After waiting through half the January window with hardly even a solid link to report, Liverpool made an exciting first move in the market today—though it's exciting far more for its future potential and for the way in which participation in the NextGen Series is already paying off for the club than exciting for the club's prospects in the present.

Ricardo Quaresma is sort of the quintessential flashy footballer. The type of gent whose game translates better to YouTube and the video game of your choice rather than a pitch of appropriate measure. Turns out his lifestyle is equally as flashy. He was the victim of an armed robbery this morning, of things which were on his person.

There's only two... Pepe Reinas

He hasn't saved a penalty in an FA Cup final, but John Hassan from Lisbon certainly emulates Pepe Reina in the looks department.

View the full story here: Liverpool FC

A news article on 2011-12-25 00:18:38 from: Liverpool FC

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.

Why Untouchable Fergie has earned his free pass should United crash out of the Champions League

Six years ago this week, I was overcome by a fit of impertinence. In a crowded conference hall in Lisbon, I grabbed a microphone and asked Sir Alex Ferguson a question. I asked him whether his job would be in jeopardy if Manchester United lost to Benfica the next evening and were knocked out of the Champions League at the group stage.

Oguchi Onyewu played the full 90 in an electric Lisbon grudge match against Benfica, while Caleb Patterson-Sewell and Atletico suffered only their second defeat of the season against Moreirense.

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.

Good Player Guide #18 Nolito is a post from: Just Football

Nolito
(Benfica / Spain)

Signing a Barcelona player would, in itself, normally suffice to excite fans of any club. However, the fact the Spanish forward was just one of a plethora of new signings at Benfica this summer, which included the much heralded Bruno César, Enzo Pérez and Axel Witsel, meant that when the 2011/12 season kicked off, Nolito was considered anything but the star turn.

Following the completion of the Euro 2012 Qualifying Play-Offs, from which Portugal, Croatia, Czech Republic and the Republic of Ireland all qualified this week, all sixteen teams that will be participating in Poland and the Ukraine next June are now known.

The Play-Offs saw the eight runners up of the qualifying groups comepte for the four remaining places at next year's tournament and the outcomes of all the games proved reasonably predictable.

In the end, yesterday's match in Lisbon proved to be more of an afterthought than anything else, as the FA announcement of charges against Luis Suarez (along with FIFA and Sepp Blatter's pathetic effort) dominated much of the conversation. Given that qualification to the first knockout round was already secured for both sides, this one was maybe never likely to gather too much attention, but it was too bad that the final round of the group stage coincided with a major non-development in one of the more troubling storylines of the past few weeks.

Portugal finally put all the pieces together today in Lisbon with a 6-2 thrashing of a outplayed Bosnia and Herzegovina squad. This was a game many felt could have gone either way before the whistle to start this game was even blown. Ronaldo played what may have been his best game for Portugal scoring early in both halfs, silencing his critics at least for one game, that he does not show up

Just when he was starting to gain some ground on his rival Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo had to ruin all the progress he has made in the past few weeks by reacting to Bosnia and Herzegovina fans by showing them middle finger.

According to Ronaldo, he was forced to act the way he did because of incessant criticism from fans during Portugal's training session ahead of their Euro 2012 play off fixture.

U.S. U-23 MNT forward Tony Taylor lives and plays in Portugal, where he caught the eye of Caleb Porter to earn a call up to the training camp here in Germany. The powerful forward came on as a sub in the scrimmage on Friday, scoring one goal and setting up another.

While the U-23's ran out to a 3-1 win against Bochum, Taylor was quick to point out that the goal of the camp was more about building a familiarity with teammates and coaches moving towards 2012.

Lots of Arsenal news filtering through this morning, not least of which is the report alerting us that Peter Hill-Wood does not expect to open contract talks with Robin van Persie until the end of the season.

RVP's current deal is due to expire in 2013 and, obv, AW and the like are keen to get him to sign a new but apparently he does not want to do that until the summer.

Lots of Arsenal news filtering through this morning, not least of which is the report alerting us that Peter Hill-Wood does not expect to open contract talks with Robin van Persie until the end of the season.

RVP's current deal is due to expire in 2013 and, obv, AW and the like are keen to get him to sign a new but apparently he does not want to do that until the summer.

