The USA literally left it to the last minute, but they managed to clinch Group B in the Gold Cup with a 2-2 draw against Haiti in Foxborough, Massachusetts on July 11th. If Haiti could have just hung on a little longer it would have been their first win over the Americans in 40 years. The last time they beat them was in May 1969. The draw also extended the Americans very impressive unbeaten record in Gold Cup play as they have won 23 and drawn two matches in the history of the tournament in group play.
Mexico rebounded form their 1-1 draw with to beat Guadeloupe 2-0 in front of 24,000 fans in Glendale, Arizona on July 12th. The win assured the Mexicans of top spot in Group C in the Gold Cup with seven points. Mexican manager Javier Aguirre served the first of his three-game suspension in this match after kicking out at Ricardo Phillips of Panama on the sidelines during Mexico’s last game. He’s eligible to return for the final on July 26 if Mexico qualifies.
“We qualified and we feel good,” Aguirre said through an interpreter. “We seemed lighter on our feet and more confident. I hope that we stay that way.”
Mexico will take on Haiti in the quarterfinals on July 19 in Arlington, Texas, while Guadeloupe, who finished in second place in the group with two wins, will meet Costa Rica on the same day and in the same locale.
This was the second straight eventful game for Mexico as two Guadeloupe players were shown red cards by the referee.
Mexico went back to attacking football in this game and dominated it from the opening kickoff. It paid off in the 41st minute as Gerardo Torrado took a pass from Efrain Juarez at the top of the 18-yard box and then hammered a right-footed shot past Guadeloupe’s keeper Yohan Bus just inside the left post for his second goal of the Cup.
Any hopes of a comeback by Guadeloupe were washed away when they lost their composure late in the game and had two players sent off the pitch within three minutes of each other. Defender Alain Vertot was given his marching orders after receiving his second yellow of the game in the 71st minute for hauling down a Mexican attacker. Then in the 82nd minute, substitute Ludovic Gotin, who came on in the 63rd minute for Mickael Curier, was shown a straight red for a dangerous tackle and went to join Vertot in the shower.
It didn’t take Mexico long to take advantage of playing against nine men, and Miguel Sabah headed a cross from Pablo Barrera in the 85th minute to slam the door on Guadeloupe, who were also missing four injured players and another who was suspended.
In the other Group C contest, in Glendale, Panama clinched a berth in the playoffs after thumping Nicaragua 4-0. Panama ended in third place with four points, from a win and a draw and qualified as one of the top two third-place teams.
The turning point was probably when Franklin Lopez was sent off in the 45th minute with his second yellow card. The score was only 1-0 then, after Blas Perez banged one home in the 34th minute, but Haiti then pumped in three more goals against the 10-man squad.
The next three goals came in 10-minute intervals as Gabriel Gomez scored in the 56th minute and Luis Tejada added two more in the 75th and 87th minutes.
The quarterfinal schedule is as follows:
July 18th – Canada vs. Honduras at Lincoln Financial Field; Philadelphia
July 18th – U.S. vs. Panama at Lincoln Financial Field; Philadelphia
July 19th – Guadeloupe vs. Costa Rica at Dallas Cowboys Stadium; Arlington, Texas
July 19th – Mexico vs. Haiti at Dallas Cowboys Stadium; Arlington, Texas
Canada took the top spot in Group A of the Gold Cup after battling to a 2-2 draw with Costa Rica in Miami, Florida on July 10th. The draw gave Canada seven points after they had already beaten Jamaica, and El Salvador. They now advance to the quarterfinals, but have to sit around for a week as they don’t get underway until July 18th.
Costa Rica also made it to the playoff stages as they ended up in second place in the group with a win, loss and draw. Jamaica beat El Salvador 1-0 in the other Group A match yesterday and they both end up with three points. Jamaica ends up in third place though, because of the head to head win. However, because of the complicated set up to the tournament, they won’t know if they go through until the other two groups have played their final round-robin matches.
Costa Rica actually had the better chances during the match and more of them. All four goals came in the first half and it looked like it might be a high-scoring affair, but things settled down in the second half.
