Soccer Media

Champions League Facts and figures
All the important facts and figures ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League matches.

GROUP A

Qualifying chances: Chelsea would qualify with two games to spare if they beat Roma and Bordeaux lose to Cluj.

October 22 2008, Bordeaux CFR Cluj

- Cluj are looking for their first home victory in European competition. They have only played twice before - the first a 3-1 defeat against Anorthosis Famagusta in last season’s Champions League qualifiers and the second a 0-0 draw with Chelsea this season.

- Cluj have failed to score in three of their five European matches to date and have scored only three goals in total.

- Bordeaux have failed to score in six of their last eight Champions League away games.

- Bordeaux have won three of their last five Champions League matches following a run in which they won none in the previous 12. A defeat would be their 50th in European competition in their 160th match.
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Diego Maradona, expected to be confirmed as Argentina’s new coach on Tuesday, has likened his future team to a grimy Rolls Royce.

Maradona also said Sergio Batista and Jose Luis Brown, two of his team mates in the 1986 World Cup-winning side, had agreed to join former coach Carlos Bilardo on his backroom staff.

Argentina boast one of the best squads in world football, led by Lionel Messi and Juan Roman Riquelme. But they have failed to perform this year, winning only one of their last eight games.

The impending appointment of Maradona, one of the game’s greatest players but also one of its most troubled, is an attempt to galvanise the team.

“The Argentine national side is like a Rolls Royce covered in dirt, it needs to be cleaned,” the 48-year-old told reporters after a meeting at the Football Association’s training camp outside Buenos Aires.

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Ronaldo voted FIFPro World Player of the Year

Cristiano Ronaldo’s sparkling contribution to Manchester United FC’s double conquest of English and European football has been recognised by his peers, with the winger being named FIFPro World Player of the Year for the 2007/08 season.

Honour
Ronaldo received his award in Manchester today after winning the vote carried out by the Fédération Internationale des Footballeurs Professionels (FIFPro). The Portuguese international’s exploits – including scoring 31 goals in 34 Premier League games for the champions and helping United to the UEFA Champions League title – were overwhelmingly endorsed in a poll of some 57,500 FIFPro members around the world.
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Emmanuel Adebayor Scores two goals against Ajax

Premier League - Round-up: Gunners start with a bang
Arsenal started the annual Amsterdam tournament with a bang after beating hosts Ajax 3-2 thanks to a brace from Emmanuel Adebayor.
The Gunners came from two goals behind, as spectacular strikes from Luis Suarez and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar put the Dutch side 2-0 up at the break.

After an even opening half hour, the first goal was scored on 34 minutes when Kolo Toure - returning from a bout of malaria - headed the ball into the path of Uruguayan Suarez, who sent a sweet, first-time volley past Manuel Almunia.

It was a goal reminiscent of those scored by new Ajax boss Marco van Basten in his playing days, in what was his first home match in charge.

Huntelaar - who has been linked with Arsenal - doubled the lead 90 seconds later with a first-time half-volley from the edge of the box, but Arsenal were more aggressive in the second half and deserved the win.

After 20 minutes of pressure, the Gunners pulled one back when Adebayor powerfully headed in a superb cross from Emmanuel Eboue.

Niklas Bendtner equalised with a simple finish from the edge of the box, while Adebayor sealed the win with seven minutes remaining after good work from Denilson.

Liverpool, meanwhile, needed a late goal by Andriy Voronin to give them a 1-0 win over Serie A side Lazio.

He finished from Jay Spearing’s pass as the game headed for a draw.

Middlesbrough hammered Dutch side Sparta Rotterdam 6-1 in their friendly match in the Netherlands.
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Beijing 2008 - Italy, Brazil, Argentina all win!!!
World champions Italy, Brazil and Argentina all got their men’s Olympic football campaigns off to winning starts in Beijing.
Group A

Argentina were grateful that Barcelona allowed Lionel Messi to stay in Beijing despite winning their appeal to recall him as the diminutive winger scored the first and set up another to secure a 2-1 win over Ivory Coast.

There were shades of offside for the opener as Messi latched onto Juan Roman Riquelme’s superb through ball to slot past goalkeeper Vincent Angban.

Sekou Cisse equalised early in the second half after rising above Pablo Zabaleta to head home, but late on the Argentine quality shone through as Riquelme and Messi combined again, this time to set substitute Laurato Acosta up with a simple tap in.

In the other Group A match, Australia and Serbia fought to a 1-1 draw, with Ruben Zadkovich’s second-half strike for the Socceroos cancelled out 10 minutes later by Ljubisa Rajkovic.
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Lionel Andrés Messi,Date of birth June 24, 1987 , (age 21) Place of birth Rosario, Argentina

Messi, heading to Peking

The striker will leave this Thursday evening for China from France. Before he will have travelled from Rome to Barcelona and then on to Paris.

As expected, after the resolution of the sole judge of FIFA’s Player Statute, Leo Messi left Rome airport this Thursday morning for Barcelona, where he will arrive in the early afternoon. A few hours later Messi will travel to Paris, from where he will take a flight this evening for Shanghai, to meet up with the Argentine Olympic team to play in the Peking Olympics.

Messi will go to China with Pepe Costa, member of FC Barcelona’s technical team, and will accompany him throughout his stay in Peking.

We would remind you that the club has sent an appeal to TAS to enable the Argentine to play the Champion’s League preliminary.

A joint FIFA-UEFA delegation, led by FIFA and UEFA vice-president and chairman of the FIFA Associations Committee Geoff Thompson, met today at the Home of FIFA in Zurich with representatives of the Cyprus Turkish Football Association (CTFA), headed by president Omer Adal.

The meeting is part of a process started by FIFA and UEFA in September 2007 with a view of improving the relations within the football communities in the island of Cyprus. Meetings which also included representatives of the Cyprus FA were held in September and October of 2007, and talks have continued since then.

During the meeting today, a proposal was presented by FIFA and UEFA to the CTFA delegation, which will be further discussed in the upcoming weeks.
[via fifa.com]

European soccer’s governing body Uefa is considering changing the name of its second tier Uefa Cup competition to the Uefa Europa League.

The planned rebranding was revealed by Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, the acting chairman of the new European Clubs Association, whose organisation was presented with the proposal last Monday.

“The hope is that a refreshment of the name and brand can help achieve better results than we’ve seen in the Uefa Cup in the past,” Rummenigge later told a media conference at Uefa’s Swiss headquarters.

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