KB Soccernet

Merdeka Tournament 2008: Vietnam is the new Champions!

Sat, 25 Oct 2008 20:45:00 -0500

Malaysia failed to defend the Merdeka Cup going down 5-6 to Vietnam on penalty kicks after a goaless 120 minutes at the National Stadium, Bukit Jalil Saturday night.

With a reputation of 18 goals scored with none against, the Malaysians were quick on the draw but the goal by Indra Putra Mahayuddin in the 7th minute was ruled offside.

Their best chance in the 25 minute when skipper Mohd Syukor Adan headed the ball straight into the arms of Vietnamese goalkeeper Bui Tan Truong.

The Vietnamese represented by their Under 23 squad launched several swift counter attacks causing much worry to the Malaysian defence.

The decision by coach B. Sathiananthan in replacing midfielder Mohd Hardi Jaafar with Mohd Ashaari Samsuddin early in the second half failed to breach the Vietnamese defence.

The 30,000-strong home crowd were left disappointed when there were no goals to show after 90 minutes of open play.

Thirty minutes of extra time also failed to produce a winner.

Malaysia's dream of defending the Cup ended after defender Norhafiz Zamani Misbah failed to convert his spot kick when tied at 5-5.

Mai Tien Thanh was Vietnam's hero when his spot kick defeated Malaysian goalkeeper Mohd Helmi Eliza Elias.

The Vietnamese who lifted their first Merdeka Cup since 1966 returned with USD 10,000 while Malaysia received USD5,000

Malaysia: Mohd Helmi Elias, Norhafiz Zamani Misbah, Mohd Zaquan Radzak (Hairuddin Omar), Mohd Zafuan Radzak, Mohd Safee Sali, Muhd Shukor Adan, Indra Putra Mahayuddin, Mohd Daudsu Jamaluddin (Mohd Khyril Muhymeen Zambri), Mohd Hardy Jaafar, Irwan Fadhli Idrus, Amirulhadi Zainal (Mohd Ashaari Samsuddin).

Vietnam: Bui Tan Truong, Nguyon Thanh Long Giang, Pham Minh Duc, Nguyen Tang Tuan (Trinh Quang Vinh), Hoang Nhat Nam (Nguyen Duc Thien), Hoang Dinh Tung, Houng Danh Ngoc, Le Van Duyet, Mai Xuan Hop, Nguyen Cong Huy, Phan Thanh Binh (Mai Tien Thanh).

Serie A 08/09: Round-Up - 25/10/08

Sat, 25 Oct 2008 20:36:00 -0500

Catania are up to second in Serie A, but they were held to a 1-1 draw at Siena.

Catania travelled to Tuscany knowing victory would have taken them top - but it was not to be for Walter Zenga's men.

After a goalless opening period, Emanuele Calaio headed Siena ahead from Cristiano Del Grosso's cross with just 15 minutes left.

But Siena could not hang on as Catania levelled from the penalty spot through Giuseppe Mascara after Michele Paolucci was brought down by Gianluca Curci.

The evening match was the Turin derby and it was Juventus who secured bragging rights overTorino with a 1-0 win.

The only goal of the game came early in the second-half when Brazilian striker Amauri fired home from the edge of the box.

La Liga 08/09: Round-Up - 25/10/08

Sat, 25 Oct 2008 19:13:00 -0500

Barcelona have surged top of La Liga after destroying Almeria while Real Betis beat struggling Osasuna.

Josep Guardiola's side have been improving every week this season and unfortunately for Almeria they were the unlucky visitors to Camp Nou this time around.

Just 24 minutes had been played before Samuel Eto'o had a hat-trick and Thierry Henry had found the back of the net as Barca surged into a 4-0 lead.

Almeria's difficult task become impossible on the half hour mark when Alvaro Negredo was shown a straight red card for a late challenge on Rafael Marquez.

Dani Alves' sweetly-struck free-kick, his first for the club, put Barca in cruise control on 36 minutes.

Despite Barca's man advantage they surprisingly failed to pad their lead and go one better on their recent 6-0 demolition job on Atletico Madrid.

Real Betis have moved away from the drop zone following a 2-0 win at struggling Osasuna.

Following a goalless first half the deadlock was finally broken on 51 minutes when Mehmet Aurelio curled a delightful long-range free-kick into the bottom corner of the net.

Any hopes Osasuna harboured of stealing a late point disappeared when Mariano Pavone added a close-range second with just four minutes remaining.

EPL 08/09: Round-up on 25/10/08

Sat, 25 Oct 2008 18:15:00 -0500

Battling point

In the noon kick-off, Manchester United travelled to Goodison Park chasing a seventh successive win in all competitions. In the first period Everton could not have been more accommodating, as Fletcher's composed finish from Ryan Giggs' clever pass gave United a deserved half-time lead.

