CHESTER, ENGLAND – The Wales manager, 42-year-old Gary Speed, was found hanged at his home in Chester on Sunday morning 27 November. Speed played a record 85 times for Wales. He also played 315 times for Leeds and also represented Everton, Newcastle, Bolton and Sheffield United.
In the Premier League games the two Manchester teams drew their games to retain the top two spots. Man United were held 1-1 by Newcastle while City held on with ten men to secure a 1-1 draw at Liverpool. Chelsea beat Wolves 3-0 and Spurs won away at West Brom.
In La Liga Real Madrid moved further ahead as they beat Atlético 4-0 while rivals Barcelona suffered a rare defeat at Getafe.
Links to other sites: Premier League, Guardian
STOKE, ENGLAND – Manchester United lost their perfect start to the season but stayed top of the Premier League with a 1-1 draw at Stoke, 24 September. They still lead their Man City neighbours on goal difference but the slip up will give a little hope to Basel FC which will be travelling to Old Trafford for their European Champions League match on Tuesday evening. They will be without star striker Wayne Rooney who is suffering a strained hamstring. Man City won 2-0 against Everton while Chelsea won 4-1 against Swansea to stay third. fernando Torres sored again but was sent off for a dangerous tackle. Arsenal avoided disaster with a 3-0 win over Bolton which kept Arsene Wenger’s men off the bottom.
Barcelona and Real Madrid both thrashed their opponents in La Liga. The Swiss local derby between Geneva Servette and Lausanne ended in a dull 0-0 draw. Sion and Neuchatel Xamax continue to make more news off the field than on it.
Links to other sites: Premier League, Guardian
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – The two lake Geneva teams in the Swiss Super League both lost over the weekend. Geneva Servette suffered from a spate of defensive errors to go down 3-4 against Zurich Grasshoppers, 20 August. The first goal came after just four minutes when the Geneva goalkeeper allowed a clearance from 70 metres to bounce over his head into the goal. Lausanne ran out of energy in the heat and Sion won 0-2. Thun head the League.
In the English Premier League Manchester City moved top of the table with a 2-3 win at Bolton. Man United could join them after the Monday game against Spurs. Arsenal went down at home against Liverpool 0-2. It was the first Liverpool win at Arsenal for eleven years.
The start to La Liga in Spain was delayed by a players’ strike over unpaid wages.
Links to other sites: Le Matin, Premier League
International sports, football
Wembley, London (GenevaLunch) - For once the Reds and the Blues of Manchester each had something to celebrate on Saturday 14 May. Sir Alec Ferguson’s United won their 19th League title to pass the previous record held by Liverpool. Wayne Rooney scored with a penalty 17 minutes from time to give United a 1-1 draw against Blackburn and thus gained the point needed to guarantee the title. Man City’s expensively acquired team picked up their first trophy since 1976 when they edged past Stoke 1-0 in the FA Cup final. United’s win is a tribute to the ability of their manager to combine mature and youthful talent and to cope with the modern style of squad management in a way that seems beyond many of his younger rivals. The City triumph more a sign of the power of money as the hundreds of millions spent on the team bought some glory. In other games Chelsea were held 2-2 by Newcastle and Arsenal lost at home against AstonVilla. West Ham are relegated after losing a two goal advantage to go down 2-3 to Wigan and have parted from their manager, Avram Grant. The other two relegation spots could go to Wigan, Blackpool, Birmingham, Wolves or Blackburn when the final showdown takes place on Sunday 22 May.
Rangers won their third succesive Scottish Premier League when they beat Kilmarnock 1-5.
Links to other sites: Premier League, Guardian,BBC
International sports, football
Old Trafford, Manchester (GenevaLunch) - Manchester United need just one point from their final two games, against Blackburn and Blackpool, to win a record 19th league title. They beat Premier League second place team Chelsea 2-1 on Sunday, 8 May, but could have easily scored five given their dominance. Things started perfectly for the Reds as Javier Hernandes scored in the first minute and Nemanja Vidic doubled the lead in the 23rd to the delight of the 75,000 fans at the game. Man United now head the Premier League by six points with just two games left to play. Third placed Arsenal lost to Stoke City 3-1 while Man City also slipped up as they fell 2-1 at Everton. Spurs were held 1-1 by Blackpool.
