The amazing Chipolopolos pull off the impossible as Gervinho misses his PK. The art of war, Sunzu Stophira made no mistake with his chance as Zambia win their first ACN.

A fairy tale end for a country who lost so much 19 years ago in one of sport's heart breaking tragedies minutes away from Libreville, the venue for today's finals.

Brad Friedel, amongst his peers, still going strong at 41 years old

A recent post by Jamie Trecker poses the question will the USA ever win the World Cup? And when will the USA ever produce its own Pele, if ever?

Trecker goes on to say that the USA has always produced top quality goalkeepers, the country's most visible export to overseas leagues in this sport.

A pearce-ing scream: The U21 coach is taking over for the Holland friendly

The players are all coming out of the woodwork. After keeping miserably silent and not offering an ounce of support for their former manager. Man, those must have been the toughest five years of their lives? But they're now tweeting their approval of Harry Redknapp as favourite to lead the Three Lions.

The winning goal for the Taranga Lions was all Gervinho in the 44th minute. The Arsenal winger robbed the ball well behind the half line, and then turned on the burners to blow past the Malian defense down the left channel, cutting in for a superb finish.

Arsenal cannot wait to have him back.

The amazing Chipolopolos scored the winning goal in the 77th minute as substitute Emmanuel Mayuka found space and on the turn curled a right footed shot past Adam Kwarsey in goal. It was probably the second chance for the Zambians and very much against the run of play.

The Black Stars should have gone ahead early as Asamoah Gyan missed out on a golden chance when his penalty was stopped by Kennedy Mweene (bringing back painful memories of his World Cup PK miss against Uruguay).

Harry Redknapp, David Bernstein, and Fabio Capello in Les Liaisons Dangereuses

A day ago, Harry Redknapp was in the dock on tax evasion charges. If proven guilty, it would end his chances to be England manager, a post that he has long coveted. Worse, as a convicted felon, the punishment could mean jail time and a leave of absence from football for a long, long time.

Slowly some of those long standing absences are working their way back into the Arsenal squad and not a moment too soon. The latest update has Kieran Gibbs ready and available for next week's Arsenal Champions League first leg against AC Milan if Wenger so desires. Thomas Vermaelen stuck at left back might finally get some relief and relocate to his more familiar centre back role with Laurent Koscielny.

C'mon 'Arry break out in a smile now!

Harry Redknapp's been found to be as clean as a whistle. The three week trial which took place at Southwark crown courts came to an end as both Redknapp and his former Pompey boss, Milan Mandaric were cleared of tax evasion charges with the prosecution building their case around the Peter Crouch sale which involved two transfer amounts totaling £189,000.

Fabio Capello showing what he thinks of the FA's decision to nix Terry's captaincy

The FA and Fabio Capello are increasingly at odds with each other over John Terry's captaincy. The Italian was vocal in his support of the Chelsea defender using the cover of the deferred legal case as a presumption of innocence till proven guilty.

Co-hosts Gabon looked like it was going to be headed to their best showing in any ACN when Eric Mouloungui shot them into the lead in the 55th minute. But Mali had other ideas as Cheick Diabate equalized in the 84th minute. At the end of extra time, with the two teams deadlocked, the fate of the match was decided on PK shootout.

Captain John Mensah puts Ghana ahead through his third international goal. Saber Khelifa equalized after beating Samuel Inkoom to a lofted ball. The match headed to extra time and in the 110th minute, Abedi Pele's son, Andre Ayew scored the winner after Tunisia's goalie, Aymen Mathlouthi coughed up Inkoom's cross right into his path.

Joey Barton's reaction to the FA's handling of the John Terry racial abuse case

A series of Tweets from Joey Barton on the John Terry racial abuse saga has England's Attorney General breathing hard down his neck. Barton's tweets summed up:

"This John Terry saga, has turned into one of the most hideously managed spectacles I have ever known.

Zambia cruised past Sudan, 3-0 to the semi-finals of the ACN, the first time since 1996. Sudan made things difficult for themselves after Ali Saif Eldin was sent off for his second violation when he brought down Rainford Kalaba in the 63rd minute. By that time the Chipolopolos (The Copper Miners) were already a goal up from Sunzu Stoppila.

Didier Drogba could not be denied as he made up for a missed penalty by pouring in a brace. Ivory Coast added another through Yaya Toure as they send Equatorial Guinea, the co-hosts, out of the ACN. The Taranga Lions are through to the semi-finals.

Drogba will be missing today's huge showdown with Man Utd, and in his absence, Chelsea is hoping that misfiring Fernando Torres and Daniel Sturridge, take up the goalscoring slack.

Anton, or is that your name? Now, touch my skin. Worship it.

One should ask the FA why they did such a thorough job investigating Luis Suarez's racial abuse of Patrice Evra and then drop the ball on John Terry doing the same against Anton Ferdinand? Suarez gets an eight match ban, while Terry gets rewarded with a deferment of his trial till after the 2012 Euro is over and retains his captaincy of the Three Lions to boot.

Egyptian soccer is in chaos, mirroring what that country is going through. The Egyptian prime minister dissolved the Egyptian Football Federation, Port Said's governor and police chief were sacked, and the Muslim Brotherhood launched a scathing attack on the Interior ministry, deeming it responsible for the violent Port Said clashes that left 74 dead and scores injured.

Sudan's chances in Group B resting on slim hopes were realized yesterday as they beat Burkina Faso through Mutahdir's brace and an underwhelming Angola lost to Cote D'Ivoire, 0-2. Former Arsenal full back Emmanuel Eboue gave the Ivoirians the lead and the second goal was a comedy of errors.

Novak Djokovic beat Rafal Nadal in a herculean Australian Open finals that lasted 6 hours. The same day Arsenal had to summon every fibre to overcome a two goal deficit to overcome Aston Villa and prevent a FA Cup exit.

