spurzgrrl Posted September 26, 2003 Share Posted September 26, 2003 Very neat. I noticed that CM03/04 is going to have the print function back, and, AND, is going to include print to web... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian of Nazareth Posted September 26, 2003 Share Posted September 26, 2003 <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by spurzgrrl: Very neat. I noticed that CM03/04 is going to have the print function back, and, AND, is going to include print to web...<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Thank Christ for that! *Hopes letter gets printed in an upcoming edition* Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HD Posted September 30, 2003 Share Posted September 30, 2003 Magic Gary Teale \o/ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobBev Posted October 2, 2003 Author Share Posted October 2, 2003 European Soccer Weekly Issue 10 - Friday October 3rd, 2003 News Leeds United have announced that their new Manager is the current Blackburn boss Brian Kerr. We find this a rather surprising decision by the Irishman. He led Blackburn to a fine 5th place finish and the UEFA Cup Final last season and Rovers are currently 6th in the Premiership. He is joining a team in disarray and facing a fight against relegation. Nonetheless, we wish him luck in his new position. League Roundup In the Belgian Jupiler League, leaders Charleroi dropped their first points of the season following a thrilling 3-3 draw with Anderlecht. At the other end it is very tight, with only a single point spanning the bottom 6 teams. In Croatia, Sibenik take over at the top as Hajduk have their first defeat of the season, a surprise 3-1 loss at home to Zagreb. In the Danish Superligaen FC Midtjylland lead Brøndby on goal difference and in the basement Vejle and Esbjerg fB occupy the relegation places. Liverpool have overtaken Middlesbrough at the top of the EPL whilst Southampton’s surprise 1-0 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford takes them up to 3rd. Leeds, Sunderland and West Brom hold the relegation places. Barring a major collapse in form in their remaining 5 matches it looks like HJK will win the Finnish First Division. Second placed MyPa have 2 games in hand but are currently 12 points adrift. GBK and KuPS{/b} are fighting out the single relegation place. Marseilles stay top of the table but their unbeaten start to Le Championat was brought to a halt with a 2-0 defeat at Rennes. At the bottom Troyes are still looking for their first points of the season. In the Bundesliga, Nürnberg and Schalke 04 both maintain their 100% records whilst Hannover 96, VfB Stuttgart and M'gladbach make up the bottom three. The season is now underway in Greece and after 3 games played Olympiakos, AEK and Ethnikos Asteras are setting the early pace with OFI still looking for their first point. AZ still lead the Eredivisie on goal difference over Feyenoord with Haarlem, NAC and Zwolle at the bottom. Sampdoria’s dream start to the season continued with their 5th straight win in Serie A, but at the other end of the table Chievo are still looking for their first victory. In Northern Ireland, Portadown still set the pace and Institute are still without a point. Meanwhile in the Norwegian Premier Division, Rosenborg look like winning their 12th consecutive title as the challenge from the chasing teams falters. At the bottom of the table just two points separate the bottom 4 with games running out. In the Polish First Division Widzew and Legia are only separated by goal difference in Group A whilst in Group B we have the same situation with Odra Wodzislaw and Wisla. In Portugal, Gil Vicente and Beira-Mar keep their 100% records although Beira-Mar have played one game less. Shamrock Rovers still top the Irish Premier Division and Finn Harps still seek their first point. A shock defeat for Krylja Sovetov by relegation-threatened Uralan has allowed Lokomotiv Moscow to take a 2-point lead at the top of the table with 4 games remaining. Chernomorets have definitely been relegated but Uralan’s victory gives them hope of escaping the drop. In the SPL, Celtic have established a 6-point lead over Rangers and Livingston prop up the table. Sevilla lead the Primera Liga on goal difference over Real Sociedad. Real Madrid have had a nightmare start to the season and sit in 15th place with only 1 win so far. But Valencia are in even worse trouble and, along with Elche and Tenerife, have still to record a win and lie second bottom. With 5 games to play in Sweden Halmstad still hold a 2-point lead over Malmö FF. Trelleborg look certain to go down with Landskrona, Norrköping and Assyriska the other contenders for the drop. Fenerbahçe remain unbeaten in Turkey with Sekerspor and Yozgatspor still seeking their first wins. Finally in Wales Newtown keep their fine start going and have a 3-point lead at the top. Spotlight on ..... The Portuguese Super Liga The Super Liga has been renamed from the 1. Liga this season. After their runaway victory last season, holders Sporting will be looking to retain their title and Benfica will expect to make a strong challenge to regain the championship. Porto dominated the 90’s with 8 titles in 10 years and their supporters are keen to see a repeat of that success. Académica (Associação Académica de Coimbra) 2001/2002 - 10th 2002/2003 - 11th Manager Jose Couceiro was sacked 2 weeks ago and new boss Quinito took over last week. He has taken over a club in some trouble on the pitch, with 1 win out of 5 so far and lying 17th in the table. Unless the new manager can get his existing players performing at a higher level he will need to bring in some new blood if the club is to avoid relegation. Beira-Mar 2001/2002 - 2nd 2002/2003 - 4th Antonio Sousa has transformed his team into genuine title contenders. Runners-up in 2001/2002, they followed up last season with a good 4th place finish and an appearance in the Portuguese Cup Quarter Finals. At the start of last season the club invested some £10M in playing talent with some excellent results. Their front two of the Senegalese Fary (28, S C) and Brazilian Evando (26, S C) have had an explosive start to the season with 12 goals between them. Beira-Mar have an very adventurous approach and utilise what is effectively a 3-man defence. Left winger Rui Dolores (25, AM L) is in sparkling form as is Juninho Petrolina (28, AM/F RC) who plays just behind the front two. Club captain Artur Jorge (31, D C) brings great experience and stability to the defence and is a big influence on his colleagues. Belenenses 2001/2002 - 12th 2002/2003 - 8th The retirement of Marinho Peres in March of last year has seen the appointment of Calros Brito. Another season of mid-table mediocrity beckons, although last season was brightened by a good Cup run that took them to the Semi Finals. This season’s top performer so far has been striker Roberto Lima (23, S C). His 5 goals in 5 games makes the £60K paid to the B Division club Marinhense in the summer look quite a bargain. The youngster banged in 39 goals in 42 matches for the lower-league club last season. His arrival has meant that the veteran Angolan striker Constantino (35, S C), who was the club’s top scorer last season, has been relegated to the bench. The central defensive pairing of Odair (29, D C) and club captain Wilson (34, SW/D C) form an impressive partnership at the back. Benfica 2001/2002 - 1st 2002/2003 - 5th Antonio Camacho paid a heavy price for his failure to retain the title won in 2001/2002 as he was replaced by Antonio Oliveira in the summer. The supporters are still awaiting the arrival of a big signing to spark their season off. Key players include the highly rated young Angolan striker Mantorras (21, S C), the promising winger Simão (23, AM R) and the experienced Portuguese international Nuno Gomes (27, S C). Gomes has 90 caps for his country and has scored 33 international goals. Boavista 2001/2002 - 13th 2002/2003 - 7th The controversial arrival of Jose Mourinho from neighbours Porto to replace Jaime Pacheco in March of last year triggered somewhat of a revival in fortunes. This summer saw the departure of under-performing defender Eder (25, D LC) to U. Madeira for £3M. He seems to enjoy his new club as he has made a very impressive start to the season. Boavista play a sweeper system with club captain Jorge Silva (27, D/DM C) having the free role at the back. Their highly rated Ghanaian attacker Kwame Ayew (29, S C) has found the net 6 time in 5 games but is rumoured to be at odds with his manager and looking for a move. The club has some highly talented youngsters on its books, including Carl Medjani (18, SW/D C), Artur Jose (16, D/DM C) and Petter Hovelsen (20, AM RL). Braga 2001/2002 - 17th 2002/2003 - 3rd in Second Division Following their promotion last season, coach Octavio Machado was poached by Porto and replaced by Rogerio Goncalves. Over £3M was spent on new players in the summer, including £1.4M on Maciel (24, AM/F L) from Leiria. But the newcomer to make the biggest impact so far is their cheapest signing of the summer, Paulo Gomes (28, DM C) who was a bargain £75K from B Division Leixoes. More than £4.3M was recouped in sales however, with the biggest contributions coming from Hugo (24, D C) who joined Maritimo for £1.6M and Lourenco (20, F LC) who cost Leiria £2.7M. E. Amadora (C.F. Estrela da Amadora) 2001/2002 - 3rd in Second Division 2002/2003 - 10th Manager Jorge Jesus steered his team to an excellent 10th place finish following their promotion in 2001/2002. The squad has been steadily enlarged over the last 18 months or so, with around £6M invested in new players. The biggest single signing came this summer with the arrival of Bruno Basto (25, D/DM L) from Bordeaux for £2.1M. The team has a good mix of youth and experience and with only 1 defeat so far this season, they lie 4th in the league. They employ a fairly defensive formation, with a single striker up front and an anchor midfielder in front of the back four. Their lone striker this season is Antonio Semedo (24, F RC) and he is in sparkling form with 5 goals in 5 games. The veteran Barroso (33, SW/DM C) is usually employed in the anchor position. One to watch is Julio Mendes (21, AM/F L) who has the potential to be a real star player. Gil Vicente 2001/2002 - 15th 2002/2003 - 2nd Vitor Oliveira produced the biggest surprise in Portuguese football last season when he guided his tiny and unfashionable club to the runners-up spot in the league. Admittedly, Gil Vicente did finish 27 points behind the champions, but it was a fine achievement nonetheless. Their fine form has continued this season, and 5 straight wins has taken them to the top of the table. All of this has been achieved without either money or star players, but the team spirit is outstanding. Their 8,000 seater stadium is one of the smallest in the top flight, but most home matches are sellouts. Their front line of Hugo Soares (28, F C) and Paulo Alves (33, S C) have a great understanding and club captain Rodri (27, DM RC) plays a key role in midfield. Soares scored 31 goals last season and he was voted the Super Liga Player of the Year. Leiria (União Desportiva de Leiria) 2001/2002 - 16th 2002/2003 - Second Division Champions Leiria bounced straight back from their disappointing relegation in 2001/2002 to reclaim their place in the Super Liga last season. Manager Carvalhal has re-vamped almost his entire squad. A dozen players joined last summer and 11 departed. This summer a further 20 came on board with only half a dozen leaving. The most expensive purchase was the £2.7M paid to Braga for Lourenco (20, F LC). Already struggling in the league, Carvalhal will have his hands full keeping his side in the top flight. MarÃtimo 2001/2002 - 9th 2002/2003 - 12th At the start of this year MarÃtimo parted company with manager Nelo Vingada and replaced him with Manuel Cajuda. The squad has not seen many changes in the past two seasons, but this summer did herald the arrival of Hugo (24, D C) from Braga for £1.6M. Experienced goalscorer Gaucho (31, S C) has been the club’s top performer so far this season with 4 goals from 6 games and Lino (26, D/AM RL) and Dinda (31, AM C) are both decent players Moreirense 2001/2002 - 14th 2002/2003 - 15th Just 4 years ago Moreirense were playing in the B Division, but following successive promotions, they have played in the Super Liga for the past 2 seasons. It has not been an easy time for them and they have had to fight very hard to avoid relegation. With precious little money to spend on players, manager Manuel Machado has had to rely on signings from the cheaper end of the market. Forwards Armando (28, F RC) and Mauro (29, AM/F C) have a good understanding and their experienced captain Paulinho Santos (32, DM C) is a very influential figure playing in front of the back four. He has proved to be great value since his arrival 2 seasons ago from Porto for £210K. Helder Sousa (25, AM C) is playing well but has still to realise his full potential. P. Ferreira (Futebol Clube Paços de Ferreira) 2001/2002 - 3rd 2002/2003 - 14th After an excellent 3rd place finish in 2001/2002, it was a huge disappointment to their supporters to see them slide down to 14th last season. Manager Jose Mota will need to work hard to arrest this alarming trend, especially as the team has got off to a horrendous start this season and sit at the foot of the table. Star forward and club captain Pepe Puntas (27, F C) is reported to be seeking a move and this is unsettling the team even more. Talented young defender Nelson Veiga (25, D RC) is one of the few players who is performing consistently well, although midfielder Everaldo (29, AM LC) has his moments. Porto 2001/2002 - 4th 2002/2003 - 3rd Porto have now had 3 different managers in the last 18 months. In March of last year manager Jose Mourinho was sacked. His replacement, Mario Reis, left to join Valencia in June of this year and Octavio Machada was poached from Braga as his successor. The club’s major purchase this summer was the young Brazilian Emerson (22, F RC) who joined from Japanese team Urawa Reds for £5.25M. Captained by experienced Portuguese international Jorge Costa (31, D C), Porto have some quality players in their squad. Young striker Helder Postiga (21, S C) is an exciting prospect and Vitor Baia (33, GK) is first-choice keeper for his country. Salgueiros 2001/2002 - 7th in Second Division 2002/2003 - 2nd in Second Division Manager Carlos Manuel guided Salgueiros to the Portuguese Cup Final in 2001/2002 and led them to promotion to the Super Liga last season. Another small club without a lot of money to spend, they have steadily strengthened their squad with a very modest outlay but they are finding life tough in the top flight. Their top players are Bock (28, S C) and Marco Freitas (26, AM/F L). Sporting 2001/2002 - 8th 2002/2003 - 1st Following the disappointment of their poor showing in 2001/2002, Manager Laszlo Boloni was fired last summer and replaced by Joao Alves. He made an immediate impact and led his new team to the domestic double last season, winning the Super Liga Manager of the Year award in the process. Just last week he made the surprise decision to sell top goalscorer Jardel (30, S C) to FC Bayern for £9M. Jardel was last season’s top scorer in the Super Liga with 33 league goals and 42 in all competitions. The squad includes players such as Nigerian Isaac Okoronkwo (25, D RC) who is in superb form in defence, the exciting young Angolan forward Mendonca (21, F RLC) and experienced striker Jaoa Pinto (31, F C). U. Madeira (Clube Futebol União Madeira) 2001/2002 - Second Division Champions 2002/2003 - 6th Manuel Balela led his team to the Second Division title in 2001/2002 and followed that up with an excellent 6th place in the Super Liga last season. This success has allowed the club to invest in some new players, the most impressive of which has been Eder (25, D LC) who cost £3M from Boavista. They have a few veterans in the team, including Fernando Mendes (36, D L) and Ilian Iliev (35, AM C). Few commentators expect them to repeat their success of last season, but in the early stages of this season they sit just above mid table. Vit. Guimarães (Vitória Sport Club) 2001/2002 - 5th 2002/2003 - 9th Manager Manuel Jose will be expected to achieve some improvement over their disappointing 9th place finish last season. To achieve this the forward pairing of Rafael (29, S C) and Romeu (28, F C) will need to be on song. We hear that the coaching staff are excited about the potential of some of their younger players such as Canario (22, SW/D C), Nuno Marques (22, GK) and Manuel Barreto (21, S C). Vit. Setúbal (Vitória Futebol Clube) 2001/2002 - 7th 2002/2003 - 13th With the team slipping towards the relegation places last Spring, manager Luis Campos was dismissed and replaced by Jose Vieira de Carvalho. The new manager has invested in a number of new players, the most expensive of which was Tiago (22, M C) who came from Benfica at a cost of £2.4M. Their highly rated strike force of Pedras (23, S C) and Hugo Henrique (28, S C) make a good partnership and the club are excited about the potential of young South African Garth Fynn (21, D/DM C). 2002/2003 Table <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1st C Sporting 34 17 0 0 32 3 13 3 1 38 12 93 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2nd Gil Vicente 34 14 2 1 57 24 6 4 7 32 32 66 3rd Porto 34 12 4 1 37 15 7 3 7 26 26 64 4th Beira-Mar 34 11 1 5 41 26 7 3 7 31 31 58 5th Benfica 34 11 5 1 26 13 5 5 7 26 29 58 6th U. Madeira 34 11 3 3 39 26 5 4 8 25 33 55 7th Boavista 34 11 2 4 38 30 4 3 10 30 44 50 8th Belenenses 34 9 2 6 37 35 4 5 8 30 33 46 9th Vit. Guimarães 34 9 3 5 30 21 4 1 12 30 43 43 10th E. Amadora 34 9 4 4 23 13 2 6 9 21 32 43 11th Académica 34 9 4 4 34 27 3 2 12 20 34 42 12th MarÃtimo 34 9 4 4 33 26 3 1 13 22 38 41 13th Vit. Setúbal 34 5 5 7 27 33 5 2 10 21 31 37 14th P. Ferreira 34 6 3 8 26 28 4 3 10 28 35 36 15th Moreirense 34 7 4 6 31 34 3 1 13 23 45 35 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16th R Santa Clara 34 6 1 10 28 36 2 6 9 23 36 31 17th R Nacional 34 6 8 3 30 29 1 2 14 13 39 31 18th R Farense 34 6 3 8 25 30 2 4 11 10 21 31</pre> Game of the Week Sunday September 28th, 2003 Belgian Juliper League Charleroi 3 Anderlecht 3 The home side lined up with a fairly standard 4-4-2 formation but the visitors employed a modified 5-3-2 with 3 central defenders, two wide players playing forward of the back line as wingbacks/wingers, 2 central midfielders, 2 forwards and an attacking midfielder sitting behind the front two. Both teams looked very positive in the early exchanges but it was Charleroi that created the first opening. Gregory Dufer played in a low cross that was met by Thomas Chatelle but Anderlecht keeper Zitka made a fine save and the danger was cleared by Zoel Epale at the expense of a throw in. Kanfory sent a long throw into the penalty area looking for Kargbo but Glen De Boeck got to the ball first to concede a corner. Stoica’s corner was only half-cleared and Franck Defays was on hand to find the net with a low shot to put Charleroi into the lead. Minutes later their lead was doubled when Zitka failed to hold on to a shot from Alexandr Kolotilko and Peeters prodded home the rebound. At this point the home team were rampant, and Stoica almost added a third but his shot was well held by Zitka. Then Atasever went close but snatched at his shot and put it wide. Kanfory was in on the act next with a shot from distance that Zitka dealt with competently. Anderlecht pulled a goal back with their first real opportunity when Seol broke free and ran in on goal. Boon did well to rush out and block his effort but Clayton Zane was alert enough to pounce on the rebound for a simple tap in. The Aussie striker then showed his aerial prowess when he scored the equaliser, heading home a floated free kick from Olivier Doll. Charleroi re-grouped and started to pressurise the visitors again. Dufer sent in a powerful shot that Zitka managed to fingertip round the post and then Kolotilko shaved the crossbar with the keeper beaten. Next Dufer turned provider, picking out Stoica with a low angled cross, but the Romanian’s composure deserted him and he blasted the ball wide. The home side got the goal that their sustained pressure deserved a couple of minutes before half time. Stoica whipped in a corner and young defender Kargbo rose highest to head the ball home. It was a much quieter second half, with neither side able to develop an attacking rhythm. Zoel Epale did have several chances for Anderlecht but on the only occasion that he managed to hit the target, Keevin Boon held his shot well. With the clock running down, it looked like the home side were heading for their 8th consecutive victory. But Clayton Zane had other ideas and his late ruin into the area to get on the end of an Iachtchouk free kick gave the visitors a scarcely deserved point. Zane is having a great season so far and currently leads the scoring chart in Belgium, with 9 league goals. Teams Charleroi: Keevin Boon, Kanfory, Abdelkarim El Hadrioui, Ibrahim Kargbo, Franck Defays (captain), Rocky Peeters, Gregory Dufer, Thomas Chatelle (Gauthier Remacle 56), Lokman Atasever, Alexandr Kolotilko (Eduardo 51), Alin Stoica Subs not used: Lokembo, Istvan Dudas, Etchi, Mustapha Sama, Gaetano Lamonaca Anderlecht: Daniel Zitka, Oleg Iachtchouk, Giuseppe Favalli (Aruna 42), Glen De Boeck (captain), Olivier Doll, Hannu Tihinen, Zoel Epale, Yasin Karaça, Seol (Martin Kolar 90), Clayton Zane, Richard Witschge (Walter Baseggio 69) Subs not used: Ode Ochinabo Thompson, Filip De Wilde, Mark De Man, Goran Lovre Scorers Charleroi: Defays 6, Peeters 10, Kargbo 43 Anderlecht: Zane 17, 23, 85 Man of the Match: Clayton Zane Yellow Cards Charleroi: Rocky Peeters Attendance: 24,891 Reader’s Letters To illustrate the international nature of our readership, we received the following request via email from Brian, who lives in Nazareth. Dear ESW, Each week I am very enjoying your fine publications. Sorry for the bad English but please can you tell the fortunes of Aston Villa and Kidderminster for me? Great to hear from you Brian - hope this answers your questions. For the last few seasons think "Aston Villa" and you also think "mid-table mediocrity". You don’t get much more mid-table than 11th and 12th place finishes, and the trend continues this season as they are once again 11th. The replacement of Graham Taylor with Micky Adams of Leicester in February of this year has made no visible difference. Neither has spending £28M on new players since July last year. The two biggest deals have been the £9.5M purchase of Youssouf Hersi (21, AM/F LC) from NEC and the arrival of Anthony Reveillere (23, D RL) from Rennes for £11.25M. Just under £10M has been recouped through sales, with the most significant amount the £4.2M received for Bosko Balaban (24, S C). Villa’s best player is undoubtedly the dynamic young defender Gareth Barry (22, D/DM LC). He has been the fan’s favourite for the last two seasons but is currently sidelined with an ankle ligament injury. Valued in excess of £6M, he is rumoured to be keen to move on to further his career. Having escaped relegation from the Third Division by a single point in 2001/2002 Kidderminster failed to avoid the drop last season. This resulted in Manager Ian Britton being replaced by Andy Kilner from Shrewsbury. The new regime has not improved matters and the Harriers currently sit at the bottom of the English Conference, having failed to record a win in their 11 games so far. Don't forget to check out ESW Online where the Live Leagues and Live Stats will be updated in the next 24 hours. The ESW Webmaster would like to thank reader and graphics wizard spurzgrrl for designing the new ESW logo! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian of Nazareth Posted October 2, 2003 Share Posted October 2, 2003 \o/ *buys 12 month subscription - saving 60% Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HD Posted October 3, 2003 Share Posted October 3, 2003 what's good is you can subscribe to the thread and have each new issue delivered to your inbox Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Franklin_1 Posted October 3, 2003 Share Posted October 3, 2003 HD knows the score, w00t Go BobBev Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobBev Posted October 4, 2003 Author Share Posted October 4, 2003 Of course Brian and HD both won free subscriptions when their letters were published, so come on footy fans - get your letter published in a future edition and you too can win a valuable prize! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobBev Posted October 9, 2003 Author Share Posted October 9, 2003 European Soccer Weekly Issue 11 - Friday October 10th, 2003 News The main transfer news this week has centred around the transfer of Muzzy Izzet (28, AM C). The hard-working midfielder, who has 8 caps for Turkey, went from Leicester to Leeds in a deal worth £8M. On the managerial front we are hearing rumours concerning the future of Ronald Koeman at Vitesse in Holland. The club lie in 14th place in the Eredivisie with 2 wins from 6 league games and he is under significant pressure to start getting some results. Koeman has only been with the club since May, but an early exit from the Inter-Toto Cup means no European action. An embarrassing home defeat by First Division Fortuna in the 1st Round of the Dutch Cup has only added to his problems. The manager of Portuguese club Boavista, Jose Mourinho, is also under some pressure. A disappointing league campaign last season has sowed the seeds of discontent. The club are currently 6th in the Super Liga but the fans clearly expect more from their team. Cup Roundup The last of the Quarter Finals of the Danish Cup were played this week and it’s an all-Premiership lineup in the Semis. FC København take on Brøndby and Viborg FF face AGF. The games are played over two legs and will take place in March of next year. The First Round of the German Cup took place this week. Erfut of the Regional League had a good 5-2 win over Second Division Braunschweig and non-league Luneburg took First Division Schalke 04 to penalties before finally succumbing. Euro 2004 Roundup There was no significant action in the top leagues this week as the final Euro 2004 qualifiers were played. In Group 1 the Czech Republic had a comfortable 4-1 win over Latvia and qualified easily. In Budapest Hungary and Belgium played out a thrilling 3-3 draw. A win for either side would have given them a possibility of a playoff place but this result means that it is Israel that finish runners up. Group 2 had already been decided before this week’s games, with Holland group winners and Belarus getting a playoff place. Yugoslavia already had Group 3 tied up, but their extraordinary 4-3 defeat in Athens allowed Greece to snatch second place from Croatia. Despite the Croatians beating Cyprus 4-0 at home they still lost out as their goal difference was the same as the Greeks but they had scored less goals. England headed Group 4 with Norway also qualifying as one of the best three runners up. A 4-0 win for Spain at home to Armenia coupled with the Ukraine drawing 2-2 with Finland in Helsinki means that Spain are group winners and the Ukraine are in the playoffs. France won Group 6 having remained unbeaten and Ireland’s fine 2-0 win in Romania gives them a playoff place. The Group 7 places had also been decided earlier with Italy group winners and Russia in the playoffs. Group 8 saw comfortable wins for Denmark and Sweden against Austria and Moldova respectively. This means that they both qualify - the Danes as group winners and the Swedes as one of the top runners up. In the final group, Germany completed their campaign unbeaten with an easy 2-0 win over Luxembourg and Turkey qualify as the 3rd best runners up, despite dropping points with a 1-1 draw with Scotland at Hampden. In the playoffs Belarus play Israel, Greece face the Ukraine and Russia will play Ireland. Spotlight on ..... Ireland This week we will take a look at the Premier Divisions in both Northern Ireland and the Republic. Northern Ireland Linfield and Portadown have dominated the league in recent seasons, winning the last 4 titles between them. All of the teams are semi-professional and there is little money to be spent on wages or transfers. Ballymena United 2001/2002 - 5th in First Division 2002/2003 - 2nd in First Division Manager Kenny Shiels led Ballymena to promotion last season. Little is expected of the club this season, and avoiding relegation would be a major achievement. Their best players are probably the versatile Shea Campbell (D/M/F RLC) and David Martin (23, S C). Bangor 2001/2002 - 3rd in First Division 2002/2003 - First Division Champions As a First Division club, Bangor upset the odds by winning the League Cup in 2001/2002. This was followed with the First Division championship last season. Manager Lee Doherty will do well to keep his team in the top flight this season. Key players include Gareth Graham (24, AM C), and club captain Paul Emerson (25, D C). Coleraine 2001/2002 - 4th 2002/2003 - 6th Manager Marty Quinn led his team to the Semi-Final of the Irish Cup last season having reached the Quarter Finals the season before. Their most highly rated players are Rory Hamill (27, F C) and the experienced Tony Gorman (32, M RC). Distillery 2001/2002 - 3rd 2002/2003 - 2nd Paul Kirk has seen his team start to become real challengers in the last couple of seasons. They won the Irish Cup in 2001/2002 and reached the Semi Finals last season. Key players include Mark Holland (25, F C) and John Martin (27, AM R). Holland was top scorer in the league last season with 25 goals. Glenavon 2001/2002 - 5th 2002/2003 - 3rd Glenavon last won the title in 1960 and their 3rd place finish last season was their best league showing for many years. Colin Malone has a few good players in his squad, the best of which is club captain Gerard McMahon (29, AM/ F RC). McMahon has 17 caps for his country and won the Player of the Year award last season and has been the Supporters Player of the Year for the last two seasons. The front pair of Gavin Cusack (18, S C) and Conor Forker (21, S C) have scored 13 goals between them so far this season. Glentoran 2001/2002 - 2nd 2002/2003 - 4th Roy Coyle led his team to the runners-up spot in the league and reached the Irish Cup Semi Final and won the League Cup in season 2001/2002. Last season was a disappointment in comparison and the fans will be looking for greater things this season. Darren Lockhart (29, M LC) is a key player in midfield and club captain Chris Walker (27, D C) is an influential figure at the back. With Darren Armour (28, F RC) having found the net 9 times so far this season, the team isn’t short of goals. Institute 2001/2002 - First Division Champions 2002/2003 - 8th Having been promoted in 2001/2002, Institute just held on to their Premier Division status last season. However, Paul Hegarty has a real job on his hands if that feat is to be repeated this season. His team have got off to an awful start and are rooted at the foot of the table with 7 straight defeats. Their one player of real quality, Gary McBride (21, S C), is sidelined with a nasty ankle injury. Linfield 2001/2002 - 8th 2002/2003 - 1st Last season’s Manager of the Year David Jeffrey led Linfield to the League and Cup double last season and the supporters will be hoping for more of the same. Club captain William Murphy (29, D C) is rock solid in the middle of the defence and Davy Larmour (26, F RC) has been banging in the goals. Gareth Stewart (21, D C) was last season’s Young Player of the year but has struggled to get a starting position so far this season. Newry 2001/2002 - 7th 2002/2003 - 7th Managed by Jim O’Rourke, the height of Newry’s ambitions will be to avoid relegation. They have quite a young squad but no players of note except for keeper Mark Clohessy (28, GK). Portadown 2001/2002 - 1st 2002/2003 - 5th It was a disappointing performance last season for Portadown following their title winning exploits the season before. Ronnie McFall will be keen to rectify that and his team currently head the table after a good start to this season. Veteran forward Vinny Arkins (33, F C) is in sparkling form, with 10 goals to his name already. The defence is well marshalled by Pat McGibbon (30, D C) and Dean Fitzgerald (27, A MC) provides the creative spark in midfield. 2002/2003 Table <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1st C Linfield 36 14 1 3 37 13 12 4 2 35 19 83 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2nd Distillery 36 11 2 5 36 22 8 4 6 34 27 63 3rd Glenavon 36 9 2 7 34 36 10 2 6 31 26 61 4th Glentoran 36 10 3 5 39 27 8 3 7 33 37 60 5th Portadown 36 9 6 3 35 23 8 2 8 30 31 59 6th Coleraine 36 5 6 7 32 32 11 3 4 35 23 57 7th Newry 36 7 2 9 24 30 6 4 8 33 33 45 8th Institute 36 5 5 8 17 24 5 2 11 17 33 37 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9th R Cliftonville 36 5 2 11 23 34 2 2 14 15 35 25 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10th R Ballyclare 36 3 2 13 20 38 1 5 12 16 33 19</pre> Republic of Ireland There are only two full time professional teams in the Premier League - Bohemians and Shelbourne, both based in Dublin. Dundalk are looking for a third successive title. There are a variety of cup competitions contested in the Republic of which the Super Cup has already been won by Dundalk. Bohemians 2001/2002 - 2nd 2002/2003 - 4th The Bohs have not had a title success since 2000/2001 and manager Stephen Kenny will be desperate to get his team back into contention, although they have won the Presidents Cup for the last two seasons. Club captain Kevin Hunt (28, DM C) is a key figure in midfield. Striker Glen Crowe (25, F LC) had a wonderful season last year. Not only did he win the Golden Boot with 25 goals, he was also voted the league’s Player of the Year and the Supporter’s Player of the Year. Derry City 2001/2002 - 6th 2002/2003 - 7th Kevin Mahon’s priority will be to avoid relegation by any means possible and with only 2 points from their first 5 matches, this may prove to be no easy task. His team are struggling to score goals, despite the reputation of forward Tommy McCallion (26, F C). Dundalk 2001/2002 - 1st 2002/2003 - 1st Despite their part-time status, manager Martin Lawlor has made Dundalk into the most successful team in the Republic over the last two seasons. The trophy cabinet is full to overflowing because as well as back-to-back titles they have also triumphed in the League Cup, the Senior Challenge Cup, the Leinster Senior Cup and the Presidents Cup. Young midfielder David Ward (23, F RLC) has made a wonderful start to the season and has the makings of a real quality player. Finn Harps 2001/2002 - 5th in First Division 2002/2003 - 2nd in First Division Jonathan Speak and his team are finding life very difficult in the Premier Division following their promotion last season. They are rooted to the foot of the table without a single point after 7 games. Their main men are Kevin McHugh (23, F RC) and Patrick McGrenaghan (27, M RL). Kildare County 2001/2002 - First Division Champions 2002/2003 - 8th Dermot Keely managed to avoid relegation last season after sealing the First Division title in 2001/2002. His team seem likely to have another very tough season and will need their top players such as Shay Zellor (25, F RC) and Sinisa Saric (22, AM/F C) to be at their best. Saric has joint Yugoslav/German nationality and is one of the few foreign players in Ireland. Monaghan United 2001/2002 - 12th 2002/2003 - First Division Champions The second of the newly promoted teams, Monaghan have acquitted themselves OK so far and sit in mid table. Bobby Browne’s squad has a distinct lack of start quality but he has forged a strong team spirit that will be fully tested in their quest to stay in the top flight. Shamrock Rovers 2001/2002 - 8th 2002/2003 - 3rd Liam Buckley has overseen a steady improvement in his side’s fortunes and they currently head the table at this early point in the season. They did suffer a blow last weekend when top scorer Sean Francis (31, S C) suffered a torn groin muscle that will keep him out for up to 3 months. Francis had scored 9 goals so far and his presence will be missed. However, Tony Grant (27, S C) and Alan Doherty (17, S C) have weighed in with 6 apiece so there should be adequate backup. They are very solid at the back and the experience of club captain Pat Scully (33, SW/D C), Stephen McGuiness (30, D/DM C) and Tony O’Dowd (33, GK) is proving to be invaluable. Their European adventure continues in the UEAF Cup as they have reached the 2nd Round proper and are now preparing to face the mighty Inter in a real glamour tie for the part-timers. Shelbourne 2001/2002 - 4th 2002/2003 - 5th Shelbourne are a club in crisis. One of only two full-time clubs in the league, their last two league campaigns have been very poor and each has resulted in a change of manager. First to go was Pat Fenlon in April last year. His successor, Chris Kamara, lasted barely 12 months before being replaced by ex-England international Mark Wright. Their start to the season has been disastrous, with 1 win from 6 games, and the lie in 8th place, just above the relegation zone. Wright will require a very quick turnaround in fortunes if he is to remain in gainful employment. The club has spent nearly £600K on players in the last 12 months or so, although more than half of that was recouped with the sale of Owen Heary (28, D R) to Dunfermline for £325K in August. St. Pat’s Athletic 2001/2002 - 3rd 2002/2003 - 2nd Pat Dolan has established St. Pat’s as one of the best teams in the country but with little to show in terms of silverware in recent seasons. Their Leinster Senior Cup triumph last season is their only success since the late 1990’s. The youthful but experienced Ugandan Mbabazi (22, SW/M/F RC) provides some flair and the strike partnership of Liam Kelly (28, F RC) and Ger McCarthy (24, S C) can be relied upon to provide some goals. Waterford United 2001/2002 - 2nd in First Division 2002/2003 - 6th Jimmy McGeough was pleased with his team’s mid-table finish last season following their promotion. He will be hoping that his hard-working squad can manage a similar showing this time around. 