Monthly Archives: May 2010

Totti saves Roma to take Serie A chase down to final game

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Wins for both Roma and Inter Milan on Sunday means the Scudetto will have to be won on the last day of the season.

Inter Milan 4 – Chievo 3

Inter Milan Scudetto Totti saves Roma to take Serie A chase down to final gameThe Serie A leaders conceded a goal after just 12 minutes at home to Chievo when a right wing cross was pushed into his own net by Thiago Motta. Jose Mourinho’s side were behind for no more than a minute when an Eto’o pass into the Chievo box was turned into an own goal by Chievo player Andrea Mantovani.

Just after 30 minutes Inter took the lead, with Esteban Cambiasso scoring. Inter extended their lead in the 39th minute when Diego Milito netted his 21st goal in the league with a chip from 15-yards out. The final result seemed to be a foregone conclusion at the start of the second half after Maicon’s ball over the top was collected by Mario Balotelli who led Inter into a 4-1 lead.

But Chievo managed to put themselves back in the running soon after when Pablo Granoche was able to put one past Julio Cesar. Amazingly Chievo scored again to make the score 4-3 when Zanetti played ball across the backline and Sergio Pellisier nipped in and scored a third for the visitors.

Roma 2 – Cagliari 1

Roma, needed to win to keep alive any chances of claiming the Scudetto, and missed numerous early chances to take the lead against Cagliari, and with under 20 minutes to go the Giallorossi’s were punished when Andrea Lazzari brought home a beauty from a free-kick.

Roma’s woes looked certain after PartyPoker.it ambassador Francesco Totti lifted a chip over the bar from mere yards out, but only minutes later Totti was able to score the leveller and restore hope once again for Raneri’s men. Roma then took the lead to breathe life back into the race for the title, Riise’s cross was cut short by a stray hand and Francesco Totti converted the critical second goal.

This means if Inter Milan win their final game of the season, away to relegated Siena, they will retain the Scudetto – and complete the second part of an historic treble which is looking more and more likely.

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Japan spring a few surprises

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Japan goalkeeper Yoshikatsu KawaguchiGoalkeeper Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi has been handed a surprise spot in Japan’s World Cup squad.

Takeshi Okada caused a shock by handing the 34-year-old former Portsmouth keeper a recall to the squad as the third-choice goalkeeper.

Kawaguchi played for Japan in their opening World Cup fixture 12 years ago in France, and was the squad’s first choice four years ago in Germany.

But he was rarely mentioned in the lead-up to the squad announcement, after being out of action since last season.

He broke his right shin last season when playing for Jubilo Iwata in the J-League, and only recently returned to full training.

However, he has been included as one of three keepers along with Kawasaki Frontale’s Eiji Kawashima and Nagoya Grampus’ Seigo Narazaki, who will be making their fourth World Cup appearances.

Okada said: “The third-choice goalkeeper is a very difficult position for Kawaguchi but I feel the team needs his presence and leadership and that is why I picked him.

“He lost his regular place on the national team, and I had a chat with him and asked him if he could accept being a sub.

“I have been watching him since I dropped him altogether, to see how he would play.

“Before he got injured I thought if he could put up with being third-choice keeper and keep aiming just to be in the national team that I might take him.

“I feel he has become stronger mentally during what has been a tough period for him and that, in the end, is why I put him in the squad.”

There were few other surprises in the squad announced before the media, with CSKA Moscow star Keisuke Honda and fellow European-based midfielders Daisuke Matsui and Makoto Hasebe selected along with former Celtic playmaker Shunsuke Nakamura and Shimizu S-Pulse striker Shinji Okazaki.

“I had a tough time with every position in the team,” said Okada. “I have picked players that are aggressive in both attack and defence so that Japan can win games at the World Cup.”

He believes his squad is capable of reaching the semi finals and said: “I haven’t changed the objective. In order to make that come true, however, we first have to get through the group stage and our first match against Cameroon will be the most important to us.” Japan are 21/10 to beat Cameroon, whilst the draw is 9/4. Cameroon are 6/5 to win.

