So far there have been three matches played this weekend, and all three of them have been pretty exciting. Genoa – Inter Milan ended in a 1-0 win for Inter, Roma – Lecce was exciting and finished 2-0 for Roma, and AC Milan – Juventus was the shock result, a 2-1 win for Juve.
Roma – Lecce
Roma – Lecce was an extremely enjoyable match. Both sides went out to score goals, and there were plenty of opportunities for everyone. Roma were more dangerous though, Vucinic was having the game of his life as he waltzed around players to create chances for himself and his teammates. Both sides had their crossbars hit after the first half, and although no goals were scored, it was a very entertaining match.
In the second half Roma finally found the back of Lecce’s net with Burdisso heading in a cross by Riise. But neither side stopped there, and Vucinic finished off one of his many opportunities to give Roma a two goal lead. But in the build up of the goal, a very strange event happened which resulted in the expulsion of two players.
Lecce’s Ruben Olivera tripped Totti who was running towards Lecce’s goal, and the Roma captain got up and shoved the Uruguayan. The referee Gervasoni ran over right away to stop a potential fight, and he gave both players direct red cards. At first they were both incredulous, but Ruben Olivera walked off to the dressing room. Totti protested a little longer, and then when he realized that the referee wasn’t going to let him continue to play, he ran over to where Olivera went to presumably pick a fight with the Lecce player. Totti was eventually dragged off the field by force.
The match ended 2-0 for Roma, with the giallorossi creating plenty of opportunities which they should’ve put away. But Lecce were very dangerous as well, and with a little more luck they might’ve managed to score a goal.
I think that a player like Totti, who earns millions a year should never act in such an immature and idiotic way, but what are your thoughts? I really want to hear what people have to say about this match, and this incident. So please comment below with your thoughts!
AC Milan – Juventus
AC Milan – Juventus was also an exciting match. There were plenty of players who were unable to play for both sides, and when Chiellini had to pull out during pre-match warm-up, it seemed like this would be AC Milan’s perfect night. Delneri started with Bonucci and Legrottaglie in the middle of defense, with De Ceglie and Motta on the left and right of defence. In the middle Felipe Melo played alongside Aquilani with Martinez and Marchisio supporting the attacking duo of Quagliarella and Del Piero.
AC Milan on the other hand were missing Ronaldinho and Thiago Silva, so Allegri had Nesta partnered up with Papastathopoulos in the middle with Antonini and Bonera playing on the outside of the defence. In the midfield AC Milan played with Gattuso, Pirlo, and Kevin-Prince Boateng, and the attacking trident was Ibrahimovic and Pato with Robinho acting as a “trequartista”.
The game was exciting right from the start, and Ibrahimovic slipped a sublime through pass for Pato, and then hit the top right corner of the woodwork with a precise shot. Juventus seemed scared and unable to create as AC Milan pressured from the start in search of a goal. But little by little the tables turned, and eventually Juventus were creating dangerous opportunities from counter-attacks. And the shock goal arrived in the 24th minute for the bianconeri, an unsavable header by Quagliarella which nestled beautifully into the top left-hand corner of Abbiati’s goal.
After this, AC Milan were creating less and less, Ibrahimovic was isolated up top as Robinho could only conjure up useless tricks, and Pato run in a straight line. Bonera and De Ceglie crashed into each other, with the AC Milan defender getting the worse end, he was taken off right away, and De Ceglie was substituted as well after a few minutes of useless limping around on the field. The second goal arrived in the second half, it was a mistake by the AC Milan defence which let Sissoko slip right through them and one on one with Abbiati. But the Malian midfielder literally missed the ball when shooting (very comical), but he somehow managed to pass it back to Del Piero who thundered in a low shot.
Juventus were organized and compact, taking advantage of AC Milan’s general disarray as the bianconeri created plenty of opportunities. But eventually AC Milan began to push forward by crossing in high balls for Ibrahimovic and the substitute Inzaghi to reach. The big Swede got on the end of one of them, and imitated Quagliarella’s goal to bring the score to 2-1. But AC Milan weren’t able to create much more, and Delneri’s side held out to grab three vital points.
What are your thoughts on this match? Did anyone expect Juventus to win? Share your thoughts below by commenting!

