Manchester United fans will be unhappy seeing Michael Owen again in a Liverpool shirt next month.
He has agreed to turn out in Jamie Carragher’s testimonial a week on Saturday.
Owen’s motives are honourable, of course, as his appearance against an Everton XI will help to raise money for Carragher’s chosen charity.
Nevertheless, hardline United fans will be less than impressed. The rivalry between the two clubs is as fierce as ever, despite Liverpool’s recent struggles, and many United supporters will take a dim view of the fact that he has agreed to wear a Liverpool shirt.
It is understood that Owen will play 45 minutes in front of the Kop at Anfield on September 4 after his former team-mate personally asked for his presence in his Liverpool XI line-up.
The former England striker has been given permission by his United manager Sir Alex Ferguson to play in the game and the Scot will hope that the run out will help Owen find some kind of form, says the Daily Mail.
It is clear the former Real Madrid man is going to have to find some form and fitness if his contract at Old Trafford is to be extended beyond the current campaign.
Many United fans have never really taken to Owen, largely because of his association with Liverpool but also because his contribution to the United cause has been so modest since arriving on a free transfer from Newcastle United.
On Sunday a new name will be engraved on the football world cup, as Netherlands are set to take on the European Champions Spain make sure you don’t miss the Live football as over 1 billion people will be watching. Neither side has ever won the most prestigous award and for spain it is their first ever Wolrd Cup Final. Netherlands have twice reached the final only to be beaten by west Germany and Italy but this time around they will be hoping its third time lucky. Spain went into the the tournament as favourites to lift the cup but with them known as the perenial under achievers not many peeople actually thought they would do it, but here they are in the final and with it they go in red hot favourites to end the Dutch 22 match unbeaten run and claim the World Cup. For Holland to overcome the Spanish machine they will need to play smartly and play more to spains weaknesses than their own strengths.
If both teams play there own style of the beautiful game there will be only one winner, Spain haven’t let any of the teams they have played against have a kick of the ball for the majority of the match and they will do to Holland what they have done to Portugal, Paraguay and Germany on their way to the final and pass them into submission, by just wearing them down over the course of the 90 minutes using their famous tippy-tappa style of play.
Key Battles
Ramos/Capevilla v Robben
Arjen Robben is possibly the most effective player on the football pitch at the moment and it will be down ot either Capedvilla or Sergio Ramos to stop the flying Dutchman. In the last game Uruguay played their right back at left back and their left back on the left wing to try and stop Robben but he still managed to cause havok. Spain will surely be weiry of the 24 year old, but if they can keep the ball from getting to Robbe they should have no problems. On the other hand when Spain have the ball (which will be most of the match) one of the full backs should be free as Robben doesn’t like defending.
Xavi v Sneijder
Possibly the 2 best midfielders will go head to head in Sundays final, Wesley Sneijder has had a fantstic season with Inter picking up the treble and being tipped to be the World Player of the Year, but what will he cope like without much of the ball, no doubt he will have to defend more than attack. Xavi on the other hand will probably be the player to see the majority of the ball and it will be down to himself, Iniesta and Xavi Alonso to open up the Dutch defence.
Villa v Mathijsen
What mre can be said about David Villa, he performs on the biggest of stages as well as at club level, he is currently joint top scorer at this years competition with Seijder who both have 5 goals. Villa has scored 3 of the the last 4 Spanish goals which ahve got them through to this final, if he get a sniff of a goal you can bet the Barcelona striker will take it and with it the world cup. Mathijsen is possibly the weakest player in the dutch team and he will dred facing the inform spaniard, no doubt having nightmares of the problems he gave him in the Europa League earlier in the season.
Good Luck to both teams and i hope they put on a great Spetical for the football fans across the world.
It is with great joy and emotion that I inform I have recently become father to a baby boy. As agreed with the baby’s mother, who prefers to have her identity kept confidential, my son will be under my exclusive guardianship. No further information will be provided on this subject and I request everyone to fully respect my right to privacy (and that of the child) at least on issues as personal as these are.
