Arsenal pair 'destroyed' by League Cup clanger - Wenger

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger reveals Szczesny and Koscielny feel 'destroyed' after error hands Birmingham League Cup

The Arsenal manager said the pair had apologised to their team-mates afterwards for the mistake that allowed Obafemi Martins to slot in the winner for Birmingham.

“Both are destroyed,” Wenger said in his post-match press conference. “We have to lift them up and help them. That’s what a team is about. This is part of the game as well.

“It (the goal) was a lack of communication and a lack of determination a little bit as well. Always, when the ball is in no-man’s land, somebody has to take responsibility and go for it. Nobody was going for the ball on either side.

“We made a mistake that left us no time to respond. Congratulations to Birmingham. They took advantage of that, which hurts us tremendously. It’s a massive disappointment for the team.”

Wenger admitted it will be difficult to pick his players up after they failed to end the club’s six-year trophy drought.

He said: “We face a lot of questions after that mistake tonight but we have to be strong enough to stand up and be strong enough to come back. We have to pick ourselves up and face the other challenges we have.

“We don’t deny that. We have massive challenges in front us – in the Premier League, the Champions League and the Carling Cup. The Carling Cup is four or five games, the championship season is 38 games and we do not throw the season away because of one game. What the team is achieving is tremendous.

“We lost today in the last minute. It’s difficult to take because we are used to winning. What’s difficult to take is to lose so many players. We lost [Theo] Walcott and [Cesc] Fabregas on Wednesday. Birmingham played a reserve team [in midweek] against Sheffield Wednesday and physically we had a disadvantage.

“We had some problems to start the game because the number of games catches us up a bit. It took us a while to get into the pace of game.

"In the second half we were on top. We could not score the second goal even though we had enough chances to kill off the game. We made a mistake that left us no time to respond.”

Wenger revealed that Arsenal’s goalscorer Robin van Persie had picked up a “knee problem” scoring his goal, which led to him being substituted in the second half.

There he saw the penalty Kalopoulos

Dimitris Kalopoulos continued to argue that Ninis made offensive foul on the Torosidh but that there was no penalty.

As argued by Dimitris Kalopoulos penalty has never been to Sotiris Ninis and said he had earlier whistle NINI offensive foul, but added that penalty and then not exist because the ball went to hand Torosidh rather than hand to ball.

As regards the goal of the Olympic Djebbour, the view was heard that Pantelits not affect Tzorvas.

He did not say anything about the phase of goal Katsouranis, a trusted and his assistant ...

All this, of course, shot down by the video of the match

http://dai.ly/fddKgr

Federer Marches Towards Dubai Final

Top seed Roger Federercontinued his steady progress at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships as he reached the semi-finals of the ATP World Tour 500 hard-court tennis tournament Thursday with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over UkrainianSergiy Stakhovsky.

The Swiss has been largely untroubled in his pursuit of a fifth title in Dubai this week and, despite dropping serve for the first time in the tournament, dispatched the No. 43-ranked Stakhovsky in 72 minutes. He saved eight of the nine break points he faced and capitalised on three of the nine chances he created.

“I try not to waste any energy,” said Federer of his run through. “Most important thing is to come through. Doesn't matter if it's three times 7-6 in a row to get to the semi. At the end of the day, you want to give yourself chances to win the trophy, and that's what I'm doing. I think I didn't have any let's say completely easy matches here. I've always had to be very focused.”

The 29-year-old Federer has a 28-3 record in Dubai after winning three successive titles from 2003-2005, reaching the final in 2006, and lifting the trophy again in 2007. He is chasing his 68th tour-level title this week and his second of the season after triumphing in Doha (d. Davydenko) in the first week. He followed with a semi-final showing at the Australian Open.

In the semi-finals Federer will face Richard Gasquet, who came through an all-French contest with Gilles Simon 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 in just over two hours to reach his first ATP World Tour semi-final since Metz in September 2010.

While the 24-year-old Gasquet won his first meeting with Federer in a breakthrough performance at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters in 2005, he has since lost their past seven meetings, most recently at the BNP Paribas Masters last November.

“I know I have to play my game, not to try to play too good,” said Gasquet. “When I played him in Bercy last year, I wanted to play very good, to play all the lines, and I made a lot of mistakes. So I just have to try to play my game. For sure he's the favourite for the match.”

Manchester United Manager Sir Alex Ferguson Measures Success By Trophies In Results Business ‘Generated By A Really Aggressive Press’

It is not healthy being a manager these days, admits boss

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has described how he measures his success at Old Trafford, and that is by the amount of silverware he has picked up.

