Michael Tonge's loan move from Stoke to Preston after Tony Pulis's unsuccessful attempt to establish the languid midfielder as a Premier League player comes as little surprise; his spell at the Britannia Stadium having been as excitement packed as a Cabinet meeting to discuss the Lisbon treaty. Tonge is one of a special breed of players who look the part – and his formative years in some dramatic Click to continue reading...

Portugal belatedly secured their place at next summer's World Cup with an impressive performance in Zenica. After scraping a 1-0 win in Lisbon at the weekend with a laboured showing on home turf, Carlos Queiroz's side upped their game to close out the qualifying play-off and book a ticket to South Africa. Click to continue reading...

November, 18, 2009
Bilino Polje Stadium, Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina
19:45 Lisbon, London; 14:45 New York; 20:45 Zenica

24 hours to go for the all deciding match at Zenica.

Bosnia Herzegovina needs to come back from the marginal defeat picked up last Saturday in Lisbon and win by a margin of 2 goals.

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The first legs of the European World Cup play-offs took place yesterday (Saturday) and Russia, Portugal and France all take slender advantages into their second legs.

Portugal managed to beat Bosnia-Herzegovina 1-0 in Lisbon in their first leg. With Cristiano Ronaldo ruled out of the tie through injury the Portuguese had to rely on the likes of Simao Sabrosa, Liedson and Deco for their creative spark but all three were guilt of below-par performances.

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World Cup qualification is back on the agenda this weekend as 18 teams from around the globe battle it out for the remaining 9 places. With 23 nations already qualified for next summer's tournament, here's how things stack up in the final 16 matches on the road to South Africa:

What: European playoffs

How: 8 teams clash over two-legs with 4 teams advancing to Finals.

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Starting this weekend, the final slots for the 2010 World Cup will be decided around the world. So, let's have a bit of fun with the playoffs.
Today until Saturday, entries are open for picks for the first leg of the CONCACAF/COMNEBOL and UEFA first legs and for the AFC/OFC second leg. We'll pick the CONCACAF/COMNEBOL and UEFA second legs starting on Sunday or Monday. Click to continue reading...

According to Chris Burton at Sky Sports News, Benfica winger Angel Di Maria has no intentions of leaving anytime soon, despite being linked with Chelsea and Manchester United. Di Maria said,

"I am only thinking about Benfica and looking forward to playing the match tomorrow .

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Kickette had this masterpiece last week and I just recently came across its glory. Word is this gal is an ex-WAG, so it's still semi-soccer relevant.
She must be desperate for attention.
Now some other links:

• Mancini a possible Rafa replacement? [Daily Mail]
  
• A new world's top 25.

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Manchester United are in hot pursuit of Benfica's 21 year old Argentina midfielder, Angel di Maria. di Maria has been tipped by national team manager Diego Maradona as one of the nation's hottest up and coming stars, and his club form has put Sir Alex Ferguson on red alert.

di Maria has recently pit his wits against some of the Premier League's best as Benfica tackled Everton in the Europa League.

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Bosnia Herzegovina is Portugal's adversary for the WC2010 Play-offs. This is going to be a tough one but I have the utmost confidence in our team! The first match will take place on the 14th of November at the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon. 4 Days later we face them on Click to continue reading...

Everton lost 5-0 to Benfica in Europa League play on Thursday at Lisbon's Estadio da Luz. Tim Howard was in goal for Everton, who see their goal differential fall to zero in Group I. Benfica now leads the group on differential, with both teams on six points after three games. Javier Saviola opened the scoring in the 14th, and that 1-0 lead carried into the half. Click to continue reading...

Tim Howard had one of his worst nights in the Everton jersey in Lisbon, while Clint Dempsey watched from the bench as Fulham coughed up their lead to Roma in the game's dying seconds. Click to continue reading...

Just a very quick notes, a mate of mine is off to Lisbon tomorrow with T-shirt highlighting the continuing hopes we all have for the safe return of Madelaine McCann.

We also have issued a special purple 3rd kit in memorial for little Rhys Jones (and as a fund raiser for the city-wide Liverpool Unites charity).

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Bosnia Herzegovina is Portugal's adversary for the WC2010 Play-offs. This is going to be a tough one but I have the utmost confidence in our team! The first match will take place on the 14th of November at the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon. 4 Days later we face them on Click to continue reading...

October, 14, 2009
Estadio D.Afonso Henriques, Guimarães, Portugal
19:45 Lisbon, London; 14:45 New York

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Freddy Adu's first start with Belenenses lasted just a half as the hosts went down in defeat to Nacional at Estadio do Restelo in Lisbon. Click to continue reading...

Freddy Adu is expected to get his first start of the season when Belenenses host Nacional on Monday at Estadio do Restelo in Lisbon. Click to continue reading...

Real Madrid midfielder Cristiano Ronaldo is expected to be out of action for a month after aggravating an ankle sprain in Portugal's 3-0 win against Hungary, ruling him out of both UEFA Champions League matches against AC Milan.

The 24-year-old was suffering with an ankle complaint prior to the FIFA World Cup Group 1 qualifier in Lisbon and only lasted 27 minutes as Portugal moved second in the section.

