Fotos: Francisco Paraíso
Poderia falar de outros jogadores cuja classe e dedicação são comprovadas, Ricardo Carvalho, Deco, Raul Meireles, Paulo Ferreira, Eduardo, Duda, Cristiano Ronaldo, Nani, Simão, Bosingwa, Danny, Tiago, Pedro Mendes, entre outros, mas querendo eleger aqueles que num determinado momento foram decisivos para a nossa qualificação, elegeria, sem dúvidas, Pepe, Bruno Alves e Liedson. Click to continue reading...

The UEFA 2010 World Cup Qualifying Playoffs had their second legs on Wednesday, November 18, 2009. One of the match-ups was Portugal v Bosnia-Herzegovina, where Portugal led 1-0 after the first leg. Who was able to win and advance to South Africa next summer? Here's a recap of the match along with video highlights.

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Off a defender, off a post, in the net. Mr. Anelka took care of business away for France, making their trip to South Africa look pretty likely. As Jack posted earlier this week, Nico likes being the supporting striker, but that doesn't mean he doesn't like to let it rip on occasion.

Also in action today, Deco, Ricardo Carvalho, and Paulo Ferreira all played as Portugal won 1-0 against Bosnia, as Hilario, who won his first callup for Portugal, didn't make the bench.

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On Saturday 14th November 2009, Portugal play Bosnia-Herzegovina in the first leg of their World Cup playoff. This is a really tough one to predict for me, as Portugal have really struggled in the group stage and Bosnia appear to have a strong side. Sports retailers will certainly be hoping for a Portuguese victory, as they are likely to be one of the best selling World Cup Jerseys likely to be among the best selling kits next summer.

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On Saturday 14th November 2009, Portugal play Bosnia-Herzegovina in the first leg of their World Cup playoff. This is a really tough one to predict for me, as Portugal have really struggled in the group stage and Bosnia appear to have a strong side. Sports retailers will certainly be hoping for a Portuguese victory, as they are likely to be one of the best selling World Cup Jerseys likely to be among the best selling kits next summer.

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Just before the game yesterday between Man United and Chelsea, when the team news came through and there was no Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic or Dimitar Berbatov in the starting line-up, I was worried. We were going to Stamford Bridge without three of our main players but at the end of the game, I was disappointed for a totally different reason. Click to continue reading...

Portugal coach Carlos Queiroz has announced his squad for the upcoming World Cup playoff against Bosnia coming up on November 14, 2009 and November 18, 2009.Goaltenders: Eduardo (Braga), Hilario (Chelsea), Rui Patricio (Sporting)Defenders: Pepe (Real Madrid), Miguel (Valencia), Paulo Ferreira (Chelsea), Ricardo Carvalho (Chelsea), Bruno Alves (FC Porto), Rolando (FC Porto), Ricardo Costa ( Click to continue reading...

From Stamford Bridge, Attendance 41,836 , Referee Martin Atkinson Chelsea 1 0 Manchester United

John Terry (76)

View Video Highlights Chelsea Team Statistics Manchester United 1 Goals 0 6 Shots On Target 2 3 Shots Off Target 9 3 Shots Blocked 7 0 Corners 7 1 Offsides 2 13 Fouls 15 3 Yellow Cards 3 0 Red Cards 0 46. Click to continue reading...

Portugal will most likely be missing Cristiano Ronaldo when it hosts Bosnia-Herzegovina on 11/14/09 as it looks to build some momentum prior to the return leg in Bosnia on the 18th of November. Unfortunately for the Portuguese the latest report claims Ronaldo will be out for about a month which means he will not feature in both matches for the national team.

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Just two months into the 2009-2010 season, the "big four" of Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool have lost 10 matches combined. Compare that with 18 matches lost by the league's elite combined in the entirety of last season, and it's clear that either the big four are weaker, or the rest of the league is getting stronger.

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Vá lá parece que não houve retaliação, foi só uma ameaça. Quando as coisas não correm bem, é sempre mais fácil responsabilizar os portugas que os da casa. Click to continue reading...

