The FC 100: Loves Talking Football.

All of the Champions League games are delicately poised going into the second legs in a fortnight’s time.
                
Liverpool, Manchester United and Barcelona are in strong positions having secured an early advantage in their respective ties.
Liverpool produced a dominant performance to secure a 2-0 win over Inter Milan. Having been held by ten-man Inter for 86 minutes, the Italians were on course to pull off a terrific result having defended doggedly from the outset. However goals from Kuyt and crucially Steven Gerrard in the 90th minute, have given Liverpool a terrific platform from which to secure qualification for the quarter-finals. Gerrard’s goal may well prove to be the difference as Inter would surely have settled for a 1-0 defeat. Materazzi’s suspension and an injury to the superb Ivan Cordoba will also give Liverpool hope that they can grab a vital away goal in the San Siro.
The Inter Milan team may well be a much-changed outfit however, with the likes of Viera, Figo and Hernan Crespo likely to feature prominently in the second leg. While Torres was, for the most part, kept quiet by Inter’s excellent defence, the Spaniard will fancy his chances against a weakened defence in the second leg, especially as Inter will have to push far further upfield than they ever did in the game at Anfield.
              
An 87th minute goal from substitute Carlos Tevez gave Manchester United a vital away goal despite a lacklustre performance. Lyon took the lead early in the second half after United-target Karim Benzema scored a terrific solo effort, with four Red shirts around him the Frenchman somehow shifted the ball from his right foot to his left and belted the ball past Edwin Van der Saar.
In a free-flowing game Wayne Rooney’s 1-on-1 with Coupet was well saved while Juninho went close with a free-kick.
Benzema had a chance to make it 2-0 when he evaded a Rio Ferdinand challenge only for the ever-reliable Vidic to step across and sheperd the forward wide.
Ronaldo had a quiet night but produced a terrific save from Coupet late-on when his free-kick threatened to sneak in at the far post. However when Giggs and Scholes were replaced by Nani and Tevez, United began to look brighter and sure enough when Nani’s cross was deflected by Fred, Tevez pounced on the line to give United a foot in the quarter-finals.

Celtic and Barcelona put on a terrific game of football at Celtic Park but with the Catalans running out 3-2 winners, Barcelona will be confident they can secure victory in the Nou Camp, and they are already looking like the team to beat. Despite a disappointing campaign so far in La Liga, Barca have cut the gap on arch-rivals Madrid to just five points and on this display they look like peaking at just the right time.
Celtic took the lead through Venegoor of Hesselink, a terrific header against the run of play. However despite Robson’s goal to make it 2-1, a brace from Messi and a brilliant strike from Thierry Henry leave Barcelona in the driving seat.
Gordan Strachan joked after the game that he wouldn’t put his house on Celtic winning in two weeks time and he’s rarely wrong about these kind of things.

Elsewhere AC Milan and Arsenal played out an entertaining 0-0 draw at the Emirates. AC will be favourites as the old masters denied an exciting Arsenal team. Adebayor’s stoppage time miss will be giving him sleepless nights this week, the Togo striker slamming a header against the bar with the entire goal gaping in front of him…..Chelsea did enough to take a 0-0 game back to London and should progress past Olympiakos. With one eye on Sunday’s Carling Cup Final, Avram Grant rested Terry and Lampard and with one of the strongest squads in Europe, Chelsea should progress to the next phase in two weeks time…… Fenerbache’s 3-2 win over Sevilla makes for a hell of a return leg in Spain. An 87th minute deflected winner means the Turks can progress to the quarter finals for the first time if they avoid defeat in Spain. However, Sevilla will be confident they can turn the game on it’s head at home, and are many peoples’ tips as a dark horse this season…..Roma and Real Madrid served up an entertaining encounter which the Italians shaded 2-1. Despite a strong first-half performance from Real, Roma take the advantage thanks to two Francesco Totti-assisted goals….Shalke 04 lead FC Porto 1-0 thanks to a fourth minute Kevin Kuranyi strike. While the game was always likely to be tight, Shalke are firmly in the driving seat, aware that an away goal will give the Portugese team a mountain to climb. While Shalke’s defence has been their achilles heel so far this season, in Kuranyi they have a top striker and they will look to score and force FC Porto to gamble at the back, having to attack in search of three goals…

Don’t you just love Christmas?

 This weekend’s action kicks off at 12.45 with a traditional cracker: Arsenal V Spurs.
Spurs have shown promising signs recently of becoming a football team again, they’ll need to keep their discipline though because as we saw during the week, playing against a ten-man Arsenal team can be tough, playing with ten of your own is just suicide.
Spurs welcome back captain Robbie Keane which means Jermaine Defoe will be back in the familiar surroundings of the dugout. Didier Zakora starts a 3-game ban, Steed Malbranque doesn’t. Where’s the justice in that?