Japan will get together on May 21 and play their 2002 tournament co-hosts South Korea in Saitama three days later, before heading off for a training camp in Switzerland. Japan are 125/1 to win the World Cup.

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Chelsea Take the Premier League Title In Style

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FA Cup winners 250x300 Chelsea Take the Premier League Title In Style

Next On The Agenda For Chelsea

A league title can hardly ever have been secured more emphatically than via an eight goal victory as Chelsea swept past Wigan Athletic to end Manchester United’s attempt for a historic four in a row.

United beat Stoke City 4-0 in their last game but once Wigan had a man sent off and Chelsea scored a second from the spot, the final day turned into a romp.

In the process Chelsea’s tally of goals for the Premier League campaign reached an astonishing 103-the highest by a top flight side since way back in the 1960s. As well as the eight in the last game, the Blues hammered seven no less than three times.

The goals tally is significant but the statistic that stood out is that Chelsea won all their matches against the other members of the ‘Big 4. The sevens and eights caught the eye but the victories at Old Trafford, the Emirates Stadium and Anfield were the bedrock of their third title in six seasons.

On the last day, Didier Drogba slotted in a second half hat-trick which edged him past Wayne Rooney to be top scorer for the season. The Ivorian ended with 29 but it was Frank Lampard’s amazing 22 from midfield that really made the difference.

The Double Is A Sure Bet

Chelsea now go on to try and complete the club’s first domestic ‘Double’ against Portsmouth in the FA Cup Final. Their opponents are managed by former boss Avram Grant.  And who would bet against that considering the disparity in talent between the two teams.  Chelsea head into the game at 1.20 to lift the FA Cup, there’s no value to be had in the outright market so a punt on another high scoring game offers better value.  Take over 3.5 goals in the game at 2.40 to maximise your FA Cup betting.

Arsenal disposed of a weakened Fulham side to make sure of third place- perhaps word that the Gunners were winning filtered through to Turf Moor as Spurs allowed Burnley to battle back fro two gaols adrift to end their season on a high.

Tottenham won their big result on Wednesday at Manchester City, so its not surprising they ran out of steam when the chance of pipping Arsenal to third place petered out.

Burnley ended with the mild satisfaction of passing Hull City to finish eighteenth. The Tigers held Liverpool 0-0 which probably says everything about Liverpool’s season.

The Reds did at least finish two points clear of Everton who won their final game against doomed Portsmouth. The Toffees must rue their opening in August when they lost three games out of the first four, plus defeats in both Merseyside derbies.

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New Zealand name World Cup squad

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New Zealand manager Ricki HerbertNew Zealand (1500/1 for World Cup) coach Ricki Herbert has named two uncapped players in his World Cup squad.

Aaron Clapham, a former under-20 international, has been included for the first time at senior level after being part of Herbert’s 15-man training squad that gathered for 12 days last month.

The 23-year-old caught Herbert’s eye in the weekend trial match when he created a goal during the New Zealand A victory against a New Zealand Football Championship All Stars XI.

Clapham set up the second goal in the 2-0 victory for Costa Barbarouses, and it was a performance that set the seal on his inclusion in the squad.

“He has come into this group and looked very comfortable,” said Herbert of the man who plays his football in the NZFC with Canterbury United.

“He is the type of player that should be around the international scene for many years and he has a big future in the professional game.”

The other uncapped player to land a ticket to South Africa is Winston Reid of FC Midtjylland.

Herbert has largely kept his pledge to the 18-strong squad which landed New Zealand only their second appearance at the World Cup finals, via a two-legged playoff against Bahrain in November.

The only player to have missed out from that group is Aaron Scott, who was axed in favour of Reid.

Reid pledged his allegiance to New Zealand only recently, having represented Denmark at under-20 level, while Tommy Smith has also been recruited into the side.

The Ipswich Town player made his debut in March in the defeat to Mexico, having played at under-18 level for England.

Herbert said he was comfortable at having named David Mulligan despite the player not having featured for 46 matches for his club Wellington Phoenix.

Herbert, who also coaches Wellington, released Mulligan in April but said: “David has been a victim of circumstances at the Phoenix where other players have come in and played well, keeping him out of the team.

