Newcastle Akan Hadapi Arsenal

Berita Bola : http://samba-dancer.blogspot.com/
(Liga Italia,Liga Inggris, Liga Spanyol, Liga Jerman, Liga Indonesia, Bola dunia, Pilaa FA, Copa del Ray)


Piala FA
Newcastle - setelah mengatasi perlawanan Stoke dengan kemenangan 4-1, Newcastle United bakal menghadapi Arsenal di babak keempat Piala FA . Sementara Manchester City melaju usai menundukkan West Ham 1-0.

Newcastle hanya bermain imbang tanpa gol,Dalam partai pertama di kandang Stoke, sehingga baru bisa memastikan tiket lolos pada Kamis (17/1/2008) dinihari WIB, dalam laga replay di kandang sendiri. Newcastle sudah dinanti Arsenal di babak keempat Piala FA.

Bermain di St James' Park, Michael Owen, Claudio Cacapa, James Milner dan Damien Duff sukses menjebol gawang Stoke yang hanya bisa mencetak satu gol hiburan lewat Liam Lawrence menjelang pertandingan tuntas.

Owen mencetak gol pembuka Toon Army di menit kedelapan setelah meneruskan tandukan kepala Mark Viduka dari tiang jauh. Unggul satu gol Newcastle malah kehilangan satu pemain usai Belozoglu Emre dikartu merah di menit 29.

Akan tetapi itu tidak mengurangi ketajaman Magpies yang mampu menambah gol pada menit 31. Diawali sepak pojok, tandukan Cacapa ke tiang dekat tak mampu diantisipasi kiper lawan.

Tuan rumah kembali menambah gol di menit 68 melalui Milner yang sukses melewati hadangan pemain lawan. Delapan menit berselang Duff membuat kedudukan jadi 4-0 setelah menerima sodoran bola dari Charles N'Zogbia.

Semenit menjelang bubaran tendangan jarak jauh Lawrence menjadi satu-satunya gol balasan Stoke.

Di City of Manchester Stadium, City menyudahi perlawanan West Ham lewat gol tunggal Blumer Elano. Pada laga pertama, The Hammers sukses menahan imbang City tanpa gol di Upton Park.

Gol kemenangan The Citizens baru lahir di menit 73. Umpan silang Martin Petrov dari sayap kiri diteruskan dengan tandukan kepala Rolando Bianchi ke arah tiang jauh. Bola lantas disambar oleh kepala Elano untuk menjebol gawang West Ham.

Di babak keempat, City akan menghadapi Sheffield United.

Hasil Pertandingan Replay Babak Ketiga Piala FA Kamis (17/1/2008) dinihari WIB:

Man City vs West Ham 1-0
Newcastle vs Stoke 4-1
Havant & Waterlooville vs Swansea 4-2
Hereford vs Tranmere 1-0

Susunan Pemain:

Newcastle: Given; Carr, Taylor, Cacapa (Rozehnal '71), Jose Enrique, Milner, Emre, N'Zogbia (LuaLua '79), Duff, Viduka (Carroll '72), Owen.

Stoke: Simonsen; Zakuani, Shawcross, Cort, Delap (Dickinson '78), Lawrence, Eustace (Pulis '78), Pugh, Fuller, Cresswell, Parkin (Diao '62)

Man City: Hart; Corluka, Richards, Dunne, Ball, Hamann, Ireland, Elano, Castillo (Bianchi '34), Petrov, Vassell (Gelson '81)

West Ham: Green; Neill, Ferdinand, Upson, McCartney, Ljungberg (Faubert '62), Bowyer, Noble, Etherington, Boa Morte (Cole '70), Ashton

Madrid di Singkirkan Mallorca

Berita Bola : http://samba-dancer.blogspot.com/
(Liga Italia,Liga Inggris, Liga Spanyol, Liga Jerman, Liga Indonesia, Bola dunia, Pilaa FA, Copa del Ray)

Copa del Rey
Madrid - Aksi Real Madrid di Copa del Rey hanya sampai babak 16 besar. Pimpinan klasemen La Liga ini akhirnya harus tersingkir setelah dikalahkan Real Mallorca 0-1.

Gelandang Argentina Ariel Ibagaza sukses mencetak satu-satunya gol ke gawang Madrid yang dikawal kiper Jerzy Dudek. Kemenangan tersebut membuat Mallorca unggul agregat 3-1 dan memastikan langkahnya ke babak perempat final.

Pupus sudah harapan Madrid untuk mengejar gelar Copa del Rey. Skuad besutan Bernd Schuster tertinggal 1-2 di leg pertama. Namun Madrid justru kembali menderita kekalahan setelah kalah 0-1 di Santiago Bernabeu, Kamis (17/1/2008) dinihari WIB.

Lawan Mallorca selanjutnya adalah finalis tahun lalu, Getafe. Klub yang pernah dilatih Schuster, lolos ke perempat final setelah mengalahkan klub papan bawah La Liga Levante 1-0 sehingga membuat agregat menjadi 4-0.

Valencia juga membuka peluang mengejar gelar Copa del Rey. Kemenangan 2-1 atas Real Betis memastikan skuad besutan Ronald Koeman ini melaju ke babak perempat final setelah unggul agregat 4-2.

Sementara Villarreal memerlukan gol saat perpanjangan waktu dari striker Italia Giuseppe Rossi guna mengatasi Recreativo Huelva 2-0. Hasil tersebut membawa Villarreal unggul agregat 2-1 untuk maju ke perempat final.

Racing Santander berhasil mengatasi Real Zaragoza 4-2 guna unggul agregat 5-3. Sementara Espanyol akhirnya berhasil mengalahkan Athletic Bilbao lewat adu penalti 4-3 setelah kedudukan agregat kedua tim tetap bertahan 2-2 hingga usai perpanjangan waktu.

Berita Bola - Persema Ajukan Dana Rp 15 MIliar, akibat Prestasi Jeblok

Malang - Pemerintah Kota (Pemkot) Malang tetap mengajukan anggaran sebesar Rp 15 Miliar untuk klub tersebut berkompetisi musim depan, Meski Persema Malang tidak lolos ke Liga Super 2008,

"Draft anggaran telah diajukan ke dewan, kita menunggu keputusan dewan," kata Manager Persema sekaligus Sekretaris Kota Malang, Bambang DH Suyono, Jumat (4/1/2007).

Wakil ketua DPRD Kota Malang Subur Triono menyatakan akan mempertimbangkan usulan dana Persema sesuai kaidah hukum yang berlaku. "Kita akan mempelajari, apakah dana Persema ini tidak melanggar aturan yang sudah ada," kilahnya.


Namun, ia juga mengaku kecewa dengan prestasi Persema selama ini. Pasalnya dengan dana besar, Persema tidak mampu menunjukkan perstasi optimal. "Anggaran yang dikeluarkan harus imbang dengan prestasi dong," tegasnya.

Manajemen Persema seolah tidak menghiraukan Peraturan Menteri Dalam Negeri (Permendagri) nomor 59 tahun 2007 tentang Perubahan Atas Peraturan Menteri Dalam Negeri Nomor 13 Tahun 2006 tentang Pedoman Pengelolaan Keuangan Daerah.

Dalam Permendagri itu disebutkan klub sepakbola dilarang menggunakan dana dari Anggaran Pendapatan dan Belanja Daerah (APBD). Selain itu, Pemkot Malang juga menyiasatinya dengan rencana membentuk Dinas Pemuda dan Olahraga (Dispora). Melalui Dispora, mereka berharap dana yang dicairkan ke Persema sah secara hukum.

Dikhawatirkan bila terus dimanjakan dengan dana APBD, prestasi Persema tidak akan berkembang. Untuk itu, Persema diharapkan juga menggandeng pihak ketiga untuk mendukung biaya kompetisi dan Subur menyebut target yang dibebankan Persema selalu gagal.

Berita Bola - Jose Mourinho sudah punya peminat?

Munich - Jose Mourinho sudah punya peminat lain yang reputasinya sangat hebat, yakni Bayern Munich. Dari dua syarat yang diajukan Franz Beckenbauer, tinggal satu yang belum ia penuhi.

Bayern rupanya mensyaratkan dua hal untuk calon arsitek baru mereka, yang ditekankan punya kualitas tinggi. Pertama, sang manajer haruslah seorang ahli taktik yang sudah berpengalaman. Kedua, orang itu bisa berbicara bahasa Jerman.

"Mourinho? Kenapa tidak? Dia masih punya waktu sampai musim panas untuk mengambil kursus bahasa Jerman," ujar Beckenbauer.

Dalam wawancaranya dengan harian Bild, presiden Hollywood FC itu menyebut nama Mourinho sebagai salah satu sosok yang diminati sebagai pelatih Bayern musim depan, setelah Ottmar Hitzfeld memutuskan pergi di akhir musim ini.

Soal pengalaman, Mourinho tentu sudah masuk hitungan. Hanya saja ia memang belum bisa berbahasa Jerman. Namun ia pernah mengatakan dirinya tertarik untuk melengkapi kemampuan multibahasanya dengan Jerman dan Italia, setelah lancar berbicara Inggris, Spanyol, Prancis, dan tentu saja Portugis.

Ia saat ini disebut-sebut sedang ditunggui AC Milan dan Barcelona apabila Carlo Ancelotti dan Frank Rijkaard gagal memenuhi ekspektasi dua klub tersebut di akhir musim. Sejak tak lagi bekerja untuk Chelsea, Mourinho sempat ditawari melatih tim nasional Inggris, tapi menolak.

Barca vs Mallorca ( 2-0)

Barcelona mengawali tahun 2008 dengan hasil positif. Bertandang ke Real Mallorca, El Barca membawa pulang poin maksimal setelah meraih kemenangan 2-0.

Tambahan tiga poin belum mengubah posisi Barcelona di posisi dua klasemen. Dengan poin 37, skuad besutan Frank Rijkaard kini terpaut empat angka dari Real Madrid, yang baru akan bertanding besok menghadapi Real Zaragoza, di puncak klasemen.

Tampil tanpa diperkuat Ronaldinho, Thierry Henry dan Deco di awal laga, Barcelona tak mampu mengembangkan permainan yang membuat mereka kesulitan menembus pertahanan Mallorca. Di ONO Estadi, Minggu (6/1/2008), tuan rumah memberi perlawanan ekstra sengit.

Tak meraih satu poin pun membuat posisi Mallorca yang kini duduk di urutan sembilan terancam di salip tim lainnya. Setidaknya ada empat tim yang bisa menggeser mereka jika malam nanti mampu meraih poin maksimal.

Peluang pertama pun didapat Mallorca melalui Daniel Guiza yang menerima umpan dari Ariel Ibagaza. Sukses mengecoh bek Barca di kotak penalti, drive kaki kanan Guiza sebenarnya tak mampu dijangkau Victor Valdes, tapi gol urung tercipta karena bola cuma bergulir tipis di sisi gawang Barcelona.

Berdiri di muka gawang saat menerima umpan Eto'o, sepakan gelandang internasional Spanyol itu melambung jauh dari sasaran. Peluang terbaik Barca itu datang jelang turun minum melalui Xavi.

Saat Samuel Eto'o cs tak mampu menembus pertahanan Mallorca, skuad besutan Gregorio Manzano kembali membuka peluang di pertengahan babak pertama. Diawali penetrasi Jonas Manuel Gutierrez di sisi kanan, bola yang di-crossing-nya jatuh di kaki Basinas yang langsung melepaskan tembakan di tepi kotak penalti. Tapi lagi-lagi bola masih tipis menyamping dari sasaran.

Di awal babak kedua Barcelona masih belum menemukan permainan terbaiknya.

Masuknya Henry sesaat setelah gol Marquez membuat permainan Barcelona lebih hidup. Striker Prancis itu bahkan sempat mencetak gol di menit 75 memaksimalkan umpan Puyol, namun kemudian dianulir karena dianggap dalam posisi offside.

Semenit berselang aksi individu Henry kembali membuat pendukung tuan rumah menahan napas. Usai melewati dua bek lawan di kotak penalti, tendangan yang dilepaskan eks pemain Arsenal itu hanya meleset beberapa sentimeter dari tiang jauh gawang German Lux.

Dalam posisi tertinggal Mallorca terus berupaya menyamakan kedudukan. Tapi bukannya gol penyama yang datang, justru gawang mereka kembali jebol oleh Eto'o. Menerima umpan pendek dari Henry, striker Kamerun itu mencetak gol indah saat tendangan melengkung yang dilepaskannya dari jarak jauh dan gagal diantisipasi Lux.

Susunan Pemain
Mallorca: German Lux, Fernando Navarro, David Navarro, Fernando Varela, Juan Arango, Angelos Basinas (Trejo '71), Jonas Manuel Gutierrez, Ariel Ibagaza (Valero '79), Nunes, Guillermo Pereyra, Daniel Guiza (Castano '49)

Barcelona: Víctor Valdes, Eric Abidal, Rafael Marquez, Gabriel Milito, Carles Puyol, Giovanni, Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Gnegneri Yaya Toure (Edmilson '78), Samuel Eto'o, Eidur Gudjohnsen (Krkic '45)

Berita Bola - Fans MU - "Mereka sangat fantastis"

Birmingham - Kalau minimnya dukungan fans sempat bikin Sir Alex Ferguson meradang, perkembangan ini tak ayal membuatnya senang.Faktor "pemain ke-12" turut berperan dalam kemenangan Manchester United di Piala FA.

