Saturday sees the penultimate day of World Cup qualifers with nine of the 32 places still up for
grab.
Already qualified
HOSTS: South Africa
AFRICA: Ghana, Ivory Coast
ASIA: Australia, Japan, North Korea, South Korea
EUROPE: Denmark, England, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland
S.
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Tottenham Hotspur revealed plans for a 56,000-seat rebuilding of White Hart Lane this week. An
undoubted step forward for Spurs, even if the undulating roof-line is a little unoriginal and
redolent of Arsenal's new gaff down the Seven Sisters road.
Ashburton Grove's extra capacity means Arsenal are coining in £3million per game, a revenue stream
Spurs at present can only dream of matching.
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Cometh the celebrity, cometh the hangers-on and there is no bigger hanger-on to English football
than Sky television as another Premier League season begins.
Nothing has ticked me off more this week than the invasive Sky adverts at the railway station where
I catch my daily train, in the free newspaper I read on the way to work and even on the internet
when I get home.
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Bobby Robson's passing was an event charitably marked by the soccer world. He left the world at 76
as one of the major coaches in the world with a CV as impressive as any.
While his two heroic World Cup exits dominated most of the obituaries, his achievements in coaching
winning teams in four countries are to my mind his greatest.
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Poor MLS. Just as European observers were calling it a credible league they go and ruin it all
by fining their star man the equivalent of a night out in Beverly Hills.
I am not sure who thought $1,000 (£608) would be a suitable fine for David Beckham's
confronting a drunken fan last week but it has made MLS somewhat of a laughing stock among its
new-found followers, who had taken a lot of notice following GoldenBalls' wee altercation in the
first place: Beckham and the Galaxy have occupied column inches in all the British media this
week.
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The UEFA u21 Championship gets slowly bigger every two years, but remains half in shadow, a curious
sideshow to the bigger tournaments.
Clashing with the FIFA Confederations Cup meant more international eyes were focused on South
Africa, even in UEFA's backyard, since two European nations were involved (Italy & Spain).
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One well-known Barcelona man who was certainly not thrilled by the Blaugrana's Champions League
triumph against Manchester United was Carlos Ruiz Zafon, author of international publishing
phenomenon 'The Shadow of the Wind' and the biggest-selling contemporary writer in Spanish.
The Catalan capital is the setting for Zafon's works, which have been translated into 45 languages,
but the 'mes que un club' (more than a club) mantra has never been one of his.
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Over 100 scouts registered to attend the UEFA u21 Championship which has just finished in
Sweden. Previous participants have included Raul, Luis Figo, Frank Lampard, Henrik Larsson, Eric
Cantona and Zinedine Zidane.
Here are the rising stars who caught my eye -
#1 - MARCUS BERG, 22,
Groningen & Sweden The hottest shot of the tournament began
with a hat-trick and ended with seven goals in four games.
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UEFA u21 Championship Final
Germany 4:0 England
Germany pricked the bubble surrounding Sturat Pearce's England u21s by blanking them 4-0 in the
UEFA u21 final in Malmo.
Werder Bremen's Mesut Ozil, one of the best midifielders in the tournament, was the ringleader of
the tormentors as Pearce's dream of Euro glory once more foundered at Teutonic feet.
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UEFA u21 Championship Final, Malmo, Sweden
England v Germany
After a ding-dong semi final in which they threw away a three-goal lead before winning 5-4 on
penalties, England return to Malmo for the final of the UEFA u21 Championship.
Stuart Pearce will be missing three key players through suspension - goalkeeper Joe Hart and
forwards Gabriel Agbonlahor and Fraizer Campbell, which means Theo Walcott should take on a central
striking role against the Germans, who edged Italy 1-0 to reach the final.
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FIFA Confederations Cup Final, Johannesburg
BRAZIL 3:2 USA
USA - Dempsey 10'
USA - Donovan 27'
BRA- Luis Fabiano 46'
BRA- Luis Fabiano 74'
BRA- Lucio 84'
Brazil retained the Confederations Cup after a real game of two halves at Ellis Park saw the United
States take a shock 2-0 lead before succumbing to a Brazilian tempest in the second half to lose
3-2.
