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FC Barcelona will return back to work on July 20th to begin training for the defense of their three titles. After a stellar 2008/2009 campaign head coach Pep Guardiola will start his second year in charge of the team. With many rumors of "big name" players both coming and going it is sure to be an exciting preseason for the team.

Al-Ahly (Arabic: النادي الأهلي‎) is an Egyptian football club based in Cairo. Founded in April 1907. Al-Ahly, which means national in Arabic, is the winningest club in Egypt, having won the Egyptian League thirty-four times and the Egyptian Cup thirty-five times. Al-Ahly was named as the African Club of the Century in 2000 by the Confederation [.

FC Barcelona's young guns trounced African champions Al Ahly of Egypt 4-1 in the pre-season Wembley Cup. Bojan Krkic, Jose Mariarueda, Jeffren and Pedro got the goals for Pep Guardiola's side. Hany El Egezy scored in the first half for the Egyptian outfit to make the score 1-1. Barca regular starters like Thierry Henry, Xavi, Carles [.

Well, we warned you...
Allow your club to be quasi-owned by #####################################, with a ######################################## businessman as chief executive, an extraordinary renditioning self-interested warmonger as chairperson, an inept manager whose former team, in Reality, would have finished trailed off at the bottom of last years' Premier League had it not been for the handicapping of the competition, and a club agent who combines professional deficiencies with rather too much interest in the betting markets, and this is what you get.

Only 393 days until the 2010 World Cup starts!
Excited? Have your tickets yet?
My computer's been broken the past few weeks. So I've no idea what the latest news is concerning the world's biggest sporting event.
Instead of regurgitating a load of news, here's a list of required reading to get you all caught up, complete with my oh-so-witty commentary .

It's beginning to feel like we're back, baby!!! True, most of the matches involving good clubs this weekend are exhibitions and don't count for much, but there are a butt-load of matches on television and some of the top clubs are involved. It's a great way to get back into gear for the regular season.

Here, a BBC interview with Egypt's Mohamed Aboutrika ahead of receiving the BBC African Footballer of the Year award. Interesting when he says he'd like to play for a top European club some day ...
To read the full interview, please click above.

Inas Mazhar: What does it mean to you to win the BBC African Footballer of the Year Award?

Asia
As we've just mentioned in our TV Preview, Asia is awash with three new countries that have qualified for the Finals in South Africa next year.
From Group 1, Australia and Japan are assured of occupying the top two places after the Aussies played out a goalless draw against Qatar and Japan won 1-0 away to Uzbekistan.

It's worth having a look at some of the pre season fixtures that some of the Premier League's finest will be undertaking, before the gruelling Premier League season starts up again. That exciting time is just over a month away, but teams need to see how their new signings are going to fit in, if there are any weaknesses that need to be attended to, and if there is any money to be milked out of any far east countries!

A couple of MLS alums have found new teams. After regaining his scoring touch in Paraguay, Carlos Ruiz has moved from Apertura champs Olimpia to Mexican club Puebla. One of the best strikers in league history, Ruiz still ranks 8th on the all-time MLS goal scoring list.
Puebla recently lost another former FC Dallas player when Ramon Nunez moved to Cruz Azul.

Chris gave us this (non-UK) club crests quiz yesterday, and if you haven't done so already I suggest you take the quiz before reading the answers below. No one got all 10 correct. But congratulations to both Marcus & Oliver and Matt, who got 9/10 correct. Answers below... Al-Ahly Spotter's Badge: Yassine Boca Juniors Spotter's Badge: Johnny1987 Club America Spotter's Badge: [.

First match of the new season for FC BARCELONA away at themythical (new)Wembley Stadium against TOTTENHAM HOTSPURSin the "Wembley Cup" tournament that includes two other teamswhich are Al-Ahly & Celtic Glasgow. The result was a 1-1 drawwith goals from BOJAN in the 31st min who put Barça ahead &the equalizer from LIVERMORE in the 83rd min for Tottenham.

Real Madrid had an opportunity to move within a single point of Barcelona for the Primera Division lead with a victory at home on Sunday. What happened? I'm sure you've seen it somewhere. Barcelona opened up a can on Real Madrid and scored a half-dozen goals in beating Real Madrid 6-2. There is now no question who the best club in Spain is.

After completing the most incredible season in history, the important thing now is to prepare for next season.
Barca's preseason will kickoff with a friendly against English club Tottenham Hotspurs on July 24, however the team will be assembled before that to begin training, and all players will undergo physicals on July 20.

The 23-man squads for the 09 Confederations Cup are listed below for all 8 participating teams.

