Mark Hughes and Roberto Mancini Should Box

Via Foxsoccerchannel.com

Mark Hughes has revealed his anger at the reaction of Roberto Mancini to his offer of a post-match handshake at Eastlands on Sunday.

On his first return to Manchester City since he was sacked 14 months ago, Hughes' Fulham side came away with a 1-1 draw that almost certainly ended City's Premier League title hopes.

But the delight at a fully merited result turned to annoyance when Mancini appeared not to look at Hughes as the pair shook hands, leading the Welshman to withdraw in clear annoyance.

"I am old-fashioned," he said. "I always think you should offer your hand in whatever circumstances, no matter how difficult it is.

"I did it and did it with sincerity after my team had been beaten 4-1 at Craven Cottage earlier in this season. I acknowledged his team were better.

"Maybe I misread it but I don't feel Roberto really acknowledged the efforts of my team and what we had done by the manner he offered his hand, by not looking at me. 

Mancini countered with the accusation Hughes had done exactly the same thing in November following one of City's best performances of the season.

"In London he did the same," said Mancini. "I know he said something but I couldn't understand what.

"For you (journalists) it is maybe the best thing in the match, for me, no. It is not important. He (Hughes) should be happy. His team got a draw against us."

Hughes was indeed delighted.

Even without Bobby Zamora, who was ruled out with an ankle injury, Fulham showed more attacking invention than the hosts, levelling at the start of the second half through Dami.

Mario Balotelli had put City ahead with his ninth goal of the season, although Mancini was not overly impressed by the Italian's performance.

"No, I am not happy with him," said Mancini. "He scored a good goal but I am not happy. He should play well, better than that.

"For strikers it is important to score. But strikers should also play for the team.

"I don't just mean Balotelli, but Carlos and Dzeko as well. They should always play for the team. Mario can play better."

Balotelli's performance coupled with the difficulties City had mastering the Fulham midfield, leading to Edin Dzeko's departure after an hour, may lead to Mancini temporarily abandoning his three-man strike force in the search for a victory in Wednesday's FA Cup fifth round tie with Aston Villa.

"Sometimes players can play badly," he said. "You cannot always play well.

"But the attitude is always important. If you don't have a good attitude, it is difficult to play with three strikers."

Mancini acknowledged a sense of tiredness amongst his depleted squad, revealing that James Milner and Shaun Wright-Phillips were named on the bench this afternoon despite being less than fully fit.

The Italian hopes David Silva can recover from an ankle injury in time to face Villa, otherwise he will face Gerard Houllier's men with the same group of players.

None of this will bother Hughes, who felt his players had helped him gain a sense of satisfaction at the club that sacked him.

"I don't have any regrets," said Hughes. "City are a fantastic club and they have some great people here.

"I met people I was really fond of. I have not had chance to do that since I was sacked.

"Everybody has pride and it was important for our staff and their families. To get a result like that is important for a lot of people."

Piggy Face Dodges FA Action

Via Skysports.com

The Football Association has confirmed no further action will be taken against Wayne Rooney following the Manchester United striker's elbow on James McCarthy at the weekend.

Rooney caught the Wigan Athletic midfielder on the side of the head during the early stages of United's 4-0 win at the DW Stadium.

Referee Mark Clattenburg awarded a free-kick at the time and opted against either booking Rooney or showing the England international the red card.

Wigan boss Roberto Martinez was unhappy after the game and was insistent that Rooney should have been sent off by Clattenburg.

United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, meanwhile, suggested there was 'nothing in it' and was bracing himself for a media storm to be created.

The FA had been waiting to receive Clattenburg's report on the incident before deciding whether video evidence could be used to charge Rooney with violent conduct.

However, it would appear that Clattenburg's explanation of the challenge has left the FA with no scope to act retrospectively within the current rules as Fifa forbids national associations taking further action when the referee had already dealt with the incident.

It means that Rooney, who scored United's third goal at Wigan, will be available for the Premier League leaders' trip to reigning champions Chelsea on Tuesday night.