Atletico Madrid presented little in the way of resistance during Chelsea's 4-0 Champions League shellacking of young Kun's temporary home in midweek. Saturday's contest against Sam Allardyce's Blackburn Rovers should prove a different prospect all together.

As Wigan, Stoke and Villa have shown, the Blues are lightweight aerially at the moment.

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Com nove golos em 10 jogos, Edin Dzeko é a maior figura da selecção da Bósnia-Herzegovina que vai defrontar Portugal no "play-off" de apuramento para o Mundial'2010. O avançado do Wolfsburgo, segundo melhor marcador do campeonato germânico da temporada passada, apenas falhou 10 minutos no apuramento. Click to continue reading...

Four more Chelsea players helped their countries qualify for next year's World Cup in South Africa over the weekend. Michael Ballack captained Germany into the finals. Salomon Kalou and Didier Drogba propelled Ivory Coast to its second consecutive WC appearance. And Branislav Ivanovic powered Serbia into the mix.

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Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher all missed their penalties in the last World Cup quarter finals against Portugal. Owen Hargreaves was the only man to find the back of the net.

The game had finished 0-0 after extra time, with Wayne Rooney getting sent off for an incident involving Ricardo Carvalho.

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...remembers stamping on Portugal's Ricardo Carvalho in the World Cup quarter-final in Germany and the subsequent theatrics from Ronaldo and his red card.There's a certain lack of sympathy therefore at Portugal's struggle to qualify for 2010.

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Liverpool have conceded 10 goals in their seven Premier League games - only six teams have let in more - and their zonal marking system has come in for criticism.
So as they travel to Chelsea on Sunday to face some of the best headers the league has to offer in Didier Drogba, John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho, Sportsmail talks to Anfield legend Phil Thompson about the pros and cons of zonal and man-to-man marking and how each one works. Click to continue reading...

Portugal coach Carlos Queiroz has announced his squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers coming up on October 10, 2009 against Hungary and October 14, 2009 against Malta.Goaltenders: Eduardo (Braga), Beto (FC Porto), Rui Patricio (Sporting)Defenders: Pepe (Real Madrid), Bosingwa (Chelsea), Paulo Ferreira (Chelsea), Ricardo Carvalho (Chelsea), Bruno Alves (FC Porto), Rolando (FC Porto), Click to continue reading...

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The� hottest debates from the footballing channels yesterday was of course the referee's ability to tell the time. But the other interesting topic which ballooned through the evening was the subject of Ricardo Carvalho's slide tackle on Robbie Keane in the penalty area, in the London derby. It sparked off furious debate on football phone-in shows. Click to continue reading...

Rafa should seriously consider this deal.

According to a report in The Daily Mail, English giants Liverpool and German powerhouse Bayern Munich are closely monitoring the situation of Chelsea centre-back Alex.

The strong defender's current deal is due to expire in the summer of 2010, and the 27-year-old reportedly wants a longer deal than the two-year extension offered by the Blues.

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Reliable centre back is considering his options.

According to a report in The Daily Mail, English giants Liverpool and German powerhouse Bayern Munich are closely monitoring the situation of Chelsea centre-back Alex.

The strong defender's current deal is due to expire in the summer of 2010, and the 27-year-old reportedly wants a longer deal than the two-year extension offered by the Blues.

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Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez is ready make a shock move for Chelsea defender Alex as he bids to boost his defensive options at Anfield.
The Brazil international is out of contract at Stamford Bridge next summer and, as a free agent, is attracting a number of high-profile clubs.
Sportsmail understands that the 27-year-old wants a longer deal than the two-year extension offered by Chelsea. Click to continue reading...

Chelsea: Siege, Intrigue and Champions League

The Chelsea transfer embargo detonated by Fifa this week will have massive and perturbing repercussions. Even with Chelsea delaying proceeding and stagnating the affect of the transfer prohibition by deploying a stalling bureaucracy the outcome appears inevitable.

