2010 is on the horizon and it's safe to say that it's been a wonderful decade for football. We here at Footy Factor have taken the opportunity to celebrate the greatest teams, players, and matches of the past 10 years. Next up...

Upset of the Decade

Winner: Senegal 1 – France 0 (2002 World Cup, Group Stage).

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A first galf goal by Dimitris Salpingidis of Panathinaikos ensures Euro 2004 winners Greece qualify for South Africa last appearance was in 1994, you may remember (or chose not to)Â the face Sr. Maradona pulled when he scored his last goal in the World Cup finals against them.

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At the Olympic Stadium, Greece drew 0-0 with Ukraine in the first leg of their World Cup playoff. Tomorrow night, the 2nd leg with take place at another Olympic Stadium, this time in Kyiv. It really should be a tough affair with it all to play for and a place in the tournament in South Africa.

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The matches to watch after you realize- AHHH LOOK OUT GARETH BARRY THE FLYING GIANT IS GOING TO NINJA KICK YOU!!!

Saturday

Russia v Slovenia at Luzhniki Stadium The beginning of the end of the long, drawn out process that is World Cup qualifying is finally here with the first leg of the playoff fixtures.

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Ireland v France
Saturday 14 November 2009 and Wednesday 18 November 2009
2010 World Cup Qualifying

The last time that the Republic of Ireland qualified for the World Cup, in 2002, they took the playoff route to book their place in Korea/Japan

This time, the route is the same, but while Ireland were in the favorite role against Iran last time around, they‘re decided underdogs this time, as Giovanni Trapattoni's side meets 1998 World Cup champions France with a ticket to South Africa on the line.

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The long, two-year road to South Africa has finally come to a conclusion. So far, 23 teams, including host South Africa, have qualified for the World Cup (here's a list of 2010 world cup teams).

Four will be known after the Nov. 14 matches, while the remaining five will be known after Nov.

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Wayne Rooney contributed what looked like a good all round performance for Man Utd vs Blackburn on Saturday, featuring some nice link play and a sweet sweet goal which he swept home to make it 2-0 (around 4:10 in the above video).

I saw about 15 minutes of the game live, and there was also a magic little inside-of-the-foot-with-back-to-goal pass that somehow didn't make the Match of the Day cut.

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Greece are only one match away from qualification for the 2010 World Cup with Greece being drawn against the Ukraine in a playoff match. Greece really came to prominence when they won Euro 2004, making Greece football shirts very popular that year, but have failed in recent tournaments to come any . Click to continue reading...

«Temos de jogar da forma que a Grécia jogou na final do Europeu de 2004. Vamos imitá-los. A ideia é conquistar o meio-campo e sair a jogar para o ataque sempre que possível», disse Blazevic ao jornal Dnevni Avaz, da Bósnia.

Se ele o diz quem somos nós para o desmentir. Click to continue reading...

Abordagem muito correcta deste assunto feita ontem no DN, pela escrita de Céu Neves. Só é pena que alguns dos nossos políticos só se lembrem disso quando pretendem tirar partido pessoal ou partidário da situação. Sugiro a leitura integral do artigo.

"Primeiro estudo sobre o fenómeno diz que este desporto fez mais pelas comunidades portuguesas no estrangeiro do que as associações, a tradição ou a língua.

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Em artigo esta semana publicado no Futebol Finance, afirma-se que:

"Até há 2 anos atrás o novo estádio de Wembley era considerado o maior elefante branco do futebol mundial. Com um custo de construção superior a 1.000 milhões de Euros e depois de ter ultrapassando em mais de 50% o custo inicialmente previsto, as expectativas não eram famosas para a WNSL (Wembley National Stadium Ltd.

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The slightly controversial UEFA bridesmaid's draw has taken place and fortunately it's gone off without controversy. Somehow, someway, despite UEFA being involved, Liverpool and Chelsea will not meet. Who knew?

It's rather pedestrian, really, as perhaps the two best teams France and Russia were handed the easiest draw.

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Aveiro discute demolição do estádio
Notícia de anteontem no DN refere a possibilidade de demolição do estádio construído para o Euro 2004. Se a moda pega pelo menos três vão cair.
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FIFA has released an updated ranking and what do you know... Portugal closes the top 10.

In fact we were the country that scored the most points in this update: 162. Moving up 7 places we finished in the top 10.

This particular ranking has a bit more meaning because it determines the top 4 seed for the play-offs otherwise I pretty much ignore it.

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FIFA has released an updated ranking and what do you know... Portugal closes the top 10.

In fact we were the country that scored the most points in this update: 162. Moving up 7 places we finished in the top 10.

This particular ranking has a bit more meaning because it determines the top 4 seed for the play-offs otherwise I pretty much ignore it.

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Supporters of various national teams across the globe are already packing their bags, updating their passports & booking flights to South Africa for next Summer's World Cup Finals. With their beloved nation's automatic qualification secure, they've only the stress-free decision of which player's replica kit their going to wear during their teams opening match left to decide.

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Faz hoje 10 anos, que em Aachen, na Alemanha, Portugal ganhou a possibilidade de organizar o Euro 2004. Esta candidatura foi feita com muita paixão. Neste tipo de acções não há espaço para outros interesses. Quem não conseguir introduzir esta componente será necessariamente perdedor. Foi o que aconteceu com Espanha. Click to continue reading...

Fatih Terim, the coach of the Turkish national football team, will put in his papers after his side's final World Cup 2010 qualifying game against Armenia on Wednesday night. Terim will step down as coach of the team he has managed for nearly the last four years, having taken over the reigns from Ersun Yanal [. Click to continue reading...

