Saturday, January 31, 2004 

HSV swoops for Vyachesslav Hleb from Stuttgart!



Just before the transfer window was due to close, HSV swooped for the younger brother of the Stuttgart star Aliaksandr Hleb. His name is Vyachesslav, and he is a midfielder in the Belarus under-21 national team. HSV had wanted to sign him last summer, but couldn’t agree terms.

On Friday afternoon (30.1.04), Hleb put pen to paper on a deal which will keep him at the AOL Arena until June 20th 2006. Hleb has been given the number 11 shirt at HSV.

In the other way around the Danish Lars Jacobsen signed for the Danish first division club FC Copenhagen yesterday. HSV let the right back go on a free transfer. Should Jacobsen be sold on to another club, HSV would receive some of the money but Anderlecht didn t showed interest in signing the player after a week trial early this month.

 

SCBRAGA 1 - 1 MOREIRENSE



Braga got a draw last night at home agains Moreirense. It was a boring game without really true goal situations. Moreirense got the lead with an own goal from Paulo Jorge at the minute 25. Paulo Sergio managed to draw the level scoring the Braga goal at the minute 55´.

Braga: Quim, Éder, Mauricio, Paulo Jorge, Jorge Luíz, Vanzini, Soderström, Nikolov, Wender, Pena, Paulo Sérgio

Moreirense: João Ricardo, Primo, Ricardo Fernandes, Sérgio Lomba, Tito, Jorge Duarte, Bruno Fernandes, Luis Vouzela, Vitor Pereira, Manoel, Lito

 

Roger, André, Anders Andersson, Carlitos and Anderson Luiz Leave Benfica



Lack of ambition!!! That seems to be the position of the Eagles to the future. After the sad death of Feher Benfica is now seeing 5 more players depparting and they just so one arriving (Fyssas). If we join to this the fact that Mantorras is yet far from playing, Nuno Gomes, Luisão and Geovanni (crucial players) are suffering from injuries (Geovanni don t play for two months, Luisao manages only to play 1 months withous being injury and Nuno Gomes the same) then we can see that Camacho will hardly have 11 field players ready for the games. The solution seems to call youngsters from the B team but is this a solution to a team as Benfica??? It´s understandable that theclub is now suffering with the recent accident but the best way to deal with it would be to fight with honour and with ambition as an homenage to their former partner. Insteed the Benfica direction, prefer to cry and to give up sending away players that were being usefull to the club without bringuing alternatives.

*******************************************************


Benfica has announced that 5 players are leaving the squad in an effort to trim the club's payroll.

Brazilian playmaker Roger is joining Fluminense on loan until December 1st; the Brazilian club then holds the option of buying him.

Brazilian striker André never fit in at Benfica and rescinded his contract with the Lisbon club. He has signed on with Maritimo for the remainder of this season and all of the next campaign.

Swedish international midfielder Anders Andersson also rescinded his contract with Benfica and has signed on with rivals Belenenses.

Portuguese winger Carlitos will join Spanish second division outfit Poli Ejido for the remainder of this season.

Brazilian striker Anderson Luiz, who was playing with Benfica's B team, has been loaned to Portuguese second division side Naval.

These cost cutting measures will reportedly save Benfica 1.5 million euros.

Despite his immense talent, Roger has failed to make an impact at Benfica and will now find himself playing for Fluminense for the third time in his career.

Big things were also expected from Swedish midfielder Anders Andersson when he joined the club in 2001/2002.

He was rarely used by Jose Camacho this season and will now try to resurrect his career with Belenenses.

Carlitos has been at Benfica since the 2000/2001 season but has always been a fringe player at best.

Striker Andre joined Benfica at the same time as Roger did back in 2000/2001 but has never reached his potential in Portugal.

He rejoins Maritimo after spending the 2001/2002 season there on loan.

Source: Soccerage

Friday, January 30, 2004 

Bundesliga back with derby duels



The German Bundesliga is back with a bang this weekend as the season resumes after the winter break. First up is Friday night's Ruhr derby between FC Schalke 04 and BV Borussia Dortmund.

The Ruhr derby is not the only regional duel as 24 hours later Rhine rivals VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach and 1. FC Köln meet while Hannover 96 play fellow northerners Hamburger SV. At the top, leaders SV Werder Bremen defend their position against second-bottom Hertha BSC Berlin.

Source: Uefa.com

 

Van Nistelrooij signs new deal



Ruud van Nistelrooij has signed a new contract with Manchester United FC, committing his future to the English champions until June 2008.

Key figure
The 27-year-old Netherlands striker is one of the key figures in Sir Alex Ferguson's side, having scored a remarkable 98 goals in 129 first-team appearances for United. Little wonder Ferguson, who himself signed a new 12-month rolling contract yesterday, described the agreement as "great news for the club and the fans".

Player of the year
After arriving at Old Trafford in a €30m deal from PSV Eindhoven in summer 2001, he ended his first season in England as his fellow professionals' Player of the Year, having finished the top scorer in the UEFA Champions League with ten goals as United reached the semi-finals. Last season he scored 44 goals in all competitions as United won the Premiership.

'New challenges'
"I am delighted to commit my future to the club," said Van Nistelrooij. "I have grown very fond of Manchester United, the fans are amazing. I have had some great moments here but I want to continue to give the club my best, and I am looking forward to new challenges on the pitch."

