International sports, football friendlies
Malta 0-0 Switzerland
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Argentina’s Lionel Messi put on a splendid show for 30,000 spectators in Geneva Wednesday night 9 February, giving his country a 2-1 win over Portugal in the 90th minute.
The world’s best player, winner of the Ballon d’Or, made it clear he won’t give up that honour readily, as he put on a stellar performance all evening.
Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo kept pace with the show, however Messi was in full force, he set up a goal after seven minutes of play and then converted a penalty kick for a 2-1.
In other friendlies Switzerland was held to a dull 0-0 draw in Malta, England won 1-2 in Denmark, France beat Brazil 1-0 and Germany drew1-1 with Italy.
The Swiss team missed scoring from two penalties, the first by Alex Frei and the second by Inler.
International sports, football friendly in Geneva
Messi training in Geneva 8 February - Photo courtesy AFA
(video) Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Lionel Messi was busy at work kicking his zapatillas, as Argentinians call their trainers, at the Stade de Genève where his team will meet the Portuguese squad in the first exciting football friendly of the year.
Messi and the rest of the team were busy “training offensive and defensive plays and keeping their goalkeeper Sergio Romero and his replacement Mariano Andúja busy” reported their official Argentinian website.
Training was anything but soft in Geneva with three Argentinian players reporting some light injuries.
Sergio Romero twisted an ankle and Gabriel Milito hurt his nose and had to be taken to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with a cut. Nicolás Pareja was having problems with his ankle and was ordered to sit out today’s game.
Portuguese prepare for tough game
The Portuguese know their fans will back them up in Geneva and are preparing for a difficult game.
“We will not change our strategy for the game against Argentina” said Paulo Bento, the Portuguese coach. It makes “no sense” he added.
When asked if he thought Cristiano Ronaldo, who will lead the squad, will match up against Ballon d’Or winner Messi, he refused to compare them.
“I’ve said it before. This is not the way I approach football. What we want to do now is to leverage the qualities of Ronaldo in the collective context,” he said.
The Portuguese please their fans, the Argentinians shun them
Portugal’s Seleçao trained to a full stadium in Meyrin. Their public training 8 February attracted more than 3,000 fans. A video report on Swiss public television TSR shows the Portuguese squad enjoying their fans’ attention.
The Argentinians, however, shunned the attention, training away from cameras and fans at the Geneva stadium and keeping Messi away from everyone. “We are very disappointed” said one of them who waited outside for a glimpse of the star.
The team is giving fans another chance, however: they have just made it public that they are staying at La Réserve in Bellevue, and that they will leave 11 February at 18:35 from the Geneva airport. They will fly via Madrid to Buenos Aires.
This might be another chance for Geneva football fans to catch Messi, although he won’t be wearing zapatillas this time.
TSR
A Portuguese fan worried about his team - Photo Euro208 by Amir Rijaveck
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The Portuguese Seleçao has confirmed that Ronaldo Cristiano will lead the squad in Geneva 9 February in the friendly match against Argentina, and football fans everywhere are preparing for the Swiss showdown between Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
Portugal and the South Americans have played only six times previously, with Argentina beating the Portuguese four times and tying once. Portugal has only been able to beat the Celeste once and that was back in 1972.
The game was moved to Geneva from London where it was originally scheduled to take place.
The last time Argentina played in Geneva was in 2005 when it was defeated by England 3-2 during a friendly.
International sports, football
In 2008 Portuguese fans in Geneva saw their team kicked out of the Euro Cup, the 2010 friendly could be their chance to make it up to their fans - Photo Euro208 by Amir Rijaveck
Update 20:00 / Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – February 9 is the date for a battle of the famous when footballer Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal and his national team face the world’s most valuable player in football, Lionel Messi from Argentina, and his squad.
Ronaldo, the highest paid soccer player in the world, and the Portuguese squad facing off with Messi, widely considered the best player of his generation, are expected to draw thousands of fans to the Stade de Genève.
The Portuguese living in Geneva made up an estimated seven percent of the city’s population in 2008.
The friendly will kick off at 20:00 on 9 February.
The game was moved to Geneva from London where it was originally scheduled to take place, a change confirmed by the official site of the Argentina football team.
The last time Argentina played in Geneva was in 2005 when it was defeated by England 3-2 during a friendly.
Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Argentina’s Lionel Messi and Brazil’s Marta have been named best male and female football player of the year. The weather was glacial in Zurich, but the atmosphere warm at the city’s Kongresshaus Monday night 21 December, where the world football federation, Fifa, handed out its top annual honours. The Fifa Fair Play Award went to English player and coach Sir Bobby Robson, who died in July 2009; his wife accepted the award. Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo won the inaugural FIFA Puskás Award for the most outstanding goal of the 2008-09 season.
Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The Spanish stars shone brightly in Zurich as Real Madrid won their opening UEFA Champions League match 2-5 against Zurich FC, with two goals by Cristiano Ronaldo. Chelsea and Manchester United won their games by a single goal.
Details: UEFA
Basel, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Switzerland moved to the top of its qualifying group for the 2010 Fifa World Cup with a 2-0 win over Greece in their match. The Swiss scored two goals in the final 10 minutes after playing much of the game with an extra man as Vyntra was sent off for receiving two yellow cards.
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(GenevaLunch) – Arsenal top the table after the first round of the Premier League following a 1-6 thrashing of Everton, which included two goals by Cesc Fabregas. Chelsea also won but only with a large slice of luck as Didier Drogba scored with an attempted cross in the 6th minute of extra time which gave them a 2-1 victory over Hull City.
(GenevaLunch) – The top four Premier League teams, Man United, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal, all won their games to leave the top of the table unchanged. For once, however, the action at the bottom was more important. West Brom was already relegated but four teams were fighting to avoid filling the other two relegation spots.
(GenevaLunch) - Manchester came back from two goals behind to beat Spurs 5-2 and now lead the Premier League by three points from second placed Liverpool, and have a game in hand. Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo each scored twice but for many observers the key change was when Carlos Tevez came on and added new energy to the team.
