Bundesliga Review: Stuttgart, Köln, Wolfsburg and Hoffenheim battered by title contenders

Bundesliga Review: Stuttgart, Köln, Wolfsburg and Hoffenheim battered by title contenders
By Samrin Hasib, January 31 2012,

soccer news, football news, football articles, football articles

Bayern continues to lead the way on goal difference in the Bundesliga. None of the four teams which are contenders for the salad bowl dropped points this week.Schalke was on the verge of losing their connection with the top four. Lukas Podolski struck in the fourth minute and Köln took the lead into half-time. Köln actually held on till the hour mark but Schalke found a way. An unlikely source in the form of Ciprian Marica scored the equalizer. Then, Schalke started compounding misery on Köln.

Marica grabbed a second 12 minutes later. Klaas Jan Huntelaar scored from the penalty spot just six minutes after the second goal. Benjamin Höger added one more just four minutes after the third. Now, that is what you call an ‘attacking force’. While their Ruhr rivals aren’t exactly scoring for fun, they are scoring quite a few too.Dortmund has had their difficulties with Hoffenheim in the past. Last season, they picked up only a single point from two games against the Sinsheim club. On Saturday, Dortmund showed no mercy once more and banged in three past Tom Starke. However, they were also greeted with news this week that Mario Goetze will be out for at-least eight weeks.There was also good news for the BVB fans. Juergen Klopp and Michael Zorc, the duo of coach and sporting director, extended their contracts. If Klopp sees out his contract, fans will be seeing him jumping around and yelling on the Dortmund touchline for up to 2016......

Should Leverkusen stick with Robin Dutt?

Should Leverkusen stick with Robin Dutt?
By Samrin Hasib, January 31 2012,

soccer news, football news, football articles, football articles

Disappointment after disappointment; draw after draw- Leverkusen fans are perhaps slightly sickened by their beloved club’s results at the moment. Leverkusen has been associated with one simple word for many seasons in the Bundesliga- ‘talent’. In terms of sheer raw talent, very few teams can get the better of Leverkusen. Currently, the title race in Germany is as close as ever with four teams challenging for the coveted shield- Leverkusen isn’t one of them.

In the previous two seasons, Leverkusen displayed that they were ready to challenge for the title. In the 2009-2010 season, Bayer 04 was the top side for much of the season before being overtaken by Bayern and eventually finishing fourth. Last season, they challenged for the title for much of the campaign and finished second behind Dortmund.Robin Dutt’s success with Freiburg convinced many that he could lead Leverkusen to the top four this season. Every week, Leverkusen seems to fall further and further away from the title challengers. Dutt’s side drew in some games they should have ideally lost.Against Hanover, prior to the winter break, they were lucky to have gotten a point out of the fixture. Against Bremen in the weekend, the scenario was a similar one. Leverkusen was restricted to shots from distance. Their goal came when a scuffle occurred in the penalty area though.Bremen had a very good chance to win the game but failed to do so. The Leverkusen defence has looked vulnerable on more than one occasion this season. The team’s attack hasn’t turned up at times this season. In some games, Leverkusen has displayed their true potential- those games have come few and far between.....

Can Real Madrid win La Liga this season?

Can Real Madrid win La Liga this season?
By Samrin Hasib, January 31 2012,

soccer news, football news, football articles, football articles

Seven points ahead of Barcelona, Real Madrid is poised to win La Liga this season.Barca’s away-day blues is no secret- they have dropped 13 points away from home. With each point they have dropped, they have found Madrid ahead of them bit by bit. Barca has dropped points in seven matches so far this season. Real Madrid has dropped points in just three matches.

Jose Mourinho’s team has been outdoing other sides in style this season. With the exception of two blips at the beginning of the season, Madrid has won every game with the exception of the match against Barcelona. Madrid lost to Levante and drew with Real Sociedad in the other two games where they lost.Jose Mourinho is known to be a brilliant man-manager. When rumours of disagreement in the dressing room broke out, everyone was quite surprised. Mourinho however handled the situation brilliantly. Having been accused by Sergio Ramos of not knowing how to deal with matters as a player on the pitch, Mourinho decided to field a side which the players and perhaps the fans wanted against Athletic Bilbao.Having gone down a goal early on, Real Madrid came back to win 4-1. Yet, the jury was out on Mourinho. Matters would only be fixed if Mourinho managed to hurt Barcelona in the second leg of the Copa del Rey. Madrid came painfully close to a comeback against Barca. In fact, they would have won had a Ramos goal in the second half not been scandalously ruled out by the referee.....

