Seven Sisters Love Football: May 2011

Jack Warner unleashes 'football tsunami'

Zurich, May 30, 2011 :

In this April 28, 2010 photo, Yausif Ahmed Al baker, of the Technical BidBook of Qatar 2022 Bid, talks to the reporters about the new Al Shamal stadium Qatar plans to build. FIFA’s general secretary Jerome Valcke has said in an email Qatar “bought” the right to host the 2022 World Cup.

AP In this April 28, 2010 photo, Yausif Ahmed Al baker, of the Technical BidBook of Qatar 2022 Bid, talks to the reporters about the new Al Shamal stadium Qatar plans to build. FIFA’s general secretary Jerome Valcke has said in an email Qatar “bought” the right to host the 2022 World Cup.
FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke confirmed on Monday that he sent a private e-mail suggesting Qatar had “bought” the right to host the 2022 World Cup.
The e-mail was made public by FIFA Vice President Jack Warner after he was suspended by FIFA on Sunday over bribery allegations in Qatari Mohamed bin Hammam’s campaign to replace Sepp Blatter as its president.
“For MBH, I never understood why he was running,” Valcke told Warner in the e-mail. “If really he thought he had a chance or just being an extreme way to express how much he does not like anymore JSB (Blatter). Or he thought you can buy FIFA as they bought the WC.”
Valcke, speaking before attending a CONCACAF meeting in Zurich, said: “It was a private e-mail and we will discuss it. He sent me an e-mail asking if I want that (bin Hammam to run), he said that I should ask bin Hammam to pull out.”
Asked whether’s Valcke’s assertion about Qatar 2022 in the e-mail was true, bin Hammam responded Monday by saying: “What do you think?
“You would have to ask Jerome Valcke what he was thinking,” he told the BBC when asked about the e-mail’s contents. “I don’t know why he has said that.
“If I was paying money for Qatar you also have to ask the 13 people who voted for Qatar.”
A FIFA ethics panel on Sunday found there was sufficient evidence to further investigate allegations that bin Hammam and Warner, the now-suspended president of CONCACAF, offered $40,000 bribes to delegates at a Caribbean football association meeting earlier this month ahead of the presidential election on Wednesday.
Warner said he told the panel that Blatter gave a $1 million “gift” of FIFA money to a meeting of CONCACAF to spend “as it deems fit.”
Warner said the money given to CONCACAF — the regional body for North, Central America and the Caribbean — “annoyed” UEFA President Michel Platini.
However, Platini saw things differently on Monday.
“It’s not like that, it was a joke with me and Mr. Blatter,” Platini said. “He can give the projects that he wants to give. I joke, I said, ‘But Sepp this was not accepted by the committee,’ — but he can give many projects to many national associations and we will confirm in the GOAL project after.
“In many Congresses for many, many years the president can give one or two projects to national associations — he has his own budget and he can give to one confederation and then it has to be approved of course by the executive committee next time.”

Coach Shabbir confident of taming Manipur in final

GUWAHATI: As the Bengal players got into a huddle after Sunday's practice session at the SAI complex, coach Shabbir Ali took up his position in the centre. His voice was soft, but the message was loud and clear: "Nobody remembers the second-best, so, go for glory."

Shabbir has openly admitted that doubts and skepticism that marked his team's campaign in the quarterfinal group league stage of national tournament, have now given way to a deep sense of self-belief that stems from a sterling show by the defending champions in their last two games.

As Branco and Co prepare to face Manipur in the final at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Monday, Shabbir is confident that his boys will be able to provide the finishing touch.

Shabbir's conviction partly emanates from the fact that his players are hungry for victory. Only three players from Shabbir's 20-member stable have tasted Santosh Trophy success.

Captain Anupam Sarkar and Safar Sardar were part of Bengal's Santosh Trophy winning squad last year while Branco had tasted the success in Goa colours two years ago. The rest are a win away from their tryst with destiny.

"You just look into their eyes and you can make out that they are focused on finishing the job," goalkeeping coach Debashish Mukherjee insisted.

Manipur, too, are relishing the occasion, for Monday's final pits Bengal, the tournament's most successful team against the North-Eastern state that continues to export the largest number of well-bred footballers to other parts of the country.

If Bengal are looking to win the national championship for the 31st time, Manipur coach S Ekendra Singh is hoping that his young brigade will bring be able to repeat their 2002 success.

" Football in Manipur needs a spark to reach the next level. Maybe we can achieve that by winning the title tomorrow," said Ekendra, an AFC instructor and one of the principal functionaries of Vision Manipur project.

Manipur will miss Thoiba Singh, whose late penalty took his misfiring side to the final, through suspension (double yellow card). However, they still have enough ammunition at their disposal to pose a serious challenge to Bengal's title aspirations.

In captain Nilakumar Singh and veteran Tiken Singh, they have a mix of energy and experience, good enough to unsettle any team's ambitions. Anupam's red-card had helped Manipur to overturn a 0-2 deficit to snatch a stalemate against Bengal in the quarterfinal league. But Shabbir believes that his players have learnt from their mistakes and are now ready to seize the moment

The Bengal coach is unlikely to tinker with his winning combination, depending on Branco and Budiram Tudu to lead the team's charge. The midfield combination of Mumtaz Akhtar and Santosh Oraon will again be at the core of Bengal's plans to the pacy Manipuri players in check.

It remains to be seen who has the last laugh.

Barca are the best in the world: Sir Alex

Manchester: Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson acknowledged that his side had been beaten by "the best team we've played," after Barcelona's 3-1 victory over the Red Devils in the Champions League final at Wembley.
Ferguson admitted that his side had been second best throughout the game but praised his opponents rather than criticising his own players.
It is the second time in three years that United have lost a Champions League final to Barcelona and Ferguson conceded that Pep Guardiola’s side were better now than two years ago.

"I think they're the best team we've played," he admitted.
"They're at a tremendous peak in their cycle of their team and you get teams who elevate themselves to that status and I think Barcelona are that team.
"[We were] well beaten, there's no other way to address the situation," he told reporters.
"[We were] beaten by a fantastic team of course, but I expected us to do better and I think at the end of the day we'll just acknowledge that we were beaten by the better team.
"We knew that before the game and planned the best we could - our training sessions were very good leading up to this game."
Barcelona took the lead through Pedro after a wonderful run from Xavi but United levelled the game before half time as Wayne Rooney scored a fantastic strike in the 34th minute. However, United were unable to get a foot into the game in the second half as the Catalans dominated possession and scored twice through Lionel Messi and David Villa to lift the Champions League trophy for the fourth time in their history.
"They do mesmerise you with their passing and we never really controlled Messi, although many people have said that in the past," Ferguson continued.
"I think when we got the lifeline through Wayne Rooney, I expected us to do better in the second half, but it wasn't to be."
"I think we expected to do better, but that's all I'm saying right."
The influential Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Messi controlled the game for the Catalans, and with Xavi the only player over 30 Guardiola's side could go onto to dominate European football for years to come, and Ferguson cited the attitude throughout the club that could stand them in good stead.
"[Dominating European football] depends on how well they can replace that team at another point - they certainly have the philosophy," he said.
"It's always difficult to find players like Xavi, Iniesta and Messi all the time, so probably not.
"But they are enjoying the moment they are having right now."
Despite defeat Ferguson hailed the success his side had achieved this season but admitted two defeats at the home of English football had left a sour taste in his mouth now the campaign had come to an end.
"It's been a great season in many ways," he said.
"We're just disappointed we've come to Wembley twice and been beaten.
"The [FA Cup] semi-final against Manchester City and [now] the final of the European Cup.
"It's a fantastic stage and we're just disappointed its ended on a disappointing note."
The Scot spoke of his pride at the strides his side have made this season and hoped that they would push on next season and continue to challenge on all fronts, but he continued to praise Barcelona’s efforts.
"I think that there’s good evidence we're a consistently good European team," he added.
"I think our record this season has been excellent, we've won really important games but tonight we were beaten by definitely the best team in Europe.
"There's no shame in that, from time to time you come against a team that's far better than you and Saturday night was that night."
The match saw goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar make the final appearance of his career but Ferguson revealed the future of midfielder Paul Scholes was still uncertain, and admitted he was hoping to have his future sorted out in the coming days.
"I've had discussions with Paul [Scholes]," he revealed.
"He's not made his mind up [whether to play on or not] but we’ll talk in the next few days."

Barcelona vs. Manchester United Champions League Final Followed By Violent Celebrations

BARCELONA, Spain — Street parties in Barcelona celebrating the victory of the city's soccer team in the Champions League final turned violent early Sunday and at least 18 people were hospitalized, according to local media reports.
Police said more than 80 people were arrested after revelers attacked officers with bottles, flares and other objects, and destroyed park benches and bus stops. The scuffles broke out hours after Barcelona beat Manchester United 3-1 at Wembley Stadium in England on Saturday night. About 50,000 people flooded the streets of Barcelona to celebrate.
A police officer was among those hospitalized. AP photographs show plainclothes police officers, who were wearing Barcelona jerseys to blend in with the crowds, making arrests. More than 100 other people were hurt, but they didn't require hospitalization and were treated at the scene by paramedics for cuts and bruises.
An unnamed 17-year-old woman died accidentally when she slipped and fell into a deep hole beside a fountain while celebrating the win in the northwestern town of Santa Comba, local newspaper La Voz de Galicia reported.
Soccer fans had poured shampoo into the fountain to create bubbles, which concealed an uncovered manhole that led to the fountain's pump, the paper said.
The team was expected to arrive in Barcelona with the Champions League trophy Saturday afternoon, with tens of thousands of fans expected to line the streets to celebrate the victory. The festivities will culminate at the 98,000-seat Camp Nou Stadium at around 9 p.m. (1900 GMT, 3 p.m. EDT), the club said in a statement.