Costa Rica jumped into the lead in the 22nd minute as Andy Herron found the back of the net. Canadian keeper Greg Sutton had booted a goal kick to midfield, but Costa Rica’s Armando Alonso headed it to an unmarked Herron on the right wing. He dribbled into the penalty area and neatly beat the onrushing keeper.
Canada came back with a vengeance though and three minutes later they had scored twice to take a 2-1 lead. Patrice Bernier leveled the score in the 24th minute as he was on the end of a great cross from the left wing by Josh Simpson. Bernier directed the ball past Costa Rican goalkeeper Ricardo Gonzalez with a shot from just outside the six-yard box.
Canada then took the lead in the 27th minute as Marcel De Jong scooped up a loose ball and then dribbled about five yards before hammering a low, long-range shot from about 25 yards out that bounced inside the left post. I thought keeper Gonzalez actually looked weak on both of the Canadian goals.
The lead didn’t last very long though as Walter Centeno tied it at 2-2 in the 34th minute with a long, swerving free kick that beat the Canadian wall and Sutton at the right post. It was again another example of why managers should take the common sense approach of placing a defender on each post for free kicks. Anybody positioned at the post could have stopped the ball, even if he was fast asleep, as the shot would have hit him.
There was no scoring from then on in, even though Costa Rica threatened t0o take the lead a couple of times. Each team received a yellow card, and it was a bit of a sloppy game with Canada committing 15 fouls to Costa Rica’s nine.
In the other group match, Omar Cummings scored in the 69th minute to give Jamaica their 1-0 win over El Salvador. Donovan Ricketts, as usual, had another strong game in goal for the Jamaicans with a series of fine saves. There were only 12 fouls, but each team received three yellow cards.
Manchester United are preparing their first attempt to try and sign a player using the Cristiano Ronaldo transfer cash. United are reportedly piecing together a bid for Inter Milan striker, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, as they look to bring in a high profile target to replace their former Portuguese play maker.
United have been knocked by a lot of people in the game over the last two weeks or so because of their failure to move in securing the signatures of a lot of influential players who are all moving to Spain. They have just missed out on signing Karim Benzema from Lyon and Franck Ribery of Bayern Munich looks set to follow his fellow Frenchman to Real Madrid.
There is no dancing around the fact that United need a big and high calibre striker, as they are short up front. The arrival of Michael Owen at Old Trafford was nothing more than a stop gap move and they were always going to be linked with a big name player sooner or later. United are going to need a big player that has the ability to change a game instantly and someone that can bring other people into a match just by his presence at the top of the pitch.
Whether Ibrahimovic is the right person for United is highly debatable. Sir Alex Ferguson clearly rates the six-foot plus tall Swede but a lot of pundits would call it a bad move as he rarely turns up in a lot of big games. Furthermore he is well liked by Jose Mourinho who will be incredibly reluctant to let the player leave unless it is in a huge deal.
This is a deal that probably wouldn’t justify the player and United could well be better off looking at other options. The English champions still have a lot of time before the next season starts and they should not panic about trying to find a striker to lead their attack in the coming campaign.
It is easy to see why United may be interested in such a player because he does have a lot going for him. He is tall and very quick on his feet for a player of his height. United will need a big target man up front as they will not now be able to play their slick and aggressive passing football as Ronaldo was so integral to the success of this style of play.
Although a lot of people have called Ibrahimovic quite selfish in the past a move to United and England could end up revitalising his career. The player has already hinted that he wants to move away from the Italian game, which apparently does not suit his style of play and is too slow. He would probably be quite grateful for a move to English football and would therefore be a good signing as United are going to need someone who will sweat blood for the side.
The point is however that a lot of people are supposedly telling Sir Alex Ferguson to steer clear of any bid he is considering making for him. He could get a lot more for his money and the Swedish front man has not really done enough to justify such a huge price tag.
In a football world that is becoming increasingly dominated by cash, Inter are clearly trying to make the most out of a bad situation and United need to keep their business heads on otherwise they could well end up being ripped off.
