Engelaar signs deal with Schalke 04
July 5, 2008
GELSENKIRCHEN (SW) - Dutchman Orlando Engelaar will join German Bundesliga side Schalke 04. The player will be re-united with manager Fred Rutten.
Rutten recently made a move to Schalke from FC Twente, which was also the club where Engelaar became one of the stronger players in the Dutch Eredivisie this season.
The Rotterdam-born midfielder, 28 years old, began his career at NAC Breda in 2000. Four years later he left the Netherlands for the first time to join KRC Genk and in 2006 he signed a deal with FC Twente, whom he helped to clinch a Champions League preliminary round spot for next season.
It is unknown how much Schalke will be paying for the player, who formed part of the Dutch squad for Euro 2008.
Popularity: 1% [?]
The top 10 FIFA World Ranking
July 3, 2008
Spain are the new leaders of the FIFA World Ranking after their successful European Championships campaign. Previous leaders Argentina drop to sixth place.
The Spanish began Euro 2008 in fourth place and gained another 254 points, enough to surpass Argentina, Brazil and Italy and take the top spot.
Italy, who reached the quarter finals at Euro 2008, move up one spot into second place and Germany climb two spots to third place.
Biggest climbers in the top ten are the Netherlands, from tenth to fifth place, and Croatia who went from fifteenth to seventh place.
The top 10 as of July 2nd, 2008
1. Spain 1557
2. Italy 1404
3. Germany 1364
4. Brazil 1344
5. Netherlands 1299
6. Argentina 1298
7. Croatia 1282
8. Czech Republic 1146
9. Portugal 1104
10. France 1053
Popularity: 1% [?]
Minute by Minute: Russia - Spain
June 27, 2008
VIENNA, Jun 26 (SW) - Spain and Russia battle it out for a spot in the Euro 2008 final on Sunday against Germany. SoccerWay keeps you up to date with the latest.
Final score: 0-3
More match information: Here.
Feel free to register or log in and start using the ‘discuss’ option below to give your opinion on this match!
FULL TIME - Spain are through to the Euro 2008 final! It was deserved as they were really the only side to attack tonight. In three days from now, their next appointment is with Germany in this very stadium to decide who is to lift this year’s European trophy!
Minute 88: Russia get a free kick and it’s swung in towards the goal. Zyryanov’s header is denied by Casillas.
Minute 85: The three-goal lead is nothing short of deserved as Spain have been the side taking the initiative tonight while the Russians seemed much less inspired than they did in the quarter final.
Minute 82: GOAL SPAIN (0-3) - DAVID SILVA - Spain score another and now it just can’t go wrong anymore!! Fabregas comes down the left wing and crosses to Silva who was left all alone by the Russian defense. The winger makes no mistake and slams it past Akinfeev for Spain’s third!
Minute 81: Less than ten minutes are left in regular time and Russia really need to react now! But in the last few minutes, it has been Spain who just keep on attacking.
Minute 74: The Russians get dangerously close to the Spanish goal but a short pass from the left is controlled by Casillas.
Minute 73: GOAL SPAIN (0-2) - DANIEL GUÏZA - Cesc Fabregas sends a beautiful looping pass over the Russian defense and subsitute Guïza lobs it over Akinfeev to double Spain’s lead!!
Minute 71: The following corner kick eventually enables Xabi Alonso to try a shot but again, Akinfeev gets in the way.
Minute 70: Good distance shot from Fabregas but Akinfeev makes the save.
Minute 69: Goalscorer Xavi Hernández comes off for Xabi Alonso and Fernando Torres makes way for Daniel Guïza. Aragonés now has no substitutions left.
Minute 68: Spain want a spotkick as Fernando Torres goes down in the penalty area but referee De Bleeckere disagrees with the claims.
Minute 64: Russia get a free kick in a good spot as Marchena fouls Bilyaletdinov, but it hits a Spaniard.
Minute 63: Another big chance for Spain! Ramos sends in a cross from the right wing but Torres can’t get it on goal.
Minute 62: A difficult shot from Fernando Torres and not too surprisingly, it goes wide. Good attempt though.
Minute 61: Iniesta passes to Fabregas near the end line and Cesc tries to lob it over the goalkeeper to reach Fernando Torres but it’s cleared.
Minute 60: Fabregas is brought down by substitute Bilyaletdinov who is booked as result.