At the bottom of the table six teams could possibly go down: West Ham, Wigan, Blackpool, Wolves, Birmingham and Blackburn.
Barcelona are also one point away from clinching the La Liga title as they lead Real Madrid by eight points with three games to play. In the Swiss Super League FC Basel and Zurich head the table and will meet in Zurich on Wednesday.
Links to other sites: Premier League, Guardian,
International sports, football
Anfield, Liverpool (GenevaLunch) - Liverpool may not win any titles this season but they might well have played a role in denying one to Manchester United. They deservedly beat their archrivals 3-1, with a hat-trick by Dirk Kuyt, 6 March. Man United fielded a side weakened in defense because of the absence of Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand, but they were comprehensively outplayed in all departments.
Arsenal could only draw 0-0 against Sunderland but are just three points behind United in the Premier League and still have a game in hand. Man City stay third after a 1-0 win over Wigan.
Tottenham travelled to Wolverhampton for the best game of the weekend: a thrilling 3-3 draw.
In the Spanish La Liga Barcelona and Real Madrid both won. Inter Milan beat Genoa 5-2 and AC Milan beat Juventus in Series A. In the Swiss Super League Basel are still on top after a 3-1 win over Zurich. Neuchatel lost 1-2 to Bellinzona while Thun-Luzern ended 3-3.
Links to other sites: Premier League, Guardian
International sports, football
Old Trafford, Manchester (GenevaLunch) - Manchester United star Wayne Rooney was far from his best for most of the game against the noisy neighbours, Manchester City, 12 February. He ran around with little purpose and repeatedly lost the ball but that will all be forgiven with the endless replays of what might be the goal of the season, a magnificent overhead bicycle kick to win 2-1. The goal opened up a seven point lead at the top of the Premier League but this was reduced to four points when Arsenal won 2-0 against Wolves to confirm their second place. Man City are third while Spurs beat Sunderland 1-2 to move fourth. Chelsea might reclaim this spot when they travel to Fulham on Monday, 14 February.
In the Swiss Super League FC Basel moved top, ahead of Lucerne and Zurich. Basel beat St Gall 3-0 while Zurich lost at Young Boys 4-2 and Grasshoppers and Thun played out a 0-0 draw. In La Liga the winning streak of 18 games by Barcelona finally ended with a 1-1 draw at Gijon. Barcelona play Arsenal in London on Wednesday in the pick of the games for the European Champions League. Real Madrid beat Espanyol 0-1 despite having their goalkeeper sent off after only two minutes.
Links to other sites: Premier League, Guardian, TSR.
International sports, football
Stamford Bridge, London (GenevaLunch)- Chelsea paid £50 million to Liverpool for their Spanish striker Fernando Torres but it was not enough to win their next match up. Torres was substituted in the game shortly before Liverpool scored the only goal of the match 6 February. Manchester United failed in their bid to create a new club record for the number of games without defeat when they went down 2-1 to bottom club Wolverhampton Wanderers. Despite the loss Man United stay four points clear of Arsenal at the top of the Premier League. Saturday’s games broke a number of Premiership records: for the maximum number of goals and for the biggest comeback when Newcastle recovered from 0-4 down against Arsenal to draw 4-4.