Group A Iraq Confederation Cup Squad

Head coach: Bora Milutinović

No. Pos. Player DoB (Age) Caps Goals Club 1 GK Noor Sabri 6 June 1984 (aged 25) 63 0 Al-Talaba 2 DF Mohammed Ali Karim 25 June 1986 (aged 22) 6 0 Al-Jazira 3 DF Bassim Abbas 1 July 1982 (aged 26) 60 2 Al-Talaba 4 DF Fareed Majeed 17 August 1986 (aged 22) 5 0 Al-Talaba 5 MF Nashat Akram 12 September 1984 (aged 24) 75 10 Al-Gharafa 6 MF Salih Sadir 21 August 1981 (aged 27) 47 11 Al-Ahed 7 FW Emad Mohammed 24 July 1982 (aged 26) 76 23 Sepahan 8 FW Luay Salah 7 February 1982 (aged 27) 17 3 Arbil 9 MF Abdul-Wahab Abu Al-Hail 21 December 1976 (aged 32) 67 8 Sepahan 10 FW Younis Mahmoud (c) 2 March 1983 (aged 26) 70 28 Al-Gharafa 11 MF Hawar Mulla Mohammed 1 June 1981 (aged 28) 72 15 Anorthosis Famagusta 12 GK Mohammed Gassid 10 December 1986 (aged 22) 11 0 Al-Zawraa 13 MF Karrar Jassim 11 June 1987 (aged 22) 22 1 Al-Wakra 14 DF Salam Shakir 31 July 1986 (aged 22) 11 0 Al-Khor 15 DF Ali Rehema 8 August 1985 (aged 23) 45 1 Al-Wakra 16 DF Dara Mohammed 16 July 1987 (aged 21) 1 0 Sulaymaniyah 17 FW Alaa Abdul-Zahra 22 December 1987 (aged 21) 10 1 Al-Khor 18 MF Mahdi Karim 10 December 1983 (aged 25) 64 10 Al-Khor 19 DF Essam Yassin 11 March 1987 (aged 22) 1 0 Al-Amana 20 MF Samer Saeed 1 December 1987 (aged 21) 7 0 Al-Ahly Tripoli 21 GK Uday Taleb 6 November 1981 (aged 27) 5 0 Dohuk 22 DF Muayad Khalid 1 September 1985 (aged 23) 3 0 Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya 23 MF Halgurd Mulla Mohammed 11 March 1988 (aged 21) 5 0 Sulaymaniyah New Zealand Confederation Cup Squad

Head coach: Ricki Herbert

No.

This installment of the Annual Rankings brings us to 1987. In the final rankings for 1987, a European club returns to the top of the rankings, though it was not the European Cup champion. That title belonged to the runners up in the Portuguese Liga, Porto, who defeated Bayern Munich 2-1 in the finals in Vienna by scoring two late goals to overcome a 0-1 halftime deficit.

FC Barcelona will kick off their pre-season in London on July 21 before heading out on their US tour. The team will be arriving at the Camp Nou on July 20 for medical exams before heading off to London on the 21st. Head coach Pep Guardiola is taking more players from the B team than originally expected.

The first match is near, and we can barely contain our excitement. It seems like ages since we've seen the boys play (in reality only about two months) and we just can't wait for this!
Barca opens preseason against English club Tottenham as part of the Wembley Cup friendly tournament, which also features Scottish club Celtic and Egypt's Al-Ahly.

The Wembley Cup continued on Sunday with FC Barcelona taking Al-Ahly and Tottenham Hotspur taking on Celtic. Here's a recap of both matches along with video highlights.

FC Barcelona beats Al-Ahly 4-1 Video Highlights Barcelona defeated Egyptian side Al-Ahly 4-1 to remain undefeated in the Wembley Cup.

There were a few continental milestones hit in 1988 with respect to the World Club Rankings annual rankings. One was a last, one was a first. The last was for CONMEBOL. Argentina's Newell's Old Boys became the final South American club to date to finish atop the World Club Rankings annual chart.

The home continent of the 2010 World Cup is close to having its 5 qualifying sides defined for The Great Tournament. The 1st team to officially qualify is Ghana. The Black Stars defeated Sudan 2-0 at home to secure top spot in Group D. Goals by Inter midfielder Sulley Muntari & Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien sealed the victory.

On a night like tonight, one has to wonder whether there is something wrong at the heart of the psyche of the Italian national football team. They stand alone amongst the Great Football Nations in that they are prone to these bouts of extreme sudden clumsiness. No-one is going to suggest for a second that the Confederations Cup ranks anywhere near the World Cup in terms of prestige, importance or, well, anything, but it remains a tantalising possibility - did the ghosts of North Korea in 1966, Cameroon in 1982 and South Korea in 2002 drift silently and invisibly across the pitch at Ellis Park this evening.

Nelo Vingada comemorando o êxito na Taça da Ásia pela Arábia Saudita
"Nelo Vingada já foi apresentado como treinador do Al Ahly. O técnico português sucede no cargo a Manuel José e terá a árdua tarefa de fazer esquecer a imagem sacra criada pelo antecessor junto dos adeptos e da direcção.

Scottish Premier League club Celtic FC played Egyptian side Al Ahly Friday in an friendly. Here's a recap of the match along with video highlights.

Celtic FC dominates Al Ahly 5-0 Video Highlights Celtic easily defeated Egyptian side Al Ahly 5-0 in a preseason friendly.

Tottenham midfielder Jake Livermore denied Barca a winning start to their Wembley Cup campaign.The cup in question has been described as "a trophy nobody has won before and which may never be won again after the tournament ends on Sunday.".The teams involved are Celtic,Barcelona,Tottenham and Al Ahly.