  Cesc Fabregas should have seen red for his nasty foul on Ashley Cole in last week’s game against Chelsea. He didn’t though and unfortunately for Spurs, he’ll take his place in the team. Van Persie is also fit to start and should be amongst the goals as he’s been a bit quiet since his return without looking 100 percent match-fit.

This game is generally very entertaining and with both teams looking to kick-start a successful Christmas campaign, fingers crossed we’ll see a few goals. Prediction: Score Draw.

 (Cannavaro V Zambrotta. We’re backing the lad with the muscles - Cannavaro)

Sunday sees El Classico: Real Madrid V Barcelona. Messi is out for Barcelona so we won’t be treated to a repeat of his famous hat-trick last year. Speculation is also rife that Ronaldinho won’t start. However, to be honest, he probably will. Giovanni dos Santos has been in top form but ‘Diny has to be included as he has a good record in the Classico encounters in his time there. Thierry Henry, if passed fit, renews rivalry with Ruud Van Nistelrooy. Expect lots of hugs and pats on the ass and both of them to get on the score sheet. Samuel Eto’o may be the preferred choice after the Cameroon hit-man has exploded back onto the scene since recovering from injury, grabbing a brace in last weeks 3-0 win over Valencia.

As with Spurs-Arsenal, this one is always worth a look. Not simply because of the players involved (although it’s a little exciting to see them all on one pitch), also because of the fact that the fans simply hate each other. And the players have been known to get a little testy too. With Real Madrid currently on top, Barca need the win. A win for Madrid would leave Raul and co sitting pretty, seven points clear of their rivals, a far cry from last year when they trailed for most of the early season. Kick-off is at 6p (GMT).

(Kaka miserably fails to bring sexy back)

 Onto Serie A now where the Milan derby also takes place this weekend. Possibly not one to stimulate as much in recent years as the players are probably doped up and betting on each other while the referee has presumably got himself a nice brown envelope to spend as he sees fit once everything goes to plan.

Hopefully all that rubbish is a thing of the past though and 83,500 screaming fans will certainly get the pulses racing. Not to mention the volatile characters on both teams. Ok on Inter’s team. Ibrahimovic is expected to return after being rested midweek. Inter are, technically, the home team and they start the game a massive 22 points clear of their fierce rivals. AC Milan’s home form has been particularly bad this season although technically they are the away team so you never know…..

AC need the win despite the fact that Inter are already too far ahead. Defeat and te pressure on Carlo Ancelotti will increase and Jose Mourinho may find himself back in a job. Kick-off there is at 2pm (GMT).

And finally we leave you with a picture or two we just stumbled upon. Happy Christmas.

(Francesco Totti’s wife. Yes but is he happy though…….yes, yes I think he is)

Tuesday Fixtures….. 

• Marseille Vs Besiktas   (Group A)
• FC Porto Vs Liverpool  
• Chelsea  Vs Rosenborg   (Group B)
• FC Shalke 04 Vs Valencia  
• Real Madid Vs Werder Bremen (Group C)
• Olympiacos Vs Lazio  
• Milan  Vs Benfica  (Group D)
• Shakhtar Donetsk Vs Celtic  

Tuesday’s  Preview…..

FC Porto Vs Liverpool…..Liverpool travel to a notoriously hard place for English teams to gain points in recent years when they face FC Porto at the Estadio do Dragao on Tuesday night. The sides had contrasting fortunes at the weekend with Porto heading to the top of their league with a 1-0 win over Maritimo (a top of the table clash), the goal coming from striker Lisandro Lopez. Liverpool could only secure a point at Portsmouth and rarely looked like scoring in the 0-0 draw; Benitez will hope for better this time around.

Porto View: Lucho Gonzalez told Uefa.com:  It’s good to play against such a strong team. Liverpool are very difficult opponents but we think we are ready. Of course, they have a very strong defence and they are very good at counterattacking but we hope to impose our own style. We are very good at making goalscoring chances.

Liverpool View: Rafael Benitez: It is clear that the perfect situation is to get to the last game and already be qualified for the next stage Last season we achieved that and….this is something we must achieve regularly. We are not thinking of drawing this one. I feel we need 12 points to get through to the next stage….If we win our three home games and then achieve one away win, that should be enough.

Marseille Vs Besiktas…….Marseille kick off their first Champions League campaign for four years on the back of an awful start to the Ligue 1 so far this term. Defeat at home to Toulouse left the French side lying 15th without a home win so far this season. They will hope to kickstart their season with a victory over in-form Besiktas who currently lie second in the Süper Lig despite a draw with bottom club Ankaraspor AS at the weekend.

Chelsea Vs Rosenborg….Chelsea head in to the first game of the group stage missing the influential Drogba and Lampard. After the same two missed Saturday’s scoreless draw with Blackburn, quesions were asked as to the London side’s ability to break down opposition without the missing duo. However, Andriy Shevchenko’s goalscoring record is pretty handy in Europe and we fancy him to register his first goal, assuming Mourinho doesn’t drop him (again).