“He has never stopped working hard however and his attitude has been first class.”

There are seven Australian A-League players named in the squad, five of them coming from the Phoenix.

Wellington players to earn their place on the plane to South Africa are goalkeeper Mark Paston, defenders Tony Lochhead and Ben Sigmund, and midfielders Leo Bertos and Tim Brown.

Former Phoenix striker Shane Smeltz, who finished as the league’s top scorer last season with Gold Coast United, has secured his place in the squad, as has Newcastle Jets’ Jeremy Brockie.

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Barcelona are nearly there

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La Liga 300x150 Barcelona are nearly thereThe penultimate games of the La Liga season were concluded over the weekend with both Barcelona and Real Madrid recording victories.

Sevilla 2 – Barcelona 3

Lionel Messi came up with the goods again after only five minutes of Barcelona’s difficult looking match at Sevilla, knocking down a Maxwell pass and ending with class. Bojan Krkic then doubled Barca’s lead just before the end of the first 30 minutes. Once Konko had been sent off, Pedro grabbed the third goal for Barcelona with a fantastic effort from the edge of the box. Sevilla however refused to admit defeat and with two goals in two minutes from Fredi Kanoute and Luis Fabiano the home side came back into the match.

Real Madrid 5 – Athletic Bilbao 1

On twenty minutes Christiano Ronaldo gave Real Madrid the lead against Athletic Bilbao from the penalty spot. Athletic Bilbao hit back just before half time, Fran Yeste moved through the home defence and scored a fine goal. In the 72nd minute a free-kick gave Gonzalo Higuain the opportunity to put Real Madrid in front again. Goals then came in quick succession from Sergio Ramos (80) and Karim Benzema (81) to rack up another win for Manuel Pellegrini’s side with Marcelo adding a fifth goal late on.

All this now means that Barcelona only have to win their last match of the season – at home to relegation threatened Real Valladolid – to retain their league champions crown.

Real Madrid will have to hope Valladolid’s desire for La Liga football next season produces a wonder display and denies Guardiola’s men the three points whilst also winning their final game of the season away to Malaga. It is an unlikely event to happen, but it is all Real Madrid have to hope for now as La Liga is firmly in the hands of Messi and co.

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Holloway insists there is nothing to fear

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Blackpool manager Ian HollowayBlackpool boss Ian Holloway says the Seasiders have nothing to fear when they travel to Nottingham Forest for Tuesday night’s Championship play-off semi final second leg.

Holloway’s men hold a slender 2-1 advantage following Saturday’s first-leg at Bloomfield Road but know they will face a sterner examination when travel to the City Ground.

A draw will be enough to take the Seasiders through to Wembley and punters who fancy them to hold Forest can take a price of 5/2, while the win is 4/1.

Blackpool can take heart from the fact they have already beaten Forest on their home turf this season when a goal from leading scorer Charlie Adam earned them a 1-0 win and Holloway is hoping for much of the same.

“Forest know they are brilliant at home. They just know that. You only have to look at their record this season,” Holloway revealed.

“But we’ve got nothing to fear and we’ve got to go there and try to play. A little fillip for us is that we did manage to go there and win 1-0 earlier in the season. Whether it was luck or not, we did it.

“If we can get lucky in this next one then I’ll take it. But we can’t rely on that.”

Adam is 8/1 to bag the first goal, while punters who are predicting a repeat of events at the City Ground back in September can take a price of 50/1.

Forest are usually outstanding at home and are odds on at 8/11 to pick up the victory. They need to win 2-0 (6/1) to prevent it going to extra-time as away goals do not come into play, so it is sure to be an open game.

The last three fixtures between the two sides have also been high scoring affairs with three or more goals scored and punters can take odds of 11/10 on another goal fest.

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Ferguson determined to carry on

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Manchester United boss Sir Alex FergusonManchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has stated that his health is the only factor that will determine how long he stays in management (Man United  7/1 to win the Premiership title outright).

The 68-year-old has endured constant speculation over his future at the club over the last few seasons despite the domestic and European success the club has achieved.

