February 2010
86 posts
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Europa League: Ciao! Bye Bye Roma!
Written by Lawrence Prince-Wright
This last Thursday (25-02-10), despite pessimism, proved to be a spectacular day for Europa League showdowns. Upsets, joys, anger, anxiety and all sorts of emotions where mixed into Thursday‘s cauldron of football mayhem! Personally the performance of the teams which battled it out on Thursday evening conveyed the high level of prestige and competition that...
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Sweet Sunday: A Healthy Serving of Truly Lush...
Which do you prefer: Matias Fernandez’s South American swagger, a proper Sunday League volley, or amazing Japanese technique?
[Matias’ wondergoal found by our friends at In the Stands]
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England roster set for friendly with African Cup...
England are hosting African Cup Nations Champions Egypt next Wednesday at Wembley. This is the last friendly for England until Fabio Capello announces the provisional World Cup squad, which is announced on May the 12th. Ryan Shawcross has been selected for the first time and is set to make his debut, his call up was announced hours after he accidentally broken Arsenal’s Aaron...
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Carling Cup Preview: Manchester United v. Aston...
By Dominic Vieira
Aston Villa vs. Manchester United – Sunday 28th Feb 2009, 15:00 GMT – Wembley
Defending champions Manchester United will play against underdogs Aston Villa for the 50th final of the League Cup, otherwise known as the Carling Cup.
This competition is normally viewed as the cup of least importance and prestige in England, but for some clubs it is their entry into the Europa...
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Wayne Bridge and Manchester City "Don't Look Back...
The highly-anticipated and highly-controversial Chelsea - Manchester City match at Stamford Bridge certainly lived up to its billing. Vindication was in the air as the traveling City side went on to embarrass Chelsea with a 4-2 victory. Earlier in the week die-hard Manchester City supporter Noel Gallagher of Oasis said, “When Chelsea come to play us Terry is going to get so much s***...
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Flow right into your weekend with a bit of...
So we don’t like to focus on just the Cristiano Ronaldos and the David Beckhams of the footballing world, but when they decide to put on a show on Europe’s biggest stage, I’ll happily throw them a bit of recognition. So here you are, some Champions League class (with the exception of Paul Scholes). Sorry Scholesy, no gingers getting a shout-out this time. Anyway, have a...
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Friday Flashback: The Night Eusébio Became A...
Benfica and Portugal legend Eusébio scored 317 goals during his fifteen years at Estádio da Luz and 41 goals for the Portugal national team (although he hails from Mozambique). The 1965 European Player Of The Year won the Golden Boot for his nine goals in the 1966 World Cup, four of which came in the Quarter Finals against North Korea in an unanswered barrage of five goals, rescuing Portugal from...
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Friday's Faux Flashback: Arshavin and fellow...
Arsenal are celebrating 25 years of work in the Community, and we FINALLY get the chance to see what Andrei Arshavin, Emmanuel Eboue, and Nicky Bendtner would have been like if they were ballers back in the 80s. Yes I know, it’s a miracle! Now go enjoy your Friday knowing that there are people out there trying to make your day. [Found at Arseblog]
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Left Back Needed: Who Wants to Step Up?
By Ryan Morrison
In the wake of newspaper allegations about a certain team-mate and a former girlfriend, Wayne Bridge has made himself unavailable for selection by England and will not travel to the World Cup Finals in South Africa this summer. This leaves Fabio Capello with a serious selection problem as first choice left-back Ashley Cole broke his ankle in Chelsea’s 2 - 1 loss against...
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There's drama in England, there's drama in Italy....
England: Wayne Bridge says he won’t play any role in this summer’s World Cup
Manchester City defender Wayne Bridge has announced he does not wish to be chosen by Fabio Capello to play in the World Cup, despite many pundits labeling him as the next option at left-back due to Ashley Cole’s ankle injury. Bridge’s lawyers said that his position in the national team squad had...
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AFR Scouting: Maccabi Haifa's Eyal Golasa
By Dominic Vieira
Israel may not be a dominant nation in the world of football, nor has it produced too many world-class players. But one of the world’s most talented youngsters plays for current Israeli champions Maccabi Haifa, the club which he signed for in 2008. His name is Eyal Golasa and he is 18 years old. Eyal may not be widely renowned as football top future stars, but the wonderkid has...
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Upgrading the Entourage?
