English Premier League - 2009/10 - Game 6

It had been the Game 6 with current leader Chelsea will play against Tottenham that intend to break the current Top 4. And Manchester United will play against potential contender for top spot this season Manchester City. After Manchester City trashed 4-2 against Arsenal, this match will be another challenge for them as they are without Adebayor as well (that is banned for three matches for stamped on Robin Van Persie). The other key match also involve Everton vs Blackburn, currently Everton is at bottom two with only 1 win in previous four matches, hopefully they can bring their form from the Europa League to the English Premier League this week.

September 19
Burnley vs Sunderland - Sunderland win: Actual Score - 3-1
Arsenal vs Wigan Athletic - Arsenal win: Actual Score - 4-0
Aston Villa vs Portsmouth - Aston Villa win: Actual Score - 2-0
Bolton W. vs Stoke C. - Draw: Actual Score - 1-1
Hull C. vs Birmingham C. - Draw: Actual Score - 0-1
West Ham U. vs Liverpool - Liverpool win: Actual Score - 2-3

September 20
Manchester U. vs Manchester C. - Draw: Actual Score - 4-3
Wolverhampton W. vs Fulham - Fulham win: Actual Score - 2-1
Everton vs Blackburn R. - Blackburn win: Actual Score - 3-0
Chelsea vs Tottenham H. - Chelsea win: Actual Score - 3-0

Review after matches:
The Top 4 had won all their matches, proving that it is still not easy to break the Top 4 especially Manchester City and Tottenham had lose to the existing Top 4. Eventually Chelsea still maintaining their winning streak with another great plays. Liverpool is still struggling to win another game again. Eventually Arsenal is doing very well, now it is whether their youth side can maintain their existing tempo and fight until end of the season without any major injury to their key players.

The match between Manchester United and Manchester City really is a match to be remembered. Personal error, number of goals, and terrific moment really made it as a historical derby match. Michael Owen really scored a wonderful goal with a great position you made himself at, the Manchester City defender must thought the match is going to over after Rooney free kick and didn't stay in position that caused Owen to be free at the area.

Everton also showing their power once more as the 5th position team last season with another great performance after their Europa League match.

FA imposes three-match ban on City star Adebayor

Emmanuel Adebayor has been handed a three-match ban by the Football Association following an incident involving former Arsenal team-mate Robin van Persie.

The Manchester City striker was charged with violent conduct after he appeared to stamp on Van Persie's face during a 4-2 win for his side against the Gunners at Eastlands last weekend, provoking the Dutchman to release a strongly-worded statement in which he accused Adebayor of a "mindless and malicious" act.

Adebayor protested his innocence and apologised for the incident, but Manchester City released a statement on Wednesday to confirm that he had ''reluctantly'' admitted the charge.

The FA has now imposed a three-match ban on the striker, starting with the Manchester derby at the weekend, but Adebayor still has until September 30 to contest a seperate charge of improper conduct relating to his controversial goal celebration in the same game, when he ran the length of the pitch to goad the Arsenal fans.

"A Regulatory Commission today [Thursday] considered the charge of violent conduct issued against Manchester City's Emmanuel Adebayor under the fast-track disciplinary procedure, following an incident with Robin van Persie during their fixture against Arsenal on the 12 September," read an FA statement.

"Taking into consideration Mr Adebayor's acceptance of the charge of violent conduct the Regulatory Commission have ordered that he serve a three-match suspension from all football, commencing Thursday 17 September. A separate charge of improper conduct will be considered at a later date."

Adopted from Soccernet.com http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=677049&sec=england&cc=4716
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I honestly feel that Adebayor well deserved this punishment for his unproffessional attitudes and behaviors. This is a good leason for him to be more proffessional as he is a famous player and his character has give a bad example to people.

A lot of people: players, coaches, supporters, etc have lost respect toward him. He should make a formal apologies face to face to Robin and even Arsenal supporters for his behaviors and actions, he should take full responsibilities for it.

Europa League 2009/2010 - 1st Game

After the start of the Champions League 2009/2010, it will also be the start of Europa League in a new season and new system. The teams in the Cup is not excited as the Champions League but those teams also very strong in their own leagues.