Ferguson has been in charge at Old Trafford for almost 24 years and has continued to build strong squads through a mixture of strong signings and academy youngsters.

United go into the final day of the season one point behind leaders Chelsea who will be confident of winning their match against Wigan at Stamford Bridge.

This would leave United with only one piece of silverware this season in the form of the League Cup. This would be considered a disappointing season from the club’s perspective.

However if this is indeed the only trophy to come to Old Trafford this season, it will not deter Ferguson to push on for more honours next season as long as he has no issue with his health (Man United 11/5 to win the 2010/2011 Premiership title outright).

The Scotsman said: “The thing I hope is that my health is OK. When you get to 68 years of age, you are not guaranteed anything. You hope you wake up in the morning.

“So you say to yourself, ‘There for the Grace of God that I am still here.”

“And that is the only thing that determines you in connection with football. You couldn’t possibly do your job unless you were healthy,” he added.

Ferguson believes that United’s season came down to the one week in which they lost to Chelsea at Old Trafford and crashed out of the Champions League on away goals against Bayern Munich.

The manager feels that if the results in this week had been different then their season could have been a completely different story.

Speculation over how long Ferguson has left at United has been present at the beginning and end of recent seasons and discussions over who will be his successor have continued.

Over the years names such as Martin O’Neill and Jose Mourinho have been implicated with the manager’s job at Old Trafford but Ferguson is likely to have an input as to who will succeed him.

He said: “You can talk about the successful managers right now who might be on everyone’s list. But in two years, they may not be. Or even next year.

“So it’s very difficult to say who would replace me when my time came.”

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Bolton ace’s World Cup boost

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Boss Owen Coyle is adamant star Bolton defender Gary Cahill is good enough to make the England World Cup squad (England 5/2 – Top European Team) – and he hopes the 24-year-old is still a Trotter if he makes it to South Africa this summer.

Three Lions coach Fabio Capello is set to name his preliminary squad imminently, with the Italian set to make big decisions over the likes of Spurs duo Ledley King and Michael Dawson while speculation suggests Liverpool’s Jamie Carragher could be tempted out of international retirement.

But Coyle reckons Cahill, who the Trotters snapped up from Aston Villa in January 2008, should definitely in the reckoning for South Africa 2010.

He said: “People will say I am biased but I look around and he is good enough to be in the England squad.

“For such a young age, and him being the top-scoring English centre-back in the country with pace and power, I don’t want to lose him.”

Coyle lives in the real world after cutting his managerial teeth with St Johnstone and Burnley before being chosen to succeed Gary Megson at the Reebok in January.

And while he wants to keep Cahill on board for next season’s Premier League campaign, he also knows a big-money offer would be impossible for Wanderers to turn down.

“I want Gary to help build on where we are. But I accept if someone comes in with an unbelievable £30million offer then we couldn’t stand in his way,” said the Scot.

“It would be the right thing for the club and the right thing for Gary.

“But my plan is to keep Gary here along with the rest of the ones I want at a football club and try to build a team.”

Cahill and Bolton (11/10 to win) complete their season with a home game against Birmingham (12/5) on Sunday afternoon and no doubt Capello will want a report – and not just over Cahill’s performance.

Bolton’s side could feature midfielder Stuart Holden, the USA international, who is in contention after a broken leg picked up in March.

The 24-year-old, who has won 12 caps for his country since his debut, will be desperate to prove his fitness in order to stand a chance of facing England on June 12.

Birmingham keeper Joe Hart also has hopes of making it into the England squad after winning rave reviews during his season-long loan spell at St Andrew’s from Manchester City.

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Aussies reeling from Kewell blow

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Australian football fans have been dealt a significant blow with the news that Harry Kewell is a major doubt ahead of the World Cup in South Africa this summer (125/1 Australia – World Cup 2010 outright).

The Galatasaray forward is reported to have re-injured his groin just days before coach Pim Veerbeek is expected to name his provisional squad on May 11.

The talismanic midfielder-cum-striker has only just returned to action after being out for four months with the problem. However, just two days into his return, he aggreavated the injury and is now expected to miss Galatasaray’s final two games of the season.