So that’s that. C-Ron’s a Daddy, and that’s all he’s going to say on it. I’m the third-farthest person from a Cristiano Ronaldo fan in all of football, but I have to give him credit. He announced what sounds like a somewhat … complicated arrangement in a fairly simple anti-Paparazzi way. And with Portugal out and a bit over a month until La Liga starts up for his Real Madrid side, he can hopefully take a few weeks and get some quality time with Winker Jr.
The questions are (because I personally don’t care who the mama is), 1) is he sincere about wanting to keep the kid out of the spotlight? and 2) can he do it?
We don’t know the babys name but after Ronaldo’s Portugal are out of the world cup he can set his sights on looking after the little tot beforehe gets back to playing in La Liga, here are the early football odds for the winning of the la liga title.
Jamie Carragher has offered one reason for England’s World Cup woe – his own return from international exile.
The Liverpool veteran had last played for England in June 2007 but was lured out of international retirement by Fabio Capello amid injury concerns in defence.
Carragher replaced Ledley King at half-time in the Group C opener against the USA, when the Three Lions had to settle for a 1-1 draw before turning in a dismal display against Algeria.
A 0-0 draw on Friday means England, among the pre-tournament favourites, must now beat Slovenia to be sure of just reaching the second round.
Carragher is suspended for the game having picked up a second booking against Algeria, but the 32-year-old joked that could be a blessing following England’s stuttering start.
“It’s very difficult to put your finger on,” he said.
“We did really well in qualifying so I think maybe I’m the problem coming back!
“They seemed to be fine when I was watching the qualifying. It’s just not happening at the moment.
“Obviously we have a chance to put it right after two disappointing results and two disappointing performances. There’s still all to play for.”
England face Slovenia in Port Elizabeth on Wednesday and a point would be enough for the surprise group leaders to book their place in the last 16 having beaten Algeria 1-0 before drawing 2-2 with the USA.
Last night the host nation fo the world cup were delat a cruel blow, after drawing their first game against Mexico in a rather exciting game they took on Uruguay who also drew their first game of the tournament. Bafana Bafana (~SOuth Africa) went into the gmae full of confidence but they were soon humbled after Diego Forlans defelcted shot found the back of the net mid way through the first half. Urugua ended up running out 3-0 winners and were considerably better than the host nation. this means that South Africa will need to win the finally group game and rely on other results going their way to get through.
Here are the world cup odds after the 1st round of group matches
9-2 Brazil
5 Spain (from 7/2)
11-2 Argentina (from 6)
15-2 Germany
15-2 Netherlands
8 England
14 Italy
25 France
28 Portugal
Forget the USA-England rivalry; the real fight brewing at the World Cup is not over soccer, but the vuvuzela, the plastic horn that when blown correctly makes a very loud and drawn out sound.
Supporters say it’s an inspiring cacophony, but critics say it sounds like a swarm of bees, drowning out fans, commentators, national anthems and generally ruining the World Cup experience for everyone.
FIFA , the soccer-governing body in charge of the World Cup, is under pressure to ban the noise-maker. It said in a statement that for now it will only outlaw vuvuzelas if they become a physical hazard, such as if fans throw the horns on the field, but that it “continues to evaluate the use of vuvuzelas on an on-going basis.”
The football odds have the vuvuzelas to be banned at 4/1
England were favourites to win both friendly games this week, and they proved the football odds right with wins against Mexico and Japan. The games were used as run-outs for the players which Fabio Capello may take to the world cup. Here are the highlights of both games, you can make your own assumptions of the final 23 man squad which is to be announced later today.
The countdown is on to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and sports enthusiasts around the globe are gearing up. YouTube has been one of the epicenters of FIFA World Cup anticipation, with excitement building over the last couple of months as inspiring World Cup clips have been uploaded, one after the other. We’ve compiled a few of the best World Cup 2010 clips, perfect for getting you pumped up for a summer of world class football. Gooooooal!!
