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Monday, June 18
Euro 2008 qual. - Carson's England fear
The England Under-21 shot-stopper, who usually makes the senior squad, was impressive on-loan at Charlton last season but after the Addicks' relegation returned to Liverpool, were Spain international Reina is first-choice and recently signed a new long-term contract.

And Carson is concerned at the effect this will have on him making Steve McClaren's squad for the Euro 2008 qualifiers and, should England qualify, the tournament itself.

"I think you can only get in the England squad when you are playing games regularly but we'll have to wait and see what happens next season and take it from there," the 22-year-old former Leeds man said.

"Nothing is sorted as yet; I'm just concentrating on the tournament at the moment."

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posted by ^%&^ @ 10:33 PM   |
Voters in Swiss capital give narrow backing to Euro 2008
Euro 2008 organisers narrowly avoided an embarrassing defeat on Sunday when voters in the Swiss capital Berne gave their cautious support to the tournament.

Just over 52 percent of voters were in favour of a contribution of 5.6 million Swiss francs ($4.5 million) by the city government towards the cost of staging three group stage matches in the capital.

Local politicians and tournament organisers had warned before the vote that a negative outcome would almost certainly have seen the matches being moved to another location.

"I'm not surprised by how tight it was in the end, because I always said it would be a narrow vote," Berne mayor Alexander Tschappat told Reuters shortly after the results were announced.

"Still, a shot that hits the post and then goes in the goal still counts as a goal.

"Berne has a great passion for sport but I think you will always have these kind of political discussions when it comes to public funding for events that also involve private organisations like UEFA or FIFA."

The city's main political parties had all come out in favour of the government payment, but a small committee of green and left-wing politicians had urged voters to reject it -- arguing that public money was being used to boost profits at European soccer's governing body UEFA.

"Of course it's disappointing to lose by such a narrow margin," committee member Daniele Jenni told Reuters. "But with so many of the political parties stacked against us we are delighted that we were able to garner so much support.

"We think it is a clear sign that the authorities have to be careful how they spend taxpayers' money and that they should not just follow the diktat of big sports organisations."

Berne is the only one of the eight Euro 2008 host cities that is expected to vote on the staging of the tournament.

Zurich, Geneva and Basel are the other Swiss cities involved, while Vienna, Innsbruck, Salzburg and Klagenfurt are hosting the Austrian side of the tournament.

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posted by ^%&^ @ 10:33 PM   |
Tuesday, June 12
Soccer park expands with concessions, storage
A project that has been six years in the making has now become reality for the City of Fort Thomas and the Campbell County North Soccer Club.

The Fort Thomas Soccer Park recently added a new concession stand and storage building to the city-owned facility which is located at the Pendery Sports Complex in Melbourne.

The City of Fort Thomas acquired the Fort Thomas Soccer Park property in 2001 and the Campbell County North Soccer Club has leased the property from the city for recreational soccer use since then.

"Youth soccer is a huge outlet for kids to get out and do stuff," said Neal Frink, coaching coordinator for the club. The Campbell County North Soccer Club registers around 900 children, ages 5-15 who play recreational soccer in the fall and spring each year.

The concession stand will be managed by the city and staffed by volunteer organizations, which will share profits with the Campbell County North Soccer Club.

"The concession stand will be a convenience for the parents and grandparents watching the kids play soccer," said Don Martin, Fort Thomas city administrative officer. "The concession stand will allow the parents and grandparents to bring a lunch and watch the kids play soccer."

The storage building allows the club to house field maintenance equipment, corner flags, and soccer nets. The building project is part of a master plan that the Campbell County North Soccer Club adopted for the Fort Thomas Soccer Park.

The project depleted the club's reserve funds so additional projects are currently on hold. The additional projects include a lighting prediction system, playground equipment, and tree plantings.

"The Fort Thomas Soccer Park will be a bonus to the city, just like a downtown area," said Frink.

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posted by ^%&^ @ 11:21 PM   |
British Soccer Camp Comes to Stillman Valley
Young soccer players in the Rockford area have a chance to not only learn the game of soccer this week, but learn it with an accent.

The Challenger British Soccer Camps are in Stillman Valley, coaching up close to 100 young players. These British Soccer camps take international players all over the United States. Four of those players are in Stillman Valley until Friday to lend their knowledge of the game and Stillman is one of 1,700 communities that the British soccer camps will be in this year and they hope to reach close to 80,000 players.

