"El Clasico" 2011 Previews: GolTv CR7 v. Messi on MiamiGunners Match Of The Week

el clásico previews
15th april 2011:
cr-7 v. messi

The two greatest players in world football go head to head today in round one of their four upcoming battles! The adiZero magician and the Mercurial master will face off in a true test of their big-game abilities as Barcelona and Real Madrid battle for supremacy in four matches across three tournaments.
Lionel Messi has been involved in more goals than Cristiano Ronaldo in the top five European leagues this season.Both have surpassed everyone this season in terms of goal involvement. Having scored one more goal than Ronaldo, Messi has also been far more creative with 17 assists, more than twice as many as the Portuguese international.
Ronaldo has had more shots than any other player (212) but he has been less clinical in his finishing than Messi who converts one in every four attempts. Messi also attempts more passes (over 30 more than Ronaldo per game) 

In the first 'El Clasico' of the season back in November, Barcelona put in the ultimate clinical performance. The game will be remembered as one of the most clinical and complete performances from Barcelona. The quality of the team performance made Madrid look distinctly average - a feeling Ronaldo isn't used to. Even if Ronaldo can maintain his impressive amount of shots per game, the Real Madrid goal-machine will be up against one of the most challenging keepers in football. Victor Valdés has saved 81% of shots he has faced this season in the Spanish top flight. The Spanish shot stopper has only conceded 14 goals this season in La LIga. Another stat that Ronaldo will be well aware of heading into El Clasico is that the Portuguese international has never scored or assisted a goal when playing against Lionel Messi at club level. Incredibly, Ronaldo has a poor record against the No.1 player in the world that stretches back to his early days at Manchester United.

100 Years of the Kop

 

 

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World Cup 1982 Qualifier Norway England

World Cup 82 

Qualifying Group 4 9th September 1981
Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo
Referee Kacprzak
Attendance 28,500

'Lord Nelson! Lord Beaverbrook! Sir Winston Churchill! Sir Anthony Eden! Clement Attlee! Henry Cooper! Lady Diana! Maggie Thatcher - can you hear me, Maggie Thatcher! Your boys took one hell of a beating! Your boys took one hell of a beating!' (Bjorge Lillelien on Norwegian TV)

  Ron Greenwood's England team had gone to Oslo bouyed by an excellent 3-1 away win against Hungary, the eventual group winners in the previous game. The Norwegian side at that time were much like their Eurovision Song Contest participants. Not quite 'nil points' but nevertheless, this was expected to be easy pickings for the highly rated English. Greenwood had made three changes to his side, with a young Glenn Hoddle replacing the injured Trevor Brooking, Trevor Francis in for Steve Coppell and Russell Osman preferred at the back instead of Dave Watson. A packed & noisy home stadium witnessed the start that most expected, with England dominant and pressing for an early lead. On 14 minutes, their possession was rewarded with a goal by Bryan Robson, who bundled in from close range after a flick on by Kevin Keegan.

All was going to plan, the crowd was quietened, and England started to control the game, but never really threatening to overrun the Norwegians. England perhaps took it a little too easy, expectant of the cushion of a second goal. This allowed Norway to build in confidence, and when the equaliser came in the 34th minute, it was not against the run of play.
A corner from Tom Lund was blocked, with the ball returning to him for a second bite at the cherry. This time the cross was deflected past the England 'keeper Clemence, seemingly by Roger Albertsen (he would later admit not touching the ball). The equaliser immediately set the crowd buzzing, and visibly lifted the home side. Within 5 minutes the crowd would be in rapture. An attempted cross by Arne LarsenØkland was not dealt with by Terry McDermott, and his mistake allowed Hallvar Thoresen to pounce and guide the ball past the outstretched Clemence. In a state of shock, England headed for the dressing room 2-1 down at half time.

England started the second half much as they had done the first, and a leveller seemed to be on the cards. Peter Barnes replaced Hoddle, and started to cause problems and swing in a few crosses. The chances created though were not clear cut, and England were lucky not to go further behind when Clemence made an excellent 1 on 1 save from Pål Jacobsen. One clear chance fell to Trevor Francis, whose guided header from a Barnes dead ball went agonisingly close. In a desperate attempt to salvage something from the game, Greenwood introduced Withe for Mariner on 75 minutes, but the Norwegians were now defending like Trojans and the chances never came.
A defeated England trudged off the Oslo pitch knowing that qualification for Spain would now be a lot more difficult, in fact it was only Romania's failure to win any of their last 3 games that allowed them to qualify in second spot. The celebrations of the joyous home crowd at the final whistle were only equalled by those of a certain Mr Lillelien who must, surely, have left the stadium with the men in white coats that evening. (www.football-england.com)