2002/2003 Table <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1st C Dundalk 36 12 6 0 30 12 8 5 5 25 17 71 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2nd St. Pat's Athletic 36 11 6 1 36 21 9 5 4 24 20 71 3rd Shamrock Rovers 36 10 3 5 33 28 6 8 4 28 24 59 4th Bohemians 36 9 5 4 37 25 6 8 4 43 34 58 5th Shelbourne 36 6 5 7 29 29 8 2 8 27 30 49 6th Waterford Utd 36 5 5 8 23 26 6 3 9 19 25 41 7th Derry City 36 7 4 7 23 23 3 6 9 21 31 40 8th Kildare County 36 5 5 8 17 25 4 5 9 24 34 37 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9th R Galway Utd 36 3 5 10 18 26 5 4 9 19 30 33 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10th R Longford 36 5 5 8 29 29 3 3 12 14 30 32</pre> Game of the Week Saturday October 4th, 2003 Euro 2004 Qualifier Greece 4 Yugoslavia 3 The Greek team took the field at the Spiros Louis Stadium knowing that anything less than a win against the Group 3 champions would end their hopes of travelling to Portugal. Both teams lined up in a similar 4-4-2 formation and the early exchanges were fairly even. The home side had their first glimpse of goal in the 10th minute when Georgatos blasted a freekick through the defensive wall but Lukic parried the shot and the danger was cleared. Ten minutes later Lukic was called into action again. Patsatzoglou jinked past Tomic and lifted the ball towards Vryzas in the area. Vryzas fired in a half volley from a tight angle but the Yugoslav keeper got across to tip it wide. Georgatos took the resulting corner and Dellas got up above Mihajlovic but his header was straight at the keeper and Lukic beat the ball away. After 25 minutes the Yugoslavs mounted their first serious attack as some trickery from Kezman gave him enough space to send in a cross. Milosevic got his head to the ball but his effort lacked pace and should have been an easy save for Chiotis. However, the Greek keeper fumbled the ball and presented Milosevic with an easy tap-in. Play became quite scrappy for the next 10 minutes or so, with neither side able to establish any momentum. Then a lovely near-post cross from Georgatos was met by Charisteas but with the keeper beaten, Krstajic made a vital goal line clearance. At this point Left Back Georgatos was proving to be the main danger to the visitors, and once again his run and shot forced Lukic into action. Minutes later the powerful running of the full back forced another corner, as his cross was met by Vryzas only for Lukic to turn his header round the post. Georgatos himself took the corner, Charisteas had his header saved but Kafes was first to the lose ball to prod it home. Less than 10 minutes after the restart the visitors took the lead again with a goal of real class. Predrag Djordjevic went on a powerful run and forced his way into the Greek area before releasing Lazetic with a perfectly timed pass. The substitute took the ball in his stride and slotted the ball under the body of the onrushing keeper to make it 2-1. Chiotis was not having the best of nights in his first ever game for his country and a few minutes later we witnessed the unusual sight of a keeper being substituted as he was replaced by the experienced Nikopolidis. Just after the hour mark the visitors stunned the home crowd when a great cross from Ivic was headed home by Milosevic to send Greece 3-1 behind. The home side were really struggling now, unable to get any attacking fluency and the crowd were getting increasingly restless. Then with about 25 minutes remaining Greece had a stroke of luck that would prove to be decisive. Mirkovic gave away a silly freekick that Georgatos took. His cross was nodded down by Patsatzoglou and picked up by Padelis Konstantinidis. The midfielder looked up and tried to send the ball back across the area but the ball sliced off his boot and flashed into the net with Lukic totally deceived. A fluke goal it may have been but it gave the home side a spark of hope that all was not lost. They kept plugging away at a stubborn Yugoslav defence without creating any clear chances, but with just 6 minutes remaining Zissis Vryzas equalised after Lukic couldn’t hold on to a powerful shot from Kafes. With 50,000 fanatical Greeks urging the team on, the players threw caution to the wind and poured forward looking for a winner. With time running out the home side gained a corner. Georgatos sent in another pinpoint cross and Nikos Dabizas climbed high to head the ball goalwards only to see Lukic block his header. In a frantic scramble Patsatzoglou got a foot to the ball but again Lukic blocked the shot at the expense of another corner. This was a carbon copy of the previous one, except this time the keeper was powerless to stop a bullet header from Greek captain Dabizas. The stadium erupted as the Greek players went wild in celebration. It took the referee some minutes to restore order and restart the game. The next few minutes seemed like hours as piercing whistles rang out from all over the stadium, but finally the final whistle blew. Greece had done what they had to do and secured a nail-biting win. There was an anxious wait for the final result from Croatia, as a big enough win over Cyprus would render the Greek result irrelevant. Then the score flashed up on the scoreboard - Croatia 4 Cyprus 0. At first it wasn’t clear what the situation was, but the Greek bench then realised that they had the same goal difference as Croatia but had scored more goals, just sneaking a place in the playoffs. Teams Greece: Dionisis Chiotis (Antonis Nikopolidis 58), Christos Patsatzoglou, Grigoris Georgatos, Traianos Dellas (Kostas Konstantinidis 84), Nikos Dabizas (captain), Dimitrios Grammozis, Stelios, Padelis Kafes, Angelos Charisteas (Ioannis Amanatidis 50), Zissis Vryzas, Padelis Konstantinidis Subs not used: Sotiris Kirgiakos, Thodoris Zagorakis, Dimitris, Karagounis, Giorgos Yugoslavia: Nenad Lukic, Zoran Mirkovic, Goran Djorovic (captain), Sinisa Mihajlovic, Mladen Krstajic, Ivan Tomic (Vladimir Ivic 58), Dejan Petkovic (Nikola Lazetic, 50), Dejan Stankovic, Savo Milosevic, Mateja Kezman, Predrag Djordjevic Subs not used: Darko Kovacevic, Vukasin Poleksic, Goran Bunjevcevic, Dusan Djurisic, Nikola Jozic Scorers Greece: Kafes 43, P. Konstantinidis 65, Vryzas 84, Dabizas 88 Yugoslavia: Milosevic 25, 61, Lazetic 54 Man of the Match: Savo Milosevic Attendance: 57,298 Reader’s Letters A recent email from Kieren asked for some further information on Leeds and we are happy to oblige. Leeds have finished 8th and 9th in the EPL in the last couple of seasons and in 2001/2002 reached the Semi-Finals of both the League Cup and the UEFA Cup. As reported in this publication, Leeds have been struggling this season and manager Terry Venables was replaced by Brian Kerr just last week. The new boss is still finding his feet and his two games in charge so far have both been 2-0 defeats. The club has spent nearly £30M on players in the last 3 seasons, but most of this has been recouped by some £25M in sales. Trevor Sinclair (30, F RLC) is their most expensive purchase and his £8.25M transfer from West Ham took place last summer. The £11.5M received from Celtic for Alan Smith (23, S C) last month is their single biggest sale. The club has also sold Olivier Dacourt (29, DM C), David Batty (34, DM C), Jason Wilcox (32, AM L), Seth Johnson (24, DM LC) and Dominic Matteo (SW/D/M LC). Mark Viduka (28, S C) has been the club’s leading scorer for the past two seasons. 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BobBev Posted October 16, 2003 Author Share Posted October 16, 2003 European Soccer Weekly Issue 12 - Friday October 17th, 2003 League Roundup We have new league leaders in Belgium as unfancied Sint-Truiden take over at the top on goal difference over Charleroi. Anderlecht and Racing Genk are two points further back and these four have a 6-point gap over the chasing pack. In Croatia, Hajduk maintain a narrow lead at the top of the table with Kamen Ingrad propping up the rest with only one point for their efforts so far. FC Midtjylland are still setting the pace in Denmark and Esbjerg fB continue to struggle at the foot of the table. In England Liverpool, Manchester United and Southampton all share 17 points, with Middlesbrough just a point behind. Leeds have moved out of the bottom three and Sunderland are now in last place. HJK have now been confirmed as Champions in Finland as they are 10 points clear of MyPa with only 3 games remaining. KuPS look likely to make the drop and GBK are fighting to escape the relegation playoff position. In Le Championat, Marseille still top the table but their lead is being cut back as they suffered their second defeat in their last three games, going down 3-0 at Sedan. Troyes gained their first points of the season with a surprise 4-2 home win over second-placed Nice, although they remain bottom of the table. Nürnberg’s perfect start to their Bundesliga campaign continues but Schalke 04 suffered their first reverse with a 3-0 defeat at Dortmund. M'gladbach stay bottom following a 3-0 defeat at home to FC Bayern. In Greece, AEK and Olympiakos are even on points at the top, as are Giannena and Kalamaria at the bottom. In Holland, AZ still head Feyenoord on goal difference, although neither team played this week. Sampdoria had their first defeat in Serie A, a 1-0 loss at home to Juventus, allowing Milan and Inter to close within a point. In Northern Ireland, Portadown have opened up a healthy 6-point gap over Linfield but they have played a game more. Institute are still rooted to the bottom and looking for their first points. Rosenborg have won their 12th consecutive Norwegian championship with one game left to play. Sogndal, Tromsø and L/F Hønefoss are contesting the single relegation place but the two that escape will almost certainly be involved in the relegation playoffs. In Poland, Ruch Chorzow have moved to the top of Group A. They head Legia on goal difference with Widzew a point further back. In Group B Odra Wodzislaw head the table with Wisla lying second. Shamrock Rovers are at the top the Irish Premier League but Dundalk have a game in hand and are just one point behind. Finn Harps picked up their first point of the season thanks to a 1-1 draw at home to fellow-strugglers Derry City but they remain firmly at the bottom of the table. With three games remaining in Russia, Lokomotiv Moscow maintain their 2-point lead over Krylja Sovetov. Celtic stay top of the SPL with a 5-point lead over Rangers and a game in hand. Raith Rovers have slipped to 7th following a run of poor results. The Turkish Premier Division is starting to get a familiar look with Fenerbahçe, Besiktas and Galatasaray in the top three places. Cup Roundup The Semi-Finals of the Finish Cup took place this week. The all First Division clash between FC Hämeenlinna and FC Lahti finished with a 3-2 win for the home side. In the other match, league champions HJK are still on course for the double after their 3-1 win over FC Haka. Champions League The 4th set of group matches in the Champions League took place this week. In Group A Manchester United guaranteed their qualification with an excellent 3-0 win over Anzhi in Russia whilst FC Bayern kept their hopes alive with a 2-0 home win over Rosenborg. Roma and Athletic Bilbao tied up Group B with away wins at Rapid Vienna and Lens respectively. Group C remains wide open as Liverpool had a 2-1 home win over AEK and Nantes triumphed 3-0 at home to Dinamo Kiev. Group D is also in the balance as Betis beat Kaiserslautern 1-0 and Torpedo Moscow beat PSV 2-1. Arsenal’s 3-1 home win over Celtic has virtually confirmed their presence in Phase 2 and Parma’s 2-0 defeat of Spartak Moscow has improved their chances of a second place finish in Group E. Barcelona are home and dry in Group F with a 2-1 win in Norway over Stabæk, as are Olympiakos following their 2-1 home win against Hannover 96. Milan are almost there in Group G after beating Sporting 2-1 in Milan and Feyenoord had a big 3-1 win at home to Lyon to maintain their chances of going through. Finally, Dortmund are sitting pretty in Group H after a 2-0 away win at Elfsborg and Fenerbahçe’s scoreless draw at home to Real Madrid keeps them in touch. UEFA Cup The first leg matches in the Second Round took place last night. Aberdeen drew 1-1 at Pittodrie with the Bulgarian side Levski and Blackburn recorded the same result at Ewood Park against Panathinaikos. Inter made the second leg in Ireland a formality with a 4-0 win over Shamrock Rovers. Lazio also look pretty safe following their 3-0 home win against Lierse. Leverkusen comprehensively disposed of FC Zurich 5-1 and Newcastle had a narrow 1-0 victory against Heerenveen. In Denmark OB managed a creditable 2-2 draw at home to Juventus whilst Rangers struggled to dispose of Greek side Ethnikos Asteras 1-0 at Ibrox. Spotlight on ..... The Belgian Juliper League Lierse were the surprise champions last season, bringing Anderlecht’s run of three successive titles to an end. Anderlecht lost out again in the Belgian Cup when a last minute winner for Racing Genk provided another upset. AA Gent 2001/2002 - 15th 2002/2003 - 15th Two very disappointing seasons for Gent have seen various managers come and go. Jan Olde Riekerink was sacked in March of last year and his successor, Regi Van Acker, lasted 11 months. The current boss, Gerard Plessers, will have to oversee a distinct improvement or the notoriously impatient Chairman Ivan De Witte will have his axe out again. There was a bit of spending in the summer with the arrival of Olivier Deschacht (22, D LC) from Anderlecht for £1M and Christophe Grégoire (23, AM L) from Mouscron for £2.8M. The expenditure was more than covered by the sale of half a dozen players, including John Machethe (24, M RC) for £2.6M to Mouscron and Ibrahima Faye (23, D L) to Lierse for £3.1M. Anderlecht 2001/2002 - 1st 2002/2003 - 4th Less than 12 months after capturing the First Division title manager Hugo Broos resigned. Belgian football legend Jan Ceulemans, capped 96 times for his country, took over the reins in April and is starting to make his mark. Anderlecht play an adventurous variation of a 5-3-2 formation with 3 centre backs and two attack-minded wingbacks that push forward at every opportunity. One of their 3 central midfielders sits just behind the two strikers offering an extra attacking threat. Australian striker Clayton Zane (26, S C) is in electrifying form and is averaging a goal a game, propelling the team to 3rd position after 9 games. Long-serving captain Glen De Boeck (32, SW/D C) is a key figure at the back but is currently sidelined for a few weeks with an ankle injury. Zoel Epale (25, AM/F RC) is one of the most exciting and creative midfielders in the league and creates a lot of scoring opportunities. With promising youngsters such as Moldavian Denis Calincov (18, F C) and Czech Martin Kolar (20, AM L) pushing for a place in the first team, Ceulemans has a strong squad. Antwerp 2001/2002 - 10th 2002/2003 - 7th Manager Walter Meeuws has been in charge since last August after Henk Houwaart was dismissed. Antwerp look like having another mediocre season, with a safe mid-table finish the most likely outcome. There is rumoured to be a lot of ill feeling in the squad at present following a very public bust-up between Meeuws and experienced keeper Gennady Tumilovich (32, GK). This has resulted in the Belarusian being transfer-listed. Captain Philippe Clement (29, SW/D/DM C) has only been at the club since August following a £475K move from Club Brugge, but he is already a respected and influential figure in the team. Antwerp are quite solid at the back but a severe lack of goals is their main problem. Last season’s top goalscorer was Claude Bakadal (27, S C) with 10 goals and the squad badly needs a proven goalscorer. Beveren 2001/2002 - 14th 2002/2003 - 13th There are few teams in Belgium capable of challenging for honours and Beveren are not one of them. Herman Helleputte has brought in a couple of new players in the summer but neither Kader Camara (21, M C) from Lommel for £975K, nor Jonathan Bourdon (22, GK) at a steep £1.4M from Westerlo, have looked particularly impressive. The highly rated Zezeto (22, S C) has been one of their best performers and Kenny De Vuyst (25, D C) is playing well at the back. Helleputte does have a very young squad with an average age of just over 20, but this is quite typical of many of the teams in this division. Charleroi 2001/2002 - 8th 2002/2003 - 2nd Poll Peters led Charleroi to their best league finish since 1969 last season and his team are off to a flyer this season with only one defeat in 9 league games. However it could have been an even better season as, lying in first place on the final day, Charleroi could only draw their final game, allowing Lierse to overtake them and take the title. The signing of the versatile youngster Alin Stoica (23, AM/F RLC) from Club Brugge for £1.9M looks like a good piece of business as the Romanian has settled in well. Their strike partnership of Alexandr Kolotilko (24, F LC) and Lokman Atasever (19, F RC) is amongst the most productive in the division. Young defender Ibrahim Kargbo (21, SW/D/DM C) is a class player and is in his third season as a first team regular despite his tender years. The exciting young forward Gregory Dufer (21, F RC) won the wonderfully named Revelation of the Year award last season with his teammate Kolotilko runner-up. Club Brugge 2001/2002 - 2nd 2002/2003 - 3rd Having failed to capture the league title in 2001/2002, Trond Sollied was replaced by Franky Van der Elst in April of last year. Under the new boss the team finished one place lower last season but he managed to hold on to his job. The club has generated over £20M in transfer income in the last 2 seasons and the fans are still waiting to see some of that booty spent on new players. Club Brugge play with a midfield "diamond" formation, with one of the midfield quartet guarding the back four and another playing in the hole behind the two strikers. The club captain is the very experienced Belgian international Gert Verheyen (33, F RC). Their most effective players so far this season have been Norwegian forward Rune Lange (26, S C) and midfielder Tim Smolders (23, F LC). Germinal Beerschot Antwerpen (GBA) 2001/2002 - 13th 2002/2003 - 12th A change of managers for GBA last February has not led to much improvement in their league position as Gilbert Bodart has not done any better than his predecessor Jose Riga. The experienced Icelandic international Arnar Gretarsson (31, M C) has been in outstanding form since he joined from Lokeren on a Bosman in the summer. Star forward Paul Kpaka (22, S C) is also playing well but is rumoured to be seeking a move to a bigger club. Great things are expected in the future from Ludovic Massoni (21, GK) and Sigurd Ertsas (21, SW/D/DM C). La Louvière 2001/2002 - 11th 2002/2003 - 16th A Third Division side as recently as 1994, La Louvière came very close to losing their place in the top flight last season and have started this season very poorly and are currently bottom of the table. Ariel Jacobs made one big signing in the summer, Zdenek Svoboda (31, SW/D/DM C) for £1.1M from Westerlo, but the Czech has not impressed so far. Financial troubles at the club mean that more than half of the squad have been made available for loan and many players are unhappy with their contracts. With morale at rock bottom, drastic action is required to reverse the club’s fortunes before they get too deep into relegation trouble. Lierse 2001/2002 - 4th 2002/2003 - 1st Emilio Ferrara followed up his team’s 4th place finish in 2001/2002 by somewhat surprisingly winning the league title last season. A dramatic final day saw both Charleroi and Club Brugge draw their games, allowing Lierse to overtake them courtesy of a narrow home win over Dessel. That result also meant that their opponents on the day were relegated to the second Division. The club has made one major signing in each of the last two summer periods. In 2002 the player in question was Tim Reigel (22, DM RC) who cost £3.9M from GBA and this summer Ibrahima Faye (23, D L) arrived from AA Gent for £3.1M. Reigel has not impressed but Faye has performed well since his arrival. Lierse have a couple of highly rated attackers in the Australian Archie Thompson (24, S C) who heads the scoring charts at present, and Stein Huysegems (21, F LC). Captain Laurent Fassote (25, SW/D/DM C) shows maturity beyond his years. Lokeren 2001/2002 - 17th 2002/2003 - 2nd in Second Division Paul Put was sacked following the club’s relegation in 2001/2002 and new boss Manu Ferrera guided them back to the First Division at the first time of asking. The club recently parted with last season’s top scorer Sambegou Bangoura (21, S C) as he was transferred to Racing Genk for £1.5M. Lokeren are another team with financial problems and consequently they have many of their young squad available for loan. The experienced Patrice Zere (32, D C) has been their most consistent performer so far this season but good defensive work is often undone by a lack of goals up front. Lommel 2001/2002 - 12th 2002/2003 - 11th Lommel parted company with manager Gerard Plessers at the start of this year but replacement Dimitri Mbuyu has not brought much improvement. This season has started very poorly and the club sit in 17th place currently. Club captain Carl Hoefkens (25, D C) is reported to be seeking a move and team spirit is not what it needs to be for a team already fighting relegation. Mons 2001/2002 - 3rd 2002/2003 - 14th Jose Riga led Mons to an incredible first season in the First Division in 2001/2002 when they finished 3rd in the table. However, they found life much tougher last season and are continuing to struggle. This is despite bringing in 16 new players in the summer, including £1M signings Bart Willemsen (23, AM LC) from Westerlo and Arnar Vidarsson (25, D/DM LC) from Lokeren, both of whom have settled in well. Quite strong at the back, Mons have a real problem in scoring goals and therefore in winning games. The club captain is Bart Deelkens (25, GK) and his fine form is key to their defensive strength. Mouscron 2001/2002 - 9th 2002/2003 - 9th Manager Rene Van Gorp was sacked in May and replaced by Hugo Broos but this has not yet resulted in any improvement in the club’s fortunes. In the summer Christophe Gregoire (23, AM L) joined AA Gent for a fee of £2.8M and a few weeks later John Machethe (24, M RC) moved in the opposite direction for £2.6M. Their star player is Mbo Mpenza (26, F RC), elder brother of Schalke’s Emile, but he is reported to be unhappy with the way the team is performing. Racing Genk 2001/2002 - 6th 2002/2003 - 5th Racing Genk rounded off a fine season last year by winning the Belgian Cup, upsetting the favourites Anderlecht. Manager Sef Vergoossen sees his team currently in 4th place and playing well. This is largely due to the scoring prowess of Wesley Sonck (25, S C) and the service provided by wingers Koen Daerden (21, AM L) and Mirsad Beslija (24, AM R). Sonck has scored 10 goals in all competitions thus far but is rumoured to be looking to make a move to a bigger club and it is surely just a matter of time before he is snapped up. The squad has some good young players and the brightest prospect of all is the young Bulgarian Krasen Trifonov (17, AM/F L). Sint-Truiden 2001/2002 - 5th 2002/2003 - 6th Coach Regi Van Acker has put together a squad that is punching well above its weight and his team are the current leaders of the Juliper League. He obviously has a keen eye for a bargain and two of his summer signings are in outstanding form. Stijn Meert (25, AM/F RL) cost £1.1M from Second Division KV Mechelen and the winger is both scoring and making goals with a vengeance. Even more impressive has been Tom Peeters (25, M C) who was a steal from English First Division club Walsall for just £240K. Peeters is in outstanding form at the heart of their dynamic midfield quartet. Standard Liège 2001/2002 - 7th 2002/2003 - 8th Jacky Mathijssen splashed out over £7M on 3 new players in the summer, none of whom have made much of an impression and the manager is under increasing pressure to start improving results. GBA were the major beneficiaries of this largesse, receiving £2.2M for Kristof Snelders (21, AM RC) and £4M for Brastislav Ristic (22, D/M RLC). The highly-rated Portuguese forward Moreira (25, F RLC) can’t seem to get a game at present with the form of Michael Goossens (29, F RC) and Jurgen Cavens (25, S C) keeping him on the bench. Their young Nigerian captain Joseph Enakarhire (20, D LC) is incredibly mature for his age and is very solid in defence and their Uruguayan keeper Hector Carini (23, GK) has much potential. Virton 2001/2002 - 4th in Second Division 2002/2003 - 10th In 2001/2002 Michel Leflochmoan guided Virton to their second promotion in a row, having been promoted from the Third Division the season previously. By far the smallest club in the top flight they finished a highly creditable 10th last season. Tipped by many to go down this year they are struggling a little but the incredible team spirit that has been developed by the manager may just be enough to pull them through. Devoid of star players they rely on journeymen such as Kris Temmerman (30, SW/D/DM RC), Daniel Gomez (24, F RC) and Christian Theissen (29, S C). Westerlo 2001/2002 - 18th 2002/2003 - Second Division Champions The sacking of Jan Ceulemans in March of last year couldn’t stop Westerlo finishing rock bottom in the table that season. However, new manager Etienne Delangre led his team to the Second Division title last season but they are once again in trouble and lie in 16th position. Even the incredible Congolese goal machine Moke (23, S C) may not be enough to save them from the drop. Moke is a scoring phenomenon and has scored 53 goals in 55 games for Westerlo. He is ably assisted by Bouarfa Yahiaoui (27, AM/F RL) who provides much of the young striker’s ammunition. Fellow striker Cedric Roussel (25, S C) is no slouch in front of goal either and finding the net is not a problem for the team. However, keeping the ball out of their own net clearly is as they have conceded 25 goals in 9 league matches so far. 2002/2003 Table <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1st C Lierse 34 11 5 1 31 14 9 5 3 30 26 70 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2nd Charleroi 34 8 5 4 34 21 13 1 3 36 20 69 3rd Club Brugge 34 12 4 1 38 10 8 4 5 24 18 68 4th Anderlecht 34 13 4 0 39 10 4 6 7 34 37 61 5th Racing Genk 34 16 1 0 42 16 3 2 12 20 35 60 6th Sint-Truiden 34 9 5 3 32 22 8 4 5 31 29 60 7th Antwerp 34 8 5 4 28 21 6 4 7 18 26 51 8th Standard Liège 34 8 4 5 31 16 6 4 7 23 23 50 9th Mouscron 34 5 5 7 21 26 7 5 5 27 25 46 10th Virton 34 9 3 5 28 21 3 6 8 20 28 45 11th Lommel 34 8 2 7 30 28 4 2 11 19 35 40 12th GBA 34 9 1 7 36 29 2 4 11 14 35 38 13th Beveren 34 5 4 8 26 28 4 3 10 22 33 34 14th Mons 34 6 5 6 22 24 2 5 10 12 24 34 15th AA Gent 34 6 5 6 27 29 2 4 11 21 43 33 16th La Louvière 34 5 4 8 26 29 2 5 10 18 38 30 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17th R Dessel 34 6 4 7 30 32 1 3 13 22 41 28 18th R KV Mechelen 34 4 7 6 20 24 1 6 10 9 25 28</pre> Game of the Week Sunday October 12th, 2003 Finnish Premier Division HJK 4 Tampere Utd 3 The two teams lined up in the Finnair Stadium in Helsinki with distinctly different formations. HJK utilised a 3-4-1-2 lineup with three central defenders, four midfielders that included two wide players and an attacking midfielder playing behind the front two. Their visitors favoured a more defensive approach with a defensive midfielder playing in front of the back four, a narrow three-man midfield and two strikers. Despite their alternative approaches the first shooting opportunity fell to Tampere after Salo picked out Koskela with a lovely 30-yard pass but the midfielder’s low shot was parried by Laaksonen. The visitors next attack proved to be more effective as Mika Nenonen finished a neat passing move with a powerful shot into the top corner. Within a few minutes Tampere had the ball in the net again when Noah Hickey ran on to a through ball from Salo but the New Zealander was marginally offside. The home side were struggling to develop any attacking flow and Tampere took a 2-goal lead in the 33rd minute. Salo and Hickey combined to release Saarinen and his low cross was finished off neatly by Nenonen. This seemed to spark HJK into life and within 5 minutes they were all square. Their first goal came from a far post cross by Haarala that was driven home by veteran striker Niclas Grönholm. The 35-year old has been in sparkling form this season and came close to a second goal almost immediately but his curling shot was well saved by Viljanen. The resulting corner was whipped in by Oravainen and Nylund saw his header blocked by the Tampere keeper. However, Jeremenko Jr was first to the loose ball to tie it up at 2-2. Not long after the restart Jussi Peteri spurned two excellent chances to put HJK in front and at the other end Hickey forced a good save from Pasi Laaksonen. With just over 20 minutes remaining Grönholm got his second of the match to put the home side into the lead for the first time. Just 3 minutes later Tampere were back on terms after Koskela was fouled in the area by Penttilä. The HJK captain avoided further punishment for his indiscretion but the resulting penalty was coolly despatched by Tero Koskela himself. Tampere seemed happy to settle for the draw and dug in to deny HJK time and space on the ball. But the deadlock was broken by Hannu Haarala as the right winger showed great skill and pace to beat two Tampere players and drive home the winning goal. As the final whistle sounded word was coming through that the game between second-placed MyPa and AC Allianssi had ended in a 1-1 draw, meaning that HJK could now not be caught and the championship was theirs. Teams HJK: Pasi Laaksonen, Hannu Haarala, Petri Oravainen, Joakim Jensen, Tero Penttilä (captain), Ville Nylund, Jussi Peteri, Niclas Grönholm, Toni Kallio, Mika Kottila, Jeremenko Jr (Kristian Kunnas 64) Subs not used: Ridvan Zeneli, Antti Ristimäki, László Fekete, Jon Poulsen, Jani Koivisto, Aarno Turpeinen, Tampere Utd: Petri Viljanen, Pasi Salmela, Mikko Salo (Arto Seppänen 60), Kai Rönkkö, Janne Räsänen (captain), Antti Ojanperä (Matti Santahuhta 54), Tero Koskela, Jussi Kuoppala (Arthur Clarke 66), Mika Nenonen, Noah Hickey, Sakari Saarinen Subs not used: Gerrit Hundshagen, Kimmo Ristimäki, Levent Osman, Kari Sainio, Scorers HJK: Grönholm 36, 67, Jeremenko Jr 38, Haarala 85 Tampere Utd: Nenonen 5, 33, Koskela 70 (pen) Man of the Match: Niclas Grönholm Yellow Cards Tampere Utd: Pasi Salmela Attendance: 4,523 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
aberdeen_raith Posted October 16, 2003 Share Posted October 16, 2003 Dear ESW, Great read, Just wondering who the stars are in this all conquering Raith Rovers side, and how much has been spent by the (usually) miserly board to put the side into the SPL. And is there any chance of an interview with Jocky Scott in a future issue? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobBev Posted October 17, 2003 Author Share Posted October 17, 2003 I am on holiday for the next 2 weeks so I am posting the next issue early and I will catch up when I get back. The web site will be up to date soon - go take a look and admire the cool new graphic kindly designed by spurzgrrl. I have also re-structured the site to make it easier for me to maintain European Soccer Weekly Issue 13 - Friday October 24th, 2003 News On the managerial front Finnish Premier Division club KuPS have sacked manager Jari Pyykölä. The club are bottom of the division and can do no better than the relegation playoffs, although it would take a miracle to achieve even that. In the Netherlands, Vitesse boss Ronald Koeman faces increasing criticism, despite having only been at the helm since May. He is now paying the price for the inflated expectations that he set in the pre-season with his talk of challenging for honours. As Malaga slump to yet another defeat in the Primera Liga, coach Rafa Benitez is looking a beleaguered figure as he fends off increasingly frenzied media attacks. []bJean Tigana[/b] is starting to feel the heat as Monaco struggle in the league with just 2 wins from 8 matches. League Roundup In Belgium Sint-Truiden have stretched their lead to 5 points although second-placed Charleroi do have a game in hand. Lommel and La Louviere currently sit in the relegation places. Hajduk hold a 3-point lead over the chasing pack in the Croatian First Division with Kamen Ingrad and Belisce propping up the table. In the Danish Superligaen FC Midtjylland continued their excellent form with a 2-0 home win over Brøndby last weekend extending their lead to 3 points over AaB. Last season's promoted clubs Vejle and Esbjerg fB continue to struggle in the relegation places and already look like the most likely candidates for the drop. Middlesbrough are back at the top of the EPL thanks to their narrow 1-0 win over Millwall and Liverpool's 0-0 draw in the Merseyside derby. With only one game left to play the title may already be decided in Finland but the relegation places are still up for grabs. Bottom team KuPS can do no better than a relegation playoff place but they are 3 points behind GBK with a significantly worse goal difference. GBK are themselves 3 points behind AC Allianssi with a similar goal difference. All three teams have home matches this coming weekend and their respective supporters will have an anxious 90 minutes trying to keep up with all 3 results. Sedan are the new leaders of Le Championat following their 1-0 win in Toulouse and Marseille's 2-0 home defeat by Nantes. Monaco's slump continues and they remain in the final relegation place at present. In the Bundesliga Nürnberg's sensational start to the season shows no sign of faltering as they recorded their 9th straight win this weekend with an excellent 2-1 win at home to Dortmund. After keeping pace for the fist 7 games Schalke 04 suffered their second consecutive defeat, 1-0 at home to Leverkusen, and they are now 6 points behind. The "Big Three" of Leverkusen, FC Bayern and Dortmund are queuing up behind Schalke 04. At the bottom Cottbus, VfB Stuttgart and M'gladbach are in the relegation places. After the first 5 games of the season Olympiakos are top of the table in Greece and Giannena and Kalamaria are in the relegation spots with just a point apiece. Feyenoord have made their way to the top of the Eredivisie with Zwolle in the single automatic relegation position. In Italy the Big Two from Milan, Inter and AC, are tied at the top with Inter heading the table on goal difference. Portadown still head the table in Northern Ireland and bottom team Institute gained their first points of the season with a 1-0 win over Distillery. In Norway, Tromsø and L/F Hønefoss had their relegation confirmed and Sogndal face a playoff against First Division Tromsdalen. We will feature a full season review as soon as the final promotion and relegation places are settled. As the group stages of the Polish League move towards completion, Legia head Group A whilst in Group B Odra Wodzislaw and Wisla have confirmed their place in the championship group. In Portugal, Gil Vicente have a 1-point lead at the top with Sporting, Beira-Mar and Belenenses all tied on 16 points after 7 games. In the Republic of Ireland, Dundalk hold an 8-point lead over Bohemians, although the Bo's have a game in hand. With only a couple of games left in Russia, Lokomotiv Moscow are the title favourites as they have a 3-point lead over Krylja Sovetov, but the challengers kept up the pressure by recording a fine 3-2 away win over 3rd placed Spartak Moscow. Rangers have closed the gap behind Celtic to 3 points following the leader's scoreless draw at St. Johnstone. Livingston moved off the bottom after a 2-0 home win over Motherwell who now take over at the foot of the table. Only goal difference separates Real Sociedad and Sevilla in the Primera Liga following Sociedad's comfortable 5-1 win over struggling Tenerife. With 3 games remaining in Sweden, Halmstad maintain their 3-point lead over Malmö. Landskrona and Trelleborg look unlikely to escape relegation and Norrköping are struggling to move out of the relegation playoff slot. In Turkey Fenerbahçe suffered a shock 3-2 defeat by lowly Samsunspor but still head the table as Besiktas also lost. Caersws have taken over the leadership of the Welsh Premier Division and have a game in hand over second-placed Newtown. Cup Roundup The Second Round of the League Cup took place in England this week and a number of Premier League teams were in action. Third Division Wrexham travelled to Brighton and eliminated their hosts on penalties after a 0-0 draw. Hull of the Second Division had a fine 2-0 home win over Chelsea and Third Division Leyton Orient beat visiting Aston Villa 1-0. Tottenham visited Third Division Oxford and also lost on penalties after a scoreless match whilst Second Division Norwich had the same result at Sunderland. The Second Leg matches in the First Round of the Italian Cup were also completed. Two Serie B teams defeated Serie A opposition. Vicenza beat Emploi 3-2 on aggregate and Napoli triumphed 5-1 over Perugia. But the biggest upset was the wonderful win by Cesena of Serie C1/A who beat Serie A side Udinese on penalties after a 1-1 aggregate scoreline. Champions League The penultimate round of group matches took place this week. Manchester United will finish top of Group A after their scoreless draw at Old Trafford with FC Bayern. Rosenborg move up to second as a result of their 3-1 away win over Anzhi. Rosenborg entertain United in their final game knowing that a point will be enough to see them through. Roma are now favourites to win Group B following a 3-1 victory at the Olimpico over Athletic Bilbao. There's still all to play for in Group C. Dinamo Kiev surprised group leaders AEK by beating then 2-0 in the Ukraine and Nantes maintained their challenge with an excellent 2-0 home win over Liverpool. Group D is still undecided with PSV and Kaiserslautern finishing scoreless in Eindhoven and Betis suffering a surprise 1-0 defeat away from home to Torpedo Moscow. In Group E Arsenal sealed their place in Phase 2 with a great 2-0 win over Parma in Italy and Spartak Moscow revived their slim hopes by beating Celtic 2-0 at home. If the Celts are to qualify they must beat Parma at Parkhead and hope that Arsenal will dispose of Spartak at Highbury. Barcelona had their 5th straight win in Group F, beating Hannover 96 3-2 at the Nou Camp whilst Olympiakos disposed of Stabæk 1-0 in Norway. Milan will top Group G after brushing Feyenoord aside 4-1 in Holland and Lyon move up to second place after their 2-1 win at home to Sporting. Dortmund are the Group H winners following their 3-0 triumph at home to Real Madrid and Fenerbahçe did what they needed to do in Sweden with a 1-0 win against Elfsborg. Real are in real danger of not qualifying - they must win their final game against Elfsborg and hope that Fenerbahçe lose at home to Dortmund. Spotlight on ….. The Golden Oldies Age is all in the mind they say - well this is certainly true as far as some footballers are concerned. In this week's Spotlight feature we take a look at some players who are still going strong despite the ravages of time. It is well known that goalkeepers have a longer shelf life than other players and below we feature a number of well-know keepers still in active employment. But it is surprising just how many veterans there are in the outfield too. Richard Gough (41, D C) - Brechin, Scotland The Daddy of them all, the highly competitive Scotsman has been playing professional football since 1980 and still seems to be going strong. With over 670 games under his belt, there is no one more experienced. Currently the Player/Manager of Scottish First Division outfit Brechin City, Gough took over the reins last March and led them to promotion from the Second Division. He is also the club captain and is playing regularly in the centre of defence. His career has encompassed clubs such as Everton, San Jose Earthquakes, Notts Forest, Kansas City Wizards, Rangers, Tottenham and Dundee. He gained 61 caps for Scotland and scored 6 goals for his country. Raimond van der Gouw (40, GK) - Quick 20, Holland Raimond has returned to his native Holland and is playing in the lower leagues with Quick 20. An understudy at Manchester United for 6 seasons, van der Gouw is well-known in England. He spent last season at West Ham but failed to make a start for the Londoners. Prior to moving to Manchester he played for Vitesse and Go Ahead in Holland. Jan Heintze (40, D/M L) - FC Midtjylland, Denmark Even at the age of 40, Jan Heintze is still the first choice left back for the current Danish Premier League leaders. With 92 caps for Denmark, Jan provides invaluable experience and maturity and is an important part of Midtjylland's back four. He joined the club 2 years ago on a free transfer from PSV. Jan spent 15 seasons with the Dutch team and 4 seasons at Leverkusen in Germany. Dean Saunders (39, F C) - Cwmbran Town, Wales Welsh legend Dean Saunders is now Player/Manager at Cwmbran Town and is still a regular starter up front. Although his work rate has inevitably diminished, he still has an eye for goal and scored 14 times last season when he guided his team to an unexpected league championship. A professional since 1982 his playing career has seen him play for Blackburn, Bradford, Sheffield United, Notts Forest, Galatasaray, Aston Villa, Liverpool, Derby, Oxford. Brighton and Swansea. Capped 75 times by Wales he scored 22 goals for his country. Gordon Marshall (39, GK) - Kilmarnock, Scotland Still a regular starter for First Division leaders Kilmarnock, Gordon has nearly 640 appearances under his belt. His previous clubs have included St. Mirren, Celtic, Falkirk, East Fife, Rangers and East Stirling. Capped just once for his country, this may be his final season in the game as his contract expires at the end of the season. Andy Goram (39, GK) - Keratsini, Greece Now plying his trade in the Greek lower divisions, the player who at his prime was known simply as "The Goalie", is enjoying life in the sun. Always a bit of a rebel, Goram was capped 44 times for Scotland and is recognised as one of the best keepers ever to have played for the national side. With nearly 630 games since 1981, his previous clubs include Queen of the South, Coventry, Oldham, Motherwell, Sheffield United, Notts County, Rangers and Hibs. Dave McPherson (39, D RC) - Morton, Scotland Yet another veteran Scot still going strong, Big Davie is a mainstay of the Third Divison club's back four. With 27 Scottish caps and 650 senior appearances, there are few more experienced than him. With two spells each at Hearts and Rangers prior to his three season at Morton, Dave doesn't have the extensive list of clubs that some other veterans do. This says much about his loyalty and his value to his previous employers. Peter Schmeichel (39, GK) - AGF, Denmark Once the world's best keeper, the big Dane is now Player/Coach at Danish Premier Division club AGF. Still first choice between the sticks, his form has helped his team rise to 3rd in the table. He has amassed 129 caps for his country and has 659 senior appearances and counting. Still a much loved figure at Old Trafford after his highly successful spell at Manchester United, he has also played for their rivals Manchester City as well as Aston Villa, Sporting, Brøndby and Hvidovre. Damir Buric (39, DM C) - Cakovec, Croatia Damir spent most of his career in Germany before his free transfer from M'gladbach in 2001/2002. Sebastiano Rossini (39, GK) - Perugia, Italy First choice at Perugia for the last three seasons, Rossi has previously played for Milan, Cesena and Emploi. Tom Gulbrandsen (39, DM C) - L/F Hønefoss, Norway In his 6th season at L/F Hønefoss, Tom has made 3 appearances for his county. He also spent 11 seasons at Lillestrøm and 4 seasons at amateur club Mjøndalen. Andrzej Slowakiewicz (39, SW/D C) - Widzew, Poland Andrzej is still first choice in the centre of a 3-man defence for Widzew. Lars Zetterlund (39, D/M C) - Örebro, Sweden With 467 senior appearances, Lars is one of the most experienced players in Sweden and is a regular starter in the Örebro midfield. Andy Legg (37, SW/M LC) - Swindon, England Andy has played over 500 senior games and is still a regular member of the Wales squad, although he has not made an appearance so far this year. Game of the Week Sunday October 19th, 2003 Dutch Premier Division ADO 3 Ajax 4 There was virtually a sellout crowd in the Zuiderpark in Den Haag for the visit of Ajax. Both sides lined up in a 4-4-2 formation and both