after draw with Dynamo Kiev

Samuel Eto'o had a pop at Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho after their 2-2 draw with Dynamo Kiev.

Inter's Champions League hopes now hang in the balance and Eto'o admits he can't understand why Mourinho refused to attack Dynamo from the start last night.

Eto'o told Tuttosport: "Inter isn't cursed in the Champions League. We always take the wrong approach in matches.

"Why start with one centre-forward when two strikers are best for playing at home?!!"

Andriy Shevchenko will return to the San Siro on Tuesday to face old rival Inter Milan and Jose Mourinho, his former coach at Chelsea.

After eight seasons with AC Milan, Shevchenko is returning to his former stadium with Dynamo Kiev for the Champions League game in Group F.

Champions League
Group Stage Matchday 3
Tue., Oct. 20
Matchday Wrap Matchday Photos
Debreceni 3-4 Fiorentina Recap
Alkmaar 1-1 Arsenal Recap
Liverpool 1-2 Lyon Recap
Barcelona 1-2 Rubin Kazan Recap
Inter Milan 2-2 Dynamo Kiev Recap
Rangers 1-4 Unirea Urziceni Recap
Stuttgart 1-3 Sevilla Recap
Olympiakos 2-1 Standard Recap
Wed., Oct. 21
Matchday Wrap Matchday Photos
CSKA Moscow 0-1 Man United Recap
Real Madrid 2-3 AC Milan Recap
Chelsea 4-0 Atletico Madrid Recap
Bordeaux 2-1 Bayern Munich Recap
Juventus 1-0 Maccabi Haifa Recap
Wolfsburg 0-0 Besiktas Recap
FC Zurich 0-1 Marseille Recap
FC Porto 2-1 APOEL Recap
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE VIDEO

Shevchenko has scored 14 goals in his career against Inter, with his favorite being the one that earned Milan a spot in the 2003 final, which he then won with a penalty kick in the shootout victory over Juventus.

"I'm just hoping to score in the 15th minute with Dynamo," Shevchenko said.

Barcelona leads the group with four points. Dynamo is next with three points, followed by Inter with two and Rubin Kazan with one.

Inter was satisfied after holding defending champion Barcelona to a 0-0 draw in its opener but somewhat disappointed with its 1-1 draw in Rubin in its last European outing.

"There are still four games remaining in group play and nothing is decisive tomorrow," Mourinho said.

Inter striker Mario Balotelli picked up two yellow cards against Rubin and will miss the Dynamo match. With Diego Milito questionable as he returns from a thigh strain, Mourinho is hoping Samuel Eto'o can play despite a bruised right foot.

"Samuel will be in the team no matter what," Mourinho said. "As for Milito, there was a glimmer of hope that he could be ready."

Midfielder Thiago Motta is also out.

Inter beat Genoa 5-0 Saturday in Serie A but midfielder Esteban Cambiasso picked up a muscle problem and is now a questionable starter.

Dejan Stankovic, who scored a spectacular goal from midfield against Genoa, and newly signed Wesley Sneijder will probably support Eto'o in attack if the Cameroon striker can play.

Otherwise, Mourinho may have to revert to reserve forward David Suazo, or move the versatile Stankovic into a more attacking position.

Inter president Massimo Moratti claimed Inter could beat Barcelona at the Camp Nou if it plays the way it did against Genoa.

"We've got to aim for four victories and we're capable of pulling that off," Moratti said.

Dynamo beat Rubin 3-1 in its opener and then lost at Barcelona 2-0.

"Dynamo wants to advance. It's a young team but it always knows how to fight, and that's what I like about it," Shevchenko told the Gazzetta dello Sport. "I know Mourinho and his strong points well. Inter is very solid, it's got that classic Mourinho organization and very skillful players."

Shevchenko struggled under Mourinho during a brief spell at Chelsea, but said he doesn't "have anything personal" against the manager.

Shevchenko scored the winner in Dynamo's 2-1 derby win over Obolon Kiev on Saturday, and his first goal against Inter came on his derby debut almost exactly a decade ago, during a 2-1 Milan win in 1999.

"The Champions League is a competition for champions. We faced the champions of Spain and the champions of Russia and tomorrow we meet the champions of Ukraine," Mourinho said. "Half of their team is on the national side and the other players are also of high quality.

"This team has everything - they're physical, organized well and have a skillful and experienced coach (Valeri Gazzaev), speed on the flanks and best two center forwards in Ukraine in attack," Mourinho added. "We'll do all we can, with the awareness that in football it only takes a few split seconds to go from paradise to hell. That's what I told my players."

Robben suffered injuries

appearance attacking football style that was exhibited by Bayern Munich last night was incredible. this can be seen how Juventus so very overwhelmed with every attack from Bayern Munich. Munich striker Robben move swiftly and very dangerous movements, so he had to be violated and suffered injuries and had to be pulled out. the outcome of this match 0-0 to Munich vs. Juventus FC.

Drogba goal

An early Didier Drogba goal was enough to give Chelsea a vital 1-0 win over Juventus in their Champions League last-16 first leg at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night.

Chelsea came racing out of the traps and deserved the lead they took through Didier Drogba’s goal inside the first 15 minutes. Juventus’ initial response was good, though, The Old Lady coming close through Alessandro Del Piero.

The visitors were the better side in the second period and put pressure on the Blues’ defense, but failed to create enough clear opportunities, meaning an intriguing second leg lies in store with the English side holding the advantage after tonight.

Chelsea boss Guus Hiddink caused no surprises with his starting XI. Drogba and Nicolas Anelka joined Salomon Kalou in a three-pronged forward line, while Alex continued to deputize for the injured Ricardo Carvalho in defense. Ashley Cole returned at left-back in place of Paulo Ferreira.

Juventus picked captain Del Piero and Amauri in attack over David Trezeguet and Vincenzo Iaquinta, while Olof Mellberg came into the defense ahead of Zdenek Grygera, who had started against Palermo at the weekend.

The Blues made a fast start, Kalou cutting inside from left and shooting across the face of goal to give Juve goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon an early test after just four minutes.

Then, Jose Bosingwa found space on the right after being fed by Michael Ballack and whipped in a good cross. Drogba managed to get in front of his marker, Nicola Legrottaglie, and headed just over the bar from close-range.

But the Italians did not heed the warnings, and, in the 12th minute, Chelsea went ahead. Frank Lampard delivered a poor free-kick from the right touchline, which Mauro Camoranesi cleared as far as Kalou 25 yards from goal.

The Ivorian winger was determined to keep the move alive and turned to guide the ball back into the box, where Drogba was able to get onto the wrong side of Legrottaglie and scuff a shot past Buffon into the far corner of the net from just inside the penalty area.

Drogba should have scored again four minutes later, but wasted his third golden opportunity of the opening stages. Lampard fed a corner in and Drogba, who stood completely unmarked six yards out, mistimed his header wide of the post.

That finally seemed to galvanize the visitors, who came close to scoring twice in quick succession as they enjoyed a good spell mid-way through the first half.

Firstly, former Chelsea midfielder Tiago swivelled well outside the box and spotted the run of Del Piero. The Portuguese slipped through a clever pass and the Italian forced Blues keeper Petr Cech into a good save.

From the resulting corner, Del Piero’s delivery was helped on by Amauri and so nearly connected with Giorgio Chiellini at the far post. The Brazilian striker should have done better with his header, having lost Chelsea captain John Terry.

Things quietened down as the half progressed, although Juve were still able to threaten as Camoranesi’s shot deflected narrowly over the crossbar, before Pavel Nedved shot straight at Cech from 20 yards just before half-time.

After the break, Chelsea started well, Drogba again getting a run on Legrottaglie and heading just wide from Bosingwa’s cross, while a left-footed effort from Lampard was well held by Buffon in the 57th minute.

For Juve, Nedved had another shot which failed to trouble Cech, before substitute Marco Marchionni rifled in an effort from 25 yards that fell just over Czech Republic international’s goal.

Then, Del Piero and Amauri came close with headers in quick succession on 70 minutes as Juventus put pressure on the hosts without creating many clear-cut goal-scoring opportunities.

Juve coach Clauido Ranieri seemed reluctant to alter his side’s system while they held the edge in the match, with no sign of Trezeguet until he was brought on in the 86th minute in place of Mohamed Sissoko.

Anelka, who had a quiet night for Chelsea by his high standards so far this season, drove a powerful effort narrowly wide with three minutes to go, before Trezeguet, moments after arriving on the pitch, poorly struck wide after a clever flick by Del Piero.

Then, in the third minute of added time, Nedved’s deflected long-range effort came so close to finding the inside of the post, but the home side held on and are in the strong position going into the second leg in Italy.

Robben close his team

Dutch winger Arjen Robben fua scored his debut goal in the fight to help Bayern Munich beat the defending champion the Bundesliga, VfL Wolfsburg 3-0 while the first league win this season yesterday.

Robben, appeared on his debut fight, after the official sehar trafficked from Real Madrid, playing as a substitute Hamit Altintop when Bayern was leading 1-0. 12 minutes later, after passing one another in cooperation with Franck Ribery, a former pillar of the break Chelsea goalkeeper Wolfsburg goalkeeper Diego Benaglio for the second time.