Had it not been for Tim Howard in the home goal the contest would have been over at the break as Nemanja Vidic, Cristiano Ronaldo and Giggs all threatened to add to Fletcher's opener.

It was, though, a different Everton that emerged after the interval as Fellaini's towering header, which saw him rise above Vidic, gave Phil Neville's looped delivery the finish it deserved.

With the home crowd buoyed after a subdued opening period, Everton went for the jugular and would have grabbed all three points had Edwin van der Sar not pushed Yakubu Aiyegbeni's shot onto the post, after an uncharacteristic Rio Ferdinand error.

The Tyne-Wear derby was the type of high-octane clash of yesteryear, as Sunderland stole bragging rights with their first home victory from this fixture in 28 years.

Roy Keane's Black Cats snarled into their visitors from the off as Djibril Cisse broke the deadlock in the 20th minute, when his outstretched leg diverted Steed Malbranque's screwed shot beyond Shay Given.

Joe Kinnear has if nothing else instilled greater steel to his Newcastle side and a travelling Toon faithful were rewarded for their partisan support, as renaissance man Shola Ameobi restored parity on the half hour mark.

Geremi was the architect as his free-kick was headed in by Ameobi, who has now scored in successive games.

At Craven Cottage last week Richardson was left to rue the width of Fulham's woodwork, as his free-kick hit the frame of the goal a remarkable three times. There was no such reprieve for Newcastle though, as the one-time England midfielder scored a stunning winner in the 75th minute, via an explosive effort from the edge of the box.

The final whistle was marred by ugly scenes involving supporters, while Joey Barton was targeted as he warmed up before making a late second half appearance as a substitute.

Hull completed a remarkable smash-and-grab job on the road as they left an evenly contested clash with West Brom with three points and as many goals.

West Brom played some enterprising football of their own but were again undone by a familiar Achilles heel: profligacy in front of goal.

Boaz Myhill was outstanding in Hull's goal as superb saves denied Robert Koren, Borja Valero and James Morrison, while Jonas Olsson hit the crossbar with a close-range header.

Hull had to wait until the second half to break the deadlock, as Kamil Zayatte was left with a criminal amount of space in the box to smartly prod home a Dean Marney corner from close range.

If Hull's first goal owed much to West Brom's defensive deficiencies, their second was a cleverly constructed effort, which saw Geovanni lob the ball into the path of Marlon King, whose ball back to the Brazilian was just the tonic for a diving header that beat Scott Carson at his far post.

As West Brom threw more and more men forward in a bid to get back into the game, a long ball exposed a porous backline as King's astute first touch presented him with enough time to gleefully slot home past Carson.

An injury time header from Benni McCarthy saved Blackburn as they claimed a 1-1 draw with Middlesbrough at Ewood Park.

Rovers dominated possession for much of the game, but Boro were always in the match.

Both sides struck the woodwork in the opening 45 minutes and the away side saw a goal harshly chalked off for offside as Tuncay Sanli was wrongly flagged after an acrobatic overhead finish.

The Teessiders then looked as if they had snatched victory as Afonso Alves lashed an excellent finish home from the edge of the box.

Then four-minutes into injury time and unmarked McCarthy rose to head home and seal a share of the spoils for Rovers.

La Liga 08/09: Match day 8 Preview

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 19:19:00 -0500

Sat 25 Oct 2008 (all times local)
20:00 Osasuna - Betis
22:00 Barcelona - Almería
Sun 26 Oct
17:00 Recreativo - Valencia
17:00 Getafe - Valladolid
17:00 Sevilla - Málaga
17:00 Mallorca - Espanyol
17:00 Deportivo - Sporting
17:00 Numancia - Racing
17:00 Villarreal - At. Madrid
17:00 R. Madrid - Athletic

Kicking off the weekend are winless Osasuna against not-so-winless Betis.

The Béticos managed their first victory of the season in some fashion last week as they blitzed Mallorca by three goals to nil on their own patch.

Osasuna, meanwhile, succumbed to another loss in what was José Camacho's first game in charge.

Free-scoring Barcelona welcome an Almería side who are just starting to show signs of wavering in the late Saturday clash.

The blaugrana put five past ailing Basel midweek in the Champions League, making it an incredible eight straight wins in all competitions.

What's more, Barça have the chance to go top - albeit temporarily - should they win by a convincing margin.

Recreativo Huelva - Valencia

Valencia could then wrest control of the summit yet again with a positive result away to Recre.

Unai Emery's miracle workers continue to do their stuff: six wins and a draw from their opening seven is form unseen since the days of Rafa Benítez.