Both the students and coaches are having a great time. Camp Director David Thompson says, "They're great. If all the kids are like this throughout the summer then it will be great. They all just want to have fun and are so eager to learn and so enthusiastic. If you get that from any kid throughout the summer you can't ask for anymore. Just a great bunch of kids." Monroe Center student Tatum Glendenning says, ¶"I like their accent and they help me learn a lot of things." Stillman Valley 6th grader Micah Robert says, "It's fun. The coaches are nice. They've been playing some games with us. They play some fun games."

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posted by ^%&^ @ 11:19 PM   |
Soccer - Troublesome Fans Face Ban Across EU
Sports fans who misbehave face being banned from stadiums across the whole of the European Union under new legislation proposed in a draft paper on how sport should be run.

The European Commission is due to publish a ground-breaking strategy document on how sport should be governed across the 27-nation bloc on July 4.

In the latest draft copy, obtained by Reuters, the EU executive proposes an EU-wide ban on sports supporters found guilty of violence.

"The Commission will analyse the possibilities for banning from stadiums at European level those found guilty of violence at matches," the draft document said.

"The Commission will promote the exchange of information on violent and racist incidents between sport organisations and national authorities."

It is the first time that such laws have been proposed at EU level. Security in sport has, until now, been the responsibility of individual governments and police authorities.

The news comes after European soccer's governing body announced last Tuesday that it was setting up a task force along with EU governments to look at ways to combat the recent upsurge in soccer-related violence.

Last month's Champions League final was tainted by violence after fans with forged tickets or those with no ticket forced their way into the stadium for the match between Liverpool and AC Milan, while dozens with genuine tickets were refused entry.

An Italian police officer died during riots at a soccer match earlier this year and a drunken fan ran on to the pitch and attacked a referee at a recent Euro 2008 qualifier between Denmark and Sweden.

"The new legislation could be based on the exit ban system in Britain where known offenders have to surrender their passport during the time of international matches or tournaments," a UEFA source told Reuters.

Following a spate of match-fixing in sport across Europe, most notably in Italy and Belgium, the EU's executive would also consider introducing tougher laws on betting, the draft paper said.

"To address the issue of illicit activities related to sport betting, improved monitoring of betting activities will be considered and contractual agreements between sport bodies, database owners and betting companies encouraged," it said.

The Commission is also expected to propose stricter rules for regulating players' agents as it is "concerned about the legality of financial flows".

The document, otherwise known as a White Paper, will cover the way sport is run and focuses on issues such as soccer agents, security, club ownership, labour laws, financing of sport and drugs abuse.

Other issues tackled in the paper are a bout players released for international duty

The draft papers says the Commission is aware of problems raised by the release of players for national teams and the issue of compensation for their injuries while on international duty.

However, it will await the outcome of a related case (Charleroi) which is pending before the European Court of Justice.

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posted by ^%&^ @ 11:18 PM   |
Henry irate over Barcelona reports
Thierry Henry has slammed reports in the French and Spanish press that he has agreed to join Barcelona.

Reports in France Football claimed on Monday that the Arsenal star was ready to ink a three year deal with the Spanish champions, but Henry and his representatives have dismissed the story as a complete fabrication.

Speaking to French newspaper L'Equipe, the French forward was adamant that no such agreement existed.

"Nothing is done. I repeat, nothing," Henry said.

"Writing about a meeting that never took place is absolute rubbish. At this moment I am an Arsenal player and in the same situation as I was last year. Last season people were announcing all over the place that I was leaving. Some people wrote that it would happen for sure but at the end of the day I stayed at Arsenal. It could be the same this year.

"I've not taken any decision and my name is not up on any departures board. If something happens, I will tell everybody."

Henry's agent Jerome Anderson went even further, threatening legal action: "I can categorically state that I have never met or had discussions with anyone from Barcelona.

"The story says I met with them in the South of France. The fact is I haven't been to the South of France for years. I will be seeking legal advice over this story."

However Henry has admitted his disappointment at David Dein's departure, saying: "David Dein's departure was a mistake. I have said it before and I will say it for the next 20 years. If there was one person who had to stay at Arsenal, it was David Dein."

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posted by ^%&^ @ 11:16 PM   |
Pakistan to host Asian football events;FIFA chief also to pay visit
Two Asian-level international football events will be held in Pakistan this year while world football chief, Sepp Blatter, will also visit this country. The Federal Minister for Environment, Makhdoom Faisal Saleh Hayat, who is also the President of Pakistan Football Federation, made these announcements, at a press talk here on Tuesday.

