tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65950646991103932022024-03-13T21:56:55.307-07:00FootBall Sportyour FootBall PortalSamsidar Widiarsohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15363941987561866570noreply@blogger.comBlogger172125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6595064699110393202.post-44924379813096708292012-09-27T21:47:00.002-07:002012-09-27T21:47:59.670-07:00United's best is yet to come <br />
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If Manchester United FC have been winning games without being at their fluent best this season, Simon Hart wonders what will happen when they actually hit top form.</div>
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"Nothing is easy for the Reds these days." At 99.9% of football clubs, a six-match winning streak would be a cause for celebration but this line, in the Manchester Evening News' report on their 2-1 win against Newcastle United FC in the English League Cup on Wednesday night, underlines that Manchester United FC are no ordinary club. Winning alone is not enough, it seems, for a club who have become what the Americans would call the "winningest" in English football under Sir Alex Ferguson.</div>
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Five of United's six victories have been narrow ones. There was the feeling among reporters in the mixed zone after last week's opening Group H success over Galatasaray AŞ, that their performance had echoes of last season's disappointing European efforts, lacking the swagger and authority so often seen from Sir Alex's teams in the past.</div>
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Four days later, the manager himself had to concede that his side were "poor" in their 2-1 win at rivals Liverpool FC, who, even with ten men, were extremely unfortunate to lose to Robin van Persie's late penalty.</div>
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One oft-heard argument is that United lack the driving presence in midfield of a player like Roy Keane, the man whose performance in the 1999 UEFA Champions League semi-final triumph at Juventus – despite knowing a booking had just cost him a final appearance – was described by his manager as "the most emphatic display of selflessness I have seen on a football field".</div>
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Replacing somebody like Keane is not easy and ditto Paul Scholes – so irreplaceable, in fact, that he came out of retirement in January to resume his United career.</div>
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Darren Fletcher has made a welcome return for United</div>
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<span style="line-height: 18px;">Yet looking at United's midfield, there were positive signs against Newcastle with the promising Tom Cleverley scoring his first United goal and Darren Fletcher starting (and completing) his first match since taking a break from football last November because of a career-threatening illness.</span><div style="border: 0px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">
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That was good news for Sir Alex, and Wayne Rooney's return from injury was another boost for the Scot. The United manager asserted in Wednesday night's programme notes that with Rooney, Van Persie, Javier Hernández and Danny Welbeck, he now has an attacking quartet "as good as, if not better, than anything in the country".</div>
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Yes, United may not be at their best yet and the loss of Nemanja Vidić for two months is a worry they could do without, but these are problems 99.9% of managers would love to have. If United can win matches at a moment when "nothing is easy", their rivals should fear the prospect of them really finding their stride.</div>
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Samsidar Widiarsohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15363941987561866570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6595064699110393202.post-22161923646606605362012-09-27T21:46:00.000-07:002012-09-27T21:46:01.134-07:00Benfica bid to end Spanish hoodoo <br />
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SL Benfica have not won at home to Spanish opposition since 1982 and changing that statistic against Group G rivals FC Barcelona may prove easier said than done.</div>
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SL Benfica will seek a first victory against Spanish opposition in 30 years when they host Group G rivals FC Barcelona, who have a superb recent away UEFA Champions League record. The Spanish side had to work hard for a 3-2 home win against FC Spartak Moskva on matchday one, when Benfica drew 0-0 at Celtic FC.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">Past meetings</strong><br />• Whenever these two clubs have met the winners have gone on to lift the European Cup, starting with Bela Guttmann's Benfica in the 1961 final in Berne. Although Sándor Kocsis (21) put the Blaugrana ahead, Benfica hit back through José Águas (31), an Antoni Ramallets own goal (32) and Mário Coluna (55) proving enough despite Zoltán Czibor's strike (75).</div>
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• Barcelona secured their place in the 1992 final with a 2-1 win against Sven-Göran Eriksson's Benfica in the concluding round of matches in the fledgling group stage on 14 April 1992. Hristo Stoichkov (12) and José María Bakero (23) scored for Johan Cruyff's side with Brito (27) replying. The clubs had drawn 0-0 in Lisbon on 11 December 1991. Benfica finished third in the group while Barcelona went on to win their first European Cup at UC Sampdoria's expense.</div>
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• Barcelona's second European Cup triumph followed a quarter-final defeat of a Benfica side coached by Ronald Koeman in 2005/06. Again the sides drew 0-0 in Lisbon before Ronaldinho (19) and Samuel Eto'o (89) earned Frank Rijkaard's men a semi-final berth.</div>
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• The teams for that Lisbon encounter on 28 March 2006 were:<br /><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">Benfica</strong>: Moretto, Ricardo Rocha, Luisão, Anderson, Léo, Beto, Manuel Fernandes, Petit, Simão, Geovanni (Karagounis 68), Robert (Miccoli 46).<br /><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">Barcelona</strong>: Valdés, Belletti, Motta, Oleguer, Van Bronckhorst, Van Bommel, Deco (Gabri 76), Iniesta, Larsson (Giuly 76), Eto'o, Ronaldinho.</div>
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• Carles Puyol, suspended for the Lisbon meeting, played in the second leg.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">Match background</strong><br />• Benfica have won none of their last 12 encounters with Spanish clubs, including home and away losses to Getafe CF when they last faced Liga opposition in the 2007/08 UEFA Cup round of 16. Not since the 1982/83 UEFA Cup first round have Benfica beaten a Spanish team. The club's assistant coach Minervino Pietra was in the side that recorded 2-1 home and away wins against Real Betis Balompié.</div>
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• During the four-year reign of Tito Vilanova's predecessor, Josep Guardiola, Barcelona lost three of 24 UEFA Champions League away fixtures, winning 11 and drawing ten.</div>
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• On Barcelona's last trip to Lisbon Gerard Piqué and Lionel Messi were among the scorers in a 5-2 victory at Sporting Clube de Portugal in the 2008/09 group stage. Their record in Portugal is W3 D3 L4, with their last defeat coming at CF Os Belenenses in the 1987/88 UEFA Cup first round. They still progressed 2-1 on aggregate.</div>
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• Barcelona's latest meeting with Portuguese opposition brought a 2-0 victory over FC Porto in the 2011 UEFA Super Cup, Messi (39) and Cesc Fàbregas (88) scoring.</div>
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• Victorious against Barcelona in the 1961 European Cup final, Benfica retained the trophy in 1962 with a 5-3 final triumph over Real Madrid CF.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">Team ties</strong><br />• Nolito made 73 league appearances for Barcelona's B team but only featured twice in the Liga for the senior side.</div>
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• Ezequiel Garay had spells with Real Racing Club and Real Madrid, playing in the Merengues' 2011 Copa del Rey final triumph over Barcelona.</div>
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• Rodrigo is a product of Madrid's youth academy and made 18 appearances for Real Madrid Castilla.</div>
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• Pablo Aimar spent eight seasons in Spain, six with Valencia CF, where he played with David Villa, and two with Real Zaragoza. He scored 32 goals in 215 Liga appearances – two in 11 against Barcelona.</div>
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• Eduardo Salvio lost twice against Barcelona with Club Atlético de Madrid last term, including a 5-0 defeat at the Camp Nou.</div>
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• Former RC Recreativo de Huelva and Granada CF player Carlos Martins scored in Portugal's 4-0 friendly win against Spain in November 2011.</div>
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• Óscar Cardozo missed a penalty when Paraguay lost to Spain in the 2010 FIFA World Cup quarter-finals, succumbing to a late Villa goal.</div>
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Samsidar Widiarsohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15363941987561866570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6595064699110393202.post-4137619004329353042012-09-27T21:44:00.003-07:002012-09-27T21:44:45.584-07:00Bayern tread new ground with BATE test <br />
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FC Bayern München meet a team from Belarus for the first time in the UEFA Champions League and FC BATE Borisov can be encouraged by the German side's recent away results.</div>
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FC BATE Borisov and FC Bayern München meet for the first time in a competitive fixture with each side having begun Group F in positive fashion.</div>
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• While Bayern's 2-1 home defeat of Valencia CF raised few eyebrows, BATE caught the eye with a 3-1 victory at LOSC Lille, their first win in the UEFA Champions League group stage at the 13th attempt.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">Match background</strong><br />• This is the first time the German giants have faced opponents from Belarus, while BATE faced Bayern's city rivals TSV 1860 München in the 2002 UEFA Intertoto Cup second round. BATE won 1-0 away – Artem Kontsevoi scoring in the 74th minute having missed a penalty in the first half – and 4-0 at home.</div>
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• BATE won a sixth straight Belarusian title in 2011 to earn themselves a chance of claiming a UEFA Champions League group stage place for a third time. They overcame FK Vardar 2-1 at home and on aggregate in the second qualifying round, and in the next stage needed an own goal for a 1-1 draw with Debreceni VSC in Belarus before a 2-0 away success.</div>
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• A 2-0 home win against Hapoel Kiryat Shmona FC put BATE in control of their play-off tie, a 1-1 draw in Israel taking Viktor Goncharenko's side through 3-1 on aggregate.</div>
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• Remaining unbeaten at home in qualifying maintained a trend for BATE who had done the same in the preliminaries for the 2011/12 UEFA Champions League, recording two wins and a draw, and again in 2008/09 when they had a win and two draws.</div>
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• From the group stage of those two campaigns and their UEFA Europa League participations in both 2010/11 and 2009/10, BATE's home record is W3 D2 L7.</div>
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• At home in last season's group stage BATE lost 5-0 against FC Barcelona and 1-0 against FC Viktoria Plzeň. They drew their other home game 1-1 against AC Milan and finished fourth in Group H.</div>
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• Bayern are hoping to go one step further than last season when they reached the final at their own Fußball Arena München, only to lose on penalties to Chelsea FC. Away from home in the group stage they beat Villarreal CF 2-0, drew 1-1 at SSC Napoli and lost 2-0 at Manchester City FC. On their travels in the knockout rounds they lost 1-0 at FC Basel 1893, beat 2-0 Olympique de Marseille and lost 2-1 at Real Madrid CF.</div>