Props go to Adrian Grenier (aka Vinny Chase), as his new entourage of Brazilian legend Zico, Portuguese phenomenon Eusébio, and the Dutch Edgar Davids is filled with a little too much class. The Entourage star was in NYC to get his chance to catch the Champions League trophy while it is on tour around the world, and obviously to hang out with an assortment of the best players ever. [Don’t...
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Champions League: Is Inter fighting for a dream?
By Mirko Corli
What a match in the San Siro!
Inter defeated Chelsea 2-1 at home and has now 51% chance of going through the knockout stage. The Nerazzurri had an awesome start with the early goal by Argentine striker Diego Milito. The goal came from a quick pass play by Eto’o, Snejider and Milito into the box, JT not able to guess the right side to stand in front of the striker, and a...
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Best of... a very violent weekend!
So I know the Champions League has taken over the headlines, but when it comes to physical (and plain dirty) play, the standard was set in the past weekend. That’s right, all of the tackles (and fights) shown above are from the past few days. From the Coca-Cola Championship to Serie A, the foul play was flying all over Europe. And you thought it was just a nice peaceful weekend of...
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Lawrence Prince-Wright's "The Classy Cockney...
By Lawrence Prince-Wright
My apologies for such a late commentary on what may seem like a game played quite a bit ago. But superb victories, in the hearts of fans, last for an eternity. The celebration and boasting will go on until, well, the fans have been proven otherwise! Last Thursday’s game (18-02-10), for Panathiniakos at least, proved to be such a day. The outstanding 3-2 home victory...
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Wednesday's Words of the Messiah
Oh hey bromistas! Sorry about just abandoning you last week! When the Dalai Lama calls, your boy has to listen. It’s part of my new contract. Hope Pep didn’t freak you out too much, he told me it was tough converting his immaculate thoughts into writing. Well, you’ve caught me at the airport. I always look vulnerable (I know. Me? Vulnerable? jajaja) in pictures at the airport,...
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There's no "I" in team, but isn't there an "I" in...
Even though Real Madrid put on a show against Villarreal with a 6-2 victory at the Bernabeu, it seems that there were 11 great individuals playing together, rather than a team. Already up 5-2, a penalty was awarded to the home side, sparking an uncomfortable dialogue between Cristiano Ronaldo, who had already scored a goal, and Xabi Alonso. The brief conversation, is translated below...
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Welcome Lawrence Prince-Wright to the AFR team!...
Hope all has been going well, despite it being a Tuesday. I have been extremely busy over the past few days, but only because AFR is continuing to expand its top-class coverage of the beautiful game. By the way, it’s that time of the week again; go on and recommend us as Tumblr’s Best Sports Site!
There are three great things we plan on introducing this week:
1) Lawrence...
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Dominic Vieira’s “Super Sixteen Champo Tuesday and...
This week’s Champions League last 16 first-leg matches:
TUESDAY 23RD FEB 19:45GMT
Stuttgart x Barcelona
Olympiacos x Bordeaux
WEDNESDAY 24th FEB 19:45 GMT
CSKA Moscow x Sevilla (17:45GMT)
Internazionale x Chelsea
This Tuesday defending champions FC Barcelona will travel to Germany to play against Stuttgart, who will be bouncing back from a 5-1 thrashing they gave FC Köln. The Barcelona...
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Boca Juniors' La Doce: The Harvard for Hooligans
By Ryan Morrison
It is important to know where to go to achieve the best post-graduate education. If you are a mathematician you might head to MIT. If you are a scholar of Shakespearean literature Oxford or Cambridge might be your destination of choice. If you are a football hooligan hoping to improve your terrace chants, learn how to better use weapons, and perfect methods of extorting money...
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Which outsider would you most like to see play in...
While some are more likely than others, there are a few players that are barely on the radar to make it to the biggest party in football. From traumatizing injuries (Charlie Davies/Salvador Cabañas) to a resurgence in form (Ronaldinho), these guys would certainly add a spark of universal viewing pleasure. I’ve highlighted a few long-shots to make it to South Africa in the poll, but feel free...
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Linking Up: Jose gets chained up by Lega Calcio,...
While Inter may have done well to grab a point with nine men against Sampdoria, the club hasn’t exactly been the most respectful. Jose Mourinho has received a three-match ban and a 40,000 euro fine for “repeatedly challenging the officials through blatant actions”, such as making a gesture like he was in handcuffs after Walter Samuel and Ivan Cordoba were sent off, as well as...
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Huge clashes, great tension: that's Italian Calcio
By Mirko Corli
The Champions are not giving away their title without fighting: a 9-men Inter got a sensational 0-0 at San Siro on Saturday night against Sampdoria.
