OLD TRAFFORD, MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – Manchester United took a firm hold of the Premier League by extending their lead over their noisy neighbours to eight points, 8 April. United beat QPR 2-0 while Man City lost 1-0 at Arsenal. United controlled the game and struck twice with a Wayne Rooney penalty and a trademark strike by veteran Paul Scholes. In the next game Man City again self-destructed as they were outplayed by the Gunners, with Mario Balotelli fortunate to stay on the field after a vicious early foul. The Italian striker was later sent off and is unlikly to play again this season. Coach Roberto Mancini and wandering striker Carlos Tevez might also be out at the end of the season. Tottenham held on to fourth place, behind Arsenal, with a draw at Sunderland. Chelsea moved nearer with a fortunate 2-1 win over Wigan. Wolves are bottom of the League, with Wigan and Blackburn in the other two relegation spots with six games to play.
Lionel Messi scored twice for Barcelona in their 1-4 win at Real Zaragoza, bringing his season total to an amazing 60 goals. Real Madrid were held to a 0-0 home draw by Valencia, leaving them with a three point lead over Barcelona in La Liga. In the Swiss Super League FC Basel still dominate with a 17 point lead despite only drawing 1-1 at Lucerne. Sion beat FC Zurich 2-1.
Links to other sites: Premier League, Guardian, RTS
Dutch ride over England
Update 23:00 BERN, SWITZERLAND – Three goals from Lionel Messi gave Argentina a 1-3 win over Switzerland in their friendly match, 29 February. The game was balanced until the last few minutes when a defensive error gave Messi the chance for a little piece of brilliance. The last goal was from a penalty. The young Swiss team played well, keeping control for extended periods and demonstrating technical skills. Unfortunately Lionel Messi was on the other team.
England lost to The Netherlands 2-3 at Wembley.
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.
International sports, football
(video) Zurich, Switzerland (GenevalUnch) - Lionel Messi was awarded Fifa’s (international football federation) highest honour, the Ballon d’Or. The Argentinian told reporters afterwards that he felt his Barcelona teammates Xavi and Andres Iniesta deserved it as well. Messi received 22.65 percent of the vote, while Iniesta had 17.36 and Xavi 16.48 percent. Coaches and team captains as well as sports journalists from around the world vote for the winner.
Messi, 23, was not considered a frontrunner by some observers because of his failure to make a single goal in the 2010 World Cup, for Argentina, which was bumped in the quarter-finals. His 60 goals for the year, however, counted for something.
The Ballon d’Or award “was created following the merging of France Football magazine’s European Footballer of the Year prize with the Fifa World Player of the Year award,” notes the Guardian.
Links to other sites: Fifa, Guardian and Guardian March 2010 praise for Messi
Video, TSR (Fr)
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.
