Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas admitted that as his side prepares to kick-off at Goodison Park this afternoon, damage control is the only ambition for the Blues in a Premier League campaign where they have not been 'very honorable'.

With Tottenham seven points ahead in third and Newcastle, Arsenal, and Liverpool all within striking distance of Chelsea's current fourth position in the table, Villas-Boas acknowledges that it has been a shaky ride for a side that was assembled to chase glory.

A época começou muito mal para o Sporting, melhorou muito com uma série consecutiva de uma dezena de triunfos, e desde aí tem sido o descalabro total. No campeonato, caiu para a quarta posição. Está a 13 pontos do Benfica, a 8 do FC Porto, a cinco do Braga e tem apenas três de vantagem sobre o Marítimo.

Manchester United head into Sunday's fixture at Stamford Bridge off the back of three consecutive victories in the Premier League and an opportunity to back on level points with City.

Penalties from Javier Hernandez and Dimitar Berbatov either side of half time on transfer deadline day lead Manchester United on their way to 3 points as Manchester City were being beat at Everton thanks to a strike from former Red Devil Darron Gibson.

Chelsea's manager, Andre Villas-Boas, revealed an interesting statement regarding his current managerial experience at Stamford Bridge, stating that he is actually not really stamping his authority in the dressing room.

Villas-Boas revealed that unlike some manager who can be a sort of dictator with his players, the former Fc Porto tactician admitted that he is having a different path by becoming more of democratic person.

The winter transfer window across Europe closed on Tuesday, and a number of teams -- not the usual big-spenders -- that were scrambling to fill vacancies and address needs for the second half of their respective seasons were able to add some valuable pieces to the puzzle.

Queens Park Rangers fall into that category, adding firepower in the form of former Lazio striker Djibril Cisse and Fulham forward Bobby Zamora.

The winter transfer window across Europe closed on Tuesday, and a number of teams -- not the usual big-spenders -- that were scrambling to fill vacancies and address needs for the second half of their respective seasons were able to add some valuable pieces to the puzzle.

Queens Park Rangers fall into that category, adding firepower in the form of former Lazio striker Djibril Cisse and Fulham forward Bobby Zamora.

The winter transfer window in Europe is set to close today, and teams are still scrambling to fill vacancies and address needs for the second half of their respective seasons.

While we don't seem likely to have any megastars making winter transfer moves, despite resurgent rumors of Carlos Tevez to AC Milan, there is still some serious talent changing addresses.

Brazilian club Santos on Friday turned down an €8 million bid from Portuguese club FC Porto for their midfield wizard Paulo Henrique Ganso. However, what seems to be rubbing people the wrong way is club president Luis Alvaro Ribeiro's comments where he labelled Porto's bid as comical and that it should have at least contained an extra zero for Santos to consider it.

Despite what a quote attributed to Owen Coyle in Sporting Life says, Sebastien Le Toux is still a transfer target for Bolton Wanderers, if the money is available.

Alan Nixon, of The People and Mirror Football, is reporting that Bolton is focusing mostly upon wingers, but that Le Toux is still on the team's mind.

Manchester City could be without striker Mario Balotelli for four games after he was charged with violent conduct by the Football Association.
The controversial Italian appeared to stamp on Scott Parker's head during City's dramatic 3-2 win over Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday and despite the incident going unpunished at the time, has been charged retrospectively.

Chelsea once again failed to maintain any consistency in their performance as they only managed a draw against Norwich City, despite controlling the match and created more chances especially in the second half but their inability to finish off their chances cost them two points.

The club's ineffectiveness in front of goal once again being noted by the Blues' manager, Andre Villas-Boas, as the cause of their current inability to stay close with the top three teams in the league.

Week 15 saw Benfica maintain their two point lead over Porto as the season hit the midway point. Benfica earned a convincing 4-1 win over Setubal while Porto stayed pace with a 2-0 win over Rio Ave. In what amounted to the game of the week, Braga defeated Sporting 2-1 to move into sole spot of third place in the Portuguese league as Sporting drop to fourth.

Friday, January 13
9:10pm Estudiantes Tecos vs San Luis Galavision
9:30pm Correcaminos UAT vs La Piedad GolTV

Saturday, January 14
10am Aston Villa vs Everton foxsoccer.tv
10am Blackburn Rovers vs Fulham foxoccer.tv
10am Chelsea vs Sunderland Fox Soccer Channel, Fox Deportes
10am Liverpool vs Stoke City Fox Soccer Plus, foxsoccer.

