Aprovechándose de la terrible enfermedad que afectaba al DT del equipo Campeón, el Chelsea, Barcelona y en menos medida el Inter AC Milán, le robaron importantes puntos a los Diablos Rojos de Manchester en sendas palizas. El botín de oro se lo lleva Didier Drogba, del Campeón Chelsea FC. A continuación los resultados.

TORNEO ÚNICO

Bevor ich zu den anstehenden Partien zum Auftakt der Champions League komme, erst einmal das letzte Ergebnis vom 4. Spieltag der Premier League: Aston Villa bezwang am gestrigen Montag abend die Tottenham Hotspurs mit 2:1. Die Tore für Villa erzielten Nigel Reo-Coker (5. Minute) und Ashley Young (54.). Tottenham konnte durch Darren Bent nur noch den Anschluss erzielen. Damit bleibt Tottenham letzter der Tabelle.

Nun aber zur Champions League. Heute stehen zwei englische Vereine auf dem Platz. Der Finalist der letzten Saison, Chelsea trifft dabei auf den fanzösischen Traditionsverein Girondins Bordeaux. Im Vorfeld der Partie zeigten sich sowohl Michael Ballack als auch Trainer Luis Felipe („Big Phil“) Scolari überzeugt, dass Chelsea in dieser Saison wieder ganz lang im Turnier mitspielen kann. Scolari bestätigte darüber hinaus, dass Ballack am heutigen Dienstag zum Einsatz kommen wird, nach dem er drei Wochen verletzungsbedingt ausgefallen war. Ebenso wieder voll einsatzfähig scheint Stürmer Didier Drogba zu sein, der bereits Samstag im Premier League-Spiel gegen ManCity eingewechselt worden war.

Im zweiten Spiel mit englischer Beteiligung am heutigen Abend gibt es ebenfalls ein Duell England gegen Frankreich, wenn Liverpool auf Olympic Marseille tritfft. Nach dem Sieg der Reds am Samstag gegen ManU, dämpfte Trainer Rafael Benitez allzu große Erwartungen und beschwor sein Team, sich auf das Spiel gegen Marseille zu konzentrieren. Dabei wird Benitez aber auf Fabio Aurelio verzichten müssen, der mit einer Wadenverletzung gleich in Liverpool geblieben ist. Fraglich ist auch der Einsatz von Javier Mascherano, über dessen Fitness das Abschlusstraining Aufschluss geben soll. Mascherano, Goldmedaillengewinner aus Peking, hatte sich bei seiner hervorragenden Vorstellung gegen ManU verletzt.

Morgen starten dann auch ManU und Arsenal in die Champions League, bevor am Donnerstag der UEFA-Cup für die englischen Teilnehmer startet. Bin mal gespannt, ob die Dominanz des englischen (Club-)Fußballs in Europa weitergeht.

Manchester City and Robinho hosts Chelsea on Saturday at 12:15PM (ET), a match that has come to be called a battle between the EPL's wealthiest clubs. Shaun Wright-Phillips has stayed relatively quiet as his team gets set to face his former team. Robinho, who continues to be criticized by his former peers from Real Madrid after his last minute transfer deadline antics has vowed to score against Chelsea.

Which Blues star will you cheer for? Petr Cech has warned Robinho that they will head to the Eastlands to try to prove that he chose the wrong team to sign for. "In the morning he says he loves Chelsea and he wants to be part of Chelsea and a few hours later he signs for another club," Cech told Sky Sports News. Marcelo Teixeira - president of Robinho's former Brazilian club, Santos - deemed his move to Manchester City as "one of the most disgraceful episodes in Brazilian football." Teixeira argued that Robinho needs to act more of an adult and not a child for the children that idolize him as a player and as a person.

Didier Drogba should start, though not fully-fit. The Ivorian striker's strong presence up front has been long missed. His ability to turn defenders over with his brute strength is a rare quality and something you can not get from Nicolas Anelka. It will be Scolari's first time working with Didier Drogba and the Chelsea manager will be happy to see Mikel Jon Obi return after losing Michael Essien for the rest of the season.