And then there is the US Women's team that blanked Canada, 4-0, en route to winning the CONCACAF qualifiers to the London Olympics.

The evidence suggests that Gary Speed could have accidentally ended his life. Which of course makes it even more tragic. The Football Association of Wales announced his memorial match will be played against Costa Rica on Feb 29th. Speed began his international career playing that Central American country.

Fabio Cannavaro will begin his Indian journey this February

This Monday, the six franchises of the new IPL styled soccer league put down bids for the marquee players. Fabio Cannavaro, the 38 year old former Ballon D'Or defender drew the highest bid of $830,000 and was sold to Siliguri.

Carli Lloyd scores a hat trick, Heather O' Reilly chips in with another as USA easily beat Mexico, 4-0, to secure a semi-final spot against Costa Rica in the Olympics qualifiers. This result reversed their shocking loss to Mexico in the World Cup qualifiers which forced them into a playoff match.

Terrible defending by Senegal let them down. Bouna Condoul, the former NY Red Bulls goalie should have done better in the opening goal being caught out of position. Then the Zambians were able to beat the offside trap to score their second. The high powered attack led by Demba Ba, Moussa Sow, and Mamadou Niang could do little.

Here are the highlights of the USA vs Dominican Republic CONCACAF Olympics match played in Vancouver, BC. Abby Wambach and Co., made mincemeat of 88th seeded Dominican Republic. Amy Rodriguez scored five, Heather O' Reilly poured in another three as the US Women scored a record 14 goals to nil.

Indians will see Roberto Pires in action next month

Instant cricket, the 20/20 version has found a home in India's Premier league, one of the world's most lucrative sporting brands, till corruption eroded its worth. The success of the IPL is inspiring a new soccer league in India which will see the likes of Roberto Pires, Fabio Cannavaro, Juan Pablo Sorin, and others participating in a soccer competition styled on the IPL format.

At this point only World Cup success eludes him. But Leo Messi has done enough to earn himself a place in the pantheon of the greats. He was awarded the trophy by O Fenomeno looking none the worse for wear for someone recently recovering from dengue fever.

Messi beat out Cristiano Ronaldo, the Liga's top scorer last season, and his Barca team mate Xavi.

Flying high: A toast to RVP and hoping he continues his stellar form in 2012

Soccerblog readers, thanks for being with us. We ring in a new year full of soccer. The battle for European supremacy this summer will be the signature theme and we hope we can bring it to your doorstep in a manner of speaking.

Channel 5 is not engulfed in self congratulatory happiness at the prospect of showing Man Utd matches in the Europa Cup.

The Premiership club might lost out to the RN Caribbean patrol which documents the travels and travails of HMS Manchester waging war against the drug smugglers in the Caribbean.

How is it that the global game, the people's game followed by billions is ruled by a fraction of a fraction of an elite that plays by its own rules? The plutocracy have no need to be beholden. They enjoy no term limits, need no financial disclosures, and bilk billions of tax free dollars without qualm.

Here is what we don't need. In the summer the CONCACAF region was right in the midst of the Mohammed Bin Hammam scandal after Chuck Blazer revealed a money for votes rigging scheme that involved officials of the Caribbean Football Union receiving wads of cash from Bin Hammam for their support to replace Sepp Blatter as FIFA president.

Gone too soon

It has been a difficult period for the sport. This weekend, Socrates, the cerebral and commanding midfield general of the 1982 and 1986 Tele Santana led Brazilian teams passed away, battling the physical ravages of alcoholism. Last week, Gary Speed the effervescent Wales manager and Leeds standout tragically ended his life for reasons as yet unknown.

An example of what Dr. Socrates brought to the game:
More about Socrates here, here, and here. This goal - in Brazil's bitter loss to Italy in 1982 - is one I'll never forget. Tele Santana's Brazil was the best team at the World Cup, and despite losing, they were still world favorites.

Spain give Scotland a demonstration of passing skills at their finest.41 passes and then a goal.

The new Adidas outfits didn't help Scotland much.David Silva's opening goal came after 41 passes which took tiki taka to a new level.It set a new record for passing in the European Championship qualifying campaign. Spain is sitting pretty on some other impressive stats as well.They have won all their last 23 home games.

And no one can blame Maradona this time.
Fernando Amorebieta's 61st-minute header gave Venezuela their first ever win over Argentina
They had previously lost all 18 of their previous matches against Argentina
Lionel Messi , Angel Di Maria and Gonzalo Higuain were among the Argentinian team that did the stunned silence thing after the game.

(Summary is not available.)

Following his hat trick against Espanyol the other day Higuain scored another one - this time for his country.Chile were on the receiving end this time.
szólj hozzá: Argentina 4-1 Chile

For all you Hope Solo fans. Here she is in DWTS with Maksim Chmerkovskiy. She lost it a few times with her routine but on the pitch she rarely loses it and that's where it counts. Great to see her have some fun while she carries on with a full plate with the national team. Its a pretty grueling schedule.

Theyab Awana one of the UAE's brightest stars died on Sunday, tragically killed in a car accident. He was just 21. Awana was returning from a training camp held at Al Ain ahead of the team's qualifier with South Korea on October 11 when his car struck a road repair lorry. Awana passed away in the hospital.

Bob Bradlehotep, the new coach of the Pharaohs

The former USMNT coach signs a two year contract that will see him coach Egypt till the end of the 2014 World Cup.

Hassan Shehata who had coached The Pharaohs to three consecutive Africa Cup of Nations titles departed after the team was unable to qualify for next year's ACN.

While England huffed and puffed to beat wales Switzerland's Xherdan Shaqiri was scoring this brilliant hat-trick in his country's 3-1 win over Bulgaria.