El America con Alfredo Tena no gana ni de casualidad,su capitan de chocolate Aquivaldo Mosquera salio expulsado y Chucho Benitez no quiso anotar el penal a su ex-equipo en la jornada anterior,mientras tanto Angel Reyna los ve desde la tribuna, así se las gastan las aguilas.
A solo dos fechas de que se termine la fase regular de este torneo, no cabe duda que las chivas rayadas del Guadalajara han sido el mejor equipo del torneo, a lo mejor no con la brillantez de los pumas en el torneo pasado pero merecidamente estan en la cima.

When the trademarked Special One was at Chelsea, I was an advocate of him. No doubt he brought something interesting to the table that other foreign managers simply don't. Wenger, Benitez and the rest are generally as dull as dishwater. And as much as we already had cause to dislike him for his hop, skip and a jump down the Old Trafford touchline after being robbed by his lucky Porto side, there was always that respect factor for a man that was achieving trophy hauls in what appeared to be a new manner.

Some of us might be able to spend the day watching Raheem Sterling's wonder strike over and over again, but that doesn't mean there aren't other things out there to worry about from a Liverpool point of view. Besides, a quick break to catch up on the Monday news and notes could do you good...

* First off, God wants a job.

By Eric Beard

At the end of the 2009-10 season, Granada CF and Barcelona B finished first and second in the third tier of Spanish football, both gaining promotion to Liga Adelante. This past season, Barcelona B finished 3rd and Granada finished 5th.

Promotion into La Liga is almost identical to promotion into the Premier League.

Nabil El Zhar has reached an agreement with Liverpool to allow him to be released from his contract. He is now expected to join Levante.

The 24 year old joined from St Etienne in 2006 and scored one goal in his 32 appearances. El Zhar was most liked by Benitez, who regularly gave him game time coming off the bench in the second half.

Inter Milan and Bayern Munich have emerged as the front runners to end Fernando Torres' Anfield hell, according to reports in Germany.
Despite being sacked as manager of European champions Inter last month, Benitez has left one legacy – an interest in Torres that could revive their ailing fortunes in Serie A.

Fernando Torres' love affair with Liverpool is over.

Less than four years after snubbing Chelsea for a move to Anfield to play for, in his own words, "a club of champions, one of the biggest there is" the Spain striker is heading to West London for a reported fee of £50m.

A transfer request from Torres is believed to have persuaded the Liverpool board to part with their talismanic forward, leaving the Reds supporters furious with a player who once claimed he would never play for another Premier League side.

Fernando Torres' love affair with Liverpool is over.

Less than four years after snubbing Chelsea for a move to Anfield to play for, in his own words, "a club of champions, one of the biggest there is" the Spain striker is heading to West London for a reported fee of £50m.

A transfer request from Torres is believed to have persuaded the Liverpool board to part with their talismanic forward, leaving the Reds supporters furious with a player who once claimed he would never play for another Premier League side.

IF...and that's a mighty big word, but IF Liverpool had a megastore at Anfield, this is what would have been the hottest selling item this week. Personally signed by Rafa Benitez!
Continue to the full story

Seattle takes on the first of two MLS Cup finalists this preseason. Follow the official live blog here.

Nkufo Fucito Neagle Estrada Evans Carrasco Earls Martinez Wahl Scott Boss

FC Dallas Starters: Kevin Hartman, Jair Benitez, Alexis Pradie, Jackson, Zach Loyd, Daniel Hernandez, Brek Shea, Eric Alexander, David Ferreira, Marvin Chavez, Ruben Luna

That's pretty much an FCD Starting Roster versus mostly backup Sounders.

Liverpool midfielder Alberto Aquilani's future at Anfield is less than certain, as the Italian flop has not yet been offered a permanent deal by current club Juventus, but looks unlikely to remain at Liverpool.
In 2009, Rafa Benitez signed the 26-year-old Italian midfielder for £17 million from Roma, but a succession of injuries left the talented international on the fringes of the Liverpool side.