Ferguson will have a long list of targets and he needs to weigh up how important each one is to his United side. It is important to remember that Ferguson will probably now be considering reinventing his side as he lost two very influential players so far this summer in Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez.
Ferguson has a very good idea of where he wants to take the current side and if Ibrahimovic fits into this philosophy then United will be hard pushed to find someone to match his characteristics. However, they really do need to proceed with caution because the Swede can be very temperamental at times and United will need someone who can raise his level of performance consistently.
Ibrahimovic cannot always do this easily and on a consistent basis and many will say that this, equipped with his slight ego, are the two main reasons why Ferguson should not go any where near the player. It will be interesting to see how the move develops as United could do a lot better.
However, if they do sign one of the top scorers in the Italian leagues then they will have to work very hard in basing the team around him. Ibrahimovic does not strike the ordinary fan as a player that can adapt himself to a team and this will make United’s job a lot harder as they restructure to have another go at European and domestic success.
It is impossible to say at this moment in time whether it would be a gamble that pays off because the move has so many advantages and disadvantages. The money being talked about is a lot of cash in the current climate and United should only spend it if they are absolutely certain that this player is the person to help them move forward.
They may let the move go because the doubts are too big to ignore. Being the top scorer in Italy is totally different to being the top scorer in England where the league is a lot more difficult to play in.
Ibrahimovic is a player that relies on time on the ball and not being pressured in order to make space and bring other players into the side. These are things that he would not get in the Premier League and they are things that mean United may be better off in going for another target. I’m sure with this player that if Real Madrid came in and tried to poach him, United probably wouldn’t be too annoyed.
Liverpool manager, Rafael Benitez, has had a dig at the amount of money floating around in the modern game. Benitez believes that football has become tainted by its orientation to finances and says that players such as Gareth Barry should be ashamed of themselves for moving to a club because of cash.
Benitez had been linked with Barry for a very long time but he ultimately chose to go to Manchester City who were offering him a wage deal that Liverpool could not even get close to. Furthermore in a season where players are moving between clubs for world record amounts of cash, Benitez has praised the likes of Glen Johnson, who Liverpool themselves had to pay over the odds for.
Benitez said: “He [Johnson] was always thinking about Liverpool so for us to sign a player who wants to come, an England international with experience of being at a big club, is really good, because of his desire to be successful here. In this market, money is not the main thing because everyone at this level earns big money. If it’s just for money sometimes you make mistakes, like Barry.”
“I won’t say too much but that was clearly for the money, 100 per cent. It is not a bad thing to miss out on him. The most important thing is the passion of the player.”
Benitez does have a clear point in the respect that you would rather have a player at your club who seems genuinely grateful to be there as opposed to someone who is just there to go through the motions and then pick up his wage packet at the end of the day.
There are a lot of players in football who are just mercenaries and will go to the club that offers them the most money but this is now an accepted part of the game. Benitez is quite within his rights to come out and have a dig at Barry and the amount of cash floating around in football but it is something that Liverpool themselves have adopted, they did spend £30 million on Fernando Torres not too long ago.
What Benitez is probably more worried about is the ability of the biggest clubs in Europe to monopolise. The danger of this is that if only a few clubs can afford to buy the very best players in the world then the gap between them and everyone else will one day get so big that it cannot be overcome.
This is the real danger that Benitez probably has in mind but doesn’t want to talk about openly in the media. When a manager comes out and knocks certain players who are only in the game for cash, it is not really new news and we have all heard this sort of story before.
The point is that when you read between the lines of many transfers and players switching between clubs you begin to realise the massive dangers that you would otherwise have not paid any attention to. It is also important to consider that Liverpool are very much a club in transition. Benitez is trying to create something that will take his side closer to title winning form and give them a chance of lifting the European Cup they won not too long ago.
Therefore whenever something happens along the line that dents the larger vision of a manager or club it is quite natural for that person to come out and have a sly dig at the person responsible. If Barry had gone to Liverpool then it is unlikely that Benitez would be talking about another target that Liverpool have missed out on, maybe David Villa, who looks set to remain in Spain for bigger wages.
