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Arsenal ride their luck to spoil McClaren's debut
August 13, 2008
FC Twente Enschede player Elia Eljero reacts after missing an opportunity during their champions league qualifier against Arsenal in Arnhem. Arsenal won 2-0.
Arsenal ruined Steve McClaren's FC Twente debut as goals from William Gallas and Emmanuel Adebayor secured an unconvincing 2-0 win in the Champions League third qualifying round, first leg on Wednesday.
McClaren rarely enjoyed much good fortune during his unhappy reign as England coach and the new Twente manager's luck clearly hasn't changed for the better yet.
His side out-played Arsenal for long periods at the Gelredome in Arnhem before succumbing to a sucker punch when Arsenal captain Gallas struck from close-range midway through the second half.
If that was tough on McClaren there was worse to come when Adebayor added a second in the closing minutes to leave Twente down and out and Arsenal within touching distance of the lucrative group stages.
Arsenal were below strength after a raft of injuries but, despite the result, Gunners manager Arsene Wenger can't have been too pleased with his team's first competitive display since the departures of Mathieu Flamini and Alexander Hleb.
At least Arsenal have plenty of time to improve in the competition. Twente and McClaren's first taste of Champions League could be their last for quite a while.
McClaren was last seen sheltering forlornly under an umbrella on the Wembley touchline during the last rites of England's ill-fated attempt to qualify for Euro 2008.
FC Twente's Elia Eljero jumps over Arsenal's William Gallas during their champions league qualifier FC Twente-Arsenal in Arnhem. Arsenal won 2-0.
Now installed as Twente coach, the "wally with the brolly" had a chance to rebuild his tattered reputation by inflicting an embarrassing defeat one of England's big four.
He would have taken heart from Arsenal's under-strength line-up. With Cesc Fabregas, Kolo Toure and Samir Nasri all injured, Wenger was forced to field an inexperienced team that included Denilson, 20, and Aaron Ramsey, 17, in central midfield.
Twente were competing in Europe's elite club competition for the first time but they showed no signs of being overawed.
They carved out the first half-chance when Roman Denneboom rose above Gael Clichy to head over in the fourth minute.
McClaren hasn't had time to make his own mark on Twente yet so perhaps it wasn't surprising that they passed the ball more smoothly than his England teams ever did.
Whereas Arsenal usually weave intricate patterns around their opponents, here it was the Dutch team who looked more dangerous for much of the first half.
Manuel Almunia was forced to race from his line to block Eljero Elia's run, then Denneboom shot wastefully over after surging past Clichy.
The best chance of the half fell to Marko Arnautovic. He beat Arsenal's confused offside trap and had only Almunia to beat but, let down by a poor first touch, his shot was too close to the keeper.
Wenger's side finally threatened just before half-time when Clichy's shot was spilled by Sander Boschker, but Bacary Sagna's wayward shot from inside the six-yard box summed up Arsenal's half.
There wasn't much more cohesion in Arsenal's play early in the second half, yet they managed to steal the lead in the 63rd minute.
Robin van Persie whipped in a free-kick from the right and Twente's defence stood statuesque as Gallas scrambled the ball home from close-range.
Suddenly Twente were labouring to rediscover their spark. They seemed to run out of ideas as the match wore on and Arsenal, while never close to their best, put the result beyond doubt in the 82nd minute.
Twente's defenders allowed a hopeful punt forward to reach Theo Walcott and he passed to Adebayor, who side-footed home to put Arsenal within touching distance of the group stage.
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Inter Milan's Adriano risks missing start of season
August 13, 2008
Inter Milan striker Adriano, seen here in 2007, could miss the start of the season after suffering a right calf strain in training, the Serie A champions said on Wednesday.
Inter Milan striker Adriano, seen here in 2007, could miss the start of the season after suffering a right calf strain in training, the Serie A champions said on Wednesday.
Inter Milan striker Adriano could miss the start of the season after suffering a right calf strain in training, the Serie A champions said on Wednesday.
The 26-year-old Brazilian will be unavailable for Friday's friendly against Benfica in Lisbon, the club said.
But Italian media reported that, while the injury is less serious than first feared, he may also skip the Italian Supercup against Cup-holders AS Roma on August 24 and the opening league match at Sampdoria the following week.
"He underwent medical tests today and has already begun a course of physiotherapy ahead of another check-up next week," Inter said on their website.
Adriano is seeking to find a place in new coach Jose Mourinho's plans after a successful loan stint at Brazilian club Sao Paulo.
His form had plummeted in the two years before he was loaned to Sao Paulo in December, as he was hampered by injuries and controversies about late nights out that caused friction with Mourinho's predecessor, Roberto Mancini.
Mourinho has several fitness headaches as the season approaches, with France midfielder Patrick Vieira and defenders Marco Materazzi, Cristian Chivu, Ivan Cordoba and Walter Samuel all seeking to overcome injuries.
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Argentina, Brazil and Italy lead way to quarter-finals
August 13, 2008
Diego of Brazil celebrates after scoring against China in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games first round Group C men's football match at the Qinghuangdao Olympic Stadium. A brace from Thiago Neves helped Brazil beat China 3-0 to end any hope the host nation had of making the Olympic quarter-finals.
Diego of Brazil celebrates after scoring against China in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games first round Group C men's football match at the Qinghuangdao Olympic Stadium. A brace from Thiago Neves helped Brazil beat China 3-0 to end any hope the host nation had of making the Olympic quarter-finals.