Chelsea View: Jose Mourinho: It’s important to start the group with a victory, we did it against Werder Bremen last season. It’s important that we’re going to play thinking about winning the game. Of course we’ll be respecting the opponent, but we think we’re the better team and we want to win the game.

Rosenborg View: Knut Tørum: We have to take away Chelsea’s strength, speed and power which is at a higher level than we normally face in Norway, but at the same time carry out our own attacks so we don’t just allow Chelsea to keep coming at us. But the group is so strong it will be very difficult for us to go through. Not that he’s making excuses already…..

FC Shalke Vs Valencia…Shalke currently lie eighth in the Bundesliga, courtesy of one win and four draws, an unbeaten start to the season. Having secured a point in Saturday’s clash with league leaders Bayern Munich, Shalke will go into the game with confidence, unlike, perhaps, their opponents Valencia who were booed off by their fans after a poor performance in the 2-1 win over Real Valladolid. However, the Spanish team were quarter-finalists last year and certainly possess the quality in attack to trouble the Germans on home soil.

Real Madrid Vs Werder Bremen….Real enter the game in top form with a 100% record in La Liga and all guns firing so far under new coach Bernd Schuster. Arjen Robben could make his debut to make Schuster even more popular with the fans but Werder Bremen have enough Champions League experience from recent years to offer the home side problems. However the German side have injuries to key players and with the likes of Christophe Mezelder (Real Madrid) and Miroslav Klose (Bayern Munich) having left the club, this game may prove to be a write-off for the visitors.

Olympiacos Vs Lazio….Olympiacos come into this game having last played a competitive fixture on September 2nd. While manager and players alike insist they are well prepared, a combination of poor fitness and the game being played behind closed doors  (a result of crowd trouble last season) may see the Greek side struggle to halt the form of the last two seasons in which they have lost their opening game of the group. Lazio have opened Serie A in poor form, drawing each of their three fixtures, however they may profit from the home side’s lack of playing time in recent weeks due to the International break and recent elections.

Milan Vs Benfica….Last season’s champions kick-start their campaign at home to Benfica and having rested the likes of Kaka, Inzaghi and Ambrosini for the weekend draw with Siena, they clearly want to retain their trophy this term. All three will return for this tie but Maldini, Ronaldo and the playmaker Andrea Pirlo will all miss out through injury. Milan currently lie fifth in Serie A with one win and two draws but will fancy their chances at home to the Portugese. Benfica are in terrific domestic form having enjoyed recent back-to-back 3-0 successes and with former Milan maestro Rui Costa amongst their staff they have a man capable of unlocking their more illustrious opponents. Benfica too though have injury problems, and coach José Antonio Camacho may prioritise the games against the weaker opponents in group D.

Shakhtar Donetsk Vs Celtic….Shakhtar come into this tie on the back of eight straight wins in the Ukrainian Premier League and with the advantage (at this stage of the competition) of being well into their domestic season, unlike their opponents Celtic who are just six games into the new season, albeit top of the table and unbeaten thus far. The Ukranians won 3-0 when these sides met here back in 2004 and Shakhtar coach Mircea Lucescu has emphasised the importance of a good start against the Scottish side who hold a poor away record in Europe.

Shakhtar View: Mircea Lucescu: We need a good start to the group stage. Celtic are stronger than three years ago when we last met in the Champions League, but so are we. Celtic and Shakhtar have differing styles. Celtic are physically strong and well organised; they run from the first whistle until the very last, just like Gordon Strachan did in his playing days. We are more technical and it will be a battle of styles.

Celtic View: Gordan Strachan: It took Milan more than 100 minutes to score against us [in the last 16 last season] and we had a good match at Spartak. I can’t account for all Celtic teams but I think we’ve improved over the last couple of years. I would say most sides in the Champions League have a better home record than away record. All we can do is concentrate on our form – our side of the equation.

Atletico Madrid have tied up a move for Jose Antonio Reyes after agreeng a twelve million euro deal for the Spanish forward.

Reyes, who famously scored twice for Real Madrid on the final day of the season to secure La Liga for Atletico’s arch-rivals, has made no secret of two things: (1). He’d rather be at Real Madrid. You’d think scoring the two most important goals of Real’s season may have got him an extra year or two. But no. No it didn’t. Clearly new coach Bernd Schuster wants Reyes at the Bernabeu as much as Fabio Capello did last season. (2). There was absolutely no way he was going back to London. You may have heard about it; reasonably big city in the south of England, quite a popular tourist destination by all accounts. Not for Jose. You get the feeling Reyes may have actually made a run for it if he’d been forced to come back to Arsenal. As in, last seen in Mexico running a small beach bar kind of a run for it.

Luckily for Jose, Atletico have taken pity on him and Arsenal will now be rid of Reyes as well as Ljungberg and Henry. With Eduardo da Silva the only attacking arrival at the Emirates this summer Arsenal fans will be entitled to be worried about prospects for the coming season. However, an impressive matchwinning performance from Robin van persie in Arsenal’s 2-1 win over Inter Milan will go someway to easing the Gunner’s fears. Thefc100 is looking forward to seeing the Dutchman back to full fitness and chances are he will flourish inHenry’s absence this season. Watch this space.