Links to other sites: Premier League, Guardian
International sports, football
Stamford Bridge, London (GenevaLunch) - Chelsea slipped up in a thrilling 3-3 draw with Aston Villa that featured three goals in the final 10 minutes. Chelsea came back from a goal down with two quick goals by Didier Drogba and captain John Terry only to concede a late equalizer that leaves them in fifth place in the Premier League, 2 January. The top two places are held by the Manchester clubs, with United ahead on goal difference and also having two games in hand. Man United won 1-2 at West Brom while City beat Blackpool 1-0. Arsenal put on a fine display to beat Birmingham 0-3 and stay third with Spurs next after a 1-0 victory over Fulham. Liverpool came from a goal down to beat Bolton 2-1 and offer a life-line to embatttled managerRoy Hodgson.
Celtic scored a 0-2 win at Rangers in the Scottish Premier League Old Firm clash. Barcelona stay five points clear of Real Madrid after beating Levante 2-1.
Links to other sites: Premier League, Guardian
International sports, football
Old Trafford, Manchester (GenevaLunch) - Manchester United moved back to the top of the Premier League with a 1-0 win over Arsenal.The goal was scored by with a looping header from Park Ji-Sung. Wayne Rooney later sent a penalty way over the crossbar. Man United are now two points clear of Arsenal and local rivals Manchester City. They also have a game in hand after their match against Blackpool was postponed by the weather. In the weekend games Chelsea drew 1-1 at Spurs, with Didier Drogba scoring a goal and then missing a penalty. Newcastle beat Liverpool 3-1 while Manchester City won 1-3 at West Ham. Carlos Tevez has had his request for a tranfer from City rejected. Blackburn beat Bolton 2-1 and the losing manager, Sam Allardyce was sacked as punishment.
Links to other sites: Premier League,Guardian
International sports, football
Emirates Stadium, London (GenevaLunch) – Arsenal moved to the top of the Premier League thanks to two superb goals by Samir Nasri their talented French international. The Gunners beat Fulham 2-1 to move ahead of Manchester United, whose game at Blackpool was postponed because of the weather. Chelsea missed the chance to move into first place when they were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Everton. West Ham were pushed into last place when they lost to Sunderland. The other two relegation places are occupied by Wolves and Wigan.
Barcelona beat the Spanish air controllers strike by travelling by train and bus to Pamplona, where they won 3-0. Real Madrid recovered from their 5-0 mauling in El Clasico to beat Valencia 2-0 with the aid of two late goals by Cristiano Ronaldo.
In the Swiss Super League Lucerne stay in first place after beating Bellinzona 3-0. FC Basel are second following their 3-1 win over Young Boys. FC Sion beat Grasshoppers 2-0.
Links to other sites: Premier League, Guardian
International sports, football
Old Trafford, Manchester, England (GenevaLunch) - Dimitar Berbatov went some way to silencing his critics when he scored five goals to lead Manchester United to an emphatic 7-1 victory over Blackburn. United now head the Premier League by two points from Chelsea. Wayne Rooney was also in top form but did not manage to score for himself despite setting up chances for his teammates. Arsenal won 2-4 at Aston Villa and are now third in the Premier League, with equal points but a lower goal difference than Chelsea. Chelsea dominated the early part of the season but slipped up again with a 1-1 draw at Newcastle. Spurs came back from a goal down against Liverpool to snatch a 2-1 win. Liverpool will face Manchester United in the only all Premier League match in the FA Cup third round.
Links to other sites: BBC, Premier League
International sports, football
Birmingham, England (GenevaLunch) - Chelsea lost their fourth game of the season, and the third out of the last four Premier League matches with a 1-0 loss at Birmingham City. Chelsea are suffering from injuries as well as self-imposed disarray since sacking their assistant manager Ray Wilkins a few weeks ago. The team still head the League, but only on goal difference from Manchester United, who are unbeaten but have conceded seven draws so far this season. The Reds beat a nine-man Wigan 2-0 but it was an unconvincing display.
Spurs came back from two goals down at Arsenal to score their first away win in 17 years at their north London rival’s. West Ham lost 3-0 at Liverpool and stay at the bottom of the League: the result takes some of the pressure off Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson but West Ham boss Avram Grant looks like he might soon be out of a job.