He has just returned from attending the FIFA (International Football Federation) Congress in Zurich (Switzerland) in which Sepp Blatter and others were reelected.

Blatter will be accompanied by AFC chief Muhammad Bin Hammam during visit to Pakistan in the last quarter of this year, Faisal said.

Pakistan will host AFC President's Cup in September while AFC Under-19 Football Championship is scheduled for October-November,both events to be held in Lahore.

"Asian Football Confederation (AFC) wanted to shift the venue of AFC President's Cup, which involves top football clubs of the continent, away from Pakistan after it was earlier postponed here due to visa problems", Faisal said.

"But I persuaded AFC to announce new dates", he said, adding that PFF will also introduce a league competition among the clubs of the country. "The introduction of professional club league will turn our players into professionals", he said.

PFF, he said, had already been running two premier leagues, involving departments, and was also focussing on women and junior competitions."Our activities of junior and women football is 1800 % more now as compared to four eyars ago".

The 2nd National Women Football Championship will be held in Islamabad while a Pakistani will soon tour Sri Lanka and Afghan team will also visit Pakistan.

"Our focus is on junior competitions" because of which the national team had gone down in international rankings, he said, explaining that the rankings of national teams are determined on the basis of the number of international matches they played and the ratio of victories.

The ranking of Indian team, he said, had also dwindled from 121 to 160. He also claimed that Pakistan was producing best results among South Asian nations as far as junior teams' performance was concerned and he was persuading FIFA to introduce "a Grading system" to determine which federations were performing well.

He said the Pakistan Under-13 team had finished 4th in the Asian competition recently and PFF would given away Rs. 50,000 to each player of the Under-13 team at a function on June 22.

Already, he said, PFF had collected a whopping sum of Rs. 215 million since he assumed the post of PFF President four years ago. "We had just Rs. 25 million in our coffers then while Today we have an amount of Rs. 65 million which is in addition to the Rs. 150 million spent on football activities, including the establishment of three goal-projects at Lahore, Peshawar and Karachi".

He said PFF had devised a model constitution on FIFA statutes in March this year and his reelection was in accordance with this constitution.

He said PFF had also sought help from Iranian federation for promotion of football in the country.

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posted by ^%&^ @ 11:12 PM   |
High hopes for Euro 2008 (25)
I’ve seen thousands of football matches in my time – but never one played at 11,333 feet above sea level on an Alpine glacier.

That was Switzerland’s way of launching the countdown to Euro 2008 which it is jointly staging next summer with neighbours Austria.

Original definitely, if not a little dangerous for the 400-odd people invited to watch the event who had to risk their limbs sliding around on the snow at the top of the Jungfrau.

It was Switzerland’s way of saying it is not a boring grey country where the trains run on time and everything is organised to the nth degree.

There were even plenty of stars on show for the five-a-side game, including Michael Laudrup (104 caps for Denmark), Arsenal’s charming Swiss youngster Johan Djourou and Portugal legend Paulo Sousa.

Not forgetting the national coaches of both host countries, Kobi Kuhn and Josef Hickersberger, and captains and Euro 2008 ambassadors Stephane Chapuisat (103 caps for Switzerland) and Andreas Herzog (103 caps for Austria).

I couldn’t help but sense a little naivety amid all the thigh-slapping and regalia of the Swiss hosting a major footballing event.

The country oozes class, sophistication and money. There was even a harpist playing at Zurich Airport. The trains do arrive and depart literally to the minute, the scenery is breath-taking with lakes, mountains and Sound of Music-style wooden farm chalets.

Back to the naivety I touched on a few lines back. Given the stunning natural beauty of the place, why would the Swiss want thousands of marauding football supporters invading their peaceful land? I asked numerous Swiss folk that very question and got the same answer every time: “It will be fine”

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posted by ^%&^ @ 11:12 PM   |
Thursday, June 7
SOCCER: Euro 2008 review
England's European Championship qualification hopes received a double boost after chief rivals Croatia and Russia played out a goalless draw in Zagreb.


Russia weathered sustained pressure to escape the Maksimir Stadium in Zagreb with a vital point in Group E.

Coupled with England`s 3-0 win in Estonia, it means Steve McClaren`s men are now only three points behind leaders Croatia.

Israel joined Croatia at the top of the group with a 2-0 victory over Andorra at a rain-drenched Estadi Comunal.