Source: Uefa.com

 

Mehmet Yozgatlý Deal Completed



Fenerbahçe signed a 3,5 year deal with Ýstanbulspor`s Mehmet Yozgatlý. The player will join the squad tomorrow.

About Mehmet Yozgatlý DOB 09.01.1979
Height: 181 cm
Weight: 76 kg
International caps: 12 U-21 caps for Turkey.
Previous clubs: Ýstanbulspor, Galatasaray, Adanaspor (on loan), Ýstanbulspor

 

Fenerbahçe in the Cup Quarter Final



A dramatic extra time silver goal winner from Tuncay Þanlý seconds before the whistle grabbed us a place in the quarter finals of the Turkish Cup tonight at the expense of Samsunspor. The nail biting game featured little chances but some close shaves through Pierre van Hooijdonk`s chip attempts.
The first half was a cautious deadlock between the two sides with little opportunities in front of goal. Cynical fouls and frequent stoppages proved to be a pattern right into the second half.

A lot more happened in the second 45 mostly down to Pierre van Hooijdonk increasing his involvement in the game. He hit the crossbar with a lob attempt halfway through and set up Marcio Nobre with a dummy, only for the Brazilian to hit straight at Shorunmu. Another lob attempt from van Hooijdonk, this time from further out with 10 minutes to go, looked to be sailing in for a spectacular goal, only to clip the post and go wide.

A much higher tempo in the final 20 minutes still produced no goals, and referee Metin Tokat blew the whistle to end normal time.

With seconds to go until the end of the first half of extra time, a flick on by Selçuk fell to Tuncay who was inline with the last man, and went onto blast into the bottom left hand corner of the goal. This silver goal winner put us into the quarter finals of the Turkish Cup and hopefully a key point on our route to winning the trophy after 21 years.

Source: Fenerbahçe

Thursday, January 29, 2004 

Georgian on Dynamo's mind



FC Dynamo Kyiv have signed Georgian defender Alexandr Amisulashvili from FC Dinamo Tbilisi.

The 21-year-old international has agreed a five-year contract with the Ukrainian Premier League side, having been on trial at the club since early January. Amisulashvili featured in friendlies against German teams VfB Stuttgart and FC Bayern München, and was the only Dynamo player to appear in every minute of both games.

The defender played for FC Torpedo Kutaisi and FC Lokomotivi Samtredia in his homeland, before joining Dinamo Tbilisi in 2001. Last season he won the Georgian Premier League and the Georgian Cup with the club, and also made six international appearances.

Meanwhile, former Dynamo defender László Bodnár has signed a three-year deal with Russia's FC Saturn Moskovskaya Oblast after a successful trial. The 24-year-old Hungarian international left Dynamo last year after a dispute with coach Olexiy Mykhaylichenko.

Source:Uefa.com

 

Americano 2-1 Botafogo

Botafogo lost in its second game ofthe Carioca Champioship.

The home side opend the score with only two minutes of play. But ten minutes later Fogão got one back through an own-goal. Near the end of the first half Americano scored the second. Botafogo was never able to impose its game and couldn't manage to turn the score.


AMERICANO: Charles, Andrinho, Ciro, Laerte, Wederson, Índio, Evaldo, Flávio Santos, (Flavinho), Ronaldo (Oliveira), Leandro, Luciano Viana (Márcio Pedra)

BOTAFOGO: Jefferson, Gustavo (Hugo), João Carlos, Sandro, Márcio Gomes,Fernando,Gedeil (Carlos Alberto), Valdo, Renatinho (Jorginho Paulista), Dill, Alex Alves

GOALS: 1-0 Viana, 2'; 1-1 Laerte, 13' (OG); 2-1 Santos 35'

 

River Plate 1-1 Racing Club



Racing Club continues unbeaten in the Summer Tournament, after reaching a draw against River Plate, having played most of the match withonly ten men. River saw Marcelo Gallardo substituted early in the game, due to an injury that can keep him out of the fields for about a month.

Racing played an intelligent match, controling the game with only ten men, as River could not come up with the solutions to brake the opponents defense.

RIVER: Franco Costanzo; Luis Lobo (Daniel Montenergo, 54'), Cristian Tula, Eduardo Tuzzio, Lucas Mareque; Eduardo Coudet, Oscar Ahumada, Kilian Virviescas; Marcelo Gallardo (Daniel Ludueña, 22'); Nelson Cuevas y Fernando Cavenaghi

RACING: Mario Cuenca; Andrés Orozco, Cristian Grabinski, Javier Pinola, Eduardo Domínguez; Lucas Rimoldi (torres Martinez, 77'), Juan Manuel Torres, Sebastián Romero; Milovan Mirosevic; Gastón Fernández (Angel Martinez, 45') y Lisandro López (Lucas Ferreiro, 77')

GOALS: 0-1 Fernandez, 25'; 1-1 Cavenaghi, 34'

RED CARD: Pinola, 42'

Wednesday, January 28, 2004 

AC Milan 2-1 Siena



AC Milan moved top of Serie A on Wednesday night after goals from Brazilian playmaker Kaká and Danish striker Jon Dahl Tomasson gave them a 2-1 home win against AC Siena. Carlo Ancelotti's side now lead the table with 45 points while AS Roma are two points behind and Juventus FC third on 40 points.

