Seven Sisters Love Football: March 2012

Wayne Rooney keeps Manchester United record bid on track

Manchester United's English forward Wayne Rooney celebrates after scoring the opening goal against Fulham during an English Premier League football match at Old Trafford in Manchester, northwest England - AFP Wayne Rooney kept Manchester United on course for a record 20th title after hitting the winner in a 1-0 win over Fulham at Old Trafford on Monday.

Rooney's 21st top-flight goal of the season, which arrived towards the end of the first half, proved enough to see off spirited mid-table opposition.
The result sent Sir Alex Ferguson's side, who have won their last six league games, three points clear of neighbours Manchester City at the top of the table with eight games remaining.
It was far from vintage United, but with their next four games against teams in the bottom six, it is difficult to see where United are going to slip up.
"For an hour we played very well and we made some decent opportunities but you have to give credit to Fulham," Ferguson told Sky Sports.
"They had more left than we did in the last 15 minutes. I think they had a claim (for a penalty), there's no doubt. We had a claim in the first half. Maybe the referee was thinking about that, but certainly Michael Carrick caught Danny Murphy's heel."
Having destroyed struggling Wolves 5-0 in their last outing, United were hoping Fulham would prove equally obliging opponents with the league delicately poised.
Fulham spent the opening exchanges penned inside their own half.
But this was a night for patience as United struggled to impose themselves until Rooney struck three minutes before the interval.
Veteran midfielder Ryan Giggs headed an early chance straight at keeper Mark Schwarzer while Patrice Evra proved an unlikely goal threat in the 32nd minute with an overhead kick which flashed narrowly wide.
But the ruthless finishing which was so evident eight days earlier at Molineux was missing as Fulham created just as many chances as United before the interval.
Not for the first time this season, Clint Dempsey was his team's main goal threat.
The United States international twice tested David De Gea in the space of a few minutes, his second effort a lovely attempted curler from the edge of the area which had United's Spanish keeper diving at full stretch to claw away.
Yet just when Fulham thought they had survived the opening half without damage, Rooney pounced from close range after Jonny Evans had teed-up the striker from Ashley Young's 42nd minute cross following a mistake by John Arne-Riise.
The sighs of relief could be heard all around the ground.
United, who meet City in what could be a winner-take-all game on April 30, dominated possession after the interval but were unable to add to their tally.
Schwarzer was forced into action when Giggs played the ball over the top for Antonio Valencia, who seemed likely to score, but his shot was straight at the Australian international.
With 15 minutes remaining, United spurned a glorious chance to double their advantage.
Schwarzer, who had an excellent game, twice denied Young before Giggs had a goal-bound effort blocked by Brede Hangeland.
United survived a scare in the 89th minute when Fulham substitute Danny Murphy went crashing inside the penalty area following a Michael Carrick challenge.
But referee Michael Oliver waved away Fulham's appeals for a penalty as United hung on for their ninth win in 10 league games.
Fulham manager Martin Jol thought that it had been the wrong decision.
"I feel it was a difficult decision, it always is for a penalty," said the Dutchman.
"I think you should send Michael Carrick off and I think everyone in the stadium was expecting it. I've seen it many times before, you have to be brave to give a penalty like that here."

Drastic changes needed in I-League structure: Pradhyum Reddy

KOCHI: At 35 years old, Pradhyum Reddy is one of the youngest-ever coaches of an I-League club. Shillong Lajong FC's Scotland born, Indian and English educated coach, who worked at various positions in USA before returning to India in 2009, comes across as a street wise character with clear ideas on how to improve the level of the game in the country. Excerpts from an interview:

There are Indian magnates buying clubs in England, Spain et al. Still in India, top sides like JCT, Mahindra are winding up due to lack of financial backing. What is it that the Indian businessmen are not seeing in the I-League?

