Is Manchester City’s title bid about to face a winter of discontent?

Is Manchester City’s title bid about to face a winter of discontent?
By Stewart Flaherty, December 24 2011,

soccer news, football news, football articles, football articles

Manchester City have been in phenomenal domestic form so far this season. The blue half of Manchester sit top of the table, and made a statement by beating rivals Manchester United 6-1 at Old Trafford.It is now impossible to argue that City are anything other than a legitimate title contender.A game on a cold, winter night against a big, physical team was one many critics believed that City’s “pampered, foreign millionaires” would struggle to cope with.

However, that theory took a hit last Wednesday when Stoke City came to the Etihad Stadium on…..a cold, winter night. The Stoke team that has been engineered by Tony Pulis is designed to make things physically difficult for opponents, and ask questions of opposing defenses at set pieces.Rather than becoming flustered by Stoke, City simply dominated the game from the outset. Sergio Aguero and Adam Johnson gave City a 2-0 half-time lead, while a second Aguero strike after the interval rounded out a comfortable 3-0 win that means City will celebrate Christmas day on top of the Premier League.For the last two seasons, Chelsea (2009/2010) and Manchester United (2010/2011) have been in first place on Christmas day, and both have went on to win the Premier League title.While recent history serves as a cause for optimism, their own history serves as a warning for City that there is a long way to go in the title race. This year is the first time City have sat top of the English league standings since 1929. That year, they finished 12 points behind eventual champions Sheffield Wednesday.

Chile vs Paraguay News

Chile vs Paraguay News
By Gregory Sica, December 22 2011,

soccer news, football news, football articles, football articles

Luis Pinto converted a superb hat-trick to give Chile a dramatic win over Paraguay in La Serena on Wednesday.

Chile obtained an important 3-2 victory over Paraguay thanks to a superb hat-trick from striker Luis Pinto. The friendly match took place in the Northern Chilean city of La Serena on Wednesday.Claudio Borghi, the Argentine coach of Chile, fielded a side made up of home-based players, while on the other hand Francisco Arce, the coach of Paraguay, selected a relatively experienced side.

The standout performer of the match was Pinto. The talented O'Higgins striker opened the scoring for Chile in the 19th minute, while adding two more goals to his personal account in the second half. Meanwhile, Paraguay's two goals came in the space of four minutes early in the second half, through Edgar Benitez and Julio Cesar Manzur.Chile went into the break with a slight advantage with Pinto's goal, but four minutes into the restart their luck changed somewhat when Michael Contreras pulled the shirt of Edgar Benitez when inside of the area, giving Bolivian referee Raul Orosco no choice but to send him off and award Paraguay a penalty. Benitez made no mistake from the spot to draw the visitors level.Four minutes later Julio Cesar Manzur took advantage of a horrible lapse of concentration from the Chile defense, to head home Paraguay's second goal.But the game turned on its head once more, as in the 62nd minute Pinto converted another penalty kick to equalise for Chile, and he completed his hat-trick twelve minutes later with a fine header to give Chile a remarkable victory.Five minutes from full-time Paraguay were also down to ten-men with Fidencio Oviedo receiving his marching orders for bringing down Leonardo Monje with a dangerous tackle.Chile's next friendly match will be against Ghana in New York on February 29.

Burkina Faso's Herve Zengue is left out of CAN squad

Burkina Faso's Herve Zengue is left out of CAN squad
Friday, 23 December 2011

Herve Zengue, controversial player, whose eligibility, questioned by Namibia, is left out of, Burkina Faso's squad, for the ,Africa Cu,p of Nations,

Zengue played in two qualifying matches against Namibia, who claim he is not eligible to represent the country.They are taking the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in a bid to replace the Burkinabe in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.The case is set to be heard next month, before the start of the finals.Burkina coach Paolo Duarte has named an initial 25-man squad for the tournament, despite the doubts which remain over their eventual participation.

Two players will drop out before the team head to Malabo in Equatorial Guinea, where they are due to play Ivory Coast, Sudan and Angola.A number of previously important players have been ditched from the squad, including Wilfried Sanou and Madi Panandetiguiri, who has been a key player on the right hand side for the national team for many years.Coach Duarte has a policy of not using players who are not getting regular games for their clubs.Despite that he has included young Bertrand Traore, who is on the books of Chelsea's youth academy - although whether he makes the final cut remains to be seen.

Sudan eye Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final place

Sudan eye Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final place
Saturday, 24 December 2011

Sudan coach, Mohamed Abdallah, believes, his side, can upset, the odds, and reach the 2012, Africa Cup, of Nations, quarter-finals,

Sudan have not won a game at their last three Nations Cups - with their last win coming in the 1970 final itself."It's a tough group and I know we are the fourth-ranked team in it," Abdallah said of a Group B also containing Ivory Coast, Angola and Burkina Faso."But football is an open game and with willpower and confidence we can do it."He added: "Anything can happen in this competition, as we have seen by the failures of big countries like Egypt, Cameroon and Nigeria to qualify."Abdallah, who is commonly known as 'Mazda' in his homeland, guided Sudan to their first Nations Cup in 32 years when helping the team qualify for the 2008 finals.

However, their experience in Ghana was one to forget as they failed to score while conceding nine goals in three heavy defeats.Nonetheless, Abdallah believes the experience gained there will be crucial to the team's Group B fortunes in the Equatorial Guinea capital Malabo next month."From 1976 we didn't participate until 2008 and then we missed the last tournament in Angola - but now we are back," he told BBC Sport.Sudan coach Mohamed Abdallah Coach Mohamed Abdallah is buoyed by the 2012 Nations Cup shocks so far"Our aim is a better performance than last time and to go to the next stage."One of my key aims is to bring some players from my team to play professionally outside."As in 2008, Sudan are set to be the only side at the finals in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon to field a squad entirely composed of locally-based players....

Liverpool's Kenny Dalglish defends team over Luis Suarez support

Liverpool's Kenny Dalglish defends team over Luis Suarez support
Friday, 23 December 2011

Liverpool manager, Kenny Dalglish, defends his players, were criticised, public backing,Luis Suarez,

Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish has defended his players after they were criticised for their public backing of Luis Suarez.The team issued a statement and wore T-shirts in support of the striker after he was found guilty of racially abusing Manchester United's Patrice Evra.

The move drew criticism from a number of black footballers, including Paul McGrath and Jason Roberts.But Dalglish insisted: "I don't think the players have caused any trouble."If I was in Glen Johnson's situation, I'd have thrown the shirt to the floor Suarez was given an eight-match ban and fined £40,000 by the Football Association after being found guilty of using insulting words to Evra during a game at Anfield on 15 October.Suarez's comments included a reference to the defender's colour.Liverpool insist their player is not a racist and have repeatedly declared their support for the 24-year-old."I think that is the least he deserves," added Dalglish, who said Suarez had been "quite emotional and very grateful" for the support he had received.The Liverpool players reinforced their backing for Suarez by issuing a strongly worded statement on Tuesday condemning the FA for its actions.....