"Mereka sangat fantastis. Setiap kami datang ke Villa Park, apakah itu untuk semifinal Piala FA atau pertandingan di liga, mereka selalu siap memberikan dukungan dan itu membuat perubahan untuk tim," puji Fergie seperti dilansir situs resmi MU, Minggu (6/1/2008).

Bertanding di Villa Park yang jadi kandang Aston Villa, MU sepertinya serasa tak bermain di markas lawan. Riuh rendah dukungan sekitar tujuh ribu fans "Setan Merah" yang hadir di stadion rupanya cukup signifikan untuk mendongkrak moral pemain.

Hal ini berbeda dengan ketika Red Devils bertanding melawan Birmingham di ajang Premiership pertengahan pekan lalu. Meski bermain di Old Trafford, kala itu Fergie mencak-mencak karena suporternya kurang "bunyi".

"Saya sudah menegaskan itu pekan lalu (usai laga melawan Birmingham). Dan saat fans kami seperti hari ini, kami tak (akan) mengecewakan mereka," tegas manajer asal Skotlandia itu.

Acungan jempol buat suporter MU yang rela melakukan perjalanan dari Manchester demi mendukung tim kesayangan juga diberikan penyerangnya, Wayne Rooney.

"Itu adalah usaha fantastis dari para fans. Suasananya selalu bagus. Saya menikmati bermain di Villa Park dan kami jelas pantas meraih kemenangan di sini," tandas Rooney yang mencetak gol kedua MU dalam kemenangan 2-0 atas Villa.

"Itu (dukungannya) sangat brilian. Dalam pertandingan Liga Primer beberapa tim berusaha keras untuk mengisi kursi pendukung tandang. Kami jelas mendapat tiket lebih banyak dalam Piala (FA) tapi kami mampu mengisinya lagi."

Tekuk Villa berkat Rooney dan Ronaldo

Birmingham - Lewat gol dari dua bintang MU, The Red Devils menekuk Aston Villa 2-0. Cristiano Ronaldo dan Wayne Rooney mengantar Manchester United melangkah ke babak keempat Piala FA.

Anderson menggiring bola dari lapangan tengah sendirian sebelum akhirnya menembakkan bola ke gawang Villa. Sial baginya, aksinya tersebut masih bisa dihentikan oleh kiper Villa, Scott Carson.Dalam laga yang disaksikan langsung oleh Fabio Capello itu, MU lebih dulu memperoleh peluang pada menit empat.

Bertanding di Villa Park, Minggu (6/1/2008) dinihari WIB, baik Villa maupun MU sama-sama menurunkan skuad terbaiknya. Namun "Setan Merah" tampil tanpa Carlos Tevez yang tengah didera cedera sementara Wayne Rooney mengawali laga di bangku cadangan.

John Carew yang berhasil melewati hadangan Rio Ferdinand melepaskan sebuah tendangan kaki kiri, namun usahanya tersebut masih menyamping di sisi kanan gawang Edwin Van der Sar. itu terjadi di Tiga puluh menit berselang giliran tuan rumah yang mengancam.

Sontekan pelan winger asal Wales itu masih menyamping tipis dari sebelah kiri gawang Villa, padahal dia berdiri tanpa kawalan dan menghadapi gawang yang kosong itu terjadi Dua menit menjelang turun minum Ryan Giggs gagal memanfaatkan bola muntah hasil tendangan Ronaldo yang diblok Carson.

Ronaldo berusah dengan melakukan sebuah tendangan keras urung berbuah gol karena masih melambung jauh dari gawang Villa. itu terjadi di babak kedua diawali Ronaldo yang mencoba peruntungannya di menit 56.

Giliran Ashley Young yang menjajal barisan pertahanan MU, dari luar kotak penalti ia melepaskan tendangan menyusur tanah, tapi lagi-lagi tak ada gol tercipta karena tendangannya tersebut masih menyamping dari gawang MU. itu terjadi di Menit 71.

Setelah Rooney menyia-nyiakan peluangnya usai menerima operan dari Ronaldo dari sisi kanan di menit 79, tim tamu akhirnya membuka keunggulan semenit berselang. Sebuah operan Giggs di sisi kanan pertahanan Villa berhasil dimanfaatkan oleh Ronaldo menjadi gol pertama MU.

Dalam posisi tertinggal Villa terlihat berupaya menyamakan kedudukan. Sebuah peluang pun berhasil di kreasikan pada menit 85 saat Gareth Barry melepaskan sebuah umpan lambungyang mampu disambut Craig Gardner dengan kepalanya, namun arah bola masih jauh melambung di atas bidang sasaran.

Dua menit sebelum bubaran justru MU yang berhasil menambah keunggulan. Adalah Rooney yang mebuat gol tersebut melalui sebuah tendangan first time menyambut bola muntah hasil tendangan Ronaldo yang berhasil diblok bek Villa.


Susunan Pemain
Manchester United: Van der Sar, Brown, Evra, Ferdinand, Vidic, Carrick, Giggs, Anderson, Ronaldo, Park (Rooney '70), Saha(Hargreaves '74)

Aston Villa: Carson, Bouma (Gardner 84), Davies,Laursen, Mellberg, Barry,Petrov (Maloney 74), Reo-Coker, Agbonlahor,Carew (Moore 63), Young

Berita Bola - Tekuk Villa berkat Rooney dan Ronaldo Bawa MU

Birmingham - Lewat gol dari dua bintang MU, The Red Devils menekuk Aston Villa 2-0. Cristiano Ronaldo dan Wayne Rooney mengantar Manchester United melangkah ke babak keempat Piala FA.

Anderson menggiring bola dari lapangan tengah sendirian sebelum akhirnya menembakkan bola ke gawang Villa. Sial baginya, aksinya tersebut masih bisa dihentikan oleh kiper Villa, Scott Carson.Dalam laga yang disaksikan langsung oleh Fabio Capello itu, MU lebih dulu memperoleh peluang pada menit empat.

Bertanding di Villa Park, Minggu (6/1/2008) dinihari WIB, baik Villa maupun MU sama-sama menurunkan skuad terbaiknya. Namun "Setan Merah" tampil tanpa Carlos Tevez yang tengah didera cedera sementara Wayne Rooney mengawali laga di bangku cadangan.

John Carew yang berhasil melewati hadangan Rio Ferdinand melepaskan sebuah tendangan kaki kiri, namun usahanya tersebut masih menyamping di sisi kanan gawang Edwin Van der Sar. itu terjadi di Tiga puluh menit berselang giliran tuan rumah yang mengancam.

Sontekan pelan winger asal Wales itu masih menyamping tipis dari sebelah kiri gawang Villa, padahal dia berdiri tanpa kawalan dan menghadapi gawang yang kosong itu terjadi Dua menit menjelang turun minum Ryan Giggs gagal memanfaatkan bola muntah hasil tendangan Ronaldo yang diblok Carson.

Ronaldo berusah dengan melakukan sebuah tendangan keras urung berbuah gol karena masih melambung jauh dari gawang Villa. itu terjadi di babak kedua diawali Ronaldo yang mencoba peruntungannya di menit 56.

Dari luar kotak penalti ia melepaskan tendangan menyusur tanah, tapi lagi-lagi tak ada gol tercipta karena tendangannya tersebut masih menyamping dari gawang MU.Menit 71 giliran Ashley Young yang menjajal barisan pertahanan MU.

Setelah Rooney menyia-nyiakan peluangnya usai menerima operan dari Ronaldo dari sisi kanan di menit 79, tim tamu akhirnya membuka keunggulan semenit berselang. Sebuah operan Giggs di sisi kanan pertahanan Villa berhasil dimanfaatkan oleh Ronaldo menjadi gol pertama MU.

Dalam posisi tertinggal Villa terlihat berupaya menyamakan kedudukan. Sebuah peluang pun berhasil di kreasikan pada menit 85 saat Gareth Barry melepaskan sebuah umpan lambungyang mampu disambut Craig Gardner dengan kepalanya, namun arah bola masih jauh melambung di atas bidang sasaran.

Dua menit sebelum bubaran justru MU yang berhasil menambah keunggulan. Adalah Rooney yang mebuat gol tersebut melalui sebuah tendangan first time menyambut bola muntah hasil tendangan Ronaldo yang berhasil diblok bek Villa.


Susunan Pemain
Aston Villa: Carson, Bouma (Gardner 84), Davies,Laursen, Mellberg, Barry,Petrov (Maloney 74), Reo-Coker, Agbonlahor,Carew (Moore 63), Young

Manchester United: Van der Sar, Brown, Evra, Ferdinand, Vidic, Carrick, Giggs, Anderson, Ronaldo, Park (Rooney '70), Saha(Hargreaves '74)

Berita Bola - lini depan Rossoneri kini lengkap

Dubai - Menyusul debut Pato dalam waktu dekat, Ronaldo juga pulih dari cedera yang membuat lini depan Rossoneri kini lengkap, AC Milan bisa memandang lebih optimis di putaran kedua Seri A. .

Cedera yang terus menerpa Ronaldo dan izin bekerja yang belum dimiliki Alexandre Pato jadi penyebab minimnya stok penyerang Milan.Sepanjang paruh pertama musim ini, Milan dipaksa hanya mengandalkan Filippo Inzaghi dan Alberto Gilardino sebagai striker murni.

Namun dalam satu atau dua pekan mendatang Carlo Ancelotti akan memiliki opsi lebih banyak di samping Kaka yang biasa dia dorong ke depan. Setelah Pato mendapatkan izin kerjanya dan diyakini akan merumput saat menghadapi Napoli, kini kabar baik datang dari pulihnya cedera Ronaldo.

Diberitakan Channel4, Minggu (6/1/2007), Ronaldo juga dikabarkan sudah bisa melakukan sprint dan bahkan mencetak gol dalam sesi latihan tersebut.

Striker yang baru sekali merumput sepanjang musim 2007/2008 itu dikabarkan sudah ikut berlatih bersama skuad Milan yang kini berada di Dubai. Ini adalah kali pertama Sang Fenomena berlatih bersama sekaligus menggunakan bola sejak 27 November silam.

"(Kondisinya) semakin membaik," ungkap Ronaldo singkat pada wartawan.

Misi rasional yang bisa diraih Diavolo Rosso saat ini adalah masuk posisi empat besar klasemen demi tiket Liga Champions.Dengan jarak terpaut 25 poin dari Inter Milan di klasemen, Paolo Maldini cs terpaksa menghapus scudetto dari daftar target mereka.

Jadwal Pertandingan Liga Spanyol

Jadwal Pertandingan Liga Spanyol

No Tanggal Lapangan Pertandingan Skor
1 Minggu, 06/01/2008 Estadio Son Moix Mallorca vs Barcelona -
2 Minggu, 06/01/2008 Estadio Olimpico de Montjuic Espanyol vs Villareal -
3 Minggu, 06/01/2008 Estadio Riazor Deportivo La Coruna vs Atletico Madrid -
4 Minggu, 06/01/2008 Alfonso Perez Getafe vs Valladolid -
5 Minggu, 06/01/2008 Estadio Nueva Condomina Real Murcia vs Osasuna -
6 Minggu, 06/01/2008 Estadio El Sardinero Racing Santander vs Athletic Bilbao -
7 Minggu, 06/01/2008 Estadio El Nuevo Colombino Recreativo Huelva vs Almeria -
8 Minggu, 06/01/2008 Estadio Mestalla Valencia vs Levante -
9 Senin, 07/01/2008 Santiago Bernabeu Real Madrid vs Real Zaragoza -
10 Senin, 07/01/2008 Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Sevilla vs Real Betis -
11 Senin, 24/12/2007 Estadio San Mames Athletic Bilbao vs Real Murcia 1 - 1
12 Senin, 24/12/2007 Estadio Camp Nou Barcelona vs Real Madrid 0 - 1
13 Minggu, 23/12/2007 Vicente Calderon Atletico Madrid vs Espanyol 1 - 2
14 Minggu, 23/12/2007 Estadio El Sadar Osasuna vs Mallorca 3 - 1
15 Minggu, 23/12/2007 Estadio El Madrigal Villareal vs Recreativo Huelva 1 - 1
16 Minggu, 23/12/2007 Ciudad de Valencia Levante vs Deportivo La Coruna 0 - 1
17 Minggu, 23/12/2007 Estadio Jose Zorila Valladolid vs Real Betis 0 - 0
18 Minggu, 23/12/2007 Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Sevilla vs Racing Santander 4 - 1
19 Minggu, 23/12/2007 Estadio La Romareda Real Zaragoza vs Valencia 2 - 2
20 Sabtu, 22/12/2007 Estadio del Mediterraneo Almeria vs Getafe 0 - 2
21 Senin, 17/12/2007 Santiago Bernabeu Real Madrid vs Osasuna 2 - 0
22 Senin, 17/12/2007 Estadio El Nuevo Colombino Recreativo Huelva vs Atletico Madrid 0 - 0