Kaká, who scored twice in Sunday's 5-0 crushing of Ancona Calcio, claimed his seventh league goal of the season with the opener after 38 minutes. Collecting a pass from Andriy Shevchenko, he skipped past Stefano Argilli before wrongfooting Siena goalkeeper Generoso Rossi with his shot.

Siena missed the opportunity of an instant reply a minute later when Fernando had his penalty saved by Dida, after Milan's Paolo Maldini had brought down Tore André Flo. Instead Milan doubled their advantage nine minutes after the break when Rossi failed to hold on to a long-range effort from Cristian Brocchi and Tomasson pounced to slot home the loose ball. After Shevchenko had struck a post, Flo gave Siena a glimmer of hope in the 87th minute with a left-foot strike after a deflected shot from Roberto D'Aversa fell to him at the back post. The defeat leaves Siena tenth in the table.


MILAN: Dida; Cafu, Costacurta (Laursen, 46'), Maldini, Pancaro; Brocchi, Redondo, Seedorf (Gattuso, 77'); Kakà; Tomasson, Shevchenko (Serginho, 90').

SIENA: Rossi; Cufré, Argilli, Mignani, Guigou; Taddei (Junior, 69'), Vergassola, D'Aversa, Menegazzo (Ventola, 60'), Lazetic (Chiesa, 57'); Flo.

GOALS: 1-0 Kaká, 38'; 2-0 Tomasson, 54'; 2-1 Flo, 87'.

Source:Uefa.com

 

Estrela da Amadora sings central defender



Estrela da Amadora signed brazilian central defender Marcos, from Vitoria Bahia, until the end of the season. Marcos has already played in Portugal, in Rio Ave and Sporting, before leaving to PSV, and the Brazil.

 

3 points awarded to San Lorenzo

The 3 points have been given to San Lorenzo, for the match agaisnt River Plate, that was interrupted due to violence. San Lorenzo was winning 1-0 before the incidents.

 

Hamburg and Asia hero - Full Story



At the age of 16, Mehdi Mahdavikia was a promising youngster who happily underwent a strict daily training regime at Iranian club Pirouzi Tehran. A decade on, he has just signed a deal with Hamburger SV that makes the 2003 Asian Player of the Year one of the Bundesliga's best-paid stars.

Mahdavikia moved to Europe in 1998 to join VfL Bochum 1848, but he looks back proudly on the footballing education of his youth. "When I was 16, my youth coach at Pirouzi demanded that I take 60 crosses from the right wing every day," he said. "I am very grateful to him now."

"Conditions back home are different to what German people are used to," he continued. "Professional football only started in Iran a couple of years ago, and unlike in Germany the kids don't have the opportunity to join clubs at a very early age." Despite this, Mahdavikia did enough to become Asian Youth Player of the Year in 1997, and was part of the Iran squad at the 1998 FIFA World Cup that claimed a famous 2-1 win against the United States. He now has 72 caps.

His performances earned the switch to Bochum. "I felt all alone in the beginning and had many problems adapting to a different culture as it was my first time abroad, but I learned a lot during those days," Mahdavikia said. Bochum were relegated in his first season, but he joined Hamburg and in 2000/01 entered the UEFA Champions League.



Hamburg might have been eliminated, but their 3-1 victory at Juventus FC remains a highlight. However, disappointments followed as Iran lost a World Cup play-off against the Republic of Ireland, and in 2002 Mahdavikia was plagued by a mysterious back pain. After months of injections and examinations it was discovered that he had seriously damaged his intervertebral disk. "This was a very bad time for me," he said. "I stayed at home and had to lie on my back all the time, but the pain hardly stopped. I was afraid my career was over." But thanks to the skills of an Iranian surgeon, and Mahdavikia's hard work, he was able to return in autumn 2002 to help Hamburg rise from the foot of the table to a UEFA Cup slot.

'Extraordinary professional'
Former Hamburg coach Kurt Jara said: "Mehdi is an extraordinary professional. You don't find many players on the right wing who run that fast and cross the ball so well. I think that Mehdi is on the same level as [David] Beckham."

International return
In October 2003, he laid on two goals on his return to international football as Iran lifted the AFC/OFC Challenge Cup against New Zealand. Clubs in England, Italy and Spain were taking an interest in a player whose contract expired in summer 2004.

Family life
However, he has opted to stay at Hamburg, not least because his wife and daughter enjoy life in a city with a 40,000-strong Iranian community. "My family love living in Hamburg and have integrated well and found plenty of friends here," he said.

Future hope
So much so that he is already dreaming of playing at the 2006 World Cup in Germany. "It would be a dream come true to play here in Hamburg's stadium in 2006, with my compatriots in the stands." Given his enormous popularity with the Hamburg fans, a fair few Germans would lend their support too.

Source: Uefa.com

 

Braga Sign Daniel Kenedy



Braga have signed Daniel Kenedy on a free transfer after he was released by Maritimo.

The 29-year-old is expected to be on the bench for the club when they face Moreirense this weekend.

Braga becomed Kenedy's 7th club as he has played for Benfica, PSG, FC Porto, Albacete, Estrela Amadora and Maritimo.

Born in Guinea-Bissau, Kenedy was named to Portugal's 2002 World Cup team but was forced to miss out on the tournament after he tested positive for a banned substance.

