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.

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.

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.

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.