Berita Bola - Jadwal Pertandingan Liga Italia

Jadwal Pertandingan


No Tanggal Lapangan Pertandingan Skor
1 Minggu, 13/01/2008 San Siro Napoli vs AC Milan - - -
2 Minggu, 13/01/2008 Stadio Luigi Ferraris Palermo vs Sampdoria - - -
3 Minggu, 13/01/2008 Stadio Olimpico Genoa vs Lazio - - -
4 Minggu, 13/01/2008 Stadio Ennio Tardini Fiorentina vs Parma - - -
5 Minggu, 13/01/2008 Artemio Franchi Inter vs Siena - - -
6 Minggu, 13/01/2008 Stadio San Elia Udinese vs Cagliari - - -
7 Minggu, 13/01/2008 Stadio Carlo Castellani Reggina vs Empoli - - -
8 Minggu, 13/01/2008 Atleti Azzurri d'Italia AS Roma vs Atalanta - - -
9 Minggu, 13/01/2008 Stadio Angelo Massimino Juventus vs Catania - - -
10 Minggu, 13/01/2008 Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino Livorno vs Torino - - -
11 Minggu, 23/12/2007 Stadio Artemio Franchi Cagliari vs Fiorentina 1 - 5
12 Minggu, 23/12/2007 Armando Picchi Atalanta vs Livorno 1 - 1
13 Minggu, 23/12/2007 Stadio Oreste Granillo Catania vs Reggina 1 - 3
14 Minggu, 23/12/2007 Stadio Friuli Empoli vs Udinese 2 - 2
15 Minggu, 23/12/2007 San Paolo Torino vs Napoli 1 - 1
16 Minggu, 23/12/2007 Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino Siena vs Juventus 0 - 2
17 Minggu, 23/12/2007 Renzo Barbera Lazio vs Palermo 2 - 2
18 Minggu, 23/12/2007 Stadio Giuseppe Meazza AC Milan vs Inter 1 - 2
19 Sabtu, 22/12/2007 Stadio Olimpico Sampdoria vs AS Roma 0 - 2
20 Sabtu, 22/12/2007 Stadio Luigi Ferraris Parma vs Genoa 0 - 1

Berita Bola - Jadwal Pertandingan Jadwal Pertandingan Premier League

Jadwal Pertandingan Premier League

No Tanggal Lapangan Pertandingan Skor
1 Sabtu, 12/01/2008 Emirates Stadium Arsenal vs Birmingham City -
2 Sabtu, 12/01/2008 Villa Park Aston Villa vs Reading -
3 Sabtu, 12/01/2008 Pride Park Stadium Derby County vs Wigan Athletic -
4 Sabtu, 12/01/2008 Goodison Park Everton vs Manchester City -
5 Sabtu, 12/01/2008 Riverside Stadium Middlesbrough vs Liverpool -
6 Sabtu, 12/01/2008 Upton Park West Ham United vs Fulham -
7 Sabtu, 12/01/2008 Old Trafford Manchester United vs Newcastle United -
8 Minggu, 13/01/2008 Stadium Of Light Sunderland vs Portsmouth -
9 Minggu, 13/01/2008 Reebok Stadium Bolton Wanderers vs Blackburn Rovers -
10 Senin, 14/01/2008 Stamford Bridge Chelsea vs Tottenham Hotspur -
11 Kamis, 03/01/2008 Anfield Liverpool vs Wigan Athletic 1 - 1
12 Kamis, 03/01/2008 St James Park Newcastle United vs Manchester City 0 - 2
13 Rabu, 02/01/2008 Ewood Park Blackburn Rovers vs Sunderland 1 - 0
14 Rabu, 02/01/2008 Reebok Stadium Bolton Wanderers vs Derby County 1 - 0
15 Rabu, 02/01/2008 Villa Park Aston Villa vs Tottenham Hotspur 2 - 1
16 Selasa, 01/01/2008 Riverside Stadium Middlesbrough vs Everton 0 - 2
17 Selasa, 01/01/2008 Madejski Stadium Reading vs Portsmouth 0 - 2
18 Selasa, 01/01/2008 Old Trafford Manchester United vs Birmingham City 1 - 0
19 Selasa, 01/01/2008 Emirates Stadium Arsenal vs West Ham United 2 - 0
20 Selasa, 01/01/2008 Craven Cottage Fulham vs Chelsea 1 - 2
21 Minggu, 30/12/2007 City of Manchester Stadium Manchester City vs Liverpool 0 - 0
22 Minggu, 30/12/2007 Pride Park Stadium Derby County vs Blackburn Rovers 1 - 2
23 Sabtu, 29/12/2007 Goodison Park Everton vs Arsenal 1 - 4
24 Sabtu, 29/12/2007 Fratton Park Portsmouth vs Middlesbrough 0 - 1
25 Sabtu, 29/12/2007 Stadium Of Light Sunderland vs Bolton Wanderers 3 - 1
26 Sabtu, 29/12/2007 JJB Stadium Wigan Athletic vs Aston Villa 1 - 2
27 Sabtu, 29/12/2007 White Hart Lane Tottenham Hotspur vs Reading 6 - 4
28 Sabtu, 29/12/2007 Upton Park West Ham United vs Manchester United 2 - 1
29 Sabtu, 29/12/2007 Stamford Bridge Chelsea vs Newcastle United 2 - 1
30 Sabtu, 29/12/2007 St Andrew's Birmingham City vs Fulham 1 - 1
31 Jumat, 28/12/2007 City of Manchester Stadium Manchester City vs Blackburn Rovers 2 - 2

Berita Bola - Klasemen Liga Jerman 2007/2008

Bundesliga
No. Klub M M S K SG Nilai
1. Bayern Munich 17 10 6 1 31 - 8 36
2. Werder Bremen 17 11 3 3 42 - 24 36
3. Hamburg SV 17 9 5 3 24 - 13 32
4. Bayer Leverkusen 17 9 3 5 32 - 16 30
5. Schalke 04 17 7 8 2 26 - 17 29
6. Karlsruher SC 17 8 4 5 19 - 20 28
7. Hannover 96 17 8 3 6 27 - 28 27
8. Stuttgart 17 8 1 8 24 - 25 25
9. Eintracht Frankfurt 17 5 8 4 19 - 23 23
10. Borussia Dortmund 17 6 3 8 26 - 30 21
11. Wolfsburg 17 5 5 7 29 - 30 20
12. Hertha Berlin 17 6 2 9 18 - 24 20
13. Bochum 17 5 4 8 25 - 26 19
14. Arminia Bielefeld 17 5 3 9 19 - 37 18
15. Hansa Rostock 17 5 2 10 16 - 26 17
16. Nurnberg 17 4 3 10 21 - 27 15
17. Energie Cottbus 17 3 6 8 17 - 27 15
18. Duisburg 17 4 1 12 14 - 26 13

Berita Bola - Klasemen Liga Spanyol 2007/2008

Liga Spanyol
No. Klub M M S K SG Nilai
1. Real Madrid 17 13 2 2 37 - 14 41
2. Barcelona 17 10 4 3 32 - 13 34
3. Espanyol 17 9 5 3 25 - 18 32
4. Villareal 17 10 2 5 30 - 24 32
5. Atletico Madrid 17 9 4 4 31 - 19 31
6. Racing Santander 17 7 5 5 16 - 19 26
7. Valencia 17 8 2 7 22 - 28 26
8. Sevilla 17 7 2 8 31 - 25 23
9. Mallorca 17 6 5 6 26 - 26 23
10. Real Zaragoza 17 5 6 6 29 - 28 21
11. Getafe 17 6 3 8 19 - 21 21
12. Osasuna 17 5 5 87 20 - 21 20
13. Recreativo Huelva 17 5 5 7 13 - 20 20
14. Athletic Bilbao 17 4 7 6 16 - 18 19
15. Real Murcia 17 4 7 6 14 - 20 19
16. Almeria 17 5 4 8 14 - 20 19
17. Valladolid 17 4 6 7 21 - 27 18
18. Real Betis 17 4 6 7 17 - 23 18
19. Deportivo La Coruna 17 4 5 8 16 - 24 17
20. Levante 17 2 1 14 11 - 33 7

Berita Bola - Klasemen Liga Inggris 2007/2008

Premier League
No. Klub M M S K SG Nilai
1. Arsenal 21 15 5 1 42 - 16 50
2. Manchester United 21 15 3 3 38 - 11 48
3. Chelsea 21 13 5 3 33 - 16 44
4. Manchester City 21 11 6 4 29 - 22 39
5. Liverpool 20 10 8 2 34 - 13 38
6. Everton 21 11 3 7 37 - 22 36
7. Aston Villa 21 10 6 5 37 - 27 36
8. Portsmouth 21 9 7 5 31 - 20 34
9. Blackburn Rovers 21 9 6 6 28 - 28 33
10. West Ham United 20 8 5 7 25 - 19 29
11. Tottenham Hotspur 21 6 6 9 42 - 38 24
12. Newcastle United 20 6 5 9 26 - 33 23
13. Reading 21 6 4 11 29 - 44 22
14. Bolton Wanderers 21 5 5 11 23 - 34 20
15. Middlesbrough 21 5 5 11 18 - 35 20
16. Birmingham City 21 5 4 12 22 - 32 19
17. Wigan Athletic 21 4 5 12 21 - 37 17
18. Sunderland 21 4 5 12 20 - 40 17
19. Fulham 20 2 9 9 22 - 36 15
20. Derby County 21 1 4 16 10 - 46 7

Berita Bola - Klasemen Liga Italia 2007/2008

Seri A
No. Klub M M S K SG Nilai
1. Inter 17 13 4 0 37 - 9 43
2. AS Roma 17 10 6 1 33 - 18 36
3. Juventus 17 10 5 2 35 - 15 35
4. Udinese 17 8 5 4 22 - 21 29
5. Fiorentina 17 7 7 3 26 - 16 28
6. Palermo 17 6 7 4 25 - 26 25
7. Napoli 17 6 5 6 24 - 22 23
8. Atalanta 16 5 7 4 23 - 21 22
9. Sampdoria 17 6 3 8 22 - 24 21
10. Catania 17 5 6 6 17 - 19 21
11. Genoa 17 4 7 6 16 - 23 19
12. AC Milan 14 4 6 4 21 - 12 18
13. Parma 17 4 6 7 19 - 23 18
14. Lazio 17 4 6 7 19 - 25 18
15. Torino 17 2 11 4 14 - 20 17
16. Livorno 16 3 6 7 18 - 27 15
17. Empoli 17 3 6 8 14 - 24 15
18. Siena 17 2 8 7 17 - 25 14
19. Reggina 16 2 7 7 12 - 25 13
20. Cagliari 17 2 4 11 13 - 32 10

Berita Bola - Top skor Liga Jerman 2007/2008

Jumlah Gol Nama Pemain
10 Diego Ribas da Cunha (Werder Bremen)
9 Miroslav Klose (Bayern Munich)
9 Rafael van der Vaart (Hamburg SV)
9 Luca Toni (Bayern Munich)
8 Mike Hanke (Hannover 96)
8 Stanislav Sestak (Bochum)
8 Mladen Petric (Borussia Dortmund)
7 Artur Wichniarek (Arminia Bielefeld)
7 Boubacar Sanogo (Werder Bremen)
7 Marko Pantelic (Hertha Berlin)
7 Mario Gomez (Stuttgart)
7 Hugo Almeida (Werder Bremen)
7 Theofanis Gekas (Bayer Leverkusen)
7 Ivica Olic (Hamburg SV)
6 Ioannis Amanatidis (Eintracht Frankfurt)
6 Szabolcs Huszti (Hannover 96)
5 Kevin Kuranyi (Schalke 04)
5 Stefan Kiessling (Bayer Leverkusen)
5 Florian Kringe (Borussia Dortmund)
5 Zvjezdan Misimovic (Nurnberg)
5 Ashkan Dejagah (Wolfsburg)
5 Tommy Bechmann (Bochum)
5 Manasseh Ishiaku (Duisburg)
5 Tamas Hajnal (Karlsruher SC)
5 Enrico Kern (Hansa Rostock)
5 Edin Dzeko (Wolfsburg)
5 Dimitar Rangelov (Energie Cottbus)
4 Sergej Barbarez (Bayer Leverkusen)
4 Marek Mintal (Nurnberg)
4 Tranquillo Barnetta (Bayer Leverkusen)
4 Markus Rosenberg (Werder Bremen)
4 Gerald Asamoah (Schalke 04)
4 Alex Meier (Eintracht Frankfurt)
4 Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich)
4 Solomon Okoronkwo (Hertha Berlin)
4 Dennis Sorensen (Energie Cottbus)
4 Marcin Mieciel (Bochum)
4 Angelos Charisteas (Nurnberg)
3 Cacau (Stuttgart)
3 Jacek Krzynowek (Wolfsburg)
3 Diego Klimowicz (Borussia Dortmund)
3 Peer Kluge (Nurnberg)
3 Christian Schulz (Hannover 96)
3 Christian Eigler (Arminia Bielefeld)
3 Thomas Hitzlsperger (Stuttgart)
3 Hamit Altintop (Bayern Munich)
3 Hamit Altintop (Bayern Munich)
3 Giovanni Federico (Borussia Dortmund)
3 Mario Eggimann (Karlsruher SC)
3 Sebastian Hahnge (Hansa Rostock)
3 Sebastian Freis (Karlsruher SC)
3 Grafite (Wolfsburg)
3 Christian Timm (Karlsruher SC)
2 Ivan Klasnic (Werder Bremen)
2 Maik Franz (Karlsruher SC)
2 Ervin Skela (Energie Cottbus)
2 Paolo Guerrero (Hamburg SV)
2 Klemen Lavric (Duisburg)
2 Ivica Grlic (Duisburg)
2 Nelson Valdez (Borussia Dortmund)
2 Heiko Westermann (Schalke 04)
2 Ze Roberto (Bayern Munich)
2 Manuel Friedrich (Bayer Leverkusen)
2 Sotirios Kyrgiakos (Eintracht Frankfurt)
2 Ronaldo Naldo (Werder Bremen)
2 Paul Freier (Bayer Leverkusen)
2 Andreas Wolf (Nurnberg)
2 Marcelo Bordon (Schalke 04)
2 Frank Fahrenhorst (Hannover 96)
2 Christian Gentner (Wolfsburg)
2 Simon Rolfes (Bayer Leverkusen)
2 Sergiu Radu (Wolfsburg)
2 Marcel Maltritz (Bochum)
2 Paulo Cesar Tinga (Borussia Dortmund)
2 Leon Andreasen (Werder Bremen)
2 Oliver Kirch (Arminia Bielefeld)
2 Ivan Rakitic (Schalke 04)
2 Orestes (Hansa Rostock)
2 Tomas Galasek (Nurnberg)
2 Daniel Imhof (Bochum)
2 Petri Pasanen (Werder Bremen)
2 Kai Bulow (Hansa Rostock)
2 Massimilian Porcello (Karlsruher SC)
2 Marcio Rafael Ferreira (Schalke 04)
2 Sergio Pinto (Hannover 96)
2 Roberto Hilbert (Stuttgart)
2 Bastian Reinhardt (Hamburg SV)
2 Jonas Kamper (Arminia Bielefeld)
2 Christian Bassila (Energie Cottbus)
2 Marcel Schaffer (Wolfsburg)
2 Ciprian Marica (Stuttgart)

