Premier league leaders Arsenal visit Liverpool today Villarreal Vs Barcelona

Unbeaten so far in the premier league new season Arsenal visits an field to day for its first big clash in the new season against English soccer heavy weights.
The host Liverpool fourth in the table with 19 points from nine matches had had a moral boosting derby 2-1 derby victory over arch rival Everton on the week end but the mid week 2-0 champion’s league loss to Turkish side Besiktas turned out a big blow to rattle Benitez’s hornet nest. With the rotation system bitter for many of Benitez,s new signing, Liverpool is lagging behind at least at performance level. Today is real testing at home that Liverpool fans a wait anxiously.
The visitors Arsenal with moral boosting 7-0 champion’s league victory in midweek there seem no other better time to visit Liverpool . Arsene Wenger’s post Thierry Henry third generation youngsters almost in graduation class the hosts need an extra energy and will power to stop the visitors from their free reign unbeaten record. Cesk Fabregas at the driving seat with at their best form Rotiscky, Hleb and Teo Walcot
on board, the likely hood of the Gunners return home with three points is highly probable. Arsenal is leading the league table with twenty five points with one match in hand.
In misery since Sam Alardice left to New Castle , bottom of the table Bolton Wanderers are entertains one of the new season’s surprise packages Aston Villa. Martin O’Nell at the hot seat Aston Villa is in mid table with 14 points out of nine matches.
On the other side of the continent Spain La Liga features one of the biggest clashes of the European week end.
Second in the table Barcelona with all its star players except striker Samuel Eto’o ready for any one call travels to Villarreal that follows just two points down. Thierry Henry leading the strike force with sensational duo Ronaldinho and Messi on the wings god delivers Villarreal from the shock of their life.
Frank Rijkaard on the way to sign an enticing new contract, Messi leading scorer of the league with six goals, Ronaldinho once again to maintain his regular place and Thierry Henry not to loose his place to Samuel Eto’o on his return Barcelona squad have every reason to stay in hot pursuit of league leader and arch enemy Real Madrid. Villarreal may be the under dog yet considering their being third on the table with fifteen points and the home crowed looking for some blood from the visiting big leaguers the clash is anxiously awaited by Spain’s soccer crazies.

Ethiopian Coffee plays Electric today
Union Cup soccer tournament in high swing

Behold a double premier league soccer season in a nation where the sport is long on its death bed. In the limbo of heavy weights incumbent EFF president Dr Asheber W/Giorgis and the nations leading investor and run away league clubs union chairman Abnet G/Meskel, the season appears bleaker than at any other time.
The eleven premier league run away clubs plus two non premier league clubs came under the Run Away league clubs umbrella to kick- off their own knock out championship on Sunday under the name of Union Cup while the league committee minus eleven of the sixteen premier league clubs started its own championship featuring not less than twenty clubs.
Having Ethiopian Coffee, Saint George, Electric, Insurance, Ethiopian Banks, Adama Kenema, Shashemene Kenema, Methara Sugar, Agricultural Marketing, Tikur Abay Transport, Nyala, and Batu Kenema the Union inaugurated its championship on Sunday at the tournament’s venue Abebe Bikila stadium.
The opening match brought Electric and Adama Kenema to head on clash in which Electric won 2-1goals from Mesud Mohammed and Nahom Yosef. Berhanu Bogale scored the consolation to Adama. In the days second match Saint George defeated insurance 1-0 thanks for the goal from Mulualem Regasa.  On the second day Shashemene Kenema came out the winner after 2-1 score line With Ethiopian Coffee crushing Nyala 3-0. A very festive mood with full crowed and music festival the Union appeared well organized for the occasion many its supporters gave it a heluva salute for its success. In mid week the two premier league sides Saint George and Eclectic clashed on Thursday featuring so far the evenly contested match. Coming from the bench Saladdin said scored the winner fifteen minutes before the final whistle to give his side 1-0 win. Saladin scored his first goal in his derby match to his new club Saint George.
On the other hand the newly formed League Committee kicks-off its tournament on Wednesday in an almost empty stadium very few spectators around the tribune. According to sources in the second day of the match the only spectators in the stadium were not more than hundreds out of which many of them club executive committee members and federation employees. Despite the announcement of the league committee that the tournament has organized the biggest ever money prize for the winner that is ETB25000 and ETB 1500 for the tournament’s best coach the run away clubs seem not to get interested to join. It is recalled the league committee chairman Major Hentsa denounced the Addis Ababa football federation for permitting Abebe Bikila stadium as a venue for the Union One of the Union cup biggest clashes takes place to day between the two premier League City rivals Electric Vs Ethiopian Coffee at Abebe Bikila stadium. Two times Ethiopian premier league champion Electric currently under head coach Gulelat Ferde, is to face his former assistant at Electric now Coffee head coach Kifle Boltena. On his return from two weeks higher level coaching course Kifle is seriously engaged in building a youth full squad.