On debut, Keita is Pune FC Player of the Year

Pune: Pune FC held its second annual Awards Night on Friday in the city. The awards, given to both the senior team and junior team, were a total of ten in number and included a cash prize and a trophy. This was the first time that awards were distributed to the junior team members.

At the ceremony, which was held at Vits Hotel, Balewadi, Guinean striker Keita Mandjou, currently in his début season for Pune FC, walked away with the top prize. Keita, who has netted 11 goals for the team so far this season, was bestowed with two honours - the 'Pune FC Player of the Year' award and the 'Player's Player award, for which he was nominated by the entire team.

Meanwhile, left winger Gurjinder Kumar, who like Keita joined Pune FC this season, won the ‘Best Under-23 Player’ and Mizoram-born David Lalbiakzara, who joined Pune FC as recently as February this year, was adjudged ‘Best Player (Under-19)’.

Bengal enjoy an edge against Manipur

Guwahati, May 29 Another title awaits 30-time champions Bengal as they gear up to take on a spirited Manipur in the final of the 65th Santosh Trophy to be played at the Nehru Stadium, Guwahati on Monday.

An identical 1-0 win saw both the teams getting better of their opponents in the semifinals.

While Manipur left it late against Services only for Thoiba Singh to convert from the spot, Bengal proved to be good for Railways, who once again failed to live up to the expectations when it mattered.

Shabbir Ali boys have gained the right momentum before the final and it was evident against Railways as everyone played their role to perfection. Shabbir believes that his side are on the right track at the moment.

“There is no substitute to success. We need to get our act right. This is the final and we are here to win it,” he said.

“Manipur are a good side with a perfect mix of youth and experience and will be a tough nut to crack. But a final is all about temperament,” he continued.

Branco Cardozo and Budhiram Tudu, who scored the winner in the semifinal against Railways remain the key for Bengal.

Manipur on the other hand don’t boast about big names but have played some effective football all throughout. Ekendra Singh, the Manipur coach is aware of the challenge that lies in front of him but at the same time isn’t willing to jump the gun at the moment.

“We have gelled well as a team and I am proud of the boys. But this is the big battle. The boys need to focus,” he said.

Tikem Singh and Nilakumar Singh have been in sublime form for Manipur. “The players are in good rhythm. But this is a different ball game. Against Bengal, you can’t afford to make mistakes,” Ekendra added.

The kick-off is slated for 5:30 and the match will be telecast live on DD Sports.

Manipur's success reflects AFC's development vision

Amitabha Das Sharma

GUWAHATI: The reflection of India's longest running football development programme is visible in the robust performance of Manipur, which has kept an unbeaten record intact to reach the final of the 65th senior National championship for the Santosh Trophy here.

Carrying on the benefits of the scientific development visualised in the Asian Football Confederation's ‘Vision India' project, the North-East giant is fast emerging a power-centre in the country's football hierarchy.

Project Manipur is one of the more successful programmes of the Vision India initiative, which comes under the umbrella of the AFC's Vision Asia scheme aiming to raise the standard of football at all levels in the continent.

Covering entire state

Having been in force for almost five years now, the development initiative now covers the whole of the state nourishing a big pool of talent under the care of qualified coaches.

“The Vision India project helped in creating a bigger pool of talent and gave them a place to show their skills by launching the Manipur State League,” said S. Ekendra Singh, the Manipur coach.

Harnessing talent

Singh, who is one of the important functionaries of this project being an AFC Instructor, said that the 10-team State league was doing well in harnessing talent from different districts.

Insisting on the pioneering effort of formulating a database to monitor the progress of the players in the programme, Singh said that the AMFA had made the youth development a continuous process running four training sessions a year for a group 100 players in every district. “We have four coaches who hold AFC ‘A' licences in the state overseeing the development programmes all through the year,” he said.

Having attained the first stage of development at the grass-root level, Singh said the next step would be to strengthen the State league, which has only amateur clubs running on the AFC funding.

Thoiba's penalty puts Manipur in final

Amitabha Das Sharma
PHOTO: RITU RAJ KONWAR

CELEBRATION TIME:Thoiba Singh (right) is ecstatic after scoring Manipur's winnner in the first semifinals of the Santosh Trophy.
GUWAHATI: Manipur found the elusive goal from a late penalty in the extra-time to beat Services 1-0 in the first semifinal of the 65th senior National football championship here on Thursday, and made it to its second final ever in the Santosh Trophy.
P.S. Sumesh, the Services stopper-back, literally handed Manipur the chance to end its protracted goal drought when he handled the ball inside own box to reward the latter with a penalty. L. Thoiba Singh found the net from the spot to give Manipur the lead in the 117th minute. The chance came of a throw from Manipur's Herojit Singh, which Services goalkeeper Raobikanta Singh missed before Sumesh handled it in a bid to prevent it from going in.
The match went the extra length as Manipur, the 2002 champion, failed to contain the profligacy in its attack that wasted numerous scoring opportunities both in the regulation and the extra-time till the penalty, which materialised three minutes from time. Manipur plays the winner of the other semifinal between holder Bengal and Railways on Friday.
Aggressive start
Manipur remained overwhelmingly aggressive in the first half but failed to utilise the advantage as its attackers struggled to breach the opposition's defensive array.
With Services remaining rooted to an overtly protective plan, Manipur enjoyed the width allowed by its opponent in shaping up its offensive approach. But the former champion failed to convert its dominance into a lead especially due to the lack of incisiveness in the striking zone.
Captain Nilakumar Singh gave the first instance of this recurrent problem in the 14th minute, managing a feeble attempt from close to the goalmouth that Services custodian Robikanta Singh had no problem in saving.
Later the Manipur attack fell through in a similar fashion with its right wing-half Santosh Singh shooting wide off an open goal in the 20th minute. Tiken Singh's wild header, taken a few yards from the Services goal, in the 31st minute compounded Manipur's tentativeness in attacking.
Mounting occasional counter-attacks Services earned a couple of chances in the first quarter of action. But the moves remained wasteful as striker Arjun Tudu, who opened up the opposition defence with solo efforts, found no support from his colleagues.
There was hardly any change in the tenor of the action as Manipur extended the number of missed opportunities with Services continuing to defend after the break.
Thoiba Singh, Nilakumar and Nabachandra Singh shared the waywardness inside the Services box as Manipur earned three clear opportunities inside the first 20 minutes of the second half.
With neither of the two opponents showing the capability to breach the citadel the first match of the knockout stage tricked into extra-time.

Manipur in Santosh Trophy final after 9 years

GUWAHATI: Manipur made Services pay for goalkeeper Robikanta Singh's blunder deep into extra-time to emerge 1-0 winners in the first semifinal on Thursday, thus making the summit clash for the first time since 2002 when they went the distance.

With Manipur being all finesse but no finish, and Services unable to make the most of their counter-breaks, the match looked headed for a penalty shootout, following a goalless 90 minutes plus the first-half of extra time. But Robikanta provided the final twist to the tale of missed opportunities in the 117th minute when he let the ball, following a long throw-in, ricochet off his palm onto defender PS Sumesh's hand, leading to the penalty.

Manipur's Thoiba Singh stepped up to fire his shot into the net, wrong-footing the goalkeeper. It broke Services hearts, but Manipur emerged deserving winners having dominated for the most part.

Services coach Jagmohan discarded the dazzling and, instead, embraced the defensive, ready to allow Manipur enjoy possession but not territory. It appeared to be a ploy whose efficacy was threatened by Manipur's pace and potency in the attacking third.

The north-east side should have gone ahead in the 15th when Nilakumar Singh made a mess of an opportunity. His first shot was turned away by a defender and the Manipur captain saw his second goal-bound attempt from close come back into play after hitting the upright before goalkeeper Robikanta Singh claimed the ball.

The Services defence continued to live on the edge and five minutes later, Santosh Singh was guilty of failing to push the ball into an open net, following a short intelligent cross from his captain. Veteran Tiken Singh then came alive, but he too followed the trend, sending a free header from the six-yard box over the crosspiece.

Manipur continued to flirt with opportunities but such was their unremitting pressure that Services' plans of catching the rivals off guard on the break hardly materialised.

Having survived Manipur's first-half onslaught, Services were forced to switch gears and turned ambitious. Arjun Tudu, who had earlier cut a forlorn figure in the attacking area, found the much-needed buoyancy in his stride as Jagmohan unleashed Shaji D'Silva in the 64th minute. Shaji was soon in the thick of action, his header missing the target by a whisker.

The teams returned to resume rivalry in extra-time with Manipur again showing urgency to seal the deal. But the forwards' inability to provide the finishing touch prolonged their wait.

