Filed under: bundesliga, Champions League, Confederations Cup, International, MLS, Ones To Watch, premier league, Transfer, United States, Weekend Preview, World Cup
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Filed under: Champions League | Tags: adrian mutu, Alberto Gilardino, andrey arshavin, arsenal, bayern munich, cesc fabregas, emmanuel eboue, fc porto, fiorentina, hulk, juan vargas, martin demichelis, massimo gobbi, riccardo montolivo, Stevan Jovetić, Tomas Rosicky, william gallas
March 9th, 2010
ARSENAL v. PORTO
The Gunners will need a victory and a victory only in order to ensure their progression out of the last 16. In the first leg of the tie, Arsenal gifted Porto a victory and will surely be coming out of the gates hard and fast from the opening whistle. However, without their talismanic leader in Fabregas and their defensive stalwart in Gallas, Arsenal just may be prone to mistakes.
From Russia with love.
After losing Aaron Ramsey to the leg break, we may get a chance at seeing Rosicky and Eboue could be in line for a start. Hulk will be the focus of Arsenal’s attention as the Brazilian has a knack of creating chances and causing chaos. But can he take advantage of the injury-ravaged Arsenal squad?
Arsenal 3 – 1 Porto
FIORENTINA v. BAYERN MUNICH
“This is truly the game of our lives,” said Fiorentina captain Riccardo Montolivo. After being unjustly beaten in Bayern Munich by a goal that should have disallowed for offside, Fiorentina will be itching to beat the Germans. This second leg should prove to be quite a passionate game as Montolivo also was quoted as saying, “We will bring out all the anger that we have carried since the first leg at the Allianz Arena.” Unfortunately for the Fiorentina, they will be without Adrian Mutu and Massimo Gobbi. However, Jovetic, Gilardino and the addition of Vargas should be up to the task of dismantling Bayern’s defense, which will be without Demichelis. Expect fireworks.
Fiorentina 3 – 2 Bayern Munich
Filed under: bundesliga, Champions League, International, la liga, ligue 1, premier league, serie a, Transfer | Tags: anton ferdinand, arsenal, aston villa, bolton, burnley, chelsea, david james, david nugent, dive, eduardo, emmanuel adebayor, franck ribery, gary megson, ivan klasnic, jamie carragher, johnny heitinga, liverpool, manchester city, manchester united, martin o'neill, mike ashley, newcastle, nicolas anelka, niko kranjcar, owen coyle, portsmouth, rafa benitez, real madrid, richard dunne, steve bruce, steve harper, sunderland, tottenham
DAILY MIRROR
* Daivd James fears for his World Cup place after being left stranded at crisis club Portsmouth.
* Burnley boss Owen Coyle hailed the sgining of striker David Nugent in a last-gasp loan deal from Portsmouth on deadline day.
* Gary Megson is backing Ivan Klasnic to solve Bolton’s chronic goalscoring problems after completing a loan deal for the Croatian striker.
DAILY STAR
* Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka is said to be angry and frustrated after discovering he will not be getting a new contract this season.
David James has been told to focus on Portsmouth and not showing pictures of himself to 8 year olds...no matter how much it boosts his esteem
* Arsenal are set to appeal against UEFA’s decision to hand Eduardo a two-match ban for diving.
* Martin O’Neill was forced to sweat it out as he took his Aston Villa summer spending spree past the £40m mark last night.
* Steve Bruce last night blocked a deadline bid by Spurs to sign Sunderland defender Anton Ferdinand.
* Fulham snapped up Swedish striker David Elm on a one-year deal for £1m from Kalmar FF.
* Dutch defender Johnny Heitinga became Everton’s top earner last night in a beat-the-clock move to Merseyside.
* Portsmouth lost another of their big stars yesterday with Niko Kranjcar joining Tottenham in a £2.75m move.
* FA Cup sponsors E.ON have pulled the plug on their £35m deal.
* Rafa Benitez has become the first top boss to face the wrath of the FA over their new rules for criticising referees.
* Steve Harper has told Newcastle owner Mike Ashley to pull his finger out if he wants promotion this season.
THE SUN
* David Nugent finally ended his Portsmouth hell by securing a six-month loan move to Burnley bang on deadline.
* Niko Kranjcar insists he has not joined Tottenham as a stand-in for crock Luka Modric.
* Michael Ballack says Chelsea have been boosted by Liverpool’s rocky start to the season.
* Jamie Carragher has told Liverpool’s critics not to write them off – because they are the No 1 comeback kings.
* Emmanuel Adebayor says it will be like a family at war when he lines up against Arsenal in 10 days’ time.