Bayern dominated the game from the beginning whistle. Golden opportunities Bastian Schweinsteiger had launched a sundulannya on the pole before Mario Gomez, the Bundesliga's most expensive player, the team packed up the opening goal after the ball anticipate vomit from Altintop on 27 minutes.

Robben close his team victory in the 80th minute. "I never imagined could be perfect in his debut fight. Bayern Munich all the players play perfectly. We controlled the game, "bungah Robben who trafficked with the official price Rp 227 billion, Sunday (30 / 8).

"Franck Ribery and I played solid. He is a great player and we need it. "

Bayern, who began the week 14th in the Bundesliga after playing poorly at the beginning of the season for 43 years, crept into the 7th position with a score of five points from four matches. Wolfsburg, perched on rank 6 with a score of 6 after receiving their second defeat this season.

who crossed for Keita

First-half goals from Bojan Krkic and Seydou Keita set an under-strength Catalan side on their way and summer signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic grabbed his first for the club late on as Barca strolled to a comfortable victory.

Pedro was rewarded for his winning goal in the UEFA Super Cup win over Shakhtar Donetsk last week with a place in the starting XI, replacing Lionel Messi who is on international duty with Argentina.

New look Barca
Keita, Bojan and Maxwell all started in a new-look Barcelona side, as Thierry Henry and Yaya Toure were left on the bench and Rafa Marquez and Andres Iniesta on their way back from injury watched on from the stands, along with new signing Dmitro Chygrynsky.

Barca dominated the tie and Ibrahimovic showed some neat touches early on.

Sporting came into this game with five players missing through injury and coach Manuel Preciado opted to field all five summer signings from the start.

On 17 minutes, Barca were ahead. Keita cleverly flicked on Xavi's corner with his head and Bojan was applied the finishing touch with a diving header at the back post.

Late in the first half, Bojan went on a mesmerising run that ended in a corner off which Barcelona went two up.

This time it was taken short to Dani Alves, who crossed for Keita, who crashed an unstoppable header past Juan Pablo to give Barca a two-goal lead at the break.

82nd minute
Ibrahimovic had his goal eight minutes from time when he was left all alone to finish with ease at the back post after Sporting once again failed to deal with a Barca corner.

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Start behave and Descending


Popular and elite club that sought to create Adebayor began to lose balance and start to grow a sense arogan and greed in his heart. Starting from the Togo national team, the team where he was always treated like 'god', he began to spearhead protests berulah with money problems have received the bonus. Actions that culminate in the pemecatannya and two other players from Timnas Togo.

At Arsenal, he also began to show attitude arogannya using terhadapnya for AC Milan. In an interview with the media, it shows a clear-clear that he will not feel heavy to leave the club if gajinya has not been raised. This directly results interview barbed terdalam every Arsenal fans. When a Cesc Fabregas-is always shown loyalty to the club with the refuse transfer gossip and news about himself.

Parahnya again, in the 2008-2009 season is a time where it had fallen far appearance. Suddenly no longer Adebayor who ran with enthusiasm and hard work. Even though print still had 16 goals from 38 appearance, he has changed. Adebayor Adebayor who is now a lazy, inconsistent, and less concentration. He now become the most stuck Offside. Offside is trapped normal thing for a striker, but if an attacker to extremes often trapped Offside only because he looks lazy to go down to the bottom. Ade is also not consistent when he was 10 must get the opportunity to menceploskan only one of them. Finally, lack of concentration makes firs-touchnya more inconsequential and any place, even passingnya often seen melenceng despite the distance of only 5 meters. This disadvantage of making the team because the flow of the Arsenal attacks quickly become damaged thereby.

Student evaluation reports were distributed to make clear that appearance is very bad for a striker. Arsenal fans feeling disappointed that due sikapnya the arogan develop further into the antipati terhadapnya. Ade has been trying to improve it with the report that he is still happy living in the Arsenal, but Gunners fans have been hurried memusuhinya. And when the £ 25 million bid from Manchester City to come and accepted by Arsenal, with the majority of fans accept that the decision opens.

Arsenal have the funds to purchase the minimum, even from the sale of Adebayor for £ 25 million itupun seems only £ 10-15 million are given to Wenger to spend. But money is not the cause of which is the main selling Adebayor, but the characters that should be held is not owned by a winner. A Cristiano Ronaldo, the players who are not notabone faithful and materialistic also still appear good for the MU even though he is eager to move to Real Madrid.

So, indeed pantaskah Arsenal sell Adebayor? um full.

"I still will undergo training individuals and still feel a little sick. I only need to set foot rhythm," the Russian firm aged 26 this year.

restored with surgery

Half-Portugal Deco Souza confident decisions stand in Chelsea akan improve his career that had dimmed due to injury in the last two seasons.

The birth of Brazilian players disappeared from this row on the board after leaving Barcelona and Chelsea to be disturbed injury. But Deco remain confident and steadfast membenahi appearance recover from post-injury.

That's why he rejected the desire for Inter Milan merekrutnya. And the increase seen when the game starts Deco menccetak beautiful goal to take Chelsea 3-1 win over Sunderland in the Premier League on Tuesday (18 / 8) ago.

"Careers in season ago is the worst because I never get so old injury. But this season will be different. I feel healthy and can play. I want to help and be trusted by the team coach Carlo Ancelotti," said Deco.

On the other hand, the new Chelsea Yuri oppugn Zhriskov right knee injury should be restored with surgery.

Zhirkov, who purchased from CSKA Moscow, failed to strengthen the Blues early in the season after the damage during the pre-season tour in the United States.

"I do not know from where that news comes as no right at all. My condition is improving and the doctor in three days I can not fully exercise though.

"I still will undergo training individuals and still feel a little sick. I only need to set foot rhythm," the Russian firm aged 26 this year.

Rio Ferdinand will be absent

Latch Manchester United Rio Ferdinand will be absent from the gridiron during the month due to a thigh injury.

The former Leeds United player has been absent in the initial fight two Premier League 2009/2010 season due to injury to thigh.

And according to MU coach Sir Alex Ferguson after the scan results come out when Ferdinand will be absent up to a month. "Rio absent for three to four weeks," said Ferguson.

Thus the absent Ferdinand will also defend the British national team in the important fight Qualifications World Cup 2010 European zone against Croatia in September to come.

Fortunately Ferguson may have been lower latch when Nemanja Vidic MU visit to Wigan Athletic headquarters next weekend.

Vidic was absent because of some fight experience calf injury. Absennya Vidic and Ferdinand have to swallow to make MU surprising defeat of the campaign club Burnley, Wednesday.

epl schedule

TIME HOME AWAY VENUE
18:45 WIB Chelsea 2 - 1 Hull City Stamford Bridge
21:00 WIB Portsmouth 0 - 1 Fulham Fratton Park
21:00 WIB Wolverhamton W 0 - 2 West Ham Utd Molineux Stadium
21:00 WIB Blackburn Rovers 0 - 2 Manchester City Ewood Park
21:00 WIB Bolton Wanderers 0 - 1 Sunderland Reebok Stadium
21:00 WIB Aston Villa 0 - 2 Wigan Athletic Villa Park
21:00 WIB Stoke City 2 - 0 Burnley Britannia Stadium
23:15 WIB Everton 1 - 6 Arsenal Goodison Park


16 Agustus 2009
TIME HOME AWAY VENUE
19:30 WIB Manchester Utd 1 - 0 Birmingham Old Trafford
22:00 WIB Tottenham H. 2 - 1 Liverpool White Hart Lane


19 Agustus 2009
TIME HOME AWAY VENUE
postponed Fulham v Blackburn Rovers Craven Cottage
01:45 WIB Sunderland 1 - 3 Chelsea Stadium of Light
01:45 WIB Wigan Athletic 0 - 1 Wolverhamton W. DW Stadium
postponed West Ham Utd v Aston Villa Upton Park
postponed Arsenal v Bolton Wanderers Emirates Stadium


20 Agustus 2009
TIME HOME AWAY VENUE
01:45 WIB Birmingham 1 - 0 Portsmouth St Andrews Stadium
01:45 WIB Hull City 1 - 5 Tottenham H Kingston Comm. S
01:45 WIB Burnley 1 - 0 Manchester United Turf Moor
02:00 WIB Liverpool 4 - 0 Stoke City Anfield
postponed Manchester City v Everton City of Manchester S


22 Agustus 2009
TIME HOME AWAY VENUE
21:00 WIB Arsenal v Portsmouth Emirates Stadium
21:00 WIB Birmingham v Stoke City St Andrews S
21:00 WIB Hull City v Bolton Wanderers Kingston Comm
21:00 WIB Sunderland v Blackburn Rovers Stadium of Light
21:00 WIB Manchester City v Wolverhampton W City of Manchester S
21:00 WIB Wigan Athletic v Manchester United DW Stadium


23 Agustus 2009
TIME HOME AWAY VENUE
19:30 WIB West Ham Utd v Tottenham H Upton Park
21:00 WIB Burnley v Everton Turf Moor
22:00 WIB Fulham v Chelsea Craven Cottage


25 Agustus 2009
TIME HOME AWAY VENUE
02:00 WIB Liverpool v Aston Villa Anfield

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Still has great potential


With the recent appointment of Carlo Ancelotti as the new Chelsea manager and the recent announcement that Andriy Shevchenko will be coming back to the Bridge now that his one-year loan deal with AC Milan has expired, there are questions being asked of what Ancelotti / Chelsea will do with the 32-year-old striker.