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• Bayern, European champions on four occasions, have lost three of their last four UEFA Champions League away games, winning one of their last five.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">Team ties</strong><br />• Aleksandr Hleb faced Philipp Lahm and Bastian Schweinsteiger when Belarus and Germany played out a 2-2 friendly draw in Kaiserslautern on 27 May 2008. In the 73rd minute Belarus introduced Aleksandr Pavlov who provided the assist for Vitali Bulyga's equaliser two minutes from time.</div>
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• Hleb had two separate spells with VfB Stuttgart, from 2000 to 2005, and then from 2009 until 2010 and in each case he was a team-mate of Mario Gomez. He also played with Lahm, who had a two-year loan spell with Stuttgart from September 2003. Hleb played alongside Mario Mandžukić at VfL Wolfsburg in 2010/11.</div>
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• Mandžukić came up against Aleksandr Yurevich, Hleb, Vitali Rodionov and Maksim Bordachev when Croatia faced Belarus in 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying. Mandžukić's Croatia triumphed 3-1 away and then 1-0 at home.</div>
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• Rodionov played for SC Freiburg in Germany's second division between January and June 2009.</div>
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• Anatoliy Tymoshchuk came up against Yegor Filipenko, Hleb, Pavlov and Yurevich when Ukraine met Belarus in the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign. Ukraine won 1-0 at home with the game in Minsk ending goalless.</div>
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• Franck Ribéry's France drew 1-1 against Bordachev's Belarus in a UEFA EURO 2012 qualifier in Minsk on 3 June 2011. Ribéry scored in Les Bleus' 3-1 victory against a Belarus side featuring Bordachev, Rodionov, Artem Radkov, Renan Bressan and Denis Polyakov in a FIFA World Cup qualifier on 11 September 2012 in Paris, Aleksandr Gutor an unused substitute.</div>
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Samsidar Widiarsohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15363941987561866570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6595064699110393202.post-63543285248321819322012-09-27T01:01:00.002-07:002012-09-27T01:01:26.403-07:00Russia's trains, planes and automobiles <br />
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Improved transport and a dearth of eastern promise have made travelling around Russia easier for intrepid reporter Richard van Poortvliet – at the expense of his sense of adventure.</div>
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You only get a feeling of how big Russia is once you are here. A 'local' derby between teams may still involve a 200km journey for away fans and when FC Luch-Energia Vladivostok were in the Premier-Liga it took a flight of eight and a half hours to reach there from Moscow. Or seven days on the Trans-Siberian Railway.</div>
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Zenit fans are becoming a familiar sight in the UEFA Champions League</div>
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<span style="line-height: 18px;">From a selfish perspective, it certainly helps that Russia's representatives in this season's UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League all play their home games in the western cities of Moscow, St Petersburg and Kazan. A four-hour train journey between my base in the capital and Russia's second city, St Petersburg, makes a nice change but there is still potential for drama – past experiences attest to that.</span><div style="border: 0px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">
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Two years ago I was assigned to cover FC Rubin Kazan's UEFA Champions League home meeting with FC Barcelona and, unusually, I travelled the day before the match rather than on the day of the game itself – it is a good job I did. My flight was delayed due to fog in Kazan and though we eventually took off in hope, the mists had not lifted when we arrived. The plane, running low on fuel, was forced to land in Kirov, still 300km from my destination.</div>
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The only option was to complete the journey by taxi, a six-hour journey that gracefully only came to €150. I arrived at my hotel a stone's throw away from the Centralniy Stadion at 03.00 refreshed by an incredibly interesting experience I will never forget. That evening Rubin provided one for their supporters, earning a 1-1 draw with Barça to add to their 2-1 triumph at the Camp Nou 12 months earlier.</div>
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Such situations are a rarity, as transportation links improve ahead of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. I have mixed emotions. Touring can be a bit of a nightmare at times, but the pluses significantly outweigh the minuses. Travelling around the country and meeting fans and club officials has been wonderful and the vast majority are extremely warm in both their hospitality and generosity. I will miss it.</div>
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Samsidar Widiarsohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15363941987561866570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6595064699110393202.post-2850455863853162752012-09-27T01:00:00.005-07:002012-09-27T01:00:32.608-07:00De Jong: Ajax have nothing to lose <br />
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Speaking to Champions Matchday, the official UEFA Champions League magazine, new AFC Ajax captain Siem de Jong says all the pressure is on their Group D opponents.</div>
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As the UEFA Champions League draw was made, new AFC Ajax captain Siem de Jong and his team-mates could only laugh as they were drawn with Real Madrid CF, Manchester City FC and the side that beat them 1-0 in their opener, Borussia Dortmund. This is not to say Ajax do not fancy their chances. De Jong, 23, is convinced the four-time European Cup winners' possession football can be effective against the champions of England, Spain and Germany.<br /> <br /><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">How does it feel to be Ajax captain?</strong></div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">Siem de Jong:</strong> It is a great honour. This is my sixth season here; I've seen many players come and go. Jan [Vertonghen] has left, Theo Janssen is gone and I was next in line. I won't suddenly change now I'm captain. I'll just help the team as much as I can. I'd do the same without the armband.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">What is a realistic objective for Ajax?</strong></div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">De Jong:</strong> We hope to go as far as possible, but it would be very nice to finish third [in Group D]. We'll certainly play to win. We have nothing to lose, so we can play with freedom.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">Does the UEFA Champions League pose particular challenges for players?</strong></div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">De Jong:</strong> Mistakes can be fatal. We have a young group of players, and we have to try to play our own football. If we play our own possession game, we can make it difficult for our opponents.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">Which midfielder are you particularly looking forward to doing battle with?</strong></div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">De Jong:</strong> We've played against Real Madrid in the last two seasons and haven't beaten them once. So it would be nice to play against someone like Xabi Alonso, and to go on and win that game.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">What did you learn from those matches?</strong></div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">De Jong:</strong> We have to be careful we don't find ourselves thinking it's all going well and suddenly the ball's in the net at our end. We have to stay sharp, because every mistake leads to an immediate counterattack.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">Ajax have a glorious history in Europe. Is that an inspiration or a burden?</strong></div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">De Jong:</strong> It's a motivation to succeed. People always expect a lot from Ajax and we will do our best to fulfil those expectations.</div>
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<em style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">To learn De Jong's views on his position, weaknesses and idols read the rest of the interview in Champions Matchday magazine, available now on newsstands across Europe and in a digital version. You can follow the magazine on Twitter@ChampionsMag.</em></div>
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Samsidar Widiarsohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15363941987561866570noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6595064699110393202.post-72373707507375411462012-09-27T00:59:00.003-07:002012-09-27T00:59:24.928-07:00Ajax hope for change of luck against Madrid <br />
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Real Madrid CF's visits brought UEFA Champions League elimination for AFC Ajax in each of the past two seasons but Frank de Boer's men will hope for better this time.</div>
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AFC Ajax will be hoping for a case of third time lucky when Group D rivals Real Madrid CF come to the Amsterdam ArenA for an encounter between two clubs with 13 European Cups between them.</div>
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• In each of the last two seasons nine-time winners Madrid have beaten the Dutch title holders home and away in the UEFA Champions League group stage – with an aggregate score of 12-0 – to consign them to third place and an early exit.</div>
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• Madrid began the group stage in familiar fashion with a 3-2 home defeat of Manchester City FC, scoring twice in the last three minutes, while Ajax succumbed to an 87th-minute goal to go down 1-0 at Borussia Dortmund.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">Past meetings</strong><br />• Ajax's hopes of progress to the 2011/12 round of 16 were ended in a 3-0 home defeat by Madrid on 7 December, José Callejón (14, 90) and Gonzalo Higuaín (41) scoring. Frank de Boer's men had needed only a draw to advance but Madrid's victory and Lyon's 7-1 triumph at GNK Dinamo Zagreb dropped them down to third.</div>
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• The teams for that fixture were:<br /><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">Ajax</strong>: Vermeer, Van der Wiel, Vertonghen, Blind, Anita, Eriksen, Enoh, Janssen (Klaassen 76), Sulejmani, Lodeiro (Bulykin 74), Ebecilio.<br /><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">Madrid</strong>: Adán, Arbeloa (Mendes 67), Albiol, Varane, Coentrão, Granero (Alonso 59), Şahin, Kaká, Callejón, Higuaín, Benzema (Altıntop 54).</div>
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• Madrid had also won the matchday two meeting at the Bernabéu 3-0 with goals from Cristiano Ronaldo (25), Kaká (41), and Karim Benzema (49).</div>
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• Madrid also ended Ajax's hopes with a 4-0 victory in Amsterdam in 2010/11. Having already prevailed 2-0 in Spain thanks to Vurnon Anita's own goal and Higuaín, the Merengues triumphed again with Benzema (36), Álvaro Arbeloa (44), and Ronaldo (70, 81 penalty) scoring for a team who lost Xabi Alonso and Sergio Ramos to late red cards.</div>
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• The lineups in Amsterdam on 23 November 2010 were:<br /><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">Ajax</strong>: Stekelenburg, Van der Wiel, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Anita, Enoh, Sulejmani (Eriksen 88), El Hamdaoui (De Zeeuw 46), De Jong (Lindgren 76), Emanuelson, Suárez.<br /><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">Madrid</strong>: Casillas, Ramos, L Diarra (Mateos 81), Marcelo, Alonso, Arbeloa, Albiol, León (Di María 65), Özil, Ronaldo, Benzema (Canales 82).</div>
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• Ajax had won five of the teams' six matches and drawn the other.</div>
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• In the 1972/73 semi-final Ajax won 2-1 at home to Madrid then triumphed 1-0 in Spain, going on to win a third successive European Champion Clubs' Cup.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">Match background</strong><br />• Under José Mourinho, the Merengues have an away record of W7 D4 L1 in the UEFA Champions League. Madrid's record on Dutch soil is W4 D4 L4.</div>
