Thanks again for all the kind words - glad that so many people are enjoying what is turning into a labour of love. I am having such fun with this that my other stories are taking a back seat at the moment. European Soccer Weekly
Issue 9 - Friday September 26th, 2003
News
As predicted last week
Terry Venables was sacked by the
Leeds board at the weekend. This was despite a fine 3-0 home win over
Newcastle. A UEFA Cup Semi Final in 2001/2002 was the height of Leeds’s achievements under Venables.
On the transfer front,
FC Bayern have signed experienced striker
Jardel (30, S C) from
Sporting for £9M. In a career stretching back 10 years the Brazilian has scored 345 goals in 368 games, a very impressive strike rate. Earlier today we received confirmation that
Leeds have signed
Darren Anderton (31, AM RC) from
Notts Forest for £5M. Anderton joined the Midlands club in June of last year from
Tottenham for £2.1M, so not a bad bit of business for Forest manager
David Moyes.
League Roundup
In Belgium
Charleroi continue their electric start to the season with their 7th straight win. Their young strike partnership of
Lokman Atasever (19, F RC) and
Alexandr Kolotilko (24, F RC) have scored 11 goals between them so far this season.
Hajduk maintain their narrow 1-point lead over
Sibenik in the Croatian First Division and in Denmark
FC Midtjylland hang on to top spot. In the English Premier League
Middlesbrough are still setting the pace. Their latest match was a narrow 1-0 win at home to
Sunderland, a result that saw the visitors drop to last in the table. The Quarter Finals of the Finnish Cup took place this week and two First Division teams have made it through to the Semis.
FC Hämeenlinna beat fellow First Division side
FC Mikkeli and
FC Lahti upset Premier Division
FC Jazz with a fine away win. The Semi Final draw sees these two teams playing one another, so a First Division side is guaranteed to be in the Final.
Marseille remain unbeaten in Le Championat and
Troyes, with new manager
Alain Perrin in place, are still rock bottom and pointless.
Monaco’s nightmare start continues and they are second-bottom with a paltry 3 points. In the Bundesliga
Nürnberg and
Schalke 04 still boast perfect records but defending champions
FC Bayern have had a slow start and are currently 9th. At the foot of the table
Hannover 96 have just a single point after 5 games. With the Greek season just underway, surprise leaders after 2 games are
Aigaelo, the only team with 2 wins out of 2. In Holland
AZ have stretched their lead at the top to 4 points over
Twente.
PSV languish in 9th position, but then again they have only played 3 games. In Serie A
Sampdoria continue their fine start to the season with their 3rd straight win but at the foot of the table poor
Torino are still pointless. In Northern Ireland,
Linfield have taken over at the top but
Institute are still destitute at the bottom and looking for their first point of the season.
In Norway the challenge of
Brann seems to be collapsing as they suffered a 2-1 defeat last weekend at the hands of
VÃ¥lerenga whilst
Rosenborg beat Moss 3-2.
Rosenborg are now 3 points clear with a game in hand and only 4 games remaining. In Poland
Widzew still head Group A and
Wisla top Group B.
Gil Vicente maintain their perfect record in the Portuguese Premier League. The title race in Russia is hotting up as leaders
Krylja Sovetov lose 2-1 to
Shinnik and second-placed
Lokomotiv Moscow get a fine 4-2 away win over local rivals
Torpedo Moscow. Lokomotiv are now just 1 point behind with 5 games remaining.
In the SPL,
Celtic keep their 6-point lead over
Rangers and
Raith Rovers hang on to 3rd place.
Sevilla drop their first points of the season with a draw against
Athletic Bilbao but stay top of the Primera Liga at present. In Sweden
Halmstad open up a 2-point gap over
Malmö with 6 games to go.
Fenerbahçe maintain their lead in Turkey, with rivals
Galatasaray 4th and
Besiktas 5th.
Champions League
The third round of group matches in Phase 1 took place this week. In Group A
Manchester United racked up their third straight win with a 3-0 demolition of
Anzhi in Russia.