Galatasaray assistant coach Johan Neeskens admits that the situation is difficult and hard to predict. He admitted that he doesn’t know whether Kewell will make the World Cup and that the final decision will be up to the player and the doctors within the Australian camp.

Neeskens said: “Stage by stage he got better but then he fell back again. He chose to stop training and take treatment. But sometimes after three or four days, if he stops treatment and starts training again, it comes back again.

“He started again with the team a week ago but now in the second week he got some pain and didn’t feel comfortable. On Tuesday, he stopped again and couldn’t continue the work because it’s too painful.”

Neeskens accepts that his absence will be a major loss for Australia, who are hoping to improve on their achievements in the 2006 World Cup.

In Germany, they finished second in their group and were unfortunate to be knocked out by Italy in the last-16 through a last-minute penalty.

Veerbeek  has already set a target of going one better in South Africa and at least reaching the last eight. However, they have been handed a very difficult group which features Germany, Serbia and Ghana. This has forced totesport to make Australia 15/2 to qualify from their group and these odds could lengthen if Kewell’s absence is confirmed.

Only last week, Kewell said that he was ready to lead from the front for the Socceroos after spending most of his career on the left flank.

He said that if Veerbeek had this in mind, he would be comfortable in this position as he played up front for both Liverpool and Leeds United. He said that he relished the added responsibility of playing in the role and that he has the confidence to take it on. He said that before the injury he was fit and scoring goals, and was clearly relishing going to South Africa.

It was also reported in The Daily Telegraph that he was glad to return from his groin injury and that he wanted to improve his fitness going into the World Cup. He said that he was sure he could do this as he was “working hard day and night to get to where I need to be and I’ll be fine for the World Cup”.

Unforuntately for Kewell, his latest setback could significantly dent his match fitness, even if it doesn’t rule him out of the World Cup entirely. His absence will undoubtedly be a bitter blow for Kewell and Australia. The Socceroos are currently 125/1 to  win the World Cup but Kewell’s absence could make these chances even more remote.

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Ranieri hints at Totti omission

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Roma coach Claudio Ranieri has hinted that Francesco Totti will not be going to the World Cup with Italy (12-1 to win the tournament) despite rumours that he was set to come out of international retirement.

The 33-year-old has not played for the Azzurri since the 2006 World Cup and announced his international retirement in 2007. Then coach Roberto Donadoni tried to persuade the Rome legend to come out of retirement for the Euro 2008 qualifiers but Totti refused, preferring to concentrate on his club career in the Italian capital.

Marcello Lippi is now in charge of the Italian side and will announce his 30-man preliminary squad on Tuesday with rumours that Totti could be set to make himself available for selection.

However reports in the Italian media suggest that Lippi will not go back to the past and give Totti a chance to add to the 58 caps he has won during his illustrious career and will overlook the Roma legend.

Ranieri made his feeling clear on the issue, saying: “Selfishly I am happy,” as the former Chelsea boss wants his man fit and ready for the domestic season in August, without the possibility of picking up an injury while on World Cup duty this summer.

Italy are the defending World Cup champions but Spain are the favourites at 4-1 to lift the trophy for the first time with Brazil second favourites at 5-1.

England are priced at 11-2, with Argentina on offer at 13-2 to win the World Cup for the first time since 1986 and the Dutch a 12-1 chance to take the trophy.

Italy are in Group F in South Africa along with Paraguay, Slovakia and New Zealand and are 1-14 favourites to come out of the group and make it through to the knock-out phase of the world’s greatest football tournament.

Paraguay are priced at 8-15 to qualify with Slovakia on offer at 11-8 and the Kiwis priced at 8-1 to make it to the last 16.

Another market to watch out for is the ’stage of elimination’ with Italy 9-4 to exit the competition at the last-16 stage and 5-2 to make a quarter-final departure.

The Azzurri are priced at 7-2 to be a losing semi-finalist and 7-1 to suffer the heartbreak of losing in the final.

The Italians are strong favourites to make it out of their group but a 13-2 price has been quoted for Italy to be eliminated from the event at the group stage.

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