The Scot also says that the managerial merry-go-round that goes on in modern day football is unproductive for clubs, and is the fault of the British press.

Ferguson told US-based satellite radio broadcaster Sirius XM: "I judge my success by trophies, we have a good record of that and a good history too.

"We are very ambitious to maintain that success. We know we have to perform to make sure we are always up there.

"It is not healthy being a manager these days. It is a results industry generated by a really aggressive press.

"The nature of the fans and owners have changed. Time is of the essence.

"You have good examples, at Manchester United and Arsenal, that if you give a manager time, it works.

"You can fulfil all your ideas and philosophies about how a team is run and how they play."

goal.com Site Survey

You can visit the selected site  http://www.goal.com/en/

The Site analysis and findings

Done By MAHER ALHESEN.

SkySports Site Survey

Visit SkySports http://www.skysports.com/

The site survey findings:

Part 1:

Business Model:

This business can be considered as a Fee Based business model. Sky Sports 1, 2, 3, and 4 are available as a premium package on top of the basic Sky package. So in order to have such service you need to have a subscription with the main company Sky. 

Business Model Entities:

E-business deployed and the type of transactions:

Sky sports website mainly have the customer request and subscriptions for the sport channels packages and this can be consider as the main e-business activity. The main type of transaction is the B2C which involves the sky sports packages offered from the site to the customer. Also if we’re talking about companies interested in having sky sports package it can be considered as a B2B transaction.

Part 2:

The Marketspaces:

It is a marketplace in which sellers and buyers exchange goods and services for money (or for other goods and services).

So skysports marketspace can be considered as the market in which all tv sport channels companies are playing.

Components:

Customers: Sport fans.

Sellers: Skysports.

Products and services: TV packages for sport channels. Also the free sport news in addition to the help and support.

The e-marketplaces:

Commonly known as electronic marketplace, an e-marketplace is a virtual market where Buyers and sellers meet just like in a traditional market. It can be b2b, b2c, c2c, …etc.

Here our e-marketplace is considered to be both B2B and B2C. Since skysports is providing its services to customers directly without any intermediary and via subscriptions it can be considered as b2c. Also and since many other companies are interested in their packages and offers it can be considered as b2b relationship. 

I think both e-marketplaces fit our case here. They can target both companies and organizations in addition to individual customers.

Part 3:

From my point of view I think this site doesn’t need the blog service. It has a large number of customers and subscribers who are members in their forums and they can review comments and all uploaded news and events. So no need for the blog service.

Done By: ABDEL RAHMAN YOUSEF

Ronaldo To Retire

Ronaldo has confirmed that he will announce his retirement on Monday, calling time on a rich and unforgettable career in football.

The legendary striker, currently with Corinthians, has cited injury and fitness concerns as the reason for his bowing out months before his final contract was due to expire.

"My body aches. In my head I want to continue, but this body can't take much more," Ronaldo told Fantastico online magazine. "In recent days I have cried like a baby."

The forward has spent the last two years at Corinthians after a glorious spell in Europe with PSV Eindhoven, Barcelona, Inter, Real Madrid and AC Milan.

His one season at Camp Nou is frequently cited as one of the greatest individual campaigns in footballing history, while his spells at San Siro and the Bernabeu were no less eventful.

Meanwhile Ronaldo is also widely regarded as one of Brazil's greatest ever players. He is the World Cup's all-time leading goalscorer, with 15 goals in four tournament appearances - two of which the Selecao would win.

Nonetheless, with Corinthians being eliminated from the Copa Libertadores early, and his physical condition preventing a consistent run in the Timao line-up, Ronaldo has now called it a day.

He will formally end his career at a press conference at Corinthians headquarters at 12:40pm local time (15:40 CET, 14:40 BST, 09:40 EST.)

Moment Of Magic

Manchester United 2-1 Manchester City: Sensational Wayne Rooney Goal Seals Thrilling Derby Victory For League Leaders

