The World Cup winners in 1930 and 1950 became the last team to qualify for South Africa 2010 thanks to a draw with Costa Rica at the Centenario in Montevideo. Substitute Sebastian Abreu - who plays for Aris Salonika in Greece -� put the hosts ahead 70 minutes but Costa Rica equalised when Deportivo Saprissa's Walter Centeno scored four minutes later.

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A single goal is all that separates the sides heading into Wednesday's second leg in Montevideo after Costa Rica and Uruguay played out a well fought battle in San Jose. It was Uruguay's captain fantastic Diego Lugano who grabbed the games only goal and gave his team the perfect platform to complete the job on home turf next week. Click to continue reading...

Real Madrid faced rivals Atletico Madrid on Saturday, November 7, 2009 in the Spanish Primera Division or La Liga. Who won the match and was Real Madrid able to win to keep pace with Barcelona? Here's a recap of the match along with video highlights

Real Madrid beats Atletico Madrid 3-2 Video Highlights

Real Madrid started off strong in the match but Atletico Madrid would make a late charge in the second half.

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Atletico Madrid battled hard to make up a three goal deficit but two late finishes from Diego Forlan and Sergio Aguero were not enough to peg back ten man Real Madrid.

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0-1 Kaka

0-2 Marcelo

0-3 Higuain

Don't forget to check out Online Football Manager!

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by FRANCO PANIZO

Cristiano Ronaldo is arguably the best player in the world,� but his spot in next year's World Cup will be determined when Portugal and Bosnia square off in a two-legged playoff later this month. There is only one problem for Ronaldo:� He may not have a say in if Portugal qualifies.

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by FRANCO PANIZO

Cristiano Ronaldo is arguably the best player in the world,� but his spot in next year's World Cup will be determined when Portugal and Bosnia square off in a two-legged playoff later this month. There is only one problem for Ronaldo:� He may not have a say in if Portugal qualifies.

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I don't know if anyone else reads World Soccer but I have a subscription to the magazine and in the most recent issue, they raised the point of the best striker in the world. I'll explain how they came to their conclusion in a moment but I was wondering what other people thought was required in a striker and who they feel is the best.

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Argentine ace and Barcelona star Lionel Messi has had quite a year.� After leading Barcelona to an unprecedented treble in the Champions League, La Liga and Copa del Ray he is now up for both the Ballon d'Or (European footballer of the year) and the equally prestigious FIFA World Player of the Year.

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The dudes who run La Liga, otherwise known as the LFP (La Liga de Futbol Profesional) just dished out all the player awards for last season, and naturally, it was all about Barca, with seven spots out of nine going to our boys: .Best Player: Lionel Messi
Best Coach: Pep Guardiola
Best Defender: Daniel Alves
Best Midfielder: Xavi
Best Attacking Midfielder: Andres Iniesta
Best Striker: Lionel Messi
Best Breakthrough Player: Sergi Busquets
Meanwhile Iker Casillas of Real Madrid came off with Best Keeper, and the Fair Play award went to Deportivo's Juan Carlos Valeron. Click to continue reading...

• So Marca gave out one of their futbol awards yesterday in an attempt to find out who'd be the next hombre to join Potter Perez's gang. Both Diego Forlan and David Villaaaaa received the "Pichichi" award for their service to their clubs and national team respectively.

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Halloween will arrive in a few days, but for Atlético Madrid, this season has been a complete nightmare from the beginning.� Los rojiblancos hit their low point with a dull thud on Saturday when they could not fend off a nine-man Mallorca team and settled for a 1-1 draw at the Vicente Calderón.

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Diego Forlan (pen) 51'Borja Valero 90'DISCLAIMER: Calcioplus non hosta alcun video pubblicato su di esso. Tutti i video pubblicati sono caricati da amanti di calcio su siti di video hosting come Youtube e Dailymotion ed ubicati dunque su siti esterni a Calcioplus. Calcioplus non è responsabile del contenuto di tali siti web. Click to continue reading...

Diego Forlan managed to overcome one horrific penalty miss to put away a second spot kick midway through the second half only for Valero to score a very late equalizer.

