In the wake of Ireland's heartbreaking aggregate defeat to France, where Thierry Henry's handballed assist for William Gallas to score an equaliser in extra time denied a team who had performed magnificently to haul themselves level, we pay tribute to five of the greatest footballing heartbreakers in recent memory.

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In what seems to be a classic case of that old expression (translated here for the benefit of all our readers) known as 'Keeping the Mouth', Wenger's masterstroke forward has been done in by those devious Italians.

And so it happens.

There's a reason why the knowledgeable football fan thinks 59 times on an average before calling Arsenal title contenders.

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The AFC Region (Asia) wraps up its 2009 season of the Champions League on Saturday, November 7, 2009. The final has Saudi Arabian side Al Ittihad facing South Korean side Pohang Steelers. Live coverage of the match will be provided at Free Live Sports TV. The link is below and the match is set to start at 05:00 EST, 10:00 GMT, or 19:00 JST.

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On this day 23 years ago, a certain Alexander Chapman Ferguson was appointed as the manager at Manchester United. Today Sir Alex is the most decorated manager in British football history.

His tactical genius, inspirational personality and tremendous focus have put him in a league above others.

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As the cream of Europe do battle once more this week, a man who twice inspired his team to the Champions League final will be nothing more than an interested spectator.

In 2000 and 2001, unfashionable Valencia - driven forward by their brilliant midfield general Gaizka Mendieta - reached the final of the world's premier club competition, only to suffer defeat both times.

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Well this is the year of new rivalries in LA Liga. And that is simply because of all the talent that has just entered Spain's top tier of football. We already got to see Ibrahimovic battle against Barcelona and next up is Kaka verses his old squad, AC Milan.Â

Both sides of the battle are in interesting positions at the moment.

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I have grave doubts about whether I should even link to this, because the last thing I want to do is encourage him. But since I still get letters every now and again asking what happened after he fled the Champions League final, here goes. Vandal-prone has been hiding out in Honduras, and he had an adventure with the U.

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The last time we saw Avram Grant he had his arm around John Terry after Terry blew the penalty shootout in the Champions League final.

Now 18 months later Grant is returning to Portsmouth and the Premier League as Pompey's new director of football.

Grant told the Daily Mail that he was delighted to be back involved in 'the best league in the world'.

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Ever since Roman Abramovich sent him packing from Stamford Bridge in the summer of 2008, Avram Grant has been on a one-man mission to prove that he was a success during his brief tenure as Chelsea manager. Second place in the league and one inch away from winning the Champions League final won't earn you any silverware.

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He's back!

Portsmouth vs Chelsea Tickets Still Available!
Watch Ukraine Vs England Live Online!

Avram Grant has been appointed as Portsmouth's director of football, the club have confirmed.

The 54-year-old Israeli returns to Fratton Park having occupied the same role from 2006 to 2007 before succeeding Jose Mourinho as manager of Chelsea.

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Top of the Pops

Having been invaded by wingers, second strikers and midfielders last season, the Premier League top scorers chart is beginning to have a familiar look to it again. It's populated by centre-forwards. 7 games into the season the top 10 scorers in the league are all strikers.

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Excerpt from the new spoof film, "15 Minutes that Shook the World," that uncovers what really happened in the Liverpool dressing room at half time during the Champions League Final, 2005 (when Liverpool came back to beat AC Milan in Istanbul, Turkey).

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The Bundesliga dominates our show this week with German correspondent Hans looking at all the top stories from the German League. We also preview the second set of matches in the Champions League. Come along to the site at languagecaster.com to read about these and many other footballing stories.

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I felt the pressure as soon as I arrived for training. Hey Big Man, what was it like scoring in a Champions League final? Did you get laid that night even though you lost? What does Thierry Henry look like naked?
Fine enough, but you know that song by the Band, The Weight? It was running through my head while I was drilling with the fullbacks—can you call people who can't run fullbacks? Click to continue reading...

Liverpool, Chelsea and United all won fairly uninspiring 1-0 games in the first round of the CL group stage. None of the teams were any great shakes. So let's compare the ledes in the BBC's and ESPN's match reports. I mean, they're probably similar, right?
BBC:
• Liverpool opened their Champions League campaign in unconvincing fashion with a narrow win over Hungarian champions Debrecen. Click to continue reading...

With my apologizes to Elton John

Goodbye Peter Kenyon
Though I never knew you at all
You arrogance and lack of class
Makes Ken Bates look classy

Of all the owners, agents, players and commentators in football, Peter Kenyon stands alone on top of my most hated list.

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Memories of that dismal night in Rome some four months ago undoubtedly still linger among United fans, players, coaching staff...well anyone even remotely connected with the club. Surely the perfect tonic to banish those memories would be to repeat that feat and have another bash at a third consecutive Champions League final.

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The World Cup qualifiers from last week saw Paraguay, Brazil, Spain, Ghana and England all qualify for the finals in South Africa. Champions League kicks off this week and on this week's show we preview the group stages. Come along to the site at languagecaster.com to read about these and many other footballing stories.

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The unadulterated thrill of witnessing a magical moment of attacking inspiration is what keeps many of us hooked on the beautiful game but let us never forget that at the heart of every great football team is always a truly world-class central defender.