Source: Soccerage

 

Bengtsson signs for Inter

F.C. Internazionale have completed the signing of Swedish Under-18 international Martin Bengtsson from Orebro FK.

Born in 1986, the central midfielder/playmaker is one of the emerging talents of northern European football and has long been a target of Nerazzurri youth sector scouts.

Bengtsson has put pen to paper on a contract which will expire on 30 June 2006, and will be at the service of Inter Primavera coach Daniele Bernazzani from Tuesday.

source: www.inter.it

Tuesday, January 27, 2004 

The Bundesliga's first lady



Whoever thinks that the Bundesliga is just a man's world is mistaken. At the age of 33, Katja Kraus has become the league's first lady by joining the board of Hamburger SV.

Having won two league titles and five German Cups as a goalkeeper with the country's finest women's team, 1. FFC Frankfurt, Kraus's credentials are not in question. She also represented Germany in two UEFA European Women's Championships and the 1996 Olympic Games before retiring in 1998, by which time she had already crossed over into the men's game.

"I started in men's football years ago when I was press officer at Eintracht Frankfurt," says the self-made woman from Offenbach. "After that I worked in football for a sports marketing enterprise and then I joined Hamburg in my current position." Since spring 2003 Kraus has been in charge of communication and marketing at Hamburg.

 

League Standings



Pos. Team Pld Pts
1. Porto 19 51
2. Sporting 19 46
3. Benfica 19 40
4. Braga 19 33
5. Beira-Mar 19 31
...

19. Est. Amadora 19 11




Pos. Team Pld Pts
1. Monaco 21 47
2. PSG 21 39
3. Lyon 20 38
4. Auxerre 21 38
5. Souchaux 21 38



Pos. Team Pld Pts
1 Ajax 17 43
2 PSV 17 40
3 Alkmaar 17 32
4 Feyenoord 17 31
5 Heerenveen 17 28
...
8. Utrecht 17 25



Pos. Team Pld Pts
1. Besiktas 17 43
2. Fenerbahçe 18 38
3. Trabzonspor 18 34
4. Denizlispor 18 30
5. Malatyaspor 18 30



Pos. Team Pld Pts
1. Real Madrid 21 46
2. Valencia 21 44
3. Deportivo 21 40
4. Atlético 21 35
5. Osasuna 21 33
...
8. Athletic 21 30



Pos. Team Pld Pts
1 Roma 18 43
2. Milan 17 42
3. Juventus 18 40
4. Inter 18 32
5. Parma 18 32


Torneo de Verano

Pos. team Pld Pt
1. Racing 2 6
2. San Lorenzo 3 6
3. River Plate 3 6
4. Boca Juniors 3 3
5. Independiente 3 0


Campeonato Carioca
Group A

Pos. Team Pld Pts
1. Vasco da Gama 1 3
2. Botafogo 1 3
3. Americano 1 3
4. Bangu 1 0
5. Olaria 1 0

 

HSV MUSEUM TO OPEN ON FEBRUARY 7th!



The history of the only club never to have been relegated from the Bundesliga is about to come to life on February 7th! That's the day when HSV opens it's one of a kind in German football museum within 7 rooms in the AOL Arena. The trip into the past is to be presented to the fans with around 500 square metres of pure HSV history which is sure to bring it all back.

Opening times apart from match days:

Monday - Sunday from 10.00 am until 7.00 pm

Private tours are available after prior consultation

Ticket prices:

6 Euros: Adults

3 Euros: Students, school children and pensioners.

 

Bundesliga Winter transfer deals



After a break of 44 days, the Bundesliga begins again at the weekend. After a break of 44 days, the Bundesliga begins again at the weekend.

HSV
Bought: Tom Starke (Bayer Leverkusen/ loan)
Sold / Loan: None

Hertha
Bought: Dennis Cagara (Bröndby Kopenhagen)
Sold / Loan: None

Bochum
Bought: None
Sold / Loan: Bjarne Gudjonsson (Coventry City/ loan), Cristian Fiel (Alemannia Aachen)

Werder Bremen
Bought: Pekka Lagerblom (Lahti)
Sold / Loan: Marco Reich (Derby County), Christian Lenze (Osnabrück), Manuel Friedrich (Mainz loan)

Borussia Dortmund
Bought: None
Sold / Loan: Juan Ramon Fernandez (River Plate/ loan)

Eintracht Frankfurt
Bought: Ioannis Amanatidis (Stuttgart), Ingo Hertzsch (Bayer Leverkusen)
Sold / Loan: None

Freiburg
Bought: None
Sold / Loan: None

Hanover
Bought: Clint Mathis (New York/New Jersey Metro Stars)
Sold / Loan: None

Kaiserslautern
Bought: Timo Wenzel (Stuttgart)
Sold / Loan: Markus Anfang, Steffen Freund and Thomas Hengen ( all dismissed)

Cologne
Bought: Markus Feulner (Bayern Munich), Albert Streit (Wolfsburg/ loan)
Sold / Loan: Markus Dworrak (Mainz), Sebastian Helbig (Unterhaching/ loan), Markus Happe (dismissed)

Bayer Leverkusen
Bought: None
Sold / Loan: Tom Starke (HSV/ loan), Sebastian Schoof (Rot-Weiß Essen), Ingo Hertzsch (Eintracht Frankfurt)