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Forlan's Missed spot kick.

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The 30-man list of nominees for the 2009 Ballon d'Or has been announced. The list consisted of a Who's Who of European football. The most glaring thing is that there is no Italian player nominated in the top 30.

2009 Ballon d'Or Nominees

Andrey Arshavin (Arsenal)
Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal)
Didier Drogba (Chelsea)
Frank Lampard (Chelsea)
John Terry (Chelsea)
Fernando Torres (Liverpool)
Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)
Ryan Giggs (Manchester United)
Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)
Nemanja Vidic (Manchester United)
Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)
Kaka (Real Madrid)
Iker Casillas (Real Madrid)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
Thierry Henry (Barcelona)
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Barcelona)
Andres Iniesta (Barcelona)
Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Xavi (Barcelona)
Yaya Toure (Barcelona)
David Villa (Valencia)
Luis Fabiano (Sevilla)
Diego Forlan (Atletico Madrid)
Diego (Juventus)
Samuel Eto'o (Inter Milan)
Julio Cesar (Inter Milan)
Maicon (Inter Milan)
Edin Dzeko (Wolfsburg)
Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich)
Yoann Gourcuff (Bordeaux)
Lionel Messi is arguably the favourite for this award this year. Click to continue reading...

10 Premier League players have been named in the 30 strong list for the European Player Of The Year Awards- three of which are Man United players.
Here is the list-
Arsenal- Andrey Arshavin and Cesc Fabregas
Atletico Madrid- Diego Forlan
Barcelona- Thierry Henry, Xavi, Yaya Toure, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi
Bayern Munich- Franck Ribery
Bordeaux- Yoann Gourcuff
Chelsea- John Terry, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba
Inter Milan- Samuel Eto'o, Julio Cesar and Maicon
Juventus- Diego
Liverpool- Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres
Man United- Nemanja Vidic, Ryan Giggs and Wayne Rooney
Real Madrid- Karim Benzema, Iker Casillas, Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo
Sevilla- Luis Fabiano
Valencia- David Silva
Wolfsburg- Edin Dzeko
Barcelona dominates the list with six players and in all honesty. Click to continue reading...

For Europe, South America and the CONCACAF region, yesterday saw the last chance for teams to grab an automatic qualifying place for the 2010 World Cup. It was also the last chance for some teams to claim a 'Get Out Of Jail Free' card - or a play-off place, as it's known in football circles.
Here's our round-up of all the important news from each of those regions. Click to continue reading...

By NESTOR F. SEBASTIAN

Wednesday marks the final round of South America's World Cup qualifying action and all eyes will be on the masterpiece of a match in Montevideo, where Uruguay plays� host to Argentina in a "battle of life and death," as one top player put it.

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It is perhaps the most decisive & media attracting World Cupqualifying clash for sometime; the URUGUAY vs. ARGENTINAgame. The latter is in real danger of losing & having its World Cupparticipation at the mercy of a qualifying 2º leg game againstthe winner of the Oceanic team, while the former could haveits direct ticket to the World Cup if they win. Click to continue reading...

Catracho - n - chocking dog
El Salvador has got to be kicking themselves for giving up those late leads in their home games vs. TnT and the USA. With those 4 points, they would have had a huge opportunity to make the playoff next Wednesday.
Pavon's miss punctuated a crazy day of late game craziness. Click to continue reading...

Diego Forlan receives the European Golden Shoe award for his 32 goals in 33 matches for Atletico Madrid last season / via GETTY

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Arsene keen on young hotshot.

Arsenal have been linked with moves for Atletico Madrid striker Keko.

Keko, 17, has been dubbed the 'new Fernando Torres' in Spain and he has already made his La Liga debut.

However, the Spanish youth international is currently on an amateur contract and has yet to sign professional terms with Atletico.

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Ancelotti s under pressure at Chelsea.

Apoel Nicosia vs Chelsea:

How fast things change. Ancelotti is learning this first hand after Chelsea's shock defeat to Wigan this past weekend. He is under a obscene amount of pressure because of this loss and while he says he is not feeling it I'm sure a win would do him good.