Little Recre, meanwhile, are in the dropzone with just five points from their first seven games: this augurs well as they visit a ground they've never had a top flight win at.

Getafe - Real Valladolid

Getafe snatched defeat from the jaws of victory by surrending a goal lead to lose at Málaga last week, rendering them mid-table fodder ahead of Valladolid's visit.

These sides, particularly the hosts, are perhaps more used to the Segunda than the Primera, but there was an epic clash at this ground last season in the top flight, the Pucela winning 3-0.

Ex-Geta man Vivar Dorado managed two goals on that occasion, but the home fans will hope to see Soldado, Uche et al net instead.

Sevilla FC - Málaga

Sevilla's midweek win over Stuttgart belied an injury crisis that's still rocking Andalucía this weekend.

Virtually the entire strikeforce is out of commission for this match, meaning that Manolo Jiménez's men have plenty of work to do to create and convert chances.

For Málaga stalwart Duda this is a welcome return to a ground where he plied his trade for a significant amount of time, but overall the boquerones will be less concerned with sentiment than continuing their marvellous run of three wins in a row.

RCD Mallorca - RCD Espanyol

Mallorca's summer sale has seen them start the season in less than impressive fashion when compared to last year.

As such the visit of Espanyol is an occasion not so much for expectation but hope upon hope.

The perequitos, for their part, come to the island just one point clear of the Barralets, but with a relatively successful away record of four points from a possible nine.

RC Deportivo La Coruña - Real Sporting Gijón

Depor's away record in Europe demands comment. On Thursday the Galicians headed to Moscow to meet CSKA, returning later on the receiving end of a 3-0 thrashing.

That's less than impressive stuff from a side that really entertained notions of a win, and they'll be desperate to make up for it against Sporting.

The Asturians managed their second win of the season last week against Osasuna and now have ten goals scored in seven games; sadly the fact that they've shipped three per game is more telling.

CD Numancia - Real Racing Club

Newly-promoted Numancia haven't managed a victory since that opening day shocker against Barcelona, but against Racing they're in with a chance.

The Soria men are dead last with four points, but the verdiblancos aren't much better off as they sit on six.

It's been a less than impressive start for the Santander outfit, who also lost midweek to Twente in the UEFA Cup.

Villarreal - Club Atlético Madrid

Moving ahead to the evening and Villarreal will seek to protect their great Liga defensive record against Atleti.

"Liga" is the operative word, for they conceded three against Aalborg in the Champions League midweek (albeit scoring six.)

The rojiblancos, for their part, pulled off a last-gasp draw with Liverpool in their own CL adventure, but it's clear that their form is still on a dip.

Real Madrid - Athletic Club Bilbao

Finally Real Madrid will seek to put the disappointment of a 2-1 loss at Juventus behind them as Athletic come calling.

The blancos are still in with a great chance of qualifying from their CL group, but that loss to an injury-hit side dented morale.

Athletic come to this game off the back of a narrow 1-0 home loss to Barça, but they've not won here at the Bernabéu since February 2005.

UCL Final 2009 logo unveil!

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 09:30:00 -0500

UEFA has unveiled its new visual identity for the 2009 UEFA Champions League final in Rome, a design that combines today's competition trophy with the ancient Roman symbol of victory, a laurel wreath.

Ancient and modern Rome
Wreaths were worn by victorious emperors as they rode through the streets of Ancient Rome in carriages drawn by white horses, and have a special place in the city's history. Framing the main elements of the design is a stylised portrait of Rome's famous landmark, the Colosseum. Taken together, the different parts of the new identity reflect the city's history, architectural heritage and passion for football.

On paper and the web
The identity will appear in promotional material, tickets and web banners. It will also be supplied to all the official sponsors of the UEFA Champions League for use in publicity material and activities ahead of the final at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome on Wednesday 27 May. Produced by the London-based graphic design and branding agency Radiant, its objective is to help promote the final and enhance the prestige of one of the world's biggest sporting events.

Merdeka Tournament 2008: Malaysia cautious on Vietnam tactics

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 08:41:00 -0500

Although Malaysia blazed into the Merdeka Cup final tomorrow without conceding a goal and scoring 18 goals, their arch rival Vietnam will not be an easy meat.

Vietnam fought back from two goals down to draw level against Sierra Leone before clinching the semi-final match 3-2 on penalties.

National coach B. Sathiananthan said the players were inspired to win the coveted trophy as a present for Football Association of Malaysia president Sultan Ahmad Shah who celebrated his 78th birthday today.

"Vietnam are basically under 21 team who have a remarkable fight back spirit and we should not be off guard," said Sathiananthan, adding that the home ground advantage would give Malaysia an edge.