Wag of the Day

Meet Ilary Blasi, she is married to Francesco Totti

More Worldcup Concerns for Brazil

Via ESPNsoccernet
SAO PAULO -- Brazil needs to improve the pace of upgrades to airports, infrastructure and stadiums before the 2014 World Cup, according to a report from a government watchdog group.

The Brazilian Audit Court criticized officials for missing deadlines, not controlling costs and a lack of transparency in their work.

Calls and e-mails to Brazil's World Cup organizing committee were not returned.

The report, published this week, underscores that 2011 is a key year to start major projects so they can be completed before the World Cup. But it finds widespread problems in most of the 12 host cities.

There are issues with urban transportation improvements in some host cities and doubts whether the crown jewel of Brazilian soccer -- Maracana Stadium in Rio -- will be ready as scheduled, the report said.

The warning comes just days after soccer great Pele and former FIFA president Joao Havelange expressed concerns about the pace of preparations for soccer's biggest tournament.

Pele said Brazil was facing a "big risk of being embarrassed" because of delays in stadium construction and the renovation of the nation's overcrowded and saturated airports. 

The report, published Wednesday, said there is a "very great risk" of misuse of public funds similar to what occurred in preparations for the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro. The government acknowledged that it made serious mistakes in planning and financing for the Olympic-style event.

Although airport renovations in cities are expected to begin this year, the report said problems with bidding processes and environmental licensing may cause delays in upgrading Brazil's woeful airport infrastructure.

That's already the case with the Viracopos airport in Campinas, near Sao Paulo. Upgrade work there is behind schedule because of difficulties getting the necessary environmental licenses.

Work at the Salvador airport in northeastern Brazil is stalled by delays in the bidding process.

The booming Brazilian economy is rapidly increasing the number of passengers the airports serve as a growing middle class more frequently uses air travel. Most airports will need significant upgrades to accommodate the hundreds of thousands of visitors expected for the month-long tournament in 2014.

The audit court warned last year that renovations in some airports may not be completed by 2014.

Stadium construction is another reason for concern.

Sao Paulo, South America's biggest city, has yet to have a stadium project approved by FIFA even though the deadline from the governing body expired last year. Corinthians soccer club says it will build a World Cup venue, but there is still discussion about whether it will be able to host the tournament's opening match.

Maracana, likely to host the final, has seen a significant increase in its renovation budget. The report said authorities face a tight deadline to get the stadium ready according to the original timeline. The famed venue is also expected to be used in the 2013 Confederations Cup.

In addition, the Nacional stadium in the capital Brasilia runs the risk of becoming a "white elephant" -- a stadium rarely used by local teams after the tournament, despite having a seating capacity of 71,000. The Amazonia Arena in Manaus is simply an "incomplete and deficient" project, the audit court said.

In Rio, authorities are facing accusations they are violating citizens' human rights by forcing slum dwellers to move to make way for the construction of a transit system. Residents of three shantytowns recently filed a complaint with the Organization of American States, saying that the city is arbitrarily relocating them. Eventual pressure by the international body could lead to project changes and delays.

Be Real With Yourself John Terry

Via Skysports.com

Chelsea skipper John Terry has insisted that Manchester United can be caught in the title race and that they are "not invincible".

The Blues are in serious danger of losing the title this season, with their grasp on the trophy all but diminished as they trail the Red Devils by 12 points in the Premier League.

After such a strong start to the campaign,Chelsea have come off the rails in recent months, winning just five of their last 16 matches and seemingly suffering from a lack of confidence.

It has not been a vintage season for United either in the quality of their performances at times, particularly away from Old Trafford.

However, they have shown great resilience and maintained a winning mentality to stay top of the division, having only lost their first game of the campaign to Wolves at the start of February.

Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti is under serious pressure to improve results, having spent over £70million on Fernando Torres and David Luiz to bolster their squad at the end of January, though an upturn has not been instant.