Berita Bola - Top skor Liga Spanyol 2007/2008

umlah Gol Nama Pemain
10 Luiz Fabiano (Sevilla)
9 Diego Milito (Real Zaragoza)
8 Ruud van Nistelrooy (Real Madrid)
8 Raul Gonzalez (Real Madrid)
8 Daniel Guiza (Mallorca)
8 Kahveci Nihat (Villareal)
8 Ricardo Oliveira (Real Zaragoza)
8 Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
8 Raul Tamudo (Espanyol)
8 Frederic Kanoute (Sevilla)
7 Giuseppe Rossi (Villareal)
7 Sergio Aguero (Atletico Madrid)
6 Fernando Morientes (Valencia)
6 Robinho (Real Madrid)
6 Ronaldinho (Barcelona)
6 Wesley Sneijder (Real Madrid)
6 Diego Forlan (Atletico Madrid)
6 Alvaro Sanchez (Almeria)
6 Victor Manuel Fernandez Gutierrez (Valladolid)
5 Thierry Henry (Barcelona)
5 Luis Garcia (Espanyol)
5 Maxi Rodriguez (Atletico Madrid)
5 Juan Arango (Mallorca)
5 Fernando Baiano (Real Murcia)
5 Joseba Llorente (Valladolid)
5 Eduardo Gomes Dady (Osasuna)
5 Mariano Pavone (Real Betis)
4 Andres D'Alessandro (Real Zaragoza)
4 David Villa (Valencia)
4 Christian Rigano (Levante)
4 Aritz Aduritz (Athletic Bilbao)
4 Garcia Sergio (Real Zaragoza)
4 Ariel Ibagaza (Mallorca)
4 Carlos Martins (Recreativo Huelva)
4 Jorge Lopez Montana (Racing Santander)
3 Joseba Etxeberria (Athletic Bilbao)
3 David Silva (Valencia)
3 Simao Sabrosa (Atletico Madrid)
3 Raul Garcia (Atletico Madrid)
3 Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid)
3 Albert Riera (Espanyol)
3 Guillermo Franco (Villareal)
3 Jesus Navas (Sevilla)
3 Santi Cazorla (Villareal)
3 Rafael Sobis (Real Betis)
3 Javi Guerrero (Recreativo Huelva)
3 Mustapha Riga (Levante)
3 Alexander Kerzhakov (Sevilla)
3 Fernando Varela (Mallorca)
3 Ivan Sanchez-Riko Soto (Deportivo La Coruna)
3 Jose Andres Guardado (Deportivo La Coruna)
3 Nobrega Braulio (Getafe)
3 De Carvalho Felipe Melo (Almeria)
3 Luis Eduardo Schmidt (Real Betis)
3 Francisco Sousa (Getafe)
3 Mohamed Tchite (Racing Santander)
3 Francisco Tejada (Deportivo La Coruna)
3 Jaroslav Plasil (Osasuna)
2 Ebi Smolarek (Racing Santander)
2 Julio Baptista (Real Madrid)
2 Sesma Gonzalez (Valladolid)
2 Enrique De Lucas (Real Murcia)
2 Ruben Baraja (Valencia)
2 Marcos Senna (Villareal)
2 Pedro Munitis (Racing Santander)
2 Pierre Webo (Mallorca)
2 Florent Sinama Pongolle (Recreativo Huelva)
2 Sebastian Taborda (Deportivo La Coruna)
2 Javier Saviola (Real Madrid)
2 Andres Iniesta (Barcelona)
2 Joaquin (Valencia)
2 Oscar Serrano (Racing Santander)
2 Walter Pandiani (Osasuna)
2 Francisco Munoz Xisco (Real Betis)
2 Samuel Eto'o (Barcelona)
2 Juanfran (Osasuna)
2 Del Moral Manu (Getafe)
2 Xavi Hernandez (Barcelona)
2 Fabricio Fuentes (Villareal)
2 Ezequiel Garay (Racing Santander)
2 Maniche (Atletico Madrid)
2 Gonzalo Higuain (Real Madrid)
2 Pablo (Getafe)
2 Sisinio Gonzalez Martinez (Valladolid)
2 Javi Garcia (Osasuna)
2 Angel Martinez (Espanyol)
2 Bojan Krkic (Barcelona)
2 Blanco Kepa (Getafe)
2 Javi Casquero (Getafe)
2 Alvaro Rubio (Valladolid)
2 Javier Camunas (Recreativo Huelva)

Berita Bola - Top skor Liga Inggris 2007/2008

04/01/2008
Jumlah Gol Nama Pemain
13 Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
12 Emmanuel Adebayor (Arsenal)
10 Roque Santa Cruz (Blackburn Rovers)
10 Nicolas Anelka (Bolton Wanderers)
10 Fernando Torres (Liverpool)
10 Robbie Keane (Tottenham Hotspur)
9 Benjani Mwaruwari (Portsmouth)
9 Ayegbeni Yakubu (Everton)
8 Dimitar Berbatov (Tottenham Hotspur)
8 Dave Kitson (Reading)
8 Carlos Tevez (Manchester United)
7 Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)
7 Gabriel Agbonlahor (Aston Villa)
7 Marcus Bent (Wigan Athletic)
6 Benedict McCarthy (Blackburn Rovers)
6 Obafemi Martins (Newcastle United)
6 Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal)
6 Clint Dempsey (Fulham)
6 Tomas Rosicky (Arsenal)
6 Tim Cahill (Everton)
5 Olivier Kapo (Birmingham City)
5 Robin van Persie (Arsenal)
5 Didier Drogba (Chelsea)
5 Frank Lampard (Chelsea)
5 Stephen Hunt (Reading)
5 Cameron Jerome (Birmingham City)
5 Mark Viduka (Newcastle United)
5 Kenwyne Jones (Sunderland)
5 Elano (Manchester City)
5 David Bentley (Blackburn Rovers)
5 Martin Laursen (Aston Villa)
5 Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)
5 Kevin Doyle (Reading)
5 Salomon Kalou (Chelsea)
4 Stewart Downing (Middlesbrough)
4 Rolando Bianchi (Manchester City)
4 John Utaka (Portsmouth)
4 Mikael Forssell (Birmingham City)
4 Lee Bowyer (West Ham United)
4 Shaun Maloney (Aston Villa)
4 Louis Saha (Manchester United)
4 Dean Ashton (West Ham United)
4 Martin Petrov (Manchester City)
4 Sulley Muntari (Portsmouth)
4 Andrew Johnson (Everton)
4 Andriy Shevchenko (Chelsea)
4 Tuncay Sanli (Middlesbrough)
4 Jermaine Defoe (Tottenham Hotspur)
3 Nwankwo Kanu (Portsmouth)
3 Michael Chopra (Sunderland)
3 Leon Osman (Everton)
3 Gareth Barry (Aston Villa)
3 Antoine Sibierski (Wigan Athletic)
3 Charles N'Zogbia (Newcastle United)
3 Matthew Oakley (Derby County)
3 Geovanni (Manchester City)
3 David Healy (Fulham)
3 Michael Essien (Chelsea)
3 Joleon Lescott (Everton)
3 Jermain Jenas (Tottenham Hotspur)
3 Darren Bent (Tottenham Hotspur)
3 Denny Landzaat (Wigan Athletic)
3 Steed Malbranque (Tottenham Hotspur)
3 Andriy Voronin (Liverpool)
3 Paul Scharner (Wigan Athletic)
3 Michael Owen (Newcastle United)
3 Ryan Babel (Liverpool)
3 Matthew Etherington (West Ham United)
3 Kenny Miller (Derby County)
3 James Harper (Reading)
3 Danny Murphy (Fulham)
3 Simon Davies (Fulham)
3 John Carew (Aston Villa)
3 Niko Kranjcar (Portsmouth)
3 Craig Gardner (Aston Villa)
3 Dirk Kuyt (Liverpool)
3 Joe Cole (Chelsea)
3 William Gallas (Arsenal)
3 Kevin Nolan (Bolton Wanderers)
3 El-Hadji Diouf (Bolton Wanderers)
3 Eduardo da Silva (Arsenal)
2 Nicky Shorey (Reading)
2 Aleksander Hleb (Arsenal)
2 Michael Johnson (Manchester City)
2 Alexei Smertin (Fulham)
2 Mido (Middlesbrough)
2 James McFadden (Everton)
2 Julio Arca (Middlesbrough)
2 Nani (Manchester United)
2 Xabi Alonso (Liverpool)
2 Gareth Bale (Tottenham Hotspur)
2 Younes Kaboul (Tottenham Hotspur)
2 Diomansy Kamara (Fulham)
2 Craig Bellamy (West Ham United)
2 David Wheater (Middlesbrough)
2 Ross Wallace (Sunderland)
2 Grant Leadbitter (Sunderland)
2 Emile Mpenza (Manchester City)
2 Yossi Benayoun (Liverpool)
2 Hermann Hreidarsson (Portsmouth)
2 Shane Long (Reading)
2 Steven Pienaar (Everton)
2 Pascal Chimbonda (Tottenham Hotspur)
2 Nicky Butt (Newcastle United)
2 Alex (Chelsea)
2 Kolo Toure (Arsenal)
2 Tugay Kerimoglu (Blackburn Rovers)
2 Ryan Giggs (Manchester United)
2 Carlton Cole (West Ham United)
2 James Milner (Newcastle United)
2 Stephen Ireland (Manchester City)
2 Danny Higginbotham (Sunderland)
2 Nolberto Solano (West Ham United)
2 Mathieu Flamini (Arsenal)
2 Olof Mellberg (Aston Villa)
2 Gary McSheffrey (Birmingham City)
2 Sebastian Larsson (Birmingham City)
2 Darius Vassell (Manchester City)
2 Ivar Ingimarsson (Reading)
2 Michael Ballack (Chelsea)
2 Tom Huddlestone (Tottenham Hotspur)
2 Titus Bramble (Wigan Athletic)