FC Bayern continue to struggle, losing a 4-3 thriller in Norway against
Rosenborg. In Group B
Athletic Bilbao go top with a 2-1 win at home to
Lens and
Roma go second after beating
Rapid Vienna 4-0 at the Olimpico. In Group C
Liverpool slumped to a disappointing 1-0 defeat by
AEK in Athens but remain in second place.
PSV dominate Group D and had their 3rd win, beating
Torpedo Moscow 2-0 at home.
Arsenal cruised to the top of Group E with a stunning 4-1 win over
Celtic in Glasgow and
Parma’s 2-0 away win over
Spartak Moscow takes them up to second.
Barcelona are in control of Group F with 3 wins out of 3 and
Olympiakos lie second. Group G sees
Milan at the top and a good 1-0 home win over
Feyenoord moves
Lyon up to second. In the final group, both
Dortmund and
Real Madrid had comfortable 3-0 home wins and are first and second respectively.
UEFA Cup
The First Round Second Leg matches took place this week.
Newcastle completed a comfortable 7-1 aggregate win over
AEK Larnaca and
Ajax and
Atletico Madrid both qualified with ease.
West Ham crashed out 4-2 on aggregate to
Beira-Mar but
Blackburn went through 4-1 on aggregate over
Zilina.
Deportivo, Inter, Lazio and
Juventus all progressed as did
Leverkusen, Porto, PSG and
Rangers.
Aberdeen held
Slovan Bratislava to a 1-1 draw in Bratislava and qualified 3-1 on aggregate.
St. Pat’s Athletic went down 2-0 in
Toulouse for a 3-1 aggregate defeat. But
Shamrock Rovers did get through, with a 0-0 draw in Dublin against
Tirol Innsbruck following a 1-1 draw in Austria being enough to squeeze through on away goals.
Spotlight on ..... The French Le Championat
The French First Division (Le Championat) was expanded from 18 to 20 teams at the start of last season.
Lens will be looking to retain their title but they should expect a tough challenge from
Lyon and
Nantes. It has been some years since teams like
Monaco and
Paris-Saint-Germain (PSG) have won the championship and perhaps this season will see a resurgence in their fortunes.
Auxerre 2001/2002 - 3rd
2002/2003 - 4th
Veteran Manager
Guy Roux guided Auxerre to an excellent season in 2001/2002. They won the League Cup, got to the UEFA Cup Semi Final and finished 3rd in the League. He retired this summer and was succeeded by
Philippe Bergeroo. The new boss has made a few big sales, generating over £20M in income. The bulk of this was the £16.25M obtained for
Djibril Cisse (22, S C) from Betis. He has spent over £14M however, including £6.25M on
Olivier Dacourt (29, DM C) from Mallorca and
Assane N’Diaye (29, D/DM RC) from Lorient for £4.4M. The squad has a couple of promising youngsters in the shape of
Lionel Mathis (21, AM RC) and
Boumsong (23, D C).
Bastia 2001/2002 - 16th
2002/2003 - 9th
After narrowly avoiding relegation in 2001/2002, Manager
Gerard Gili did well to achieve a mid-table finish last season. There is some good young talent in the squad including
Nicolas Penneteau (22, GK)
Pablo Contreras (25, D/AM RC) and
Mickael Secondi (21, M RC). Club insiders tell us to keep an eye on another young keeper, Austrian teenager
Markus Kubesch (18, GK).
Bordeaux 2001/2002 - 5th
2002/2003 - 5th Elie Baup has turned Bordeaux into a very consistent team, although they seem to just lack the ability to go that one step further and really challenge for honours. The acquisition of experienced French international
Christian Karembeu (32, DM RC) from Olympiakos for £1.2M in the summer will add maturity to a young midfield. Their top player is Portuguese striker
Pauleta (30, S C) and they have an exciting midfield prospect in
Pascal Feindouno (22, F RC).
Caen 2001/2002 - 4th in Second Division
2002/2003 - 15th Patrick Remy did well to keep Caen in the top flight last season following their promotion. For a small club, the board have invested heavily in players, spending in excess of £20M in the last 12 months. Last summer
Florent Malouda (23, AM/F L) joined from Guingamp for £4.5M. This summer saw the arrival of
Romain Ferrier (27, D L) from the same club for £4M,
Mile Sterjovski (24, F RC) from Lille for £3.4M,
Xavier Becas (24, M/F R) from Angers for £3.9M and several more players besides. The club’s most exciting prospect is probably
Mathieu Bodmer (20, D/DM C) who is already a regular starter in the centre of defence.