Not long to go now folks…..

Momo Sissoko has signed a new four year deal at Liverpool, as announced yesterday. In a squad now full of talented midfielders, the Mali International will have to fight it out with Alonso, Mascherano and new signing Lucas Leiva. The indications now are that Steven Gerrard will revert to the right wing on a permanent basis having played a lot of last season in the centre of midfield. Luis Garcia may now be deemed surplus to requirements, Djibril Cisse will sign for Marseille this weekend, while Bellamy may follow him if, as expected, Fernando Torres agrees personal terms next week when he returns from holidays. Of more significance however, was Rafa Benitez’ facial hair which looks extremely controversial to say the least. However, thefc100 gives it the full thumbs up, simply for the shock factor…..

http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldown/N156129070628-1712.htm

 Derby have broken their transfer record to sign Robert Earnshaw from Norwich City for three and a half million pounds. Earnshaw, who has played in the Premiership for West Brom, is a proven Championship goalscorer but has often been accused of lacking the proper attributes at the highest level. However, Derby have been quiet on the transfer front this summer, and the fans will no doubt be delighted to see someone who, if given the proper chance, will score goals for them this term, something promoted teams often find most difficult.

Everton duo Mikel Arteta and Tim Cahill have signed new contracts to keep them at Goodison Park until 2012. The two, rumoured to be targeted by West Ham, are hugely influential to the club and having signed new deals, will hope to be joined by some new faces this summer to help them progress to the level whereby they are fighting for a Champions League position.

Tottenham have ended the long running saga over where Darren Bent will play his football next season by capturing the England international for a fee in the region of 16.5 million pounds. The former Charlton forward has signed a deal for ‘up to six years’ at White Hart Lane, and his arrival puts Jermaine Defoe’s future at the club in some doubt while effectively ending any chance Mido had of competing for a place next term. Martin Jol may seek to keep Defoe though, as Berbatov, Keane, Bent and Defoe will be an array of forwards unrivalled in the Premiership. It remains doubtful though that Defoe will be happy to stay and play a rotation game with Englands potential appearance in Euro 2008 next summer.

Fabio Capello has been sacked as manager of Real Madrid after just one season in charge of his second spell at the club. Capello, who was sacked in similar circumstances last time, led Real Madrid to the title last season but the style of football he instigated was often criticised by the media and President Calderon. Bernd Schuster is Calderon’s favourite to succeed the Italian, though Getafe have vowed to fight to hold on to the manager who led them to the Copa del rey final last term.

Barcelona have confirmed the signing of Eric Abidal from Lyon for around fifteen million euros today. Abidal, a member of the France team who reached the final of the 2006 World Cup in Germany, has signed a four year contract at the Nou Camp and joins fellow new boy and compatriot Thierry Henry to La Liga. Abidal, widely considered to be one of the best left-backs in Europe, will replace Giovanni van Bronckhorst, who has re-joined Feyenoord whom he played for as a youngster. The Dutchman had signed a new deal in December but included a clause which allowed him to join Feyenoord alone if they came in with an offer.

And in the weirdest story to come out of La Liga so far this century, Chris Coleman has been installed as the new manager of Real Sociedad. Having been relegated last term, Sociedad clearly feel the Welsh approach might be best and having flirted with everyones favourite Welshman John Toshack, decided to go with a younger model in Coleman, sacked from Fulham after a disastrous campaign last term. Well, you know what they say, a sacking and a relegation makes a promotion….? Kinda…..

Get your most colourful outfit and the silliest hat you own at the ready, the Copa America is coming. Of course these are not completely obligitory and you are perfectly entitled to watch the action on some ridiculously obscure television channel (or sky sports, although the grainy picture and foreign language commentary makes the experience that bit more authentic) on a rainy night in a pub in Ireland… bit too close to home that one. Well I for one will be wearing my silly hat and securing my fix of precious footballing nectar during the long summer drought.

 The oldest ‘National Teams’ tournament in the world kicks off for the 42nd time on June 26th and if you are not exactly sure what is going on then you are in the right place. This is a guide to the tournament, what to expect and who to look out for. With brief overviews of each team and predictions as to how they will do, this is your ultimate guide to the Copa America. The teams are divided into three groups of four and these have been confirmed as:

Group A

Venezuela

Bolivia

Uruguay

Peru

Group B

Brazil

Mexico

Ecuador

Chile

Group C

Argentina

USA

Paraguay

Colombia

In a funny way, that only our South American cousins could manage, they have an invited team who don’t have to qualify but simply turn up. This year it is the USA but in truly ignorant fashion, when first asked, they rejected the invitation. The head of the Cost Rican FA then got a phone call and jumped at the chance to fill the vacant space only for the US to change it’s mind and Costa Rica were dumped out of the tournament. And all of this before a ball is even kicked! Besides all the scandal and posturing international tournaments inevitably throw up, there will also be a bit of football played and this is far more worthy of our attention.