Herojit Singh's volley kissed the crosspiece and N Jimmy Singh's failure to poke home from inside the six-yard box highlighted their anxious wait for the moment of truth. Then came a long throw-in by Herojit and the Services custodian's bloomer, which led to the denouement and sent the Manipur players delirious in joy.

Manipur to face Services today

GUWAHATI, May 26 – The lone survivor from the North-east, Manipur, will lock horns against Services in the first semifinal of the 65th Santosh Trophy tomorrow.

A close match is on the cards as both the teams are studded with some brilliant players. Considering the performances in the previous matches, former champions Manipur have an edge over their opponent.

Manipur qualified from Cluster-III which was played at Sivasagar. In the knock-out pre-quarterfinal they defeated Kerala at Tinsukia.

In the quarterfinal league, they beat teams like Tamil Nadu and Chattishgarh. Further they held defending champions Bengal 2-2 and topped the group with seven points.

On the other hand, Services have qualified from Cluster V and beat Cluster VI winners Delhi in the pre-quarterfinal match. But they had to pass a tense time till they were declared qualifiers for the semifinal stage after the Punjab-Goa quarterfinal league match last evening.

In the group B quarterfinal league, Services collected two points from two draws as did Punjab and Goa. But on better goal difference, Services earned a berth in the last-four stage.

Manipur has a couple of good strikers like I Nilkumar Singh and L Tiken Singh. As a team, Manipur is a balanced one and all the players are hard working. They are very fast and overall their fighting spirit is praiseworthy.

The Services team’s attack is mostly depended on strikers Arjun Tudu and Suchungme Releng. Arjun in particular is very accurate in shooting at goal. Their midfielder Shaji A D’Silva is very effective and capable of creating space at the opponent’s goal area. But in comparison to their frontliners, the defenders have some weak points and if they could not fill the gaps Manipur strikers will definitely create some headache for them.

Manipur wary of Services ahead of Santosh semifinal

GUWAHATI: Former champions Manipur will have their task cut-out when they take on Services in the first semifinal of the 65th Santosh Trophy national football championship on Thursday.

Manipur have been impressive so far and emerged as group A winners in the quarterfinals ahead of defending champions West Bengal.

Services on the other hand rode their luck to pip Goa and Punjab on better goal difference to qualify for the semis after all three teams finished on two points each.

"They have been lucky no doubt. But it's not in our hands. We will play to our strengths and hope lady luck smiles on us," Manipur coach S Ekendra Singh quipped.

Ekendra is aware of the challenge but stressed the pressure shouldn't get to his boys at the Nehru Stadium.

"We are prepared for the match and will put our best foot forward," Ekendra said.

While Services undoubtedly have been lucky, what could work in Manipur's favour is the form of Nilakumar Singh, Tiken Singh, Thoiba Singh and Nabachandra Singh, and they would again be banking on the in-form foursome, to see the team through to the final.

Asked about their opponents, Ekendra said, "Services are a fit side who are capable of beating anyone on their day. We need to execute our plans on the field."

Meanwhile, there has been a slight change in the fixture of the I-League match between Churchill Brothers and Pune FC.

Instead of May 30, the match will be played on May 31.

We Were Hard Done By The Referees - East Bengal Striker Tolgay Ozbey

The Aussie has vented out his frustration on inconsistent refereeing, which he believes led to their downfall in the last two matches and cost them dearly in the title race...

By Anselm Noronha

East Bengal's Tolgay Ozbey And Dempo's Marcus Peixoto(Mango Peel)

East Bengal forward Tolgay Ozbey is of the opinion that his team lost the plot in the I-League title race in the last two matches and believes that the referees were partly responsible as decisions didn't go in favour of his side.
The Red and Gold had a downfall after their 3-2 win against Dempo, as they suffered back-to-back defeats to Salgaocar SC and Churchill Brothers.
The Australian says that the referees should be held culpable for robbing them of their full strength squad by flashing "unnecessary" cards which accounted to his team-mates' suspensions.
"We lost the title in the last two matches in Goa, but we were also hard done by the referees," Tolgay spoke in an exclusive chat with Goal.com.
"I know many people won't like me saying this, but the officials haven't been consistent. The yellow cards came out too easily thus causing suspensions. If you notice in any of our matches in which we have played to our full strength, we haven't lost a single match," he continued.
Tolgay has signed a contract extension for another season at the Kolkata club and he also praised the efforts of the team in winning the Kolkata League and the Federation Cup.
"I've signed for another season. We've done pretty well this term winning the Kolkata League and the Federation Cup. East Bengal are still the best. We have five wins over our arch rivals Mohun Bagan which has happened after a long time.
"Fans also play an important role in Kolkata. Without their backing we won't be pushed to test our limits and they always expect more from us."

My views on the title race...
"Mathematically , it is possible, but it's very hard. The good thing is that JCT lost against Mohun Bagan, so they will play tougher (against Salgaocar in their last match). Everyone knows that it's very hard to beat them (JCT) at home.
"We'll be hoping to score four-to-five goals against HAL, which I think we can do, and hope everything else works out in our favour. If we get an early goal, I think we can get a big score, but HAL also won't be easy to beat as they are at the bottom of the table and would be fighting to save their season."

What about new signings?
"East Bengal are already a very strong team. I don't know how else we can really strengthen the squad. Of what I have heard, two-or-three players from Churchill Brothers are joining us in the coming term," said Tolgay.
It is reliably learnt that Robert Lalthlamuana, Khanthang Paite and Charan Rai are set to join the Red and Gold's next season.
"I don't know how Robert is as a player. As I hear of him, he is a good player on the left wing and we need a player in that position," Tolgay reviewed.

Manipur meets Services for semifinal at Santosh Trophy

Manipur will meet Services for semifinal on 26 May 2011 at the 65th National Football Championship for Santosh Trophy 2010-11 .

Last Year's Finalist Punjab sinks without a single win, same goes with Semi finalist Goa..This arises a Big Question, Why would the four Semi Finalist begin the campaign from the Quarters when out of the four only one could qualify for the semis?

Railways shines undefeated while service makes into the semis with just because they scored 2 goals more than the other two teams.

Today's Results:

Goa 1-1 Punjab
Railways 2-1 Services

Impressive Railways continued their winning streak and made their way into the last four of the 65th National Football Championship for Santosh Trophy after defeating Services 2-1 in their last quarterfinal league match on Tuesday.

But despite suffering a defeat at the hands of Railways, Services pipped Goa and Punjab on superior goal difference to become the second team to qualify for the semifinals after Goa and Punjab played out a 1-1 draw in the last quarterfinal match of Group B, at the Nehru Stadium.

Railways finished top of the Group B table with 9 points, while Services, Punjab and Goa finished with two points in their kitty.

Follow the link to read the entire news here.

Santhosh Trophy: Bengal, Manipur through to last four

New Delhi: Defending champion West Bengal and Manipur made their way into the last four of the 65th National Football Championship for Santosh Trophy 2010-11.

Former champion Manipur scored a facile 3-0 victory over Chhattisgarh in their last quarterfinal league match played on Saturday, thus finishing top of the Group A table with seven points.

Title favourites Bengal finished second with four points after suffering 1-2 defeat at the hands of Tamilnadu.

Manipur will take on the runner-up of group B in the first semifinal to be played on May 26, while a day after West Bengal will lock their horns with the winner of Group B.

The final will be played on May 30.

Manipur make it to semis

GUWAHATI, May 23 – With a convincing 3-0 victory against Chattishgarh, former champions Manipur confirmed a berth in the last-four stage of the 65th Santosh Trophy.

It was totally an one-sided affair at the Nehru Stadium today as Chattishgarh had no answer to the fast-moving Manipuri players and virtually surrendered meekly.

L Tiken Singh (30th minute), I Nilkumar Singh (41st minute) and N Jimmy Singh (81st minute) scored one each for the team from the north-eastern region.

At the break, Manipur were 2-0 ahead and in total control on the ground. The Manipur players adopted attacking tactics from the word go and virtually shattered Chattishgarh’s defence with repeated forays. I Nilkumar Singh, A Herojit Singh and L Tiken Singh combined so well that Chattishgarh defenders, studded with Harshvardhan Shende, Prabal Chakravorty, Lochan Singh Bhagle and Mainuddin Siddique were forced to make mistakes at their danger zone.

Manipur wing back, K Reagan Singh, was so good, both in defence and initiating moves, that he single-handedly exposed the weakness of Chattishgarh’s right back and set the ball for his strikers quite frequently.

Herojit built a move down the right flank and finally S Manimohan Singh set the ball for Tiken who made no mistake in pushing home (1-0).

Manipur enhanced the margin through Nilkumar who beat Chattishgarh custodian Nitesh Murthy with an angular grounder (2-0).

Manipur started their second session with the same speed and kept the Chattishgarh defenders busy. In the second session, Manipur should have scored atleast four goals had Tiken, Nilkumar and Herojit not missed easy sitters. Chattishgarh forward, Mainuddin, was the lone man to watch at their attacking line who tried to cruise through to the Manipur goal area with his solo efforts.

Substitute, Jimmy Singh, fired the third salvo for Manipur anticipating a measured centre from Nilkumar. Jimmy had little to do but to divert the ball into the goal.