AFP Photo

FC Barcelona claimed their first victory of the season today with a easy 1-4 thrashing of Egyptian side Al-Ahly in the teams last match of the Wembley Cup. Head coach Pep Guardiola once again fielded a B team which featured Bojan Krkic upfront for the second match in a row.

FC Barcelona eased past the challenge post by Al Ahly in their second match of the Wembley cup. The 4-1 victory but wasn't enough for them to grab the inaugral Wembley Cup. Celtic later defeated Totenham 2-0 to claim the first edition of this friendly cup. Like the last match Guardiola put in another young but talented side ofr this encounter.

Liverpool midfielder Javier Mascherano, who recently admitted that he would like a move to Spanish champions Barcelona after reports surfaced that he was unsettled in England, is a player that the Blaugrana would be interested in taking to La Liga, according to their vice-president of sport Rafael Yuste.

Barca's Pedro turns twenty-two today, congratulations to him! At such a young age he's a phenomenal player, raised in Barca's youth ranks and getting call-ups to the first team for an entire season now. He's got strength and consistence, the type of player you can always count on.
Pedro got an early birthday present when Pep confirmed, following his goal against Al-Ahly, that he is officially part of the senior squad.

The home continent of the 2010 World Cup is close to having its 5 qualifying sides defined for The Great Tournament. The 1st team to officially qualify is Ghana. The Black Stars defeated Sudan 2-0 at home to secure top spot in Group D. Goals by Inter midfielder Sulley Muntari & Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien sealed the victory.

Sid Lowe's La Liga column in the Guardian shared an interesting statistic this week over 50 clubs have beaten Real Madrid since October 2009 (last 10 years), but Atletico Madrid isn't one of them.

Here's the list in full:

Al Nasr Saudi Club, Al-Ahly, Alavés, Alcorcón, Almería, Anderlecht, Arsenal, Barcelona, Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern Munich, Betis, Boca Juniors, Celta Vigo, Deportivo, Espanyol, Galatasaray, Getafe, Graz, Hannover, Internazionale, Juventus, Las Palmas, Levante, Liverpool, Lokomotiv Moscow, Málaga, Mallorca, Manchester United, Milan, Monaco, Murcia, Nastic, Numancia, Olympiakos, Lyon, Osasuna, PSV, Racing, Rayo Vallecano, Nexaca, Real Sociedad, Real Unión, Recreativo, Roma, Servette, Sevilla, Spartak Moscow, Sporting Lisbon, Tokyo Verdy, Toledo, Valencia, Valladolid, Villarreal, Werder Bremen and Zaragoza.

It's our second preseason match, and Barca's up against Egyptian club Al-Ahly as the Wembley Cup continues.
The two teams met before in a friendly in Egypt at the end of the 2006-2007 season, where Bojan made his first team debut and scored the second goal in Barca's 4-0 win.
We expect Pep will be playing the kids once again for this one, and that Messi will also get some game time.

O 28º jogo do Mundial Sub-20, foi realizado em Cairo, no Estádio Internacional de Cairo, com uma temperatura de 26º C.
Jogaram as seleções do Egito (32º no ranking da FIFA) e Itália (4ª no ranking da FIFA).
Antes desse jogo, as 2 seleções se enfrentaram:
13/11/1953 - Egito 1x2 Itália (Eliminatórias da Copa do Mundo)
24/01/1954 - Itália 5x1 Egito (Eliminatórias da Copa do Mundo)
16/07/1987 - Itália 1x0 Egito (Mundial Sub-17)
18/06/2009 - Egito 1x0 Itália (Copa das Confederações)
O quarteto de arbitragem definido assim:
Árbitro: Marco Rodriguez (MEX)
Primeiro Assistente: José Luis Camargo (MEX)
Segundo Assistente: Alberto Morin (MEX)
Quarto Árbitro: Subhkiddin Mohd Salleh (MAS)
Aos 14 minutos do primeiro tempo, o camisa 6, Marco CALDERONI, jogador do Piacenza-ITA recebeu o primeiro cartão amarelo do jogo.

O 40º jogo do mundial sub-20, foi válido pelas oitavas-de-final, no Cairo Internacional Stadium em Cairo-EGY, com temperatura de 27º C.
Jogaram as seleções do Egito (32º no ranking da FIFA) e Costa Rica (39º no ranking da FIFA).
Antes desse jogo, as 2 seleções nunca jogaram.

El equipo del futbol mexicano Atlante, ya entrena en tierras árabes, pues están instalados en la ciudad de Abu Dhabi (una de las ciudades mas ricas del mundo), esto con miras al próximo mundial de clubes que se jugará en Emiratos Árabes Unidos.

The penultimate day of our SPAOTP Advent Calendar features a handy guide to all the football action going on around the world... on Christmas Day.
And action there most certainly is, contrary to what you might be thinking, and the Middle East is where it's all happening.
For a start, Al-Faysali will be trying to extend their lead at the top of the Jordan League over third-placed Al-Weehdat (3 p.