Birmingham City striker Christian "Chucho" Benitez opened the scoring with a fine solo effort after 40 seconds in Ecuador's shock 2-1 win over Mexico in a friendly Saturday in Guadalajara last night. Mexico drew level via an own-goal by Luis Checa in the 40th before Jaime Ayovi gave Ecuador their first win in Mexico in 14 [. Click to continue reading...

Great work from the talkSPORT gang In this fun-filled subtitle extravaganza, Rafa Benitez attempts to avoid getting into mind games with Jose Mourinho. But it turns out the Italian media have ways of making him talk. And it is not long before that talk becomes Mourinho trash talk. Spotted on 101GG Click to continue reading...

Given it's the football season, the war of words between Jose Mourinho and everybody else will run through the end of the year, when he's only shut up by a cool beach breeze. Atop his list is Rafa Benitez, once nemesis and now replacement, who combined forces with Italian television, a cartoon, giant knockers and talkSPORT to make the next move on the offensive.

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Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson is rumoured to be preparing a January bid for CSKA Moscow playmaker Keisuke Honda and has been promised funds to make such a move due to the sales of Javier Mascherano, Albert Riera and Yossi Benayoun during the recent transfer window.
Hodgson had hoped to secure a striker signing before the transfer deadline but failed in his attempts to sign Carlton Cole and Roman Pavlyuchenko but apparently the Anfield manager is also looking to add more creativity to his midfield and is hoping to bring in a player who can supply the ammunition for his threadbare front line. Click to continue reading...

Lucas Leiva is determined to fight for his place at Liverpool following the signing of fellow midfielders Christian Poulsen and Raul Meireles.
The Brazil international, who featured regularly under former manager Rafa Benitez, has seen a rise in competition at Anfield since the arrival of new boss Roy Hodgson. Click to continue reading...

Sky Sports News understands that West Ham are considering an official offer from Liverpool for striker Carlton Cole.
It was revealed on Monday that the Anfield club had made an enquiry regarding the £10million-rated frontman, with manager Roy Hodgson repeatedly admitting that he wants to sign a forward. Click to continue reading...

Bologna
0 - 0
Internazionale Milan
Rafael Benitez suffered a disappointing debut on the Inter bench in Serie A as his side were held to a 0-0 draw by Bologna on Monday night. Click to continue reading...

Solo un punticino per l'Inter campione d'Italia nell'esordio di campionato, disputato ieri sera a Bologna. Al Dall'Ara, nel posticipo della prima giornata di Serie A, l'undici di Benitez chiude sullo zero a zero contro i rossoblu di Magnani.

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The thing that's the hardest for me to wrap my mind around when watching Roy Hodgson's team compared to the side we saw for the last six seasons is how much less possession Liverpool's had so far. Watching a promoted West Brom dictate the play for long stretches at Anfield, with Liverpool only winning the possession battle 51-49% thanks to an improved second half (having less of the ball than Albion in the first), hammered the point home. Click to continue reading...

Reina
Johnson Carragher Skrtel Agger
Lucas Poulsen
Kuyt Gerrard Jovanovic
Torres
Goals:
Torres 65'
Unconvincing in the extreme, but once again, we're left thanking Fernando Torres for pulling Liverpool's fat from the fire. Despite a fair bit of dross, it's still three points, Liverpool's first Premiership win under the new manager. Click to continue reading...

If FC Dallas goes unbeaten for eleven games (plus a friendly against Inter Milan) and nobody's around to watch it, does it still make MLS headlines? Apparently not, for while most were focusing on New York's new signings, LA's slip from grace, and the new batches of Home Grown Players, Dallas went 7-0-5 in their past twelve games.

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One thing that really seems to rankle with other bosses is that Arsene Wenger always dodges the opportunity to have a glass of wine with the opposing manager in his office after the game. It is one of the reasons that many of the traditional English managers really don't take to him.

Quite frankly it is pathetic, it may be classed as traditional but a quick handshake and a few words will suffice and quite frankly I can see every reason why Wenger doesn't want to be anywhere near the fat, dribbling oik that is Fat Sam.

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Second trophy of the year, more to come this season?This was probably one of the most interesting UEFA Supercups I've seen, while some might have expected domination from the Champions League winners, it was Atletico Madrid who bossed the game and won 2-0. And although it's strange to think that this year Atletico Madrid have won more trophies than Barcelona, it's true. Click to continue reading...