Berita Bola - Top skor Liga Italia 2007/2008

4/01/2008
Jumlah Gol Nama Pemain
13 David Trezeguet (Juventus)
10 Julio Cruz (Inter)
9 Francesco Totti (AS Roma)
9 Adrian Mutu (Fiorentina)
9 Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Inter)
8 Marco Boriello (Genoa)
8 Claudio Bellucci (Sampdoria)
7 Goran Pandev (Lazio)
7 Kaka (AC Milan)
7 Alessandro Del Piero (Juventus)
7 Antonio Di Natale (Udinese)
7 Marcelo Zalayeta (Napoli)
7 Cristiano Doni (Atalanta)
6 Vincenzo Iaquinta (Juventus)
6 Carvalho de Oliveira Amauri (Palermo)
6 Fabio Quagliarella (Udinese)
5 Bernardo Corradi (Parma)
5 Alberto Gilardino (AC Milan)
5 Nicola Pozzi (Empoli)
5 Andrea Pisanu (Parma)
5 Francesco Tavano (Livorno)
5 Nicola Amoruso (Reggina)
5 Tommaso Rocchi (Lazio)
5 Jorge Andres Martinez (Catania)
4 Massimo Maccarone (Siena)
4 David Suazo (Inter)
4 Pasquale Foggia (Cagliari)
4 Giampaolo Pazzini (Fiorentina)
4 Fabrizio Miccoli (Palermo)
4 Vincenzo Montella (Sampdoria)
4 Maurizio Domizzi (Napoli)
4 Antonio Langella (Atalanta)
4 Giuseppe Mascara (Catania)
4 Luca Vigiani (Reggina)
4 Alessandro Matri (Cagliari)
4 Roberto Sosa (Napoli)
3 Alessandro Mancini (AS Roma)
3 Ludovic Giuly (AS Roma)
3 Rodrigo Taddei (AS Roma)
3 Fabio Simplicio (Palermo)
3 Ivan Cordoba (Inter)
3 Riccardo Zampagna (Atalanta)
3 Clarence Seedorf (AC Milan)
3 Christian Vieri (Fiorentina)
3 Simone Perrotta (AS Roma)
3 Massimo Paci (Parma)
3 Mario Frick (Siena)
3 Gyan Asamoah (Udinese)
3 Simone Loria (Siena)
3 Mario Alberto Santana (Fiorentina)
3 Edison Cavani (Palermo)
3 Ezequiel Lavezzi (Napoli)
3 Marek Hamsik (Napoli)
3 Sebastian Giovinco (Empoli)
2 Daniele De Rossi (AS Roma)
2 Massimo Ambrosini (AC Milan)
2 Francesco Cozza (Reggina)
2 Juan (AS Roma)
2 Stefano Morrone (Parma)
2 Esteban Cambiasso (Inter)
2 Giacomo Tedesco (Palermo)
2 Michele Fini (Cagliari)
2 Andrea Pirlo (AC Milan)
2 Igli Vanucchi (Empoli)
2 Mirko Vucinic (AS Roma)
2 Antonio Cassano (Sampdoria)
2 Alberto Aquilani (AS Roma)
2 Luis Antonio Jimenez (Inter)
2 Sergio Floccari (Atalanta)
2 Hasan Salihamidzic (Juventus)
2 Luca Saudati (Empoli)
2 Hernan Crespo (Inter)
2 Gionatha Spinesi (Catania)
2 Fernando Tissone (Atalanta)
2 Alessandro Rosina (Torino)
2 Julio Leon (Genoa)
2 Adriano Ferreira Pinto (Atalanta)
2 Paolo Sammarco (Sampdoria)
2 Christian Maggio (Sampdoria)
2 Fausto Rossini (Livorno)
2 Ricardo Montolivo (Fiorentina)
2 Dario Knezevic (Livorno)
2 Morris Carrozzieri (Atalanta)
2 Massimo Loviso (Livorno)
2 Alessandro Grandoni (Livorno)
2 Nicola Legrottaglie (Juventus)
2 Robert Acquafresca (Cagliari)
2 Pablo Daniel Osvaldo (Fiorentina)
2 Tomas Locatelli (Siena)
2 Daniele Galloppa (Siena)
2 Walter Gargano (Napoli)
2 Paolo de Ceglie (Siena)
2 Juan Vargas (Catania)
2 Fabio Firmani (Lazio)

Berita Bola - Figo ke AS, Kata Siapa?

Dubai - Belakangan kencang beredar kabar bahwa Luis Figo batal pensiun di akhir musim ini. Konon, gelandang Inter Milan itu akan hijrah ke AS. Apa kata pemain yang bersangkutan?

Kepergian Figo kemudian akan diikuti oleh kedatangan Nuno Maniche. Inter dikabarkan siap merogoh dalam-dalam kocek mereka untuk menggaet pemain asal Portugal itu dari klub Spanyol, Atletico Madrid.

Mendengar kabar itu, Figo langsung memberi bantahan. Ia mengaku tidak akan pergi dari Inter, setidaknya pada bulan Januari ini. Ketimbang meributkan isu yang belum jelas, ua lebih memilih berkonsentrasi penuh untuk I Nerazzuri.

"Saat ini, saya tidak memikirkan kemungkinan pindah ke AS karena saya punya hal lain yang saya pikirkan," ucap Figo saat mengikuti latihan Inter di Dubai, Uni Emirat Arab, kepada ANSA dan dikutip AFP.

Mengenai Maniche, Figo mendukung bila klubnya ingin menggaet kompatriotnya itu. "Dia adalah tipe pemain yang diinginkan oleh seluruh tim. Dia pemain yang bagus baik secara individual dan kolektif," tutup dia.

Masih berada dalam kondisi cedera, pemain berusia 35 tahun itu justru mengkhawatirkan posisinya di Inter. "Saya harus memenangkan kembali tempat saya. Saya ingin bermain, menang, dan memberi yang terbaik bagi Inter di enam bulan ke depan," imbuh pemain berpaspor Portugal itu lagi.

Berita Bola - Lehmann di Panggil Pulang

Dortmund Panggil Pulang Lehmann

(AFP/Andrew Yates)
Dortmund - Borussia Dortmund tertarik memanggil Lehmann pulang, itu karena Tak ada tanda-tanda bakal kembali mengisi tempat utama di skuad Arsenal, masa depan Jens Lehmann pun masih ditimang-timang.

Niat itu tercetus setelah pemilik klub Hans-Joachim Watzke dan direktur sport Michael Zorn melawat ke London, yang dispekulasikan media setempat mengadakan pembicaraan pula dengan Lehmann.

Hari Jumat (4/1/2008) ini pihak Dortmund dikabarkan akan menggelar jumpa pers untuk menegaskan ketertarikan mereka untuk memboyong Lehmann ke Signal Iduna Park, sebagaimana ia pernah memperkuat klub tersebut pada 1999-2003.

Jika saat ini ia dibayar 45 ribu poundsterling per minggu, di Dortmund ia hanya akan digaji 30 ribu pounds per pekan. kiper berusia 38 tahun itu mau meninggalkan Emirates Stadium, maka ia harus bersedia menerima gaji lebih rendah dibanding yang diterimanya di Arsenal.

Sejauh ini manajer Arsenal, Arsene Wenger, belum menunjukkan indikasi mau melepas Lehmann. Ia bahkan berniat menurunkan pemain kawakan itu dalam pertandingan Piala FA akhir pekan ini melawan Burnley.

Lehmann sepertinya sudah sangat sulit merebut kembali tempat utama di skuad The Gunners, menyusul penampilan Manuel Almunia yang justru sedang bagus-bagusnya. Kalau terus begitu, bisa-bisa kepercayaan pelatih timnas Jerman Joachim Loew untuk menjadikannya sebagai pilihan pertama di Piala Eropa 2008 menjadi menurun.

Berita Bola - Lampard tetap 'Biru'

London - Dengan kontrak yang tersisa 18 bulan, pembicaraan deal baru Frank Lampard belum dimulai. Tapi The Blues tak perlu khawatir karena sang pemain sudah menyatakan komitmennya untuk bertahan di Stamford Bridge sampai pensiun.

"Saya pikir saya tak akan kecintaan seperti yang datang dari fans Chelsea di tempat lain. Saya ingin (bertahan) enam atau tujuh tahun lagi," ungkap Lampard di BBC, Jumat (4/1/2007).

"Tak ada yang berubah dari klub dan saya memutuskan kami tak akan membicarakannya (kontrak) sampai akhir musim. Tapi saya minta fans tidak berpikir sinis soal hal itu karena saya sangat ingin segera menyelesaikannya," lanjut pemain yang mengawali karirnya di West Ham United itu.


Soal pembicaraan kontrak barunya yang belum dimulai, Lampard sama sekali tak khawatir. Diakuinya mengulur waktu pembicaraan kontrak justru disengaja supaya tidak mengganggu konsentrasinya di atas lapangan.

Sebagai seorang gelandang Lampard juga terhitung sangat subur. Total sudah 99 gol di donasikan buat Chelsea di berbagai kompetisi.

Dengan 237 penampilan bersama The Blues di berbagai kompetisi, Lampard menjadi bagian tak terpisahkan di skuad asal London Barat itu sejak kedatangannya di musim 2001/2002 lalu. Pergantian pelatih dari Claudio Ranieri ke Jose Mourinho hingga kini Avram Grant juga tak mengusik keberadaannya di lini tengah Chelsea.

"Dalam skala satu sampai 10, buat saya Chelsea bernilai 10 dalam hal kepentingan. Saya berada di klub yang saya cintai dan hidup di lingkungan yang saya cintai," pungkas tunangan Elen Rives itu.

Berita Bola - Chelsea & Arsenal Bersiap Kehilangan Pemain

Piala Afrika di depan mata. Klub-klub di Liga Primer Inggris pun kebagian getahnya karena kehilangan beberapa pemain yang akan membela negaranya dalam turnamen itu. Mungkin Belanja pemain bakal jadi solusi?

Arsenal, adalah salah satu klub yang harus merelakan pemainnya untuk bertarung di turnamen yang akan berlangsung dari 20 Januari sampai 10 Februari itu. Untuk sementara Arsenal Pemuncak klasemen sementara Premiership

Arsene Wenger juga bakal tanpa pemain asal Kamerun, Alexandre Song dan Pada periode tersebut, ketangguhan lini belakangan The Gunners akan mengalami ujian berat karena duo beknya, Kolo Toure dan Emmanuel Eboue, akan bergabung dengan tim nasional Pantai Gading.

"Kami tak akan memasuki bursa transfer meksi kami kehilangan dua bek tengah. Saya baru tahu berita (kepergian Song) kemarin, jadi ini adalah berita buruk," keluh The Professor dilansir Yahoosport, Rabu (2/1/2008). Wenger mengaku kaget karena baru mengetahui bahwa Song akan pergi, Wenger cukup yakin dengan kekuatan timnya tanpa tiga pemain itu.

Emmanuel Adebayor Pemain asal Togo itu dipastikan tak mengikuti ketiga rekannya karena negaranya memang tidak lolos ke putaran akhir Piala Afrika. Beruntung buat manajer asal Prancis tersebut karena tidak akan kehilangan andalannya di lini depan, Emmanuel Adebayor.

Chelsea yang kini ada di posisi tiga klasemen Liga Inggris, yang sudah ancang-ancang membeli pemain baru pada bursa transfer musim dingin.

Saat ini The Blues sedang diuji dengan sederet pemain yang cedera. Akibat Piala Afrika, klub yang bermarkas di Stamford Bridge itu juga harus siap kehilangan Salomon Kalou dan Didier Drogba yang membela Pantai Gading, gelandang Nigeria John Obi Mikel dan Michael Essien yang bermain untuk Ghana.

"Kami sedang mengikuti perkembangan beberapa pemain, tapi kami tak ingin membawa pemain hanya untuk dua bulanan, kami mencari yang lebih dari itu. Media akan menghubungkan kami dengan duaribu pemain," ceplos Manajer Avram Grant kepada situs resmi klubnya.

Sementara itu Portsmouth yang menempati urutan delapan klasemen akan kehilangan lima pemainnya. Manajer Harry Redknapp diyakini bakal mengambil pendekatan yang sama seperti Chelsea demi menambal absennya dua pilar, yakni Sulley Muntari dari Ghana dan pemain Nigeria John Utaka.

Kehilangan pemain yang cukup signifikan juga akan dirasakan tim posisi lima, Everton. Untuk beberapa waktu The Toffees harus berpisah dengan duo Nigeria, Joseph Yobo dan Ayegbeni Yakubu --topskorer sementara Everton di Premiership musim ini--, serta pemain Afrika Selatan, Steven Pienaar.

mungkin ada beberapa kulb yang terhindar, Dari 20 klub Liga Primer, hanya empat yang tak jadi "korban" Piala Afrika. Aston Villa, Manchester City, Derby County dan Fulham sama sekali tak punya pemain yang akan bertarung dalam turnamen yang digelar di Ghana tersebut.

Berita Bola - Hati-hati pada Kroasia di Euro 2008

Hati-hati pada Kroasia di Euro 2008. Tim berjulukan Vatreni (The Blazers) itu mempunyai penyerang yang siap meledak sepanjang tahun baru ini.
Pergantian tahun dari 2007 ke 2008 dilalui Eduardo da Silva dengan gemilang bersama Arsenal. Dia membukukan tiga gol dalam dua partai Premier League.

“Ini pergantian tahun yang sempurna bagi saya. Semoga ini menjadi isyarat bahwa saya akan mengalami tahun yang indah di 2008 ini, bersama Arsenal dan Kroasia,” kata striker kelahiran 25 Februari 1983 tersebut.

Pada 29 Desember 2007, Eduardo membuat dua gol ke gawang Everton sekaligus membawa Arsenal menang 4-1. Pada 1 Januari 2008, golnya membuka kemenangan The Gunners 2-0 atas West Ham United.


Eduardo memang harus menyambut tiga golnya sepanjang pergantian tahun itu dengan spesial. Selama ini, ia bukan pilihan utama di tim asuhan Arsene Wenger. Ketajamannya akhir-akhir ini dapat mengubah itu.

“Saya pikir gol-gol ini bisa berarti penting buat kepercayaan dirinya karena Eduardo masih beradaptasi dengan sepakbola Inggris,” ujar Wenger di Arsenal.com.

