lisbon with the rest of the squad according to Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) as stated on their website. Both of them are injured.
        Enough of the La Roja, Now lets have a look at the home side. Portugal Fans will indeed expect a good old classic match fueled by grunge . Spain coach Vicente Del Bosque said last week that this fixture provide perfect opportunity for both sides to showcase their talent and potential as World Cup host but his opposite member of the game, Portugal's coach Paulo Bento  has other plans. Paulo Bento said that " WE WANT TO FIGHT, WE WANT TO PLAY, WE DONT WANNA JUST WATCH SPAIN PLAYING. There are they best squad in Europe for the moment and we must take advantage of the match to create our own identity".
    Manchester United forward, Nani, wants Portugal to put their World cup heartbreak firmly behind. "AS A TEAM WE ARE NOT THE BEST IN THE WORLD, BUT AS A GROUP AND AS PLAYERS WE ARE AMONGST THE BEST. WE HAVE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THESE MATCHES AGAINST THE BEST (TEAMS) TO GET STRONGER"


   



Sources: Google/livesoccertv.com



A Walk In The PARK

GLORY GLORY MAN UTD!!!!!

Owen Hargreaves disastrous 5 minute game time
Photo Sources: Man Utd.com

 Manchester United managed to take home all 3 points after the game with Wolverhampton just now. The Red Devils had an unusual set of line-up as well as a bizzare (or expected) substititute in the 10th minute. With the usual first team players such as giggs, nani, rooney, carrick, evans, berbatov and valencia missing, it certaninly left the manager with not much of a choice for this game.
 Red Devil's line up as following:Nemanja Vidic
Edwin Van Der Sar
Patrice Evra
Park Ji-Sung
Wes Brown
Javier Hernandez (Chicarito)
Gabriel Obertan
Rio Ferdinand
John O'Shea
Darren Fletcher
Owen HargreavesThe Game started off for the devils in a rather unsettling manner as Owen Hargreaves who came back after a 2 year game drought left the pitch due to a left hamstring injury. Owen left the game at the 5th minute. Manager, Sir Alex Ferguson who is down with a virus infection decided to play Be`be` in the place of Hargreaves, right midfield, in the tenth minute. Bebe is indeed a talented player, there is no objection to that, however he seem to be a rather inexperienced player. Bebe is a raw material and will certainly be one of the best in a couple of years time as Sir Alex works his magic on him. Bebe has shown potential along with style that could be along the lines of fellow countrymen Nani. Bebe needs to perfect his passes in order to be a regular in the first team.
 Man Utd had 52% of possession at the 17th minute of the game while the Wolves had 48% of possession.
The game proceeded in a manner where as soon as the home team had a go with the away team's goal post,
the wolves counter attack. The closest shot on  goal came at the 25th minute by the home team which was saved by Vidic. 4 Minutes worth of extra time was given at then end of the first half as Park Ji Sung scored the first goal in the match after a beautiful pass from Darren Fletcher.
 Second half showed not much of a  difference from the 1st half as both teams fought hard to take home 3 points. Ebanks-Blake scored the only wolves goal at the 64th minute. With both team drawing, the game took on an entirely different momentum at the 69th minute onwards. However, the game really took flight when man utd brought on Paul Scholes and Federico Macheda at the 72th minute replacing bebe and O'shea.  Wolverhampton also brought on Michael Mancienne to substitute Nenad Milijas at the 76th minute.
Scholes brought something valuable to the team when he came on to the pitch-Hope. Scholes created many opporturnity for his team mates as well showing a never giving up spirit. He Brought on an entirely diiferent dynamic to the team. This could be the main factor which contributed to the Man Utd win.
 Hernandez was the only player being booked with a yellow card after his fast dash in the penalty area. There was miscommunication in the team with the likes of brown and Park as there are playing in an unusual team line up however, despite the odds Park manages to score a stunning goal in the 90th minute sealing the win. Park is a player with boundless energy and also the type of player who is willing to make the run for the ball and this is a win he definitely deserved. The Wolves also put a tough fight with their deadly counter attacks. It was certainly an exciting- leave you-on-the-edge-of-your-seat game indeed. Next in line is the most awaited fixture in manchester, THE MANCHESTER DERBY this Wednesday.
Here's a look at the games in other parts of England as well:

