Football United

RIVER PLATE: Alexis Viera; Martín Rodríguez, Flavio Córdoba, Tabaré Silva, Víctor Laserre; Darío Flores, Daniel Hernández, Leandro Ezquerra, Marcelo López; Peter Vera, Osvaldo Canobbio.

PEÑAROL: Claudio Flores; Ronald Ramírez, Miguel Lavié, Ricardo Möller, Alvaro Alonso; Alejandro Correa Rodríguez, Fabián Cesaro, Fernando Fadeuille, Gabriel Cedrés; Walter Guglielmone, Diego Rodríguez.

GOALS: 0-1, Diego Rodriguez (11')

APERTURA

Pos. Team Pld Pts
1. Miramar Missiones 1 3
2. Dep. Colonio 1 3
3. Paysandú 1 3
4. Cerrito 1 3
5. Rocha FC 1 3
...
6. Peñarol 1 3

ODRA WODZISLAW: Pawełek; Krysiński, Dymkowski, Drzymont, Bujok; Zganiacz (Muszalik 67'), Malinowski, Kowalski, Woś; Albingier (Czereszewski 58'), Masłowski (Grzyb 85')

WISLA KRAKÓW: Majdan; Baszczyński, Kłos, Głowacki, Dudka; Paulista (Uche 63'), Sobolewski (Gołoś 60'), Cantoro, Zieńczuk; Frankowski, Paweł Brożek (Penksa 72')

GOALS: 1-0, Masłowski (56'); 1-1, Penksa (92')

EKSTRAKLASA

Pos. Team Pld Pts
1. Amica Wronki 5 8
2. Wisla Kraków 4 8
3. Lech Poznan 5 8
4. Pogon 5 8
5. Górnik Zabrze 5 8

LOMBARD: Erdélyi; Müller Zs., Farkas A., Mutica, Szkukalek (Geri, 77'); Lászka (Kovrig, 52'), Lipták, Remili; Kincses, Róth (Homma, 46'); Herczeg.

HONVÉD: Tóth I.; Lázár (Kovács Z., 46'), Mészáros, Udvari, Takács Z.; Dobos, Genito, Dancs (Zana, 20'), Miro; Csobánki (Bojtor, 60'), Alves.

GOALS: 1-0, Herczeg (28'); 2-0, Lipták (57'); 2-1, Csobánki (14'); 2-2, Genito (65')

NB1

Pos. Team Pld Pts
1. Újpest 4 10
2. MTK 4 10
3. Fehérvár 4 9
4. ZTE 4 9
5. Györ 3 7
....
6. Honvéd 4 5

At San Mamés, Athletic convincingly defeated Basque rivals Real Sociedad de Fútbol 3-0 to begin the new campaign in impressive fashion. Fran Yeste opened the scoring on 47 minutes, smashing a superb left-footed effort past Asier Riesgo. Fernando Llorente doubled the lead five minutes later, then Luis Prieto arrived to turn in Tiko's free-kick with ten minutes to go.

ATHLETIC: Aranzubia; Expósito, Gurpegui, Luis Prieto, Casas; Ibon Gutiérrez, Orbaiz; Iraola, Yeste (Lacruz, 87'), Etxeberria (Tiko, 77'); Llorente (Guerrero, 84').

REAL SOCIEDAD: Riesgo; Rekarte, Labaka, Garitano, Garrido (Nihat, 57'); Mikel Alonso; Uranga (Xabi Prieto, 46'), Larrea, Aranburu (Gabilondo, 61'), Barkero; Kovacevic.

GOALS: 1-0, Yeste (47'); 2-0, Llorente (52'); 3-0, Luis Prieto (81')

PRIMERA DIVISIÓN

Pos. Team Pld Pts
1. Athletic 1 3
2. Valencia 1 3
3. Alavés 1 1
4. Barcelona 1 1

The Wolves coach Holger Fach presented new signing Alex in his starting line-up for the visit of Bayer Leverkusen to the VOLKSWAGENARENA on Saturday afternoon. Frenchman Steve Marlet, who joined the club at the same time as Alex, was on the bench at the start. Menseguez took the place on the suspended Klimowicz alongside Mike Hanke up front. The visiting coach Klaus Augenthaler was without Krzynowek in Wolfsburg. His place in the team went to the Croatian Babic. Juan was preferred to the former Borussia Dortmund defender Madouni.