Moment of sheer quality gives Sir Alex Ferguson's side all three points

Wayne Rooney sent out an emphatic reminder of his abilities when his sensational bicycle kick granted all three points to Manchester United in their battle with Manchester City.Nani gave the hosts the lead when he slotted past Joe Hart after excellent composure when being put through on goal, only for David Silva to unwittingly equalize when Edin Dzeko’s shot went in off the Spaniard.
The decisive moment of the game came when a deflected cross dropped to Rooney just inside the box and his acrobatic overhead kick and was sent flying into Hart’s top corner in a moment that will be forever remembered in Manchester United folklore.
The result sees the Manchester clubs sandwich second-placed Arsenal and though City are eight points behind their cross-city rivals having played a game more, they remain primed for an assault on Champions League qualification.
Fresh from his midweek heroics for Spain, Silva provided the game’s first spark of inspiration. The mercurial wideman picked up the ball on the right flank and knocked it inside to Yaya Toure. Silva then ghosted inside and some smart interchange between Toure and Tevez saw the ball slotted into the path of Silva’s third man run. As he bore down on Edwin van der Sar’s goal, the Spaniard could only toe poke the goal agonizingly wide of the far post.
As the hosts failed to capitalize on a succession of corner kicks, the game swung end to end in a manner that belied the defensive-minded 4-5-1 formations both teams were set up in. City had the more promising of the game’s early possession but Nani issued a reminder of his goal threat when he jinked in from the right, in the way that is quickly becoming his trademark, and blazed over from around 25 yards.
City continued to show more innovative use of the ball in their build up play, with Silva the chief architect. He again unlocked the hosts’ defense, which clearly missed the marshaling skills of Rio Ferdinand, with a reverse pass, though Toure could only rifle his cross into the chest of Chris Smalling.
With both teams’ front men largely anonymous in the opening exchanges, Rooney cut a particularly frustrated figure. The lone striker became embroiled in an ongoing petty altercation with Vincent Kompany after the towering center-half was shown a yellow card for coming through the back of his opponent. Over the next five minutes, words were said and handbags were raised, with the impressive Andre Marriner, who had allowed the game to maintain its flow with a few well-judged advantages, having to tell both to drop it.
Genuine penetration was few and far between as both teams seemed content to keep the ball and not put too much on the line. When Ryan Giggs found himself in good space on the left, his ball into the far post was met by the onrushing Darren Fletcher who could only send his header comfortably into the welcoming arms of Joe Hart.
This acted as a catalyst for Manchester United eking out a marginal stranglehold on the game, without really ever breaching the opposition back four. Hart made another easy save when a promising Nani strike from distance was diverted into exactly where the goalkeeper was standing and then from the other flank, Nani fired over from similar range.
Nani made no mistake, though, when he was presented with the hosts’ first clear-cut chance of the game, five minutes before half-time. For all their bluster, it was route one football that granted United the lead. A long Van Der Sar kick was knocked onto Giggs after Rooney challenged in the air and his excellent first time pass matched the exact stride pattern of Nani as he ran beyond the shoulder of Lescott. The winger then showed great composure to bring the ball down under pressure and sidefoot it past Hart to wheel away and celebrate with his usual acrobatics.
The hosts finished the first half firmly in the ascendancy having visibly rattled their rivals’ cage.
City began the second half with the same probing inquisition with which they started the first. Toure’s heavy touch in the box prompted the rangy midfielder to throw himself to the ground in search of a penalty though Marriner pointedly dismissed his appeal.
The visitors shortly brought on Shaun Wright-Phillips for makeshift left-winger Aleksander Kolarov and he almost spontaneously made his presence felt but slipped on queue when Tevez’s ball had looked to have slid him through.
Kompany went from the sublime to the ridiculous in the space of ten seconds after his wonderfully timed challenge on Rooney in the box looked to have quelled a United counter-attack. However, upon resuming his move forward the Belgian gifted the ball to Nani on the edge of the area, who could only drag wide with his left foot.

As he looked to get back into the game Mancini sent on Dzeko to partner the ineffectual Tevez at the expense of James Milner. This strategy soon proved a stroke of genius. A surging Wright-Phillips run down the right saw him whip the ball in and Dzeko’s strike went past the helpless van der Sar via Silva’s backside to snatch an equalizer.
Clearly not content with a draw Sir Alex Ferguson sent on his ace card, the 19-goal Dimitar Berbatov, matching the 4-4-2 adopted by City. This did little to deter the visitors who grew in confidence with their goal and consequently pushed forward with renewed vigor.
Nani continued to look the most animated player on the pitch when he picked the ball up in his own half after Rooney was clattered, waltzed past three City defenders with some smart step-overs and fizzed a left footed shot just wide of the upright.
In a moment that seemed fitting in a game of such magnitude Wayne Rooney put the hosts back in front. Nani’s cross from the right took a nick off Pablo Zabaleta which looked to have rendered it fruitless. Rooney, however, adapted his shape and sprung into the air to dispatch a truly spectacular bicycle kick into Joe Hart’s top corner.
City searched in vain for another equalizer but it proved not to be their day as United held out to seal a famous and title-defining victory.