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Any coach who can afford to leave Theo Walcott out of his team is a lucky one.
But when that team is the England U21s and Walcott has started the last two games for the
National Team, the manager opens himself up to scrutiny. Is the team really that good? Or is there
another reason?
Predictably, journalists have latched onto Pearce's sporadic use of his best player as a story
to run with and them to interrogate him on at every opportunity.
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Soccerphile Exclusive: England's u21 revelation Andrew Driver
Andrew Driver is not exactly a name on many fans' lips, but after a stellar debut for the England
u21 side against Germany on Monday, expect to hear more of this young talent soon.
The 21 year-old from Lancashire, who plays his football north of the border with Heart of
Midlothian, was a revelation on the right-wing, storming up the flanks and leading the Germans a
merry dance with his penetrative runs, until coach Stuart Pearce decided to rest his ace after 71
minutes' of a more than satisfactory debut.
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It's do or die now as the UEFA U21 enters its semi-final stage.
Germany tackle the Italians in Helsingborg while a tasty clash is on the menu in Gothenburg, where
a sell-out crowd is expected for Sweden v England.
A united Germany has yet to reach the finals while Italy have featured in five of the last nine u21
finals, winning four of them.
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Soccerphile Exclusive:
Manchester United & Serbia's Zoran Tosic
Manchester United's Serbian u21 star Zoran Tosic has said he will leap at the chance of
replacing Cristiano Ronaldo at Old Trafford next season if given the opportunity.
The skilful winger, signed by United from FK Partizan in January's transfer window, has been
wowing the crowds in this summer's UEFA u21 tournament in Sweden, leading to talk that he might be
about to step into Ronaldo's shoes now the Portuguese star has left for Real Madrid.
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UEFA u21 Championship, Sweden 2009
Sweden 3-1 Serbia, Malmo, 19,820
Italy 2-1 Belarus, Helsingborg, 3,014
Sweden and Italy advanced to the semi-finals tonight leaving Belarus and Serbia to pack their
bags.
The hosts downed Serbia 3-1 in front of almost 20,000 fans in Malmo, the championship's biggest
crowd yet, with tournament top gunner Marcus Berg scoring twice in the first quarter of an hour to
lift his goal tally to five.
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UEFA u21 Championship, Group B
England 1:1 Germany
Halmstad, Sweden - Germany booked their place in the semi-finals after drawing 1-1 with a
second-string England in Halmstad this evening.
When Gonzalo Castro fired Germany into a fourth-minute lead, it looked like Stuart Pearce's
weakened team selection would backfire into humiliation, but England fought back and deservedly
equalised through Everton's Jack Rodwell on the half hour.
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Gothenburg: Finland v SpainHalmstad: England v GermanyThe second semi-finalist will be decided today, with England already through to the knock-out
stages. After a two-day hiatus to coincide with Sweden's national midsummer holiday, the football
begins again in earnest.
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In an extraordinary reversal of fortune the
USA made it through to the
Confederations Cup semi-finals after defeating Egypt 3-0 in Rustenberg.
Italy's 0-3 reverse to Brazil in the coinciding match meant the Americans advanced on goals scored
with three teams left on three points at the end of the group stage.
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UEFA u21 Championship:
Serbia 0:o BelarusMalmo- The two East European nations in the finals battled to a scoreless draw in Malmo, leaving
all four teams in Group A with a chance of making the semi-finals in the final round of first-games
on Tuesday.
The Serbs could yet be the dark horses of the UEFA U21 tournament.
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UEFA u21 Championship: England 2:0 SpainNew Ullevi Stadium, Gothenburg
England eased into the semi-finals of the European U21 championship after comfortably disposing of
a disappointing Spain in Gothenburg.
