Monday, January 21, 2013
Australian Open 2013: five things we learned in Melbourne this week
We are at the halfway point of the Australian Open and a few things have become clear.
Never give up: Novak Djokovic celebrates after winning a marathon match against Stan Wawrinka
Djokovic’s spirit is indomitable
Novak Djokovic is the man who will not lie down. It does not matter how many
times you think you have driven a stake through his heart, he just keeps
coming back from the dead, as a tearful Stan Wawrinka discovered at 1.40am
last night when their five-set epic finally ended with the Serb’s victory.
Ronaldo’s double opens the door to demolition of Valencia
Cristiano Ronaldo netted two goals and set up another to power Real
Madrid’s blistering attack to a 5-0 demolition of Valencia in the
Spanish league on Sunday, while Atletico Madrid chipped into Barcelona’s
lead by maintaining its perfect record at home.
Madrid decided the match by halftime with doubles by Ronaldo and Angel Di Maria after Gonzalo Higuain had opened the scoring.
Atletico, meanwhile, eased to a 2-0 win over Levante despite losing striker Radamel Falcao to injury for its 11th win in 11 home games this season, breathing an inkling of life into the title chase.
Atletico took advantage of Barcelona’s first league defeat of the season the day before to reduce the gap to the pacesetters to eight points.
Madrid’s best performance, and arguably the best first half played by any team in Spain this season, of its otherwise trouble-filled league campaign left Jose Mourinho’s team in third place 15 points adrift of Barcelona.
Madrid finally resembled the side that strolled through the league last season en route to the championship with a record haul of points (100) and goals (121).
“We made the game easy by pressuring them hard from the start,” said Di Maria, whose season had been subdued until Sunday’s match. “We played a great game. On a personal level, I played well and shut a few mouths.”
Madrid had already beaten Valencia 2-0 just five days before in the first leg of their Copa del Rey quarterfinal. The two teams will meet for a third time in nine days on Wednesday in the return leg.
Valencia’s collapse was complete.
Its attack was toothless, its midfield sloppy with the ball, and its defence uncoordinated and repeatedly undone with the simplest of through passes into wide open spaces behind its back line.
Madrid, however, was brutally efficient, quick to recover the ball and clinical in its finishing whether on the break or elaborating an attack against a set defence.
“They were completely superior to us,” said Ernesto Valverde, who had guided Valencia to four wins in five league games since taking over as coach. “Madrid has an extraordinary counterattack. Each counterattack was a clear chance for them. After the 1-0 we still weren’t done, but when the 2-0 and 3-0 came so quickly we just fell apart.”
Higuain got Madrid rolling in the ninth minute by making up for an earlier miss when he trailed Di Maria and fired his back pass beyond goalkeeper Diego Alves.
After Sami Khedira had squandered a pair of clear looks on goal, Ronaldo doubled the visitors’ advantage in the 35th by running onto a long pass, cutting back— first to his right, then to his left— to give Di Maria time to arrive on the far side before crossing for the winger to tap home.
Just seconds after the restart Valencia was again retrieving the ball from its net after Madrid robbed the ball and in two passes left Ronaldo sprinting free to stab the ball between Diego Alves and his near post to make it 3-0.
The flurry of goals left Valencia and the fans at Mestalla stadium shell-shocked. And Madrid just kept pouring it on.
Ronaldo whipped in a vicious volley in the 41st after Mesut Oezil had deftly knocked down Di Maria’s lobbed pass. And just before the halftime whistle Di Maria was inexplicably left unmarked on the break to take a pass from Oezil and casually slip the ball under the helpless Diego Alves.
Ronaldo’s brace gave him 18 goals in the league, tied with Falcao. Barcelona’s Lionel Messi leads the competition with 29 goals through 20 rounds.
Elsewhere, Osasuna beat visiting Deportivo La Coruna 2-1 to move off the bottom of the standings and sink its rival into last place, while forward Oscar Gonzalez scored one goal and set up another to steer mid-table Valladolid to a 2-0 home win over Real Zaragoza.
Earlier at Vicente Calderon stadium, Adrian Lopez broke through for Atletico by capping a team buildup in the 32nd minute. Jorge “Koke” Resurrecion then put the result beyond doubt in the 61st, four minutes after Falcao walked off clutching the upper part of his left leg.
Atletico coach Diego Simeone said Falcao would be sidelined for around three weeks.
Simeone’s Atletico, whose excellent season has been overshadowed by Barcelona’s apparently unstoppable march toward reclaiming the domestic crown, is on a club-record run of 18 consecutive home wins in all competitions. It has also outscored its visitors 17-0 in its last six league matches.