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Portugal gets set to take on Hungary in Lisbon with the hearts of many Portuguese fans hanging in the balance. Portuguese Nation which covers the globe will be glued to their television sets, next to a radio or better yet at the game where chants of Por-Tu-Gal will echo the stadium. The players will stand as the Portuguese National Anthem plays in front of their home fans who will hold their Click to continue reading...

The European qualifying phase for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa comes to a close over the next week with six group winners and the identities of several play-off contenders still to be decided.

Spain and England will approach their final two fixtures safe in the knowledge that their place in next summer's finals is secure, as is the Netherlands' after they completed their campaign last month, several of the continent's leading nations still have work to do.

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How long does he have left?

With Portugal on the verge of non-qualification for the World Cup in 2010, manager Carlos Queiroz is under extreme pressure and has the very real possibility of unemployment looming over him. Given this threat, and inevitability that this will occur, I ask you.

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According to Sport, back in January 2008, a secret meeting between a then unemployed Jose Mourinho and Barcelona directors Marc Ingla and Txiki Begiristain, who were looking for someone to replace Frank Rijkaard as manager. At the suggestion of Mourinho's agent, Jorge Mendes, the meeting was held in the boardroom of a bank in Lisbon "to avoid being recognized".

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New arrival Freddy Adu hopes to see some time coming off the bench against his former team as Belenenses host Benfica on Sunday afternoon at Estadio do Restelo in Lisbon. Click to continue reading...

.Arsenal Transfered In: Thomas Vermaelen (Ajax, £11m), Damian Martinez (Club Athletico Independiente, £1.3m), Jamie Edge (Cheltenham, undisc) Transfered Out: Abu Ogogo (Dag & Red, free), Amaury Bischoff (Academica de Coimbra, free), Emmanuel Adebayor (Man C, £25m), Kolo Toure (Man C, £14m), Jay Simpson (QPR, loan), James Dunne (Exeter, free), Rui Fonte (Lisbon, free), Rene Steer (Oldham, free), [. Click to continue reading...

Benfica have loaned 20 year old American striker Freddy Adu out to another Portuguese side, Lisbon based Belenenses, after a reported attempted move to Danish club Odense fell through. Click to continue reading...

After a summer of uncertainty Benfica attacker Freddy Adu has joined Lisbon based club Belenenses on a one-year loan. Click to continue reading...

After a long saga of speculation and rumor, Freddy Adu finally has found a destination for a season-long loan away from Benfica. For awhile, Odense BK of Denmark appeared to be close to finalizing a deal that would have brought the 20 year old American into the SAS Liga, but the negotiations stalled over Adu's salary. Click to continue reading...

Lyon have pulled off a master stroke selling Karim Benzema for £35m and buying this unheralded hero for half that figure.
My buddy Pedro in Lisbon has been singing López's praises for a while now. Nothing against Lyon, but it is surprising that he wasn't snatched up by a "bigger" club. Click to continue reading...

. There were some interesting results in the play-off stage in the Champions League, and some teams progressed with pride into the biggest club competition in Europe, while for some other, it was a case of a slip between the cup and the lip. Cypriot First Division club APOEL FC overturned a 1-0 deficit with a 3-1 [. Click to continue reading...

Fiorentina will look to take advantage of their 2-2 draw in Lisbon in the first leg against Sporting when they host the Portuguese runners-up in the second leg of this Champions League play-off tie.
Wednesday 26 August, 20:45 CET
Stadio Artemio Franchi, Florence, Italia
Preview
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They've struck again. It looks like Cesc FÃ bregas will be out for up to three weeks with a hamstring problem. He'll certainly miss tonight's game against Celtic and probably Saturday's game at Old Trafford. Great. We really don't get a break with injuries, do we? <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office">

Arsène Wenger is copping a fair amount of flack from some Gooners for risking Cesc when he was carrying a hamstring tweak last weekend against Pompey.

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I wasn't a huge fan of the FOX broadcast yesterday. The whole thing (pregame, broadcast, highlights of other games, everything) seemed amateurish.
God save me, I longed for Tommy Smyth.
I know. Anyways, here are the scores:

• Celtic 0-2 Lucky Arsenal
  
• FC Copenhagen 1-0 Apoel Nicosia
  
• Sheriff Tiraspol 0-2 Olympiakos
  
• P.

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via HOLA

So Luis Figo and his ferosh family arrived in Roman Calderon's Ibiza yesterday to enjoy a little bit of a retreat on a fancy yacht. Well, ya'll know he recently retired from club football and would like to spend the rest of his days looking good for mujers like my mum.

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by GIANFRANCO PANIZO

You know you are in for a good week when Tuesday is filled with soccer action, and that is exactly what is happening this week.

A pair of Premier League games lead the way as Chelsea takes on Sunderland and Wigan Athletic plays Wolverhampton Wanderers.

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by GIANFRANCO PANIZO

You know you are in for a good week when Tuesday is filled with soccer action, and that is exactly what is happening this week.

A pair of Premier League games lead the way as Chelsea takes on Sunderland and Wigan Athletic plays Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Click to continue reading...