made their attacking intentions known from the start. The first effort on goal came from the home side but Roy Stroeve's long shot was off target. Jeroen van Wetten had a similar attempt from distance, but the presence of Ajax captain Cristian Chivu was enough to put him off and he did not trouble Stekelenburg. The visitors took the lead when Andy van der Meyde went on a characteristic run up the right flank and his pinpoint cross was headed home by Mido. Their advantage was doubled shortly afterwards when Zlatan Ibrahimovic was clattered in the area by Serginho Greene. Chivu calmly despatched the resulting spot kick to give Ajax a comfortable lead. Straight from the restart, American midfielder John O'Brien made progress down the left flank. As he cut in towards goal he let loose a strong shot that was well dealt with by Okkie Achonu. However, ADO were soon back in the match when Jeroen van Wetten opened their account. Remco Evers started the move and his lofted pass was skilfully nodded down by Gijs Cales and van Wetten finished neatly. Rafael van der Vaart almost restored the 2-goal advantage following a silky run, but his shot grazed the outside of the post with Achonu beaten. Ajax kept up the pressure and Ibrahimovic tested the ADO keeper with a powerful header when he outjumped Greene. Next to try his luck was van der Meyde and his long-range shot was turned away by Achonu for a corner. The home side weathered the storm and in an extraordinary 3-minute spell just before half time, they turned the game around completely. The equalising goal came from an incisive attacking move. Revy Rosalia initiated it with a long ball to Gijs Cales. The winger controlled it well and fed the ball to Roy Stroeve who in turn slipped a perfectly weighted pass through the Ajax defence for van Metten to lash home an unstoppable shot. The young ADO striker completed a remarkable hat-trick just before half time when he picked up a half-cleared corner and fired powerfully home. The home fans were in great voice as the half time whistle sounded and their team went into the break with a 3-2 lead. Ajax had the first chance of the second half, but Ibrahimovic seemed to lack composure and blasted his shot over the bar. Roy Stroeve missed a glorious opportunity to put the home side further ahead when he found himself with only Stekelenburg to beat, but the Ajax keeper just managed to tip his shot round the post. On the hour mark, Mido created a half chance in the area but his shot was wide of the post. As the match moved into the last 10 minutes, the home side were denied a strong penalty appeal when substitute Gary Middleton went down in the box. The young Scottish forward looked to have been clearly brought down but referee Jac Schemkels disagreed. Mido was looking increasingly dangerous and he went close once again with a headed effort from a van der Meyde cross that Achonu did well to hold on to. But 6 minutes from time it was the 20-year-old Egyptian forward that tied things up. A flowing attacking move culminated in the very impressive van der Meyde putting in a wonderful cross that Mido headed powerfully home. The ADO players were visibly tiring at this stage and Ajax were being allowed more time and possession than they had previously. Ibrahimovic almost capitalised on this near the end, but Danny Schenkel did very well to pressure him so that his left-footed drive went just wide. But deep in stoppage time the Ajax pressure finally paid off when John O'Brien, still looking full of running, ran on to a cross from substitute Marco van Hoogdalem to send the ball past the despairing dive of Okkie Achonu. So despite a terrific performance from young striker Jeroen van Wetten, Ajax proved just to strong for the home side. The youngster was picked up on a free transfer last month having been released by First Division RBC in August. With 5 goals in 6 games, he certainly seems to have settled in well at his new employers. For Ajax, Andy van der Meyde always looked likely to create chances and Mido was a constant threat up front and fully deserved his two goals. This win takes Ajax into second place in the table, a point behind Feyenoord but having played a game more. Teams ADO: Okkie Achonu, Jan-Paul Saeijs (captain), Revy Rosalia, Serginho Greene (Gary Middleton 64), Danny Schenkel, Remco Evers (Jermaine Sandvliet 64), Mohamed Borrouhou, Christian Opschoor, Jeroen van Wetten, Roy Stroeve, Gijs Cales Subs not used: Kenneth Notte, Patrick de Groot, Daniel Rijaard, Robert Manders, Marlon Kruis Ajax: Maarten Stekelenburg, Hatem Trabelsi, Maxwell (Marco van Hoogdalem 64), Cristian Chivu (captain), Jelle Van Damme, Rafael van der Vaart (Yuki Abe 87), Andy van der Meyde, Denny Landzaat, Mido, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, John O'Brien Subs not used: Jari Litmanen, Robert Zwinkels, Kwame Quansah, Pablo Adrián Guede, Abubakari Yakubu Scorers ADO: van Wetten 26, 41, 44 Ajax: Mido 13, 84, Chivu 22 (pen), O'Brien 90 Man of the Match: Mido Yellow Cards Ajax: Hatem Trabelsi Attendance: 11,968 Reader's Letters Mr. Aberdeen Raith writes Dear ESW, Great read, Just wondering who the stars are in this all conquering Raith Rovers side, and how much has been spent by the (usually) miserly board to put the side into the SPL. And is there any chance of an interview with Jocky Scott in a future issue? Raith Rovers have had a fairy tale rise to the top flight in Scotland, with manager Jocky Scott guiding his team to two consecutive league championships. His side now sit in 6th place in the SPL and have recorded a home win over Rangers back in mid-September - their only defeat of the season so far. All of this has been achieved without a significant spend on players. A total of £1.3M has been expended but nearly £3M has been recouped through sales. Their most expensive signing was Dariusz Adamczuk (34, DM RC) who came from Rangers in November last year for £350K. This was more than covered by the sale of Brian Carrigan (24, F RLC) to Kilmarnock for £1.1M and Ross Matheson (25, AM RLC) to St. Mirren for £1.3M. Their best performing players this season have been Brian McAllister (32, D LC) who was bought from Airdrie in March of this year for £120K and Shaun Dennis (33, D C). The veteran Kenny Black (39, M LC) is still a squad member but has not featured in the first team so far this season. The team have been employing a sweeper system with 2 up front, a 3-man midfield, 2 centre backs and 2 wide defenders and Finnish international Jarmo Saastamoinen (36, SW/D C) has played a few games as sweeper. As a special treat to Mr. Raith, there is a special section on ESW Online with more detailed information about his favourites. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobBev Posted November 2, 2003 Author Share Posted November 2, 2003 European Soccer Weekly Issue 14 - Friday October 31st, 2003 News Pressure is mounting on Club Brugge manager Franky Van der Elst as his team continues to struggle in the league. The club currently sits in 9th place in the table and have not won a league match for some 5 weeks. He is not the only manager in trouble in the Juliper League, as both Jacky Mathijssen of Standard Liege and Ariel Jacobs of bottom club La Louviere face uncertain futures. In The Irish Republic Derry City parted company with Kevin Mahon earlier today. Currently sitting in the relegation playoff position the Board clearly felt that a new man in charge is required to turn their season around. It was also announced this morning that Dundalk manager Martin Lawlor had been appointed as the new manager of English Second Division club Swindon Town. Swindon are struggling in the bottom four of the table and the Irishman will have a challenge on his hands to turn the club's fortunes around. Valencia boss Mario Reis is hanging on by his fingertips as the club's horrendous start to the season continues. The team sits just above the relegation places in the Primera Liga with only 1 win from their 8 league games and the pressure from the supporters in steadily increasing. On the transfer front, there are suggestions in the Spanish media that AC Milan may be on the verge of signing Gaizka Mendieta from Barcelona in a deal worth over £20M. The Spanish club have refused to comment on the matter. League Roundup Sint-Truiden stay top of the Jupiler League with Lommel and La Louviere still in the relgation positions. However, Lommel did their cause no harm with an excellent 4-0 win at home to Beveren. In Croatia, Hajduk continue their strong start to the season and currently have a 3-point lead over second placed Osijeck with Marsonia and Kamen Ingrad in the relegation places. In Denmark, a shock 3-1 defeat for FC Midtjylland at bottom club Esbjerg fB has allowed AaB to take over at the top of the table. Manchester United have taken over at the top of the EPL and Arsenal move up to second following their emphatic 4-0 home win over previous leaders Middlesbrough. Aston Villa, Brighton and Sunderland make up the bottom three. In Finland, the relegation of KuPS was confirmed as they lost their final match of the season 3-1 at home to MyPa. GBK's dramatic 4-3 win at home to VPS means that AC Allianssi drop into the relegation playoff spot following their 4-2 defeat by visiting FC Jazz. It's very tight in Le Championat as Nantes take over at the top of the table after their 1-0 home win over Nice. Sedan and Marseille are just a point behind with Nice and Strasbourg a further 2 points back. Guingamp, Toulouse and Troyes sit in the relegation places at present. In the Bundesliga, Nürnberg suffered their first defeat of the season, losing 2-0 in Munich to 1860 Munchen. They remain at the top of the table with a 4-point lead over Leverkusen. Olympiakos recorded their 5th straight win and sit 3 points clear of Panathinaikos in Greece. Feyenoord remain top of the Eredivisie despite a 3-0 defeat on their visit to PSV. AZ, PSV and Ajax are only separated by goal difference 4 points behind the leaders. Inter and Milan remain neck and neck at the top of Serie A with Sampdoria just a point behind. Palermo, Perugia, Torino and Ancona fill the relegation places. In Northern Ireland, Portadown have stretched their lead over Linfield to 6 points, Glenavon are in the relegation playoff place and Institute are well adrift in bottom place. In Norway the first leg of the promotion/relegation playoff between Premier Division Sogndal and First Division Tromsdalen ended in a 3-1 home win for the Premier League side. In Portugal, Sporting took over at the top of the Super Liga when they defeated hosts Boavista 3-2 and Gil Vicente lost 3-0 at Porto. Dundalk are still top of the table in the Republic of Ireland. At the bottom of the table Finn Harps have closed to within 2 points of Derry City. Celtic top the SPL on goal difference over Rangers after last weekend's matches. Whilst Rangers returned from their visit to Hibs with a 2-1 win, the Celts were surprisingly beaten 1-0 at home by Raith Rovers. Raith have now beaten both halves of the Old Firm this season. Sevilla now head the Primera Liga after they defeated Racing Santander 2-0 at home whilst Real Sociedad had a 2-2 draw at Deportivo. Malaga and Valencia continue to struggle, both losing over the weekend. They are fortunate that none of the bottom three could get a win to overtake them. In Sweden, the surprise defeat of Halmstad at Trelleborg, coupled with Malmö's loss at Hammarby keeps the championship wide open. Elfsborg move to second following their defeat of Orebro and AIK's win over Djurgarden moves them to third. Just three points separate the top four with two games remaining. In the big game in Turkey, Besiktas had a fine 2-1 home win over rivals Fenerbahçe to close within a point of the lead with Adanspor and Galatasaray a further point behind. Gençlerbirligi, Samsunspor and Sekerspor make up the bottom three. TN Solutions have taken over at the top of the Welsh Premier Division after their fine 3-0 home win over Caersws in the top of the table clash. Afan Lido and Oswestry Town continue to search for their first victories of the season. Cup Roundup The Second Round of the Croatian Cup took place on Wednesday and half the Quarter-Finalists will be Second Division clubs. Nehaj had an excellent 2-0 win at First Division Marsonia and Uljanik also beat First Division opposition when they beat Segesta on penalties following a 1-1 draw. These two clubs will meet in the Quarters, guaranteeing that there will be at least one representative from the Second Division in the Semis. The other lower-league teams contesting Semi-Final places are Samobor and Otok. 30,000 fans saw Rosenborg complete the domestic double when they defeated Brann 2-1 in the Norwegian Cup Final on Sunday at the Ulleval Staium in Oslo. Nigerian forward Bala Garba (29, F RC) gave the League champions the lead after 15 minutes but Petter Furuseth Olsen (25, S C) equalised for Brann on the half hour. Ten minutes before half time Havard Karlsen (26, AM RC) scored what proved to be the winning goal for Rosenborg. The League champs dominated the rest of the game but could not add to their tally The Third Round matches in the Russian Cup were completed during the week and two non-league teams have progressed to the last 16. Lada Togliatti had a fine 1-0 home win over struggling Premier League side Rubin Kazan. Dinamo Makhachkala had an even more impressive home win by the same score over Torpedo Moscow who currently lie 8th in the Premiership. They are joined in the next round by First Division clubs SKA Rostov-na-Donu, Fakel and Kuban. UEFA Cup The Second Round Second Leg matches were completed this week. Lazio, Juventus, Inter, Sevilla, Villareal and Leverkusen all completed comfortable aggregate wins. Besiktas had an excellent 2-0 win in Spain to eliminate Atletico Madrid. Deportivo fell to Sweden's AIK 1-0 at home after a scoreless first leg and Rangers squeezed through against Greek team Ethnikos Asteras by the same score. Newcastle had a good 2-1 win at Heerenveen for a 3-1 total but Blackburn lost out at Panathinaikos 3-2 on the night and 4-2 overall. An excellent 2-2 draw in Bulgaria saw Aberdeen get past Levski on away goals and in Germany and Porto eliminated Wolfsburg by an identical scoreline. In one of the best results of the evening, PSG crushed Ajax 4-0 in Paris. Spotlight on ….. The Young Guns Following last week's feature on the veterans currently plying their trade around Europe, this week we take a look at the other side of the coin, highlighting some of the younger players strutting their stuff on the pitch. Football pundit Alan Hansen may have made the famous quote about "not winning anything with youngsters", but it seems that quite a few teams in Europe would beg to differ. So let's have a look at some of the up and coming youngsters who are already making their mark in the top flight. Ville Hämäläinen (15, AM RLC) - KuPS, Finland Ville is one of the youngest players ever to have played, and scored, for a senior league team. 12 of his 16 appearances have been as a substitute. Darko Vuka (16, S C) - Cibalia, Croatia A regular starter up front his 6 goals in 11 games have helped his team rise to 4th place in the First Division. Pertti Suomalainen (16, F C) - FC Jaro, Finland With 11 goals in his 25 senior appearances, this young Finn has made an impressive start to his career. Giannis Arabatzis (16, D C) - Kavala, Greece This strapping young defender is a regular starter for his club in the top Greek division. Craig Burns (16, GK) - Coleraine, Northern Ireland Young Craig has played in 9 of his club's 12 league games and has helped them get to 3rd place in the Premier Division. Martin Paterson (16, ML) - St. Pat's Athletic, Republic of Ireland This Scottish winger has made 11 senior appearances, including 3 in European matches, and has scored twice for the club. Mark Taylor (16, D LC) - Welshpool, Wales With 9 senior starts so far this season, Mark isn't quite a first team regular, but is making a good contribution to the team nonetheless. Francisco Javier Padilla (16, D LC) - Villarreal, Spain His single appearance for his club has made Francisco the youngest player to appear in the Primera Liga. Cherno Samba (17, S C) - Millwall, England This young striker is tipped for greatness and his 5 goals in 10 games demonstrate his eye for goal. Jean-Francois Nicoli (17, AM/F L) - Bordeaux, France This young forward has made 7 league appearances and has also played 7 times in European matches as Bordeaux negotiated the Inter-Toto Cup to qualify for the UEFA Cup. Agelos Moukeas (17, GK) - Iraklis, Greece This mature young man is the first-choice keeper for his club and has also been capped at U21 level for his country. James Milner (17, AM/F RC) - Leeds, England Young Mr. Milner is currently on loan at SPL side St. Johnstone where he has contributed 4 goals in 7 games. Wayne Rooney (18, S C) - Everton, England The original boy wonder has already racked up 86 senior appearances and scored 18 goals since 2001/2002. He is still to win a full English cap, but that cannot be too long in coming. Mads Beierholm (18, AM RC) - Inter, Italy A regular starter in Seria A, this young Dutchman is an important part of the Inter midfield. Jonas Johansen (18, AM C) - AEK, Greece This young Norwegian has 2 caps for his country and has made 6 appearances in the Champions League for AEK this season. Alexander Farnerud (19, AM/F RLC) - Parma, Italy This versatile young Swede joined Parma last season and is now a regular starter in the first team. He has contributed 4 goals so far this season and already has 10 caps for his country. Arjen Robben (19, AM/F LC) - PSV, Holland Surely a superstar in the making, this young striker has notched 5 goals in 11 games this season and has been capped at U21 level. Jonathan Blondel (19, AM C) - Tottenham, England This exciting young Belgian midfielder has not yet established his place in the Spurs first team but he has 16 international caps and has scored 4 times for his country. Alexandr Kerzhakov (20, F C) - 1860 Munchen, Germany This Russian striker is not only very experienced for such a young player (127 league games and 47 goals together with 21 caps and 8 goals) but he is valued at an incredible £14.25M. Game of the Week Saturday October 25th, 2003 German Bundesliga Hertha BSC 4 Schalke 04 4 The home side lined up in a variation of a 3-5-2 formation, with 3 centre backs and the wide players in a 5-man midfield withdrawn as wingbacks. The visitors also employed 3 centre backs and 2 wide midfielders playing as wingbacks. One of their central midfielders was pushed forward to play just behind the front two. The match did not take long to provide the home fans with something to cheer about. After just 5 minutes, Alves had the ball in the net after Frank Rost had spilled a header from Batistuta, but the Brazilian's effort was ruled out due to an offside decision. Five minutes after that Alves had the ball in the net once more and this time his effort counted. Bart Goor was the provider, sending in a teasing cross after his strong run down the flank. Another 5-minute wait and another goal to cheer, this time a stunning half-volley from Florentin Dumitru after good work from Pienaar. Schalke worked hard to get back into the match and Malbranque tested Jaroslav Drobny with a diving header that the keeper did well to turn round the post for a corner. It proved to be a brief respite as Vermant gathered the ball after Rehmer had cleared the corner. His pass picked out Malbranque who shot home from a tight angle. The home side restored their two-goal advantage when Batistuta headed home from a Stefan Beinlich cross. The veteran Argentinean striker joined Hertha in a free transfer from Roma at the end of August and he was still a real danger in front of goal. The Schalke players did not let their heads drop, despite the 3-1 scoreline, but Hertha were pressing hard for more goals. Dumitru forced a good save from Frank Rost and Molina blazed wide when it looked easier to score. But just a few minutes before half time, the visitors pulled another goal back when Asamoah produced a penetrating run from inside his own half that culminated in Núñez heading home his floated cross. Within minutes of the restart it was all square. Asamoah was the initiator once again, this time sending in a low ball behind the defence that Sven Vermant drove home. The match began to bog down into a midfield stalemate but on the hour mark this was broken when the Schalke captain Emile Mpenza completed a great comeback by the visitors. Núñez made a strong run down the right wing and his cross was well converted by the Belgian striker for his 10th goal of the season. The home side looked shocked by this reversal but they gradually began to get back into their stride. The determination and drive of Bart Goor was a major factor in their recovery and he posed a threat to the visitors whenever he was in possession of the ball. Alves came close to an equaliser, but Rost was equal to his shot. With time running out, David Mendes found the tireless Goor on the edge of the area and the Belgian winger fired home a superb volley to get a last gasp equaliser. Teams Hertha BSC: Jaroslav Drobny (Gábor Király 88), Florentin Dumitru, Bart Goor, David Mendes, Marko Rehmer, Josip Simunic (captain), Steven Pienaar (Zecke 68), Mauricio Molina, Alex Alves, Gabriel Batistuta, Stefan Beinlich Subs not used: Arne Friedrich, Dick van Burik, Chen Yang, Andreas Schmidt Schalke 04: Frank Rost, Gerald Asamoah, Sven Vermant, Tomasz Waldoch, AnÃbal Matellán, Marinho, Steed Malbranque, Mario Antonio Núñez, Sebastián Abreu (Sá Pinto 79), Emile Mpenza (captain), Mike Zonneveld Subs not used: Benjamin Wingerter, Volkan Ãœnlü, Octavio DarÃo RodrÃguez, Stefan Costel Grigorie, Niels Oude Kamphuis Scorers Hertha BSC: Alves 11, Dumitru 16, Batistuta 26, Goor 90 Schalke 04: Malbranque 19, Núñez 42, Vermant 49, Mpenza 60 Man of the Match: Bart Goor Attendance: 39,196 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gino Posted November 2, 2003 Share Posted November 2, 2003 Brilliant Great website as well Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobBev Posted November 6, 2003 Author Share Posted November 6, 2003 European Soccer Weekly Issue 15 - Friday November 7th, 2003 News There was major transfer news from Germany today as Kaiserslautern bought Emile Mpenza (25, S C) from Schalke 04 for £16.25M. The Belgian striker has been in sparkling form this season, averaging a goal a game for his former employers. Nürnberg have also been dipping into their pockets, having shelled out £7.5M for Robson Ponte (27, F RC) from Wolfsburg. We hear reports from Poland that Wieslaw Kedzia, the manager of Arka, will shortly be departing the club. The club are rock bottom of Group B in the First Division. We also hear on the grapevine that Muhsin Ertugral, the boss of Turkish Premier Division outfit Gençlerbirligi, is living on borrowed time as his team drift towards the relegation places. League Roundup In Croatia, Osijek beat Sibinek 2-0 to close the gap on Hajduk to just 1 point after the leaders dropped points in a 3-3 draw at Zadar. Kamen Ingrad moved off the bottom of the table after beating fellow-strugglers Marsonia 2-0. FC Midtjylland stay top of the Danish Premier Division. The good form of FC København continues and two wins in a week takes them up to 4th place. But Brøndby's inconsistency continues and they still lie 5th. Esbjerg fB show no signs of improvement and are now 6 points adrift at the foot of the table. In the EPL Middlesbrough stay a point clear of Manchester United having played a game more. Arsenal, Southampton and Blackburn are only separated by goal difference and a mere 2 points separates the top five. West Brom have dropped into the bottom three with Brighton and Sunderland. In France, defending champions Nantes stay top, Sedan hold second place and Nice continue to impress in third place. In the Bundesliga, Nürnberg bounced back from their first defeat of the season by beating Hertha BSC 3-1 at home to maintain their 4-point lead. Cottbus fall to bottom place after their 6th successive league defeat and their 5-2 loss at VfB Stuttgart sees their opponents climb out of the bottom three. Olympiakos still lead the way in Greece, with Panathinaikos three points back in second. Feyenoord stay top of the Eredivisie with Ajax 4 points adrift. Groningen climb to third and are now unbeaten in their last 6 league games. In Serie A, Inter still head Milan on goal difference with Sampdoria just a point further back. All three won at the weekend but Inter's 5-0 demolition of struggling Palermo was particularly noteworthy. Bottom club Ancona are in an awful slump, with their opening-day win over Ascoli the last time that they gained any league points. In Northern Ireland, Portadown still hold a 6-point lead over Linfield and have only 1 league defeat in 13 matches. At the bottom, Institute have an almost mirror image record, with but a single win in 12 contests. The final promotion/relegation issues was settled in Norway last weekend as Sogndal will remain in the Premier Division after they completed a 5-2 aggregate win over Tromsdalen. The Polish First Division has now reached the end of the first phase of the competition where the 16 teams are split into two groups. Each group plays home and away matches in the first half of the season. Then the best 4 teams of each group are placed in the 'Championship Group', while the bottom 4 teams of each group are placed in a 'Relegation Group'. After the first half of the season, teams carry forward half of their points into the second phase. In the event of an odd number of points, the points are rounded up. This leads to some interesting anomalies in the overall table where teams in the bottom 8 may have more points than teams in the top 8 due to the nature of the group phase. With the next round of games due to start in a week, Odra Wodzislaw head the table, closely followed by Legia, Ruch Chorzow and Wislaw. Sporting maintain a 2-point gap over Gil Vicente in the Super Liga with Porto and Benfica continuing to progress to 4th and 5th respectively. In the Irish Republic, Dundalk's runaway form continues as they remain unbeaten in the league with a 2-1 win at second-placed Bohemians opening up a 7-point gap at the top. Shamrock Rovers are 3 points further back in 3rd, but do have a couple of games in hand. The Russian Premier League is set for a dramatic final day showdown. Krylja Sovetov regain the top spot on goal difference after their 3-2 home defeat of Dinamo Moscow as Lokomotiv Moscow are held scoreless at Shinnik. Only goal difference separates the top two and they will face one another in a title decider in Moscow in ten days time. With Celtic being held to a 1-1 draw at Hearts, Rangers go top of the SPL after their 2-1 defeat of Dundee, although the Celts have played a game less. Raith Rovers cling on to 3rd place on goal difference over Dundee United and Motherwell remain at the foot of the table. In the Primera Liga, Sevilla head Real Sociedad by a single point having played one game less. Barcelona lurk in 3rd place, 3 points behind the leaders but with a game in hand. Malaga drop into the bottom three and Valencia manage just their second win of the season over fellow strugglers Oviedo. Halmstad have secured the Premiership title in Sweden with one game remaining. Their 1-0 win at home to AIK, combined and the 0-0 draw between Malmö FF and Trelleborg, means that the champions have a 5-point lead and cannot be overtaken. Despite picking up that battling point, Trelleborg are relegated along with Landskrona. A 1-0 win for Assyriska at DjurgÃ¥rden sees them move out of the relegation playoff place and they are replaced by Norrköping who lost 2-1 at ÖIS. The Turkish Premier Division is beginning to have a familiar look about it as Fenerbahçe, Besiktas and Galatasaray hold the top three places. All three clubs won at the weekend and are separated by just 2 points. TN Solutions stay top in Wales and Port Talbot Town move up to second, following their 5th win in 5 games. The table is very tight, with a mere 3 points between 2nd and 12th. Cup Roundup The Belgian Cup 6th Round was played last Sunday and perhaps the biggest surprise of the day was the defeat of First Division Anderlecht by RCS Visétois. The Second Division club led the visitors 2-1 with minutes remaining, but Anderlecht managed a late equaliser to force extra time. The home side scored twice in the extra period for a fine 4-2 win. Three other Division One clubs were beaten by Second Division opposition. Westerlo were despatched 2-1 away to Denderleeuw, Lommel were soundly beaten 2-0 at home by Olen and Lierse lost out on penalties to visiting Heusden after a scoreless encounter. Third Division FC Brussels had an excellent 3-0 home win over Second Division Patro. The Croatian Cup Quarter Finals are played over two legs, and the first matches were played during the week. Four Second Division Clubs were involved. Samobor and Otok both lost 2-0 away from home and will have it all to do in the return legs. The remaining two played one another, and there was little to choose between Uljanik and Nehaj following a 1-1 draw. The English League Cup Third Round was completed this week and there were one or two surprises. Several Second Division clubs saw success. Oldham beat Arsenal 2-1 at home, Norwich beat visiting Southampton 2-1 after extra time and Hull disposed of First Division Leicester 1-0. First Division representatives Birmingham won at home to EPL leaders Middlesbrough 3-1 and Reading soundly beat Wolves 3-0. Two Division Three clubs also had good results with Oxford triumphing over visiting First Division Notts Forest 2-1 after extra time and Wrexham travelling to Wimbledon of Division One and winning 3-1. The Second Round of the Dutch cup took place at the weekend and several Premier Division clubs were ousted by First Division opposition. ADO had a comprehensive 3-0 defeat at home to Emmen and Cambuur lost a tight game to visitors Eindhoven by a 3-2 scoreline. Excelsior defeated visitors Twente 3-2 after extra time, Willem II lost 2-1 to visiting Volendam and Fortuna beat hosts Zwolle 1-0. In the Republic of Ireland, the League Cup Quarter Final matches took place during the week. First Division Dublin City disposed of Premier Division Kildare County 3-1 and will join fellow D1 team Galway Utd in the Semis. The Second Leg ties in the Welsh League Cup Semi Finals both resulted in narrow wins. Barry Town triumphed over Barry City 1-0 on aggregate and Carmarthern Town sneaked past Newtown 2-1 in total. Champions League The final Phase 1 group matches were played out this week in the Champions League. In Group A, victories for Manchester United and FC Bayern saw them both qualify with United winning the group. Rosenborg took the UEFA Cup slot in 3rd place. Roma and Athletic Bilbao finished off their Group B campaign with wins and the Italians won the group. Rapid Vienna took the UEFA Cup place. In Group C a 2-1 home win for Liverpool over Dinamo Kiev saw them head the group as AEK had a scoreless draw at home to Nantes to take second place, with the French team finishing 3rd. PSV topped Group D despite losing 1-0 at Betis who finished second. The 1-0 defeat of Torpedo Moscow by Kaiserslautern saw the Russians drop to 3rd and into the UEFA Cup. A 3-0 home win for Arsenal over Spartak Moscow saw then top Group E by a distance. Celtic were denied second place by Parma after they failed to hold on to a 2-0 lead in Glasgow. The Italians came back to get a draw and ensure their qualification, dropping Celtic into the UEFA Cup. In Group F, Barcelona and Olympiakos shared the points in a 3-3 thriller in Athens meaning that the Spaniards were group winners and the Greeks qualified in second place. The 1-0 win by Hannover 96 over Stabæk was not enough to allow the Germans to overtake their opponents, so the Norwegians finish 3rd. Milan were comfortable winners of Group G, finishing off with a 5-1 drubbing of second-placed Lyon. Feyenoord slumped to a 2-1 defeat by Sporting in Lisbon, when a win would have propelled them above Lyon. Fenerbahçe's 3-2 home defeat by group winners Dortmund meant that Real Madrid sneaked into second place after they beat Elfsborg 2-0 in Spain. Spotlight on ….. The Norwegian Premier Division Now that the 2003 season in Norway is complete, this is an excellent time to review events there. Rosenborg won an unprecedented 12th consecutive Premier Division title, finishing 9 points clear of their nearest rivals. They also completed the domestic double by triumphing in the Norwegian Cup Final. Brann 2002 - 12th 2003 - 3rd Manager Age Hareide led Brann to their best league finish for several seasons. They pushed the champions all the way until a slump in form late on cost them dear. They lost 3 of their last 5 games, including a crucial showdown at Rosenborg where they were soundly beaten 5-1. They also lost out to Rosenborg in the Cup Final, suffering a narrow 2-1 defeat. Highly rated midfielders Alex Valencia (24, AM/F RLC) and Tommy Knarvik (24, AM/F C) performed consistently well all season. Their strike pairing of Petter Furuseth Olsen (25, S C) and ex-Aberdeen player Robbie Winters (29, S C) scored 25 goals between them. L/F Hønefoss 2002 - First Division Champions 2003 - 14th (Relegated) Lars TjærnÃ¥s was unable to keep his newly promoted team in the top flight. His side struggled all season, managing just 5 wins and scoring less than a goal a game. It is hard to pick out any player in the squad that performed well - they just looked out of their depth at this level. The best of the bunch were midfielder Joachim Liknes (21, M R) and striker Kamal Saaliti (24, S C). Lillestrøm 2002 - 10th 2003 - 10th This was another very disappointing season for manager Hein Henriksen and his side. Great things were expected from the team after they finished as Premier Division runners-up in 2001, but the supporters are now very disillusioned after another poor league campaign. A good cup run saw them reach the Semi-Finals, but they lost out to Brann in a replay. Key midfielder Pal Strand (27, AM RL) is reported to be keen to move on to a bigger club. Lyn 2002 - 6th 2003 - 2nd Teitur Thordarson led his team to a fine second place finish, just pipping Brann on goal difference. Much of the credit for this performance must go to their Icelandic striker Helgi Sigurdsson (29, S C) who scored 15 league goals. Club captain Steven Lustu (32, D C) was a key figure in defence and Aleksander Midtsian (21, AM LC) was the key provider in midfield. Molde 2002 - 5th 2003 - 4th Manger Gunder Bengtsson guided his team to another excellent season, finishing just a point behind the second and third placed teams. In Icelandic striker Andri Sigtorsson (26, S C) they have the most prolific scorer in Norwegian football. He scored 21 league goals and 28 in all competitions this season. Experienced defender Roger Nilsen (34, D C) was hugely influential in defence, and helped Molde to the one of the best defensive records in the division, with only 9 league goals conceded at home all season. Midfield provider Magne Hoseth (23, AM/F LC) will be leaving the club at the end of this year as he has agreed a transfer to German club 1.FC Köln. Moss 2002 - 3rd 2003 - 8th After last season's fine showing in the league, this year's 8th place finish was a major disappointment to manager Erik Barkstad. Striker Fredrik Henriksen (25, S C) was one of the few successes of the season, playing consistently well and netting a dozen goals in all competitions. Odd Grenland 2002 - 4th 2003 - 9th It has been a turbulent time for the club, with several changes of manager in the last 18 months. Trond Sollied is the latest man in the hot seat following his appointment at the end of September. He had been out of the game for over a year after his dismissal from Club Brugge in Belgium. Generally his players under-achieved this season, although Christian Flindt Bjerg (29, AM RLC) did play well in the centre of midfield and Andreas Hermansson (30, S C) contributed 14 goals. Rosenborg 2002 - 1st 2003 - 1st Manager Nils Arne Eggen confirmed his team's superiority by winning the domestic double. Last season he led his team to the UEFA Cup Final loosing 1-0 to Barcelona. Nearly £7M has been invested in players in the past two seasons to ensure that Rosenborg remain pre-eminent. The biggest purchases were the £1.3M spent to bring Rune Buer Johansen (30, D/AM RC) from Songdal last April and the £1.2M investment in Per Egil Swift (31, M LC) who joined from Lyn this April. This was partly financed by the sale of Janne Saarinen (26, D/DM L) to Aston Villa for £3.5M in March. The clubs best performers this season have been Havard Karlsen (28, AM RC), club captain Fredrik Winsnes (27, DM LC), Christer George (24, F RLC) and his strike partner Bala Ahmed Garba (29, F RC). Between them the two strikers have scored 27 goals. Sogndal 2002 - 9th 2003 - 12th Trobjørn Glomnes and his team had to survive a relegation playoff in order to preserve their top-flight status. Their top performer was undoubtedly club captain Rune Bolseth (23, M C). His 10 goals and 12 assists were crucial for the club's survival. It must be of great concern to the manager that his young star seems keen to move on to progress his career. Stabæk 2002 - 2nd 2003 - 5th Gaute Larsen led his tem to their best ever league finish last season, but he was unable to repeat his feat again in 2003. Christian Wilhelmsson (24, F RC) had a productive season and club captain Inge Andre Olsen (25, D C) was an influential and reliable figure in defence. Young keeper Emile Waters (20, GK) made his debut at the end of the season and looks to be a real star in the making. Start 2002 - 11th 2003 - 11th For the second season in succession Ingmar Uglem's team finished just above the relegation playoff place. In a mediocre team only Lithuanian Ricardas Benicius (23, S C) and Fredrik Strømstad (21, M C) were worthy of note. The striker contributed 11 goals and the midfielder chipped in with 8 more, plus 6 assists. Tromsø 2002 - 2nd in First Division 2003 - 13th (relegated) The second of last season's promoted teams also failed to prolong their presences in the Premier Division and manager Trond Johansen will be back in Division One next year. Top scorer Peter Kovacs (25, S C) had a falling out with Johansen and has stated his desire to leave the club. Strike partner Kjetil Kristiansen (23, F C) contributed 8 assists to go with his 9 goals. VÃ¥lerenga 2002 - 7th 2003 - 6th It was another steady, if unexciting, season for Knut Thorbjørn Eggen and his team. Top midfielder Tobias Grahn (23, AM/F RC) had another excellent season, with 10 goals and 13 assists and strikers Kristen Viikmae (24, AM/F C) and Morten Berre (28, F RLC) scored 30 goals between them. Overall Eggen has a talented and versatile squad and it is somewhat surprising that he does not achieve more with the players at his disposal. Viking 2002 - 8th 2003 -7th It was a middling performance from a team that has a reputation as Cup specialists. Having won the trophy for the last 2 seasons and reached the final in 2000, it was a disappointment to see them go out in the 3rd Round this year, losing 1-0 to the eventual winners, Rosenborg. Manager Benny Lennartsson has built a large squad over the last 2 years, with some 21 players coming in, although most at a quite modest cost. But it was homegrown striker Erik Nevland (25, S C) that impressed most this season with his 17 goals. Sebastien Goldstein (27, SW/D C) and club captain Bjørn Dahl (25, D RC) have been solid at the back. 2002/2003 Table <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1st C Rosenborg 26 12 1 0 33 15 7 1 5 20 13 59 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2nd Lyn 26 8 3 2 33 19 7 2 4 27 22 50 3rd Brann 26 11 1 1 31 12 5 1 7 24 29 50 4th Molde 26 10 2 1 27 9 5 2 6 24 21 49 5th Stabæk 26 9 2 2 29 17 4 5 4 20 17 46 6th VÃ¥lerenga 26 8 1 4 28 15 2 6 5 25 29 37 7th Viking 26 5 4 4 22 23 4 3 6 16 19 34 8th Moss 26 6 3 4 19 18 1 5 7 14 21 29 9th Odd Grenland 26 4 4 5 20 22 4 1 8 17 23 29 10th Lillestrøm 26 5 4 4 15 16 2 4 7 11 25 29 11th Start 26 5 3 5 25 21 3 0 10 10 25 27 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12th Sogndal 26 5 5 3 23 20 0 4 9 13 29 24 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13th R Tromsø 26 3 3 7 15 23 3 2 8 17 28 23 14th R L/F Hønefoss 26 4 3 6 12 20 1 3 9 12 31 21</pre> Game of the Week Sunday November 1st, 2003 Croatian First Division Zadar 3 Hajduk 3 An extraordinary league encounter between leaders Hajduk and 6th-placed Zadar saw the home side fight back from a 3-0 half time deficit to take a share of the points. Both sides started out with a very positive approach although the first 15 minutes or so did not present any clear chances to either team. The visitors took the lead with their first effort on goal when Petar Krpan volleyed home following some crisp first-time passing that carved through the home defence. Zadar looked to make an immediate response but their attacking move broke down and Hajduk quickly counter-attacked, with EdmÃlson forcing a good save from Tomislav Rogic. The visitors extended their lead when Jurica Puljiz headed home a corner from EdmÃlson. Things started to get a little heated in the aftermath of the second goal and Hajduk had Nenad Loncaric booked. The 18-year-old midfielder narrowly escaped further punishment after another rash challenge and the bench clearly decided that he needed to be replaced before he got himself sent off, so they sent on substitute Kresimir Pavlicic. The home side had a strong penalty appeal turned down on the half hour mark, when Jerko Leko appeared to catch Slobodan Sudec in the area, but the referee waved play on. In the 39th minute Hajduk central defender Anthony Grdic picked up a knock and had to be replaced by Hrvoje Vejic. Josip Butic came close to getting the home side off the mark shortly before the break, but Zlatko Runje dealt with his shot competently. As the game went into stoppage time at the end of the first period, the league leaders scored once more. Their Brazilian midfielder EdmÃlson was on hand to finish off a knock down from Krpan and at 3-0 the game looked safe. However, the second half saw the home side come out with all guns blazing and they subjected the visitors to a period of sustained pressure. They opened their account from the penalty spot following a frantic melee in the Hajduk penalty area. Asim Sehic had shown some sublime skill to nutmeg Leko before delivering a lovely far post cross. Natko Racki saw his header come back off the post and in the scuffle that followed, young Mario Stanic was adjudged to have pushed over Jerko Mikulic and Danijel Kovacevic calmly stroked home the spot kick. Zadar were now dominating the game and had a series of chances that they failed to convert, with Racki and Sudec failing to hit the target from good scoring positions. But their second goal did arrive around the 60 minute mark when Sehic rounded off a 4-man passing move to make the score 3-2. Hajduk were now in some disarray as the home side looked to maintain their momentum and Kovacevic was looking increasingly effective. It was his skilful play that presented Sehic with an opportunity that Runje did well to get a fingertip to. The resulting corner was only half cleared and Crncevic and Sehic combined well to set up Racki, but once again the Hajduk keeper was equal to the challenge. Just after the 70-minute mark the home team's persistence was rewarded with an equaliser. Kovacevic, Sudec, Crncevic and Racki were all involved in a flowing move that was neatly finished off by Butic. This sparked a furious celebration by both the players and the home supporters as they savoured a magnificent fightback. Both sides came close to getting a winning goal in the closing stages as Hrvatin Gudelj tested the home keeper with a strong header and Crncevic kept Runje on his toes. Man of the Match Danijel Kovacevic picked up an unnecessary yellow card right at the end of the match but this did not detract from his excellent performance, as his passing and vision was of the highest standard. Teams Zadar: Tomislav Rogic, Jerko Mikulic, Slobodan Sudec (Tomislav Perkovic 88), Ivica Landeka (captain), Dalibor Zebic, Ivica Piric, Ante Crncevic, Josip Butic, Asim Sehic, Natko Racki, Danijel Kovacevic Subs not used: Jaksa Krstulovic, Damir Boban, Ivan Jerkovic, Zvonimir Juric, Ante Pavlovic, Davor Suker Hajduk: Zlatko Runje, Jerko Leko (captain), Mario Stanic, Anthony Grdic (Hrvoje Vejic 39), Jurica Puljiz, EdmÃlson, Dario Srna, Nenad Loncaric (Kresimir Pavlicic 24 (Darko Miladin 82)), Petar Krpan, Hrvatin Gudelj, Mario Carevic Subs not used: Martin Keos, Mate Bozic, Alen Guc, Fiorenzo Carrettucci Scorers Zadar: Kovacevic 48 (pen), Sehic 57, Butic 72 Hajduk: Krpan 14, Puljiz 21, EdmÃlson 45 Man of the Match: Danijel Kovacevic Yellow Cards Zadar: Danijel Kovacevic Hajduk: Nenad Loncaric Attendance: 9,577 Reader's Letters ESW would like to thank loyal reader Gino for his kind comments. We understand that he is a keen Burnley fan and thought that he may be interested to read more about his favourites. After a respectable 10th place finish in the First Division in 2001/2002, Stan Ternent's team were unfortunately relegated last season, finishing level on points with Ipswich but losing out on goal difference. They currently lie 13th in the Second Division but are just 6 points off the playoff places and just 9 points out of first place in a very competitive division. The Board have kept faith with their loyal manager and he may well reward them with a quick return to Division One. The club's biggest signing is Colin Little (31, F RC) who was transferred from Crewe for a £1.5M fee last November but he has not really produced the goods, having just 3 goals and 4 assists in his nearly 40 appearances. The biggest fee received is the £600K they recently banked for Emmanuel Omoyinmi (25, F RC) from Hull. Forward Robbie Blake (27, F RLC) is having a good season so far. Last season's Supporters Player of the Year has found the net 11 times so far. Strike partner Ian Moore (27, S C) is also in good form with 9 goals to his name. ESW Online has a special section for Gino with full details of the current Burnley team. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gino Posted November 9, 2003 Share Posted November 9, 2003 Ahh cheers Bob, shame to see them on the slide though! If we continue to defend like we did yesterday we might be following them IRL soon. This is fantastic! Keep it up! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobBev Posted November 14, 2003 Author Share Posted November 14, 2003 European Soccer Weekly Issue 16 - Friday November 14th, 2003 News Several managers continue to walk the tightrope in Belgium. Franky Van der Elst at Club Brugge, Jacky Mathijssen at Standard Liege and Walter Meeuws at Antwerp are all under increasing pressure and it seems only a matter of time before at least one of them is sacked. In the Irish Republic Dundalk have head-hunted Ronnie McFall from Northern Irish club Portadown to replace the recently departed Martin Lawlor and ex-Republic International Ray Houghton has left English Conference side Farnborough to take charge at Derry City. The knives are out for Wieslaw Kedzia, manager of Polish club Arka as they currently sit in one of the two automatic relegation places in the First Division. A welcome league win has eased the pressure slightly on Boavista boss Jose Mourinho but he is still in deep trouble. Mario Reis at Valencia and Rafa Benitez of Malaga both teeter on the brink as their teams continue to struggle. On Tuesday the transfer of Markus Weissenberger (28, AM LC) was announced. The Austrian international moved from 1860 Munchen to HSV for a fee of £5M. League Roundup Sint-Truiden visited Charleroi in a top of the table clash in Belgium, with the hosts coming out on top in a 4-3 thriller to leapfrog the visitors and go to the top of the table. Mouscron and La Louviere both lost again to remain in the relegation places. Hajduk maintain their one-point lead over Osijek in Croatia as both teams recorded victories at the weekend. FC Midtyjlland still head the Superligaen, despite a 1-0 home defeat by FC København, whose 4th straight win sees them climb to 3rd place. Bottom club Esbjerg fB picked up 3 points with a home win over OB but are still 7 points adrift. Only goal difference separates Arsenal and Southampton at the top of the EPL, but the Saints have played a game more than the Gunners. The league season is almost complete in Finland, with just the promotion/relegation playoff remaining, both legs of which are played next week. Nantes have opened up a 4-point gap at the top of the French First Division with Rennes and Sedan in second and third. Troyes have moved off the bottom following their unexpected 2-1 win at Marseilles, and Toulouse now prop up the rest. Sunday’s big game in Germany saw Leverkusen record an excellent 3-0 win at home to leaders Nürnberg to take over second place. FC Bayern drop to 3rd after their 1-1 draw at Hertha BSC. Feyenoord stay top in Holland, with AZ and Ajax 3 points adrift and PSV sitting 4th. The top of the table clash in Northern Ireland ended in a 3-1 win for Portadown at Linfield. This extends their lead at the top to 9 points, and even at this early stage it looks like they will take some stopping. At the other end of the table, Institute are 10 points adrift, with still just a single win to their name. Sporting stay top in Portugal with Gil Vicente second and Benfica climbing to third. Académica, Braga and P. Ferreira occupy the relegation places. In the Irish Republic, Dundalk still lead Bohemians by 8 points and Finn Harps and Derry City are the cellar dwellers. In the SPL, the weekend’s Old Firm match saw leaders Rangers travel to Parkhead. A superb midfield performance by captain Barry Ferguson saw the Gers triumph 3-2 to open up a 5-point gap, although the Celts do have a game in hand. Raith Rovers hold on to 3rd place with a 3-2 home win over Aberdeen. Dundee replace Motherwell at the bottom after Motherwell’s 2-1 win over Dunfermline and Dundee’s 3-2 defeat by Livingston. Sevilla stay top in Spain after their 1-0 win over Levante. Barcelona head Real Sociedad on goal difference for second place but Barca have games in hand over both of their rivals. Real Madrid are still struggling and stay 10th following their 1-1 home draw with Racing Santander. Tenerife climbed out of the bottom three after beating fellow strugglers Valladolid 2-1. In Sweden, the relegation playoff place was decided in dramatic fashion as champions Halmstad lost their final game of the season 2-0 at Assyriska. This result meant that Norrköping would be in the playoff despite their 1-0 win over Djurgården. AIK confirmed second place with a good 1-0 win at home to Malmö FF and Hammarby’s excellent 3-0 home win over last season’s champions Elfsborg secured third place. Fenerbahçe stay top in Turkey but Galatasaray leapfrog Besiktas and take over second place. In Wales, TN Solutions stay top and Afan Lido still look for their first win to take them off the bottom of the table. Cup Roundup The Finnish Cup Final took place and the weekend and First Division FC Hämeenlinna pulled off a surprise win over league champions HJK. The game ended scoreless after extra time and FC Hämeenlinna kept their nerve to triumph 5-4 in the penalty shootout. The First Leg games in the Second Round of the Italian Cup produced little in the way of surprises. It looks like the Serie C1/A club Cesena will be going no further following their 3-0 home defeat by Parma and Vicenza from Serie B lost out 3-1 at home to Inter. However, Napoli, the other Serie B team still left in the competition, produced a fine 1-1 draw at Roma and must have a reasonable chance of progressing. In Northern Ireland the League Cup has reached the Semi Final stages, with the First Leg played during the week. It ended scoreless when Premier Division Glenavon visited First Division Limavady Utd. Linfield rounded off a miserable week by losing 2-0 to First Division visitors Crusaders. Euro 2004 Playoffs The three remaining qualifiers for Euro 2004 were decided this week as the playoff matches were completed. In Saturday’s First Leg games Belarus had a comfortable 4-0 win at home to Israel to virtually secure their place. Greece had an equally emphatic 4-1 win at home to the Ukraine, with the visiting keeper Vitaly Reva having a nightmare game, conceding all 4 before being substituted in the 63rd minute. Russia secured a narrow 2-1 win in Moscow over Ireland. The Republic’s captain Roy Keane gave the visitors a valuable away goal early on but two late goals, including a 90th minute winner, sent the Irish home defeated. The Second Legs were played on Wednesday and Israel beat Belarus 1-0 with the Ukraine holding Greece 1-1. At Lansdowne Road in Dublin, the first half was scoreless but Russia took a 3-1 aggregate lead after 57 minutes. However, 4 goals in the last 25 minutes saw the Irish triumph 4-1 on the night and 5-3 overall. Spotlight on ….. The Welsh Premier League The top division in Wales is unique amongst the countries that we cover here at ESW as it has no automatic promotion and relegation. Critics of this approach would say that it breeds complacency and results in many meaningless matches where there is nothing at stake. However, for the successful teams it does offer entry into European competitions. Only Barry Town and TN Solutions are full time professional clubs. Aberystwyth Town 2001/2002 – 5th 2002/2003 – 4th Player/Manager Gary Finley (33, D R) has developed a very consistent side, with two Welsh Cup Quarter Final appearances to go with their 5th and 4th placed league finishes in the last two seasons. Currently lying 4th after 12 games, they look like having another good season in the league. Captain Mark Peters (31, D C) is a steadying influence in defence and young midfielder Jon Fisher-Cooke (21, AM/F R) is making a big impact this season. Strikers Lee Spike (23, F RC) and Bari Morgan (23, F RC) have 28 goals between them in all competitions so far this season. Afan Lido 2001/2002 – 7th 2002/2003 – 17th Mark Robinson’s team had one of their best seasons in 2001/2002 but slumped to second-bottom in the table last season. It is even worse at present, as they are rock bottom with just 3 points and without a win all season. Bangor City 2001/2002 – 2nd 2002/2003 – 13th Another club that slumped last season, Peter Davenport has turned things around a bit this season and Bangor are currently 6th in the table and also reached the League Cup Semi Finals. The star of the squad is undoubtedly striker Jon Keaveney (22, S C) and the youngster has scored 16 goals in 12 league matches and heads the scoring chart by a distance. Barry Town 2001/2002 – 9th 2002/2003 – 2nd The most successful club in the history of the Premier League, Barry have not won the title since 2000/2001 and manager Kenny Brown will be hoping to rectify that this season. They currently sit 8th in the table, so Kenny has a lot of work to do to achieve this ambition. They have the best defensive record in the division with Lee Jarman (25, SW/D C) having a great season alongside captain Lee Phillips (24, D RC) in the heart of the defence. But scoring goals is a problem that will need to be rectified if they are to progress. Caernarfon Town 2001/2002 – 12th 2002/2003 – 10th Caernarfon are one of the smallest teams in the division and manager Adrian Jones has little chance of developing his side into anything other than a mid-table outfit. Danny Barton (29, F RC) stands out from the rest of the squad having found the net 12 times in all competitions this season so far. Caersws 2001/2002 – 11th 2002/2003 – 3rd Veteran manager Mickey Evans led his side to their best ever season in 2002/2003, finishing 3rd in the league and winning the Welsh Cup. Devoid of any outstanding players, Evans has developed a strong team spirit that has taken this tiny club a long way. Carmarthen Town 2001/2002 – 10th 2002/2003 – 6th Last year’s losing Welsh Cup Finalists had a good season under the leadership of Tomi Morgan. They are struggling a little this season and have one of the smallest squads in the division so the long term injury to midfielder Lee Jones (25, D/M RL) is a blow. Connah’s Quay Nomads 2001/2002 – 1st 2002/2003 – 8th Veteran manager Nev Powell led his team to the title and the League Cup Final in 2001/2002 but found it difficult to repeat that success last season. The 62-year-old manager has built one of the largest squads in the division but he is struggling to put results together this season and the club are currently in 15th place in the league. Cwmbran Town 2001/2002 – 18th 2002/2003 – 1st After Cwmbran finished bottom of the league two seasons ago manager Tony Wilcox was fired and replaced by Welsh scoring legend Dean Saunders. The new boss made a huge impact and won the league title at his first attempt. Things are a bit different this season though and his team is currently 14th in the table. This isn’t quite as bad as it sounds are they are just 9 points off the lead. The man himself is still a regular starter up front and has scored 4 goals so far this season. Flexsys Cefn Druids 2001/2002 – 13th 2002/2003 – 18th Last season’s bottom club replaced manager Steve O’Shaughnessy with Lee Williams in May but so far the new man has not been able to turn things around and just one win in 12 games sees his team second from bottom. Haverfordwest 2001/2002 – 4th 2002/2003 – 5th Player/Manager Deryn Brace (28, D RL) is the youngest manager in the top flight anywhere in Europe. He led his team to the Welsh Cup Final in 2001/2002 and they are established as one of the top teams in the division. Currently 3rd in the table, Brace expects to mount a serious title challenge this season. Llanelli 2001/2002 – 17th 2002/2003 – 7th Ex-Welsh International Leighton James has done well to turn his teams fortunes round following their dismal showing two seasons ago. He has shown great faith in his younger players and his first team has a number of youngsters in it. Newtown 2001/2002 – 14th 2002/2003 – 11th Ex-England International Chris Waddle replaced manager Brian Coyne in March of last year and guided the team to a mid-table finish and an appearance in the League Cup Final. But after just 12 months in charge he was tempted to return to England and take charge of Aldershot and he was replaced by Gary Proctor. Key players include Mark Williams (29, S C) and Chris Adamson (25, M RC). Oswestry Town 2001/2002 – 16th 2002/2003 – 16th The side led by player/manager Dave Norman (29, D C) is certainly consistent, as they currently sit 16th in the table! Another very young top-flight manger, Norman has had nothing like the success of the Haverfordwest boss. He has put together a large squad but unfortunately, none of his many players are performing well. Port Talbot Town 2001/2002 – 3rd 2002/2003 – 9th Ex-Liverpool and Wales legend Joey Jones has developed his side into a real force in Welsh football. Despite last season’s blip in the league, his team won the Welsh Cup in 2001/2002 and the League Cup last season and they currently lie second in the table. His team is solid defensively and boasts the best strike partnership in Wales. Andrew Martin (23, F RC) and Steve Carpenter (28, S C) have developed a great understanding and work very well together. Rhyl 2001/2002 – 8th 2002/2003 – 14th Headed by veteran player/manager Roger Freestone (35, GK), this tiny club won the League Cup in 2001/2002 but have tasted little success since. In striker Chris Robinson (21, S C) they have one of the highest valued players in the division, but it is no great surprise that the youngster is keen to move on to a bigger club. TN Solutions 2001/2002 – 6th 2002/2003 – 15th As one of only two professional clubs in the division, much is expected of the team. Ex-Wigan boss Paul Jewell took over from Ken McKenna at the start of this year and his influence now seems to be having some effect as they currently head the league. The squad is probably the most experienced in the division. Winger Jimmy Jackson (27, M L) is in great form, and in striker John Toner (27, F C) the club has one of the few players in Wales valued at over £100K – huge money by these standards. Welshpool 2001/2002 – 15th 2002/2003 – 12th Russ Cadwallader saw a marginal improvement from his team last season and this trend is continuing as they are in 7th place in the table at the moment. Their top performer is the on-loan Northern Ireland international Adrian Coote (25, S C) who has found the net 8 times so far this season. 2002/2003 Table <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1st C Cwmbran Town 34 9 6 2 27 15 12 3 2 39 19 72 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2nd Barry Town 34 8 6 3 36 19 10 4 3 26 16 64 3rd Caersws 34 10 5 2 34 15 7 5 5 18 21 61 4th Aberystwyth Town 34 11 3 3 31 10 6 4 7 18 21 58 5th Haverfordwest 34 9 4 4 28 19 7 5 5 34 28 57 6th Carmarthen Town 34 8 4 5 33 24 5 8 4 30 27 51 7th Llanelli 34 10 2 5 24 13 6 1 10 16 23 51 8th Connah's Quay 34 7 5 5 32 24 5 7 5 24 24 48 9th Port Talbot Town 34 9 2 6 25 18 5 4 8 14 20 48 10th Caernarfon Town 34 10 3 4 32 20 3 5 9 22 34 47 11th Newtown 34 7 4 6 23 25 6 2 9 17 34 45 12th Welshpool 34 7 4 6 31 24 3 6 8 12 24 40 13th Bangor City 34 3 5 9 20 31 8 1 8 34 35 39 14th Rhyl 34 6 4 7 24 33 4 5 8 26 33 39 15th T.N. Solutions 34 7 6 4 15 13 2 1 14 17 42 34 16th Oswestry Town 34 7 1 9 22 26 2 4 11 17 32 32 17th Afan Lido 34 4 6 7 26 31 3 4 10 14 26 31 18th Flexsys Cefn Druids 34 7 3 7 27 27 0 4 13 9 31 28</pre> Game of the Week Wednesday November 12th, 2003 Euro 2004 Playoff Second Leg Ireland 4 Russia 1 (Ireland win 5-3 on aggregate) Trailing 2-1 from the first leg, coach David O’Leary led his side out at Lansdowne Road knowing that they must score at least once in order to progress to the finals in Portugal next summer. The Irish lined up in their usual 4-4-2 formation, but with Robbie Keane playing slightly behind his fellow striker Richard Sadlier. The Russians employed a very defensive formation, looking to preserve their one-goal lead. They lined up with five at the back, although they did use two strikers and one of their midfield trio was playing behind the front two. The Irish began brightly and inside the first 10 minutes Matt Holland and Robbie Keane both tested Ruslan Nigmatullin with stinging shots. But after that the Russians really closed the game down, and denied the Irish any glimpse of a chance for the remainder of the half. The Irish midfield started the second half a little more productively but still could not find any way through the Russian defence. Then in the 57th minute disaster struck for the home side when the visitors created a goal out of nowhere. A long throw from Sergey Semak was headed out by Steve Finnan but the clearance was picked up by substitute Dmitry Sychev who drove the ball home through a crowd of players. Now 3-1 behind, the Irish had it all to do and desperately needed some inspiration. The ineffective Lee Carsley was replaced by Rory Delap and within minutes the Brighton midfielder threaded the ball into the area for Richard Sadlier to fire home. This gave the home side the encouragement that they needed and they started to put real pressure on the visitors. Robbie Keane came very close to a goal but his shot fizzed narrowly over the bar. A strong run from Damien Duff saw the ball end up with Sadlier on the left. He crossed to Robbie Keane who chipped the ball back to Roy Keane. The captain was alert to an intelligent run from Delap and his beautifully flighted ball was headed home by the supersub. It was now 2-1 on the night and all square on aggregate. The Irish were now in full flow, and urged on by the home crowd they set about the Russians with a vengeance. Delap seemed to be involved in everything and he created chances for Robbie Keane and Sadlier in quick succession. Then Keane and Sadlier themselves combined but once again Nigmatullin denied the Millwall striker. Then with 12 minutes remaining the ever-dangerous Sadlier let fly with his right foot only to see the Russian keeper parry the ball into the path on the incoming Matt Holland who side footed calmly home to send Ireland into the lead. The home side did not let the pace of the game drop and Robbie Keane, Ian Harte, Matt Holland and Roy Keane all forced fine saves from Nigmatullin. Just as the 4 minutes of stoppage time was being indicated by the fourth official, the excellent Damien Duff caused havoc in the Russian defence with a penetrating run. He whipped the ball into the near post and Sadlier nipped in front of Nigmatullin for a well-deserved goal to seal a famous victory. As David O’Leary led his team on a lap of honour, even he must have been surprised by the impact that the introduction of Delap made. The furious last 30 minutes more than made up for a disappointing first half, and the Irish will go to Portugal in great spirits and looking to cause a few more upsets in the finals themselves. Teams Ireland: Joe Murphy, Steve Finnan (Stephen Carr 82), Ian Harte, John O’Shea, Andy O’Brien, Matthew Holland, Lee Carsley (Rory Delap 60), Roy Keane (captain), Richard Sadlier, Robbie Keane, Damian Duff Subs not used: Gary Kelly, Dean Kiely, Gary Doherty, Paul Butler, Paul Tierney Russia: Ruslan Nigmatullin, Vadim Yevseev, Andrey Solomatin, Dmitry Ananko (Rolan Gusev 60), Alexey Igonin (Igor Chugainov 52), Alexandr Kolotilko (Dmitry Sychev 47), Sergey Semak, Viktor Onopko (captain), Alexandr Shirko, Alexandr Kerzhakov, Dmitry Khokhlov Subs not used: Vladimir Bestchastnykh, Sergei Ovchinnikov, Valery Yesipov, Oleg Kornaukhov Scorers Ireland: Sadlier 65, 90, Delap 69, Holland 78 Russia: Sychev 57 Man of the Match: Richard Sadlier Yellow Cards Ireland: Roy Keane Attendance: 47,975 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobBev Posted November 14, 2003 Author Share Posted November 14, 2003 ESW Online is now updated. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HD Posted November 14, 2003 Share Posted November 14, 2003 classy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gino Posted November 15, 2003 Share Posted November 15, 2003 That is very cool \o/ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobBev Posted November 21, 2003 Author Share Posted November 21, 2003 Thanks guys European Soccer Weekly Issue 17 - Friday November 21st, 2003 News Antwerp boss Walter Meeuws was given his marching orders this week following yet another defeat. Their recent form has been so bad that they have dropped to 16th in the table, just above the two relegation places. In Poland, Casimir Jagiello jumped from Miedz before he was pushed. With just 1 win all season, his club are bottom of the league. A 5-0 defeat by Academica did not do Jose Mourinho any good at Boavista but he is hanging on grimly to his position. League Roundup Charleroi kept up their winning ways at the top of the Belgian First Division with a 1-0 win at AA Gent. Sint-Truiden were kept scoreless at 4th placed Racing Genk but hold on to second place. Anderlecht’s 1-0 defeat of Antwerp keeps them third. In Croatia, Hajduk came from behind to beat Mosor 3-2 to stay top of the table. Osijek brought a 2-1 win home from Varteks to stay second and Dinamo’s 4-1 win at home to Rijeka keeps them third. It’s tight at the top in Denmark as FC Midtjylland drop to third following their 1-0 home defeat by AGF. AaB came out 5-3 winners in an exciting encounter with Viborg FF to go top and FC København overcame Herfølge 2-1 in Copenhagen to go second. Arsenal stay top of the EPL after they defeated bottom side Sunderland 1-0 at the Stadium of Light. Manchester United move up to second place following their 1-0 defeat of Liverpool at Anfield and Southampton remain third despite losing 2-0 at home to Leeds. Everton have dropped into the bottom three as a result of their 1-0 defeat at West Ham. The last of the relegation and promotion issues was settled in Finland when the playoff was completed. The first leg saw First Division PP-70 travel to AC Allianssi and gain a 2-1 win. The return leg in Tampere ended 2-2 meaning that PP-70 will play in the Premier Division next year. Nantes stay top of the French First Division on goal difference over Sedan, having played two games less. Rennes and Marseille are even on points in 3rd and 4th, as are Lens and Nice in 5th and 6th. Troyes, Guingamp and Toulouse still fill the relegation places. Leverkusen have taken over the leadership of the German First Division following their outstanding 4-0 defeat of FC Bayern in Munich. Bayern had two players dismissed in the first 30 minutes to gift the game to the visitors. Nürnberg were held to a scoreless draw by visiting Greuther Fürth to drop to second and Schalke’s 3-1 defeat of Werder Bremen took them to third. M'gladbach had a comprehensive 4-0 win over fellow strugglers Cottbus to lift them up to 16th, just a point away form moving out of the relegation places. PAO move to the top in Greece on goal difference after their 1-0 defeat of Kalamaria and the 2-1 win by AEK at Olympiakos, who slip to second. Aris are two points behind in 3rd and AEK, Ethnikos Asteras and Aigaleo are only separated by goal difference. Panionios and Giannena continue to struggle at the bottom. There were only a couple of games played in Holland, but wins for Ajax and Groningen have moved them up to 2nd and 3rd respectively. Haarlem, MVV and Zwolle are beginning to lose touch with the rest. Milan go top of Serie A having had a good 4-1 home win over Lazio and Sampdoria move to second after beating visitors Bologna 2-1. Inter drop down to 3rd after being held to a 1-1 draw at Roma and Parma’s 4-0 defeat of Chievo keeps them 4th. Torino were the only one of the bottom four to get a win and they have moved to 15th, two points away from escaping the relegation zone. Portadown still head the Premier Division in Northern Ireland, but Coleraine have moved up to second following an excellent 3-1 win over the leaders. Institute are already 14 points adrift at the bottom and look certain to be relegated. In Poland, Legia top the table on goal difference from Wisla with Widzew third. Arka and Miedz are in the relegation places whilst Polonia and Amica occupy the relegation playoff spots. Dundalk keep their 8-point lead over Bohemians and Shamrock Rovers in the ROI Premier League with Derry City and Finn Harps propping up the rest. The championship decider in Moscow between Lokomotiv Moscow and Krylja Sovetov saw the visitors pull off a fine 2-1 win to take the title. Spartak Moscow, champions 10 times in the last 12 seasons, finished 3rd and CSKA 4th. Uralan joined Chernomorets in the relegation zone, having lost their final game 2-1 at Spartak. Rangers stay top of the SPL after their 2-1 defeat of Motherwell who dropped to last place because of Dundee’s 3-3 draw at Hibs. Celtic triumphed 3-1 in Aberdeen to stay second and Dundee United moved into 3rd place above Raith Rovers after they beat them 2-1. In Spain, Sevilla remain at the top of the table following a 1-0 win over Levante and Barcelona’s 3-1 defeat of Villarreal moved them up to 2nd. Real Sociedad’s 1-1 draw at struggling Malaga dropped them to 3rd and Deportivo’s 2-1 win over Espanyol keeps them 4th. The 2-1 win by Tenerife over Valladolid moves them out of the bottom 3 with their place being taken by the team they defeated. Besiktas have taken over at the top in Turkey as they returned from Denizlispor with a 3-1 win and Fenerbahçe dropped points in a 1-1 draw at Kayserispor. Galatasaray drop to 3rd after losing 2-1 at D. Bakirspor. Sekerspor are still rock bottom with Yozgatspor dropping into the bottom three. With just 5 points separating the top 8 in Wales, things are pretty tight. TN Solutions stay top on goal difference over Haverfordwest, Port Talbot Town are 3rd and Aberystwyth Town are 4th. Afan Lido still bring up the rear and remain without a win this season. Cup Roundup The Second Leg matches in the Croatian Cup Quarter Finals took place on Wednesday. Hajduk completed a narrow 1-0 aggregate win over rivals Dinamo. Sibenik defeated Second Division Otok 4-2 over the two legs whilst Cibalia disposed of Second Division Samobor 2-0 in total. The Semis will feature one Divison Two team however, as Nehaj overturned a 1-0 deficit into a 4-2 aggregate win over Uljanik in the all Division Two clash. The First Round of the English FA Cup produced one or two surprises. Third Division Chesterfield beat Second Division Brentford 2-0 at home and Divison Three club Chester defeated Second Division Stoke 1-0 in Stoke. Second Division Notts Country were beaten 2-0 at Third Division Macclesfield. There were some good wins for several Conference sides. Farnborough had a 2-1 home win over Third Division Colchester and Southport had a good 3-0 home win over Third Division Rochdale. Scarborough beat Division Two Mansfield 2-1 and Kidderminster disposed of Rushden from Division Two by a 2-0 scoreline. Two non-league teams recorded wins over Third Division opposition. Welling United beat Exeter 1-0 and Newport defeated Leyton Orient by the same scoreline. In Northern Ireland, the League Cup Semi Finals were decided after the second leg ties were played this week. First Division Crusaders had a great 2-0 home win over Linfield to even the aggregate score and force extra time before winning the shootout 5-3. They will face Premier Division Glenavon after they beat Limavady United 1-0 in a very tight encounter. The 4th Round of the Portuguese Cup featured some high-scoring games but little in the way of giant-killing. The biggest shock was probably the 2-0 home win by Second Division Rio Ave over Maritimo. Non-League Estrela Portalegre had a good 2-1 win at Moscavide of Division 2B, with another 2B team, Lousada, beating Second Division Imortal 4-2. Non-League Camarate pushed 2B club Oliveirense all the way before losing 4-3 after extra time and fellow non-leaguers Fafe came away from 2B Odivelas with a 3-3 draw. Division 2B Esperanca de Lagos just lost out to Second Division Felgueiras 4-3 after extra time and Division 2B clubs Camacha and Seixal fought out a 4-4 draw. Finally the Premiership clashes between E. Amadora and Boavista and Gil Vicente against Porto finished 3-3 and 4-4 respectively. The 4th Round of the Russian Cup held few surprises, but the biggest shock was the defeat of Dinamo Moscow by First Division Fakel. The Quarter Finals don’t take place until next April but there is a non-league representative in the last 8 as Lada beat fellow non-leaguers Dinamo Makhachkala on penalties after a scoreless draw. Champions League The second phase group matches got underway this week. In Group A Arsenal got their campaign off to a flying start with a 1-0 win over FC Bayern in Munich and Roma had a good 2-0 win at home to Real Madrid. Lyon upset Barcelona in Group B with a 2-1 home win and AEK went back to Greece with a satisfactory 1-1 draw at PSV. Both the Group C matches finished scoreless as Athletic Bilbao tied Liverpool and Milan couldn’t breakthrough a spirited Olympiakos defence. It was also tight in Group D with Dortmund getting a point at Betis with a 1-1 draw and Manchester United sneaking past Parma 1-0 at Old Trafford. UEFA Cup The Third Round got underway on Thursday with the First Leg matches being played. Aberdeen did well to hold Inter to a 1-1 draw at Pittodrie, Celtic returned from Beira-Mar scoreless whilst Rangers achieved the same result in Toulouse. Newcastle suffered a major reverse in Spain with a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Villarreal and England’s sole representatives have a mountain to climb in the return. Leverkusen had a comfortable 3-0 win in Belgium against Racing Genk and look set to make the Fourth Round in style. FC København had an excellent 3-0 win at home to Porto and Lazio triumphed 2-1 at Bordeaux. Besiktas fought a rearguard action in Greece and shocked PAO with a 3-2 win although compatriots Fenerbahçe lost 1-0 at home to Nantes. Nordic rivals AIK and Rosenborg shared the spoils 1-1 in Sweden and the match between Juventus and Feyenoord in Turin ended with the same score. In the Eastern European clashes Maribor held visitors Torpedo Moscow to a scoreless draw and Wisla beat CSKA 4-2 in Krakow. Trelleborg and Sevilla finished scoreless in Sweden, Stabæk had a good 3-1 win over Panachaiki of Greece and Rapid Vienna narrowly beat PSG 1-0. Spotlight on ….. The Finnish Premier League With all of the promotion and relegation issues now settled in Finland, it’s time to take a look back at the season just finished. All of the teams in the top division are semi-professional and there is very little money in the game in Finland. Last season’s top two swapped places this season with defending champions MyPa finishing as runners-up and HJK taking the title. AC Allianssi and KuPS were relegated with FC Korsholm and PP-70 gaining promotion from the First Division. FC Hämeenlinna provided an upset by denying HJK the domestic double when they won the Finnish Cup. AC Allianssi 2002 – 6th 2003 – 11th (relegated) Allianssi parted company with manager Ari Tiittanen at the end of July but new boss Jukka Vakkila couldn’t stave off relegation. They ended up in the playoff spot and were defeated over two legs by First Division PP-70. FC Haka 2002 – 7th 2003 – 4th Olavi Huttenen led his team to a successful season, their 4th place league finish being combined with a Cup Semi-Final appearance. Their top performers were strike pair Toni Lehtinen (19, S C) and Valeri Popovich (33, S C). The young Finn and the veteran Russian scored 30 goals between them. FC Jazz 2002 – 5th 2003 – 9th Jussi Ristimäki saw his side have quite a disappointing season after a good league finish last year. They only lost 2 home games all season but their away form let them down badly. Their most influential players were the versatile Romanian Vasile Marchis (31, SW/D/DM C) and Brazilian winger Rodrigo (32, F LC). Rodrigo was their most creative player, providing 16 assists during the season. Their veteran defender Rami Nieminen (37, D C) looked as solid as ever at the back. GBK (Gamlakarleby Bollklubb) 2002 – First Division North Champions 2003 – 10th After winning the First Division championship last season, Grigory Yevtushenko and his team found life in the Premier Division hard going, only avoiding a relegation playoff on goal difference. Out of their quite large squad only Antti Mäkelä (21, D LC), Christian Lindqvist (31, D C) and Markus Manninen (23, D/M LC) looked capable of playing at this level. HJK Helsinki 2002 – 2nd 2003 – 1st After finishing as runners-up for the last 3 seasons, Keith Armstrong finally led his team to the title this season. This has been achieved without adding a single player to their playing staff for the last 2 years. The veteran forward Niclas Gronhölm (35, FC) found the net 25 times in all competitions and was joint top goalscorer in the league. Inter Turku 2002 – 8th 2003 – 3rd Pertti Lundell transformed his team’s fortunes this season, guiding them to a fine 3rd place finish. Henri Lehtonen (23, D/DM RL) was their outstanding performer this year and forward Richard Teberio (32, F C) was their top scorer. Jaro 2002 – 10th 2003 – 6th Last year’s losing Cup Finalists had a fair season under the leadership of Sixten Boström and improved on their poor league position of last year. Club captain Fredrik Svanbäck (24, AM/F L) had a very good season, scoring 6 times and contributing 9 assists. KuPS (Kuopion Palloseura) 2002 – 4th 2003 – 12th After finishing in a very respectable 4th place last season, KuPS had a terrible slump this season and even the sacking of manager Jari Pykkölä couldn’t save them. New boss Markku Mäkinen will need to regroup in the First Division and try to bring about a quick return. Only young Italian Luca Rappaccini (21, AM RL) looked the part at this level but his season was cut short by a bad groin injury. MyPa (Myllykosken Pallo-47) 2002 – 1st 2003 – 2nd Juha Malinen led his team to another excellent season even though they failed to retain their league title. They just fell short of making the group stages of the Champions League, reaching the Third Qualifying Round before falling to Sporting 2-0 on aggregate. Several players excelled this season including the young Russian Denis Volodin (21, F LC), Chilean Sanjay Gonsalves (21, AM/F LC), Sampsa Timoska (24, D/DM LC) and Janne Hyökyvaara (29, D/DM RL). SalPa (Salon Palloilijat) 2002 – First Division South Champions 2003 – 7th Under the stewardship of Jyrki Pellikka the second of the promoted teams had a steady season and a very solid mid-table finish. Much credit for their success must go to Markus Dahlbom (23, S C) whose 19 league goals tied him for the league’s top goalscorer. Tampere United 2002 – 3rd 2003 – 5th Last season’s cup winners did not scale the heights that they achieved in 2002 but Ari Hjelm and his team still had a good season. Their squad contains some of the Division’s highest rated players including Noah Hickey (25, F RLC) capped 12 times for New Zealand, Kari Sainio (28, D/DM C) and club captain Janne Räsänen (25, D C). VPS (Vaasan Palloseura) 2002 – 9th 2003 – 8th It was another tough season for Keijo Paananen and his players as they struggled all year to beat relegation. Their young strike partnership of Henri Scheweleff (20, AM/F C) and Tomi Sauso (22, S C) netted 24 times between them and were key factors in the club remaining in the top flight. 