Football News » Weekly News » Weekly News 25 4 10
Weekly News 25 4 10
Weekly Soccer News, April 25, 2010
Inter rely on Nou Camp's semifinal curse
In the first leg of the Champions League semifinals Barcelona found themselves on the receiving end of unfair refereeing. After having been crucially helped by a disastrous performance from Tom Henning Ovrebo a year ago against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, the Catalan side were hurt by several weird calls from Olegario Benquerenca against Inter in Milan.
The Spanish press accused the Portuguese referee (and allegedly Jose Mourinho's friend) of "atraco" (robbery) for allowing Diego Milito's goal from an offside position and failing to award two penalties for Barca after fouls on Alves and Pique.
The final 3-1 result in Inter's favour was certainly not all Benquerenca's fault, but rather a consequence of an amazing coincidence of several factors: Barcelona had to travel 1000 km by bus as the planes were grounded due to the infamous volcano cloud spreading from Iceland; Inter played in front of their home crowd and had one day more for rest having played their Italian league game against Juventus (2-0) on Friday, April 16th.
The Italians believe the two-goal cushion will prove sufficient for their champion, because of a weird curse affecting Barcelona's Nou Camp in semifinal matches of European competition. In fact, Barcelona have failed to score a single goal in their last five semifinal games at home, their last goal coming in 2000 against Valencia.
After that match, the crowd at Nou Camp saw 450 minutes of football, but no goals from the home players. Liverpool in 2001, Real Madrid in 2002, Milan in 2006, Manchester United in 2008 and Chelsea in 2009 all kept clean sheets and even when Barcelona did qualify for the finals, they did so thanks to useful scores away from home.
The last time Barca reached a European final on the basis of a home win was in 1994, when Porto were beaten by 3-0.
Volcano upsets European soccer scene
All away teams last week had to travel by land to their respective first leg matches in the Champions League and the Europa League and none of them managed to win. Lyon and Liverpool both lost 1-0, to Bayern and Atletico respectively, and only Fulham avoided defeat against a dismal Hamburger SV (0-0) in spite of having spent 27 hours on the road before reaching northern Germany.
Next week the skies over Europe are expected to clear, giving unfair advantage to the teams that will be able to enjoy short and comfortable trips to the return leg venues. Inter, Bayern, Atletico and Hamburger will avoid the torments of road traffic that exhausted their rivals last week and that circumstance alone could make all the difference in the aggregate score lines.
Manchester United top the rich list
Forbes magazine has put Manchester United on top of the most valuable soccer clubs in a recently published study. United lead this elite group with an estimated value of 1,374 million euros, not taking into account the club's significant debt.
Real Madrid have been relegated to second spot with a total value of 991 million euros, followed by Arsenal, estimated at 884 million euros. The Gunners, notoriously short of trophies, have surprisingly edged the winner of six competitions in 2009, Barcelona, who occupy fourth position.
The Forbes' Top-20 includes seven English clubs, six members of the Premier League and one from the Championship, Newcastle United. The presence of a second-tier team among the world's wealthiest clubs emphasizes the economic strength of English soccer.
This anomaly will soon be corrected, as the Magpies have already secured their return to the top flight for the next season.
Portsmouth barred from Europe due to debt
The English FA and the Premier League will not permit Portsmouth to take part in next season's Europa League on account of the club's huge debt, which stands at a reported 136 million euros. Portsmouth have been mathematically relegated for weeks after being stripped of nine points, but still reached the FA Cup finals by upsetting Tottenham 2-0. Seeing that their opponents in the finals are Chelsea, certain Champions League participants in the 2010/11 season, Portsmouth earned the right to compete in the Europa League, but the soccer authorities have denied the southern club a European licence.
The news has been welcomed, however, by the teams fighting for European spots, as Portsmouth's elimination means that the seventh-placed club will also enter the Europa League - possibly Liverpool or Aston Villa, who have the best chances of occupying that position.
Ribery and Benzema quizzed over sex with a minor
An elite Moroccan-born prostitute went on record about some of her high-profile clients from the world of soccer. They include the famed French internationals Franck Ribery and Karim Benzema, who supposedly used her services while she was under age.
The sultry Zahra Dear (18) also implicated another France star, Sidney Goo, but he allegedly had sex with the artificial blonde only after she turned eighteen. In order to exculpate Ribery and Benzema, the expensive professional hooker stated she had not revealed to them her real age and that they treated her like gentlemen.
In cases like this, the prosecutors would be required to prove that the prostitute's clients knew that she was a minor at the time of the sexual intercourse, a requirement the prosecutors are not likely to meet. In theory at least, a knowing client could be punished by up to three years in prison and a 45,000 euros fine.
Ribery confessed to having been intimate with Zahra, but naturally denied any knowledge of the girl's age. It won't be surprising if Benzema asserts something along the same lines. Curiously, Ribery is married to another Muslim woman, Sahib, and converted to Islam out of love for her. Sahib is expected to stand by her husband, because such wealthy partners are hard to get these days, even if they are somewhat lacking in faithfulness.
Inter's fans outraged over Balotelli's antics
It is a miracle that Marion Balotelli has not been kicked out of Inter Milan for his numerous transgressions, but his latest outburst could (and perhaps should) put an end to his career in Jose Mourinho's team.
At the end of the game against Barcelona at San Siro (3-1), angry at the fans' continuous boos, the Ghanaian-born striker took off Inter's shirt and threw it to the ground. Such an abominable gesture was spotted by one of the team's bosses Marco Materazzi, who ran after Balotelli and fiercely reproached him (Barcelona's Zlatan Ibrahimovic witnessed the scene and claimed Materazzi was absolutely furious at what his 19-year-old team mate had done).
That Inter's fans are mad at Balotelli is absolutely understandable, because the guy said on various occasions he supports AC Milan (!) and he even posed in the city rivals' red-and-black shirt. Imagine what would happen to an Arsenal player professing love for Tottenham (or vice-versa) and donning the other team's kit in public.
Inter's owner Massimo Moratti called Balotelli's act "a public suicide", but still expressed hopes he could be "reintegrated into the team". The immature kid responded by saying he plans to become the best player in the world. It is uncertain if he will see his dream come true, but even if he does, it will probably not be as an Inter player.
|
|
|
|