Tag Futebol

In light of the launch of the new football gaming phenomenon that is ‘Goaldash’ I decided to look at the top six Sir Alex Ferguson moments in charge of Manchester United.

Sir Alex Ferguson has this weekend insisted he still has no plans to retire despite the fact he turns 70 at the end of this year and the veteran manager will clock up 25 years as Manchester United boss on November 6. Whatever you may think of him, Ferguson is a legend of the modern game and one that will be remembered as probably the greatest ever football manager. Lets have a look at some of his greatest moments during his 25 years at Old Trafford.

1.Securing the Treble 1998/99

Probably he greatest of all Ferguson’s achievement’s, which will be remembered forever by Red Devils fans, was that famous treble in 1999. After winning the Premier League and FA Cup United went and pulled off an astonishing comeback against Bayern Munich in the Champions League final. Injury time goals by Sheringham and Solskjaer sent the fans into wild celebration and Alex Ferguson went into the history books as the only manager in English football to have won the treble.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZzwWMum658

2. Beating Mourinho to the Premier League 2007/08

Ferguson and Manchester United had gone three years without a title and José Mourinho’s Chelsea looked an unstoppable force. But started United season on-fire with four goals against Fulham in the first 19 minutes of the season and continued this rich vein of from throughout the season. With Cristiano Ronaldo moving from good to great, Ferguson’s team swaggered to the title and Ferguson had his crown back.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPntU3l1iAI

3. Winning his first Premier League title 1992/93

After struggling to even hold onto his job in his first season in charge at Old Trafford, Ferguson managed to turn a team of no-hoppers into the inaugural Premier League Champions. It put down a real marker that United were force once again after 25 years in the wilderness and Ferguson’s reign over English football had begun.

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4. Winning his second Champions League title 2007/08

Defeating Chelsea on penalties in Moscow will forever be remembered as one of Ferguson’s greatest moments as his Manchester United side became the best club side in Europe for only the second time during his management. The game itself wasn’t a classic but United did enough to win the penalty shoot-out and guarantee Ferguson’s legacy remains.

5. Catching Newcastle United to win the Premier League 1995/96

The most romantic of Ferguson’s titles. Alan Hansen infamously stated that United could not win anything with kids, but they had Eric Cantona and Peter Schmeichel in the form of their lives: the pair combined in a series of 1-0 wins in the run-in as United destroyed Newcastle’s 12-point lead and drove Kevin Keegan to a very public meltdown.

6. Surpassing Liverpool’s 18 with Manchester United’s 19th Premier League Crown 2010/11.

Last season Manchester United became the most successful club in the history of English football and overtook great rivals Liverpool, something that famously Ferguson has always set out to achieve. Will it be 20 for United and Ferguson this season?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d691D1pyQZw

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So what is Goaldash all about then?

‘Goaldash’ is a fabulous concept which fuses the Lottery format with pre-chosen football fixtures. Whereas you may use birthdays or your own favourite numbers to pick your six numbers, with ‘Goaldash’ you need to use your foresight of the Beautiful Game to select the six teams that are likely to score the quickest in the pre-selected 24 fixtures.

It only costs £1 a pop to enter and you have the chance to win a million pounds, every given week.

All you have to do is scour the 48 teams and pick out the 6 teams that are likely to score the quickest on the Saturday afternoon. The matches are chosen from the Premier League, the Football League, as well as the Scottish divisions therefore you will have plenty to work out and strategise before you make your selections.

Playing the Lottery has just got fun, especially as your odds are a damn sight greater.

Fancy your chances? Fancy winning £1million pounds? Why not give it a go!

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Liverpool rode their luck at Anfield to beat Fulham 1-0, with John Pantsil’s own-goal moving the Reds up to seventh in the Premier League.

Pantsil sliced the ball past goalkeeper David Stockdale in the 52nd minute, with goal enough to hand Kenny Dalglish the first home win of his second spell in charge at Anfield.

It leaves Liverpool only one place outside the top six and only six points from a European qualifying place.

But although the Kop celebrated a crucial victory and chanted their manager’s name, it was a nervy night in which Fulham created a string of chances worthy of earning at least a draw.

They were only kept out by poor finishing and excellent goalkeeping from Pepe Reina.

Liverpool had captain Steven Gerrard back from suspension but never really hit top gear, although they started brightly.

Torres was unlucky to be ruled offside after finishing off a smart Raul Meireles through-ball in the opening minutes, but Fulham dug their heels in during an even first half to match their rivals.

Meireles had a header well saved by Stockdale and the Fulham custodian also tipped over a stunning effort from Glen Johnson.

But the visitors were not without chances of their own.