There's no question that Robinho will be one of the EPL's better players. He'll blend in well with his compatriots, Elano & Jô. Manchester City looks to be one of the league's fastest sides after the addition of both Wright-Phillips and Robinho, a team that will certainly be hard to defend against. And It will interesting to see if Robinho does score against Chelsea because Manchester City has failed to score against the London side since 2004 - a penalty from Nicolas Anelka.

Primer torneo doble desde el inicio de las Copas FIFA 2008, que coronan al Chelsea y al Manchester United como los monarcas de la décimo sexta Copa FIFA. El goleador del torneo de apertura fue Didier Drogba, mientra que el ganador del botin de oro en el torneo de clausura fueron Wayne Rooney y Thierry Henry. A continuación las tablas.

TORNEO DE APERTURA

TORNEO DE CLAUSURA

And that is unfortunate. Andriy Shevchnko came into Chelsea as the best striker in the world, just returning from scoring the winning goal in a Champion's league final. He was an expensive purchase, he was a personal friend of Roman Abramovich. He would be playing for Chelsea, the club with all the money in the world, the club on its way up, and the club with the inimitable Jose Mourinho. Andriy Shevchenko was almost destined to be a success.

And really, he should have been. He had it all, and in his peak, he could really be compared with the best of the best out-and-out strikers of this generation, Marco Van Basten and Gabriel Batistuta. Even Thierry Henry. Probably only Ronaldo (the gap-toothed original) could be considered better than him... Shevchenko was brilliant all the way. He was spectacular in his days of youth, forming a super partnership with Serhiy Rebrov at Dynamo Kyiv.... and he was absolutely unstoppable at times with Milan.

But then, somehow, he failed to kick on in Chelsea. The mistrust that Mourinho had for him, allied with Mourinho's deteriorating relationship with Abramovich put Shevchenko at a state of unease. Also, Didier Drogba having the season of his life did not help much either.

Mourinho's penchant for playing only one man up front, apparently, should have suited Shevchenko, for Milan used to play a similar game. But the difference was that with Chelsea under Mourinho, Drogba was expected to hold the long ball up front for the midfielders (Lampard, Joe Cole et al.) to have a crack at; while in Milan, the deep-lying creative genius of Andrea Pirlo linked to the further-up-the-pitch creativity of Kaka and Clarence Seedorf to create chances for Sheva. Both tactics work, it was just that Drogba was better than Sheva at Mourinho's style of play.

Shevchenko really had everything. Pace, strength, headers, skill, control, temperament, poaching ability... even a mean free-kick. He had everything that would have suited him to every league in the world, and he would have suited excellently to the Chelsea of Ranieri or even Scolari. It's just that in Mourinho's Chelsea, Drogba, with his superhuman strength and ability to hold the ball off three defenders, was a better fit.

Adn yet, Premiership-watchers will remember Sheva as little more than a failure. And he deserves better. He is a winner. And who knows, he might do well again at Milan. Here's praying for that.

Tras una semana en que los Diablos Rojos recuperaron el oro para la ciudad de Manchester, ahora son los londinenses del Chelsea que vuelven a tomar la punta de la Copa FIFA, logrando 13 puntos. Lo sigue en el segundo lugar el Barcelona con 10 puntos, cae al tercero el Manchester United con 8 puntos y se queda en el cuarto lugar el Inter de Milán con 2 puntos. Los goleadores del torneo fueron Drogba (Chelsea), Henry y Messi (Barcelona) y Tevez (Manchester United), todos con cuatro puntos. Los resultados a continuación.

TORNEO ÚNICO

Drogba, 30, has spent the summer recuperating from a knee injury and will not be fit for the Premier League opener against Portsmouth on 17 August.

"Didier will not play in our first game and will probably miss the second against Wigan," said Scolari.

"If there are no more problems he should be ready for the game after that, Tottenham on 31 August."

However, Scolari concedes that the nature of Drogba's injury makes it difficult to predict exactly when the Ivory Coast star will return to full fitness.

The Brazilian added: "When you have a knee injury, you just never know.

"I have been getting a progress report from the doctor every day.

"He's getting better and is working with a fitness coach back at the training ground.

"I hope he will be ready to start training next week but he will not play until he is in good condition."

