TOP 100 SOCCER SITES
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| Barcelona loses Jeffren Suarez to injury Barcelona forward Jeffren Suarez will miss four to five weeks due to a leg muscle injury. cbc.ca |
Atlético Madrid conjure a 'miracle' The return of La Liga after the Christmas break was largely a drab affair – save for Atlético Madrid's fortuitous win over SevillaAt night he tosses and turns but just can't sleep. Every time he shuts his eyes, Didier Drogba and Michael Ballack emerge from the shadows and rear up before him, invading his every thought, tormenting him, climbing inside his fragile conscience and confronting him with his sins. It is, he says, "a living hell". So traumatised is he by his failure to give Chelsea four penalties against Barcelona at Stamford Bridge during last season's Champions League semi-final, so guilt-ridden at his role in Barça's six-trophy haul, that he has taken refuge in a monastery. Forget Tom Henning Ovrebo, the Norwegian referee; whisper it quietly, type it carefully, but these days he is a monk by the name of Father Knut.It was the Madrid-based sports daily AS that published Father Knut's sad, soul-searching story, complete with his plea for forgiveness. Alongside it, the photograph of the man who swapped his cards for a cowl; above it, the detail that gave the game away: the date. Spain's April Fools' Day. The story wasn't actually true. Just as Sport's revelation that Félix Millett, the man who admitted stealing over €3m (£2.7m) from the Catalan Choral Society, would be the new president of Barcelona wasn't actually true. And while Marca weren't making a special effort in much the same way as Betis owner Manuel Ruiz de Lopera doesn't make a special effort for Halloween, everyone else was – filling their pages with ludicrously far-fetched stories and outright lies.Well, they had to fill them with something. Spain's April Fool's Day isn't in April. Known as the dÃa de los santos inocentes, it apparently commemorates the slaughtering of every tiny tot in Bethlehem, so naturally it's commemorated with jokes and it falls on 28 December. Which is handy. Because while in England they keep on playing over Christmas, in Spain they debate whether they should keep on playing; whinge that they're bored; wonder which Latin American players will be late back (Leo Messi); eat defecating chocolate figurines; and sit about waiting for the football to start again. A little lie helps to pass the time.For all the comedy stories, this year it took even longer to pass than normal. There weren't even that many of the traditional regional-national team matches: only Catalunya played. Crisis-ridden Real Zaragoza tried to fill the gap by changing presidents, falling out with and missing out on potential coach VÃctor Muñoz and reluctantly sticking with caretaker José Aurelio Gay, who immediately snapped: "I need 11 players not eight and a half". AlmerÃa sacked Hugo Sánchez and gave a first division return, nine years later, to philosophical coach Juanma Lillo, who immediately declared: "I know why clubs sack managers: we lose. What I haven't worked out is why they sign us." But still it felt a bit flat; everyone was desperate to get back to the real thing, especially as the new year normally returns with a bang and the occasional wallop.Not this time. At 6.30 on Sunday evening, Sporting Gijón and Málaga were drawing 2-2. But every other game was 0-0. Late goals gave Getafe a win that took them to seventh, Lillo a debut victory against doomed Xerez and Racing a win against Málaga. Immediately afterwards, Mallorca climbed into a Champions League place with a 2-0 win over Athletic Bilbao, their eighth successive home win. But it wasn't exactly exciting. The night before, a 93rd-minute winner for Nikola Zigic had given Valencia a 1-0 win over Espanyol. But, brilliant though the celebration was, team-mates hanging off the 6ft 7in Serb like a family of Underwoods trying to stop Jonah Lomu, that hadn't been much of a game either.Nor, it's tempting to conclude, had any of them. By the time Jornada 16 closed with another 0-0 at 11pm on Sunday night, nine teams had failed to score; ten games had produced just 16 goals. Yes, Jermaine Pennant had almost scored a blinder and so had David Villa; true, Mallorca midfielder Borja Valero's pass for Aritz Aduriz was wonderful and Pedro Munitis's assist for Racing's Gonzalo Colsa was equally superb; sure, Javier Casquero earned Getafe's victory with a crashing finish and Grégory's goal for Sporting was as good a header as you'll see. But somehow, it was all so flat, a bit meh, a bit so what? There hadn't been a single away win. No one had scored more than two. Barcelona had only scored one. Real Madrid didn't even score – and the consequences were serious. On Sunday, Marca's cover declared: "New Year, New Leader"; on Monday it had changed to: "Champions can't make mistakes [like this]".Madrid had been given their chance by the weekend's one outstanding performance: Villarreal's on Saturday night. Ernesto Valverde's side, who had confirmed their inevitable recovery by winning four from five, drew 1-1 at the Camp Nou and should have won. For the first time, Barcelona found themselves facing a team that competed for possession and they didn't like it. Pressing high rather than simply awaiting Barcelona's attack, and their fate, in silence, Villarreal left their opponents "with no air or space, like a fly trapped in a glass", as David Gistau put it. Fuster scored once but should have score thrice; the Madrid press claimed Villarreal had two blatant penalties turned down and they might have had a point about one of them; Zlatan Ibrahimovic, irritated at getting constantly penalised for being tall, could have been sent off for a flying stamp; and Villarreal took the game to Barcelona, getting as many shots as Guardiola's side.Villarreal, though, could not take their chances. Nor, against Osasuna the following night, could Madrid. Gonzalo HiguaÃn wasted his best opportunity, Ronaldo took flight in an attempt to win a penalty, Lassana Diarra kicked everything that moved and some things that didn't, and that was that. "They hardly had a