GROUP A 

Venezuela

Never won the tournament before and, to be honest, aren’t very likely. They have never gotten past the group stages and this year, as hosts, they are likely to have their best chance ever of breaking the trend. They have also never featured in a world cup. With such a poor international pedigree they are most certainly going to be the whipping boys of the tournament.

Players of note:

Juan Arango, who plays in La Liga for Real Mallorca is their only player of real reputaion.

Prediction:

Cannon Fodder, out after first round                                                                  

Uruguay

The team with two World Cups, Uruguay also have a healthy number of Copa America victories totlalling 14 in all and most of the time when they didn’t win it they finished in the top four. They haven’t won it since 1995 however and they appear to be slipping slightly in the dominance stakes of South America’s premier competition. Is their a resurgence on the cards? Since that win in 95′ they have gone out in the first round, finished 2nd, 4th and 3rd. Will this be their year?

Players of note:

Uruguay have a decent number of European based players supplemented by a few solid home talents. Names you will have heard are Diego Forlan, former Manchester United striker who now plays for Villareal. Scored a wonder goal in the ‘98 World Cup if I remember correctly. Could be banging ‘em in this summer. Alvaro Recoba, Inter Milan, gone off the boil in recent years, might not figure too much. Carlos Bueno from Sporting Lisbon. 27 year old striker who once scored four goals in twenty minutes against Nacional (Check it!)

Prediction:

Decent Outfit, Semi Finals 

Peru

With two wins in the competition to date, Peru have some degree of history in the Copa America. They have made the quarterfinals on the past three occasions and in ‘97 they finished 4th. Again, they are a team with an outside chance of upsetting the apple cart but it appears quite unlikely. In their last three friendlies they have lost twice by a two goal margin at home to Japan and Ecuador. This run of form could prove telling.

Players of note:

Peruvian players you may recognise this summer include new Chelsea acquisition, Claudio Pizzaro. Having stagnated somewhat at Bayern don’t be surprised to see a rejuvenated Pizzaro out to make a statement. PSV Eindhoven’s Farfan will also be one to keep an eye on along with Barnsley ace Miguel Mostto. This striker was top scorer in the Peruvian league in 2006 before being snapped up by the oakwell outfit earlier this month.

Prediction:

A huge number of home based players means that they won’t be overly relient on the European players to succeed. Could just be the difference for them. Form is against them though.

Scrappy Fighters, Out after first round                                                                        

Bolivia

Historically a very weak team, they have one win in the competition. Since finishing runners-up in ‘97 they have invariably failed to get out of the group and this is also the case in World Cup campaigns. On the three occasions they qualified they never escaped their group. only three of the current squad ply their trade outside of South America and this may be an indicator of their talents. Having seen a friendly against the Republic of Ireland however, I would not dismiss this squad. They played well against a decent Irish side and at times dominated the game. Having gone behind to an early goal, Bolivia showed character and determination to pull themselves back into the game and earn a draw.

 Players of Note:

Hmmm… No European greats spring to mind. They have, however, recalled Jaime Moreno. The DC United hitman who, incidentally, is the MLS’ joint top scorer of all time with 108 goals. He was recalled after six years in the wilderness for the game against Ireland and the former Middlesbrough player is sure to want to impress.

Prediction:

Surprise Package, Quarterfinals

GROUP B                                                                         

Brazil

This is an interesting one. The holders of the Copa America are going into battle without some of their best players. Messrs; Kaka, Ronaldinho, Dida and Ronaldo to name but a few have all been excused from the tournament because of the intensity of the European season. While this takes from the quality of the tournament and reduces its profile on the international stage it also makes it more interesting. We now get to European golden boot winner, Alfonso Alves doing his thing for the national side along with Robinho of Madrid. It is also not a foregone conclusion that Brazil will hold onto the Copa America.

Players of note:

Where do you start? With only three home based players you will probably have heard of most of Brazil’s squad. Manchester United’s new signing, Anderson will get some playing time and will be keen to show what he can do on the big stage. Chelsea recruit Alex will also be in the frame for a regular berth after impressive displays this season for PSV. Inter Milan trickster, Maicon will be excited about getting a run for his country and a player I regard as simply phenomenol, Sevilla’s Daniel Alves, should be stretching his legs down that right touchline. Oh I’m getting excited just thinking about it!

Prediction:

First Class, Winners

Chile

A bit like Villa, up and down with one decent season thrown in. Chile have never won the Copa America. They have finished in a variety of different positions though, ranging from losing all their group games to finsishing runners-up. Over five competitions during the 70’s and 80’s these were the only two positions they finished in, alternating each time. They once made the semi finals of the World Cup but usually struggle to get out of the group only doing so on one other occasion but lost in the following game.