Goals from Toto Tamuz and Roberto Colautti either side of half-time handed the visitors a second win in four days - the first a 2-1 victory over FYR Macedonia in Skopje.

France remain three points clear of Scotland in Group B as Samir Nasri`s first-half goal proved enough to see off Georgia in Auxerre.

Playmaker Nasri, viewed as the long-term successor to Zinedine Zidane, stroked home a neat finish in the 33rd minute to earn Les Bleus a 1-0 victory and keep them two points clear of Italy in the standings.

Two first-half goals from Fabio Quagliarella gave Italy a 2-0 victory over Lithuania to keep them a point clear of Scotland.

The Sampdoria striker scored the opener on 31 minutes before adding his second on the stroke of half-time.

Northern Ireland lost the leadership of Group F after Sweden routed Scandinavian rivals Iceland 5-0.

Goals from Marcus Allback (two), Anders Svensson, Aston Villa defender Olof Mellberg and Markus Rosenberg did the damage for the hosts, who move two points clear of Nigel Worthington`s new side.

They also drop below Spain after two clinical David Villa strikes earned his country their second victory in a matter of days after seeing off Liechtenstein.

Villa netted twice in the opening 15 minutes to put the visitors on their way to a 2-0 win in Vaduz, but the Valencia striker missed the chance for his hat-trick after blazing a late penalty against the crossbar.

Dennis Rommedahl inspired Denmark to victory in Latvia to keep Morten Olsen`s men in contention in the same group.

He opened the scoring after 15 minutes and added a second two minutes later.

Germany moved closer to a place at Euro 2008 with a win over Slovakia in Hamburg.

The Group D leaders went ahead after just 10 minutes when Jan Durica put through his own goal.

Another own goal, this time from Germany`s Christoph Metzelder, allowed Slovakia to draw level 10 minutes later, but after Thomas Hitzlsperger put the hosts ahead two minutes before the break the result was rarely in any doubt.

Poland missed the chance to extend their lead at the top of Group A after slipping to a 1-0 defeat against a battling Armenia side at the Republican Stadium.

Hamlet Mkhitaryan`s 64th-minute free-kick flew past Celtic goalkeeper Artur Boruc into the top-left corner of the net.

Fourth-placed Finland improved their qualifying chances with a 2-0 victory over 10-man Belgium.

Goals from former Charlton striker Jonatan Johansson and Aleksei Eremenko were enough for the hosts at the Olympiastadion, while Marouane Fellaini`s dismissal early in the second half made the task for Rene Vandereycken`s men a near impossible one.

In the same group, Ruslan Baltiyev`s goal salvaged a 1-1 draw for 10-man Kazakhstan at home to Azerbaijan after defender Maksim Zhalmagambetov was sent off.

The midfielder`s goal cancelled out Vugar Nadyrov`s first-half strike to leave the Azerbaijan side with one point when they should have had three.

European champions Greece extended their lead over Turkey at the top of Group C to five points thanks to Nikos Liberopoulos` injury-time strike in a hard-fought victory over Moldova.

Angelos Charisteas netted with a typical header in the first half for Otto Rehhagel`s men before Viorel Frunza powered home a surprise equaliser with 10 minutes left.

Bosnia-Herzegovina moved ahead of Turkey and up to second on goal difference after a 1-0 win over a stubborn Malta side.

A goal in the sixth minute from striker Zlatan Muslimovic put Fuad Muzurovic`s men on 13 points, having played one more game than Turkey.

Norway kept their qualification hopes on track with a 4-0 win over Hungary.

Former Tottenham striker Steffen Iversen got the ball rolling in the first half before substitute Daniel Braaten and two goals from Aston Villa forward John Carew made certain of the victory to move the Scandinavians level on points with second-placed Turkey.

Romania maintained their two-point lead at the top of Group G after completing the double over Slovenia with a 2-0 win in Timisoara.

Victor Piturca`s side won 2-1 in Celje on Saturday and rounded off an excellent few days thanks to goals from Adrian Mutu and Cosmin Contra.

Second-placed Bulgaria came from a goal down to claim a 2-1 win over Belarus to boost their qualification hopes.

Roman Vasiluk opened the scoring with a fifth-minute penalty but Martin Petrov`s free-kick hauled the home side level five minutes later.

Chavdar Yankov completed the turnaround before half-time.
Albania climbed to fourth in the group with a 3-0 victory over Luxembourg.