No futebol existe esta expressão a quem perde com frequência e de uma forma inesperada. Depois de várias derrotas, que salvo erro começou em 1999, quando perderam o Euro 2004, a Espanha vem perdendo com alguma regularidade as diversas candidaturas em que se envolve para organizar eventos de grande dimensão. Click to continue reading...

As the Olympiacos team bus got closer and closer to the Finsbury Park area, I am sure veteran goalkeeper Antonios Nikopolidis began to relive some of the greatest moments of his career at the highest level. From his invaluable contribution in Greece's historic Euro 2004 win to his consistency during his club's league triumph over the last three years, Nikopolidis is no stranger to success at a grand stage.

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Bendtner will miss the Olympiakos clash due to being in a car crash.

Arsenal vs Olympiakos

The Gunners will be keen to put the horrible start against Standard Liege behind them against Olympiakos on Tuesday. A solid 1-0 win has to give them confidence going in, especially in young Italian goalkeeper Vito Mannone made a series of spectacular stops against Fulham at the weekend.

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It was five years ago today. Five years, a long time. A lot of water under the bridge since then. A lot of Johnnie under the old soft palate. Why, I'll tell you, Ryan Giggs was a wee lad of 47, back then. Nani wasn't even a gleam in Anderson's eye.

We'd all heard the rumours, of course. An 18-year-old boy with the instep of Kylie Minogue and the brow of a young Jack Nicholson.

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Tuesday night we witnessed the everlasting phenomenom that is Filippo Inzaghi. Score a few goals. Check! Remind everyone he's still around. Check! We've been here before haven't we?

Being a rarely casual follower of Serie A these days, it's a bit of a shock when Inzaghi pops up to decide games.

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Now let us get this straight. I am not so much Anti-England. I willingly supported the English national team. I cheered for them when they beat Germany and celebrated as much when Beckham scored that famous free kick against Greece.
But since the retirements of respectable players, mostly Gooners in Adams, Keown and Seaman I have developed a resentment towards the England international team. Click to continue reading...

Em 1998 jogámos com a Hungria, em Budapeste, na qualificação para o Euro 2000. Ganhámos bem, mas alguma dificuldade inicial. No final, houve controlo anti-doping e os jogadores indicados solicitaram algumas cervejas para apressar os procedimentos...Junto à comitiva encontrava-se uma delegação da Comissão de Candidatura para o 2004, liderada por José Sócrates, e este, após o jogo, dirigiu-se aos balneários para felicitar os jogadores. Click to continue reading...

France 1-1 Romania:
France managed a 1-1 draw in Paris, which means that their hopes of automatic qualification are looking dull. William Gallas and Bacary Sagna started for Les Bleus in defence, and did very well, with Gallas' header even setting up France's first goal.
Spain 5-0 Belgium:
Visitors Belgium were crushed by an in-form Spain, as Thomas Vermaelen in Belgium central defence did not impress. Click to continue reading...

Wales are considering switching their remaining qualifying games for the 2010 World Cup away form the Millennium Stadium as dwindling crowds have resulted in a lack of atmosphere. During qualification for Euro 2004 Wales were the best supported nation with crowds of over 70,000 but since then there has only been . Click to continue reading...

Liverpool's new Greek defender Sotirios Kyrgiakos plans to capitalise on his unexpected chance to be successful at the very highest level.
The 30-year-old central defender has signed a two-year contract at Anfield after a £2million move from AEK Athens.
Kyrgiakos was unlucky to miss Greece's Euro 2004 success through injury, and had to sit and watch his countrymen lift the title in Portugal. Click to continue reading...

Após ter estado em Espanha, Beto voltou, desta vez para "Os Belenenses". Ainda tive oportunidade de o ver num jogo Huelva/Deportivo, disputado nessa cidade do sul da Espanha. Esteve no Euro 2000, Mundial 2002 e Euro 2004. Sair do Sporting para o Huelva foi claramente um passo atrás na sua carreira. Click to continue reading...

Na "A Bola" e no DN de 2ª feira, foram publicados dois artigos que abordaram o mesmo assunto, mas com sentimentos diferentes. O primeiro, da autoria de Fernando Guerra, aproveitou a dífícil situação profissional por que passa Ricardo, colocando-o em comparações, despropositadas, com Vitor Baía. Click to continue reading...

Formation is a subject where everyone has an opinion, and everyone has a bias, mainly because it's so important. Every England debate since 66 has featured formation. Teams have one with diamonds, Christmas tree's, MW's, and all sorts, so we can understand that it is not the formation that wins trophies, but the teams adaptability and comfort with these tactics.

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Goalkeepers are an unfashionable lot. Take a wander around your local park, find the nearest youthful game of football being hastily organised and see how many kids are actively volunteering to go in goal. Unless you live near some kind of FA approved goalkeepers academy (this must exist, surely), you wouldn't find that many. Click to continue reading...

Four weeks ago, I was playing Football Manager. I was managing Manchester United and was faced with the dilemma of how to replace Tevez and Ronaldo. With 80 million quid in the bank, money wasn't an issue; however the question of bringing in the "right" player involves more than just money.

Browsing through my shortlist, the expected names appeared: Benzema, Ribery and Ibrahimovic.

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O dono da bola com o sucessor! Documento fotográfico fantástico, irrepetível. Os números indicam o caminho que todos queremos para a Selecção Nacional. Click to continue reading...

www.uefa.com
Faz hoje precisamente 13 anos, em Villa Park, no Portugal/Rep.Checa. Lembram-se qual foi, em última análise, a sequência deste lance? O regresso a Portugal! Uma equipa mais fraca, mas muito bem organizada, com jogadores em ascenção, eliminou-nos sem qualquer mácula, chegando sem surpresas à final e perdendo, injustamente com a Alemanha. Click to continue reading...