It is a well used cliché in life but there is no smoke without fire and it is an unfortunate set of circumstances when a lot of players choose to join clubs they may not necessarily want to go to because it means they can retire as soon as their playing careers are over.
The point is that now a lot of clubs and managers have to be very careful with the people they are trying to buy. In a world where football is dominated so much by money it means that a lot of players in sides may not be giving their all for that particular club.
Therefore if you can buy a player that actually wants to be at your club, although he may be of less quality, he could turn out to be more valuable than a better player elsewhere on better money. A determined player who loves his club can often raise his levels of performance enough to be able to cope with a much better opposition side or player.
This means that sometimes when you are buying a player it is more valuable to look at the things that you may not normally look at. This is the underlying thing that Benitez is talking about because he clearly knows that there are particular players that Liverpool would want to sign but they are players that would not give their all for the club.
It is actually quite refreshing to see a manager who would rather buy someone who is not as good just because he wants to put the Liverpool shirt on every week and tap the sign each time as he walks out at Anfield. There are players like this out there but because money is bigger in football than it has ever been a lot of players are becoming tainted to epic proportions.
Football is a game where you have to play the system sometimes and Liverpool will have to in future months. The point is that Benitez will only part with his cash if it is for the right player, a player that wants to play for Liverpool and a player that is not buying into a lucrative Liverpool contract. He will quite happily spend a lot of money but the point is that he will not throw it away in trying to create something special if players are there for all of the wrong reasons.
It was bound to happen sooner or later. You just knew things would turn a little physical and nasty after a relatively calm Gold Cup tournament so far. Well it all came to a boiling point in a red hot Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas on July 9th as Panama held Mexico to a 1-1 draw in their Group C match before a pro-Mexican crowd of 47,000.
Three players and Mexican manager Javier Aguirre were sent off before the final whistle blew, and when it did blow, there were quite a few punch ups in the crowd and a lot of rubbish thrown onto the pitch.
It was a scrappy game from the get go and Mexico’s Luis Noriega and Panama’s Armando Gun were both sent off just before half time as a minor scuffle took place after Gun had taken down Giovani Dos Santos in a tackle.
It was just shades of things to come as more trouble started when Ricardo Phillips of Panama ran the ball into touch just in front of the Mexican bench with about 10 minutes to go in the game. Aguirre put his foot up though and impeded Phillips. The player and Aguirre then got into a bit of a shoving match and a few other players, some who were on the sidelines, got into it and came over to see what the fuss was. Phillips was then given a red card and Aguirre was sent off of the bench. While things looked like they had gotten back to normal on the pitch, some of the supporters decided to duke it out and the game was held up a few minutes.
The last few minutes were played out and it looked like the final whistle would come soon, but then Blas Perez of Panama was hit by an object thrown from the crowd in the last minute. He was given treatment, but was then hit again with another unidentified flying object as he was being stretchered off the field. This caused more flare ups in the stands.
As for the actual football match, Dos Santos set up Miguel Sabah on a nice two on one counter attack to put Mexico ahead in the 11th minute. Perez then tied the score at 1-1 in the 28th minute after a scrambly play in the Mexican box. Perez managed to stab at the ball while it was in mid air from just a few yards out and it ended up in the back of the net.
All in all there were three yellow cards given to Panama, one to Mexico, and two red cards each. But funnily enough, there were only 14 fouls committed in the game between both teams.
The result means that Mexico, with four points, needs a point from their last group game against Guadeloupe on July 12 to guarantee a spot in the quarter-finals. If they lose and Panama beats Nicaragua, then the Mexicans will be out.
Guadeloupe has already made it to the quarterfinals as Stephane Auvray and Ludovic Gotin scored a minute apart to beat Nicaragua 2-0, keeping them top in Group C with six points. The goals came in the 58th and 59th minutes.
With former Anfield Ace Michael Owen having signed for Manchester United, plus Xabi Alonso and Javier Mascherano’s reluctance to commit to the club, Liverpool fans are suffering from a bad dose of treason this summer.