A brace from Edmond Kapllani added to Ervin Skela`s opener sent Otto Baric`s team to a second victory in four days over their opponents, following Saturday`s 2-0 triumph in Tirana.

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posted by ^%&^ @ 10:50 PM   |
Euro Qual. Group B Report: Quagliarella Leads Italy To Precious Win
Italy put the terrible match against Faroe Islands behind their backs with an excellent performance against Lithuania to avenge the first leg result (1-1).

It was a convincing and determined performance by the entire Azzurri side who took the match into their hands right from the start with Di Natale and Quagliarella going close after just a few minutes of play.

The Italian side kept on pressing until Quagliarella managed to open the score for the World Champions in the 30th minute when his shot from 20 metres went past the helpless Grybauskas.

Lithuania could have equalized in the 42nd minute when Mikoliunas all alone in front of Buffon missed the opportunity to score thanks to the Juventus goalkeeper's reflexes, and three minutes later Quagliarella punished the home side with his second goal of the night. Once again it was a shot from the distance which the opposing goalkeeper could do nothing to stop it from entering his goal.

In the second half Italy held the match in its hands and could have added the third goal, however mostly due to the Azzurri's poor finishing, the result did not change as the match slowly came to an end, with the Italian side controlling the encounter without risking anything in defence.

This is an important win for Roberto Donadoni's team, as the Italians kept in touch with France, who defeated Georgia, and still maintained the lead over Scotland before next September's decisive encounters against Les Bleus and Ukraine for the qualification race.

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posted by ^%&^ @ 10:49 PM   |
euro 2008 : McClaren confident of qualification for Euro 2008
Although England remain fourth they are now within a point of Russia and have cut the difference with Croatia to three. Israel, who have played a match more, are also three points ahead.

McClaren said: "We have still got a lot to prove - we can't think we have turned the corner because we haven't yet.

"But it's in our hands now, this was a big result for us - we had to win it, we won it comfortably and professionally and that puts us back in the group.

"Four of the last five games are at Wembley and we saw on Friday what a great atmosphere and home it's going to be for England."

McClaren hailed Beckham as "immense" after the Real Madrid midfielder created goals for Peter Crouch and Michael Owen.

England had been set on their way by Joe Cole's excellent finish from a Crouch header.

McClaren said: "David was immense. He has set up three of the four goals we have scored since he came back and that's why he's in the team.

"He got a knock early on but didn't want to come off and when he's playing like that he's invaluable to us but once we got the second and third we could allow him to take a breather.

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posted by ^%&^ @ 10:32 PM   |
euro 2008 : McClaren confident of qualification for Euro 2008
A full slate of qualification matches for the 2008 Euro occured Saturday with several shock results surfacing. Two of the biggest matches of the weekend were Spain v Denmark and the Czech Republic v Germany, with Germany and Spain both pulling out 2-1 wins respectively.

England visited Israel but were only able to manage a 0-0 draw as the finishing by the English side was poor. Other draws included Albania v Slovenia (0-0), Moldova v Malta (1-1), and Holland v Romania (0-0).

Kazakhstan earned their first win in competitive play with a 2-1 victory over Serbia, while Ukraine defeated the Faroe Islands by a scoreline of 2-0. Stephen Ireland scored the only goal as the Rebuplic of Ireland defeated Wales 1-0 in Ireland. Scotland pulled off a win at home to Georgia with Craig Beattie scoring a goal in the dying minutes to give them a morale boosting 2-1 victory. Croatia also won at home with a 2-1 victory over Macedonia.

Belarus went into Luxembourg where the visitors came out 2-1 victors, while France also won away at Lithuania. Cyprus fell 3-1 to visiting Slovakia, and Russia won 2-0 in Estonia. Bosnia was another team to win away, as they pulled off a 2-1 victory in Norway. David Healy scored a natural hat-trick for Northen Ireland as they cruised to a 4-1 victory over Liechtenstein, while Turkey pulled off a shock win in Greece as they defeated the current holders by the same scoreline. Portugal put four by Belgium, as Christiano Ronaldo scored two for the Portuguese.

Another full schedule of qualifiers is set for this Wednesday, and big group games include Northern Ireland v Sweeden and Italy v Scotland. England will look to get their qualifying campaign back on track in Andorra, and Greece will attempt the same in Malta.

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posted by ^%&^ @ 10:28 PM   |
euro 2008 : Faroe Islands 0-2 Scotland
Scotland are still in it following their 2-0 win over the Faroe Islands -their first in years!

