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As the dust clears from the
impact of the news that Fabio Capello had called it a day
with/been fired by England, the Football Association have a minor headache to deal with in their
search for a replacement.
Harry Redknapp has had his name on the job for some time, at least since Tottenham Hotspur's
dazzling display in last year's Champions League convinced the doubters he could cut it in
international football.
The mystery surrounding the death of Wales coach Gary Speed unraveled somewhat today at the
official inquest.
While the coroner concluded there was not enough hard evidence to record a deliberate suicide,
instead of just a cry for help presumably, we did learn that Speed and his wife had been having
problems in their marriage and had rowed on the night he died.
The final lineup for next summer's European Championship in Poland & Ukraine is now set
after tonight's playoff second legs, with a strong field of sixteen heading for Eastern Europe.
There were no winning fightbacks following the first legs and Portugal, the Czech Republic, the
Republic of Ireland and Croatia all advanced to Euro 2012, eliminating respectively Bosnia &
Herzogovina, Montenegro, Estonia and Turkey.
England 1:0 Spain
Wembley Stadium, London
Wembley was full, sold on the dream of the king's touch, as the world's No.1
soccer nation Spain dropped by for an evening.
A strange pre-match atmosphere, as the usual patriotic fantasy rang increasingly hollow: No-one
expected England to win and most were hoping for a defeat short of embarrassing.
England will be allowed to wear poppies on their shirts against Spain on Saturday after
all, albeit as an armband.
An extraordinary row had been stirred up after the Football Association announced the England team
would sport the Remembrance Day flower for their friendly against the World Champions.
Manchester United 1:6 Manchester City
Scorelines don't come much more amazing than Sunday's Mancunian derby, but was there really much
reason to celebrate, however many records tumbled at Old Trafford?
With a few days' recuperation from that shellshock of a final score, can the result be deemed a
welcome riposte to or even wholescale power shift from the hegemony of moneybags Chelsea and
Manchester United, or another symptom of the obscene, out-of-control spending in the English top
division which is upsetting its natural order of competition?
FIFA have released the dates and venues for the matches of the 2014 World Cup finals in
Brazil, with the patience of traveling supporters set to be tested once again.
Instead of keeping group games within a couple of venues located close to one-another, as used to
be the norm, fans will face trips of up to 2,000 miles in order to watch all of their nation's
opening clashes.
Morocco will host both the 2013 and 2014 FIFA Club World Cups.
Iran, South Africa and the U.A.E. all withdrew their bids, leaving FIFA to bring the competition to
Africa for the first time. The hosting is set to be rubber-stamped in Zurich in December.
The North African nation has a strong soccer tradition, and the national team memorably became the
first African nation to win a group in the World Cup Finals, topping England, Portugal and Poland
at Mexico '86, before losing to a late Lothar Matthaus goal from eventual finalists West Germany in
the next round.
Richard Bevan of England's League Managers Association inadvertently raised the frightening
prospect of a breakaway from the Premier League when he mentioned some club owners
wanted to do away with promotion to and relegation from the
Premier League.
The end to an arduous 22-year campaign for truth surrounding the Hillsborough disaster
could at last be in sight as the UK government has confirmed it will release all contemporary
documents relating to the day in question.
After a 139,000-strong online petition and a moving parliamentary debate
led Home Secretary Theresa May to announce up to 300,000 files will be
released.
Michel Platini has said he is at last confident Ukraine can host Euro 2012.
After several 'last chance' warnings over the past three years, the UEFA boss can tear a few fewer
hairs out now the four stadia do seem to be on track for next summer.
"A year ago, we were deciding whether to leave four or two cities," Platini told reporters on a
tour of Kharkiv.
* Reborn Napoli celebrated returning to the top of Serie A with a 3-1 home win over Milan,
with echoes of titanic clashes between the north and south's giants in the era of Diego Maradona.
Uruguayan striker Edinson Cavani scored a hat-trick.
*The quest for a level playing-field in Spain goes on.
*We might be marveling at the brilliance of Barcelona every time the blaugrana grace the
field, and shake our heads at the bottomless bank account of Real Madrid, but the Spanish league is
as absurdly top-heavy and devalued as the Scottish league.
The two giants won 5-0 and 6-0 respectively on the opening day of the Spanish season, leaving
Villareal president Fernando Roig to exclaim in anguish, "It's a third-world league in which two
clubs are sapping the TV money.
Sepp Blatter's comments to a Brazilian magazine prove once and for all he is not fit to run
football.
"We have bad losers in FIFA," the FIFA President told Estado de Sao Paolo. "This animosity
comes from England," he went on. "Interesting is the timing of the accusations.
'8-2, eight bloody two' as Michael Palin almost said in Ripping Yarns (8-1).
The morning after Arsenal's worst defeat since 1896 was a sobering one.