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• Ajax's overall home record against Liga clubs is W8 D3 L4, but they have won only one of their last seven games against Spanish visitors.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">Team ties</strong><br />• During four years as an FC Barcelona player between 1999 and 2003 De Boer faced Madrid nine times in the Liga and UEFA Champions League, winning two, losing two and drawing five. Mourinho was assistant to Barcelona coach Louis van Gaal in 1999/2000.</div>
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• De Boer was part of the Ajax side that beat Madrid 1-0 in the group stage in September 1995, missing the 2-0 return victory in Spain through injury.</div>
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• Ryan Babel played alongside Alonso and Arbeloa at Liverpool FC between 2007 and 2009. He set up Liverpool's third goal in a 4-0 home victory over Madrid in the 2008/09 round of 16 second leg.</div>
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• Christian Poulsen was at Sevilla FC between 2006 and 2008, playing in two home league wins and two away defeats against Madrid.</div>
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• Christian Eriksen and Poulsen were in the Denmark team eliminated from UEFA EURO 2012 through a 2-1 defeat by Sami Khedira and Mesut Özil's Germany. Eriksen and Lasse Schøne played in a 3-2 loss to Portugal, including Ronaldo, Pepe and Fábio Coentrão, in the same competition.</div>
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• Eriksen and Poulsen had traded wins with Madrid's Portuguese contingent in qualifying for Poland and Ukraine, Ronaldo scoring in both matches.</div>
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• Toby Alderweireld's Belgium lost 1-0 to Khedira and Özil's Germany in a home UEFA EURO 2012 qualifier in September 2010.</div>
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Samsidar Widiarsohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15363941987561866570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6595064699110393202.post-42646672942950435632012-09-27T00:58:00.002-07:002012-09-27T00:58:33.025-07:00Evergreen Pirlo still hungry for silverware <br />
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Juventus schemer Andrea Pirlo told Champions Matchday the secret to his enduring success and how he hopes to experience UEFA Champions League glory with the Bianconeri.</div>
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When Andrea Pirlo failed to agree a new deal with AC Milan in July 2011 and left the Rossoneri after ten seasons and two UEFA Champions League triumphs to join Juventus on a free transfer, many thought his best days were behind him. They were wrong.</div>
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Pirlo quickly became the fulcrum of a team that went from seventh in the previous two seasons to become an invincible force in Italy. With Pirlo simply resplendent as l'architetto - architect -<em style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </em>Juve won the Scudetto without losing a game to return to the UEFA Champions League, a competition he cherishes.</div>
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"Yes, that special Champions League melody has allowed me to experience great emotions," he told <em style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">Champions Matchday</em>. "I missed it a lot last season, but now we are back on this fantastic European stage, and we will try to do as well as possible."</div>
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Now 33, the newly bearded Pirlo's priceless experience in Europe, classy touch and 360-degree vision could be a significant help for his team-mates, less well-versed in the rigours of the UEFA Champions League. "It can be something different, something important for them, and I will try to help. But we also have great champions in the team who don't need any advice. I hope we can go all the way, but it's a tough competition, with big teams taking part.</div>
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"Still, we have every chance to go a long way. I don't know if we can even win it, but we will surely try," said the UEFA EURO 2012 runner-up, whose big-game nous is all the more important following Alessandro del Piero's departure. "Unfortunately he's left. We have new players like Sebastian Giovinco and we hope he can do what Del Piero did for Juventus."</div>
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Although Pirlo was not as influential as he can be against Chelsea FC on matchday one, the manner of the Bianconeri's comeback from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 suggests they need fear no one in this competition. First, however, the group stage must be negotiated. "We all know Chelsea, they are the defending European champions," Pirlo said, casting his eye over his club's Group E opponents. "As for Shakhtar, I know Mircea Lucescu, because I had him as a coach at Brescia when I was starting out. They play good football.</div>
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"The Danish team we don't know so well, but we will have the chance to get to know them. We will play with the same mentality whether we are home or away. We want to impose our game and win matches by playing well. We will do that on every pitch as well as in Turin."</div>
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After a decade in Milan, Pirlo certainly seems to have settled quickly and comfortably into his new surroundings. The artful midfielder shrugs off suggestions his switch from Rossoneri to Bianconeri was a traumatic one. "The training methods are completely different, as training sessions depend on the coach. The rest is pretty much the same, they are two big clubs with the same ambitions, with the same will to win," he said. "They are the two biggest clubs in Italy, known around the world. There are no big differences."</div>
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There is one significant difference, however: Pirlo's future is now mapped out in black-and-white.</div>
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Samsidar Widiarsohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15363941987561866570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6595064699110393202.post-75027533089724868472012-09-27T00:57:00.004-07:002012-09-27T00:57:46.742-07:00City's home run a worry for Dortmund <br />
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Manchester City FC will look to maintain their impressive 15-match unbeaten home run in European competition when they host Group D rivals Borussia Dortmund.</div>
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Manchester City FC will look to maintain their unbeaten home run in Europe when they host Group D rivals Borussia Dortmund. City are undefeated in 15 matches in UEFA competition at Eastlands, suggesting a difficult evening awaits Jürgen Klopp's visitors.</div>
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• The teams experienced differing fortunes on matchday one, City conceding two late goals to lose 3-2 at Real Madrid CF while Dortmund saw off AFC Ajax 1-0.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">Match background</strong><br />• Although the clubs have never met before, Dortmund's first European away match came at City's old Maine Road stadium against Manchester United FC in the 1956/57 European Champion Clubs' Cup first round, owing to Old Trafford's lack of floodlights. They were 3-0 down at half-time but fought back to 3-2 – the eventual aggregate score.</div>
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• Dortmund fared better at Old Trafford, beating United 1-0 through a goal by Lars Ricken, now head of the club's youth department, to secure a 2-0 aggregate success in the 1996/97 UEFA Champions League semi-final en route to winning the trophy.</div>
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• City's last European home loss was against FC Midtjylland in the 2008/09 UEFA Cup second qualifying round.</div>
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• City have recorded three wins and a draw against German visitors, most recently a 2-0 success against FC Bayern München in their final match of last season's group stage – albeit not enough to spare them elimination.</div>
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• Dortmund lost all three away fixtures in last term's group stage, including a 2-1 reverse at Arsenal FC which means they have also lost their last three games in England.</div>
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• Dortmund beat Liverpool FC in the final of the 1965/66 European Cup Winners' Cup. City overcame FC Schalke 04 5-1 in the semi-finals of their triumphant 1969/70 campaign in the same competition.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">Team ties</strong><br />• Robert Mancini faced Dortmund as a UC Sampdoria player in the 1989/90 European Cup Winners' Cup second round, scoring an 88th-minute equaliser in a 1-1 away draw before a 2-0 home victory for Samp, who went on to win the trophy.</div>
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• Mancini's FC Internazionale Milano finished above SV Werder Bremen in the 2004/05 group stage, taking four points off them. Inter were second behind Bayern in the 2006/07 group stage, taking one point from the German club.</div>
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• Vincent Kompany played for Hamburger SV from 2006 to 2008, facing Dortmund twice in the Bundesliga – a 1-0 away loss in September 2006 and a 1-0 home win in March 2008.</div>
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• Edin Džeko was at VfL Wolfsburg between 2007 and 2011, winning the Bundesliga title in 2008/09. He scored four times in seven league meetings with Dortmund, winning three and losing two.</div>
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• Javi García's first European goal came against Łukasz Piszczek's Hertha BSC Berlin in the 2009/10 UEFA Europa League round of 32. He actually scored an own goal in a 1-1 first-leg draw before registering in the right net in a 4-0 home victory.</div>
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• Pablo Zabaleta played in RCD Espanyol's 2-1 win at Patrick Owomoyela's Bremen in the 2006/07 UEFA Cup semi-final.</div>
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• Maicon was in the Inter team that beat Bayern 2-0 in the 2010 UEFA Champions League final.</div>
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• Kompany's Belgium were beaten 3-1 by a Germany including Mats Hummels, Marco Reus and İlkay Gündoğan in a UEFA EURO 2012 qualifier in Dusseldorf.</div>
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• Hummels and Reus played in Germany's 2-1 loss to Italy in the UEFA EURO 2012 semi-finals, Mario Balotelli scoring twice.</div>
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• Sergio Agüero and Zabaleta helped Argentina to a 3-1 friendly win in August against a Germany team including Hummels, Reus, Gündoğan, Marcel Schmelzer and Mario Götze.</div>
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• Ivan Perišić played for Croatia in their 1-1 draw with Balotelli's Italy and their 1-0 loss to David Silva's Spain at UEFA EURO 2012.</div>
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• Jack Rodwell, James Milner and Micah Richards were in the England side beaten 4-0 by Hummels and Schmelzer's Germany in the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championship final.</div>
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• Robert Lewandowski struck twice for a Poland side also featuring Jakub Błaszczykowski and Piszczek in a 3-1 victory over Yaya Touré's Ivory Coast in a November 2010 friendly.</div>
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• Neven Subotić is a Serbia team-mate of Matija Nastasić and Aleksandar Kolarov.</div>
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Samsidar Widiarsohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15363941987561866570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6595064699110393202.post-87848054483956707042012-09-27T00:56:00.003-07:002012-09-27T00:56:46.761-07:00Milan face testing trip to Spalletti's Zenit <br />
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FC Zenit St Petersburg's home record is just one thing that visitors AC Milan have to fear on matchday two when they face a rival who knows them all too well in Luciano Spalletti.</div>
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AC Milan face a familiar foe in Luciano Spalletti when they visit FC Zenit St Petersburg for their second fixture in UEFA Champions League Group C.</div>
