Goal of the Weekend: Alexander Baumjohann vs Werder Bremen’s entire Defense
August 31, 2008
I guess Alexander Baumjohann’s impressive solo-run starting within his own half of the field would be even more impressive, if he had scored it against the defense of one of the seventeen Bundesliga sides not coached by Thomas Schaaf.
Baumjohann is 21 years old and joined Borussia Mönchengladbach back in 2006 from Schalke. He had the “promising young talent” tag slapped onto him, but his coach at Schalke thought that he didn’t have the right attitude to be a pro. An assumption which turned out to be correct. He played seven games for Germany’s U17 but didn’t make the cut to U18 level and beyond. Baumjohann didn’t get a lot of playing time in Gladbach’s team during their second division campaign either; to be precise, he managed 10 minutes on the pitch as a substitute for Marko Marin and that was it. Gladbach looked set to sell him to third division side Fortuna Düsseldorf this summer. They decided against it, after Baumjohann played an impressive pre-season. Maybe he’s one to watch in the future after all.
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SPANISH FOOTBALL - LA LIGA 2008/2009 - ROUND 1 RESULTS
August 31, 2008
Spanish Football is BACK! Yesterday two matches were decided &
tonight the rest of the games have been played of Round 1º. Here is
SFS weekly round up of results, scorers & images in a resumed format
for a birds eye view of happenings, with surprises included!
ESPANYOL started proceedings after defeating yesterday
VALLADOLID 1-0 after LUIS GARCIA scored a great goal
VALENCIA CF started well yesterday after defeating a poor
REAL MALLORCA 3- 0 who was without ideas in their play. The
Valencia machine was directed by SILVA who was brilliant &
the goals came from VILLA in the 33rd min, MATA in the 37th
min & VICENTE in the latter part of the game in the 82th min.
Good vibrations at Valencia who needed a good start to shut away
4-0 victory over MALAGA. Atletico take top position of the League
New Dutch signning HEITINGA scored 1ºst in the 25th min, followed
42th min via a penalty. The last & 4ºth goal came in the 81st min by
PONGOLLE.
Special mention to Atletico midfielder MANICHE who turned on a
ATHLETIC DE BILBAO were given a lesson at home by ALMERIA
PELLERANO, then via NEGREDO in the 32th min & finally the 3ºrd
via ORTIZ in the 51st min. Athletic managed to get a consolation goal via
Big surprise this afternoon, NUMANCIA defeated FC BARCELONA
match, but Barça was “saturated” upfront with their men out of
OSASUNA drew 1-1 with VILLAREAL with goals from MARCOS
SENNA from a superb free kick & latter from a penalty by
NEKOUNAM for Osasuna. Well fought game with a just result.
New 1ºDivision side REAL SPORTING DE GIJON experienced
ALBIN in the 14th min with Sporting drawing via CASTRO in the
SEVILLA were lucky to draw 1-1 with RACING after Garay for
Racing missed a penalty. LUIS FABIANO put Sevilla in front in the
71st min to see 5 mins later Racing draw via JUANJO. Tough game,
The other BIG surprise was the defeat of last years Liga Champions
REAL MADRID away to DEPORTIVO by 2-1. The 17 year curse
continues as that is the number of years that Real last managed a victory
The key to the game was that Deportivo took advantage of Real´s
from Real Madrid come from Dutch forward VAN NISTELROOY in
the 47th min that looked like Real would do better, but Deportivo held
out to maintain the lead & consolidate the victory.
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Spartak Nalchik v Spartak Moscow match preview
August 31, 2008
Being very up-front, given Spartak Moscow’s recent unpredictable run and deplorable play it is difficult to guess who will show up for this match. With the meltdown against Dynamo Kyiv in Champions League qualifiers I am expecting significant changes to the lineup but unclear how they will take this match.
Recent Form
Spartak Nalchik - combined (1 W, 2 D, 2 L) (2 GS, 3 GA)
Jul 25 Khimki 2 - 0 Spartak Nalchik
Aug 3 Amkar Perm’ 0 - 0 Spartak Nalchik
Aug 10 Spartak Nalchik 2 - 0 Terek Grozny
Aug 16 Dynamo Moscow 1 - 0 Spartak Nalchik
Aug 24 Spartak Nalchik 0 - 0 CSKA Moscow
Spartak Nalchik - away (1 W, 1 D,3 L) (4 GS, 7 GA)
Jul 9 Zenit St Petersburg 3 - 4 Spartak Nalchik
Jul 13 Tom’ Tomsk 1 - 0 Spartak Nalchik
Jul 25 Khimki 2 - 0 Spartak Nalchik
Aug 3 Amkar Perm’ 0 - 0 Spartak Nalchik
Aug 16 Dynamo Moscow 1 - 0 Spartak Nalchik
Spartak Moscow - combined (1 W, 3 D, 1 L) (7 GS, 3 GA)
Jul 27 Spartak Moscow 3 - 0 Luch-Energiya Vladivostok
Aug 2 Tom’ Tomsk 0 - 1 Spartak Moscow
Aug 9 Spartak Moscow 1 - 1 FC Khimki
Aug 17 Amkar Perm’ 1 - 1 Spartak Moscow
Aug 23 Spartak Moscow 1 - 1 Dynamo Moscow
Spartak Moscow - home (2 W, 2 D, 1 L) (7 GS, 7 GA)
May 15 Spartak Moscow 1 - 0 Saturn Moscow
Jul 12 Spartak Moscow 1 - 5 CSKA Moscow
Jul 27 Spartak Moscow 3 - 0 Luch-Energiya Vladivostok
Aug 9 Spartak Moscow 1 - 1 FC Khimki
Aug 23 Spartak Moscow 1 - 1 Dynamo Moscow
As I noted in the opening statement while Spartak Moscow is a club I would normally expect to win this match, they are in such disarray that I cannot be sure who will be in their lineup or the mental state. I will report on it once it concludes.