Minute 57: And another quick change for Russia with Sychev coming on for Saenko.
Minute 56: Russia manager Guus Hiddink makes a change and brings on Bilyaletdinov for Semshov. An attacking move this is.
Minute 56: Spain keep attacking now as Luis Aragonés’s men clearly want a quick second goal.
Minute 52: Almost another as Fabregas serves Torres and ‘El Niño’ strikes just over the Russian crossbar.
Minute 50: GOAL SPAIN (0-1) - XAVI - Andrés Iniesta enters the penalty area on the left and his pass reaches Xavi who does well to put the ball between Akinfeev’s legs for 0-1!
Minute 49: Ramos crosses in from the right looking for Torres at the back post, but it’s headed clear.
Minute 46: Back underway in Vienna.
HALF-TIME: A tight encounter as many of these matches deep in tournaments can be. A handful of half-chances, mostly falling the way of Spain, but the Russians aren’t being ripped up at the back like they were the first time around. With Villa out injured, how well will Torres play as the lone striker? All questions to be answered in the second half. Stay tuned.
Minute 45: Free kick lofted in by Xavi is taken well by Akinfeev.
Minute 39: Torres brings the ball down in the area and strikes it with the left boot, but it’s weak and Akinfeev takes it.
Minute 37: Ramos went for the target with a shot from the right, but it misses the near post.
Minute 34: Interesting move as Villa comes off with Cesc Fabregas replacing him.
Minute 31: Great effort by Pavlyuchenko from 20 yards out that doesn’t miss by much. Casillas did get a piece, but a goal kick is awarded.
Minute 29: Free kick for Spain in the center some 30 yards away is struck by Villa, but it bounces into Akinfeev’s arms.
Minute 27: Xavi lofts it into the area for Andrés Iniesta, but he can never get the ball under control.
Minute 24: Ramos has a boot from the right flank, but it floats right into the arms of Akinfeev. Tough takes for the keepers at all times with rain teeming down in Vienna.
Minute 18: First break from Yuri Zhirkov on the left, but his cross is over the goal.
Minute 16: Russia get a free kick in the center about 30 yards away as Carles Puyol hauls down Andrei Arshavin. Roman Pavlyuchenko has a fine strike at it, but he can’t keep it down and it’s over the top.
Minute 13: Corner kick for the first time in the game for Russia is taken short and the lofted ball to the far post is chested by Ramos to Casillas.
Minute 11: Villa has a crack at goal from 25 yards out, forcing a near-post save from Akinfeev.
Minute 10: First bit of dangerous play from Russia as Ivan Saenko sends in a right-wing cross, but it’s low and into the arms of Iker Casillas.
Minute 6: Torres gets a shot on target after Villa lays it back for him, but his turning effort lacked power and was right into the body of Igor Akinfeev. Spain starting the better of the two sides.
Minute 5: Sergio Ramos tries to volley in the right-footed corner, but it’s cleared. Later on, the ball comes back from the right, and again Ramos can’t quite get to it. Another corner by Spain is cleared away.
Minute 4: Fernando Torres accelerates down the right, but his cross is blocked out for a corner by Berezutski.
Kickoff: De Bleeckere gets the semi-final clash underway!
Pre-Game: It’s time for the anthems now. Spain, wearing yellow, will have theirs played first. Then, red-clad Russia will have their turn.
Pre-Game: Belgium’s Frank de Bleeckere will be the referee today, assisted by Peter Hermans and Alex Verstraeten. Greek referee Kyros Vassaras is the fourth official.
Pre-Game: Russia have been electric as of late, with stunning wins over both Sweden and an extra-time thriller against the Netherlands. Manager Guus Hiddink is forced to make one change to the side that beat the Dutch, with Vassili Berezutski stepping into the center of defense in place of the suspended Denis Kolodin.
Pre-Game: As expected, Spain manager Luis Aragonés does not make any changes to the side that beat Italy on penalties after a 0-0 draw in the semi-finals. Spanish observers keep wondering about the status of Fernando Torres, but he’s once again in the starting XI next to David Villa.
Pre-Game: Oh yeah, we didn’t forget. Spain has only won one major international tournament, the 1964 European Nations’ Cup. It was the Soviet Union that they beat 2-1 in the final in Madrid, Marcelino scoring the winning goal six minutes from time.