While Shevchenko and many Chelsea fans are not optimistic about his future at the Bridge, Sheva still has great potential to finish his career in style and justify the money that was spent on him. The article discusses the following points:

1. Why Shevchenko did not live up to his potential at Chelsea
2. How Chelsea could have made better use of the Ukrainian international
3. Why Shevchenko deserves one more season as a Chelsea starter under Ancelotti.

The time was fall of 1997 and the place was one that has become extremely familiar to Chelsea fans recently – the 98,000 capacity stadium in Barcelona – Camp Nou. The Spanish champions were taking on the 5 time Ukrainian Champions Dinamo Kiev in the Champions League group stage. After losing 3-0 to Dinamo in their hometown, Barcelona, led by Van Gaal, was looking to bounce back from their shocking defeat.

However, Barcelona had their hopes demolished by half-time after a hat trick from a phenomenal young Ukrainian – his name was Andrei Shevchenko. Would any blue-blooded Chelsea fan seriously say that they would not have wanted that Shevchenko to have played on the starting squad against Barcelona in this year’s semi-final?

Ever since Andrei Shevchenko joined Chelsea for a record transfer fee of 30 million pounds in the summer of 2006, it appeared inevitable that with such a star studded team; Chelsea would reign supreme over England and Europe. After nearly three years have passed, various pundits, analysts, and Chelsea mangers from Jose Mourinho to Felipe Scolari have leveled severe criticism about my hometown hero’s lackluster performance. However, those former Chelsea managers never used Sheva properly as they did not understand him.

First of all, in order to understand how Shevchenko operates, you must first understand Valeriy Lobanovsky, the old Dinamo Kiev manager whose unique philosophy made him the star that he eventually became. Shevchenko has stated on many occasions that he owes all of his success to his deceased old manager and he went as far as leaving his Champions League medal on his grave.

In a nutshell, Lobanovsky (a plumber by trade) was a pioneer in football theory when he became the first Soviet Manager in the 1960’s to request a computer to be used by his football club. The theory he developed was dubbed “scientific football” in which certain numerical values were assigned to each “action” in the game such as tackles, passes, and shots. (Foer 159, “How Soccer Explains the World”) and the computer would calculate each player’s “intensively” (tackles and goal shots), “activity” (tackles and passes), “error rate” (unsuccessful actions), and “effectively” (tackles, goals, assists, passes).

Lobanovsky considered the football team to be a collective (not unlike the Borg) and judged how each individual contributed to the team’s overall performance without specific positions for players. While this led to a focus on defense, it created highly disciplined teams and largely kept egos in place. He saw pace and cohesion as the keys to victory. Not only were his teams much fitter than opposing sides, the players also seemed to have a near-telepathic understanding of each other. A result perhaps of one of his favourite drills: blindfolded five-a-side matches.

When Lobanovsky took over the struggling Dinamo again in the fall of 1996, he implemented the system once again and stated that the team is a collective and not centered on individuals. Hence, the victory over the individual focused Barcelona a year later was not only due to Shevchenko’s brilliance, but each player doing their part in making the defense, the midfield, and the strikers effective.

After Shevchenko joined AC Milan in ‘99, the team, under Carlo Ancelotti (2001-2009) eventually adapted somewhat to Shevchenko’s collectively oriented style by having the team work together in an almost Christmas tree formation to get the maximum number of goals to Shevchenko and his partner up front Inzaghi. The Balon d’Or and the CL goal scoring records set by Shevchenko overlooked the fact that AC Milan, similar to Dinamo Kiev in the 1990’s was a well oiled machine that worked tirelessly on all parts of the pitch to make the team succeed. Shevchenko was simply performing his role to his best ability.

Since Roman Abramovich acquired Chelsea in 2003, his eyes were set on the brilliant striker. However, the owner of Milan, Silvio Berlusconi, who became Shevchenko’s Godfather, did everything possible to hold on to his “son” until Roman finally made the offer Silvio could not refuse – the record breaking £30.8 million pound transfer in May of 2006. At this point Roman was becoming very impatient with Mourinho’s Chelsea coming up short of winning the Champions League and decided to “help out” Jose by acquiring Ballack , Kalou and Shevchenko against the manager’s wishes. As a result, Shevchenko was in a bad situation from the start as the Chelsea midfield became destabilized while the manager was not happy to have him.

To elaborate, from 2004 to 2006 the Chelsea midfield had been very cohesive with the combination of Lampard and the Iceland international Eiour Godjohnsen, who was one of the most versatile players around as he had performed as a central-midfielder; as a right or left winger; as a holding-defensive midfielder or as a striker. He was replaced by the slower and older Ballack who just did not seem to give the necessary effort. Hence, the midfield feeding mechanism to the strikers such as Drogba, Shevchenko and Kalou had become weak. In addition, Shevchenko, in spite of being tired after Ukraine’s World Cup performance and having to go from a very mild Mediterranean climate in Milan to the cold and humid climate of England compounded the problem.

Despite all of this, Shevchenko scored in his Chelsea debut in the Community Shield in the 2-1 loss to Liverpool, and quickly delivered again in his first Premier League goal against Middlesborough. After this, Shevchenko’s exhaustion caught up with him and he fell into a bit of a drought. The back-to-back trophy-winning Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho blamed all of Chelsea’s problems on Shevchenko and benched him as a result. He went as far as saying that Shevchenko considered himself above the other players and was expecting preferential treatment. However, Jose was wrong to have Shevchenko take the blame as an individual for the collective lackluster performance of the team.

The breakdown of the locker room atmosphere at Chelsea has been well chronicled in Claude Makalele’s recent biography Tout Simplementu. “For two years at Chelsea we lived as a group of friends, dining together, getting drunk together, going to training together and winning matches together,” wrote the French international. The team resembled Lobonovsky’s vision of a collective. But then all of a sudden Mourinho broke the solidarity by treating certain players that he was instrumental in acquiring such as Drogba as stars.

The catalyst for this may have been Roman encouraging the team to play a more open and offensive oriented game, which Jose flatly refused to do. He began treating players that he perceived as being close to the Roman such as Shevchenko and Terry with contempt. Makelele was stunned that the “Special One” had forgotten to value the contribution of players and began taking credit for all success and blaming individual players for any failures. “He no longer believed that players were responsible for success but only his methods did.” In short, Jose’s ego was clouding his judgment.

In response, Roman, who was obviously good friends with Shevchenko due to a common language and perhaps not wanting to see his investment wasted, forced Jose to play Sheva. Andrei proved to be invaluable in the FA Cup when he scored the goal of the year on January 19th, 2007 against Tottenham by curling the ball into the Spurs net from an impossible angle. He would prove equally useful in the Champions League by scoring key equalizers against Valencia in the Group Stage and Porto in the Quarterfinals. Unfortunately, an untimely injury and the subsequent hernia operation would keep him out at the end of the season when Chelsea needed him most.

All in all, despite all of the problems, Shevchenko ended up having an adequate season with 14 goals, well short of his 24 goals for Milan in the award winning year of 2004 but by no means was a terrible performance as Jose implied. Shevchenko gave the following explanation: “The real problem is that I cannot find any continuity. I was doing well this season, scoring seven goals in my last 10 matches, but then I suffered a back injury. Before I am judged I would like to enjoy a decent run in the side now that I have adapted to English football. Italian football is about tactics and logic, whereas England is different, it is all about speed and instinct.”

During the summer, Shevchenko did everything he could to get back in shape and work on his speed after surgery, even going as far as training with an Olympic sprinter to bring himself up to form. Roman even brought in Avram Grant as Director of Football to help Andrei, which was interpreted by Jose’s as undermining his authority. However, the training would prove to be useful as Andrei scored the equalizing goal to prevent a humiliating loss to Rosenborg BK in the Champions League Group Game. Apparently, Jose could not stand Grant and Roman being right and left “by mutual consent” as a result. It appeared that now under Grant as head coach Shevchenko would finally shine. Unfortunately, Shevchenko only scored 5 goals in the Premier League that season and Grant appeared to have given up on him when he transferred in former gunner Nicholas Anelka to essentially take Shevchenko’s spot as backup striker, leaving Shevchenko on the bench once again.

When Scolari took over the Chelsea reigns in the summer of 2008, he promised to give Shevchenko a “fresh start” but later contradicted himself by playing Deco in his place in the season opener against Portsmouth. Shevchenko was sent on loan to Milan and has begun regained his form. His goal against England in the World Cup qualifier illustrated his resurgence.