First headed goal for Andres!
Both sides started the game in a cautious mood and misplaced passes were the order of the day, during the opening minutes of the match. On 22 minutes, a fine solo run by Leverkusen’s Babic saw him leave Alex and Quiroga in his wake, before producing a perfeclty weighted cross onto the head of Berbatov, who nodded home his third goal of the season unmarked. After that goal, the game got bogged down in midfield for a while. On 39 minutes, the Wolves drew level as little Andres D’A lessandro scored his first Bundesliga goal with his head, after good approach work by Hans Sarpei. The sides went into the break on even terms.

Captain goal-getter!
Leverkusen began the second half the better of the two sides and Slavo Freier tested Simon Jentzsch shortly after the restart. Minutes later the home side went ahead as Menseguez brilliantly reached the by-line, from where he crossed the ball onto the head of the unmarked Wolves skipper Pablo Thiam, who nobody in the Bayer defence had picked up. Thiam nodded home easily and unchallenged on 54 minutes. The visitors tried to up the tempo, but the home defence was up to the challenge. Both sides had further chances resulting from counter attacks, the best of which fell to Leverkusen’s Schneider and Wolfsburg’s Hanke.

Bayer down to nine men!
The attacking efforts of the visiting side were abruptly ended 15 minutes from the end, as they had two players sent off for fouls on D’Alessandro. The first to go was Roque Junior on 76 minutes. Marlet came on for his Wolves debut and watched as Babic made a rash challenge on the Wolves playmaker from behind, and was sent off by the match referee Sippel a minute into injury time. The game was of course over by then and on the balance play, the Wolves were well worth their first victory of the new season.

WOLFSBURG: Jentzsch; Alex, Quiroga, Hofland, Sarpei; Thiam; Karhan, Tskitishvili; d'Alessandro; Menseguez, Hanke

BAYER LEVERKUSEN: Butt; Castro, Juan, Roque Junior, Athirson; Ramelow; Freier, Babic; B. Schneider; Voronin, Berbatov

GOALS: 0-1, Berbatov (22'); 1-1, D'Alessandro (39'); 2-1, Thiam (54')

BUNDESLIGA

Pos. Team Pld Pts
1. Bayern 3 9
2. Bremen 3 7
3. Hamburg 3 7
4. Schalke 3 7
5. Kaseirslautern 3 6
...
7. Wolfsburg 3 5

Group A
FC Bayern München (GER)
SK Rapid Wien (AUS)
Club Brugge KV (BEL)
Juventus (ITA)

Group B
AC Sparta Praha (CZE)
AFC Ajax (HOL)
Arsenal FC (ENG)
FC Thun (SWI)

Group C
Werder Bremen (GER)
FC Barcelona (SPA)
Panathinakos FC (GRE)
Udinese Calcio (ITA)

Group D
SL Benfica (POR)
Manchester Utd FC (ENG)
Villareal FC (SPA)
LOSC Lille Métropole (FRA)

Group E
AC Milan (ITA)
PSV Eindhoven (HOL)
Fenerbahçe SK (TUR)
FC Schalke 04 (GER)

Group F
Olympiacos CFP (GRE)
Olympique Lyonnais (FRA)
Real Madrid CF (SPA)
Rosenborg BK (NOR)

Group G
Liverpool FC (ENG)
RSC Anderlecht (BEL)
Real Bétis Balompié (SPA)
Chelsea FC (ENG)

Group H
FC Porto (POR)
Rangers FC (SCO)
FC Internazionale Milano (ITA)
FC Artmedia Bratislava (SVK)

BOTAFOGO: Max; Émerson, Scheidt, Asprilla; Ruy (Marcelinho), Jonílson, Gláuber, Zé Roberto, Bill (Ramon); Alex Alves, Guilherme (Reinaldo).

INTERNACIONAL: Clemer; Indio, Wilson, Edinho; Élder Granja, Gavilán, Tinga (Wellington), Perdigão (Alex), Jorge Wágner; Fernandão, Gustavo (Rafael Sóbis).