Benfica and FC Porto have done Portugal proud by ranking in the Top 10 of the club world rankings from IIHFS for 2011. Barcelona and Real Madrid were one/two as the two Spanish giants continue their battle on all fronts. Top 10 World Clubs: 1- Barcelona (Spain) 2- Real Madrid (Spain) 3- Velez Sarsfield (Argentina) 4- Manchester United (England) 5- Manchester City (England) 6- Santos (Brazil)

FC Porto striker Hulk is fast becoming a major target for a number of clubs this winter transfer season with the likes of PSG, Anzhi and Chelsea reported to have joined the race to acquire his signature.

Having scored 36 times in all competitions last year with a further 21 assists to his name, Hulk is currently one of the top strikers in the game at the moment.

Week 14 has finally seen a team take sole spot atop Portugal for the first time since Week 4. Benfica now sits atop the Portuguese League after their commanding 4-0 win over U. Leiria as FC Porto was held to a scoreless draw versus Sporting. Benfica are two points clear of Porto as the season is one week away from the half point.

Friday, January 6
8pm Altamira vs Toros Neza Gol TV

Saturday, January 7
7:30am Birmingham City vs Wolverhampton Wanderers Fox Soccer Plus, foxsoccer.tv
10am Fleetwood Town vs Blackpool Fox Soccer Plus, foxsoccer.tv
10am Swindon Town vs Wigan Athletic foxsoccer.

The 2011 year in now behind us and as we now move forward in 2012, we take a look at ten things that should happen for all Portuguese fans this year. 1- Cristiano Ronaldo will win the La Liga Golden Boot 2- Portugal will reach the semi-finals of Euro 2012 3- Porto's Hulk & Benfica's Gaitan will be sold in the summer 4- Benfica will reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League 5- FC

FC Porto forward Hulk has once again been linked with a move to London club Chelsea. However with Kaka and Krasic in the market, his chances of joining the Blues are getting slimmer and slimmer everyday.

Villas-Boas who knows Hulk from his days as Coach of Porto is known to be a great admirer of the Brazilian forward, however, with a buyout clause of $130 million dollars, and Chelsea's growing debt, Hulk is out of reach for even Abramovich's billions.

Liverpool look poised to open talks with FC Porto for the transfer of defensive midfielder Fernando.
The Reds recently lost Lucas to injury, depriving boss Kenny Dalglish of his favoured holding midfielder.
But Dalglish is looking beyond Lucas' spell on the sidelines – Fernando's potential presence at Anfield would allow the Scot to play two midfield enforcers when required, but at other times the option to play Lucas in a more advanced role would be explored.

Here is my (personal) list of the best football teams of the year 2011:10) Borussia Dortmund: The Germans won the 2010-11 Bundesliga title playing entertaining football and a very young team. They have nevertheless disappointed in the fall. 9) Manchester City: Proof that money can buy a team, they have nevertheless also worked hard under Roberto Mancini to become a new power in English football.

Week 13 saw the see saw battle between Benfica and FC Porto continue as Benfica took the league lead by three points after a 5-1 win Friday over Rio Ave. FC Porto then matched the Eagles with a 2-0 victory over Maritimo as both clubs remain tied for the top spot in Portugal. Sporting slipped six points back after drawing on the road to Academica 1-1.

Going into the Champions League group stages, there were likely a great deal of football bets placed on Premier League powerhouses Manchester United and Manchester City reaching the round of 16. But after flubbing a group that appeared to be a relative stroll, United are now looking ahead to the Europa League, and their archrivals are doing the same.

Olympique Lyonnais vs. Evian TG FC,

Matchday 18, Ligue 1

Finally a Champions League Knockout stages draw that spelt relief for Lyon. In their 9th consecutive appearance in the Round-of-16, they meet APOEL FC; the Cypriot side that managed to finish ahead of Zenit St.

Friday, December 16
2:30pm: Bayern München vs Köln - ESPN Deportes, ESPN3

Saturday, December 17
1:30am: Newcastle Jets vs Sydney FC FSC
9:30am: Freiburg vs Borussia Dortmund GolTV
10am: Everton vs Norwich City FSC (5pm on Fox Deportes)
10am: Blackburn Rovers vs West Bromwich Albion foxsoccer.

Muito se falou nesta jornada das perdidas incríveis de Cardozo no Marítimo-Benfica e de Élio no jogo entre Beira-Mar e FC Porto por terem acontecido nos encontros mais mediáticos. Talvez por este motivo, o incrível falhanço de João Silva na partida entre Vitória de Setúbal e Feirense tenha passado mais despercebido, mas é verdadeiramente de bradar aos céus.

Week 12 saw Braga lay a licking on visiting Pacos Ferreira with a 5-2 victory. The win vaulted Braga into a 4th place tie with Maritimo. On Saturday FC Porto moved three points clear of Benfica after their 2-1 victory over Beira Mar, quickly erasing their fall from the Champions League a few days earlier.