There are a lot of corporates interested in investing in Indian football. It is the system that pushes them away. What the Major League Soccer (MLS) in US has and the J-League (Japan) had initially, is a no relegation system. If a businessman wants to invest a huge amount to have an I-League club in say, Chennai, then give him direct entry into the league and scrap relegation. In the current structure, there is far too much of a risk on investment. What if you spend huge amounts of money and your team doesn't qualify from the second division?

But will the current clubs agree to this?

There has to be some criteria in place. If the person is willing to invest in an academy, develop a stadium, have teams at different age groups and so on, is there any harm in letting them straight into the league? As for the current clubs, does a Dempo, Churchill and Salgaocar need the I-League or the I-League need them more? The IPL has no relegation and look how it has attracted the top Indian businessmen. And even the World Series Hockey. If, through the investment of top corporates, we can ensure Television coverage of every I-League match like WSH has, then the money that will come from that will pacify any complaints the current clubs have.

Direct entry into the league maybe, but no relegation?

When I say no relegation, it is important that we take in at least one team for the next six or seven years to form a 20-strong league. What scrapping relegation will do is allow teams to plan for the future. Kolkata coaches measure themselves by the amount of trophies they win. In the quest for titles, we pay exorbitant amounts to top Indian players like Jeje Lalpekhlua, Lalrindika Ralte and so on. They will never earn that money abroad because they are not worth it. The same is the case with foreigners. But the problem in India is, because of relegation and the quest for winning, if one team does not pay the money, someone else will, even if the player is not worth it. If there is no relegation, we can plan for three-four years ahead and spend that money on the youth system and academies.

The MLS is a relatively new league which has been very successful. What can we learn from them that will enable us to streamline the I-League?

In this season's I-League, we have four clubs in Kolkata and Goa, three playing in Pune, and two in South India. So when we, being the only team from the North East, travels to Goa, why can't we play at least two games there before getting back? If the AIFF structured the schedule better, they could save about 4-5 lakhs on our flight tickets per match. That is 40 lakhs over a season on just one club. Currently, the I-League is run like a government organization and lots of valuable money can be saved if the organization is better. Also, all the American leagues have a salary cap. If an Indian player feels he is better than the salary cap, let him go abroad and prove it. It will only help Indian football.

MLS, Middle-East and now China has succeeded in attracting big name footballers. Should we do that and why are we unable to?

We definitely should bring in caliber foreigners who our players can learn from unlike now. We signed former Liberian captain John Menyongar this year, someone who has played with the likes of George Weah. The youngsters go up to him and learn a lot from him and it is players like that who we need to target. But the big name stars like even Nicolas Anelka who's gone to China will not come here. They will take one look at the facilities and go back.

United Sikkim tops first leg, ended 1-1 draw with Aizwal FC

Siliguri: March 23, 2012
Bhaichung’s United Sikkim Football Club on Thursday remained draw with the Aizwal FC Mizoram in the ongoing 2nd division I-League at Kanchendzonga stadium in Siliguri.
United Sikkim conceded an early goal in the first half of the game. Though tough competition was seen among both the north eastern clubs, both the team missed many nets in the first half. The first half remained in favor of Mizoram leading United Sikkim by 1-0.
Daniel Bademi who is in the top form in the tournament once again provided the equalizer on the 50th minutes of the game. Elegant headwork from Bademi of Thoi Singh curling free kick found the opponent net. After the equalizer much attacking football was witnessed from the Sikkim side. 10 minutes remaining on the clock, Bhaichung’s back volley was beautiful saved by the Mizoram goalkeeper. Babatunde in the dying minutes of the game once again missed an open net which could have provided United Sikkim the lead. United Sikkim pulled back strongly in the second half and ended draw with 1-1.
United Sikkim still in the first leg remains undefeated with one more game to go. The team with 13 points has topped the table and even if United Sikkim looses the last match, it still will retain the top position in the first leg. Senior manager after the match said that he was pretty satisfied with the result as both the teams played their best football. “The chances of open net if was materialized could have change the entire atmosphere of the game” said Rai. He expressed that the team is contended and looking forward for the next game on March 24 with Mohamaden FC Kolkata. “We have topped the leg which was played outside, the coming leg is in Gangtok and we have the plus points” added Rai.
United Sikkim is in top followed by ONGC Mumbai on second and Mohamaden FC Kolkata at third.
The team will return back home on 24 after the match.
The second leg of the tournament is scheduled to be started from March 29 at Palzor stadium, Gangtok.