The sudden rise this season of Liverpool's revitalised academy has been a major talking point around these parts, and with good reason. On the foundation set by Rafa Benitez towards the end of the 2008-2009 season, Academy Director Frank McParland and former Barcelona youth coaches Pep Segura and Rodolfo Borrell have overseen a stunning revival, and though it may still be too early to fully judge their successes, there seems a very real possibility that a golden generation of Liverpool talent is currently working its way up through the age groups, into the reserves, and perhaps from there on into the first team.

One year ago today, Christian Purslow sacked Rafa Benitez and the club began its nosedive into the abyss, descending from a stumbled-to seventh place finish towards Roy Hodgson, Joe Cole, Christian Poulsen, and Paul Koncheskey, while backroom battles brewed and potential suitors fell by the wayside.

By Chris Wright

First we all thought Mark Hughes was a shoe-in, then came the swiftly kiboshed whispers that Carlo Ancelotti was favourite for the job, then Schteve McClaren was ruled in and swiftly ruled out again quicker than you can say 'Croatia on a wet Wednesday' (apparently he was told by Villa execs that he would be 'wasting his time' by attending an interview harsh), then rumours began spreading that Rafa Benitez was all but set to step in but you can forget all that baloney, for it now looks like the man Aston Villa want to replace Gerard Houllier is none other than Wigan manager Roberto Martinez.

According to reports in Spain Juan Mata looks set to be the next big signing to arrive at Anfield as Liverpool switch their sights to the wings after completing the signing of Midfielder Jordan Henderson.
The 23 year old Spaniard has spent the last four seasons with Valencia after arriving at the Mestalla Stadium from the Real Madrid B team however he has long been linked with a move to Liverpool firstly under Rafa Benitez and now under Kenny Dalglish.

As much as I hate my birthday (and have since I turned 21), I'm actually publicly acknowledging it this year for some reason. A moment of weakness, most likely.
So, with a lack of content worth scribbling about – at least until tomorrow's first friendly against Guangzhou (8am on FSC in the US) – I thought I'd post a self-indulgent infographic showing my age relative to Liverpool's squad from the season before.

New Fulham signing John Arne Riise has expressed disappointment that Liverpool did not press harder to sign him before he made the move to Craven Cottage.
Kenny Dalglish is thought to be in the market for a left-back following the sale of Paul Konchesky to Leicester, with Aly Cissokho of Lyon heavily linked to Anfield.

Marvin Chaves celebrates his goal in Mexico. (Mexsport)

"It only takes one."

That was something my old soccer coach back in West Virginia used to tell me and my teammates before (and sometimes during) a game that we knew would be tough. We had this one team that we played a couple times a year that always seemed to get the best of us and would typically beat us.

Football's managerial grudge matches: Jol v Ramos, Fergie v Wenger, Benitez v Mourinho and more

The dugout duels that spilled over into animosity

View the full story here: Talksport

A news article on 2011-08-18 17:52:56 from: Talksport

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.

Former Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez has bought and managed some top class players during his career, but who does he feel is the best player he's ever worked with?
In an interview with Fox Sports Australia, Benitez gave his answer:
"It's not easy. The last one was Gerrard, but I had Baraja at Valencia who was also very good.

Former Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez signed quite a few top class players during his time at Anfield, but even his most ardent supporters would concede he made his fair share of transfer mistakes. One such mistake was (arguably) the signing of Sebastian Leto in January 2007, and in a recent interview, Benitez sought to justify his decision to sign the player.

Spain international Fernando Torres has rejected speculation he could quit Liverpool and has called for supporters to get behind the squad.
The Reds' star striker has been linked with a move away from Anfield following a poor season which has seen Roy Hodgson replaced by fans' favourite Kenny Dalglish.