Birmingham 2-2 West Ham
   Blackburn 2-1 Wigan
   Blackpool 2-2 Everton
    Fulham    0-1 Aston Villa
Sunderland 2-0 Stoke City
        Bolton 4-2 Tottenham
 Manchester United 2-1 Wolverhampton

FIFA Coach Of The Year

Just like the Ballon d 'Or award, Coach of the year award is also a new category of award that is formed only this year to acknowledge great coaches in football for the past calendar year. This award will be voted by national team coaches,captains as well as football journalists from around the world. This year 10 great coaches are in the running to win  the coveted coaching award by FIFA.

Sources: FIFA.com

The shorlist for Coach Of The Year Award:-Carlo Ancelotti {Italy} ( Chelsea FC)
-Vicente Del Bosque {Spain} (Spain national team)
-Sir Alex Ferguson {Scotland} (Manchester United FC)
-Pep Guardiola {Spain) (FC Barcelona)
-Joachim Löw {Germany} (Germany national team)
-José Mourinho {Portugal} (F.C. Internazionale Milano / Real Madrid C.F.)
-Oscar Tabárez {Uruguay} (Uruguay national team)
-Louis Van Gaal {Netherlands} (FC Bayern München)
-Bert Van Marvijk {Netherlands} (Netherlands National Team)
-Arsène Wenger {France} (Arsenal F.C)

FIFA Ballon d'Or

FIFA Ballon d'Or is an award given by FIFA to acknowledge players from around the world with the best performance in the past year as voted by coaches, captains as well as football journalists. This tradition is fairly new (starting only from 2010) inspired by France football's Ballon d'Or. The award ceremony is scheduled to be held at Zurich, Swizerland, on January 10 2011.


Spain dominatesThe FIFA Ballon d'Or shortlist of nominees with their outstanding performance in the 2010 World Cup South Africa. The list however lack English Players.

Here are the shortlist of players nominated for the Award:
-Xabi Alonso (Spain)
-Daniel Alves (Brazil)
-Iker Casillas (Spain)
-Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)
-Didier Drogba (Côte d'Ivoire)
-Samuel Eto'o (Cameroon)
-Cesc Fabregas (Spain)
-Diego Forlán (Uruguay)
-Asamoah Gyan (Ghana)
-Andrés Iniesta (Spain)
-Júlio César (Brazil)
-Miroslav Klose (Germany)
-Philipp Lahm  (Germany)
-Maicon (Brazil)
-Lionel Messi (Argentina)
-Thomas  Müller (Germany)
-Mesut Özil (Germany)
-Carles Puyol (Spain)
-Arjen Robben (Netherlands)
-Bastian  Schweinsteiger (Germany)
-Wesley Sneijder (Netherlands)
-David Villa (Spain)
-Xavi (Spain)

Man To Watch This Weekend In Barclays Premier League



Sources: Manutd.com



This Weekend brings exciting line-up of matches in the Barclays Premier League. With the whole Wayne Rooney leaving Manchester United whirlwind gone, Man utd are definitely the team to watch this weekend. The Red Devils will be taking on Tottenham Hotspur at home ground. Fans and critics alike will keep their eyes on Wayne Rooney, however, the real man to watch is Luis Nani and Javier Hernandez! The talented left winger definitely lived up to Sir Alex's expectation. Javier Hernandez the new Mexican signing also took fans by surprise with his recent goal scoring tally. With so much excitement going on in the club, this weekends game will definitely be a treat for the die hard man utd fans who are in it for the beautiful game and not the drama that has been taking over the club this past few weeks.
I promise that the next post will be longer! That's all for now!



Sources: Manutd.com