Jeonbuk Motors moved top of AFC Champions League Group G with a 4-0 win away to Indonesian club Arema Malang on Wednesday.Midfielder Ji-Woong Kim put the South Korean visitors ahead 25 minutes into the match at the Kanjuruhan Stadium.China international Bowen Huang made it 2-0 on 78 minutes, before a late brace from Brazilian Luiz Henrique completed the scoring.Also in Group G, first-half goals from Assis Renato Silva and Yongpo Wang helped Chinese club Shandong Luneng beat Cerezo Osaka 2-0.Shandong finished with 10 men after Cui Peng was sent off with seven minutes remaining. Jeonbuk are top of Group G with six points, ahead of Shandong and Japanese side Cerezo, who both have three points. There was another 4-0 victory for a South Korean team, with Suwon Bluewings comprehensively beating Shanghai Shenhua of China in Group H.Forward Ha Tae-Kyun had hosts Suwon in front after just two minutes and defensive midfielder Oh Jang-Eun made it 2-0 three minutes before half-time. Ha struck twice more in the second half to claim a hat-trick and wrap up a 4-0 win for the home side at the Suwon World Cup Stadium.The win takes Suwon top of Group H with four points. Goals in the first half from Nabil Al Dawoudi and Hadef Alzaabi gave Al-Emirates of the UAE a 2-0 win over Qatari club Al Rayyan, while Al Shabab drew 0-0 with Zob-Ahan in Saudi Arabia. In Group C, Hossein Badamaki’s 65th-minute equaliser helped Perspolis of Iran secure a 1-1 draw at home to the UAE’s Al-Wahda.Ibrahim Mahazaa had put the visitors ahead on 54 minutes at the Azadi Stadium.Also in Group C, Osama Al-Mouallad’s first-half effort gave Saudi Arabian club Ittihad a 1-0 win away to Kuruvchi Tashkent.In Group B, Lee Jung-Soo put Al Sadd 1-0 in front before Temurkhuja Abdukholiqov equalised for Uzbek club Pakhtakor Tashkent.Ali Afif struck the winner for the Qatari hosts on 60 minutes. Pakhtakor ended the match a man short after Komoliddin Tadjiev saw red moments before the final whistle.
As Wayne Rooney trudged off the Green Point Stadium field on Friday night, he turned to the camera and eloquently stated, “Nice to see your own fans booing you. If that’s what loyal support is…for f**k’s sake.” With the nation unsurprisingly outraged by Rooney’s assertion, a hastily-assembled apology was swiftly issued by the Football Association on the Manchester United man’s behalf. Although for the sake of my reputation amongst friends and family I chimed in with a vicious condemnation of Mr. Rooney’s character and behaviour, I couldn’t help but agree a little with the comments of England’s number ten. Having stewed a little more upon what he said, I thought to myself, does Wayne Rooney have a point?
Yes, England’s draw against Algeria was an unwanted result. Yes, the performance was turgid and disappointing. However, the failure to break down an Algerian ranked 22 places behind England in FIFA’s world ranking was as much attributable to the North African side’s determination and organisation as it was to England’s shortcomings. But, it seems as though the level of disappointment and anger aimed at the England side is resultant from the nature of England’s support. Let me elucidate.
For better or for worse, the press and fans within this country heap an unbelievable amount of pressure upon the national team prior to and during every major international tournament. I cannot fathom why the fans and media consistently have such expectations; England have won just one major international tournament in history (and that was a 44 years ago), despite the presence of world-class players the side perennially struggle to perform as a team, and there are several other nations in the world with more distinguished international histories and the ability to perform much better than England as a team (in this writer’s opinion Spain, Brazil, Argentina, Holland, Italy and, in spite of their poor showing, France, all fit the bill here).
So before a single ball is even kicked, the 23 men selected to represent the nation are already subject to unfeasibly unrealistic hopes and expectations. Following the announcement of the draw for the World Cup group stages, one popular tabloid newspaper greeted said draw with the headline of ‘E – ngland, A – lgeria, S – lovenia, Y – anks’, simultaneously displaying extreme arrogance and further heaping pressure upon the England side.
Despite common belief, I find it unfathomable to believe that not a single one of the players selected to face USA and Algeria did not give 100%. Whilst credit must be given to the USA and Algeria, the sub-standard nature of individual players’ performances can be linked to the fear borne of such high expectations.