The newly appointed Chelsea manager and Sheva’s old AC Milan manager, Carlo Ancelotti, stated that Chelsea’s mistake was that they did not use Shevchenko properly by persistently using the one-striker system with Drogba upfront rather than being more flexible and adjusting the midfield to feed the ball to two strikers (Drogba and Sheva) upfront like Milan did. In addition, Shevchenko never prospered because he never felt welcome in London – mostly because of Jose’s arrogance. The unjustified blame game under Mourinho certainly took its toll on him and likely hurt his subsequent performance.

All in all, with Drogba facing a possible 5 match ban from the Champions League, the Boys in Blue are in dire need of a second striker besides Anelka. In my humble opinion, Shevchenko could fill this role provided that the team is willing to accept him and the midfield is willing to adjust to accommodate the two striker strategy.

Why spend another 30 million pounds on Tevez or David Villa when Chelsea already has Sheva under contract and the real problem is in the midfield? Just like a roofer would not spend money on buying a customized golden drill bit when the drill battery is dead and the power cord is broken, Chelsea must fix the truly broken part of its team (midfield) rather than spending enormous sums fixing something that is working reasonably well (offense).

Despite his age of 32 (top players like Zidane, Beckham, Pele, Maldini played well into their 30’s), Shevchenko still has the skills and now has something to prove to Chelsea fans. Under Ancelotti, who understands Sheva and how to make a team play a common strategy rather than a group of individuals, Sheva may once again become the top striker we know him to be.

Mourinho was brought

Mourinho was brought in at the start of the previous season to bring his Champions League winning knowledge to bear on the club, but the side struggled through the group stages before tamely falling to Manchester United in the last 16.

Four major new faces were brought in over the summer. Genoa pair Diego Milito and Thiago Motta arrived soon after the end of the season and Brazil captain Lucio was a surprise purchase from Bayern Munich before Samuel Eto'o arrived as part of the deal that took Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Barcelona.

"Compared to last season we are a new team with new men and a new style of play," captain Javier Zanetti said.

Despite Mourinho missing out on Deco and Ricardo Carvalho, who were part of his FC Porto side that won the 2004 Champions League and who he later took to Chelsea, the Portuguese coach was pleased with the purchases.

"The team has started to come together as I wanted," Mourinho said after signing Eto'o. "The defense is settled and we have an excellent group of strikers with Samuel, Diego Milito, Mario Balotelli and even David Suazo with his speed.

"I now have great trust in this squad."

There was initial disappointment that Ibrahimovic was sold, but with €50 million (US$70 million) coming into the club coffers, along with Eto'o, many proclaimed it the deal of the summer.

The Cameroon striker is a player who delivers on the big occasions. He was key to Barcelona winning the Champions League in 2006 and 2009, scoring in both finals, and has won Olympic gold at the 2000 Games and two African Nations Cups with his country.

"I know that Inter is desperate to win the Champions League, but you can't only think about that cup," Eto'o said. "Because if you are too focused on the Champions League, you forget about the other competitions and then you run the risk of being knocked out of European competition.

"You need to take it match by match and treat them all as a final."

With the 28-year-old forward likely to lineup alongside Milito, who hit 24 goals to help Genoa reach the Europa League playoffs, there is hope that the side will no longer be so reliant on one player, as it was when the Swede was leading the attack.

Whilst Ibrahimovic was the undoubted star of the side, leading the league's scoring last year with 25 goals, all too often Inter's game plan revolved around giving him the ball and expecting him to weave his magic.

It may have worked domestically, but when the team met tougher resistance in the form of Manchester United the plan fell apart. The hope is that the new signings will give Inter a more flexible, intelligent style of play that will allow them to make real progress in Europe.

Inter has won two European Cups, the last in 1965. In that time, city rivals AC Milan has won it six times and Juventus twice.

liverpool transfer 2009

Name Pos. Previous Club New Club Transfer Fee
Xabi Alonso M Liverpool Real Madrid $43.2 million
Alberto Aquilani M AS Roma Liverpool $34 million
Alvaro Arbeloa D Liverpool Real Madrid $5.7 million
Ryan Flynn M Liverpool Falkirk On loan
Adam Hammill M Liverpool Barnsley Undisclosed
Jack Hobbs D Liverpool Leicester City Undisclosed
Sami Hyypia D Liverpool Leverkusen Free
Glen Johnson D Portsmouth Liverpool $28.6 million
Sebastian Leto M Liverpool Panathinaikos Undisclosed
Chris Mavinga D Paris Saint-Germain Liverpool Undisclosed
Jermaine Pennant M Liverpool Real Zaragoza Free
Stephen Sama D Borussia Dortmund Liverpool Free

The challenge for Milan

Reads a statement released by Milan: "AC Milan and FC Barcelona have reached an agreement for the transfer of Ronaldinho.

"Tomorrow, the player will be in Milan for the medical, and to sign the contract which will tie him to Milan until June 30th 2011."

This announcement brings to an end months of speculation over the Brazilian's future.

He had been on the outer at Barcelona pretty much since El Clasico in December, with his private life, his fitness and his bulging waistline making more headlines than his performances on the pitch.

Barcelona boss Frank Rijkaard, always one to back him given what they had achieved together, had to drop him due to his dropping fitness levels, and once Pep Guardiola was announced as the new coach in early May, a summer exit for the two time World Player of the Year was only a matter of time.

Chelsea and Milan were the early frontrunners, with the player himself expressing a desire to team up with Luiz Felipe Scolari once again last month. However, Big Phil was not too keen, and Manchester City subsequently came into the fray.

But with Chelsea out, there was only going to be one winner, and that had been clear for two weeks now. City had a superior financial offer for Barca, but as with many things these days, the player's will had the final say and a deal was struck with Milan after intense negotiations between Adriano Galliani, Joan Laporta and Roberto de Assis.

During his five years in Spain, Ronaldinho won two La Liga titles (2004-05, 2005-06), one Champions League (2005-06), the World player of the Year award twice (2004, 2005), and the Ballon d'Or (2005).

He leaves on a low, but when the dust settles, he will go down as one of the best to ever play for Barcelona - as much for what he won as for the way he heralded a new era for the club following the collapse of Real Madrid's 'Galactico' policy.

Some of his best displays also came on the biggest of stages - a sensational left footed strike against Milan in the Champions League in 2004, two more against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge that almost saw Barcelona through single handedly later that season, and then that sublime assist for Ludovic Giuly at San Siro a year later - which guaranteed Barcelona's progress to the final.

However, perhaps the crowning moment was his stunning showing at the Santiago Bernabeu in 2005, when he got a standing ovation from the Real Madrid fans after two goals and a mesmerising display of football in a 3-0 win.

The challenge for Milan now will be to get the player back to peak fitness, before we even speak of form. He still has the magic in his feet as we saw from his two goals on his return to football a couple of weeks ago, but whether he can roll back the years and offer the Rossoneri the kind of service he did to Barcelona, remains to be seen. His ability against rigid Italian defenses will also be tested to the limit.

It will also be very interesting to see how he fits into the team, and whether Ronaldinho, Kaka, Alexandre Pato, Andrea Pirlo and Clarence Seedorf (who has openly opposed this move) can play together.

Barcelona, in the meantime, are expected to announce the signing of Aliaksandr Hleb, with Arsenal seemingly having given the nod following the signing of Samir Nasri from Marseille.

The challenge for Milan


Reads a statement released by Milan: "AC Milan and FC Barcelona have reached an agreement for the transfer of Ronaldinho.

"Tomorrow, the player will be in Milan for the medical, and to sign the contract which will tie him to Milan until June 30th 2011."

This announcement brings to an end months of speculation over the Brazilian's future.

He had been on the outer at Barcelona pretty much since El Clasico in December, with his private life, his fitness and his bulging waistline making more headlines than his performances on the pitch.

Barcelona boss Frank Rijkaard, always one to back him given what they had achieved together, had to drop him due to his dropping fitness levels, and once Pep Guardiola was announced as the new coach in early May, a summer exit for the two time World Player of the Year was only a matter of time.

Chelsea and Milan were the early frontrunners, with the player himself expressing a desire to team up with Luiz Felipe Scolari once again last month. However, Big Phil was not too keen, and Manchester City subsequently came into the fray.

But with Chelsea out, there was only going to be one winner, and that had been clear for two weeks now. City had a superior financial offer for Barca, but as with many things these days, the player's will had the final say and a deal was struck with Milan after intense negotiations between Adriano Galliani, Joan Laporta and Roberto de Assis.

During his five years in Spain, Ronaldinho won two La Liga titles (2004-05, 2005-06), one Champions League (2005-06), the World player of the Year award twice (2004, 2005), and the Ballon d'Or (2005).

He leaves on a low, but when the dust settles, he will go down as one of the best to ever play for Barcelona - as much for what he won as for the way he heralded a new era for the club following the collapse of Real Madrid's 'Galactico' policy.

Some of his best displays also came on the biggest of stages - a sensational left footed strike against Milan in the Champions League in 2004, two more against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge that almost saw Barcelona through single handedly later that season, and then that sublime assist for Ludovic Giuly at San Siro a year later - which guaranteed Barcelona's progress to the final.