Borussia Mönchengladbach
Bought: Thomas Broich (Wacker Burghausen)
Sold / Loan: Lawrence Aidoo (Nürnberg/ loan), Otto Frederikson (Jaro Finnland/ loan), Peter van Houdt (Duisburg)

1860 Munich
Bought: Gerhard Poschner (Polideportivo Ejido), Fernando Santos (Flamengo Rio de Janeiro)
Sold / Loan: Daniel Borimirow (Lewski Sofia), Michael Wiesinger (Wacker Burghausen/ loan)

Bayern Munich
Bought: None
Sold / Loan: Markus Feulner (Cologne)

Hansa Rostock
Bought: Kim Madsen (Wolfsburg/ loan)
Sold / Loan: None

Schalke
Bought: None
Sold / Loan: Eduardo Alcides (Mirassol)

Stuttgart
Bought: Marco Streller (Basel), Boris Zivkovic (Portsmouth)
Sold / Loan: Timo Wenzel (Kaiserslautern)

Wolfsburg
Bought: None
Sold / Loan: Albert Streit (Cologne), Charles Akonnor ( Unterhaching), Sven Müller (Nürnberg), Kim Madsen (Hansa Rostock/ loan)

 

Benfica Retire Feher's Number 29



In honour of Hungarian striker Miklos Feher, Benfica president Luís Filipe Vieira has announced that nobody will wear the number 29 jersey at the club again.

"Benfica has lost a great player, but more importantly, a great man," he said at a funeral home in Lisbon.

Thousands of fans, players, and friends showed up to pay their respect to Feher.

Benfica's captain Helder was also supposed to give a speech, but in the end was too emotionally distraught to do so.

Source: Soccerage

Monday, January 26, 2004 

Miklos Feher (1979 - 2004)



Today football is crying for the death of a young football player that died during a football match yesterday between V. Guimarães- Benfica. The Benfica player, and Hungarian International, Miklos Feher said goodbye to life yesterday in Guimaraes. We want to express our deepest condolences to the family and friends. Farewell Feher. You will stay in our hearts forever.

FU TEAM



At 24 years old, Hungarian striker Miklos Feher has passed away.

He leaves behind him a promising career that saw him join FC Porto at the age of 19.

He was born on July 20, 1979 and started his career by playing for Gyor, which happens to be the Hungarian city he was born in.

He spent three years as a senior team member there and notched 23 goals in 62 matches in the Hungarian Premier League.

His impressive strike rate coupled his impressive physical stature immediately alerted the attention of Portuguese giants FC Porto.

In 1998/1999, he moved to FC Porto and won the Portuguese league championship.

Feher did not get much playing time with FC Porto as Mario Jardel was in his prime.

Midway through the 1999/2000 season Porto loaned Feher to Salgueiros, who at the time were playing in the Portuguese Premier League.

In 14 appearances for the strugglers, he scored 5 goals and was the main reason the club stayed in the top flight that season.

The following season (2000/2001) he was loaned to Sporting Braga where he enjoyed the best season of his career scoring 14 goals in 26 matches and earned MVP honours at the club that season.

Despite his goal scoring exploits, FC Porto still considered Feher a hot prospect for the future and not a first team regular.

In 2001/2002, he asked for a transfer away from the club but his request was denied and he spent the entire season playing with their B team until his contract expired in June of 2002.

He immediately signed for rivals Benfica, where he scored 4 goals in 17 appearances.

This season, he scored three times despite being used as a substitute for the majority of the season.

By the Hungarian National team Feher played 25 times and scored 7 goals.

He assisted on the winning goal Sunday evening just minutes before the tragedy.

The world looses exemplary young man who lived for Football.

Source: soccerage

 

Ýstanbulspor 0-1 Fenerbahçe



Fabio Luciano`s header in the 13th minute earned us the three points in a tense game against problem-struck Istanbulspor today. The final seconds of the game saw an indirect free kick being given against us in the box, but a double save from the on-song Volkan kept the score at 1-0 before the final whistle moments later.
Marcio Nobre was also impressive in only his second competitive game for Fenerbahçe, as the Brazilian worked very hard up front and showed compatibility with strike partner Pierre van Hooijdonk.

Christoph Daum played Ivailo Petkov at left back, leaving out Ýsmail Güldüren and Sergei Rebrov due to the foreign player restrictions whilst fielding Fatih Akyel in the place of the suspended Stjepan Tomas in defence. Ümit Özat played a more wide role, leaving the central midfield`s defensive duties to Selçuk Þahin with assistance from Marco Aurelio.

The win gives us a good start to the second half of the league, taking our points to 38, five behind Beþiktaþ who have a game in hand to be played on Sunday night.

ÝSTANBULSPOR: Oðuz, Cem, Deniz Uygar, Saffet, Faruk, Musa Büyük, Aytekin, Saidou, Musa Kuþ, Iordanov, Boliç

FENERBAHÇE: Volkan, Ümit, Fatih, Luciano, Petkov, Ali Güneþ, Selçuk, Aurelio (78` Rebrov) , Tuncay (79` Mahmut Hanefi), Nobre, Van Hooijdonk

GOL: 13` Luciano

 

Nacional 5 - 1 Braga



Nacional hit Braga with five goals as they went on to win 5-1.
Two goals each from Adriano and Rossato and one from Gouveia was more than enough to lead the home side to victory.
Wender scored Braga's lone goal. Nobody could expect to see Braga team performing the way they performed yesterday. National clearly deserved to win and the goals suffered by Braga express what happened in the game.

