Materazzi was top man - Domenech

France coach Raymond Domenech believes Marco Materazzi should have been man-of-the-match in last year's World Cup final.

Domenech even feels Materazzi was the player of the tournament, praising the Italy defender for his role in the sending-off of France playmaker Zinedine Zidane.

Asked to criticise Materazzi by Le Parisien newspaper, Domenech said: "Wait a minute, I could have been Materazzi.

"In a World Cup final you score a goal, you get the opposing best player sent off and then you score your penalty (in the shootout). Say what you want about (Andrea) Pirlo, but Materazzi was the man of the match."

Questioned as to whether someone who had insulted an opponent should be man of the match, Domenech remained firm in his opinion and even went as far to say Materazzi was player of the tournament, justifying the Italian's behaviour.

"It's not a question of insulting but winding someone up to the point that he loses control," said Domenech. "That's part of sport. In volleyball, some players manage to unsettle others even though there is a net between them. It happens in all sports. It's part of the baggage.

"Afterwards there are things you can say and things you can't say. On the pitch, any means you used to unsettle the opponent and play on his weakness are positive for the team.

"The man of the World Cup is Materazzi and I say 'well done'."

Domenech did not name Zidane but appeared to be criticising him when he said: "The one who loses his control shows his weakness.

"The reply I want as a coach is that the player can settle scores at the end of the game when he has won the match. 'Have you seen the score? Say what you like to me now? Goodbye?' Or 'good game' as the English say at the end of a match where they have insulted you, trampled over you or spat in your face."

Italy midfielder Andrea Pirlo earned the man-of-the-match plaudits in Berlin after Italy prevailed 5-3 in a penalty shootout following a 1-1 draw while Zidane was voted player of the tournament despite the sour end to his career.

The final itself was a battle between Zidane and Materazzi with the France captain, playing in his last match. opening the scoring with a penalty before the Italy defender equalised.

Then came the infamous incident when Zidane, provoked verbally by Materazzi, headbutted the defender and was dismissed by referee Horacio Elizondo with penalties looming and at a time when France appeared to have Italy on the ropes.

Both men were banned for the incident - Zidane for three games and Materazzi for two - although as the Frenchman had retired he instead had to do community work.

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Yesss!!!

The Premier League starts again today!!!

Looks like the four big have bought big names for the season and it´s even more difficult to predict who will win. I guess only Arsenal has not made truly big deals lately, but lost Henry. Then again it´s not always the names that make the team...

As I know Shevchenko is not crap I predict he takes the best goal scorer position this season. Drobga and Tevez close behind.

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I was surprised to see Henry go, but i dont think Barcelona can play all four of their big names up front at the same time. Still, frightful to think of who Barcelona have.

Arsenal seem to be turning things over to their gifted youngsters. Henry i think is 31 or so, so only has a few years left. RvP is still pretty amazing and Walcott is definitely an up-and-comer. I think this season will be interesting to watch.

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..bloody ridiculous too...we're still in the middle of the cricket season and its 80 degrees in the shade....once again the big clubs have invested in the big names ...and we know who the top 4 will be before the first ball has been kicked ...having said that it seems to a popular export world wide and probably earns the UK billions...it'll be a month or two yet before I bother working up any enthusiasm for it..

..not forgetting the Rugby World Cup kicks off in France/UK on 7 September.....

Big names can bring big bucks...


Beckham sells 250,000 Galaxy shirts before he gets to LA

Beckham sells 250,000 Galaxy shirts before he gets to LA | Reuters

During his first six months in Madrid the club sold more than one million Beckham shirts.

After he left Spain on a high midway through last month with Real celebrating its first Primera Liga title success for four years, the club's director of marketing Jose Angel Sanchez said Beckham had been worth in excess of $600 million in marketing revenue.

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I have Fox Soccer Channel which has an interesting batch of games on. Hopefully i'll get to see my Arsenal in action tomorrow.