Rasio Bagus

Eduardo kini telah mencetak sembilan gol dalam 12 partai sebagai starter dan enam partai sebagai pemain pengganti. Rasio itu sangat bagus. Wenger bahkan menyebutnya sebagai salah satu striker yang paling efektif.

Pantas dicatat, gol pertama Eduardo ke gawang Everton sekaligus menjadi gol pertamanya di Premier League. Wenger amat senang menyaksikan perkembangan Eduardo, terutama melihat rasio gol penyerangnya itu.


“Efisiensi penyelesaiannya luar biasa. Gol Eduardo tidak perlu spektakuler tapi bolanya selalu jauh dari jangkauan kiper,” puji Wenger. Jika performa ini berlanjut di Euro 2008, Kroasia punya senjata yang amat berbahaya.

Rasio antara koleksi gol dan cap Eduardo juga menakutkan. Ia sudah mencetak 13 gol dalam 21 pertandingan. Rasio ini hampir menyamai top scorer sepanjang masa Vatreni, Davor Suker (45 gol dalam 69 pertandingan).


Kebetulan efisiensi Eduardo di depan gawang lawan memang sudah terlihat bersama Kroasia. Sepanjang kualifikasi lalu, eks penyerang Dinamo Zagreb ini mencetak 10 gol dalam 12 partai. Ia hanya kalah dari David Healy (Irlandia Utara/13 gol) untuk menjadi pencetak gol terbanyak.

“Eduardo berada dalam jalur untuk mematahkan rekor Suker, tapi itu akan sulit. Suker adalah pencetak gol terbaik pada masanya. Tapi, Eduardo bukan pemain yang hanya mencetak gol. Dia pemain tim yang hebat,” kata pelatih Kroasia, Slaven Bilic, seperti dikutip situs resmi UEFA.

Berita Bola - Messi Comeback

Messi Comeback Tiga Pekan Lagi
Barcelona - Lionel Messi dipastikan akan segera pulih dan kemungkinan sudah bisa tampil memperkuat El Barca dalam tiga pekan mendatang. ini merupakan Kabar gembira bagi Barcelona.

Cedera yang menimpa messi juga membuat Messi tidak dapat tampil dalam laga penting melawan Real Madrid.P emain depan Argentina ini sudah absen sejak 15 Desember lalu setelah mengalami cedera di babak pertama ketika Barca menang 3-0 atas Valencia.

"Kapan dia dapat kembali bermain? Sekitar 20 Januari. Dia sangat ingin dilibatkan. Cedera yang dialaminya sebelumnya tampaknya membuat dia semakin matang. Penyembuhannya berlangsung fantastik menurut hasil klinis kami dan tes ultrasound," Pruna seperti dilansir Goal.

Ia masih dipastikan absen saat Los Cules bertandang ke Mallorca akhir pekan ini dan juga saat menjamu Murcia pada 13 Januari. Namun dokter klub Barca, Ricard Pruna, mengungkapkan Messi kemungkinan sudah dapat beraksi kembali saat menghadapi Racing Santander.

Berita ini tentu saja menjadi kabar gembira bagi pelatih Frank Rijkaard karena akan semakin membuatnya banyak pilihan untuk lini depannya. Apalagi klub Catalan ini membutuhkan kemenangan untuk bersaing dengan Madrid dan tetap menjaga peluang meraih titel La Liga.

Kekawatiran Neville

Manchester - Gary Neville Selain menjabat kapten dulunya adalah pemain yang tak tergantikan di Manchester United. Tapi setelah absen 10 bulan, dia kini khawatir cuma bakal jadi pelapis.

Cedera lutut, pergelangan kaki dan masalah pada kakinya yang datang silih berganti memaksa dia absen cukup panjang.
sehingga Setahun terakhir Neville harus lebih akrab dengan ruang medis dibanding memimpin teman-temannya di atas lapangan.
Menyusul kondisinya yang terus membaik, bek kanan itu dipastikan segera kembali merumput dalam beberapa pekan mendatang. Gembira pastinya dirasakan pemain internasional Inggris itu. Namun di balik itu terselip pula kekhawatiran akan hilangnya posisi bek kanan di skuad "Setan Merah".

Biasanya Sir Alex Ferguson menggunakan Piala Carling sebagai ajang pemanasan pemain yang baru pulih dari cedera. Namun dengan MU yang tak lagi berlaga di ajang tersebut, peluang Neville kembali ke posnya di sisi kanan makin sulit.

Apalagi tanpa kehadirannya MU terbukti mampu bersaing di papan atas klasemen dan lolos ke 16 besar Liga Champions. Catat pula jumlah 11 gol yang bersarang di gawang Edwin van der Sar yang membuat mereka menjadi tim dengan pertahanan terbaik di Premiership hingga pasca pekan ke-21.

"Tim ini tengah dalam momentum saat ini, mereka bertahan dengan baik dan Wes (Brown) melakukan pekerjaan dengan sangat baik di sisi kanan. Tak banyak kesempatan yang dimiliki pelatih untuk menempatkan saya ke posisi semula," ungkap Neville di Goal," Jumat (4/12/2007).

Meski begitu Neville tetap memuji penampilan rekan-rekannya sepanjang paruh pertama musim lalu. Dengan selisih poin yang cuma dua dengan Arsenal, mempertahankan gelar juara adalah hal yang bukan tak mungkin diraih.

"Kami sudah memulai musim ini dengan baik, kami berada dalam dimana kami sangat dekat dengan puncak klasemen dan bisa lolos ke babak knock out Liga Champions. Hingga kini kami masih menjadi penantang untuk gelar juara," pungkas pemain yang sudah 364 kali membela The Red Devils itu.

Seberapa pentingkah Keamana menurut Gerrard

Gerrard Rekrut Eks Tentara Elit
Liverpool - Rumah merupakan tempat di mana seharusnya bisa merasa aman dan nyaman.
Yang di lakukan Steven Gerrard untuk memenuhi aman dan nyaman ia pun merekrut beberapa anggota mantan tentara elit Inggris, Karena merasa tak lagi aman dan malah terancam di kediaman sendiri.

Peristiwa perampokan yang pernah menimpa kediaman Gerrard medio November lalu, menyebabakan kapten Liverpool itu mengambil tindakan drastis. Merekrut petugas keamanan, yang personilnya adalah eks-tentara SAS, diyakini sebagai tindakan tepat. Mantan anggota resimen elit Inggris tersebut kini siap setia meronda di rumah Stevie-G. wah dengan merekrut tentara elite mungkin perampok akan berpikir beberapa kali untuk melakukan aksinya lagi...

"Stevie merasa sesuatu harus dilakukan untuk melindungi, istri, dirinya dan anak-anaknya. Keamanan orang yang dicintainya adalah prioritas. Orang-orang ini (SAS) akan ada untuknya 24 jam sehari. Keluarganya (kini) bisa tidur dengan nyenyak," tutur seorang rekan Gerrard kepada Daily Mirror.

Alex pernah harus berhadapan dengan sekawan perampok di mansion di yang jadi domisili keluarga itu di Formby, Merseyside, ketika sang suami sedang bermain membela The Reds.

Sempat menebar kata-kata bernada ancaman, kawanan maling itu lantas kabur dengan sejumlah perhiasan, meninggalkan Alex yang masih syok. Ketika itu kedua putrinya, Lilly-Ella (3 tahun) dan Lexi (1 tahun), sedang terlelap.

Gerrard baru diinformasikan perihal pembobolan itu setelah pertandingan tuntas dan dia pun langsung bergegas pulang. Pesepakbola 27 tahun itu mengaku lega keluarganya tidak terluka kendati para sobatnya menyatakan kalau Gerro kesal karena rumahnya dibobol ketika dia tak ada di tempat.

"Saat itu Steve sangat pucat. Itu adalah tindakan pengecut, memasuki properti saat mereka tahu hanya ada istrinya dan anak-anak di sana," geram seorang teman Gerrard.

"Stevie adalah pemain paling terakhir dari beberapa pemain Liverpool yang rumahnya dimasuki maling saat mereka sedang bertanding. Klub sudah mencoba mencari cara untuk melindungi rumah pemainnya saat mereka tak di tempat. Tapi Stevie sadar dia butuh sesuatu yang lebih dan itulah mengapa dia akhirnya terlibat dengan orang-orang spesialis ini (SAS)," tandas teman tersebut.

Eto'o Berpendapat Untuk BARCA

Barcelona

Barcelona hanya butuh kemenangan untuk menjaga peluang meraih titel La Liga. menurut Samuel Eto'o, Jika perlu, El Catalan meniadakan gaya menarik nan eksentrik mereka.

Permainan tim besutan Frank Rijkaard itu enak untuk ditonton dan dinikmati.Tak sedikit yang setuju bahwa Barca memang memainkan sepakbola yang atraktif.

"Kami butuh menang untuk menambah poin, meskipun seberapa buruknya kami bermain," tegasnya seperti dikutip AFP.

Akan tetapi, hasil akhir pertandingan kadang tidak selalu efektif. Fakta itulah yang menjadi sorotan tersendiri dari Eto'o.

Kondisi seperti ini membuat Eto'o menyarankan rekan-rekannya harus sedikit mengubah gaya permainannya, dari yang atraktif menjadi efektif. Tentunya semua itu tak lepas dari agenda tim untuk merebut lagi titel La Liga dari tangan Real Madrid.

"Kami kadang tidak memberikan hasil akhir yang bagus. Kadang kala kami terobsesi dengan umpan dan sering menahan bola. Tapi jika tidak bisa mencetak gol, semua itu tidak ada artinya lagi," imbuhnya.

Buah dari kekalahan 0-1 di Nou Camp beberapa waktu lalu, memebuat barca ketinggalan 7 poin dari real

Eric Cantona

Eric Cantona
Jump to: navigation, search
Éric Cantona
Personal information
Full name Éric Daniel Pierre Cantona[1]
Date of birth May 24, 1966 (1966-05-24) (age 41)
Place of birth Paris, France
Height 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Playing position Forward
Youth clubs
1981-1983 Auxerre
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1983-1988
1985-1986
1988-1989
1989
1989-1990
1990-1991
1991
1992
1992-1997 Auxerre
→ Martigues (loan)
Marseille
→ Bordeaux (loan)
→ Montpellier (loan)
Marseille
Nîmes
Leeds United
Manchester United 081 (23)
015 0(4)
022 0(5)
011 0(6)
033 (10)
018 0(8)
016 0(2)
028 0(9)
143 (84)
National team
1987-1995 France 045 (20)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only.
* Appearances (Goals)

Éric Daniel Pierre Cantona (born 24 May 1966 in Paris raised in Marseille) is a French former footballer of the late 1980s and 1990s. He ended his professional footballing career at Manchester United where he won four Premiership titles in five years, including two League and FA Cup "doubles". Cantona is often regarded as having played a major talismanic role in the revival of Manchester United as a footballing powerhouse and he enjoys iconic status at the club. In 2001 he was voted their player of thCareer

[edit] France

Cantona's first club was Auxerre, where he spent two years in the youth team before making his debut in 1983.

The whole of 1984 saw Cantona's footballing career put on hold as he carried out his national service. After discharge he was loaned out to Martigues in the French Second Division. Rejoining Auxerre and signing a professional contract in 1986, his performances in the First Division were good enough to earn him his first full international cap.

He was part of the French under-21 side that won the 1988 U21 European Championship and shortly after that success, he transferred to Marseille, the club he supported as a boy, for a French record fee. Cantona had quite often shown signs of being 'short tempered' in his career to date, and in January 1989 during a friendly game against Torpedo Moscow he ripped off and threw away his jersey after being substituted. His club responded by banning him for a month. Just a few months earlier, he had been banned from international matches for insulting the national coach on TV.

Having struggled to settle at Marseille, Cantona moved to Bordeaux on a six-month loan and then to Montpellier on a year-long loan. At Montpellier, he was involved in a fight with team-mate Jean-Claude Lemoult and threw his boots in Lemoult's face. The incident led to six players demanding that Cantona be sacked. However, with the support of team-mates such as Laurent Blanc and Carlos Valderrama, the club retained his services and Cantona was instrumental as the team went on to win the French Cup. His form persuaded Marseille to take him back.

Back at Marseille, Cantona initially played well under the new coach Franz Beckenbauer. However, the Marseille chairman Bernard Tapie was not satisfied with the results, and replaced Beckenbauer with Raymond Goethals with whom Cantona did not see eye-to-eye. Cantona was also continually at odds with Tapie and despite helping the team win the French Division 1 title, he was transferred to Nîmes the following season.

In December 1991, during a match for Nîmes he threw the ball at the referee, having been angered by one of his decisions. He was summoned to a disciplinary hearing by the French Football Federation and was banned for a month. Cantona responded by walking up to each member of the hearing committee in turn and calling him an "idiot". His ban was increased to 2 months. For Cantona this was the last straw and he announced his retirement from football in December 1991.

The French national team coach Michel Platini was a keen fan of Cantona, and persuaded him to make a comeback. On the advice of Gérard Houllier, he moved to England to restart his career.

[edit] England

[edit] Leeds United

In February 1992 Cantona came to England for a trial with Sheffield Wednesday, managed by Trevor Francis. When offered an extension to the trial, he found this insulting and subsequently joined Leeds United A.F.C., where he was an important part of the team that won the final old First Division championship in 1991-92. He was also inspirational in the Charity Shield 4-3 win over Liverpool in 1992, scoring a hat-trick.