Valencia vs Barcelona Match Preview

Valencia vs Barcelona Match Preview
By Isaac Asante, Jan 31st 2012

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The Copa del Rey semis kick off on Wednesday night for Valencia, as they welcome FC Barcelona at the Mestalla in the first leg of their fixture.Barcelona narrowly edged past Real Madrid in the quarter finals, using their 2-1 away victory to knock out their rivals 4-3 on aggregate. Conversely, Valencia enjoyed an easy qualification into the semis with a whopping 7-1 aggregate win over Levante.

Coincidentally, neither Los Che nor Los Cules were able to grab triumphs at the weekend in La Liga. Valencia shared a point away to Racing Santander following a 2-2 draw, while Barca were restricted to a goalless draw against Villarreal.Both sides sit comfortably in the Top 3 of La Liga, but their additional work in the Primera Division will have to be put on hold for the meantime. There seems to be some injury problems for Valencia coach Unai Emery, with Mehmet Topal and Ever Banega not likely to perform.Adil Rami and Miguel’s unstable form adds to the club’s worries. Barcelona will also be without Pedro and Iniesta, while Villa, Fontas and Afellay join the list of absentees.

Barcelona vs Real Madrid Report

Barcelona vs Real Madrid Report
By Angela Asante, January 25 2012,

soccer news, football news, football articles, football articles

Copa del Rey champions Real Madrid are out of the competition. They lost 4-3 to Barcelona in the quarterfinals over the two legs.A couple of glorious opportunities fell to Higuain but the Argentine failed to take them. Barcelona finally punished Pipita and team mates through late first-half goals from Pedro and Dani Alves. At the break, it seemed like Real Madrid had suddenly lost all hopes of reaching the Copa del Rey semifinals.

However, their approach in the second period showed the brave side of Los Blancos. Kaka and Higuain went off for Callejon and Benzema before Cristiano Ronaldo pulled a goal back in the 68th minute. Substitute Benzema did what Higuain couldn’t do as he leveled the match at 2-2.In the end, Real Madrid should found immense confidence and pride from this game. Kaka and Mesut Özil were influential in midfield. Cristiano Ronaldo had a great match and produced a complete performance. Chances were created but more should have been taken.In terms of controversy, Sergio Ramos' goal was strangely disallowed for an alleged foul on Dani Alves in the buildup. Real Madrid got three genuine appeals for a penalty turned down while Lassana Diarra surely should have been sent off in the first period of the game. Sergio Ramos received a controversial red card in the very last moment only to distract Real Madrid’s fight for a dramatic winner in El Clasico.What kind of show will football fans witness when Barcelona and Real Madrid will meet at the Camp Nou again in La Liga? Watch out for the next Clasico...

Copa Libertadores Report: Jan 24

Copa Libertadores Report: Jan 24
By Gregory Sica, January 25 2012,

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Arsenal de Sarandi take a giant step towards the group stage of the Copa Libertadores after thumping Sport Huancayo on Tuesday.Arsenal de Sarandi of Argentina practically assured themselves of a place in the group stage of the Copa Libertadores after crushing Sport Huancayo of Peru 3-0 in the first leg of the preliminary round of South America's biggest club competition on Tuesday.

The Argentine club proved far too strong for their opponents, after claiming a comprehensive victory at the Julio H. Grondona stadium in Avellaneda, despite playing with a man less for the last 25 minutes of the game.Meanwhile, in Tuesday's other game El Nacional of Ecuador edged closer towards the group stage of the competition, after claiming a tight 1-0 victory over Paraguay's Libertad in Quito. Despite the advantage, the tie is still up for the taking for either of the two sides.

Will Liverpool be able to banish City from the Carling Cup?

Will Liverpool be able to banish City from the Carling Cup?
By Samrin Hasib, January 25 2012,

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In the Premier League, these two teams are worlds apart; however, in the Carling Cup, it is the underdog who holds the advantage.Liverpool is a team of multiple facades. On one hand, the top sides don’t fancy facing them as Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea would testify. On the other hand, the smaller sides always fancy their chances against them as Bolton proved against them.