The result is stunning if you consider that in 6 minutes during the first half Inter lost both of its two centre-backs (Walter Samuel first, and then Ivan Cordoba), playing with 9 men for more than an hour with substitute Lucio and...
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Congrats to the winner of our prestigious Premier...
As you guys know (or should have known), we had an awesome little contest this past weekend to see who was the most worthy of a quality Who Are Ya Designs gift card. We had our first Premier League prediction contest, and despite the vast assortment of well thought-out entries there was one man who ruled supreme: Dominic.
While there were many honourable candidates to receive this Who Are Ya...
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Malicious Monday: Classic Joey Barton
Joey Barton is on AFR’s honourary list of the dirtiest footballers of all time. Here he is trying to make sure Etuhu can’t reproduce. You simply cannot teach that in football.
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European Recap: As Madrid crush Villarreal,...
By Dominic Vieira
Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring in the 18th minute with one of his trademark freekicks as Real Madrid absolutely destroyed Villarreal 6-2. But Ronaldo made a wonderful gesture by dedicating his goal to the victims of the Madeira floods and landslides. Madeira, which is Ronaldo’s homeland, is a Portuguese island that is approximately 900km from Lisbon and 500km...
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Look-a-likes: Bearded Xabi Alonso/Sam Worthington...
Slick. Probably the most legitimate look-a-like we’ll ever find. Wait, which one is Xabi? Ahhhh, I can’t tell anymore….
I don’t think you need my help in coming up with a cheeky comment for this one. But feel free to share them below!
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An amazing goal by a Colombian wonderkid in...
A truly lush goal by Banfield’s James Rodriguez. I could watch that little chip 100x in a row, and maybe I already have. Also a bit of teamwork involved in this one, which makes it even more of a top class strike. Rodriguez is an 18-year-old Colombian playing for the Argentinean champions, and he’s certainly one to watch in the future. And how about that goal?
Speaking of...
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Slow it down! It's Sunday! Relax like this little...
Bloc Party have decided to take a break from their usual musical genius to just relax! Take a lesson from Keke Okereke (a Liverpool supporter), who is just enjoying a beer before deciding to sing, and the rest of the London-based band. A simple, classy, vintage performance. No more, no less.
Alright, so Scottish (and forever Spartan) actor Gerard Butler has been a lifelong Celtic fan,...
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Best of... Saturday, February 20th, 2010
1. Everton 3-1 Manchester United. Despite an incredible mid-week victory over Milan at the San Siro, the truth was that traveling to Goodison Park proved more difficult than the highly-touted match in Italy. Everton are a force to be reckoned with at the moment, as they defeated Chelsea in their last league outing by the score of 2-1. Dimitar Berbatov actually gave the Red Devils an early lead...
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Warming Up for the Weekend: Notable News in the...
Porto forward Hulk’s chances of making Brazil’s World Cup squad took a sizeable blow on Friday when Portuguese Liga officials handed him a four-month domestic ban for violent conduct. The 23-year-old received the punishment for his role in a post-match brawl with match stewards in the players’ tunnel following Porto’s 1-0 defeat to title rivals Benfica last December....
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Friday Flashback: Peter Lorimer Leeds United v...
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Just how important is mastering the art of the...
While I’ll always be happy watching Steven Gerrard’s screamers from 35-yards out, the truth is that a world-class player is defined by his (or her) touch and composure on the ball. If you don’t understand where I’m coming from, just watch the beautiful video embedded above. Without mastering a good touch, even the most talented player’s weakness can be taken...
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Linking Up: Kasabian unveils the new England kit,...
Don’t forget to submit your predictions for this weekend’s Premier League matches in our Premier League Prediction Game sponsored by Who Are Ya Designs!
Is the Paradinha bad sportsmanship or a brilliant penalty technique? [Never Captain Nicky Butt]
Owen Coyle is unhappy with Bolton’s aesthetically pleasing goal. [Fisted Away]
Sunderland striker and Twitter legend Darren...
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Patrick Vieira is not choosing the classiest of...
Personally I think there are other ways to re-establish yourself besides performing entirely unnecessary studs up lovetaps. But it seems that Patrick Vieira is choosing the the Robbie Fowler-esque route of brutal violence to intimidate his opponents. Not exactly the “fair play” route, but I don’t think Raymond Domenech cares too much about that sort of thing anyway. But honestly...
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How on earth was Martin Hansson chosen by FIFA to...