Thanks to the work of an aforementioned tabloid newspaper and a collective relative lack of knowledge of international football, fans expected England to ‘batter’ or ‘thrash’ the ‘vastly inferior’ USA and Algeria. As such, many of England’s players, for fear of national vilification, were unable to play with the freedom with which they do for their respective club sides. Whilst many England fans are quick to build up their players and their side, they are just as willing to knock them down and crucify them for their perceived failures.
The booing which followed the final whistle on Friday evening was indicative of this fan culture. Whilst I empathise with the fans who spent thousands of pounds in order to travel to South Africa, I cannot help but feel that the main purpose of said trip was not for personal enjoyment or entertainment, but to support their team, and to show their support through thick and thin. After the draw against Algeria, it is unlikely that fans would have harboured a level of disappointment even remotely comparable to the level within the squad itself. With the side already under pressure, I cannot help but feel that booing may have exacerbated the weight of expectation upon the already beleaguered players.
Despite the abject nature of England’s first two displays, the side remain in a good position to finish top of their group, and unlike the likes of Spain and France, do not have to rely upon other results going their way.
Unfortunately, due to my dearth of knowledge regarding fan support in other countries I cannot compare England with other nations across the world. Whilst I do understand the need of fans to express their displeasure at England’s below-par displays, I cannot help but feel the manner of support may be to the detriment of the team.
Come on England!
Follow me on twitter at www.twitter.com/zarifrasul
Click image below to see a gallery of the Italian babes at the World Cup:
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In the Premier League era, players from every corner of the globe have travelled to England to play in the greatest league in the world – from Canada to New Zealand, from Japan to Argentina, from Iceland to Oman. A lot of these international imports have been massive successes, and some of the finest players we’ve all been so fortunate to watch over the past two decades have come from far-off foreign lands.
That said, there have been many players down the years who’ve travelled to the Premier League only to almost instantly be uncovered as a Premier League misfit. This might not necessarily mean that the player in question lacks the talent for the division – though there are plenty of those in this list. Some have suffered injury problems that ruined their time in England; others were simply playing under far too large a price-tag.
Whatever the reason, though, they didn’t belong in the Premier League, and now we bring you the top 20 misfits of the Premier League era.
Click on William Prunier below to unveil the top 20 misfits
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List compiled by Rob Schatten
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The views of Lyon coach Claude Puel and Real Madrid’s Jose Mourinho differed greatly after their teams played out a 1-1 draw on Tuesday.French hosts Lyon battled hard to deny Real space in the first half of the Champions League knock-out clash at the Stade de Gerland.Former Lyon man Karim Benzema eventually opened the scoring for La Liga giants Real, before Bafetimbi Gomis equalised with seven minutes remaining.The sides will meet again at the Santiago Bernabeu on March 16 in the second leg of their round-of-16 tie, but few observers – apart from Puel – would be likely to describe the initial encounter as a classic.”We produced a great game, a real spectacle,” Puel said.”We dropped off the pace in the second half, when they played longer balls and put us under more pressure. They made the most of Karim coming on to score. After that we started to play our own game again and we finished very strongly to get the equaliser.””It’s a pity we missed opportunities, especially in the first half. Our final pass wasn’t clinical enough. We deserved more because we gave our all. The scoreline is not satisfying but the performance was good.””It’s not over yet. We know we will have opportunities in the second leg – we’ll have to convert them.”After being on the wrong end of Lyon’s disruptive pressing game, Real boss Jose Mourinho had a very different view of first-half proceedings. “We’re happy with the result but it could have been a lot better,” he said.”The first half was an extremely ugly affair – as sometimes happens in these games – but the second belonged to us. I knew it was going to be a tough, tight game with lots of pressing.” “When things began to open up a bit I threw on Karim. I’m happy he managed to score here on his return home; it’s really fantastic for him personally and it was great for us as a team.””A draw is a fair result tonight. In the first half Lyon left us little space and put us under a lot of pressure and we didn’t play well. In the second, Madrid were the better team.” “When we broke the deadlock, I thought we could get a second which would have all but taken us through – but at 1-1 the contest remains open. We have a slight advantage but Lyon are quality rivals.”
Fulham midfielder Clint Dempsey insists the club should allow manager Roy Hodgson to leave for Liverpool if they come calling for his services.