Milan Lose To Organized Juventus 2-1

Milan Lose To Organized Juventus 2-1 - World Soccer Talk

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So, if the only time you’ve ever come across this tournament is when certain Premiership managers whine about it, let me welcome to you to one of World Football’s best kept secrets. Over the years, <a href="http://www.cafonline.com/competition/african-cup-of-nations-angola_2010/" target="_blank">the African Cup Of Nations </a>has grown and grown to be one of the most respected tournaments in World Football. So, as the tournament kicks off in Angola on Sunday, welcome to an overview for the 27th competition.
The influx into European football of African players over the last 20 years has seen the profile of this once derided competition rise far above what even the most biased supporter of African football could have hoped for. My first experience of seeing an African side was Algeria’s incredible defeat of West Germany in 1982 and as I’ve watched football, its reputation has grown and grown. Now it’s a fantastic tournament and one you really need to catch so here’s who to look out for in my first article about it.

This year’s tournament is being held in Angola for the first time and as such will give us the first glimpse of some of the teams who have also qualified for the World Cup in June this year.16 teams participate in the finals, drawn in to groups of four, with quarter finals, semi finals, a 3rd/4th play off and the final.Running over 20 days, this looks set to be the biggest African Cup of Nations yet.
The qualification for this years tournament also doubled up as qualification for the World Cup, which saw the odd spectacle of South Africa entered even though they’re the World Cup hosts along with Angola to try and earn a double qualification. Ironically, Angola haven’t qualified for the World Cup and South Africa failed to reach the African Cup of Nations.
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Favourites for the second tournament in a row are of course Didier Drogba’s Ivory Coast but in 2008 they were humiliated in the semi final by Egypt 4-1. They’ll be desperate to try and add to their solitary title won in 1992.With a squad featuring the Toure brothers, Drogba, Eboue, Zakora and Dindane, they’ll certainly be there or there abouts, The Elephants will be certainly one of the teams to beat. Drawn in Group B they’ll be one of the two fancied teams in that group.
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The other side in Group B with ambitions to win the tournament will be the Black Stars of Ghana. Ghana are a team that we should have seen so much more of over the last 20 years, especially as they gave us one of the greatest ever African players of all time, in Abedi Pele, who like George Weah of Liberia never made it to a World Cup. They finished 3rd last time, so they’ll be desperate to go at least one better but they lack a clinical striker.&nbsp; With Michael Essien, John Mensah, Kingson, Addo and Amoah in the squad they’ll try and cope with the loss of talismanic captain Stephen Appiah and <a href="http://www.goal.com/en/news/815/african-nations-cup/2009/12/24/1707613/african-nations-cup-mixed-reactions-over-sulley-muntaris-absence-" target="_blank">Sulley Muntari’s enforced passing over</a>.
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Group A should be a walk in the park for one of England’s forthcoming <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/africa/8367431.stm" target="_blank">World Cup opponents, Algeria</a>. With a fine international pedigree, they’ll be in with an outside shout of getting to the last four this time round. Since bursting on to the world stage in the 1982 World Cup, Algeria have lost their way a little since following it up with qualification for the 1986 World Cup and winning the A.C.O.N in 1990.