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• Spalletti had an excellent record against Milan as coach of AS Roma, and Zenit's impressive recent European history at the Stadion Petrovski suggests a challenging evening is in store for the seven-time winners, who opened their campaign with a goalless draw against RSC Anderlecht as Zenit were succumbing 3-0 at Málaga CF.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">Match background</strong><br />• Zenit are bidding to extend a 16-match unbeaten home sequence in UEFA competition stretching back to a 2-1 loss to Real Madrid CF in their first UEFA Champions League home fixture on 30 September 2008.</div>
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• The Russian title holders' run includes three wins and a draw in last season's UEFA Champions League. They have won ten and drawn one of 11 European home fixtures under Spalletti.</div>
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• Milan did not win away in the 2011/12 competition, recording three draws and two defeats. Their last away victory in the UEFA Champions League was a 2-0 success at AJ Auxerre in November 2010.</div>
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• Milan's sole previous UEFA Champions League engagement in Russia was a 1-0 victory at FC Lokomotiv Moskva in the 2002/03 second group stage through a Rivaldo penalty. They won the trophy that year, just as they did after their only other victory in Russia – a Romeo Benetti-inspired 1-0 success at FC Spartak Moskva in the 1972/73 European Cup Winners' Cup quarter-finals.</div>
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• Zenit's last encounter with Italian opponents came in the 2008/09 UEFA Cup round of 16 against Udinese Calcio. Dick Advocaat's team lost 2-0 in Italy, winning the return 1-0 through Anatoliy Tymoshchuk's goal. Vyacheslav Malafeev, Aleksandr Anyukov, Danny, Igor Denisov, Viktor Fayzulin, Roman Shirokov, Konstantin Zyryanov all featured.</div>
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• Zenit's two other home ties with Serie A opposition were a goalless draw with Juventus in the 2008/09 UEFA Champions League group stage and a 3-0 defeat by Bologna FC in the 1999/2000 UEFA Cup first round.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">Team ties</strong><br />• Spalletti and his Milan counterpart Massimiliano Allegri both played, at different times, for amateur side UC Cuoiopelli. Both from Tuscany, they were born 80km apart, in Certaldo and Livorno respectively.</div>
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• As coaches in Serie A, the pair crossed swords only in 2008/09. Spalletti's Roma beat Allegri's Cagliari Calcio 3-2 with a last-minute goal at the Stadio Olimpico and then came from two down to earn a 2-2 away draw.</div>
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• With Roma between 2005 and 2009, Spalletti posted two wins and two draws in home Serie A meetings with Milan. His overall record was W5 D2 L1. Philippe Mexès was with him throughout his four years in Rome.</div>
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• With Udinese Calcio – where he was coach in 2001 and again from 2002 to 2005 – Spalletti was also unbeaten at home against Milan, recording one win and two draws. His overall Serie A record against the Rossoneri with Udinese was: W2 D2 L3.</div>
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• Spalletti also coached Empoli FC, UC Sampdoria, AC Venezia and AC Ancona in Italy.</div>
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• Domenico Criscito played for Genoa CFC and Juventus and was a team-mate of Marco Amelia and Stephan El Shaarawy at Genoa in 2009/10.</div>
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• Criscito has played for Italy alongside Ignazio Abate, Riccardo Montolivo, Antonio Nocerino and Giampaolo Pazzini.</div>
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• Shirokov (2) and Kerzhakov scored as Russia overcame Montolivo and Nocerino's Italy 3-0 in a pre-UEFA EURO 2012 friendly. Denisov, Malafeev and Zyryanov also played for Russia.</div>
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• Kerzhakov was in the Sevilla FC side beaten 3-1 by Milan in the 2007 UEFA Super Cup.</div>
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• Aleksandar Luković spent four seasons with Udinese, including a loan spell at Ascoli Calcio. He played alongside Cristián Zapata and both appeared in Udinese's UEFA Cup win over Zenit in March 2009.</div>
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• Sergei Semak and Mario Yepes were team-mates at Paris Saint-Germain FC from 2005 to 2006.</div>
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• Semak played in Russia's 1-0 reverse at Italy in a 1998 FIFA World Cup qualifying play-off. With PFC CSKA Moskva he lost 3-2 at Parma FC in the 2002/03 UEFA Cup first round despite scoring twice and was in the FC Rubin Kazan team beaten 2-0 by Inter in the 2009/10 UEFA Champions League group stage.</div>
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Samsidar Widiarsohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15363941987561866570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6595064699110393202.post-42839394557118016692012-09-27T00:55:00.002-07:002012-09-27T00:55:50.867-07:00Desire to end wait drives Real Madrid on <br />
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It has been more than a decade since Real Madrid CF – Europe's most decorated club – won the UEFA Champions League, but Graham Hunter thinks 2013 could be their year.</div>
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There has never been any secret made of the fact that José Mourinho was recruited by Real Madrid CF for one purpose above anything else: to win the UEFA Champions League.</div>
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It is easy for neutrals to forget that before the Portuguese was signed up – off the back of UEFA Champions League glory with FC Internazionale Milano in 2010 – the club with the most European Cups (nine) had been enduring a testing run of form on the continent.</div>
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Having won in 2002 – when Zinédine Zidane provided one of the iconic moments in the competition's history with his glorious volley – Madrid reached the last eight the following year but then hit a wall. For six straight seasons they went out in the first knockout round – including a 5-0 aggregate defeat by Liverpool FC in 2009. "When I arrived we weren't even a seeded club in the Champions League," Mourinho pointed out to UEFA.com earlier this season.</div>
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In theory, Mourinho was everything Madrid needed. He is one of only three men, alongisde Ernst Happel and Ottmar Hitzfeld, to win this trophy with two different clubs. In his first season with Madrid he became the first to reach the UEFA Champions League semi-finals with four different teams. He did likewise last term, but what must he do to make that final step?</div>
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Zinédine Zidane with the trophy in 2002</div>
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<span style="line-height: 18px;">Madrid have won the UEFA Champions League three times – in 1998, 2000 and 2002 – and finished outside the top two in the Spanish top flight on each occasion. History indicates that they find it hard to match triumph in Europe with domestic dominance – something in which they are hardly alone. However, the Merengues and Mourinho will undoubtedly be aiming for the title and next May's Wembley final – how they balance both ambitions will be fascinating to follow.</span><div style="border: 0px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">
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"The Champions League is a question of details ... but many, many details," Mourinho has told UEFA.com in the past. He will certainly be keen to improve these details, especially considering the nature of the previous two years' eliminations: set-piece goals, red cards, and late goals recurrent scourges.</div>
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The fact that Madrid's first group game on this occasion – a 3-2 win against Manchester City FC – was won in the dying embers of the match is the first sign that Mourinho and his team may have learned their lessons. They still must be considered one of, if not the team to beat.</div>
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Samsidar Widiarsohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15363941987561866570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6595064699110393202.post-31042343943269144532012-09-27T00:54:00.003-07:002012-09-27T00:54:59.533-07:00Pirlo leads Champions Matchday line <br />
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Andrea Pirlo's exclusive interview leads the second edition of Champions Matchday, the competition's official magazine, available before every UEFA Champions League matchday.</div>
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With matchday two of the UEFA Champions League on the horizon, the latest edition of Champions Matchday – the official competition magazine – hits the newsstand full of the stories, players and tactical trends set to shape another round of European football's premier club competition.</div>
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Fresh from inspiring Juventus's comeback from 2-0 down against Chelsea FC on matchday one, Andrea Pirlo exclusively reveals what it means to return to the UEFA Champions League, and discusses the art of playmaking as well as how the Bianconeri will replace departed captain Alessandro Del Piero.</div>
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Elsewhere in issue two, the new-look Champions Matchday – released a week before each round of UEFA Champions League games from this season – profiles Manchester's forward-thinking geniuses Yaya Touré and Antonio Valencia, discovers how Santi Carzorla is replacing Cesc Fàbregas as Arsenal FC's playmaker and finds out why AC Milan have gone back to year zero in pursuit of an eighth European crown.</div>
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The magazine also unzips FC Barcelona's 4-6-0 formation, charts the comings and goings in the summer transfer window and reviews the drama, shocks and 43 goals served up in a pulsating matchday one.</div>
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Issue No2 is available across Europe from 26 September and in a digital version. You can also follow the magazine on Twitter@ChampionsMag.</div>
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Samsidar Widiarsohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15363941987561866570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6595064699110393202.post-64323416592693866512012-09-27T00:53:00.003-07:002012-09-27T00:53:25.625-07:00Schalke strive for home repeat as Montpellier visit <br />
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FC Schalke 04 won all three home group games when they were last in the UEFA Champions League and will be looking for a good start against Montpellier Hérault SC.</div>
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FC Schalke 04 and Montpellier Hérault SC are in contrasting moods as they meet for the first time in the second round of matches in UEFA Champions League Group B.</div>
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• The teams were on different ends of 2-1 scorelines on matchday one, Schalke triumphing at Olympiacos FC while Montpellier went down at home to Arsenal FC.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">Match background</strong><br />• Schalke have won all three of their home games against French opponents but lost both away. They beat AS Nancy-Lorraine 1-0 in the 2006/07 UEFA Cup first round – although they suffered a 3-1 defeat in the return in France – and Paris Saint-Germain FC 3-1 in the group stage of the 2008/09 competition.</div>
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• In their only UEFA Champions League meeting with a Ligue 1 club, Schalke defeated Olympique Lyonnais 3-0 in the group stage in Gelsenkirchen on 24 November 2010, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar scoring twice after Jefferson Farfán had put the home side ahead. They had lost the sides' meeting in Lyon 1-0, Michel Bastos scoring the only goal of the game.</div>
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• Montpellier, French champions for the first time in 2011/12, have not met German opponents since 1999 and all six previous fixtures came in the UEFA Intertoto Cup. In the 1997 competition they lost their semi-final first leg against 1. FC Köln 2-1, winning 1-0 at home in the return to go through on away goals. In their final they went down 4-2 to fellow French side Lyon.</div>