Shaun Malony scored on his debut in a competitive game and then Gary O'Connor made it 2-0 just four minutes later.

Faroe Islands v Scotland Videos

Faroe Islands v Scotland - Shaun Maloney 0-1

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posted by ^%&^ @ 10:28 PM   |
Wednesday, June 6
Finalist profile: Real Madrid
The fact that the most-decorated basketball club in European history has returned to the ULEB Cup Final may be taken as proof that the status of this five-year-old competition is growing off the charts. Real Madrid's list of continental titles is second to none in Europe, and its trophy case more crowded than perhaps any on the planet. Crowned European champion a record eight times, Madrid is also the only continental king to reign in four different decades. It also claims five other European trophies, 29 domestic titles, 22 Spanish Cups and various other crowns along the way. Madrid's first trophy came more than 55 years ago, in the 1950-51 Spanish Cup, and its last was the 2005 Spanish League title. In between, its success counted in trophies lifted has outnumbered the club's famous football side. There is only one competition for which Madrid has played a title game but never lifted the trophy: the ULEB Cup. On its second trip in three seasons to Charleroi for a ULEB Cup Final, mighty Madrid plans to make clear that even though 21st century European basketball is more competitive than ever, the continent's best team until now is on the rise once again.

Madrid's history reads like a timeline of the sport in Europe. Its international reputation grew with one of the earliest continental dynasties, four Euroleague-level crowns in five seasons between 1964 and 1968. The first and last came against Spartak Brno of Czechoslovakia, the second against CSKA Moscow and the third against Simmenthal Milan, which had interrupted Madrid's victory string in the middle year. Joaquin Hernandez coached Madrid's first title team, while the legendary Pedro Ferrandiz was on the bench for the other three, directing such superstars of the day as Emiliano Rodriguez and Clifford Luyk. Madrid and Ferrandiz returned to the podium in 1974 to interrupt the identical string - four titles in five years - of Varese, and again in 1978, to top another Italian team, Mobilgirgi, by 81-74 as Walter Szczerbiak starred and Lolo Sainz coached. In 1980, Madrid took the first crown of a new decade by stopping MaccabiTel Aviv 89-85, again under Sainz. A 15-year wait followed until Madrid could call itself champion again, downing Olympiacos 73-61 behind two other legends: Arvydas Sabonis on the court and Zeljko Obradovic on the bench.

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posted by ^%&^ @ 9:58 PM   |
Tuesday, May 22
AC Milan
Club Details: Full name: Associazione Calcio Milan SpA
Nickname(s): Rossoneri (Red-Blacks), Il Diavolo (The Devil)
Founded: December 16, 1899
Colours: Red/Black Stripes, White Shorts, Black Socks
League: Italian Serie A
Ground: Ground: Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, San Siro, Milan, Italy
Capacity: 85,700
Technical Staff: Carlo Ancelotti – Head Coach
Mauro Tassotti – Assistant Coach
Villiam Vecchi, Beniamino Abate – Goalkeeping Coaches
Daniele Tognaccini, Giovanni Mauri – Fitness Coaches
Luigi Balestra – Technical Assistant
Silvano Ramaccioni – Team Manager
Jean Pierre Meersseman – Medical Director
Massimiliano Sala – Club Doctor
Giorgio Puricelli, Tomislav Vrbnjak, Sebastiano Genovese, Silvano Cotti, Marco Peasanti, Cristiano Parolini, Roberto Morosi – Physiotherapists
William Tillson – Athletic Trainer
About AC Milan: Originally founded as Milan Cricket and Football Club on December 16, 1899, by a former British vice-consul in Milan called Alfred Edwards, AC Milan also initially included a cricket section, managed by Edward Berra, and a football section assigned to David Allison.

The current club colours of red and black were immediately chosen to represent the club who went on to break Genoa’s monopoly and win the national league in in 1901, 1906 and 1907. A year later a rift opened between some of the members over whether or not to sign foreign players and a progressive faction split to form Internazionale of Milan.

Milan Cricket and Football Club played under that name until the fascist regime ordered them to change their name to Associazione Calcio Milano in 1939 which was then changed to the current version of Associazione Calcio Milan once the Second World War ended.

AC Milan have had several legendary sides throughout the years including the Il Grande Milan team which featured a trio of Swedish players composed by Gunnar Gren, Gunnar Nordahl and Nils Liedholm in the early 1950s and the first great side of the Silvio Berlusconi era which included Dutch triumvirate Ruud Gullit, Frank Rijkaard and Marco Van Basten.