Players of note:

Not too many to pick from here to be honest. Liverpool winger and Real Betis target, Mark Gonzalez would be one of the more high profile players and having had a relatively quiet season for Liverpool he has to do something, doesn’t he? Keeper, Claudio Bravo is another European based player who may prove vital to Chilean hopes this summer. The Real Sociedad player is making a reputation for himself in Spain and he will get the chance to cement that this summer. The Twelfth Man is another thing. Chilean supporters are a bit famous for their die hard support of their team and also ensure a big turnout and a lot of colour. This may be a slender advantage.

Prediction:

Scrappy Fighters, Quarterfinals

Mexico

Ah yes, Mexico. With how cheap the beer is there it’s surprising that they can keep eleven men sober enough to play a game of football. But they do. And they’re fairly good at it too. Mexico had to be invited to the Copa America as they are actually governed by a different footballing federation but since their first appearance in ‘93 these newcomers have been a revelation. Having made the quarterfinals on every occasion they went further four times finishing 3rd twice and 2nd twice.

Players to note:

Former Bolton man, Jared Borgetti, is Mexico’s all time top scorer with 43 goals in 84 games. Considering he is still knocking around expect him to bang in a few although he is know playing in Mexico for Cruz Azul. Not that that would seriously affect him, I’m just saying. Other than Borgetti, Mexico’s other famous footballing son is Barcelona defender, Rafael Marquez.

Prediction:

Decent Outfit, Semifinals

Ecuador

Long thought of as the team that only wins and qualifies for things because their home ground is closer to the moon than sea-level, Ecuador have lately been surprising the critics. Having qualified for two world cups by asking visiting teams to play wearing breathing apparatus, they then went to the World Cup and did well. In the 2006 tournament they lost to England in the second round by a single goal. In the Copa America however, they have not fared too well with their best result being 4th back in’93 and they haven’t escaped from their group on the past three occasions.

Players to note:

Reading and former Villa defender, Ullises De La Cruz is described as a lynchpin for the national side and performed well in last summer’s World Cup. He is, however, not getting any younger and, despite scoring on his debut for Reading, does not figure very often for Steve Coppell’s side. Again, this is another side with a strong representation of home based players.

Prediction:

Cannon Fodder, Out after first round 

GROUP C                                                                                

Argentina

The Argies are an interesting side in that new coach, Alfio Basile, has created two national sides. He has a side of home based players of whom Juan Sebastian Veron is the reported leader and also his side of European based players. He coaches his ‘B’ team every Monday and Tuesday and many of these players were expected to figure in his Copa America squad. In the end, only 3 of the 21 from the ‘B’ team were chosen, including Veron who will more than likely be captain. This is coache Alfio Basile’s second spell in charge of the national team and in his first stint from ‘91 to ‘94 they won this competition both times. Even though they have won the Copa 14 times, they have not won it since Alfio Basile left. It’s all set up really isn’t it?

Players to note:

Everyone. Literally. The other two Home players alongside Veron are goalkeepers so with the exception of them nearly everyone else is a household name. Veron could be one to watch though as he is having a bit of an Indian summer at Estudiantes de la Plata, inspiring them to win the championship. Diego Milito, Mascherano and Tevez, Ayala etc. etc. This is a top class team with strength in depth. Their performance at last summer’s World Cup leaves some doubt in my mind though.

Prediction:

First Class, Final

Paraguay

A bit of  saucy number. We would recognise Paraguay from the past three World Cups. They didn’t do much when they arrived but they still qualified. Their record in the Copa America is a bit better though. They have won the tournament twice and have made the quarterfinals in five of the last six tournaments. Can they go a bit farther this time around?

Players of note:

Munich’s Roque Santa Cruz is Paraguay’s moct high profile footballer, seeing as lunatic ‘keeper, Chilavert retired. Again the bones of this squad all play their football in South America with a decidedly Argentinian feel. The coach is an Argie and many of the players play in teh Argie league.

Prediction:

Middle of the road, Quarterfinals.

Colombia

With their domestic league in tatters and many clubs bankrupt, Colombia will be hoping to raise footballing spirits with a good run out in the Copa America as Italy did with the World Cup last summer. This is easier said than done though. With many of their clubs indistinguishable from drug cartels many of them are banned from doing business by the Government. This means that much of Columbian talent stays in the country and this is not necessarily a good thing. They do, however, have one Copa America to their name from 2001 and last time around they made the semifinals.

Players of note:

Most players are home based with a few in Europe but none of particular reputation. Bordeaux striker, Edixon Perea is a bright light of Colombian football but has not been making huge waves in Ligue one. Southampton midfielder John Viafara will also be making the trip from Europe to Venezuela this summer.

Prediction:

Cannon Fodder, Out after first round

USA

The invitees. In their twoprevious appearances they didn’t make it out of the group and finished 4th respectively. The US are a bit of an unknown quantity in this tournament but can not be ruled out due to the squad they posses. A distinctly Anglo/American feel to the squad is probably a good thing in that many of the players are of a high standard but one must wonder if the conditions in South America in the month of June might favour the other nations in the competition.

