Aug 24 2008
Football Quiz 3
Q. Which striker scored the most goals in qualifying for Euro 2008 but did not feature in the tournament as his team failed to make it to the final 16 ?
A. David Healy of Northern Ireland
Aug 23 2008
Vincent Kompany joins Manchester City.
Belgian defender and one of European football’s brightest talents Vincent Kompany has joined Manchester City on a 4-yr deal from Hamburg for an undisclosed fee. He becomes the third signing for Manchester City in this transfer window after Jo and Tal Ben Haim. City are still in the market for a striker and a left-back. Diego Milito and Thiago Neves are the latest names linked with City.
Kompany had a difficult time at Hamburg where he managed to play just 28 games over 2 seasons due to injury, ill health and personal losses over the past two seasons. Vincent played at the Beijing Olympics for Belgium, where they finished fourth , against the wishes of his then employers. It is believed that piece of ‘indiscretion’ on his part was the last straw in his Hamburg career.
Kompany is expected to play as a defensive midfielder at Eastlands and is expected to make his debut against West Ham United on Sunday.
Aug 19 2008
Football Quiz - 2
Q. David Beckham has played for four clubs in his career. Manchester United, Real Madrid, LA Galaxy are three of those. Name the fourth.
A. Preston North End (PNE)
Well, lets just say we did not get any responses for this !
Aug 16 2008
Frank Lampard signs contract extension
Drama was the expected flavour of the transfer window preceding the latest edition of the Barclays Premier League. Besides the Cristiano Ronaldo transfer saga, there was another epic battle going on. Not an on-field battle, but the one regarding Chelsea star Frank Lampard’s contract extension.
For 2 years now, Lampard had been holding out for a longer term contract than the one he was being offered. The past year saw Frank being offered a 2-year contract at the most, inspite of his service of 7 years for the club. This obstinate behaviour by the Chelsea executives led to intense speculation about his future.
Lampard’s former boss at Chelsea, Claudio Ranieri, now at Juventus, was speculated to have bid for the Chelsea star, being a big admirer of the midfielder. Many other clubs, including Spanish giants Barcelona and Inter Milan were rumoured to be interested in Frank. However, Lampard’s move was not to be.
He put an end to all speculation regarding his future by signing a five-year contract extension, besides the final year on his original contract. This means Lampard, now 30, will see out his remaining career at Chelsea FC. The contract extension is supposed to be worth a whopping 39 million.
‘We’ve signed my new contract today,’ Lampard said.
‘I’m personally very happy and I hope I’ve made the Chelsea fans happy. I’ve had seven great seasons here and now I can have many more.
‘I feel for sure I’ve made 100% the right decision, for myself, for my family and for Chelsea Football Club.’
Aug 16 2008
English Premiership Results - 16/8
Arsenal 1-0 West Brom
Samir Nasri scored on his debut just four minutes into the game as Arsenal saw off an insipid West Brom side. West Brom hardly threatened during the game and Arsenal dominated large periods without actually scoring again. A good professional performance by the Gunners.
Tottenham Hotspur 2- 1 Middlesbrough
The assortment of Tottenham stars flattered to deceive as Boro put in a clinical performance to win 2-1 at the Riverside. Goals from David Wheater and Mido put Boro 2-0 before Wheater’s own goal made it 2-1. Berbatov started off the bench and came in later in the second half which might indicate that his move to United is done and dusted.
West Ham United 2- 1 Wigan Athletic
Two Dean Ashton goals in the first ten minutes gave West Ham breathing space. Debutant Amir Zaki scored with an emphatic finish for Wigan but they couldn’t push on to get an equalizer.
Everton 2 - 3 Blackburn Rovers
In a topsy tervy encounter, Andre Ooijer hit a stoppage time winner for Blackburn to give Paul Ince his first win as Blackburn manager. David Dunn and Roque Santa Cruz had scored Rovers’ first two goals which were nullified by Arteta and Yakubu’s strikes before Ooijer came up with the winner.
Hull City 2 - 1 Fulham
The only promoted team to get any points today. Fulham led through Seol Ki Hyeon’s fine headed goal. Geovanni equalised with a cracker from outside the area and Caleb Folan sealed the win with an 81st minute goal.
Bolton 3-1 Stoke City
Three first half goals from Steinsson, Kevin Davies and Johann Elmander were enough for Bolton to see off Stoke City’s challenge at the Reebok.
