I'm told they prefer to go by ΑΠΟΕΛ and not TGCTE. But you can just call them APOEL.
Before I jump into the match preview...HEY GUYS! Sorry to have dropped off the face of the earth
internet, but grad school was taking up all my time, and I had to cut out all distractions so I
could finish my dissertation.
25 or 7 ?
25% vs 7 times. That pretty much sums up the whole uncertainty around this game. Statistically,
Lyon only have a 25% chance to qualify after the draw (1-1) conceded at home, three weeks ago. But
this small percentage is opposed to the record of confrontations between the two teams, largely in
favor of OL : 7 games against Real, 0 loss.
I'm going to keep this preview short because in the two weeks since these sides last met, Lyon
haven't improved (they might have un-improved a little bit, actually). So there's really no point
in goring through all the stats and shit. To do a quick recap, Lyon tied to Arles (which until last
weekend, I didn't think was even possible), lost to PSG in the League Cup (which I'm going to
pretend doesn't count for anything), and beat Sochaux.
Did I just witness a key moment in Ligue 1 history? I guess we won't know until the end of the
season, but that won't stop Saint-Etienne fans from celebrating like they just doomed their local
rivals, Olympique Lyonnais, to relegation in Ligue 2. To the more objective
observer, it's a long way from that.
After a hectic week that will have seen crowd-pleasing Yoann Gourcuff finally join Lyon,
welcomed by 12.000 supporters, a fresh wind of hope seemed to blow on the club. From Aulas
(presenting this transfer as one in a president's career) to Lisandro (with the morale at an all
time low due to the persistance of his injury), everyone seemed revamped by this long expected
arrival, hoping for a collective boost.
After a hectic week that will have seen crowd-pleasing Yoann Gourcuff finally join Lyon,
welcomed by 12.000 supporters, a fresh wind of hope seemed to blow on the club. From Aulas
(presenting this transfer as one in a president's career) to Lisandro (with the morale at an all
time low due to the persistance of his injury), everyone seemed revamped by this long expected
arrival, hoping for a collective boost.
Malaga coach Manuel Pellegrini is happy with his side's strong start but insists that they will
be truly measured in when they play Barcelona and Real Madrid.
Club owner Sheik Abdullah bin Nasser Al-Thani invested heavily over the summer, spending €58
million to bring in many new talents such as Ruud van Nisterooy, Santi Cazorla, Jeremy Toulalan and
Joaquin to bolster the squad.
PARIS, France — Lyon gave themselves the perfect morale boost for next Tuesday's Champions League
home clash with Real Madrid on Friday as they eased to a 4-0 victory over Nancy. However, while
goals from Yoann Gourcuff, Jeremy Pied, Miralem Pjanic and the outstanding Jimmy Briand saw them
move into provisional second in the league [.
The verdicts on the 'Gang of Five' who destroyed the harmony of the French camp at the
World Cup were announced just like any criminal trial's results, complete with mugshots of the
offenders.
Nicolas Anelka, the instigator of the pathetic rebellion with his foul-mouthed attack on
coachRaymond Domenech, got an 18-game ban from the national
team, Patrice Evra got five for failing in his captain's duties, Franck 'underage' Ribery got three
as the ironically named vice-captain and Jeremy Toulalanmust sit out one match me
for penning the excruciating players' statement which the hapless Raymond Domenech read out to the
press, willingly or not.
We have a rare midweek slate of matches in La Liga this week, with the highlight being league
leaders Valencia hosting Barcelona on Wednesday. That match is just one of 10 midweek matches
spread across three days.
A dramatic 4-3 opening day win against Racing Santander, thanks to two goals in the last five
minutes, has been followed by successive 1-0 wins against Atletico Madrid and Sporting Gijon as
Unai Emery's side moved to the top of the table.
For the first time in quite a while, neither Real Madrid nor Barcelona placed among the five
biggest spenders of the summer according to Transfermarkt.
Madrid shelled out just 55 million euros, and a large chunk of that was reserved for Fabio
Coentrao. Nuri Sahin, Jose Callejon and Raphael Varane arrived for modest fees, while Hamit
Altintop was acquired on a free.
For the first time in quite a while, neither Real Madrid nor Barcelona placed among the five
biggest spenders of the summer according to Transfermarkt.
Madrid shelled out just 55 million euros, and a large chunk of that was reserved for Fabio
Coentrao. Nuri Sahin, Jose Callejon and Raphael Varane arrived for modest fees, while Hamit
Altintop was acquired on a free.
An emotional JoaquĂn has said farewell to Valencia after agreeing to join Liga rivals Málaga
for a fee of around 5 million euros.
"The two entities have closed an agreement so that the player from Puerto de Santa Maria can
become the seventh incorporation for next season," Malaga said on their website.
Manchester United will begin its Premier League title defense on the road at West Brom.
The Red Devils and the other 19 teams in the Premier League found out their 2011-2012 paths as
the league released its schedule for the upcoming season on Friday.
United's schedule doesn't get any easier after its season opener, as the club faces Tottenham,
Arsenal and Chelsea within the first five weeks.
Valencia just sold Joaquin. for next to nothing. *&%$
Me this morning. When I read the news.
Make no mistake, his influence and importance in the team has certainly dwindled of late, what
with a great crop of players making a step up, But REALLY, Valencia is drowning in a
quick-sand-filled pit of debt, we had to halt development of the Nou Mestalla, we need cash.
The Senegalese Savior Arrives, Just in the Knick of Time.