GOAL: 0-1, Élder Granja (22')

SERIE A

Po. Team Pld Pts
1. Corinthians 22 39
2. Santos 22 39
3. Góias 22 38
4. Paraná 22 38
5. Internacional 22 37
...
11. Botafogo 22 32

HSV battled their way to a superb 0-0 draw away to the Spanish giants Valencia on Tuesday evening (23.08.05), and in doing so, qualified for the UEFA Cup competition. After deservedly winning the first leg 1-0 in the AOL Arena, HSV produced a gritty defensive performance, allowing Valencia very few chances over the 90 minutes. 800 HSV fans made the trip to Spain, and they were not to be disappointed!

Kluivert goes close
The Spaniards only had one clear chance during the first half. Dutch star Patrick Kluivert hit the bar with the HSV keeper Wächter beaten. In injury time at the end of the second half, Wächter saved his side by making a stunning save from Vicente. There were scenes of HSV jubilation in front of the 43,000 strong stunned home crowd. After the match the HSV coach Thomas Doll was delighted with how his side performed: "I am proud of my team. Everyone gave everything right until the end, we deserve this success."



Welcome back Paule
Thomas Doll was able to recall his veteran midfielder Stefan Beinlich for the game in the famous "Estadio Mestalla". Beinlich tore a muscle during the first leg tie, but intensive treatment by the club medical staff ensured that he would make the starting line-up in Valencia. Striker Sergej Barbarez was suspended for the match after being sent off in the first leg clash. The Bosnian was handed a two match ban by UEFA. His place in the starting line-up went to Benny Lauth. The Spanish coach picked Ruben Baraja and Pablo Aimar to face HSV.

Attacking home side
As expected, the home side attacked HSV from the off, withAimar pulling the strings in midfield. On 9 minutes, the Argentinean Rufete, fired in a shot which Stefan Wächter was equal to. After 15 minutes though, Wächter was powerless as Kluivert headed against the HSV crossbar. After those early chances, HSV found their way into the game, although nothing much was happening up front: "We had planned to do more up front, but as the game progressed it became increasingly important to work hard at the back." Patrick Kluivert was taken off at half time, after failing miserably against his compatriot Khalid Boulahrouz



HSV chances
The second half began like the first, with the home side trying to breach the HSV defence, without it must be said, much success. It took until the 63rd minute for them to create a chance through Baraja. As the game progressed HSV began to create chances of their own. On 69 minutes several HSV players failed to connect with a swinging corner driven in by Rafael van der Vaart, and seconds later, Benny Lauth missed a good chance after superb approach work by Thimothee Atouba.

Wächter saves the day!
Valencia couldn’t find a way through the well-marshalled HSV defence, but seconds before the end, Wächter saved superbly from Vicente to save the day for his team. As the match referee Duhamel blew for time, there were in credible scenes of jubilation as the HSV players and staff celebrated what was a deserved success when one considers both legs.



FC Valencia: Canizares - Moretti, Ayala, Albiol, F.Aurelio - Albelda, Baraja (71.di Vaio) - Rufete (57.Angulo), Aimar, Vicente - Kluivert (46.Villa)

HSV: Wächter - Demel (59.Reinhardt), Boulahrouz, van Buyten, Atouba - Wicky, Beinlich (46.Mahdavikia), Jarolim (85.Trochowski), van der Vaart - Lauth, Mpenza



Source: HSV.de

VfL Wolfsburg have completed the signings of French striker Steve Marlet and Portugal defender Alex.

'Valuable' acquisition
Marlet, capped 24 times by his country, joins on a free transfer having finally terminated his association with Fulham FC and has signed a one-year contract with an option for a further 12 months after passing a medical. "Steve Marlet is a well known player," said Wolfsburg general manager Thomas Strunz. "He is very quick and can play in various positions. I am sure that he will be a very valuable player."