Pre-Game: These two nations have met four times since Russia began competing as the nation they are now, Spain winning three of those. The only other result was a 0-0 draw in a 2006 friendly. Spain beat Russia 1-0 at Euro 2004, and of course 4-1 in the opening group match of this tournament. They also met once when the CIS competed, that a 1-1 draw in Las Palmas.
Pre-Game: During the USSR era, the nations met five times. The Soviets twice beat Spain in European Championship qualifying, one of those a walkover in 1960 when Spain refused to travel to Moscow. Spain won in a friendly in 1986 and drew 0-0 in 1971.
Popularity: 1% [?]
Germany v Turkey (Semi Final 1)
June 25, 2008
UEFA EURO 2008 SEMI-FINAL
Date: Wed 25 June Kick-off: 1945 BST Venue: St Jakob-Park, Basel
Turkey coach Fatih Terim has been hit by injuries and suspension
|
Germany coach Joachim Low said Torsten Frings could play against Turkey despite suffering from a fractured rib.
The midfielder was back in training on Monday having missed the quarter-final win over Portugal.
Turkey face the prospect of having just 13 outfield players available for their Euro 2008 semi-clash.
Keeper Volkan Demirel will miss out after his two-match ban was upheld for a red card against Czech Republic and Emre (hamstring) was also ruled out.
Coach Terim said Tumer Metin might be able to play the last 30 minutes of the match despite suffering from a groin strain and he may also have to field third-choice keeper Tolgan Zengin because of the injury crisis.
"He could come on towards the end as a sub as last man in defence or a centre forward," he said.
The Turks were without six players when they beat Croatia 3-1 in a penalty shoot-out in the quarter-finals Friday, and lost a further three - Tuncay Sanli, Arda Turan and Emre Asik - to suspension after picking up yellow cards during the match at Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna.
Striker Nihat Kahveci was ruled out of the tournament on Sunday with a thigh injury, but Uefa insists it will not be making a special dispensation for Turkey to call up more players to their squad.
Defensive midfielder Mehmet Aurelio returns from a one-match ban, but keeper Volkan still has one game left on his suspension.
Uefa spokesman William Gaillard said: "You can’t replace any players after the first game of the tournament has been played.
"We know some teams are facing difficulties, but this is a hard rule of the tournament. We have no intention of changing the tournament rules.
"If a team only had eight players to choose from before a match, then we might call an emergency meeting. But we have had no requests and we would find it a bit difficult changing now."
BIG MATCH STATS
Head-to-heads
Germany and Turkey have played each other on 17 occasions with Germany winning 11 and losing three.
Turkey are unbeaten in three successive meetings with Germany, recording two wins and one draw.
Germany’s last win over the Turks dates back to May 1992, when they won 1-0 in a friendly encounter.
Their only previous meetings at a major tournament came at the 1954 World Cup in Switzerland, when West Germany won 4-1 and 7-2.
Their last meeting in all competitions was a friendly in October 2005, in which Turkey prevailed 2-1 in Istanbul, through goals by Halil Altintop and Nuri Sahin. Oliver Neuville scored the German goal in injury time.
Played five previous European Championship semi-final matches, progressing on four occasions.
Their sole semi-final defeat came in 1988, when West Germany were knocked out by eventual winners the Netherlands (2-1).
Both Germany and Turkey finished second in their group at Euro 2008. The last two European champions (Greece in 2004 and France in 2000) also finished second in their group.
Team facts - Turkey
This is Turkey’s first European Championship semi-final. Their only previous appearance in the last four of a major tournament came at the 2002 World Cup when they were defeated 1-0 by Brazil.
Been in the lead for only nine minutes in their four matches played at Euro 2008. Including injury time, Turkey were in the lead for 2.5 minutes against Switzerland and 6.5 minutes against the Czech Republic.
Player facts - Germany
Bastian Schweinsteiger has a goal, an assist, a yellow card and a red card to his name at Euro 2008. The only other player to have achieved this feat is Denmark’s Klaus Berggreen in 1984.
If he plays, Kevin Kuranyi will win his 50th cap for Germany. He made his international debut in March 2003 in a 1-1 draw against Lithuania.
Michael Ballack has scored in two successive European Championship matches (against Portugal and Austria).
Ballack and Lukas Podolski both need two goals to equal Jurgen Klinsmann’s German record of five in the European Championship.
Ballack has now scored 38 international goals. Only six German players (Muller, Klinsmann, Voller, Rummenigge, Seeler and Klose) have scored more goals.