Earlier, in the 79th minute, Chattishgarh striker Washim Raza spoilt a spot kick shooting wide.

Today’s matches: Services vs Goa (3.30 pm); Railways vs Punjab (5.45 pm).

Manipur rally to hold Bengal 2-2

Mumtaj Akhtar sees red card in dramatic tie

Action during the Bengal-Manipur tie, on Thursday.

Guwahati: Defending champions Bengal were held to a 2-2 draw by Manipur in a group A quarter final league match of the 65th Santosh Trophy at the Nehru Stadium here on Thursday.

Although Bengal were leading in the first half by two goals — scored by Branco Cardozo and Bikash Narzinary — Manipur staged a brilliant come back through goals from L Nabachandra Singh and S Herojit Singh. The match also had its own moments when Bengal players lost their cool when Mumtaj Akhtar was shown a red card and play was stopped for five minutes due to a voltage trip.

Branco Cardozo fetched the first goal for the defending champions in the 18th minute when his long strike caught Manipur goalkeeper L Prem Kumar Singh off-guard. Bengal further consolidated their lead in the 30th minute when Bikash Narzinary lobbed in a ball from just outside the box. Midfielder Mumtaj Akhtar ably assisted the goal by playing a long pass from the deep.
The 39-times Santosh trophy champion suffered a blow when Akhtar — already under a booking due to a tackle — was shown the second yellow card in the 43rd minute and given marching orders for ill demeanour on the pitch.

Manipur reduced the margin in the 69th minute when L Nabachandra Singh converted a freekick off L Thoiba Singh. S Herojit Singh struck the equaliser in the 82nd minute, heading in a ball that came off a rebound when Naseem Akhtar tried to fist away the former’s shot.

Bengal coach Shabbir Ali rued their missed opportunities. “The red card was atrocious. We also missed several opportunities in the second session. These are what I feel went wrong with us,” said Ali.

Manipur coach S Ekendra Singh said he is happy with his players’ performance. “Our strategy was to defend in the first session and go for the offensive in the second half. It is our style,” said Singh.
In another group A match, Chhattisgarh overcame a stiff challenge from Tamil Nadu to register a 3-2 win. Guman Shrestha, Azad Ali and Wasim Raja scored Chhattisgarh while M. Ramesh and S Sanjha Kumar reduced the margin for the southern state.

Bengal are ready for Manipur test

Guwahati: Upbeat after their convincing 4-1 victory over Chhatisgarh, defending champions Bengal will lock horns with Manipur in their second Group A quarter final league match, at the Nehru Stadium, here on Thursday evening.

“It was a good match to win. Our boys played a good game and I hope, they will maintain the tempo,” said coach Shabbir Ali after a one-and-a-half hour practice session at the Newfield, on Wednesday.

“There was some lapses in the defence but I hope, we will overcome it. Although most of our players were playing competitive football we have had very little match practice with this combination,” the coach said when pointed out about the initial hitches in the defence on Tuesday afternoon.

Shabbir hinted that he would not be tinker with the winning combination. “It’s not good to change the winning combination. I am happy all the boys are fit even after playing 90 minutes,” Shabbir added.

Asked about Manipur as an opponent, Shabbir said: “They are a good side brimming with young and gritty players. They have the skill as well as the spirit.”

Manipur, on the other hand, too were upbeat following their 2-1 victory against Tamil Nadu.

“Frankly speaking, we are struggling with the heat. We played the North East Games at the cooler Dirang in Arunachal Pradesh. So it is not surprising that our boys are finding it difficult to acclimatise,” coach S Ekendra Singh.

Meanwhile, Services and Railways entered the quarter final league of the 65th Santosh Trophy, on Wednesday.

Services rode extra time goals by forwards Suchungmei Raleng and Shaji A D’Silva to overcome Delhi 2-0 at Nehru Stadium here while Railways blanked Tripura 3-0 in another pre-quarter final match in Bongaigaon.

After a barren 90 minutes of action, in the Nehru Stadium, Raleng took advantage of defensive lapse to put his team ahead in the 99th minute.

Latching onto an accurate Arjun Tudu, D’Silva made it 2-0 in the 110 th minute.

At Bongaigaon, the railwaymen led 1-0 at the breather thanks to Balaram Singh’s strike 23rd minute. Singh struck again in the first minute of the second session to make it 2-0.

AFC festival beckons India's under-13 colts

NEW DELHI: A 22-member squad has been selected to represent India in the under-13 AFC Cup Football Festival (South Asian Zone) to be held at Yazd City, Iran from May 18 to 28.

The squad has been picked after a month-long camp in Chandigarh.

Besides India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan are competing in the festival.

"We will divide the squad into two teams so that everyone gets a chance to play. One team will play the first match while the remaining boys will play the next," said manager Satheevan Balan.

"Results don't matter at this stage. It's important to give an opportunity to all to generate interest at this age," he added.

Squad: Goalkeepers: Sam Nornoha (Goa); Subrata Das (West Bengal).

Defenders: Fwiden Bargoyary (Assam); Vijay Kumar (Haryana); Shahbaaz, Konjenbham, Maniranjan Singh (both from Manipur); Vanlalruata, Jonathan Lalmuansanga (both from Mizoram); Krishanu Santra, Rabin Mahato, Babu Mondal (all from West Bengal).

Midfielders: Lazimali, Bento Neuton Joe (both from Kerala); Lalthansanga, Lalmuanzova, Lalrintluanga (both from Mizoram); Sandip Bhattacharjee, Rajesh Goswami (West Bengal).

Forwards: Heisham Sailesh Singh (Manipur), Lalremuata, (Mizoram), Firozuddin Molla, Basu Mukherjee (both from West Bengal).

Cardozo stars in Bengal's facile win

Amitabha Das Sharma

BRAVO BRANCO! Branco Vincent Cardozo (left) was a three-goal hero in defending champion Bengal's easy win over Chhatisgarh on Teusday. Photo: Ritu Raj Konwar

Manipur dashes Tamil Nadu's hopes with a 2-1 victory

Branco Vincent Cardozo scored a hat-trick to help Bengal drub Chhattisgarh 4-1 and make a confident start to its title defence in the opening Group ‘A' league encounter of the 65th senior National football tournament, for the Santosh Trophy, at the Nehru Stadium here on Tuesday.
Budhiram Tudu scored the other goal to complement Cardozo's fine effort. Bengal skipper Anupam Sarkar's own goal helped Chhattisgarh reduce the margin.

Beginning on a confident note, the holder made its intent right from the start and got an early success, riding on the skills of Cardozo.

Early strike
The goal route opened for Bengal in the 10th minute when an attempted centre from Sorabuddin Mollick deflected off the Chhattisgarh midfielder Zosang Puia to reach the unmarked Cardozo on top of the latter's box. The stocky striker replied with a powerful volley that hit the underside of the crosspiece to find the net.
With Budhiram Tudu providing good support to Cardozo upfront, the Bengal attack looked sharp and sure. The early goal inspired the holder to go for a bigger margin, which was realised in the 23rd minute.
Cardozo made good use a gifted opportunity, which came his way when the Chhattisgarh stopper-back Sannu Andrew missed an easy clearance to give the former an unchallenged run up to the goal.
The Bengal dominance in the first half was complete in the 25th minute when Tudu, who had earlier wasted a scoring chance, found the mark off a fine solo effort. Showing good footwork, the crafty forward dribbled past couple of defenders and completed his job with a smart push that beat the hapless Chhattisgarh custodian Nitesh Murthy.
Missed penalty
The second session was comparatively sedate as Bengal apparently took it easy, enjoying a three-goal cushion. Chhattisgarh got an opportunity to reduce the margin with a 70th minute penalty. But the Bengal custodian Naseem Akhtar blocked substitute Prabhat Kumar's attempt from the spot.
Cardozo completed his hat-trick in the 82nd minute. The striker produced a fine side volley to finish a back-cross from Tudu to accomplish a personal landmark.
With barely three minutes remaining, Chhattisgarh found the consolation goal gifted by Bengal skipper Sarkar, who miscued a clearance.
Manipur gave a jolt to Tamil Nadu's hopes downing the latter 2-1 in the second quarterfinal group ‘A' encounter on Tuesday. Following a barren first half the goals came in the second session with I. Nilakumar Singh and L. Nabachandra Singh scoring for Manipur and striker Ramesh fetching one for Tamil Nadu.
Tamil Nadu, though initially enjoying a greater share of ball possession, was undone by the pace of Manipur attacks later on.
The first session saw both the sides getting two scoring opportunities. Striker Nabachandra Singh, who spearheaded the Manipur attacks, wasted both the chances in the first session. On the other hand Tamil Nadu was unlucky not to find an early goal as the crosspiece came in the way of a fine header from Freddy in 33rd minute.
Sanjha Kumar sent the ball over from close in the second opportunity that came Tamil Nadu's way.
Manipur went into the lead in the 57th minute when Nilakuamr Singh gained from confusion in the Tamil Nadu defence.
The Tamil Nadu custodian Arun Pradeep messed up an attempted clearance and gifted the ball to the opposition forward Nabachandra Singh, who immediately passed on to Nilakumar to put the ball into an open net (1-0). Tamil Nadu was back in the action six minutes later when Ramesh found the top of the Manipur net with a rasping rightfooter to even the scoreline.
Tamil Nadu's joy, however, was short-lived as Manipur regained the lead in the 58th minute through a fine angular left-footer from Nabachandra, as the ball hit the Tamil Nadu upright before finding the net.
Wednesday matches:
Pre-quarterfinal play-offs: Services vs Delhi (Guwahati); Tripura vs Railways (Bongaigaon).