Meseret and Haile lead IAAF best athletes short list

World 5000 double champion Meseret Defar is the leading IAAF 2007 women world best athlete of the season while marathon world record holder Haile G/Selassie and former twice world best athlete of the season Kenenisa Bekele tops the men’s short list.
Last season IAAF special award winner Meseret appears the hottest favorite for the crown since there is no woman on the planet who performed better than her. Of seventeen international athletics meetings including world athletics championship in Japan and All African Games in Algiers Meseret won all but one. Yet her biggest achievement is twice setting 5000 meter world new record in New York . Multi discipline hero twenty four years old Meseret Defar proved her self as one of all time women world great athletes claiming two of world athletics greatest achievements Olympic gold and world champion at such tender age. IAAF needs not west time to look for any one with better profile than Meseret to crown 2007 world best women athlete of the season.
Crushing the four years old world marathon record in Berlin three weeks back Haile shot to the top of the eleven men IAAF best athletes short list to become the hottest favorite to claim the accolade for the second time. Twenty four world records at his belt world all time great Haile clocked two world records in twenty kms and marathon this season thus in pole position to win the title. Slashing twenty nine seconds from the previous record held by Kenyan Paul Tergat the thirty four years old world athletics great Haile has marathon world record in his pocket in 2:26:04. The legend is now Ethiopian hot shot in marathon at the 2008 Beijing Olympic.
An astonishing come back after Mombassa world cross country championship, Olympic gold medalist and world cross country five times double champion Kenenisa Bekele  also elevated to the top eleven featuring  some hard to believe athletics achievements in year 2007. Compatriot athlete Haile as the strongest contender for the accolade Kenenisa’s win means becoming the first Ethiopian athlete to claim the highest prestige of world athletics, IAAF world best athlete of the season for the third time.
The women’s best athlete of the season short list consists of Alison Felix(USA),Yelina Esinbayeva (Russia), Meriam Yusuf Jemal (Bahrain), Janet Jepcosini (Kenya), Carolina Kluft (Sweden), Tatina Lebdeyavna (Russia), Sania Richards (USA), Valiri Vili,and Blanc Vlasic.
In the men’s table with Haile and Kenenisa hot favorites, Tyson Guy (USA), Rezi Hofa (USA), Bernard Lagat (USA), Teropit Kamaki (Finland), Assafa Pawel ( Jamaica ), Erving Saldino ( Panama ), Zeresenay Tadesse ( Eritrea ), Jermi Warner (USA) and Lio Ziang of China are contenders for the crown.

Africa’s biggest sporting event kicks-off January, Egypt to clash head on against Cameroon