“Numbers are important, but we can’t pause to admire them,” Simeone said. “The most important thing is to keep going forward game by game until we see how far we can go.”
On Saturday, Barcelona fell 3-2 at Real Sociedad. Also, it was: Malaga 1, Celta Vigo 1; Getafe 1, Sevilla 1; and Granada 2, Rayo Vallecano 0.
Espanyol edged out Mallorca 3-2 on Friday. Real Betis hosts Athletic Bilbao on Monday.
Madrid decided the match by halftime with doubles by Ronaldo and Angel Di Maria after Gonzalo Higuain had opened the scoring.
Atletico, meanwhile, eased to a 2-0 win over Levante despite losing striker Radamel Falcao to injury for its 11th win in 11 home games this season, breathing an inkling of life into the title chase.
Atletico took advantage of Barcelona’s first league defeat of the season the day before to reduce the gap to the pacesetters to eight points.
Madrid’s best performance, and arguably the best first half played by any team in Spain this season, of its otherwise trouble-filled league campaign left Jose Mourinho’s team in third place 15 points adrift of Barcelona.
Madrid finally resembled the side that strolled through the league last season en route to the championship with a record haul of points (100) and goals (121).
“We made the game easy by pressuring them hard from the start,” said Di Maria, whose season had been subdued until Sunday’s match. “We played a great game. On a personal level, I played well and shut a few mouths.”
Madrid had already beaten Valencia 2-0 just five days before in the first leg of their Copa del Rey quarterfinal. The two teams will meet for a third time in nine days on Wednesday in the return leg.
Valencia’s collapse was complete.
Its attack was toothless, its midfield sloppy with the ball, and its defence uncoordinated and repeatedly undone with the simplest of through passes into wide open spaces behind its back line.
Madrid, however, was brutally efficient, quick to recover the ball and clinical in its finishing whether on the break or elaborating an attack against a set defence.
“They were completely superior to us,” said Ernesto Valverde, who had guided Valencia to four wins in five league games since taking over as coach. “Madrid has an extraordinary counterattack. Each counterattack was a clear chance for them. After the 1-0 we still weren’t done, but when the 2-0 and 3-0 came so quickly we just fell apart.”
Higuain got Madrid rolling in the ninth minute by making up for an earlier miss when he trailed Di Maria and fired his back pass beyond goalkeeper Diego Alves.
After Sami Khedira had squandered a pair of clear looks on goal, Ronaldo doubled the visitors’ advantage in the 35th by running onto a long pass, cutting back— first to his right, then to his left— to give Di Maria time to arrive on the far side before crossing for the winger to tap home.
Just seconds after the restart Valencia was again retrieving the ball from its net after Madrid robbed the ball and in two passes left Ronaldo sprinting free to stab the ball between Diego Alves and his near post to make it 3-0.
The flurry of goals left Valencia and the fans at Mestalla stadium shell-shocked. And Madrid just kept pouring it on.
Ronaldo whipped in a vicious volley in the 41st after Mesut Oezil had deftly knocked down Di Maria’s lobbed pass. And just before the halftime whistle Di Maria was inexplicably left unmarked on the break to take a pass from Oezil and casually slip the ball under the helpless Diego Alves.
Ronaldo’s brace gave him 18 goals in the league, tied with Falcao. Barcelona’s Lionel Messi leads the competition with 29 goals through 20 rounds.
Elsewhere, Osasuna beat visiting Deportivo La Coruna 2-1 to move off the bottom of the standings and sink its rival into last place, while forward Oscar Gonzalez scored one goal and set up another to steer mid-table Valladolid to a 2-0 home win over Real Zaragoza.
Earlier at Vicente Calderon stadium, Adrian Lopez broke through for Atletico by capping a team buildup in the 32nd minute. Jorge “Koke” Resurrecion then put the result beyond doubt in the 61st, four minutes after Falcao walked off clutching the upper part of his left leg.
Atletico coach Diego Simeone said Falcao would be sidelined for around three weeks.
Simeone’s Atletico, whose excellent season has been overshadowed by Barcelona’s apparently unstoppable march toward reclaiming the domestic crown, is on a club-record run of 18 consecutive home wins in all competitions. It has also outscored its visitors 17-0 in its last six league matches.
“Numbers are important, but we can’t pause to admire them,” Simeone said. “The most important thing is to keep going forward game by game until we see how far we can go.”
On Saturday, Barcelona fell 3-2 at Real Sociedad. Also, it was: Malaga 1, Celta Vigo 1; Getafe 1, Sevilla 1; and Granada 2, Rayo Vallecano 0.