2002/2003 Table <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1st C HJK 33 14 0 2 41 20 10 4 3 40 23 76 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2nd MyPa 33 9 5 2 33 15 10 4 3 31 16 66 3rd Inter Turku 33 9 4 3 30 14 7 5 5 22 20 57 4th FC Haka 33 6 6 5 25 24 8 4 4 30 26 52 5th Tampere Utd 33 12 0 5 39 22 4 3 9 26 34 51 6th Jaro 33 8 3 5 26 23 5 5 7 22 26 47 7th SalPa 33 7 4 6 31 24 5 5 6 22 22 45 8th VPS 33 9 2 5 30 28 3 3 11 25 37 41 9th FC Jazz 33 5 8 3 22 23 4 2 11 28 45 37 10th GBK 33 4 3 10 24 36 4 2 10 18 30 29 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11th R AC Allianssi 33 6 2 9 24 31 2 3 11 18 36 29 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12th R KuPS 33 3 4 10 27 39 3 1 12 17 37 23</pre> Game of the Week Saturday November 15th, 2003 Scottish Premier League Hibs 3 Dundee 3 Hibs deployed their midfield diamond formation in this exciting match against Dundee. Grant Brebner operated behind the front two and Ian Murray played in front of the back four. Dundee play with a more traditional 4-4-2 formation, but do not lack attacking ideas of their own. The match started well for the home side and with just 6 minutes on the clock Jarkko Wiss made a strong run down the left wing and his excellent cross was headed home by Eduardo Hurtado. The veteran Ecuadorian striker has found the net 6 times in all competitions so far this season. The visitors struck back some 10 minutes later when Fabian Caballero neatly beat Jamie McQuilken and centred for Steven Milne to head home the equaliser. Dundee created a couple of chances in the next 10 minutes, but Grant Brebner was denied by Jamie Langfield and Beto’s dangerous corner deserved better than Scott Chaplain’s weak header. But it wasn’t all one-way traffic, and Hurtado came close to doubling his tally in the half hour, but his well-hit shot struck the foot of the post. Dundee were keeping possession and playing the ball around neatly without really threatening to score. That pattern continued into the second half but with around 20 minutes remaining, the game burst into life. Caballero picked up Barry Smith’s half clearance, burst into the area and rounded Nick Colgan to put the visitors into the lead. Then Caballero and Beto combined to give Hugh Murray a shooting opportunity but his effort went wide. With 15 minutes remaining Georgy Nemsadze scored a wonderful solo goal to give the visitors what looked like a winning lead. The experienced Georgian midfielder picked up the ball just inside his own half. He swept past the challenge of Luna and with the Hibs players retreating he continued his run. He jinked around Murray’s attempted tackle and shot powerfully and accurately past Colgan. This reverse seemed to spark Hibs into life at the same time as Dundee adopted a more defensive mindset. This effectively handed the initiative to the home side and they certainly made the most of it, creating several chances in quick succession. First Langfield beat away a shot from Davidson then Brebner sent a powerful shot crashing against the crossbar. The rebound fell kindly for Davidson and he slotted the ball home. Hibs were on a roll now and Davidson set up a shooting chance for substitute Dave McKay but his effort was parried by Langfield. Brebner was first to react and picked up the rebound, only for Langfield to bring him down as he tried to round the keeper. Referee Alan Gemmill had no hesitation in showing the red card to the young Dundee keeper. Steven Milne was sacrificed to bring on reserve keeper Derek Soutar. Hibs captain Jamie McQuilken took responsibility for the spot kick, but his effort was too near Soutar and the keeper made a comfortable save to his right hand side. Seconds later and Dundee were reduced to 9 men following an injury to Beto. Having used all 3 substitutes, manager Jim Duffy was unable to bring on a replacement. Hibs were looking to take full advantage of their numerical superiority and Brebner came close to an equaliser but Soutar saved his shot low down to his left. With time running out Hibs substitute Allan Dempsie drifted past Murray but his shot was parried by Soutar. Jarkko Wiss was first to the rebound but in a carbon copy of the first penalty, he was brought down whilst trying to round the keeper. Soutar was lucky to escape with a yellow card - Mr. Gemmill must have felt that Dundee had suffered enough. Once again McQuilken took the spot kick and once again Soutar made the save, this time plunging to his left to keep the ball out. The resulting corner was fired in by Murray and Soutar pulled off yet another save, somehow getting in the way of Brebner’s volley. But his time Dundee’s luck had finally run out and Davidson was able to get to the loose ball and prod it home for a last second equaliser. Having missed two penalties in two minutes, the Hibs captain will be thanking his lucky stars that his team managed to scrape the draw. Dundee, on the other hand, will be reflecting on two points lost after having established what should have been a winning lead. Teams Hibs: Nick Colgan, Alan Orman, Jamie McQuilken (captain), Paul Fenwick (Dave McKay 54), Janos Matyus (Allan Dempsie 73), Jarkko Wiss, Grant Brebner, Ian Murray, Hugh Davidson, Eduardo Hurtado, Luna Subs not used: Gary O’Connor, William Bald, Chris Kerr Dundee: Jamie Langfield, Lee Mair (Gavin Rae 61), Meji, Lee Wilkie, Barry Smith (captain), Georgy Nemsadze, Beto, Hugh Murray, Steven Milne (Derek Soutar 83), Fabian Caballero, Scott Chaplain (Jamie Buchan 61) Subs not used: Colin Nish, Paul McKnight Scorers Hibs: Hurtado 6, Davidson 78, 90 Dundee: Milne 18, Caballero 67, Nemsadze 76 Man of the Match: Hugh Davidson Yellow Cards Dundee: Derek Soutar Red Cards Dundee: Jamie Langfield Attendance: 16,026 [This message was edited by BobBev on 21 November 2003 at 9:38.] Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobBev Posted November 21, 2003 Author Share Posted November 21, 2003 ESW Online has been updated Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobBev Posted November 28, 2003 Author Share Posted November 28, 2003 European Soccer Weekly Issue 18 - Friday November 28th, 2003 News In Belgium bottom club La Louviere dismissed manager Ariel Jacobs this week. Having seen no improvement after last season’s relegation fight, Chairman Filippo Gaone has decided that some fresh ideas are required to improve the situation. Antwerp have appointed Manu Ferrera to replace Walter Meeuws, leaving Lokeren looking for a new manager. Polish strugglers Miedz Legnica have appointed Miroslaw Dragan as their new manager following the resignation of Casimir Jagiello. Dragan was sacked by Second Division Gornik Polkowice in August, but the Miedz board clearly feel that he is the man to save them from relegation. In Turkey, relegation-threatened Yozgatspor have dismissed manager Bahri Kaya. Currently sitting in 17th position with just 2 wins from 14 games, they were promoted from the Second Division last season, having been relegated the season before. It seems that drastic action is required if they are to avoid becoming a "yo-yo" club. There is increasing speculation that Dede (25, D/DM L) may be about to part company with Dortmund. The Spanish media are suggesting that Barcelona may be prepared to spend big to attract the Brazilian defender. There has been some transfer activity this week however. Birger Van de Ven (21, M/F LC) has moved from GBA to Charleroi for £3.4M, young Austrian star Niko Keanjcar (19, F RC) has joined Monchengladbach from Dinamo for £2.7M and Carl Hoefkens (25, D C) went to Standard Liege in a deal worth £2M to Lommel. League Roundup Charleroi still head the Belgian First Division despite dropping points in a 2-2 draw with 4th placed Racing Genk. Sint-Truiden beat bottom club La Louviere to close the gap to one point and Anderlecht stay third with a 3-2 win over Lokeren. Lommel occupy the second relegation place with Antwerp just above them on goal difference. After last weekend’s cup layoff in Croatia there have been two sets of matches this week. Saturday’s big game in Split between Hajduk and Dinamo ended with a 3-1 win to the visitors. Osijek took full advantage by beating cellar-dwellers Kamen Ingrad 3-0. On Wednesday their good form continued as they defeated Hajduk 3-0 and now lead the table. Dinamo dropped points with a 1-1 draw at struggling Marsonia and are 4 points adrift in second. Hajduk have dropped to third and two wins in a week for Zagreb sees them rise to fourth. There’s no change in Denmark as AaB stay top after their 2-1 win at Esbjerg fB who stay bottom. FC København trounced Herfølge 5-0 to stay second and FC Midtjylland remain third. In the EPL, leaders Arsenal maintained their two-point advantage with a 3-1 win over West Brom with Manchester United staying second having crushed Brighton 5-0. West Ham continue their climb up the table and move to third place courtesy of a 2-1 win at Leeds. Blackburn move to 4th after their 3-1 win at former leaders Middlesbrough. Southampton’s 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa drops them to 5th and Liverpool are 6th after a scoreless draw at Newcastle. Brighton, West Brom and Sunderland fill the relegation places. There’s no change at the top of the Bundesliga as leaders Leverkusen and second placed Nürnberg both had narrow wins. Schalke 04 stay 3rd despite dropping points in a 1-1 draw at struggling Cottbus. A 3-0 win by Dortmund over VfB Stuttgart takes them 4th on goal difference and FC Bayern are 5th after beating Wolfsburg 1-0. M'gladbach, Greuther Fürth and Cottbus still form the bottom three. Olympiakos are back on top in Greece after they beat Kalamaria 2-1 whilst PAO fought out a thrilling 3-3 draw at Iraklis. Ethnikos Asteras, AEK and Aris are only separated by goal difference in 3rd, 4th and 5th respectively. Panionios had a rare win when they defeated bottom club Giannena 2-1 but stay in the bottom two as Kalamaria have a superior goal difference. In Holland, the top of the table clash between Feyenoord and Ajax in Rotterdam saw a thrilling 3-2 win for the home side. Feyenoord now hold a 3-point lead over their rivals and have the luxury of two games in hand. AZ hold 3rd place with PSV 4th. Zwolle, Haarlem and MVV continue to prop up the rest, but Zwolle have moved off the bottom after a hard-fought 4-3 win at Vitesse, a result that did Vitesse boss Ronald Koeman no favours at all. Milan stay top of Serie A after a narrow 1-0 win at Torino. Inter move back up to second having beaten Juventus 2-1. Sampdoria drop to third after they were held to a 2-2 draw at Chievo. Parma, Roma and Lazio make up the next three places with Ancona still rooted to the bottom with just one win all season. In Northern Ireland, Portadown got back to winning ways, beating 4th place Glentoran 2-1 and keep their 7-point lead at the top. Coleraine beat bottom club Institute 1-0 to stay second and Linfield beat Glenavon 4-2 to remain 3rd. Widzew take over at the top in Poland with Legia and Groclin close behind. Amica and Miedz are in the relegation places whilst Radomsko and Arka occupy the relegation playoff spots. Dundalk still head the ROI Premier League with Shamrock Rovers 8 points behind in second. Derry City remain in the relegation playoff spot and Finn Harps stay bottom. A narrow 2-1 home win over third-place Raith Rovers sees Rangers stay top of the SPL. Celtic remain second after they came out best in a 5-3 thriller at Dunfermline. It’s tight at the bottom with Motherwell in last place just a point behind Dundee and St. Johnstone with Dunfermline a further point ahead in 9th. In Spain, Barcelona are closing in on Sevilla and are now just one point adrift with a game in hand. Barca beat Racing Santander 2-0 whilst Sevilla dropped points in a scoreless draw at Betis. Real Madrid have crept up to 7th place after a 2-0 win at Celta and Valencia continue their recovery with a good 1-0 win at 3rd place Real Sociedad. Valladolid and Tenerife both had wins to take them out of the bottom three and defeats for Badajoz, Malaga and Elche see them in the relegation places. Besiktas have extended their lead in Turkey slightly as they beat Malatyaspor 2-0 and both Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray are held to scoreless draws. Just 2 points separate the top five in Wales in an absorbing league competition. Haverfordwest have taken over at the top after their 1-1 draw against Welshpool and TN Solutions shock 3-0 defeat at Newtown. Aberystwyth Town are 3rd on goal difference and Barry Town and Caersws are a point behind. Afan Lido gained their first win of the season with a 3-2 victory at fellow-strugglers Flexsys Cefn Druids. This result sees these two swap places as Afan Lido move off the bottom. Cup Roundup The Belgian Cup Quarter Finalists were decided on Wednesday as the 7th round matches were completed. Only one Second Division Club will be contesting a Semi Final place as Heusden beat fellow Division 2 side Cercle Brugge 2-1 after extra time. Second Division Vise came close to an upset as they took Beveren all the way before finally succumbing on penalties after a 2-2 draw. But the performance of the night came from Third Division FC Brussels who lost by the odd goal in seven against Antwerp. In the English League Cup, First Division Portsmouth had a fine 2-1 win over Everton at Goodison Park and Second Division Oldham had a 1-0 home win over First Division Birmingham. In the FA Cup First Round there were a few surprises. Two non-league clubs vanquished Division Three opponents - Newport beat Leyton Orient 1-0 and Welling United triumphed over Exeter by the same score. Conference side Scarborough beat Division Two Mansfield 2-1. The German Cup Quarter Finals sees an all First Division line-up. Division Two Bielefeld came close to upsetting Hertha BSC, losing on penalties after a 2-2 draw and Regional League side Erfurt were narrowly defeated 2-1 by M'gladbach. In the Italian Cup Inter scraped through against Vicenza on away goals as their tie ended 3-3 on aggregate after the Serie B had a magnificent 2-0 win in Milan. Serie B side Napoli lost out to Roma 3-1 on aggregate and Serie C1A side Cesena held Parma 1-1 in Parma but went out 4-1 on aggregate. In the Welsh Cup two non-league sides beat league opposition - Bridgend beat Oswestry Town 2-1 and Cardiff Corinthians defeated Haverfordwest by the same scoreline. Spotlight on ..... The Swedish Premier League With the season now completed in Sweden we’ll have a quick review of the happenings in the Premier League. Surprise champions Halmstad finished 12th last season but finished 3 points clear of last season’s runners-up AIK. Norrkoping survived a relegation playoff and Landskrona and Trelleborg were relegated. Kalmar FF and Hacken gained promotion from Division One with Vastra Frolunda, IFK Malmo and Motala dropping down. AIK 2002 - 2nd 2003 - 2nd English manager Richard Money was replaced last June by Soren Cratz and the new boss has now seen his team finish runners-up twice. Experienced international Andreas Andersson (29, F RC) was the club’s highest scorer with 15 goals and strike partner Daniel Hoch (24, F C) chipped in with 10 more. Young defensive midfielder Benjamin Kibebe (22, D/DM C) had an impressive season even though his first team starts were limited. We expect to see him claim a regular starting place next season. Assyriska FF 2002 - 2nd in First Division 2003 - 9th Newly-promoted Assyriska never looked fully comfortable at this level and finished only two points clear of a relegation playoff. But if Lallo Fernandez and his team can learn from their experience then it will stand them in good stead for next season. A semi-professional team with a tiny stadium, they did well to survive. Their top performers were the versatile Svante Dahlqvist (23, SW/D/F C) who played the season as a centre back, and experienced Yugoslav Nebojsa Jovovic (29, S C). Djurgården IF 2002 - 7th 2003 - 11th Soren Akeby’s team struggled all season and escaped a relegation playoff by a single point, much to the disappointment of their fans. Already upset when the club cashed in on their most talented player by selling Kim Kallstrom (21, DM C) to Real Sociedad for £3.1M, a poor season and a failure to re-invest has led to further unrest. Despite their poor league position, a number of players performed very well, including striker Samuel Wowoah (27, F LC), impressive young defender Richard Henriksson (21, D RLC) and winger Joel Riddez (23, AM LC). The winger’s 10 assists underlined his value to a struggling team. IF Elfsborg 2002 - 1st 2003 - 5th Anders Gronhagen failed to maintain his team’s success of last season after their unexpected championship win. With £1.7M spent on strengthening the squad, it was a particular disappointment not to have had a better league finish. But too many players under-performed this season, with £2M rated striker Lars Nilsson (21, S C) being singled out for criticism. Much was expected after a fine debut season when he scored 14 goals but perhaps the expectations were too high and he only found the net twice this season. His strike partner Jonas Lunden (22, AM/F RC) also struggled, only scoring twice as well. Halmstad BK 2002 - 12th 2003 - 1st Having gone 9 games without a win at the start of last season, Jonas Thern was sacked as manager in June last year and replaced by Rolf Zetterlund. The new boss turned things around and Halmstad survived a relegation playoff to retain their Premier Division status. The board invested over £2M in new players this season and were rewarded with the Premiership title. Tommy Jonsson (27, D C) had a superb season in the centre of defence and Sharbel Touma (24, AM FL) was impressive on the wing. Hammarby IF 2002 - 4th 2003 - 3rd Anders Linderoth led his team to another excellent season and can look forward to European football next season. Linderoth employs a very sophisticated tactical 1-2-2-2-1-2 formation. He plays a sweeper, two centre backs, two advanced wingbacks, two central midfielders and an attacking midfielder behind the front two. His team loves to attack and were the highest scorers in the division. Were it not for their poor defensive record, they would undoubtedly have won the title. Their star player is the highly rated Kennedy Bakircioglu (23, AM/F RLC). This exciting and versatile youngster plays behind the strikers and many believe that he will soon make a move to a larger club. However, his minimum fee release clause is rumoured to be in excess of £7M so he will not come cheap. Helsingborgs IF 2002 - 3rd 2003 - 7th It was a very disappointing season for Mats Jingblad and his team after their good league finish last season. With a large and talented squad, more was expected of the team than a mid-table finish. Young midfielder Eldin Karisic (20, AM RLC) did not get too many starts but looked like a class player when he did play. Striker Gustaf Andersson (28, S C) scored 22 goals in all competitions and was the league’s top scorer. The versatile Christoffer Andersson (25. D/DM/F RL) played very well in the Left Back position. IFK Göteborg 2002 - 5th 2003 - 6th Manager Bo Johansson was replaced by Stefan Lundin in July but his appointment failed to rejuvenate a distinctly average season. Sweden’s pre-eminent team in the 90’s, Göteborg have not won the league title since 1996 although they did capture the Swedish Cup last season. With many of their experienced players under-performing, the new boss will need to find a way to inspire his squad if they are to re-capture their success next season. Landskrona 2002 - 11th 2003 - 13th (Relegated) Having narrowly avoided relegation last season, Jan Jonsson could not repeat the great escape this year. Never out of the bottom four all season, his team never really looked like putting a run of wins together that may have staved off relegation. Having sold star youngster Alexander Farnerud (19, AM/F RLC) to Parma last season for £1.2M they have failed to get an adequate replacement for the versatile teenager. Malmö FF 2002 - 6th 2003 - 4th The 80’s were Malmö’s golden decade but under the direction of manager Tom Prahl they are showing signs of recovery. The board has invested £1.5M in new players this year and were rewarded with an appearance in the Swedish Cup Final where they lost out to Trelleborg 3-2 on aggregate. They have some highly rated young players in the squad, including Louay Chanko (24, AM/F RL) and Marcus Rosenberg (21, S C). But it was the experienced Joakim Sondergaard (32, D/AM LC) who was one of their most influential players in central defence. Norrköping 2002 - 9th 2003 - 12th Hakan Ericsson endured a torrid season as his team flirted with relegation all year, only escaping the drop after a narrow playoff victory. With no less than 15 players coming into the squad at a total cost of £1.8M, Ericsson had no shortage of manpower. However, none of his buys proved to be a success and his team will certainly be one of the favourites for the drop next season. OIS 2002 - 10th 2003 - 8th A good run of form in the early part of the season gave Erik Hamren’s team enough momentum to keep them out of the relegation places when their form slumped later in the year. In Christian Hemberg (21, S C) they have one of the most talked-about youngsters in Sweden, although he did not live up to his reputation this season. In his 6th season at the club, Hemberg has already made 112 first team appearances and scored 33 goals. Orebro 2002 - 8th 2003 - 10th When manager Stefan Lundin left to take over at IFK Göteborg he was replaced by Jorgen Lennartsson from First Division Hacken. Veteran club captain Lars Zetterlund (39, D/M C) celebrated his 24th season as a professional footballer. The central defensive partnership of Fredrik Jansson (27. SW/D C) and Thomas Andersson (35, SW/D C) had an impressive season but few other players impressed. Trelleborg 2002 - First Division Champions 2003 - 14th (Relegated) After guiding his team to the Division One title last season, Jonas Brorsson led his side to a Swedish Cup triumph in May. Unfortunately his team’s league form was appalling and they finished rock bottom of the table with only three league wins all season. Only central defenders Patrik Eriksson-Olsson (29, D RC) and Magnus Jacobsson (27, D C) looked comfortable at this level. Despite their horrendous league form they have progressed to the 3rd round of the UEFA Cup and recently held Primera Liga leaders Sevilla to a scoreless draw in Trelleborg. 2002/2003 Table <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1st C Halmstad 26 10 2 1 18 7 4 3 6 13 13 47 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2nd AIK 26 9 1 3 19 8 4 4 5 15 15 44 3rd Hammarby 26 9 2 2 26 14 4 2 7 16 23 43 4th Malmö FF 26 9 4 0 21 7 2 5 6 8 16 42 5th Elfsborg 26 7 3 3 14 8 5 3 5 11 15 42 6th IFK Göteborg 26 6 5 2 19 9 4 6 3 14 14 41 7th Helsingborg 26 6 4 3 25 16 4 5 4 17 14 39 8th ÖIS 26 4 6 3 9 7 5 2 6 11 15 35 9th Assyriska 26 4 6 3 14 12 3 3 7 10 16 30 10th Örebro 26 6 2 5 15 12 1 7 5 11 19 30 11th Djurgården 26 6 5 2 20 7 1 3 9 6 17 29 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12th Norrköping 26 7 5 1 17 9 0 2 11 5 24 28 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13th R Landskrona 26 5 2 6 15 18 1 3 9 7 23 23 14th R Trelleborg 26 2 6 5 10 17 1 5 7 7 18 20</pre> Game of the Week Saturday November 22nd, 2003 Croatian First Division Zadar 5 Mosor 2 Veteran striker Davor Suker rolled back the years last Saturday, scoring 4 goals in a masterful display of the striker’s art. The 35-year-old joined Zadar at the start of this season on a free transfer from Swiss team St. Gallen and has scored 8 goals in his 12 appearances so far. On a wet and windy afternoon the home side set about to attack their opponents from the off. Danijel Kovacevic, playing behind the two strikers, had a couple of early chances and was dangerous throughout. But it was Suker, capped 76 times by his country, that opened the scoring after 15 minutes. Jerko Mikulic finished off a powerful run with a low cross to the far post and Suker timed his run perfectly to finish with a simple tap-in. Fellow striker Asim Sehic went close a few minutes later but his volley was turned behind acrobatically by Krunoslav Sabolic. From the resulting corner Ante Crncevic powered a header just over the bar. Kovacevic was seeing plenty of the ball and his intelligent pass presented Suker with a shooting opportunity that Sabolic did well to get a fingertip to. It took over 30 minutes for Mosor to have their first attempt at goal but Ivica Zuljevic shot wide after being set up by Damir Antunovic. Seconds later Kovacevic powered into the area only to see his shot well saved by Sabolic. This proved to be a brief respite as Jaksa Krstulovic sent in a floated corner kick that Suker headed home. In the 39th minute Kovacevic once again found Suker who drove the ball low with his right foot. The fans were on their feet acclaiming his hat trick when the ball struck the bottom of the post and rebounded to safety. Shortly before half time the visitors made a rare foray up field and Frane Vitajic picked out Damir Antunovic in the area. The young midfielder controlled the ball superbly in the slippery conditions but his shot was tipped wide by Marko Simeunovic. Ante Vitajic was first to the resulting corner but he failed to keep his header on target. Half time arrived with the home team leading 2-0 and looking in total control. But Mosor pulled a goal back just minutes after the restart when the unfortunate Ivica Landeka deflected a curling effort from Vitajic past his own keeper. For the next 20 minutes or so play became very scrappy as neither side could keep possession and establish an attacking platform. But in the 65th minute Zadar scored a decisive goal. Asim Sehic showed a flash of skill to bamboozle Antunovic and create enough room for a shot. Sabolic could only parry his effort and Suker showed his strikers instinct by being in the right place to slip the ball into the empty net. The 22-year-old Sehic has been benefiting from playing alongside the experienced Suker and has scored 10 goals so far this season. The visitors didn’t let their heads drop though and 5 minutes later they reduced the deficit once more. Vitajic sent in a teasing low cross behind the Zadar defence and substitute Kazimir Vulic stretched to meet the ball with his right foot. Simeunovic managed an instinctive block but the ball ran free to Josko Parac who finished easily. However, it took only a few minutes for Suker to claim his fourth goal of the afternoon. The impressive Kovacevic started the move with a 25-yard pass to substitute Zvonimir Juric who controlled the ball on his chest and picked out Suker. He in turn fed the ball to Kovacevic who had continued his run from midfield. The skilful midfielder laid a perfect pass back into Suker’s path and he calmly slotted the ball past Sabolic to finish off a brilliant move. Less than a minute later Suker spurned an easy chance of his 5th goal after Juric found him unmarked in the area. The striker dwelt on the ball too long and Sabolic was able to smother at his feet. With 10 minutes remaining Danijel Kovacevic was rewarded for his excellent performance with a well-deserved goal. Jerko Mikulic ran half the length of the pitch before sending in a pinpoint cross to the near post that Kovacevic headed powerfully home to cap off an excellent victory. The home side thoroughly deserved their three points that moved then up to 5th in the table. Zadar have no shortage of attacking talent and will be hoping to at least emulate their 4th place finish last season and perhaps challenge for a place in Europe next season. Teams Zadar: Marko Simeunovic, Jerko Mikulic, Slobodan Sudec, Ivica Landeka, Dalibor Zebic, Zoran Kastel, Ante Crncevic (Captain), Danijel Kovacevic, Davor Suker, Asim Sehic (Natko Racki 78), Jaksa Krstulovic (Zvonimir Juric 63) Subs not used: Ilija Dragicevic, Damir Boban, Tomislav Perkovic, Josip Butic, Simunovic Mosor: Krunoslav Sabolic, Marko Kovac (Captain), Ronaldo da Silva Alves, Valentino Brakus, Marko Maric, Damir Antunovic, Frane Vitajic (Kazimir Vulic 57), Zoran Roglic, Josko Parac, Ivica Zuljevic, Ante Vitajic Subs not used: Ivan Turina, Ivan Buljanovic, Duvnjak, John Lamont, Miroslav Rezic, Bojan Miletic Scorers Zadar: Suker 15, 35, 65, 74, Kovacevic 81 Mosor: Landeka (og) 48, Parac 71 Man of the Match: Davor Suker Attendance: 6,217 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobBev Posted November 30, 2003 Author Share Posted November 30, 2003 ESW Online has been updated. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 30, 2003 Share Posted November 30, 2003 This is good stuff, i no how important hits are to a website so i pressed refresh a hell of alot and doubled your total for you, as you can tell i'm rather bored waiting for the new champ to be delivered........... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
karanfett Posted December 4, 2003 Share Posted December 4, 2003 This is brilliant. Please never stop... Oh, and can we know the top 10 valued players? Please? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobBev Posted December 5, 2003 Author Share Posted December 5, 2003 European Soccer Weekly Issue 19 - Friday December 5th, 2003 News In Belgium bottom club La Louviere have appointed Franky Dekenne leaving Division Two club Denderleeuw looking for a new boss. Lokeren have hired Bernard Beerens from non-league Union Royale Namur as their new manager. The board of Guingamp, who have dropped into the relegation places in the French First Division, are rumoured to be considering the position of boss Bertrand Marchant. In Holland, Utrecht top man Foeke Booy is still under pressure as is NAC manager Frans Adelar, although the criticism of Ronald Koeman at Vitesse has lessened recently. The pressure on Boavista boss Jose Mourinho in Portugal has not decreased and we hear whispers that Manuel Jose at Vitoria Guimaraes and Jose Vieira de Carvalho at Vitoria Setubal are both facing some disquiet. In Scotland, Dundee’s Jim Duffy has been slated in the press recently as his team are firmly embroiled in a relegation dogfight. Despite Valencia’s recent improvement Mario Reis is still far from safe and Malaga’s poor from is doing Rafa Benitez no favours. In Turkey, Milorad Mitrovic has been sacked by Gaziantepspor despite the club sitting in mid-table and Trabzonspor’s Aykut Kocaman may shortly pay the price for his team’s slide down the table. There has been a fair amount of transfer activity this week. Bektas Bayram (29, AM/F L) moved from Kocaelispor to Malatyaspor for £1.2M, Juan Francisco Gonzales (24, AM C) left Mons for Sint-Truiden and Michael Hofmann went from 1860 München to Bochum both for £1.4M fees. Ghanaian forward Augustine (29, F C) was transferred from Turkish D2A side Ankaragucu to VfB Stuttgart for £3.7M after netting 17 times in 18 games so far this season. But the biggest move of the week was the £6M transfer of Mehdi Mahdavikia (26, AM/F R) from HSV to Hertha BSC. The Iranian forward has 62 caps for his country and has scored 13 goals for them. League Roundup Charleroi have extended their lead at the top in Belgium to 4 points after they beat Beveren 2-0 and second placed Sint-Truiden were beaten 1-0 by struggling Antwerp. Bottom club La Louviere benefited from "new manager syndrome" and had an excellent 2-0 win over high-flying Racing Genk. Unfortunately for them Lommel, the nearest team to them, also gained three points with a good 1-0 win over Westerlo. Lommel, Mouscron, Lokeren and Antwerp are all on the same points but Lommel remain in the relegation places on goal difference. In Croatia a scoreless draw at Segesta was enough to keep Osijek at the top of the table. Dinamo and Hajduk both had good wins to make up points on the leaders and Zadar moved above Zagreb into 4th with Davor Suker getting on the scoresheet again in their 2-0 win over last placed Marsonia. Second-bottom Kamen Ingrad picked up a valuable point following a 1-1 draw with Belisce to close within a point of Cakovec. The Danish League enters their long winter break now and we will not see any more domestic action until the end of February. Arsenal head the EPL on goal difference over Manchester United as the Gunners dropped points in a 1-1 draw at Fulham and the Red Devils beat former leaders Middlesbrough 2-0. Steve McLaren’s side have now lost 5 of their last 6 league games and have dropped to 11th place. West Ham beat Aston Villa 2-0 to go third and Blackburn beat Southampton by the odd goal in 5 to go 4th. Co-incidentally, the games featuring the bottom three all finished with 3-1 scorelines. Sunderland lost to Leeds and stay rooted to the bottom. West Brom picked up three valuable points by beating Everton and are now just a point behind Brighton who lost to Newcastle. Nantes stay on top in France following their comprehensive 3-0 defeat of Rennes. They head Sedan on goal difference but have played two games less than their rivals. Marseille are 3rd and have played 3 games more than the leaders. Bottom club Toulouse continue to struggle in the league and are 5 points behind Troyes and 7 behind Guingamp, the other two clubs in the relegation places. Bundesliga leaders Leverkusen suffered an unexpected defeat at the hands of VfB Stuttgart but Nürnberg failed to take full advantage as they could only draw with Schalke 04 and they stay second on goal difference. A comfortable 4-0 home win for Dortmund over Greuther Fürth moved them up to third with FC Bayern climbing to 4th. Of the bottom three only Cottbus gained any points as they managed a 1-1 draw at home to 1860 München and M'gladbach and Greuther Fürth both lost. In Greece the top two swap again as PAO go back on top after beating Aigaleo 3-1 and Olympiakos drop to second after they drew 1-1 with Iraklis. AEK move up to third following their 3-0 win at Giannena who stay bottom, 4 points behind Panionios. Feyenoord lead the Dutch Premier Division on goal difference over Ajax but they have 3 games in hand over their great rivals from Amsterdam. In third place AZ head Groningen on goal difference and PSV are fifth but once again have played 3 games less than the rest. A narrow 1-0 win for Vitesse over bottom club MVV has eased the pressure on the beleaguered Ronald Koeman as his side move up to 12th place. Haarlem and Zwolle remain in the two relegation playoff positions. In Italy the top of the table clash between leaders Milan and second placed Inter ended scoreless so there is no change at the top. Sampdoria couldn’t take advantage as they were held to a 1-1 draw by visiting Lazio. Ancona beat fellow strugglers Chievo 2-0 but remain bottom. In Northern Ireland, Portadown suffered a rare defeat when they were beaten 2-1 at home by Distillery. There was no change at the top however as second placed Coleraine also suffered a home defeat at the hands of Glenavon by the same 2-1 scoreline and they remain 7 points behind. Bottom club Institute had a battling 2-2 draw at home to Bangor, fighting back from 2-1 down to take a point. However, they are a full 15 points adrift as will need more than the odd point or two to survive. The Polish League has also started their winter break and once again there will be further action until the end of February. Shamrock Rovers closed the gap on leaders Dundalk when they recorded an excellent 2-0 win in Dundalk. They are now five points behind with a game in hand. Bohemians lost ground in third after a busy week in which they played 3 games and lost them all. Bottom club Finn Harps beat them 3-2 but failed to close the gap on Derry City as they also had a win, beating Monaghan United 2-0. Rangers stay top in Scotland despite suffering a 1-0 reverse at the hands of Aberdeen. Celtic had no trouble in their 5-0 triumph over St. Johnstone at Parkhead and are now 2 points behind with a game in hand. Raith Rovers remain 3rd after their 3-2 defeat of Dundee. There’s no change at the foot of the table as the bottom three all lost. Motherwell still prop up the rest just one point behind St. Johnstone and Dundee. An excellent 3-0 defeat of 3rd place Real Sociedad sees Sevilla stay top of La Liga. Barcelona remain second having comfortably disposed of Celta 4-0. Deportivo’s easy 4-1 win over struggling Tenerife takes them to 4th place. Bottom club Elche battled hard for a point in a 2-2 draw against Valladolid. Malaga picked up three points with a 2-0 win over Espanyol but still stay second bottom even though Badajoz lost to Villarreal. Besiktas stay at the top of the table in Turkey after they won 3-1 at Diyarbakirspor. Galatasary move to 2nd as they beat bottom club Sekerspor 1-0 and Fenerbahçe were held 2-2 at struggling Gençlerbirligi. There is still just 2 points separating the top five in Wales. TN Solutions are now top having played their game in hand. At they weekend they drew 0-0 with last weeks leaders Haverfordwest and on Wednesday they beat Carmarthen Town 1-0. Aberystwyth Town are up to 2nd after their 3-0 win at Barry Town and Haverfordwest drop to 3rd. Caersws now sit 4th and Barry Town are 5th. Afan Lido picked up another point courtesy of a 1-1 draw with Connah’s Quay and are now 2 points clear of Flexsys Cefn Druids at the bottom. Cup Roundup The final of the Northern Irish League Cup took place in midweek with Crusaders beating Glenavon 2-1 after extra time. Glenavon took the lead early in the match but Crusaders equalised soon afterwards from the penalty spot. That’s how the score remained at full time in a less than thrilling encounter. Crusaders scored the winner with their second penalty of the game after a Glenavon player was dismissed for a bad tackle in the box. In Scotland the first two League Cup Quarter Final matches took place. Dundee United triumphed 4-1 in the local derby against Dundee and Hibs beat Third Division Albion Rovers 2-0. It was a plucky performance from Rovers who had defeated First and Second Division opposition in earlier rounds. The Second Leg matches in the Welsh League Cup were completed with Barry Town beating Bangor City 1-0 overall and Newtown going down 2-1 to Carmarthen Town 2-1 on aggregate. Champions League The Round 2 matches in the Second Phase of the Champions League took place on Tuesday and Wednesday. In Group A Arsenal had an excellent 3-0 win at Highbury over the highly-fancied Roma and Real Madrid got their first win with a 2-0 victory over FC Bayern. Arsenal head the group with maximum points. Lyon set the pace in Group B having returned from a tough trip to Athens with a really good 3-1 win over AEK. Barcelona recovered from their shock defeat in game 1 by beating PSV 3-0 at the Nou Camp. In Group C Liverpool suffered a 2-1 defeat at Anfield by a strong Milan side and are bottom of the group with just 1 point. Olympiakos and Athletic Bilbao fought out a 1-1 draw in Athens with the visitors getting the crucial equaliser in stoppage time at the end of the game. In Group D Manchester United kept their 100% record with a very good 2-0 win at Dortmund and Parma were held scoreless by visiting Betis. UEFA Cup On Thursday evening the Second Leg matches in the UEFA Cup 3rd Round were completed. Aberdeen crashed out 3-0 at Inter and 4-1 on aggregate but fellow Scots Celtic recorded a 3-0 win over Beira-Mar to progress and Rangers eliminated Toulouse 2-0 at Ibrox. Newcastle were defeated 1-0 by Villarreal at St. James’s Park for a 4-0 aggregate defeat. Leverkusen were surprisingly beaten 1-0 at home by Racing Genk but still progressed 3-1 overall. FC København came back from Porto with a 1-1 draw and a 4-1 total and Lazio cruised to a 4-1 aggregate win over Bordeaux. PAO had an exciting 2-1 win at Besiktas to make the aggregate score 4-4 but the Turks progressed on away goals. Fenerbahçe had a fighting 1-1 draw in Nantes but the French team win 2-1 overall. The Nordic showdown between Rosenborg and AIK ended with the Norwegians winning 5-3 in total after an exciting 4-2 home victory. Feyenoord lost out to Juventus 3-2 on aggregate after the Italians won 2-1 in Rotterdam. Maribor recorded a fine 2-1 win over Torpedo Moscow after a scoreless first leg in Slovenia and Wisla beat CSKA 2-0 in Moscow for a 6-2 total. Sevilla polished off Trelleborg 3-0 in Spain, Stabæk completed a 5-1 aggregate rout of Panachaiki and a scoreless draw in Paris was enough for Rapid Vienna to oust PSG. Spotlight on ..... The Russian Premier League Now that the 2003 season is done and dusted in Russia, let’s take a look back at what transpired. The Premier title was somewhat surprisingly won by Krylja Sovetov who pipped Lokomotiv Moscow to the championship with a final-day victory, beating Lokomotiv 2-1 in their own backyard. Lokomotiv have now finished runners-up 4 times in the last 5 seasons though they did gain some compensation by winning the Russian Cup back in May. Alania Vladikavkaz 2002 - 7th 2003 - 12th This was a disappointing season for Alania boss Sergey Andreev after his team’s good showing in 2002. Young defender Sergey Pugachev (18, D RC) had an impressive first season and strikers Tamerlan Sikoev (27, F C) and Sergey Zelikov (29, S C) combined well, finding the net 31 times between them. Anzhi Makhachkala 2002 - 2nd 2003 - 9th Gadji Gadjiev will have been disappointed with his team’s performance this season after their excellent second place finish in 2002. It must have been particularly galling to see his team perform so poorly in the Champions League, losing all 6 of the Phase 1 matches. Their top performer was the Ghanaian international Emmanuel Kuffour (27, AM/F C) who was the club’s top scorer of the season. CSKA Moscow 2002 - 5th 2003 - 4th Valery Gazzaev saw his team put in another solid season, once again qualifying for European competition. This success has come in spite of selling off 14 players in the last two seasons, generating over £17M in revenues. Just £2.8M of that has been spent on new players. This season has seen the departure of two very experienced internationals as Sergey Semak (27, AM/F C) went to Fulham for £2.3M and Ruslan Nigmatullin (29, GK) joined West Ham for £3.3M. Much of this season’s success is due to the fantastic form of Denis Popov (24, S C) who scored 25 goals in all competitions. He was ably assisted by Vladimir Kulik (31, F LC) who also found the net 22 times. Chernomorets 2002 - 2nd in First Division 2003 - 16th (Relegated) Vladimir Shevchuk gained promotion from Division One last season but his team struggled badly all season and he was replaced by Sergey Pavlov in June in a vain attempt to avoid relegation. They were never out of the bottom two all year and just did not have enough quality for life at this level. Dinamo Moscow 2002 - 12th 2003 - 7th Dinamo are still the only Russian team to have won a European trophy, although you have to go back 31 years to their Cup Winners Cup triumph in 1972 in the old Soviet era. Now the least fashionable of the top Moscow sides, they are struggling financially and Oleg Dolmatov is unable to improve his squad. The strike pairing of Alexandr