Sporting 6-1 Gil Vicente Video Highlights Bojinov Capel Van Wolfswinkel Goals is a post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter

Sporting 6-1 Gil Vicente Video Highlights Bojinov Capel Van Wolfswinkel Goals is a post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter Sporting CP (Lisbon) vs Gil Vicente 2011 Final score and result:- Sporting vs Gil Vicente 6-1 ( Carrico, Van Wolfswinkel, Capel*2, Bojinov*2) 24 October, 2011- Liga Sagres- Monday Bojinov and Capel score two [.

For the Euro 2012 qualifiers Denmark had to defeat Cyprus, and the match was virtually over after 25 minutes, with Denmark winning 4-0. It ended 4-1, but Denmark did what they had to do, and will now be looking towards a group final against Portugal in Copenhagen next Tuesday. Denmark needs to win to win the group though, after Portugal managed a too difficult 5-3 win over Iceland in Lisbon.

Sporting's Marat Izmailov has had successful surgery to his right knee completed in Lisbon and is set to commence his recovery program, at this stage it is not known how long Izmailov will be lost to Sporting.

It wasn't exactly a job well done, but it was mission at least somewhat accomplished two weeks ago in Lisbon, as Manchester United opened their Champions League campaign with a 1-1 draw at Benfica. Tonight, United will look to record their first group win and claim pole position in Group C as they welcome Swiss [.

Bet 365 - Click here for £200 of Free Bets now In the end, Manchester United were happy to come away from Lisbon with a valuable and deserved point, but last night's performance against Benfica will have been a shock to the system for many of the club's followers as it was in marked contrast to the champions early season performances in the Premier League.

Benfica vs Manchester United 1-1 Highlights Goals Video 2011 Champions League is a post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter

Benfica vs Manchester United 1-1 Highlights Goals Video 2011 Champions League is a post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter Benfica vs Manchester United 2011 ( SL Benfica vs Man Utd 2011) Final score and result:- Benfica vs Manchester United 1-1 ( Cardozo/ Giggs) September 14, 2011- Stadium of Light, Lisbon- 19.

Manchester United's Champions League campaign gets under way tonight in Lisbon, where last season's beaten finalists take on Benfica. Ahead of the game, coach Jorge Jesus has been talking about the disparity between Benfica and Manchester United, "Usually in the Champions League, the teams at the top are the ones who are strongest economically," said Jesus.

Week 4 commenced on Friday with defending Champions FC Porto maintaining their perfect start to the season as they defeated Setubal 3-0 for their fourth straight win and sit atop the Portuguese League. Saturday saw both Lisbon clubs in action as Benfica defeated Guimaraes 2-1 and Sporting came back from two goals down to Pacos Ferreira and scored three goals in the last 20 minutes to win 3-

Nacional starlet Sebastian Coates is expected to sign a contract with Liverpool in the next 24 hours, as representatives of the Uruguayan club make the trip across the Atlantic in order to put the finishing touches on a lucrative transfer.
EFE reports that directors Hector Olmos and Alex Saul left for England on Monday to continue negotiations with Kenny Dalglish's team.

Week 3 commenced on Saturday this week with Gil Vicente opening the week for the third straight time but unlike the previous two weeks the club earned a 2-0 victory, their first since being promoted and ending Academica's two win start. Sunday saw Maritimo hand a struggling Sporting a 3-2 loss at Estadio Avalade and keeping the Lisbon side winless on the season.

Liverpool defender completes Lisbon switch

Emiliano Insua has signed a five-year deal

View the full story here: The Mirror

A news article on 2011-08-27 11:10:24 from: The Mirror

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.

When FC Twente played Benfica Lisbon to a 2-2 draw on Tuesday night, Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp was in the stands to witness it. Mind you, 'Arry wasn't just out for a fun night of European football in Enschede - he was there to take a personal look at Bryan Ruiz, Twente's Costa Rican striker and a target for Spurs in this summer's transfer window.

Arsenal played their final pre-season game of the summer in Lisbon, where a second half...
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Arsenal have named the 19-man squad that have arrived in Portugal, ahead of tomorrow's match with Benfica.