Europa League - Group A
Ajax Amsterdam vs FC Timisoara - Ajax win: Actual Score - 0-0
Dinamo Zagreb vs Anderlecht - Dinamo win: Actual Score - 0-2

Europa League - Group B
Genoa vs Slavia Prague - Genoa win: Actual Score - 2-0
Lille vs Valencia - Valencia win: Actual Score - 1-1

Europa League - Group C
Hapoel Tel Aviv vs Celtic - Draw: Actual Score - 2-1
Rapid Vienna vs Hamburger SV - Hamburger win: Actual Score - 3-0

Europa League - Group D
Hertha BSC vs Ventspils - Hertha win: Actual Score - 1-1
SC Heerenveen vs Sporting Lisbon - Sporting win: Actual Score - 2-3

Europa League - Group E
Basel vs AS Roma - Roma win: Actual Score - 2-0
CSKA Sofia vs Fulham - Draw: Actual Score - 1-1

Europa League - Group F
Panathinaikos vs Galatasaray - Draw: Actual Score - 1-3
Sturm Graz vs Dinamo Bucuresti - Draw: Actual Score - 0-1

Europa League - Group G
Lazio vs RB Salzburg - Lazio win: Actual Score - 1-2
Villarreal vs Levski Sofia - Villarreal win: Actual Score - 1-0

Europa League - Group H
Fenerbahce vs FC Twente Enschede - Fenerbahce win: Actual Score - 1-2
Steaua Bucuresti vs FC Sheriff - Steaua win: Actual Score - 0-0

Europa League - Group I
Benfica vs BATE Borisov - Benfica win: Actual Score - 2-0
Everton vs AEK Athens - Everton win: Actual Score - 4-0

Europa League - Group J
Club Brugge vs Shakhtar Donetsk - Draw: Actual Score - 1-4
Partizan Belgrade vs Toulouse - Draw: Actual Score - 2-3

Europa League - Group K
CFR Cluj vs FC Copenhagen - Cluj win: Actual Score - 2-0
Sparta Prague vs PSV Eindhoven - PSV win: : Actual Score - 2-2

Europa League - Group L
Athletic Bilbao vs Austria Vienna - Bilbao win: Actual Score - 3-0
Nacional vs Werder Bremen - Werder win: : Actual Score - 2-3

Champions League 2009/2010 Season - 1st Game

It had been a fabalous season in the Champions League in 2008/2009 when again England teams had dominated the semi-final with 3 teams and eventually Barcelona from Spanish league won the final against Manchester United. Finally this season is going to start that expected to be more exciting with great clubs in good forms such as Real Madrid, Inter Milan, Barcelona, Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, etc.

This first game will be play on 15 and 16 September.
Champions League - Group A
Juventus vs Bordeaux - Juventus to win: Actual Score - 1-1
Maccabi Haifa vs Bayern Munich - Bayern Munich to win: Actual Score - 0-3

Champions League - Group B
Besiktas vs Manchester U. - Manchester to win: Actual Score - 0-1
Wolfsburg vs CSKA Moscow - DRAW: Actual Score - 3-1

Champions League - Group C
Marseille vs AC Milan - AC Milan to Win: Actual Score - 1-2
Zurich vs Real Madrid - Real Madrid to Win: Actual Score - 2-5

Champions League - Group D
Atletico Madrid vs APOEL Nicosia - DRAW: Actual Score - 0-0
Chelsea vs FC Porto - Chelsea to Win: Actual Score - 1-0

Champions League - Group E
Liverpool vs Debrecen - Liverpool to Win: Actual Score - 1-0
Lyon vs Fiorentina - DRAW: Actual Score - 1-0

Champions League - Group F
Dynamo Kyiv vs Rubin Kazan - Dynamo to Win: Actual Score - 3-1
Inter Milan vs Barcelona - DRAW: Actual Score - 0-0

Champions League - Group G
Sevilla vs Unirea Urziceni - Sevilla to Win: Actual Score - 2-0
Stuttgart vs Rangers - Stuttgart to win: Actual Score - 1-1

Champions League - Group H
Olympiakos Piraeus vs AZ Alkmaar - AZ to Win: Actual Score - 1-0
Standard Liege vs Arsenal - Arsenal to Win: Actual Score - 2-3

2010 World Cup - South Africa Qualifying

There still another 8 months to go for the biggest soccer event every 4 years: 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Currently there are still got countries fighting for qualification for this big event and some countries that qualified are starting the preparation for the event.

African Qualifying
Group A - Cameroon - current leader and still got 2 games to play
The 2008 Africa runner-up is facing tough competition from Gabon (surprise package), Togo and Morocco. However with the experiences and play they have, Cameroon most likely to qualified.

Group B - Tunisia - current leader and still got 2 games to play
Tunisia most probably will be challenge by Nigeria; both nations also have a strong squad. Tunisia had been qualified for every World Cup since 1998 and Nigeria had missed the 2006 World Cup after they qualified for 1994, 1998, and 2002 World Cup. This will be a tough call to determine who will be the group winner.