Guingamp 2001/2002 - 18th
2002/2003 - 3rd in Second Division
Relegated in 2001/2002,
Bertrand Marchand masterminded an immediate return to the top flight. Frankly, his squad does not look strong enough to have strong expectations of remaining in the First Division and we expect to see them struggle this season. Their top player is probably
Drogba (25, S C) and his 23 goals last season were a major factor in their promotion.
Lens 2001/2002 - 8th
2002/2003 - 1st
Manager
Joel Muller led Lens to a fabulous season - Le Championat champions, League Cup finalists and French Cup semi finalists. There has been no significant change to the squad this summer with the departure of
Daouda Jabi (22, D/DM RC) to Auxerre for £2.1M balanced with the arrival of
Patrice Evra (22, D/DM RL) from Monaco for £1.9M. Midfielders
Antoine Sibierski (29, F LC) and club captain
Jocelyn Blanchard (31, D/DM C) play an important role for the team with striker
Dagui Bakari (29, S C) the main goalscorer.
Lille 2001/2002 - 7th
2002/2003 - 4th
Last season saw a steady improvement for Lille under the direction of
Claude Puel. His signings have been few and far between but do tend to be significant. Last summer young Nigerian international
Joseph Yobo (23, D/DM RC) joined from Everton for £1.3M and quickly established himself as a key player in the centre of defence. This time around it has been the experienced
Sylvain Legwinski (29, DM RC) from Celtic for £2.2M. Lille have a highly-rated forward line of Chilean
Hector Tapia (25, S C) and Bulgarian
Vladimir Manchev (25, F RC). Club captain
Sunday Oliseh (29 DM C) performs a critical role in midfield.
Lorient 2001/2002 - 12th
2002/2003 - 10th
Under Manager
Yvon Pouliquen, Lorient have a reputation of being a club that sells its best players. Last summer
Seydou Keita (23, AM LC) went to Monaco for £5M. This year has seen the departure of
Assane N’Diaye (29, D/DM RC) for £4.4M to Auxerre and
Richard Knopper (26, AM C) raised £5.25M from Nürnberg. The team tends to have a very defensive outlook and is not renowned for its goalscoring exploits. Key players include
Pape Diop (28, D/DM C) and
Momo Sylla (26, D/DM/F RC).
Lyon 2001/2002 - 1st
2002/2003 - 2nd Paul Le Guen will be keen to see his team regain the title from Lens. He has not changed his squad very much with his only acquisition being
Gael Givet (21, D LC) from Monaco for £3.2M. This was offset by the sale of a couple of fringe players for a combined £3.3M. A strong, but relatively young squad includes players such as
Sidney Govou (24, F RC),
Jeremie Brechet (24, D LC) and
Mahamadou Diarra (22, AM RC). This is balanced with experienced performers such as
Rui Costa (31, AM C) and
Sonny Anderson (33, S C). Anderson is still in great form and was voted Player of the Year by the fans for the last 2 seasons.
Marseille 2001/2002 - 11th
2002/2003 - 6th
Marseille have been getting through managers at a rate of knots recently. First to go was
Alain Perrin who was sacked in March last year. His successor,
Luis Fernandez, was poached by Spanish club Alaves after 12 months.
Alan Giresse is the man currently in charge and the well-respected ex-international has got off to a great start. The club’s biggest signing remains
Thomas Buffel (22, AM LC) who cost £5.25M from Feyenoord in October of last year. Veteran
Frank Leboeuf (35, SW/D C) is still an influential player in central defence and French youngster
Cyril Chapuis (24, F LC) is turning into a very exciting goalscorer.