The 8-2 capitulation at Old Trafford was slow-motion carnage or schadenfreude at its sweetest,
depending on your opinon of the Gunners and Mr Wenger.
England's Premier League kicked off again on Saturday and another long and gruelling season
beckons.
Manchester United, the team most likely to win it, have most of their first-choice defence injured
already. While other nations take a breather over Christmas and New Year, England keeps its players
charging over hard pitches in freezing weather, increasing the likelihood of burnout and
injury.
*Shinji Kagawa hit a brace and Keisuke Honda added another as Japan downed South Korea 3-0
in Sapporo. Players wore black armbands in honour of former Japanese international Naoki Matsuda,
who died a week ago, and observed a minute's silence.
*Tottenham's home match with Everton on Saturday has been postponed as the clean-up continues
following the riots in London.
The violence which has traumatised London for the past four days has led to the
cancellation of several games, including the England v Netherlands international friendly.
With Britain in a daze from the unexpected rioting and looting which has now spread to several
cities, the Football Association had no choice but to cancel Wednesday's Wembley match, with all
available police urgently needed to regain control of the streets.
Jason Cowley, author of that memorable book about Arsenal and the end of the old First
Division, 'The Last Game', has penned a pertinent take on the current dilemma for manager Arsene
Wenger.
Starved of funds for reinforcements and with his best players Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri
wanting to leave, the Frenchman's dream of an Ajax on the Thames looks to have stalled perhaps for
good.
* Saturday night in Rio sees the draw for the 2014 World Cup qualifiers for all except
South America (CONMEBOL).
All eyes will be on the European draw where 1998 World Cup winners France have been downgraded to
the second pot, meaning they will play one of the top seeds England, Spain, Holland,
Germany, Portugal, Italy, Croatia, Norway or Greece.
The USA have fired Bob Bradley as their manager.
The New Jersey-born coach was relieved of his duties today after five years at the helm.
Last month's loss to Mexico in the CONCACAF Gold Cup final proved his undoing, as the US had led
2-0 in that game before capitulating embarrassingly 4-2 and the
defeat also meant they missed out on the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup.
Five of the eight places for the 2013 Confederations Cup have now been decided and already
the line-up looks tasty already.
BRAZIL - Hosts
SPAIN - World Cup holders
JAPAN - Asian Cup 2011 winners
MEXICO - Gold Cup 2011 winners
URUGUAY - Copa America 2011 winners
These famous five will be joined by the winners of Euro 2012, the 2013 African Nations Cup and next
year's Oceania championship.
Banned Ex.Co. member Mohamed Bin Hammam has slammed Sepp Blatter and Chuck Blazer following his
expulsion from football last week.
He compared Blatter to a tyrant wiping out his rivals and called for Blazer to go before the FIFA
Ethics Committee for receiving suspicious payments.
Bemoaning his life ban from football, the former Asian Football Confederation chief told Sky News,
"This is the act of the dictators and we have witnessed this through history.
London 2012 Chief and former Olympic champion Sebastian Coe has said he will
focus uniquely on athletics following next summer's games, quashing hopes he may
develop his career in football politics instead.
"My focus post-2012 will be track and field, absolutely," Coe told Reuters.
COPA AMERICA 2011 FINAL
Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina
URUGUAY 3 : 0 PARAGUAY
Suarez 12', Forlan 42', 89'
Uruguay won the Copa America by a canter this afternoon to confirm themselves as undisputed
champions of South America.
From early on it was clear that the World Cup semi-finalists were the better team.
URUGUAY v PARAGUAY
Sunday 1600h Buenos Aires, Argentina
Uruguay and Paraguay are getting ready to fight it out for the Copa America on Sunday in Buenos
Aires.
It has been a cup of shocks, with Argentina, Brazil and Colombia surprisingly falling by the
wayside, but in the end two consistent sides who qualified for the 2010 World Cup have reached the
final.
A personal view -
One story has been suffocating all other news in Britain this week - the phone hacking furore
surrounding Rupert Murdoch's media empire.
Journalists have been arrested, senior policemen have resigned, politicians of both main parties
are scrambling to deny their links to News International, Hugh Grant has led the prosecution and
tonight comes news of the sudden death of a whistleblower.
BRAZIL 0:0 PARAGUAY aet; Paraguay won 2-0 on penalties
CHILE 1:2 VENEZUELA Vizcarrondo 34' (0-1), Suazo 69' (1-1), Cichero 80' (1-2)
After Colombia and hosts Argentina exited on Saturday, Sunday's 2011 Copa America claimed the
biggest scalp of all - Brazil. Much fancied Chile also lost, 2-1 to Venezuela, emerging like Peru
as the surprise package of the tournament.
FIFA WOMEN'S WORLD CUP FINAL 2011
JAPAN 2:2 USA aet; 1-1 at 90mins, Japan won 3-1 on penalties.