Nacional: Hilário, Patacas, Ávalos, Emerson Nunes, Cleomir, Cléber Oliveira, Paulo Assunção, Gouveia, Alexandre Goulart, Rossato, Adriano.

Braga: Quim, Éder, Nem, Paulo Jorge, Jorge Luíz, Vanzini, Soderström, Nikolov, Wender, Pena, Paulo Sérgio

 

Athletic 1-0 Deportivo Coruña



To the good Galician start, Athletic Club has countered their occasions, to enter a dynamic of greater balance until the halftime. Contrary to the last matches, the beginning ofthe second halfhas been optimized by the basques, and Yeste has been able to fold Molina's opposition and score the 1-0. In spite having their occasions the second goal did not arrive, giving way to the rival's occasions, although Tristan was not very accurate.

ATHLETIC: Aranzubia, Javi González, Karanka, Luis Prieto, Del Horno, Gurpegi, Tiko (Orbaiz, 46'), Yeste (Guerrero, 73'), Etxeberria, Ezquerro (Lacruz, 82'), Urzaíz.

DEPORTIVO: Molina, Manuel Pablo, César, Andrade, Capdevilla, Mauro Silva, Duscher (Munitis, 68'), Sérgio (Djalminha, 78'), Valerón, Luque (Fran, 78'), Diego Tristán.

GOALS: 1-0 Yeste, 49'

Source:athletic-club.net

 

Botafogo 1-0 Olaria

Botafogo started the year of its centennial with a victory at home against Olaria, in the first round of the Carioca Championship.

BOTAFOGO: Jefferson; Renan, João Carlos, Sandro e Renatinho; Fernando, Gedeil (Hugo), Thiago Xavier (Valdo) e Anderson (Daniel); Dill e Alex Alves.

OLARIA: Cássio; Thiago (Carlinhos), Daniel, Fabão e Dida; Márcio Costa, Guido, Marcelo Souza e Alexandre; Ely Thadeu (Bill) e Alex (Fabrício).

GOALS: 1-0 Dill, 62'

Sunday, January 25, 2004 

AC Milan 5-0 Ancona



Milan swept aside bottom side Ancona to continue their charge to the top of Serie A. A two-faced match at the San Siro for the Rossoneri in front of a well-organized and close opposition. The first half registered the same poor play seen at Brescia.

Apart from the five second-half goals in which Manuel Rui Costa celebrated his first Serie A goal in three years and captain Paolo Maldini broke the league record of appearances, with 520, it was also the first time a female assistant, Cristina Cini, had taken part in a Serie A encounter. Mario Jardel also made his debut for Ancona.

Ancona held out for 62 minutes and had a good chance to open the scoring in the first half when Vincenzo Sommese skimmed the post with a low shot and then forced Dida into a full-stretch save. Milan took control in the second half and went ahead through a penalty when Andriy Shevchenko’s shot hit Roberto Maltagliati on the arm. The Ukrainian then converted coolly from the spot.

Rui Costa then had his moment to celebrate as Shevchenko pulled the ball back for the Portuguese midfielder to drive home a low shot. Jon Dahl Tomasson came on as a substitute and was immediately fouled in the area, the same player stepped up to score from the resultant penalty. Tomasson then set-up Kaka with a backheel which the Brazilian slammed into the roof of the net from close range and Kaka got his second when he skipped beyond the offside trap before finishing with a low shot into the corner.

MILAN: Dida; Cafu, Nesta, Maldini, Pancaro; Gattuso, Pirlo, Seedorf (75' Serginho) ; Rui Costa, Kakà; Shevchenko (75'Tomasson).

ANCONA: Marcon; Sartor, Maltagliati, Milanese, Zavagno; Sommese (69' Pandev), Andersson, D. Baggio, Berretta; Jardel (85'De Falco), Grabbi (37' Degano).

Goalscorers: 1-0, 64' Shevchenko; 2-0, 71' Rui Costa; 3-0, 78' Tomasson; 4-0, 84' Kaka; 5-0, 90' Kaka

Source: acmilan.com

 

Boca Juniors 0-1 River Plate



River Plate, lining-up mostly with youth players, defeated rivals Boca Juniors in Mar del Plata for the Torneo de Verano. Leo Astrada won his first derby. Boca Juniors appeard nervous and insecure, especially in defense. These errors were not neglected by the youths of River, wich played with will, and rose up to the world champions, deserving this first win of the year in the derby between the eternal rivals.


BOCA JUNIORS: Roberto Abbondanzieri; Luis Perea, Rolando Schiavi, Diego Crosa, Facundo Imboden; Diego Cagna, Raúl Cascini, Fabián Vargas (Barijho, 66'); Matías Donnet; Guillermo Barros Schelotto y Pedro Iarley (Caneo, 81').

RIVER PLATE: Franco Costanzo; Luis Lobo, Ricardo Rojas, Cristian Nasuti, Franco Miranda; Gabriel Pereyra (Toranzo, 84'), Claudio Husain, Rubens Sambuesa (Ahumada, 90'); Daniel Ludueña; Daniel Montenegro y Maximiliano López.