However, perhaps the crowning moment was his stunning showing at the Santiago Bernabeu in 2005, when he got a standing ovation from the Real Madrid fans after two goals and a mesmerising display of football in a 3-0 win.

The challenge for Milan now will be to get the player back to peak fitness, before we even speak of form. He still has the magic in his feet as we saw from his two goals on his return to football a couple of weeks ago, but whether he can roll back the years and offer the Rossoneri the kind of service he did to Barcelona, remains to be seen. His ability against rigid Italian defenses will also be tested to the limit.

It will also be very interesting to see how he fits into the team, and whether Ronaldinho, Kaka, Alexandre Pato, Andrea Pirlo and Clarence Seedorf (who has openly opposed this move) can play together.

Barcelona, in the meantime, are expected to announce the signing of Aliaksandr Hleb, with Arsenal seemingly having given the nod following the signing of Samir Nasri from Marseille.
ok

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Top 10 NFL players


Cleveland Browns, 1957-1965
Forty years after his shocking retirement at the peak of his career, and now only seventh on the all-time rushing list, Brown still ranks as the standard against which all other running backs are measured. In only nine seasons, and playing largely with a 12-game schedule, he rushed for 12,312 yards. His 5.2-yard average remains the best among the game's top 20 all-time rushers. An awesome combination of brute force inside the tackles, absolutely punished tacklers, but still could outrun defenders in the secondary.
-- Len Pasquarelli

2. WR Jerry Rice -- 49ers, Raiders, Seahawks, 1985 -- 2004
Everyone knows the numbers that Jerry Rice has put up -- among them NFL records in touchdowns (205), receptions (1,519) and receiving yards (22,466). But what set Rice apart was his work ethic. Rice's work ethic was, and still is at 41, unparalleled and that's a major reason why he's one of the greatest players in the history of the NFL. He not only made big catches in the games that didn't matter, he also made them when the games mattered. -- Sean Salisbury


tobe continued

Argentina squad

Goalkeepers: Juan Pablo Carrizo (Real Zaragoza), Mariano Andujar (Catania)

Defenders: Javier Zanetti (Inter Milan), Emiliano Papa (Velez Sarsfield), Gabriel Heinze (Real Madrid), Daniel Diaz (Getafe), Nicolas Burdisso (Inter Milan), Nicolas Otamendi (Velez Sarsfield), Martin Demichelis (Bayern Munich)

Midfielders: Javier Mascherano (Liverpool), Fernando Gago (Real Madrid), Sebastian Battaglia (Boca Juniors), Mario Bolatti (Huracan), Maximiliano Rodriguez (Atletico Madrid), Jonas Gutierrez (Newcastle United), Jesus Datolo (Napoli), Juan Sebastian Veron (Estudiantes)

Forwards: Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Sergio Aguero (Atletico Madrid), Carlos Tevez (Manchester City), Lisandro Lopez (Olympique Lyon), Diego Milito (Inter Milan), Ezequiel Lavezzi (Napoli)

Tevez named in Argentina squad

It will be Argentina's last match before their World Cup qualifier at home to arch-rivals Brazil on September 5.

Bolatti was widely regarded as the best player of the Argentine Clausura championship in which Angel Cappa's brilliant Huracan side finished second to Velez Sarsfield last month. The 24-year-old was called up by previous coach Alfio Basile in 2007 but was not capped.

Datolo, 25, has received his first call-up since joining Napoli this year.

Maradona included Manchester City's new signing Carlos Tevez although the striker is nursing a left ankle injury.

National team physio Luis Garcia was travelling to England on Tuesday to help with Tevez's treatment, the Argentine FA said.

Javier Zanetti

Inter Milan Defender
Height: 1.78m. Weight: 73.00kg. Nationality: Argentina
Born: 10/08/1973 in Buenos Aires
First professional match: Inter - Vicenza : 1-0 le 27/08/1995

Season Club Championship European Competitions Caps
92-93 Talleres (-)
93-94 Banfield 1 Goals, 37 Games (-)
94-95 Banfield 3 Goals, 29 Games (-)
95-96 Inter Milan 2 Goals, 32 Games 2 Games (UEFA Cup)
96-97 Inter Milan 3 Goals, 33 Games 12 Games (UEFA Cup)
97-98 Inter Milan 28 Games 2 Goals, 9 Games (UEFA Cup) 1 Goals, 5 Games
98-99 Inter Milan 3 Goals, 34 Games 1 Goals, 9 Games (Champions League)
99-00 Inter Milan 1 Goals, 34 Games (-) 5 Games
00-01 Inter Milan 29 Games 4 Games (UEFA Cup) 5 Games
01-02 Inter Milan 34 Games 1 Goals, 10 Games (UEFA Cup) 8 Games
02-03 Inter Milan 1 Goals, 33 Games 16 Games (Champions League)
03-04 Inter Milan 34 Games 6 + 6 Games (Champions League + UEFA Cup)
04-05 Inter Milan 35 Games 11 Games (Champions League)
05-06 Inter Milan 26 Games 8 Games (Champions League)
06-07 Inter Milan 1 Goals, 37 Games 8 Games (Champions League)
07-08 Inter Milan 1 Goals, 37 Games 8 Games (Champions League)

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player salary

Player contracts and compensation

NFL players are all members of a union called the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA). The NFLPA negotiates the general minimum contract for all players in the league. This contract is called the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), and it is the central document that governs the negotiation of individual player contracts for all of the league's players. The current CBA has been in place since 1993, and was amended in 1998 and again in 2006. The NFL has not had any labor-related work stoppages since the 1987 season, which is much longer than Major League Baseball, the NBA or the NHL. The current CBA was originally scheduled to expire at the end of the 2012 season, but in 2008 the owners exercised their right to opt out of the agreement two years early.[31][32]

Players are tiered into three different levels with regards to their rights to negotiate for contracts:

* Players who have been drafted (see below), and have not yet played in their first year, may only negotiate with the team that drafted them.[31] If terms cannot be agreed upon, the players' only recourse is to refuse to play ("hold out") until terms can be reached. Players often use the threat of holding out as a means to force the hands of the teams that drafted them. For example, John Elway was drafted by the Baltimore Colts in 1983 but refused to play for them. He had a fallback option of baseball, as he had played in the New York Yankees organization for two summers while at Stanford. The Colts traded his rights to the Denver Broncos and Elway agreed to play.[33] Bo Jackson sat out an entire year in 1986, choosing to play baseball in the Kansas City Royals organization (and ultimately for the Royals themselves) rather than play for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the team that had drafted him. He reentered the draft the following year, and was drafted and subsequently signed with the Los Angeles Raiders.[34]
* Players that have played 3 full seasons in the league, and whose contract has expired are considered "Restricted Free Agents" (see below). They have limited rights to negotiate with any club.[31]
* Players that have played 4 or more full seasons in the league, and whose contract has expired, are considered "Unrestricted Free Agents"(see below) and have unlimited rights to negotiate with any club. Teams may name a single player in any given year as a "Franchise Player"(see below), which eliminates much of that player's negotiation rights. This is a limited right of the team, however, and affects only a small handful of players each year.[31]

In 2010, unless the CBA is extended, the rules will change so that players don't become "Unrestricted Free Agents" until they have played at least 6 full seasons in the league. They will be "Restricted Free Agents" if they have 3-5 full seasons in the league.

Among the items covered in the CBA are:

* The league minimum salary
* The salary cap
* The annual collegiate draft
* Rules regarding "free agency"
* Waiver rules

top 50 Champions League goals


Leading pundits from across the UK were asked to compile a top 50 Champions League goals for a TV special this week.

And Zizou’s goal that gave Real Madrid a 2-1 victory over Bayer Leverkusen in 2002 was rated the finest ever seen in the world’s top club tournament.

The Frenchman’s turn and rifled shot with his weaker left foot started the party for thousands of travelling fans in Glasgow’s South Side on a memorable night.

I don’t have much to add to this except: Watch the video!

Oh, and one more thing: I miss Zidane.

Most of the world outside the United States thinks of Zinedine Zidane as one of the greatest - as in, top five all-time - soccer players. Most of the U.S., if they recognize the name at all, know him as that guy who head-butted an Italian player in the 2006 World Cup final, possibly costing France a title.

Ultimately, Zidane's legacy for future generations might be contained in the film "Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait," which premiered at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival and plays in San Francisco at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts beginning this week. (It is not available on DVD in the United States.)

It is, no kidding, one of the best sports documentaries ever made - certainly one of the most original.

What makes the film, directed by Douglas Gordon and Philippe Parreno, so special is its experimental concept: The entire 92-minute movie, which utilizes 17 cameras, focuses on Zidane during the course of a single game.

No interviews, save for an occasional voiceover by Zidane. No biographical background. No reactions from other players. Simply Zidane, often filmed from the waist up, with and without the ball (there is a nice score from Mogwai, a Scottish rock band).

The idea is to observe a top tier athlete and not only his physical ability, but his decision-making process, his interaction with teammates and how he handles fatigue. It is an up-close study of an athlete at work.

It's hard to see this concept working in an American sport, with the possible exception of basketball (It'd be fun to follow Baron Davis around with 17 cameras during a playoff game).