Morgan 69', Miyama 81', Wambach 104', Sawa 117'
Frankfurt 48,817
Japan's first football World Cup.
An action-packed final and a great advert for the women's game.
COPA AMERICA 2011
COLOMBIA 0-2 PERU aet
ARGENTINA 1-1 URUGUAY aet; 1-1 at 90mins; Uruguay won 5-4 on penalties.
Peru and Uruguay are the surprise semi-finalists after Colombia and host nation Argentina
fell by the wayside yesterday.
The Peruvians needed two extra-time goals in Cordoba to overcome Colombia, who hit the woodwork
twice adn missed a second-half penalty through Falcao.
FIFA World Cup 2014 Qualification
It might seem a world away, but for some countries, the 2014 World Cup has already finished.
Qualifiers for the finals in Brazil began in June, and these nations will be watching FIFA's big
party on television having been eliminated:
Afghanistan
Anguilla
Aruba
British Virgin IslandsCambodia
Chinese Taipei
East Timor
Macao
Mongolia
Pakistan
Sri LankaTurks and Caicos
And at the end of today, Montserrat look likely to join them, trailing Belize 5-2 from their home
leg.
Sat 16th July
A) Colombia v Peru 16:00
B) Argentina v Uruguay 19:15
Sun 17th July
C) Brazil v Paraguay 16:00
D) Chile v Venezuela 19:15
Semi-finals: 19th July A v B, 20th July
C v D;
Final: 24th July
It's still all set for a traditional Brazil v Argentina final on the 24th of July but Argentina's
ropey form in their first two games means the hosts' passage to Buenos Aires is less than
certain.
FIFA Women's World Cup 2011
Semi-finals
JAPAN 3:1 SWEDEN Frankfurt 45,434
USA 3:1 FRANCE Moenchengladbach, 25,676
Japanese football continues its rise as its women's team reached their first ever World Cup Final
today.
Having dispatched the hosts Germany in the quarter-final, the Nadeshiko
swept Sweden aside with aplomb, coming from behind to win by three goals to one.
COPA AMERICA 2011: Argentina 3:0 Costa Rica
They had to win to survive, but in the end Argentina qualified comfortably for the last eight of
the Copa America with a 3:0 thrashing of Costa Rica in Cordoba.
Fears of a humiliating elimination proved unfounded; The Albiceleste never broke a sweat and at
with a static Costa Rican defence and a game which was played at almost walking pace at times, the
meeting between the hosts and the guests had the whiff of a friendly.
FIFA U-17 World Cup Final
Mexico 2:0 Uruguay, Azteca Stadium, Mexico City, 98,943
It all ended sweetly for the host nation as Mexico's Under 17 team won the World Cup in front of a
partisan sea of green in the Azteca today.
Captain Antonio Briseno's goal just after the half hour gave the home team
the cushion and Giovani Casillas' breakaway finish in injury time at the end of the 90 sealed a
perfect day for El Tri.
Bolivia became the first nation to be eliminated from the 2011 Copa America, going down 0-2
to Colombia in Santa Fe.
It was Chelsea target Falcao who scored both goals for Los Cafeteros, the first having sprung the
Bolivian offside trap high up the field in the 14th minute, and the second a penalty just short of
the half hour.
FIFA Womens World Cup 2011 Quarter-Finals
Japan 1:0 Germany aet
France 1:1 England aet; France won 4-3 on penalties
Japan's women's team recorded a famous victory in Wolfsburg by knocking out hosts and World Cup
holders Germany 1-0 after extra time, while France needed penalties to get past a dogged England in
Leverkusen.
Copa America 2011, Cordoba
Brazil 2:2 Paraguay
1-0 Jadson 38', 1-1 Santa Cruz 54', 1-2 Valdez 66', 2-2 Fred 89'.
Group B could be becoming the group of death in this year's Copa America after a third consecutive
draw.
Jadson, the Shakhtar Donetsk midfielder, gave Brazil a first-half lead with a long-range effort but
a shock was soon on the cards after the break as Roque Santa Cruz equalised for Paraguay and then
Nelson Haedo Valdez gave La Albirroja the lead in the 66th minute.
The tournament's two most impressive teams, Brazil and Germany,
who had netted a total of 30 goals between them, will be playing for third
place after being knocked out of the FIFA U-17 World Cup in the semi-finals.
Brazil were not at the races in Guadalajara, falling 3-0 to Uruguay, while the German juggernaut
came off the road at last in Torreon, losing 3-2 to hosts Mexico having led 2-1 on the
hour.
Copa America 2011
Argentina 0:0 Colombia
The host nation has embarked on a round of navel-gazing following a second successive draw in the
Copa America.
On a foggy night in Santa Fe, Argentina, despite boasting the likes of Lionel Messi and Carlos
Tevez in their lineup, failed to catch fire and stumbled listlessly to a goalless finish with
Colombia.