Dempsey and Dembele were both denied by Pepe Reina and it took a piece of good fortune to finally put Liverpool ahead in the 52nd minute.

Torres’ shot was deflected onto the post and then, in the confusion that followed, Fulham defender Pantsil sliced the ball backwards past his own goalkeeper.

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Fulham, to their credit, refused to buckle and three times went close to equalising; first when Reina saved from a Hughes header, then when Meireles cleared frantically off the line from Brede Hangeland.

The final scare for the Kop in a frantic finish came when Dembele wasted an excellent chance to score, firing straight at Reina.

But the Reds held on for a confidence-building victory – their second in succession after also winning at Wolves on Saturday.

You could say Sol Campbell has never been my favourite player in football, largely down to my North London roots, but I can’t help but feel that he and the large part of the nation had been duped by the BBC in their scaremongering of what football fans can expect had they stepped foot in Poland and the Ukraine this summer. I personally have never known an international tournament pass off with so little trouble and full credit to both nations for their handling of the Euros.

Of course Panorama have past form don’t they, in the selective material they provide you with and I do wonder how deep they actually had to dig in order to come up with the footage that they used.  If they want to find incidents of brutality and other dark sides of football then I reckon I could deliver them enough material for them to put on a feature length special, on any given weekend in English football. Are they really that naive that they think crowd trouble and in some instances racial abuse doesn’t exist in England? I truly believe they have a lot to answer for with that documentary, especially when families of players refused to travel to support their loved one for the fear of trouble. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will be pleased to know that a hotel TV was where his dad watched his International tournament debut, in what was arguably his biggest game in football to date. Thousands of other England fans also refused to travel in light of their revelations.

I’m not saying what we did witness was acceptable, in fact it was utterly despicable, but to tarnish two nations’ football supporters by generalising them as perceived bigots is completely wrong and out of order. The English supporters that did travel came back with nothing but positive stuff to say about the host nations and the way they were treated. Many saw it as arguably one of the best international trips they had been on, largely down to the lack of trouble and the past victimisation supporters have had to suffer at the hands of police and the authorities on their respective travels. I suppose the likes of the Beeb wouldn’t be interested in reporting this positive aspect of football, as there is nothing that can be dramatised or any negative aspect to report. Maybe recent events will ensure Panorama keep their nose out of football once and for all – given their catalogue of non-revelations they have produced in the past.

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Sir Alex Ferguson has switched his attentions to Borussia Dortmund star Mario Goetze, according to the Express.

The Manchester United boss has given up on his attempts to sign Inter Milan’s Wesley Sneijder and is now chasing the 19-year-old German prodigy.

United watched Goetze play and score for his country against Brazil last week and were impressed by the way he dominated the midfield.

Real Madrid and Barcelona have also been linked with the midfielder who has been described as the best young talent in the Bundesliga.

He helped Dortmund to the title last season and now Ferguson is set to swoop as he steps up his search for Paul Scholes’ replacement.

£20 million rated Goetze would prove a cheaper alternative to Sneijder who’s wage demands scuppered any chance of a move to Old Trafford.

The Dutchman’s reluctance to take a cut from his £200,000 at the San Siro coupled with Inter’s unwillingness to budge on their £35 million asking price ruined any chance of a deal being agreed.

A move for Goetze would also provide Ferguson with the challenge of moulding another young player into a superstar.

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He know’s he’ll have a fight to wrestle the midfielder away from Dortmund due to his deal at Signal Iduna Park having another three-years to run.

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Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has pushed striker Wayne Rooney to match the efforts of in-form Dimitar Berbatov, and aim for 20 goals this season.

Berbatov’s latest hat-trick took the Bulgarian to a personal record of 17 goals in the Premier League so far this season, and he leads the club’s tally in contrast to Rooney’s poor run in front of goal.

The 29-year-old has inevitably been a key contributor to Manchester United’s 22-game unbeaten run in the Premier League this term, scoring numerous key goals including three hat-tricks, and propelling the club to top spot amongst England’s elite.

However, in order for the Red Devils to remain there, Ferguson realises that they can’t afford for Berbatov to enter a barren patch, and he has urged other players to step up to the mark and start contributing to the goal tally.

Nani has been in prolific form since August, and has been the key ‘Ronaldo factor’ in the squad – providing 11 assists for others and grabbing seven goals for himself.

“Dimitar is getting up towards that 20-goal mark, which is going to be important for us,” said Ferguson, according to ESPN Soccernet. “Hopefully we will get another one to that level too. Once you do that you know it is a substantial season.”

Rooney scored 34 goals last season, but has failed to really hit top-gear so far this campaign following revelations about his private life, speculation over his future and the debilitating effect of various injuries.