Player facts - Turkey
By scoring twice at Euro 2008, Arda Turan, Nihat Kahveci and Semih Senturk have all equalled Hakan Sukur as Turkey’s joint top scorers in European Championship history.
If they take to the field, Hamit Altintop will come up against his Bayern Munich team mates Marcell Jansen, Phillip Lahm, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski.
If he plays, Gokdeniz Karadeniz will win his 50th cap for Turkey. He made his international debut in a 4-0 defeat against the Czech Republic in April 2003.
35-year-old Rustu Recber is the oldest ever Turkish player in a major tournament (European Championship and World Cup combined). Rustu is Turkey’s most capped player with 117 internationals and also the most experienced Turkish player in the European Championship with eight matches to his name.
Tuncay Sanli, Arda Turan and Emre Asik are suspended for this semi-final. Goalkeeper Volkan Demirel is also suspended pending his appeal.
So far, Turkey have received 15 cards at Euro 2008, only four shy of the competition record set by the Czech Republic in 1996.
Popularity: 1% [?]
2008-06-26 - Russia v Spain
June 24, 2008
Euro 2008
2008-06-26 - Russia v Spain
Sports Betting Preview by Gooner
Russia vs Spain
UEFA Euro 2008 - Semi-Final
Ernst Happel Stadion, Vienna
Thursday 26th June 2008 - KO 19:45
RUSSIA
Russia have come on in leaps and bounds during the course of this tournament as Guss Hiddinks young side have showed that they are learning their football lessons fast.
Russia have the youngest squad in Austria/Switzerland and Hiddink’s intensive fitness work in the build-up to tournaments is also paying dividends with his team noticeably fresher than their rivals in the last two games – perhaps helped by the fact the Russian season only starts in March.
Make no mistake - Russia deserved their victory over the Netherlands (who had themselves looked so good in previous matches) and a similar performance in the semi-final could be a winning one.
Russia are young, fresh, and have tremendous belief in their adopted coach, so I expect another attacking approach in Vienna.
SPAIN
Spain buried a jinx on Sunday night, after edging past Italy on penalties to remove an 88-year barrier that had been haunting them regularly.
But this was not a fluid performance from Spain, who seemed almost paralysed by their Azzurri opponents and the Spanish side will have to put on a much better show against Russia in order to make the final.
Spain may have finally defeated an old foe, but the Azzurri were tired old men, and now Spain have to refocus on an energetic Russian side and not expect things to be as easy as their 4-1 group win.
HEAD TO HEAD
Spain and Russia clashed in the opening game of Group D, and the Spanish attack had a field day scoring four times in a very comfortable 4-1 victory.
That was the biggest margin of victory and the highest scoring game in any of the nine clashes between the two nations.
Overall Spain hold a 5-3-1 record over Russia, with the only Russia victory a 2-1 success in Moscow way back in 1971.
TEAM NEWS
Russia will be without two players for the semi-final as defender Denis Kolodin and attacking midfielder Dmitri Torbinski were cautioned for a second time in Saturday’s 3-1 win over the Netherlands.
Spain had no players recieve another yellow card in the shoot-out win against Italy meaning coach Luis Aragonés will have a full complement of players to choose from.
THE VERDICT
This one is a very tricky game to call - and undoubtedly the stature and importance of the match will affect the way the game is played.
I previously recommended taking Russia on handicap against the Netherlands because we were getting such a great price, and because even though they were play an "in-form" opponent - if Russia attacked then they could cause problems.
It’s ALMOST exactly the same situation here, but the punters are a little wiser this time so the prices on the Russians are not quite so strong.
Also there is a question around whether Russian coach Guus Hiddink will continue to "throw caution to the winds" and play the attacking style - knowing that he is so close to the final?
For that matter, Spain might have beaten Italy, but they’re hardly over their tag as the "choakers" of European football. I was not impressed with Spain against Italy - but they should get more space in this match.
I’m going to rate this game much the same as the Russian quarter-final with Spain having a better group of individuals … but which team has the mental toughness to perform on this stage?
The Pick :
PERCENTAGE ESTIMATE :
FIXED ODDS BETTING :
No bet on the 90 minute result. Unfortunately this time I agree with the bookmakers - and there is little value to be found.
I’ll take a look at the special bets in the next 12 hours - and see if I can find a play.
Popularity: 1% [?]