The Man. City vs. West Ham was a messy game. Man. City deserved the 2 - 0 victory. West Ham had too many crappy turn overs to count. Not a very good game to watch.

Aston Villa vs. Liverpool on the other hand had much more finesse and great scoring abilities. Liverpool win 2 - 1 on a wonder strike by Gerrard off a free kick - couldn't have placed it any better!

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Bye-bye Mourinho...he was sacked today from Chelsea...simply have to wonder who "will" do better...

The best of Mourinho:

"Please don't call me arrogant, but I'm European champion and I think I'm a special one" - Mourinho introduces himself to the English press after arriving from Porto in summer 2004.

"In the second half it was whistle and whistle, fault and fault, cheat and cheat. The referee controlled the game in one way during the first half but in the second they had dozens of free-kicks. I know the referee did not walk to the dressing rooms alone at half-time" - Mourinho claims Sir Alex Ferguson had unduly influenced referee Neale Barry at half-time during a Carling Cup semi-final against Manchester United in January 2005. He was fined £5,000 by the Football Association for improper conduct.

"I don't regret it. The only thing I have to understand is I'm in England, so maybe even when I think I am not wrong, I have to adapt to your country and I have to respect that. I have a lot of respect for Liverpool fans and what I did, the sign of silence - 'shut your mouth' - was not for them, it was for the English press" - Mourinho defends putting a finger to his lips during the 2005 Carling Cup final against Liverpool, an action which resulted in him being sent to the stands.

"When I saw Rijkaard entering the referee's dressing room I couldn't believe it. When Drogba was sent off I didn't get surprised. There is something that tells me that in London the referee will be Collina, the best in the world. A perfect referee with personality and quality" - Mourinho claims in Portuguese newspaper Dez Record that Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard visited referee Anders Frisk's dressing room at half-time in the first leg of the teams' Champions League last-16 clash in February 2005. Mourinho was banned from the dug-out for two matches and fined £9,000 by UEFA for bringing the game into disrepute over his claims.

"I felt the power of Anfield, it was magnificent. I felt it didn't interfere with my players but maybe it interfered with other people and maybe it interfered with the result. You should ask the linesman why he gave a goal. Because, to give a goal, the ball must be 100% in and he must be 100% sure that the ball is in" - Mourinho questions the validity of Liverpool forward Luis Garcia' s goal which puts Chelsea out of the Champions League semi-finals on May 3, 2004.

"It is not a red card, of course not, and for the second time we have to play 55, 60 minutes without a man and the game is completely different. I shouldn't speak about the game, because the game is not a game" - Mourinho blames a first-leg defeat to Barcelona in the Champions League last 16 in February 2006 on the sending-off of Asier del Horno.

"We have played against them four matches in two seasons. (When it was) 11 against 11 they never beat us. That is the reality" - After 1-1 draw at the Nou Camp in 2006 which sent Barca through to the quarter-finals 3-2 on aggregate.

"The goalkeeper has the ball in his hands, slides and the number 10 cannot get the ball. He goes with the knee into his face" - Mourinho accuses Reading midfielder Stephen Hunt of deliberately injuring Petr Cech after the pair collide in the first minute of last October's match at the Madejski Stadium.

"It is not possible (for) penalties (to be awarded) against Manchester United, and it is not possible (to get) penalties in favour of Chelsea. If somebody punishes me because I tell the truth, it is the end of democracy, we go back to the old times" - The Chelsea boss fumed last weekend after seeing his side's penalty appeals against Newcastle turned down, a day after United were given the benefit of the doubt over a strong injury-time penalty claim by Middlesbrough in their clash at Old Trafford.

"A player who wants to be the best one of the world, and he already may be, should have the uprightness and the sufficient maturity to verify that against facts there are not arguments. If he says that it is a lie that Manchester United have conceded some penalties this season which have not been awarded against them, he is lying. And if he lies he will never reach the level that he wants to reach" - Mourinho hit back at Ronaldo after the United winger claimed his penalty rant proved his countryman "doesn't know how to admit his own failures".