Baseball's best bet would be an elite National League pitcher, say Greg Maddux, who is involved in every pitch on defense and still bats. Barry Bonds standing around left field for most of a three-hour documentary wouldn't be too interesting.

In the NFL, probably a quarterback who audibles, such as Peyton Manning, would be best, but half of that documentary would be looking over formation photographs while his team is on defense.

The NHL? Too many line changes.

The game depicted in "Zidane" was between his club team, Real Madrid, and Villareal in a Spanish league game played before 80,000 fans in Madrid on April 23, 2005. Gordon and Parreno's cameras are so zeroed in on Zidane that many of his famous Real teammates - David...

Zidane

Real Madrid have spent €93 million on Cristiano Ronaldo and have not given up on adding Franck Ribery from Bayern Munich to their list of summer reinforcements.

The Frenchman has declared he would be delighted to move to the Santiago Bernabeu but the Bavarian club are doing everything within their power to prevent Ribery from leaving,

Zinedine Zidane, who is an advisor to Real president Florentino Perez, has now praised his compatriot, branding him the best player in the world.

"There are very good footballers in the world, like Cristiano Ronaldo or [Lionel] Messi, but the best for me is Ribery," he told ESPN. "And I am not saying that because he is French, but because he is very good."

Zidane has also explained that, regardless of who Real Madrid decide to buy, they should never be called 'Galacticos' again.

"The president of Real want the best players for his team, but he should not call them galacticos," he stated.

"I remember that we were called galacticos when [David] Beckham, [Luis] Figo, Ronaldo and I were playing and the result was very negative.

"People should say they are the best and that is it."

fellow footballer

The brother of fellow footballer Simone Inzaghi, Inzaghi got his start playing for hometown club Piacenza Calcio as a teenager in 1991, but made only two appearances before being loaned to Serie C1 side Leffe, with whom he scored an impressive 13 goals in 21 matches. In 1993, Inzaghi moved to Serie B club Verona and scored 13 goals in 36 appearances. Upon his return to Piacenza, he scored 15 times in 37 games and proved himself as an exciting young prospect.

Inzaghi made his Serie A debut when he transferred to Parma in 1995, but scored only twice in 15 matches. He moved on to Atalanta the following season, finishing as the Capocannoniere (Serie A's top scorer) with 24 goals.

At the start of the 2007-2008 season he picked up where he left off in Athens, scoring the equalizer in the Super Cup in Milan's 3-1 victory over Sevilla, a game in which he controversially celebrated his goal despite all the other goal scorers of the game (Renato, Marek Jankulovski and Kaká) not doing so, showing respect for the late Sevilla player Antonio Puerta. Inzaghi capped off the year by scoring two goals in the final of the 2007 Club World Cup, helping Milan win 4-2 against Boca Juniors to take revenge for the defeat on penalties in 2003.

On 24 February 2008, Inzaghi scored the matchwinning goal in Milan's 2-1 win over Palermo with a diving header; it marked his first Serie A goal in over a year. This was followed by ten more goals in the league, the last against Udinese. This strike against Udinese was his goal number 100 for the club in official games. In November 2008, he agreed for a contract extension to June 2010.[5] On 8 March 2009, Inzaghi scored his first hat-trick of the season against Atalanta when they won by 3-0 home at San Siro. His 300th career goal came in the 4-1 thrashing of Siena away from home. He then went on to score three goals against Torino, his second professional hat-trick in as many months. With this new triple 'Super Pippo' breaks a new record, the player with the most registered hat-tricks in Serie A during the last 25 years. With 10 hat-tricks, Inzaghi is ahead of Giuseppe Signori (9), Hernan Crespo (8), Roberto Baggio, Marco van Basten , Gabriel Batistuta and Abel Balbo (7).

inzaghi shatter pompey

AC Milan's veteran Italian striker Filippo Inzhagi grabbed his 65th career European goal to dent Portsmouth's Uefa Cup ambitions in a 2-2 draw on Thursday as Manchester City and Tottenham eased to victory.

Portsmouth, in their first season of European football, were cruising at 2-0 in their Group E clash at Fratton Park after goals from Younes Kaboul and Kanu.

But substitute Ronaldinho pulled one back with a fabulous free-kick in the 84th minute before poacher Inzhagi struck in the second minute of injury time to put Milan, who now have seven points, into the knockout stages.

"We are struggling to put teams to bed but they have some excellent players and if you switch off, they punish you," admitted Portsmouth boss Tony Adams.

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American football rules

American football grew out of the English game of rugby. Unlike soccer, the foot hardly ever touches the ball in American football. (Soccer is the game most of the world calls football.)

The Field is 100 yards long (and 160 feet wide). The middle of the field is the 50 yard line. The lines are labeled every 10 yards descending in both directions from the 50 yard line. Thus there are two 40 yard lines and no 60 yard line. Each team owns half of the field (they switch sides every 15 minutes of play). Thus, the two 40 yard lines are distinguished by who owns them. The "zero yard line" is called the goal line. The areas to either side of those 100 yards, extending 10 yards past the goal lines, are called the end zones. Teams try to get the ball past the opponent's goal line into the end zone to score a touchdown. At far edge of each end zone are the goal posts which, together with the cross bar, look like a big H. These are used only when a team decides to kick a field goal instead of going for a touchdown or to kick for an extra point after scoring a touchdown. To score the field goal or extra point, the ball must go between the vertical posts and over the bar.

In the other direction, the field is divided into three parts, left, center and right, by the hash marks, which are 60 feet from each side line. Normally, for each play, the ball starts where it ended up at the end of the previous play. However, if the ball ends up outside of the center part of the field, it is brought back to the nearest hash marks so plays never start at the extreme sides of the field. The area to either side of the field is out-of-bounds.

Kickoffs: At the start of the game there is a coin toss to see which team gets the ball first. The team that has the ball is the offense; the other team is the defense. A football game is supposedly one hour, but takes about three hours to play because the clock is often stopped for various reasons. The game is divided into 15 minute quarters with a major division at 30 minutes which is called half time. At the end of the first and third quarters, the players merely switch sides. The ball is moved to the corresponding point on the other side of the field, and play continues. This switching of sides evens up any advantage due to the sun or wind. The players leave the field for 20 minutes at half-time. After half-time, play does not continue where it ended. Instead, the team that originally lost the coin toss gets to have the ball first following another kickoff.

At the start of each half and after each touchdown or field goal (when it's time to let the other team have the ball), the defending team starts by placing the ball on a tee at their 35 yard line and kicking the ball toward the other team. This is a kickoff. The other team tries to catch the ball and run it back as far as possible. If the player catching the ball sees there is no hope of running it back, he raises his hand asking for a fair catch. In a fair catch, the defending team may not tackle him and he may not run with the ball. If the ball is kicked into the end zone and no one catches it or the player catching it does not run with it, there is a touchback and the first play starts at the offense's 20 yard line. Unlike a touchdown, a touchback does not score any points.

Downs: The offense has 4 plays or downs to cover 10 yards or more. A play ends when the player with the ball is either stopped or goes out-of-bounds or if the ball is thrown and missed (which is called an incomplete pass). A player is stopped when his knees touch the ground either because he was tackled by a defensive player or because he fell. When a play is over an official blows a whistle. Normally, teams try to cover the 10 yards in 3 plays or less. If they don't make it in 3 plays, they use the 4th down to kick the ball toward the other team. The ball is not placed on the ground and kicked as it is in a kickoff. Instead, the ball is snapped back to the kicker who kicks the ball. This is punting. Teams don't have to punt on 4th down. Sometimes, if the distance to complete the 10 yards is very short or if a team is far behind in the score, they elect to go for it on 4th down--to try to complete the 10 yards with another play. If they fail to make it on 4th down, the ball is turned over on downs where it ends up. On 4th down, if they are close enough to the defense's goal posts, the offense may also elect to kick a field goal. If the field goal misses, the ball is turned over to the other team where it was before the field goal attempt.

If a team succeeds in advancing 10 yards or more, they get a first down. That is, they get a new set of 4 downs to make another 10 yards.

Scoring: The object of the game is to score more points than your opponent. A touchdown is worth 6 points. After a touchdown, the team then attempts to kick the ball through the goal posts to get an extra point. Because this kick almost always works, most people think of a touchdown as being worth 7 points and then subtract a point if the extra point kick is missed. The team that scored the touchdown has the option of trying to get the ball into the opponent's end zone again in just one running or passing play instead of kicking for the extra point. If this two point conversion works, they get two points instead of just one. This is, however, more than twice as difficult as kicking an extra point.

A field goal is worth is worth 3 points.

If an offensive player is stopped in his own end zone, the defense scores a safety which is worth 2 points. This rarely happens. After a safety, the offense must kick the ball to the other team with a free kick where the kicker kicks the ball from his own 20 yard line. It's called a free kick because the kicker may not be tackled.