He however left Leeds before the end of the 1992-93 season, which saw them finishing 17th out of 22 in the newly formed Premier League, moving to Manchester United in November 1992 for the relatively small fee of £1.2 million, much to the disgust of the Leeds fans, although Howard Wilkinson, the Leeds United manager, was eager for him to leave.[citation needed]

[edit] Manchester United

Cantona's first appearance for Manchester United was against Benfica in Lisbon, in a friendly match to mark the 50th birthday of Eusebio. He made his competitive debut as a second half substitute against Manchester City at Old Trafford, on December 6th, 1992. United won 2-1, though Cantona made little impact that day.

United's season had been disappointing up to Cantona's signing. They had had problems scoring goals: Brian McClair and Mark Hughes were off form, and summer signing Dion Dublin had broken his leg early in the season. However, Cantona quickly settled into the team, not only scoring many goals but also creating chances for the other players. His first United goal came in a 1-1 draw against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on December 19th 1992. It was against Tottenham Hotspur on January 9th 1993, that Cantona really showed his class, scoring one and having a hand in the other goals in a 4-1 victory. For the next two years, United went on an amazing run, winning the inaugural Premiership in 1993. By winning that title, Cantona became the only player ever to win back-to-back titles with different clubs.

They retained the Premiership and with Cantona's two penalties helping them to a 4-0 win over Chelsea in the FA Cup Final. Cantona was voted PFA Player Of The Year in 1994.
Éric Cantona kicks Crystal Palace fan Simmons.
Éric Cantona kicks Crystal Palace fan Simmons.

Cantona then became infamous for an incident that occurred on 25 January 1995. In an away match against Crystal Palace, after being sent off by the referee for a vengeful kick on Palace defender Richard Shaw (after Shaw had pulled his shirt), he launched a 'kung-fu' style kick against a Crystal Palace fan, Matthew Simmons. Simmons was later tried for threatening language and behaviour, and attacked the prosecution counsel after being found guilty, leaping over a bench and executing a flying kick of his own. He was sentenced to seven days in jail, but only served 24 hours of his sentence.[2] At a press conference called later, Cantona gave what is perhaps his most famous quotation. As the journalists gathered to hear him speak, Cantona entered the room, sat down and said, in a slow and deliberate manner:

"When the seagulls follow the trawler, it's because they think sardines will be thrown in to the sea"

He then got up from his seat and left, leaving many of the assembled crowd bemused. He was sentenced to 120 hours of community service after an appeal court overturned a 2 week prison sentence for assault. He was also suspended by The Football Association until the following October. Manchester United eventually lost the Premiership title to Blackburn.

There had been much speculation that Cantona would leave English football when his ban finished, but Alex Ferguson persuaded him to stay in Manchester and Cantona was once again inspirational. United had sold several key players at the start of the season and replaced them with players from the club's youth team and their prospects of winning the league were not looking good. Much hype surrounded Cantona's return game, against Liverpool on 1 October 1995. In the match, Cantona set up a goal for Nicky Butt inside 2 minutes, and then scored a penalty after Ryan Giggs (the one player Cantona claimed had a telepathic understanding with him) had been upended. Eight months without competitive football had inevitably taken its toll and Cantona struggled for form prior to Christmas. Things then changed, however, with his goals helping United to recapture the league having been twelve points behind Newcastle United in January 1996. There was a spate of important 1-0 wins for United, with Cantona the goal scorer, but a 0-3 victory against Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium decided the title. Fittingly, it was the same 1-0 scoreline, and the same scorer, in that year's FA Cup Final against Liverpool, with Cantona becoming the first foreign player to lift the FA Cup as captain. The strike of that match happened with 5 minutes remaining and was perhaps Eric Cantona's most famous goal of his career. A corner from the left side troubled Liverpool keeper David James who attempted to fist the ball out of the box. Instead, the ball was deflected down the middle to the top of the box. Cantona, who had backed away when the corner was sent, lined up and took an extremely athletic twisting volley with his right foot firing the ball through a sea of defenders into the net. The game was won. His redemption was complete after the scandals and lows of a year earlier. Cantona gave a post-match interview saying: "You know that's life. Up and down." Manchester United became the first team to win "the double" twice.

Cantona galvanised the United team to greater success with the likes of Ryan Giggs and youngsters David Beckham, Paul Scholes and Gary Neville emerging under his influence. As United retained the league in the 1996-97 season, Cantona had won four league titles in five years with United(six in seven years including those won with Marseille and Leeds United), the exception being the 1995 season which he had largely missed through suspension. At the end of an admittedly lacklustre season by his standards, which was fuelled by United's elimination at the hands of Borussia Dortmund in the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League, he announced that he was retiring from football at the age of 30 which came as a surprise, and was met with great dismay by United fans. His final competitive game came against West Ham on 11th May 1997, and his final appearance before retiring was five days later on Friday 16th May in a testimonial for David Busst against Coventry City at Highfield Road, in which Eric scored twice in a 2-2 draw.

In 2004 Cantona was quoted as saying "I'm so proud the fans still sing my name, but I fear tomorrow they will stop. I fear it because I love it. And everything you love, you fear you will lose."

In 2006 The Sun newspaper reported Cantona as saying that Manchester United had lost their soul and that the current players were a bunch of sheep. The Old Trafford idol reckoned the days of maverick entertainers like himself and George Best were gone and feared the Red Devils were betraying their past by putting out boring, functional teams. However on the Contrary he was interviewed in the Number 7's issue of 'United Magazine' in August 2006 stating he will only come back to Manchester United as 'Number 1' (meaning not return as assistant manager or coach) and would create a team like no other and play the way he thinks football should be played.

Cantona opposed the Malcolm Glazer takeover of Manchester United, and has stated that he will not return to the club, even as a manager, while the Glazer family is in charge. This will come as a disappointment to the many United fans who voted him as their choice for United's next manager in survey over the summer of 2000.[3]

[edit] French National Team

Eric Cantona was given his full international début against West Germany in August 1987 by the then national team manager Henri Michel. In September 1988, angered after being dropped from the national team, Cantona insulted Michel in a post-match TV interview and was indefinitely banned from all international matches. However, Michel was sacked shortly after that having failed to qualify for the 1990 World Cup.

The new coach was Michel Platini and one of his first acts was to recall Cantona who was a favourite of his. He claimed that Cantona would be selected as long as he was playing competitive top-class football; Platini had initiated Cantona's move to England to restart his career. France qualified for the 1992 European Football Championship held in Sweden, but failed to win a single game despite the striking partnership of Cantona and Jean-Pierre Papin. Platini resigned after the finals to be replaced by Gérard Houllier.

Under Houllier, France then failed to qualify for the 1994 World Cup in the U.S.A. after losing the final game 2:1 at home to Bulgaria when a draw would have sufficed. David Ginola gave away possession in the game which led to Bulgaria's winning goal by Emil Kostadinov. Cantona was reportedly angry with Ginola after the game. Houllier resigned and Aimé Jacquet took over.

Jacquet began to rebuild the national team in preparation for Euro 96 (the 1996 European Championship) and appointed Cantona as the captain. Cantona remained the captain until the Selhurst Park incident in January 1995. The suspension which resulted from this incident also prevented him from playing in international matches.

By the time Cantona's suspension had been completed, he had lost his role as the team's playmaker to another star, Zinedine Zidane, as Jacquet had revamped the squad with some new blood and built it around Zidane. Cantona, Papin and Ginola were never again selected for the French team and missed Euro 96. Though there was criticism about Cantona's omission, as he was playing his best football in the FA Premier League, Jacquet himself stated that the team had done well without Cantona, and that he wanted to keep faith with the players who had taken them so far.[4] The decision was vindicated as Les Bleus subsequently won the World Cup in 1998.

To this day, Cantona still harbours resentment for the people at the head of his national team but also admiration for his adopted football country; at Euro 2004 and the 2006 FIFA World Cup, he supported England and not France.[2].

[edit] Career in "retirement"

Cantona's subsequent career has mostly been in the French cinema, primarily as an actor although he has also directed a short film Apporte-moi ton amour in 2002; outside of France, he had a role as the French ambassador in the movie Elizabeth, starring Cate Blanchett in 1998. See filmography below.
Éric Cantona in an advert for Nike. Cantona was born in the same year as England's World Cup triumph.
Éric Cantona in an advert for Nike. Cantona was born in the same year as England's World Cup triumph.

Since retiring from professional football Cantona has appeared in numerous European television advertisements, especially for Nike. Cantona made cameos in two memorable commercials, one starring the Brazilian national team playing football in an airport, and another involving the national teams of both Brazil and Portugal. In a worldwide advertising campaign during the run-up to the 2002 FIFA World Cup, he starred as the organiser of "underground" games (branded by Nike as "Scorpion KO") between football players like Thierry Henry, Hidetoshi Nakata, Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos and Luís Figo. In an earlier UK Nike commercial, he appeared playing "amateur" football on Hackney Marshes with other stars including Ian Wright, Steve McManaman and Robbie Fowler. In a Nike campaign in the advance of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, nearly ten years after his retirement, Cantona appears as the lead spokesman for the "Joga Bonito" organization, an association attempting to eliminate acting and fake play from football. He also starred in an Irish EuroMillions advertisement. He has gained a considerable amount of weight since retiring from professional football, rendering him almost unrecognizable from his playing days.

Shortly after his departure from Manchester United, Cantona became captain of the French National Beach Football team. Cantona has continued his interest in beach soccer games in southern Asia and at the Inaugural Kronenbourg beach soccer in 2002, in the city of Brighton. He managed the French Team which won the inaugural FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in 2005 in Rio de Janeiro. He also coached the 2006 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup French National Team, which finished in third place.

In 1998, the Football League, as part of its centenary season celebrations, included Cantona on its list of 100 League Legends.

Cantona's achievements in the English League were further marked in 2002 when he was made an Inaugural Inductee of the English Football Hall of Fame.

[edit] Family

Cantona was married to Isabelle Ferrer, they have two children. He is now married to actress Rachida Brakni. His brother Joël was also a footballer and played for Olympique de Marseille, Újpesti TE and Stockport County.

[edit] Partial filmography

* Le bonheur est dans le pré - 1995 - Lionel
* Eleven Men Against Eleven - 1995 - Player (uncredited)
* Elizabeth - 1998 - Monsieur de Foix
* Mookie - 1998 - Antoine Capella
* Les enfants du marais - 1999 - Jo Sardi
* La grande vie! (English title: The High Life) - 2001 - Joueur de pétanque 2
* L'Outremangeur (English title: The Over-Eater) - 2003 - Séléna
* Les Clefs de bagnole (English title: The Car Keys) - 2003
* La vie est à nous - 2005
* Une belle histoire - 2005
* Lisa et le pilote d'avion - 2007
* Le Deuxième souffle (English title: Second Wind) - 2007
* JACK SAYS - 2007

[edit] Quotations
Copy icon
This section is a candidate to be copied to Wikiquote using the Transwiki process.
If the content can be changed to be more encyclopedic rather than just a list of quotes, please do so and remove this message. Otherwise, you can help by formatting it per the Wikiquote guidelines in preparation for the duplication.

[edit] By him

* "When the seagulls follow the trawler, it is because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea.[3]"
* "My best moment? I have a lot of good moments but the one I prefer is when I kicked the hooligan."
* "I didn't study; I live. You can't study these things - life teaches them to you. You don't find them in a book... I've read a lot of Socrates on Page 3 of the Sun."
* "Sometimes in life one experiences an emotion which is so strong that it is difficult to think, or to reason. Sometimes you get submerged by emotion. I think it's very important to express it - which doesn't necessarily mean hitting someone. I am very mistrustful of people who are constantly over-intellectualising things. It kills passion. You have to allow yourself to lose control from time to time."
* "I feel close to the rebelliousness and vigour of the youth here. Perhaps time will separate us, but nobody can deny that here, behind the windows of Manchester, there is an insane love of football, of celebration and of music."
* "When you are a rich man you are proud to own a Rolls Royce and when you are a poor man you are proud to own a Renault."
* "France does not deserve Auxerre... England maybe, but France does not." about his youth club AJ Auxerre.
* "The Irish public should bow to the feet of Roy Keane, not slate him as he is the best player they will ever have to boast."
* "After his first training session in heaven, George Best, from his favourite right wing, turned the head of God who was filling in at left-back. He nutmegged him and scored a wonderful goal from 30 yards out. I would love him to save me a place in his team - George Best that is, not God."
* "I am God."
* "Football is like making love, if you can't last 90 minutes like me, you wont win"
* "I might have said that, but on the whole I talk a lot of rubbish."
* "I don't play against a particular team. I play against the idea of losing." The latter part of the quote was scrawled on Cantona's body for his official photograph for FIFA 100, Pelé's list of the 125 greatest living footballers.
* Described national teammate Didier Deschamps derisively as "the water-carrier". Cantona meant that Deschamps only existed to pass the ball to more talented players.
* "I had heart, and I know without heart you cannot play."
* "Joga Bonito! Play Beautiful!"
* "No, it is me." (After being asked whether Zinédine Zidane or Michel Platini was the greatest-ever French footballer [4])
* "Goals are like babies... They are all beautiful."