What a difference a year makes. Last summer, Rafael Benitez threw Alonso’s future at the club up in the air by going public with his pursuit of then Aston Villa midfielder Gareth Barry, with the Spaniard being touted for sale to fund the deal.
With Alonso coming very close to sealing a move to Juventus, both midfielders were part of a long transfer saga which was only exceeded by Real Madrid’s annual quest to prize Cristiano Ronaldo away from Old Trafford.
After Madrid finally landed the Portuguese star already this summer, attention has swung to the best of the rest of midfielders in the Premier League, and unfortunately for Liverpool, speculation continues to surround their Spanish-speaking central pair.
Both Barcelona and free-spending Madrid have made no secret of their desire to bring Argentine Mascherano and Alonso to La Liga respectively. But with neither player rebuff any proposal, loyalty issues once again arise.
There have been suggestions that Alonso has still not forgiven Benitez for his shabby treatment last summer, when the midfielder felt unwanted and unloved as he was almost forced into a move to Juventus. But a deal for Barry, who has since joined Manchester City, never materialised and Alonso stayed at Anfield and produced his finest displays in a Liverpool shirt to date last season.
Whilst some believe Alonso is within his right to hold a grudge against compatriot Benitez for his lack of faith, but in retrospect, his boss may have done him a favour.
Suppose it was not a lack of faith, but the kick up the behind Alonso well and truly needed. It’s easy to forget that the season prior to last summer, the Spanish midfielder had his poorest season in English football, scoring just two goals in an injury hit season.
Injuries are a part of the game players must be prepared to deal with mentally, and it appeared that Alonso lacked passion and determination upon returning from the serious metatarsal injury which disrupted his season. Determination is key to winning the hearts of Liverpool fans, just look at the much-loved Dirk Kuyt.
However, the point is, Alonso didn’t do himself justice in the 2007/08 season, and with Barry forming a formidable partnership with Steven Gerrard for England, Benitez saw the potential. Something had to give, and on the back of a poor season, the boss saw Alonso as a scapegoat towards landing Barry.
After neither move came about, Alonso started the season a Liverpool player again and signalled his intent to prove his worth early on with some ferocious displays and the fine form continued throughout the season as Liverpool totalled their highest points tally in their Premier League history.
Now the tides have turned, and it appears Alonso is the one in control of his destiny, as his performances last season have warranted interest from Europe’s most talked about club this summer. But before Alonso sets his sights on the Bernabeu, he should take a look back at last summer with thanks, rather than resentment for Benitez.
The Liverpool manager brought out the world class player in Alonso once again, as his determination returned while he vowed to prove his importance to the Liverpool team. If it wasn’t for the wake up call, Alonso could be plying his trade for the rather less glamorous Juventus, and he certainly wouldn’t have a £35m price tag which is reportedly the club’s minimum asking price.
As for Mascherano, the little Argentine has had his head easily turned by rumours of interest from European champions Barcelona. It’s little over two years since Benitez pounced to rescue the 25-year-old from his nightmare at West Ham.
The tough midfielder joined the Hammers with Carlos Tevez in 2006 and while his compatriot basked in the glory of almost single headedly saving the club from the drop, Mascherano was inexplicably left to rot in the reserves.
Benitez saw the bargain potential however, and duly snapped him up initially on loan before his incredible displays earned him an £18.6m move from his owners Media Sports Investments. Since then Mascherano has established himself as a genuine world class midfield performer, and it is little wonder that a club of Barcelona’s stature are attempting to sound out a switch.
The Argentine should be flattered, but no more. Should he knock on the manager’s door asking for permission to speak to the Catalan club, Benitez should give him a stark reminder of where he was in January 2007.
But where has the loyalty in football gone? Michael Owen stood with a huge grin on his face as he posed during his unveiling as a Manchester United player, seemingly without a care in the world of his illustrious past at Anfield.
He lost the hearts of some fans when he left the club for Madrid in 2004, but lost their respect for ever by signing that contract. Owen has turned his back on the club twice now, and if Alonso and Mascherano truly wish to go down as Liverpool legend in years to come, they should stop flirting with Europe’s elite and get back to perusing their rivals for that elusive Premier League title.