Four-year deal
The Bundesliga outfit have also announced the purchase of Portugal and SL Benfica defender Alex, who spent last season on loan with Vitória SC. The 25-year-old put pen to paper on a four-year deal and cost the club an estimated fee of €1.8m. "Despite having been capped by his country Alex has not received the attention he deserves," Strunz commented. "He has all the qualities we want to see in a right-back. He is quick, likes to get forward and skilful like all Portuguese players."

Source: uefa.com

FH Hafnarfjördur have become the first side to secure a place in next season's UEFA Champions League after regaining the Icelandic Premier League title with three games to spare after opening an unassailable 14-point lead.

Since they kicked off with a resounding 3-0 victory at Keflavík in May, FH have not looked back. The team, who claimed their maiden championship last year, have taken maximum points from their subsequent 14 matches and a 2-0 home win against closest rivals Valur Reykjavík last night capped a dominant campaign.

"To be honest, I never expected us to win 15 games in a row," FH coach Ólafur Kristjánsson said. "This is more than we hoped for. But we're not stopping here - we are going to win the last three games too." Should they do so, they will complete the season without dropping a point, while stretching their unbeaten league run to 34 matches - a record dating back to May 2004.

These are halcyon days for Hafnarfjördur, and a stark change in fortunes for a side who - like Valur - were playing second division football five years ago. The upturn is especially felt by Audun Helgason who returned to FH this season, ten years after leaving the club following relegation. "Ten years ago I wept with sorrow but now I'm crying with joy," the Iceland defender said.

There will be no double for FH, however, after a 9-8 penalty shoot-out defeat by Fram Reykjavík in the semi-finals of the Icelandic Cup. And Kristjánsson believes there is still room for improvement: "We were not happy losing against Fram and we didn't do well in the UEFA Chmapions League [being eliminated by Azerbaijani club PFC Neftchi in the first qualifying round]. But we have a lot of young talent and should be able to keep up the good work."

Despite the 2-0 loss yesterday, Valur remain second and can look forward to a cup final against Fram. ÍA Akranes, who have lost winger Hafþór Vilhjálmsson to a broken arm, lie third after a narrow win against fourth-placed Keflavík on Sunday.

With the title destined for FH, the teams below are already seeking to strengthen their squads for next term. KR Reykjavík have signed Croatian defender Dalibor Pauletic and Slovenian midfielder Erik Krzisnik, while American youngster Christopher Vorenkamp has joined ÍBV Vestmannaeyjar. Another promising midfielder Johan Karlefjord has moved to Fram, with Faroese striker Símun Samuelsson switching to Keflavík.

source: uefa.com.

FEHÉRVÁR: Tudor; Csizmadia, Kuttor, Koller, Horváth G.; Farkas B., Schwarcz, Bozic (Bartyik, 68'), Alumona (Disztl D., 62'); Sitku, Györök (Vincze Z., 79')

HONVÉD: Tóth I.; Kovács N., Udvari, Takács Z., Dancs (Tangara, 70'); Vadócz, Mészáros, Dobos (Venczel, 81'), Genito; Alves, Lázár (Miro, 46')

GOALS: 1-0, Bozic (24'); 2-0, Disztl D. (71'); 3-0, Farkas B. (83')

NB1

Pos. Team Pld Pts
1. MTK 3 7
2. Újpest 3 7
3. Györ 3 7
4. ZTE 3 6
5. Fehérvár 3 6
...
9. Honvéd 3 4

Scottish champions Rangers FC won a stormy first Old Firm derby of the season 3-1 as Celtic FC finished with nine men after seeing Alan Thompson and captain Neil Lennon dismissed.
McLeish joyGoals from Dado Pršo and Thomas Buffel gave Rangers a comfortable lead and although Shaun Maloney pulled one back with a penalty four minutes from time, Nacho Novo responded with another spot-kick to give Alex McLeish his first win against former Aberdeen FC team-mate and close friend Gordon Strachan.

McLeish joy
Goals from Dado Pršo and Thomas Buffel gave Rangers a comfortable lead and although Shaun Maloney pulled one back with a penalty four minutes from time, Nacho Novo responded with another spot-kick to give Alex McLeish his first win against former Aberdeen FC team-mate and close friend Gordon Strachan.

