Schalke won the German Super Cup 4-3 on penalties after a 0-0 draw against Borussia Dortmund on Saturday.Kevin Grosskreutz and Ivan Perisic had penalties saved for Bundesliga champions Dortmund, with goalkeeper Ralf Fahrmann, brought in to replace Manuel Neuer, the man to deny them for Schalke.
Lewis Holtby, Edu and Benedikt Howedes all netted their spot kicks for Schalke, before Jurado sealed it for last season’s German Cup winners.
The game got off to an exciting start as Dortmund created their first real chance after five minutes.
Ilkay Gundogan took a corner kick on the right and his cross found Robert Lewandowski in the penalty box, who in turn hit the post with a header from seven yards out.
Schalke’s answer came 10 minutes later when Benedikt Howedes headed over the bar from close range after managing to squeeze past Mats Hummels and Felipe Santana.
Dortmund slowly began to take control of the game, creating two great chances just before the half-hour mark.
First, Chris Lowe went close with a fine shot from the left side of the box, following a delightful one-two with Shinji Kagawa, and then Gundogan tried his luck from 15 yards out, but Fahrmann stood strong to parry his shot.
Jurgen Klopp’s men enjoyed their best chance of the first period moments before the half-time whistle when Robert Lewandowski was denied by Fahrmann in a one-on-one.
The second half picked up where the first ended with Lewandowski culpable again for a glaring miss.
The Polish striker was released by Mario Gotze with a delightful through-ball, but shot just wide with only the goalkeeper to beat.
Schalke were forced to defend deep in the following minutes, and had Howedes to thank in the 57th minute when the centre-half somehow managed to clear Kagawa’s cross, narrowly denying Lewandowski.
Gotze missed a glorious chance shortly afterwards when he failed to beat Fahrmann with a low finish from outside the box.
Schalke were not without opportunities and did threaten through Holtby, while substitute Jan Moravek also failed to beat Roman Weidenfeller.
But despite the teams’ best efforts, the scoreline remained unchanged, forcing the contest to be settled on penalties.
Hamburg Sporting Director Bastian Reinhardt will fight Real Madrid to retain the services of striker Ruud van Nistelrooy.Van Nistelrooy, 34, has been linked with a surprise return to Spanish giants Real, who are down to just one fit striker after Gonzalo Higuain was ruled out through injury.
Dutchman Van Nistelrooy left the La Liga outfit for Hamburg in January 2010 after a three-and-a-half years in Spain, but manager Jose Mourinho wants to bring the former Manchester United and PSV Eindhoven striker back to the club as a short-term solution to the injury crisis.
Van Nistelrooy is said to be keen on the move, but Hamburg are not prepared to let one of their prized assets leave without a fight.
“I can understand him, but in my opinion, HSV is bigger than Real Madrid,” Reinhardt said.
“I am responsible for HSV and have the responsibility to look after the interests of HSV and not Real Madrid or any particular player. We have no interest in letting him go.”
The proposed departure of Van Nistelrooy is not the only cause for unrest at the Bundesliga club, with former Germany international Matthias Sammer and retired Hamburg favourite Horst Hrubesch rumoured to be in line to replace under-fire manager Armin Veh.
Veh remains the subject of speculation surrounding his future, despite easing the pressure with a 1-0 win away to Schalke on Saturday.
Hamburg lie in seventh on the Bundesliga table, but are 19 points from league-leaders Borussia Dortmund.
Central defender Joris Mathijsen credited the victory over Schalke with lifting the mood at the club.
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“It’s much better here, better than before the winter break,” Mathijsen said.
“Back then, you never felt secure, but that has changed since last Saturday, we were very good.”
Manchester City have identified Montpellier attacker Younes Belhanda as a possible summer transfer target, according to The Daily Mail.
The Etihad Stadium outfit have their hearts set on signing Lille’s prodigious talent Eden Hazard, but will face competition from some of Europe’s top teams for his signature.
It is believed that Belhanda is a fall-back option for the current Premier League leaders should a move for Hazard not materialise.
The Morocco international has been pivotal in unexpectedly leading Montpellier to the top of Ligue 1 title this term, chipping in with 12 goals and being shortlisted for the Young Player of the Year award in France.
Belhanda has also been tracked by a number of other leading European sides, and has a transfer value of around £10 million.
The African is adept on either flank or as a second striker, and will be considered by City should Hazard chose to sign for another club.