chance," insisted Manuel Pellegrini, which was true but, as Roberto Palomar replied, that's a pretty weak argument for a club that boasts a budget the size of a government ministry and that was playing for top spot. It was a weak way to end the opening weekend.Thank goodness, then, for the only comeback of the weekend, for the one team you can always rely on: Atlético Madrid. A growing rivalry. A goal down. A man down. A ridiculous, pantomime own goal. A pointless foul. A free-kick. A header. A winner. In the 94th minute. An utterly undeserved one. Scored by the man who was only playing because of injuries and suspensions. Who shouldn't even have been there – unwanted, scapegoated, already replaced, and soon to be shipped out. A coach declaring: "they didn't win it, we lost it." It could only happen to El Pupas, "the jinxed one", the side forever inventing newer and sillier ways of blowing it.Only this time it didn't happen to Atlético; this time, it happened for Atlético. This time, luck was on their side. This time, the coach leaping about like he had won the league was Atléti's coach; this time, ludicrously, unbelievably, incredibly, implausibly, comically, the "miracle" that AS announced was Atléti's miracle. And this time the date was 2 January. Not 28 December.Results: Valencia 1–0 Espanyol, Atlético 2–1 Sevilla, Getafe 1–0 Valladolid, AlmerÃa 1-0 Xerez, Mallorca 2–0 Athletic, Barcelona 1–1 Villarreal, Sporting 2–2 Málaga, Racing 2–0 Tenerife, Zaragoza 0–0 Deportivo, Osasuna 0–0 Real MadridLa LigaAtlético MadridReal MadridBarcelonaSevillaEuropean footballSid Loweguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Arsenal 2-2 Everton So who's bright idea was it for the anti-freeze experts of north London to work like the clappers to ensure this game went ahead? For all Arsène Wenger's desperation to play some football, in the swirling snow, Arsenal glimpsed their opportunity to climb to within a point of the Premier League summit and froze.They were mightily relieved to get anything from this game, a point salvaged when the substitute Tomas Rosicky's stoppage-time shot brushed off Lucas Neill and the change of direction beat Tim Howard. It was Arsenal's second deflected equaliser of the game. It led to a frenetic climax, in which Manuel Almunia managed to clobber two players as he rushed out of his penalty area like a man in a total panic.Arsenal's reprieve was Everton's frustration, for they had done enough to merit three points. Ten minutes from the end, the best part of 60,000 hardy souls could barely dare to take an icy breath as they watched Steven Pienaar, released courtesy of an exquisite pass from Tim Cahill, baring down on Almunia's goal. Without a defender in sight, it was a straight duel between the combative South African and the over-anxious Spaniard. Pienaar showed wonderful composure to chip the ball gently into the net. The impressive contingent from Merseyside tucked into a corner of Emirates Stadium did not appear to feel the cold one jot.From another one-on-one moments later, Almunia prevented James Vaughan from securing what would have been an unassailable lead.Although the gritty nature of David Moyes's team provided the foundation, there was much to admire, too. With Louis Saha's clever runs and Tim Cahill's waspish presence augmented extremely well by the expert dribbling of Landon Donovan on an eye-catching debut, Everton caused Arsenal serious concern from the off.They started with far more conviction than in their earlier match against Arsenal this season, when they were left reeling by a 6-1 home hammering. Here they had the appetite and the organisation, and they looked surprisingly comfortable.They took the lead in the 12th minute. Donovan floated in an enticing corner, and Leon Osman leapt prodigiously above William Gallas and thumped in a header.Lacking driving force in midfield with Cesc Fábregas still recuperating and Alex Song in Angola, Arsenal were desperate for some inspiration from somewhere, and it came from one of the midfield understudies, DenÃlson. The Brazilian showed the hunger to chase down a loose ball out from Everton, and when the play came back to him after neat touches from Andrey Arshavin and Samir Nasri, DenÃlson took a pot shot. With the aid of a deflection off Osman, Arsenal were – fortuitously – back in it.Premier LeagueArsenalEvertonAmy Lawrenceguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Arsenal eye move for Sergio Canales Racing Santander's exciting young midfielder Sergio Canales is reportedly a target for Arsenal. telegraph.co.uk |
Internazionale v Milan - live! Press refresh (or F5 if you must) for the latest updates or just turn them onto automatic to save yourself the bother. Then you will have time to email John at john.ashdown@guardian.co.uk and tell him why this isn't a patch on your local derbyJohn will be here from around 7.30pm. Until that time have a read of Amy Lawrence's piece on the fine job Leonardo is doing at Milan:To put Milan's appalling derby experience from earlier this season – a 4-0 thrashing inflicted in front of a home audience – into perspective, the only time they have lost to Internazionale by a bigger margin was in 1910. The experience symbolises a period when Milan were drowning in mediocrity.By the beginning of October, a lethargic start to the season dragged them to an intolerable 12th position in the table. Then they were embarrassed in the Champions League, losing at San Siro to FC Zurich. One newspaper headline summed up their plight evocatively enough: "A Milan to make you cry."But now, with the derby return looming on Sunday evening, Milan are all smiles. They have been so resourceful in their recovery they can almost touch the Serie A summit. If they can beat the champions, and the formbook suggests they have a reasonable chance, they will move to within three points of Inter with a game in hand. They are no longer just peering over the neighbour's fence to cast a nostalgic eye over the scudetto silverware, they are plotting to vault over and grab it.Continues here ...Serie AInternazionaleMilanEuropean footballJohn Ashdownguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |