Monday, March 30, 2009

End in sight for Ferguson

Sir Alex Ferguson famously once revealed he swerved a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to have dinner with Frank Sinatra in 1989 because Manchester United had lost to Charlton.

The legendary crooner was the king of comebacks but Ferguson is unlikely to tread the boards again once he has walked away from the bright lights of Old Trafford at the end of next season, if his son Darren's prediction is accurate, given that he has already cancelled one retirement date at the end of the 2001-02 campaign.

Ferguson Jr believes only Liverpool's record of 18 domestic titles stands in the way of Sir Alex finally bringing the curtain down on his trophy-laden stay with the world club champions.

"I can see him doing this year and next and then that might be it for him," said Darren, manager of Peterborough.

A demoralising 2-0 reverse against Fulham at Craven Cottage last weekend, on the back of the 4-1 humiliation by fiercest rivals Liverpool, saw Manchester United crash to their first back-to-back defeats in almost four years.

The wise money remains on Ferguson to steady the ship and guide United, who have a game in hand, to their third successive Premier League title and record-equalling 18th domestic success.
That would mean Ferguson had delivered on his promise when arriving at Old Trafford in 1986 "to knock Liverpool off their perch".

It will also mean club officials must begin the unenviable process of replacing the man who has won 32 major honours during his 22-and-a-half-year reign south of the border, including 10 Premier League titles and two European Cups.

A clear case of rather you than me.

Ferguson has always maintained he will continue as long as he has his health and for many United fans it will be difficult to imagine him setting off into the sun.

At least now they have 14 months to get used to the idea.

Nick Walsh writes features and betting previews for betting.betfair.com

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Saturday, March 28, 2009

Friendlies: England - Slovakia goals

England eased to a 4-0 international friendly victory over Slovakia at Wembley as David Beckham earned a record-breaking 109th cap on Saturday evening.England with qucikly off the blocks and went ahead with Heskey's strike and three more goals from Rooney and Lampard sealed a good win for the hosts who play Ukraine in a World cup qualifier on Wednesday at the same venue.

England 4 -0 Slovakia
1-0 - Heskey - Watch - Download
2-0 - Rooney - Watch - Download
3-0 - Lampard - Watch - Download
4-0 - Rooney - Watch - Download


Enjoy........

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Captain Cool:Mahendra Singh Dhoni - Achievements as Captain

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the poster boy of Indian Cricket has seen everything in his life. From being taken to his house in a police van after India's exit from 2007 World Cup to being adored by the whole country for leading the team to victory in the Inaugural World T20. From then on there was no looking back. He has transformed the Indian team into an World beating one and his understanding with coach Gary Kirsten is also one of the reasons for this success. But the most important aspect of the current Indian team is "they don't panic under tough situations and they enjoy each others success". When he was appointed captain for the world T20 many eye brows were raised and only later that all came to know Sachin Tendulkar himself had recommended Dhoni for the captaincy. Here are some the feathers in Dhoni's cap thus far.



Dhoni's Achievements:

  • Team India went on to win the inaugural T20 cricket World Cup 2007
  • First ever trilateral ODI series win in Australia versus Australia and Sri Lanka CB Series of 2007-08.
  • First ever bilateral ODI series win in Sri Lanka (IDEA CUP) in August 2008.
  • He captained Team India to win the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2008 at home versus Australia. India went on to win the coveted 4 match Test series (2-0).
  • Also Team India to win the RBS Cup 2008 at home versus England. India went on to win the coveted 2 match Test series (1-0) and the 7 match ODI series (5-0) with the rest of the remaining two ODIs being abandoned.
  • Under his captaincy, India beat Sri Lanka for the second time to clinch the IBDI Fortis Wealthsurance Cup ODI series 2009 (4-1) and the only Twenty20 International, the first Twenty20 International match held in Sri Lanka. This is the second straight series win for Team India in Sri Lanka.
  • On the Indian tour of New Zealand in 2009 under his captaincy Indians created history by clinching their first ever ODI series in New Zealand, the National Bank Series 2009 . Before this, Indians had just won a Test series in New Zealand 41 years ago. Team India have comfortably won the 5 match ODI series (3-1) with an ODI being abandoned due to rain.
  • M.S. Dhoni is the first Indian Captain to achieve nine consecutive ODI wins (between 14/11/2008 and 05/02/2009). Earlier the record of having eight consecutive ODI wins were owned by Sunil Gavaskar (5)- Kapil Dev (3), Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid.
  • Previous captains Anil Kumble and Sourav Ganguly have said that under Dhoni India will reach greater heights and even all time great Richard Hadlee said that "Under Dhoni, India will become the world no.1 team" and he also said that by this 2-0 win that the Australian dominance in the cricket world had finally come to an end.
  • As a farewell gift to former Indian captain, Sourav Ganguly who was set to retire after the Nagpur test against Australia, Dhoni asked Sourav Ganguly to lead the team for one last time towards the end of the Australian innings in the last test at Nagpur.
  • Dhoni has already been compared to Australia's Steve Waugh for his captaincy skills. In the battle of nerves, the mental toughness accompanied with the cool temperament exhibited by Dhoni just resembles the times of Steve Waugh’s leadership.
  • During the ODI Series 2009 in Sri Lanka, Dhoni had equalled the record of Zimbabwe's Andy Flower who has also played 46 ODIs in both roles of Wicket Keeper/Captain.
  • Out of the 6 Test matches Dhoni has captained, the Indian Cricket Team has won 5 of them


This is just the begining. More to come from Mahi. The message from the Indian team to the rest of the cricket world is very clear - "Watch out we are coming at you"



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IPL Season 2:Final Schedule

After lots of delays and speculation about the second edition of the Indian Premier League, the tournament is set to kick off on April 18th. The final date decided is a week later than the first decided dates. Here is the schedule for all the matches. The timings given here are in IST(Indian Standard Time).

Complete Schedule:
April 18: Mumbai Indians (MI) v Chennai Super Kings (CSK) (4 pm) in Cape Town
Rajasthan Royals (RR) v Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) (8 pm) in Cape Town
April 19: Delhi Daredevils (DD) v Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) (4 pm) in Cape Town; Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) v Deccan Chargers (DC) (8 pm) in Cape Town
April 20: RCB V CSK (8 pm) in Port Elizabeth
April 21: KKR v KXIP (4 pm) in Durban; RR v MI (8 pm) in Durban
April 22: RCB v DC (8 pm) in Cape Town
April 23: CSK v DD (4 pm) Durban; KKR v RR (8 pm) in Port Elizabeth
April 24: KXIP v RCB (8 pm) in Durban
April 25: DC v MI (4 pm) in Durban; KKR v CSK (8 pm) in Cape Town
April 26: RCB v DD (4 pm) Port Elizabeth; RR v KXIP (8 pm) in Cape Town
April 27: CSK v DC (4 pm) in Durban; KKR v MI (8 pm) in Port Elizabeth
April 28: DD v RR (8 pm) in Centurion
April 29: KKR v RCB (4 pm) in Durban; MI v KXIP (8 pm) in Durban
April 30: KKR v RCB (4 pm) in Durban; RR v CSK (8 pm) in Centurion
May 1: MI v KKR (4 pm) in East London; RCB v KXIP (8 pm) in Durban
May 2: RR v DC (4 pm) in Port Elizabeth; CSK v DD (8 pm) in Johannesburg
May 3: KXIP v KKR (4 pm) in Port Elizabeth; MI v RCB (8 pm) in Johannesburg
May 4: DC v CSK (8 pm) in East London
May 5: KXIP v RR (4 pm) in Durban; DD v KKR (8 pm) in Durban
May 6: MI v DC (8 pm) in Centurion
May 7: RCB v RR (4 pm) in Centurion; KXIP v CSK (8 pm) in Centurion
May 8: DD v MI (8 pm) in East London
May 9: DC v KXIP (4 pm) in Kimberley; CSK v RR (8 pm) in Kimberley
May 10: RCB v MI (4 pm) in Port Elizabeth; KKR v DD (8 pm) in Johannesburg
May 11: DC v RR (8 pm) in Kimberley
May 12: RCB v KKR (4 pm) in Centurion; KXIP v MI (8 pm) in Centurion
May 13: DC v DD (8 pm) in Durban
May 14: CSK v RCB (4 pm) in Durban; MI v RR (8 pm) in Durban
May 15: KXIP v DD (8 pm) in Bloemfontein
May 16: CSK v MI (4 pm) in Port Elizabeth; DC v KKR (8 pm) in Johannesburg
May 17: KXIP v DC (4 pm) in Johannesburg; RR v DD (8 pm) in Bloemfontein
May 18: CSK v KKR (8 pm) in Centurion
May 19: DD v RCB (8 pm) in Johannesburg
May 20: RR v KKR (4 pm) in Durban; CSK v KXIP (8 pm) in Durban
May 21: MI v DD (4 pm) in Centurion; DC v RCB (8 pm) in Centurion
May 22: Semi Final 1 in Centurion
May 23: Semi Final 2 in Johannesburg
May 24: Final in Johannesburg

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Sunday, March 22, 2009

La Liga:Real Madrid - Almeria goals


Real Madrid took on Almeria at the Santiago Bernebeu hoping to cut Barcelona's lead at the top of the table and keep up the pressure on them.

Real Madrid 3 - 0 Almeria
1-0 - Marcelo - Watch
2-0 - Huntelaar - Watch
3-0 - Huntelaar - Watch

Enjoy
.............

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EPL:Liverpool - Aston Villa goals

Liverpool took on Aston Villa at Anfield looking to close the gap on leaders Manchester United to 1 point. Aston Villa also had their target, to keep fighting for the Champions League spot.

Liverpool 5 - 0 Aston Villa
1-0 - Kuyt - Watch
2-0 - Riera - Watch
3-0 - Gerrard - Watch
4-0 - Gerrard - Watch
5-0 - Gerrard - Watch

Enjoy............

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IPL Season 2 not to be played in India


The second season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will not be held in India. At the BCCI working committee meeting today in Mumbai, a decision was taken to stage the tournament outside the country "because of the extraordinary situation existing this year." This is what a press release from the IPL board had to say "Under the given circumstances, the BCCI is not in a position to either play a truncated IPL or to cancel the second edition of the IPL. It is a matter of great regret that, in the prevailing atmosphere, where the government is expressing concern for providing security to the IPL matches, the BCCI is left with no other option but to conduct the Indian Premier League in another country"
Now England and South Africa have emerged as the front runners to host IPL. South Africa board chairman has said that they are ready to host the event if approached. And IPL has confirmed that the schedule remains the same. This comes as a huge blow to the fans in India who were eagerly waiting for the month of April. Though the tournament is set to go on, I doubt if it will we as successful as the last years edition. But the IPL board might have had little choice as elections are approaching this year. But those who might be affected are the stakeholders. I doubt if sponsors will be pumping in the cash to the same extent as they did last year. Modi has confirmed that dates and timings of the matches will remain the same. The Indian audiences can watch the matches at 4 pm and 8 pm IST as they did in the inaugural season.

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Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Cricket:Sreesanth out of IPL Season 2

Shanthakumaran Sreesanth will miss this year's IPL due to a stress fracture in his back. He was one of Punjab's key bowlers last season with his 19 scalps making him the tournament's second highest wicket-taker. And his infamous slap gate controversy with Harbhajan Singh cannot be forgotten easily. So with Sreesanth out of this season's IPL we can assured that another Bhaji-Sreesanth row won't erupt. His injury comes as a serious setback for the Kings 11 team whose premier fast bowler Brett Lee is not in best of forms and also down with injury. Coach Tom Moody too said it was a huge blow to his team. It's been a year since Sreesanth last played for India and a string og injuries have kept him out of the national side. Whatever may be IPL Season 2 will be without the energy and enthusiasm of Sreesanth!!!

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Federer to become a Dad

Roger Federer is going to become a father soon. Federer and his long time girl friend Miroslava Vavrinec are expecting their first child this summer. This was announced by Federer on his website. Federer and Mirka first met during the 2000 Sydney Olympics and they have been together since then. Mirka is a former WTA tour player and has even played a few mixed doubles matches with Federer himself. And later she quit tennis and become Federer's manager and accompanies him to all the tournaments. This news comes at a time when Fedex is heading back into the courts since Australian open. Hope this just fuels him a bit more. All the best soon to be papa Fedex-Mirka.

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F1: Driver with maximum wins gets World Championship

FIA has just released a new ruling that will reward the driver with the most race wins in a season with the world title. This law comes just weeks before the new season kicks off in Australia. And boy what a rule it is...From now on its going to be out and out racing. No place for team orders or even team work from here on. The governing body's World Motor Sport Council has agreed to the proposal put forward by Bernie Ecclestone's Formula One Management.The allocation of points will remain the same as last year's 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 sequence.The rest of the standings, from second to last place, will also be decided by the current points system with the constructors' championship unaffected. If two or more drivers finish the season with the same number of wins, the title will be awarded to the driver with the most points. It's a fantastic rule which had been on the cards for quite some time now. Had this been in place last year, Felippe Massa would have won the World Championship. So this year is going to even more interesting, can't wait for the action to begin on 28th.....

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Monday, March 16, 2009

IPL:Squads for Season 2

The squads are as follows:

Royal Challengers, Bangalore:

Overseas players: Jacques Kallis, Mark Boucher, Dale Steyn, Dillon Du Preez, Cameron White, Nathan Bracken, Ross Taylor, Kevin Pietersen, Jesse Ryder and Roelof van der Merwe.

Indian players: Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble, Robin Uthappa, Praveen Kumar, Virat Kohli, Wasim Jaffer, Manish Pandey, Srivats Goswami, R Suteesh, Pankaj Singh, Vinay Kumar, Bhuvanesh Kumar, Karan Sharma, Saurav Bandekar, Tinu Yohannan, Bharat Chipli, B Akhil, Devraj Patil, J Arun Kumar, KP Appanna, Sunil Joshi, Gaurav Dhiman, Jitendra Patil, Udit Patel, A Mithun, S Aravind, Kedar Jadhav, C M Gautam, Raju Bhatkal, Rajesh Bishnoi, Ishank Jaggi and Rohit Sabharwal.

Chennai Super Kings:

Overseas players: Muthiah Muralitharan, Matthew Hayden, Michael Hussey, Albie Morkel, Makhaya Ntini, Jacob Oram, Stephen Fleming, Thilan Thushara, Andrew Flintoff and George Bailey.

Indian players: M S Dhoni, Parthiv Patel, Suresh Raina, S Badrinath, L Balaji, M Vijay, Joginder Sharma, Manpreet Singh Goni, Sudeep Tyagi, Viraj Kadbe, Shadab Jakati, R Ashwin, Abhinav Mukund, Anirudha Srikkanth, Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan, Palani Amarnath, K B Arun Karthik, N Einstein and Suresh Kumar.

Delhi Daredevils:

Overseas players: A B de Villiers, Daniel Vettori, Owais Shah, Paul Collingwood, David Warner, Andrew McDonald, Dirk Nannes, Glenn McGrath, Farveez Maharoof and T Dilshan.

Indian players: Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Dinesh Kartik, Manoj Tiwary, Rajat Bhatia, Mithun Manhas, Avishkar Salvi, Ashish Nehra, V Yo Mahesh, Pradeep Sangwan, Umesh Yadav, Yogesh Nagar, Tejashwi Yadav and Amit Mishra.

Deccan Chargers, Hyderabad:

Overseas players: Adam Gilchrist, Herschelle Gibbs, Scott Styris, Andrew Symonds, Ryan Harris, Fidel Edwards, Dwayne Smith, Chamara Silva, Chaminda Vaas and Nuwan Zoysa.

Indian players: VVS Laxman, Rohit Sharma, RP Singh, Pragyan Ojha, Venugopal Rao, D Ravi Teja, T Suman, Arjun Yadav, D Kalyankrishna, P Vijay Kumar, Manvinder Bisla, Jaskarandeep Singh, Harmeet Singh, Sarvesh Kumar, Halahar Das, Syed Mohammed and Shoaib Ahmed.

Mumbai Indians:

Overseas players: Lasith Malinga, Jean Paul Duminy, Graham Napier, Ryan McLaren, Dilhara Fernando, Sanath Jayasuriya, Dwayne Bravo, Mohd Ashraful, Kyle Mills and Luke Ronchi.

Indian players: Sachin Tendulkar, Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh, Shikhar Dhawan, Abhishek Nayar, Dhawal Kulkarni, Jude Singh, Jaydev Shah, Rahil Shaikh, Yogesh Takawale, Pinal Shah, Ajinkya Rahane, Chetanya Nanda, Rohan Raje and Saurabh Tiwary.

Rajasthan Royals:

Overseas players: Shane Warne, Graeme Smith, Shane Watson, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Morne Morkel, Robert Quiney, Tyron Henderson, Shaun Tait, Shane Harwood and Lee Carseldine.

Indian players: Mohd Kaif, Munaf Patel, Yusuf Pathan, Sidharth Trivedi, Swapnil Asnodkar, Niraj Patel, Mahesh Rawat, Anup Revandkar, Ravindra Jadeja, Dinesh Salunkhe, Naman Ojha, Sidharth Chitnis, Paras Dogra, Amit Singh, Ahad Malek, Raphi Vincent Gomez, Kamran Khan, Ashraf Makda, Paul Valthaty, Srideep Mangela, Mohd Arif, Gajendra Singh, Atul Sharma, Pratmesh Salunkhe and Pushkarraj Chavan.

King's XI Punjab:

Overseas players: Brett Lee, James Hopes, Shaun Marsh, Luke Pomersbach, Simon Katich, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Burt Cockley, Ravi Bopara and Jerome Taylor.

Indian players: Yuvraj Singh, Irfan Pathan, S Sreesanth, Ramesh Powar, V R V Singh, Piyush Chawla, Karan Goel, Uday Kaul, Wilkin Mota, Ajitesh Argal, Tanmay Srivastava, Sunny Sohal, Ryan Ninan and Yash Gandhi.

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Sunday, March 15, 2009

EPL:Chelsea - Manchester City goals

Michael Essien continued his scoring run as he netted the winner at Stamford Bridge against Manchester City and helped Chelsea close the gap on Manchester United to 4 points. It was not an easy win for the Blues as they had to dig deep for the victory and kept Guus Hiddink's unbeaten record intact.

Chelsea 1 - 0 Manchester City

1-0 - Essien - Watch

Enjoy.....

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FIFA World Cup 2002:Highlights

Re live the magical moments of the world cup of 2002. Get the complete highlights of matches.

Click here to get them
Part1 , Part2 , Part3 , Part4 , Part5 ,
Part6 , Part7 , Part8 , Part9 , Part10 ,
Part11 , Part12 , Part13 , Part14 , Part15

Enjoy....

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UEFA Champions League 2009: Round of 16 highlights

The first knockout round of the UEFA Champions League produced some great goals. The first knockout round saw many big teams crash out and too without even scoring a single goal. Get all the highlights of the first knockout round.

First Leg

All matches - Link

Second Leg
March 10

Liverpool - Real Madrid - Link
Bayern - Sporting - Link
Panathanaikos - Villareal - Link
Juventus - Chelsea - Link

March 11
All matches - Part1 - Part2
(Manutd - Inter,
Roma -Arsenal,
Barca - Lyon,
Porto -Athletico)

Enjoy.....

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Saturday, March 14, 2009

F1:2009 Season Race Calendar


The 2009 Formula 1 season is set to kick off in a couple of weeks time and it promises to be more exciting than last season. With new rules and regulations into place its going to hard to predict the winners this time around. Honda team, renamed as Brawn GP will be hoping to show some real improvement under Ross Brawn. Force India have formed a partnership with McLaren, something which will be looked upon with Interest. The top teams like Ferrari and McLaren remain favourites but you can't take anything for granted in F1. Lets wait and watch.

2009 Season Race Calendar:

01 2009 FORMULA 1 ING AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX (Melbourne) 27 - 29 Mar
02 2009 FORMULA 1 PETRONAS MALAYSIAN GRAND PRIX (Kuala Lumpur) 03 - 05 Apr
03 2009 FORMULA 1 CHINESE GRAND PRIX (Shanghai) 17 - 19 Apr
04 2009 FORMULA 1 GULF AIR BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX (Sakhir) 24 - 26 Apr
05 FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE ESPANA TELEFONICA 2009 (Catalunya) 08 - 10 May
06 FORMULA 1 GRAND PRIX DE MONACO 2009 (Monte Carlo) 21 - 24 May
07 2009 FORMULA 1 ING TURKISH GRAND PRIX (Istanbul) 05 - 07 Jun
08 2009 FORMULA 1 SANTANDER BRITISH GRAND PRIX (Silverstone) 19 - 21 Jun
09 FORMULA 1 GROSSER PREIS SANTANDER VON DEUTSCHLAND 2009 (Nürburgring) 10 - 12 Jul
10 FORMULA 1 ING MAGYAR NAGYDIJ 2009 (Budapest) 24 - 26 Jul
11 2009 FORMULA 1 TELEFONICA GRAND PRIX OF EUROPE (Valencia) 21 - 23 Aug
12 2009 FORMULA 1 ING BELGIAN GRAND PRIX (Spa-Francorchamps) 28 - 30 Aug
13 FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO SANTANDER D'ITALIA 2009 (Monza) 11 - 13 Sep
14 2009 FORMULA 1 SINGTEL SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX (Singapore) 25 - 27 Sep
15 2009 FORMULA 1 FUJI TELEVISION JAPANESE GRAND PRIX (Suzuka) 02 - 04 Oct
16 FORMULA 1 GRANDE PREMIO DO BRASIL 2009 (Sao Paulo) 16 - 18 Oct
17 2009 FORMULA 1 ETIHAD AIRWAYS ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX (Yas Marina Circuit) 30 Oct - 01 Nov

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Real Madrid : Richest Club in the World

The global economic standing of English clubs has been hit by the Sterling's slide against the Euro. According to the new figures, Real Madrid remain the richest club in world football as ranked by annual revenues, closely followed by Manchester United. Having won the Premier League and Champions League in 2008, United would have overhauled the Spaniards at the top of the Money League had it not been for the depreciation of the pound. And were it not for the effects of the fluctuation in the exchange rate, there would be nine English clubs in the top 20 rather than the seven that feature now. It has been suggested that the devaluation of the pound could even affect the ability of the top English clubs to attract the biggest names to the Premier League. Real Madrid's 4% revenue growth in 2007-08 is more modest than in recent years, the club has now doubled its revenues since 2002 and enjoys a lead of €41m [£36.8m] over Manchester United. Real Madrid increased revenue by €15m to take their total to €366m. Manchester United's performances on the pitch in 2007-08 resulted in a £45m (21%) increase to £257m. Third-placed Barcelona grew its revenue by €19m (6%) to €309m.

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La Liga: Athletic Bilbao - Real Madrid goals


Real Madrid put behind their disappointment of Champions League exit with a thumping victory at Athletic Bilboa. Huntelaar showed his real Klaas with a brace in the second half to lead the whites to victory. Earlier in the first half Real went ahead by two goals before Heinze put one in his own net and a rare error by Casillas gifted the home side the equaliser just at the stroke of half time. But Real romped home against the home side who ended the match with 9 players.

Athelic Bilboa 2 - 5 Real Madrid
0-1 - Robben - Watch
0-2 - Henize - Watch
1-2 - Heninze(own goal) - Watch
2-2 - Llorente - Watch
2-3 - Huntelaar - Watch
2-4 - Huntelaar - Watch
2-5 - Higuain(pen.) - Watch

Enjoy......

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India win maiden ODI series in New Zealand


India ended the ODI on a losing note after going down to the home side by 8 wickets but there was no denying them of a series win. This team his surely gonna go places. They lost the twenty 20 series and suddenly everyone started to raise their eyebrows but those were put to bed by some fierce performance in the ODI series. Had it not been for the rains, India would have sealed the series by the 3rd ODI. The top order functioned with precision with Sehwag taking the bowlers to the cleaners and when he missed out in the 3rd ODI Sachin Tendulkar took centre stage mauling the Kiwis all over the park. And the bowling department which could not perform that well in the first few ODI's did really well in the fourth match. And one of the reasons for India's truimph is also due to the performance of the part timers. New Zealand found Bhaji and Yuvraj quite tough to get away. One aspect which India were below par was their fielding. Ground fielding was quite Ok but catching was terrible and it was captain who lead in that by dropping some sitters and also few stumpings. Something for the team to really work on. One clear star of the series was Virender Sehwag, who hit first three balls he faced for sixes. He killed the bowling attack with atmost ease and the bowlers found impossible to bowl at him. And to cap a great ODI series, Viru also got the record for the fastest century by an Indian in ODI's. Now comes the test series, India have the experience of Dravid and Laxman coming into team and the Kiwis might find it difficult in the longer version also.

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EPL:Manchester United - Liverpool goals

Liverpool beat Manchester United at Old Trafford on what was a largely disappointing day for the Champions. Ronaldo opened the scoring with a penalty but goals from Torres within five minutes leveled things and 3 more second half goals meant Liverpool had cut United's lead at the top to 4 points with a game in hand for the Red devils. Vidic saw red after a foul on Gerrard.

Manchster United 1 - 4 Liverpool
1-0 Ronaldo(pen) -Watch - Download
1-1 Torres - Watch - Download
1-2 Gerrard(pen) - Watch - Download
1-3 Aurelio - Watch - Download
1-4 Dossena - Watch

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Friday, March 13, 2009

Jose Mourinho to Old Trafford????

Jose Mourinho has made no secret of his wish to become the manager of Manchester United after Sir Alex steps down. Right from the day United were drawn against Inter, these kinds of talks began. And Jose on his part kept saying that he wouldn't rule out a return to English football. With that statement one thing was clear, he certainly would not be going back to Chelsea. Arsenal wont suit Jose, so it was between Manchester United and Liverpool. And it seemed logical that Jose would take the hot seat after Fergie. Just when the Champions League game was nearing, the Special One said that all the top managers would be considered for the job at Old Trafford after Fergie leaves and that he was one among the Top managers. And a few days earlier, he said in a lighter vein that he would be the manager of Manchester United in 20 years, referring to the hunger in Sir Alex to continue despite his age. But it was a clear reminder that he wants be at the hot seat. And what made me believe this was his reaction after Inter's defeat to United, Jose said United will win all the five titles. It comes a man who wants to take the job and why not when the team has got some fantastic young talent who can rule the footballing world for some time. Jose, for sure would be welcome at Old Trafford but is Manchester United the right club for him???? only time will tell.

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Wednesday, March 11, 2009

UEFA Champions League 2009: Manutd - Inter Milan goals

Manchester United beat Inter Milan at Old trafford and marched into the last 8 of the champions league. Vidic opened the scoring in the 4th minute and Ronaldo added the second 4 minutes into second half and helped United overcome a spirited Inter. It certainly wasn't a magical performance from the defending champions but they managed to put it past Jose's side and it was the first time United had scored twice against Jose Mourinho's sides.

Manchester United 2 - 0 Inter Milan

1-0 -Vidic - Watch - Download
2-0 - Ronaldo - Watch - Download

Full Highlights - Download
1st Half - Watch
2nd Half - Watch

Enjoy.........

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UEFA Champions League 2009:Liverpool - Real Madrid goals


Liverpool outplayed and Out classed Real Madrid with a sublime display of football. Real Madrid on the other hand were pathetic, showed no willingness to fight. They were simply not up for it against a team that was tactically strong, something missing from Real Madrid. And were it not for the excellence of Iker Casillas in Madrid's goal the Spanish giants could have been embarrassed further. Its been five years since Real progressed past the first knock out round, something to worry about for a team that has won the cup a record nine times.

Liverpool 4 - 0 Real Madrid
Torres - Download
Gerrard(pen) - Download
Gerrard - Download
Dossena - Download

Enjoy.....

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UEFA Champions League 2009: Chelsea - Juventus goals

Chelsea displayed the old belief and character that was missing for large parts of this season at Turin as they marched into the quarterfinals of the Champions League after drawing their match with Juventus. A 2-2 draw in Turin was enough to see Guus Hiddink's men safely through 3-2 on aggregate, while it also preserved the his unbeaten record in the Stamford Bridge hot-seat.

Juventus 2-2 Chelsea

Iaquinta 1-0 - DOWNLOAD

Essien 1-1 - DOWNLOAD

Del Piero 2-1(pen) - DOWNLOAD

Drogba 2-2 - DOWNLOAD

All in one - Download

Enjoy......

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Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Can Jose weave his magic wand again?

Five years on and memories of Jose Mourinho's touchline jig at Old Trafford still touch a nerve with match-going Manchester United supporters.

A 90th-minute equaliser from Costinha to cancel out a Paul Scholes goal meant the current holders suffered the ignominy of being knocked out of Europe's premier club competition at the first knockout phase by eventual winners Porto.

It would not be the first time that Mourinho and Old Trafford supremo Sir Alex Ferguson were to clash.

During a trophy-laden but sometimes turbulent three-year stay at Chelsea, the enigmatic Portuguese coach suffered only one defeat in 10 meetings with the current world club champions, including a 1-0 win in the 2007 FA Cup final.

Now, Mourinho has the chance to send United packing again when he returns with Internazionale to Old Trafford on Wednesday for what promises to be a night to savour.

Again, Mourinho's team will arrive as underdogs but their form in Serie A this season dictates that they are a live threat to United's hopes of reaching the last eight of the Champions League.

United, however, are a different beast these days and even Mourinho, albeit through gritted teeth, will acknowledge that his players spent the majority of the opening period in the first leg chasing shadows.

Inter had the inspired Julio Cesar to thank for keeping the visitors at bay in the San Siro, but 0-0 is a dangerous scoreline and Mourinho will be praying his formidable-looking front-pairing of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Adriano - who was substituted after 77 minutes in Italy - turn up in Manchester.

Ibrahimovic has already promised United's defenders an uncomfortable night but then confidence has never been an issue for the Swedish man mountain and the reigning champions can boast a record of not being beaten in 18 matches at Old Trafford in the competition proper dating back more than four years.

Ferguson has warned his players to expect a long night and those with a nervous disposition may wish to look away.

Mourinho, by contrast, will relish the spotlight and only the brave would bet against the star from Setúbal pulling off one last party trick before his proposed return to the Premier League.

Nick Walsh writes features and betting previews for Betfair.

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Sunday, March 8, 2009

Serie A:Beckham to stay at AC Milan

Its finally over. The tug of war between LA Galaxy and AC Milan over David Beckham has finally ended after a deal was reached between the clubs. According to the deal, Beckham will stay in Italy until the summer before heading back to the Galaxy for the remainder of the MLS campaign. Beckham will then rejoin Milan in the autumn. "It allows me to play for AC Milan and the LA Galaxy in the same year, and at the same time to continue my commitment to develop soccer in the United States, which is something I am passionate about", Beckham reportedly said. He also confirmed that his family will remain in LA. This is a huge boost for Beckham as he tries to make it to the 2010 FIFA world cup and playing with Milan is certainly a massive thing for him. Had he gone back to LA Galaxy, he could have said goodbye to his International dreams as the standard of football is nowhere near European Leagues. Had the deal not happened, Becks would have been in America on 9th March. As it stays, we can get to see Beckham in AC Milan colors this season.

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UEFA Champions League 2009: Round of 16 - Second leg preview

The first knockout stage of UEFA Champions League is nearing its climax. After the first leg, most of the matches are still in balance apart from a few like Bayern - Sporting. The performance of few of the big clubs in the group stages were poor and they could manage only second positions in their groups, which had lead to the fixtures we had got for the Round of 16. When one sees the fixtures, they might get a feeling that each of these fixtures should have been the finals. But only 8 teams can go through to the quarterfinals. Liverpool, who play particularly well in the Champions League have got a lead against Real Madrid and they are at Anfield. So I can't see them losing against Real. Manchester United battered Inter Milan at the San Siro but could not get a goal but it was a totally different team that played in Milan with Rooney on the bench for that. And at Old Trafford they will play their normal 4-4-2 formation and they are real favourites to progress. Chelsea have 1-0 lead going to Turin against Juventus. That's a small lead considering Juve's home form so the match will be real tight one. Arsenal too have a 1-0 lead going to Rome but AS Roma will be heavily dependent on Totti. If he plays Arsenal will have some serious problems. This match too is a tight one. I fancy Arsenal as this is the only trophy that they are left to play for this season and they will be fired up. Barcelona have a crucial away goal against Lyon and at Camp Nou you would expect them to walk over Lyon. Sporting were buried at Lisbon and I would not be surprised if Bayern play a second string team at Munich as overturning a 0-5 deficit is near impossible for the Portugese club.

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India - New Zealand 3rd ODI: India win by 58 runs

Sachin Tendulkar scored his first century in New Zealand and helped India take an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the series with two matches left to play. Sachin was the real star on the day which nearly saw over 700 runs being scored. India lost Sehwag and Gambhir early but Yuvraj took control of the game with some hard hitting. He set the tone for Indian innings. India took the batting powerplay in 23rd over, a move that really paid off with India scoring 69 runs in those 5 overs. After Yuvi got out, Sachin took complete control and hit his 43rd ODI hundred. He and Dhoni pulverised the Kiwi attack. Sachin retired hurt on 163* and Raina took off as soon as he came and India ended with a massive 392 in 50 overs. Tim Southee had a terrible day as he conceeded 105 runs in his 10 overs. When New Zealand batted, Ryder and McCullum put on 166 for the first wicket before a flurry of wickets shifted the balance towards India. Ryder hit his maiden ODI century. Just when it seemed India would close the match, Mills and Southee took the Kiwis within striking distance. When Munaf Patel was removed from bowling by umpire Rudi Koertzen for bowling 2 waist high full tosses, the Kiwis would have been very upset as Munaf had totally lost the plot and was leaking runs. Yusuf Pathan, who came to finish that over picked up Mills' s wicket. And in the very next over Southee was picked up by Praveen to bring and end to the match. The small ground(combined with pitch) in Christchurch provided us the match which saw the maximum number of sixes hit. Next match is at Hamilton on Wednesday.

Brief Scores:
India 392 for 4 (Tendulkar 163*, Yuvraj 87, Dhoni 67) beat New Zealand 334 (Ryder 101, McCullum 71, Mills 54, Harbhajan 2-56) by 58 runs

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Kid named after Sachin in New Zealand


When you hear that kids are named after Sachin Tendulkar one might think those kids are Indians but it isn't the case in New Zealand. Sachin Austin, a 9 year old New Zealand kid has been named after the great Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar. This indeed confirms Sachin's stature as one of the most respected and admired sports persons only in India but across the globe. And one must recollect that Sachin Tendulkar himself was named after the legendary music composer Sachin Dev Burman. And the name "Sachin" has crossed land, religion and countries. I happened to know about this today while watching the third ODI between India and New Zealand. Sachin Austin was asked who was he named after with Sachin Tendulkar standing near him and the kid said it was the greatest moment in his life. And it was on a day when Sachin had scored his first century in the country. I'm not sure how many of them are named after the Little master but the count will certainly be increasing.

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Saturday, March 7, 2009

FA Cup Quarterfinals:Fulham - Manutd goals


Carlos Tevez gave a stunning performance and guided Manchester United into the semifinals of the FA Cup. Fulham showed promise but United's defence held firm against them. This win keeps Manchester United in the hunt for the unprecedented quintuple. Rock on Red Devils....

Click here for the goals
0-1 - Tevez - Watch - Mediafire - Rapidshare
0-2 - Tevez - Watch - Mediafire - Rapidshare
0-3 - Rooney - Watch - Mediafire - Rapidshare
0-4 - Park - Watch - Mediafire - Rapidshare

Enjoy.....

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Friday, March 6, 2009

Honda sells F1 team to Ross Brawn


Formula 1 team Honda has found a buyer for its team and its was none other than the team principle Ross Brawn. The new team will now be known as Brawn GP team and will retain Honda's two drivers, Britain's Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello of Brazil. The team, based in Brackley, UK, employs about 700 support staff.
Japan's second-biggest carmaker, which announced in December that it was pulling out of the sport to save money, said yesterday it had agreed to sell the team to Ross Brawn, its former manager. And the bulk of the money to fund the first season will come from Honda.Mr Brawn, who was born in Manchester, helped Michael Schumacher to win five straight Formula One titles at Ferrari before joining Honda in 2007.

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Champions League: Round of 16 - 1st leg highlights

The first leg of the Round of 16 produced some stunning football. All the English teams are on course to progress through to next round. Enjoy all those moments during the first leg.

Click here for the highlights
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Carling cup finals:Manutd - Spurs - Highlights,Penalty Shootout


Ben Foster lived a dream day at the Wembley as Manchester United overcame a spirited Spurs in the finals of the Carling cup and kept alive their chances of a quintuple. Teams were locked 0-0 after 120 minutes and penalties were needed to separate the teams and United edged it 4-1, thanks to Foster.

Click here for highlights & Penalty Shootout:

Penalty Shootout & Celebrations - Watch

Mediafire:

Foster save v Lennon
,
Foster save v Bent ,
Penalty Shootout
Celebrations
Foster interview
Fergie lifting cup

Individual Penalties :
Giggs' penalty
Foster penalty save
Tevez' penalty
Ronaldo's penalty
Anderson's penalty

Match Highlights:
Rapidshare | Mediafire

Extended Highlights
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6

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