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Liverpool have announced the signing of Roma goalkeeper Alexander Doni for an undisclosed fee.The 31-year-old will put pressure on the English Premier League club’s number one Pepe Reina, who has been a regular at the club since signing from Villarreal in 2005 and has been rumoured to be a target for other teams in the past.
Fringe Brazil international Doni follows midfielders Jordan Henderson and Charlie Adam as off-season arrivals to Anfield, with Aston Villa winger Stewart Downing set to join them.
Liverpool director of football, Damien Comolli told Liverpoolfc.tv: “We are delighted to sign Doni. It’s a position we felt we had to strengthen because it will allow our young goalkeepers to go on loan and get some experience at some point during the season, which is crucial in their development.”
“We are getting a very experienced goalkeeper who is used to handling the pressure of big games and international matches with Brazil. He had a very good end of last season with Roma, so we are very pleased.”
Doni spent time at Botafogo, Corinthians, Santos, Cruzeiro and Juventude in his homeland before signing for Serie A club Roma in 2005.
He made 179 appearances for the capital city club during his six-year stint in Italy, twice winning the Coppa Italia alongside a SuperCoppa Italiana title.
Doni has represented his country on 10 occasions and was part of the squad which won the 2007 Copa America.
His arrival at Anfield is tipped to spell the end of Brad Jones’ stint at the club.
Another trip to the San Siro for Tottenham in their quest for Champions League success. The North Londoners will recall the last time they faced AC Milan in European competition that they defeated the Italian giants on their way to UEFA Cup success, and although the chances of Harry’s men going all the way this time is unlikely, they certainly have enough ability to defeat the current leaders of Serie A.
At FFC we have seen a mixed bag of articles which includes Tottenham facing €4m battle; five things fans want in their stocking and variety needs to be the spice of life for Spurs.
We also look at the best Tottenham articles around the web this week.
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A Champions League guide to Milan for Tottenham fans
Tottenham on transfer alert as January sale likely
Liverpool, Chelsea, Spurs – what is the best move for City ace?
The Top TEN Premier League prospects for 2011
Spurs swoop highlights Liverpool’s plight
Tottenham face €4 million battle for Serb
TEN players at a career crossroad
Tottenham Christmas Stocking Fillers
FIVE things Spurs fans want to see in their stocking…Harry take note
Variety needs to be the spice of life for Tottenham
Top TEN most wanted PL transfers in January
THREE Spurs players I would be happy to see leave in January
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Click here to see the best TOTTENHAM blogs around the web this week.
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Daniel Levy, stripped bare and naked – Dear Mr Levy
The ‘Glass More Than Half Full Society’ – Spurs Musings From Jimmy G2
Pienaar, Gomes and All The Cranberry Stuffing You Can Eat – Who Framed Ruel Fox?
Spurs 1-1 Chelsea: Make Sense of That If You Will – All Action, No Plot
Spurs Are Good At Impressions – Harry Hotspur
This is what it’s going to be like now…all the time – Dear Mr Levy
Chelsea forward Didier Drogba has stated that the Blues may well have rode their luck in beating Barcelona on Wednesday night, but is eager to score in the second leg at Camp Nou.
The west London side surprised the European champions in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final, with the Ivory Coast international scoring the only goal of the game in a 1-0 win.
With the return fixture next week, a Premier League fixture against Arsenal and the FA Cup final against Liverpool still to play, the African striker has admitted that the club are seeking success this term.
“We have to go there now and try to score another one,” he told Sky Sports.
“That’s football and I think we were a bit lucky.
“You have to work for luck to come and to happen. We worked a lot. We worked hard.
“It’s a difficult week, difficult 10 days for us after Spurs, this game, and then Arsenal, and then again Barcelona.
“It’s going to be an important, very decisive week for us, and I think we’re up for it,” Drogba concluded.
Meanwhile, The Daily Mail indicate that Drogba is close to agreeing a £6.7 million-a-year deal to join Shanghai Shenhua.
The ambitious Chinese side already have Nicolas Anelka in their ranks, and are eyeing his former team-mate, who is out of contract in the summer.
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Algeria have joined South Africa in offering to host the 2013 African Nations Cup finals.The finals, scheduled to be held in Libya, look increasingly likely to be moved because of the rebellion against Muammar Gaddafi’s rule.