Sunderland 0-1 Liverpool
Fernando Torres scored his first goal of the season seven minutes from time as Liverpool edged out a gritty Sunderland side by a solitary goal.
Aug 16 2008
Football Quiz - 1
Q. In April 2005, Aston Villa beat Newcastle 3-0 in a Premier League encounter. The bizarre situation was that Newcastle actually finished the game with 8 men. Steven Taylor was the first Magpie to be sent off for handling a ball headed towards goal. Who were the other two Newcastle players to see red and why ?
Please answer using www.rot-ate.com for convenience of other quizzing enthusiasts.
A. Lee Bowyer and Kieran Dyer were sent off for fighting against each other ! Soccer-Blogger was the only one to crack it correctly !
Aug 13 2008
India win AFC Challenge Cup
Venue: Ambedkar Stadium, New Delhi, India.
India 4 - 1 Tajikistan
Bhutia Fatkhullo
Chetri *3
Fair Play Award: India
MVP : Bhaichung Bhutia (Ind)
In one of the finest wins for Indian football, a strong Indian sides thrashed Tajikistan 4-1 to book a place at the 2011 Asian Cup in Qatar. A hat-trick from local-lad Sunil Chetri and a stunning finish by Captain Marvel Bhaichung Bhutia saw the Indians scoring 4 goals. ( Ironically the had scored just 5 in the previous four games) . Tajikistan came close on a number of occasions but Subrato Paul - the Indian custodian- stood up to the task and made a bunch of crucial saves.
The final was shifted to Delhi because of incessant rainfall at the original venue - Gachibowli in Hyderabad. The move suited the home team as they were egged on by a partisan crowd in the capital city.
It is only the third time that India will play in the Asia Cup. India, along with Tajikistan and third place team North Korea all have qualified directly for next edition of the AFC Challenge Cup.
The win should definitely see India climbing up a few notches in the FIFA Rankings.
Aug 05 2008
Corluka to Spurs ?
In what would seem as one of the most intriguing transfers of the season, Tottenham Hotspur are set to sign promising Croatian full back Vedran Corluka from Manchester City for as less as 7 million pounds.
Corluka was signed by Eriksson for a fee believed to be in the region of 8 million and it would make no sense for City to sell such a promising player to a rival club, that too at a loss.
Many City fans have been left flummoxed by this news and there has been no official denial by the club yet. City have just signed Tal Ben Haim from Chelsea and that could pave way for Corluka’s departure.
If Charlie does go, Mark Hughes would have a lot of explanation to do ! He’s not giving anything away as of now.
“There will always be speculation about good players and Vedran is a very good player,” Hughes told the Manchester Evening News.
“He had an exceptional European Championships. I can’t elaborate any more because I don’t know a great deal about it. The news surprised me this morning.”
Aug 04 2008
Drogba to miss start of season
Chelsea’s preparation for the new season suffered as their main striker Didier Drogba is believed to have not fully recovered from a knee injury. Drogba will miss all the fixtures in the month of August and would be fit only for the September fixtures.
The absence of Drogba will give Nicolas Anelka enough opportunities to start and create an impression. During Avram Grant’s regime he was used as an impact player, coming off the bench to play mostly as a right winger, a position that did not suit his style of play. Also, the onus will be on Salomon Kalou to complement Anelka in attack and make sure Chelsea don’t fall off the place early in the season.
“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.”
“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.”
Meanwhile, Arsenal have been linked with a move to sign Spanish star Xabi Alonso from Liverpool, which might open the door for Gareth Barry’s move from Villa to the Merseyside.
Aug 03 2008
India brave their way into AFC Semifinals
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India 2 Bhutia (61′,81′) —- 1 Turkmenistan Yusup Orazhmamedov (85′)
Cometh the hour, cometh the man. Bhaichung Bhutia scored a brace in an invitational friendly a few weeks ago playing alongside Clarence Seedorf and Michael Schumacher, but this brace against Turkmenistan would be rated as one of his finest performances as it helped India to reach the AFC semi-finals in a water-logged Gachibowli stadium at Hyderabad.
The result ensured that the defensing champions Tajikistan, who thrashed the Afghans, also made it to the last four. India top group A and will now play against the second placed team in Group B - either North Korea or Myanmar.
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