'Terrific' Prso"
We had the extra man for a long period of the game and that certainly gave us a good advantage," said McLeish. "The last few minutes were interesting but Dado has had another terrific game and won the penalty for us at the other end." However, victory came at a price as captain Barry Ferguson picked up an ankle knock which makes him a doubtful starter for the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round second leg tie against Anorthosis Famagusta FC on Wednesday at Ibrox - with Rangers currently 2-1 up.

Rae in
Buffel passed a late fitness test to take his place in the Rangers midfield alongside Alex Rae who deputised for the suspended Fernando Ricksen, while Marvin Andrews was restored to the centre of defence. For Celtic, Strachan paired Craig Beattie with John Hartson in attack leaving Polish striker Maciej Zurawski on the bench.

Pršo opener
The home side started the better in a frenetic opening period which saw John Hartson and Julien Rodriguez booked, but Celtic were reduced to ten men on 23 minutes when Thompson was red carded for a late challenge on Novo. Dianbobo Balde missed a great chance to put Celtic in front on the half-hour mark, heading Shunsuke Nakamura's corner over from six metres, as the visitors began to find their way back into the game. But against the run of play Rangers broke the deadlock on 34 minutes, Pršo latching on to a long ball from Andrews before volleying past Artur Boruc.

Maloney hope
McLeish introduced Peter Løvenkrands for Rae at half-time as Rangers sought to capitalise on their one-man advantage and they doubled their lead six minutes after the re-start when Buffel burst between two defenders before slotting the ball into the net. Strachan immediately sacrificed Nakamura for Shaun Maloney as they tried to get back into the game and the Scotland Under-21 striker gave Celtic hope with four minutes left, scoring from the penalty spot after being brought down by Ian Murray.

RANGERS: Waterreus; Fanfan (Malcolm, 71'), Andrews, Rodriguez, Ball; Rae (Lovenkrands, 46'), Ferguson, Murray; Buffel, Novo, Prso.

CELTIC: Boruc; Telfer, Balde, McManus, Camara (Virgo, 86'); Petrov, Nakamura (Maloney, 52'), Lennon, Thompson; Beattie, Hartson (Zurawski, 66').

GOALS: 1-0, Prso (33'); 2-0, Buffel (46'); 2-1, Maloney (85'); 3-1, Novo (87')

PREMIER LEAGUE

Pos. Team Pld Pts
1. Hearts 4 12
2. Rangers 4 9
3. Celtic 4 7
4. Kilmarnock 4 7
5. Inverness 4 7

FORTALEZA: Bosco; Amaral, Ronaldo Angelim, Alan, Marquinhos (Thiago Mattos); Erandir, Marcelo Lopes, Mazinho Lima, Lúcio; Fumagalli, Rinaldo (André)

BOTAFOGO: Max, Ruy, Rafael Marques, Asprilla, Bill; Jonílson, Juca (Joílson), Zé Roberto, Gláuber (Leandro Carvalho); Alex Alves, Reinaldo (Almir)

GOALS: 0-1, Alex Alves (18'); 1-1, Marquinhos (28'); 1-2, Reinaldo (51'); 2-2, Ronaldo Angelim (80')

SERIE A

Pos. Team Pld Pts
1. Corinthians 21 39
2. Góias 21 37
3. Paraná 21 37
4. Santos 21 36
5. Cruzeiro 21 36
...
9. Botafogo 21 32

RIVER: Franco Costanzo; Cristian Alvarez, Gabriel Loeschbor, Leandro Fernández, Lucas Mareque; Diego Barrado (Andrés San Martín, 90'), Jonathan Santana, Víctor Zapata; Marcelo Gallardo (Gastón Fernández, 80'); Ernesto Farías, Diego Galván (Gustavo Oberman, 62').

NEWELL'S: Justo Villar; Germán Ré, Julián Maidana, Nicolás Spolli y Damián Giménez; Gastón Aguirre, Luciano Vella, Ariel Zapata, Fernando Belluschi (Aldo Osorio, 70'); Ariel Ortega (Damián Manso, 86'), Damián Steiner (Adrián Lucero, 55').