Liverpool can play wonderful fast-paced football as they showed last season in their thrashings of Fulham and City. Liverpool can also defend doggedly as they showed in the first leg of the Carling Cup. They kept a potent City attack out for the entire ninety minutes while bagging one at the other end themselves.Manchester City beat Tottenham Hotspur in a hotly contested match this weekend. The match was as controversial as Arsene Wenger’s decision to substitute Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain against Manchester United if not more. Joleon Lescott and Mario Balotelli should have earned reds for serious foul-play.Balotelli was given a four-match ban by the English FA and rightfully so for the mark he left on Scott Parker. He will thus be unavailable for this match. Liverpool’s Jay Spearing will most likely be unavailable due to injury.Liverpool lost to Bolton 3-1 this week. Liverpool hasn’t even reached double figures in terms of Premier League wins this season and lies seventh in the table, a full 19 points behind City. City got the better of them this season in the League. Liverpool was battered 3-0 in that game, a result that is still fresh in the minds of players......

Copa Libertadores Preview: Jan 25

Copa Libertadores Preview: Jan 25
By Gregory Sica, January 25 2012,

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Ronaldinho will aim to inspire Flamengo to victory when they travel to Bolivia to take on Real Potosi in search of passage into the group stage of the Copa Libertadores. Flamengo, Brazil's most popular club with an estimated fan base of over 36 million, will be hoping to move closer towards gaining entry into the group stage of the 2012 Copa Libertadores when they clash with Real Potosi of Bolivia on Wednesday.

The Brazilians face a tricky task, as while on paper they appear to be much stronger than the locals, what could make things all that more difficult is playing at almost 4,000 metre above sea level, a climate which Brazilian teams have struggled to deal with in the past.In Wednesday's other two Copa Libertadores first round fixtures, Union Espanola of Chile take on Tigres UANL of Mexico and Internacional of Brazil face Once Caldas of Colombia in a tie that could go either way.Former winners Inter and Once Caldas have found wide success in the competition in recent years, but unfortunately one of the two sides will have to bow out at the first hurdle.

Barcelona vs Real Madrid & 8 hot quotes that could put Messi & co on fire

Barcelona vs Real Madrid & 8 hot quotes that could put Messi & co on fire
By Angela Asante, January 25 2012,

soccer news, football news, football articles, football articles

Barcelona have a great advantage ahead of the second leg of their Copa del Rey tie with Real Madrid. They’ll have home crowd support but could these hot quotes impact their chances negatively?Three-time footballer of the year Lionel Messi is being targeted in a way or another ahead of Wednesday’s huge Clasico a the Camp Nou. What effect will these pre-match quotes have on Messi and the rest of Barcelona’s invincible squad?

1) Karim Benzema to AS
According to Benzema, the mighty Catalans of Barcelona have a weakness. What is it?“We have to be much more efficient when trying to score goals from set pieces because I think that is one of the parts of their game which is more fragile. In dog fights, they are not strong, we must seize the opportunity.”

2) Pepe via Real Madrid’s official website
When the word “if” draws angry reaction…“With regard to the play involving Leo Messi, it was an involuntary act. But even still, if Messi is offended, I apologise as I was only intending on defending my team.”How many people actually believe Pepe when he says that he didn’t stamp on Lionel Messi’s hand on purpose?

3) Jose Mourinho to the press
For Barcelona fans out there, here is what Jose Mourinho had to say:“But he [Pepe] has said it was not intentional and I believe him. If any of you think he is a liar, say it. Let's not make this a never-ending story“I didn't see you last season doubting a player who made racist remarks and said he didn't. Everyone believed it was true, even Uefa. Now Pepe says it wasn't intentional [and nobody believes him].”

4) Brazilian legend Pele to Le Monde
“When Messi has scored 1,283 goals and won three World Cups, then we will talk. People ask me all the time when there will be a new Pele. I tell them: 'Never'. My parents shut down the factory.”Someone apparently thinks that dazzling on almost every Clasico stage is of little importance…

FOX Soccer carries Everton-Fulham FA Cup match Friday

FOX Soccer carries Everton-Fulham FA Cup match Friday
By Angela Asante, January 25 2012,

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FOX Soccer carries Everton-Fulham FA Cup match Friday FOX Soccer is pleased to announce that soccer fans in the U.S are now able to view the highly anticipated match between Americans Landon Donovan, Tim Howard and Clint Dempsey, when Everton and Fulham meet Friday in FA Cup fourth-round action, live at 3 p.m. ET.

As such a crucial match for American players and fans, FOX Soccer worked with Everton and the FA this week to ensure that this match was brought to viewers live, and in high-definition.

Keeping momentum with the American storyline, FOX Soccer personalities JP Dellacamera and Eric Wynalda will serve as play-by-play and analyst, marking the first time Americans have called an FA Cup match on FOX Soccer.