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• Two years later, Montpellier met German sides in both the semi-finals and finals of the UEFA Intertoto Cup. They overcame MSV Duisburg in the last four, drawing 1-1 away and winning 3-0 at home. In the final, they swapped 1-1 draws with Hamburger SV, eventually winning 3-0 on penalties in the second leg in Hamburg. They went on to reach the UEFA Cup second round, overcoming FK Crvena zvezda 3-2 on aggregate in the first round before going down 5-1 to RC Deportivo La Coruña over two legs.</div>
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• Schalke are making their fifth UEFA Champions League appearance and when they were last involved, in the aforementioned 2010/11 campaign, they recovered from their 1-0 defeat at Lyon on matchday one to win seven of their next nine fixtures with the other two drawn.</div>
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• They finished first in their group before overcoming Valencia CF and holders FC Internazionale Milano in the knockout rounds. They then came unstuck against Manchester United FC in the semi-finals, losing 2-0 at home and 4-1 away.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">Team ties</strong>• Benedikt Höwedes scored the winner for Germany in the 90th minute of the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championship play-off against a France team which included Anthony Mounier. Höwedes' goal gave Germany a 1-0 win in the second leg in Metz on 15 October 2008 and a 2-1 aggregate victory, with both players having also featured in the 1-1 first-leg draw. Germany went on to lift the trophy at the finals in Sweden.</div>
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• On 7 September 2007, Tranquillo Barnetta scored Switzerland's opening goal in a 2-1 friendly victory over Chile in Vienna. Marco Estrada came on for the South American side in the 66th minute.</div>
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• Estrada got his revenge at the 2010 FIFA World Cup when Chile defeated Switzerland 1-0 in the group stage. Estrada was on the bench and Barnetta came on in the 42nd minute.</div>
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• Barnetta faced Daniel Congré in the 2007/08 UEFA Cup group stage when his Bayer 04 Leverkusen team beat Toulouse FC 1-0 in Germany.</div>
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• In the 2006/07 UEFA Cup round of 16, Barnetta's Leverkusen took on RC Lens, who included Hilton in their team. The French side won their home leg 2-1 but lost 3-0 in Leverkusen.</div>
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• John Utaka and Chinedu Obasi are team-mates in the Nigerian national side but have yet to play together.</div>
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Samsidar Widiarsohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15363941987561866570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6595064699110393202.post-6112213434076887132012-09-27T00:52:00.003-07:002012-09-27T00:52:31.009-07:00Arsenal and Olympiacos meet again <br />
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Arsenal FC and Olympiacos FC will hold few secrets from each other when they meet in London having been paired in the same group for the third time in four seasons.</div>
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Arsenal FC and Olympiacos FC will hold few surprises when the teams meet in the UEFA Champions League group stage for the third time in four seasons.</div>
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• While Arsenal opened Group B by coming from behind to win 2-1 at Montpellier Hérault SC, Olympiacos went down at home to FC Schalke 04 by the same scoreline.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">Previous meetings</strong><br />• This was also the fixture on matchday two last season, Arsenal again winning 2-1. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain marked his UEFA Champions League debut with an early goal and André Santos also scored his first for the Gunners to secure the points despite David Fuster's 27th-minute response.</div>
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• The lineups in north London on 28 September 2011 were: <strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br />Arsenal:</strong> Szczęsny, Sagna, Mertesacker, Rosický, Arteta, André Santos, Oxlade-Chamberlain (Ramsey 68), Song, Arshavin (Gibbs 83), Frimpong, Chamakh (Van Persie 71).<br /><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">Olympiacos:</strong> Costanzo, Mellberg, Ibagaza, Fejsa, Djebbour, Mirallas (Abdoun 75), Fuster (Pantelić 80), Holebas, Marcano, Orbaiz (Modesto 75), Torossidis.</div>
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• Arsène Wenger's team also came out on top in the 2009/10 group stage, Robin van Persie and Andrey Arshavin scoring in the last 12 minutes for a 2-0 victory.</div>
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• In both seasons the reverse fixture was won by Olympiacos, who were 3-1 victors in Piraeus last season with Rafik Djebbour, Fuster and François Modesto on target. Leonardo scored the only goal of the December 2009 encounter.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">Match background</strong><br />• Arsenal, who finished third in the 2011/12 Premier League, are taking part in the group stage for the 15th season in a row. For only the second time in seven campaigns they did not have to negotiate a qualifying round.</div>
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• In 2011/12 Arsenal departed in the round of 16 for the second season in a row. It was the 12th successive time that they had made it through the group and only the second campaign since 2006/07 that they had failed to reach the quarter-finals or better.</div>
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• Wenger's side won four of their five home games in last season's competition, the exception a 0-0 draw with Olympique de Marseille on matchday four. Apart from the victory over Olympiacos they also saw off Udinese Calcio in the play-off round 1-0 and Borussia Dortmund 2-1 in the group stage before beating AC Milan 3-0 in the round of 16 second leg, bowing out having lost 4-0 in Italy.</div>
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• Olympiacos are in their 14th participation in the UEFA Champions League, reaching the round of 16 in 2007/08 and 2009/10. They lost all three away games last season, going down 1-0 in both Marseille and Dortmund in addition to the Arsenal reverse and finishing third in Group F.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">Team ties</strong><br />• Bacary Sagna and Rafik Djebbour were team-mates at AJ Auxerre from 2000 to 2003, Abou Diaby joining them in 2002.</div>
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• Ariel Ibagaza and Santi Cazorla played together at Villarreal CF from 2008 until 2010. David Fuster joined them in 2009/10 after a one-season loan at Elche CF.</div>
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• Sébastien Squillaci and François Modesto were team-mates at AS Monaco FC from 2004 to 2006.</div>
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• Roy Carroll recorded a win, a draw and a defeat in three games at Arsenal for Manchester United FC. He was also on the winning side in the 2003/04 FA Cup semi-final against the Gunners but in the following season's final Arsenal won 5-4 on penalties after a goalless 120 minutes.</div>
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• Wenger's Monaco lost to Olympiacos 2-1 on aggregate in the 1992/93 European Cup Winners' Cup second round.</div>
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• Marouane Chamakh scored FC Girondins de Bordeaux's second goal in a 2-1 win against Olympiacos in the second leg of a round of 16 tie at Stade Chaban-Delmas on 17 March 2010.</div>
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• Per Mertesacker was part of the Werder Bremen team which lost 3-1 at home to Olympiacos on 3 October 2007, their first ever away win in the UEFA Champions League after 32 attempts. Vassilis Torossidis played for the visitors whose third goal was scored by Darko Kovačević, now the club's technical director.</div>
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• Wojciech Szczęsny was sent off for co-hosts Poland in the 69th minute of UEFA EURO 2012's opening match against Greece. Giannis Maniatis, Torossidis and José Holebas all featured for Greece in a 1-1 draw.</div>
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Samsidar Widiarsohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15363941987561866570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6595064699110393202.post-65967316051463259332012-09-27T00:51:00.000-07:002012-09-27T00:51:06.071-07:00Juventus plan more trouble for Shakhtar <span style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">Juventus have won four of their six fixtures against opponents from Ukraine and are boosted by their matchday one comeback as they await the visit of FC Shakhtar Donetsk.</span>
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Juventus' record against opponents from Ukraine should put them in good heart for the visit of FC Shakhtar Donetsk.</div>
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• The Italian champions will be further buoyed by their comeback from 2-0 down to earn a draw at holders Chelsea FC on matchday one, while Shakhtar took the early initiative in Group E with a 2-0 home defeat of FC Nordsjælland.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">Previous meetings</strong>• The teams have only met on one previous occasion – the 1976/77 UEFA Cup third round when a 3-0 first-leg home win for Juventus was enough to see them through. Shakhtar won 1-0 in Donetsk.</div>
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• The Turin outfit have met another Ukrainian club, FC Dynamo Kyiv, in the UEFA Champions League, winning the 1997/98 quarter-final tie 5-2 on aggregate despite drawing their home leg 1-1.</div>
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• The teams met again in the group stage five seasons later when Juve won 5-0 at home and 2-1 away.</div>
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• Shakhtar had to wait until their eighth UEFA Champions League game against Italian opponents for their first victory. They beat AS Roma 1-0 in Donetsk in the 2006/07 group stage to end a run of nine games without a win, including two in the European Cup Winners' Cup, that followed their 1976 success over Juventus. Of those nine games, eight were lost with the other drawn.</div>
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• Shakhtar were successful on their last visit to Italy, beating Roma 3-2 in the 2010/11 UEFA Champions League round of 16 – their first away win there at the eighth attempt. They followed up with a 3-0 win in the return leg.</div>
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• Răzvan Raţ scored an own goal in the first game with Douglas Costa and Luiz Adriano both scoring at the right end for the visitors. Willian struck twice in Donetsk with Eduardo notching the other.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">Match background</strong><br />• Juventus, winners of the Scudetto in 2011/12 and unbeaten in the 38-game season, were last in the UEFA Champions League in 2009/10 when they began with a 1-1 home draw against FC Girondins de Bordeaux. They went on to beat Maccabi Haifa FC 1-0 at home and lost 4-1 to FC Bayern München.</div>
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• Shakhtar, Ukrainian double winners in 2011/12, began last season's group stage with a 2-1 defeat at FC Porto and also lost 1-0 at FC Zenit St Petersburg. They concluded with a 2-0 victory at APOEL FC but still finished fourth in the section.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">Team ties</strong>• Mircea Lucescu faced Juventus on nine occasions in the 1990s as coach of Serie A sides AC Pisa 1909, Brescia Calcio, AC Reggiana 1919 and FC Internazionale Milano. His only victory was Brescia's 2-0 home win on 14 March 1994 – four games were lost and the other four drawn. Lucescu's final match against Juve was Inter's 0-0 draw on 27 February 1999.</div>
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• Lucescu scored in Romania's 4-2 friendly defeat by Italy in Milan on 5 June 1976.</div>
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• Andrea Pirlo had two spells with Lucescu, making his professional debut under him for Brescia on 21 May 1995. Aged 16 years and two days, Pirlo was the club's youngest top-flight debutant. The two linked up again at Inter during 1998/99.</div>