Terry accepts that the chances of retaining the title now are "really small," but feels that a 12-point lead is not unassailable, as demonstrated by United's victory over Newcastle in 1996 when they came back from a similar deficit.

"It's been done. Man United did it to Newcastle many years ago," the former England captain said.

Pressure

"It's possible and a little bit of pressure..."

If Chelsea are to manage an unlikely comeback, they must start by beating United in a huge match next Tuesday at Stamford Bridge in a fixture that was put back from December due to bad weather conditions.

Terry knows the pressure of maintaining a lead at the head of the table, and admitted that it is never easy trying to wrap things up early.

"Even those games at the end of last year, us knowing we needed to win, there's an awful lot of pressure on those games," said Terry, whose side won a vital title decider against United last April.

"Going to Old Trafford and winning can only do us the world of good in years to come and this year.

"At times, we see that they can be beaten, they can be got at.

"They're certainly not invincible.

"Blackpool, they got in their faces and did very well for 60, 70 minutes.

"But what did show, once again, was their experience. That experience, we've also got here as well.

"They're a very good side but I don't think anybody should be fearful of them."

Branding Tuesday's match "must-win", he added: "Who knows what game plan they're going to come down with?

"They're playing well, so they'll probably be confident of coming down and getting something, which will hopefully suit us."

Many of the Chelsea side have been branded as having their best years behind them at Stamford Bridge, but Terry felt that a price could not be put on experience and backed them to come good now.

"We've been there, we've seen it, we've done it, we've got the t-shirt," he said.

"When we do go on a bad run, people pinpoint the age.

Experience

"But what we have got is an awful lot of experience, a lot of trust in each other and belief that we can still do it.

"Look at last year as well, the experience we showed last year in a lot of big games in the run-in.

"We went away to Liverpool, went away to Man United and won very big games - which proved to be very crucial in us doing the double."

Speaking of Torres, who despite failing to find the net again in their Champions Leaguewin over Copenhagen performed well throughout, Terry felt he was improving and backed him to net for United's visit.

"The only thing that was missing from his performance was a goal," he added.

"It would've been very nice for him, but he played a massive part in our performance."

"We hope so (against United). It'd be an ideal time, and what a way to get going."

TV Listings for this weekend

(all times eastern)

Saturday

Fox Soccer Channel

Wigan V Man United 10:00 AM

Aston Villa V Blackburn 12:30 PM

Juventus V Bologna 2:30 PM

Newcastle V Bolton 5:00PM

ESPN 3

Schalke V Nurmberg 9:30 AM

Mallorca V Barcelona 2:00 PM 

Olhanense V Porto 3:15 PM

Sunday

ESPN2 HD 

Fulham V Manchester City 8:55 AM

Fox Soccer Channel 

West Ham V Liverpool 8:30 AM

Arsenal V Birmingham City (Carling Cup Final)* 11:00 AM

Sampdoria V Inter Milan 2:30 PM

ESPN3

Ajax V PSV 8:30 AM

Roma V Parma 8:55 AM

Racing De Santader V Villarreal  1:00 PM

Athletico Bilbao V Valencia 2:55 PM

Wag of the Day

Meet Kaka's wife Caroline Celico

Goal of the Week: Jimmy Briand

Jimmy Briand gets the goal of the week award with stunning bicycle kick in a 4-0 win for Lyon over Nancy.

Lets Run That Back: Bayern v Inter Preview

The marquee match of the day is at the San Siro, a rematch of last year’s final. Then, Inter came out on top, roundly outclassing Bayern in the Santiago Bernabeu to collect the trophy in what turned out to be Jose Mourinho's Inter swan song. Now, Bayern seek revenge while Inter must merely be hoping to find something of value from what has been a turbulent season so far.

Inter didn’t exactly convince in the their trip to the knockout stages, but that was then, and this is now. Under Mourinho's successor, the ill-fated Rafa Benitez, Inter were a chilly, disjointed team unloved even by their own fans and suffering from a bad case of the yips on the field. Under Leonardo, Inter has regained some of the old swagger and comes into this match on a hot streak, with nine wins in 11 games this year.