08.12.2011 - Manchester mira la Europa League: después de 6 años, Manchester United vuelve a quedar eliminado de la Champions League en 1º ronda y el City quedó afuera (en su lugar entró Nápoli) de los octavos de final.
Los portugueses con una de cal y una arena: Benfica adentro, Porto afuera.

Tarik Sektioui is not a name familiar to many football fans but the former FC Porto winger scored one of the UEFA Champions League's all-time great goals against Marseille in 2008. Needing to win to reignite a stuttering group stage campaign, FC Porto started slowly against a dogged OM side...that was until Moroccan winger Tarik [.

In The Stands can confirm that Chelsea are ready to cut their losses with beleaguered boss Andre Villas-Boas sooner rather than later after a poor 2-0 Carling Cup quarter-final defeat to Liverpool on Tuesday. Villas-Boas' fate was sealed after Liverpool's second win at Stamford Bridge in nine days saw the Blues crash out of this [.

Week 11 kicked off after a long hiatus due to International play and the Taca de Portugal qualifying. Beira Mar defeated Academica 1-0 to move into sixth place in the league. Saturday was Derby day in the league as Nacional played Martimo to a 2-2 draw in Madeira, while Benfica hosted Sporting at the Luz.

Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice from the penalty spot against Atletico

Real Madrid (Played 13, Points 34) took the initiative in the Spanish league last night as a 4-1 derby success at home to local rivals Atlético de Madrid was sweetened by a defeat to champions FC Barcelona whose 1-0 defeat to Getafe saw them go six points behind los Blancos at the top of the table.

Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas has conceded that his side must return to winning ways quickly as their title hopes are quickly vanishing with each unsuccessful outing.

The Blues have lost four of their last seven matches in all competitions and according to reports, Villas-Boas was forced to call an extended dressing room meeting to urge for unity in these difficult times.

Martes 22 de Noviembre de 2011

3 Bayern Munich vs Villarreal 3
Grupo A 2 Napoli vs Manchester City 2
Grupo A 0 CSKA Moscow vs Lille 2
Grupo B 1 Trabzonspor vs Inter Milan 1
Grupo B 2 Manchester United vs Benfica 2
Grupo C 2 Otelul Galati vs FC Basel 3
Grupo C 0 Lyon vs Ajax Amsterdam 0
Grupo D 6 Real Madrid vs Dinamo Zagreb 2
Grupo D
Miércoles 23 de Noviembre de 2011


2 Bayer Leverkusen vs Chelsea 1
Grupo E 7 Valencia vs Genk 0
Grupo E 2 Arsenal vs B Dortmund 1
Grupo F 0 Marseille vs Olympiakos 1
Grupo F 0 Zenit vs Apoel Nicosia 0
Grupo G 0 Shakhtar vs FC Porto 2
Grupo G 0 BATE Borisov vs Viktoria Plzen 1
Grupo H 2 AC Milan vs Barcelona 2
Grupo H Gracias por tu visita Estadísticas de Fútbol

We rather liked the look of Moritz Leitner when he replaced Sven Bender in Arsenal's victory over Dortmund last night. Further investigations confirmed that he is indeed the type of tender, succulent manmeat we thrive on. Anyone else feeling peckish? Image: Getty Images.

Marginally better that Tuesday night's action, if your criteria includes clothing removal, short-tents and potential for sarcasm.

Comecei a ver o Académica-Fc Porto disputado no último sábado sensivelmente a meio da primeira parte da partida e uma das primeiras jogadas que me captou a atenção foi um lance em que um dos atletas da equipa da casa surgiu a "correr que nem um desalmado" a pressionar a defesa dos campeões nacionais a toda a largura do campo.

This round of the 2011-12 Champions League has been splendid, as teams are struggling to get over the last hurdles to the next round of the tournament.The Premier League leaders of Manchester City have not had an easy time in Group A. A great Napoli side, with two goals by the perhaps best striker in Europe right now, Edison Cavani, defeated City 2-1, and just need to defeat Villarreal to make it

Em 2006/2007, eliminou da Taça de Portugal o FC Porto em pleno Estádio do Dragão, então ao serviço do Atlético que na última época guiou subida Liga de Honra. Na presente edição da "prova-rainha" do futebol nacional, o veterano técnico, que muitos apelidam de "Mourinho dos Pobres" já "despachou" dois primodivisionários ao leme do Torreense.

And so it begins. With Gavin Wilkinson flying all over the world and John Spencer herding in a new set of trialists I think it's safe to say, at this point, the Timbers office is 100% focused on 2012. Not that I would have expected anything else, mind you.

First up it looks like the Timbers will host tryouts, once again, in January.

Premier League club Chelsea are considering selling their Ivorian striker Didier Drogba in the winter transfer window. Drogba who has failed to make an impact on the league this season, has been a long time target for Italian giants AC Milan, however, it is not likely he will move to the Serie A champions because of his hefty wage demands.