The Merseysiders parted company with Rafael Benitez and the veteran tactician is believed to be interesting the Anfield-based outfit as they seek to fill the vacant managerial hot-seat.
Hodgson helped guide the unfashionable Cottagers to the final of the Europa League last term after seeing off the challenges posed by Shakhtar Donetsk, Juventus, Wolfsburg and Hamburg.
Although they narrowly lost 2-1 to Atletico Madrid in the showpiece, Hodgson has demonstrated his ability to get the best out of his players and Dempsey feels it would be fair for him to talk to the Reds’ hierarchy if they sought him.
Speaking to reporters, the American international said:“If the coach wants to be there he will be there.
“He has to do the best for him and his family. It is not something I can worry about.
“I am with Fulham for three more years and I will do my best for them until something happens.
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“If he wants to stay, let him stay. If he wants to go, let him go.”
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Andre Villas Boas has stated that he is happy with Chelsea’s 1-1 Champions League draw away to Valencia on Wednesday night, but admitted frustration that his side were not more clinical in front of goal.
Frank Lampard, who was reinstated to the Stamford Bridge outfit’s starting XI, gave the visitors the lead early in the second half, but the Premier League team were pegged back by a late Roberto Soldado penalty.
Despite being close to getting a valuable away win, the Portuguese coach is content with the result.
“It was a strong performance from the team but we just need to find that prolific touch in front of goal and eventually, when it comes, we’ll be able to get more solid results and reach that two-goal advantage,” he told Sky Sports.
“I think it was more deserved for us to win this game. I’m happy with the display of everybody. Before the game, if you’d told us we’d draw in Valencia, maybe we would have taken it.
“But to be so near and be in that position in the game, it leaves us with a feeling that we don’t like. I think Diego had four fantastic saves in front of our players. He changed the result of the game,” he stated.
Chelsea now have back-to-back games against Genk to negotiate, and AVB is looking forward to taking on the Belgian side.
“So near to a win, it leaves you with a strange feeling but we’re in a good position still in the group.
“We’re looking forward to the Genk game – they’re going to be difficult games, of course. But if we get six points out of them, we’re almost ensured qualification,” he concluded.
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Wayne Rooney has hailed his stunning overhead winner in Manchester United’s 2-1 victory over Manchester City as the best goal of his career.
Saturday’s Manchester derby will forever be remembered for Rooney’s glorious strike, one which pushed United eight points clear of their bitter rivals and seemingly ended City’s title aspirations this season.
Rooney leapt to meet Nani’s cross 12 minutes from injury time and magically picked out the top-right corner beyond a despairing Joe Hart, prompting scenes of wild celebration at Old Trafford.
Asked after the game if the goal was the best he had ever scored, Rooney told Sky Sports: “Yeah, I think so. I saw the ball come in the box and I thought, ‘why not?’.”
“I tried to get in a good position from when Nani crossed it. Nine times out of 10 they go over the crossbar or wide. I tried it and thankfully it’s gone in the top corner.”
“You don’t have time to think about what you’re going to do. It’s the first (overhead) one since I started playing professionally so I’m delighted, especially as it has given us three points.”
United boss Sir Alex Ferguson was effusive in his praise of Rooney’s winner, declaring he had never before witnessed a goal quite like it.
“I’ve never seen anything like it, that’s for sure. It was absolutely stunning; unbelievable,” Ferguson told Sky Sports.
“The thing about that goal is that Nani’s goal (in the 41st minute) will be completely forgotten. It was an unbelievable goal but no-one in their right sense will even talk about it.”
Asked if he thought the goal would kick-start Rooney’s at-times sluggish season, Ferguson said: “I hope so. His performances away from home have not been as good as they have been at home and with the ability those two (Rooney and Nani) have, they should really dictate games away from home.”
Ferguson said his side had bounced back brilliantly from their shock loss to Wolverhampton, though he cautioned that City were not out of the title race yet.
“I thought City made the bright start, they got inside (Patrice) Evra with (David) Silva and Yaya Toure and that caused us a bit of bother,” he said.
“But from the 15th minute on I thought we played fantastic football.”
“(City) got a lucky break when (Edin) Dzeko’s shot deflected off Silva and from that moment on they gave them the impetus.”