In Spain both Real Madrid and Barcelona registered big wins as they get ready for “El Clásico,” the big match between the arch rivals. Real beat Bilbao 5-1 while Barca scored a record 8-0 away win at Almeria. Real still head La Liga ahead of the Catalans.
Links to other sites: Premier League, Guardian, Telegraph
International sports, football
Anfield Road, Liverpool (GenevaLunch) - Liverpool moved into the top half of the Premier League with a 2-0 win over leaders Chelsea just a few weeks after they were in the relegation places. Roy Hodgson’s men, with Fernando Torres back in striking form, cut Chelsea’s lead in the championship to just two points. Manchester United were rather lucky to beat Wolves 2-1, with both goals coming from their Korean ball of energy Park Ji-sung, in the final minutes of each half. They lost Owen Hargreaves after just five minutes of his long awaited return from injury as he limped off with a hamstring injury. Wayne Rooney is off for a week’s rehabilitation at the Nike training centre in Portland, Oregon, partly to get him away from the attention of the British press. Arsenal slipped back to 15 points behind the leaders with a 0-1 defeat to Newcastle. Manchester City are fourth after a 0-2 win at West Bromwich Albion.
Glasgow Celtic scored a record 9-0 while thrashing Aberdeen in the Scottish Premier League. The game featured two hat-tricks, three penalties and two red cards. Real Madrid and Barcelona both won to keep the top two spots in La Liga.
Links to other sites: Premier League, The Sun
Fifa investigating undercover journalists vote scam scandal
International sports, football
Update 18 October 06:05 Blackpool, England (GenevaLunch) - Blackpool failed to manage another giant-killing as they lost 2-3 at home to a Manchester City under the driving leadership of Carlos Tevez. The referee also seemed to favour the visiting multi-millionaires. Liverpool discovered that it takes more than a new owner to bring back the winning ways: they now share the bottom of the Premier League after being beaten by local rivals Everton. Chelsea still top the League, but by only a two-point lead after a 0-0 draw at Aston Villa. Manchester United threw away a two goal lead against West Brom, including a goalkeeping blunder by Van der Sar, to end 2-2.
Wayne Rooney was on the substitutes bench for most of the match and there is speculation that his falling out with manager Alex Ferguson might mean a parting of the ways.
International sports, football
Stamford Bridge, London (GenevaLunch) - Chelsea moved further ahead in the Premier League as they beat London rivals Arsenal 2-0 to open up a four point lead over Manchester City, who beat Newcastle 2-1. Man United are another point back after being held 0-0 at Sunderland. Liverpool are in the relegation zone after an embarrassing 1-2 loss to Blackpool, along with West Ham and Wolves.
In Spain Real Madrid thrashed Deportivo 6-1 but Barcelona were held 1-1 by Mallorca.
In the Swiss Super League Lucerne stay top after beating Young Boys 2-0 while second place Basel could only draw at home to Sion.
Links to other sites: Premier League, Guardian, TSR
International sports, football
City of Manchester Stadium, (GenevaLunch) - Chelsea lost their first game of the season when they went down to Manchester City in the battle of the billionaires. Carlos Tevez scored the only goal of the game. Manchester United failed to make the most of their chance to move within a single point of the champions when they could only manage a 2-2 draw at Bolton. A disappointing Wayne Rooney was substituted after an hour. Aresenal lost, going down 2-3 at home to West Brom. Liverpool managed a draw that just keeps them out of the bottom four.
Real Madrid were held to a 0-0 draw at Levante and slipped to third place behind Valencia and Barcelona.
Geneva Servette lost their second division game to local rivals Lausanne 1-2. Lucerne head Basel in the Swiss Super League after beating Saint-Gall 1-2.