In the absence of Drogba, Chelsea will be relying heavily on Nicolas Anelka, who scored four goals in a 5-0 mauling of AC Milan on Sunday.

Salomon Kalou is away at the Olympics and Scolari has hinted Andriy Shevchenko is not a contender to start the first game of the season.

= 9. Didier Drogba (Chelsea), £13 million - Ivory Coast forward who is convinced that he deserves more than £90,000-a-week at Stamford Bridge. Earns another £20,000-a-week from endorsements and commercial deals.
= 16. Michael Essien (Chelsea), £10 million - Ghana midfield player who has just signed a new five-year Stamford Bridge contract worth about £100,000 a week. Hit the jackpot when he joined Chelsea from Lyon for £24 million three years ago.

The top three earners are (1) 1. Michael Owen (Newcastle United), £41 million, (2) Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), £35 million, and (3) Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United), £28 million. But according to The Times of London the real rich make their money in steel manufacturing, mining, pharmaceuticals or packaging. That might be why FIFA President Sebb Blatter -- with a straight face -- referred to Ronaldo's conditions at Manchester United as "slavery."

The full list here.

Now I'm sure there are people out there that are thinking, Chelsea has a billionaire Russian owner, just give him the money. This is a road with many bumps further down the line. If you give in to players needs, not only will other players see it, but so will other clubs. This is how you end up with ridiculous debts later on. You're going to have to give guys like Cech, Carvalho, and Essien the same amount. Then you try to buy players from other clubs. You're going to be forced to pay such an inflated price that is nowhere near market value just because clubs will think you'll do anything for the player. Is any player worth more than how much Real Madrid paid for Zidane? No. Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, and Messi; as great as they are, they aren't worth more than Kaka and will never control a team the way he did. Then you have to sign the player, you're going to be forced to give them their terms.

You're players end up becoming mercenaries. You will have people not playing for the club because of their love for the club and success, but for their cheque. We've seen it happen for Sheva and there have been claims of that for Deco as well. Chelsea are now an attractive destination. We've got a manager who has a World Cup under his title, we recently made it to the Champions League Final, and we've either won or been runner-up for the Premier League title for four straight seasons. If there is a club that is up and coming where you can enjoy success, Chelsea is the spot. Even Kaka has said that he thinks " Chelsea are the club to be at right now". Although he is not joining Chelsea, that's great news for us and our development as a big club.

We've continuously bought stupidly and this must end. Tal Ben Haim was a pointless buy because he was no better than a young defender and he wasn't going to get much time anyways. Why not give some youth a chance? We bought Malouda to add flair on our left wing but it is as if no one ever watched him play before he was purchased. Malouda quickly moves right into the centre from the left. It could be argued that Deco was a stupid buy as well but I feel that he is probably Chelsea's only and best passer. Shevchenko never made sense for us to buy from day one. Pizarro was a free transfer but even as a third choice striker (at the time there was no Anelka), he's old and was often played as a midfielder. People may say that Nicolas Anelka was a dumb buy as well. I would say that our hands were tied because of the need to have a quality striker during the race for the Premier League title and Champions League fixtures. I just don't feel we should have bought someone with a bad history like his.

Here's a couple of positions we obviously need replacements. Drogba may not leave this season but he will eventually, someone of young class will be neeeded. Shevchenko, Anelka, and Pizarro need to all be shown the door. Lucas Podolski should be bought for our second striker as he is obviously out of place with Toni and Klose at Bayern Munich. He also showed he was a very effective winger down the left side. For our number 3 striker, Dani Guiza because he was La Liga's leading scorer and he was great for Spain in Euro 2008. He could eventually over take Podolski. Di Santo should be our 4th striker. For our winger, Podolski would be able to play the left. Robinho would be a sound winger with great finishing. Robinho would probably cost a lot but would be worth it. How scary is Podolski + Cole, Robinho + Cole, or Podolski + Robinho?

Overall, I just believe Chelsea should be much more careful. The line-up only needs tweaking not a major overhaul. Only our striker position needs an overhaul.

Drogba từng không ít lần làm thủng lưới đội chủ sân Nou Camp.