Ghana 2008African nation’s soccer cup final draw brought defending champion Egypt to a head on clash against four time champion Cameroon in the group stage while group four with no one in clear domination dubbed the group of death.
Once the sixteen cup finalists are known the draw to the group stage was what remained the excitement to the nation’s soccer believers. Considered to become the best ever African nation’s soccer cup final for the big event stages in one of African soccer’s giants Ghana , no nation is yet to come to the high light as clear favorite for the title. Sixteen nations featuring the best talents of the continent are to be guests of Ghana for two weeks, that is, from January 20- 10th of February.
As host Ghana , Nigeria , Egypt and Tunisia top seeds, the cup final draw considered as more or less fare and square with the exception of group four where all four nations are at equal level. Angola and Senegal becoming the nation’s new soccer forces no one appears to bet on which to fly to the knock out stage.
Four times champion Ghana, a soccer nation that produced three times African player of the season Abede Pele leads the rank that brought together first timer in cup final Namibia, former champion Morocco, and never to the title Guinea. Group giant as well as host nation Ghana is the hottest favorite to group winner to go to the knock out stage with Morocco . Guinea is the under dog with full capacity to surprise the group. Ghana opens the tournament facing Guinea .
Two times champion Nigeria is the top seed that features minnows Benin ; Fredi Kanoute led Mali and the mighty squad of Ivory Coast . With reigning African player of the season Didier Drogba spear heading the Elephants, the latest World Youth champion Nigeria is in no position to an easy claim of the group top spot. Ivory Coast is one of the hottest favorite to win the title for the second time. With almost all players based in Europe Super Eagles Vs Elephants clash is one of the most anxiously awaited in the tournament.
In group three the bet is not which side is to progress to the next stage. Rather which one of the giants five times champion Egypt or four times title winner Cameroon to top the group table. With the toughest group opening match against Indomitable Lions Cameroon, the defending champion Pharaohs are said with the strongest squad capable of claiming the title for a record fifth time. Cameroon has also a side issue that is sharing the five times record with Egypt . Back to the nation’s cup final after long absence former champion and founding member of the tournament Sudan is yet to produce a squad strong enough to challenge the group heavy weights. Zambia is the group under dog ready to rattle the giant’s nest.
Though Tunisia and South Africa former champions appear favorites to win group four on the rise to become the nation’s strong soccer force Senegal and Angola are not opponents easily surrender the chance to qualify for the knock out stage. Group four is where the hardest battle taking place to clinch the top two places. The 2004 champion Tunisia or the 2010 world cup host South Africa led by former Brazil national team manager Carlos Perriera have the edge to go through the group stage for they have better experience in the nation’s cup final stage.
Defending champion Egypt, four time champion Indomitable Lions-Cameroon, with all European based squad Super Eagles-Nigeria, former champion Ivory Coast and the host’s, four times champion Ghana are hot favorites to the championship title.

Looking back at coaching blunders

Nick  Webster

April 9, 2002: Bayer Leverkusen vs. Liverpool — Champions League Quarterfinal, Second Leg
The European Cup holds a special place in the hearts of the Anfield faithful. It had been a long time since the glory days of the ’70s and ’80s. However, this was the season it would all change. The semifinals beckoned and with the Reds in complete control at the BayArena, Gerard Houllier was feeling ridiculously confident. In fact, he was so confident that he decided to replace an imperious Dietmar Hamann in the 61st minute with the score tied 1-1, and Liverpool ahead 2-1 on aggregate and with an away goal. Fifteen minutes later, Michael Ballack and Dimitar Berbatov had plunged a knife so deep, Houllier never really recovered.
June 13, 2004: France vs. England — Euro ’04 Group B
Sven-Goran Eriksson and Emile Heskey may be all the rage right now but it wasn’t always that way. England had led France the entire match and to be fair (I was there) the French weren’t going to score in a month of Sundays. Wayne Rooney had arrived and was unplayable but Eriksson decided the teenager needed a rest with only minutes remaining. On came Heskey to concede a needless foul. Up stepped Zinedine Zidane and the match was tied. Almost unbelievably, seconds later it was over as ‘Zizou’ then converted a penalty. The dropped points forced England to play hosts Portugal and once again the dream died.
June 30, 2006: Germany vs. Argentina — World Cup Quarterfinal
Juan Roman Riquelme is different gravy and if you put him in a situation where his opponents are pushing forward in desperate need of a goal, he’ll slice and dice you to pieces. That was the situation in Berlin as Germany were on the way out of their tournament until Jose Pekerman decided to replace his star with the more defensive-minded Esteban Cambiasso. Predictably, the Germans scored and it was Argentina who ended up crying. September 1, 2007: Fulham vs. Tottenham — English Premier League
Leading 3-1 against London neighbors Fulham, Martin Jol decided to take off Robbie Keane with 30 minutes to go. Keane had been majestic all afternoon and assisted on all three Tottenham goals. Without the Keane threat, Fulham fought their way back and if you’re wondering why Jol’s future is in question, look no further than this result.
September 27, 2007: Brazil vs. USA — Women’s World Cup Semifinal
Greg Ryan decided to melt down on the eve of the biggest game he has ever coached when he benched his regular goalkeeper Hope Solo after three consecutive clean-sheets. Her replacement is Briana Scurry. Scurry hadn’t played in three months. As the Arsenal fans sang to Jol recently at White Hart Lane
“... sacked in the morning,
you’re getting sacked in the morning,
sacked in the morning
you’re getting sacked in the morning ...”       
Yep, a 4-0 tonking and complete, utter humiliation.
As my coaching mentor Bill Songhurst once said to me: “Nick, the day you get hired, you’re a day closer to getting the sack”. Who would put their livelihoods in footballers? I guess all of the above and they’ve all paid the price one way or another.