Jordan still showing flashes of 'His Airness'

Michael Jordan may have lost a step or two since his playing days but continues to shows flashes of "His Airness" and can still put the ball in the hoop, members of the Charlotte Bobcats say.

Jordan, a five-times NBA most valuable player and now the owner of the Bobcats, likes to show his players a move or two in workouts.

"He's been kicking our (butts)," Bobcats captain Gerald Wallace told reporters.

"He still has it," Wallace added. "He doesn't have his quickness, but he's a scorer, he's a shooter. The last thing to go is your jump shot, and he still has that."

Jordan, who will be 48 next week, led the Chicago Bulls to six NBA championships in the 1980s and '90s in a career that earned him All-Star honours 10 times.

The Hall of Famer has not played in an NBA game since 2003, when he staged a comeback in a two-year experiment with the Washington Wizards.

Jordan did not comment on Thursday's full-court workout, but Bobcats coach Paul Silas said Jordan likes to hold players accountable and uses the sessions as a classroom.

"Guys work a little bit harder when he's out here," said Silas, whom Jordan installed as the head coach in December after firing Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown.

"He still can shoot the basketball like unbelievable, and he can move well," Silas said of Jordan.

"At his age he couldn't do it substantially enough for a long period of time, but for a short period of time, he can get it done."

Jerez day two - Schumacher rules the roost in Spain

Mercedes GP’s Michael Schumacher responded on Friday to Felipe Massa’s swift Thursday pace for Ferrari, as this week’s four-day test continued in Jerez. Schumacher’s fastest lap, a 1m 20.352s, was almost four-tenths of a second quicker than Massa’s best the day before - and six-hundredths up on the Brazilian's own Friday best at the Spanish circuit.

Jenson Button finished third behind Massa as he sampled the new McLaren, the MP4-26, for the first time, whilst Toro Rosso’s Jaime Alguersuari took fourth slot after covering 72 laps in the STR6. Alguersuari’s programme featured three key elements - tyre evaluation, weight distribution and set-up work. His team mate Sebastien Buemi will take charge of the car on Saturday.

“I tried all compounds except the super-soft here and I had a good feeling from the car with all of them, getting an idea of their different behaviour,” said the young Spaniard. “I also made progress in terms of using the KERS and the DRS (downforce reduction system) which to be honest, does not look as complicated as I expected it to be. 

“The important thing is that we are making progress every time I go out of the garage. In performance terms, it is still a bit too early to start drawing conclusions, especially as the lap times here vary a lot from the morning to the afternoon, but I am reasonably confident that this side of the car’s progress is on the right track.”

Red Bull’s Mark Webber finished in fifth, ahead of Force India’s Adrian Sutil and Sauber’s Sergio Perez.

Full report to follow.

Unofficial Friday test times from Jerez:
1. Michael Schumacher, Mercedes GP, 1:20.352
2. Felipe Massa, Ferrari, 1:20.413
3. Jenson Button, McLaren, 1:21.009
4. Jaime Alguersuari, Toro Rosso, 1:21.214
5. Mark Webber, Red Bull, 1:21.613
6. Adrian Sutil, Force India, 1:21.780
7. Sergio Perez, Sauber, 1:21.857
8. Timo Glock, Virgin, 1:22.208
9. Vitaly Petrov, Renault, 1:22.493
10. Pastor Maldonado, Williams, 1:22.591
11. Jarno Trulli, Lotus, 1:23.216

Benzema gives France victory over 10-man Brazil

France stepped up their post-World Cup revival and brought back memories of home glory in 1998 as Karim Benzema struck to give them a 1-0 win over 10-man Brazil at the Stade de France on Wednesday.

Benzema, left unattended in the middle of the box, converted a perfect cross from Jeremy Menez in the 55th minute to settle a match played at the scene of France's 3-0 triumph over the same opponents in the World Cup final 13 years ago.

Brazil started well but the game turned when Hernanes was sent off in the 40th minute for kicking Benzema.

After the interval, France, who are regaining their form after last year's first-round exit and off-field controversies at the World Cup in South Africa, put on a more spirited display.

"Obviously, playing with 11 men against 10 made things easier but I liked what I saw", France coach Laurent Blanc said. "I think Karim had a great match."

Both teams had 2010 World Cups to forget, with Brazil bundled out by the Netherlands in the quarter-finals, but they have been showing signs of improvement with rejuvenated teams.