Manipur edge past Tamil Nadu 2-1

GUWAHATI, May 18 – Spirited Manipur earned full points from their opening match of the Santosh Trophy quarterfinal league at the Nehru Stadium here this evening with a convincing 2-1 victory against Tamil Nadu.

It was a barren first session where Manipur boys had distinct domination with more ball possession. Capitalising on a defensive lapse I Nilakumar Singh took control of the ball and beat the Tamil Nadu goalkeeper Arun Pradeep with a gentle shot at the far post keeping his cool.

Ramesh drew parity in the 63rd minute with a beautiful goal. Sanjha sent the ball to Fredy who set it up for Ramesh to drive home. But their jubilation was short lived as L Naba Ch Singh put Manipur 2-1 ahead after five minutes with an angular shot from inside the box.

Earlier, Manipur boys took more attacking initiatives at the initial stage and kept the ball in their possession for most part of the first session. L Thoiba Singh, Th Santosh Singh and L Tiken Singh combined well in the upfront and kept the Tamil Nadu defenders on their toes. Both Thoiba and Tiken missed the target by a whisker. Arun Pradeep did some good work under the bar and saved his team on a couple of occasion in the first 45 minutes.

Tamil Nadu striker, Bharathi Raja, missed the target in the 37th minute which could be termed as the best scoring opportunity in the first half. He found Manipur custodian L Prem Kumar Singh alone in front of the goal but failed to beat him in a point blank situation.

Santosh Trophy Football Tournament Is Back, But Probably Not With A Bang

The stage is set for the 70-year old competition but some big names from Indian football will be missing. Will some new name rise to glory?

By Patterson Fernandes

And Our 11 Year Wait Is Over: Bengal Are The Santosh Trophy Champions (Mango Peel)
The 65th edition of the Santosh Trophy football tournament is underway at Assam from May 6 to 30. The tournament that was started in 1941 is contested by various states and government institutions of India.
The organizers, All India Football Federation, have decided to keep the national team and I-League players out of the competition. This decision could certainly hamper the charm and standard of the competition. However, at the same time it promises to unearth some young talents of the country.
West Bengal, who have won the title a record 30 times, are the defending champions. However, this year they will miss the services of their senior players and same will be the case with other strong teams like Goa, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Maharashtra.
The competition features 31 teams which have been divided into 8 clusters at the preliminary stage, with last year’s semi-finalists Bengal, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Goa, directly placed in the Groups quarter-final round. The preliminary rounds have come to an end from which Assam, Chhattisgarh, Manipur, Kerala, Services, Delhi, Tripura and Railways topped their respective groups.
In the pre-quarter-finals, Chhattisgarh defeated hosts Assam 4-2 while Manipur beat Kerala 7-6 on penalties after the match ended in a stalemate. The two winning teams have secured their place in the quarter-final group ‘A’ along with West Bengal and Tamil Nadu. Meanwhile the other two pre-quarterfinal matches - Services v/s Delhi and Tripura v/s Railways – will be played on May 18. The winners of these matches will be placed in group ‘B’ alongside five times champions Goa and eight times champions Punjab. Hence the quarter-final groups are more or less decided. They are as follows…
Group ‘A’
West Bengal
Tamil Nadu
Chhattisgarh
Manipur
Group ‘B’
Goa
Punjab
Services/Delhi
Railways/Tripura
The quarter-final stage will be played from May 17-24. The top two teams from each table will enter the semi-finals which will be held on May 27 while the grand finale is slated for May 30.
The stage is set for the biggest inter-state tournament of the country. Will it keep up to its reputation? Who will be crowned champions this year?

22-member squad for U-13 football

CHANDIGARH: A 22-member Indian squad for the AFC (South Asian Zone) Cup for Under-13 boys Football Festival will leave for Yazd in Iran on Tuesday.

The team attended a one-month national coaching camp at PEC University recently.

West Bengal and Mizoram have contributed a big share to the team. Eight boys from West Bengal and six from Mizoram figure among the 22-member India team. Three are from Mizoram, two from Kerala and one each from Goa, Haryana and Assam. There is no player from Chandigarh, though one of the CFHA trainee attended the conditioning camp at Goa but could not make it to the probables.

India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan are competing in the Iran U-13 Festival.

Coach Satheevan Balan said that the boys would be divided into two teams. One team will play in the first match and next XI will play in the next match and so on.

Squad: Sandip Bhattacharjee, Firojuddin Molla, Babu Mondal, Subrata Das, Basu Mukherjee, Rajesh Goswami, Rabin Mahato, Krishanu Sautra (West Bengal), Shahbaaz, Konejengbam Maniranjan Singh, Heesnam Sailesh Singh (Manipur), Lalremruata, Vanlalruata, Lathasanga, Lalmuanzova, Jonathan Lalengzauva, Lalrintluanga (Mizoram), Fwiden Bargoyary (Assam), Sam Noronha (Goa), Vijay Kumar (Haryana), Lazimali and Bento Joe N (Kerala); Coaches: Satheevan Balan (Chennai), Tarun Roy ( Delhi), Surinder Singh (Chandigarh). Physio: S. Babu (Chennai)

Indian Arrows go down to Salgaocar

Salgaocar’s Japanese recruit, Ryuji Sueoka bagged a brace, while Cajetan Fernandes scored the third goal before Holicharan Narzary pulled one back for the Desmond Bulpin coached side.

It was the home side, who took the control of the match and made numerous inroads in their opponent citadel. Against the run of the play, Sueoka put the visitors ahead in the match when he placed his right footer with ease after collecting a pass from Rocus Lamare from the centre in the 22nd minute.

The best chance of the first half for the Arrows came in the 32nd minute, when Lalrindika Ralte was brought down inside the box by Salgaocar defender Irungbam Meetei resulting in a penalty in favour of the home side. Lalrindika himself stood up and blasted it over the woodwork much to the despair of home crowds.

The half time score read 1-0.

Sueoka doubled his side's lead in the 63rd minute before Holicharan Narzary gave some hopes to the home side with a superb strike from the top of the 18 yard box in the 80th minute.

But the lady luck was totally on the Salgaocar's side as Cajetan Fernandes sealed the deal for when he headed in a Rocus Lamare corner down the wire.

Salgaocar leapfrogged at the top of the I-league table with 50 points from 24 matches, while Indian Arrows remained on 26 points from 25 matches.

The Indian Arrows coach wasn’t satisfied with his boy’s performance and said that,’’ We could have certainly done better having dominated the game. We had more shots on the goal than our opponent but failed to utilised the chances that came our way.’’

Manipur knock Kerala out of Santosh Trophy

Tinsukia (Assam), May 14 (PTI) Kerala were today knocked out of Santosh Trophy football tournament as they lost to Manipur in penalty shootout in a pre-quarterfinal match between the two former champions here.

The two sides, who had topped their respective groups in the preliminary round, were goal-less after extra time before Manipur won in sudden death penalty shootout to move into the quarterfinals at the Sports Complex Ground here.

Yesterday, Chhattisgarh had beaten hosts Assam 4-2 in a prequarterfinal match in Guwahati.

Mahender's brace enabled Delhi to score 2-0 win over Nagaland

New Delhi, May 12 : Delhi skipper Mahender Kumar struck a brace, scoring one goal in each half, enabled his team to open its campaign in style to score a 2-0 victory over Nagaland in Cluster-VI preliminary round league match of the 65the senior national football championship for Santosh Trophy -2010-2011 at Nagaon, Assam today.

According to information received here, the last year's quarterfinalist- Delhi asserted its supermacy from start of the proceedings when Mahender put his side 1-0 ahead off a well-measured through pass from out-side-left Parveen Rawat in the fifth mintute of initial half.

Down by one goal, Nagaland team settled immediately to thwart formidable Delhi's onslaughts initiating by medios from both flanks to keep their strong rivals Delhi at bay to take any other advantage.

On changing ends, Mahender Kumar again capitalised on a nice cross sent by left full-back Vikas Rawat to consolidate lead to 2-0 in 68th mintue of the game.

Delhi meets Himachal Pradesh next on May 14 and will take on Odissia in last league encounter on May 16 before qualifying for pre-quartersfinal knock-out match.

