Robben's a Man on a Mission (Simon Kuper,
Mio Stadium)
Robben isn't really a "Dutch" footballer. He was born in Bedum in the windswept north
of the Netherlands, 60 kilometres from the German border. No great Dutch footballer had come from
the north since the Koeman brothers 25 years early, and none has ever come from Bedum.
An official statement on the Spurs site says the following:
The Club can report that earlier today Harry successfully had two stents inserted to unblock
coronary arteries.
He is in excellent spirits and due to be discharged from hospital in the next 48 hours.
Chairman Daniel Levy said, "We are delighted the operation went so smoothly and successfully.
After watching his side succumb to a 2-2 draw against the unbeaten Newcastle United at St.
James' Park yesterday, Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp was once again left ruing his side's injury
luck. Captain Ledley King hobbled off the pitch, and Redknapp admits that he could be out for "a
while."
Redknapp also revealed that King has not been training during the week, instead opting to play
at the weekend and rest during the week.
For all the panic and soul-searching, then, England have qualified for next year's European
Championships in Poland and Ukraine, although their performance last night was again patchy and
hinted at a team that is likely to struggle against the very best in Europe next summer. Moreover,
England's night which should, or might, otherwise have been an evening for celebration of some sort
was further soiled by the decision of Wayne Rooney to take a kick at Miodrag Dzudovic with just
over fifteen minutes of the match left to play and get himself a red card and a suspension for the
start of next summer's tournament.
By Chris Wright
Another sextuplet of exceptional goals from around the globe for you to wade through (as always,
you're going to have to be quick with a few of them the Youtube police are
lurking)...
1. Cristiano Ronaldo, REAL MADRID vs Hertha Berlin
The one in every ten that doesn't just crash into the wall or balloon into the upper tier.
LFC's community team was out in force at Liverpool One this weekend as part of National Family
Week.
Chavasse Park was full of free entertainment, games, activities and giveaways - and a team of staff
from LFC were there throughout guiding willing participants around a football obstacle course.
More than 500 children (and many parents!
For exactly 40-odd seconds at Old Trafford yesterday, it seemed like Drogba had funnelled all
the talk about Chelsea and their owners' 'obsession' into one surging run and a nerveless finish
to leave Chelsea one goal short of what would be a definite Champions League Classic. At that
moment all football writers wondered if they should rewrite the headlines for the morning papers,
from singing paens about United and Sir Alex to Didier Drogba who did, at that moment, look like he
would single-handedly drag 10 men in Blue to a famous victory.
For exactly 40-odd seconds at Old Trafford yesterday, it seemed like Drogba had funnelled all
the talk about Chelsea and their owners' 'obsession' into one surging run and a nerveless finish
to leave Chelsea one goal short of what would be a definite Champions League Classic. At that
moment all football writers wondered if they should rewrite the headlines for the morning papers,
from singing paens about United and Sir Alex to Didier Drogba who did, at that moment, look like he
would single-handedly drag 10 men in Blue to a famous victory.
Josh Beckett was standing in the outfield when he was accidentally hit the head with a baseball
off the bat of a team staffer. The Boston Red Sox picture didn't have to go to the hospital but he
was sent home with symptoms of a concussion. Although the Red Sox don't think Beckett's injury is
serious, they will conduct further tests tomorrow.