GOALS: 0-1 Montenegro, 44'

 

Modena 1 - Inter 1


MODENA - The Nerazzurri were held to a 1-1 draw by Modena in Sunday afternoon's Serie A Week 18 match at the Alberto Braglia.

A compact and aggressive Inter maintained the initiative for most of the first half and took the lead through Recoba on 11 minutes. El Chino controlled Farinos ' long ball with his right foot, switched to his favoured left then struck hard and low past Ballotta.

Modena were presented with a chance to equalise from the penalty spot in the 26th minute after Cannavaro handled Vignaroli's shot on the turn, but Francesco Toldo saved Milanetto's spot kick with his right leg.

Malesani's men grew as the half progressed and drew level on 41 minutes when Nigerian forward Makinwa raced on to Marasco's through ball then with Toldo off his line lifted the ball over the Nerazzurri keeper to score his first Serie A goal.

Zaccheroni brought on Adriano for Obafemi Martins at the start of the second half. But the Canaries proved to be tougher opposition than they were in the opening period and the Brazilian striker was limited to a couple of long-range strikes from free kicks and a shot from an offside position on his first appearance in black and blue since rejoining Inter from Parma in midweek.

Match facts:
Scorers: Recoba 11', Makinwa 41'
Booked: Vignaroli 29', Farinos 37', Cordoba 73'
Referee: Pierluigi Collina

MODENA: 11 Ballotta; 27 Pivotto (23 Pavan, 32'), 29 Cevoli, 99 Grandoni; 25 Campedelli, 8 Marasco, 7 Milanetto, 10 Domizzi (19 Music 78'), 3 Balestri; 18 Makinwa (22 Marazzina 82'), 20 Vignaroli
Subs not used: 13 Zancope', 4 Ponzo, 14 Allegretti, 77 Scoponi
Coach: Alberto Malesani

INTER: 1 Toldo ; 2 Cordoba , 15 Adani , 17 Cannavaro ; 13 Helveg (26 Pasquale 42'), 14 Farinos , 8 Lamouchi , 4 J. Zanetti ; 20 Recoba , 30 Martins (10 Adriano 46'), 7 van der Meyde (19 Karagounis 70')
Subs not used: 12 Fontana , 9 Cruz , 22 Okan , 24 Gamarra
Coach: Alberto Zaccheroni

source: www.inter.it

Saturday, January 24, 2004 

Fenerbahçe 4-1 Ç. Rizespor



The replay against Çaykur Rizespor result in a good victory for the home team. Brazilian forward Nobre started the game upfront with van Hooijdonk and got a dream start as he finished from close range in the 27th minute after compatriot Fabio Luciano scraped on a corner with his head.

The second goal came through a penalty after Koray brought down Ümit Özat in the box, which resulted in the Rize player getting sent off. Van Hooijdonk sent the keeper the wrong way, 2-0 with five minutes to go to half time.

Despite having 10 men, Çaykur Rizespor were effective in the second half and clinched one back in the 74th minute through Duro`s hard shot.

But Pierre`s header at the back post in the 80th minute and Nobre`s second goal of the evening four minutes later ensured the three points. Rizespor`s keeper, Murat Yiğiter, was sent off for ungentlemanly conduct with minutes to go to the final whistle.

FENERBAHÇE: Volkan, Ali Güneş, Tomas, Luciano, İsmail, Rebrov (83` Aurelio), Ümit, Selçuk, Tuncay (46` Serhat), Nobre, Van Hooijdonk

ÇAYKUR RİZESPOR: Murat Yiğiter, Ahmet, Koray, Kürşat, Şener, Gürol, Cem Baki (63` Duro), Miranda, Sedlak, Zafer ( 46` Serkan Özdemir, 90` Serkan Şen), Okan

Goals: 27`,85` Marcio Nobre, 40` (p), 81` Pierre van Hooijdonk, 75` Duro (Çaykur Rizespor)

Friday, January 23, 2004 

AS Roma 1-2 AC Milan



AC Milan sealed a Coppa Italia semi-final against S.S. Lazio as a 2-1 victory against AS Roma in the second leg of their quarter-final earned a 4-2 aggregate success. Second-half strikes from Alessandro Nesta and Jon Dahl Tomasson gave the holders the win in the Stadio Olimpico, marking the third time Milan had beaten the Serie A leaders in 16 days.

Trailing 2-1 after the first match, Roma began brightly and midfield player Daniele De Rossi had a shot cleared off the line. Meanwhile, at the other end Brazilian winger Serginho narrowly failed to connect with a cross that flashed dangerously across the goal. Four minutes after the break, however, central defender Nesta put the visitors ahead, nodding Serginho's cross past Roma's reserve goalkeeper Andrea Zotti. Danish striker Tomasson added a second in the 57th minute, spinning round defender Christian Panucci on the edge of the area before shooting into the net.

Roma midfield player Alessandro Mancini pulled a goal back nine minutes from time, but Fabio Capello's side never looked capable of mounting an unlikely comeback and missed out on a possible meeting with their city neighbours Lazio in the last four.

AS ROMA: Zotti, Dellas (Carew 63'), Samuel, Panucci, Candela, D' Agostino, Tommasi (Dacourt 63'), De Rossi D. (Wahab 78'), Lima, Mancini, Delvecchio.