The greatest football final of 2011: Man Utd vs Barca

Man United, Barca fate at Wembley

New Delhi: The Wembley has provided for many a classic encounter for World football and when Barcelona and Manchester United collide on the 28th May, the New Wembley will another exhibition to its long list of European showpieces.
Although Manchester United have played far more matches than Barcelona due to its superiority in the domestic competition, the FA Cup where the semi-finals and finals are played, Barcelona's first European triumph came at the iconic stadium. Here is a look back at a few hand picked ties which have put the Wembley on the European Map.
BARCELONA
Man United, Barca fate at Wembley

1992 European cup Final, Barcelona v Sampdoria
The Catalans first tasted European success at the Wembley in 1992 when the Catalans faced a formidable Sampdoria side. The Italian champions boasted attacking talent such as Gianluca Vialli, Roberto Mancini, Attilio Lombardo, Toninho Cerezo and goalkeeper Gianluca Pagliuca. FC Barcelona was led by Dane Michael Laudrup, Hristo Stoichkov, Ronald Koeman and now-Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola. With such talent on display, it promised to be a vibrant and exciting final. And it was. Sampdoria had a handful of chances but it ended 0-0, shockingly after 90 minutes.
Koeman blasted it low to the right of Pagliuca, who had absolutely no chance. 1-0 to FC Barcelona, and on their way to their first European Cup, and the torture of years past had finally ended for the Blaugranas.
In about three weeks, it will be back to the future for FC Barcelona. Win or lose, Wembley will always hold a special place in the heart of a FC Barcelona fan.
MANCHESTER UNITED
The Red Devils have been a part of many a tale at the holy turf of Wembley, new and old. Whether be it the recently concluded Manchester derby in the FA Cup semi-final where the old foes Manchester City shattered their dream of a treble or atleast an English double or classic encounters against arch-rivals Liverpool which also involved them both in the domestic competition where the Merseysiders were beaten in the 3rd round by the Mancunians.
Manchester United 3 Crystal Palace 3 (1990)
Palace had won through to this final, the first in an all-seater Wembley, after beating Liverpool in the semi-final (more of that later in our List) and United had to overcome Second Division Oldham in a replay.
Appearing in their first FA Cup Final, Steve Coppell's side came within 17 minutes of lifting the famous old trophy in a classic against a Manchester United team which had cost £13 million to assemble – a fortune in those days.
Hughes scored his second with just eight minutes left to force a replay which United won in a much less memorable game, 1-0.
Manchester United 4 Blackpool 2 (1948)
The two Lancashire giants met each other in this FA Cup final at Wembley which pitted Matt Busby’s Babes against Blackpool's Stans - Mortensen and Matthews.
The final lived up to its billing, Blackpool opened the scoring with a disputed penalty and Jack Rowley's equalizer for United was cancelled out when Mortensen restored the Seasiders' advantage right on half-time.
The second half was all United's - Rowley doubled his tally to level the game and Stan Pearson made it 3-2 before John Anderson's strike, eight minutes from time sealed Busby’s first trophy with the club.
Manchester United 2 Arsenal 3 (1979)
Two goals in three minutes from Gordon McQueen and Sammy McIlroy brought the game level and heading for extra-time, but straight from the restart, Liam Brady and Graham Rix combined down the left wing and crossed to the far post where Alan Sunderland slid in the winner to cap the most remarkable finish ever seen in an FA Cup final.
Manchester United 4 Benfica 1 (1968 European Cup)
Matt Busby, Bobby Charlton, George Best and co clinched England's first European Cup on the 10th anniversary of the Munich air crash. Ten years after the disastrous crash on 3rd Feb 1958 which took away with it the cream of the crop at Old Trafford did not overawe the legendary Sir Matt Busby, who remade the Busby Babes legacy and guided them to a thumping 4-1 win over legendary side Benfica led by the inspirational Eusebio.
United took the lead through a rare headed goal from Legendary midfielder Sir Bobby Charlton 8 minutes into the second-half, only for Jaime Graca to equalise 22 minutes later for the Portuguese Champion.
Both teams looked tired at the full-time whistle, but it was Busby’s men who showed their desire to win through the pain barrier as George Best dribbled his way around the Benfica keeper before rolling the ball into an empty net just 3 minutes later into extra-time a minute later it was 3-1 as birthday boy Brian Kidd celebrated his 19th with a goal, before Charlton grabbed his second of the game on the 100th minute to make it 4-1 and help United become the first English club to conquer Europe.

In Sir Alex Ferguson Man United trust

Experienced? Check. Commands respect? Check. Dominating? Double Check. No holds barred? Ask David Beckham. The man being deliberated upon is from Scotland, doesn't shoulder a bagpipe and doesn't sport a plaid skirt, but makes you dance to his tunes. Throw him a dare and the answer could be a shoe hurled at you.

Been there, done it all! Twenty-five years with Europe's top-flight club and from two English Premier League titles to all but "knocking Liverpool off its perch" with the 19th, Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson has swarmed Manchester United just like the bees swarming the globe in the club’s crest.

Why knighthood? Hear this out! Eleven Premier League titles, five FA Cups, four League Cups, nine Community Shields, two Champions League, one Cup Winners' Cup, one Super Cup, one Intercontinental Cup and one Club World Cup, with United alone. Still any doubts on his knighthood honour of 1999? Dial 911!

All dreams fulfilled and on the threshold of bringing the most loved one to fruition, Sir Alex will lead United's march to Wembley to face the might of Barcelona in the Champions league final on May 28. And by then, both teams should have avowed themselves as the best in Spain (Barcelona) and England (Manchester United).

But the way 69-year-old Fergie handles a galaxy of stars stands out. Second only to Sir Matt Busby until last year, Sir Alex is much more than the longest serving United Manager. Ask him how to keep United united and happy, pat should come the reply, "by winning". And he does that by his happy knack of recognising and acknowledging someone's attributes, how to use them best, when to step up and when to allow those stars some space and take centrestage.

The best of those managerial skills came this season when he made the media a tool to convince Rooney into signing a new contract when United had almost lost the prodigy to a transfer request.

Cut to May 8, 2011, when a win against Chelsea could be the ink to create history, the Red Devils came out riding their bikes and Ferguson's blueprint threaded Blues' defence 38 seconds into the match, courtesy 'little pea'. Vidic doubled it before the halftime whistle and though Lampard pulled one back for Chelsea, a winning smile on Fergie’s face was easily discernible well before the finish.

Hands in air at the end, a bow before returning to the tunnel, Sir Alex must have quietly murmured, "Barcelona, here we come!"

But it isn't going to be easy for United, and Ferguson knows it. He has his task cut out to find ways to control Messi's incisive raids, Iniesta's cutting assists and Xavi's midfield authority.

However, in Ferguson Man United trust. The wily fox knows that nothing but a win could heal the wound Catalans inflicted in the 2009 Champions League final. And though he most probably will rank the treble triumph of 1999 as his finest hour, a win at Wembley on May 28 will warm United's heart like never before.

Utd beat Chelsea 2-1, close in on 19th title

Manchester: Manchester United got one hand on the Premier League crown on Sunday as a 2-1 victory over champions Chelsea crushed their rivals' late bid to snatch the trophy from their grasp.

United burst out of the blocks to take the lead after 37 seconds when Javier Hernandez swept in a delightful Park Ji-sung pass and they doubled their lead after 23 minutes when captain Nemanja Vidic headed in a perfect cross from Ryan Giggs.

A Frank Lampard tap-in on 69 minutes gave Chelsea hope but United held on for the win that left them needing just one point from their final two games against struggling Blackburn Rovers and Blackpool to guarantee a record 19th title.

Utd beat Chelsea 2-1, close in on 19th title

The 37-year-old Giggs is on the brink of winning his 12th Premier League title along with manager Alex Ferguson who bowed to United's joyous fans at Old Trafford at the end of the match.

"It's a massive step forward for us. Mathematically, we have not won the title but we are nearly there," Giggs told Sky Sports.

"We know we are capable of playing good football and we knew we had to keep attacking as one goal is not enough against a team like Chelsea. It was a great start and it would have been easy for us to take our foot off the pedal but we didn't.

"We will try and get it done as soon as possible at Blackburn next week. It's a tough place to go but I am sure we will have a lot of fans there; there will be a great atmosphere and we won't go for the draw but we will try and win."

Chelsea had clawed themselves back into the title race with a 10-game unbeaten run in which they went from trailing the leaders by 15 points to breathing down their necks.

But it will probably be too little too late after United's 17th home win out of 18 league matches this season.

The match was full of high-quality football from both teams with Giggs at the heart of most of United's creative moves, in at the start of the first goal and providing the cross for the second.

Boosted by two wins over Chelsea in the Champions League quarter-final, United played with style and confidence but Chelsea put them under periods of pressure in the second half especially, with goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar, who will retire at the end of the season, forced into important saves.

But United made plenty of their own chances and striker Wayne Rooney went close several times.

Manipur down Andaman 12-1 in Santosh trophy

Guwahati, May 9 (PTI) Former champions Manipur downed Andaman and Nicobar Islands 12-1 in their cluster three match of the Santosh Trophy football championship in Sibsagar here today.

L Tiken Singh scored six goals for Manipur. In another cluster one match, Pondicherry and Rajasthan drew 2-2 while Gujurat defeated Daman and Diu 6-2. In cluster four match, Uttar Pradesh drew with Chattishgarh 1-1.