France confirmed their upwards progress and grabbed their fifth success in a row after two initial defeats under Laurent Blanc's orders while the Brazilians slumped to their second defeat in a row after a 1-0 loss to Argentina in the Autumn.

UPPER HAND

Brazil had the upper hand in the first half, Mano Menezes's men creating chances through Alexandre Pato and captain Robinho following poor clearances by goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.

France began to find their feet in the second half and goalkeeper Julio Cesar was put under more and more pressure.

The breakthrough came 10 minutes after the interval when Benzema once again rewarded the faith shown in him by Laurent Blanc, despite average performances for Real Madrid, with the game's only goal.

Benzema has now scored in France's last three matches and will hope Real coach Jose Mourinho had an eye on his performance to snatch more time off the bench at the Bernabeu.

"Unfortunately the referee was very strict with Hernanes and the red card had a big impact on our team", new Chelsea recruit, defender David Luiz said. "But we had a good spirit, we fought until the end and some lessons will be important for us in the future."

France, who top their Euro qualifying group, will hope to take their new found confidence into their next game against Luxembourg on March 25.

"We mustn't get over-excited. The important game will be against Luxembourg. After our success in England, now Brazil, we are on a good run," goalkeeper Hugo Lloris said.

"This victory is the icing on the cake," midfielder Florent Malouda added. "We have to savour it."

Guardiola Signs Extension

Pep Guardiola Agrees One-Year Contract Extension With Barcelona

Guardiola has agreed to stay until June 2012 with Barcelona...

Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola has agreed to a one-year contract extension and will remain with the club until the end of the 2011-12 season.

The Spanish champions revealed the news on their official website on Tuesday evening, adding that the deal will be officially signed in the next few days.

"FC Barcelona announce that they have reached an agreement with Josep Guardiola to renew his contract with the club for another season, until the 30th of June 2012," read a statement. 

"The signing of the contract will take place in the next few days."

The 40-year-old's current deal was due to expire at the end of this season and he had been linked with coaching jobs abroad, with English giants Manchester United reportedly eyeing him as Sir Alex Ferguson's replacement.

Guardiola was appointed the Blaugrana's coach in 2008 and has worked wonders with the Catalan club, winning two successive Spanish Primera Division titles, the Champions League and the Club World Cup among other triumphs.

Nadal sidelined for 10 more days with muscle damage

World number one Rafael Nadal damaged a muscle in his right leg during his Australian Open quarter-final defeat by Spanish compatriot David Ferrer and needs around 10 days to recover.

Nadal, who is recuperating at home on the Balearic Island of Mallorca, received scan results on Tuesday that confirmed the extent of the injury, he said in a statement on his personal website (www.rafaelnadal.com).

"Doctors estimate a recovery period of about 10 days from today, Feb. 1," the statement said.

The French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open champion, who failed in Australia in his bid to hold all four Grand Slams at the same time, should be fit for Spain's Davis Cup match against Belgium on March 4-6 and the Masters events in Indian Wells and Miami later that month.

In the three years between Novak Djokovic's two grand slam titles the Serb endured his fair share of criticism and periods of self-doubt, but the man who guided his early career always knew he would come good again.

Djokovic's stunning run to the Australian Open title which culminated in a straight-sets thrashing of fellow 23-year-old Andy Murray removed the "one slam wonder" tag that had began to burden him since his 2008 success in Melbourne.

While much was made of Murray's need to win his first major, Niki Pilic, the man who launched Djokovic's career, said Sunday's triumph was an equally important breakthrough for his former charge.

"It was a huge moment for Novak's career," Pilic, who runs the tennis academy in Munich where a 12-year-old Djokovic arrived from troubled Serbia, told Reuters.

"There was a lot of focus on Murray because he has yet to win a grand slam but equally for Novak it was a vital match because there have been some doubts. But not from me.

"When he won his first Australian Open in 2008 everyone expected big things but you have to remember that increased the pressure on him because the fact that Roger Federer and Nadal were in front of him, probably the best ever.

"But Novak has always known exactly what he needs to do and he's kept working at his game and not stood still. His serve is now much better and his forehand really penetrates.

"His movement too, is as good as Nadal's. He is very solid now, and very tough to beat. Murray found it impossible."

Pilic, 71, said Serbia's Davis Cup win, which he was involved with as a consultant, could have been the catalyst for Djokovic to make a bid for the number one ranking.

"That inspired Novak," said Pilic, who has steered Germany, Croatia and Serbia to the team title.

