Thursday, September 29, 2011

English Championship Week 9


Forest are in trouble.


Two time former European Cup winner Nottingham Forest are in danger of dropping down a division, and that too in a season that held potential promotion in store. Under Steve McClaren, Forest's decline has been both unexpected and traumatic, with their latest demolition at Burnley equal parts abject and miserable.


After their 5-1 defeat to Burnley on Tuesday, Forest are now 20th, just three points off the bottom. They have lost four of their last five games, won just two matches overall and have a paltry eight points from nine games. McClaren is under even more pressure to turn things around. With Martin O'Neill available, chairman Nigel Doughty could well replace the former England manager with the man he replaced.


Big Match Weekend - Week 3


The Weekend's Biggest Games:

Sao Paulo v Flamengo - Brazil
3rd v 6th
Both are former league leaders from this season
Neymar, Ganso v Ronaldinho

Vasco v Corinthians - Brazil
1st v 2nd
Cup winners versus team that led the league for most of this season
Diego Souza v Liedson


Genk v Anderlecht - Belgium
2nd v 5th
Best two clubs in the league, first and second last season
Jelle Vossen v Matias Suarez

Spartak v Zenit - Russia
4th v 1st
Current giants versus Russia's most successful club on the continent
Artem Dzyuba v Alexander Kerzhakov

PSG v Lyon - France
Both teams are tied for first
League's richest club v its most successful
Kevin Gameiro, Javier Pastore v Bafetimbi Gomis, Yoann Gourcuff 


Atletico Madrid v Sevilla - Spain
8th v 4th
Two of Spain's biggest clubs
Radamel Falcao v Jesus Navas

Real Betis v Levante - Spain
1st v 3rd
Promoted teams dominating La Liga
Ruben Castro v Sergio Ballesteros

Juventus v Milan - Italy
The two most successful teams in the country
1st this season versus current champions
Arturo Vidal v Antonio Cassano


Inter v Napoli - Italy
2nd v 3rd from last season
Both champions league teams this year
Wesley Sneijder v Ezequiel Lavezzi

Everton v Liverpool - England
City of Liverpool Derby
England's second most successful club versus team that has never been relegated
Tim Cahill v Luis Suarez

Spurs v Arsenal - England
North London Derby
Rivals for fourth spot this season
Luka Modric v Robin Van Persie


Wednesday, September 28, 2011

2011-12 UEFA Champions' League Matchday II Wrap


Tuesday September 27th and Wednesday September 28th:

Things got more interesting on Matchday Two as increased motivation met improved gameplay. Teams are now warmed up as the domestic seasons are in full swing. Everyone has played at least five league games with the odd cup tie - and while some teams have lost the odd manager, most are well oiled machines who want to get on the board in Europe to get in better shape for the rounds ahead.


The group stage displays a unique symmetry. Two matchdays are in September, two more in October and the final two in November. By the end of Matchday Two, everyone has played one home game and one away game in Europe. Laces out, it's the big time now.


As always the midweek threw up the usual mix of expected and surprising, impressive and encouraging, boring and thrilling. 32 teams, eight groups, double round robin home and away, six games each.

We recap the action by breaking down the results by type, style and function.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

2011-12 European Football Wrap - Episode VI

Another week of relentless action across Europe.

Bayern continue to remain ahead of the pack in Germany, United fall back into the pack in England and PSG are knocked off the top by a former table topper. Spain and Italy however continue to see a mix of the expected and unexpected at the top of their respective tables. Find out more here.



Weekend of September 24:


France:


While Lyon, PSG and Toulouse sit atop the standings tied on 17 points, Auxerre and Caen were the big winners on week eight in the French Ligue 1.



While Auxerre were expected to struggle, they have done nothing of the sort and sit healthy in midtable with just one loss in their eight games. Their latest win was their second of the season and was a crushing 4-1 home win over Europa League candidates Sochaux. A Dennis Oliech hat-trick coming after leading scorer Alain Traore had levelled Modibo Maiga's early strike for the visitors. Caen were similarly successful with a massive 4-2 win at promoted Evian. Caen saw goals from four different players while Cedric Barbosa scored a double for the home team.


Monday, September 26, 2011

Brazilian Serie A Week 26

Vasco break clear.



In the decisive result of week 26, Vasco Da Gama edged two points clear at the top of the table, belying doubts that their stint at the top was a temporary anomaly.



Having displayed resilience and consistency rarely seen in the Brazilian Serie A this sason, Vasco hold on to top spot for another round and will remain atop the pile till next weekend.