Espanyol edged out Mallorca 3-2 on Friday. Real Betis hosts Athletic Bilbao on Monday.
How do I remove programs from my computer's startup?
Go to START and pick RUN. Type MSCONFIG and hit OK. Go to the startup
section and UNCHECK several of the programs that you do not need.Good Luck and Happy Processing!!!!
Saturday, January 12, 2013
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Torres double ends Chelsea's barren run
By: AAP | Latest Football News | Sunday December 9 2012 7:36|
Fernando Torres claimed a brace as Chelsea ended a run of seven Premier
League games without victory by prevailing 3-1 at Sunderland on Saturday
in their last game before the Club World Cup. The Spaniard had not scored in the league since October 6 but he found the net twice in the mid-week thrashing of FC Nordsjaelland in the Champions League and was in unforgiving mood once again at the Stadium of Light. He opened his account in the 11th minute, guiding Eden Hazard's cross into the top-left corner with a fine volley to end a 770-minute goal drought in the league. Torres had been overlooked for penalty-taking duties in the 6-1 win against Nordsjaelland, but he notched his second goal from the spot on the stroke of halftime after Sebastian Larsson slid in on Ramires. Juan Mata made it 3-0 early in the second half, side-footing home after a Torres shot came back off the crossbar, before a fine effort from Adam Johnson gave Sunderland a consolation. It was a first win in four Premier League games for Chelsea's interim manager Rafael Benitez, whose side closed to within four points of second-place Manchester City. City host leaders Manchester United on Sunday, when Alex Ferguson's men will be bidding to move six points clear at the top of the table. Arsenal also returned to winning ways after three games without victory, beating West Bromwich Albion 2-0 at the Emirates Stadium through a pair of Mikel Arteta penalties to climb to sixth. Prior to Arteta's 26th-minute opener, Steven Reid was penalised for a foul on Santi Cazorla despite failing to make any contact with the Spanish midfielder, who collapsed theatrically. Arteta's second arrived in the 64th minute and although there was no doubt about Chris Brunt's foul on Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, West Brom felt the England winger had committed an offence of his own in the build-up. It was a third straight defeat for fifth-placed West Brom, whose lead over Arsenal has been cut to two points. Bottom club Queens Park Rangers remain without a win in 16 games - a new Premier League record - after being held to a 2-2 draw at Wigan Athletic. QPR captain Ryan Nelsen cancelled out James McCarthy's 19th-minute opener for the hosts before substitute Djibril Cisse gave the visitors the lead from Shaun Wright-Phillips' pass in the 71st minute. Harry Redknapp was less than 20 minutes away from a first win as QPR manager, only for McCarthy to strike again in the 74th minute, controlling Jean Beausejour's left-wing cross and then coolly prodding the ball home. Southampton clambered out of the relegation zone and up to 15th place after a 61st-minute strike from Jason Puncheon secured a 1-0 win at home to second-bottom Reading. The Saints' win saw Sunderland slip into the bottom three, while Aston Villa fell one place to 16th after drawing 0-0 at home to Stoke City. The clash at Liberty Stadium between Swansea City and Norwich City was a pulsating affair, the visitors winning 4-3 to end the Swans' six-game unbeaten run and prolong their own run of games without defeat to nine matches. Goals from Steven Whittaker, Sebastien Bassong and Grant Holt put Norwich 3-0 up at the break but Swansea came back into the game through Michu and Jonathan De Guzman before Robert Snodgrass' 77th-minute free-kick made it 4-2. Michu found the net again in injury time - his 12th goal of the season - but it was too late to prevent Norwich moving up to 11th. |
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Daddy Messi: Girlfriend has baby boy Thiago, next football star born
Lionel Messi and girlfriend Antonella Rocuzzo. (AP)
Image :
Lionel Messi's girlfriend gave birth to a baby boy, the Barcelona star's first child, on Friday.
Messi and his girlfriend Antonella Rocuzzo named the boy Thiago.
"Today I am the happiest man in the world, my son was born and thanks to God for this gift!" Messi wrote on Facebook. "Thanks to my family for the support! A hug to everyone."
Messi's son on his boots "THIAGO" (FACEBOOK)
Barcelona excused the 25-year-old Argentina forward from training Friday morning to attend his son's birth at a hospital in Barcelona.
The club announced the birth on its website after it was originally reported by Spanish and Argentina media outlets and confirmed by Messi.
Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta, who became the father of a baby girl last year, wrote on Twitter: "Much happiness to Leo and Antonella! Congratulations... I am very happy that everything went well!!"
In a recent interview with Spanish newspaper El Pais, Messi said he was looking forward to becoming a father.