Links to other sites: Premier League, Guardian,
International sports, football
Stadium of Light, Sunderland (GenevaLunch)- Sunderland provided the big surprise of the third weekend of the Premier League with a last minute winner against Manchester City. Chelsea continued their winning ways with a 2-0 over Stoke City. The London team tops the Premier League with a two point advantage over Arsenal and Manchester United as well as a huge advantage in goal difference, having scored 14 without conceding a single one. Man United beat West Ham 3-0 with Wayne Rooney scoring his first goal for 13 games thanks to a penalty. Arsenal won 1-2 at Wigan but their local rivals Spurs lost at home against Wigan, 0-1.
Links to other sites: Premier League, BBC, Guardian
International sport, football
Craven Cottage, London (GenevaLunch) - Chelsea, Arsenal and Newcastle all celebrated 6-0 wins in the Premier League but the real thrills occured when Manchester United travelled to Fulham, 22 August. Chelsea scored another six goal win in their second game of the season, crushing Wigan away to confirm their place at the top of the table as the only team to win their first two games. Arsenal winger Theo Walcott scored a hat-trick as Arsenal won 6-0, while newly promoted Newcastle took full advantage of the inexperience of the Aston Villa squad to register their first win of the season, with Andy Carroll also notching three goals in a 6-0 thrashing.
Manchester United were held to a 2-2 draw at Craven Cottage by Fulham in a thrilling game that left commentators breathless. There was a stunning goal by veteran Paul Scholes, a clumsy own goal, a missed penalty and a last minute equaliser.
Liverpool face Manchester City in Monday’s game after learning that the proposed bid for the club by a Hong Kong based businessman has fallen through.
Links to other sites: Premier League, The Sun
Basel, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Basel, easily the favourites, thoroughly thumped second-tier Lausanne 6-0 Sunday 9 May to take the Swiss Cup. Basel is considered a likely candidate for the Premier League next season, according to Swissinfo. The Swiss national team for the World Cup games in South Africa this summer will be announced Tuesday and Basel stars Valentin Stocker and Xherdan Shaqiri will be hoping to have made the list of players.
Links to other sites (Fre): Le Matin, 20 Minutes on national team candidates
Video, swissinfo
International sports, football
Stamford Bridge, London (GenevaLunch) - Chelsea won the Premier League in style with an 8-0 thrashing of Wigan, 9 May. It was a day of superlatives: Chelsea’s biggest ever win, smashing the record for most goals scored in a season with 103 (Man United scored 97 in 1999-2000.) Didier Drogba recovered from a temper tantrum when Frank Lampard did not let him take a penalty to score a late hat-trick and win the Golden Boot for the most goals of the season (29), ahead of Wayne Rooney.
Anfield Road, Liverpool (GenevaLunch) - Steven Gerrard virtually handed the Premier League title to Chelsea when his feeble backpass to the goalkeeper was intercepted by Didier Drogba, allowing the Ivory Coast striker the simplest of goals. Frank Lampard later added another against a tired Liverpool team. The game ended 0-2, 2 May, and Chelsea only need to win their next game, at home against Wigan to lift the trophy. Manchester United at least kept the pressure on Chelsea to win their final game by beating Sunderland 0-1, thanks to a goal by Nani. Dimitar Berbatov missed three more chances for Man United, which did little for his chances of staying with the club next season. Arsenal play Wigan on Monday and are already certain to finish in the top four places that give access to the European Champions League. The fourth spot will go to Spurs or Man City who both won on Saturday and play each other Wednesday 5 May at the City of Manchester stadium.
Links to other sites: Premier League, Guardian
Stamford Bridge, London (GenevaLunch) - Chelsea shot back to the top of the Premier League with a thumping 7-0 win over Stoke. They are one point ahead of Manchester United with only two games left to play. Salomon Kalou scored a hat-trick while Frank Lampard added two more for the Blues. Man United briefly returned to the top of the table on Saturday, 25 April, when they beat Spurs 3-1, but Chelsea are again favourites once again. Their next game is a tough trip to Liverpool, Sunday 2 May while Man United go to Sunderland. Their final games will be home against Wigan and Stoke. Arsenal against Man City ended 0-0. The big match to determine the fourth place, which gives a place in the European Champions League, will be Man City against Spurs, 5 May.
