INTERNATIONAL FOOTBALL WEEKEND: HEADLINES
Bale: We can beat England - Various sources
The Chemist Says: Gareth, you might be dreaming a sweet dream on this on, BUT, with the England team being pre-occupied with internal matters of captaincy, their focus (and morale) might just be dislodged and disrupted enough to help Bale & Co cause quite the upset. It is football after all...
INTERNATIONAL FOOTBALL WEEKEND: FIXTURES
Saturday, March 26th
& here are the international sports shorts
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People People! It's about that time...to see what's happening in the international sporting state of mind. And the big stories for FURAHIDAAAY 18th March are...
UEFA Champions League quarter-final draw
The deed has been done and the match-ups have been made! Here are the quarter-final clashes in this seasons UEFA Champions League:
For y'all with iffy eye sight, the quarter-finals are:
Be sure to check back in the following days and weeks as I preview each match with 'un-matched' analysis!!
ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE - The Fixtures
Football peopleeeeeeeeeee, here's the rundown of who's playing who this weekend:
Saturday 19th March
Sunday 20th March
Match of the weekend: Chelsea v Man City
Having seemingly ended a dismal run of form, Chelsea will approach this game with increased optimism and bite; Playing at home being an added advantage. However, with the amount of chances missed in their mid-week champions league clash, Chelsea will be fully aware that such wastefull finishing cannot be afforded against a Manchester City team that boasts strength from defense to attack, and that has beat them already this season. Meanwhile, one cannot dismiss Man City's inconsistencies and this could be their downfall. All in all, with both teams' squad strength virtually 100% and both still vying to hoist the Premier League trophy come May, I can only forsee a heated exchange.
The Chemists Prediction: Chelsea 2 - 2 Man City
La Liga and Bundesliga match highlights:
I'll be brutally honest, most if not all of you care very little for the Spanish and German football leagues. And because of that, I'll just be highlighting the big clashes of the weekend in both leagues. Check em out!!
La Liga: Saturday 19th March
Bundesliga: Saturday 19th March
Sunday 20th March
And now, in other sporting news....
Wats shakin good people?! On this Tuesday, this is wats popping and locking in the sporting world!
LOCAL SPORTS SCENE
Mbwana Leads Simba To Victory - The Guardian
Mbwana Samata scored 3 out of the 4 goals that Simba crushed Mtibwa with. 4-1 was the final score, but the match belonged Mbwana who lifted up his team and lit up the crowd with the 3 goals.
TWENDE!
Kenyans Dominate Kili Marathon - The Guardian
Another Kili Marathon gone and another Kenyan marathon triumph. Yes, in the classic Kenyan 1-2-3 marathon finish, Michael Kamau finish ahead of two of his countrymen.
The more Kenyans (and Ethiopians for that matter) win marathons, the more I suspect that marathon's didn't originate in Greece.
TWENDE!
LETS GET INTERNATIONAL
Carling Cup Final - Arsenal 1 - 2 Birmingham (27/02/11)
To some, probably many, the picture above was almost certainly not going to happen. Arsenal, after waiting over 5 years for a trophy, would squander what might be their best chance of winning silverware?? NEVER! This argument has some credit to it, save for its flip side; That Birmingham hadn't won anything more than a relegation battle since 1963. Yep, since the days Gadhafi first took power, which was a loooooooong time ago! So based on the aforementioned argument, Birmingham would want it waaaaaay more than Arsenal.
Nevertheless, I don't think that Arsenal were not to up to the task or underestimated their opponent, no. My belief is that nerves got the better of them. But, why focus on the losers when we should focus on the victors? Birmingham played a strong and tactical game. By playing to their strengths (and Arsenal's weaknesses) they got the lead. Arsenal pulled back soon after and if it wasn't for Birmingham goalie Ben Foster, it could've gotten a lot worse for them. Then again, after having a penalty (& what would've had to have been a red card) ruled out, they deserved some luck, which they were granted with winning goal after a farcical f*** up in the Arsenal defense.
Nonetheless, after all is said and done, what's lost has been lost and what's won has been won! CONGRATS TO BIRMINGHAM
Europe's Top Match:
Bayern Munich 1 - 3 Borussia Dortmund
'No chance', 'not gonna happen!!'. These were just some of the sentiments that Bayern faithful shared in regards to a Dortmund win before the weekend's top European tie took place. On the other hand, the Dortmund coach responded simply by saying, 'my mother told me I should be humble'. Bayern should've taken heed of those words. Not only did they lose, but they lost miserably. Despite having the most of the ball possession, it didn't amount to much. After all, what's the point of having the ball if you do nothing productive with it? Swift attacking and counter attacking football played by Dortumund was simply unmatched by a Bayern Team who were tactically and frankly, second best.
PREMIER LEAGUE MATCH OF THE WEEK - Part UNO
Chelsea vs Man Utd
Being a more objective Man Utd fan, I will try not to be biased at all in this pre-match review. So let it begin...GLORY GLORY MAN UNIIIIIIIIITED, GLORY GLORY MAN UNIIIIIIIIITED! Chelsea suck, Chelski's crap, they should just forfeit the match!