Since winning that title, they’ve been disqualified once, gone out in the first round three times and failed to qualify since 2004. Familiar names to watch out for in the Desert Foxes team are Hassan Yebda and Nadir Belhadj of Portsmouth, Kamel Ghilas of Hull City, Hamuer Bouazza formerly of Fulham and Madjid Bougherra of Rangers. They need a good tournament to reaffirm their place in African football.
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Group C sees the power of African football, Egypt and the former star, Nigeria drawn together. Egypt who were pipped for World Cup qualification by Algeria, which saw such <a href="http://www.football.co.uk/portsmouth/zaki_cites_israeli_presence_at_fratton_park_as_reason_for_shun_rss269998.shtml" target="_blank">scenes of sportsmanship for them</a>, have a lot to live up to . As defending champions since 2006, it remains to be seen just how much of a hangover they’ve retained from missing out on South Africa. Yet, without the injured Amr Zaki and the unpicked Mido, Egypt would seem to have it all to do to retain the trophy. Spurs fans will certainly remember Hossan Ghaly and Dortmunds Mohamed Zidan is one to watch for the Pharaohs.
Nigeria qualified for both Angola and South Africa, but they are not the side they once were. The Super Eagles were one of the key sides in African football’s modern growth but the generation that got them there are slowly retiring. Yet the squad is still packed with familiar names. Yobo, Yakubu, Kanu, Obi-Mikel, Martins, Shittu, Taiwo, Etuhu and Olofinjana will all be in the squad and will be looking to try and re-affirm their place at the head of modern African football. An outside chance of winning the title certainly.
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Which leads us to another favourite, the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon. Lead by one of the worlds greatest strikers, Samuel Eto’o, Cameroon have been one of Africa’s leading lights over the last two decades. After missing out for the 2006 World Cup, they were in danger of missing out on both tournaments this year, but after sacking the manager, former Rangers, Lyon and Paris Saint Germain manager Paul Le Guen rode to the rescue.
Surprisingly though, Le Guen has opted not to pick the impressive <a href="http://worldcup.sportinglife.com/story/0,27111,17337_5794929,00.html" target="_blank">Sebastain Bassong for the tournament</a> but joining Eto’o will be Rigobert Song, Geremi, Alexandre Song, Jean Makoun and Andre Bikey. If they can keep Eto’o up the field, then anything can happen and after the 2006 penalty <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/africa/4675316.stm" target="_blank">shoot out marathon against Ivory Coast</a> and losing the last A.C.O.N final on penalties, they’ll be hoping to avoid more shootout heartache.IN Carlos Kameni, they’ve probably got the best goalkeeper in Africa. He could be key.
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So they’re the main 6 contenders, but there are two outsiders that may catch the eye. Imagine a team with a midfield of Seydou Keita of Barcelona, Real Madrid’s Mahamadou Diarra and Juventus’s Momo Sissoko with Freddie Kanoute upfront. Well, that’s Mali’s main foursome and with a squad with a wealth of European experience and the Eagles have a team with bags of potential still unfulfilled. Of course, Togo also qualified and whilst the side seem to lack quality overall, if a certain Emmanuel Adebayor fancies it, then the Sparrow Hawks could cause some real shocks.
So there you have it. Over here in Europe, Eurosport will be showing every match, with the BBC disappointingly only showing the semi finals and final this time. If you’ve never watched it before, I recommend it highly and it’ll give you a real taste of what’s to come in June this year when the World Cup gets underway. I’ll be dropping another more articles throughout the month for you to keep up to speed with the tournament, so feel free to leave me your comments and questions.