Diagram of players

Points After Touchdown

Game play in American football consists of a series of downs, individual plays of short duration, outside of which the ball is dead or not in play. These can be plays from scrimmage—passes, runs, punts, or field goal attempts—or free kicks such as kickoffs. Substitutions can be made between downs, which allows for a great deal of specialization as coaches choose the players best suited for each particular situation. During a play, each team should have no more than 11 players on the field, and each of them has specific tasks assigned for that specific play.

Object of the game

The object of the game is to score points by advancing the ball to the opponent's end zone for a six-point touchdown, by kicking the ball through the goal posts for a three-point field goal, or by tackling an opposing ball carrier in their own end zone for a two-point safety. After scoring a touchdown a team may attempt a one-point "extra point," a close-range field-goal-type kick, or a "two-point conversion" in which the ball is advanced into the end zone on a single play instead of a kicked extra-point attempt. The team with the most points when time has expired wins.

Time of play

Collegiate and professional football games are 60 minutes long, divided into four quarters of 15 minutes each. In high school football, 12 minute quarters are usually played. The clock is stopped frequently, however, so that a typical college or professional game can exceed three hours in duration. Timing is stopped after any incomplete pass or any play that ends out of bounds (although in the NFL the clock restarts on the referee's ready-for-play signal outside the last two minutes of the first half and the last five minutes of the second half). In addition, each team is allowed 3 timeouts each half that they may use at their discretion.

The clock may also be stopped for an officials' time-out, after which, if the clock was running, it is restarted. For example; if there is a question as to whether or not a team has moved the ball far enough for a first down, the officials may bring the chains in to measure. While this measurement is taking place, the officials will signal for a stoppage of the clock. Once the measurement is finished and the ball is spotted, the referee will then signal for the clock to restart. Additional situations where officials may take a time-out are to administer a penalty and for an injured player to be removed from the field.

In addition to the game clock, a separate play clock is also used. This counts down the time the offense has to start the next play before it is assessed a penalty for delay of game (see below). This clock is typically 25 seconds from when the referee marks the ball ready for play. The NFL and NCAA use a 40-second play clock that starts immediately after the previous play ends, though for certain delays, such as penalty enforcement, the offense has 25 seconds from when the ball is marked ready.

Officials call for media time-outs (that is, a time-out to allow time for television and radio advertising) after a change of possession (turnover by interception, fumble, or on downs), following a successful PAT (Point(s) After Touchdown), a field goal try, or in the NFL after a kickoff when the opposing team scored, usually when there is more than 5 minutes to play in each quarter. If an instant replay challenge is called during the game, the referees also signal for a media time out. The referee signals these media time-outs by first using the time out signal, then extending both arms in a horizontal position.

Separating the second and third quarters is halftime. Teams change ends of the field at the end of the first quarter and the end of the third quarter. In the NFL, an automatic timeout is called by the officials when there are two minutes left in both the second and the fourth quarters; this is most commonly referred to as the two-minute warning. No such warning is normally given in amateur football, though if there is no visible stadium clock, the referee will give a two-minute warning (four minutes in high school).

back to milan

may have sold their star player Kaka to Real Madrid, but right-back Massimo Oddo is confident that the side are still strong enough to be competitive, comparing them to Italy's World Cup winning outfit in 2006.

"I always remember the year of the World Cup, when there was so much criticism, but the squad pulled together to do something truly unique," he explained to Milan Channel.

"I am convinced the fans will continue to cheer on these colours and these players, despite the absence of Ricky."

The veteran spent last season on loan at Bayern Munich, but has returned to the Rossoneri after failing to make an impression for the Bavarians.

"I've returned after a year on-loan and will try to give my contribution to the team if possible," he concluded.

maldini the legend

Maldini, who retired after 24 years in Rossoneri colours after helping Milan finish third last season, admits the transfer makes financial sense but worries how it will affect their Champions League hopes.

"This decision (to sell) was not taken well by his team-mates and supporters," he said.

"Looking at the accounts, it is a logical thing. But it is also logical to set realistic goals, and winning the Champions League without Kaka is unrealistic."

He added: "It is an historic change.

"Kaka is one of the top five players in the world with (Lionel) Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. It is the first transfer of this level. The other four have not moved."

Kaka's compatriot Alexandre Pato has been linked with a move to Chelsea to be reunited with new Blues boss Carlo Ancelotti, who brought him to Milan as a 17-year-old in 2007.

But Maldini does not think the teenager will be lured away.

"I do not think he will," he said. "We hope to be able to see him for many more years at Milan. He still has to fulfil his potential as he is only 19 years old."

Andrea Pirlo is also said to be considering his future, but Maldini has warned the Italy international not to make any rash decisions on the back of losing Ancelotti and Kaka in quick succession.

"I want Andrea to stay, but then I do not know what he is thinking," added Maldini. "He must think not 10 times before leaving but 100."

As for his own future, Maldini appears keen to remain involved with Milan but has not been offered a role yet.

"My future? Looking after family life," he said. "I have had proposals of various kinds. From Milan still nothing, but there will be time to talk about this."

MU asia tour without ronaldo

United chief executive David Gill today announced plans for the Manchester United Asia Tour 2009, the club's fifth tour to the continent in the last decade. The Tour will include stops in Jakarta for the first time, Seoul, Kuala Lumpur and China, with the details of the China stop to be confirmed at a later date.

Organized by ProEvents, the Tour will provide both crucial pre-season training and an opportunity for the world champions to play in front of legions of fans across Asia.

The Reds’ provisional schedule* will see the team depart from Manchester on 16 July as it kicks off its tour in China. From there, the team will head to Seoul to play once again at the World Cup Stadium on 20 July.

In Jakarta, the team will play against an Indonesia Super League Select at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium on 24 July. United’s final match will be against a Malaysia XI at either the Shah Alam Stadium or Bukit Jalil Stadium on 26 July.

oddo optimised

may have sold their star player Kaka to Real Madrid, but right-back Massimo Oddo is confident that the side are still strong enough to be competitive, comparing them to Italy's World Cup winning outfit in 2006.

"I always remember the year of the World Cup, when there was so much criticism, but the squad pulled together to do something truly unique," he explained to Milan Channel.

"I am convinced the fans will continue to cheer on these colours and these players, despite the absence of Ricky."

The veteran spent last season on loan at Bayern Munich, but has returned to the Rossoneri after failing to make an impression for the Bavarians.

"I've returned after a year on-loan and will try to give my contribution to the team if possible," he concluded.

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Carlo is a great man and a great manager


Ancelotti is the club's latest boss, following Avram Grant, Luiz Felipe Scolari and Guus Hiddink's departures, and former AC Milan loanee Beckham is sure the Italian will be a success in the Premier League.

"Chelsea are so lucky because Carlo is a great man and a great manager," the former Manchester United player told the News of the World. "He can definitely make Chelsea champions again. No doubt about it. And I say that even though everybody knows I have Manchester United in my heart.

"Yes, it will be difficult because the Premier League is totally different to Serie A but he has great experience and I am convinced he will be a great success in England, too.

"You don't do what he did at Milan and suddenly lose it overnight. So I say good luck to him, he deserves it."

He added: "The players can expect to work with the ultimate professional. He works so hard and is so organised and dedicated.

"Carlo will be the first on the training pitch and the last off it because he just loves working with the players himself. That's his passion. You won't find him sitting in his office leaving it to someone else. He is very hands on.

"That's how he was at Milan and I'm sure that's how he will be at Chelsea, leading by example, leading the team.

"But while he is serious about his work and his football, he is also a lot of fun to work with. He is very relaxed, very down-to- earth and likes a joke. He is very approachable."

Eto'o for Ibra

Laporta met his Inter counterpart Massimo Moratti on Friday to discuss the potential switch.
Moratti said earlier that negotiations are still ongoing but Laporta insists the deal is all but completed with Inter set to receive 45m euros as well as land Eto'o and Barcelona winger Alexander Hleb.
"I can't say that it will still happen if one of the conditions isn't fulfilled since the signing has been agreed in a comprehensive manner," he said. "I spoke with Samuel on Tuesday and after the dinner in Italy.

"I'm not going to disclose these conversations. I'll only say that his move is not a question of money.

"He is a professional and his work has to be rewarded, but his priority is not money. It's other things."

With Ibrahimovic, who finished as Serie A's top scorer last season, seemingly on the verge of a move to the Nou Camp, David Villa's chances of joining the treble winners appear even slimmer.

However, Laporta insists they have not given up hope of landing the Valencia and Spain striker.

"The signing of David Villa has not been ruled out," he added. "We have not ruled out any of the possibilities open to us.

"The technical secretary remains in contact with him because he understands the anxiety of a player for whom, if the clubs had reached an agreement, things would have gone in a different direction."

Meanwhile, Ibrahimovic, who has been with Inter since 2004, insists he is not looking to engineer a move, but would welcome the chance to test his skills in La Liga.

He told Swedish tabloid Expressen: "There's a chance that I'll go to Barcelona if a concrete offer is made.

"In this case it would be interesting for me.

"It's up to Inter to decide what they want to do. I respect my contract. I do my job and am happy to be here."

Eto'o for Ibra

Laporta met his Inter counterpart Massimo Moratti on Friday to discuss the potential switch.