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• Eduardo opened the scoring in Croatia's 2-0 friendly victory against Italy in Livorno in August 2006.</div>
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• Fernandinho played alongside Lúcio when making his international debut for Brazil in a 3-2 defeat by Germany in Stuttgart on 10 August 2011.</div>
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• Mirko Vučinić suffered three defeats in the UEFA Champions League against Shakhtar while with Roma, playing 12 minutes in Donetsk on 22 November 2006 as the Ukraine club won 1-0 in the group stage. In 2010/11, Vučinić played in both legs of the round of 16 tie as Shakhtar won 3-2 away and 3-0 at home.</div>
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• Eduardo and Nicklas Bendtner were team-mates with Arsenal FC from 2007 to 2010.</div>
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• Alessandro Matri made his international debut for Italy against Ukraine in a Kyiv friendly on 29 March 2011, opening the scoring in a 2-0 away win. </div>
Samsidar Widiarsohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15363941987561866570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6595064699110393202.post-7101195281056438542012-09-26T01:06:00.000-07:002012-09-26T01:06:05.905-07:00Madrid might have learnt their lesson <span style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">It has been more than a decade since Real Madrid CF – Europe's most decorated club – lifted the UEFA Champions League, but Graham Hunter thinks 2013 could be their year.</span>
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There has never been any secret made of the fact that José Mourinho was recruited by Real Madrid CF for one purpose above anything else: to win the UEFA Champions League.</div>
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It is easy for neutrals to forget that before the Portuguese was signed up – off the back of UEFA Champions League glory with FC Internazionale Milano in 2010 – the club with the most European Cups (nine) had been enduring a testing run of form on the continent.</div>
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Having won in 2002 – when Zinédine Zidane provided one of the iconic moments in the competition's history with his glorious volley – Madrid reached the last eight the following year but then hit a wall. For six straight seasons they went out in the first knockout round – including a 5-0 aggregate defeat by Liverpool FC in 2009. "When I arrived we weren't even a seeded club in the Champions League," Mourinho pointed out to UEFA.com earlier this season.</div>
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In theory, Mourinho was everything Madrid needed. He is one of only three men, alongisde Ernst Happel and Ottmar Hitzfeld, to win this trophy with two different clubs. In his first season with Madrid he became the first to reach the UEFA Champions League semi-finals with four different teams. He did likewise last term, but what must he do to make that final step?</div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">Madrid have won the UEFA Champions League three times – in 1998, 2000 and 2002 – and finished outside the top two in the Spanish top flight on each occasion. History indicates that they find it hard to match triumph in Europe with domestic dominance – something in which they are hardly alone. However, the Merengues and Mourinho will undoubtedly be aiming for the title and next May's Wembley final – how they balance both ambitions will be fascinating to follow.</span><div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">
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"The Champions League is a question of details ... but many, many details," Mourinho has told UEFA.com in the past. He will certainly be keen to improve these details, especially considering the nature of the previous two years' eliminations: set-piece goals, red cards, and late goals recurrent scourges.</div>
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The fact that Madrid's first group game on this occasion – a 3-2 win against Manchester City FC – was won in the dying embers of the match is the first sign that Mourinho and his team may have learned their lessons. They still must be considered one of, if not the team to beat.</div>
Samsidar Widiarsohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15363941987561866570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6595064699110393202.post-53843025385625177772012-09-26T01:05:00.002-07:002012-09-26T01:05:10.584-07:00Ukraine coach Blokhin takes charge at Dynamo <span style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">Ukraine coach Oleh Blokhin has been appointed to the helm of the club where he made his name, FC Dynamo Kyiv, and has promised to return them "to their former glory".</span>
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Oleh Blokhin has returned to the club where he made his name, FC Dynamo Kyiv, after being appointed as their new coach but will remain in charge of Ukraine for next month’s FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Moldova and Montenegro.</div>
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Kyiv-born Blokhin, 59, has signed a four-year contract to replace Yuri Semin, who was dismissed along with his coaching team on Monday following a 4-1 Ukrainian Cup exit to FC Shakhtar Donetsk. According to Dynamo's agreement with the Football Federation of Ukraine (FFU), Blokhin will only give up his national team role after facing Moldova on 12 October and Montenegro four days later, having drawn their opening Group H qualifier 1-1 in England.</div>
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"Last night I had almost no sleep," said Blokhin, who will be assisted by Oleksiy Mykhailychenko, previously the club's sporting director, Serhiy Rebrov and Andrei Bal. "Dynamo's president gave me quite a late call, and I had to think about everything. This is a huge responsibility. I know what is to work with the club. It's not a national team, you have to be at the training base every day, sometimes even for 24 hours, trying to return Dynamo to their former glory."</div>
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Dynamo, who lost their UEFA Champions League Group A opener 4-1 at Paris Saint-Germain FC last week, welcome GNK Dinamo Zagreb on 3 October and lie third in the Ukrainian Premier League, six points behind Shakhtar. They last won the national title in 2008/09.</div>
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Blokhin, who starred as a striker at Dynamo in the 1970s and 1980s, said: "We have tough matches ahead of us: against Zorya Luhansk, Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk and Metalist Kharkiv in the league, as well as home tie versus Dinamo Zagreb in the UEFA Champions League. The team has to wake up. We can't just suffer one 4-1 defeat after another – it's too much for our club."</div>
Samsidar Widiarsohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15363941987561866570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6595064699110393202.post-7989752646311680962012-09-26T01:04:00.002-07:002012-09-26T01:04:18.785-07:00A privileged peek behind the scenes <span style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">UEFA.com's Steffen Potter discusses his job as a UEFA Champions League Venue Data Coordinator, which allows him access behind the scenes at some prestigious fixtures.</span>
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When you are lucky enough to work as a football reporter, you come into close contact with many of the stars of the world and European game. After a match in the mixed zone you get to ask the players questions and, sometimes, even chat to them off the record; it is many fans' dream.</div>
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I also work as a VDC (Venue Data Coordinator) for UEFA, a role which allows me to get a little bit closer to events on the pitch and behind the scenes. It all starts with an access-all-areas accreditation tag, which permits me to go wherever I am needed within the confines of the stadium.</div>
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On the day before the game, the first thing I do is meet all the UEFA staff on site at the stadium. They hand out the accreditations for all the UEFA.com personnel and, if I have not been to a stadium before, they will show me around. Then it is time for the first highlight of the week – the press conferences. I write down the coaches' and players' most interesting answers and occasionally ask a question myself, before I send them to the UEFA.com editorial team.</div>
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Besides being responsible for the accreditation and internet access of our UEFA.com team on site, the main task of a VDC is the collection of data before, during, and after the match. In most UEFA competitions, the teams have to hand over their lineups 75 minutes before kick-off. When they do so, it is the VDC's duty to enter these, as well as the tactical formations, into our system as quickly as possible – after which they appear on UEFA.com and often on your television screens.</div>
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A VDC is usually seated on the commentary gantry. Not only does this provide a fine view of proceedings, it often also involves rubbing shoulders with a number of notable former players who are performing television and radio duties nearby.</div>
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Steffen Potter was VDC at Dortmund last week</div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">During the match, we collate the game's data (goals, cards, shots on goal, etc). At the same time, our collection serves as an official statistical commentary for UEFA.com. After the match is over, we validate the key events with the referee's team. Who scored? Who was given a caution and why? Are there any incidents to be reported?</span><div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">
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It is this time I like most during a VDC assignment as you can see the raw emotions of the players and officials right after a match. It is just great to be so close to the action despite the responsibility it brings. The best thing of all is that I now have first-hand experience of the emotion created by football, whether it be in Europe's premier club competition or at grassroots level where I coach in my spare time.</div>
Samsidar Widiarsohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15363941987561866570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6595064699110393202.post-51851206968740040232012-09-26T01:02:00.003-07:002012-09-26T01:02:38.536-07:00Knee injury rules Vidić out for two months <span style="color: #404040; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">Manchester United FC defender Nemanja Vidić has suffered another injury setback and will be sidelined for around two months following an operation on his right knee.</span>
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Manchester United FC defender Nemanja Vidić faces another spell on the sidelines after being ruled out for two months following a meniscus operation on his right knee.</div>
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The 30-year-old centre-back, who picked up a calf injury in August, now looks likely to be unavailable for most of United's Group H campaign, which concludes at home to CFR 1907 Cluj on 5 December. "Sir Alex [Ferguson], as a precautionary measure, rested Vidić at the weekend after he complained of tightness in his knee. However, further medical investigation revealed the underlying problem," read a statement on the club's website. "The central defender was operated on this week and will be sidelined for about eight weeks."</div>
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Vidić played 90 minutes of United's opening day victory against Galatasaray AŞ but will have to watch from the sidelines when his team-mates take on CFR in Romania on 2 October.</div>
Samsidar Widiarsohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15363941987561866570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6595064699110393202.post-49871830068136559732012-09-26T01:01:00.003-07:002012-09-26T01:01:54.500-07:00Trophy tour takes to Turin <span style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">"The Champions League trophy is the most beautiful trophy there is," said Gianluca Vialli as he recalled lifting it with Juventus in 1996 during the trophy tour's latest stop in Turin.</span>
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Italy is warming to the UEFA Champions League Trophy Tour, presented by UniCredit. Following a splendid kick-off in Milan, the prized silverware made its way to another football fortress, Turin, where it was welcomed with open arms by football fans – 20,250 visitors came to the Piazza Vittorio Veneto.</div>