Now Ferguson is challenging Rooney to get back to his best.

“We hope so, he [Rooney] deserves it. He is working his socks off and is playing some great football,” said Ferguson. “The third goal [in Saturday’s 5-0 demolition of Birmingham City at Old Trafford] was very, very exciting with the interchange between Berba and Rooney. It was right at half-time and it killed the match,” he added. “Wayne showed fantastic control in the fourth goal to bring the ball from Edwin [Van der Sar] out of the clouds. The control of Rooney and setting up Ryan [Giggs] to square the ball for Berba – it was a fantastic goal.”

Despite the former Everton striker’s unselfish work, which yielded two memorable assists against Brum, he struggled in front of goal himself, heading a cross wide from two yards out.

Berbatov wrote his name into the United record book by notching his third hat-trick of the season, equalling Ruud Van Nisterlrooy’s haul from the 2002-03 season.

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The Bulgarian has managed double figures in every one of his seasons in England, and is finally looking the £30.75m player United bought from Tottenham in September 2008.

“Dimitar is realising his ability,” said Ferguson. “The other players sense it too. They are playing their part in playing with him. He has special qualities. I think we are using them.”

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Germany coach Joachim Low is expecting a Greece to prove tough competition in Friday’s Euro 2012 quarter final but refutes the claim that Fernando Santos’ will deploy an ultra defensive game plan.

It has been suggested that the Euro 2004 winners will implement a similar strategy to the one that Chelsea used during their Champions League final victory on penalties against Bayern Munich last month

However Low has dismissed any comparisons after stating they won’t be facing “the Chelsea of the Mediterranean” but did warn his players not to take their opponents for granted.

“I have heard a few times that they are the Chelsea of the Mediterranean, but it is not that way,” he said. “Greece play good combination football. Their defence is strong, they are strong in the tackle and defending and countering is in their blood.

“They have been playing that way for years. It was similar or practically the same in 2004 [when they became European champions in Portugal].

“They get written off sometimes, but then they are always there. But anyway, Chelsea play a different football to what we saw in the final or semi-finals of the Champions League.”

Having remained unbeaten the group stage Low also admits the knockout phase is tricky to navigate but is confident his team can handle pressure of being favourites to bag a semi-final spot.

“Logically we are favourites, but we can deal with that,” he said. “But remember – knockout games have their own character so it won’t be the case that the favourite automatically reaches the next round.

“We saw that in the group when Russia were the big favourites and we have all seen what happened. But if we show all of our inner strength and belief, then we are strong enough to beat the Greeks of course. I am convinced we will win.”

Greece coach Santos is aware that his side are the  ‘David’ to Germany’s ‘Goliath’ as they prepare to face off against one of the favourites to win the tournament they triumphed in unexpectedly eight years ago.

He wants the current squad to revel in their role as the underdog and believes the success of 2004 should provide an extra boost of motivation ahead of the game in Gdansk.

“If we see it as a David and Goliath task, then this is good for us because we all know that Goliath lost,” Santos said. “They are a big team and usually get to the semi-finals and we are talking about a very consistent nation.

“But I am willing to accept the role of David, just as long as history repeats itself.”

“I would like to seize this opportunity to say what an inspiration for us the 2004 success is,” Santos said. “We showed great resolution and strength and we were written off before that tournament, but we still reached the final and won the cup.

“That should be a source of inspiration for us this time.”

Team News

Jerome Boateng is available for Germany with Joachim Low likely to bring him back into the starting eleven at the expense of Lars Bender despite right back netting the winner against Poland in their final group fixture.

Skipper Giorgos Karagounis and left-back Jose Holebas are suspended for Greece after picking up their second yellows of the tournament against Russia. Sotiris Ninis, Grigoris Makos and Giorgos Fotakis will battle for Karagounis’ spot in midfield while, Georgios Tzavelas had already usurped Holebas in the left-back slot.

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Key Players

Bastian Schweinsteiger

Once again the Bayern Munich man has been a leading light for Germany in midfield. When he’s at his best Schweinsteiger is up there with the best in the world and he’s been on another level for die Mannschaft during the tournament displaying his exquisite range of passing and defensive tenacity when he isn’t pinging the ball around and driving at opposition defences.

Soitiris Ninis

The likely candidate to replace captain Giorgos Karagounis in the engine room, it will be Ninis’ job to lead from the front and provide the creative inspiration for Greece. Much will be expected of the Parma man who has failed to live up to his reputation as a goalscoring midfielder but has the opportunity to showcase his undoubted talent against Germany.

Prediction: 3-0