“They are in the top four. They’ve got a big, strong squad. They will win more games than you’d think. They are still a threat.”
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City boss Roberto Mancini felt his side deserved a draw, but conceded that little could be done to stop a goal as brilliant as Rooney’s.
“When a fantastic player like Rooney scores a goal like that, you should clap,” Mancini said.
“When you score a goal like that, it is incredible. He scored a fantastic goal.”
“I feel sorry for my players because we didn’t deserve to lose this game. I’m proud of my players. We played as a team and played very well.”
“In the second half we controlled the game and United had 10 players behind the ball in midfield.”
As one of the more controversial figures in European football, Samir Nasri’s recent three-match ban issued by the French Football Federation comes as no surprise following his conduct at Euro 2012, but what it is indicative of is another ugly side to our beautiful game, and what the modern footballer has become.
We are all too aware having seen plenty of examples in recent months and years of what motivates a player of Nasri’s calibre these days. He has proven it himself, leaving Arsenal to join money-laden rivals Manchester City in the quest for personal successes last summer. Success no longer comes from loyalty, but from monetary value. With that, Nasri has now illustrated how the modern player is also now just as focused on their own image off the pitch than what they do on it.
Traditionally, scoring a goal of the magnitude Samir Nasri did against England in a Euro 2012 opener would have been met with jubilation, but instead the 25-year-old decided to use his opportunity in the spotlight to hurl abuse at French journalists who had previously questioned his professionalism. This is an all too inherent feature of the modern game, no longer is a goal a chance to celebrate with teammates and fans, but more a chance to announce yourself to millions of people tuning in.
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Then, his tirade against a French a journalist following their defeat against Spain would have been the last thing the people of France would’ve wanted to hear. Having been disappointed by their team’s performance in Poland and Ukraine, the chance was there for Samir Nasri to take responsibility and look at what they had learned from their tournament; not take the heat off his team or individual performances by putting himself in the spotlight for an expletive outburst at a journalist, thus making different headlines away from what happened on the pitch at Euro 2012.
It also raises an issue of something that is frequently bought to the table when controversies hit football nowadays, of the example players are setting to people watching on. As misdemeanours are now just as frequently broadcast as a team’s or player’s successes, the professional role model that was common in football previously has been lost to players caught up in the circus of matters off the pitch.
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The fact of the matter is; the ban will not affect Nasri as the French face missing him against Uruguay, Finland and Belarus. The deterrent of a ban makes no difference, as Nasri will probably still represent France immediately after his ban, and will most likely be included in every tournament squad for the foreseeable future. The potential that it could be followed by a fine also serves as no deterrent for misdemeanours, as the modern footballer earns such a substantial amount of money and the severity of fines is never enough to make any real impact.
The beautiful game may have lost its professionalism in recent years, and examples are now spilling into matters off the field just as much as on the field ever increasingly, and Samir Nasri is the most recent portrayal to the ugly side of footballers nowadays.
Jordan Henderson and Charlie Adam scored their first goals for Liverpool in a 3-1 win against Bolton, which see’s the Reds soar to the Premier League summit leapfrogging Chelsea in the process.
The summer signings struck either side of a Martin Skrtel goal to secure an easy home victory against the Trotters who scored in injury time through Ivan Klasnic.
Kenny Dalglish’s side dominated the match from start to finish and it was England midfielder Henderson who opened the scoring after 15 minutes with a sumptuous curling shot from 20 yards.
Jussi Jaaskelainen was by far the busier of the two keepers saving efforts from Stewart Downing, Daniel Agger and Dirk Kuyt in the first half.
Bolton had no answer to the home sides attack and two goals in as many minutes sealed the Trotters fate.
Firstly, Skrtel got on the end of Adam’s whipped corner to bury a header past Jaaskelainen in the 51st minute .
Barely 60 seconds later the Scottish midfielder went from provider to goalscorer lashing home from just outside the penalty area to make it three goals without reply to send the Kop wild.
Bolton, for all their endeavour, were always second best throughout the game and boss Owen Coyle will have to pick up the pieces of a second consecutive defeat.
Klasnic did manage to grab a consolation a minute into stoppage time finishing from close range but the day belonged to Liverpool and King Kenny who find’s himself on top of English football once again.