Group C - Algeria - current leader and still got 3 games to play
Surprisingly that the 2008 Africa Champion: Egypt is at 2nd position and only got 2 games left to play. Based on players, I believe that Egypt got the strongest squad with Mido and Zaki that played for English Premier League.

Group D - Ghana - qualified as group leader

Group E - Ivory Coast - current leader and still got 2 games to play
Basically Ivory Coast will be surely qualified, as they only need 1 point from the last 2 games.

Asian Qualifying
Group A - Australia - qualified as group leader and Japan - qualified as runner-up
Group B - South Korea - qualified as group leader and North Korea - qualified as runner-up

Bahrain from Group A and Saudi Arabia from Group B is facing each other in a playoff to get the chance for qualification as the winner will face New Zealand, champion from Oceania for a place to the World Cup. After the playoff - 2nd leg on 9 September, Bahrain won over Saudi Arabia on away goal rule and will face New Zealand.

Oceania Qualifying
New Zealand qualified for the World Cup and will be representing Oceania region to the World Cup. After Australia has convert to the Asia region, it is surely no countries in the region that can challenge New Zealand. Now it is depend New Zealand, whether they can qualify as Australia did in 2006 and 2010 (Asia region).

European Qualifying
Group A: Denmark – current group leader with 2 games to play
Currently Denmark is 3 points ahead of Sweden and 5 points ahead of Portugal and Hungary which are the closest competitors in the group. The surprise is Portugal struggle to qualify and a high percentage they unable to qualify even have the World Player of Year, Christiano Ronaldo.

Group B: Switzerland – current group leader with 2 games to play
Currently Switzerland is 3 points ahead of the closest rivals: Greece and Latvia. Most likely they will qualify as group leader, the play-off position still up for grab between Greece, Latvia and Israel.

Group C: Slovakia – current group leader with 2 games to play
Slovakia most likely to qualify as group leader as currently is 5 points ahead of Slovenia, for the play-off, it will be between Slovenia, Northern Ireland, Czech Republic and Poland. It is quite disappointing that Czech Republic been struggle in the group.

Group D: Germany – current group leader with 2 games to play
There will be only two countries will be competing for the top of the group and the play-off: Germany and Russia. It will be the determination of who will become group leader when Germany vs. Russia match, the winner of the match will be the group leader. Gus Hiddink really incredible coach, he brought Netherland, South Korea, and Australia to the World Cup, now potentially Russia as well, hopefully he will did it again.

Group E: Spain – Group leader with 2 games to play
Spain already qualified for the World Cup, now only need to determine which countries will go to the play-off. Bosnia and Turkey will compete for the play-off; Bosnia will be the most likely candidate as currently they are 4 points ahead of Turkey where Turkey unable to reduce the points when they played each other that only able to achieved a draw.

Group F: England – Group leader with 2 games to play
England had qualified to the World Cup with a fabulous play against Croatia, the same country that prevents England qualified for the 2008 Euro Cup in 2007. Croatia will fail to qualify if Ukraine win their last 2 games as Croatia play one match more than Ukraine and only two points ahead of Ukraine.

Group G: Serbia – current group leader with 2 games to play
Serbia is leading the group with 4 points ahead of France; they only need to win one more match to qualify. Meanwhile for France, most likely will play for the play-off, they only need to win one more match to confirm.

Group H: Italy – current group leader with 2 games to play
Italy started not well in the group but at the end, they will qualify with just one win to retain their title. Ireland also needs one more win to qualify for the play-off.

Group I: Netherland – Group leader with 2 games to play
Netherland won all the matched played; surely they are a country to look out in the World Cup. Norway and Scotland will compete for the play-off.

CONCACAF Qualifying
Currently United States is top of the table, follow by Mexico, Honduras, and Costa Rica that most likely to compete for the Top 3 spot for direct qualify to the World Cup. Meanwhile, the Top 4 spot will play country from South America. United States and Mexico are two countries that always qualify for the World Cup; however Honduras (this year surprise package) and Costa Rica will make their qualification difficult.

CONMEBOL Qualifying
Currently Brazil is at the top of the table; follow closely by Paraguay and Chile, which most likely qualify to the World Cup. Meanwhile still got four countries will compete for the last two places (direct qualify and play-off against CONCACAF country): Ecuador, Argentina, Uruguay, Venezuela, and Colombia. Argentina is struggling to qualify, eventually the 3-1 lost to Brazil and 1-0 lost to Paraguay seem to make them qualification more difficult. No matter how, Argentina still is a strong team that has a lot of great players: Messi, Veron, Aguero, and many more, without they in the World Cup really a disappointment.

