Weekend Football04-06 April 2008
by Jerrad Peters
Has Ronaldinho played his final match for Barcelona?
Ronaldinho will miss an additional six weeks with a nagging thigh injury. The Barcelona attacker has rarely featured for his club since February and was dropped from Dunga’s Brazil squad for last month’s friendly against Sweden at Emirates Stadium. After leaving the Blaugranes’ training session on Thursday, he underwent a scan which revealed a slightly pulled adductor.Having made only 24-appearances this season, the two-time FIFA World Player of the Year has suffered a dramatic drop in form since dominating European football from 2004 to 2006. His frequent, extended absences are often accompanied by vague excuses or ambiguous explanations; and his relationships with both manager Frank Rijkaard and president Joan Laporta are reportedly on the rocks.
His poor play has also coincided with the rising to prominence of both Lionel Messi and Bojan Krkic. At 20 and 17-years of age, respectively, the young forwards represent a changing of the guard at Barcelona. And with Samuel back among the goals, not to mention a superb season from Andres Iniesta, the road appears paved for Ronaldinho’s exit.
Should he hit the open market, there would be no shortage of takers. However, with his brother and agent Roberto de Assis having attached a staggering 80M-pound buy-out clause to Ronaldinho’s current contract, the likes of AC Milan and Chelsea would have to either part with substantial funds or negotiate a compromise package in order to acquire his services. That said, it is hard to imagine the player enduring another unbearable season at Barcelona.
Liverpool will appeal Javier Mascherano’s two-match ban. The 23-year-old midfielder was initially issued a one-game suspension and docked two-weeks wages by the club after being sent off by referee Steve Bennett in a crucial match against Manchester United two weeks ago. The FA, however, added an additional pair of matches to the penalty, this week, which will see the Argentina international miss Saturday’s encounter with Arsenal and next week’s contest at home to Blackburn Rovers.
Liverpool will appeal Javier Mascherano’s two-match ban. The 23-year-old midfielder was initially issued a one-game suspension and docked two-weeks wages by the club after being sent off by referee Steve Bennett in a crucial match against Manchester United two weeks ago. The FA, however, added an additional pair of matches to the penalty, this week, which will see the Argentina international miss Saturday’s encounter with Arsenal and next week’s contest at home to Blackburn Rovers.
While his club is going to bat for him over the suspension, Mascherano is taking a far more conciliatory approach in repairing his reputation. In an interview with the Daily Mail, the player stated that he “was wrong to approach the referee.” He continued, “I apologize to everyone. I made a mistake and I regret this mistake. It was my fault.” The former Corinthians hard-man also vowed to “learn my lesson, but move on from this and forget what has happened.”
On the pitch, Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez is preparing a wholesale change in his squad for Saturday’s second show-down with Arsenal in four days. After escaping Emirates Stadium with a 1-1 draw in the Champions’ League on Wednesday, core players such as Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres can expect to be on the bench when the sides line up in North London at the weekend.
On the pitch, Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez is preparing a wholesale change in his squad for Saturday’s second show-down with Arsenal in four days. After escaping Emirates Stadium with a 1-1 draw in the Champions’ League on Wednesday, core players such as Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres can expect to be on the bench when the sides line up in North London at the weekend.
“I am expecting to make changes,” stated Benitez. “I cannot expect them to play three times like that in seven days.” The Spaniard admitted that “Torres and Gerrard will need to be strong for the second leg; and Kuyt ran himself to a standstill on Wednesday.”
Coming into the team will be Peter Crouch, Andriy Voronin, John Arne Riise, Lucas Leiva, Steve Finnan, and Jermaine Pennant. Each of Sami Hyppia, Jamie Carragher, and Ryan Babel may be rested as well.
“I think,” mused Benitez, “in this situation, rotation is maybe good.”
Aston Villa’s recent woes have revealed a staggering lack of depth among the squad. With that in mind, manager Martin O’Neill attended Thursday’s UEFA Cup encounter between Bayern Munich and Getafe. In his sights were two players – both defenders – and one from each side.
Aston Villa’s recent woes have revealed a staggering lack of depth among the squad. With that in mind, manager Martin O’Neill attended Thursday’s UEFA Cup encounter between Bayern Munich and Getafe. In his sights were two players – both defenders – and one from each side.
Bayern’s Daniel van Buyten has been superb for the Bavarians since moving from Hamburg in advance of last season. The 30-year-old Belgium international is one of Ottmar Hitzfeld’s more trusted centre-backs; and at 6-feet-5-inches, strikes an imposing frame to oncoming forwards.