"I'm prepared for Thiago's arrival, it is very exciting," said Messi. "It makes you think of things in a different way. You can no longer just think about yourself, you think about him, and how you hope he doesn't have any problems."
Earlier Friday, Barcelona coach Tito Vilanova said he still expected Messi to play in Saturday's Spanish league match against Celta Vigo at Camp Nou stadium.
"Leo didn't attend training, but tomorrow he will play in the match," said Vilanova. "If everything goes well, he will come to play. It doesn't change our plans at all that he didn't train today."
The birth of his child comes at the peak of Messi's prodigious career so far. After breaking a number of individual scoring records over the past season, Messi is two goals shy of matching Brazil great Pele's milestone of 75 goals for club and country in a calendar year, set in 1958. He is also a leading candidate to win what would be his fourth Ballon D'Or.
Never mind Daddy: Cristiano Ronaldo gets plenty of hugs and kisses from his son as they holiday in St. Tropez after Euro 2012
wo years ago Cristiano Ronaldo stunned the world when he announced he had become a father to a child by an unknown woman.
But since the arrival of his little boy the football ace has taken to fatherhood like a duck to water and was seen showered his child with love and affection.
Spotted yesterday the doting daddy boarded a luxury yacht with his son Cristiano Ronaldo Jr in St. Tropez alongside his stunning girlfriend Irina Shayk.
The Portuguese footballer kissing the boy's head and returning the love, the two-year-old wrapped his tiny hands around his father's neck.
Dressed for the scorching
weather, the 27-year-old donned a trucker cap with a white T-shirt, a
pair of blue shorts, flip flops and sunglasses.
Similar to his father the little boy looked adorable in a backwards cap, a bright orange T-shirt and a pair of flip flops.
But since the arrival of his little boy the football ace has taken to fatherhood like a duck to water and was seen showered his child with love and affection.
Spotted yesterday the doting daddy boarded a luxury yacht with his son Cristiano Ronaldo Jr in St. Tropez alongside his stunning girlfriend Irina Shayk.
Doting daddy: Cristiano Ronaldo was spotted showering his son with affection in St. Tropez
Like father, like son: Ronaldo and his little boy sported similar outfits
Ronaldo was seen holding his son as he sat in a boat making their way onto the boat.
The Portuguese footballer kissing the boy's head and returning the love, the two-year-old wrapped his tiny hands around his father's neck.
A day out with daddy: The adorable two-year-old was seen hugging the soccer ace
Similar to his father the little boy looked adorable in a backwards cap, a bright orange T-shirt and a pair of flip flops.
Didn't shirk on childcare: Cristiano was seen carrying his son around during the day
I'll take care of you: The football ace was pictured cleaning up his son's face as the boy sat in his lap
Leo Messi’s son, less than a week old, is already a member of a team’s official fan club
On Sunday, Thiago Messi was officially inducted as a
member of the Newell's Old Boys supporters club in Argentina. That's not
particularly surprising, considering the fact that his now uber-famous
Dad is a former Newell's Old Boys youth team player and lifelong fan of
the club.
What is rather odd is that Thiago Messi's official induction came on Sunday, for a rather simple reason: Thiago Messi was less than four days old at the time.
Leo Messi may be a protege, but there's no way his son is so remarkable that he came out of the womb with an ability to write and fully formed fan affinity.
As it was, Thiago Messi was officially registered as a "socio" of Newell's by the fans themselves. The infant was given club number 2,881,152 with his registration, making him almost the 3 millionth official Newell's fan. The youngest Messi's fan affiliation was first noted on Twitter, where photos of his welcome banner swirled around late Sunday night, and was then reported by Barcelona-based sports newspaper El Mundo Deportivo.
Thiago Messi, still less than a week old, in a Barcelona shirt
If they'd waited a few more years, they might even have been able to make young Thiago number 3 million himself.
Naturally, soccer fandom is manic in South America, with Brazil and Argentina leading that charge. And of the Argentinian clubs, Newell's Old Boys us renowned for its loyal, ferocious support.
Meanwhile, a Barcelona-backing newspaper had also presented the elder Messi with an infant "Thiago, 10" Barcelona shirt before he was even born, trying to keep the Blaugrana in the driver's seat to land his eventual services ... if he ever decides to play soccer at all (seems likely, no?).
Still, registering an infant, even one as famous as Thiago Messi, at four days old is a bit over the top. Then again, if he has even a drop of the athletic genius of his father, little Thiago's socio membership may prove to be something far more than symbolic. IT could be future-changing for his club.
No holding one's breath until then, though. After all, at the very, very, most ridiculously early, such a moment would still be years away.
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