On a blustery and chilly evening by the Baltic, two second half goals from Fraizer Campbell and
James Milner gave Stuart Pearce's team its second straight win and passage along with Germany into
the last four.
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UEFA u21 Championship: England v SpainGothenburg- An intriguing clash of styles in Gothenburg tonight between England, 2-1 conquerors of
Finland, and Spain, who need to get points on the board after tying Germany 0-0 in their first
game.
The Germans lead the group by a point after downing the Finns 2-0 earlier today, but England can
overtake them with a win tonight.
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UEFA u21 ChampionshipFor the first half hour, the host nation appeared much like the venue, Malmo's New Stadium, a giant
Ikea-like essay in dark minimalism, functional and well-designed, but lacking zest in its final
conception.
The Swedes kept their shape well and pressed in numbers when Belarus had the ball, but had
forgotten how to forge an end product from all their homework.
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So Manchester United and Real Madrid hatched the Ronaldo snatch a year ago, if ex-President Ramon
Calderon is to be believed.
"Last season, Manchester United decided not to do it because they thought it was too
early," Calderon told BBC Radio.
"Everyone involved in the operation agreed to do it this
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A parting salute to Paolo Maldini, who finally hung up his AC Milan boots today aged almost 41
after a quarter century at the top. The legendary left-back left the field to a standing ovation as
his beloved Rossoneri topped Fiorentina 2-0 in Florence.
A cornerstone of world football disappears after an astonishing story: He first played for Milan
aged 16 in 1985 and went on to win five European Cups and seven Serie A titles as well as the
appearance records for Serie A and Italy, for whom he made 126 appearances.
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What were UEFA hoping for when they awarded tomorrow's Champions League final to Rome?
Alfresco pasta and vino in the Italian sun, no doubt, as Puccini wafts through the ancient walls of
the Centro Storico and evening strollers pause beside the Trevi Fountain to contemplate 'La Dolce
Vita' over a gelato and espresso.
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As closing days of the Premier League go, today's was incredibly flat.
There was no to-ing and fro-ing, no nail-biting tension nor edge-of-the-seat excitement. The three
teams involved in relegation struggle, the tedious battle for the title having been decided
already, ended up losing, leaving the league table unchanged from last week.
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I once entered 'The Rising Dough Bakery', a small establishment in central Cardiff, wearing an Ajax
t-shirt. The old Dutchman who worked there, well into his '70s at least, took one look at my attire
and said with a wistful smile, "I used to play for them, you know."
Half incredulous, I demanded he told me more, so he rolled off a string of hazy memories of
football in wartime Amsterdam.
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Off-field, it was such a colourful week, England's 0-2 defeat to Spain, Fabio Capello's first as
national team manager, was a mere footnote.
Chelsea's firing of Luis Felipe Scolari and the tug-of-love for David Beckham between LA and AC
were bigger news, but the Three Lions' defeat deserved more column inches.
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"There was total confusion. Not one of them had a clear idea of what was going on, not a
clue."
Kaka's damning words confirmed the egg is stuck
fast to the face of the blue half of Manchester, following a shockingly public humiliation which
made City the laughing stock of the soccer world and a source of overflowing schadenfreude from Old
Trafford to Olduvai.
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Nottingham is best known for Robin Hood, and a statue to the famous outlaw is perhaps the city's
most famous photo op.
But today Hood has a rival as an eight-foot memorial to legendary coach Brian Clough was unveiled
in front of thousands in the city's main square today. Clough died in 2004 but his legend
grows:
Duncan Hamilton's memory of him, 'Provided you don't kiss me' is the UK's Sports Book of the Year,
and David Peace's stunning novel about Cloughie's ill-fated 44 days in charge of Leeds, 'The Damned
United', is released as a feature film next year.
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"Switch and Spurs, switch and spurs; or I'll cry a match", Romeo & Juliet II,
iv
Tottenham's travails go on after they fell 2-0
away at Udinese in the UEFA Cup.
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