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The stars were also out in force to greet the trophy that today's top footballers want to win. UEFA Champions League Trophy Tour ambassador Christian Karembeu, who won the UEFA Champions League twice with Real Madrid CF in 1998 and 2000, was joined by UniCredit ambassadors Gianluca Vialli and Francesco Graziani to mingle with the fans. No less than 4,659 photos were taken of the trophy.</div>
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FIFA World Cup winner Karembeu said of the trophy tour: "I think it's an amazing idea that was created by UEFA and UniCredit to make a dream come true for the fans; they can touch the trophy and have their picture taken with it."</div>
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"The UEFA Champions League is the most beautiful club competition there is," said Vialli, who won the competition with Juventus in 1996. "It's the competition where the best players play, where there is the best organisation, where there is fair play. The atmosphere in the stadiums is fantastic, there are very good referees, and great coaches."</div>
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"There couldn't be any more beautiful occasion for all fans who are passionate about football than to see the Champions League trophy from such a short distance," added Graziani, a World Cup winner with Italy in 1982. "It's the most prestigious trophy there is at club level. You have the chance to touch it, to have a picture taken with it, and to experience it personally."</div>
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Grassroots football is also on the trophy tour agenda in Italy. The UniCredit Cup, a youth football tournament, is taking place on Sundays at the tour's main venues. The tournament involves 32 teams of children born in 2000/01, and belonging to sides associated with the Centro Sportivo Italiano, which trains youngsters in different sports. The tournament is being played in accordance with UEFA-supported principles such as Respect and fair play.</div>
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Bologna, Palermo and Naples are the next stops on the trophy tour's route to its final destination in Rome, where it will be from 19–22 October. A free exhibition is available to fans, who will be able to take a photograph with the trophy and receive autographs from the ambassadors. Smaller stops, with trophy photo opportunities, will be held in Venice and Florence. The tour also comprises media events, with UEFA and UniCredit representatives joining football celebrities to talk about the European club football's premier competition.</div>
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In Bologna, Palermo, Naples and Rome, visitors will be able to visit the huge UniCredit Arena, a large pop-up stadium. Complete with entrance tunnel, the arena offers fans computer-simulated shots on goal – giving them an enthralling taste of playing in a UEFA Champions League match. A video cube, consisting of four giant TV screens, will add to the atmosphere. In addition, a memorabilia exhibition includes players' boots, jerseys and a changing room with kits from all 13 UEFA Champions League-winning clubs.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">Remaining dates and venues for 2012 tour</strong>25–26 September: Venice (Piazza San Marco)<br />28–30 September: Bologna (Piazza XX Settembre)<br />2 October: Florence (Piazza della Repubblica)<br />5–7 October: Palermo<br />12–14 October: Naples (Piazza del Plebiscito)<br />19–22 October: Rome (Piazza del Popolo)</div>
Samsidar Widiarsohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15363941987561866570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6595064699110393202.post-30522947260394254392012-09-26T01:00:00.004-07:002012-09-26T01:00:53.900-07:00Porto meeting stirs 2004 memories for PSG <span style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.77777862548828px;">FC Porto and Paris Saint-Germain FC meet for the first time since the 2004/05 UEFA Champions League with both eager to build on a positive start to Group A.</span>
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When Paris Saint-Germain FC last took part in the UEFA Champions League group stage FC Porto were also in their section and eight years on, the teams renew acquaintance on matchday two.</div>
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• Both sides made victorious starts to Group A, Porto triumphing 2-0 at GNK Dinamo Zagreb while PSG were 4-1 winners at home to FC Dynamo Kyiv.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">Previous meetings</strong><br />• Those 2004/05 matches are the teams' only competitive contests. PSG won 2-0 in Paris thanks to goals from Charles-Édouard Coridon and Pauleta, with the reverse fixture remaining goalless.</div>
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• The teams for the 0-0 draw in Porto on 2 November 2004 were:<br /><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">Porto:</strong> Baía, Jorge Costa, Pedro Emanuel, Ricardo Costa, Bosingwa, Seitaridis, Quaresma (Postiga 78), Maniche, Diego (Carlos Alberto 65), Derlei, McCarthy (Almeida 65).<br /><strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">PSG:</strong> Letizi, Pichot, Pierre-Fanfan, Yepes, Armand, Cana, Coridon (Mendy 74), Cissé (Bošković 86), M'Bami, Pancrate, Pauleta (Ljuboja 89).</div>
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• In 2003/04, Porto got the better of three French teams on the way to the UEFA Champions League winners' podium. They first beat Olympique de Marseille 3-2 away and 1-0 at home in the group stage and then got the better of Olympique Lyonnais in the quarter-finals, drawing 2-2 in France after running out 2-0 winners at the Estádio do Dragão. They then overcame AS Monaco FC 3-0 in the Gelsenkirchen final.</div>
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• The previous year Porto had lifted the UEFA Cup, a run that included a third round success against RC Lens which was achieved through a 3-0 first-leg win at home. They lost 1-0 in France.</div>
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• French visitors have got the better of Porto on home soil only once, FC Nantes winning 2-0 in the 1971/72 UEFA Cup first round to set up a 3-1 aggregate success. The other eight encounters have produced six Porto wins and two draws.</div>
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• Apart from that 2004 visit to Porto, PSG's other four matches in Portugal have come in the UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League. They have one victory to their name, beating SC Braga 1-0 in a round of 16 encounter on 19 March 2009 to go through by the same aggregate score.</div>
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• Their other three visits ended in defeat, most recently 2-1 at SL Benfica in the 2010/11 UEFA Europa League round of 16. Their record against Portuguese teams home and away is W4 D3 L3. Porto's record against French teams is W9 D6 L4.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">Match background</strong><br />• Porto are in the group stage for the 17th time, and opened their home campaign last season with a 2-1 defeat of FC Shakhtar Donetsk before a 1-1 draw against APOEL. One goal in the matchday six home game against FC Zenit St Petersburg would have taken Porto into the knockout stages but instead the 0-0 draw consigned them to third place in Group G.</div>
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• Runners-up in Ligue 1 last season, PSG are in the UEFA Champions League for the fifth time. In their last campaign, in 2004/05, they drew 0-0 at Porto and Chelsea FC, losing 2-0 at PFC CSKA Moskva and finishing fourth in their group.</div>
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• In last season's UEFA Europa League group stage PSG also failed to score an away goal, going down 2-0 at both Athletic Club and FC Salzburg and drawing 0-0 at ŠK Slovan Bratislava. They ended third in Group F.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">Team ties</strong><br />• Thiago Silva joined Porto in 2004 but only played in the reserve team before leaving for FC Dinamo Moskva the following year.</div>
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• Alex Sandro and Danilo play for Brazil alongside Thiago Silva, the trio helping their country to the men's Olympic silver medal in London in August. They lost the final 2-1 against Mexico.</div>
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• Lucho González scored Olympique de Marseille's goal in a 2-1 Ligue 1 defeat at PSG on 7 November 2010. The midfielder also found the net in Marseille's 3-0 win in Paris the previous season and finished on the victorious side in four of his six meetings with PSG while at OM, losing only that 2010 fixture.</div>
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• Helton was part of the UD Leiria team that lost 2-0 to Mathieu Bodmer's LOSC Lille in the 2004 UEFA Intertoto Cup finals.</div>
Samsidar Widiarsohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15363941987561866570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6595064699110393202.post-77004444511934064312012-09-26T01:00:00.000-07:002012-09-26T01:00:03.925-07:00Dynamo and Dinamo both look to improve <span style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.77777862548828px;">FC Dynamo Kyiv and GNK Dinamo Zagreb will both be looking to bounce back from opening defeats when they meet in Ukraine in the second round of Group A fixtures.</span>
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FC Dynamo Kyiv and GNK Dinamo Zagreb are eager to improve on recent UEFA Champions League results – including defeats on matchday one – when they meet in Ukraine.</div>
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• Both teams began Group A with a defeat, Dynamo going down 4-1 at Paris Saint-Germain FC while FC Porto were 2-0 winners in Zagreb, extending Dinamo's run of successive group stage defeats to seven.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">Previous meetings</strong><br />• The sides locked horns in the third qualifying round of the 2003/04 UEFA Champions League, Dynamo going through after winning 3-1 at home and 2-0 away.</div>
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• It is the only time the Ukrainian club have faced opponents from Croatia whereas the Zagreb team tackled FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk in the 2003/04 UEFA Cup second round – losing 2-0 at home and drawing 1-1 away – and FC Shakhtar Donetsk in the 2008/09 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round, losing 2-0 away and 3-1 at home.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">Match background</strong>• Dynamo, who finished second in last season's Ukrainian Premier League, are involved in their 15th UEFA Champions League campaign. They were last at this stage in 2009/10 when they began with a 3-1 home win against FC Rubin Kazan.</div>
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• The Kyiv club did not win another game, however, losing 2-1 at home to both FC Internazionale Milano and FC Barcelona and finishing fourth in the group. Their defeat in Paris on matchday one this season means they have not won in six group games, losing four of those matches.</div>
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• This time, Dynamo came through two qualifying rounds, winning their first three fixtures. They overcame Feyenoord 2-1 at home and 1-0 away in the third qualifying round, then won 3-1 at VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach in the play-off first leg, going through despite a 2-1 home defeat.</div>
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• Champions of Croatia for the seventh year in succession in 2011/12, when they completed the domestic double, Dinamo are taking part in the group stage for the second season running and the fourth time in all.</div>
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• As in 2011, they came through three qualifying rounds, first overcoming PFC Ludogorets Razgrad through Domagoj Vida's winner eight minutes into added time for a 4-3 aggregate success. Ante Rukavina scored Dinamo's other three goals in the tie.</div>
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• In the third qualifying round, FC Sheriff were defeated 1-0 away and 4-0 overall, before Tonel's first-half goal at NK Maribor confirmed Dinamo's progress in the play-offs after they had won 2-1 in Zagreb.</div>