Manchester United to regain top spot

Rooney took his tally to nine goals from his last six matches and 26 for the season.

Two goals from Wayne Rooney put Manchester United back on top of the Premier League for the first time in five months when they beat West Bromwich Albion 2-0 and Manchester City surprisingly lost 1-0 at Swansea City on Sunday.
Rooney took his tally to nine goals from his last six matches and 26 for the season, opening the scoring with a clever volley in the 36th minute and doubling the lead with a clinical 71st-minute penalty at Old Trafford.
The win lifted the champions to 67 points from 28 games, one more than Manchester City who are second after leading the table since the middle of October.

United manager Alex Ferguson was a happy man after his team bounced back quickly from their shock home Europa League defeat by Athletic Bilbao.
“It was a surprising day for us I suppose, but we needed that performance after the disappointment of Thursday,” he told Sky Sports News.
“We played some fantastic football today and we should have scored a lot of goals. The most important thing was the performance and hopefully the goals can come later.”
United were installed by bookmakers as the new favourites to win what would be an unprecedented 20th title and Ferguson was delighted to have hit the top.
“I am happy to be there because only a few weeks ago we were five, then seven points behind them, now we are one point ahead, so we have turned around eight points and that’s credit to the players and shows the resilience of our squad because, as everyone knows, we have had a lot of injuries,” he said.
West Brom started the brighter but United got into their stride to lead and the balance tipped their way even further when West Brom had Jonas Olsson sent off for a second bookable defence after tripping Javier Hernandez in the 66th minute.
Hernandez had gone close earlier for United, thumping a fine strike against the post.
NO GOALS
City did not come back from their Europa League defeat at Sporting with a win and manager Roberto Mancini rued their recent lack of goals.
“For the last 10 minutes of the first half and throughout the second half we had control of the game and should have scored,” he told Sky.
“But we did not score and made a mistake at the end to concede a goal. We had the chances but we needed to score and if you don’t score, like against Sporting and now for two games, well, clearly, it’s a problem.
“We might be in a difficult moment now, but there are still 10 games to go.”
City could have fallen behind in the seventh minute when Joe Hart conceded a penalty after bringing down Wayne Routledge before redeeming himself by saving Scott Sinclair’s spot-kick.
City then had plenty of possession but could not find that elusive goal. With the game seemingly headed for a goalless draw that would have kept City top on goal difference, the deadlock was broken seven minutes from time.
Luke Moore, who had been on the field for four minutes after replacing Danny Graham, found himself unmarked in space and this time Hart was powerless to stop the effort, following Routledge’s perfect cross.
Micah Richards thought he had equalised for City in the dying minutes, but his effort was ruled offside.
Swansea, playing in the top flight this season for the first time since 1983, are effectively safe from relegation after a series of good performances throughout the campaign.
“This is our best result against one of the best squads in European football,” their manager Brendan Rodgers said.
“Our mentality in the game was outstanding, with our talent and ability to work. We were clearly the better side throughout the game. We retained our positivity and when we had to defend, we defended well.
“We’ve got 10 games to play and want to finish strong, sprinting over the line, not just get over it. Today is all about the Swansea City players and I can’t think of better days.”
In the day’s late game, Norwich City drew 1-1 at home with bottom-placed Wigan Athletic who saved a point with a well-taken 68th-minute equaliser from Victor Moses who rounded goalkeeper John Ruddy to score.
Norwich, who were promoted along with Swansea last season and also look safe in mid-table, went ahead with a Wes Hoolahan volley after 10 minutes.
The result left Wigan bottom on 21 points, one behind Wolverhampton Wanderers and Queens Park Rangers, who both lost on Saturday.