He said Malaysia were banking stalwarts like Mohd Shukor Adan, Hairuddin Omar, Norhafiz Zamani Misbah and Indra Putra Mahayuddin to set pace for junior players.

"Skipper Shukor, who commands the respects of his team mates, would orchestrate the moves from the centre as usual," said Sathiananthan.

Meanwhile, Shukor, who is regarded as second coach by Sathiananthan, said he was upbeat about the final after missing the previous Merdeka Cup final due to injuries.

The final between Malaysia and Vietnam will be held at the National Stadium, Bukit Jalil at 8.45pm tomorrow.

Merdeka Tournament 2008: Malaysia meet Vietnam in Final!

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 17:12:00 -0500

Vietnam advanced into the Merdeka Cup final after edging Sierra Leone 3-2 on penalties after both teams were tied 2-2 during normal and extra-time in their semifinal encounter at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil here on Wednesday night.

Prior to the penalty shootout, Vietnam who were trailing 0-2 had staged a remarkable fight back to force the match into extra-time.

The African nation had dominated play in the early stages of the match and took the lead through Mohamed Kabia in the 39th minute before Dwight Foray made it 2-0 in the 68th minute.

However, Vietnam managed to reduce the deficit in the 73rd minute through

Trinh Quang Vinh while Nguyen Duc Thien equalised in the 81st minute to force extra-time.

Since both teams failed to break the deadlock after 30 minutes of extra-time play, the tie had to be decided by a penalty shootout.

Three missed spot kicks by Mumino Khomson Kamara, Mohamed Kabia and Mamadu Lajor Bah saw Sierra Leone concede defeat to Vietnam who meet Malaysia in the final.

Malaysia beat Myanmar 4-0 in the other semifinal to book their berth.

UEFA Cup 08/09: Round-Up - 23/10/08

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 16:56:00 -0500

Tottenham's disastrous start to the season continued in Italy as they opened their Group D campaign in the Uefa Cup with a 2-0 defeat to Udinese.

And to make matters worse for under pressure manager Juande Ramos, their latest loss was largely self-inflicted as goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes conceded a needless penalty and Jamie O'Hara was sent off with more than half an hour to go.

Gomes made a terrible mistake when he failed to deal with a simple back-pass and then pulled down Fabio Quagliarella to concede the spot-kick, which Antonio Di Natale converted in the 24th-minute.

The Brazilian tried to make amends with two fine saves in the second half but the damage had been done and Tottenham's woes were increased by a red card for O'Hara which left them chasing the game with ten men.

The midfielder was cautioned twice in the space of 52 seconds to become the third Tottenham player to be dismissed in their last two games.

Aston Villa kicked off their Uefa Cup Group F campaign in style with a fine 2-1 success over Ajax at Villa Park.Although Thomas Vermaelen cancelled out Martin Laursen's opener, Gareth Barry struck on the stoke of half-time to give Martin O'Neill's side the points.

The home side made a bright start to the contest and were rewarded for their endeavours after eight minutes when Laursen headed Villa in front.

Ashley Young delivered the perfect corner for the Dane to arrive right on cue to nod home past the helpless Kenneth Vermeer in the Ajax goal.

However, Ajax did not go into their shell and were back on level terms on 22 minutes in a similar fashion to Villa's opener. Urby Emanuelson delivered a telling corner that Vermaelen powered home in off the crossbar.

AC Milan got their Uefa Cup Group E campaign off to a winning start with a comprehensive 3-1 victory over Heerenveen.

Two first-half goals within four minutes plus a second-half effort from Filippo Inzaghi sealed the points for the Italian giants, although the Dutch hosts pulled back a late penalty consolation.

Andriy Shevchenko had the first effort on goal, forcing keeper Brian Vandenbussche into a save from a free-kick in the third minute.

Mika Vayrynen then made Dida save at the other end, before a Calvin Jong-a-Pin own goal put the visitors in front on 19 minutes.

The goal came from a Kaka corner, with the luckless Heerenveen left back directing the Brazilian's cross from the right into his own net.

The Italians then doubled their advantage four minutes later with a Gennaro Gattuso strike, with Kaka again the provider.

The home side pressed to get back in the game, forcing Dida into several more saves, before Inzaghi sealed the points on 69 minutes.

His right footed effort from inside the area meant he became the all-time record goalscorer in Uefa club competitions with 64 goals, one ahead of Real Madrid's Raul.

The hosts then scored a late consolation when Danijel Pranjic netted from the spot with four minutes to go, after Paulo Henrique was fouled in the area by Giuseppe Favalli.

UCL 08/09: Chelsea vs Roma Video Highlights

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 23:03:00 -0500

Chelsea vs Roma Second half Highlights