African Cup Of Nations Begins The Year With A Bang in Angola

African Cup Of Nations Begins The Year With A Bang in Angola - World Soccer Talk

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One of the most fascinating moves this summer was Internazionale’s hiring of Jose Mourinho as manager after Roberto Mancini was sacked despite winning the title. Mourinho has built a strong reputation in a short time and I am interested to see if he can push Inter further in the Champions League. They’ve struggled in recent seasons despite their good domestic league performances.
If Jose Mourinho’s first competitive game in charge is anything to base hopes on, Inter fans should be optimistic for this season. Mourinho coached a side weakened by injuries to their first silverware of the season as they beat AS Roma 6-5 (following a 2-2 draw) on penalties to win the Italian Super Cup on Sunday.
His first competitve game in charge gave an opportunity to examine how he will stamp his mark on the club. New signing Sulley Muntari looks to add the same verve and versatility to the Inter midfield that Essien gives Chelsea’s midfield. Muntari’s driving forward run led to the opening goal after 18 minutes as he cashed in on a loose ball in the Roma penalty area.
Mourinho used his favoured three-pronged attack (usually as part of a 4-3-3 formation) that saw Luis Figo play out on the right wing and Inter’s other big summer signing, Brazilian winger Mancini on the left. Mancini was constantly booed by Roma’s away fans (he jumped ship from the Giallorossi to join Inter) but kept his composure and put in a decent performance.
A key to Inter’s success this season could be striker Mario Balotelli. Though he is just 18-years-old, he scored a number of clutch goals in the closing moments of last season, and one would expect him to feature a little more regularly this season despite a number of other strikers on contract at the club. He came on as a sub and scored Inter’s second goal as well as scoring his penalty kick.
Both Adriano (a calf strain) and Zlatan Ibrahimovic (knee) are hobbled by injury at the moment and Lazio were in talks to sign Hernan Crespo but Crespo’s wages and the transfer fee are reported to be a stumbling block for the Biancocelesti. Crespo has been deemed surplus to requirements and is unlikely to get much playing time under Mourinho.
Mourinho was forced to play midfielder Esteban Cambiasso in defence because of injury problems to Marco Materazzi, Walter Samuel, Christian Chivu, and Ivan Cordoba and that has to be worrying for Mourinho. Inter were dominant last season when their squad was healthy but after the turn of the new year, injuries contributed to their poor form and almost saw them drop the title to Roma in the final weeks of the season.
<div><figure class="external-image"><img loading="lazy" src="/files/2008/08/mourinho9ap.jpg" alt="mourinho9ap.jpg" align="right" width="300" height="250" hspace="10"></figure></div>Mourinho has been more humble thus far. Perhaps being sacked from Chelsea has led to a more measured outlook and has taken away that feeling of being untouchable. He was equal parts self-effacing and&nbsp; self-promoting in his post-game comments. He told reporters that “I’ve won the Super Cup… but I want to remember that I’ve won it because Roberto Mancini won the last championship. This game is a reply to those who say they don’t play good football in Italy. We’ve seen four goals and a spectacle.”
In fact, Mourinho has been quite complimentary of Mancini on a number of occassions saying that changes he will make are simply down to a difference in footballing philosophy and not a critique of Mancini’s squad-building ability. When he first was appointed, Mourinho told reporters “I like this group, I like the team’s mentality very much – I have a lot of confidence in this group. I want to start a different cycle, practically with the same squad. I think differently to Roberto. I imagine it would be the same situation if Roberto went to Chelsea, for example. He would change things because he thinks differently from me. It’s far from a criticism, it’s just the reality of football.”
After the Italian Super Cup, Inter’s president Massimo Moratti revealed that Mourinho has asked the club to sign FC Porto winger Ricardo Quaresma. However, Moratti insisted that the club cannot bid for the Portugese international unless they sell one of their players in order to meet Porto’s asking price of 25million euros. It’s easy to see how Quaresma would fit into Mourinho’s system and it would be exciting to see a squad with Mancini on one flank and Quaresma on the other.
<div><figure class="external-image"><img loading="lazy" src="/files/2008/08/mourinho10ap.jpg" alt="mourinho10ap.jpg" align="right" width="300" height="350" hspace="10"></figure></div>However, the real interesting development will be to see how Moratti and Mourinho get on. Moratti has been through a total of 14 managers since he bought the club in 1995 including respected men such as Roy Hodgson (twice) and Marcello Lippi. It has been reported that Mourinho’s salary has gone up significantly from what he earned at Chelsea and that now he is paid more than 10m Euros per season. That is reported to be considerably more than what was earned by Mancini who lead the club to three straight Serie A titles.
Not only does he have to wow the boss but Mourinho will also need to win over the notoriously critical Inter fans. In past seasons, these dedicated but difficult-to-please fans have left the stadium before matches were over to protest what they felt were poor performances from the players and even forced the abandonment of a Champions League quarter-final second leg against AC Milan by throwing flares from the stands.
Mourinho has brought some of his Stamford Bridge backroom staff with him including right-hand man and fitness coach Rui Farias, known as “mini-Mourinho”, goalkeeper coach Silvino Louro and chief scout Andrei Villas Boas. They will be hoping that they can duplicate the success they enjoyed during their Chelsea days.
No matter what the Mourinho team manages to accomplish, it might be difficult to surpass the club’s legendary manager Helenio Herrera. In his time at the club in the 1960s, Inter won three league titles, two European Cups and two Intercontinental Cups (now known as the FIFA Club World Cup).
One thing the two managers share is a strong belief in building from a defensive base and relying on quick counter-attacks. I like the discplined, tactical approach that Mourinho brings to a club and his combination of brashness and frankness in interviews. I hope Mourinho succeeds at Inter but the other thing that he may end up having in common with Herrera is that no matter the success, managers do not leave Internazionale under pleasant circumstances.