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I think we’ve all been there. A dubious decision from a referee that is quite obviously wrong. A decision that could, potentially, change the course of a game and, as a consequence, a season. A red card given (or, indeed, not given) to a centre back for a clear professional foul or a penalty awarded for a dive or not awarded when both the forward’s legs were taken as he was about to slot the ball home. What makes these incidents worse is that every fan in the ground can see that it’s wrong, every player on the pitch can see that it’s wrong and every one of the billions of people watching worldwide can see that it’s wrong.
Yet, the decision is made and the referee isn’t going to change his mind.
“Tell me, David,” I hear you say… “Just who could have wound you up like this?” Could it be Mark Clattenburg and his extravagant showmanship in awarding kicks? Or maybe Peter Walton, who has managed to badly officiate most of the recent visits of Liverpudlian clubs to the City of Manchester Stadium? Perhaps Howard Webb and his penalty decision at Old Trafford? Maybe even the now retired Graham Poll and his three yellow cards.
But no, it is none of these men. Indeed, anybody who regularly reads what I have to say will know that I’m a firm believer in not criticising referees. They have a difficult job, says I. They have to make spur of the moment decisions, with no help from video replays, and they’re expected to get every single one of them correct, so, with this is mind, you must be wondering who it is that has caused me such fury to the point of a near murderous rampage.
His name, dear reader, is Derek Milborrow.
And the man is a complete anus of the highest order.
(Incidentally, if you have no idea who Derek Milborrow is, you’re probably better off stopping reading here. If you do know who he is, then you, like me, have played Fifa 11 at some point this year and have been screwed over by one, some, more or all of his decisions. Some people get on with the game, others get annoyed and turn off the console. I, on the other hand, write 932 words complaining about him on a football website. Some people say I need to sort my priorities out.)
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This man was single-handedly responsible for Manchester City not winning the FA Cup at the end of the 2012/13 season. Not content with awarding free kicks for running, tackling fairly, passing, shooting, winning corners, breathing and purely existing, he took it upon himself to book any Manchester City player that was responsible for any slight indiscretion.
Liverpool probably couldn’t believe their luck.
It started brightly, with a goal through Carlos Tevez on just 2 minutes, but it quickly went downhill faster than a bathtub in Holmfirth. Fernando Torres, tripped by Dirk Kuyt in the area, won a penalty, with the City players clueless, given that there wasn’t a single one of them near the incident. A header from a corner by Vincent Kompany was then not given as a goal, despite the ball travelling a good yard over the line, before Gareth Barry was sent off for being fouled by Joe Cole. James Milner then slotted home, but was ruled offside, despite the pass to him being a backward one, before Liverpool won the day as Milan Jovanović hacked down Kolo Touré, missing the ball entirely, before thumping it past Joe Hart.
While Andy Gray, the man who loves to disagree with refereeing decisions on Sky Sports, infuriated me further by stating, without hesitation and with complete conviction, that the referee had no option. I normally don’t mind Andy Gray and generally agree with him, but this almost had me ready to smash the mug on by bedside cabinet.
More irritating, though, wasn’t his frequent awards of free kicks for winning battles of strength (while not awarding them the other way in the very same situation), nor his inability to play an advantage in a good position (unless it’s for the opposition), but rather his smug, arrogant, self-righteous posture as he thrust his arm in the air to indicate the direction of the foul, with a speed that would be worthy of the Third Reich.
And his whistle! The maddening three short peeps he gives when pulling back the play. From a stumble in a challenge: Peep! Peep! Peep! From any shoulder-to-shoulder: Peep! Peep! Peep! For a fair sliding tackle: Peep! Peep! Peep! For nearly everything that happens in the entire match: Peep! Peep! Peep!
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It reached the point in that FA Cup final that, with around 67 minutes played, I screamed at the television: “If you blow that f****** thing one more time, I’m going to shove it up your a***!” And this was at 2.30am, so, if they heard, God only knows what the neighbours thought was going on.
Anybody who has had a game officiated by this man will understand my pain. Fifa 11 is home to some strict and to some lenient referees, but there is only one who is both strict and completely incompetent, bordering on useless. I’m pretty sure a rubber plant could do a better job than Milborrow. At least it wouldn’t be capable of rational or irrational thought and, as such, couldn’t just make up some new rules to play by.
“1-0 to the referee!” as a chant is a must for next year’s game.
Especially if this lunatic returns.
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