1st Week (15 August 2009) - English Premier League 2009/10

1st Week - English Premier League 2009/10

15 August 2009 will be the start of the English Premier League 2009/10 season that I believe is the most toughest season and a few teams are quite equal and stand a chance to win the league.

Manchester United this season had lose Ronaldo and Tevez to Real Madrid and Manchester City respectively, it surely will reduce the attacking power such as passing and speed of Ronaldo and also goal scoring.

Chelsea just changes manager and eventually no big changes in the team, hopefully with new playing style and strategy will bring them to winning term this season.

Liverpool this season needs to maintain stability and not lose of form in any part of the season. With not much changes in the team, I believe this season they will stand a higher chance.

Arsenal sold two key players this season but then they is a team that never can be underestimated as the young players can always produced brilliant display and Wenger surely know what he is doing although he sell the players.

Manchester City surely is the most looking forward team this season with number of world class players signed. Hopefully they can improve last season performance with longer time for Hughes to make the preparation this season. The most important key for the success is to link all the world-class players to play together, if they can achieve it, surely they will stand a chance.

Aston Villa and Everton always are consistent teams that fight for 5th and 6th places. Hopefully they can continue to produce some brilliant display this season to disrupt and challenge the "Big Fours".

Tottenham, I always admire the manager, Harry, he really is a brilliant guy, I really believe he got a strong team this season, hopefully he can challenge for the top spot as well.

15 August - Matches
Chelsea vs Hull - My prediction: Chelsea win
Aston Villa vs Wigan - My prediction: Aston Villa win
Blackburn vs Man City - My prediction: Man City win
Bolton vs Sunderland - My prediction: Sunderland win
Portsmouth vs Fulham - My prediction: Draw
Stoke City vs Burnley - My prediction: Burnley win
Wolverhampton vs West Ham - My prediction: Draw
Everton vs Arsenal - My prediction: Arsenal win

16 August - Matches
Man United vs Birmingham City - My prediction: Man United Win
Tottenham vs Liverpool - My prediction: Draw

Charity Shield 2009 - English Premier League

CHARITY SHIELD

On 9 August 2009, it is day the English Premier League curtain re-opens starting with Charity Shield between Manchester United vs Chelsea. This season also will see eight clubs will be fighting for the champion: Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City, and Aston Villa.

The Charity Shield will see Manchester United started the season without Christiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez and Chelsea with new manager Carlo Anchestic. Even Man U without Ronaldo and Tevez, they still is a strong team that have great players such as Rooney, Giggs, Berbatov, Ferdinand, Carrick, Scholes, and Vidiz. Sir Alex Ferguson also is a great manager who will continue to bring victory for Man U. Really looking forward for the latest signing from Man U whether can meet into the expectation of Man U.

For Chelsea with Carlo on board, he will bring a whole new playing style that he adapted in AC Milan. He brought a lot of trophy for AC Milan before. With his experiences, he surely will bring something new to the club. Chelsea still consist a lot of world class players especially the midfield with Lampard, Ballack, Essien, Deco, and Malouda.

Based on my prediction, the 90 minutes will draw 1-1 all and Manchester United will win the match. Chelsea got great players and manager but Carlo still new at the club, he may take some time to eventually build the club into the winning club with creating the harmony among all those great players. No matter how, Manchester United still have great teamwork among all the players especially they have been playing together with each other for a long time.

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Actual Result: 2-2 draw Penalty Shoot-Out: 1-4 (Chelsea)
Chelsea: 52 min. R. Carvalho & 71 min. F. Lampard
Man U: 10 min. Nani & 90 min. W. Rooney

From the match, from my opinion, Man U is the better side compare to Chelsea. The Chelsea 2nd goal shouldn't be counted as Ballack is foul and the player is on the floor struggling, all the Man U players also calling for Chelsea player to put the ball "out of play". Eventually Chelsea players continue with the play, I really disagreed with that, it also destroy the "fair play" concept and that goal should be disallowed. From a different opinion, Chelsea player is just playing as usual and they also won't know whether Man U player is actually injure or not because nowadays really got a lot of players like to fake injury. It is also be fair that Man U 2nd goal also appear to be offside.

This season will be a very exciting as no team is look like a clear winner and it will be a battle between a few major clubs.