In the previous post on Babel and the worst transfers of the last decade, I should have better differentiated between a "bad player" and a "bad signing." Buying Alberto Aquilani was an awful, awful deal, but Alberto Aquilani's an outstanding player. Philipp Degen is a terrible full-back but was a free signing that didn't cost Liverpool much more than wages and overtime for the medical staff.

Liverpool's tactical chess against Stoke, well-analyzed by Noel from Liverpool Offside, worked a treat yesterday. Best described as a 3-4-2-1, it was interesting to see the roles played by each in the new formation.
What caught my eye in the chalkboards was how roles overlapped and fit together, increasing the side's overall cohesion.

Here's an interesting (and perhaps useless) factoid of the day. Don't know how and why I missed this last summer, but I was astonished to read just today about the huge discrepancy in the numbers of highly qualified coaches across European soccer nations, and in particular England's relative and absolute backwardness.

Photo by Amanda

Even in the pre-season, beating FC Dallas is fun. The only thing better is completely annihilating them and on Saturday afternoon at Whataburger Field in Corpus Christi, the Dynamo did just that.

Brad Davis was involved in three of the four Dynamo goals, scoring one off a free kick, assisting on Geoff Cameron's header and sending the cross in to the box that led to the FC Dallas own goal.

On May 25th 2005, Liverpool came back from 3-0 down at half time to beat AC Milan on penalties in the Champion's League final, with Rafa Benitez leading his team to glory in his first season at Anfield; but where are the players who were in the squad on that famous night today?

read more

According to James Pearce at the Liverpool Echo, Liverpool footballer Milan Jovanovic regrets signing with the club last summer and appears to want out. Jovanovic said,

"I must say I regularly think about this. If I would move to Italy or Germany I would be happier than in England – my life would be nicer.

Look back at the usual starting eleven under Benitez in the 2008/2009 season, the season which we mounted our strongest Premier League title challenge yet finishing 2nd. The usual players (not in order of any sort) where:

Pepe Reina (Spanish)
Andrea Dossena (Italian)
Sami Hyypia (Finnish)
Steven Gerrard (English)
Daniel Agger (Danish)
Jamie Carragher (English)
Xabi Alonso (Spanish)
Yossi Benayoun (Israeli)
Albert Riera (Spanish)
David Ngog (French)
Fernando Torres (Spanish)
Emilano Insua (Argentinean)
Javier Mascherano (Argentinean)
Lucas Leiva (Brazillian)

read more

I realize this is a radical question that can easily be misinterpreted as being defeatist or lacking ambition. But that doesn't take away the fact that apart from Wenger no one has come close to winning the Premiership on Arsenal's budget. Even then if we accept for a moment that Arsene should go, it's important to consider who can come in and deliver the big trophies.

By Chris Wright

First we all thought Mark Hughes was a shoe-in, then came the swiftly kiboshed whispers that Carlo Ancelotti was favourite for the job, then Schteve McClaren was ruled in and swiftly ruled out again quicker than you can say 'Croatia on a wet Wednesday' (apparently he was told by Villa execs that he would be 'wasting his time' by attending an interview harsh), then rumours began spreading that Rafa Benitez was all but set to step in but you can forget all that baloney, for it now looks like the man Aston Villa want to replace Gerard Houllier is none other than Wigan manager Roberto Martinez.

Liverpool striker David Ngog is reportedly set to join Sunderland for a £5 million fee.
According to News of the World, the Black Cats have agreed to buy the striker and thereby reduce the fee due for the transfer of Jordan Henderson earlier this week to around £11m.
Henderson passed his medical at the Anfield club on Wednesday, allowing his transfer to be completed and mark one of the first major Premier League acquisitions of the summer.

Liverpool striker David Ngog is reportedly set to join Sunderland for a £5 million fee.
According to News of the World, the Black Cats have agreed to buy the striker and thereby reduce the fee due for the transfer of Jordan Henderson earlier this week to around £11m.
Henderson passed his medical at the Anfield club on Wednesday, allowing his transfer to be completed and mark one of the first major Premier League acquisitions of the summer.