"That was a big pressure he handled in Belgrade before Christmas, not just for himself, but to have the whole country relying on you. It was crucial."



COUNTLESS JUNIORS

Pilic has seen countless juniors walk through the doors of his academy, but said a young Djokovic stood out.

At the Davis Cup final an old team mate of Djokovic told the story of how, when he was 13, he scolded a bunch of 17-year-olds for being late for the mini-bus taking them to a tournament.

"You're damaging my career," Djokovic said, a comment Pilic believes typifies his determination.

"I remember Novak had so much confidence and was so totally sure about what he wanted to achieve," Pilic added.

"You could see he was very clever by the way he spoke to everyone and the answers he gave. In terms of coachability he was the best I ever saw because he would absorb everything and store it away. He's still a very clever player on court."

Pilic believes Djokovic is now better equipped to challenge for the top ranking than when he made his breakthrough.

"The quality in the men's game is so tough that it's hard as a 19 or 20-year-old," he said. "Novak is now 23 and is mentally and physically much stronger.

"Reaching number one this year will be tough because Nadal has such a big lead in the points but if Nadal has some injuries or loss of form, Novak is ready to step up.

"Murray too, because they have very similar games but Novak is much stronger mentally."

Pilic believes Djokovic may have to wait until the U.S. Open for a realistic shot at a third grand slam.

"Cement is his best surface and he moves better on that than anyone," he said. "The French Open will be tough and grass is maybe not his best surface. So I would expect him to be the one to beat at the U.S. Open."

Not Forgotten

Real Madrid Coach Jose Mourinho: Clasico Defeat To Barcelona Must Not Be Forgotten

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho has claimed he will not allow players to forget Barcelona loss in November.

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho insists that his side’s damaging 5-0 loss at the hands of Barcelona earlier in the season will not be forgotten, because his players must learn the lesson of that defeat.

Los Blancos suffered the joint-heaviest losing margin in Clasico history in November, but speaking to the media yesterday, the Portuguese stressed that the result must never be forgotten in order to improve for their further clashes later this season.

He stated to Sky Italia: “In that game we did not see the ball. We lost 5-0 and if the game had last 10 minutes more, it would have been six or seven. It is a game to forget, but one we must always remember, a bit like the first (sic) match Inter played against them last season.

“We lost 2-0 in the group stages, and it could have been 4-0. We do not forget, as that game was the basis for preparing the semi-final against them, and I will do exactly the same with Real Madrid when they return to play against Barcelona.”

Mourinho also stated his intention to return to Italian football later in his career, and also how he enjoyed working alongside Nerazzurri president Massimo Moratti.

He added: “He [Moratti] is fantastic. From the first day he was very open, he is a fantastic person, exceptional, friendly, open and available. He is a fan with a desire to win but at the same time honest and clean.

“He has everything a coach would want, he is a great friend, and I think that someday I will return to Italian football.”

Personal Confrontation (Ronaldo Vs Messi)

International Comment: Argentina-Portugal Is So Much More Than The Messi & Ronaldo Show

As the clash in Geneva between Argentina and Portugal draws ever closer, two names have dominated headlines: Barcelona's Lionel Messi, and Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal. The two players widely considered as the world's current best have seen their 'rivalry' hyped up by coaches, players and the press alike, and this rare international meeting has sent Argentina and Portuguese writers into overdrive as they make the case for why their native son is worthy of the title 'The Greatest'.

To focus on these two admittedly immensely gifted individuals however is to do a disservice to the 20 other players who will take the field this evening in the colours of their nation. Moreover it threatens to overshadow a match which could prove crucial to both Argentina and Portugal in gauging how far their teams have progressed after World Cup disappointment, and whether their fans can expect success in the competitive fixtures which have begun to lurk menacingly on the horizon.

Argentina's justification for focusing on their diminutive genius looks rather more concrete, as for the first time ever on the international stage Messi will line up in the centre of attack, right in the thick of the action. The absences of Gonzalo Higuain, Carlos Tevez and Diego Milito have forced coach Sergio Batista to finally implement his master plan for the 'Seleccion'. 

Instead of watching the play funnel past him as he stands out on the wing, or being forced to forage for possession near the halfway line, Messi will start the match at number nine and be expected to be the cornerstone of his side's attacking threat. In this way 'Checho' hopes to utilise his ace of spades in the same way that Barcelona do so effectively week in, week out, and at a stroke correct the anomaly that has seen the goal machine notch just 15 strikes in 53 caps. Not a disgraceful figure, but well under the goal every one and a half games he averages in Spain.