Alright, now that I've got that out of the way, tonight its a big one; Chelsea vs Man Utd. Two teams that once had an amicable relationship but that all went out the window after arrival of Mourinho. Chelsea haven't looked back since, maintaining their status as one of Englands best teams. Man Utd haven't looked back either, not since 1990-91 season when the dominance began. But that's neither here nor there. The focus is tonight's match, the present, the now. And here are the basics:
& IN OTHER SPORTING NEWS....
European Championship Qualifying
Armenia v Russia, GpB, 18:00
Wales v England, GpG, 18:00
Bulgaria v Switzerland, GpG, 19:45
Georgia v Croatia, GpF, 20:00
Cyprus v Iceland, GpH, 21:00
Israel v Latvia, GpF, 21:05
Bosnia-Hercegovina v Romania, GpD, 21:15
Albania v Belarus, GpD, 22:00
Andorra v Slovakia, GpB, 22:00
Germany OFF Azerbaijan, GpA, 22:00
Germany v Kazakhstan, GpA, 22:00
Norway v Denmark, GpH, 2:00
Malta v Greece, GpF, 22:30
Rep of Ireland v FYR Macedonia, GpB, 22:45
Friendly
Panama v Bolivia, 05:00
Colombia v Ecuador, 20:00
Portugal v Chile, 23:45
Mexico v Paraguay, 24:00
USA v Argentina, 02:00
Sunday 27th March
Friendly
Scotland vs Brazil, 17:00
- Nadal and Wozniacki triumph in Indian Wells championship - BBC
- Navratilova tells Andy Murray to 'toughen up' to win grand-slams - BBC
- Portland Trailblazers run rampant on Washington Wizards with 111 - 76 victory - NBA.com
- Kobe and Co halt Suns' in tripple-overtime thriller - NBA.com
________________________________________________________________________________
People People! It's about that time...to see what's happening in the international sporting state of mind. And the big stories for FURAHIDAAAY 18th March are...
UEFA Champions League quarter-final draw
The deed has been done and the match-ups have been made! Here are the quarter-final clashes in this seasons UEFA Champions League:
For y'all with iffy eye sight, the quarter-finals are:
- Real Madrid vs Tottenham Hotspurs
- Chelsea vs Man Utd
- FC Barcelona vs Shakhtar Donetsk
- FC Internazionale vs FC Schalke 04
Be sure to check back in the following days and weeks as I preview each match with 'un-matched' analysis!!
ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE - The Fixtures
Football peopleeeeeeeeeee, here's the rundown of who's playing who this weekend:
Saturday 19th March
| Time | Home | Away | Venue | |
| 12:45 GMT | Tottenham Hotspur | v | West Ham United | White Hart |
| 15:00 GMT | Aston Villa | v | Wolverhampton Wanderers | Villa Park |
| 15:00 GMT | Blackburn Rovers | v | Blackpool | Ewood Park |
| 15:00 GMT | Manchester United | v | Bolton Wanderers | Old Trafford |
| 15:00 GMT | Stoke City | v | Newcastle United | Britannia Stadium |
| 15:00 GMT | West Bromwich Albion | v | Arsenal | The Hawthorns |
| 15:00 GMT | Wigan Athletic | v | Birmingham | DW Stadium |
| 17:30 GMT | Everton | v | Fulham |
Sunday 20th March
| Time | Home | Away | Venue | |
| 13:30 GMT | Sunderland | v | Liverpool | Stadium of Light |
| 16:00 GMT | Chelsea | v | Manchester City |
Match of the weekend: Chelsea v Man City
Having seemingly ended a dismal run of form, Chelsea will approach this game with increased optimism and bite; Playing at home being an added advantage. However, with the amount of chances missed in their mid-week champions league clash, Chelsea will be fully aware that such wastefull finishing cannot be afforded against a Manchester City team that boasts strength from defense to attack, and that has beat them already this season. Meanwhile, one cannot dismiss Man City's inconsistencies and this could be their downfall. All in all, with both teams' squad strength virtually 100% and both still vying to hoist the Premier League trophy come May, I can only forsee a heated exchange.
The Chemists Prediction: Chelsea 2 - 2 Man City
La Liga and Bundesliga match highlights:
I'll be brutally honest, most if not all of you care very little for the Spanish and German football leagues. And because of that, I'll just be highlighting the big clashes of the weekend in both leagues. Check em out!!
La Liga: Saturday 19th March
| 19:00 GMT | Barcelona | v | Getafe | Camp Nou |
| 21:00 GMT | Atlético Madrid | v | Real Madrid | Vicente Calderón |
Bundesliga: Saturday 19th March
| 17:30 GMT | Borussia Dortmund | v | Mainz | Signal Iduna Park |
Sunday 20th March
| Time | Home | Away | Venue | |
| 14:30 GMT | Bayer Leverkusen | v | Schalke 04 | BayArena |
And now, in other sporting news....