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• The Croatian club lost all six group games last season, going down 2-0 at Olympique Lyonnais, 4-0 at AFC Ajax and 6-2 away to Real Madrid CF. They conceded 22 goals in last season's group stage – a UEFA Champions League record.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">Team ties</strong>• Niko Kranjčar and Ognjen Vukojević have both had spells with Dinamo, Kranjčar from 2001 to 2004 and Vukojević from 2006 to 2008. Kranjčar played 84 league matches for the club, scoring 19 goals, and took part in both 2003/04 matches against Dynamo, scoring Dinamo's goal in the first leg, while Vukojević struck 11 times in 66 league matches.</div>
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• Vukojević played with Ivan Kelava and Sammir while with Dinamo.</div>
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• Kranjčar and Vukojević play alongside Kelava, Josip Šimunić, Šime Vrsaljko, Mateo Kovačić and Vida for Croatia.</div>
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• Kranjčar also played for HNK Hajduk Split from 2005 to 2006.</div>
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• Tonel and Miguel Veloso were team-mates at Sporting Clube de Portugal from 2006 to 2010 and also, briefly, played together in the Portuguese national side.</div>
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• Šimunić and Vukojević played 90 minutes in Croatia's goalless draw against Ukraine in Kharkiv in a FIFA World Cup qualifier on 11 October 2008.</div>
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• Šimunić again played the full game, Vukojević appearing as a second-half substitute, as Croatia had a 2-2 draw with Ukraine in the reverse fixture in Zagreb on 6 June 2009.</div>
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• Raffael and Šimunić were team-mates at Hertha BSC Berlin between 2008 and 2009.</div>
Samsidar Widiarsohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15363941987561866570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6595064699110393202.post-76001106454346774792012-09-26T00:59:00.002-07:002012-09-26T00:59:04.589-07:00Singtel handed Singapore media rights <span style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14.44444465637207px; line-height: 17.77777862548828px;">UEFA has announced that pay television operator Singtel has been awarded media rights for the next three seasons of the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League.</span>
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Media rights for the 2012–15 UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League in Singapore have been awarded to Singtel.</div>
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Pay television operator Singtel will broadcast two live UEFA Champions League fixtures each matchnight on its channels Mio Sports 1 and Mio Sports 2, as well as a highlights programme to be shown at prime time each matchweek on Mio Sports 1.</div>
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In respect of the UEFA Europa League, each matchweek Mio Sports 1 will broadcast one live game per kick-off slot and a highlights programme at prime time.</div>
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All rights have been granted on a platform-neutral basis, with the rights also being exploited on the internet as well as on mobile.</div>
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Team Marketing is the exclusive marketing agency of UEFA for the exploitation of certain media and commercial rights relating to the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and UEFA Europa League.</div>
Samsidar Widiarsohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15363941987561866570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6595064699110393202.post-2227678383940174602012-09-24T23:24:00.003-07:002012-09-24T23:24:56.620-07:00Semin sacked by Dynamo Kyiv <span style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">FC Dynamo Kyiv will name a new coach "in the near future" after dismissing Yuri Semin following Sunday's 4-1 loss to FC Shakhtar Donetsk in the Ukrainian Cup.</span>
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FC Dynamo Kyiv have dismissed coach Yuri Semin and his staff following Sunday's 4-1 loss to FC Shakhtar Donetsk in the Ukrainian Cup.</div>
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Dynamo had also lost their previous game, against Paris Saint-Germain FC in UEFA Champions League Group A, by the same scoreline last week. "Dynamo Football Club thank Yuri and his coaching team for their cooperation and wish them success in the future," said a club statement. "The name of his successor will be revealed in the near future."</div>
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Dynamo have avoided defeat in just one of their last four fixtures in all competitions. That run has marked the end of Semin's second spell at the helm, having previously guided them to their most recent Ukrainian Premier League title – in 2008.</div>
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Dynamo continue their UEFA Champions League campaign at home to GNK Dinamo Zagreb on 3 October.</div>
Samsidar Widiarsohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15363941987561866570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6595064699110393202.post-82539816136222946032012-09-24T23:23:00.002-07:002012-09-24T23:23:55.481-07:00Juve indebted to 'the limping man' <span style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Playing with an injury, Arturo Vidal epitomised the spirit running through the Juventus team when he started last week's fightback against European champions Chelsea FC.</span>
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What would you say is most likely to get you leaping out of your seat at the stadium or off your sofa at home?</div>
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A – A defence-splitting pass<br />B – A piece of skill to beat a man<br />C – A clean, crunching tackle</div>
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If your answer is C, you are probably an old-fashioned style of football fan who loves tough yet fair play – perhaps enjoying the virtues of a combative never-give-up midfielder à la Gennaro Gattuso to any of the world's football 'artists'. Furthermore, you surely would have appreciated the performance of Juventus midfielder Arturo Vidal at Chelsea FC last Wednesday, no matter which team you were supporting.</div>
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The 25-year-old Chilean international midfielder was being treated for a twisted ankle on the sidelines when Chelsea scored the opener through Oscar, and he had only just returned to the game when the Brazilian added another. It was a tremendous one-two punch for the Italian champions to absorb but the Bianconeri's legs did not wobble, even if Vidal was visibly limping in midfield.</div>
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Arturo Vidal impressed against Chelsea</div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">He continued to play through the pain until scoring the goal before the interval which gave Juve hope. "We showed the same heart as last year in Serie A," said Vidal after Fabio Quagliarella completed the fightback to give Juventus a 2-2 draw at the home of the reigning European champions. "We want to play in three competitions and this is the Juventus we need to see every game."</span><div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">
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Il gol dello zoppo – the limping-man goal, as it is known in Italy – is nothing new in football. The most famous in the folklore of the Italian game was Angelo Schiavio's extra-time effort in the 1934 FIFA World Cup final against Czechoslovakia. The exhausted striker could hardly move – there was no allowance for substitutions at that time – but still managed to score the winner for the Azzurri.</div>
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In the 1955/56 season, the heralded SSC Napoli striker Luís Vinício scored twice in the late stages of a game against AC Milan despite carrying a serious knee ligament injury from the first half which subsequently forced him out for three months. And as befits his reputation in the city, the Brazilian was nicknamed O' Lione – the Lion in the colourful dialect of Naples.</div>
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"Lions in London" was the headline of Turin-based newspaper Tuttosport the day after the draw at Stamford Bridge while all the Italian press were united in praising the "warrior" Vidal. Playing with this spirit, epitomised by their injured goalscorer, Juventus can certainly continue their dominance in Italy and could also have a say in Europe.</div>
Samsidar Widiarsohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15363941987561866570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6595064699110393202.post-60417941446103088222012-09-24T23:22:00.002-07:002012-09-24T23:22:57.889-07:00Interviewing Manchester City's Javi García <span style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Javi García has been quick to catch the eye since his move to Manchester City FC, and Simon Hart found him equally impressive off the field when he interviewed him this month.</span>
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Every job has its good and bad days and interviewing footballers is no different. I once sat with a world-famous striker who spent our entire interview staring at a TV across the room. I'm no David Frost but all the same …</div>
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Still, that was not quite as bad as the time I travelled from Leeds to London to speak to a Premier League player, waited over four hours at his club's training ground and, when he finally emerged, was handed his mobile number on a scrap of paper and told he'd do it over the phone another day.</div>
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To avoid tarring all footballers with the same brush, however, I should stress the good days outnumber the bad by some distance – and this month I had the pleasure to sit down with Javi García, Manchester City FC's new Spanish midfielder.</div>
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This was an interview for the UEFA Champions League Weekly TV show, Champions magazine and UEFA.com which I was asked to do as I speak Spanish. We met in the small media conference building at City's Carrington training ground – for a nice intimate chat (albeit shared with two cameramen, a producer and Simon from City's press office). A colleague with connections at SL Benfica, his previous club, had described him as an excellent character and he certainly came across that way.</div>
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He was relaxed and good-humoured throughout, performing the different tasks asked of him by the producer – including holding up Polaroid snaps of himself in different guises (which looked great in the final film). He joked afterwards that, as the new boy, City's media department were taking advantage of the fact he was so obliging. He also spoke about the English lessons he and his girlfriend were about to embark on and his wish not just to rely on the Spanish-speaking contingent at City.</div>
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Javi García celebrates his goal against Stoke</div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">Another topic was the influence of his father, José, a former goalkeeper who set up a football school in Murcia, which he attended before joining the Real Madrid CF academy at 14. José was due to fly over with his wife for their son's first game in the Premier League at Stoke City FC a few days later.</span><div style="border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">
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They would have watched on proudly as García made an impressive debut. I was at the match and he showed the physical attributes that should serve him well in England, heading City's equaliser in the 1-1 draw. He almost won the game with another, late header that the goalkeeper touched on to a post.</div>
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It was evidently enough to keep him in the team at his old stomping ground of the Santiago Bernabéu when City took on Madrid on matchday one, and he retained his starting place in Sunday's 1-1 draw with Arsenal FC. Not a bad start for a player whose arrival – compared with some of City's signings in recent years – may have generated little fanfare, but who may emerge as a more than useful recruit.</div>
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Having met him and had a small glimpse of the person behind the player we see on the football pitch, I will be intrigued to see if this proves the case.</div>
Samsidar Widiarsohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15363941987561866570noreply@blogger.com0