Monaco 2001/2002 - 6th
2002/2003 - 13th
It has been 4 seasons since Monaco last tasted domestic success, which is a long time for a club of such pedigree. In December of last year one French legend was replaced with another when manager
Didier Deschamps was sacked and
Jean Tigana came on board. There have been a couple of big signings this summer. First to appear was
Seydou Keita (23, AM LC) from Lorient for £5M, followed by
Fabian Andres Vargas (23, D/DM C) from AEK for £9M. So far this outlay has not produced much in the way of results and if the team doesn’t start to perform soon then Monsieur Tigana may soon be waving au revoir.
Nantes 2001/2002 - 3rd
2002/2003 - 2nd
Manager
Angel Marcos has turned Nantes into a very strong outfit in the past couple of seasons. With the addition of
Ousmane Dabo (26, DM RC), Marcos feels that his squad can really challenge for the title this season. Many of his top players have youth on their side and the fans feel that he is building a team that can compete for years to come.
Ariza Makukula (22, S C) is their main goalscorer and
Mathieu Berson (23, DM C) plays a vital role in the midfield anchor position. Keeper
Mickael Landreau (24, GK) is very highly rated, as is
Wilfried Dalmat (20, AM/F R).
Nice 2001/2002 - Second Division Champions
2002/2003 - 16th Rolland Courbis kept his team in the top flight last season following their promotion and spent over £4.5M in strengthening the squad this summer. His three additions,
Stephan Appiah (22, DM C),
Alonso Solis (24, AM RC) and
Miranda (29, D/DM R), have all started very well. Veteran keeper
Bruno Valencony (35, GK) is in great form, as are the strike partnership of
Laurent Gagnier (24, F RC) and
Abdelmalek Cherrad (22, S C), and the club are currently flying high in the league.
PSG 2001/2002 - 14th
2002/2003 - 12th
PSG are another club with a proud history but with little recent success, although they did win the League Cup last season, with a surprise 3-0 win over Lens. In an effort to revive the club’s fortunes, Chairman
Laurent Perpere has changed managers with alarming frequency. In March of last year
Vahid Halilhodzic was replaced by
Christian Gourcuff. The new man lasted less than a year before
Henri Michel was drafted in. Little has been spent on players this season, but with a number of departures (including
Andre Luiz (28, AM L) to Sedan for £7.75M) raising nearly £13M in revenue, the fans are keen to see some new blood. Key players are
Ronaldinho (23, F LC) and
Christophe Dugarry (31, F RLC) but look out for exciting prospects such as
Ouassini Jardini (21, M L) and
Bartholomew Ogbeche (18, S C).
Rennes 2001/2002 - 10th
2002/2003 - 8th
Following the retirement of
Philippe Bergeroo,
Manuel Amoros was appointed Manager a couple of months ago and he is still very much finding his feet. Rennes have raised £27M in transfer revenues in the last 14 months or so and with the team struggling so fat this season the supporters are very keen to see some of that profit re-invested in new players. Despite a highly-rated strike pairing of
Gonzo (27, S C) and
Lucas (24, F C), the team is really struggling to score goals and are in need of some creative midfield talent.
Sedan 2001/2002 - 13th
2002/2003 - 11th
The club parted company with Manager
Henri Stambouli earlier this year and replaced him with
Guy Lacombe. There were a couple of signings in the summer with
Vaclav Drobny (23, D C) joining from Strasbourg for £2.3M and
Andre Luiz (28, AM L) coming from PSG for £7.75M. Club captain
Mathieu Verschuere (31, DM RC) is a very influential figure in the team and there is much excitement about a young Paraguayan prospect
Dante Rafael Lopez (20, F RLC).
St-Etienne 2001/2002 - 2nd in Second Division
2002/2003 - 14th
St-Etienne enjoyed a reasonable season after their promotion from Division 2, with
Frederic Antonetti guiding them to the French Cup Final where they lost 2-1 to Toulouse. Chairman
Alain Bompard has invested some £13M in new players in the last year or so. His best purchase so far has proved to be the experienced Polish international
Radoslaw Kaluzny (29, SW/DM C). A more recent addition is skilful winger
Fabrice Fernandes (23, AM/F RL) bought from Southampton for £3M.