Portsmouth, Burnley and Hull are relegated.
Links to other sites: Premier League, Guardian
White Hart Lane, London (GenevaLunch) - The battle for the top spot in the Premier League was thrown wide open as Chelsea put on a dismal display to lose 2-1 at Spurs. Jermain Defoe and Gareth Bale scored for Tottenham in the first half while Frank Lampard hit back with a goal in the 90th minute for Chelsea. The Blues, previously looking like they already had the title in their grasp, could easily have lost by more and also had captain John Terry sent off.
Manchester United were on top for much of their derby game with in-form Manchester City but it was not till the last minute of added time that veteran Paul Scholes headed in the only goal of the game. Chelsea now lead by just one point with three games left to play. Arsenal are in third place while Spurs moved past Man City to take the vital fourth place which earns entry into the European Champions League. The key game for this will be 5 May when Spurs go to Man City. Chelsea have a game to play against Liverpool while Man United will face Spurs. Another big game is 24 April when Arsenal host Man City.
Links to other sites: Premier League, Guardian
Madrid, Spain (GenevaLunch) - Barcelona trimphed against arch rivals Real Madrid at the Bernabeu stadium. They won 0-2 with goals from Lionel Messi and Pedro, both set up by beautiful passes from Xavi. Barcelona showed they are currently the best team in the world, but the Spanish press concentrated on the way Lionel Messi had completely outclassed Cristiano Ronaldo, the Euro 94 million signing from Manchester United.
Back in the Premier League Man United slipped again on Sunday 11 April when they could only manage a 0-0 draw at Blackburn.
Old Trafford, Manchester, England (GenevaLunch) - Chelsea won the biggest football game of the season Saturday 3 April and moved to the top of the Premier League. The Blues dominated for most of the game while Manchester United seemed tired and rather aimless in the absence of injured Wayne Rooney. Chelsea took the lead in the first half with a neat goal from Joe Cole following continued pressure.
Stamford Bridge, London(GenevaLunch) - Chelsea thrashed the normally solid Aston Villa 7-1 with four goals by Frank Lampard to briefly head the Premier League. Manchester United were away at Bolton in the late game on Saturday and won 0-4, with Dimitar Berbatov scoring two goals. Both the winning teams succeeded without playing their leading strikers of the season: Didier Drogba was rested for Chelsea while Wayne Rooney is suffering from a foot injury and is being saved for Tuesday’s Champions League match with Bayern Munich. The key Premiership clash will be on 3rd April when Chelsea are away to Manchester United.
Old Trafford, Manchester, England (GenevaLunch) - Manchester United, the current holders of the Premier League Championship, moved back to the top of the table with a 2-1 victory over rivals Liverpool. A massed crowd, many wearing green and gold protest scarves, saw the home team fall behind after a beautifully headed goal by Liverpool striker Fernando Torres but after that Man United dominated play. They were rewarded with a slightly generous penalty which Wayne Rooney succeeded in converting a penalty when goalkeeper parried the ball back to him.
Old Trafford, Manchester, England (GenevaLunch) - Wayne Rooney and striking partner Dimitar Berbatov put on a display of class Sunday 14 March to beat Fulham 3-0. Man United returned to the top of the Premier League, two points clear of Chelsea but the Blues have a game in hand. Didier Drogba scored twice as Chelsea won 4-1 against West Ham. Arsenal are in third place after a 1-2 victory at Hull. The fight for the vital fourth place features Spurs and Man City with Liverpool drifting down to sixth place.
Stamford Bridge, London (GenevaLunch) – The English internationals Frank Lampard and John Terry shook off any fatigue from their mid-week match against Egypt to beat Stoke 2-0 in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup. Aston Villa came back from 2-0 down to win 2-4 thanks to a hat-trick by their Norwegian striker John Carew. They will meet Chelsea in the semi-finals.