According to reports in Spain Juan Mata looks set to be the next big signing to arrive at Anfield as Liverpool switch their sights to the wings after completing the signing of Midfielder Jordan Henderson.
The 23 year old Spaniard has spent the last four seasons with Valencia after arriving at the Mestalla Stadium from the Real Madrid B team however he has long been linked with a move to Liverpool firstly under Rafa Benitez and now under Kenny Dalglish.

So Liverpool's Maxi Rodriguez now wants to leave Liverpool and England to return home to his native Argentina at the age of 30.
Fair enough, you might say, the man scored two hat-tricks towards the end of Liverpool's 2010/2011 season as he approached something like his best form since signing for Rafa Benitez in 2009.

Leonardo has left Inter in the similar manner in which he arrived: immersed in controversy. His tenure began in a cloud of turbulence, picking up the pieces from Rafa Benitez. With Inter in seventh place behind Leonardo's former club, AC Milan, it was a risky move for all parties involved. In Leo's brief six months at the helm as Inter coach, his winning percentage was surprisingly successful,.

O segundo jogo do Mundial Sub-17, foi realizado no dia 18/06/2011, na cidade de Monterrey-MEX, no Estádio Universitario, onde jogaram as seleções da França (19º no ranking da FIFA) e a seleção da Argentina (5º no ranking da FIFA).
Antes desse jogos, as 2 seleções jogaram:
Copa do Mundo
1978Buenos Aires 06/06/1978 ARG2:1 (1:0)FRA Group matches1930Montevideo 15/07/1930 ARG1:0 (0:0)FRA Group matches
Amistosos
2009Marseilles 11/02/2009 FRA0:2 (0:1)ARG 2007Saint-Denis 07/02/2007 FRA0:1 (0:1)ARG 1986Paris 26/03/1986 FRA2:0 (1:0)ARG 1977Buenos Aires 26/06/1977 ARG0:0FRA 1974Paris 18/05/1974 FRA0:1 (0:1)ARG 1972Salvador 25/06/1972 FRA0:0ARG First stage1971Mar Del Plata 13/01/1971 ARG2:0 (1:0)FRA 1971Buenos Aires 08/01/1971 ARG3:4 (0:1)FRA 1965Paris 03/06/1965 FRA0:0ARG
Mundial Sub-20
2001Buenos Aires 01/07/2001 ARG3:1 (2:1)FRA Quarter-finals
Mundial Sub-17
2001Port Of Spain 27/09/2001 FRA2:1 (0:0)ARG Second stage
O árbitro desse jogo, foi: Roberto Garcia-MEX
O primeiro assistente do jogo, foi: Alejandro Alaya-MEX
O segundo assistente do jogo, foi: Victor Calderon-MEX
O quarto árbitro do jogo, foi: Paul Delgadillo-MEX
Aos 35 minutos do primeiro tempo, o primeiro gol do jogo, foi de Yassine Benzia, camisa 20, jogador do Lyon-FRA.

Click for full-size in new window
Statistically insignificant. Well, for the most part.
2010-11 was the first season when Gerrard missed more than 10 of Liverpool's league games since his debut campaign. Over the last 12 years, Gerrard has been absent for 81 of Liverpool's 456 Premiership matches: just 18%.

After a day spent trying to calm nerves frayed by the transfer season to varying degrees of success, it's back to the offseason grind of news drip-fed into maws eager for something tangible to hold onto as summer drags along. This, then, is all the Liverpool news that's fit to drip today...

* After making his debut with Liverpool in 1976, Sammy Lee would go on to become a key player in midfield for the next decade, playing an important role in European Cup and league triumphs before eventually being pushed out by injuries and Jan Mølby in 1986.

Toronto came into the match having scored the second fewest goals and conceded the most in MLS. However, they have been decent at home picking up 14 of 18 goals. Dallas has failed to score in the past two MLS matches.
Toronto's Strategy
Off the back of two designated player signings and several trades, the side was almost unrecognizable.