Red Rants interviewee and Manchester United ‘rock' Nemanja Vidic unquestionably falls into that category, so I thought it was the perfect excuse to examine the world of defending in search of the best centre-backs around today.

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Except for the UEFA Champions League final in Rome, no match this calendar year will be bigger, yet you've probably only tangentially heard that Brazil is going to Argentina this weekend for World Cup qualifying.
"That's cool," you might say (you don't mind if I quote you, do you). Click to continue reading...

Most Valuable Player

Lionel Messi is flat out the best player in all of the world in one critic's opinion. Last season was a nonstop highlight reel for the forward, winger, and midfielder. Messi not only was a valuable member of the treble winning Barca squad, but the Argentine forward also was the leading goal scorer for the Champions League as well.

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As Rafael Benitez flounders in a mire of his own making, it's easy to picture a happier scene being played out not a million miles away from Anfield.
A middle-aged man with grey, curly hair allowing himself a satisfied smile as he sits in front of the television at home or enjoys a leisurely round of golf. Click to continue reading...

Courtesy of UEFA:
Lionel Messi, a key figure in FC Barcelona's march to UEFA Champions League glory last season, has more to celebrate after collecting the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year prize at the UEFA Club Football Awards in Monaco. The Argentinian international was also selected as Best Forward while team-mate Xavi Hernández took the Best Midfielder trophy. Click to continue reading...

End of the line for the Brazilian midfielder?

Anderson has been told he can leave Manchester United following a furious fall-out with manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
It is understood the Brazilian reacted badly after he was dropped for the season curtain raiser Community Shield defeat to Chelsea, after losing his place in the starting XI to Irish youngster Darron Gibson.

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by GIANFRANCO PANIZOÂ

The battle for defender Joleon Lescott has come to a close, and Manchester City is claimining victory.

Lescott is close to finalizing a deal from Everton to Manchester City, a deal worth a reported £24 million ($34.

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by GIANFRANCO PANIZOÂ

The battle for defender Joleon Lescott has come to a close, and Manchester City is claimining victory.

Lescott is close to finalizing a deal from Everton to Manchester City, a deal worth a reported £24 million ($34.

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Hughes to spend nothing on a player, now that's a novelty!

Manchester City boss Mark Hughes has made his most surprising move of the summer to try and snap up Brazilian left back Sylvinho on a free transfer.

Big-spending Hughes, set to complete a £22m deal for Everton's Joleon Lescott this week, met with former Arsenal full-back Sylvinho when City played their prestigious friendly at Barcelona's Nou Camp last week.

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Here's my damage. I had to get rid of my cable TV. I essentially bought it both for La Liga on GolTV and the Premier League Setanta Sports Canada (which still exists here, still costs $14.99/month, and is still the last place on the dial to catch three PL fixtures in a row on Saturday), but because of weekend professional music commitments I was only able to catch the Saturday fixtures, and with a wedding coming up the cable was a prime candidate to get the axe (donation button is on the right). Click to continue reading...

In the wake of Eduardo's gruesome injury two seasons ago, Arsene Wenger cried to the press about how Arsenal get fouled more than any other club, commit fewer fouls than any other club, and yet are still punished more than any other club.

And while his claims weren't entirely false Arsenal did commit fewer fouls than any other club at that time or too far from the usual managerial bias, Wenger has still developed a reputation for turning a selectively blind eye to the misdeeds of his players on the pitch.

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In the baking heat of London, Chelsea won the 2009 Community Shield on penalty kicks after a 2-2 regulation tie against Manchester United at Wembley Stadium. Here are some of my observations from the match. Feel free to add yours to the comments section.

• The match was surprisingly much more competitive than I anticipated and it was clear that both teams wanted to win by fielding first-team squads and playing with a tenacity that has been missing from the Community Shield matches over the past several years.

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Good morning all, and I suppose I should start with the only real Arsenal news there is around, and that is our draw against Celtic in the Champions League final qualifier. Given the amount of people on Twitter claiming we would get Celtic (or Celtic fans saying they'd get Arsenal) prior to the draw I'm gonna say that the whole thing is a fix.

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OTWT home office is a buzz as ESPN 360 is up and running that means more preseason games for the second installment of the preseason notebook.
• After a terrible Champions League Final United's Anderson looks like he is going to grow up a little.
• He might not be Ronnie, but few are, Valencia might be better then people think. Click to continue reading...

Two days after losing the Champions League final, Carlos Tevez spoke to the press about the manager's decision to sub him on at the start of the second half, instead of playing him from the beginning. Despite contributing nothing in the 45 minutes he was on the pitch, Tevez claimed that we could have won the game had he started.

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It's been clear for quite a while that Andriy Shevchenko will leave Stamford Bridge this summer and even though the Ukrainian striker was linked with the return to Dynamo Kyiv, the latest reports are suggesting he could join Fenerbahce after all. Player's manager is negotiating the transfer with Turkish giants but we are yet to see if Sheva will choose Fener over his Dynamo.

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Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it. | Teaching Ideas

In this teaching ideas post we have an interview with Arsenal fan Andy who tells us about some of his memories while supporting the Gunners. Vocabulary in bold is explained at the end of the post

• Download the worksheet here
• Listen to the interview here

Damian: Right, today we have got an Arsenal season ticket holder giving us his views on all things Gunners.

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