Sorry for the late post guys, I was pretty busy, and also waiting to see if we signed
Laurent Bonnart as well to do a double post, but no such luck. Anyway, last
Tuesday, we all breathed a giant sigh of relief as our president failed to let us down once again,
and on the eve of the closing of the mercato window, solved a problem that would have definitely
been the ruin of our season, had it been left unremedied.
The last we saw of Raymond Domenech, he was immersed in a witness protection program
masquerading as some sort of poker crash course. Now that the money's dried up from that little
venture, he's back for more cash with his very first exclusive post-World Cup meltdown interview to
be released amidst pomp and several forms of circumstance tomorrow.
Zero wins, one goal, one player sent home, an open revolt, and a lame duck coach – that's the
World Cup in a nutshell for the French National Team.
It was a sorry performance that left an entire country outraged a country that was on the brink
of winning the same competition just four years earlier.
Just a few minutes before writing this post Laurent Blanc released his squad to face
Romania in the Stade de France on October 9th and Luxembourg in
Metz on October 12th. Both matches are Euro 2012 qualifiers. Here is the squad:
>> Click Here To Watch France Vs Belarus Live Now <<
France Vs Belarus Live Streaming & Match Preview
Euro 2012 Qualifiers – France Vs Belarus Live Online Click Here
Friday, 3rd September 2010
Kick Off : 20:00 BST
Venue : Stade de France, Saint-Denis France
The Euro 2012 qualifier match between France and Belarus will take place at the Stade de France
on Friday 3rd September 2010, kick-off is set for 8:00 PM.
They Think It's All Over... suggests that the France Football Association's reaction to their
side's World Cup shambles simply confirms that they are the real root of the problem.
Nicolas Anelka has stated that he is "dying with laughter"after finding out that the French
Football Federation has laid down an 18 international match ban.
The FFF announced his punishment after a hearing on Tuesday morning concerning the French
squad's strike during World Cup 2010.
The French Football Federation took action on Tuesday against the alleged leaders of the World
Cup fiasco that had led to the controversial exit of the 2006 finalists from the tournament.
Unsurprisingly, Nicolas Anelka, who was not represented at the hearing, received the heaviest
punishment with an 18-match ban from the French national team.
Technically Nicolas Anelka's international career is not over. But it might as well be.
At 31-years old, the striker's 18-match ban handed down by the French Football (FFF) for
his role in France's World Cup nightmare forces him into the international
wilderness.
Chelsea striker handed Dr Evil-esque ban France striker Nicolas Anelka's international career
appears to be over after he received a billion-match an 18-match ban from the French Football
Federation. The 31-year-old was disciplined for his row with the coach Raymond Domenech which saw
France's World Cup descend into farce and industrial action.
It looks like we are finally done with the French World Cup debacle for good now. No  more
drama, no more he said this or he said that. A controversial player now has been dealt a
controversial end to his international career.
France international striker Nicolas Anelka's international career all but came to an end on
Tuesday as he received an 18-match ban for his foul-mouthed outburst at then coach Raymond Domenech
at the World Cup, a French Football Federation disciplinary commission decided.
Il responso della Commissione Disciplinare francese, nei confronti dei
"galletti ribelli", autori dell'ammutinamento ordito contro Domenech durante i
Mondiali sudafricani, è stato durissimo. Tirava aria di punizione esemplare, per
i vari Anelka, Ribery, Evra, e così è
stato.
The French Football Federation has handed down punishments to the players involved in the
infamous World Cup 2010 revolt. Big loser is Monsieur Nicolas Anelka, who started the whole thing
by suggesting that coach Raymond Domenech do something anatomically impossible during halftime of
the 2-0 defeat to Mexico.
Frenchman Franck Ribery's club Bayern Munich has refused to release the winger for a hearing
with the French soccer federation concerning the squad's World Cup fiasco that is set for August
17.
Bayern Munich is right when they say FIFA rules only necessitate the release of players for
competitive matches scheduled on the international soccer calendar.
Just view the images of Laurent Battles at the 61st minute of yesterday's game, knocked out by a
full blow free kick from Michel Bastos and you'll imagine how I felt after this derby. I needed to
sleep (or at least try) over the game to sort out my thoughts. Today I gave up trying to make a
synthesis and decided to share the four facets of this game that are still revolving in my
post-game thoughts.
LASSANA DIARRA: With five DMs on Real's roster and Lassana
Diarra allegedly being told that he'll be riding the bench next season, the French
international is looking to move away from Bernabeu. The primary suitor seems to be Spurs, and
Lassana's ex-boss at Pompey, Harry Rednapp.
Arsenal decided to part ways with Alex Song with the belief that midfielder Abou Diaby will finally live up to his expectations. However, it has proven to be a bad judgement from Arsene Wenger, as Diaby has once again suffered numerous injury problems this season. It has limited him to making just 14 appearances this season.
Lucho Gonzalez of Porto -Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images
With the anticipation of the Barcelona/AC Milan and Bayern Munich/Arsenal fixtures, it seems as if the weeks other two Champions League round of 16 ties are being overlooked.
Big mistake.
FC Porto will host Malaga on Tuesday at Estadio do Dragao in what could prove to be the most competitive match of the week.
There is news in the Daily Mirror that Newcastle has made an enquiry about Malaga defensive
midfielder, Jeremy Toulalan, who has played 36 times for France. But one thing that immediatelyÂ
stands out is the player's age, which is 28, and usually Newcastle want to sign players who are
under the age of 26.
After the hearing held in Paris, which was only attended by Patrice Evra (who asked permission
from his club to attend) and Jeremy Toulalan, the France Football Federation has released their
verdict on the punishment of the five players determined to be liable for the team's actions this
summer. [read more]