Javier Mascherano maybe about to start rubbing his hands at being on the verge of a move out of Anfield in the next 48hrs, to his preferred choice of Barcelona (or was that Inter?) but while he gets ready to pop the cork of the champagne, Roy Hodgson like many others in the game thinks a little deeper on the subject.

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In my previous post Gourcuff Pens Five Year Deal With Lyon, i mentioned the former Bordeaux player as one of the people who would feature in my top ten list of over rated players. Well, another would be Mascherano. No disrespect to any Liverpool fans but in all honesty the Argentine is given more credit than he is worth at least in my view.

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So you may of noticed that in the past few days the Italy Offside hasn't really been updated. And some of you may have disappointed, while others were probably saying "yes that stupid blog isn't being updated! finally!". But the fact of the matter is, I haven't been updating because I've been working on this season preview.

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This weekend, another major European league is set to open its doors, as the action in Serie A begins on Saturday.

Recently it's been all about Inter -- the prestigious club from Milan swept the silverware last year, walking away with three trophies, including the league title, Coppa Italia and the Champions League.

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Not Golden, Just Promising
As England proved so emphatically this summer, there is no such thing as a golden generation that can guarantee success. Yet there's little doubt that there is currently a better group of talented individuals then there has been for a long time.
Jack Robinson (pictured left)
Playing him for a few minutes in last season's final game at Stoke was a bit of a publicity stunt by Rafa Benitez but there's no doubting that this player has talent. Click to continue reading...

AFTER watching a pile of Betamax tapes of the player in action, then receiving the go-ahead from the club's money men on his pager, Inter Milan sporting director Marco Branca put down his Minidisc player for a moment and decided to fax Liverpool with an improved offer for Javier Mascherano.

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IT never rains...

With Javier Mascherano still sulking until he gets his move to Barcelona, it now looks like Liverpool have a fight on their hands to keep hold of forward Dirk Kuyt, with the Dutch international reportedly pleading with the club to let him join his former coach Rafa Benitez at Inter Milan in a deal said to be worth upwards of £13 million.

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Conquistata la Supercoppa Italiana, in finale contro la Roma (3 a 1 il punteggio finale), l'Inter di Benitez si prepara ad affrontare l'Atletico Madrid per la "Uefa Super Cup". Venerdì sera, a Montecarlo, si annuncia grande calcio tra i nerazzurri e la compagine madrilena, guidata dal fuoriclasse uruguayano Diego Forlan.

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HOW did that go then? After 14 fairly fruitless months at the club, Alberto Aquilani has left Liverpool to join Juventus on a season-long loan deal with an agreement in place that gives the Italian club the option to sign him on a permanent basis for £13.1 million after the loan expires.

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According to the Guardian, Barcelona were last night preparing an improved bid in an attempt to land Liverpool midfielder Javier Mascherano.

Barcelona made an initial bid of 15m euros plus 5m in add-ons, which was rebuffed by Liverpool, who are said to be holding out for 26m.

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Are you bored at work or at home and looking for some entertainment today?
Well read on!
Yesterday I posted about the comments made by Jose Mourinho about Liverpool's decline, Arsene Wenger and his same old excuses and Rafa Benitez and the response was unreal. Unfortunately it was mainly from Liverpool and Arsenal fans with only a few Chelsea fans commenting back. Click to continue reading...

The Sith Lord of Anti-Football recently gave an interview where he was talking about the Premiership title contenders and the clubs he might end up at. The headlines that came out after the interview were along the lines that Jose dismissed the title hopes of Liverpool and Arsenal.

Before I go further I must confess that I don't like Mourinho at all.

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Having spent the last few years away from our English game and now taking on a new chapter in the amazing managerial career in Madrid, you have to love Jose because the guy will simply tell it exactly how it is and he won't pull any punches!.
First he talks of Liverpool's decline, how Arsenal have no more excuses, Man City's money and how Rafa Benitez will never do any better than he did at Milan! Click to continue reading...

Stagione nuova, vecchia storia. Un racconto fatto di trionfi e di trofei che vanno ad arricchire la gi prestigiosa bacheca nerazzurra. L'Inter del neotecnico Benitez (alla prima sulla panchina della nuova squadra) rimonta, infatti, la Roma e con il risultato di 3 a 1 si aggiudica la Supercoppa Italiana (per la quinta volta, eguagliati i "cugini" del Milan).

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Sar Mauro Bergonzi, fischietto ligure (internazionale dal 2009), a dirigere la finale di Supercoppa Italiana tra l'Inter di Benitez, campione d'Italia in carica e la Roma di Ranieri, sconfitta nella finale di Coppa Italia, lo scorso anno, proprio dai nerazzurri (1 a 0, Milito).