- Teams and drivers ready themselves for F1 Grand Prix opener in Australia next week - bbc.co.uk
- Mens tennis world number 1 Rafael Nadal is through to BNP Indian Wells semi-finals - bbc.co.uk
- Womens Tennis world number 1 Caroline Wozniacki faces Maria Sharapova in BNP Indian Wells semi finals - bbc.co.uk
- Chicago Bulls beat New Jersey Nets 84 - 73 for 8th straight win - nba.com
& thats the sports folks!!
Wats shakin good people?! On this Tuesday, this is wats popping and locking in the sporting world!
LOCAL SPORTS SCENE
Mbwana Leads Simba To Victory - The Guardian
Mbwana Samata scored 3 out of the 4 goals that Simba crushed Mtibwa with. 4-1 was the final score, but the match belonged Mbwana who lifted up his team and lit up the crowd with the 3 goals.
TWENDE!
Kenyans Dominate Kili Marathon - The Guardian
Another Kili Marathon gone and another Kenyan marathon triumph. Yes, in the classic Kenyan 1-2-3 marathon finish, Michael Kamau finish ahead of two of his countrymen.
The more Kenyans (and Ethiopians for that matter) win marathons, the more I suspect that marathon's didn't originate in Greece.
TWENDE!
LETS GET INTERNATIONAL
Carling Cup Final - Arsenal 1 - 2 Birmingham (27/02/11)
To some, probably many, the picture above was almost certainly not going to happen. Arsenal, after waiting over 5 years for a trophy, would squander what might be their best chance of winning silverware?? NEVER! This argument has some credit to it, save for its flip side; That Birmingham hadn't won anything more than a relegation battle since 1963. Yep, since the days Gadhafi first took power, which was a loooooooong time ago! So based on the aforementioned argument, Birmingham would want it waaaaaay more than Arsenal.
Nevertheless, I don't think that Arsenal were not to up to the task or underestimated their opponent, no. My belief is that nerves got the better of them. But, why focus on the losers when we should focus on the victors? Birmingham played a strong and tactical game. By playing to their strengths (and Arsenal's weaknesses) they got the lead. Arsenal pulled back soon after and if it wasn't for Birmingham goalie Ben Foster, it could've gotten a lot worse for them. Then again, after having a penalty (& what would've had to have been a red card) ruled out, they deserved some luck, which they were granted with winning goal after a farcical f*** up in the Arsenal defense.
Nonetheless, after all is said and done, what's lost has been lost and what's won has been won! CONGRATS TO BIRMINGHAM
Europe's Top Match:
Bayern Munich 1 - 3 Borussia Dortmund
PREMIER LEAGUE MATCH OF THE WEEK - Part UNO
Chelsea vs Man Utd
Being a more objective Man Utd fan, I will try not to be biased at all in this pre-match review. So let it begin...GLORY GLORY MAN UNIIIIIIIIITED, GLORY GLORY MAN UNIIIIIIIIITED! Chelsea suck, Chelski's crap, they should just forfeit the match!
Alright, now that I've got that out of the way, tonight its a big one; Chelsea vs Man Utd. Two teams that once had an amicable relationship but that all went out the window after arrival of Mourinho. Chelsea haven't looked back since, maintaining their status as one of Englands best teams. Man Utd haven't looked back either, not since 1990-91 season when the dominance began. But that's neither here nor there. The focus is tonight's match, the present, the now. And here are the basics:
- If Chelsea lose, just like Mubarak did with the presidency, they can kiss the premier league goodbye.
- If Chelsea win, just like Gadhafi's doing with the presidency, they will vow to fight to the end.
- If Man U win, they'll virtually have one less team to worry about in regards to the Premier League title.
- If Man U draw, they'll virtually have one less team to worry about in regards to the Premier League Title
- If Man U lose, well, I don't have much input here being that it's not going to happen ;) (Yes, I said I'd be unbiased. Have you never heard of a 'joke' before??
In all seriousness however, this match, 'on paper', is going to be a close encounter. Both teams want the victory, both teams are capable of the victory but obviously both cant have it. With a few injuries for both sides (Alex and Benayoun for Chelsea; Anderson, Evans, Valencia, Park and Ferdinand for Man U), both still have strong teams to field. The biggest worry as a Man Utd fan is not our record of not having beaten Chelsea at Stamford bridge since 2002. That's a slight concern. My worry is how Torres always runs riot against Man U, mainly Vidic. Add in the fact that his season has been one where he's played as if blind, he might just see the light in this one.
Score Prediction: Chelsea 1 - 2 Man Utd
& IN OTHER SPORTING NEWS....
- West Ham 3 - 1 Liverpool; King Kenny's human after all
- Fulham 1 - 1 Man City; Balotelli scores to help his ego out-grow the whole in the o-zone layer
- Djokovic defeats Federer in Dubai C'ship Final