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European Cup 1968 1969 Benfica Ajax Amsterdam

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TWB22RELOADED: C1 1968 1969 Benfica Ajax Amsterdam resumé retour

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Uefa Cup 1979 1980 Borussia Mönchengladbach Eintracht Frankfurt

Finals, 

First and Second Leg

May 1980

Entre le Borussia Mönchengladbach, un vieil habiiué des coupes européennes, et Eintracht Francfort, qui n'a qu'une finale perdue en Coupe des Champions à son palmures, entre deux équipes qui n'occupent qu'une très modeste place dans la Bundesliga, la double confrontation de cette finale U.E.F.A. 80 donnait beaucoup à espérer. M'Gladbach file le parfait amour avec la coupe d'Europe U.E.F.A. Déjà vainqueur de l'épreuve en 1975, et -l'an dernier, les coéquipiers de Kulik ont, une fois encore, atteint le stade de la finale à l'issue de deux matches très disputés face au V.F.B. Stuttgart.  A l'opposé, il aura fallu vingt années à Francfort pour disputer une seconde finale européenne. La première fois, il s'agissait de la Coupe des Champions. Le Real de Madrid l'avait emporté par sept buts à trois. Cette année, l'Eintracht s'attaque à Mônchengladbach pour tenter de lui ravir la coupe U.E.F.A. Pour en arriver là, les joueurs de l'entraîneur Rausch ont dû éliminer Aberdeen (1-1 et 1-0), Dinamo Bucarest (0-2 et 3-0), Feyenoord (4-1 et 0-1), Brno (4-1 et 2-3), enfin et surtout le Bayern de Munich (0-2 et 5-1 après prolongations).

C1 1968 1969 Benfica Ajax Amsterdam resumé retour

 Après un treizième titre, Ajax eut en 1968 une grande saison européenne. D'abord le champion d'Allemagne, le F.C. Nurenberg. Résultats : 1-1 en Allemagne et 4-0 à Amsterdam. Conclusions de l'entraîneur allemand Max Merkel : "je n'ai pas de joueur comme Cruyff et Keizer". Au troisième tour, Benfica et un fameux match d'appui à Paris remporté grâce à deux buts du Suédois Danielsson et un de Cruyff. En demi-finale, Ajax gagnait 3-0 à domicile devant le Spartak de Trnava. On pensait que la route de la finale était ouverte. Elle ne le fut que grâce au gardien Gert Bals qui n'encaissa que deux buts. C'était l'enfer» dira Michels.

Derby County Match of The Day

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World Cup 1970 West Germany England

Quarter Final
June 14th 1970
Leon, Estadio Guanajuato
Referee Norberto Angel Coerezza
Jose Ortiz de Mendibil 

Guillermo Velasquez (Colombia)
Attendance 23,357

 England played the better football in the first period and scored rwice chrough Alan Mullery and Martin Perers. The Germans looked down and out at rhis stage. But in the 57th minute substitut? Grabowski appeared on the scene and turned the match around.

Urged on by their fans in che 30,000 capacity crowd, Franz Beckenbauer scored with what looked to be a rather weak long-distance effort, the ball somehow fînding its way past a groping Bonetti, Left back Terry Cooper was struggling as Grabowski's pace began to cause probiems. Uwe Seeler, beating the offside trap, rose to back-head the equaliser past the England 'keeper and take the contest info extra-time. England were then denied what looked like a perfectly valid goal by Hurst before che Germans claîmed the winnner. The ball was switched from one side of the fïeld to the other and eventually it found the unmarked Gerd Muller who smashed his shot past Bonetti from close range. England were out...

In the three   other quarter-final matches, Brazil beat Peru 4-2, Uruguay defeated the USSR 1-0 and Italy destroyed Mexico 4-1. Brazil went on to beat Uruguay 3-1 in their semi-final in Guadalajara while Italy and West Germany were involved in a seven-goal thriller in the Azteca Stadiurn. Italy, firing on all four cylinders, won 4-3, Rivera scoring the decider late on after a ding-dong contest. West Germany then defeated Uruguay 1-0 to claim third place.
The final ar Mexico Cirys .Azreca Stadium was warched by a crowd of 107,412 and proved to be a triumph for the South Americans. Although Roberto Boninsegna equalised Peles goal Brazil took tne rrophy in style with further strikcs from Gerson, Jairzinho and Carlos Alberto. Having won the trophy for the third time the Brazilians were allowed to keep it permanently, although the original was later stolen and has never been recovered. It is believed to have been melted down and the gold sold off.

READINGS : Campionato 1977 1978 FR

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