Moratti said earlier that negotiations are still ongoing but Laporta insists the deal is all but completed with Inter set to receive 45m euros as well as land Eto'o and Barcelona winger Alexander Hleb.

"I can't say that it will still happen if one of the conditions isn't fulfilled since the signing has been agreed in a comprehensive manner," he said. "I spoke with Samuel on Tuesday and after the dinner in Italy.

"I'm not going to disclose these conversations. I'll only say that his move is not a question of money.

"He is a professional and his work has to be rewarded, but his priority is not money. It's other things."

With Ibrahimovic, who finished as Serie A's top scorer last season, seemingly on the verge of a move to the Nou Camp, David Villa's chances of joining the treble winners appear even slimmer.

However, Laporta insists they have not given up hope of landing the Valencia and Spain striker.

"The signing of David Villa has not been ruled out," he added. "We have not ruled out any of the possibilities open to us.

"The technical secretary remains in contact with him because he understands the anxiety of a player for whom, if the clubs had reached an agreement, things would have gone in a different direction."

Meanwhile, Ibrahimovic, who has been with Inter since 2004, insists he is not looking to engineer a move, but would welcome the chance to test his skills in La Liga.

He told Swedish tabloid Expressen: "There's a chance that I'll go to Barcelona if a concrete offer is made.

"In this case it would be interesting for me.

"It's up to Inter to decide what they want to do. I respect my contract. I do my job and am happy to be here."

Kaka for six-year contract


The deal with AC Milan is expected to set a new world record transfer fee and could pave the way for a new 'Galáctico' era at the Santiago Bernabéu under recently re-elected president Florentino Perez.

Reports suggest that the transfer fee is around 68m euros ($94.05m or £58.9m), thereby smashing the previous world record of £47m set by Real in 2001 when they bought Zinedine Zidane from Juventus.

At a press conference in Recife, where the 27-year-old playmaker is currently on international duty ahead of Brazil's World Cup qualifier against Paraguay on Wednesday, Kaka revealed he rejected the move to England as he did not want to leave Milan mid-season.

"I can officially say I'm a Real Madrid player. My professional link with AC Milan finishes now, but my sentimental link will never end,'' he said.

"Real Madrid intend to build a great team, with historic players such as Raul and Casillas. We will make history again, both in Spain and Europe. I guess the sport project is very good.

"Manchester City and Real Madrid are two different clubs with different situations. At that time (January), it was mid-season, I had a strong emotional impact due to the Italian fans requesting me to stay, and I decided to stay.

"Now another chance came up and AC Milan is in a big crisis (financially). For me, the sporting project (at Madrid) is interesting and will be an important boost to continue my career in the highest level."

AC Milan gave Kaka a glowing tribute on their website.

''From next season, Kaka will play at Real Madrid,'' read the statement. ''AC Milan [thank] the man and the great champion Kaka for his decisive contribution to the many victories achieved in the six years of his commitment.

''The lost technique, while serious, can be remedied. It will be very difficult to fill the void that will be left by Kaka, a shining example of professionalism, commitment and professionalism.

''AC Milan, (according to) the wishes of the managers, players and supporters of the Rossoneri, offer him the most cordial and affectionate wishes for the continuation of his sporting career.''

Madrid also confirmed the deal on their website, in a statement which read: ''Kaka is a player of Real Madrid after an agreement with AC Milan. The Brazilian footballer has now successfully passed all medical tests. Kaka has signed a contract for the next six seasons with Real Madrid.''

Kaka could now become the first of a new wave of 'Galáctico' signings, with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Xabi Alonso, David Villa and Franck Ribery all linked to the Spanish giants since Perez's unopposed re-election as the club's president last week.

In Perez's previous stint with the club, he oversaw the acquisitions of global stars of Ronaldo (£23.2m), David Beckham (£24.5m), Luis Figo (£37m), as well as Zidane.

Kaka signed for hometown club Sao Paolo at the age of 15 and overcame a career-threatening spinal injury to help his team win the Torneio Rio-Sao Paulo title in 2001, his debut season.

He made a brief substitute's appearance in Brazil's successful World Cup campaign in 2002 before clinching an 8.5m euros transfer to AC Milan a year later.

The Scudetto was secured in his first campaign at the San Siro, where he also won the Champions League in 2007. In the same year Kaka was awarded the Ballon d'Or, as European Footballer of the Year, and was named FIFA's World Player of the Year.

He had the opportunity to join Manchester City in January this year in a deal reported to be worth £100m, but opted to stay in Italy.

However, with Perez's arrival bringing the promise of a new era of dominance for Madrid, and former manager and mentor Carlo Ancelotti having himself departed for Chelsea, Kaka has opted to seek a fresh challenge in Spain.

Chelsea transfer news on premier league

Chelsea

Aston Villa have not received an offer for Ashley Young, despite the club admitting they would listen to bids of around £25million. Chelsea and Tottenham are both thought to be interested, although Spurs' chances are low as they are direct rivals. (Times)

Chelsea are close to completing a deal with MFK Kosice to bring Serbian midfielder Nemanja Matic to Stamford Bridge. The player has agreed a four-year deal and a £5m transfer fee. (The Sun)

Mark Hughes has stepped up his bid to sign John Terry by insisting a move to Manchester city would revitalise the England captain's career. (Mail)

John Terry has been told a decision over his future must be made before Chelsea leave for their pre-season tour to America on Thursday. (Express)

Carlo Ancelotti has met with Terry to discuss rumours of a move to Man City and believes the defender is happy to stay at Chelsea despite rumours of a £300,000-a-week salary offer. (Sun)

Chelsea could take advantage of the Middlesbrough fire sale to snap up England Under-21 star Andy Johnson - a target for Real Madrid last season - for as little as £8 million. (Mail)

Ancelotti is prepared to let defender Michael Mancienne re-join Wolves on another 12-month loan deal.

Chelsea have announced the £18 m signing of CSKA Moscow's Yuri Zhirkov.

When Ancelotti officially takes over at Chelsea he will be handed a £60 million transfer kitty - Franck Ribery remains his first choice. (Star)

Ashley Cole is ready to sign a new contract that is likely to see him end his career at the club.

Chelsea are still in the hunt for AC Milan's Brazilian forward Pato. (Sun)

Daniel Sturridge, Yuri Zhirkov and Ross Turnbull will become Carlo Ancelotti's first signings at Chelsea. (Mirror)

Florent Malouda snubbed a move to AC Milan to sign a new deal with Chelsea.

Arsenal have offered Emmanuel Adebayor to AC and Inter Milan to prevent the 25-year-old from joining Chelsea. (Mirror)

Zlatan Ibrahimovich's agent has suggested that the forward is likely to start next season as a Chelsea player. (Goal)

Jose Bosingwa looks to be getting closer to a move to Bayern Munich. (Times)

cr9 on show


Cristiano Ronaldo in 'perfect condition' after passing medical with Real Madrid
Cristiano Ronaldo has successfully completed a medical with Real Madrid before later being introduced as the club's latest signing in front of thousands of fans, completing a deal that makes him the most expensive player in the world.

Ronaldo landed at Madrid airport just after midday today before heading to the Hospital Sanitas La Moraleja for his medical as he puts the finishing touches on his world-record £80million move from Manchester United.

Following the examination, Carlos Diez, Real Madrid's medical chief told the club's website: "(Ronaldo) is in perfect condition and very eager to start the season as soon as possible."
The 24-year-old had already undergone initial medical tests with the Spanish giants while on holiday in Portugal last month, which the player claimed at the time had gone "perfectly".

"He has an extraordinary cardiac and lung capacity," Diez added. "We have complemented everything that we already did in Portugal and done all the specific tests.

"Now we will be able to start working using an individual plan in order to improve his performance. For him (Ronaldo), it's a dream, and this dream starts to convert into reality from today."

The 2008 Fifa world player of the year is expected to get a hero's welcome when he dons Real's jersey for the first time at a ceremony at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium which is scheduled to get underway at 9pm.

In a statement Real said Ronaldo's unveiling "could very well make history".

The current record turnout for an unveiling of a player goes to Argentina's Diego Maradona who drew 75,000 people when he was presented at Naples in July 1984 after joining the Italian side from Barcelona.

This season will see Ronaldo team up with Kaka, the 2007 world player of the year, who signed with Real from AC Milan in early June.

Kaka was officially unveiled on June 30 at the Bernabeu stadium before 55,000 fans, according to club figures, and Real expect an even higher turnout for Ronaldo's unveiling.

Kaka was the first big name Florentino Perez signed since he returned in June for a second stint as president of Real.

Perez, who brought Luis Figo and Zinedine Zidane to Real during his first term as the club's president between 2000 and 2006, is seeking to rebuild a squad which trailed arch rival FC Barcelona last season by reviving his policy of signing football superstars.
Squad Number: 7
Position: Forward
Place of Birth: Funchal, Madeira
Date Of Birth: 05/ 02/ 1985
Height: 6'1
Weight: 13st 0lbs

This Season
Appearances: 40(5)
Goals: 22
Yellow Cards: 7
Red Cards: 1
Minutes on Pitch: 3624