Popov (28, S C) and Dmitry Bulykin (24, S C) caught the eye this season, netting 11 times each. Krylja Sovetov 2002 - 6th 2003 - 1st Capturing the Premiership title was a tremendous achievement for the determinedly unfashionable Krylja. Their success was due in no small part to the tactical astuteness of manager Alexandr Fedoseev. Playing with 3 centre backs and 3 defensive midfielders, they had one of the best defensive records in the division. Captain Vuk Rasovic (30, SW/D LC) was a vital figure at the centre of defence and it was a big surprise when it was announced that he would be joining Torpedo Moscow in a couple of weeks. It remains to be seen how his team will cope without his towering presence next season. Another key player who will be shortly departing is Konstantin Zyryanov (26, AM C). The influential midfielder is headed to CSKA in the near future. Russia is possibly the last place that you would expect to see a Brazilian playing but the flamboyant Gaucho (24, S C) was hugely impressive when he managed to get a game. Clearly seen as a bit of a luxury by the down to earth Fedoseev, he only made 7 starts but managed 5 goals. Lokomotiv Moscow 2002 - 11th 2003 - 2nd Perennial bridesmaids in the league, Yury Semin has seen his team finish second 4 times since 1999. By way of compensation they have won the Russian Cup 3 times in the same period and 5 times since 1996. Not the richest team in the country, Lokomotiv spent £6M on players last season, including the £2.4M splashed out on Lithuanian Deivedas Semberas (25, D/DM R) who joined from rivals CSKA. Some of this expenditure was recouped last month with the sale of Marat Izmailov (21, AM LC). The talented youngster is now playing his football in Germany with 1860 München. The manager credits their improved form this season to a switch to a sweeper system introduced at the start of the year and to the outstanding contribution of Nemanja Vucicevic (24, F C). The young Yugoslav has been playing as a withdrawn striker and his astute runs into the area have helped him score 20 goals this season. Another top performer has been Vadim Yevseev (27, D L) with a series of powerful defensive performances. Rostselmash 2002 - 5th 2003 - 13th A slump in form this season saw Alexandr Averjanov’s team struggle near the foot of the table. Never the most attractive of teams, this season they have been reduced to playing an ultra-defensive formation to try to compensate for the low quality of their playing staff. Despite their poor league finish they had the second best defensive record in the division but also the second worst scoring record. They survived mainly by grinding out draws and did not endear themselves to the opposition fans. Rotor Volgograd 2002 - 4th 2003 - 11th Rotor had a very poor season in comparison to their fine league position last year. It was frustrating for the players and for manager Vyacheslav Grozny as they could not establish any consistency. The experienced midfielder and team captain Valery Yesipov (32, AM/F R) had an excellent season but few of his colleagues could claim the same. However, the manager can take encouragement from the way in which two of his younger players responded when they were given an opportunity. Maxim Bondarenko (22, F C) had only 6 starts but appeared 11 times as a sub and managed 10 goals. Dmitry Nikolaev (18, D RC) broke into the team midway through the season and was a revelation in the centre of defence. Rubin Kazan 2002 - First Division Champions 2003 - 14th Newly promoted Rubin managed to preserve their Premier League status by a single point, but it was a close run thing. Kurban Berdyev’s team caused a few upsets in the early part of the season, most notably when they eliminated CSKA in the Russian Cup Quarter Final, and by mid-season they lay 6th in the table. But a slump in form saw them take only 5 points from their last 13 league matches as they plummeted down the table. There are rumours of mass unrest at the club and it will be interesting to see how long Berdyev lasts next season. Saturn Ramenskoye 2002 - 10th 2003 - 8th Saturn won the Russian Cup last season and managed a respectable mid-table finish this year, despite Vitaly Shevchenko having to sell several of his better players because of the club’s poor financial position. Their top performer this season was Sergey Rogachev (26, F RC) who was top scorer with 16 goals. He has refused to renew his contract and is moving to Bastia in a couple of weeks on a free transfer. Shinnik Yaroslavl 2002 - 13th 2003 - 10th Shinnik boss Alexandr Pobegalov saw his team make some limited progress this season but it was far from spectacular. With little real quality in the squad their most significant performers were the strike pairing of Alexey Vereschak (27, F C) and Alexey Bychkov (31, S C) who managed 26 goals between them. Spartak Moscow 2002 - 1st 2003 - 3rd Spartak have undoubtedly been the most successful club in Russia in the last decade, winning the Premiership 10 times in the last 12 years. Last season they added an appearance in the UEFA Cup Quarter Final to their league title. Manager Oleg Romantsev has built a strong squad with quality players such as Russian international Yegor Titov (27, AM C), the exciting young Belarusian Artem Kontsevoy (20, F RC) and forward Artem Bezrodny (24, F LC). With the potential talent of young Alexandr Sonin (20, S C) waiting in the wings, the signs are also good for the future and we expect Spartak to be challenging strongly to regain their title in 2004. Torpedo Moscow 2002 - 3rd 2003 - 6th Sergey Petrenko has worked hard to realise the massive potential of his team and will no doubt be disappointed with a relatively poor season in comparison to a good 2002. His cause wasn’t helped by the sale of Alexandr Shirko (27, S C) to St. Etienne for £1.6M in August. After a wonderful 2002, Shirko was having an even better 2003 when he was suddenly sold. His absence had a big impact on the team and even though fellow striker Sukhrob Khamidov (28, AM/F LC) went on to score 21 goals the team lacked an effective strike partner for him. Uralan Elista 2002 - 14th 2003 - 15th (Relegated) Having just avoided relegation in 2002, Oleg Smolyaninov could not repeat the escape act again this season, although he came very close. They had no shortage of goals, thanks mainly to experienced striker Arsen Avakov (32, S C) who topped the scoring charts with 32 goals in all competitions. Unfortunately they suffered from the most porous defence in the league, managing to concede 70 goals in 30 league games. Zenith Peterburg 2002 - 9th 2003 - 5th With a third of the season gone Zenith were in severe trouble sitting just above the relegation places. This spelt the end for manager Vlastimil Petrzela and the arrival of Anatoly Baidachny. The new man in charge made an immediate impact and turned the team around to such an extent that they ended up with an excellent 5th place finish. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">2002/2003 Table Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1st C Krylja Sovetov 30 14 0 1 39 18 7 2 6 24 22 65 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2nd Lokomotiv Moscow 30 12 2 1 37 21 7 3 5 31 25 62 3rd Spartak Moscow 30 9 4 2 33 21 8 3 4 32 22 58 4th CSKA 30 9 4 2 29 17 7 5 3 32 28 57 5th Zenith Peterburg 30 10 2 3 31 18 5 2 8 22 34 49 6th Torpedo Moscow 30 9 3 3 36 24 4 2 9 12 22 44 7th Dinamo Moscow 30 10 2 3 27 16 3 3 9 17 30 44 8th Saturn 30 10 2 3 22 10 3 2 10 13 21 43 9th Anzhi 30 8 4 3 28 15 2 3 10 15 27 37 10th Shinnik 30 6 5 4 17 15 3 5 7 19 27 37 11th Rotor 30 5 7 3 26 19 3 4 8 22 33 35 12th Alania 30 4 5 6 20 22 5 2 8 31 33 34 13th Rostselmash 30 6 4 5 21 22 1 7 7 9 17 32 14th Rubin 30 5 3 7 21 26 3 2 10 19 27 29 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15th R Uralan 30 7 2 6 30 38 1 2 12 17 32 28 16th R Chernomorets 30 3 1 11 9 23 1 3 11 10 26 16</pre> Game of the Week Wednesday December 3rd, 2003 Champions League Phase 2, Group A Arsenal 3 Roma 0 Roma came into this game at Highbury on the back of a good 2-0 win over Real Madrid in Rome 2 weeks earlier and must have had strong hopes of gaining at least a point. Both teams lined up in their usual 4-4-2 formations and proceeded to cancel one another out for the first 45 minutes. This was not a spectacle for the casual observer, as both defences were dominant and the game bogged down in a midfield war of attrition. The only glimpse of excitement was a free kick from Thierry Henry after 20 minutes that just clipped the top of the Roma crossbar. It was a bitterly cold evening in London and the fans were no doubt grateful for a much more eventful second half that gave them something to jump up and down about. Arsenal started the second period at a much faster pace and were clearly looking for an early breakthrough. It duly arrived from who else but Henry. The Frenchman is in even better form this season than he was last year, and that’s saying something. Lauren, playing one of his better games at right back, tried to pick out Henry in the area. However Damiano Tommasi read the pass and went to make the interception but his control let him down, Henry stole the ball and calmly stroked it past Ivan Pelizzoli. Less than 10 minutes later and the Gunners were two up following some very un-Italian defensive play. Ljungberg started the move with a lofted pass to Henry. The Frenchman controlled and turned in one movement, spotted that Jeffers had lost his marker and found the young striker free in the area to give him an easy finish. It was not until nearly the 70th minute that Rami Shaaban in the Arsenal goal had a save to make and it says much for his concentration that he reacted sharply to get fingertips to Luca Toni’s well struck shot. Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira rounded off an excellent night for the home side when he scored their 3rd nine minutes from time when he won the race between himself and Pelizzoli to get to substitute Gilberto Silva’s through ball. This was a solid if unspectacular display from the Gunners but Arsene Wenger will be delighted to have taken maximum points from their two group games. Fabio Capello on the other hand will be annoyed with his team following their lacklustre performance, particularly their hesitance in defence. Teams Arsenal: Rami Shaaban, Lauren, Ashley Cole, Nils-Eric Johansson, Sol Campbell, Giovanni Van Bronkhurst, Jermaine Pennant (Gilberto Silva 64), Patrick Vieira (Captain), Thierry Henry, Francis Jeffers, Fredrik Ljungberg (Dennis Bergkamp 89) Subs not used: Martin Keown, Stuart Taylor, Paolo Montero, Kanu, Philippe Mexes Roma: Ivan Pelizzoli, Christian Panucci, Vincent Candela, Leandro Cufre, Jonathan Zebina, Damiano Tommasi, Cafu (Captain), Emerson (Francisco Govinho Lima 46), Vincenzo Montella, Luca Toni, Marco Delvecchio (Davide Bombardini 58) Subs not used: Luigi Sartor, Francesco Antonioli, Antonio Cassano, Alessandro Dewitt, Luca Coco Scorers Arsenal: Henry 52, Jeffers 60, Vieira 81 Man of the Match: Lauren Yellow Cards Arsenal: Cole, Johansson Roma: Tommasi, Toni, Delvecchio Red Cards Attendance: 38,372 Reader’s Letters We have hade a couple of communications this week. Firstly Djcat contacted us to say how much he liked the ESW Online website. He is now on a personal mission to single-handedly increase our hit count so thanks for that DJ. We also have to thank reader karanfett for some very complimentary words. As far as your question is concerned we are planning an in-depth article on top-valued players in the New Year but here’s a little taster for you. The top 5 transfer fees paid since January 2002 are as follows <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Date Player From To Fee July 10, 2002 Roberto Ayala (30, SW/D C) Valencia Roma £19.5M August 23, 2002 Oliver Neuville (30, F RC) Leverkusen Atletico Madrid £18.75M August 1, 2003 Zinedine Zidane (31, AM C) Real Madrid Milan £16.5M November 7, 2003 Emile Mpenza (25, S C) Schalke 04 Kaiserslautern £16.25M July 30, 2003 Djibril Cisse (22, S C) Auxerre Betis £16.25M</pre> Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobBev Posted December 5, 2003 Author Share Posted December 5, 2003 ESW Online has been updated Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 8, 2003 Share Posted December 8, 2003 <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> Firstly Djcat contacted us to say how much he liked the ESW Online website. He is now on a personal mission to single-handedly increase our hit count so thanks for that DJ. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Love it ive got the new champ now but next time i have a spair few min's.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HD Posted December 8, 2003 Share Posted December 8, 2003 You're a real trouper Bob Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
spurzgrrl Posted December 8, 2003 Share Posted December 8, 2003 Dear ESW, I am fan of CSKA Moskva in Russian Premier Division. Could please you telling us more of information about Red Army, what is tactics they play now, who is captain? With most deep gratingness, Katya, Age 11 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HD Posted December 8, 2003 Share Posted December 8, 2003 Dear Katya, Do you have an older sister? Iain, age 22 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peacemaker7 Posted December 8, 2003 Share Posted December 8, 2003 Dear Katya, I would like to meet you, as I'm a pervert. 'Bagpuss', aged 26 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
spurzgrrl Posted December 8, 2003 Share Posted December 8, 2003 Dear Bagpuss, I am not needing new pervert yet. Already have nasty smelly Uncle Boris from Omsk with grabby fingers. Thank you for offer. (now stop hijacking the man's story ) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gino Posted December 8, 2003 Share Posted December 8, 2003 Continues to be one of the best on the board Bob Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
I\'m Not Ruud Posted December 9, 2003 Share Posted December 9, 2003 If it is not too much of a hassle, could you inform me of the performance of some American currently playing in Europe? Thanks. I'm enjoying this thoroughly, and I check the ESW site frequently. Keep up the fine work Bob. I know you put a lot of effort into it, and it's much appreciated It's definitely a joy to follow this. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobBev Posted December 11, 2003 Author Share Posted December 11, 2003 European Soccer Weekly Issue 20 - Friday December 12th, 2003 News Bordeaux striker Pauleta (30, S C) suffered a major injury blow when he damaged his cruciate ligaments in a reserve match. The Portuguese player is expected to be out of action for up to 9 months. On the managerial front, Rafa Benitez was given the boot at Malaga despite his side showing signs of a revival with 4 points from their last two games. In Turkey, Gaziantepspor have appointed Ersun Yanal as their new manager. The 41-year-old joins from Division 2CA side Altay. A few transfers of note include the signing of Deniz Sahin (26, D/DM RC) from Turkish Division 2CA team Çaykur Rizespor to Gençlerbirligi for a fee of £2.1M. In Holland Peter Germain (21, M LC) joined Ajax in a £1.5M move from First Division Excelsior. League Roundup In Belgium Charleroi remain top but had their lead reduced when they dropped points in a 2-2 draw with struggling La Louviere. The bottom club arrived at the Stade du Pays with fairly low expectations but left with a valuable point thanks to 2 goals in the last 7 minutes. Sint-Truiden managed a narrow 1-0 win over Lokeren to close the gap to 2 points. Third placed Anderlecht had a convincing 4-1 win over Lommel and Racing Genk stay 4th after their 2-1 defeat of Antwerp. A 2-1 win at Cibalia kept Osijek in top spot in Croatia and Dinamo maintained their challenge with an exciting 3-2 win at Zadar who drop down to 5th. Hajduk had an unexpected reverse, losing 2-1 at Sibenik and a good 4-0 win at struggling Marsonia took Zagreb up to 4th. Second-bottom Kamen Ingrad picked up another point with a 2-2 at home to Cakovec, the team just above them in the table. Manchester United went to the top of the EPL for the first time this season. They recorded a 3-1 win at home to Tottenham thanks to two late goals from Ruud van Nistelrooy (27, S C). Arsenal drop to second following their 1-1 draw with West Ham at the weekend and a 1-0 midweek defeat at Wolves. The Londoners are 2 points behind the leaders but have also played 2 games more. A 2-1 win at struggling Brighton took Blackburn up to 3rd and a 1-0 victory at Middlesbrough took Liverpool 4th. The bottom three of Brighton, West Brom and Sunderland all lost so no change there. In one of only two games in France this week, bottom club Toulouse picked up a point in a battling 1-1 draw at Monaco. They are still some 7 points adrift but have played 4 games less than their nearest rivals due to their involvement in European competition. It was a busy week in the Bundesliga with both weekend and midweek action. Nürnberg have regained their place at the top following a draw at HSV and a win over Wolfsburg. Dortmund go second courtesy of two wins, the second a 5-0 demolition of last-placed Cottbus. Schalke 04 also picked up 6 points to climb to 3rd, including a fine 1-0 defeat of FC Bayern. Leverkusen drop to 4th having only managed a single point from their 2 games. M'gladbach, Greuther Fürth and Cottbus still fill the relegation places. In Greece the top two swap places once more as Olympiakos take over at the top and PAO drop down a place. AEK hold on to third place and Ethnikos Asteras jump to 4th. Giannena are still rooted to the bottom and are now 7 points behind Kalamaria. The Eredivisie now has a familiar look about it. Feyenoord lead the table, three points clear of PSV and Ajax. All three won during the week and are starting to open up a small gap over the chasing pack. Zwolle are just a point behind Willem II in the first relegation playoff place, 5 points clear of Haarlem who themselves just head MVV on goal difference. There is no change at the top in Serie A as Milan had a comfortable 3-0 win at Udinese and Inter beat 4th place Parma 1-0. Sampdoria stay 3rd despite being held 1-1 at Torino. Lazio go 5th after a 7-0 demolition of last-placed Ancona. In Northern Ireland, leaders Portadown suffered a second consecutive defeat when they were beaten 3-1 at 9th placed Bangor. The chasing teams failed to take advantage as Coleraine lost 2-1 at Glentoran and Linfield were beaten 1-0 at Distillery. Only 4 points now separate 2nd to 8th. Sporting stay top in Portugal having beaten Estrela de Amadora 1-0. Gil Vicente are second after their 3-0 defeat of Leiria, Benfica are 3rd and Porto 4th. Bottom club Pacos de Ferreira had an excellent 3-1 win over Maritimo and second-bottom Braga also won, defeating Beira-Mar 3-2 and they both made ground on Academica. Dundalk keep their 5-point lead over Shamrock Rovers after the leaders beat Derry City 2-1 and their pursuers suffered a shock 1-0 home loss to Shelbourne. Rovers did redeem themselves by winning their game in hand 2-1 at 3rd-placed Bohemians but they missed a golden opportunity to close within a win of the leaders. Only goal difference keeps Finn Harps bottom behind Derry City after their second consecutive victory. Rangers stay top of the SPL after a narrow 1-0 win over Dundee United and Celtic remain second after a 2-1 win at struggling Dundee. Livingston move up to third as they defeat Aberdeen 2-1 and Raith Rovers are held 2-2 at Hibs to drop to 4th. Bottom of the table in mid-October, a run of 8 wins in their last 9 matches has seen Livvy shoot up the table. A 3rd successive defeat keeps Motherwell bottom of the table. Barcelona now head La Liga following their 4-1 win at Levante and Sevilla’s 2-2 draw at Atletico Madrid. Deportivo demolished struggling Badajoz 5-1 and move 3rd as Real Sociedad lost for the second week in a row with visitors Athletic Bilbao winning 3-1. Only goal difference keeps Besiktas at the top of the table in Turkey after they were held to a 3-3 draw in a battling performance by visitors Gençlerbirligi. For the second week in succession Gençlerbirligi took a point off one of the top teams and they are showing great spirit in their relegation fight. Fenerbahçe beat Istanbulspor 4-2 and Galatasary defeated Denizlispor 2-0. In Wales, Haverfordwest took full advantage of the postponement of the match between top teams Aberystwyth Town and TN Solutions by beating Afan Lido 1-0 to go first. Caersws stay 4th having lost 2-1 at Llanelli and Welshpool leap up to 5th as a result of their fine 5-2 win at Rhyl. The table is as tight as ever, with just 4 points separating the top 8 teams. Cup Roundup The English League Cup Quarter Finals were complete this week. The Division 2 clash between Hull and visitors Oldham finished with a 2-1 victory to the home side. First Division Portsmouth had an excellent 3-1 win at Newcastle. Leeds defeated West Brom 1-0 and Manchester United triumphed 2-1 over Liverpool at Old Trafford. There was more cup action in England at the weekend with the FA Cup Second Round taking place. Burton Albion of the Conference held First Division Peterborough to a 1-1 draw and will replay at London Road. Third Division Hartlepool had an excellent 1-0 win at First Division Reading and Conference side Scarborough won a 4-3 thriller at Division Three Shrewsbury. The First Leg matches in the Italian Cup Quarter Finals took place on Wednesday. Atalanta beat Bologna 1-0, Inter had a 2-1 win over Parma, Roma and Milan played out a 1-1 draw and Sampdoria beat Torino 2-1. In Scotland the League Cup Quarter Finals were completed with Aberdeen triumphing 2-1 at Dunfermline and Celtic gaining a narrow 2-1 win at First Division Falkirk thanks to a late goal from ex-Leeds striker Alan Smith. The Second Round of the Spanish Cup took place on Wednesday and there were some interesting results. D2B side Albacete had a magnificent win over Real Socieadad. The match finished 4-4 at full time and when there were no further goals scored in extra time the home side won a tense penalty shootout 5-4. There were a several other triumphs by D2B teams against First Division opponents. Amurrio shocked high-flying Sevilla with a 1-0 home win, Palamos recorded the same result at home to Celta and Terrassa beat visitors Tenerife 3-2 having been 2-0 behind at half time. Cacereno took Espanyol all the way before losing on penalties and Cultural lost to an extra time winner at home to Villarreal. Second Division Recreativo had a comprehensive 3-0 win over Division One strugglers Badajoz. Spotlight on ..... The Greek National A Division The top division in Greece has been dominated by Olympiakos, Panathinaikos and AEK Athens. Only three times in its history has the title not been won by one of these three teams. In 1987 Larisa, now in National Division B, made recent history by winning the championship. Aris Salonika won the title in 1931 and 1945. In recent years, Olympiakos have been in the ascendancy, winning 7 of the last 8 titles. Panathinaikos are the only Greek team ever to have contested a European final, losing 2-0 to Ajax in the 1971 European Cup Final. AEK Athens 2001/2002 - 2nd 2002/2003 - 2nd Under the management of the experienced Yugoslav Dusan Bajevic, AEK have come tantalisingly close to capturing the championship each of the last two seasons. Two years ago they finished just a point behind Panathinaikos and last season they lost out to Olympiakos on goal difference. It is now 10 years since their last title and their supporters and players are desperate to succeed this season. They currently lie 3rd in the table, 4 points behind leaders Olympiakos. Last season £10M was invested in playing talent and it so nearly paid off. Most of that outlay was recovered in June of this year when Fabián Andrés Vargas (23, D/DM C) was sold to Monaco for £9M. The Colombian was purchased from America de Cali just 12 months earlier for £3.3M so that was a nice piece of business for Bajevic. Their top performer this season has been Dimitris Nalitzis (27, S C) who has scored 10 league goals in 11 starts. Aigaleo 2001/2002 - 5th 2002/2003 - 7th Giorgos Chatzaras has developed a solid mid-table team, unlikely to face a fight for relegation but equally unlikely to be challenged for honours. With one of the smallest but neatest stadiums in the top flight, Chatzaras has also been very astute in the transfer market and the club’s finances are as solid as the team. Over £10M in transfers revenues have been generated in the last two seasons, with 16 players being sold. Exactly the same number have arrived but at approximately half the cost. With no real stars in the side the squad relies on hard work, good organisation and an excellent team spirit. Aris Salonika 2001/2002 - 8th 2002/2003 - 9th Aris parted company with manager Giorgos Foiros in August of this year and he was replaced with 38-year-old Vasilis Georgopoulos from B Division Akratitos. The new boss has taken his team to 5th in the table and the team is set for a good league finish. In common with many Greek clubs, Aris tend to be a selling club. In excess of £10M has been raised in transfers in the last 2 years with barely 10% of that re-invested. Players who have caught the eye this season include Angel Luis (30, AM/F LC) and Kostas Katsouranis (24, SW/D/DM RC). The Spanish winger joined last season on a free transfer from Spanish Second Division Castellon and has built on his good performances of last season. The versatile Greek defender joined in May for a fee of £525K as he was deemed surplus to requirements at AEK and he has quickly become a key figure in the Aris defence. Ethnikos Asteras 2001/2002 - National B Champions 2002/2003 - 5th After winning the Division B title in 2001/2002 Giorgos Vazakas steered his team to a wonderful 5th place finish and an appearance in the Semi Finals of the Greek Cup. Currently sitting in 4th place in the table he is quietly demonstrating that his team’s performance last season was no fluke. This tiny club, based in a suburb of Athens, is really making people sit up and take notice. The star of the team is the most talked about youngster in Greek football, Alexandros Papadopoulos (18, S C). He has made the most extraordinary impact this season, scoring at an average of a goal a game with 19 goals in all competitions. A product of the Asteras youth system, this is his third season with the club and he made his debut as a 16-year-old. He has already scored 50 goals in 83 appearances. His strike partner is no slouch either and Panagiotis Brees (19, S C) has also found the net 10 times to make them the most productive combination in the division. Creative midfielder Prokopis Kartalis (26, AM RLC) is at the top of his game and club captain and Greek international Ilias Poursanidis (31, D/DM C) is a key figure in defence. Pas Giannena 2001/2002 - 12th 2002/2003 - 8th Having flirted with relegation for the past two seasons, Vasilis Papachristou and his team are in deep trouble this season. Rooted at the foot of the table with a mere 4 points from 12 games, it will take a miraculous transformation of their fortunes to escape the drop. His players are still working hard for him and morale is remarkably good considering the team’s position, but the truth is that Papachristou’s squad just isn’t good enough to survive at this level. Iraklis Salonika 2001/2002 - 7th 2002/2003 - 11th Despite taking his team to the Cup Final last season, coach Eggen Gehrard was fired at the end of June and replaced by Vasilis Tzalakostas. The new manager has not so far made any significant improvement in the level of performance and Iraklis are currently 9th in the table. The squad has some capable players such as the Polish forward Marcin Mieciel (27, F C) who has scored 15 goals in 15 starts in all competitions. Dutch defender Regillio Vrede (30, D C) is also a class act and is having an excellent season. But too many of their colleagues are not quite up to the job and although the team looks unlikely to be dragged into a relegation dogfight there are no signs of mounting any kind of challenge for a place in Europe either. Apollon Kalamarias 2001/2002 - 3rd in National B 2002/2003 - 2nd in National B Kostas Iosifidis led his team to promotion last season by the narrowest of margins, taking the runner-up position on goal difference. However, life in the top flight has proved far from easy and Kalamarias are currently second-bottom and are strong relegation candidates. A strong team spirit still exists, despite their precarious league position, although they are not helped by some unlucky injuries. Club captain Ilias Grigoriadis (29, D C) and winger Aristeidis Magafinis (30, M/F LC) are both out for several weeks with groin strains. Kavala 2001/2002 - 4th in National B 2002/2003 - 1st in National B Last season’s Division B champions are struggling to adjust to top-flight football and Kavala are currently in 10th position just a couple of points clear of the relegation places. Coach Dimos Filippidis has a lot of work to do to ensure that his team keep their place in Division A. With one of the most youthful first team squads in the league, Filippidis has put his faith in his younger players and only time will tell if his approach will bring success. The coach made wholesale changes to the playing staff last season with 13 players coming in and 14 departing but he did more or less break even financially. But it is the homegrown talent of Ioakeim Aritoglidis (24, S C) that has captured most of the headlines so far, with 10 goals in 15 appearances. But midfielder Stilianos Doukas (22, M C), a £240K signing from Division B club Kassandra at the start of the year, has also impressed since his arrival. OFI Crete 2001/2002 - 4th 2002/2003 - 12th OFI had a very poor season last year and, although never realistically threatened with relegation, Zdenek Scasny is anxious to see an improvement in this campaign. The club has generated nearly £25M in transfer revenue in the last 18 months, a vast amount of money by Greek standards. With less than £2.5M being spent in the same period, the fans in Crete are keen to see a larger investment in the playing staff. The club’s record signing is keeper Kostas Chalkias (29, GK) who was signed from Iraklis in August for £1.1M. Costa Rican forward Rónald Gómez (28, F RLC) was sold to Real Sociedad in June of last year for £7M and the versatile goalscorer has been a huge success in La Liga. So far this season OFI’s standout players have been defender Ilias Tsimopoulos (28, SW/D C) and Brazilian striker Soares (30, S C). Olympiakos Piraeus 2001/2002 - 3rd 2002/2003 - 1st Manager Giannis Kollias has not only brought Olympiakos the domestic success that their fanatical supporters expect, he has also steered his team to the Quarter Finals of the Champions League and the UEFA Cup Semi Finals in the last two seasons. He has also been very active in the transfer market, spending over £20M but recouping over £30M. Brazilian forward Giovanni (31, F RC) was sold for £8M to Dortmund last July and fellow international Ze Elias (27, DM C) went to Sporting for £6.25M a month later. In August another £6M was raised when David Mendes (21, D/DM C) went to Hertha BSC. Last summer £5.25M was spent to bring Greek goalscorer Nikos Machlas (30, S C) from Ajax and this July the same fee was agreed for Jun-ichi Inamoto (24, DM RC) with Gamba Osaka. Exciting young striker Dimos Charisteas (20, S C) is pushing hard for a regular place in the staring lineup having scored 6 times in 6 appearances, 4 of them as a substitute. Panathinaikos (PAO) 2001/2002 - 1st 2002/2003 - 3rd Having re-captured the league title in 2001/2002 from bitter rivals Olympiakos, last season’s 3rd place finish was a big disappointment to manager Fernando Santos. An appearance in the UEFA Cup Semi Final was some consolation but the main focus of the club this year is still the domestic championship. Santos has kept his squad mainly unchanged for the last couple of years and he clearly feels that he has enough quality to regain the title. Cypriot striker Michalis Konstantinou (25, S C) is in sparkling form as is the midfield trio of Giorgos Karagounis (26, AM C), Finn Joonas Kolkka (29, AM RLC) and Ghanaian Derek Boateg (20, AM C). PAO are scoring goals for fun at present and if they can tighten up slightly in defence they must have a great chance of winning the league. PAOK Salonika 2001/2002 - 6th 2002/2003 - 4th Aggelos Anastasiadis led his side to victory in the Greek Cup and to a good league finish to seal PAOK’s best season for some years. This season has been disappointing so far and the club sit just a couple of points above the relegation places. Many of the squad seem to be under performing and this has allowed Nikos Andrielos (19, D C) to establish a place in the first team. The young defender has been in outstanding form and, along with Dimitris Salpiggidis (22, S C), has been one of the few successes in the team so far. Panachaiki 2001/2002 - 9th 2002/2003 - 6th Italian coach Vincentzo Guerini is beginning to establish his team as a solid mid-table outfit. Panachaiki are another side that show faith in younger players and the excellent form of Kostas Konstantinidis (23, S C) and Spyros Vallas (22, SW/D C) has repaid their manager’s boldness. Panionios 2001/2002 - 10th 2002/2003 - 10th Perennial strugglers for the last few seasons, the club Chairman Lefteris Padazis has changed managers with alarming frequency. The latest man in the hotseat is Vagelis Vlachos after Babis Tennes and Jozef Bubenko have both been fired since May of last year. Many observers feel that this year may finally bring relegation. The squad lacks quality with one of their few class players, Sotiris Konstantinidis (26, F C), rumoured to be fed up with what he sees as constant under achievement and keen on making a move. Game of the Week Wednesday December 10th, 2003 Spanish Cup First Round Albacete 4 Real Sociedad 4 (aet - Albacete win 5-4 on penalties) Having suffered the indignity of relegation from the Second Division last season, the few thousand supporters in the Carlos Belmonte stadium witnessed an extraordinary match, full of action and incident. The home side started out with a 5-man defensive lineup, clearly hoping to hold their illustrious visitors at bay. This tactic didn’t work out too well as the outstanding Rónald Gómez opened the scoring within two minutes of the kick-off. Mikel Aranburu was the provider with a neat cross after a strong run down the right wing for Gómez to head powerfully home. The home side reacted positively and pushed forward in search of an equaliser. The ever-willing Mikel had several efforts, none of which unduly troubled keeper Alberto. Real Sociedad increased their lead in the 21st minute when the hard working youngster Xabi Alonso played in a free kick and Gómez once again climbed highest to head home. The Albacete players refused to let their heads drop and continued to press the visiting defence but without making any really clear openings. Mikel and Iñaki Léniz both forced Alberto into action but the Real keeper wasn’t seriously stretched. The home side finally got a breakthrough on the stroke of half time when a straightforward long ball from Léniz escaped the attentions of the Sociedad defence leaving Carlos Duré with a simple header. The well-travelled Argentinean had worked hard throughout the half and deserved some reward for his efforts. Ten minutes after the restart Gómez completed his hat trick. Carlos Cano did well to keep out the powerful Costa Rican’s header but could do nothing about his quick follow up as he latched on to the rebound and guided the ball home. But on the 60 minute mark an incident occurred that changed the complexion of the match. Substitute Dani Ruiz and Paco Peña combined with some neat interplay to set up Duré in the Sociedad area only for the Albacete striker to be hacked down by Igor Tasevski. The referee had no hesitation in awarding the penalty and showing the red card to the Yugoslav defender into the bargain. Paco Peña took the spot kick and sent Alberto the wrong way to pull the score back to 3-2. The home side looked to take advantage of their extra man and kept plugging away in search of an equaliser. Mikel was a constant threat and twice forced Alberto into smart saves to keep Sociedad in front. But with less than 10 minutes remaining Gómez rounded off a superb individual performance when he volleyed home a neat pass from Mikel Aranburu for his 4th goal of the game and the home side looked down and out. With just 3 minutes remaining Albacete got a glimmer of hope when Mikel got a well-deserved goal, finishing off a brilliant 5-man passing move to make the score 4-3. Real were now trying to play out time, holding on to the ball and looking to run the clock down. But as the referee was checking his watch in stoppage time substitute Basti made a surge into the Real box, Luiz Alberto mistimed his sliding tackle and another penalty was awarded. In a repeat of the first spot kick Paco Peña kept his nerve, Alberto guessed wrong and the scores were tied. The extra period was quite uneventful in comparison to what had gone on previously, although Gómez was twice denied what would have been a winning goal by Cano. And so a thrilling encounter went to the lottery of a penalty shootout. The home side started proceedings with MartÃn Irazoki tucking his kick away. Gómez replied for Real, Paco Peña made it 2-1 and Luiz Alberto atoned for his earlier mistake by tying the scores. Next a nervous looking Basti stepped up for the home side but blasted his kick wide. Ãlvaro made no such mistake and Real were now 3-2 ahead. Worse was to follow for Albacete as Rodrigo Ruiz had his weak kick saved by Alberto. Nihat then stepped up for Real knowing that his kick would send them trough but his effort was too close to the keeper and Cano made the save. The next man up for the home team was substitute Pedro. Having only been on the pitch for the last 5 minutes of extra time he now had the responsibility of keeping his team’s chances alive. His kick was a little tentative but Alberto had committed himself and it was now all-square. However, Sociedad still had their 5th penalty to come and young Xabi Alonso had the chance to win it, but he sent his effort wide to keep the score at 3-3. The tension was now almost unbearable as Iñaki Léniz stepped up to take Albacete’s 6th penalty. He took a long run up and blasted the ball over the bar! He trudged back to the centre circle with his head in his hands, knowing that he had presented Real with yet another chance to win the shootout. Igor Gabilondo looked anything but confident as he placed the ball on the spot and it was no surprise when his weak kick was saved by Cano. Ignacio Villalba looked calm and collected as he prepared to take the next spot kick and his accurate strike found the back of the net. It was now 4-3 to Albacete and the pressure was now on Real. Mikel Aranburu stepped up knowing that he had to score. He had the added pressure of knowing that his team-mates had missed three successive kicks but he seemed unconcerned with this and shot powerfully home to tie the score at 4-4. Albacete captain Vicente Simeón now had the chance to put his team ahead once more. Placing the ball on the spot he took a few steps back, ran up to the ball and slammed it into the roof of the net for a 5-4 lead. All of the pressure was now on the shoulders of substitute Mikel Azparren. The young defender knew that should he miss then it would all be over. He looked clam as he placed the ball and his kick was well-struck to the right side but Cano dived the correct way and got a hand to the ball. He was immediately engulfed by his delirious team-mates as they celebrated a wonderful victory over top-class opposition. Teams Albacete: Carlos David Cano, Paco Peña, Rubio (Dani Ruiz 52), Iñaki Léniz, Ignacio Villalba, Rodrigo Ruiz, MartÃn Irazoki, Gálder Zubizarreta (Pedro 115), Mikel, Carlos Alejandro Duré (Basti 91), José Vicente Simeón (Captain) Subs not used: LÃbero Parri, JoaquÃn Moso, Iván DÃaz, Jesús Real Sociedad: Alberto (Captain), Gabriel Francisco Schürrer (Mikel Azparren 78), Igor Tasevski, Luiz Alberto, Ãlvaro, Xabi Alonso, Mikel Aranburu, Igor Gabilondo, Rónald Gómez, Nihat, José Javier Barkero Subs not used: Sergio Terroba, Xavier Jáuregi, Sergio Varela, Franciso Martinez, Miguel Angel Perez, Jose Antonio Ferrera Scorers Albacete: Duré 45, Paco Peña (pen) 60, (pen) 90, Mikel 87 Real Sociedad: Gómez 2, 21, 55, 81 Man of the Match: Gómez Yellow Cards Albacete: Zubizarreta Real Sociedad: Ãlvaro, Xabi Alonso, Aranburu Red Cards Real Sociedad: Tasevski Attendance: 4,893 Reader’s Letters We have had quite a full post bag this week so thanks to everyone that’s been in touch. We heard from one of our younger readers when 11-year-old Katya requested some information on her favourite team, CSKA Moscow. Well Katya, CSKA had another good season in 2003, finishing 4th in the Premier Division. Their captain is Vladimir Kulik (31, F LC) and he was one of their top performers this year, scoring 22 goals in all competitions. Rumour has it that Vladimir is unhappy with his manager Valery Gazzaev at the moment. Tactically, CSKA seem to vary their formation for home and away games. At home the usually play with three central defenders, two wide defensive midfielders operating as wingbacks, a trio of central midfielders and two forwards. They try to play high-tempo attacking football and like to chase and harry their opponents. When playing away from home, the wide midfielders drop further back to give them a five-man defence and one of the central midfielders pushes up to play behind the two forwards. Hope that answers your questions Katya and thanks again for writing. We had another overseas reader get in touch, a Mr. I. N. Ruud from the USA. He wanted to know something about American players in Europe. Probably the best know American player this side of the pond is Landon Donovan (21, F RLC) who plays for Dortmund in the Bundesliga. The young forward has been rather mobile recently. He was transferred to Dortmund from Ukrainian team Shakhtar Donetsk for £3.1M in July of this year. He had only played 25 games for them after his £4.1M move from Leverkusen in July of last year. He never really settled in the Ukraine and was keen on a move back to Germany. He is a player with bags of potential but this has not really surfaced as yet - one to watch for the future though. The experienced Claudio Reyna (30, M C) has played in Germany, Scotland and England and currently plies his trade at Sunderland who are currently bottom of the Premier Division and are one of the favourites for relegation. John O’Brien (26, DM, RLC) plays in Holland for Ajax and has established himself as a regular starter on the left of midfield this season. Joe Max Moore (32, AM/F C) now plays in Spain for D2B side Figueres after being released by Everton in the early part of last year. His team are pushing for a promotion playoff place this season and he is a key figure up front for them. The veteran Ernie Stewart (34, AM/F RC) is now in his 16th season in Holland, the last 8 of which have been spent at NAC. Kasey Keller (34, GK) and Brad Friedel (32, GK) are still employed in the English Premier League. Keller has not featured in the Tottenham lineup for the best part of two seasons and has been placed on the transfer list at his own request. Friedel has lost his starting position at Blackburn to new arrival Esteban (28, GK). The Spaniard moved from Oviedo in a £5.5M deal in the summer. Finally, loyal reader Gino sent his best wishes - just for you we will be updating your dedicated Burnley section on ESW in the next site update. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobBev Posted December 12, 2003 Author Share Posted December 12, 2003 ESW Online has been updated. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