I will report on this match once
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FC Moscow v Dynamo Moscow match preview
August 31, 2008
This is a fascinating match and it’ll be interesting how the Dynamo Moscow midfield steps-up with the departure of playmaker Danni to Zenit. They have had many problems scoring and his loss will certainly create many attacking problems however their run of play cannot be ignored and are heavy favourites to take this match. Alternatively FC Moscow is coming off a brilliant mid-week 2-0 victory of Leiga Warsaw in UEFA Cup qualifiers but will be fatiqued.
Recent Form
FC Moscow - combined (2 W, D, 3 L)(5 GS, GA)
May 27 FC Moscow 0 - 3 Lokomotiv Moscow
Aug 2 Zenit St Petersburg 2 - 1 FC Moscow
Aug 9 FC Moscow 2 - 1 Tom’ Tomsk
Aug 17 Khimki 0 - 2 FC Moscow
Aug 24 FC Moscow 0 - 1 Amkar Perm’
FC Moscow - away (3 W, 1 D, 1 L)(6 GS, 2 GA)
May 10 Shinnik Yaroslav 0 - 1 FC Moscow
Jul 9 Saturn Moscow 0 - 0 FC Moscow
Jul 20 CSKA Moscow 0 - 2 FC Moscow
Aug 2 Zenit St Petersburg 2 - 1 FC Moscow
Aug 17 Khimki 0 - 2 FC Moscow
Dynamo Moscow - combined (2 W, 3 D, 0 L)(5 GS, 2 GA)
Jul 26 Dynamo Moscow 1 - 0 Zenit St Petersburg
Aug 2 Khimki 1 - 1 Dynamo Moscow
Aug 10 Dynamo Moscow 1 - 0 Amkar Perm’
Aug 16 Dynamo Moscow 1 - 0 Spartak Nalchik
Aug 23 Spartak Moscow 1 - 1 Dynamo Moscow
Dynamo Moscow - home (5 W, D, L)(9 GS, 3 GA)
May 16 Dynamo Moscow 2 - 1 Terek Grozny
Jul 13 Dynamo Moscow 4 - 2 Lokomotiv Moscow
Jul 26 Dynamo Moscow 1 - 0 Zenit St Petersburg
Aug 10 Dynamo Moscow 1 - 0 Amkar Perm’
Aug 16 Dynamo Moscow 1 - 0 Spartak Nalchik
The White-Blues have shown me the ability to win the league but they need to win these tough matches and avoid mental errors that cost them points like last week. Their midfield of the Kombarov brothers, Krill and Dmitri, Dmitri Kombarov and Igor Semshov is one of the best in the game and Aleksandr Kerzhakov will need to rise to the occasion in the attack if they are to overtake Kazan.
This is an exciting match, with a lot in-play to be considered (under, Dynamo keeping clean-sheet run in-take) as well. I will post a full review once it concludes. For those watching with special interests, please comment.
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Rubin Kazan v Amkar Perm’ match preview
August 31, 2008
Heading into the international break Rubin Kazan has shown no signs of losing their top of the table form. They have opened their lead and showing extraordinary composure under pressure.
Recent Form
Rubin Kazan - combined (3 W, 2 D, 0 L)(9 GS, 3 GA)
Jul 26 Rubin Kazan 0 - 0 CSKA Moscow
Aug 3 Luch-Energiya Vladivostok 1 - 1 Rubin Kazan
Aug 10 Rubin Kazan 4 - 1 Zenit St Petersburg
Aug 15 Tom’ Tomsk 1 - 2 Rubin Kazan
Aug 23 Rubin Kazan 2 - 0 Khimki
Rubin Kazan - away (1 W, 3 D,1 L)(5 GS, 6 GA)
May 10 Spartak Nalchik 2 - 0 Rubin Kazan
Jul 5 Samara Kryliya Sovetov 2 - 2 Rubin Kazan
Jul 20 Terek Grozny 0 - 0 Rubin Kazan
Aug 3 Luch-Energiya Vladivostok 1 - 1 Rubin Kazan
Aug 15 Tom’ Tomsk 1 - 2 Rubin Kazan
Amkar Perm’ - combined (1 W, 3 D, 1 L)(GS, GA)
Jul 26 Amkar Perm’ 0 - 0 Tom’ Tomsk
Aug 3 Amkar Perm’ 0 - 0 Spartak Nalchik
Aug 10 Dynamo Moscow 1 - 0 Amkar Perm’
Aug 17 Amkar Perm’ 1 - 1 Spartak Moscow
Aug 24 FC Moscow 0 - 1 Amkar Perm’
Amkar Perm’ - home (1 W, 4 D, 0 L)(6 GS, 4 GA)
Jul 12 Amkar Perm’ 2 - 0 Luch-Energiya Vladivostok
Jul 16 Amkar Perm’ 3 - 3 CSKA Moscow
Jul 26 Amkar Perm’ 0 - 0 Tom’ Tomsk
Aug 3 Amkar Perm’ 0 - 0 Spartak Nalchik
Aug 17 Amkar Perm’ 1 - 1 Spartak Moscow
Amkar Perm’ is playing some superb Football but Rubin Kazan’s manager Kurban Berdyyev has this squad playing near perfectly and I expect the league leaders to continue their pace today. Gökdeniz Karadeniz,McBeth Sibaya and Aleksandr Bukharov are playing inspired Football but will need to reverse Kazan’s modest away record. Don’t miss this great match that gets going in less-than one hour. I will be reporting on it once it concludes.
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