[edit] About him

* "How to create space, and then weave past a couple of defenders, McClair, here's Cantona! He's done it! That is magnificent by Cantona. And after all his problems, and his lack of form, and the criticism that's come his way, there is the perfect riposte." (Famous Words of commentator Jon Champion in the game between Manchester United F.C. vs. Sunderland A.F.C. match at Old Trafford, 21st of December, 1996.)
* "I'd give all the champagne I've ever drunk to be playing alongside him in a big European match at Old Trafford." (George Best, 1960s Manchester United legend, Éric pays a fine compliment to George)
* "Collar turned up, back straight, chest stuck out, he glided into the arena as if he owned the fucking place. Any arena, but nowhere more effectively than Old Trafford. This was his stage. He loved it, the crowd loved him" (Roy Keane, Cantona's successor as Manchester United captain.)
* "Who needs Pelé when you've got Éric Cantona?!" Martin Tyler commentating on Manchester United FC vs. Chelsea FC in the 1993-94 season. Cantona had just rattled the bar from the halfway line.
* Paul Ince about Cantona before he entered court: 'We stayed at the Croydon Park hotel. So we got up in the morning and I've got me suit on - the nuts, know what I mean? I knock on Éric's door and he's standing in jacket, white shirt, long collars like that [he gestures to describe long, pointed collars], unbuttoned so you can see his chest. "Eric, you can't go to court like that", I told him and he says, "I am Cantona, I can go as I want"'.
* "If a Frenchman goes on about seagulls, trawlers and sardines, he’s called a philosopher. I’d just be called a short Scottish bum talking crap." Gordon Strachan in response to Cantona's famous quote following the 1995 Crystal Palace-Simmons incident.
* "Cantona making an early run...here he is. Lovely goal. Lovely goal." This commentary was used in a song "Ooh Aah Cantona" and Man United fans still recite the commentary to one another.

[edit] Bibliography

* Wightman, Rob (2002). FourFourTwo Great Footballers: Eric Cantona. Virgin Books. ISBN 978-0-7535-0662-2.
* Cantona, Eric (1996). Cantona on Cantona: Reflections of a sporting legend. Andre Deutsch. ISBN 978-0-233-99045-3.
* Robinson, Michael (1995). La Philosophie De Cantona. Prentice Hall. ISBN 978-1-898051-39-8.
* Blacker, Terence; William Donaldson (1997). The Meaning of Cantona: Meditations on Life, Art and Perfectly Weighted Balls. Mainstream Publishing. ISBN 978-1-85158-950-0.

[edit] References

Gabriel Batistuta

Gabriel Batistuta
Jump to: navigation, search
Gabriel Batistuta
Personal information
Full name Gabriel Omar Batistuta
Date of birth February 1, 1969 (1969-02-01) (age 38)
Place of birth Reconquista, Argentina
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position Striker
Youth clubs
Newell's Old Boys
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1988-1989
1989-1990
1990-1991
1991-2000
2000-2003
2003
2003-2005 Newell's Old Boys
River Plate
Boca Juniors
Fiorentina
AS Roma
Internazionale (loan)
Al Arabi
Total 024 00(7)
021 00(4)
034 0(13)
269 (168)
063 0(30)
012 00(2)
018 0(25)
0441 0(249)
National team
1991-2002 Argentina 078 0(56)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only.
* Appearances (Goals)

Gabriel Omar Batistuta (born February 1, 1969), nicknamed Batigol, is a former professional footballer. The prolific Argentine striker played most of his club football at ACF Fiorentina in Italy, and he is the eighth top scorer of all time in the Italian Serie A league, with 184 goals in 318 matches between 1991 and 2003. On the international level, he is the all-time highest scorer for Argentina's national team, with 56 goals in 78 national team matches, and he represented his country at three FIFA World Cups. In 2004, he was named in the FIFA 100 list of the "125 Greatest Living Footballers".

When his club Fiorentina was relegated to Serie B in 1993, Batistuta stayed with the club and helped it return to the top-flight league a year later. A hero in Florence, the Fiorentina fans erected a life-size bronze statue of him in 1996, in recognition of his performances for Fiorentina. He never won the Italian league with Fiorentina, but when he moved to AS Roma in 2000, he finally won the Serie A championship to crown his career in Italy. He played his last season in Qatar with Al-Arabi before he retired in 2005.

Currently he works as a commentator having worked for Televisa Deportes during the 2006 FIFA World Cup and for the show "La jugada".Personal life

Batistuta was born on 1 February 1969, to slaughterhouse worker Omar Batistuta and school secretary Gloria Batistuta, in the town of Avellaneda, province of Santa Fe, Argentina, but grew up in the near city of Reconquista. He has three younger sisters, named Elisa, Alejandra, and Gabriela.

At the age of 16, he met Irina Fernández, his future wife, on her quinceañera, a rite of passage on her 15th birthday. She is reported to have ignored him but five years later, on December 28, 1990, they were married at Saint Roque Church. The couple moved to Florence, Italy, in 1991, and a year later their first son, Thiago, was born. Thanks to good performances in the Italian championship and with the Argentine national team, Batistuta gained fame and respect. He filmed several commercials and was invited onto numerous TV shows, but in spite of this, Batistuta always remained a low-profile family man.

In 1996, during Fiorentina's 2-1 victory at A.C. Milan, he celebrated scoring the match's decisive goal by saying Te amo, Irina ('I love you, Irina', to his wife) for the cameras. The mix of sex appeal and faithfulness cemented Batistuta's heart-throb reputation among Argentine and Italian women. In 1997, Batistuta's second son, Lucas, was born, and a third son, Joaquín, followed in 1999. He now has a fourth son Shamel. In 2000, Batistuta and his family moved to Rome, where he played for AS Roma. Two years after Shamel was born, Batistuta was loaned to Inter. In 2002, after more than 10 years in Italy, the family moved to Qatar where Batistuta had accepted a lucrative celebrity playing contract with a local team, Al-Arabi.

Batistuta ended his career at Al-Arabi, retiring in March 2005, after a series of injuries that prevented him from playing. Soon afterwards he moved to Perth, Australia. In April 2006, the city's established A-league franchise, Perth Glory was put up for sale and it was reported that Batistuta was among the bidders.[1]

[edit] The player

[edit] Beginnings

As a child Batistuta preferred other sports to football. Thanks to his height he played basketball, but after Argentina's victory in the 1978 FIFA World Cup, in which he was particularly impressed by the skills of Mario Kempes, he devoted himself to football. After playing with friends on the streets and in the small Grupo Alegria club, he joined the local Platense junior team. While with Platense he was selected for the Reconquista team that won the provincial championship by beating Newell's Old Boys from Rosario. His 2 goals drew the attention of the opposition team, and he signed for them in 1988.

[edit] Professional

Batistuta signed professional forms with Newell's Old Boys Club, whose coach was Marcelo Bielsa, who would later become Batistuta's coach with the Argentine national team. Things did not come easily for Batistuta during his first year with the club. He was away from home, his family, and his girlfriend Irina, sleeping in a room at the stadium, and had a weight problem that slowed him down. At the end of that year he was loaned to a smaller team, Deportivo Italiano, of Buenos Aires, with whom he participated in the Carnevale Cup in Italy, ending as top scorer with 3 goals.

In mid-1989, Batistuta made the leap to one of Argentina's biggest clubs, River Plate, where he scored 17 goals. However, all did not run smoothly. He had numerous run-ins with coach Daniel Passarella (with whom he had later confrontations on the national squad) and he was dropped from the squad in the middle of the season.

In 1990, Batistuta signed for River's arch-rivals, Boca Juniors. Having gone so long without playing, he initially found it hard to find his best form. However, at the beginning of 1991 Oscar Tabárez became Boca's coach, and he gave Batistuta the support and confidence to become the league's top scorer that season as Boca won the championship.

[edit] International

In 1991, Batistuta was selected to play for Argentina in the Copa América held in Chile, where he finished the tournament as top scorer with 6 goals as Argentina romped to victory. During the Copa América competition, the vice-president of Fiorentina was impressed by Batistuta's skills and signed him for the Italian club. However, the following season Fiorentina were relegated to the Serie B division, despite Batistuta's 13 season goals. The club returned to Serie A two years later, with the contribution of 16 Batistuta goals and managed by Claudio Ranieri.

In 1993, Batistuta played in his second Copa América, this time held in Ecuador, which Argentina again won. The 1994 FIFA World Cup, held in USA, was a disappointment: after a promising start Argentina were beaten by Romania in the last 16. The morale of the team was seriously affected by Diego Maradona's doping suspension. Despite the disappointing Argentine exit, Batistuta scored 4 goals in as many games, including a hat-trick in their opening game against Greece.

On his return to Fiorentina, Batistuta found his best form. He was the top scorer of the 1994-95 season with 26 goals, and he broke Ezio Pascutti's 30-year-old record by scoring in all of the first 11 matches of the season. In the 1995-96 season Fiorentina won the Italian Cup and Super Coppa.

During the qualification matches for the 1998 FIFA World Cup (with former River Plate manager Passarella now coaching the Argentinean national team) Batistuta was left out of the majority of the games after falling out with the coach. Playing in the World Cup finals themselves, he scored 5 goals in that competition, before Argentina lost 2-1 to the Netherlands in the quarter-finals. In the game against Jamaica, he recorded the second hat trick of his World Cup career, becoming the 4th player to achieve this (the others were Sándor Kocsis, Just Fontaine, and Gerd Müller) and the first to score a hat trick in 2 World Cups.

After failure to win the Italian championship with Fiorentina, Batistuta started considering a transfer to a bigger team. In an effort to keep Batistuta, Fiorentina hired Giovanni Trapattoni as coach and promised to do everything to win the Scudetto. After an excellent start to the season, Batistuta suffered an injury that kept him out of action for more than a month. Losing momentum, Fiorentina lost the lead and finished the season in third place, which gave them the chance to participate in the Champions League in the following season.

[edit] Scudetto with AS Roma and last years

Batistuta stayed at Fiorentina for the 1999-00 season, tempted by the chance of winning both the Scudetto and the Champions League. After a promising start in both competitions, the team only reached seventh in the league and were eliminated in the second round group phase. The following season, he was transferred to A.S. Roma in a deal worth 35 million US dollars. Although a knee injury restricted his number of appearances, he scored 20 goals for A.S. Roma in his first season. He finally realized his dream of winning a major trophy as Roma clinched the Scudetto for the first time since 1983. The following season with A.S. Roma he changed his shirt number from #18 to #20 in reference to the number of goals he had scored during the Scudetto winning campaign. He also wore his age on the back of his Roma jersey in 2002, #33.

After a good series of performances by Argentina in the qualification matches for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, hopes were high that the South Americans - now managed by Marcelo Bielsa - could win the trophy, and Batistuta announced that he planned to quit the national team at the end of the tournament, which Argentina aimed to win. But Argentina's "group of death" saw the team fall at the first hurdle, as poor results against Nigeria, England, and Sweden meant that the team was knocked out in the opening round for the first time since 1962.

Back in Italy, Batistuta failed to find form with Roma and was loaned out to Internazionale; however, he failed to make an impression and departed for Qatari team Al-Arabi Sports Club. In Qatar, he broke the record of most goals scored that was held by Qatari Legend Mansour Mouftah with an amazing 24 goals. He was awarded for being the top scorer in all Arab leagues in 2004 with a Golden Boot.[citation needed]

Batistuta retired in 2005, and now lives in Perth, Australia. Despite having completed his coaching badges in Argentina, he currently has no involvement with football (instead he prefers to play golf). He has, however, recently expressed an interest in Coaching Australia. Argentine great keen to coach Socceroos

He has also been linked to the Argentina national football team job with Diego Maradona.

[edit] Statistics

* Physical information: Height 1.85 m, weight 73 kg
* First professional match: September 25, 1988. San Martín (Tucumán) 1 - Newell's Old Boys 0
* First professional goal: May 16, 1989. Newell's Old Boys 3 - Platense 0.
* First national team match: June 27, 1991. Brazil 1 - Argentina 1.
* First national team goal: July 8, 1991. Argentina 3 - Venezuela 0.
* Last national team match: June 12, 2002. Argentina 1 - Sweden 1.
* Last national team goal: June 2, 2002. Argentina 1 - Nigeria 0.
* 78 national team matches with 56 goals.

[edit] Honours

* First Division (Serie A) Italian Championship (with A.S. Roma) 2000-2001.
* Italian Supercup (with ACF Fiorentina) 1996, (with A.S. Roma) 2001
* Argentine Football Writers' Footballer of the Year 1998.
* Italian Cup (with ACF Fiorentina) 1995-1996.
* Second Division (Serie B) Italian Championship (with Fiorentina) 1993-1994.
* First Division Top Scorer, 26 goals (with Fiorentina) 1994-1995
* Copa América (with Argentina) 1991, 1993
* Copa América Top Scorer, 6 goals (with Argentina) 1991
* Top Scorer of The Qatari League with a record breaking 24 goals.
* Top Scorer in all Arab leagues, awarded with a Golden Boot.
* Gabriel Batistuta also set a new Serie A record by scoring in 11 consecutive Serie A games