Their latest positive result was a very impressive 3-0 win at Cruzeiro on Sunday, built on the back of striker Diego Souza, who completed a hat-trick. His third strike came late in the game, just minutes after the home side had been reduced to 10 men following the dismissal of midfielder Antonio Marquinhos Parana who saw straight red. Cruzeiro drop to 16th spot, just one above the relegation fodder while Souza now has nine goals for the season, leading his club at scoring.


English Championship Week 8

Southampton and Middlesbrough are joined by another pair of fallen giants at the top as Derby and West Ham close in, with wins in round eight.




Although Southampton and Boro have looked the class of the league so far, while easing into the top two, the latest round of games saw them both drop points. While Southampton had to come from behind to snatch a point at Burnley, Boro could manage only a goalless draw with Ipswich at home. Charlie Austin had scored his fifth goal of the campaign for Burnley before young French starlet Morgan Schneiderlin equalised with ten minutes to go.



As a result, although they remain in the top two, both the Saints and Smoggies are looking nervously over their shoulder as relegated West Ham and Derby hover just behind. Southampton have 19 points, with Boro only ahead of Derby on goal difference with both on 18 points. Sam Allardyce's West Ham have 17 in fourth spot, also tied on points with Brighton, who are fifth.




The top five have lost only five games between them out of the 40 played and already have a  four point gap down to Cardiff City in sixth. It should be an interesting season.



Thursday, September 22, 2011

Brazilian Serie A Week 25

Santos are on the move.



After a bad start to the season, characterized by a long hangover post Copa Libertadores win and then compounded by the constant disruption caused by top players being called away by international tournaments and friendlies, Santos has pulled itself together to embark on a winning run, as it slowly ascends the table. Their unbeaten streak was extended to eight games on Wednesday night as they beat bottom club Atletico Mineiro for their fourth in a row.




Kempes' eighth goal of the season for the home side was sandwiched by strikes by Borges and captain Edu Dracena. Borges scored for the fourth game in a row and notched his tenth goal in his last nine Serie A games. Santos moves into the top half of the table for the first time all season and now sit in ninth. America remain bottom.




Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Europhiles Notebook - Euro Qualifying's Top Upsets

Only the last pair of matches remain in the qualifying campaign for Euro 2012. Arjblog reviews the top upsets so far:



Moldova 2 - 0 Finland - September 3 2010



For a team ranked 122 in the world, that has never qualified for an international tournament and actually finished last in its previous qualification group, winless, behind Luxembourg (World Cup 2010 UEFA Group 2), the win over Finland in Chisinau was easily the greatest result in its short history. Only admitted to FIFA and UEFA in the aftermath of the Soviet collapse, Moldovan football is still in its germinal stages with the fall exploits of Sheriff Tiraspol and Zimbru Chisnau in qualifying for the continental tournaments, the only time one hears of it. Goals from Alexandre Suvorov and Anatolie Doros created instant history as they threw an immediate spanner into Finland's works - a blow from which the Finns barely recovered all campaign.

Europhiles Notebook - Euro Qualifying's Lesser Stars

A look at some of the unsung heroes of qualifying, many of whom will exit the tournament after the qualifiers and all of whom get none of the spotlight. Arjblog brings you the players who have impressed during the 2012 European Championships Qualifying Rounds:




(Trivia alert: There are two players below whose last names start with a double 'l')

The Unsung XII:



Mikael Forssell - Finland - The striker who bombed out at Chelsea has been a Godsend for the Finns at international level. Despite another disappointing qualifying campaign, Forssell has been on fire netting seven goals in eight games. With Finland sitting fourth in their group going into the final pair of matches, Forssell has scored almost half their total of 15 goals, with important strikes against both Netherlands and Hungary. It looks like Leeds have been paying attention as they brought the 30 year old back to England, on a free transfer from Hannover in the summer. Only Miroslav Klose and Klaas Jan Huntelaar have scored more goals than him in the qualifiers.



Tuesday, September 20, 2011

English Championship Week 7


A two horse race beckons.


Division giants Southampton and Middlesbrough both stormed to the top of the English Championship with convincing and crucial victories in round seven. While Southampton were pummelling last week's big winner Birmingham City at St. Mary's in Sunday's only game, Boro edged Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Saturday, ending the Eagles' unbeaten home record.


Brazilian Serie A Week 24


A new leader scales the summit.


As predicted, Vasco Da Gama built on their recent good form to become the latest leaders of the 2011 Brazilian Serie A. Just two defeats, that too away from home, in their last 16 league games, has seen them rise steadily, from sitting just outside the top four, to challenging for the title, to taking the lead outright. A 4-1 hammering at America at the start of September aside, their past three months have been form worthy of champions. Vasco's latest game was a summary 4-0 thrashing handed out to visiting Gremio, their eighth home win and their league leading 13th victory altogether.