Arsene Wenger and his team landed in Portugal tonight, and are all set to play their last game of this pre-season in Lisbon tomorrow night.

The squad is as follows, in alphabetical order:

Arshavin, Chamakh, Djourou, Fabianski, Frimpong, Gervinho, Jenkinson, Lansbury, Miquel, Miyaichi, Ramsey, Rosicky, Sagna, Song, Squillaci, Szczesny, Traore, Van Persie, Vermaelen.

Arsenal majority shareholder Stan Kroenke is in London today in an attempt to finally sort out the Cesc Fabregas transfer saga. The mail reports that Kroenke came to the capital to attend the members day at the Emirates. But, says the paper, more importantly the American tycoon hopes his trip to England will resolve the long-running uncertainty over Fabregas' protracted switch to Barcelona.

Toronto has had this unlikeable habit of playing for a few minutes, digging a giant hole then trying to claw out of said hole. While Sporting KC Lisbon Wizard Comets was an amusing exercise in drama, it's preferred to just play the whole game properly.
Real Estelí has nothing to lose here.

Alvaro Pereira, who is perceived as Liverpool's main target to fill the void in the left-back position, is now reportedly being chased by the likes of Arsenal and Juventus.

Pereira recently capped off a fantastic year when he helped guide Uruguay to a famous Copa America win, merely two months after claiming Portuguese glory as well as the Europa League title with FC Porto.

Liverpool Line Up Uruguayan Pereira

Liverpool's search for a left back has seen them turn their heads towards Porto's Alvaro Pereira, according to reports in Portugal. The reports, which first surfaced in Lisbon-based sports newpaper, A Bola , and have now been picked up by the Mirror , suggest that the Reds are willing to pay the €20M release fee in the Uruguayan's contract.

Portuguese Club BENFICA has "tweeted" this interesting picture. Its Benfica President Luis Felipe with Spanish International & VILLAREAL Spanish Football Player CAPDEVILA. Mates? Was in Lisbon & I thought I would drop in to say hello? No, apparently putting the final touches to a transfer agreement were Capdevila is the chosen defender to take the place of the now Real Madrid player Fabio

In an off-season that has been highlighted about players leaving Atletico Madrid, it is a welcome change to write about a player who is joining the club.

Sílvio, who is a Portuguese international defender, was signed from Braga for a fee reported to be in the region of €8m and has signed a five-year deal at the Vicente Calderón.

No, not the one in Kansas City Sporting CP. Oguchi Onyewu has finalized a deal with the Lisbon-based club that will keep him in Portugal for the next three years. (Check out the article, in Portugese, here.)

After the Gold Cup, I'm sure I speak for all of us when I say, the more centerback options we have, the better.

Jon Kempin started in goal for the second straight game for the US under 18 team today in Portugal when the US took on the hosts in Lisbon. Kempin played the entire game, allowing only 1 goal, but it proved to be one too many as the US lost 1-0 to the hosts on an 83rd minute strike by the Portuguese.

With everyone abuzz over the latest Arsenal Developments and the upcoming Chelsea match, it's only fitting that we keep our eyes focused on Europe. There is a wealth of new talent ready to make a transition to the global stage, and my in-depth conversation with PortuGoal.net Editor touched on that quite nicely.

Benfica and Sporting get set to clash in their famous Lisbon Derby at Alvalade today. Benfica currently sit in second place in the Portuguese League with Sporting in third trailing their cross town rivals by twelve points.Benfica defeated the Lions 2-0 in their first encounter of the season at the Luz but we would have to go back to the 2006/07 season for the Eagles last victory on the road

There is a quote from one of my favorite movies, Akeelah and the Bee that goes something like this, "there are 50,000 teachers all around you."
Although this was a piece of advice given to Akeelah, a little girl who was preparing for her moment in the spotlight at the Scripps National Spelling Bee, I believe this piece of wisdom rings true for those of us who are working to reach our highest potential in soccer, futsal, footvolley or freestyle.

It's time once again for the annual trek to Portugal for the U.S. WNT which will be participating in the Algarve Cup for the 16th time. The Algarve Cup -- the biggest little tournament in the world -- has long been one of the favorite trips for the U.S. team, mostly for the great games, the food, the beautiful coast line and hopefully, the nice weather.