Chủ tịch của Barca, Joan Laporta, mới đây đã lặp lại quyết tâm của ông muốn mua một tiền đạo mới, trong trường hợp Samuel Eto'o tìm được một CLB khác để đầu quân. Và với việc chân sút người Cameroon vừa khẳng định sẽ bắt đầu xem xét các lời mời bắt đầu từ thứ bảy này, việc đội bóng xứ Catalan buộc phải nỗ lực săn phương án thay thế xứng đáng là điều không phải bàn cãi.

Mundo Deportivo, nhật báo hàng đầu của thành phố Barcelona, cho biết, chủ tịch Laporta đang bí mật đàm phán với tiền đạo Didier Drogba của Chelsea. Một bản hợp đồng có thời hạn hai năm, kèm theo điều khoản gia hạn thêm một năm, vừa được chuyển tới đại diện của chân sút người Bờ Biển Ngà. Nhưng "sát thủ" từng ghi một bàn thắng đẹp mắt vào lưới Barca tại vòng bảng Champions League mùa bóng 2006-2007 lại dứt khoát yêu cầu phải được ký hợp đồng 3 năm. Một tin khác cũng tiết lộ, Eto'o chính là "vật hy sinh" nhằm đổi lấy Drogba, bất chấp Chelsea vẫn chưa lên tiếng xác nhận.

Nếu chủ tịch Laporta không săn được tiền đạo số một tại sân Stamford Bridge, có khả năng trung phong gia nhập Barca sẽ là Dimitar Berbatov (Tottenham Hotspur), và chân sút người Cameroon vẫn là "món hàng" được đem ra trao đổi. Juande Ramos, nhà cầm quân người Tây Ban Nha của đội chủ sân White Hart Lane, vốn chưa bao giờ giấu tham vọng muốn có Eto'o. Tottenham cũng không thích bán Berbatov cho MU - một đối thủ tại Premier League, nên khả năng tiền đạo người Bulgaria tới Nou Camp được đánh giá là tương đối sáng sủa.

Berbatov giờ đây có giá không dưới 25 triệu bảng.

Trong thập niên 90 thế kỷ trước, Barca từng sở hữu một danh thủ nổi tiếng của Bulgaria là Hristo Stoichkov. Mới đây, chính tượng đài này đã lên tiếng khuyên hậu bối nên chọn Nou Camp làm điểm đến tiếp theo trong sự nghiệp, khi đánh giá kỹ thuật săn bàn của Berbatov phù hợp với "chất" của đội bóng cũ.

(Theo VnExpress)

Anyhoo, of late Man United supporters have been pissing me off. Everyone of those red clowns seem to have the same opinion over the whole Ronaldo issue that it is us who are to be blamed for Ronaldo not feeling home at Manchester. Where the f**k is your brain you piece of shyte, I ask?!? Moreover they are now totally turning against us. Those who don't want to do that are saying Ronaldo will surely leave but will suck like he's in Barcelona. A few others say that we'll spend 1 zillion on him and will gain nothing over the deal and there are a bunch of dumb ducks who believe that we will give United half our squad, Ramon Calderon's Mercedes plus a portion of the Bernabeu in a trade which includes Ronaldo in exchange. Stupid people!

In all seriousness, Cristiano Ronaldo is not yet in Madrid. For that matter he would be out of action for 12 weeks i.e. until the middle of October which means that there is plenty of time for him to sit and think about his future. What he should also decide is to not contact anyone till he decides where he would be next season. But the problem doesn't stop there. Everyone in his family are also giving out all kinds of weird interviews which are making both sets of fans furious. It was his sister this time, who said that he will stay at Old Trafford.But then he himself made it clear that he does not have an agreement with Real or any sort of nonsense like that.

I agree completely with the president of Fifa. Now I have to wait and see, but I do not know where I will begin the season. It is not true that I have an agreement with Real Madrid, there is no agreement.

Two others who have been linked with Real are Didier Drogba and Rafael van der Vaart. We might need a striker but definitely not someone like Drogba at least for the upcoming season. We all now how fickle minded he really his but he has said that he would consider a move to Real. I hope he reconsiders his consideration. The Dutch bloke, meanwhile has been linked with Real for the nth season in running. Initially he remained quiet on rumors but later rejected them, something that was expected. But I would love to see him play for us. We'd have the top four Dutch players in our team if he does sign for us.