Algerian Football Federation officials said they would be interested in replacing their fellow north Africans when the Confederation of African Football makes a decision on Libya’s ability to host the event at its next meeting in Cairo in September.
“It might help in our bid to qualify for the next World Cup finals,” federation spokesman Abdelkader Berdja told reporters.
South Africa, which will host the 2017 tournament, have already offered to substitute for the Libyans, should their civil conflict not end shortly.
Next year’s Nations Cup finals will be co-hosted by Equatorial Guinea and Gabon after which they move from every even year to every odd, starting 12 months later in Libya.
South Africa in April stepped in to replace Libya as hosts of this year’s African Youth Championships.
Libyan league football has been suspended since mid-February but clubs have continued to play in continental club competitions, by forfeiting their right to play their home leg in knockout ties, which were reduced to a single match at their opponent’s home ground.
Not surprisingly, no Libyan side got past the third round of the African Champions League and African Confederation Cup preliminaries.
Libya’s national team used Mali as their home ground in the Nations Cup qualifier in March and played in the Comoros Islands last month.
But Libya have withdrawn their team from the All-Africa Games qualifier this weekend, handing opponents Egypt a bye into the final tournament in Maputo in September.
Article courtesy of Chukwuma Echezona at Gunnersphere
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I think I was one of the first that spoke against the introduction of Cesc Fabregas into the Arsenal team after Patrick Vieira departed for Juventus in 2005 and Ray Parlour moved to Middlesbrough. However, I was clearly mistaken and firmly put in my place.
The youngster who came from Barcelona has developed into a world-class player, and at only the age of 23 he has the technique and the brain of a footballer who has been playing for years. Fans across the world have witnessed and fallen in love with the budding star for his superb vision that have resulted in goals, as well as scoring some along the way.
Fabregas started as a traditional midfielder when he first came to Arsenal, but as the years have flown by, he has learnt to play in different positions. The Spanish international on rare occasions has played out on the right wing as well as being deployed as an offensive midfielder. He now plays in the supporting striker role and is one of the clubs main goal threats with his ability to take free-kicks and score from the penalty spot.
The Spanish international has become somewhat of a Thierry Henry at the club, not just because he took the Frenchman’s armband, but statistics show that when Fabregas does not play then the odds of winning drop dramatically.
Thierry Henry was, and always will be the king of the club; Fabregas however is the prince who could eventually take the strikers place if all goes to plan. Fabregas has been a devoted member of Arsenal since the age of 16 and last summer showed his loyalty to the club after staying with the Gunners this season following Barcelona’s approach. After lifting the World Cup in South Africa, Gerard Pique and Carlos Puyol indicated that the Arsenal talisman is the future of Barcelona, and even forced (along with Pepe Reina) the clubs jersey on the midfielder in front of the gathering press in Spain.
Recently, Barcelona centre-back Gerard Pique stirred the pot even further after stating that Fabregas still dreams of a move to the Catalan club, and will eventually fabricate in the future. Cesc Fabergas has made no secrets that he would like to one day return to his roots and play for the Spanish Giants, although he never said when this will happen.
No one is in doubt of Fabergas’ abilities, but if he goes to Spain will he be as loved as he is in North London? The Spaniard will most certainly excel at Barcelona, but he would be a mere player, not a talisman as he is for Arsenal.
When Fabregas does leave for Barcelona (as he intends to), which players place would be under threat? Xavi and Inestia’s? I very much doubt it as they are one of the best partnerships in the Primera Division. Pedro is showing signs of quality, Lionel Messi is irreplaceable, and Sergio Busquets is the holding midfielder in the team. Fabregas would probably spend more of his time sitting on the bench and fighting for a place within the line-up, whilst at Arsenal he has no chance of this occurring.
The recent purchase of 24 year old Dutch midfielder Ibrahim Afellay (who will arrive in Spain in January on a free) has certainly hindered and damaged Fabregas’ hope of a move in the near future. Xavi (30) could go on for a further 2-3 years at the club, whilst Andres Iniesta (26) has another 6 years at least left in the tank.
For Fabregas to swap the Emirates for the Nou Camp now would be foolish, the 23-year-old would become a wasted talent. However, if he makes the switch in 3 years time (providing Barca are still interested in him of course) then he will most certainly replace the aging stars.
Nevertheless, should Arsenal fans really worry if Fabregas does decide to leave next summer? Not in my opinion.