Nike Write The Future
Nike’s ‘Write The Future’ campaign is the epitome of World Cup 2010 clips. With more than 7.6 million views on YouTube, this epic clip brings together the world’s best players and inspires sports fans to leave their woes behind. After all, who cares about the state of the economy when we have football greats like Christiano Ronaldo, Fabio Cannavaro, Andres Iniesta, Didier Drogba, Wayne Rooney and Ronaldinho?
For me, this Pepsi ad takes the cake when it comes to brilliant World Cup commercials. Pepsi released this clip, despite the fact that they are not an official sponsor of this year’s FIFA event. The commercial features football stars Thierry Henry, Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba, Lionel Messi, Ricardo Kaka and Andrei Arshavin playing against local African kids in a less than ordinary football match.
This inspiring Coca Cola clip takes us back twenty years ago, to Cameroonian football player Roger Milla’s first celebratory dance after a goal. Milla’s dance changed goal celebrations forever, with fans and players letting go—celebrating success with dance. You can’t help but smile when watching this great clip.
All across Europe, league titles were being decided this weekend. Here is a breif round-up of the final standings in europes major leagues.
As you already know, Chelsea are th Champions of England and new F.A cup champions after they beat Portsmouth in the final at Wembley on Saturday.
La Liga
Barcelona retained their Spanish crown after beating Valladolid 4-0 in the final game of the season, and the galaticos of Real Madrid finished as runners-up as they could only manage a 1-1 draw with Malaga. Messi scored twice to take his tally this season to 34 goals, and with took the la liga golden shoe.
Seria A Inter Milan and Jose Mourinho have their sights on a treble after securing their fifth straight League title, and the domestic cup. They were pushed all the way in the league by Roma, but a 1-0 win against Siena on the final day of the season clinched the title.
Ligue 1
Marseille are this season french league winners followed by Lyon and Auxerre, They did actually win the league with a game to spare, but it is a great result for the team.
Bundesliga Bayern Munich are once again German champions and they aswell as Inter Milan have the chance to become a treble winning team, the final of the Uefa Champions league will decide which team goes down in the history books.
This is the best time to place a bet on the winners of next season compatitions so check the odds comparison at http://www.odds1×2.com and get your bet in early.
Chelsea went into the last game of the season knowing that a win would crown the Champions of England. With everyone kicking off at the same time all they could do was win, and they did in style. They hosted Wigan at Stamford Bridge whilst their nearest rivals Manchester United entertained Stoke at Old Trafford. Manchester United started the game needing a win and hoping the blues didn’t beat Wigan. Man U did their part of the deal by beating Stoke 4 – 0, but you could see by their muted goal celebrations they had heard the scoreline from Stamford Bridge.
After 6 minutes Chelsea were 1- 0 up thanks to Anelka, and any hope of a Wigan comeback were dashed when they conceded the second from the penalty spot, after Gary Caldwell fouled Drogba and was then sent off. It was 2- 0 at half time and the Trophy was clearly going to Stamford Bridge, Chelsea decided that they were going to end the season on a massive high, and entertain their fans.
The news had got through to Old Trafford of the situation at The Bridge but it didn’t stop united, from scoring 4 goals. No expected the drumming that Chelsea gave to Wigan in the second half though, it was a relentless attack, and in the end Chelsea ran out 8-0 winners. With the goals coming in the shape of, Anelka (2) Kalou, Lampard, A.Cole and Drogba (3). With Drogba getting a hatrick and Wayne Rooney failing to score it meant that the Ivorian won the Golden Boot award, and with it became the first African player to win the prestigious award.
Chelsea have the chance to do the league and F.A cup double on saturday when they take on relegated Portsmouth, they will more than likely be favourites for the cup, so why not make sure and check the odds comparison at http://odds1×2.com. Win yourself some money, and place a bet on a Chelsea victory.