Indian Arrows Stun Mumbai FC, Vive Kerala Held By ONGC

It was an eventful day in the I-League wherein there was some shuffling in the bottom half of the table…

Mumbai FC 1-2 Indian Arrows
Mumbai FC were shocked at home by Indian Arrows on Saturday at the Shahu Maharaj Stadium, Kolhapur as the visitors picked up crucial points in their bid to avoid the drop.
Fresh from a away 3-2 victory over league leaders Salgaocar SC, the confidence levels in the Mumbai FC squad was high. However, they were in for a surprise as Indian Arrows bounced back from a defeat in the last round to Viva Kerala and put in a performance which deserved three points.
Lalrindika Ralte scored the opening goal in the 12th minute from a free-kick just outside the box to put his side in the lead. Thereafter, Mumbai FC did show some signs of coming back and were soon rewarded in the 35th minute.
Henry Ezeh’s shot was parried away by goalkeeper Jagroop Singh with Sampath Kuttymani picking up the pieces to score the equalizer.
After the break, it was a one sided affair as the Indian Arrows dominated the possession and found the winner eventually when Lalrindika’s shot deflected to find the back of the net. Interestingly, Jeje Lalpekhlua was awarded the man of the match over Lalrindika for his brace.
With this result, Mumbai FC continues to remain on the fifth spot with 32 points while Indian Arrows have moved up in the table to the 10th spot with 26 points.
Viva Kerala 0-0 ONGC
ONGC managed to come up with a decent performance against Viva Kerala to hold the home side to a goalless draw at the Jawahar Municipal Stadium, Kannur.
It was a game where individual brilliance shone the most as ONGC custodian Bilfang Narzary and Viva Kerala defender Charles Dzizah were a class apart.
While Dzizah didn’t allow the ONGC forwards to come up with an open shot on goal as Badmus Babtunde and Kailash Patil were stifled in the final third.
The home side was guilty of missing two opportunities which should have been put to rest. First it was the outstanding save from Narzary to deny Dzizah a goal in the second half from a cornerkick.
Anil Kumar, who has been the star of the Viva Kerala side this season, failed to find the back of the net with the goalkeeper at his mercy in the final minute of the game. Charles Dzizah won the man of the match award.
With only one game to play and having garnered a mere 23 points so far, ONGC have to face Mumbai FC in Kolhapur and anything less than a victory could spell doom for the club.
Viva Kerala are more or less secure with 26 points in their kitty and another two matches to play.

AIFF breather for Assam

Guwahati, May 5 : The All India Football Federation (AIFF) today “assured” the Assam Football Association (AFA) that it would grant a “certain amount” of funds for each of the venues assigned to host the preliminary round matches of the 65th Santosh Trophy senior national football tournament in the state.

The assurance came as a shot in the arm for the AFA, which had found itself in a fix for funds to prepare venues after allotting the preliminary round matches to seven different locations across the state.

The AIFF had suggested that the AFA host the preliminary cluster leagues at two venues in order to cut costs for preparation of grounds and dressing rooms, apart from travel expenses, medical expenses and other such costs. “However, the AFA decided to host it at seven venues across the state in order to ensure that our purpose of promoting football in the state is served,” said AFA secretary Ankur Dutta. The preliminary leagues, divided into eight clusters, will be held at Mangaldoi, Sivasagar, Tinsukia, Kokrajhar, Nagaon, Bongaigaon and Guwahati from Friday. From the quarter-finals which start on May 19, all matches will be held in Guwahati.

The AFA remained non-committal about its affiliated district units who were allotted the cluster leagues as regards funds for local transport of teams, ground and dressing rooms preparation and other expenses in the official notification. “However we had been unofficially assured by the AFA that efforts would be made to provide funds to meet these expenses,” Nowgong Sports Association secretary Pradip Hazarika said.

Confirming the development, Dutta today told The Telegraph, “We had submitted an estimated budget proposal of about Rs 12 lakh as expenses for the seven venues to the AIFF and I have been verbally assured today of a certain amount of funds for every venue. The AIFF will send the official communication by this evening.”

“He has, however, ‘not assured of the quantum of funds’ to be provided by the AIFF. The AFA has also volunteered to host the Cluster I and Cluster V matches here itself as a cost-cutting measure,” Dutta added.

The AFA has submitted a total budget of Rs 90 lakh to the AIFF for hosting the tournament of which, according to the tournament rules, the AIFF is supposed to fund 90 per cent raising funds from the official telecast rights holders. According to Dutta, the ground preparation in most of the venues would not involve much money “because in venues like Kokrajhar, Guwahati, Nagaon, Tinsukia and Bongaigaon, the grounds and dressing rooms are well-maintained”. The districts concerned, however, feel it would involve between Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1.5 lakh in each venue.

“Being a pioneer sports body in the state, we will have to host the league even by spending from our coffers or raising it locally,” said Hazarika. Some of the district bodies felt it would be difficult for them to raise the funds locally and neither did they have adequate funds at their disposal to host the leagues without funding from the AFA.

Manchester United 4 Schalke 1; agg 6-1: match report

4 - 1

Antonio Valencia - Manchester United v Schalke

Feeling up: Antonio Valencia slots past Manuel Neuer for Manchester United's first goal Photo: ACTION IMAGES
By the end of this rout, the home fans were chanting “we’re Man United, we’ll do what we want”, which was pretty much anything against supine Schalke in reaching the Champions League final. The M1 will probably more prove more troublesome for United in getting to Wembley than the guileless Germans did.
Barcelona, the team of all the talents, will be far less accommodating than Schalke on May 28. Pep Guardiola, who travelled to Old Trafford last night to watch a largely second-string United, will send out such stars as Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta and Xavi.
La Liga’s finest will be the favourites, with box-office billing also going to the defensive likes of Gerard Pique and the attacking right-back, Dani Alves.
But nobody, certainly not the respectful Guardiola, will dismiss United’s chances. There is a belief to United, a refusal to bow to adversity that gives them a chance. They also have a desire to make amends for their Rome defeat to Barcelona.
United will also take heart from picking up no suspensions here and no injuries, although Patrice Evra was briefly hobbling. Ferguson will also delight in being able to make nine changes, keeping making most of his first choices fresh for Sunday’s meeting with Chelsea.
Even without the likes of Wayne Rooney and Javier Hernandez, United scored through Antonio Valencia, Darron Gibson and Anderson twice. Ferguson also welcomed back Darren Fletcher, who United will need to get to grips with Barcelona’s fabled midfield.
United had this tie in a stranglehold from Gelsenkirchen and never loosened their grip, tightening it particularly after 26 minutes.
This was all about Valencia and Barcelona. In front of the watching Pep Guardiola, Valencia drove United closer to the Wembley final against the Catalans. His goal was a gem, a riposte to Barcelona’s classy move that led to Pedro’s strike the night before against Real Madrid.
When Uchida lost possession, Anderson pounced and United raced through the gears. No matter the changes, this was classic United, going for the opponents’ jugular. The B-team responded with the alacrity of the A-team, tearing Schalke to little dark-blue ribbons.
Anderson found Gibson, whose ball to Valencia carried echoes of Andres Iniesta’s sumptuous pass to Pedro. It was a majestic delivery, completely destroying Schalke’s defence. Valencia, gliding down the inside-right channel, needed only one touch to tee the ball before beating Manuel Neuer with a firm shot.
Already leading 2-0 from Gelsenkirchen, Valencia’s goal seemed to have swept United over the horizon and halfway up Wembley Way. Within five minutes, Ferguson’s men led 4-0 on aggregate, although the goal was still a surprise.
Gibson has an eye for the long-range strike, although many United fans have often wondered whether he would develop into a top-class midfielder. Too diffident at times.
Not here. He certainly seized his chance. Following Rafael’s throw-in, Anderson and Valencia worked the ball to Gibson, who met it first time. The shot arrowed straight at Neuer, whose excellence in the first leg was hailed by Ferguson “as probably the best goalkeeping performance against us in Europe”.
Not here. Not when Gibson came calling. This was more Manuel than Neuer. The German international keeper spilled the ball, which bounced in off the post.
There was almost a gasp of disbelief that such a good keeper could make such a mistake. Then United fans let rip in celebration, knowing a third final in four years was all but theirs.
Any early fears were dispelled. Ferguson’s tactics had been vindicated, his team-sheet making total sense. Ferguson had admitted that his centre-halves, Chris Smalling and Jonny Evans, “lack the experience of big-time situations” and they were up against Raul, the leading scorer in the history of the Champions League.
Raul certainly never troubled them before the break, partly because the service was poor, and it was little surprise to find him supported by Edu in the second half.
Before then Smalling had dealt well with Raul, tracking the former Real Madrid striker’s first run, hooking the ball away. Smalling then darted in ahead of Raul, who was operating as the forward point of Schalke’s 4-2-3-1 system.
Ferguson’s much-changed team-sheet had spread ripples of concern through United’s support, who were at least reassured by the sight of Javier Hernandez, Michael Owen and Ryan Giggs warming up after 10 minutes. Up in the stands, Wayne Rooney and Rio Ferdinand looked on, admiring the goals of Valencia and Gibson.
Smalling’s only mistake of the half came 10 minutes from the break, being loose with a clearance, and was brutally punished. Jose Manuel Jurado drilled the ball into net, deserved reward as the midfielder had looked Schalke’s best source of hope.
Schalke fans started chanting “only three more”. Far less amusing were the brief scenes of trouble in the front two rows of the Schalke support, which subsided only when the police eventually arrived.
Flares were lit, a plastic bottle thrown, and Uefa may have a word with Schalke after this.
It was merely a disappointing sub-plot to the main drama at the Theatre of Dreams. As the second half unfolded, the Stretford End went through their song-book, praising Ronaldo, Cantona and Rooney and chanting “we’re going to Wembley”.
Still the singing continued, this time about Paul Scholes, who already had his obligatory booking. They also sang of Nicky Butt and Bryan Robson, enjoying their stroll down memory lane. Then it was Andy Cole, celebrating his goalscoring.
They then almost celebrated an unlikely goalscorer, Smalling turning the ball into the net after 70 minutes but being ruled offside.
No matter. As Guardiola continued to watch, United grabbed a third after 72 minutes. Nani was the architect, racing down the left, and cutting the ball back to Anderson. The Brazilian collected the ball at the second attempt, and fired it low left-footed past the sluggish Neuer.
There was more, much to the delight of Old Trafford. Valencia released Berbatov down the right and his low cross was turned in by Anderson.
As the Wembley songs continued to reverberate around Old Trafford, United fans did take time out to show their appreciation of Raul, whose work-rate was impressive. Too many of his Schalke team-mates were not good enough.