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Chelsea have submitted their 25 man squad list for this season's group stages of the Champions League. The 25 players listed are:Petr Cech, Branislav Ivanovic, Ashley Cole, Michael Essien, Ricardo Carvalho, Frank Lampard, Joe Cole, Didier Drogba, John Mikel Obi, Michael Ballack, Florent Malouda, Jose Bosingwa, Yury Zhirkov, Deco, Saloman Kalou, Ross Turnbull, Daniel Sturridge, John Terry, Alex, Click to continue reading...

Chelsea have submitted their 25 man squad list for this season's group stages of the Champions League. The 25 players listed are:Petr Cech, Branislav Ivanovic, Ashley Cole, Michael Essien, Ricardo Carvalho, Frank Lampard, Joe Cole, Didier Drogba, John Mikel Obi, Michael Ballack, Florent Malouda, Jose Bosingwa, Yury Zhirkov, Deco, Saloman Kalou, Ross Turnbull, Daniel Sturridge, John Terry, Alex, Click to continue reading...

Portugal coach Carlos Queiroz has announced his squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers coming up on September 5, 2009 against Denmark and September 9, 2009 against Hungary.Goaltenders: Eduardo (Braga), Beto (FC Porto), Rui Patricio (Sporting)Defenders: Pepe (Real Madrid), Bosingwa (Chelsea), Miguel (Valencia), Ricardo Carvalho (Chelsea), Bruno Alves (FC Porto), Rolando (FC Porto), Jose Click to continue reading...

The long and dangerous saga of Jonathan Greening has ended, and now he is a Fulham player.� ("Greening signs!" says an excited email from the club.)� Annoyingly, he wasn't registered for Saturday's game because his agent refused to sign off on the deal until 90 minutes beyond the deadline, following six hours of haggling over his cut in the deal.

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Monday was another light day on the transfer news and rumors front, but we still do have some top clubs looking to make reinforcements before time runs out.

Defense is still the order of the day, as a few Premier League clubs are in the market for additions at the back, while a couple of top European clubs are looking to add some quality on the flanks.

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Stupid deal that Mr. Ancelotti not even consider!

Despite Luciano Spalletti's declaration that Philippe Mexes would be staying put at Trigoria, the Giallorossi's management could be tempted by a bid from Carlo Ancelotti's Chelsea.

According to 4-4-2.com, Ancelotti wants Mexes to partner John Terry in central defence this season and is willing to pay €14m plus Portuguese international Ricardo Carvalho for the Frenchman.

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Nani opened the scoring in the Community Shield match against Chelsea last weekend and put in an all-round good performance. Sir Alex Ferguson reckoned that whoever chose Ricardo Carvalho as man of the match over Nani "obviously weren't watching the game".

The young Portuguese winger is in need of a good season and despite best bud Cristiano Ronaldo leaving, he seems as committed as ever.

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Chelsea Biggest Ins: Yuri Zhirkov on the left side of midfield should give Chelsea a steady, reliable option. Ross Turnbull will make a competent backup to Petr Cech. Daniel Sturridge could play the super-sub role off the bench when Chelsea...
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Sure, it's not really supposed to be a competitive match. So, you ask how can you really learn anything from it?

Well, if you watched today's CA you know it was actually far from a friendly encounter. There were body checks word to Michael Ballack and a fair share of jawings from both sides.

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No. 1 for England? You wouldn't start on my Sunday League team in L.A., mate
The countdown to the season is truly on now - just five days to go, and we got a taste of what's to come yesterday as Chelsea took down Manchester United in the Community Shield on penalties. I watched the match with pen and paper in hand - and here are some of my player specific reactions and ratings - on a scale of 1 (lowest) to 10 (highest). Click to continue reading...

You always want your team to win, whether it's a pre-season friendly, Community Shield or otherwise. When you're opponent is a title rival, of course you want to win.

When Nani opened the scoring against Chelsea yesterday, the reaction in the pub was of happiness but not the reaction we'd see in a game that really mattered.

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