For a fee of £50 million Wenger should sell anyone of his players, even Fabregas. Inter Milan are interested in the midfielder as reports suggested earlier in the week, and have placed the Spaniard on the top of their most wanted list. The Italian side are prepared to table a bid of £40 million for the Arsenal man in the summer, and I think Wenger should take it.
We have plenty of midfielders in our squad, and to be fair Fabregas does not look the same player as he once was. Samir Nasri has displayed some magical performances this season and is considered as one of the clubs best players by many Arsenal fans. Jack Wilshere is proving to fans that he is a superstar in the making and can hold the midfield alongside Alex Song. Aaron Ramsey is back and played his first reserve game since his horrific leg break back in February. We also have Denilson and Abou Diaby challenging for spots in the team.
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Considering all this, Fabregas leaving wouldn’t be such a disaster for the club, but more on a personal level for the player himself. A lot of Arsenal players in the past have left the club in search of trophies and have come unstuck. Apart from Thierry Henry and Nickolas Anelka, the rest have accomplished nothing special in their careers (Mathieu Flamini, Robert Pires, Patrick Vieira and Emmanuel Adebayor are to name just a few). At the end of the day if Fabregas does leave then I fear the same will happen to him, which would be sad to see.
Read more Arsenal blogs at the excellent Gunnersphere website
Easter weekend is always one of the most important times in the football league season and this year’s was no different.
The race for second and third spot has come down to three teams, Torquay United, Crawley Town and of course Shrewsbury Town.
The bank holiday fixtures began on Friday with Torquay taking on Accrington and Crawley hosting an in-form Crewe Alexandra side. For a lot of the afternoon results looked as though they could go our way with Crawley trailing for 88 minutes until a late penalty salvaged them a point and Torquay getting themselves a solitary goal in the last 20 minutes to give them a 1-0 victory.
So we knew what we had to do as we made our way to a rainy Moss Rose on Friday night. A victory would lift us two points above Crawley and keep us within three points of Torquay with a game in hand.
An encouraging first half display from the Shrews saw us go into the half time with a one goal lead thanks to a fantastic finish from in form striker James Collins. Second half came and we continued to dominate with two more goals, one from Mark Wright and another from Collins to give us a 3-1 victory with Macclesfield grabbing themselves a consolation between our second and third goals.
Any Town fans who were at Macclesfield will understand the conditions in the away end were hardly the best so it was nice to be back on our home turf on Easter Monday where Bradford City were the visitors.
We took the lead in the game through an early goal from Jermaine Grandison and continued to look dominate throughout what was a very entertaining first half. The game was a lot more even second half but we showed the resilience to keep our promotion march going with another three points and another game unbeaten at home.
Torquay got lucky again at Oxford on Monday, snatching a last minute draw after being reduced to ten men whereas Crawley come back from a goal behind to beat Barnet 2-1 away at Underhill to keep the pressure on.
So as things stand we stand in third position following the Easter period. We currently stand one point behind Torquay with a game in hand over them. Crawley have played the same amount of games as us but stand two points behind us as things stand. So I think going into the final five games of the campaign we are just ahead of the other two teams.
Of course this could all change on Saturday when Torquay host Southend United, who have the most away wins in the division, while Crawley have the easiest of the three games this weekend, hosting AFC Wimbledon. Whereas we take on Rotherham United who in the big news of the weekend have just appointed Steve Evans as their new manager and I’m in doubt the former Crawley manager will be hoping to make a good impression at his new club and do his old one a favour by finally breaking our home record.
Roll on Saturday!
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With Guus Hiddink odds on favourite to take over the reigns at Chelsea on a permanent basis during his second spell at the club, the news that the move for the Dutchman could cost £15m will come as a surprise to many – but is Hiddink really worth that much? And more pertinently, does his appointment signal little more than a continuation of the short-term managerial merry-go-round that has done nothing but hinder Chelsea of late?
I’m not going to lie to you, I’m playing devils advocate here. Everyone seems fairly certain that the job is Hiddink’s to turn down, which he has shown no indication as yet that he intends on doing. His first spell at the club as caretaker boss after Felipe Scolari’s departure in 2009 was a resounding success. So often in football, short spells such as Hiddink’s have a tendency to be overly romanticised, but in this case, Hiddink definitely did do an outstanding job.