Kalighat MS beats Aizawl FC

Kalighat Milan Sangha, one of the two teams from Kolkata to have made it to the final phase of the I-League second division being played at Siliguri, beat Aizawl FC of Mizoram 3-0 on Thursday.

In another game, Royal Wahingdoh of Meghalaya opened its campaign with a 1-1 draw against Vasco SC of Goa.

Mario opened the scoring Kalighat MS with an eighth-minute goal. Waheed made it 2-0 before half-time and added his second and the team's third in the 60th minute for the team's first win. Aizawl lost its second game in a row.

Vasco SC shot ahead in the fifth minute through Aiken Dias and managed to preserve the lead till five minutes before close. A defensive error enabled Royal Wahingdoh to level the scores through Satiyasen that helped his side pick up its first point.

Vasco, which had lost to United Sikkim FC 2-3 in the opening game, also earned its first point.

Champions League: Five-Goals Messi helps Barca to 7-1 win

Barcelona: Lionel Messi became the first player to score five goals in a Champions League game as Barcelona thrashed Bayer Leverkusen 7-1 Wednesday for the defending champions to ease into the quarterfinals.
Barcelona already led 3-1 after the first leg and the world player of the year put the result beyond doubt by scoring twice in the first half. Messi added three more after the break, while substitute Cristian Tello added a brace as the Spanish champions advanced 10-2 on aggregate.
Messi‘s 49th career Champions League goal moved him to joint fourth on the all-time European Cup list alongside Alfredo di Stefano.

Messi reacts after scoring his hat-trick. AP

The 24-year-old Messi took his overall season tally to 48 goals and he is not just seven away from matching Cesar Rodriguez’s all-time club record of 235.
Messi is only the fourth player to score five goals in a European Cup match — and first since the 1978-80 season. It was the first time in his career that he achieved the feat in any competition.
Despite Leverkusen’s best intentions, the result was never really in doubt on Wednesday.
Messi tested goalkeeper Bernd Leno early before his 25th minute opener. Leno reacted well to keep Xavi Hernandez’s whipped-in cross out just moments before the Spain international timed a long ball perfectly for Messi, who beat the offside trap to come one-on-one against Leno and sent an almost playful chip over the goalkeeper.
The second came after Messi received a pass from Andres Iniesta at the right corner of the area before skirting toward the center to curl a left-footed shot through a crowd of defenders and past a bewildered Leno in the 42nd.
Messi continued in the same vein just four minutes into the second half as he timed his run to beat the offside trap and met Cesc Fabregas’ long pass in the area, where the diminutive Argentine nicknamed “The Flea” held off defender Daniel Schwaab to complete a hat trick with another chip — this time from his weaker right foot.
Tello replaced Iniesta and showed exquisite control as he headed Fabregas’ pass forward before curling the ball around Leno for 4-0 in the 55th.
Three minutes later, Leno let a ball into his box slip away and Messi was perfectly placed to score a fourth for the second time in the knockout stages of the competition. Messi scored four against Arsenal two years ago.
Leno was to blame in the 62nd as he let Tello’s curling shot from the left slip under his right hand in the 62nd. Tello joined former Barcelona player Txiki Beguiristain as the only Spaniard to score a pair of goals in his Champions League debut.
Even Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola could only shake his head in disbelief as Messi added a fifth, curling an unstoppable left-footed shot out of Leno’s reach in the 85th. Messi has scored a competition-best 12 goals in this season’s Champions League.
Karim Bellarabi scored a consolation goal in injury time for the Germans as Barcelona stretched its unbeaten run at the Camp Nou to 50 games.