Perhaps the greatest side of the modern era was the AC Milan Dream Team of the early to mid 1990s which, under Fabio Capello, went on an unprecedented 58 game unbeaten run with such Milan greats as Paolo Maldini, Franco Baresi and Roberto Donadoni and won the Scudetto in 1992, 1993, 1994 and 1996 as well as competing in three successive European Cup finals, winning the trophy in 1994.

Milan’s recent history has included a more dark twist as they again have become embroiled in a match fixing scandal similar to that which saw them punished by relegation for the same offence in 1980. This time the Italian authorities imposed a 30 points deduction for the previous season and another 8 points deduction for the upcoming 2006/2007 season.

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posted by ^%&^ @ 10:02 PM   |
A-KOP-OLIS NOW: LFC.TV'S ATHENS DIARY 2
Whether you're sat in an internet cafe in Amonia Square with a raging Ouzo hangover or back home trying to kid your boss into thinking your mind's still on the job, here's LFC.TV's European Cup diary, direct from the Greek capital.
REMEMBER US? and 47 other great slogans for banners in Athens

ROTATION:IT'LL NEVER WORK

ZEUS WAS AN IMPOSTER
FOWLER IS THE REAL KING OF GODS

WHAT IS RED AND WHITE AND WALKS FUNNY?
STEVIE G HOLDING THE EUROPEAN CUP

KOPALOTOFUS - A Greek Legend

Welcome to the A-KOP-OLIS

What was that you said Andy? Game over?

Liverpool: Twinned with...
Rome
Wembley
Paris
Rome
Istanbul
Athens

Milan: A Greek Tragedy. Part II

Athens: Feta Complished

There is only 1 God in Ancient Greece

You Call This Greece?
You Haven't Seen The Chips
At The Lobster Pot

Some people make headlines
Others make HISTORY!

RAFA'S AEGEANIUS

3-0 HEADSTART AGAIN?

Zeus out, Carra in

PLATO?
ARISTOTLE?
PARMENIDES?
ARCHIMEDES?
PYTHAGORAS?
RAFA... PURE GENIUS !

Pythagoras:
Liverpool FC: 18 + 5 = UNRIVALLED

LIVERPOOL FC
The Little Old Club With 6 Appeal

Stavros is a Scouser!

Liverpool till the Pitta end!

FROM THE ATTATURK STADIUM IN THE STICKS
TO THE OLYMPIC STADIUM FOR NUMBER 6

For The Boys In Blue, its deja vu
For The Boys In Red, it's Greece Instead!

Mrs Benitez needs a new watch

I KNOW I'LL OFTEN STOP AND THINK ABOUT THEM
IN MY LIFE I'VE LOVED THEM ALL

The Joy of Six?

THE SIXTH SENSE....
I SEE RED PEOPLE

DO YOU WANT A
3-0 HEAD START
OR SHALL WE SMOTHER
YOU IN GREECE?

IF YOU THINK THE ACROPOLIS IS IN RUINS
WAIT TILL YOU SEE GOODISON

Number 5 came like a gift from the Gods,
In Istanbul and against all the odds.
Jose, Sir Alex and the rest beneath us,
Europe's best could not defeat us.
Now Athens awaits and history repeats,
Milan again! Can we equal past feats?
Scousers with cameras will take the pics
Of Stevie and Rafa and Number Six!

What's the weather like in England?

I WISH WE'D PLAYED A STRONGER SIDE IN THE CARLING CUP NOW!

Liverpool FC - Still Making History

Beware of Scousers bearing gifts!

SuperCarraRafalisticExpectToWinMoreTrophies

NORMAL SERVICE HAS BEEN RESUMED

We're leaving with players
We're returning with legends

The Spyros Kop

You have your Gods
We have ours

AC MILAN
STUFFED IN TURKEY
ROASTED IN GREECE

JC and the Argonauts

PUT A CORK IN IT FERGIE

The gods have returned!

There we were, Broken Hearted...
But Stevie scored and then it started...
We'll win it 6 times

CARRA'S GOT THE HEART
STEVIE ALL THE TRICKS
RAFA MAKES OUR DREAMS COME TRUE
IT'S TIME FOR NUMBER SIX

SCOUSERS IN ATHENS:
SMASHING PLATES
COLLECTING CUPS

COME ON OVER TO ATHENS
RAFA, HE'S HAVIN A PARTY
BELLAMY'S SWINGIN COS RIISE AINT SINGIN
BUT WE'RE DRINKIN OUT OF SILVER TONIGHT

It's Scouse RAFAOLOGY

* * * * *


In ancient Greece, we'll win it eight times!