He took over a fantastic side low on confidence and crucially did what Scolari had failed to do – made them perform to the best of their abilities. He won the FA Cup final against Everton and won 15 of his 21 games in charge in total, losing just once to Spurs in the league. He also came just a hair’s breadth away from taking them to the Champions League final after being knocked out by an Andres Iniesta goal in the 93rd minute at Stamford Bridge at the semi-final stage. In short, a fantastic spell.
However, it has since come to light that should Roman Abramovich wish to employ Hiddink as the club’s next manager, the move could set the Chairman back a cool £15m in compensation and wages over the course of the next year. Sure, it’s small change to a man such as Abramovich, but is Hiddink really worth that hefty sum? Is any manager worth that sum? I’m doubtful on both counts.
The Turkish FA are thought to be keen so pursue the maximum amount of compensation that they are entitled to squeeze from the Russian oligarch, thought to be in the region of £3m. Then there is the £6m compensation figure to be issued to former manager Carlo Ancelotti. The Italian would have only receive half that figure if he went onto manage a club within 6 months of his departure from Stamford Bridge, but his decision last week to take a year-long sabbatical from the game should be seen as a middle-fingered salute to his former boss in the only language that the Russian understands – money.
Hiddink is thought to be demanding a similar wage to Ancelotti’s £6m a year which brings the total to £15m. Interestingly, Ancelotti’s sacking also brings the total compensatory packages dished out by Abramovich to sacked managers and coaches since he took over the club seven years ago to an astonishing £74m – a remarkably short-sighted structure for a club the size of Chelsea to operate with.
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Hiddink has also failed in the last two international jobs to secure progress to an international tournament – firstly with Russia and the 2010 World Cup and more recently with Turkey and Euro 2012 qualification. His stock with Chelsea fans and their Chairman remain sky high, but on the international stage at least, it’s taken a bit of a dent.
There is also the nature of the deal to contend with. Hiddink is now 64 years of age and any deal is likely to be around 2 years in length. It can hardly be said to be planning for the future to employ Hiddink for such a short period of time, especially when there is such a big rebuilding job to be done at Stamford Bridge in the immediate future. Surely appointing a younger coach such as Porto’s Andre Villas-Boas or Dortmund’s Jurgen Klopp would make much more sense in the long run. The job that faces Hiddink now is very different to the one that he had in 2009.
Could it not be considered somewhat financially reckless to entrust a significant rebuilding plan to a manager who may not be around to see the job through? If Hiddink is moved upstairs, an entirely possible situation considering his close relationship with Abramovich, then there are further legacy and succession issues to deal with. Does the next manager’s vision have to fit in with Hiddink’s? Will that decide who gets the job in the future? The handover could be very messy. These are the sorts of questions that have completely glossed over in the club’s pursuit of their man – it may be fine for the short-term, but what happens afterwards can often prove just as important.
It’s also worth remembering, barring his 4-month stint as Chelsea caretaker boss in 2009, Hiddink hasn’t been involved with the day-to-day running of a football club since his time with PSV ended in 2006 and he’s only held one full-time managerial position at club level in the last decade.
Roman Abramovich is thought to be keen on Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola in two years time after Hiddink steps down. However, what is truly narrowing the field with concerns to the club’s managerial choices in the future has to be the chopping and changing nature of their overbearing Chairman. Abramovich could well and truly turn out to be their Achilles heel.
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Why would a world-class manager want to move to Chelsea when the confines that he has to work within are always so strict and the stakes so high? Coupled with the constant threat of being undermined at every turn and the job, where it was once one the most appealing going in Europe, begins to look more like an uphill task even for the most qualified. To put it simply, how do you satisfy an obsessive character such as Abramovich?
In all honesty, Hiddink remains a fine candidate for the job, but we shouldn’t be so myopic in thinking he’s the only man for the job. He’s being painted as a returning hero in some sections of the media; the man to topple Man Utd and bring and end to their top flight dominance. But dig a little deeper, and a few doubts do begin to surface when discussing the topic of his appointment.
Simply because it’s been expected to happen for so long does not necessarily make it the right move for the club in the long-term. Stop gap appointments rarely work out and all they do is make the job all the more difficult for the man who inherits the role next. Hiddink looks set to take the job, but whether it is the best option for all concerned remains to be seen. If it all goes tits up though, fret not Chelsea fans, Bryan Robson has just left his job as Thailand manager – you know, just thought I’d throw it out there while I’m here playing devils advocate.