Monday, September 19, 2011

2011-12 European Football Wrap - Episode V

Europe is in full swing now with the first round of matches after the group stages of the Champions and Europa League.


Weekend of September 17:

France:

Lyon, Lorient and Toulouse were the big winners in round six of the Ligue 1 season while erstwhile leaders Montpellier, defending champions Lille and favourites PSG were all held.  As a result, a new leader in Lyon sits atop the standings. Their triumph over Marseille in the late game on Sunday coming courtesy of goals by Bafetimbi Gomis and Michel Bastos. Marseille are having a terrible start to the season, and now sit bottom of the standings with just three points from their six games.




Saturday, September 17, 2011

Europhiles Notebook - Euro Qualifying Crucial Matches

With some of the groups decided and the frantic race for final spots reaching the home stretch, these are the key matches remaining in qualifying for the 2012 European Championships.


Group A - Turkey v Germany - October 7 2011

Qualification is on the line for the Turks as a win would see them out of reach for Belgium. In addition this game is all about pride with many millions of expatriate and newly arrived Turks calling Germany their home, despite holding on to their proud culture. The irony that many of Germany's clubs, as well as national senior and youth teams feature talented and pivotal young Turkish talent, is not lost on those who will be watching. Finally the game gives Turkey a massive chance to regain an measure a parity and exact revenge against the team that eliminated them in the semi-finals of both World Cup 2002 and Euro 2008.


Thursday, September 15, 2011

Big Match Weekend Week 2


The second installment of my tips for the weekend's big games. Keep abreast of the action here, only on Arjblog.

These are the most intriguing games this weekend, keep an eye on them.

Saturday Sep 17 2011:

Inter v Roma in the Italian Serie A
Essentially the top two for the last five years

Players to watch:
Dejan Stankovic - Inter
Daniele De Rossi - Roma

Pick - Inter +1

2011-12 UEFA Champions' League Matchday I Wrap


Tuesday September 13th and Wednesday September 14th:

Matchday One rarely excites and in the final analysis matters even less. Most teams are getting the rust out of their systems and have either played too few games or are still fitting in the summer recruits. Still it's the kick-off for the most televised and hardest football tournament in the World. Global Soccer's crown jewel - the UEFA Champions' League.


32 teams, eight groups, double round robin home and away, six games each.

We recap the action by breaking down the results by type, style and function.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Brazilian Serie A Week 23


Another week, another twist.


This Brazilian Serie A season refuses to lie down and go through the motions. Everytime a pattern emerges, a round of results take one look at the form book and sets fire to it. And then sprinkles the ashes across the pitch. Teams on a run promptly succumb to a complete loss of form and embark on a set of bad results, while teams struggling for any fluency suddenly upset the leagues leaders and high flyers. It's completely mental, it's all Serie A !


Week 23 of the season was typically crazy with the top four all dropping points, with three of them losing and six of the top eight in the table crashing to defeat altogether.


On Saturday, Santos continued their recent mini-revival with another win scraped over Cruzeiro at home. After Borges, who else had scored the early marker, Cruzeiro lost a man after an hour and then at the death. Santos improve to 13th with their third win in five games, during which they have gone unbeaten. Cruzeiro drop to 14th.

English Championship Week 6

Like the Premiership, The second tier of English football returned to action with a frenetic round of games this past weekend. Round six of the 2011-12 English Championship season had 11 games on Saturday and one on Sunday.


Chris Wood was the headline act in week six of the 2011-12 English Championship. His hat-trick on Sunday night helped relegated Birmingham get their season up and running with a comfortable 3-0 home win over Milwall at St. Andrews. With just four points from their first four games, Birmingham were in danger of becoming stymied in mid table but now have a second win, seven points from five games and a game in hand on all those around them. Boaz Myhill also impressed between the sticks with a clean sheet, his second such achievement in a winning cause at home this year.

2011-12 European Football Wrap - Episode IV


Episode IV of European League Football recaps a weekend that saw a pair of juggernauts keep rolling on while another pair stumbled. Elsewhere an old lady came back into the light while some usual suspects began to flex their muscles and announce themselves this season. Italy finally kicked off as well as the continent's leagues returned to action after the international break.

Weekend of Sep 10:

France:

Promoted side Ajaccio from the island of Corsica finally got their campaign to stay in the top flight off to a start with a solid win in a potential relegation six pointer at home to bottom side Valenciennes. Frederic Sammaritano scored a brace to take his tally for the season up to four while Araujo Ilan scored the third. Gael Danic scored the opener for the visiting team who remain winless, rooted to the foot of the table.

Stade Rennes and Toulouse both notched crucial 1-0 wins on the road, beating Caen and more impressively, Olympique Marseille. While Etienne Capoue's solitary strike saw off the challenge of Caen for the purples from the south, Jires Kembo-Ekoko scored the winner at Marseille, who were at full strength despite their upcoming Champions League match at Olympiakos.