AC MILAN: Dida, Simic, Laursen, Costacurta, Pancaro(Nesta, 46'), Brocchi, Redondo, Ambrosini (Gattuso, 50'), Seedorf, Serginho (Borriello, 72'), Tomasson.

GOALS: 0-1 Nesta, 49'; 0-2 Tomasson, 57'; 1-2 Mancini, 84

Source: Uefa.com

 

Hungary right back

The Hungarian right back Laszlo Bodnar (24) (11 international caps), will have a trial at HSV next week. He recently had his contract at the Ukrainian outfit Dynamo Kiev annulled.

 

Fenerbahce Close To Yakin Signing



Fenerbahce are said to be closing to signing Swiss midfield sensation Hakan Yakin for 2.5m euros.

The Basel star joined Paris St Germain last summer only for the transfer to be cancelled due to a concealed injury.

The 26-year-old has once again proved to be an inspiration for Basel, who are racing towards the Swiss championship, and has again attracted plenty of interest in his signature.

Christophe Daum has expressed an interest in signing Yakin, whose agent has said the the transfer is close to being concluded.

Basel president Gigi Oeri and coach Christian Gross are understood to have accepted it is time, once again, to sell Yakin, who is constantly surrounded by transfer speculation.

Hakan's brother Murat, who is currently at Basel, had a spell in Turkey with Fenerbahce.

Source: Soccerage

 

Following Fenerbahçe



From now on the FU Team will follow another championship that is currently improving his level. We are talking about Turkish Championship and the team that will be followed is Fenerbahçe, the most popular team in Turkey. Fenerbahçe is currently in the 2th position in the championship, 8 points behind the lider Besiktas.
Fenerbahçe have in their squad several international players from Turkey and international stars like the ucranian Rebrov and the dutch Van Hooijdonk.

 

Jacobsen to Anderlecht?



HSV's Danish-born defender Lars Jacobsen came to Hamburg in 2002 from Odense BK, with a good reputation and high hopes of making his mark in the Bundesliga like his compatriots Ebbe Sand, Brian Laudrup or Fleming Poulson did. Sadly, reputation is not enough to make it in top flight football.

Jacobsen has failed to make his mark in Hamburg and has played only 12 matches, scoring once in the process. Coach Klaus Toppmöller had expected more from the 24 year old at the club's training camp in Spain...he has been disappointed by the Dane.

It could well be that Toppmöller considers Jacobsen to be surplus to requirements at HSV, because the player is expected to have a trial at Belgium's biggest club Anderlecht this week.

Source: Hamburg.de

Thursday, January 22, 2004 

League Standings



Pos. Team Pld Pts
1. Porto 18 48
2. Sporting 18 43
3. Benfica 18 37
4. Braga 18 33
5. Beira-Mar 18 31

...
18. Est. Amadora 18 11



Pos. Team Pld Pts
1. Valencia 20 44
2. Real Madrid 20 43
3. Deportivo 20 40
4. Atl. Madrid 30 34
5. Villareal 20 33
...
8. Athletic 20 27



Pos. Team Pld Pts
1. Monaco 21 47
2. PSG 21 39
3. Lyon 20 38
4. Auxerre 21 38
5. Souchaux 21 38



Pos. Team Pld Pts
1. Roma 17 42
2. Juventus 17 39
3. AC Milan 16 39
4. Inter 17 31

5. Parma 17 31



Pos. Team Pld Pts
1. Arsenal 22 52
2. Man Utd 22 50
3. Chelsea 22 46
4. Charlton 22 37
5. Liverpool 22 33



Torneo de Verano

Pos. Team Pld Pts
1. Racing 2 6
2. San Lorenzo 3 6
3. River Plate 2 3
4. Boca Juniors 2 3
5. Independiente 2 0

 

HSV crush Grasshoppers!



HSV beat the Swiss side Grasshoppers Zürich 4:2 (3:0) in the Spanish resort of Oliva Nova yesterday. HSV goals scored by Naohiro Takahara (2.), Björn Schlicke (33.), Mehdi Mahdavikia (45.) and Alexander Meier (80.). Zurich replied late in the match through goals by Richard Nunez (82.) and Manuel Bühler (85.).

After the match the HSV coach Klaus Toppmöller was happy with the way his side had played, especially in the first half: „I’m very happy with the performance in the first half. I'd like to see more of the same against Hanover when the Bundesliga re-starts. Our pressing and the way we used the space were good points," said Toppmöller. The biggest smile was understandably on the face of the veteran Bernd "Holler" Hollerbach, who played his first game after an age on the sidelines due to injury: "We played really well in the first half. On a personal note, I'm delighted that I was able to play pain free after my long absence," beamed Holler

The HSV line-up:

Wächter (60. Starke) - Wicky (60. Fukal), Schlicke, Reinhardt (75. Bröcker), Hollerbach (46. Kling) - Mahdavikia (60. Jacobsen) , Maltritz, Jarolim (60. Meier), Beinlich (46. Rahn) - Takahara (46. Romeo), Barbarez


Goals: 1:0 Takahara (2.), 2:0 Schlicke (33.), 3:0 Mahdavika (45.), 4:0 Meier (80.), 4:1 Nunez (82.), 4:2 Bühler (85.)

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