New boy Giampaolo Pazzini has made an immediate impact since his transfer from Sampdoria. Running alongside Samuel Eto’o, with Javier Zanetti, Thiago Motta and Sneijder behind, Inter have rediscovered their scoring touch, shooting their way out of trouble in games against Palermo, Roma and Fiorentina, and overwhelming the likes of Bari. But one key absentee tonight will be the man who won the final last year: Diego Milito, scorer of both goals, is out with a hamstring strain.

Bayern only dropped one game in the group stages, a 3-2 loss in Rome thanks to a late Francesco Totti penalty. That doesn’t tell the entire story: Bayern were in the midst of a prolonged slump at home and after a dominant first half performance that night, they allowed Roma to come all the way back from 2-0 down. A clearly angry Louis van Gaal snapped at reporters after the match, saying: "If it were so easy to explain why things are going wrong for us, I would already have the answer for you"

Since then, Bayern have undergone a transformation of their own, rebounding from a hideous league start to climb into third. They are unlikely to catch Borussia Dortmund for the Bundeliga crown, but they are now winning games with the kind of power and élan expected from the Bavarian giants.

Why? Easy: Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben are finally healthy. Key striker Mario Gomez has been the spark-plug that carried Bayern through some grim times, consigning Miroslav Klose to the bench in the process. But Gomez, who carried the load in the group stage, is now trying to shake off an ankle injury he picked up on the weekend against Mainz and the so-called "Rob-bery" tandem will be critical.

Where Bayern can be caught out is at the back. Phillip Lahm has spent far too much time covering up for the gaffes of Anatoliy Tymoschuk and Holger Badstuber to be the playmaker he can be, and Bastian Schweinsteiger is only just now shaking off the cobwebs from South Africa.

The same is true for Inter, with long-term absentee Walter Samuel (knee) yet to be completely replaced. Lucio and Maicon have done yeoman work, but the former is shaking off an injury and the latter is not showing the poise he did a season prior.

Wag of the Day

Meet Mamen Sanz she is married to Raul Gonzalez 

(see http://futbolknowledge.blogspot.com/2011/02/champions-league-roundup-schalke-v.html )

Must watch....... Smithy Meets the England Football Team

The ageless wonder extends his contract

Evergreen Ryan Giggs has extended his illustrious career by another 12 months after signing a new contract with Manchester United.

The former Wales international previously indicated his wish to continue his career into a remarkable 21st season.The news that United fans wanted to hear arrived on Friday when it was confirmed that Giggshad put pen-to-paper on a one-year deal.Giggs has played in every Premier League season having burst onto the scene againstEverton at Old Trafford in March 1991.The 37-year-old has been a regular in United's side ever since, amassing an incredible 11 Premier League titles with the English giants.

UEFA Charges the Snarly Dog

NYON, Switzerland (AP) -- UEFA has charged AC Milan midfielder Gennaro Gattuso with "gross unsporting conduct'' after he head-butted a Tottenham assistant coach following a Champions League match.

UEFA on Thursday specified the charge its disciplinary panel will consider at a hearing next Monday.

Gattuso could have faced an assault charge for butting Tottenham assistant Joe Jordan, a former Milan player, after the English club's 1-0 victory on Tuesday.

UEFA's disciplinary code calls for a ban of at least one European match for "unsporting conduct,'' but at least three for "assaulting players or others present at the match.''

Gattuso is already ineligible for the March 9 return match in London after getting a yellow card for a foul.

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/soccer/02/17/uefa.gattuso.ap/index.html#ixzz1EKLUe7LW

Grant Wahl with Clint Dempsey

In what is becoming a historic season for U.S. soccer star Clint Dempsey, the Fulham midfielder had a chance to shock the English Premier League on Monday. During injury time of a scoreless game with Chelsea, Dempsey did what he does best, creating something out of nothing and drawing a penalty on defender David Luiz. Suddenly Dempsey found himself standing over a spot kick with the chance to steal a victory and, in the process, break Brian McBride's record for the most goals scored by an American (nine) in an English Premier League season.