Argentina and Brazil remained on course for a semi-final showdown in the men's Olympic football competition as the final eight sorted themselves out in the last round of Group matches Wednesday.
Italy emerged as the best of the rest and have the kindest draw with the prospect of a semi-final against Nigeria if the Group winners also win their opening play-off match.
Defending champions Argentina kept Lionel Messi on the bench but were still too good for Serbia for their ninth consecutive Games win, an Olympic record after going through unbeaten in Athens four years ago
They beat the Serbs 2-0 with a penalty by Ezequiel Lavezzi in the 12th minute and a free kick from Angel de Maria more than an hour later.
A goal from Chelsea striker Salomon Kalou gave Ivory Coast a 1-0 win over Australia to qualify second in Group A and an African showdown with Nigeria in the quarter-finals.
Argentina play the Netherlands in the quarter-finals while Brazil play Cameroon.
A brace from Thiago Neves helped Brazil to beat China 3-0 ending any hope the host nation had of going through.
Such was the pressure on the Chinese to perform that their one point from three games drew the ire of their fans with one online commentator describing their performances as "full of shame and disgust".
Serbia's Aleksandar Zivkovic (left) vies for the ball with Argentina's Jose Sosa during their 2008 Beijing Olympic Games men's first round Group A football match at the Worker's Stadium. Argentina and Brazil remain on course for a semi-final showdown in the men's Olympic football competition as the final eight sorted themselves out in the last round of Group matches.
But they were never in with a chance against Brazil who have Ronaldinho back to his near best dictating the game from the midfield.
Belgium beat New Zealand 1-0 to be the second qualfiers from group C and a date with Italy.
They Italians and Cameroon both progressed to the quarter-finals after fighting out a turgid goalless draw in Group D which saw the African side play with 10 men for all but 32 minutes.
Whilst Cameroon - who also missed a penalty - will be pleased to have made the last eight, the 2000 Olympic champions will be missing the red carded Georges Mandjeck and defender Paul Bebey - who received his second yellow card of the tournament - when they play Brazil.
Nigeria finished top of Group B when they beat the United States 2-1 with the Netherlands leapfrogging the USA to be the second qualifiers when a late Gerald Sibon penalty secured a 1-0 win over lowly Japan.
America's cause was not helped by playing with 10 men from the second minute when defender Michael Orozco was red-carded.
The quarter-final matches will be played on Saturday.
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Fiorentina take control over Slavia Prague with 2-0 win
August 12, 2008
Strikers Adrian Mutu, pictured in June 2008, and Alberto Gilardino scored as Fiorentina took a big step towards the group stage of the Champions League on Tuesday with a 2-0 win over Slavia Prague.
Strikers Adrian Mutu, pictured in June 2008, and Alberto Gilardino scored as Fiorentina took a big step towards the group stage of the Champions League on Tuesday with a 2-0 win over Slavia Prague.
Strikers Adrian Mutu and Alberto Gilardino scored as Fiorentina took a big step towards the group stage of the Champions League here on Tuesday with a 2-0 win over Slavia Prague.
Fiorentina's non-conceding of an away goal augured well for the return leg of this third qualifying tie in Prague in two weeks' time.
"The spirit is right. The team responded well, as did the crowd, so I'm satisfied," Fiorentina coach Cesare Prandelli told Rai television.
Romania international Mutu set the Stadio Artemio Franchi alight in the third minute when he curled a superb right-footed freekick into the top corner from 30 metres out.
Former AC Milan forward Gilardino, one of several new arrivals making their competitive debuts for the Florence club, put the hosts firmly in charge of the tie in the 57th minute when he headed home after the ball bounced around the penalty area from a corner.
The visitors tried to produce a quick reply to Mutu's opener, but Fiorentina's Danish defender Per Kroldrup, in the starting line-up for the injured Alessandro Gamberini, did well to steal possession from midfielder Dusan Svento at the edge of the penalty area to stop a dangerous move.
The hosts looked comfortable on the ball and the Czech title-holders, who knocked out Ajax in the preliminaries to make their debut appearance in the Champions League group stage last season, struggled to pose a threat.
Slavia defender Martin Latka had to climb high on the half hour mark to prevent a Zdravko Kuzmanovic cross finding the head of Gilardino, who was ready to pounce close to goal.
Serb midfielder Kuzmanovic came close with a powerful long-distance shot shortly after and Gilardino failed to take advantage of three inviting crosses into the penalty box as the Serie A side pressed hard towards the end of the first half.
Fiorentina, returning to the Champions League after an absence of over eight years, kept up the pressure after the break and Slavia keeper Martin Vaniak needed to make a fine save to repel a powerful freekick from Peruvian full back Juan Manuel Vargas.
Just as the Czechs showed some signs of coming into the match, Gilardino made up for his earlier mistakes with a goal, although television replays suggested there was a suspicion of offside.
Vaniak stopped his side falling three goals behind on several occasions, stopping two close-range shots in quick succession from Gilardino and Pablo Osvaldo, scooping a Mutu corner off the line and smothering the ball at the end of a goalmouth scramble.
Prandelli added: "We need (the two weeks of training before the second leg) because, as could be seen, we aren't continuously sharp yet. But we were also quite tidy today."
Prandelli expressed his faith in Gilardino, who is trying to regain his best form and his place in the Italian national team after a couple of unimpressive seasons at Milan.
"There are no doubts about Gilardino," Prandelli said of the striker, who had previously played under him during a stint together at Parma. "He is a serious lad who has always had a sense of goal."
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