Cosmin Contra also caught O’Neill’s eye. The 32-year-old Getafe right-back played a splendid 90-minutes against the Bundesliga leaders. His goal in second-half injury-time cancelled Luca Toni’s opener and earned the Spanish side a crucial draw going home. A Romania international, Contra has also represented AC Milan, Atletico Madrid, and appeared five times for West Bromwich Albion in 2004/2005.
While Bayern may have been shocked by Getafe’s effort on Thursday, their surprise was nothing compared to that of Bayer Leverkusen. The 2002 Champions’ League finalists were dealt a staggering 4-1 loss at home to Zenit St. Petersburg in their UEFA Cup quarterfinal first-leg at the Bayarena. The defeat was as comprehensive as the scoreline suggests.
While Bayern may have been shocked by Getafe’s effort on Thursday, their surprise was nothing compared to that of Bayer Leverkusen. The 2002 Champions’ League finalists were dealt a staggering 4-1 loss at home to Zenit St. Petersburg in their UEFA Cup quarterfinal first-leg at the Bayarena. The defeat was as comprehensive as the scoreline suggests.
Russia international Andrei Asharvin opened the scoring after 20-minutes when he stripped Tranquillo Barnetta of the ball, raced down the right flank, and roofed his shot above goalkeeper Rene Adler. And while Stefan Kiessling’s goal in the 34th-minute restored level terms, Arshavin was at it again eight minutes after the restart.
Sprinting down the right flank, the 26-year-old played a superb pass to Pavel Pogrebniak for an easy tap-in. Alexandr Anivkov and Igor Denisov added two more goals in a three-minute span just after the hour-mark to put the visitors in the drivers’ seat ahead of next week’s re-match.
In Thursday’s other UEFA Cup quarterfinal first-legs, Danny Koevermans’ goal in the 63rd-minute earned Eredivisie pace-setters PSV Eindhoven an impressive away draw at Fiorentina after Adrian Mutu opened the scoring just seven-minutes earlier. Rangers and Sporting Lisbon, meanwhile, played to a 0-0 draw at Ibrox.
David Beckham scored once and created another as Los Angeles Galaxy defeated San Jose Earthquakes 2-0, Thursday. The 32-year-old England international was on the scoresheet after just nine-minutes – having taken a superb effort from 18-yards after running onto a Landon Donovan pass.
David Beckham scored once and created another as Los Angeles Galaxy defeated San Jose Earthquakes 2-0, Thursday. The 32-year-old England international was on the scoresheet after just nine-minutes – having taken a superb effort from 18-yards after running onto a Landon Donovan pass.
Just shy of the interval, Beckham returned the favor. His interplay with Donovan sent goalkeeper Joe Cannon sprawling as Donovan stroked the ball home on 37-minutes. The win was Galaxy’s first of the season after suffering a 4-0 hiding at Colorado Rapids last weekend.
In Thursday’s other Major League Soccer affair, Chicago Fire won their first match of 2008 in convincing fashion over 2007 Eastern Conference Champions New England Revolution. Defender Chad Barrett had the hosts on the board after just four-minutes and took the shot which resulted in Tomasz Frankowski’s gimmie in the 22nd.
In Thursday’s other Major League Soccer affair, Chicago Fire won their first match of 2008 in convincing fashion over 2007 Eastern Conference Champions New England Revolution. Defender Chad Barrett had the hosts on the board after just four-minutes and took the shot which resulted in Tomasz Frankowski’s gimmie in the 22nd.
Fifteen-minutes later, Cuauhtemoc Blanco notched his second goal of the campaign from the penalty spot after Justin Mapp was brought down in the area by Sainey Nyassi. Three-minutes after that, it was Barrett again – playing Frankowski in for his second goal of the night and completed a 4-0 destruction of New England.
Have a question about football? Email your query to jerradpeters@gmail.com.
Jerrad Peters is a football journalist based in Winnipeg, Canada. His weekly column for the Winnipeg Free Press is the largest of its kind in the country. A regular contributor to ESPN Soccernet, his work has also appeared on TheMirror.co.uk, Canadian-soccer.com, Footy247.co.uk, Foot2ball.com, and Squadinfo.com.
Jerrad Peters is a football journalist based in Winnipeg, Canada. His weekly column for the Winnipeg Free Press is the largest of its kind in the country. A regular contributor to ESPN Soccernet, his work has also appeared on TheMirror.co.uk, Canadian-soccer.com, Footy247.co.uk, Foot2ball.com, and Squadinfo.com.
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