Martin Palermo Scores Amazing Backheel Goal For Boca Juniors

Boca Juniors forward Martin Palermo netted a truly great goal during Monday's match against Independiente in the Argentinian First Division.
On the goal, Palermo received a cross from the right side by spinning in mid-air and putting the ball past the goalkeeper with the back of his right heel.
The match ended in a 1-1 draw, leaving 14th-place Boca one spot below Independiente in the table. Watch the video below.

Barcelona progress to final at Real's expense

Barcelona's players toss teammate Eric Abidal after making it into the Champions League final with an aggregate win of 3-1 over Real Madrid in Barcelona - AFP
Barcelona, May 4 : Barcelona reached their second Champions League final in three years after a 1-1 draw with Real Madrid at the Nou Camp in their semi-final second leg clash here on Tuesday saw them progress 3-1 on aggregate.
Barcelona could now face Manchester United in a repeat of the 2009 final - which Barcelona won - as they hold a 2-0 lead over Schalke going into Wednesday's second leg in Manchester.
Needing to overturn a 2-0 home defeat Real had to attack but they never managed a sustained threat on the Barca goal and fell behind to a Pedro strike in the 54th minute.
Marcelo replied 10 minutes later but it was only a consolation goal for Real.
Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola praised Real for a good performance but revelled in his side's qualification.
"It is a total success," said Guardiola, who in his maiden season in 2008/09 delivered the treble including a Champions League success over Manchester United.
"I am very proud of my players. We won our first Champions League title in the old Wembley (in 1992) and we are going to try and win our fourth one there at the new one."
Guardiola admitted that the last few weeks which has seen Barca and Real play each other four times - Real taking the Kings Cup while they drew their league game and Barca won the first leg of this clash 2-0 - had been exhausting mentally and physically.
"These have been 20 very hard days, filled with tension. We have eliminated a superb team, a really great team."
Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta, who set up Pedro's goal, was ecstatic.
"It is a unique feeling, to once again be in the final," said Iniesta, who missed the first leg through injury.
"Winning a confrontation like this one deserves to be feted."
Real found it hard to be gracious in defeat with assistant coach Aitor Karanka saying a disallowed goal early in the second-half by Madrid striker Gonzalo Higuain supported coach Jose Mourinho's controversial claims that Barcelona were favoured by referees.
"I think that after all that has been said this week, everyone saw what we had been going on about today (with regard to Higuain's goal)," said Karanka, who stood in for Mourinho in the dugout as he was suspended after being sent from the bench last week.
"There is no need to say any more than that, millions of people saw it."
Mourinho chose to stay at the team hotel and watch the match on television.
Barcelona as expected started both Iniesta and Carles Puyol, who were passed fit with the latter filling in at left back for his 100th Champions League appearance for the club.
The Real players knew that they had to hassle Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta to prevent them finding their passing range but when they did get the ball to Lionel Messi and Pedro they had the pace and trickery to do damage.
Ricardo Carvalho who missed the first leg through suspension went in the book after 11 minutes for bringing down Messi as he tore through the Real half, while there were several other borderline yellow card challenges.
An unmarked Sergio Busquets headed straight at 'keeper Iker Casillas from a corner but generally the game was simmering and it was Messi who threatened to bring it to the boil in the run up to half time.
The Real defenders were bunching up as they tried to halt his forays and he tested Casillas with a couple of shots from the edge of the area. The shot-stopper then made an excellent stop to deny a curling David Villa strike.
After the break Real attacked with renewed vigour and Barça were looking edgy. In a strange decision by the referee Higuain's goal was ruled out for a foul by Ronaldo on Mascherano although he himself had been pushed by Gerard Pique.
The slippery conditions were also making it difficult for the Barca defence but the more Real attacked the greater chance they would be caught on the counter-attack and that is what happened.
Dani Alves ran down the wing and played the ball inside to Iniesta who found Pedro with a brilliant through ball and he finished calmly with just the keeper to beat.
The contest looked over but Real kept pushing and got their reward when Marcelo swept the ball home.
Di Maria nutmegged Mascherano and while he was unlucky to see his shot come back off the post, he kept his composure to set up Marcelo.

EPL title race back on as Man Utd lose

London: Arsenal threw open the English title race on Sunday with a 1-0 win over Manchester United that left the Premier League leader vulnerable to a late charge by defending champion Chelsea.

Aaron Ramsey scored in the 56th minute at Emirates Stadium to cap a dominant display by Arsenal and cut United's lead over the Blues to three points with three games remaining.

With third-place Arsenal still six points off the lead, the Gunners' victory may have come too late to re-ignite its title hopes.

But after beating Tottenham 2-1 on Saturday, Chelsea's goal difference is now identical to United's, giving the defending champion the chance to go top if it beats United at Old Trafford next Sunday.

"It gives Chelsea a major chance now," United manager Alex Ferguson said. "But in terms of ability — a game at Old Trafford — the supporters will be ready for it and so will our players."

Also Sunday, Liverpool moved ahead of Spurs on goal difference into fifth place with an untroubled 3-0 win over Newcastle.

Although Spurs have played one game fewer, their chances of reaching the top four to make the Champions League for a second straight season appear to be over.

Manchester City, in the fourth and final Champions League berth, beat last-place West Ham 2-1 to move seven points ahead of Liverpool and Spurs.

Nigel de Jong and Pablo Zabaleta scored in the first half for City, but Liverpool still has a good chance to finish in fifth place — two spots higher than last season.

"We'll just keep going and see what we get," Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish said. "It's great reward that we've got to where we are."

United is likely to reach the Champions League final on Wednesday and was unbeaten in seven meetings with Arsenal but the closest it came to scoring at Emirates Stadium was when Wayne Rooney curled a 49th-minute free kick toward the top corner. Goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny saved and Patrice Evra put the rebound into the side netting.

Szczesny also blocked a near-post shot from Nani following a 77th-minute counterattack and Arsenal, which drew its previous three home matches and lost 2-1 at Bolton last weekend, held firm with the youngest team fielded by any club in this season's Premier League.

Ramsey's inclusion in place of captain Cesc Fabregas, who was kicked on the thigh in training Friday, meant that the average age of Arsenal's starting lineup was 23 years, 296 days.

But it crucially meant that, with Jack Wilshere and Alex Song also playing, the Gunners' midfield was more muscular. With United stalwart Ryan Giggs missing because of 'flu, Arsenal dominated possession — taking 80 percent in the first 15 minutes and 57 percent overall.

"I didn't think we started playing until we lost a goal to be honest," Ferguson told United's MUTV channel. "It was a very low-key performance up until then.

"They've run themselves into the ground and tried their best in terms of effort, but we never started playing until then."

Van Persie set up Ramsey's first Premier League goal of the season — and first since December 2009 — after he was released down the right by Theo Walcott.

The Netherlands striker carried the ball into the area and, given time by United's defense to weigh up his options, spotted Ramsey screaming for the ball just inside the box with his arms aloft.

Van Persie rolled a pass to the unmarked midfielder, who placed a first-time shot from 15 meters (yards) across goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar and in at the far post.

United could have had a late penalty when Gael Clichy trod on Michael Owen's leg just inside the area, but the Red Devils were lucky not to concede a kick of their own in the first half when Nemanja Vidic used his hand to subtly deflect a cross away from Van Persie's head.

Maxi Rodriguez put Liverpool ahead with a deflected shot in the 10th at Anfield before Dirk Kuyt hit his eighth goal in seven Premier League matches with a penalty after Luis Suarez was wrestled to the ground by defender Mike Williamson.

Suarez's 65th-minute close-range finish made the game safe with his third goal since joining Liverpool in January.

Liverpool, whose 21-year-old record of 18 English league titles could still be broken by United this season, has now scored 14 goals in three home matches.

Also Sunday, Wolverhampton Wanderers drew 1-1 at local rival Birmingham.

West Ham has 32 points, two fewer points than 19th-place Wolves. Wigan is next with 35 points, with Blackpool out of the three-team relegation zone only on goal difference.