GOALS: 1-0, Barrado (22'); 1-1, Ortega (46'); 2-1, Santana (84')

CLAUSURA

Pos. Team Pld Pts
1. Independiente 3 7
2. Racing 3 7
3. River Plate 3 7
4. San Lorenzo 3 7
5. Argentinos Jrs 2 6

VfL Wolfsburg reached the second round of the German FA Cup on Saturday afternoon (20.08.05), by beating second division side SC Paderborn 2-0. A crowd of 4,969 in the Hermann-Löns-Stadion saw Mike Hanke (14.) and Diego Klimowicz (28.) do the business for the Wolves. On 22 minutes, the Wolves keeper Simon Jentzsch saved a penalty taken by Stephan Maaß. Despite intensive pressure from the home side, the Wolves held firm and deserved their 2-0 victory.

Early scare and early lead!
The Wolves coach Holger Fach chose the same side, which was unfortunate not to take maximum points from their Bundesliga clash away to Borussia Mönchengladbach (1-1) last weekend. Although Wolfsburg started the better of the two sides, the first chance of the game fell to the home striker Dennis Schulp on 11 minutes, who tested Simon Jentzsch with a header following a free kick. Three minutes later, the visiting side took the lead, as Mike Hanke converted a fine free kick taken by Andres D’Alessandro.

Jentzsch in top form
Paderborn attacked the Bundesliga side and almost drew level on 18 minutes, had it not been for Jentzsch who saved superbly from a long range effort. Shortly afterwards, the Wolves keeper took the legs from under Paderborn’s Rene Müller, as he raced into the Wolves box. The referee rightly pointed to the spot and Stephan Maaß held his head in his hands, as Jentzsch saved the penalty to keep his side in the match (22.). The missed chance didn’t daunt the home side who continued to come forward. The Wolves struck again on 28 minutes as Andres D' Alessandro received the ball in midfield and passed to Mike Hanke, who crossed from the right wing onto the foot of the advancing "Klimo", who doubled his side’s lead from close range.

Thiam denied a goal
On 49 minutes, the Wolves skipper Pablo Thiam thought he’d scored, but referee Manuel Gräfe, had seen a foul by Thiam and disallowed the goal. The home side went close through a long range effort by Marcel Ndjeng on 58 minutes. Once again, Jentzsch was at hand to thwart the home side. After the match was over, the Wolves coach Holger Fach had the following to say: "We controlled them from the start. My team reacted well and deserved to win the game. I would have liked them to have played forward more in the second half instead of just protecting the result."

PADERBORN: Loboué; Brouwers, Djurisic (Vujanovic, 55'), Bollmann, de Graef; Gouiffe à Goufan, Maaß; Ndjeng, Schulp (Dragusha, 64'), Schüssler (Becker, 73'); Müller

WOLFSBURG: Jentzsch; Karhan, Quiroga, Hofland, Weiser; Thiam; Menseguez (Sarpei, 61'), Tskitishvili; D'Alessandro; Hanke (Topic, 71'), Klimowicz (Hrgovic, 84')

GOALS: 0-1. Hanke (14'); 0-2, Klimowicz (28')

Source: vfl-wolfsburg.de

PEÑAROL: Claudio Flores; Ronald Ramírez, Jean Pierre, Ricardo Moller, Alvaro Alonso; Fabián Césaro, Fernando Fadeuille, Gabriel Cedrés, Marcelo Tejera (Pablo Russo, 62'); Adrián Apellaniz (Diego Rodriguez, 69'), Walter Guglielmone.

NACIONAL: Jorge Bava; Mauricio Victorino, Diego Jaume, Ignacio Pallas (Carlos Valdez, 45'), Daniel Leites; Oscar Javier Morales, Marco Vanzini (Alberto Silva, 88'), Rodrigo Sebastián Vázquez, Juan Albín; Gabriel Alvez (luis Suarez, 81'), Gonzalo Castro (Luis Romero, 77').

GOALS: 0-1, Diego Jaume (7'); 0-1, Juan Albín (17'); 0-1, Gabriel Alvez (26', pen); 1-2, Pablo Russo (89').

TERESA HERRERA CUP

Depor. Coruña 2-1 Nacional
Peñarol 1-3 Nacional
Depo. Coruña - Peñarol