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2:45pm ET. Once again, no live coverage in the US. If Liverpool make it past this stage, they'll at least be on DirecTV when the Europa League proper begins (if not the more widely carried GolTV), but no one's televising the qualifiers. Check the usual places for streams.
So far this season:
Liverpool: 1-1 Arsenal (h); 2-0 Rabotnicki (h); 2-0 Rabotnicki (a)
Trabzonspor: 2-0 Ankaragucu (a); 3-0 Bursapora (n)
Referee: Thomas Einwaller (AUT)
Guess at a line-up:
Reina
Kelly Carragher Skrtel Aurelio
Gerrard Lucas
Maxi Cole Pacheco
Ngog
Once again, we're facing the dilemma of who to play in Europe before a more important league fixture. Click to continue reading...

Liverpool is ready to sell flying Dutchman Ryan Babel to Steve McClaren's German giants Wolfsburg in a shock £9 million deal.
Babel is wanted by McClaren's wealthy club and talks between the clubs were at an advanced stage last night.
Boss Roy Hodgson has overlooked Babel so far as he plans for the season and it is up to the former Ajax player to accept the move as Wolfsburg will pay the fee. Click to continue reading...

How can you follow up a season which finished with a treble? After 5 years of dominance in Italy, Inter Milan finally dominated in Europe, and now Rafa Benitez is left with a tough job on his hands. Benitez wants to change a lot of things with Inter, starting with the playing syle. The Spanish coach would like the team to play with more possession and less counter-attacking, probably what could be considered a Spanish style.

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How can you follow up a season which finished with a treble? After 5 years of dominance in Italy, Inter Milan finally dominated in Europe, and now Rafa Benitez is left with a tough job on his hands. Benitez wants to change a lot of things with Inter, starting with the playing syle. The Spanish coach would like the team to play with more possession and less counter-attacking, probably what could be considered a Spanish style.

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The most anticipated English Premier League match of the weekend kicks off this morning with Liverpool taking on Arsenal in Sunday's best match of the day.

Liverpool begins life without Rafa Benitez and will take on a Gunners squad that still boasts Cesc Fabregas in its ranks.

Liverpool-Arsenal headlines a light slate of matches today, with the Sao Paulo-Cruizeiro tilt another quality match on the schedule.

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Manager Roy Hodgson has hinted that Liverpool are unlikely to mount a Premier League title challenge this season.
Hodgson, who left Fulham last month to succeed Rafa Benitez at Anfield, told reporters on Friday his team could not yet match champions Chelsea, Manchester United or Arsenal, the perennial front-running trio. Click to continue reading...

Wantaway midfielder Javier Mascherano is still a Liverpool player for the time being, but Roy Hodgson has already swooped for his replacement, landing Juventus midfielder Christian Poulsen for 4.5 million pounds.

Mascherano has openly stated his desire to leave Anfield, and a reunion with Rafa Benitez at Inter Milan or a move to Barcelona could be in the cards soon.

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Liverpool midfielder Javier Mascherano's first-choice destination is now Barcelona, according to the player's representative, Horacio Zandonadi.

The agent has once againnot been shy in trying to further promote a move away from Anfield for the player and has taken the opportunity to comment further on the Argentinian's present situation by speaking to COMRadio, a Catalan radio station.

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It's no secret that Jose Mourinho was hoping in signing Maicon from Inter Milan but the chances of that happening are not looking so great now after recent reports state that the president of the Serie A club is not interested in selling Maicon.

According to the ANSA news, Massimo Moratti stated that Maicon will be staying put with the club and went on to say the following :

" I consider Maicon so good that, perhaps, I can allow myself not to sell him.

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It's hard to believe that a couple of years ago that Liverpool were the team closest to us when we won the league again. In the end, they won three less games than us but there were serious worries that Liverpool were in the ascendancy and that the claims of a 'Rafalution' were starting not to sound so ridiculous.

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Roy Hodgson insisted Liverpool's flying visit to Moenchengladbach was beneficial despite the day being ruined by some sloppy defending.
The Reds manager was satisfied with the efforts from a squad that was top heavy with young players and, on another day, they might have secured a credible draw. Click to continue reading...

Liverpool have agreed a deal with Fabio Aurelio to rejoin the club, having spent 4 years at Anfield under Rafa Benitez. He hasn't scored many goals for Liverpool, but when he has they have been decent; check them out here Click to continue reading...