Visibly gassed, Dempsey fired his penalty off a diving Petr Cech and was unable to convert an ambitious overhead kick on the rebound. Fulham came away with a tie, providing one more reason to think Chelsea (now 12 points behind Manchester United) won't repeat as champion this season.

"I was tired, but I wanted to take the penalty," Dempsey said on Tuesday. "I'd taken a penalty earlier this year and converted on that. I tried to go hard and low, and he guessed the right way. It's frustrating because you have the chance to be a hero against a top team, but we got a point, and I think [0-0] is a fair result. We're on a good run of form, and it shows how far we've come when we're disappointed with not winning."

Dempsey's Fulham has been on a roll of late, losing only once in its last nine games in all competitions. The Cottagers have risen to 12th place in the Premiership, where the race is so tight that Fulham is two points out of the table's top half but only four points clear of the relegation zone.

Dempsey, 27, says he's playing the best soccer of his career these days, and he has 11 games left to surpass McBride's goal mark for Yanks in a Premier League season. It seems like only a matter of time before Dempsey passes Roy Wegerle for all-time goals by an American in England. Dempsey has 34; Wegerle had 53.

Not that it has been easy for Dempsey since leaving the New England Revolution for Fulham in 2007.

"It's tough coming over here," Dempsey said. "You go from being a big fish in a small pond in America to playing against the big boys and having to prove yourself all over again. There's more competition, and you're under a lot more pressure week in and week out. It's great that I'm getting close to breaking records for Americans, but the main thing is being the best player I can be and seeing where that takes me."

Dempsey's success at Fulham is the story of perseverance. In four years he has had four different coaches. With each one of them Dempsey has had to work to earn a starting role after being on the bench.

"It's something that gets frustrating, but you try to find the positives in it," he said. "It makes you hungrier and forces you to be better to make sure you're out on the field. Because overseas it's difficult not playing. You do miss home. When you're playing everything's great, but when you're not playing it starts to weigh on you and you have to dig in deep."

While Dempsey says he's happy at Fulham, where his contract runs through the end of the 2012-13 season, he adds that he'd like to play in Champions League someday, a prospect that seems unlikely with Fulham. As for the U.S. national team, Dempsey is looking forward to friendlies against Argentina and Paraguay next month, but he says he's most focused on the Gold Cup in June. Not only does it provide the chance to win the trophy as the best national team in the region, but the victor will also qualify for the 2013 Confederations Cup in Brazil.

U.S. coach Bob Bradley has been using a five-man midfield lately, a switch from the 4-4-2 that the U.S. used at the World Cup, but Dempsey says he feels comfortable in any number of positions on the national team.

"I haven't played much in [a five-man midfield]," he said. "But it depends on how things go in training and how it ends up looking. I could either play out wide or as a withdrawn forward or target forward or as an attacker from the central midfield. Those are the positions I've played at Fulham, and whatever Bob thinks is best for the team, I'll do my best in that formation."

Just don't expect Dempsey to post his thoughts on the U.S. formation (or anything else, for that matter) on Twitter. For now he says he's not planning on joining some of his teammates online.

"When I first came to England I had my own website, but I don't have it anymore," he said. "You try to write things on there, and the newspapers over here would take it and put it in the paper. You can get yourself into trouble with it with your club, and it's not really worth it. Look at the situation with Ryan Babel and the referee. Having a Twitter account is cool and you get to be close to your fans, but I try to stay away from the drama of it."

Besides, Dempsey is plenty busy with his wife, Bethany, raising their young children, Elyse and 11-week-old Jackson. The Dempseys named Jackson after Clint's grandfather A.D., whose friends called him Jack (after the boxer Jack Dempsey). Dempsey's grandfather died in 2010 on the day the U.S. fell to Ghana 2-1 in the World Cup Round of 16.

The offseasons in soccer are criminally short, but Dempsey plans on making the most of his short time together in the U.S. with his family in early July.