The Special One Brings Silverware To Internazionale

The Special One Brings Silverware To Internazionale - World Soccer Talk

<a rel="attachment wp-att-199" href="http://www.serieatalk.com/italian-super-cup-mourinho-wins-again/198/jose-mourinho/" title="Jose Mourinho"></a><div><figure class="external-image"><img loading="lazy" border="0" vspace="14" align="right" width="268" src="/files/2008/08/mourinho-numero-uno.jpg" hspace="12" alt="Jose Mourinho - (AFP)" height="184"></figure></div>It took more than 90 minutes but the outcome was similar to their last win back in 2006, as Internazionale are winners of the first Cup of the season,&nbsp;walking away with Super Cup silverware yesterday evening.
New signing <a target="_blank" href="http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/football/sulleyali-muntari.html" title="Sulley Muntari - player profile">Sulley Muntari</a>&nbsp;scored first for home-side Inter in the 18th minute (what an amazing start for him as a Nerazzurri.) which would also be the&nbsp;only goal of the half.&nbsp; Midway through the second half <a target="_blank" href="http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/football/daniele-derossi.html">Daniel De Rossi</a>&nbsp;of Roma scored a goal of his own&nbsp;making&nbsp;things all even.&nbsp; Two additional goals&nbsp;came late in the match, scored&nbsp;by the young Inter forward <a target="_blank" href="http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/football/mario-balotelli.html" title="Balotelli - player profile">Mario Balotelli</a> and by Roma striker <a target="_blank" href="http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/football/mirko-vucinic.html" title="Vucinic - player profile">Mirko Vuninic</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Tied 2 – 2 at the final whistle, teams had to face both&nbsp;extra time and penalties to decide the winner.&nbsp; In the final analysis it would come down to&nbsp;team capitans during the penalty shootout&nbsp;with <a target="_blank" href="http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/football/javier-zanetti.html" title="J Zanetti - player profile">Javier Zanetti</a> getting the job done and&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/football/francesco-totti.html" title="Totti -player profile">Francesco Totti</a>&nbsp;failing to score after hitting the woodwork. &nbsp;
Inter win&nbsp;6 –&nbsp;5 on penalties.
Football Italia Channel 4 – This is Mourinho’s first piece of silverware in Italian football and since taking over at Inter.“I have always had a bad record with penalties, losing the Cup in England last year and then the Champions League semi-final. Plus my Chelsea, albeit with another Coach, lost the Champions League Final on spot-kicks.“I want to point out that I have won the Italian Super Cup, but I could only participate in it because Mancini won the Scudetto, so he deserves a portion of this trophy for all the good work he did with this team.
Goalscorers: Muntari 18 (I), De Rossi 59 (R), Balotelli 83 (I), Vucinic 90 (R)
Lineups 
Inter: Julio Cesar; Maicon, Cambiasso, Burdisso (Rivas 89), Maxwell; Zanetti, Stankovic, Muntari; Figo (Balotelli 66), Ibrahimovic, Mancini (Jimenez 70)
Roma: Doni; Riise (Tonetto 77), Mexes, Juan, Cassetti; Pizarro, De Rossi; Aquilani (Okaka 86), Perrotta (Totti 84), Baptista; Vucinic 
Ref: Saccani 
additional references: 
Yahoo Eurosport (AFP)&nbsp;– <a target="_blank" href="http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/24082008/3/mourinho-starts-inter-stint-super-cup-triumph.html">Mourinho starts Inter stint with Super Cup triumph</a>
<h4>Just Added – Video Highlights&nbsp;</h4>
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<h3>Headlines from Italy this morning</h3>
Jose Mourinho, wants Ricardo Quaresma to come to Inter 
Muntari praised for his start at Inter 
Inter president Moratti overjoyed in Inter glory 
and Sheva lands in Milan

Italian Super Cup &#8211; Mourinho Wins Again

Italian Super Cup - Mourinho Wins Again  - World Soccer Talk

Italian Super Cup – Mourinho Wins Again

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The Special One Brings Silverware To Internazionale

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Italian Super Cup – Mourinho Wins Again