Manchester United stave off Spurs 3-1

London: Ashley Young scored twice as Manchester United cruised to a 3-1 victory at Tottenham on Sunday, effectively knocking the hosts out of the Premier League title race while keeping the heat on leaders Manchester City.
Wayne Rooney's 23rd goal of the season preceded Young's double as the defending champions surged 11 points clear of third-placed Tottenham to sit two points behind City.
United, though, had initially been forced to soak up sustained Tottenham pressure, with striker Emmanuel Adebayor having a goal ruled out for handball.

United surged 11 points ahead of third-placed Tottenham to sit two points behind Man City.

Manchester United stave off Spurs 3-1 to stay behind City

AP Photo

United broke through at the end of the first half, with Rooney meeting Ashley Young's corner and heading past goalkeeper Brad Friedel.
"All the players knew we weren't playing to our full potential," Young said.
With Spurs lacking a clinical finisher in front of goal, Young put the match beyond them with two goals after the break. He volleyed United further in front on the hour and curled a 25-yard shot beyond Friedel in the 69th minute.
"We showed a determination to get the result, we dug in and defended well," United manager Alex Ferguson said.
Jermain Defoe pulled one back in the 87th but Tottenham slumped to their second successive setback after losing 5-2 at Arsenal last weekend.
Tottenham haven't beaten United for 11 years and are now unlikely to win their first English title since 1961, amid continued uncertainty over the future of manager Harry Redknapp, who is the leading contender to become England coach.

Battle for elite spots to resume

The battle for the two I-League elite division spots will resume on Monday with ONGC taking on Aizwal FC and United Sikkim FC meeting Vasco SC in the opening matches of the final league phase of the second division I-League at Siliguri, in north Bengal.

The final phase will to be played in two legs at two separate venues — the second being the Sikkim capital Gangtok — with seven teams in contention.

With the inaugural National Football League (former name of I-League) champion JCT Mills Phagwara having disbanded the side after its relegation from the elite stage last season, ONGC remains the only seeded side in the final stage.

ONGC coached by Caetano Pinho will be trying to put its best having done a three-week conditioning camp at Goa before reaching Siliguri.

The other six teams — Mohammedan Sporting, Kalighat MS (both from Bengal), Royal Wahingdoh (Meghalaya), United Sikkim, Vasco SC (Goa), Aizwal FC (Mizoram) — have graduated from the prolonged qualifying phase and will be banking on the sufficient match-practise they have gained so far. The Siliguri phase will conclude on March 25 while the Gangtok phase will start on March 29 and conclude on April 17, according to fixtures released by the All India Football Federation.

Indian footballers leave for AFC Challenge Cup

New Delhi: A 23-member Indian national football team left here for Kathmandu to participate in the AFC Challenge Cup which starts on March 8.

India have been clubbed with North Korea, Philippines and Tajikistan in Group B, while Group A consists of hosts Nepal, Maldives, Palestine and Turkmenistan.

The winner of the tournament will earn a ticket to play in the 2015 AFC Asian Cup.

India play their first match against Tajikistan on March 9. Despite being drawn in the ’Group of Death’, national coach Savio Medeira sounded optimistic.

"We are in a tough group for sure but are confident of defending the title. The team is the right blend of youth and experienced players," he said.

Striker Sunil Chhetri, who had scored a hat-trick against Tajikistan to win the 2008 edition of the tournament, said, "We are a capable side with a lot of potential. We will go all out to attain our goal for our fans."

The Team comprised Goalkeepers namely Karanjit Singh, Subhasish Roychowdhury, Arindam Bhattacharya, Defenders are Nirmal Chhetri, Raju Gaikwad, Sameer Naik, Gouramangi Singh, Anwar Ali, Kinsukh Debnath, Syed Rahim Nabi, Gurjinder Singh and Midfielders are Adil Khan, Anthony Pereira, Reisangmi Vashum, Rocus Lamare, Francis Fernandes, Jewel Raja, Lenny Rodrigues, Lalrindika Ralte whereas Forwards are Sunil Chhetri, Sushil Singh, C S Sabeeth, Joaquim Abranches.