"It is omelettes and eggs. No eggs - no omelettes! It depends on the quality of the eggs. In the supermarket you have class one, two or class three eggs and some are more expensive than others and some give you better omelettes. So when the class one eggs are in Waitrose and you cannot go there, you have a problem" - Shorn of the likes of injury victims Frank Lampard, Michael Ballack, Ricardo Carvalho and Didier Drogba, Mourinho cooked up a surreal analogy ahead of Tuesday's fateful draw with Rosenborg.

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I've read that he left on 'mutual agreement'. Good riddance if you ask me, i never liked the bloke. Lets hope Chelsea keep their poor form though!

Man Utd. were lucky to get a win yesterday - poor marking by a defender left Ronaldo open for the goal.

Arsenal (woot woot) have been looking impressive even with out Henry. If not for Lehmann in the first two games (two horrendous mistakes) they'd be a few more points clear of the rest of the table.

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Y'all keep tricking me with the title of this thread. Every once in a while I'll see it and think y'all are talking about American football, not soccer. I'll learn one day.

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Best Regards,
JW

Verbeek amazed by Alves haul - World Football - TEAMtalk Football News


Heerenveen coach Gertjan Verbeek admitted Afonso Alves' record-breaking seven-goal haul against Heracles at the weekend was "extraordinary".

The Brazilian striker set a new Eredivisie mark for the most number of goals scored by one player when he found the target seven times in the 9-0 rout on Sunday before being substituted in the later stages to a rousing reception.

Alves himself attributed his success to the rest of the squad, saying: "I thank the team. I am happy with the goals that I scored. This is important for the team."

And Verbeek was also full of admiration for his players and Alves in particular.

"This is an extraordinary achievement by Afonso," Verbeek said.

"Except for the second goal which came from a free-kick, all the other goals were a team achievement. He is at the end of a chain.

"But Afonso did a great job and that's why I took him off the field about 10 minutes before the final whistle, even though I had already made three substitutions. That was a gesture towards him for his achievement."

Verbeek also revealed Alves has yet to reach his full potential this season, adding: "That makes it even more remarkable he could set such a record."

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Dida...no...

YouTube - Dida Celtic FC - AC Milan

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What happened to him? He falls down like a minute after the fan lightly taps him...

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Sorry been away for awhile.

Nothing happened to him but Dida overreacted so late that he made a mess of it all. Celtic gets a big fine etc for letting a fan on the field but Dida probably gets a sanction of some kind for trying to fool the referee.

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Yeah, read about that. "Unsporting behavior" charge as he chased after the guy and then fell over like he was hurt. Fan picked perfect time too, as the Police were over in corner as Celtic celebrated goal. He even got away, but turned himself in. Life-ban for the fan, but hillarious that the goalie getting fined too.

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Possible that England won´t be in Euro 2008....

England's fate is now out of their hands, and that means they are staring into the abyss.

Moscow madness spells end for McClaren

Russia 2- England 1

A team of robots would have defended better in the build-up to Roman Pavlyuchenko's winner - chance after chance to clear the ball was passed up as Russia kept their heads.

Now Steve McClaren faces losing his.

Failure is not an option and if England do succeed in qualifying for the Euro 2008 finals then McClaren's neck will have survived intact by a hair's breadth.

The chances of him keeping his job if England fail to make it to Austria and Switzerland next summer are about as likely as Wayne Rooney being headhunted by the Bolshoi Ballet.

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I must say that I was absolutely amazed at the outcome of the game. The Russians are known to be fierce competitors at home, but to beat England!?!?

This has to be the biggest upset and at the same time probably the biggest win for Russia ever!

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The war against Russia will be such that it cannot be conducted in a knightly fashion. This struggle is one of ideologies and racial differences and will have to be conducted with unprecedented, unmerciful and unrelenting harshness. -Adolf Hitler