"I do the same thing every summer," he said. "I only get 21 days off, and I'll spend 10 days in Texas and 11 in North Carolina, where we have a lake house. I do a lot of fishing. I'll go out with my dad on the lake and [then] play some golf. When I was young we used to always go camping on lakes and go fishing. So anytime I'm home I try to get all my family around and be together. That's all we do. We don't go on any crazy vacations to any countries. We have the most fun in Texas and North Carolina."

At the rate he's going, Dempsey will have earned the time off -- and then some.

Clint Dempsey on ...

• His three favorite goals:

1. For the U.S. vs. Ghana, World Cup 2006. "The realization of a dream come true for me."

2. For Fulham vs. Juventus, Europa League 2009-10. "The chip." Enough said.

3. For Fulham vs. Stoke City, Premier League 2009-10. "The long-range volley."

• The three best players he has played next to:

New England: Shalrie Joseph, Steve Ralston, Matt Reis.

U.S.: Landon Donovan, Claudio Reyna, Brian McBride.

Fulham: Danny Murphy, Brede Hangeland, Moussa Dembélé.

• The three toughest defenders who have marked him:

Nemanja Vidic, Rio Ferdinand, Ricardo Carvalho.

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/grant_wahl/02/16/clint.dempsey/index.html#ixzz1EKJ0BQSO

Champions League Roundup: Schalke v Valencia

The Man, the myth, the Legend

Via FoxSoccerChannel.com

Raul Gonzalez extended his Champions League record to 69 goals to give Schalke a 1-1 draw at Valencia Tuesday in the first-leg of their last-16 series.

Raul - returning to Spain for the first time since his summer move from Real Madrid - held off defender David Navarro in the 64th minute before slotting a shot inside the far post beyond outstretched goalkeeper Vicente Guaita.

Valencia had taken a 17th-minute lead at its Mestalla Stadium when Roberto Soldado redirected Jeremy Mathieu's deep cross past goalkeeper Manuel Neuer at the near post.

But Raul's record 71st goal in UEFA competitions allowed the Bundesliga team to take a valuable away goal home in the knockout stage matchup.

Schalke played the final minute with 10 men after Lukas Schmitz was sent off for a second booking, but former Spain striker Raul put the Bundesliga team in control of the tie after gathering Jose Manuel Jurado's pass inside the area for the type of finish that characterized his 18 years at Madrid. Raul now leads AC Milan striker Filippo Inzaghi by one goal in the overall UEFA tally.

"If you give him a chance he'll do what he did," Soldado said after scoring his sixth goal of the competition. "We knew they were very dangerous, they have outstanding players."

Valencia went on the attack from the start but the visitors were nearly ahead after nine minutes when Klaas-Jan Huntelaar missed with only Guaita to beat.

Valencia's pressure paid off soon after as Aritz Aduritz set Mathieu off along the left with a well-played ball that Soldado fired past Germany 'keeper Neuer.

Guaita judged Peer Kluge's looping header well as the Valencia keeper palmed the ball off the crossbar and out in the 26th.

Valencia dominated the chances until Raul's equalizer as Neuer denied a long-range drive from Mehmet Topal in the 28th, Soldado headed wide of the far post and Aduritz sliced a hard shot into the side netting.

Guaita dived to stop Raul's shot in the 48th before the former Spain striker scored his 14th career goal against Valencia, which will need to score at the Veltins Arena in the return leg to have any chance of advancing to the quarterfinals.

Wingers Joaquin Sanchez and Vicente Rodriguez came on soon after as Valencia pressed for a second, although it had trouble organizing its attack.

Schalke responded with by bringing on 17-year-old Julian Drexler in the 78th just after Aduritz shot wide off the break.

But Schalke held out with substitute Junmin Hao forcing Guaita into a fingertip save in the 90th.

Valencia hasn't beaten Schalke in three games at the Mestalla, with all ending in draws. Its last win over a German opponent on home soil was in 1996.