* Manchester United and Real Madrid target Franck Ribery has blasted Bayern Munich boss Luis van Gaal in an amazing deadline-day outburst.
DAILY MAIL
* Aston Villa were given dispensation to complete a £5million deal for Richard Dunne last night as negotiations over his departure from Manchester City rumbled on past the 5pm deadline.
* Newcastle pulled off a coup by signing Manchester United defender Craig Cathcart on a season-long loan.
* Aidy Boothroyd will return to football today as the new manager of Colchester United.
* Stoke were beaten by the clock in an ambitious bid to sign Bayern Munich right back Christian Lell.
* Claudio Ranieri, the former Chelsea manager, is the new coach of Roma after Luciano Spalletti resigned yesterday following defeats in the opening Serie A games.
Ranieri...Claudio Ranieri
DAILY EXPRESS
* Ashley Cole will complete a new £120,000-a-week, five-year deal with Chelsea when he returns from England World Cup duty.
* Birmingham have signed Sunderland midfielder Teemu Tanio on loan until the end of the season.
* Harry Redknapp’s reputation as the master wheeler-dealer took a major hit on transfer deadline day.
* The Premier League’s Big Four reined in their spending yesterday to leave Everton’s £6million deal for Holland international Johnny Heitinga the biggest transfer in a low-key deadline day.
DAILY RECORD
* Celtic boss Tony Mowbray last night admitted he was delighted to snap up Chinese international Zheng Zhi after chasing him for more than a year.
* Jerome Rothen revealed he slammed the door shut on a glamour Premier League move to sign a deal with Rangers.
* Darren O’Dea signed on at Reading and then insisted he’ll be back up the road in no time to nail down his place as a Celtic stalwart.
Filed under: Champions League | Tags: barcelona, Champions League, chelsea, didier drogba, jose bosingwa
Drogba furious with Referee Ovrebo in London
Chelsea today revealed their determination to stand toe-to-toe with UEFA over the punishments which followed their rancorous response to Champions League defeat at the hands of Barcelona.
Precisely a week after European football’s overning body confirmed the Londoners would fight the bans handed out to striker Didier Drogba and right-back Jose Bosingwa, as well as an £85,000 club fine, the Blues revealed the reasoning behind their appeal.
A statement read: “We have today lodged an appeal against the UEFA bans given to Didier Drogba and Jose Bosingwa, and the fine imposed against the club.
“We believe these punishments are unnecessarily harsh given the circumstances.
“We would reiterate that the players and the club are acutely aware of our responsibilities towards setting a good example as role models and upholding the values of the game.
“That is why honest and sincere apologies were made swiftly after these regrettable incidents occurred.”
On June 17, Drogba was given a six-match ban – the last two suspended for two years – for his foul-mouthed confrontation with referee Tom Henning Ovrebo at the end of Chelsea’s 1-1 Champions League semi-final second-leg draw with Barcelona on May 6 – a result which sent the English side out on away goals..
UEFA’s control and disciplinary body also handed a four-match ban – the last game suspended for two years – to right-back Jose Bosingwa.
The Portugal defender labelled Ovrebo a “thief” after the same game, while the club received a fine of £85,000 for the improper conduct of their players and for the throwing of missiles by their supporters.
It all followed a controversial clash in which Ovrebo turned down a number of strong penalty appeals by Chelsea, which may have proved decisive before Andres Iniesta’s injury-time decider for the Catalans.
A date for an appeal hearing has yet to be revealed by UEFA.
Analysis: When you stand in front of a live camera crew and call the referee “a f•••ing disgrace”, what’d you expect? Drogba looked like a bigger disgrace as he waddled on to the field in his flip flops, pointing finger like a grandmother at anyone not in a blue shirt screaming in broken English for a penalty after the whistle had blown. Granted, they had several good appeals dor penalties, they WEREN’T given. Nothing will change that. Ever. Look at Lampard, he played the entire game, and even though he was upset (for great reason) he handled himself like a man. He showed in the interview afterwards that he was furious, but, again, took it like a man. Again, I won’t take anything away from their penalty appeals. They could have and should have had at least two if not three.
Bosingwa labeled Ovrebo a “thief” in a television interview, and will subsequently face a possible ban as well (even though reports are that he may not even be at the Bridge next season, as he is used as weight to bring Franck RIbery in). Though both Drogba and Bosingwa retracted their statements…come on…they said it, and I’m sure the club forced them to take them back in order to avoid bans.
The 31 year old striker and 26 year old full back looked like children.
Likelihood of bans? – Almost undoubtedly they will face bans, possibly of four matches. UEFA rarely overturns such punishments.
Grow up, kids.
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