In other news, Robinho, who btw along with Marcelo has been called up for Brazil's Olympic football team, apparently wants a move. Initially it was Chelsea who were keen on him but despite our President's reiteration that Robinho still remains in our plans, there have been rumors that Barcelona are interested in signing him. I am not worried about Robinho. I am very sure that he is going to remain at Real if Ronaldo doesn't come. All these rumors are being spread only because he was our best player last season and was so dominant on the flanks. I see no reason for him to look for a move otherwise.

Fernando Gago will join Argentina's Olympic football team as well and they say that Higuain too might be called up. With de la Red's return it would be interesting to see how our midfield would shape up.

Julio Baptista too has been on the news. He apparently has quite a few options as various teams like Galatasaray, Roma and Newcastle are supposedly interested in signing him. If a Premier League signs him even after his last stint in England then it only means that they want him for reasons other than football. No offence meant but England just isn't the right place for him. His agent says Roma and I agree with him. He has been a good player for us but I'm sure that we can definitely find a few better players to replace him. ANother striker who has options is Roberto Soldado. Getafe are interested it seems. And when I thought Alvaro Negredo was on his way back here, Real decided not to use their buy-back clause on him.

Players who have confirmed their departure are Javier Balboa, Pablo Garcia and Esteban Granero. Javier Balboa has joined SL Benfica with former Real Under-20 and Valencia coach, Quique Sanchez Flores. I don't blame him. He is an exceptional talent but not good enough to be a first team regular. Whereas, Real Madrid C.F. and Pablo García have agreed to rescind the player's football contract. Granero joins Getafe and it looks as though we've made some cash out of this. He was on loan at Getafe the whole of last season and has now made his move permanent. I badly wanted to see him play in a white shirt but I guess I'm just not lucky enough. It is believed that Madrid valued the player at around €24m (£18.4m).I wish both of them very good luck and hope that they make us proud for having nurtured them through the youth system.

If you remember our President Ramon Calderon was at the center court of Wimbledon to cheer for Rafael Nadal in his final against Roger Federer. The person who was sitting in front of him was India's sports minister MS Gill. Apparently the two of them spoke to each other and the latter wants Real to come to India. So do I!!!!

Our next game would be a friendly on the 27th of July against a first division Austrian team Lask Linz. Here is our pre-season schedule. Also, the league fixtures have been announced. We play our first league game at the Riazor in La Coruna against Deportivo.

That's about it for this time. There were a few more interviews from Sneijder and de la Red but couldn't post them. So until the next post,

Hala Madrid!!

P.S: I call this the pic of the millennium. Thank you Arseblogger! Hala Madrid!!

]]> http://grumpyoldfootballers.wordpress.com/?p=13 Wed, 16 Jul 2008 17:51:04 +0000 adfundum http://grumpyoldfootballers.id.wordpress.com/2008/07/16/whatever-happened-to-contracts/ First, and throughout the summer, Cristiano Ronaldo has been saying things like "I'll make an announcement on my future in the next few days" and "Next week I'll tell you where I'll be playing my football next season". Now Didier Drogba is at it: "I will decide my future in ten days." What's wrong with this picture?

Well, they both have contracts with the clubs that own their registration. Whilst both are in place, Ronaldo and Drogba can make all the announcements they want, but unless Messrs. Glazer and Abramovich decide they want rid neither of them will be going anywhere.

I think it would behove them to realise that they are not the masters of their own destiny. Yes, they can say they want a move; yes, they can even go on strike; but until their contract expires or the owners decide they want shut then neither of them is going anywhere and it's time they realised that.

Beim AC Mailand wird Ronaldinho unter anderem auf seinen ehemaligen Teamkollegen aus Barcelona, Gianluca Zambrotta, treffen, aber auch andere illustre Namen wie Paolo Maldini, Alessandro Nesta, Mathieu Flamini, Gennaro Gattuso, Andrea Pirlo, Kaká und Filippo Inzaghi stehen bei Milan unter Vertrag.