I\'m Not Ruud Posted December 12, 2003 Share Posted December 12, 2003 Woo! Thanks BobBev. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trigz Posted December 14, 2003 Share Posted December 14, 2003 This is wonderful. I've now read every single post, letter by letter, and I can't believe how well-written this story is! Please never stop, this is my definite favourite for Story of the Year! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gino Posted December 14, 2003 Share Posted December 14, 2003 <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Trigz: <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> *wasted most missed vote* Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeytonOrient212 Posted December 14, 2003 Share Posted December 14, 2003 Dear ESW: Could you update me on the fortunes of Leyton Orient FC? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobBev Posted December 18, 2003 Author Share Posted December 18, 2003 European Soccer Weekly Issue 21 - Friday December 19th, 2003 News Speculation is rife in the Italian media that Fabio Cannavaro (30, D C) is on the verge of leaving Inter to join Serie A rivals Juventus in an £18M deal. Dutch striker Patrick Kluivert (27, S C) has been getting rave reviews in the Spanish press and with 19 goals in 24 appearances for Barcelona it is easy to understand the fuss. The Spanish transfer window opened on Monday and there has been much activity. Two of the biggest deals were the move of Kim Källström (21, DM C) from Real Sociedad to Atlético Madrid for £7.25M and the £8.75M that it cost Deportivo to persuade West Ham to part with Joe Cole (22, AM LC). Källström joined Sociedad exactly 12 months ago for £3.1M from Swedish club Djurgården. His form in La Liga has been far from spectacular so Atlético President Jesus Gil must see some hidden potential. Cole on the other hand is one of the most exciting midfield talents in Europe and despite his relatively young age he has made nearly 150 first team appearances in his 6 and a half seasons at Upton Park and has played 18 times for his country. There were also a couple of noteworthy transfers in Germany. Hertha BSC have signed Darius Kampa (26, GK) from Nürnberg for £4.1M and SC Freiburg have sold Russian player Vladimir But (26, AM LC) to Austrian club Strum Graz for £4M. We hear rumours from Croatia that Ivica Saric, the notoriously impatient Chairman of First Division Cibalia, may be about to appoint his 4th manager in just over 18 months. The current boss, Vjekoslav Lokica, is under some pressure to improve results and may not hang on to his job for too much longer. Mind you, he has been in charge for 12 months, almost twice as long as his predecessor, so he may expect a gold watch as a leaving present! In the French First Division the failure of Henri Michel to reinvigorate the fortunes of PSG could well result in his imminent departure as his team languish in the bottom quarter of the table. In Holland Utrecht boss Foeke Booy continues to face criticism as his team still struggle to find any consistency. Ronald Koeman seems to have weathered the storm at Vitesse now that the team have started to climb slowly up the table. In Portugal Boavista boss Jose Mourinho still clings on to his job, despite his team’s continuing decline. They have lost 7 of their last 8 league games and have been eliminated from the Portuguese Cup. Pressure is also increasing on Manuel Jose at Vitoria Guimaraes and Jose Vieira de Carvalho at Vitoria Setubal as neither of their teams show any signs of improvement. Malaga have not yet announced a replacement for Rafa Benitez since his sacking 10 days ago. Turkish strugglers Trabzonspor are reported to be considering the position of manager Aykut Kocaman as they continue their alarming slide down the table. League Roundup With two rounds of matches this week in the Belgian First Division there are new leaders in the shape of Sint-Truiden. On Saturday they beat struggling Mons 3-1 but were surprisingly beaten 1-0 in midweek by Lommel. Charleroi only had a midweek match and they were held 2-2 by visiting Antwerp and drop to second. Third placed Anderlecht had a thrilling 4-4 draw at the weekend at Mouscron. The home side fought back from 3-0 down to get back on level terms. Anderlecht scored a 4th near the end but Mouscron managed a last minute equaliser for a valuable point. In midweek the Brussels club were soundly beaten 3-0 by rivals Standard Liege. A 2-0 defeat by Lokeren followed by a 2-1 win over Mons keeps Racing Genk in 4th place whilst two wins for Standard Liege takes them to 5th. La Louviere remain bottom after 2 losses and Mons slip into the second relegation place. But with a mere 4 points between 17th and 11th it is very tight in the bottom half of the table. In Croatia the top three all won so Osijek stay first with Dinamo second and Hajduk third. For the 4th week in succession Zadar and Zagreb swap places. This time Zadar had a very good 4-2 win at Zagreb and move to 4th on goal difference. Davor Suker (35, S C) scored twice in the victory and is clearly enjoying being back home for the twilight of his career. Kamen Ingrad and Marsonia both suffered defeats and stay in the relegation places with nearest rivals Cakivec winning at home to widen the distance between them. English Premier League leaders Manchester United played twice this week, being held 1-1 at struggling Charlton at the weekend and beating high-flying Blackburn 2-0 on Wednesday. Despite that reverse Blackburn’s 2-0 win over Leeds on Saturday still takes then into second place after Arsenal drew 1-1 at Southampton. Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Brighton moves them up to 4th on goal difference over West Ham who beat Millwall 2-1. At the bottom of the table Sunderland shocked Chelsea with a 3-2 win at the Stadium of Light. West Brom also managed a rare win, beating Wolves 1-0 in a West Midlands derby but both still remain in the bottom three with Brighton. It was a busy week in the French First Division with most teams playing twice. Two wins for Sedan, 3-1 over Strasbourg and an impressive 4-0 in Monaco, takes them top. Nantes drop down a place as they beat Lorient 2-0 at the weekend but were held 0-0 at Lyon in midweek. They are two points behind but also have two games in hand. Rennes move up to 3rd with wins over Troyes and Nice whilst Marseilles drop to 4th after suffering identical 2-0 defeats at Bordeaux and St. Etienne. Auxerre are the biggest movers of the week, climbing from 10th to 5th after their two wins over Guingamp and Bastia. At the bottom Toulouse picked up 4 points with a victory over Lens and a draw with Bordeaux. They have now closed to within 4 points of the teams above and still have 4 games in hand. Troyes, Lorient and Guingamp are tied on 15 points with Bastia just a point further ahead. Nürnberg stay top of the Bundesliga thanks to a narrow 1-0 win over SC Freiburg whilst Dortmund’s fine 3-1 defeat of visitors Leverkusen keeps them second. With only 1 point in their last 4 league matches, Leverkusen have dropped to 5th. Schalke 04 move to 3rd after their 2-2 draw at 1.FC Köln and FC Bayern go 5th after a narrow 1-0 win at bottom club Cottbus. The bottom three all lost but Werder Bremen’s 5-1 defeat at nearest rivals M'gladbach was particularly damaging. The top two swap places in Greece once again as PAO go top after their 4-1 defeat of Kavala and Olympiakos drop to second as a result of a 2-1 home defeat by Aris who move to 4th. AEK stay 3rd having had a good win at Ethnikos Asteras who drop to 5th. The bottom two both picked up a point, Giannena with a 2-2 draw against Iraklis and Kalamaria with the same scoreline at OFI. Kalamaria move to within a point of nearest rivals Kavala and there is now just 4 points between 7th and 13th. In Holland Feyenoord stay in first position after they beat AZ 1-0 at the weekend and also won their midweek match against Heerenveen. PSV were beaten 2-1 by great rivals Ajax in Amsterdam on Sunday but beat ADO in midweek. PSV stay above Ajax on goal difference with AZ in 4th. The bottom of the table clash between MVV and Haarlem ended in a 1-0 win to Haarlem to keep MVV firmly in the single relegation place. Haarlem and Willem II are still in the playoff places with Zwolle a couple of points clear above them. Milan have stretched their lead at the top of Serie A to 5 points following a good 3-0 win over Ascoli. The top of the table matchup at Sampdoria saw the home side beat Inter 1-0 in a very tight contest but Inter stay second on goal difference. Parma had a comfortable 4-0 win over Udinese to stay 4th and Roma beat Perugia 4-2 and remain 5th. Lazio stay 6th with a draw at Bologna and Juventus go 7th after a 3-0 defeat of Empoli. At the bottom Ancona fought out a 3-3 draw with Torino but both Chievo and Palermo lost. In Northern Ireland, leaders Portadown got back to winning ways, beating Glenavon 2-0 and Coleraine remain second as they beat Newry 1-0. Distillery leap up to 3rd on goal difference over Glentoran and Ballymena United. Distillery beat Ballymena 4-0 and Glentoran were held scoreless by Institute. Despite a fighting point, Institute remain fully 20 points from safety and the Irish bookmakers have long since suspended betting on their relegation. The top five places in Portugal remain the same after this week’s action. Sporting had quite a match at Belenenses but finally won 4-3. They remain 4 points clear of Gil Vicente who won 4-1 at Estrela de Amadora. Benfica stay 3rd despite not having played and Porto remain 4th after a 3-3 draw at Leiria and a 2-1 win over Estrela de Amadora. In spite of their defeat by Sporting, Belenenses remain 5th. There is no change in the relegation places as the bottom three all suffered defeats. In the Republic of Ireland, leaders Dundalk played twice this week. A narrow 4-3 win over St.Pat’s Athletic and a 2-2 draw at Shelbourne stretched their lead to 9 points over Shamrock Rovers. Rovers stay second, despite not playing this week. Bottom club Finn Harps suffered another defeat, 3-1 at Waterford and Derry City were mauled 4-0 at Bohemians. Celtic are back on top in Scotland as they made their game in hand over Rangers count. The Celts trounced Hibs 5-0 at the weekend and followed that up with a 2-0 defeat of bottom club [/b]Motherwell. Rangers[/b] are a point behind having won 3-0 at Hearts. Raith Rovers go back up to 3rd after beating Dunfermline 2-0 as Livingston lost out 1-0 at St. Johnstone. But it is a two-horse race in Scotland, with a 15-point gap between 2nd and 3rd. Dundee did manager Jim Duffy a favour with a 2-1 win at Motherwell to relieve the pressure just a little. A defeat by the bottom club would surely have spelt the end for their beleaguered boss. In Sapin, Barcelona remain top after a narrow 1-0 defeat of struggling Betis. Sevilla stay a point behind after a good 4-1 defeat of Espanyol but they have played a game more than the leaders. Deportivo remain 3rd thanks to a 2-1 win at last placed Elche, although it took a couple of late goals from in-form Diego Tristán (27, S C) to get the points. The Deportivo hitman is one of the top strikers in Europe at the moment, with 20 goals from just 18 starts. Athletic Bilbao played twice this week and a 1-1 draw with Atletico Madrid followed by a 2-1 win at Oviedo takes them to 4th. Real Madrid move up to 5th as they beat Real Sociedad 3-0. The bottom three of Malaga, Badajoz and Elche all lost again, with Elche in real trouble having failed to win any games this season so far. There is a battle royal going on at the top of the Turkish Premier Division with just one point between the top three. Besiktas lead on goal difference from Fenerbahçe as they both have 35 points with Galatasary just behind on 34 points. The bottom three all picked up points this week. Sekerspor came back from Samsunspor with a scoreless draw and Yozgatspor did very well to hold Galatasary to a 1-1 draw. But the most eventful of the three games was the 3-3 draw between Gençlerbirligi and Istanbulspor. The home side were 3-1 ahead with 30 minutes remaining and on course for 3 very valuable points. But they totally lost their discipline, had two players dismissed and in the end were desperately holding on for the draw. In Wales, TN Solutions move back to the top as they beat Cwmbran Town 2-0 and Haverfordwest were held 1-1 by struggling Oswestry Town. A 3-1 win at Caernarfon Town takes Welshpool up to 3rd and Barry Town go 4th with their 2-0 defeat of Carmarthen Town. Newtown are up to 5th after an excellent 4-0 victory over Port Talbot Town. Flexsys Cefn Druids are still rock bottom as they lose again but Afan Lido’s second win of the season, a good 1-0 result at Aberystwyth Town moves them up a place to 16th. Cup Roundup In England, Conference side Burton Albion pulled off a shock result in their FA Cup Second Round replay at First Division Peterborough when they snatched a dramatic winning goal in the 90th minute. Their reward is a Third Round match at home to Chelsea. With Gary Megson’s side in indifferent form in the Premiership this is already being marked down as a potential upset. The German Cup Quarter Finals took place this week and struggling Borussia Monchengladbach pulled off a shock 2-0 win over FC Bayern. Leverkusen had a good 2-0 win at Hertha BSC and are now firm favourites to win the trophy. HSV eliminated Schalke 04 on penalties after a scoreless draw and 1860 Munchen narrowly beat Hannover 96 with a late winner from Ebbe Sand (31, F C). The First Leg matches in the Italian Cup Quarter Finals took place on Wednesday. Atalanta beat Bologna 1-0, Inter had a 2-1 win over Parma, Roma and Milan played out a 1-1 draw and Sampdoria beat Torino 2-1. Spotlight on ..... The Croatian First Division The Croatian national team established themselves in the forefront of world football when they reached the World Cup Semi-Finals in 1998, eventually finishing in third place. Domestically, Dinamo have been the most successful team in Croatia in recent times but last season’s surprise league champions were Slaven Belupo. Belisce 2001/2002 - Second Division North Champions 2002/2003 - 12th Belisce are one of the smallest clubs in the Division, with just a 5,000 capacity so their financial resources are limited. However, in Stjepan Madjaric they have one of the canniest and most experienced managers in the country. He guided the team to promotion in 2001/2002 and also to a place in the Croatian Cup Semi Finals where they were beaten by Osijek over two legs. They comfortably maintained their First Division status last season and look equally capable of doing the same this year. Their squad have remained substantially unchanged for the last two and a half seasons and, as might be expected, is devoid of star names although Venezuelan Jose Molina (24, S C) has been playing well enough to win his first international cap in August. Cakovec 2001/2002 - 12th 2002/2003 - 14th After making a reasonable start to their league campaign, Cakovec went into a dreadful slump, losing their last 13 league games and avoiding relegation by one point. It says much about the generally more patient approach of club owners in Croatia that manager Miljenko Dovecer is still in gainful employment as his team is still struggling this season, although 4 points in their last two games has arrested their slide somewhat. With most of their team-mates struggling the performances of club captain Mario Jozic (31, GK) and Milan Golic (26, S C) have stood out. Cibalia 2001/2002 - 14th 2002/2003 - 9th Despite our earlier comments regarding the patience of Croatian Chairmen, Cibalia are a club that have changed managers recently. Milan Petkovic was dismissed last April as the club struggled against relegation. His successor, Ivan Buljan, failed to improve matters much and lasted 7 months before current boss Vjekoslav Lokica appeared. He rallied the team and achieved a reasonable mid table finish. A similar result looks like happening this season with the club currently sitting in 8th position. Cultured midfielder Ivan Maroslavac (27, M C) is one of their top performers and the experience of Andrija Balajic (31, DM L) is valuable. The club are very excited about one of their home-grown youngsters and Darko Vuka (17, S C) is already a regular starter and has 9 goals to his name so far this season. Dinamo 2001/2002 - 1st 2002/2003 - 2nd In the last 12 seasons Dinamo have won the league 7 times and been runner-up 3 times. After guiding his team to the title in 2001/2002 manager Miroslav Blazevic retired and was succeeded by Ivan Katanlinic. The new man saw his side finish two points behind surprise champions Slaven Belupo but they saw off the challenge of arch-rivals Hajduk to win the Croatian Cup over two legs. The Croatian league is unusual in that teams level on points at the end of the season are not separated by goal difference - they have a two-legged playoff instead to decide the final placings. Last season Dinamo and Hajduk were tied on points and Dinamo won the playoff to take second place. In the last couple of months two players have been sold for very substantial sums by Croatian standards. Kristijan Polovanec (24, D LC) joined Slaven Belupo in October for £2.5M and a month later Niko Kranjcar (19, F RC) moved to Monchengladbach for £2.75M. Katanlinic has a strong squad at his disposal with one of the top performers being Silvio Maric (28, F C) who returned to Dinamo 3 seasons ago after spells at Newcastle and Porto. Club captain Ivica Olic (24, F LC) heads the scoring charts with 18 goals in all competitions and Macedonian Goce Sedloski (29, D C) has formed a formidable defensive partnership with Dino Drpic (22, D C). Youth Academy graduate Danijel Kristic (16, D C) shows great potential and has really impressed in his two first team appearances so far. Hajduk 2001/2002 - 2nd 2002/2003 - 3rd Hajduk have been the "nearly team" of the last few seasons - 2nd and 3rd in the league and losing Semi Finalists and Finalists in the Croatian Cup. Manager Zoran Vulic is hoping that they can go one better this season and finally land a trophy or two. He has a little money to spend having raised the best part of £10M in transfer income in the last 6 months. Goran Sablic (24, D C) went to 1860 Munchen for £2.2M and Hertha BSC paid £3.4M for Srdjan Andric (23, DM C). Some of the windfall has been spent on Dalibor Viskovic (26, D/DM L) who cost £1.9M from Slaven Belupo. But it has been veteran midfielder Dejan Racunica (34, AM LC) who has been most impressive so far this season with his creative play and his recent injury is a blow for the team. Forward pairing Petar Krpan (29, F RLC) and Zvonimir Deranja (24, F C) are always a threat and Anthony Grdic (28, SW/D C) and captain Jerko Leko (23, D/DM RC) are key defensive players. Kamen Ingrad 2001/2002 - 5th 2002/2003 - 7th Vladimir Skocajic certainly likes to dabble in the transfer market and he has sold 14 players and bought 13 in the last 18 months or so, none of them for big money although he is showing a modest profit over that time. His team won the Croatian Cup in 2001/2002 and had established themselves as a solid First Division side. This has been achieved mostly through hard work and determination as his playing staff are far from world beaters. The team has been struggling a bit this season and some observers suggest that they are showing all the signs of a team in decline. Marsonia 2001/2002 - 8th 2002/2003 - 11th Since their promotion to the top flight a few seasons ago Marsonia have hovered in mid table. Ambitious owner Dragan Maric caused a stir when he appointed the legendary Alen Boksic (33, F C) as Player/Manager from Middlesbrough. His arrival has proved controversial as he is rumoured to be on a salary of £65K a week, an unbelievable sum for a small club in Croatia. Unfortunately, his team has struggled badly this season and are firmly at the bottom of the table. Also the drain of his excessive salary has also destabilised the club’s financial position. Mosor 2001/2002 - 3rd in Second Division South 2002/2003 - Second Division North Champions Having come close to gaining promotion from the Southern Division in 2001/2002 Mosor were switched to the Northern Division last season and promptly won the championship by a distance. By far the smallest club in the Division they have certainly not disgraced themselves so far and currently lie 10th in the table. Manager Vedran Milovic has a small, tightly knit squad who work hard for one another. So modest are there resources that they have supplemented their playing staff with no fewer than 5 loan signings. Osijek 2001/2002 - 10th 2002/2003 - 6th When ex-boss Luka Peruzovic was poached by Kamen Ingrad in early July he was replaced by Luka Bonacic and the new manager has certainly made an impression. His team currently are at the top of the table and give every indication of wishing to stay there. Osijeck have built their success this season on solid defensive play as Bonacic has switched to playing a back three and using two overlapping wingbacks. His team has the best defensive record in the league with long-serving and versatile captain Ivo Ergovic (35, SW/D/DM LC), equally experienced Ivica Kulesevic (34, SW/D C) and young Bosnian star Eldin Kalesic (21, D LC) forming a solid defensive backbone. Front men Veldin Karic (30, F C) and Goran Ljubojevic (20, F LC) are no slouches and the older man has formed a good understanding with the exciting youngster. Rijeka 2001/2002 - 4th 2002/2003 - 10th Last season ended in disappointment after an encouraging finish in the league in 2001/2002 and Nenad Gracen still feels that his team has more potential than it is currently showing. Croatian international Mario Stanic (31, AM/F RC) has been on loan from Chelsea for the past one and a half seasons and is one of the most effective players in the squad. Miro Weiss (24, D/DM C) and Andre Mijatovic (SW/D RLC) are key figures in defence and in Dragan Sladakovic (21, F LC) the club has one of the best-regarded youngsters in the league. Segesta 2001/2002 - 2nd in Second Division South 2002/2003 - Second Division South Champions Under experienced manager Ivica Vidovic, Segesta made up for the disappointment of narrowly missing out on promotion in 2001/2002 by winning the Southern Division title last season. Their debut in the First Division has been steady and they look more than capable of a mid table finish. A couple of astute loan signings have proven very valuable as Ivan Radeljic (23, SW/D C) of Hajduk and Marko Sarlija (21, GK) from Dinamo, have been in top form. The young keeper has been particularly impressive, putting in a series of mature performances. Club captain Alexander Brandic (31, D C) has also been a key figure in defence. Sibenik 2001/2002 - 9th 2002/2003 - 13th Sibenik suffer from very inconsistent form in the league, much to the frustration of manager Stanko Mrsic. If his team could emulate their Cup performances every week they would surely be pushing for a very good league finish. They reached the Croatian Cup Semi Final last season, losing out to Dinamo over two legs. They have reached the same stage this season and will fancy their chances against Second Division Nehaj next March. The sale of top player Stjepan Jukic (24, DM LC) to Slaven Belupo for £1.2M in September raised a few eyebrows at the club. Top performers so far this season have been Damir Vuica (31, D RC), Romano Obilinovic (24, F C) and Zeljko Sopic (29, DM C). Slaven Belupo 2001/2002 - 3rd 2002/2003 - 1st Rajko Magic seemed very aptly named when he lead his team to a very unexpected league title last season. One of the smallest clubs in the division, their 3rd place finish in the previous season had been seen as a huge success and no one expected that to be followed with the championship. The club invested heavily in squad improvements following their triumph, with over £9M paid out on half a dozen players. The most effective of the new boys had been Mato Neretljak (24, D LC) who cost £1.8M from Hajduk. They have really struggled defensively so far this season and much of the blame has been heaped on the shoulders of another new signing from Hajduk, Vladimir Balic (33, GK). The experienced keeper joined at the start of October for a fee of £625K but so far he has conceded nearly two goals a game and the local media are giving him a torrid time. Striker Marijo Dodik (29, S C) has not been quite the same force as he was last season but is still scoring regularly. Unfortunately partner Drazen Horvat (24, D/AM/F RC) has also been criticised in the press for his performances and this has seriously undermined his confidence. Varteks 2001/2002 - 6th 2002/2003 - 8th Manager Drazen Besek was unexpectedly sacked in March of this year and replaced by Zlatko Kranjcar. Chairman Davor Darabos had accused Besek of lacking ambition and the two parted company in acrimonious circumstances. Unfortunately the new boss has not been an immediate success and his team are struggling near the foot of the table. The squad has generally been under performing although players such as Sasa Bjelanovic (24, S C) on loan from Serie B club Como, and Marko Mikic (21, M C) have made good contributions. But the player who is grabbing all the headlines at present is teen sensation Tihomir Cosic (16, SW/D C) who has played unbelievably well since breaking into the first team 5 or 6 weeks ago. Zadar 2001/2002 - 11th 2002/2003 - 4th The experienced Ivo Susak was brought in to replace Vjeran Simunic in March of last year and his presence as manager has certainly transformed the fortunes of the club. A 4th place finish last season brought a place in the UEFA Cup and Zadar look to be pushing for a similar result this season. The 57-year-old Susak has made some canny signings to strengthen the squad considerably. He has spent nearly £3.5M but his master stroke has undoubtedly been the capture of Croatian legend Davor Suker (35, S C) on a free transfer from Swiss club St. Gallen. The well-travelled striker has been having a great season and has shown that he still has an eye for goal. Zagreb 2001/2002 - 7th 2002/2003 - 5th Zagreb are another team that are on the up as manager Marinko Koljanin oversees a steady improvement in their performances. Like Susak at rivals Zadar, Koljanin also signed a big name player in the twilight of his career recently. Robert Prosinecki (34, AM C) was picked up on a free transfer in July, but thus far he has not made anything like to same impact as Suker has. The key figure in the Zagreb squad is loan signing Jason Culina (23, M LC). The Ajax midfielder has been in outstanding form, as has home grown striker Krunoslav Lovrek (24, S C) who has found the net 16 times in 20 games so far. Experienced defender Andrej Panadic (34, D C) has proved to be a great free signing. Having played for the last two seasons with Grampus in Japan he has retuned home to Croatia and is having a marvellous season as part of the Zagreb back three. 2002/2003 Table <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1st C Slaven Belupo 30 11 2 2 40 18 10 1 4 32 22 66 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2nd Dinamo 30 10 2 3 32 11 10 2 3 49 23 64 3rd Hajduk 30 12 2 1 31 5 7 5 3 30 21 64 4th Zadar 30 10 3 2 34 18 8 1 6 27 22 58 5th Zagreb 30 11 1 3 34 23 5 4 6 23 33 53 6th Osijek 30 10 1 4 27 12 3 7 5 22 27 47 7th Kamen Ingrad 30 8 5 2 23 12 5 2 8 13 20 46 8th Varteks 30 9 2 4 35 23 4 2 9 18 34 43 9th Cibalia 30 6 6 3 28 29 4 3 8 18 34 39 10th Rijeka 30 5 6 4 18 18 4 5 6 16 19 38 11th Marsonia 30 5 3 7 29 36 3 6 6 22 33 33 12th Belisce 30 7 4 4 27 25 2 1 12 18 37 32 13th Sibenik 30 7 1 7 20 21 2 4 9 18 26 32 14th Cakovec 30 5 1 9 27 29 1 3 11 11 31 22 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15th R Pomorac 30 5 2 8 28 29 1 1 13 12 31 21 16th R Solin Gradja 30 2 6 7 20 29 1 0 14 9 40 15</pre> Game of the Week Saturday December 13th, 2003 Belgian First Division Mouscron 4 Anderlecht 4 This is not a game that the home keeper Francky Vandendriessche will want to remember in a hurry. Having gifted the visitors 3 goals inside 19 minutes he was ignominiously replaced by Kurt Vandoorne. The two had shared the starting position last season but Vandendriessche had been the preferred number one during this campaign. The 32-year-old got off to a shaky start when Dutch midfielder Richard Witschge tried his luck from outside the area after a couple of minutes. Vandendriessche gathered the ball at the second attempt but looked far from comfortable. The first goal came two minutes later after an Anderlecht corner was half cleared. The ball pinged around on the edge of the area and Clayton Zane eventually latched on to it. His shot was well struck but Vandendriessche seemed to react late and was beaten at his near post. Mouscron looked purposeful after that initial setback and Davy De Beule came close to scoring with a swerving shot hit with the outside of his right foot but his effort went inches wide. Within seconds the action was back at the other end as some neat interplay between Zane and Elpys José Espinal set up Yasin Karaça but his powerful volley came back off the bar. Anderlecht went two up in the 18th minute when Witschge sent in a fairly aimless free kick. The Mouscron defence seemed to be expecting Vandendriessche to come and claim the ball but when the keeper remained rooted on his line Nenad Jestrovic was presented with an unchallenged header. A minute later and it was 3-0 as Zane picked up on a half-cleared corner to blast the ball home through a crowd of players. Once again Vandendriessche should have dealt with the cross ball but left it to his central defenders. At this point Mouscron boss Hugo Broos clearly felt that enough was enough and on came Vandoorne. Within 5 minutes the home side had pulled a goal back. Mbo Mpenza latched on to along throw up the touchline from Jerry Poorters and slipped the ball to Jef Delen. The winger sent in a teasing cross from the left and Marcin Zewlakow climbed above Sergio Hellings to head home. At this point the pace of the game had increased noticeably and the play moved from end to end. Some 10 minutes before the break Anderlecht spurned a glorious opportunity to put the game out of reach after Zane was clattered over in the area by Wilfried Delbroek. Captain Bertrand Crasson took the kick but his effort was very well saved by Vandoorne. This seemed to inspire the home side and a snappy passing move, started and finished by Mpenza, almost resulted in a goal but the Belgian international’s shot was tuned away for a corner by Geert De Vlieger. The set piece was well cleared by Zoel Epale but Koen De Vleeschauwer took control of the loose ball and found John Machethe on the left. He squared the ball across the front of the Anderlecht area and Delen drove a powerful shot into the bottom corner to take the score to 3-2. Play seemed to tighten up considerably after that as the visitors were less ambitious going forward and but the home side lacked the fluency and imagination to break down their defence. But then 10 minutes after the restart Zewlakow once more got the better of Hellings, this time on the ground, and the big Pole fired home the equaliser. Over the next 20 minutes or so Vandoorne was the busier of the two keepers as first Karaça and then Epale forced him into action. Anderlecht finally re-took the lead as the impressive Zane completed his hat trick, beating De Beule in the air to head home a Witschge free kick. The powerful Australian striker is now in his third season with Anderlecht and has been improving each year. This seemed to knock the stuffing out of the home side and, as the clock ticked towards full time, they seemed incapable of mounting a serious attack. But then Jef Delen, who had been their most effective player throughout, took matters into his own hands. Picking up possession near the centre circle he ran powerfully past several Anderlecht players before sending in a low near post cross that substitute Ma Shuai converted for a dramatic late equaliser. Teams Mouscron: Francky Vandendriessche (Kurt Vandoorne 20), Koen De Vleeschauwer, Jerry Poorters, Wilfried Delbroek (Thanasis Tsikitsiris 58), Kevin Pecqueux, John Machethe, Davy De Beule, Steve Dugardein (Captain), Marcin Zewlakow, Mbo Mpenza (Ma Shuai 64), Jef Delen Subs not used: Hakim Mouloua, Giovanne Rector, Alo'o, Dejan Mitrovic Anderlecht: Geert De Vlieger, Bertrand Crasson (Captain), Richard Witschge, Olivier Doll (Kenny Vanhoevelen 90), Sergio Hellings, Hannu Tihinen, Zoel Epale, Yasin Karaça, Nenad Jestrovic, Clayton Zane, Elpys José Espinal Subs not used: Aruna, Daniel Zitka, Ivica Mornar, Ode Ochinabo, Marc Hendrikx, Giuseppe Favalli Scorers Mouscron: Zewlakow 25, 54, Delen 38, Ma Shuai 90 Anderlecht: Zane 4, 19, 77, Jestrovic 18 Man of the Match: Zane Attendance: 10,961 Reader’s Letters This week we were delighted to hear from Norwegian reader Trigz – many thanks for your kind words of support. It is always good to be contacted by one of our overseas subscribers. Also, LeytonOrient212 wrote requesting some information on his favourite team – glad to oblige. After a couple of mediocre seasons during which they finished 14th and 16th in the Third Division, Leyton Orient are in much better shape for this league campaign and currently lie 7th in the table in the final playoff position. Competition is tight however, and they have Chesterfield and Chester breathing down their necks with all three teams on 34 points and Lincoln just a point behind. The board have shown patience with manager Paul Brush and perhaps this season they will be rewarded with playoff place. The club has not exactly been throwing their money around in the transfer market but their biggest signing was the acquisition of Ademola Bankole (34, GK). The experienced Nigerian keeper cost £190K from Crewe in June 2002. They have made a couple of largeish sales this season. Robert Tomaschek (31, DM C), a free signing from Hearts in 2001, went to Derby for £425K in June. Simon Downer (22, D C) moved to Oldham in October for a fee of £600K and seems to have adjusted well to his new club. The youngster made 134 appearances for Orient, scoring once. Top performers this season have been Liam Burns (25, D RC), a bargain £24K signing from Port Vale in the summer, and Lee Thorpe (28, F RC) the top scorer so far with 12 goals in 27 games. The Orient are now out of all of the cup competitions, and to use the old cliché, they can now concentrate on the league. Look out for a special Readers Request page just for you in the forthcoming update of ESW Online. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobBev Posted December 18, 2003 Author Share Posted December 18, 2003 ESW Online has been updated. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 18, 2003 Share Posted December 18, 2003 Dear ESW Just wanted to say what a great job ur doing and have bookmarked your site Just wanted to know How the mighty Clyde are doing, and who is the hottiest young propery in scotland right now Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 21, 2003 Share Posted December 21, 2003 wow, unbelievable page! could you give me some updates on polish players playing abroad? have any moved to quality clubs in europe. how much are the top polish players worth. thanks Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gino Posted December 21, 2003 Share Posted December 21, 2003 Bravo Bob! This just gets better and better with each update. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobBev Posted December 26, 2003 Author Share Posted December 26, 2003 European Soccer Weekly Issue 22 - Friday December 26th, 2003 Welcome to the Festive issue of ESW and a very Happy Christmas to all our readers. News The biggest night on the football awards calendar took place a few days ago at the Glasgow Hilton where the CMS Awards were held. ESW would like to congratulate all of the nominees and winners and we were extremely gratified that our own modest publication received recognition. The organisers did a marvellous job and your roving reporter has already got his name down to blag a few tickets for next year's event. Arsenal forward Thierry Henry (26, S C) has picked up this year's French Player of the Year award. With 16 goals in all competitions so far this season he is in outstanding form. Runner up was David Trezeuget (26, S C) of Juventus, followed by Barcelona's Philippe Christanval (25, SW/D C). The major transfer news of the week was the £6.25M move of Juan Carlos Valeron (28, AM RC) from Deportivo to Leverkusen. The Spanish midfielder has rarely featured in Deportivo's league campaign this season and is keen to get back into first team action. There was also a big-money deal in France as Second Division leaders Montpellier agreed to a fee of £3.9M with Lille for young defender Mansour Assoumani (20, SW/D C). This seems a highly inflated sum for an unproven player as the youngster has only made 20 appearances in his three seasons at Montpellier. On the job front, the storm clouds seem to be gathering at Lens as last season's French First Division champions languish in mid table. Apparently Manager Joel Muller has been left in no doubt that results must improve quickly or else. In Germany, the pressure on Hertha BSC boss Guus Hiddink shows no sign of abating. Their recent elimination from the German Cup at the hands of Leverkusen has not helped the Dutchman's cause. In Portugal Manuel Jose was sacked by Vitoria Guimaraes as they sit precariously above the relegation places. The team has seen a steady decline in the last 2 seasons and the 57-year-old has now paid the price. The board have expressed an intent to bring in a younger and more dynamic coach in an attempt to invigorate the playing staff. Hearts boss Craig Levein unexpectedly tendered his resignation during the week. His team have been in an awful slump, having failed to record a victory in their last 12 league games, and have fallen from 3rd to 11th during that period. Even so, the Hearts board had been keeping faith with their man but the young manager was reportedly just unable to cope with the pressure of the position. A few days ago Malaga announced that their new manager is Gregorio Manzano. He has been recruited from Division 2B club Compostela and this is a big step up for the 49-year-old. League Roundup Belgium has now started their winter break and there will be no action in the First Division until mid February. We have a similar situation in Croatia, with no league action at all until the final week in February. Manchester United stretched their lead in England with a 4-0 win at bottom club Sunderland. Liverpool are second after a 3-0 win at Charlton and West Ham moved to 3rd having beaten Newcastle 1-0. Arsenal's goalless draw at Everton dropped them to 4th and a 2-0 defeat at Tottenham saw Blackburn slip to 5th. The bottom three all suffered defeats - West Brom were awful at home to Middlesbrough, losing 4-0 and Brighton had a 2-1 reverse at Fulham. Sedan stay top in Le Championat despite a 2-1 defeat at Bordeaux as Nantes fail to take full advantage being held 1-1 at home by Monaco. Third place Rennes needed an injury time equaliser for a 2-2 draw at Caen and Marseille stay 4th in spite of losing 2-1 at home to Lille. The victory for Bordeaux takes them up from 9th to 5th in a congested middle part of the table with just 5 points separating 5th and 15th. Toulouse had a 1-0 win at home to St. Etienne and are replaced at the foot of the table by Troyes who lost 1-0 at home to Strasbourg. The top leagues in both Germany and Greece have started a short winter break and do not restart until late January. It has been a busy week in Holland with most teams playing twice. Two wins for Feyenoord, 5-0 at Haarlem and 2-0 at home to Cambuur, keeps them top and they now have an 8 point lead over PSV and Ajax. PSV had a 1-0 win at NAC but then were held scoreless at AZ. Ajax mirrored their results, winning 1-0 at Willem II and then playing out a 0-0 draw when Twente visited Amsterdam. Two good victories for Groningen lifts them to 4th with AZ dropping to 5th. The bottom three all picked up points. Last placed MVV managed a 2-2 draw at Zwolle and then went one better with a 2-1 win over ADO. Haarlem recovered from their mauling by PSV to gain a good 2-1 win at home to NEC and Willem II picked up a point with a 2-2 draw with visiting Vitesse. Seven points in their last three games has seen Ronald Koeman's Vitesse rise to 7th and has given him some welcome breathing space from his critics. Italy are another country that takes a winter break but Serie A action will recommence in early January. In Northern Ireland, leaders Portadown drew 1-1 at Ballymena United but nearest challengers Coleraine failed to capitalise as they recorded the same score at Bangor. Distillery close the gap slightly with a 2-1 win over struggling Institute and Glentoran stay 4th after their 2-0 win at Glenavon. Newry remain in the relegation playoff place following their 1-0 defeat at Linfield. But the table remains very congested and Linfield are only 8 points out of second place so any team that can put together a run of wins could make significant progress. In Portugal Sporting came out best in the top of the table encounter at Gil Vicente, holding on to an early goal for a narrow 1-0 win. Benfica stay 3rd after beating Vitoria Guimaraes 1-0. In the bottom three Academica had a good 3-0 win at home to Vitoria Setubal and are now just a point away from climbing out of the relegation places. The bottom two faced one another and P. Ferreira gained a valuable 2-0 win at home to Braga to move off the foot of the table. It was a quiet week in the Republic of Ireland but second place Shamrock Rovers played their games in hand. They beat Kildare County 1-0 on Sunday and drew 2-2 at St. Pat's Athletic on Wednesday. They now lie 5 points behind leaders Dundalk. In Scotland, Rangers are now back on top after they beat struggling Dunfermline 3-1 and Celtic were held 2-2 by Livingston. Raith Rovers hold on to 3rd following a 2-2 draw at bottom club Motherwell. The Dundee derby was postponed but Dundee United remain 4th and Livingston are 5th. Barcelona stretch their lead at the top of La Liga to 4 points as they had a good 3-1 win at Real Sociedad and Sevilla slumped to a 3-1 defeat at Valladolid. There is so little separating the lower half of the table that Valladolid's win jumped them from 16th to 10th. Deportivo closed the gap with a 3-0 win at home to struggling Malaga. In the Madrid derby Atletico recorded an excellent 1-0 win over rivals Real with German striker Oliver Neuville (30, F RC) scoring the decisive goal. Valencia continued to improve and a 4-1 victory at Tenerife moves them up to 12th and reduces the pressure on manager Mario Reis. In the relegation area []bBadajoz[/b] gained three valuable points by beating Elche 3-2. The bottom club had fought back from a 2-goal deficit to tie the game but the home team fashioned a late winner to get the win. Turkey are yet another country that takes a winter break and play will recommence in mid January. Spotlight on ….. Europe's Top Strikers This week we are going to take a look at those most glamorous of creatures, the goalscorers. As the game is all about scoring goals then top strikers are amongst the most valuable and sought after commodities in the modern game. And Europe has some of the best in the world, so let's take a trip through some of our featured countries and see who wears the golden boots! (In the statistics below we show the number of league goals followed by the number of goals in all matches i.e. 14/16) Belgium Clayton Zane (26, S C), Anderlecht - 16/17 The Aussie striker heads the scoring charts in the Juliper League, scoring at an average of almost a goal a game in the league. He looks set to smash his previous best of last season when he scored 20 goals in 45 games. Moke (23, S C), Westerlo - 13/14 The young Congolese striker is having another great season although he will struggle to better his record of 40 goals in 39 games set last season. His achievement is all the more impressive when you consider that his team are in the lower half of the table just a few points above the relegation places. Croatia Ivica Olic (24, F LC), Dinamo - 14/18 Silvio Maric (28, F C), Dinamo - 16/17 The Dinamo strike force are in outstanding form this season and their prowess has ensured that their team are by far the highest scorers in the league, averaging 3 goals a game. Krunoslav Lovrek (24, S C), Zagreb - 14/16 The young striker's performance this season has propelled his team to 4th place in the league and he has already far exceeded his previous best tally. Denmark Jorgen Pettersson (28, S C), FC København - 12/17 The Swedish international is having his best season, helped by a tally of 7 goals in 6 UEFA Cup matches. England Ruud van Nistelrooy (27, S C), Manchester United - 11/23 RVN, as he is known, is one of the most effective strikers in the world at present. He seems especially dangerous in European competitions and has scored 10 goals in 10 games in the Champions League this season. Since he joined Manchester United he has scored 88 goals in 114 games. Thierry Henry (26, S C), Arsenal - 10/16 The lithe Frenchman is also very productive in European ties, with 6 goals from his 8 Champions League appearances. Carl Cort (26, S C), Newcastle - 11/17 This may be the season when Cort finally realises his huge potential. He too is having a great time in the Champions League having scored 6 in 9 games. Dwight Yorke (32, S C), Blackburn - 12/14 The ex-Manchester United star is having his most productive season since he moved to Blackburn. France Ariza Makukula (22, S C), Nantes - 10/13 The young Congolese is top scorer in Le Championat and looks like coming close to the 21 goals that he scored last season. Sonny Anderson (33, S C), Lyon - 9/13 The veteran Brazilian is having another successful season for Lyon. In a career that stretches back to 1990, Anderson has scored 205 goals in 372 senior appearances. Germany Ebbe Sand (31, F C), 1860 München - 13/20 Sand heads the scoring charts in Germany by a distance. His club splashed out nearly £15M on the Danish international last season when he scored 20 goals in 55 games. He has already reached that target after just 25 games this season. Greece Alexandros Papadopoulos (18, S C), Ethnikos Asteras - 11/19 He is one of the most exciting prospects in Greek football. Despite his tender years he has already made 84 senior appearances, scoring 50 goals in the process. Holland Gabor Torma (27, S C), AZ - 13/22 AZ picked up Torma as a Bosman signing from Roda. The Hungarian international had been in the doldrums there for two seasons, having not had a competitive game in that period. He has certainly returned to action with a bang this season, helping his team to a respectable 5th place currently. Dirk Jan Derksen (31, S C), Cambuur - 14/20 This experienced striker put in some excellent performances last season without being too productive in front of goal. But this season he has adopted a somewhat more selfish playing style and his goal tally has increased substantially. Glenn Salmon (26, S C), Groningen - 13/19 Now in his 3rd season at Groningen, this South African striker is well on target to surpass last season's haul of 23 goals. Italy Luca Toni (26, S C), Roma - 8/21 Toni joined Roma in a £3M transfer from Brescia in Serie B at the start of this season and he has been a sensation. He has already scored 4 times in 7 games for his country and has found the net 10 times in 8 Champions League games and he is valued at close to £25M now. Andriy Shevchenko (27, S C), Milan - 9/15 Already a legend at Milan, the Ukrainian striker is having another very steady season, although he will do well to get near the 32 goals that he scored last season. Cristiano Lucarelli (28, S C), Torino - 8/12 With Torino struggling in the relegation places in Serie A it is quite a surprise to see the strong and powerful Lucarelli scoring so regularly. Northern Ireland Vinny Arkins (33, F C), Portadown - 15/19 Now in his 8th season with Portadown the veteran forward is in the best form of his career. Davy Larmour (26, F RC), Linfield - 10/18 On Liverpool's books as a youngster, Davy has been a consistently good performer for his team since he joined them from Doncaster 6 seasons ago. Darren Armour (28, F RC), Glentoran - 15/17 Darren has only been playing at senior level for 4 years or so and he has been improving steadily each season. Peter McConnell (18, F C), Coleraine - 12/16 A product of the Coleraine youth system, this young forward has made a big impression since breaking in to the first team at the start of this season. Portugal Fary (29, S C), Beira-Mar, - 11/14 The powerful Senegalese striker has been plying his trade in Portugal for some 8 seasons now but he didn't start to make his mark until a couple of seasons ago. Bock (28, S C), Salgueiros - 12/13 His 23 goals last season were a major factor in his team gaining promotion to the top flight. Capped at B level this season, Bock is being tipped to make a breakthrough into the senior side if he keeps up his scoring form. Kwame Ayew (29, S C), Boavista - 12/13 This experienced Ghanaian striker has always had an eye for goal but this is shaping up to be his best season yet even though his club are struggling in the league. Hugo Soares (29, F C), Gil Vicente - 11/13 With a handy knack of being in the right place at the right time, this Angolan forward notched up 31 goals last season as Gil Vicente had their best season for some time. He will do very well to get near that tally this season however. Republic of Ireland David Ward (23, F RLC), Dundalk - 18/23 Despite his still tender years this exciting young forward has been a first team regular for the past 6 seasons. Scotland Chris Sutton (30, S C), Celtic - 10/19 Sutton's 9 goals in 10 Champions League and UEFA Cup games bears comparison with the best in Europe. Rolando Zarate (25, S C), Livingston - 14/15 Now in his third season at Livvy, this Argentinean striker has really found his feet after finally establishing his place in the starting lineup. Spain Diego Tristan (27, S C), Deportivo - 15/21 This is a player at the absolute top of his game and his 21 goals have come from just 19 games. Patrick Kluivert (27, S C), Barcelona - 10/19 The big Dutchman is recognised as one of the best forwards in the world and his career average of just better than a goal every other game has been achieved playing in some of the toughest leagues in football. Ronald Gomez (28, F RLC), Real Sociedad - 14/18 Real Sociedad forked out £7M for the experienced Costa Rican international in June of last year. He scored 23 goals last season and with 18 goals in only 19 games this season, he looks like being worth every penny. Wales Jon Keaveney (22, S C), Bangor City - 17/21 This young striker is one of the best prospects in Welsh football at present and is reported to be keen to pursue a career at a higher-level club. Game of the Week Sunday December 21st, 2003 Spanish First Division Celta 3 Racing Santander 4 Unsettled striker Rodolfo Bodipo scored two goals, including a last-gasp winner, to treble his total for the season and give Santander a welcome win. The 26-year-old, rated by his club at some £7.5M, is keen to move on to further his career, and if there were any scouts watching his performance in this game then he will have done his chances no harm at all. It was the home side who started more positively and their highly rated Argentinean striker Hernan Crespo who got them off the mark early on. He combined brilliantly with fellow striker Paulo Roberto Jamelli before shooting home. At £7.5M from Inter last season, Crespo has been a bargain buy. Celta captain Josep Guardiola came close to adding a second on 22 minutes but his shot was well saved by the opposing captain José MarÃa Ceballos. But just after the half hour the impressive Bodipo opened his account with a powerful header following a determined run from Manuel Antonio Longo. Ceballos was certainly the busier of the two keepers as Racing seemed content to allow Celta possession. The Santander captain made good stops from Jamelli and Gustavo López. The Celta pressure finally told on the stroke of half time when Guardiola picked out Jamelli in the area for the Brazilian to rise above Ceballos and head home. Jamelli almost made it three just after the restart when his powerful running took him past Neru but Ceballos stretched to turn his shot behind for a corner. Within minutes Crespo saw a glancing header come back off the post. Then in the 54th minute Dida and Bodipo tangled in the area and the striker went down. A penalty was awarded and the Celta keeper had his name taken. The home players were incensed, feeling that it was a very harsh decision. When calm had been restored Iván Javier Cuadrado calmly stepped forward and sent Dida the wrong way to even the score at 2-2. Celta still looked the livelier of the two teams, probing and working hard for an opening. Gustavo López and Jamelli linked up well to give the Brazilian a chance but his header went well wide as he was pressured by Cuadrado. With just under 20 minutes remaining Racing took the lead very much against the run of play. Midfielder Jesuli had been lively throughout and, picking the ball up in the centre circle he moved forward menacingly. As the Celta defence stood off he spotted an intelligent run by Mario Ignacio Regueiro. He found his teammate with a sharp pass and the Uruguayan hit a sweet half volley past Dida. The home keeper should have done better as the shot was powerful but still close to his body. Celta didn't let their heads go down and within 10 minutes they had squared the match. Gustavo López once again showed his willingness to run at players and, reaching the byline he swung in a cross from the left. Crespo rose well above Neru and powered his header into the back of the net. Five minutes later and the winger repeated his trick but this time Jamelli's header was just too near Ceballos and the Racing keeper made a fine save. As time ticked away we seemed certain to be heading for a draw but in the very last seconds Bodipo conjured up a goal out of nothing when a dazzling piece of footwork took him past the Celta defence to round the keeper and score a dramatic winner. Teams Celta: Dida, Juan Velasco, Juanfran, Eduardo Berizzo, Yago, Josep Guardiola (Captain), Valery Karpin, Doriva, Paulo Roberto Jamelli, Hernan Jorge Crespo, Gustavo López Subs not used: José Llorente, José Manuel Pinto, Roberto Garcia Gutierrez, Manolo, Catanha, Boudewijn Zenden, Peter Bernard Luccin, Racing Santander: José MarÃa Ceballos (Captain), Pablo Coira, Vicente, Neru (Lluis Carreras 87), Iván Javier Cuadrado, Jesuli, Manuel Antonio Longo, Thiago Motta (Gonzalo Colsa 54), Mario Ignacio Regueiro, Rodolfo Bodipo, Pablo Sierra Subs not used: Borja, Jaime Marcos, Javi Guerrero, Ignacio Blanco, Pablo Gonzalez Perez Scorers Celta: Crespo 7, 81, Jamelli 45 Racing Santander: Bodipo 32, 90, Cuadrado (pen) 54, Regueiro 72 Man of the Match: Crespo Yellow Cards Celta: Dida, Gustavo López Attendance: 26,555 Reader's Letters ChampManager01/02addictee writes Dear ESW, Just wanted to say what a great job your doing and have bookmarked your site. Just wanted to know How the mighty Clyde are doing, and who is the hottest young property in Scotland right now? Well Addictee, I'm sorry to say that in season 2000/2001 your favourites were relegated from the First Division. They just missed out on an immediate return by a single point but this season they are currently second in Division Two and making a good run for promotion. In April of last year manager Alan Kernaghan was sacked and replaced by Harry Hay. Following the team's good performance last season, Harry was then poached by Ross County in September and former St. Mirren boss John Coughlin was hired as a replacement. They had a nine-week spell at the top of the table but a recent run of three defeats has seen Alloa overtake them. Their top performers this season are Leigh Hinds (25, S C) and Allan Grant (30, AM/F RL) and they have scored 18 goals between them so far. Clyde are the highest scorers in the division but they can be a bit suspect defensively, as last week's 4-0 defeat by Peterhead indicates. Their biggest transfer signing is David Williams (22, AM L) who cost £65K from Forfar last November. They sold quite a few players last season (9 in total) and raised £625K in revenues. The biggest fee received was the £180K from Ayr for David Hagen (30, M/F RLC). A couple of interesting factoids. Andrew Millen (38, D/DM C) is the oldest active player in the Divison and Alan Hall (16, F RC) was one of the youngest when he made his debut at 15. As far as hot prospects go then young Mark Kerr (21, M C) is probably the biggest thing in Scottish football right now. He moved from Falkirk to Celtic for £925K in June of last year and has established himself as a key part of the team. Now valued at some £2.5M it seems only a matter of time before he makes his international debut. Look out for a special reader's request page featuring Clyde when we next update ESW in the New Year. klayman writes Could you give me some updates on polish players playing abroad? Have any moved to quality clubs in Europe. How much are the top polish players worth. Hello klayman. There are a number of Polish players who have been signed by some top European clubs. Possibly the best know is Liverpool keeper Jerzy Dudek (30, GK). Other examples include Ebi Smolarek (22, AM/F L) at Feyenoord, Radoslaw Kaluzny (29, SW/DM C) at St. Etienne, Arek Radomski (26, DM LC) at Heerenveen and the Nürnberg trio of Jacek Krzynowek (27, AM L), Arkadiusz Glowacki (24, D RC) and Tomasz Kos (29, D C). At £5.5M, Krzynowek is the highest valued Polish player. Our thanks also to Gino, one of our most enthusiastic subscribers, for his kind wishes. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobBev Posted December 26, 2003 Author Share Posted December 26, 2003 ESW will not be published next week due to the New Year break but we will be back with a double issue on January 9th. ESW Online will not be updated until that date either. Happy New Year to all our readers. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobBev Posted January 8, 2004 Author Share Posted January 8, 2004 European Soccer Weekly Issue 23 - Friday January 9th, 2004 ESW would like to wish all of our readers a very Happy New Year. This week we bring you a bumper double issue and a slightly changed format that we hope you enjoy. News The Spanish press have been raving about Javier Saviola (22, F C). The Argentinean striker is having a wonderful season at Barcelona and has scored 16 goals in all competitions so far this season. The papers have also been speculating about the possible transfer of Brazilian defender Dede from Dortmund to Barcelona. It is suggested that a world record fee of some £50M could be paid but it seems highly unlikely that Barca would be prepared to pay that kind of money. There have been a fair number of big-money transfers in the past couple of weeks. In England, Southampton have paid Birmingham £6.5M for midfielder Bryan Hughes (27, AM RLC). Jose Mari (25, F RC) has moved from Atletico Madrid to Deportivo for £4.6M and the same club have paid Sporting £3.8M for Ricardo Quaresma (20, AM RL). In France, Division 2 club Le Mans have received £2.9M from Lille for the versatile Senegalese player Diope (28, D/AM/F RL). After weeks of speculation Valencia have finally parted company with manager Mario Reis. The ex-Porto coach lasted barely 6 months in the job before being replaced by another Portuguese manager, Joao Alves, leaving Sporting to find a new coach. Sunderland, struggling at the foot of the Premier Division in England, have sacked manager Gary McAllister just 6 months after hiring him to replace Howard Wilkinson. In Italy, Perugia boss Serse Cosmi is under real pressure as his team sit just above the relegation places in Serie A. Portuguese club Vitoria Guimaraes have announced the appointment of their new manager. Vitor Manuel has joined from high flying Division 2 club Santa Clara. Hearts have announced the appointment of ex-Scotland boss Craig Brown to replace Craig Levein, leaving First Division Preston searching for a new boss. Edinburgh rivals Hibs are also looking for a new manager as Dave Jones has left them to take over at Chelsea after the English Premier League side sacked Gary Megson. League Roundup England Manchester United now have a 10 point lead over Arsenal and are looking like a good bet to capture the title. They have played 3 games in the last two weeks, beating West Brom 1-0, Fulham 2-0 and Sunderland also 2-0. They have now played their game in hand. Arsenal won twice, defeating Leeds 2-1 and Aston villa 3-1. West Ham remain 3rd despite losing 2-1 at Wolves, but they did beat Chelsea 2-0 at Stamford Bridge. Tottenham continue their climb up the table and are now in 4th place thanks to an excellent 2-1 win at Liverpool and a 1-0 win at Brighton. West Brom, Brighton and Sunderland stay in the relegation places. France Nantes have taken over the leadership of Le Championat thanks to 1-0 victories over Caen and Lille. Sedan drop to second as they only played one game over Christmas, beating Guingamp 3-1. Rennes stay 3rd having defeated Toulouse 2-1 and Monaco 3-1. Toulouse have now moved out of the bottom three, having taken 4 points from their festive programme. The 5-0 demolition of bottom club Lorient must have been particularly satisfying. Bastia now drop into the relegation places alongside Troyes and Lorient. Holland The top three are as they were although Feyenoord now have a 8 point lead after beating Cambuur 2-0. PSV will be very disappointed to have had 2 draws as they played their game in hand, being held scoreless at AZ and 1-1 at Heerenveen. Ajax also had a scoreless draw at home to Twente. Groningen go 4th having beaten NAC 4-1. There’s no change at the bottom even though the bottom three all picked up points. Willem II drew 2-2 with Vitesse, Haarlem beat NEC 2-1 and MVV beat ADO 2-1. Italy Serie A has just got back into action after their short break. Leaders Milan were in action with a 3-1 win at Empoli, Lazio’s 3-1 defeat of Chievo takes them to 5th, Roma slip a place to 6th after a scoreless draw at Lecce and Juventus stay 7th after a 3-0 win at Perugia. Northern Ireland Portadown show little sign of faltering and victories over Institute and Newry maintain their 12 point advantage. Distillery stay a point ahead of Linfield and Institute are still rock bottom and certain of relegation. Portugal Despite dropping points in a 2-2 draw against Uniao Madeira, Sporting still have a 5 point lead. Gil Vicente remain second after their 2-1 win at Braga and Benfica’s 3-1 win at Leiria keeps them 3rd. Porto stay 4th in spite of a 1-1 draw at Vitoria Setubal. In the bottom three P. Ferreira managed a rare win coming out on top 2-1 at Beira-Mar. Republic of Ireland Dundalk recorded a 2-0 win over Waterford United but then were held 1-1 by bottom club Finn Harps. They have a 6 point lead over Shamrock Rovers after Rovers were defeated 3-0 by Monaghan United and then beat St. Pat’s Athletic 3-1. As well as holding the league leaders, Finn Harps also had a rare win, beating St. Pat’s Athletic 2-0 but they are still 5 points adrift at the bottom. Shelbourne have now replaced Derry City in the relegation playoff place as City’s new boss Ray Houghton starts to turn things around. City had two wins in their recent games, one of them being a crucial 1-0 win over Shelbourne and the other a 3-0 defeat of Waterford United. Scotland A 1-0 win over Hibs maintains Rangers slender 1-point advantage over Celtic, who themselves beat Raith Rovers 3-2. The defeat drops Raith down to 4th as Livingston go 3rd on goal difference after beating Dunfermline 3-0. There is no respite for cellar-dwellers Motherwell as they lose yet again, this time 2-1 at Hearts. Spain The top 4 in Spain remain the same. Leaders Barcelona had an ominously comfortable 3-0 win over Atletico Madrid. Sevilla stay 2nd after beating Tenerife 3-1, Deportivo were held 0-0 at Valencia but stay 3rd and 4th placed Athletic Bilbao beat Valladolid 3-0. Real Madrid’s 1-0 defeat of Espanyol takes them 5th. Struggling Malaga were involved in two huge matches in the last week. In the first they beat bottom club Elche 3-1 and a few days later they lost 2-0 at Badajoz. This allowed Badajoz to move out of the bottom three, going above Betis on goal difference. Elche’s 11th defeat of the season has virtually condemned them to relegation. Malaga remain second-bottom, still three points from safety. Wales The Welsh Premier Division Clubs have had a very busy New Year period, having played three times in the last two weeks. Barry Town now head the table having taken 7 points from their 3 games. TN Solutions slip to second and Bangor City move up to 3rd after taking a maximum 9 points. Just to illustrate the competitive nature of this division, there are still only 4 points separating the top 7 teams Cup Roundup England The Third Round of the FA Cup took place on Saturday. There was little in the way of upsets although two Division 1 teams won at home against Premier opposition. Bolton beat Middlesbrough 2-1 and Preston had a 1-0 win over Wolves. Scotland The Scottish Cup Second Round was contested this week. The biggest upset there was the excellent 1-0 victory of non-league Cove Rangers at Second Division Stranraer. Morton of Division 3 did well to beat Division 2 Berwick 2-0 in a replay after a 1-all draw. Finally Elgin City of the Third Division had a comprehensive 4-0 home win over local rivals Peterhead from Division Two. Spain The First Leg matches in the Spanish Cup Third Round took place during the week. The pick of the ties was the 5-2 win for Division Two side Alaves at home to Athletic Bilbao. Wales The final of the Welsh League Cup took place on Wednesday and in a very one-sided encounter Barry Town easily beat Carmarthen Town 5-0 with Danny Barwood (22, F C) netting a hat trick in 10 minutes. Spotlight on ..... The English Premier League With the season in England just past the halfway point, this might be a good time to take a look at the state of what many observers would regard as the most exciting league in Europe. Starting with the current league table, let’s take a look at how things are going. <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">************************************************************************************************ English Premier Division - Saturday 10th January 2004 ************************************************************************************************ Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1st Man Utd 21 7 2 2 19 5 8 2 0 19 6 49 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2nd Arsenal 21 7 3 1 21 7 3 6 1 11 8 39 3rd West Ham 21 8 1 1 17 5 3 3 5 14 17 37 4th Tottenham 21 6 1 3 15 11 5 2 4 13 16 36 5th Liverpool 21 5 2 3 13 5 5 3 3 15 12 35 6th Blackburn 21 7 3 1 17 9 3 2 5 11 16 35 7th Middlesbrough 21 6 1 4 20 13 5 0 5 16 14 34 8th Millwall 21 6 3 2 19 15 4 1 5 8 10 34 9th Fulham 21 5 4 1 19 13 3 3 5 18 17 31 10th Wolves 21 7 2 2 21 13 1 5 4 9 16 31 11th Newcastle 21 4 6 1 11 7 3 2 5 14 15 29 12th Southampton 21 3 4 3 14 13 5 1 5 12 13 29 13th Leeds 21 7 0 3 16 9 2 2 7 8 16 29 14th Chelsea 21 5 1 5 13 10 2 3 5 8 11 25 15th Everton 21 4 5 2 12 6 0 4 6 5 15 21 16th Aston Villa 21 4 2 4 16 16 1 4 6 8 17 21 17th Charlton 21 2 5 3 13 14 3 1 7 9 17 21 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18th W.B.A. 21 4 2 4 12 16 0 4 7 8 22 18 19th Brighton 21 3 2 6 11 16 1 1 8 9 26 15 20th Sunderland 21 3 0 7 10 20 1 0 10 8 25 12</pre> Manchester United A 10-game unbeaten run has lifted United to the top of the table and Sir Alex Ferguson’s team are now the clear favourites for the title. In Ruud van Nistelrooy (27, S C) they have one of the best goalscorers in world football and the Dutchman has found the net 25 times in all competitions this season. United breezed through the first group phase of the Champions League, topping their group, and after 2 games in Phase 2 they remain unbeaten. They are in the Semi-Finals of the League Cup and the Fourth Round of the FA Cup, so are conceivably chasing 4 trophies this season. They remain the richest club in England with a wage bill that is rumoured to run to nearly £1M a week. Arsenal With only two wins in their last seven league games, Arsene Wenger has seen his team’s tenure at the top of the table cut short. Thierry Henry (26, S C) is in sparkling form and Patrick Vieira (27, DM C) is as dominant a presence as ever. Arsenal have also progressed to the Champions League second phase. They won their group in Phase 1 with 5 wins and a draw and have a 100% record so far in Phase 2. West Ham Steve McMahon has overseen a steady improvement in his team and they look set to achieve their best ever league finish if they can continue in their current form. Their captain Ruslan Nigmatullin (29, GK) has proved to be an excellent signing and a hugely influential figure in the West Ham defence. Tottenham The third London side in the top four places, Glenn Hoddle’s side are also on course for a best ever finish. Dean Richards (29 SW/D C) cuts an imposing figure in the heart of the defence and the dynamic Robbie Keane (23, F C) provides creative flair. Liverpool The defending champions are having an up and down season in the league and seem unable to maintain a consistent run of form. However, Gerard Houllier’s men have performed well in Europe and have reached the second group phase. Michael Owen (24, S C) is not having his best season but captain Sami Hyypia (30, D C) is still a key player at the back. Blackburn The goalscoring form of a resurgent Dwight Yorke (32, S C) is helping Blackburn towards a repeat of their top-5 finish of last season. With Damian Duff (24, AM/F LC) providing the ammunition and Martin Taylor (24, D C) an imposing figure in defence, Paul Bracewell, who took over from Brian Kerr in October, can be very pleased with his team’s prospects. Middlesbrough Early pace-setters Middlesbrough suffered a horrendous slump in November and early December, but a recent run of three wins has moved them back up the table. Mario Melchiot (27, D/DM RC) and club captain Gareth Southgate (33, SW/D C) are in commanding for at the back although the lack of a proven goalscorer is still a concern for manager Steve McLaren. Millwall Millwall have made steady progress under Mark McGhee and have recovered well from a bad start to the season. Lacking the financial resources of the bigger clubs, the Lions have implemented a progressive policy of youth development. The most prominent graduate at present is the precocious Cherno Samba (18, S C) who is averaging a goal every other game. Fulham Harry Redknapp looks set to take his side to another steady mid-table finish. The team doesn’t want for goals, having the second best attacking record in the division but they can be a little fragile at the back sometimes. Wolves Alex Totten has so far managed to keep his team out of the relegation tussle that they successfully endured last season after their promotion. Wolves are as hard a working side as you will find in this division and their team spirit is standing them in good stead at present. Newcastle So far this season has been a bit of a nightmare for Martin O’Neill as his team struggle badly in the league. Eliminated from the UEFA Cup in the 3rd Round and knocked out of the League Cup by First Division Portsmouth, their faithful fans have little to look forward too. The manager blames their early season exertions in the World Club Championship, claiming that this disrupted his pre-season preparations and that the team has never recovered. A recent bust-up between O’Neill and Champions League hero Craig Bellamy (24, AM/F C) has caused some friction in the squad and injuries to top strikers Carl Cort (26, S C) and Alan Shearer (33, S C) have not helped their cause. Southampton Saints were as high as second in the table in October but with only 4 wins in their last 14 games that is now a distant memory to Gordon Strachan and his team. Their main concern now is to stop the rot and avoid getting sucked into a relegation battle. Leeds When Brian Kerr took over at Leeds at the end of September he left high-flying Blackburn for a team in trouble. A very poor start to the season saw them just above the relegation places and struggling badly. The new man has made a gradual improvement and the mid-table places are tight enough that a good run of form could see his team make rapid progress upward. The highly rated Aussies Mark Viduka (28, S C) and Harry Kewell (25, AM/F LC) are not firing on all cylinders but if they can play to their potential then all will be well at Elland Road. Chelsea The recent appointment of Dave Jones means that Chairman Ken Bates is now on his 3rd manager in just over a year. It remains to be seen if Jones will be able to turn the Blue’s season around but he certainly has his work cut out. Everton Having regained their Premiership status in last season’s playoffs after their disastrous relegation, Peter Reid’s team are in the thick of a relegation struggle once again. To make matters worse it appears that many of the senior pros are not at all happy with the behaviour of the hugely talented, but apparently rather immature, Wayne Rooney (18, S C). Club insiders tell us that Master Rooney has been agitating for a significantly improved contract and that the way that he has approached this matter has won him few friends in the squad. Aston Villa After making a bright start in their first few games of the season Villa have seen their form slump alarmingly. Highly rated young defender Gareth Barry (22, D/DM LC) is leaving the club at the end of the season to join Real Madrid and star midfielder Youssouf Herfsi (21, AM/F LC) is keen to move on. The youngster is clearly performing below par and Micky Adams can’t afford to have less than 100% commitment from his team in their current predicament. Charlton Like Everton, Charlton are in danger of yo-yoing between the top two divisions. Relegated in 2001/2002, promoted as champions last season and in the thick of the relegation battle this season. This is not the sort of thing that fans, players, or indeed managers, relish. Steve Coppell can only hope that his brilliant young Greek striker Anastasios Skalidis (21, S C) can bang in enough goals to keep the team safe. West Brom It has been downhill all the way for the Baggies since their fine 5th place finish two seasons ago. Club captain Darren Moore (29, D C) is one of the few players performing consistently well and if Ian Holloway can’t find a way to motivate his men on to greater efforts then he will soon be a Division 1 manager. Brighton It will be quite some achievement if Roddy Collins can save his side from relegation. If he is to succeed in this task he somehow needs to find a way to get the highly toted but largely ineffective Bobby Zamora (22, S C) scoring goals. It says much for the state of his attack that the club’s top scorer with 5 goals is ex-Southampton and Derby man Rory Delap (27, M RC). Sunderland Rock-bottom Sunderland have just dispensed with the services of Gary McAlister and are currently searching for a new boss. Such is the dire state of the team right now that unless a certain Mr. H, Houdini can be engaged to perform one final escape act, the Black Cats are doomed to relegation. Game of the Week Tuesday December 30th, 2003 Scottish Premier League Raith Rovers 2 Celtic 3 Having already beaten both halves of the Old Firm earlier in the season, Jocky Scott’s men must have been hopeful of a good result to keep up their challenge for a 3rd place finish in their first season in the top flight. Raith are everyone’s favourite underdogs in Scotland, having managed to achieve two consecutive league championships to get them from the Second Division to the Premier League. They have certainly made their mark in this division and Celtic did not make the mistake of underestimating their opponents. Both teams started very positively and the opening exchanges saw chances at either end. Stilian Petrov warmed the hands of Jason Brown with a stinging shot from 20 yards and then Dariusz Adamczuk had Magnus Hedman stretching to tip his audacious effort over the bar. Craig Bingham swung in the resulting corner and Martin Prest connected with a powerful header that came back off the crossbar. Play immediately swung to the other end and Petrov got on the end of a cross from David Vaughan that Brown saved at the expense of a corner. Didier Agathe delivered the corner to the far post and Tassos Venetis rose highest to head home and give Celtic an early lead. The frantic pace of the opening 5 minutes slowed somewhat as the two teams began to find the measure of each other in midfield. Just after the half hour mark another Agathe corner caused mayhem in the Raith defence and Petrov capitalised on the confusion by running on to the loose ball from midfield and firing home. This was tough on the home side as they had been more than holding their own and didn’t deserve to be two goals behind. But Jocky’s boys are fighters and they worked hard to get back into the game. Adamczuk, Bingham and Stuart Lovell all forced Hedman into action in the closing stages of the first half but the big Swede was proving tough to get past. A few minutes after the restart Petrov came very close to putting the game out of Raith’s reach but his stunning shot cannoned off the crossbar with Brown rooted to the spot. That escape seemed to spur the home side into action and top scorer Prest reduced the deficit when he got on the end of a good cross in from captain Graham Barrett. Celtic’s next threat came from a free kick played in by Joos Valgaeren and Alan Smith connected with a good header that Brown tipped behind. Once again an Agathe corner almost resulted in a goal. Mark Kerr played a lovely cushioned header for Petrov to strike a half volley that Brown palmed away. Marc McCulloch picked up the loose ball and went on a determined run that took him well into the opposition half. He found Barrett who laid it off to Adamczuk and the Polish midfielder slipped a neat pass through the Celtic defence for substitute Graham Fyfe to run on to and fire the ball home. Sadly the goal celebration was cut short when the referee indicated an offside decision. The crossing of Didier Agathe was always a potent weapon for Celtic and one of his near post crosses was met by Julio Ricardo Cruz but his header just grazed the crossbar. With 20 minutes remaining Raith got the equaliser that their endeavours warranted when Prest was first to a cross from McCulloch to head past a static Hedman. For some reason the home side then seemed to take their foot off the throttle and virtually handed the initiative back to the visitors. They took advantage by creating a series of chances. First Andre Ooijer got his head to a free kick from Venetis and Brown showed excellent handling in making an acrobatic save. Then Cruz tested the Raith keeper with a looping header that was tipped over for a corner. But for the third time in the game Raith failed to deal with an Agathe corner and Alan Smith had a free header to make the score 3-2. Raith kept looking for an equaliser, with Prest and Fyfe both sending shots narrowly over the bar. But the closest they came was an Andrew Clark header that Ooijer cleared off the line. A disappointing result for the home side after they fought so hard to get back on terms but an invaluable three points to Celtic as they continue to pursue league leaders Rangers in a bid to retain their Premiership title. Teams Raith Rovers: Jason Brown, Paquito (Mitch Ward 54), Marc McCulloch, Brian McAllister, Shaun Dennis, Brian O’Neill, Stuart Lovell (Graham Fyfe 54), Dariusz Adamczuk (Andrew Clark 71), Martin Prest, Graham Barrett (Captain), Craig Bingham Subs not used: Matt Dickens, Jamie Cureton Celtic: Magnus Hedman, Didier Agathe, Tassos Venetis, Johan Mjallby, Ulrik Laursen (Mark Kerr 19), Joos Valgaeren, Andre Ooijer (Captain), Stilian Petrov, Alan Smith, Julio Ricardo Cruz, David Vaughan Subs not used: Michael Herbert, David Fernandez, Chris Sutton, Michael Lamey Scorers Raith Rovers: Prest 51, 70 Celtic: Venetis 5, Petrov 32, Smith 75 Man of the Match: Venetis Yellow Cards Raith Rovers: Dennis Celtic: Venetis Attendance: 8,003 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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