Strasbourg 2001/2002 - 6th in Second Division
2002/2003 - Second Division Champions
Newly-promoted Strasbourg may find life in Le Championat quite challenging, although Manager
Ivan Hasek has assembled a tight-knit squad with a strong team spirit. Captain
Ismael Bah (29, AM/F R) commands the respect of his teammates and
Valerien Ismael (27, D C) and the veteran
Teddy Bertin (34, SW/D C) have a good understanding at the back.
Toulouse 2001/2002 - 3rd in National Division
2002/2003 - 2nd in Second Division
Under the guidance of Manager
Erick Mombaerts, Toulouse have had an unbelievable last couple of seasons. In 2001/2002 they were promoted from the National Division. Last season they went one better by gaining a second consecutive promotion to the top league. Not only that, but they won the French Cup into the bargain. A key purchase this summer was
Pierre-Alain Frau (23, F RC), a snip at £1.8M from Sochaux. He has established an immediate understanding with strike partner
Cedric Faure (24, S C) and their goals will be essential in keeping the club in the top flight.
Troyes 2001/2002 - 9th
2002/2003 - 17th
Following their dreadful slump last season when they only just escaped relegation, and their even worse start to this season, Manger
Faruk Hadzibegic was sacked a couple of weeks ago and replaced by
Alain Perrin. With £11M spent on players in the last year, the new boss will need to achieve a quick turnaround in fortunes if he is to have much of a future. Virtually the whole team is under performing, with the exception of their central defensive trio.
Mehdi Meniri (26, D RC),
Frederic Jay (27, D RLC) and
Frederic Danjou (28, D C) are playing well, despite the team’s terrible run of results.
2002/2003 Table
<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st C Lens 38 12 4 3 33 10 12 4 3 36 22 80 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2nd Lyon 38 16 2 1 48 12 8 2 9 31 31 76 3rd Nantes 38 15 2 2 34 9 5 9 5 27 23 71 4th Auxerre 38 15 2 2 48 20 6 4 9 25 29 69 5th Bordeaux 38 11 5 3 34 14 9 3 7 29 22 68 6th Marseille 38 12 5 2 30 11 5 6 8 26 35 62 7th Lille 38 14 2 3 41 22 4 6 9 21 33 62 8th Rennes 38 11 4 4 39 19 5 8 6 24 24 60 9th Bastia 38 9 5 5 37 29 6 4 9 22 30 54 10th Lorient 38 11 3 5 27 18 3 6 10 15 27 51 11th Sedan 38 7 6 6 20 19 7 2 10 19 27 50 12th Paris-SG 38 9 8 2 28 21 3 3 13 22 37 47 13th Monaco 38 11 3 5 28 24 3 2 14 16 38 47 14th St-Etienne 38 6 4 9 27 27 6 6 7 27 34 46 15th Caen 38 8 5 6 36 31 4 1 14 12 34 42 16th Nice 38 7 6 6 26 23 3 4 12 17 33 40 17th Troyes 38 9 2 8 32 32 2 2 15 17 38 37 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------18th R Sochaux 38 4 7 8 18 24 3 5 11 20 35 33 19th R Créteil 38 6 7 6 22 24 1 5 13 6 34 33 20th R Metz 38 5 3 11 27 42 2 3 14 19 49 27</pre>
Game of the Week
Wednesday September 24th, 2003
Champions League Phase 1
Rosenborg 4 FC Bayern 3
With one win apiece going into this match, both teams understood the significance that 3 points would bring to their qualification challenge. It was therefore no great surprise to see a slightly nervous and cagey start to the game. But in the 25th things burst into life.
Mehmet Scholl sent in a long diagonal cross that
Elber did well to reach, and his header brought a smart save from
Arason. The keeper’s quick throw was gathered by
Fredrik Winsnes and his powerful run took him past the challenge of
Lizarazu but his final shot was comfortably held by
Khan. The Bayern keeper emulated his opposite number with a quick throw out to
Deisler. The young midfielder showed both pace and strength as he beat first
Johansen and then
Nordseth before unleashing an unstoppable shot into the top corner for an outstanding opening goal.