While infamously known for letting Thierry Henry get away with the “hand of fraud” that led to France clinching a spot in the World Cup, Swedish referee Martin Hansson has consistently shown just how unsuited he is for refereeing at the highest level.
The latest team to suffer (though not even nearly as badly as Ireland) from Hansson’s ineptitude was Arsenal as they took on...
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Prove your footballing prowess this weekend with...
Thanks to Who Are Ya Designs, a footy-obsessed company that produces “Unofficial Designs as Clever as the Game You Support”, we’re proud to announce our Premier League prediction contest, which is a straightforward Prediction Game for the Premier League matches this weekend (February 20th-21st).
The scoring will work like this:
3 Points for guessing the correct score of...
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A proper homage to Salvador Cabanas
Salvador Cabanas, arguably Paraguay’s most influential national team player, was shot in the head in Mexico City last month and was given only around a 20% chance of survival. He has now recovered consciousness and is able to speak and move his limbs, although his doctor, Ernesto Martinez, has said he is suffering from amnesia.
Dionisio Cabanas, Salvador’s father, has now...
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A bit of midweek magic to help get you through the...
It’s Wednesday, so we’ll try to bring a bit of joy to your day through some superb swag-filled skills. And why not enjoy the music as well?
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Wednesday's Words of the... JOSEP "PEP" GUARDIOLA
Hello fellow followers of the Messiah! I, Josep “Pep” Guardiola i Sala, am sorry to inform you all that little Lionel will not be able to produce his weekly words today. You see the team that plays perfect football managed to… (sorry I’m not able to write this “L” word) this past weekend as we travelled to face Atletico Madrid. I must take full responsibility...
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An Update: We want to give back to you guys!
So we now have quite the trifecta of experts (Andy Jones, Dominic Vieira, Mirko Corli) from London, Lisbon, and Torino, who are covering the Premier League, the Portuguese and Spanish Ligas, and Italian calcio, along with a healthy assortment of world football. We’re excited to offer the AFR community such great insight from such distinct writers on a weekly basis along with our slick little...
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Champions League (Round of 16) Edition of Match...
Well this game certainly lived up to all the hype around it. Milan started and ended the match playing like the best team in the world, but United have completed a job well done. Like true professionals, United played to their strengths and reaped the rewards. Ronaldinho’s deflected volley broke the deadlock early on in the 3rd minute, and from then we all knew this match was sure to be a...
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The Illustrious Iberian's Insight: “Super Sixteen...
By Dominic Vieira
This year’s Champions League last 16 is organized in a different format. Instead of there being the usual 4 games played on Tuesday and the other 4 on the Wednesday. The UEFA (brilliantly!) spread the schedule of matches over the course of 8 days. The benefit from this is that there will be a huge increase in TV viewers and us – the fans who love the Champions League....
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The Glory of the Beautiful Game in the Eyes of a...
A truly spectacular documentary of last Wednesday’s Arsenal - Liverpool clash at the Emirates. All filmed with one high-definition camera to capture the essence of being your average supporter who lives and dies by the game, “A Night at the Emirates” by Rohan Blair-Magnet allows a night of football to transcend into an aesthetic masterpiece. While I obviously think this...
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Mirko the Maestro: Missing Teams Strike Back
Hi guys and welcome to my inside view of Italian football, or as you may call it, calcio. I’ll be providing you with some insight on the Italian Serie A, and also some cherry-picks from the second division, Serie B, whose most talented players will hopefully join Serie A teams next year.
Let’s start with this past weekend’s games. Remember we still have 14 matches to go before...
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Malicious Monday: A proper Sunday League challenge...
If Sir Alex Ferguson never became the legend he is today, he would’ve fit in just fine here.
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Happy Valentine's Day from A Football Report!
Hope it’s a good one. If you have no plans, then just enjoy the matches on show. We are going to have something special for you guys tomorrow, as we have a new contributor to the site. Mirko Corli, a Torino-based writer/calcio enthusiast, will be writing a weekly column on Serie A and Serie B on Monday which will be known as “Mondays with Mirko the Maestro”. Again, give Mirko a...
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Linking Up: Going along with the theme of the...
Football experts (including myself) have their say on who will be in the Top Four come May [Football Corner]
It really has been the year of the hamstring injury, hasn’t it? Arshavin is the latest victim. [Never Captain Nicky Butt]
Fútbolita urges Joan Laporta to get as far away from Sepp Blatter as possible.
Check out the snazzy stuff on show over at SoccerPro! They’re the...