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Based on their records coming into this fixture, the Valencia Atlético Madrid Saturday fixture did not look to be an appetizing match, but knowing each team's penchant to go forward, their stature in Spanish football, and their performances over the past few years, this game was the one to watch, and they did not disappoint.

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ATLETICO DE MADRID has extended the contract with its Uruguayanstar Forward DIEGO FORLAN until 2013. This has been accompaniedwith a 1,5M€ pay rise that puts his salary at around 4,5M€/year. TheClub this way rewards the "loyalty", professionalism & greatperformance from the forward after gaining the European GoldenBoot last season with 32 goals. Click to continue reading...

A moment of brilliance from Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka's first competitive goal for his new club secured Real Madrid a 2-0 win at Villarreal in the Primera Liga on Wednesday evening.

Ronaldo struck early after a brilliant turn on the halfway line saw the Portugal international escape the attentions of his marker before he raced towards the penalty area, stepped inside two defenders and drilled a low 20-yard shot past Diego Lopez.

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Atletico Madrid striker Diego Forlan has revealed the reason on his Old Trafford departure football boots. The Uruguayan caught the infamous hair-dryer treatment from Sir Alex Ferguson after he ignored instructions on what studs to wear. On his last game for Manchester United, the striker was told to wear studs for soft-ground as the pitch [. Click to continue reading...

"Please, no acclaim, I'm just a humble footballer... who scored twice from two incredible free kicks."

The group stage of the Champions League began on Tuesday evening, and two La Liga outfits looked to initiate the exorcism of their personal demons.

Real Madrid and its galácticos played its first Champions League match of the season against an upstart FC Zürich team who, before the match, seemed more interested in whom they would swap shirts.

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A rare photo of Diego Forlan inside the Old Trafford compound
Spare a thought for poor Diego Forlan.
You see, he still thinks Sir Alex Ferguson is his friend, and that he was released from the club because his boot studs were too short. But Forlan should have known that when Sir Alex asks you to wear a slightly longer stud to play in adverse weather to prevent the possibility of slipping when queuing up for a shot in the box, it probably means your use to him has run out. Click to continue reading...

These words stand as first hand advice from Diego Forlan, the ex-Red Devil whose stint is more famous for sitter missing and shirtlessness than any sort of productivity in the footballing realm. If you ask most people just why Diego was booted from Manchester, they'll point to his glittering 10 goal in three years record. Click to continue reading...

Diego Forlan joined Man United in 2002 and he has said that his Man United career ended because he chose the wrong studs. Forlan has said that he chose the wrong boots for the all-important match...
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Atletico Madrid's Diego Forlan says that the breaking point in his two year stint with Manchester Unted came when he dared to defy Sir Alex's footwear advice. He recalls the harrowing incident:

"Ferguson wanted me to play with high studs, the interchangeable ones that suit wet pitches, but I feel more comfortable in low ones.

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Diego Forlan's last game for Manchester United was on the opening day of the 2004-2005 season, on a day where Miller and Djemba-Djemba started in midfield, with Roy Keane filling in at centre back during an injury crisis.

A fortnight after leaving United Forlan scored for Villarreal on his début.

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Sergio Agüero and Atlético Madrid cannot see or find their form.

Atlético Madrid prolonged their faltering start with a 1-1 draw against Racing Santander on Saturday.� Even with a man advantage for the majority of the second half, they lacked the finishing touch to nip the win from a feisty Santander side.

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It's that time again:

• Diego Forlan signs Atletico extension.
  
• Portsmouth signed some free forward.
  
• Wenger supports youth transfers.
  
• West Ham signs Mexican Franco.
  
• Young transfer gets very confused.
  
• Reports say Milan and Beckham already have a return deal in place.

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Would've been a good buy in my book.

According to a report in Portuguese daily Diario de Noticias, Juventus had set aside €22 million to lure Atletico Madrid winger Simao to the Stadio Olimpico, but could not complete a deal.

The offer was resoundingly rejected by the Spanish club, whose director of sport, Jesus Garcia Pitarch, admitted that several European clubs were keen on the 29-year-old.

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