Natürlich stellt sich die Frage, wo Ronaldinho unter Carlo Ancelotti spielen wird. Mit Pirlo und Kaká verfügt der AC Mailand eigentlich bereits über zwei Spielgestalter, Ronaldinho wäre der dritte. Eine Option wäre die geballte Offensivkraft dieses Trios, das sich über die gesamte Breite des Spielfelds verteilt und hinten durch Gennaro Gattuso und eventuell noch einen weiteren defensiven Mittelfeldspieler abgesichert wird. Möglich wäre auch ein Einsatz Ronaldinhos als Stürmer - denn Mailand verfügt derzeit nur über vier etatmäßige Stürmer und nur einer von ihnen, nämlich Inzaghi, ist älter als 21. Jedoch ist immer wieder davon zu hören, dass sich Mailand im Angriff noch verstärken wird; ein Transfer von Emmanuel Adebayor, Didier Drogba oder Klaas Jan Huntelaar taucht immer wieder als Gerücht auf. Eine dritte Variante wäre ein Einsatz als Flügelspieler, wo Ronaldinho zwar keinen gleichwertigen Spieler verdrängen würde, aber auch etwas beschränkt wäre: Er kann sein Spiel nicht frei in alle Richtungen entfalten, sondern muss mit taktischer Disziplin seine Position bearbeiten. Ob das dem brasilianischen Freigeist gefällt, ist fraglich. Eine vierte Möglichkeit wäre, dass Mailand nun Pirlo (angeblich sind Barcelona und Chelsea interessiert) oder Kaká (Chelsea zeigte Interesse) abgibt und Ronaldinho die nun frei werdende Stelle bekleidet.

In der aktuellen Ausgabe der 11Freunde dreht sich die Titelgeschichte um den AC Mailand, den so betitelten «Club der alten Männer». Ein sehr lesenswerter Artikel zu einem überaus interessanten Verein!

Sur ce site (didier-revient.com), les supporters peuvent faire des promesses de dons afin que le joueur actuellement joueur au chelsea réintègre l'OM. Actuellement, les promesses s'élèvent à plus de 40 millions d'euros.

Selon les fans marseillais la somme suffisante pour faire revenir Didier Droba serait déjà réunie puisque selon eux, il faudrait 28 millions d'euros pour que l'attaquant ivoirien revienne jouer à l'OM.

Mais le président de l'OM (Diouf), rappelle aux supporters que le salaire du joueur est aussi à prendre en compte et donc que la somme requise n'est pas la même.

Enfin, le Drogbathon démontre bien la passion des supporters.

Source : NouvelObs

Columbian striker Radamel Falcao has rocked Arsene Wenger’s Amadeus.  The Gunners reportedly will make an £8m bid for the 22-year-old.  “I know there is interest from Arsenal and that excites me,” Falcao told The Sun.  Sir Alex may hijack the transfer, however, to deal the Frenchman some Rambo-style revenge.

Speculation links Didier Drogba with über-clubs Barcelona, AC Milan, Inter Milan and Real Madrid, but what about Marseilles?  A fan named Kain thinks l’OM are able to recover their lost striker.  He fawned a plan to raise fan-funding for Drogba’s £22m transfer fee, by asking all supporters to pledge a maximum of five euros.  So far, he has raised 5,000 euros.

It’s all about the Benjamins, but, perhaps, it’s not all about the Elizabeths for Frank Lampard.  The maligned midfielder reportedly has shocked Chelsea’s sensibility by rejecting a four-year £140,000 per week deal ($58.24 million for those Americanly inclined).  It’s hard to beat Milan for great shopping.  I’m sure his girlfriend will love it too.

Joe Cole has trouble staying healthy.  So, to ensure that Chelsea meet their flittering fancy dan quota, Big Phil may bring Brazilian Robinho to the Stamford Bridge Ball.  The estimated £28.7 million obtained would then help Real to purchase the slave who shall not be named.

Gilberto Silva has not moved of late, on the pitch or off it, but the Brazilian captain could be dancing in a Zorba-like fashion if his proposed deal to Greek club Panathinaikos goes through.  Arsenal have pledged to not let the door hit him where the good lord split him when he leaves.