Rosenborg made the perfect response by equalising almost directly from the restart. A beautifully angled pass from
Johansen found left back
Hai Ngoc Tran in space and his dangerous cross was well cut out by
Thomas Linke at the cost of a corner.
Winsnes sent in a nasty out swinger that tempted
Oliver Khan off his line but
Azar Karadas got to the ball first and it was all square. A few minutes later a rash challenge from
Lizarazu cost him a yellow card and gave Rosenborg a free kick in a dangerous position.
Rune Buer Johansen struck the ball well but
Khan was just able to get a hand to it.
This heralded a good spell of possession for the visitors and they were able to place Rosenborg under sustained pressure. It quickly paid off when
Roque Santa Cruz showed his skill on the ball by drifting past two defenders and beating
Arason with a low shot. The keeper will have been disappointed with this goal as he seemed to be slow to react. The home side were back on terms not long after the restart when
Linke was adjudged to have fouled
Karlsen in the area and a penalty was awarded. The Bayern players protested long and hard but the referee’s mind was made up. Captain
Fredrik Winsnes made no mistake with the spot kick and Rosenborg were back on level terms.
With less that 20 minutes remaining substitute
Christer George put the home side into the lead.
Winsnes, playing in a holding midfield position, started the move when he disposed
Elber and found
HÃ¥vard Karlsen.
Karlsen played the ball on to
Johansen who slipped the ball into the area for
George to shoot home. As the clock ticked away it began to look more and more like a win for the home team until
Hasan Salihamidzic was set loose on the right flank. Leaving two Rosenborg players in his wake he sent in an excellent cross onto
Elber’s head and it was 3-3.
But with virtually the last kick of the game, the super-sub
George scored his second of the night.
Winsnes was the initiator once again, finding
Strand in the area who made a cushioned lay off for
George to strike a powerful shot past
Khan and give Rosenborg a dramatic late win.
Teams
Rosenborg: Arni Gautur Arason, Børge Hernes, Hai Ngoc Tran, Erik Hoftun (Odd Inge Olsen 47), Azar Karadas, Roar Strand, Håvard Karlsen, Fredrik Winsnes (captain), Bala Ahmed Garba (Vidar Riseth 47), Trond Nordseth (Christer George 53), Rune Buer Johansen
Subs not used: Espen Johnsen, Per Egil Swift, Lars Nymo Trulsen, Ørjan Berg
FC Bayern: Oliver Khan (captain), Willy Sagnol, Bixente Lizarazu (Tobias Rau 85), Thomas Linke, Robert Kovac, Mehmet Scholl, Sebastian Deisler, Roque Santa Cruz, Elber, Hasan Salihamidzic, Owen Hargreaves (Martin Demichelis 52)
Subs not used: Markus Feulner, Stefan Wessels, Erdal Kilicaslan, Alexander Zickler, Claudio Pizarro
Scorers
Rosenborg: Karadas 29, Winsnes 52 (pen), George 73, 90
FC Bayern: Deisler 26, Santa Cruz 36, Elber 87
Man of the Match: Christer George
Yellow Cards
Rosenborg: Azar Karadas
FC Bayern: Bixente Lizarazu
Attendance: 20,972 Reader’s Letters
Abu writes
Dear ESW,
Can you give me a progress report on Coventry please?
Well Abu, the Sky Blues have struggled for the past couple of seasons. In 2001/2002 they were deep in the relegation dogfight at the start of April. The Board decided that a change of manager was required and
Gary McAllister was replaced by
Joe Kinnear. The new boss managed to turn things around and 4 draws and a final-day win saw them beat the drop by the skin of their teeth. They retained their Division One status on goal difference, with
Norwich the team to lose out after they lost their final 3 games of the season. A mid-table finish last season was an improvement but they are struggling again this season and sit just above the relegation places once again with only two wins from their 9 league matches.
There has been little transfer activity in the last couple of years, with almost no money spent on players. They have generated some revenue through sales, most notably the £3.1M obtained from
Preston for
John Eustace (23, DM RC) last summer. Their best performer last season was the exciting young forward
Gary McSheffrey (21, F LC), who was the club’s top scorer with 15 goals and was also voted the Supporter’s Player of the Year.
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