Players of note:

The English based players of the squad, while decent enough, have not set the world alight with their performances in the Premiership this season with the exception of Everton ‘Keeper, Tim Howard. His form will be crucial to their fortunes in the tournament. Another player to keep an eye on is Standard Liege’s striker Oguchi Onyewu. he has been making a name for himself and could take this chance to impress even further.

Prediction: 

Scrappy Fighters, Quarterfinals

The top two from each group go through to the Quarterfinal along with the two best third places teams. Exciting eh?

Be sure to check back at the fc100 to find out all the news from the Copa America when it begins on the 26th of June.

You may remember him as this guy.       

                He is also the man responsible for the media’s extensive coverage of David Beckham’s move to the LA Galaxy this summer. In an interview with today’s Guardian, Lalas, President of L.A. Galaxy, is critical of the media’s portrayal of the MLS (Major League Soccer). In a staunch defence of the MLS and an openly critical assessment of the Premiership, Lalas claims that LA are insulted by the ‘Beckham goes to Hollywood’ style of coverage being afforded to the move, and that he is instead moving to one of the most competitive leagues in the world.

               Lalas makes the point that it is ignorance of the first degree that Beckham’s move is being talked about as semi-retirement in swapping Madrid for Los Angeles. There are a lot of stars in European football who would struggle over here. I believe if you took a helicopter and grabbed a bunch of MLS players and took them to the perceived best league in the world they wouldn’t miss a beat and the fans wouldn’t notice a drop in quality.

               Lalas comes across as a shrew operator in the interview, and is absolutely right when he calls it ignorance of those among us, Thefc100 has certainly leaned that way, who believe that Beckham is earning a lucrative payday for a lot less effort. It is fact however, that the MLS faces a titanic battle to gain a level footing with American institutions like baseball and (American) football. Lalas is aware of this though and makes the point that LA have a twenty year plan in place to compete with the likes of Man Utd and Madrid. Lalas also refers to this dream as LA being the first American superclub, a term which perhaps wouldn’t sit well with many football purists and possibly takes away from his argument that Beckham isn’t being signed to be the pin-up of the MLS. While Lalas states that Beckham is there to help LA on the pitch, he also mentions that he hopes for the Englishman to transform our image. This statement is also perhaps indicative of a greater reason for his signing than helping LA win the title; Beckham’s image is what has seen him most undermined as a professional footballer. Ferguson got rid of him at Man Utd for his success off the pitch; Capello famously said that he would never play at Madrd again, indicative of a lack of respect from one of football’s most successful coaches. That Beckham knuckled down and has had his name become synonomous with Madrid’s title success is possibly down to Beckham’s undoubted stubborn streak which sees him respond best when truly up against it, as he did after his sending off at the 1998 World Cup.

               Lalas is on the ball when he refers to the impressive marketing of the Premiership as perhaps creating a hype beyond the talent on the pitch. It’s just that the Premiership have become so skilled at Presentation. They took a page out of American football and now have Saturday Showdowns and Super Sundays. I love it. This is high-calibre marketing: taking an inferior product and improving it through packaging. The LA President knows his stuff, when it comes to marketing few do it better than the Americans, and he’s right in suggesting that perhaps skysports have a lot to answer for when Darren Bent is being linked with £18million moves to West Ham. Still though, whether or not Beckham is making a step down in moving to MLS we will know in a matter of time. (Meanwhile New York top the Eastern league after twelve games, nine goals in seven appearances for one Juan Pablo Angel seem to have helped, the former Aston Villa man seems to have taken to the MLS like a duck out of water..….)

                   REAL MADRID CLAIM LA LIGA IN DRAMATIC STYLE

Real Madrid have won their 30th Liga after yet another dramatic night in Spain. Leading by virtue of a better head to head record against fierce rivals Barcelona, Real started brightly but were prone to defensive lapses as Mallorca counter-attacked effectively. The visitors took a shock lead to stun the Bernabeu when Fernando Varela scored on 17 minutes as the Real defence appealed in vain for offside.

Minutes later Carles Puyol, Barcelona through and through, scored to give his side the lead over Gimnastic. Messi and Ronaldinho made it 3-0 and it seemed the title was going to the Nou Camp. When Ruud van Nistelrooy, Real and La Liga’s top scorer went off before halftime with an injury, the crowd began to sense it was not their night as the commentators remarked on how quiet the Real fans had become.

With Barcelona cruising at 4-0, Real got away with it when Varela went one-on-one with Casillas and slipped it past the keeper but just past the right hand upright. Beckham’s fairytale end to the season came to an abrupt close as he left proceedings on 66 minutes, replaced by Reyes in his last game for the club as well. Reyes’ first touch flew into the net and Real were level.

As tempers threatened to boil over with Guti, Salgado and Reyes all involved in confrontations with Mallorca players, Diarra’s header from a corner was saved by Miguel Moya but he could only palm if off the hapless Basinas on the line and the Bernabeu was in raptures. Reyes added a second of the night and Real’s third two minutes later and the game descended into a party for Madrid whose coaches and players celebrated as though the game was over.