Frederic Sammaritano notched a brace
Also on Saturday, title contenders Lille and Lyon both won away from home, beating St. Etienne and Dijon respectively. Lille's win was a big one with the green and white stripes displaying resiliency this season after several key departures from the roster. Old hands from last season, Eden Hazard, with a brace, and Ludovic Obraniak scored the goals, after defender David Rozenhal had give the home team the early lead with an own goal. Lyon got strikes from Maxime Gonalons and Bafetimbi Gomis sandwiching an equalizer from Benjamin Corgnet.

Friday, September 9, 2011

Big Match Weekend 1

Need to follow the big matches this weekend ?

Look no further - Arjblog will tip you off on this weekend's European League action, so you can stay ahead of the game.

These are the most intriguing games this weekend, keep an eye on them.

Friday Sep 9 2011:

Milan v Lazio at San Siro in the Italian Serie A
Defending Champions versus last year's fifth place team


Players to watch:
Zlatan Ibrahimovic - Milan
Miroslav Klose - Lazio

Pick - Milan +1

Brazilian Serie A Week 22


Rumours of Corinthians demise have been greatly exaggerated.


Gameweek 22, played out over Wednesday and Thursday this past midweek, saw another epic match  result in another huge shift in momentum. Corinthians, who have been creaking along of late without really convinving, served up a massive display of resilince as they beat Flamengo to take back the league lead.


Monday, September 5, 2011

Riverside Rising - Middlesbrough's Moment


Just over a tenth of the 2011-12 English Championship Season may have gone by, but Middlesbrough's chances of promotion are almost as good as their revival under former club stalwart Tony Mowbray has been refreshing. He played for the team for nine years starting 1982 and returned after Gordon Strachan resigned as manager last October.


With five matches of the 46 game league schedule completed, Boro sit in fifth spot with 11 points, just a couple off Brighton in the lead. Rather impressively, the squad at Riverside are yet to lose and have notched 10 goals while allowing only five. Throw in a pair of away victories in the league cup and Mowbray's side are off to an excellent start this season.


Obviously, tipping the club for promotion is rather near-sighted at this stage but the air of confidence and in game control displayed by the club bode well for the future.



Brazilian Serie A Week 21


This is the title that no one wants to win.


After Vasco and Corinthians forged ahead of the pack last week, they promptly lost this round. With Botafogo's game versus Santos postponed and Flamengo in free fall, three of the top four all lost.


Corinthians stay still on 40 points after their third loss in five games and Vasco, who had a chance to pip them, remain on 38. They drop to third place however, because Sao Paulo won and although even on points with Vasco, are ahead on goal difference.


Lower down Atletico Mineiro won for a second time in a row, to briefly escape the relegation zone, while At Go's current league best run of five consecutive wins was halted at Fluminense. As a result the top of the league remains compressed with five teams separated by four points. No one seems able to break free of the pack.

Sunday, September 4, 2011

The Youth Files - The Best of The Rest


Europe's brightest young talent, who are plying their trade outside the Big Five leagues. They may not yet be at a club in England, France, Germany, Italy or Spain, but on their current form, they soon could be. Arjblog reviews the best of the rest:


The Top XV from Elsewhere:

Xherdan Shaqiri - Basel - 19 - After shocking England with a goal in September 2010 during a Euro 2012 qualifying match; the Swiss striker, of Albanian parentage; is continuing to make a real name for himself at home. Potent and central at club, where he has racked up 65 appearances and 10 goals since 2009, while earning a call up to the Swiss World Cup side. This summer he helped the U-21s reach the European final against all conquering Spain. Fast, robust and with a real ability to invent the game, his creative genius is only overshadowed by his powerful shooting.


Yaroslav Rakitskiy - Shakhtar Donetsk - 22 - Yet another technical tyro in the stable of Ukraine's richest and currently biggest club, Rakitskiy is one of the diamonds that manager Mircea Lucescu has polished from the rough before unleashing in the first team. A strong and imperious defender, he has already graduated to becoming a first choice at the back despite his tender years, at both club and national level. 45 appearances for Donetsk have been supplemented by 11 appearances for the U-21s and three goals in 10 caps for Ukraine.



Necip Uysal - Besiktas - 20 - A creative midfielder who is one of the main technicians in the the Black Eagles' engine room, Uysal is fast emerging as the latest midfielder of top quality that the Turkish national team can call upon. Having played 38 times last season for the club in both league and Europe, he proceeded to earn four caps for the national team.  Nominally a solid deep lying player, he does have a tough streak that saw him dismissed twice in the league last year.