John Aldridge might have missed out on the chance to play for the Reds in Europe due to a ban on British clubs competing on the continent but if he had of done, he reckons the fans could well have been singing about winning it seven times in Istanbul! "I was talking about this recently saying just how fantastic that team was and how disappointing it is that we never got the chance to show Europe what we were capable of," claims Aldridge, a key player in King Kenny's electrifying side which lit up the English game with some of the greatest football this country has ever seen. "If we had, we'd all be talking about the six or seven European Cups Liverpool had already won, not just the five. But then, that's not a bad little haul is it!"

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posted by ^%&^ @ 10:01 PM   |
What is UEFA Champions League?
The UEFA Champions League (which used to be named and is often still called European Cup) is an annual club football competition organized by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for the most successful football clubs in Europe. It is one of the most prestigious club trophies in the sport along with America's Copa Libertadores. It has a global audience of more than a billion people.
The current holder of the UEFA Champions League trophy is Barcelona, who beat Arsenal 2-1 at the Stade de France in St-Denis, Paris on 17 May 2006.

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posted by ^%&^ @ 9:58 PM   |
Top scorers of Champions League 2006/2007
The 2006-2007 Champions League top scorers up to now are:

10 Kaká - Milan
6 Peter Crouch - Liverpool
6 Ruud van Nistelrooy - Real Madrid
6 Didier Drogba - Chelsea
6 Fernando Morientes - Valencia
5 Raúl González Real Madrid
4 Claudio Pizarro - Bayern
4 Nicolae Dica - Steaua
4 Claudio Pizarro - Bayern

photo of: Kaká

Did you know?
With his first touch of the game Kaká scored Brazil's winning goal in their opening 2006 World Cup qualifier against Colombia.

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posted by ^%&^ @ 9:57 PM   |
Athens Champions League Festival
Designed for all
"The UEFA Champions Festival is designed to allow fans to experience the feeling of the UEFA Champions League final atmosphere and the celebration that is UEFA Champions League football, irrespective of whether they are attending the final itself," said UEFA. The festival will also include a skills clinic; the Young Champions grassroots tournament involving girls and boys from the ages of nine to 14; a Senior Champions football match featuring former European stars and a Greek celebrity side; a video-gaming contest; and the chance for the fans to play football spontaneously.

Monday 21 May
11.00 - 22.30 Spontaneous football
12.00 Start of the 24-hour non-stop Starball Match (Syntagma Square)

Tuesday 22 May

11.00 - 14.00 Spontaneous football
12.00 End of the 24 hours non-stop Starball Match (Syntagma Square)
13.00 - 15.00 Vodafone knock-out media and celebrity tournament (Zappeion Champions Square)
14.00 - 15.00 Daniele Massaro and Phil Neal sign autographs at the Milan and Liverpool booths
15.00 - 21.30 Young Champions tournament semi-finals

Wednesday 23 May

11.30 - 12.30 Young Champions tournament finals
13.00 - 13.50 Senior Champions' Match
14.00 - 14.30 Young Champions prize ceremony with Zinédine Zidane and Theodoros Zagorakis
14.30 - 15.30 Skill clinics with Zinédine Zidane, followed by a five-a-side match where Zidane will play in both teams
16.00 - 18.30 Spontaneous football
19.00 Festival closes

PHOTO: Theo Zagorakis opening the Athens Champions League Festival events

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posted by ^%&^ @ 9:54 PM   |
AC MILAN VS LIVERPOOL FC in Athens
AC Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti must decide between Filippo Inzaghi and Alberto Gilardino to play up front in the Champions League final in Athens.

Milan will give Paolo Maldini (knee) a late fitness test to see whether he can play in his eighth final.

Liverpool winger Boudewijn Zenden is a doubt with an ankle problem, so Harry Kewell could play wide on the left.

Xabi Alonso's inclusion could depend on whether Steven Gerrard plays on the right or in central midfield.

Liverpool's first-choice keeper Jose Reina and back-up Jerzy Dudek have both been passed fit.

RESOURCE: BBC NEWS SPORT

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posted by ^%&^ @ 9:33 PM   |
 
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