Barcelona’s 5-1 win became meaningless as Beckham, Van Nistelrooy and a drenched Fabio Capello ran onto the pitch to celebrate Real claiming the title back from Barcelona in the most dramatic style possible. In one of the most exciting climaxes to a European league in recent seasons, Real are champions and with the likes of Sevilla, Valencia and others likely to be stronger again next season, La Liga looks in very good shape indeed…..

Real Madrid have kept up their title-chase with a 3-1 victory over Deportivo la Coruna tonight. David Beckham was a huge influence on the game and celebrated his recall to the England squad with a virtuoso performance on the right wing, setting up two goals and also hitting the woodwork. Beckham’s 29th minute cross from the right eventually made its way to Sergio Ramos to open the scoring fof the home side. Beckham rattled the woodwork with a trademark free kick early in the second half before Deportivo found themselves level. A terrific double-save from Casillas wasn’t enough to prevent Joan Capdevilla from turning the ball home to equalise.

However, minutes later Madrid retook the lead, Beckham’s pinpoint cross finding Raul who gleefully headed home. Raul then set up van Nistelrooy with a quarter of an hour remaining and the Dutchman made it 3-1 with hise 23rd goal in La Liga this season.

Earlier, a David Villa couble wasn’t enough for Valencia as they were beaten 3-2 at home by Vilarreal to seemingly make La Liga a three-horse race. Diego Forlan also scored twice to take his tally to seventeen for the season, an impressive figure given the poor form he had been accused of showing this season. David Villa’s early penalty gave Valencia the lead before Guille Franco played Forlan through for his first goal of the game. A second half goal from substitute Jon Dahl Tomasson and Diego Forlan’s second of the night looked to have put the game beyond Valencia. However a terrific free-kick from Villa ensured a nervy finale for Vilarreal, but the visitors held on for an unlikely victory to end Valencia’s title aspirations for another year.

Barcelona play in the late kick-off tonight and have already taken an early lead, Xavi’s ball finding Ronaldinho who scored after just two minutes. A win for Barcelona will keep them level with league leaders Real Madrid.

It was a hell of a weekend for the four teams chasing victory in La Liga. Barcelona, Real Madrid, Sevilla and Valencia all recorded dramatic victories over their repective opponents to push the conclusion to a dramatic finale.

Valencia set the pace for the weekend, a hard earned victory away to Mallorca coming courtesy of Joaquin’s goal in the 90th minute when David Villa’s cross was flicked on by substitute Jorge Lopez and Joaquin finished from close range. Valencia had twice seen Bosko Jankovic rattle the woodwork for the home side, but decided matters in the cruellest fashion late on.

The gauntlet was thrown down to Sevilla who played on Sunday, and who had been leapfrogged by Valencia’s last-minute win over Mallorca. A trip to Deportivo La Coruna beckoned, and the hosts, languishing in mid-table stunned the visitors when they took the lead through Bodipo’s 72nd minute volley. However, Sevilla, drawing on whatever remaining energy exists after a draining season, struck back through Renato just three minutes later. Top scorer Fredi Kanoute then struck from Jesus Navas’ pass to ensure Sevilla remained in the hunt for the title to add to their Uefa Cup success. With the Copa del Rey final with Getafe still to come, it’s been a phenomenal season so far for Juande Ramos’ team.

Real Madrid, with seven wins from their last eight league games, travelled to this season’s surprise package Recreativo de Huelva in the later kick-off on Sunday. Knowing that they had been leapfrogged by Sevilla’s win, Madrid started superbly, a Robinho strike after nine minutes putting them in front, the Brazilian heading home David Beckham’s precise cross. Robinho was felled early in the second half and Ruud van Nistelrooy made no mistake from the penalty spot, 2-0 to Madrid.

However,Recreativo stormed back into the game with two goals in eleven minutes from Jesus Vazquez from the spot and Ikechukwo Uche four minutes from time in what seemed a killer blow to Madrid’s title aspirations. However madrid were not finished and a last-gasp Roberto Carlos strike ensured they remained at the top of the table, another dramatic victory for Fabio Capello’s men.

Barcelona played in the night-time kick off on Sunday with what seemed to be the trickiest tie of the night for any of the top four teams, an away tie at Atletico Madrid. However, Atletico, perhaps conscious of their neighbour’s title dreams,were simply not good enough as Barcelona strolled to a 6-0 demolition of the side lying sixth in the table. Lionel Messi continued his excellent form of late with two goals, Zambrotta, Ronaldinho, Eto’o and Iniesta completed the rout for the Catalan side.

And so, with three games left to play La Liga currently looks like this……

Pos         Team                               P        W      D    L        F        A      +/-     Pts 

…….with Real Madrid leading by virtue of their better head-to-head record against Barcelona. It’s turning into a fantastic close to the season for La Liga’s top four.